12 Corrupt Men?

Well, good morning, brethren. Today I'd like to welcome you and tell you right up front that I'm going to give two sermons today. I know what you're thinking. Mr. Thomas, if you would get it right the first time, you probably wouldn't have to do the second sermon. Well, actually, I'm going to give the same brief sermon two times in a row.

This sermon that I give two times in a row is going to have the same basic scriptures both times, and it's going to cover the same theme. The difference is how I'm going to approach this sermon. The attitude that I'm going to have, looking at the same information both times, and how it changes my perception of events and people.

So I'm going to approach this sermon with the attitude or mindset that I will have when presenting it. The first attitude is going to be from the approach of this scripture. If you'll turn there with me. Galatians 5.14.

And this is what Paul wrote to the church in Galatia. He said, For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by another one another.

It's a pretty strong warning. And something we need to understand and appreciate that we do not want to become angry or bitter or have ill feelings of ill will towards anyone through the situation that we've experienced. Paul continues to verse 16, I say, Then walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit. And you shall see they are contrary. The fruits of the Spirit and the flesh, what he'll in a minute call the words of the flesh, are contrary to each other.

They are incompatible. We either have one mindset and attitude in the way that we look in the world and look at our spouse and look at our jobs and look at our church, or we're going to have another one, continuing the flesh lusts against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh. And these are contrary to one another so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. So you're not going to be under the penalty of death or any condemnation of the law if you are led by God's Spirit.

Because God literally resides in you through His Spirit. You are righteous because Christ is living in you. He makes you righteous in spite of your flaws and imperfections. But He goes on here in verse 19 and talks about qualities that stop us from getting into the kingdom of God. He says, verse 19, now, the works of the flesh are evident. They are adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred. Hatred is when we acquire an attitude in which we despise something, in which we begin to loathe it, in which we begin to hate it.

Contentions. Contention is when we think we know better and we're not open-minded and we close other people off. Or we try to humiliate them. Or we try to shut down their ideas because we're trying to dominate them. That causes contentions. Jealousy is when someone else has something that we don't and we want it. Whether it's a title or money or whatever, that is what He calls a work of the flesh.

Outbursts of wrath. That's when you become out of control. You get all emotional over something and you say things that are just outbursts, that are offensive, that hurt other people. Selfish ambitions. That's another work of the flesh. When our motives are selfish, what's in it for me? My hurts, my feelings are most important more than anything else. Dissensions. Obviously, when you refuse to work with someone and walk together in harmony and unity. And that, every case that I've ever known, in order to avoid a dissension, one or both parties have to be willing to submit and be humble. I mean, that's what I have just found from personal experience.

Heresies. Literally changing doctrines that we know to be true into something else. Envy. Murder. Drunkenness. Revelries. And the like, of which I tell you beforehand, just as I told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

So, after reading that scripture, I'm going to use the approach in the first sermon, using the works of the flesh that I just described here. And I want you, in your mind as I'm saying this, to see if this sounds maybe familiar to what you've read lately, or maybe similar to some conversations that you might have had lately.

Now, I want to give a disclaimer. Like they did, I think it was 1938. They had a show called The War of the Worlds. Have you ever heard of that? And it was kind of realistic, and the Martians invaded the United States. And every once in a while in the broadcast, they had to stop and say, this is just a dramatization. The Martians have not landed. They have not really. And in spite of all of that, indeed, some people tuned into the middle of the broadcast and were in a panic and called. And it got to the point afterwards that Orson Welles had to publicly apologize in a news conference because the War of the Worlds had shaken up so many people.

So I want to give a little bit of a disclaimer. This is not really me. All right? This, I'm just demonstrating how one can take certain events and begin to think and act and believe if we're being led by the works of the flesh instead of the Spirit of God. So let's begin. And remember that this is intended to be a little brash, even whimsical at times. And it crosses the line of decency to reflect simply what I've been hearing, what I've been seeing for months, and some attitudes that are out there because of being led by the works of the flesh.

Today I'd like to give you a sermon, and I want to expose twelve corrupt frauds.

These men and their organization is not worthy of your time, your support, or your participation. Actually, I don't even have to look at all twelve of them. I only need to look at their leaders to help you to conclude everything you need to know. I'm going to give you undisputed evidence from their own internal documents that these men are liars, politicians, they're insensitive, they're corrupt, and they're unethical. And I'm telling you, don't you support them anymore. So let's now begin to look at the leaders of these twelve corrupt frauds.

