Jesus, as I on earth go. May His beauty rest upon me,
As I seek the lost to win. Then may they forget the channel,
Seeing only Him. Thank you, Jeanette. Thank you,
John. Go back to Romans 12 with me
now. So much here. So needful. So helpful. God's Word. Our instructions. Our food. Everything. I do not teach or
preach these things because I am a master of them. But I do this because it's God's
Word. And I need these things more
than you. I need them even more than you. I'm supposed to be an example
in all of these things. And I feel like I've come so
far short. But I'm going to look at it.
I'm studying it, and I want for me, as well as you, all of these
things. He said in verse 1, if there's
a division in these Verses it would be, verses 1 and 2, being
service to God. Verses 3 through 8, service to
the body or the church. And verses 9 through 21, our
attitude and actions toward all men. He says, I beseech you therefore,
brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies
a living sacrifice, holy and devoted, consecrated unto God,
acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. because
of his mercy, his love, his grace, his kindness to us. Be not conformed
to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind,
like Philippians 2. Let this mind be in you, which
was in Christ. By the renewing of your mind
that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect
will of God. What is the will of God for his
people? That you be like Jesus Christ. That's what salvation is. Salvation
is unto good works. That's why He saves people. To
make them like Christ. Verse 3, I say it through the
grace given unto me to every man among you, not to think of
himself more highly than he ought to think. To think soberly. Think right thoughts of yourself. according as God has dealt to
every man the measure of faith." Paul one time thought pretty
highly of himself, didn't he? He said, concerning the righteousness
of the law, he said, I was blameless. Oh my, now he thinks right thoughts. He says, in my flesh. Well, it's no good thing. He
said, I am less than the least. I'm not fit to be called a disciple.
That's thinking right thoughts of yourself. He said, if any
man thinks he's something when he's nothing, he thinks wrong
thoughts of himself. So according to the grace of
God, as according as God had dealt to every man the measure
of faith. Now here's, he's going to talk
about the church and the members of the body and how each one
had been given differing gifts or ministries. And he begins
by saying, don't anybody think too highly of themselves. He
dealt in 1 Corinthians 12, I believe that he is, with the body, and
he said the little toe is just as needful as the right hand. They're all vital members of
the body. And the one that's covered and
hidden and least esteemed is a member of the body as much
as the one that's visible. Isn't that right? So that's how
he begins, per se. Every member of the body, according
to the measure of faith, or according as Christ doled out gifts, is
a member of the body, and vital to it, and has a part in it. Now, we get all of our everything,
strength, everything, from the head, don't we? So, He's divine,
we're the branches. Without Him, we can do nothing.
Settled out. He gets all the glory. No part
of the body gets any glory. All glory goes to the head. All
right, so here's what he said. The according is that God has
dealt to every man this measure of faith. We have many members,
verse 4, in one body, and all members have not the same office.
So we, being many, are one body in Christ. And everyone members
one of another, vitally joined, connected to one another. Would
you like to be without your little toe? Has anyone lost a digit? Some of these men that I know,
my father-in-law had a finger cut off from a joiner. Mike seems
like so many men lost fingers with joiners, you know. Other
men I've known over the years, Moose and, oh my. And I've heard them say things
like this, that there's times when they feel like they can
still feel it there. They miss it. Well, we're all members of
Christ's body. We've been many. And we have
gifts differing according to the grace given to us. Verse
6. Differing gifts given to us. Now, my dad, my pastor in the preacher's
class, looked out over the various men And there were some that
could sing, and some that were gifted in this and that and the
other. And he said, no, God doesn't use your natural talents. Don't think for a minute because
you're talented, God needs you. Oh no, he said everything is
given. If you have any talents, gifts, He gave it to you. So
don't take pride in it. Don't take any pride whatsoever. He said, those that have these
natural talents, he warned one young man. He warned him that
you're so gifted, you're so talented, that you're going to use these
things and people are going to be enamored with it and taken
with them and with you. And he warned him. And then he pointed at Brother
Todd Nyberg and he said, now he doesn't have any of those
things. All he can do is preach the gospel.
