Some Exhortations

Q: What does the Bible say about examining ourselves?

The Bible instructs believers to examine themselves to ensure they are in the faith (2 Corinthians 13:5). In 2 Corinthians 13:5, the Apostle Paul urges believers to examine themselves to see whether they are in the faith. This is crucial for self-awareness in the Christian life. It's important to differentiate between self-examination, which aligns with God's Word, and self-trust, which can lead to liberalism. Believers are called to search their hearts openly before God, recognizing their need for Christ and understanding that in their flesh dwells no good thing. This self-examination is not to induce despair but to encourage believers to affirm their faith and grow in their relationship with Christ.

Q: How do we know that Christ is in us?

We know Christ is in us by the presence of the Spirit and our love for the brethren (1 John 3:14). The assurance that Christ is in us is supported by the work of the Holy Spirit and the evidence of love for our brethren. As stated in 1 John 3:14, 'We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren.' This love is not merely a feeling but an active expression of Christ's love within us, demonstrating the transformative work of God in our lives. Additionally, the Apostle Paul refers to believers as those who possess a pure heart, a good conscience, and sincere faith—all signs of Christ's indwelling presence. Thus, our love for others serves as a vital indicator of our genuine relationship with Christ.

Q: Why is it important to live in peace with others?

Living in peace with others reflects the nature of God and is essential for communal harmony (Romans 12:18). Living in peace with others is an essential aspect of the Christian faith. Romans 12:18 encourages believers to 'if possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.' This reflects God's nature and the unity that Christ desires among His followers. Peacekeeping within the body of Christ promotes a spirit of love and fellowship and aligns with the command to love one another as Christ loved us. When believers strive for peace, they manifest the characteristics of God's children, serving as a testimony to the world of the transformative power of the Gospel. Additionally, Jesus teaches that peacemakers are called the children of God, underlining the necessity of maintaining peace as part of a believer's calling.

Q: How does maturity in faith manifest in a believer's life?

Maturity in faith is evidenced through confidence in Christ, a Christ-like life, and mature relationships with others (Ephesians 4:11-15). Maturity in faith manifests as believers grow in their relationship with Christ, increasingly reflecting His character in their lives. Ephesians 4:11-15 outlines the purpose of church leadership as equipping believers for the work of ministry, thereby edifying the body of Christ until all attain unity in faith and knowledge of the Son of God. This maturity encompasses several aspects: it involves growing in confidence in Christ amidst trials, living by faith consistently, and expressing love and patience toward others. A spiritually mature believer exhibits strength in faith, offers comfort through encouragement, and maintains spiritual unity in the body, actively seeking to build up others rather than tear them down. As they grow, they become more capable of discerning truth and less susceptible to false teachings.

Q: What does it mean to have a good conscience as a believer?

A good conscience arises from trusting in Christ's perfect sacrifice, leading to freedom from guilt (Hebrews 10:22). A good conscience is a vital aspect of the Christian life, reflecting a heart that is aligned with God's truth. According to Hebrews 10:22, believers are encouraged to draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having their hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience. This cleanliness comes from resting in Christ's perfect sacrifice, which assures believers of their forgiveness and acceptance before God. It fosters an ongoing relationship characterized by trust rather than fear. A good conscience is also maintained through confession and repentance, acknowledging sin while knowing we have an advocate in Christ. This leads to spiritual maturity, where one's actions and thoughts are consistent with God's Word, promoting a life of integrity and confidence in the believer's standing before God.

