The Wisdom of Christ in Granting the Means to Achieve God's Great Purpose... ,p.2

First Timothy chapter 3 let's go back there this morning. We do part two of honoring the excellency of Jesus Christ.

The excellence of his wisdom in granting the means to achieve his greatest her highest purpose that is his own glory and he's ordained that the centerpiece of his purposes and his glory is the local church. We talked about how there were the preliminaries. The great glory that God brought to himself through the nation of Israel, and even through Israel's foes. Many of the things that was something of the central theme of God's purposes for his own glory and the old dispensation, but all of that great glory from the Old Testament pointed to the greater glory of God's work through his church and were using first Timothy chapter 3 is a foundation working to get back to it this morning and wrap this thing up, Lord willing. But Paul writing to the church around it run to Timothy who is actually functioning as pastor of the church at Ephesus know this is a church. Paul knew a lot about.

He spent a lot of time there. So obviously he could write a lot about a lot of specific needs and things they needed to address. So as we look at Timothy, though it is a blueprint for the local church. We keep in mind that is not the whole blueprint the whole of the New Testament really to hold the Scriptures whole New Testament to to glean. Let's say that the structures in the means of church life that we gain great wisdom on practical things for the church from Paul's letter to Timothy first Timothy chapter 3 verses 15 and 16 is a Timothy but in case I am delayed I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth by common confession greatest the mystery of godliness.

It was revealed in the flesh was vindicated in the spirit seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world and taken up into glory. Let me start with III in our overall outline the biblical means of grace. The biblical means of grace. I thought about this study. Don't read about it since my conversion. I guess often on and Ephesians 310 is a good cross reference here. I like to throw out in Ephesians 310, Paul writes to the church at Ephesus and says in order that the whist of the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.

He didn't say through Christ obviously is through Christ. The church is only what she is because she is his price purchase. She is his body, she is a reflection of his wisdom is power in his work. But notice hat centers in the church and again. The guys don't take your mind off to the universal church all the time. This includes the local Eckler CS the local Eckler Sia is that place that instrument through which God wants his manifold wisdom to go forth. Well, if you're church and my local church is going to be the kind of church where God can show forth his glory where God can display his wisdom.

We need to function according to biblical mean's and wisdom God's granted all that's needed for him to have our for our churches to be a true assembly. A true church. You can start is Farsi's granted his son Jesus Christ as the cornerstone to purchase the church with his own blood. These granted to us. The Holy Spirit with and I want to say a lot about the Holy Spirit as we continue on in this message because you can dot every I and cross every T theologically and organizationally and methodologically in the local church and be a complete failure. The power of the Holy Spirit is absolutely critical. I walked in some of that IMA strategist I am an organizer. I am a visionary and I can do it all without God, but it falls flat and God in his grace called me and is teaching me that lesson.

These granted us his word brothers. This word itself evident is the wisdom of Christ we see the excellency of Jesus Christ for his children, and quite frankly if you read through the Bible you notice is always almost always addressed to local churches. This book is a local church book, even writing to Timothy's writing to the end of the benefit of the local church. You just can't hardly emphasize the church too much because it is everything about the true church exults the true Lord and Savior Jesus Christ course. It gives us the ordinances for the church spiritual gifts to function in the church and I like to view these as something of a complement to Arianism Christ gives these things.

He ordained these means he must empower these means, yet we are to carry them out. We work in concert with God. We we will we have to administer the ordinances we preach Christ we teach and preach the word and on and on we could go talking about these means that in an overall fashion, I guess. Historically speaking, most of the time when systematic theologian who ever talks about the means of grace.

Typically they will talk about the preaching of the word and the ordinance of baptism and the ordinance of the Lord's supper. Charles Hodge adds to that prayer would be one of the means of grace in the local church grew to him in his systematic theology list. 11 of them teaching the word baptism, Lord's supper prayer, worship, church discipline, giving spiritual gifts, fellowship, evangelism ministry to individuals. I might even add to that missions but I'm sure grew includes missions and evangelism. So my point is, all these are valid very thoroughly biblical as the means God has ordained.