Turn with me, if you would, to Mark 14 and verse 24. Oh, this is one of them. This is just a classic because this man has so many negative traits that it's unbelievable. This man's name was Peter. And if you'll turn with me to Mark 14 and verse 24, this is an event that occurs that shows his true colors.

Mark 14 and verse 24. It says, But he spoke, this is Peter, more vehemently. Look, everybody else around here is a gutless coward. But I'm telling you this, if I have to die with you, I will not deny you. And they all followed up and said likewise.

So I want you to see right here that this guy Peter is known to be so tough and public, of course, when everyone's watching. But what does he do when the chips are down? Well, he always wants to make this daring show that he's so committed and he's so devoted to Jesus. But does he? Well, let's see. Let's go here in verse 66 of Mark 14. It says, Now as Peter Lowe was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls as a high priest came.

And when she saw Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said, You also were with Jesus of Nazareth. But he denied it, saying, I'm either known or understand what you're saying. And he went out on the porch in a rooster crowed. And the servant girl saw him again and began, and those who stood by, this is one of them. But he denied it again. And a little later, those who stood by said to Peter again, Surely you were one of them, for you're a Galilean and your speech shows it.

Then, I want you to get this from this guy, the so-called Christian, Then he begins to curse and swear, I do not know this man of whom you speak. A second time the rooster crowed, and then Peter called to mind the word that Jesus had said to him, Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.

And he thought about it, and he wept. So what do you see about this guy Peter, who claims to be a follower of Christ? Well, first of all, he's obviously a liar. And not only is it a liar, he's also a coward. He wants to appear to be so dedicated. But when caught in a lie, instead of admitting it like anyone else was, he just cries like a little crybaby.

Did you also notice that he has a foul mouth and he doesn't take responsibility for anything that he does? Well, let's see another character trait of this so-called follower of Jesus. Let's go to the example of when Jesus was arrested in John 18 and verse 8. John 18 and verse 8. The Gospel of John says, And Jesus answered, I have told you that I am he.

This is after Jesus was arrested. Therefore, if you seek me, let these go their way, that the saying might be fulfilled, which he spoke, Of these whom you gave me, I have lost none. Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it, and struck the high pre-servant and cut off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchias. So Jesus said to Peter, Put your sword into the sheath, shall I not drink the cup of which my father has given me?

I want you to notice that this man performed a crime. Now, what did the priest ever do to him? He's simply an emotional, unstable man who's always trying to appear to be very big in public and impress everyone. Frankly, he needs anger management training, and he needs to stop pretending that he's a Christian. You know, I could go on and on about what a charlatan this guy is. About 20 years later, when he was a so-called apostle, he publicly gets blasted by a guy named Paul in Galatians 2. Here's what happened. He's a real nice guy to Gentiles while he's eating with them and doing all kinds of nice stuff. But then, when his Jewish buddies show up from the home office in Jerusalem, then he won't have anything to do with the Gentiles any longer.

Even his buddy Paul publicly calls him a hypocrite in front of everybody. Don't these ministers ever really talk to one another? Is that all they do, is argue and fight all the time? Again, this Peter is a total politician, and he simply can't be trusted. And on a side note, this guy Paul is really a loose cannon. He comes and goes when he pleases. He goes to the Jerusalem and back and travels the Roman Empire whenever he feels like it.

And he acts like he doesn't answer to anybody. And he's also a doctrinal flip-flopper. I have one of his letters in which he says you shouldn't eat meat offered to idols. Yet in another one of his letters, he says it's okay to eat meat offered to idols.

And I want you to notice that this guy is really rude and insensitive. In that same book of Galatians, he says that he wishes people who want to insist in circumcision would go and cut the whole thing off. Can you imagine that? Does that sound like something a real Christian would say? Well, enough about him. Let's go on to see some of the other cast of characters of this organization and how corrupt and political and unethical they all are. Let's go to Luke 9 and verse 51.

Luke 9 and verse 51. It says, Just as Elijah did, what is it with the egos of these guys? How insensitive and uncaring can you be to kill a whole bunch of people because they don't do what you want them to do? These guys are power-hungry and they think they're above everyone else. Well, let's see another example in John 12 and verse 1. It says here, Well, this he said not because he cared for the poor, but he was a thief!

And had the money box and used to take what was put in it. You know, this organization is worse than the Wizard of Oz. Except you not only have cowards, you not only have insensitive people with no heart, you not only have power-obsessed people who, like a wizard, want to bring fire down from heaven and vaporize people, now you have a thief stealing and misappropriating funds. Here's another one of these guys trying to put on a big impression like, I care for the poor, it should have been sold for the poor. And all he's trying to do is line his pockets.