All right, let's turn to 2 Corinthians
13. 2 Corinthians 13. I vaguely remember preaching
from this before, but that doesn't matter. It's so needful, so profitable. It was to me in study of it.
And you may recognize the text because we began the message
Sunday morning from this passage, and this is a continuation of
that message. I fully intended to get down
to verse 11, which is our text tonight, but didn't. And I'm always glad. That means
you have a little liberty, you know, if you don't get all the
way through your notes. And I'm just happy. Barney used
to have some notes. I hope we don't have to use them. Notes are kind of flesh, aren't
they? They have to depend on the flesh,
that's for sure. Brother Fortner said one time,
he said, I always have, I make an effort to have good notes
because if the Lord does not bless me with some liberty, if
I read what he blessed in my study, then the people will profit. And that's good advice, too.
And a lot of fellows jump up here full of presumption, thinking
the Lord's going to bless them. try to preach extemporaneously,
you know, and it's obvious they're trying. Okay, this is a continuation,
like I said, of Sunday morning's message from verse 5. Let's look
at that again. Verse 5 says, examine yourselves. Examine yourselves. It tells
us to do so. It tells us to. And there is a difference between
examining yourself and trusting in yourself. It's a big difference
between just merely doing what God says and liberalism. As my brother and I were talking,
there is a difference in looking at yourself from the Scripture. The Scripture is called a mirror-looking
lamp. We look at it, we see ourselves.
We must, mustn't we? We must take a good look at ourselves. There's a difference in looking
at yourself and looking to yourself, right? We must look at ourselves,
examine ourselves. If we're afraid to do so, then
we have to suspect what's there, right? Afraid of what we might
find. Now, we've got to come like David,
Lord, search me, try me, see if there'll be any wicked way
in me. as if he'd have a hard time finding something. What
he means is, Lord, there's plenty there, search it out and show
me. We read that passage there where Paul said, put it away.
Not only put off these outward things of the flesh, but put
off these too, malice and anger and so forth, attitudes, right? So we come naked before God and
say, open me up, search my heart out to me, right? So there's
a difference in looking at yourself and looking to yourself. And
we're told to examine yourselves, whether you be in the faith.
Now examine yourselves, if you measure up to God's standard,
we fall way short, all of sin becomes
short, way short of any precept or commandment in God's Word,
any. We have to conclude with Paul that, uh, they're in my
flesh, but of no good thing. No good thing. And, uh, but we're
told to do so. We're told to examine ourselves
to see if Christ is there. Prove your own self. Know ye
not, do ye know whether or not Christ is in you, except ye be
reprobate? For that is one who doesn't care,
doesn't give it a thought. So this is written to believers.
It's obvious. This is written to believers.
This is written to those who believe and trust and know and
love the Lord Jesus Christ, whom Christ is in them by faith and
hope and love. They're not reprobates. They're
not void of judgment. But they've come to some conclusion,
like, Paul, I know whom I have believed. And these are believers
who—Paul said this. We have preached on this. In 1 Timothy 1.5, Paul said,
those that have love out of a pure heart, or that is, love for Christ
out of an unmixed or a heart that doesn't have an ulterior
motive. We don't love Christ or seek Him because we want to
escape hell and get to heaven. Right? We love Christ because
He's Christ. We love Him. Not what we can
get out of him. Right? That's a hypocritical
heart. Pure heart. That is pure love
to the person. Right? A pure heart. Love out
of a pure heart and of a good conscience, and faith unfeigned. And as Scott said, the only thing
that can give you a good conscience is a perfect sacrifice. Right? If you're looking to Christ and
his blood and his righteousness, which will give you a conscience
void of offense, and free from dead works. You're not trying
to work your way to heaven. That means you're trusting Christ.
And, Lord, if you're really trusting Christ, you're loving Christ.
You're loving Him for what He's done for you. Right? A good conscience
and faith on faith. You're not faking this thing.
You're not trying to show everybody what a good Christian you are.
You just believe Christ. So this is to you. And I just
like the looks of this crowd here tonight. There's not a person
in here that I don't have a certain amount of confidence in, that
you know Christ. Isn't that good? Well, I hope
it's true about all of us. I hope it's true about me. But
that's just wonderful. There are very few pastor preachers,
I believe, that can stand before a crowd like this and say that
about every person in it. Isn't that wonderful? And he says, we need to know
ourselves. Know ye not? Know ye not? Well, this is written to those
who know, who do know. Yes, we may know. John said we
may know, didn't he, John? John said it, John. John. Didn't
he? Said it several times, didn't
he? First John, he said, Hereby we may know that he abideth in
us by the Spirit which he hath given up. And if you'll read
that passage, he's talking about the spirit of love to the brethren.
We know we've passed. We know we've passed from death