But I want to go to IV now the structures of grace God has given his word, if not direct commandment at least thorough example of structures we use in the local church through which the means of grace are exercised are from which the means of grace flow out of my question to a lot of folks would be all of these means of grace we previously talked about are certainly biblical and legitimate. Even a sensual for healthy church life.

But are we left with no divine means in which to exercise them are about how we are to exercise the high think we need more uniformity in our fellowships of churches, one to another, that we all agree on some may be rather broad but insensate further defined structures for the means of grace to be carried out within our churches. Because if you have no structure in your church. It's a little bit like saying well.

We have the fundamentals of football you need a coat. She needed quarterback you need lineman Sen. Ted needed to block and tackle, etc. how does that work. We can organize an offense. Quarterbacks basically hand the ball off and throw the ball run. Backspace we run the ball sometimes gets the ball a lot of block for the quarterback and Rebecca's wide receivers primarily catch the ball. The defense alignment primarily stop the run and rush the passer and the linebackers to both him and the safeties and the quarterbacks more or less cover the receipt when you get it structured then the blocking and tackling etc. make some sense. These all can function well as a structure from which the function and I think that God has given to the church from his the balance of Scripture not just first to be the first Timothy gives us wonderful and essential structures like elders and deacons, etc. but overall there are structures God has ordained that lets us do our blocking and tackling and running and catching in an effective way to achieve the ends of what the church is to be about. I would say you know I have 35 years or so. RNs of wrestling with this. It wasn't long after I was converted that I looked at the local church I was attending and I thought this is a mass it's just a mess.

They don't keep up with anybody they don't know the condition of the flock. The church is filled with people who obviously do not look regenerate in my little home town Larkspur Tennessee in the church.

I was offended by the way, there were some good and godly men and women of God. There is a list be balanced with his work. I mean sitting in the church. I could. The people I knew in that small town that had left their spouse and got them another one and sometimes both spouses with their new spouses were in the same church that this is a mess and part of the reason that it was a mess is not just because they didn't exercise the means of church discipline because they had no structure for which to effectively care for administer that the means of grace in the flock, and so my heart begin to peruse the Scriptures and study and work on things and it wasn't too long after that that I went to one of the first purpose driven Church seminars talk about a waste of time. I went to the other day, doctors looking for somebody tell us how to stack any structure church and he was the God telling everybody. Here's how it's done.

So we go to this conference on the purpose driven Church, no uses were considered out with David that he's laughing. Make sure you with my brother. I knew he was.

But anyway we sit in this seminar and Rick Warren comes out and he begins the under the grand and glorious new revelation from God that if we want to build Christ's church will have to stop talking about sin leave out the doctor see you don't trouble people would they know their sinners. That's just gonna run people off. We stayed through about 1 1/2 sessions. I cleaned up my whole staff and we left.

But I did come home thinking, but there is something to the church being well organized and functioning because I don't see much of that in the churches I was involved in, but I thought. Can we not go to Scripture and just from Scripture develop some structures which what I called never seen this phrase anywhere may be used a lot but I call in the structures of grace, out of which flow those specific means of grace. I believe if you take a systematic understanding of the teaching of Scripture's promise of the New Testament, but these are taught in the Old Testament also then you will find these structures that we have embraced here. Grace, like church and have been walking in for over three decades now and God has chosen to but I think bless them wonderfully. If you think when you see the Army of this church family. Put this conference together.

I hope that you notice there more than just machines doing the job they love the church they love their Christ. They joy in it. I think part of that is because we've shown them from Scripture how we can function together as a team as an Army to this carry God's calls forth in this local church. But what I think without the structures we could not put on this conference a for example, it's the small group structure in the functioning of small groups, which greatly facilitates everything else we do here.

It enables me to call up the Army quickly and effectively. Because there are elders who oversee divisions within the divisions there are faithful under shepherds under the under shepherds of elders who oversee the small groups where about 70 of them and it it just helps the church to function effectively. I will tell you this. It's a lot of long, long, long, hard work to where you can say far from perfect, but we have a decently mature spiritually and scripturally sound functioning small group ministry that is used to work hard at Sunday school, which is same idea.