Well, that was prophetic because that young man left the ministry,
quit preaching the gospel. God doesn't need our natural
talents. We don't have any natural talents. It's all given to us. According to the grace given
to us. What do we have? We have not
received. If we received it, why would
we glory as if we had not received it? All right, now he says, whether
prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith of
what you know, what you believe. Prophecy. Now, it's prophecy.
There were prophets in the New Testament. But after the scriptures
were written, they're no more. All right? Prophecy generally
means foretelling future events. But often in the scripture, prophecy
just stood for preaching or telling things that were unknown, revealing
unknown truth. Even women would prophesy, or
that is, they would speak to other people, like Anna. She
didn't stand in a position of authority in a church, in a pulpit. She didn't stand in a temple
and preach to people. No. But anyone that talked to
her, she'd tell them. Just like our ladies. These women,
in that sense, prophesy. They know the scripture. They
know the future. They do. You know the future,
don't you, Amy? What's the future? Christ is
the first and the last. Christ is coming. The testimony
of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. In other words, everything that
the future holds has something to do with Jesus Christ. So,
prophecy back then and now. If you know something of this
faith, tell it. Tell somebody. Verse 8 and 7.
Or ministry. That simply means serving. Serving. That's what minister
means. A servant. Isn't that something? The pride
of man that he takes this thing called minister and makes a title
out of it. A title out of it. Puts it in front of his name.
Ministry. It means servant. Our Lord said, He that is greatest
among you, let him be the servant. He said the Son of Man came not
to be ministered unto, but to minister, to be a servant. And He did that. What is this
service? Whatever your hand finds to do,
do it. There was a young man who was aspiring to the ministry. A young man was aspiring to the
ministry. What that means was he wanted
to stand up in a pulpit and be somebody and be heard. Well,
he said to Brother Barnard, that evangelist years ago who was
blunt like John the Baptist, he said, Brother Barnard, I want
to serve the Lord. And Barnard said, well, do it. Do it. Whatever your hand finds
to do, do it. As unto the Lord, minister, serve. What is there to do? Find something
and do it. Don't need a title. Everybody's
a minister, aren't they? Every member ministers to the
others, doesn't he? My hand takes care of my feet.
My feet take me places, take my hands places. They're all
ministers. So do it. Wait. Let's wait on
a minister. Wait on one another. He that
teacheth on teaching. We have some ladies that teach
our children, and some men in the past do it also, and they
do it with all their might. I wish you could hear the things,
well, you need to ask your children what they're being taught. They're
being taught well. Thank you ladies for doing that.
He that teacheth, do it. Do it. Or he that exhorteth on
exhortation. Exhortation? Everyone can and
should do that. No matter how old you get, when
you can't cut the grass, when you can't bring food, when you
can't serve tables, you can exhort, can't you? Like Budgie. Sister Virgie Jones, that's how
she talked, Virgie. And by the way, she hemmed every
pair of pants I bought at Roses. And she did it willingly, without
charge, and she never would let me pay for that. But she would
sit there faithfully, every service would. And she'd say, I can't
do nothing. I'd say, Virgie, you be in there.
It's something. You just being there in your
old age is an exhortation to me. This man struggling up those
steps to get here. That ought to exhort us all. Exhortation. Listen to this.
Not forsaking the assembly of ourselves together as the manner
of some is, but exhorting one another. So much the more as
you see the day approaching. I told you that story, me and
Brother Don walking up the peaks of Otter years ago. I told you
that and I'll tell you again. Somebody hadn't heard it. Brother
Don Bell and I were walking up the peaks of Otter long before
either one of us ever did any running or hiking or whatever.
We were both out of shape. All right, so I took him over
there and said, I hear the view is beautiful. So we started up
that mountain, you know, we were talking to each other, and whenever
we're together, it's always prophet, always talking about the Lord,
the Scripture. We went about a quarter mile, and we were plumb
worn out. And we got, there's a sign up
there, Daryl, and it said, oh, there's a sign, we must be close.