And here's some other interesting things I want you to think about. Let me ask something about Jesus. If he has so much power, if he knows so much, why doesn't he do something? If he's really God, why is he letting them get away with it?

Why doesn't he stop him? Why does he let Judas get away with this kind of stuff? Where is God when this kind of stuff is going on? Now let's go to Matthew 20 and verse 20. See another example of this cast of characters of these 12.

It says, Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something of him. And he said to her, What do you wish? And she said, Grant, that my two sons may come or may sit, one on your right hand, on the other on your left in your kingdom. Did you notice that? Typical example of what I've seen for the last three and a half years from these guys that they've worked together.

Another power play, just more politics, nepotism and politics. That's all I ever see. This is just great. At a time we need real leaders, Mommy comes up to influence the leader. And then in verse 24, when the ten heard it, they were greatly displeased with the two brothers. Why don't these guys ever get along and just work together? What's wrong with these guys?

Luke 6, verse 15. It's listing the disciples, Matthew and Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called the zealot. Did you notice that? Oh, great! Aside from the other misfits, now we have a radical militant who wants to overthrow the Roman Empire. Just more and more politics. That's all I see constantly is politics. I just can't believe it. And I want to go briefly on my blog and explain comments tonight to say just a few things about their chief leader, the one who's called Jesus. I have inside knowledge. I mean, inside knowledge from someone I respect who told me that Jesus is changing the Sabbath doctrine.

And I have proof. I have absolute unbelievable proof. The pattern is clear. Can't you see it? If only you look close enough and you read closely, the pattern is there. Just bear with me and follow this trail. First of all, if you go to the book of Matthew, when his disciples go through grain fields, they pick some grains and they eat them. That violated Jewish law. I've asked around, and no one ever remembers this being done for the last 500 years since we came out of baptism that people could eat grain on the Sabbath.

Why would Jesus allow them to do that? Then they ask him, well, why is this okay? And what does Jesus do? Does he really answer them? No, he doesn't answer them. He dodges the question by talking about something that David did in the temple with shortbread. Some one-time exclusive event that was never repeated is what he uses as an example. He just avoids answering their question. What is Jesus hiding from us?

Then he heals a guy in the Sabbath. My detailed research shows that no human being has ever received a miraculous healing on the Sabbath day. And now, Matthew 19, verse 16, I want you to notice that this is really important. This shows that Jesus was doing away with the Sabbath day. Matthew 19, verse 16, It says, Now, behold, one came to him and said, Good, teacher, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? So he said to him, Why do you call me good?

No one is good, but one that is God. But if you want to enter life, keep the commandments. Did you notice what Jesus says? He says, keep the commandments. The young man says, which ones? And Jesus says, You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness. Honor your mother and father, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself. The young man said to him, All these things I've kept from my youth, what still do I lack? And Jesus said to him, If you want to be perfect, are you ready for this?

If you want to be perfect, go and sell what you have and give it to the poor, and you'll have treasure in heaven, and come and follow me. Now, I hope that you are smart enough to see through this. Did you notice that Jesus doesn't tell him he needs to keep the Sabbath? I mean, it's pretty clear.

The young guy says, Hey, I have a simple question. Here's my clear and pointed question. What good things do I need to do to have eternal life? And Jesus tells him some important things, but he purposely doesn't mention the Sabbath as being necessary. And then after that, the young man says all those other things, Jesus has a second opportunity. The young man says, Well, all of these things you mentioned, all of these things that you mentioned I've done for my youth.

What else do I have to do to be perfect? And again, Jesus does not mention the importance of the Sabbath. If you look at the entire letter of this Matthew account, you'll see a complete watering down on the Sabbath over and over again. Did you notice that Jesus purposely leaves out the entire command of Exodus 20 to keep the Sabbath? I'm telling you, if you have your eyes open, if you're looking closely, you'll see, and you could have seen, that this is coming, that this guy is changing the Sabbath.

And this guy is something else. He likes to come across as so gentle and nice like a shepherd. And he says, call me Jesus. That's what he says. He says, call me Jesus. Now, we know that we've always given spiritual titles to people like Rabbi or Doctor of the Law. What's with this, call me Jesus? Doesn't that tell you something? I've also heard that he can be very rude and insensitive. In one example, he told a little lady who just came up to him from Canaan and said, please, Lord, will you help me?