A lot of the more we can understand that lot more unsound, and I don't know why we throughout the concept of Sunday school take something that's built in, and make it godly. Don't throw out the baby with the bathwater us all these churches abandoning Sunday school and going to sale groups and going to community groups and I go from 80 or 90% of the worship attendance in Sunday school at about 30 to 40% in their sale group that's not a church. The church has to have body life will talk a bit more about that. I get ahead of myself.

But let me let me say this to you.

The Bible tells us in first Peter 52 that were to shepherd the flock of God according to the will of God were to shepherd the flock of God according to cultural trends and demographic a peculiarities no would've shepherd the flock of God according to the will of God.

God has got the guidelines, the instruction of the truce for how he wants his church to function.

I believe if we are lax in organizing the structures of grace, we will be deficient in carrying out the means of grace.

Now I'm going to put up on here I will. Illustration and act� Like a steering wheel and it really make that be the case because like the steering wheel and this fall short in I would not be gender until you have wrestled with this wheel for 30 years and it's the best I've come up with.

Even though there are limitations to ever notice when you take a spiritual truth. You just can't make it fit a a temporal physical illustration you can do pretty good so this is pretty good I think the center of the will is the core it's the course structure if you will, of grace. The church is to function from, and that's the preaching of the word in Congress to worship and I safe you brothers if that one is not sound nothing else matters that has to be right and sometimes young preacher say how do you oversee 50 plants and mission points and then you have other pastors are trying to encourage and mentor the new pastor this local church. I can tell you how because for the first 20 years of a ministry I priest all the time about my role is to study and lead preach and leave the church and others must do a lot of these other ministries and after about 600 people got mad and left. They finally got it and that's just not exaggerated. Not being funny that was literally sort of the pilgrimage.

We went through a lot of people couldn't handle that they had to have a pastor who is 24 seven on call. He didn't love us well. I'm sorry I do love you but I love you enough to do for you what God commanded me to do for you.

I want you to bit to loving to be dependent on the Christ of my preaching reveals not on me. The preacher saying all the essay brothers, I do can I say to get if that's not sound nothing else matters and that takes a lot of energy. I we went through seasons here where I was, so we can beat up from the warfare literally and I'm not exaggerating. Literally, I think it would be an honest evaluation to say I can do the work of two or three men. I'm just geared that way but I was so weak all the energy I had was to crawl up in this pulpit and preach twice a week had let everything else go I just I don't of the Lord to settle for to know how difficult this is it. You know how weak I am in this season. I just don't know if I can go on and it's almost as if God spoke to me. So did he speak audibly and I think it's like the guy said no it was louder than that is like God said what one thing must you do not sit preach the word and that's what I didjust got up and preached.

Went home and laid on the floor. Sometimes I cried sometimes. I did whatever but just kept preaching that one has to be right.

The next structure that we have gleaned from a systematic study the word of God is every member ministry through small groups that's that right hand spoke every member ministry through small brick know you will never perfectly achieve that. But you've got to fight there. I would say after your pulpit truck because, by the way from your pulpit. The Holy Spirit of God. We use the preaching of the word of God. The so sanctify leaders in your church with ace special gospel humility so they will be effective.

Small group leaders without having a proud and independent spirit leaving their's leading their small groups to be a problem in the got 70 small breaks if they're not on board you got problems, but it's the pulpit, whereby God uses his truth to break their hearts to humble them and make them grateful I get to be a part of God's church and that makes a good small group leader. Hannah had a guy in India had about 90 church planters and I was supposed to be teaching them a week ended up having to drop our association because they were so right Armenian. They they were literally going out in villages to to Lebanon to pray a prayer.

They call them all Christians and all those dear folks did on those villages was at Jesus to the other 70 gods they worshiped in Hinduism and so eventually drop about one of the guys stood up and he said it's the small group thing won't work in us agreement, all rights at the biblical principle and he said no we go out here.

We prediction these people prayed to receive Christ and and then we find key men and we put them over small groups and then we come back to three months later and although Smith started their own movements with their smoker blessed the principal small groups was not the error is the principle of qualified leadership in the small groups is where you get your air and so brother David Youngs done a great job because he's a product he started in the small great teeth started teaching a small group he led a department and division over small group. He became a part-time small group missions coordinator 90 is the full-time small group missions coordinator. He's a product of the whole thing and he helps me and does a wonderful job in making sure the men and the women in their our own board.