Now, you could have taken the bus up there, you could have
walked. But I wanted us to walk. Saw that sign, we got to the
sign, it says you've come a quarter mile, you've got a mile and a
quarter to go. I said, let's take the bus. Donnie
said, nope, we've come this far. Alright, this went on all the
way up that mountain, let's take the bus. No. Come on, brother. I want to quit, let's go back. No, come on, brother. And we
talk, and talking about the things of our God, you would forget
about the journey. the pain. And brethren, when
we got to the top of that mountain, many of you have been there,
and when we got to the top, we forgot all about the climb. The
view was so glorious, so beautiful, we could see everything clearly,
and it made it all worthwhile. And I'm here to tell you, I'm
here to tell you, to exhort you, come on brother, Now is our redemption
nearer, our salvation, than when we first began. Brother John,
you're almost there. And buddy, when you get there,
it will be worth it all. And all the former things shall
be forgotten and not be remembered or come to mind. Pain? What pain? I'm telling you, that's what
the Lord told me to tell you. Exhortation. Come on now. We're almost there. Where are we? Verse 8, He that giveth, let
him do it with simplicity. Giving. Some have been given
a greater earning power, greater capacity to earn money, so they
ought to give more, give liberally. Simplicity means liberally, freely. It means simply doing it out
of a need, out of a desire to do so, without any ulterior motive,
but for the glory of God, and see a need and give it. Simple. Simple. Simplicity. Single-minded
purpose. That's what it means. I'm thankful.
I need this gospel. It's my reasonable service. Everything
I have, God gave it to me. I'm not giving Him anything but
what He gave to me. So, here, Lord, take this. That's
giving. We preach the whole message on
giving from 1 Corinthians 8. And nine, look it up. He that
ruleth, verse eight. He that ruleth. There are rulers
in the church. God has placed pastors, elders
over His church, haven't He? He that ruleth over men must
be just, the scripture says, ruling in the fear of the Lord. They're not His people, they're
God's people. And He's not the Lord Himself
over them. He's not their Lord. He's just
a steward of the grace of God. He's just a caretaker. How dare
him? The one time God got angry at
Moses is when Moses got real angry at the people. Now, they
were an army, and they made him mad. But God said, God didn't let it go in the promised
land forever. He that ruleth, doeth it with
diligence, that is, with care, with all his might, and really
doing it well with all his might. He that showeth mercy with cheerfulness. Any and all, and everyone can
show mercy. That's another word for kindness,
patience, tenderness. Like our Lord. Like our Lord. Cheerfully. Our Lord said it's
more blessed to give than to receive. It's more happy. You'd be more happy giving than
receiving. Because we cannot satisfy this
old man. He can never be satisfied. That's
why he gets so upset all the time. People aren't doing enough
for him. People are hurting him and offending him. But if we
were selfless, like our Lord, His service to him washing feet
wasn't condescension. And he didn't do that for show,
like the German Baptists and Amish did. He didn't do that
for show. Their feet needed washing. That's
not condescension. That's a need. That's seeing
a need. Their feet needed. They need
stooped down. That's not stooping down. That's love. Like mothers
with their children, wiping every part of their body. Is that condescension? It's a need. He that showeth mercy cheerfully."
Well, that's beneath me of him. Cheerfully. Willingly. What can
I do? How can I help? It's my privilege. Our Lord, let me remind you.
He started by saying, I beseech you by the mercies of God. The
scripture says, Our Lord endured for the joy set before him. cheerfully,
willingly, lovingly, mercifully, graciously, willingly, cheerfully
endured the cross. Now, let's be cheerful. What can I do? The least I can
do. And after I've done all that's
required of me, I'm still what? An unprofitable servant. Let
love, now, here it is, speaking to us in our attitude toward all
men. Let love be without dissimulation. That is hypocrisy and feigned
love, fake, unfeigned love. Don't fake it. Don't fake it.