unto life because we love the brethren. And I gave an illustration
of that Sunday morning, talking about old Brother Ross back there,
which I apologize, buddy. You're not that old. Some of
them pretty old in here, too. But I gave an illustration of
that, how the work of God created love between two opposites. You
know? It's the work of God. Only God
would do something to unite people like that inseparably. Only God
would do that. Hereby we may know. We know we
pass from death unto life because we love the brethren. So you
who believe, who trust Christ, know you know. You who believe,
you who believe He's precious, He is precious to you who believe.
To you who believe, who the gospel is precious to, to you who his
people are precious to, this is written to you. There are
four exhortations here in verse 11, all right? Verse 11. In these
exhortations, look at the last part of verse 11. It says, and.
And, a conjunction there. In other words, it joins what
went before. It tells us that this is what
comes as a result, and that God of love and peace shall be with
you. Not that these things are conditions which you must meet
in order to have the favor of God, to be saved by God, to be
accepted by God, no. But these are conditions talking
about the communion of God and the fellowship of God. Are you
with me? Do you understand that, Terry? Let there be no mistake. This is not talking about salvation
here. Uh-uh. Oh, no. That is conditioned upon
one thing, being in Christ. His blood and his righteousness.
We are accepted in the—we are well-pleasing to God in the beloved. These things talk about the presence
of God, the communion of God, which a believer wants, which we should want above all
else, I believe we do. Peace, the God of love and peace. We do want to love Christ. We
do want to love one another. We do want peace, don't you?
Peace of mind, peace of heart, peace of conscience, and God's
presence. And he shall be with you. Okay? Have I got your interest now?
Has he? All right, look at the first
one. He says, timely brethren, farewell. Be perfect. Be perfect. All right, turn over to Ephesians
4 now. Ephesians 4. Keep your place
there. Be perfect. Now, you know he's
not saying that we are to be without flaw. That's an impossibility. He's not saying be sinless. Nobody can. He's not saying that. This is not an... holiness is
not an imperative. In other words, it's not something
he's commanding. Holiness is imputed. But what
he means by perfect here is mature. Be mature. Be well-rounded. Be whole. Be complete in every
area. Mature. Grow up to be a spiritual
man and not a baby. Grow up to be a spiritual woman,
not a child. Grow up. Don't remain children
except in malice. Be children in malice, he said
in one place. But that is not easily upset
and offended. It don't stay that way. easily
forget and get mad in a minute, one minute, and they're best
of friends and that. You know, it can be that way, he said,
in malice, but not in understanding, and not in these areas. Ephesians 4, look at it, verse
11 through 15, it says that the Lord gave some apostles and some
prophets and some evangelists and some pastors and teachers. That's one office, and for the
perfecting I can't make you holy." So he's
talking about the maturity of the saints for the work of the
ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all—read
on—till we all come into the unity of the faith, believing
the same one, the knowledge of the Son of God. That's what a
pastor, teacher, and prophets, evangelists, and so forth, are
for. to preach Christ, so we all—that
you might know Him, know Christ, and the knowledge of the Son
of God, unto a perfect or mature man. In other words, to be like
Christ, not only to know Christ, but be like Christ, the measure
of the stature or the age of the fullness of Christ. At thirty-three,
at twenty years, at fifteen years, he was a mature man. He's mature
in character and attitude and so forth. And surely 40, 50,
60, 70 years old, we ought to make a little progress along
those lines, right? Verse 14, His fault be no more
children, no more children tossed to and fro, carried about with
every wind of doctrine. I don't think anybody in here
is in danger of that. But I'll exhort you or warn you
anyway. I think you all are well-grounded
and settled in this gospel. But it's needful anyway, and
not carried about with every wind of doctrine by the slight
of men. I don't think you're going to—a stranger's voice you're
going to follow, but you'll flee it. Huh? I think you know his
voice. and cunning craftiness, whereby
they lie in wait to see. But, verse 15, speaking the truth,
Paul says, I'm speaking this in love, that you may grow up
into him, into Christ's likeness in all things, or into a knowledge
of him and into an image of him in all things. You see that? No more children, but mature. Now, here's several ways. that
we need to mature. We. We. I'm not preaching at
you. I'm talking to you from God's
Word. All right? Here's some ways we
need to mature, all of us, everyone. I examined my own self and saw
how far short I have come, and what I need, and I know what
I need you need, because I'm a man just like you. All right? We need to be perfect or we need
to be more mature in faith. No doubt about that, is it? In
faith. Faith is confidence in Christ. And all of these headings can
be under that. In fact, confidence in Christ. I want to, Nancy, I want to reach
the point where I can say with Paul, I know whom I believe in