You are not coming into grace like church paddling your own canoe why because the glory God's at stake is not about me it's about the glory of God in strife and division doing your own thing dishonors our Lord kente how important that is. And I've never heard a statistic in over 30 years. Were we did not have over 90% of our worship attendance active in small group of trust me, not all them are doing what they audited.

Not all them are serving in fellowship and like they ought to, but in that small group as a team there evangelizing as a team there, equipping one another discipling one of as a team and that small group their bonding and there's transparency so they can learn each other's needs and wants. I could have compassion and mercy ministries for another. There's 1001 beautiful body life ministries that go on in our small group and that way every single person about how large the church gets if that's solid, can effectively minister to the whole body of Christ. I can see the top. For example, I've been in hospital. We had somebody critically ill and I've had hospital staffs a man the way your church cares for each it glorifies God. I just believe that's one of the critical structures. Now I need hours on each one of these to teach the tell you all the blunders we've made all the mistakes we've made. We've had to repent and change that.

That's not quite right, and over approaching for decades on some of these that we been wrestling with these things, and in God willing, I'm going to do that night and next year's conference were going to have a little more informal setting will have more Q&A and I'm going to wade through all the stuff we've learned in these areas so hopefully it'll be a blessing to help some brothers do a better job and not make all the mistakes we made, but that's critical then the personalized strategic world missions. That's another structure in the church to hear here's where the wheels affected, but it may break down a bit again personalized strategic world missions depends on this pulpit. I am the missions pastor of this church brother Steve is an extension of me and a wonderful extension. I'd be lost without it peeping first on the day that on the mission, but this pulpit got to be aflame with the glory of God among the nation. If I'm not preaching it that don't work and the spirit of God has to bring that conviction under the preaching of the word in the hearts of the members and one of the reasons why personalized strategic world missions. By the way this conference is a part of our overall structure of personalized strategic permissions because he gets very personalized. We got all these missionaries here for week and all of our homes literally. After this week is over 4 to 500 of our people have spent quality time with the church planter or missionary know what they do when that happens they get that billfold out minds over here and I say you know I met that brother.

I believe in him. Worse, my faith commitment, offering him up at this year. That's why when I became the senior pastor here in the life of the church. We'd only given about $45,000 to foreign missions were now at about $8 million above and beyond all of our building programs in all our local ties and offering. That's because missions when it's personalized. It is not institutionalized and that's one thing we highly emphasize and anchored in truth we don't you just throw us money. We want your heart unit you can find a part of the overall work God's let us be responsible for. You can find the area you can take ownership of, and it becomes a personalized part in God's really blessed that aspect listen to me every small group has X number of church planters or missionary state.

Take care of Salesian are contingent upon each other.

The strong small group helps make strong personalized strategic permission so so so so much on the site don't have time I'll get the third the third spoke family discipleship. What we found through the years is it's gotta be real at home so much. I'd like to say here.

I do not encourage a formal teaching structure in the home and there's a reason for that. The first reason is because when I was a young pastor J. Vernon McGee said he didn't encourage a formal teaching structure home and he said in his experience, he had found that that can glisten that can be wonderful and I can be blessed about you do that hallelujah I'm not against that but he says if you got an active faithful church they're getting a lot of that what they need to see is the mentoring and the living out and realness in family life. Talking the truce of God as it applies to life when you rise up in the morning when you sit by the wayside when you walk along the way. When you go to bed and that's what parents look this is all I do is formal teaching I will go home sit. I'm giving it formal teaching times a day.

We just had five hours of that church. What I can do is turn on Andy Griffith show and we can watch something unsafe that one biblical route. There wasn't Barney's line now love Andy Griffith show, but anybody Lala the show if you want everything now. Honestly, we literally did that we would bring God's truth and our children learned though we formally teach it. It's real in our lives. That's what I mean by family discipleship when my daughters played college ball that we prayed about that in week Things in perspective and we said were not going to tournaments on Sunday except for a vacation Sunday or two.