Don't fake it. Don't tell somebody you love
them, and you don't. You don't do it. And better yet,
show it. Don't fake it. Judas, the kisses
of an enemy are deceitful. Judas betrayed our Lord with
a kiss. Let love be without fakery. Without
hypocrisy. Let it be true. Let it be true. What will constrain us to love? The love of Christ. The love,
only the love of Christ. Oh, my. He loved the unlovely,
didn't he? It should be easy for us to love
those like us. Abhor that which is evil. Flee
to that which is good. Abhor that which is evil. Abhor it. Jude said, Hating even
the garments spotted by the flea. Brethren, let's be like Job. Scripture says, God said of Job,
he's a perfect man, an upright man, one that feareth God and
eschews evil, avoids it, walks the other way, that one ain't
part of it, eschews it. Let's be like Lot. He was vexed
with a conversation with the wicked. Right? Let's not become
insensitive to sin, any sin. But be more sensitive. Sin is
why Christ died. Every sin. Sin is the source
of all trouble, all suffering, all sadness, all death. Sin. Sin is why God will destroy
this evil world. Let's not laugh at it. Let's
not joke about it. Let's not play with it. Let's
abhor it and eschew it. That's what it says. Cleave to
that which is good. Cleave to that which is good.
Cleave means hold fast. Lay hold of it. What's good? God is good. God is good. Lay hold of Him. God is good.
Walk with Him. Cleave means stick with. Stick to. Stick close by. God is good. His Word is good.
Hold to it. Hold to its principles. Hold
to its wisdom. Stick by it. Let His Word dwell
in you richly. Cleave to His people. His people
are good. They're the salt of the earth.
God said so. God said the world is not worthy of them. Cleave
to them. Walk with them that walk with
God. Evil communications corrupt good manner. Don't walk with
the world. Our Lord said, Come out from
among them. Be separate. Walk with my people. Here you
go. Moses said, I'm not Pharaoh's son. I'm not walking with them. These are my people. Ruth said,
these are my people. God's people. That's who I'm
going to walk with. Cleave to that which is good. They're in
the right way. They're in the good way. They're
in the old paths where it is the good way. And they've found
rest for their soul. They're walking following Christ. Verse 10. Let love, verse 10,
be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love,
in honor of preferring one another. Kindly affection. Love is kind. Love is kind. Full of pity. Peter said that, be pitiful.
Love is affectionate. Love must show itself. It's true love. Manifest itself
to her? Love is affectionate. Hatred is the opposite. Hatred
is cold. Show it. Love is affectionate.
Show it. Be kindly affectionate one to
another with brotherly love. You know how often the scriptures
talk about brotherly love? All of 1 John is written about
it. Isn't it? 1 John. John is called the disciple whom
Jesus loved. And he was always lying on his
bosom, it seemed like. His shoulder, wasn't it? He was
cleaving to that which is good. Christ, as if he didn't want
to get away from it. And he wrote that, that whole
epistle. This is taught through all the
scriptures, through all the epistles, by all the apostles. Listen to
this. See if this doesn't sound like
what we're reading. Peter said then, Be all of one mind, having
compassion one of another, love as brethren, love like brothers
love. Be pitiful of pity, courteous,
that is, preferring one another. Here, after you. No, after you. Here, you take this. I don't
want it. You take it. You first. The opposite of that is me first,
isn't it? Listen, this isn't the same Lord
teaching the apostles. Don't render evil for evil, railing
for railing, but contrarywise. Blessing. Knowing that thereunto
you're called. It's the same thing in it. All
these things are taught by all the apostles in all the epistles
because the Lord is the one that taught them and exemplified it,
showed it. And so I beseech you by the mercies
of Christ who is so kind to us, who treats us like brethren. He's not ashamed to call us brethren. I'm a sorry brother. Brotherly
love. Brotherly love. You know, brothers
love one another no matter what, don't they? They never quit. Brothers don't
ever quit being brothers and sisters. Sisters, they fall out. Do you have any brothers, sisters,
did you ever have to fall out with them? Did you and your sister
never have to fall out? Do you now? But you're not going
to say, I'm not going to be your sister ever again. I quit. No. And one reason why you don't
quit one another, because you know, you both came from the
same stock. You're just like them. If she
or he treats you badly or whatever, just wait a little while, you'll
do the same. Abraham said to Lot one time
when they were going to part ways, Abraham said to Lot, let
there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, we be brethren. Now I remind you what our Lord
said, what John said from our Lord, he that loveth not, like
this, he that loveth not knoweth not God. How can you love God
whom you have not seen and not love your brother whom you do
see? John said, it's not possible. So love is brethren. Remember. We're all just alike. In honor,
preferring one another. Preferring. Love prefereth. Love envieth not. Oh, I wish
I had what she had. Oh, no. That's not love, is it? I'm glad she has it. If one of
us could have it, I'm glad it's her. That's love. Isn't that what our Lord did?