and I'm persuaded. come hell or high water, nothing's
going to separate in faith. Confidence in Christ. Secondly,
we need to mature in life, in the way we live, in the way we
live. The Scripture says that just
shall live by faith. You remember studying that, John?
That just shall live by faith, not only Judicially or spiritually,
by faith in Christ. In Christ we have life because
He lives, therefore we live. But our lives are to be lived
by faith in Christ. Our lives should be lived by
faith in Christ, giving evidence of things not seen. We're not
to live by sight. If we live by the sight of our
eyes, and feelings, we'll be tossed to and fro, we'll be shaken,
won't we? We'll be troubled all the way.
See, the things that are seen are temporal, be it what they
may. Trials, troubles, afflictions, calamity, they're temporal. Temporal. Unshaken, we need to live by
faith. Unshaken, unmoved, not anxious. Not anxious. And that goes along with the
first heading, doesn't it? Faith in Christ, confidence in
Christ, believing that our Heavenly Father is in control, huh? And that he's sent his angel
to watch over you lest you dash your foot against a stone. A
thousand will fall here and ten thousand will die, but they'll
not come nigh you. Just an ounce of maturity along these lines,
right? In life, unshaken, unanxious,
not careful. He said, don't be careful about
so many things. We get so full of care about
the slightest little thing, don't we? It's one thing to be full
of care, anxious care about major things, but the little things,
we should be full of care. We'll mature a little bit along
some of these lines, don't we? Not fainting, not ready to just
quit. every minute, but living by trust in the living Christ,
in whose hands everything is. Everything's in His hands. We
need to live like that. We need to live by faith in Christ. We need to live, well, it said there in Colossians
3, Christ our life. We need to live in such a manner
that proves that Christ is indeed our life, not things, not people. Not things, not people. I overheard
someone say one time, talking about—and we love our husbands and wives and our families
don't. He'd be infidel if he didn't,
if he didn't love them. And we're commanded to love one
another as Christ loved the church and gave himself for it. We'd
be without natural affection if we didn't love one another.
I overheard someone say at one time in talking about their husband
that they would just don't think they could live if they lost
their husband. Well, you know, I understand
the flesh. I understand that. I understand
the love, and that is commendable to love someone that
much. But then again, Paul said for
me to live, is what? It's Christ. It's Christ. To die is gain. To die is to
go be with Christ, who is my husband, Isaiah 54. So when my
husband dies, or my wife dies, or my child dies, or someone
dies, if Christ is my first love, then I won't lose everything,
will I? Grief and sorrow are natural.
They're a sign of love. But if we love Christ more, nothing will separate us from
that, from him. Death joins us to him. So if
we make Christ and his people, here's another thing that's dangerous. And this is the reason Christ
said, if any man loves father, mother, husband, wife, son, or
daughter more than me, he cannot be my disciple. We make Christ and his people
our love. And understand me, God has to
do that, but it's nurtured. You can nurture that, Roberta,
can't you? How? Spend more time with God's people
than you do your own family. And therefore, when you lose,
blood won't be thicker. Flesh and blood won't be thicker
blood than spiritual blood. You understand? And besides,
you'll never lose these brothers and sisters, or husbands and
wives. Huh? You'll never lose them,
ever. You'll be able to say with full
confidence, well, he can't come to me, but I can go see him,
and I want to see him again. Is that not good advice? When
you mature in love, In that respect, in life, we need to live our
lives as if Christ is our life. And if He's not, we fail and
come short of that. Ask Him, Lord, Lord, I'm too
attacked. Brother Scott Richardson used
to say, Don't hold on to things so tight God has to break your
fingers. Man, I need that. Don't you? I'm telling you, I got a little
girl that I Say, I love her dearly. But if I love her too much, and
God takes her, what's going to happen to me? I better love Christ more, hadn't
I? I better. And in conversation,
we need to mature in conversation. That is, not only life, but we
need to mature in speech. He said, let your speech be seasoned
with grace. Salt, too, needs to be savory. Our speech has been too unsavory,
too long, hasn't it? We wrote that in Colossians 3.
We said, speaking to one another, you know, in songs and hymns
and spiritual songs and so forth. Our speech is too much murmuring
and complaining, isn't it? It's time we get a little older. start maturing a little bit,
and start living thankful lives. Right, Roberta? Instead of waking
up in the morning with, oh, my, bursitis. Bursitis. Huh? Every one of us are guilty, guilty,
guilty of murmuring and complaining. That's just unbelief and ingratitude,
what that is. We've got so much to be thankful
for. and really nothing. Our problems are in a fraction
of what they ought to be. Huh? Not a fraction of what they
ought to be. And then we need to mature in
patience. Turn to James chapter 1. In patience. A brother, I was with a brother
the other day, and we were talking about my little minor life affliction,