I'll take every year and that we told coaches, etc. as you got to travel ball and all this kind of nonsense bodily travel balls become a giant Midol parents need to be proactive but we were proactive and we told our daughter wouldn't go the coach and tell him what we are as Christians if it fits his team and his tournament schedule find if not that's fine to know.

If not, God takes care stuff. He let her play and inoculate that only plays in July not to give her July off. Coincidence, here's my point is, if you tip is a lie, as in your life. You talk about and teach the truths of Scripture you've Artie got the formal training on things gotta be real at home, and here's what we found from the balance of New Testament teaching every means of grace. God's given the church can be exercised through the structure everyone up our church discipline comes out of small groups, our world missions program is organized so it's all personalized through small groups. The ministries of edification and exultation encouragement mercy through small groups and God's voice.

I could just drill a hole in your head and your heart for this in and stop it back upward never got again until these are good don't do anything else. I know gossip payment work with that worth where we were with you hundred percent were also doing this and this and this and this and this and those are not bad things, but your people can't know that many things well if we have a man's thing. It's an extension of our men, small groups, not a replacement or in addition to it. If we have a women's thing. It's an adult and an extension of our women, small bricks, not a replacement for RRR are in addition to it.

Your overloading your people and tell you if your people walk this out well and I really don't happen anymore because like they just got tired of asking, but iPad had people coming from the gym I read about this I heard about this women's I heard about this man's ministry will do this essay we do that we do it the small group and finally they just quit coming and I mean I'm I look on for decades. He and you know many churches I watched on here promise keepers. This bit none of that was bad.

I had some weaknesses but not able to know what was promise keepers the local church small group of men in it, hold each other accountable discipling each other discipline each other loving and care for each other. That's still going on.

As you know what these other measures come and go but the church will always be here the rim so important.

Spirit empowerment your people have to be regenerate people all my goods taught three hours on that the great lessons we learned as we got to fight the fight. The decades fight of having a truly regenerate membership. None of it works without regenerate people, you just need to get over your infatuation with the The Shark professional gone town and that the next let God the wealthy man in town. God may say so, I found out God I couldn't use any of the wealthy men in town.

When I started as pastor.

They all had their own agendas.

They have all had that went maybe not all of them but the great majority of missing so we had to grow our own wealthy men and we have made in our church today who are multimillionaires very very very generous to God's work and they were broken porridge. You could be when they started 35 years ago with me to just grow euro in there with you and I got over trying to draw those kind of people and to help us look.

Gotta draw them in our repel them back out to his truth use have a faithful pulpit beginner fingers but if the spirit of God is not in it and blessing it bring in the proper gospel humility meet gospel humility is everything. None of this works of people are humble.

If not, will submit to the authority of their elders and find their place. I mean what we tell people this I will really gifted up in another church is not taught this and lead that was of your foot, you need the unit go small group and support the leader in their and then we see that for a while will consider you for leadership because your spiritual character is more important in your spiritual ability to lead. I'm just rambling because my wife said why are you studying this so hard you could talk about this for hours.

She's right, there's danger, and that what time I spoke to me through study, I will quit woman times are of asking him turn on the Internet to get the rest of the session, I guess, but let's go LOL I'm sorry outside the rim. What's the result of all this a God glorifying local church if you're doing that right in the power of the spirit.

All the means of grace are exercised in an effective manner. The spirits empowering it look somewhat incensed man can't do that we've never seen people like that before never seen him function like that never seen a love like that never seen such a team ship sinks into sweetness and humility. How's it happening.

God.

God gets the glory, is not just now but systematic come of any of this. I just took the old mega Sunday school and make small groups.

I just took the old bags into a world missions in my purse like were missions family to soft has been around since I guess Abby got saved this a new or clever with fun because we just need to do it.

It's like salt.

It's right there, but solves no good if you don't apply it. But here's the problem. The Conrado here 30 years. Pastor got a great church since God's presence in his life and ministry. 30 years I but it would like this in your five figure 8. It's a long process and that's why tell you all time have a 20 year vision 20 year vision. Keep plugging away and we are probably in the coming days going to erect some firmer boundaries on who we will fellowship with that's one thing about being paid by mature.you know you can't fire me and I just anchored in truth, is an extension of this church and and I'm not worried about getting the right people and some you guys connected to the denominations.