He who is rich, yet for our sake said, I'd gladly be poor that
they not be rich. In honor, preferring one another. You've heard this. Someone maybe
hasn't heard this. Listen. There was a fellow. young man who pulled up in a
nice shiny new car. And a fellow said, where did
you get that car? It's beautiful. And the fellow
said, my brother gave it to me. My big brother gave it to me.
And the man said, boy, I'd like to have a brother like that. And the man said, I'd like to
be a brother like that. Everybody wants a brother like
that. Oh, let's be a brother like that. Read on, verse 11. But be not
slothful in business, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.
Not slothful or lazy. Go to the ant, Proverbs says,
thou sluggard. Oh my, the tiniest insect on
earth is the most industrious. The hardest working. For what? They're doing it for the glory
of God, somehow. Fervently serving the Lord, whatever our business
is, whatever our occupation is, whatever our work is, whatever
it is, do it as unto the Lord with all your might. That's what
the scriptures say. If it's sweeping the floor, do
it fervently, with all your might, as unto the Lord. It is unto
the Lord, and He is watching. You see it? How do you think
the Lord woke up every morning to His tasks? Huh? Our Lord woke up a great while
before day, every day, didn't He? Praying. Who was He praying
for? Not Himself, but for others. And buddy, He went at it. He said, I must be about my Father's
business. He did it fervently, every day,
all day, long hours, for 33 years, all for others. as unto the Lord,
and did it cheerfully, willingly, fervently, actively. Do you think
he got up with a bad attitude? Not possible. What a privilege,
what an honor it is for me to serve my God, to do this. To be fervent, serving the Lord. It is Him we serve, not others.
God is the one who gave us the occupation we have. Verse 12,
rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing instant
in prayer. Rejoicing in hope. Rejoicing.
Rejoicing. You know how much the Scriptures
talk about rejoicing? Nehemiah said to the people who
were weeping over the broken law, the law they'd broken, he
said, don't weep, don't mourn. The joy of the Lord is your strength.
Rejoice. I get down all the time, maybe
as much downcast as anybody. And it just makes me tired. It just makes me want to go back
to bed. It just brings me down. I get depressed and I don't have
any energy. I have much to be thankful for. I need to wake up. And I'm talking
to myself. I need to wake up. This is the
day the Lord help me. Rejoice and be glad. Look at all this in Christ, too. Rejoicing in hope. Joy of the
Lord is our strength. Sadness, unbelief, worry, bitterness,
anger brings us down. Rejoice, I say. And again, I
say, rejoice. David had said this. And do you
know how many enemies he had? Do you know how many troubles
he had? Do you know what family troubles? He had, as far as I know, maybe
one or two children that weren't a heartache to him. He had how
many sons? Nine? Only two of them were believers,
I think. And he said, Why art thou cast
down within me, O my soul? Hope in the Lord. One time he
came back and he found everything and everyone he had gone He thought
they were gone, destroyed, killed, the enemy had taken them. And
he wept until he couldn't weep anymore. And all of a sudden,
like pilgrim and Christian in Doubting Castle, giant despair,
he came to himself. And it says he encouraged himself
in his God. He encouraged himself in his
God. God did this. It's of the Lord. The Lord gave.
The Lord take it away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.
And he asked the Lord, shall I go? And he said, you're going
to recover all. David, it's all coming back to
you. You haven't lost anything in
the cause of Christ. Not one thing. So he says, rejoice in hope. Hope in His mercy. Patient in
tribulation. Our Lord said you must, through
much tribulation, enter the Kingdom of Heaven. I haven't been too
long now, stay with me, because it's so good. Our Lord said,
you must, through much tribulation, enter the kingdom of heaven.