which is nothing. My brother called me up and said,
Well, you've been through this. I'm so glad you're feeling better.
And I am, incidentally. I've gone three days now without
one pain, and I feel like the Lord has gotten over this. Anyway, he said, You've been
through so much. Brother Todd, he was cut from here to here,
and down his leg His head open, his neck, he's got scars all
over his body. Wrapped with pain. Thirty some
odd days in the hospital. I said, look, Todd, I ain't been
doing nothing. Nothing. But that's what he says. I ain't been doing anything. Well, um, but I was telling a
brother the other day, I said, I was sure he'd gladdened. This
week, I said, I'll be sure be glad when this is over. Well,
it didn't last any time. And the reason things come, James
1, the reason being, look at this. Verse 2, Bethlehem counted
all joy when you fall into different temptations. Trials. Brother Todd and I were talking,
he said, isn't it, you know, it was a blessing, wasn't it?
Trials like, and it is. They are a blessing. The Lord
gets, it's Because more close to you, His Word becomes more
real and precious to you, and He bears witness to the truth
of His Word in your spirit and your heart more than ever. Spurgeon said, I learned more
on my bed of affliction than anywhere. Newton and all of them
said the same thing. But He does. He proves it. If
you go through the Word of God, too, you'll notice how much of
it is talking about affliction. to the afflicted, to the oppressed,
to the downcast, and this and that, to the hurting, to those
in trial and tribulation. About the whole Word of God is
to people like that. And so, therefore, the Word of
God becomes real. Brother Todd said, it was a blessing,
wasn't it? I said, yeah, yeah, for a while. For a while. And I got tired of it. We need patience, right? You
need patience. Read it. Know this, brethren,
that the trying of your faith worketh patience. And that's
what we need more than anything, don't we? Patience is simply
waiting on the Lord. That's what it is. Waiting on
the Lord. And he says, verse 4, let patience
have her perfect work. Let patience have her perfect
work, her maturing work. It's maturing. Patience is a
mature virtue, isn't it? You're not going to find patience
in a child. Huh? When are we going to get there?
Five more minutes. Two minutes past five. When are
we going to get there? Huh? How much longer? I used to drive my dad crazy.
Oh, with four kids, you know. How much longer? You know how
your kids did you? How much longer? We do the same thing with our
God, don't we? Huh? But time span is really just
as short, comparatively. Isn't it? What is your life?
The baker? Roberta, you went through those headaches for so
long. It's so long. Wasn't long, was it? Huh? Well, you seemed
like it when you were going through it. How much longer, Lord, am
I going to have to go through this? Won't be long. Won't be
long. Huh? Violet, did you ever think
you were going to get through that? That ordeal? It's gone. It's gone. Patience. If patience have a perfect work,
then you may be perfect, mature, and entire, wanting nothing.
Kids are always wanting something, aren't they? Adults, we should reach some
state of contentment. I've got everything I need. I've
got my health. If anything, that's what sickness
serves to do, doesn't it, Rebecca? It serves to make you thankful
for good health. We need that. We need patience. We need patience under trial.
Listen to this. Let's put this in our bulletin
one time, and you may remember it. And it's such a powerful,
powerful statement. You know, patience under trial. Well, let me just quote it. Brother
Scott Richardson said, most believers, most believers will have one
big trial in their life. The scripture says, you know,
that he won't put on you more than you're able to bear, but
with the trial make a way of escape. Right? He's not cruel. He's kind. And he won't put on
you more than you've got through that day. You got through both
of you. You lost your husband. You got
through it, didn't you? You're here. You're smiling. Huh? You're not distraught. You're
smiling. I'm talking about your husband now. Christ. Christ, who is infinitely kind. And he wouldn't put upon you
more than you can... Well, he said most believers,
though, will go through one big trial. And he said they'll have one
opportunity in their lifetime. to witness a good testimony for
Christ. Brother Richardson said that,
and he bore up to that when he went through it. Well, he went
through something where he lost a little girl, a young girl,
a first or second child, I forget which, and didn't quit the ministry.
Most believers will have one good trial, which is their one
opportunity to witness a good testimony of the cross. So we need to be patient under
trial, don't we? And in works, if you look at—are
you still there in James? If you look up at Hebrews there,
right up above the page—and I need to hurry. Hebrews 13, look at
verse 20 and 21. Hebrews 13, "...and the God of
peace," verse 20, "...the God of peace that brought again from
the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep,
through the blood of the everlasting covenant," what a passage, "...make
you perfect." mature in every good work to do his will, working
in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight through Jesus Christ,
through his power, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen?
So it works. We need to mature. Also in love. Colossians 3. Turn back over
there. We read Colossians 3. Maturity