And he called her a little dog. How arrogant and insensitive could he be towards this? Oh, I feel so sorry for the poor people in Canaan. I also have it on excellent authority that his mother was pregnant before she was married. My final statement. I mean, if you just open your eyes and you look at this evidence, I hope you can understand this. I can only tell you, just by this evidence, this internal documentation, that these guys are liars, they're political, they're insensitive, they're corrupt, misappropriation of funds, they're unethical.

I don't trust them, and I don't trust anything they say. You know what it says? You shall know them by their fruits. Mark my word, these guys are going to fail, and I'm not going to support them. Twenty years from now, no one will have ever heard of this church, and that's why I encourage you to leave it.

Oh, and I want you to know that I'm starting a new group, and inside information, it's one of his followers, and he's really a great guy, and we're even going to have some money to start the new group, because he's received 30 shekels of silver. Well, I want to emphasize again that I don't believe the things that I just said. I was trying to give you a dramatization to show you how people and events can be so distorted when you view them with an approach and an attitude of the works of the flesh. When we have the works of the flesh, we take simple things, and we find ways to twist them, stochastic ways to get doubts in our minds and in the minds of others, and that causes serious problems, and unfortunately, that's what we're experiencing today.

Joseph Goebbels was the minister of propaganda in Nazi Germany, and he was a master at manipulating the masses. He turned, in the 1930s, one of the most civilized nations on earth was Germany, and with his skill, he turned the Germans into absolute barbarians. You know, eight million Jews and Jehovah's Witnesses and other people were killed by Nazi Germany in World War II. They say over 40 million Europeans, mostly civilians, were killed in World War II.

And here's what Goebbels used to say. He would say, if you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.

And I'm telling you, my brethren, that this man was absolutely right. He was the master of it. He knows the technique.

And with the modern power of the Internet, what we've sadly seen is innuendo turned into statements. And then statements turned into fact. Because these exaggerated accusations are told again and again on emails and blogs and gossip groups and links and people adding comments, you know, you hear something. I'm going to tell you how the human mind works. I mentioned this a number of sermons ago. I meant it in a positive way about overcoming problems and developing right habits. You may remember that the way the human mind works is we have a gate that guards our subconscious. And the first time that we hear something that is unsettling to us, we will tend to naturally reject it. But through spaced repetition, whether that is a good thing or a negative thing, if we listen to it over and over again, it goes from being wrong, it goes to being plausible, it goes to being possible, it goes to being the fact in our heads. And unfortunately, that is what has happened today.

Innuendo and half-truths are being morphed into fact. I simply choose not to live by this kind of a spirit.

I've learned in life that there are usually three sides of every story. Usually both sides have their own story, and then somewhere between the two is probably what really happened. But if you take the time to only listen to one side, and over and over and over again, you're rehashing the hash, and people reconfirming innuendo and half-truths, then you're going to begin believing it. You're going to begin accepting it. And that's something that we have to be very careful with. If you only listen to one side, you'll receive incomplete or distorted information. You see, God's gift in life includes an opportunity to accept the right principles and attitudes to live by. And if we don't strive to do these things every day, we're only left with negative feelings and attitudes about people, events, churches, our spouses, the world, and everything that we connect with. When we interpret the world through a cynical prism or lens of criticism, it creates an attitude of competition. And that's part of the works of the flesh. In my lifetime, I've found that negativity destroys more people than any other curse or trait. It's like an insidious cancer that, if it's left unchecked, it overtakes our hearts and our minds. Sadly, negativity breeds along with bitterness and anger, and it doesn't know how to stop.

It consumes you, it destroys your relationships, and once you get into that frame of mind, once you are primarily a negative, critical, cynical person, you don't know how to shut it down.

And that's why you will see over and over again in history that any organization formed in anger and resentment and bitterness after it separates begins to consume itself. Literally, because they don't know how to turn that off. You don't know how to turn that spirit down when you were primarily led by the works of the flesh.

What I'd like to do now is I'd like to look at a different approach, an attitude that we should live by. So if you'll turn with me to Galatians chapter 5 and verse 22, we'll look at a different approach.

Paul wrote to the same church area, Galatia, chapter 5 verse 22, But the fruit of the Spirit is love. What is love? Love is outgoing concern for another person. If love is giving another person the benefit of the doubt. Love means taking a loss rather than saying, I don't have to endure this kind of abuse. Because why? Because that's the example that Jesus Christ set us. That's why I gave a sermon a couple of months ago on accepting humiliation and demotion.