Now, much tribulation and troubles and trials the Lord sends us,
and all trials are for His glory, for us to witness a testimony
to His grace before men, whatever it is. That's why He sent us.
That's the number one purpose. It calls us to look to Him. to
lean on Him, to cause His word to be true to us, Him to prove
His word to us, for us to wait on the Lord. We're going to see.
We just wait, we'll see. Much tribulation we bring upon
ourselves. Much of it is chastening. Much of it is chastening that
we need. Now the Lord has not dealt with
us after our sin, but whom the Lord loves, He chastens. So it
says, be patient. Take it. Why should a living
man complain, a man, for the punishment or the chastening
of his sins? And the Lord loveth the chastening.
Let's try to find out why. Be patient in tribulation. Continue
in instant in prayer. Oh, my. Pray without ceasing. Our Lord said men ought always
to pray. He did. Now if he did, how much
more do we need to pray? If he did, instant is a good
word. Another reason I like King James.
When you think of instant, what do you think of? Now. We need to pray every hour of
every day, every moment, in every way, don't we? The instant when
temptation arises, Lord help me, When anger arises, Lord help
me. When someone comes to your mind,
Lord help them. Bless them. Instant. Immediately. Right now. Always. In all things. Because without Him, we can do
nothing. Nothing. And He's the God of
all grace, and we need every grace. We don't have anything.
We're poor and needy. He has it all. Whatever you need
at whatever moment, ask Him. The Lord, I need wisdom right
now. I need to know what to say right now. That's what instant
means. Instant. Verse 13. Distributing
to the necessity of saints. Giving to hospitality. Distributing. If our brethren have needs, we
must, we should, we do, we will meet those needs. Help them in
time of need. That's what the church is, a
distribution center. Hospitality, a hospital for sinners. Hospitality, when you think of
a hospital, what is it? A place where you care for people.
You bring them in, you give them a bed. The sick, the afflicted,
you give them a bed and you tend to them, you feed them soup or
something. Hospitality, given to hospitality. Things are given to us for us to be hospitable with.
You know that? Freely you have received, freely
given. That's why everything is given
to us. It's on loan. We're stewards
of the grace of God. We're stewards. Whatever we have,
it's not ours. It's the Lord's. What if we hoard
in something that belonged to someone else? And he said, whoever
comes along, give it to them. But we said, no, it's for me.
He's going to take away that which you have. That's what the
Lord said. Given to hospitality. Everything's
been given. So we're to give in return. Let
me just read this to you real quickly in Acts. I still haven't
been too long. Stay with me. It's just not me. This is God's word. This is vital. Listen to this. Acts, when the
Lord saved these people in the book of Acts. Listen. Here's
what happened. It says, they that gladly received
his word were baptized. Every one of them. Gladly. And
it says, they continued steadfastly in apostles' doctrine. That is,
they continued to hear the gospel. They couldn't live without it.
Christ was their life, and the people of Christ were their life.
They're members of the body. You can't live without the body.
Sheep, shepherd. It says, fear, they feared the
Lord. Wonders, signs. And all that
believed were together and had all things common. That doesn't
mean they lived in a commune. They didn't live in a commune.
That was a huge church in Jerusalem. There was not a building big
enough for them to live in. No. It means that whatever they
had in Acts chapter 4 says the same thing. None of them said
that ought was their own. They said the Lord gave it to
us, and whoever has need is going to give it back. What's mine
is yours. That's what they would say. What's
mine is yours. That's what they said. Given. Given to hospitality.
And they said given to hospitality. Verse 14 in our text. Bless them
which persecute you. Bless and curse not. Oh, my. Oh, my. All right. The supreme example. And this
is what broke this sinner's heart. The Lord hanging on that cross.
And the very ones who put Him there, He said, Father, forgive
them. Stephen. while he was being stoned. And all those men were gritting
their teeth and wanting to mash his brains out. And they did.