in love. Colossians 3. Christ-likeness. Right? Bond of perfection, seal of maturity,
is what confirms the character of Christ in you. By this shall
all men know. Now, what he said there? By this. They hear your testimony, that's
fine. They see it, that's even better. They see your love, your
chosen, active love, your true love, pure love. Undeniable. That proves it. That seals it.
That seals it. Love one another as Christ. How
we love? Says, as Christ loved us. How's
that? Well, unconditionally. Unconditionally. Huh? It's love not conditioned
upon getting something from somebody. Huh? You just love the person.
It's love in spite of. We have to provoke one another
to love, like I said, because we provoke one another to wrath
so often. We provoke somebody. We have
to try to make somebody love us. We have to love each other
in spite of one another, don't we? Huh? In spite of our wickedness. Forbearing and forgiving. That's
how Christ loved, wasn't He? Forgiving and forgetting. Aren't
you so glad not only he forgave, but he forgets? Huh? You ever had anybody say that
to you, Barbara? I'll forgive you, but I won't
forget. And later on, it's obvious. They wait one chance to get even.
That's not love, is it, huh? You forgot what your children
did to you, haven't you? The worst thing they've possibly
done, you forgot it, because you love them. That's where we
need to be with one another, right? Forgiving and forgetting,
forbearance, long-suffering. Sure glad he puts up with us,
Joe. At least we can do this. Why don't we put up with each
other a little bit? Actively, fervently, selflessly, looking
on the things of others, without partiality. God's people don't
play favorites. Christ doesn't. He said, have
not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ with respect to persons.
How would y'all feel about me if I spent more time with Stan
Anderson than I did everybody else? Huh? You'd resent it, wouldn't you? What if I doted over Rick's children
more than I did somebody else's? Huh? There's partiality in it.
Oh, no. Oh, no. You know, little children
do that. Little children get in and have
their best friends. Have their best friend. Every
believer's the other believer's best friend. Huh? We're alike,
brothers. We're alike. Aren't you thankful
Christ doesn't show favorites? Or else Moses and Paul and David
and all, they'd be on the inner circle. That's what the, who
is it? What denomination is it? It says there's going to be 144,000
in the inner circle and the rest are guests. They're witnesses. Let's just say that. 144,000
close, close to the Lord. The rest of them just kind of
out on the outside looking in. Oh no, if you're in Christ, you
ain't on the outside. Right? I'm sure glad the Lord doesn't
love with partiality. You know, he looks down, if anything,
he says, show more respect to the least, you know, the least. True religion, pure and undefiled
for God the Father, visit the witted. Well, be perfect. Be perfect. There's nobody in here truly
mature in all these respects, isn't it? Including me. So we
need this, don't we? We need that? Yeah, we do. What's
the next one here in our text? 2 Corinthians 13. The next one
is, be of good comfort. Come on, stay with me now. This
is good. This is vital. This is needful. This is profitable. The Lord will bless one word
of this, we'll get something out of it. If he would instill
one principle of this in us, Terry, we'd go out of here a
better man, a better woman, or at least on the way to being
a man and a woman. One principle of these things.
Be of good comfort. Be of good comfort. Part of being
mature in the faith is to be comforted by the gospel. Be comforted
by the word of God. Let the word of God dwell in
you richly," it said. Whatsoever is written is written
for our learning that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures. The Lord didn't write the scriptures
just to give men Simon's to preach on Sunday. It's his word full
of promises to his people, his children. Right? To comfort them. To comfort them. Right? to comfort
His sheep. That's what His Word is all about.
It's not for sermons. It's to comfort His people. That
we, through comfort, through patience and comfort of the Scriptures,
might have what? Hope! And not sorrows, those
who don't have any. There's something wrong with—and
all of us get like this, but listen to exactly the way I worded
it. Something wrong with someone's faith if they're always cast
down. Now, all of us are cast down
at times. David would seem so melancholy at times, didn't he?
So depressed and down, he'd say, didn't he? Are thy mercies clean,
God? Huh? Has God forgotten to be
gracious? But Joe, he'd turn around and
say, Why have I so cast down on myself? I will yet hope in
God. In the face of my sins, in the
face of the hardest trial, for us, he—nobody went through his—nobody
has gone through any tougher trials than David. Right? Sure. But there's something wrong
with somebody's faith that they're always cast down. That's not
spiritual. They're going around moping around
all the time. Is it? No. And there's something wrong,
and there's something wrong with our love, or our knowledge of
His love, if we're always fearful of losing our salvation. Uh-huh. One of our ladies, and we were discussing, One of our
ladies, she's not this way now, but for a while, she, every time
I'd talk to her, she would just, she'd just curse, she'd just
say, oh, I'm so sinful, I'm not, I'm not the child of God. And
I'd say, join the club. Every time I'd just say, get