You got that monster you got a deal with me.

So the bed's conviction has everything imaginable doctrinally and methodologically, and to some extent you're connected to it. You got cooperate with that to some extent. I understand being in there being salt and light and I support we got some good men. And so the bedside some godly member of the David Prince is one of those. I'm so thankful for his salt and light, but my point is I don't have to worry about what if you don't like us, you don't hurt us financially. I mean I'm not bound to that I'm free from that. But what I'm saying is we need some boundaries on our fellowship is churches that if you're not the wheels go back sit never goes away. It's always there that we would want and you don't do it just like us were not saying that. But if you're not committed to these things and there's thorough biblical foundation for them. Then we may not can fellowship together and missions in the gospel you want to do it just like I'm saying but I would say this to younger pastor to be find a churches got 3 to 4 decades under the belt and God's blessing want to just follow that for a while and quit being so doggone clever and unique family that I got a get did you tell me a time so be appear okay thank you. First Timothy 315, Paul says that Timothy, I'm writing to you that you will know how to conduct yourself of the household of God.

Some say the word that you mean strictly Timothy. I think it includes Timothy but I don't think it mean strictly Timothy because the overseers and deacons involves the whole church does it not in the structuring the women he's just dealt with involve the whole church and how women should dress involves the whole church and how women's motives for the ration about how church and how men should exercise authority to each.

That's something the whole church is involved so you talk about how the whole church is to conduct itself as it is spending to Timothy, but it's for the admonition evocation of the whole local church body. I'm trying to skim on very fast year basis because the church is the pillar in support of the truth to Greek words there.

One means more of a base foundation one means a pillar as if on the base.

The church is the holder and dispenser of the church truth.

Listen, the church is not the originator of the truth.

The church does not invent the truth and must not alter the truth at risk of judgment. That's why as arming as emphatic about church structures and functions with the Bible is clear as I am about the content of the gospel because we don't get the choice the fashion he is church our way and brother that's everywhere today. They call the church but they don't have enough biblical fidelity DB culture. John MacArthur some time ago started calling them non-churches. He said there just so unsound that you don't think I was a nonchurch because folks is not our church. It's not our Brad at TS. What I also am a humbling trembling that we are responsible for fashioning his rod. I believe that we will give you some good biblical structures to do a better job at it. The church echo see in the local assembly of God's called out ones is a conduit through which the church is shown out of close out and God gets the glory, the church, the efficacy of the local assembly is God's theater to display the truth to all that all may see it marble over it and God gets the glory. If the church is not sound in proclamation it's pulpit, its doctrine in fashion or its structure and in function, then the conduit is at least partially stopped up in the theater is putting on a false display God's truth is not properly seen and marveled over and God is robbed of his glory is God the glory he deserves in your community because your church is sending out his light and his truth, not some silly culturally relevant clever scheme in the church now that we all struggle there doing other things we do, we think, what is this too far. Is this okay my client sister city Utah struggle with the fear of male brother. I hope I'm correct here, but as long as you're struggling with that you might be okay because he thought it repented is when you think you ain't got it that you probably been in the stronghold of it so will always be struggling, but folks, I'm telling you a lot of what I'm saying even with the reform banner flying out front is man centered pragmatism not true centered biblical structures in function and actually that's why anchored in truth exist because we fall and fall and fall our own sales.

Our own flesh. The own the pressures of the professing Christian world around us to try to be sound and we wanted the next generations of pastors to have somebody to encourage them in this journey. That's why we exist hope and courage that will talking of the great excellencies of Jesus Christ.

Paul says here by common confession great is the mystery of godliness. He says for those of us who are spiritually through regeneration and able to see the truth.