And Stephen looked up to heaven and said, Lord, lay not this
sin to their charge. Bless them that persecute you. Bless and curse not. Rejoice,
verse 15, with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. You know, self-love keeps us
from rejoicing over the prosperity and the good of others. Love
envieth not. Love is not jealous. Envy and
jealousy keeps us from rejoicing. Self-love, self-pity, our self-pity
keeps us from weeping with others. We're so concerned with our own
trouble that we won't weep with others. That's so wrong. Our Lord is a man of sorrows
and acquainted with grief. He had the weight of the world
on His shoulders. He had every person's sins and
sorrows and sickness and trouble on His shoulders. Yet, He wept with them. and rejoiced, and cheered them
up. He was always cheering them up.
When he was a man of sorrow, he was always cheering them up. Be of good cheer. Well, his heart
was breaking. Oh, my Lord, help me be like
him. Read on. Verse 16. Be of the
same mind one toward another. Mine not high thing condescend
to men of low estate. Be wise in your own conceit.
We have the same mind, one to each other. Every disciple of
our Lord was different, weren't they? Maybe James and John were
similar. Maybe Simon and Andrew were similar. They were brethren. They were
blood kin. But Simon and John were so different. Thomas and Andrew were so different. The Lord chose them, didn't He?
And had them in His body. They were so different. But they lived together, were
brethren, and they treat each other the same. The same. And this follows, mine
not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Who were
our Lord's companions? Who did He make His friends? The high, the muck, the high-muckety-muck,
the mighty? Did He hobnob with the rich and
famous? James talked about this, didn't
he? Don't rich men oppress you? Do they really care about you?
We have leaders who say, I feel your pain. Yeah, right. Yeah, right. Mind not high things or people. Be not high minded. Be content
with lowly and base things. Oh my! Our Lord said, the things
of this world are vanity. Having food and raiment, be content. High things, we need to know
how to abound and how to be a base. We need to know how to enjoy
good things without being consumed with them, without being impressed
with them, without wanting them and coveting them. We need to
know how to be a base. Like that woman with just a little
bread and nothing else. All this in Christ too. I mean,
food and raiment is all we really need. Seekest thou great things
for thyself? Seek them not, it's all going
to end. It's all going to be destroyed. Condescend to men
of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits. Don't be a know-it-all. Nobody
likes a know-it-all, do they? Nobody. Nobody wants to be around
someone that always wants to tell their opinion. That's being
conceited. A believer has nothing to be
conceited about. That's pride. It's another word
for pride. Arrogant. Conceited. I am something. I know something. You need to
listen to them. That's being wise in your own
conceit. Vain conceit. Vain glory. Thinking we're something. Thinking
we know something. Can't do something when we're nothing. Be not wise
in our own conceit. Think about this. I love thinking
about this. Our Lord knew everything. He knew everything. And don't
you know, as they're walking along, all day long, every day
he's pointing out things. Now this is that, this plan is
that. Did you know that this is this? All day long, every day. He knew
everything. And yet, he said it, not condescendingly,
but in love. And they went, tell us more.
And some people who think they know everything, you say, I don't
want to hear any more. But not him. How can we be that
way if we know anything? Tell somebody. Don't live like
our Lord. Read on. It says, recompense,
verse 17, to no man evil for evil. Recompense evil, not evil
for evil. We live in an evil world. And
there's still evil within us. So don't repay evil with evil.
It never stops. It's never going to stop. It's
always there. Sufficient for tomorrow is the evil thereof. You're not going to put an end
to it by recompensing evil with evil. I'll show him. I'll get
to him. Vengeance is never paid by us. It just keeps going. It keeps
snowballing. He says that in a moment of vengeance. He says in verse 17, for five
things honest in the sight of all men. Up front, open. Honesty. Honesty is not just
the best policy, it's the only policy. Because everything is
open in the sight of God. So he says, be open, be honest
before me. Verse 18, if it be possible,
as much as life can give you. Live peaceably with all men,
if possible. Now, it seems like some people
it's just not possible. You got any neighbors? They're
just not going to be at peace with you. Anybody. God forbid
that a brother should be that way. Peacemakers are called to children
of God. If possible, live peaceably. David said, I'm for peace, but
they're for war. So, if possible, be a peacemaker. Be a peacemaker with all men.