off of that. It's not bad. And I'd say something
like, when he's found you, you's a sinner and you ain't gonna
be nothing else. until he's done with you. What a sinner! He knew
what he was getting when he got you. And he's never going to
get something much better, is he, Joe? He doesn't have to do
anything in you to boot. This is a faithful saying, and
worthy of all acceptation, and will cheer the saddest out. Christ
came to save sinners. The truth, I'll say it. The worst. The rottenest. The glittermost.
He gets glory. Perfect love casts out fear. That's not talking about our
love. Our love is fickle, isn't it?
Up and down, up and down. It's talking about His love.
Huh? He said, I love you with an everlasting
love. Oh, you can't love me. I said
it, didn't I? Huh? Fear in His love. Not that we love God, but He
loved us, even while we were yet sinners. Right? Terry, that love, His love should
cast out all your fear. Your children's knowledge of
your love should cast out all their fear of ever being cast
out. Right? They never need worry of being
kicked out of the house if their daddy loves them. Your love's
not perfect. You might someday. God won't. Yes, love's perfect. When he
starts loving somebody, he never quits. Right? And he'll never
cast him out. That'll cast out fear. To the
worst of sinners. How many do the worst of sinners?
Grieve over your sin. Be sorry for it. Repent it. Repent
of it. But don't call into question
God's love. Isn't that good? Isn't that comforting? Huh? If we confess our sin, He's faithful. He's faithful. He's so faithful. And just. He can forgive. Why?
Because he's faithful. Past, present, and future. Is
there no comfort, no consolation in God's Word? Is there? Yes. Is there no balm in Gilead? None. Is there none to be found? Vicki,
is there a balm in Gilead? Is there comfort in the gospel? Is there comfort in Christ? Is
there comfort in his word? If not, throw her out the window. Get you Norman Vincent Peale's
book out. Huh? And strive for some PMA. Or else believe God. Let's start
believing God. You grow up, don't you, in that
respect? Just start believing. Be of good
comfort. Oh, dear, what comfort! Don't you tell my daughter, you
know, you know what's bad when we dwell on it? Let me tell you
how to be of good comfort. Here's a good way. One way to
eliminate being overly despondent, depressed, and we all get like
this. One way to eliminate that is
to think on things of others. If anybody could have been despondent,
rightfully so, it would have been the Lord Jesus Christ himself, whose life was sought after from
the day he was born, a man of sorrows acquainted with nothing
but grief, made sin, the weight of the world. You think we've got responsibilities
and trials and trouble. The weight of the world was on
his shoulders. All time and eternity depended
upon Him, fulfilling every jot and tittle. Was that already
a responsibility? He thought on things about us.
He was always thinking on things about us. And that brings me
to my next point there. It says, Be of one mind. Be of
one mind. Be of one mind. Not only humility
of mind, I'm the less and the least, you know, we needn't believe
that because that's what we are. We need to be humble. We've got
nothing to be proud of, but have a mind of Christ. And that's
what I was just dwelling on, be a servant. Let this mind be
in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who thought it not robbery
to be equal with God. but was made a servant, made
himself a servant. He was a servant. He wasn't minding
his own things, but the things of others. And, Violet, the surest
way to keep from being depressed about your own situation is to
think about Ellen's. Huh? Isn't that right? Isn't
that right? It sure is. If not Ellen, somebody
else, it's worse. And there is somebody worse.
It is somebody's work. What was it that happened the
other day in our house? Something happened. Oh, man,
I had a lot of homework. The teacher, she's got, it's
just loading them down with homework. And Mindy was feeling sorry for
them. She said, oh, she's got too much work to do. I said,
Mindy. I said, honey, you've forgotten our trip to Mexico.
I said our little girl doesn't have to carry a bundle of sticks
on her head up a hill barefooted. She just has to sit down and
do a little homework. The little girl's three or four years old. That's the reason they grow up
to be little women like this. I tell you, you want to get out
of our burdens despondency and depression, you start thinking
about somebody else. Think on things about it. And
we don't have to look far. We don't have to go to Mexico
to find it. We can look in our own congregation and find somebody
else that's worse off than us. Huh? Sure. We have one mind and purpose,
to where all come in the unity of the faith, Paul said. The
glory of God and the good of others. You know, if we'd get
off our And I say our, aren't I saying our? Am I preaching
at you? Am I saying us, we, our? Okay. I am. I mean this. It's for me
too. There's another way, you know, to keep from getting so
down is to seek the good of others. Look on the things of others.
Seek the good of others. You know, Stan, if I'm always
so self-centered, and concerned about my rights and my feelings
and, oh, nobody asked me about how I'm doing today, you know.
No, they didn't because they know what you're going to say.
They know you'll start complaining. No, but seriously, if we just
quit being so self-centered and feeling so sorry for ourselves