We look at this. This means God has ordered is, I should say this provision that that God has brought brought to us to cause us to be truly godly ones to be the truly devout ones that are right standing before God and to rightly serve God and where what is that provision is Jesus Christ. He says it right there. He who was revealed in the flesh for 16 vindicated in the spirit seen by the aims of proclaiming the nation bleed on the world. Think of the glory. Jesus is God's wisdom. Jesus is God's great he would not have a standing before God as a truly pious one, which is what godliness means. Here you are not able to walk out the reality of being a true godly one for Jesus. Power had made you that Jesus power and wisdom to guide you in the serving of him in a godly it's all Jesus. It's all Jesus so so very much more we could say some some say the day well if the pulpit is sound and then the next test just about everything. Everything else didn't matter with your football coach is a brilliant communicator of football knowledge in football information in football schemes and a great promotion, a promoter, but he has a losing record every year is not good enough of the preaching us to the end of a healthy church to the end of the glory of God. I believe we got some expositional idolatry. We got guys who I think preached a pretty solid exposition for years, but their churches are very unhealthy. It's not one of the other. It's both a about one must late to the other brother Justin told us discernment was one of the characteristics are lack of discernment characteristics of the unregenerate.

I don't know how to say this is is emphatically that it's always true. Could it be that there some great expositors out there they don't know the Lord. How can you not love the bride of Christ. How can you not care passionately that his church is right with him and honors him and causes people to marvel over him and see his wisdom and his beauty is not about your pulpit being strong. You don't have a pulpit in heaven, but they'll be a church in heaven. A purified and true. We ought to at least between now and that they have glorification do the best we can to keep the breath say look, but the church is the pillar in support of the truth and I think another thing that's accurate in the total biblical teaching is the church is truth incarnate. So when it that's Jesus Christ you bore his body so I'd say we are the truth incarnate in infancy. Jesus lives in us. Does he not we are his body. Are we not, we walk in his truth. Do we not so they should see little Jesus when they see us. We are Christians us with the word Christian means, but not individuals. We get in the Bible only want to make it an individual self-help manual for smoke dysphoric, a local assembly to make us together in community a portrait of Jesus who is the truth and having the proper means of grace talking to the functioning of the proper structure of grace is essential.

I'm skipping a lot of stuff and I know you're happy and I praise Lord for your happiness. My point is get the get the flow going now God was to glorify himself to his church about our use Mick he's going to be glorified. Booster rate Revelation the last few chapters of Revelation. I challenge you to look/are afraid to slap the wife of the Lamb. The bride, the new Jerusalem and look at the great emphasis and the great glory centered on the church when she is finally resurrected, purified and glorified God's going to make a big big big deal out of the church at the end are jobless. Between now and then to at least help her get toward that end, I will his church to get some glory now that he gets the glory, not just all of it later.

I don't know why we would care less about the church than he cares if he gave his life to purchase her to progressively sanctify her, and one day in on believable magnitude of wonder, to glorify her with his own glory healed will intermix the Bibles if he gave his life for that we are to live our lives for that.

It's all about the glory of Jesus Christ. And it's all about the church. So let's give our very best shepherd the flock of God according to the will of God. Now, Lord willing, would try to spend many hours dissecting the means and the structural grace that might be helped all of us to achieve this ends as long as the Holy Spirit empowers them to pray for his father, thank you for your word and thank you that you have not left us without sure solid guidance when you told us to shepherd the flock of God according to the will of God. You gave us in your word and your will. I pray for all these dear men of God here and then those who support the deer men of God that they will have a passion and lash themselves to the Ministry of preaching the word and the power of the spirit. Nothing. Nothing Lord is you've taught us can rise to any any level of effectiveness or goodness. Apart from I pray we will take preaching discipled people and organize them into small groups so they can effectively do body life and you will be seen in the way they have love for one another. You will be seen in the way they make disciples together, and you will be glorified. I pray that we will further develop personalized and biblically strategic world missions out of our church or operate these men would find somebody if they can connect with because your New Testament is full of the church is cooperating together for mission. I pray that family discipleship load would be real. It wouldn't be the legalism of a 15 minute family altar.

Then we go to our carnal stuff again but just be real and I pray is all this is functional, your spirit has to empower it, it can't be our goodness are charisma.

It's gotta be your spirit made all be that you get glory through your church and we get to be a part of that.

In Jesus name, amen