All men, if possible. Verse 19, Dearly beloved, avenge
not yourself, but rather give place unto wrath. Give place
unto wrath. Don't avenge yourself. Give place
means, we would say in our day, Let it go. Just let it go. Listen to Ephesians 4. Same thing. Listen to this. He said, give
not place to wrath. In Ephesians 4 he said, let not
be angry and sin not. Let not the sun go down upon
your wrath. Neither give place to the devil. That's what he's all about. Strive
division, anger, try to separate very friends. Don't give him
place. Resist it. Help. Make peace. Make peace. Anger and wrath is
exactly what he wants. Our God demands peace. Venge not yourself. He says vengeance
is mine. Verse 20, Therefore if thine
enemy hunger, feed him. If he thirsts, give him drink. And so do him, thou shalt heap
coals of fire on his head." Peter dealt with these very things
and he talked to women who were married to unbelieving men and
says they might behold your chaste conversation, be won by that.
He said men may behold They speak evil of you as evildoers, but
they might be ashamed when they falsely accuse your good conversation
in Christ. Who is he that will harm you
if you are followers of that which is good? But if you suffer
for Christ, that's one thing. That's wonderful, but it's the
will of God. You suffer for well-doing and
for evil-doing. But he said, bless them that
curse you. Maybe there will be one over
you, heat coals of fire, shame on their head when they see,
oh my, I've condemned an innocent man. I'll give you an illustration. My daughter, when she was in
school, the Lord saved her at an early age, sixteen. And when
she was a senior in high school, there was one girl who treated
her badly. all the time. She was a bully. Loud mouth, boisterous, make
fun of her, mock her, treated her badly. But my daughter just
tried to treat her like this, okay? A few years later, now
this young woman who was treating everyone badly and abusive, a
bully, A few years later, Hannah was working here in the hospital,
Franklin Hospital, and she went into a room to tend to a patient,
and it was a girl. And she had been brutally beaten
and amused. And she saw it was Hannah. And she fell on her neck and
begged her forgiveness for the way she treated her back at school. She said, you were so kind to
me, and I was so mean to you. Forgive me. Forgive me. Last verse. Be not overcome of
evil, but overcome evil with good. One more minute, okay? Three ways to overcome evil.
not be overcome by it. There's evil without. There's
evil within. How can I keep from being overcome
by this evil? Three ways. Faith, hope, and
love. Faith, this evil is sent by God. The Lord sent, like David said,
of Shimei, the Lord sent him to cuss me. Our Lord said, No
evil shall befall you. In the truest sense of the word,
whatever it is, it's not evil. It's for our good. Though it's
evil in its essence, it's not evil in its purpose from God.
It's good. Faith. The Lord said, Hope. Hope in His mercy. Hope in His
grace. Hope in His mercy and His goodness
and His grace. Hope with all things. Hope. Turn
him. Turn us. And we'll be turned. Hope. When evil befalled Bill
David's family, he encouraged himself in his God. He took hope. He hoped in God. Hope in God,
he said. Why aren't you cast out? Hope.
And the greatest of these three, though, is love. Love. Love beareth all things. Love believeth all things. Love
believeth the best. Love hopeth all things. Love
endureth all things. Love covereth a multitude of
sins. Evil, love will cover it. No matter how bad it is, love
will cover it. Love overcomes evil. The greatest
example? Christ. The greatest evil ever done by
man was the love of God in Christ
on the cross. Lord help us. Stand with me. Our God and our Father, we ask
for Your grace. You give grace. You give grace. You upbraid not. lack wisdom, grace, mercy, let
him ask of God, and giveth liberally, and upbraideth not. Lord, forgive
us. We need upbraided. We need reproved and rebuked,
exhorted, admonished. We need chastened. But Lord,
help us. Give us grace. We need Thy grace. We need Thy grace. And we ask
for it for Your glory and honor, our own by glory and honor, that
you make us like the Lord Jesus Christ. Thank you, Lord, for
being so forgiving, so loving, so merciful, so gracious, so
kind, so long-suffering, bearing all things, enduring all things
for us. We thank you. In Christ's name,
amen. You do this because you have
to.