and start looking with compassion and thinking about others, you
know, in the good of others, in the good of the body, and
say, well, I'm not going to let my sadness and sorrow and my
affliction and everything ruin everybody else's. You know, we
come here to worship. What am I doing here? To get
some pity? Why did I come this morning?
So I can tell everybody how bad I feel? Or did I come to worship
God in an endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit? Did I come
here, Joe, to worship Christ or that people might dote on
me." Huh? Isn't that good advice? That
one mind of purpose, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit,
purpose, and our purpose for a church, for being here. The
only reason you're here is to add to the body of Christ, not
take away from it. And he said, if you're not gathering
with Him, you're scattering, and He just might scatter you.
Right? So we need, and our purpose for
being here is not to be pitied, but it's to be a help. A help. Lastly, he says, live
in peace. Live in peace. And we read how
he said to put away malice and these things, envy, jealousy,
hatred, strife, division. Be at peace. Lies within you
live in peace with all men, especially, especially the household of faith,
right? Especially. Christ said that
the peacemakers are the children of God, not the troublemakers,
the peacemakers. And there are no troublemakers
in here. Not in principle. We all do it
one time or another. Everybody in here is going to
make trouble. I'm going to come in with a sour look, I'm going
to get mad at somebody, or aggravated at somebody coming in later,
and a kid doing this, and a nursery this, and it's going to come
out in my preaching, and that's going to bother somebody. I'm
going to disturb the peace of the fellow. I'm going to do that,
and you're going to do it too. You're going to come in late,
and you're going to make a stir in the nursery, and bless y'all's peacemakers. They're
the children of God. And the promise is, and the God
of love and peace shall be with you. And here's the illustration. I remember as a child, when us
kids were arguing, which was a lot, especially my
middle brother and I. He, oh my. Oh my. There were holes in the wall
upstairs where he banged my head through it. And probably I deserved it. Probably so, you know. You know, if you had brothers
and sisters, you know. But that used to get at my dad
more than anything. More than anything. I used to
aggravate him more than anything, and he'd end up punishing all
of us. You know. We thought that was
so unfair, but what he wanted was peace. Right? Peace between the brethren. He
wouldn't want to smile on us. Twelve years, Paul, he's the
baby, he never does wrong, and then get after Danny the second.
No. Why can't y'all get along? Huh? And they ought to be able to,
if they shouldn't, brothers. And so should they. God's not going
to smile on us or bless us with his favor or his presence. I mean, not favor, but presence.
if there's contention and trouble in the family. Be at peace among
yourself. The fruit of righteousness is
sown in peace of them that make peace. So the promise is that
God of love and peace shall be with you. Be mature, be of good
comfort. Be of one mind and purpose. Live
in peace. God will be with you. God will
bless you with his presence. If we don't grow in numbers,
at least we'll grow in maturity spiritually, right? In the character
of Christ. That's what we want more than
anything. All right, stand with me. Our Heavenly Father, would you
take just one word and make it effectual? Make it effectual. You said, you promised, we call
you to be true to your promise that your word would not return
void. It would accomplish something,
whatever you sent it to do. And Lord, we ask, we pray, each
one of us individually. I pray that everyone in here
right now is praying with me for themselves, for me, for one
another. that you would indeed instill
these principles in us, in me, in them, in us as a church, as
a body, till we all grow up in the unity of the faith, the knowledge
of the Son of God, and we all might make an increase of one
another in love, increase of the body in love. The fruit of
righteousness may be sown in this place in peace by them that
make peace. May we be called the children
of God and peacemakers. Hold us up by the Spirit, Lord.
None of these things are possible without your divine aid and help
and almighty power. We ask that you would do this.
That's why we're praying. That's why we're calling on you
now to make this effectual. We may strive as we may and not
accomplish anything without your power. We ask you, dear Lord,
to honor your word. in our lives and in this church. For the glory of Christ, for
the good of the church, we pray these things and are met together
tonight. Amen.

Some Exhortations

What does the Bible say about examining ourselves?

How do we know that Christ is in us?

Why is it important to live in peace with others?

How does maturity in faith manifest in a believer's life?

What does it mean to have a good conscience as a believer?

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Some Exhortations

What does the Bible say about examining ourselves?

How do we know that Christ is in us?

Why is it important to live in peace with others?

How does maturity in faith manifest in a believer's life?

What does it mean to have a good conscience as a believer?

Sermon Transcript

About Paul Mahan

Comments

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