But Jesus Christ was a servant and servants are willing to accept being mistreated. Does it feel good? No. Is it happy? No. But I have to tell you, brethren, that's the life that we've been called to. In my career, I served under seven pastors. Every one of them had flaws. Every one of them had sins.

I saw some pretty serious things done, but I submitted. Because they were an authority over me. And I believe that God sees and knows the heart and knows everything. Just like Jesus knew that Judas was stealing. The problem wasn't so much with Judas. His judgment is already sealed. The test was the attitude of other people who knew he was a thief. That's why Jesus allowed it. That's why Jesus didn't do anything. The test was for the rest of us. The test wasn't for Judas. And I think that's important for us to understand. But love is an outgoing concern. It's caring. Again, it's accepting a loss. It's giving people a break and a benefit of the doubt. It's not trying to judge everybody's motives. And, well, what didn't he say? Well, he didn't say this, so he must... That's not what love is. That's not one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit.

Enjoy! Are we radiating joy? Do people see us smiling? Do they see a big smile on our face? Do we look like we're happy? Or do we look like we're always anxious and angry? You know, someone can come for months. Well, how are things going? Oh, I don't know. I'm really concerned about things that are going to come over here in my group. And I'll tell you about all... You just won't believe some of this stuff. Now, openly, people can be very nice. But, you know, passive-aggressive behavior is something in which people subliminally try to destroy something. Right? And people may be very nice, but if you get along with them, or you get together with a group, or you have a one-on-one conversation, and it's, Oh, I don't know. I have these big doubts. I have these big... Did you hear about this? Did you hear about that? That's just not the fruit of the Spirit. I'm sorry. I choose not to participate.

Let's continue. It's peace. Peace isn't anxiety. Peace is, I know that God is controlling. I know that God is using me. It's not peace. It's, Well, I have to do something, and I have to do it now. I have to make a decision now. That's not peace. Long suffering is another fruit. What does that mean? You're willing to suffer for a long time. Not, Well, I've had it. I'm out of here right now. I'm gone. That's not the fruit of the Spirit.

Kindness, it means being genuinely kind and gracious to others. Goodness, that means being a good person one-on-one with somebody, not just when people are looking at you from up here, but when you're in a small group, what are you talking about? Are you feeding negativity? Are you feeding doubt and concerns and anxiety? Are you poisoning people with our conversations? Are we turning them against things insidiously, privately, while publicly?

You know, everything's good, and everything's great. You see, that's not goodness. Goodness is to be reflected on the inside and the outside, and I should be as good as I am up here, as I am talking to you individually, one-on-one. That's very, very important. Faithfulness. Faithfulness is when you're not a quitter. That's what's faithful is when you have faith. And what is faith? It's the evidence of things not seen. It means if I don't understand something, that I leave it in God's hands. And if I don't agree with something, there have been a lot of things over my last 39 years that I didn't agree with, or that I didn't like, that I'm still here to serve you, because you're to be number one.

It's not how I feel, or my hurts, or my opinions, or my ideas. When I was called to be a shepherd, I was called to put you first, and me and my hurts and feelings and ideas and opinions second. Self-control. That means controlling yourself. Not trying to spread poison to other people. Not sending email blasts out. Not going because you can do anonymous on some blog, say some ridiculous, unbelievable thing, simply because nobody knows who you are.

You see, that's not the kind of spirit that we want to dwell with. He says, against these, there is no law, and those who are Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. So if we live in the spirit, we will also walk in the spirit. Well, today I'd like to give you a sermon, and the purpose of this sermon is to show you that God has always worked through some pretty flawed people.

That's the purpose of my sermon today. He has always worked through flawed people. If you look at the life of Abraham, he had flaws, pretty serious ones. He didn't have faith when he needed to, when the right son would be born. He lied oftentimes about whether his wife was his sister or not, or certainly gave half truths. If you look at the life of David, wow! Adultery, having a man murdered, took a census when he shouldn't have taken a census of Israel caused a lot of difficulties. A few weeks ago, I gave a sermon on Joseph. Do you remember what a dysfunctional family he came from?

How messed up his father was having sexual relations with four different women at the same time? And all the problems in that family with his brothers? Brethren, I'm telling you that God has always worked through very flawed people because he loves them. He understands that they're flawed, and he wants to help them to grow and change. And the purpose of this sermon today is to show you that we are human.

We are all weak, and we all struggle with problems. But we need to understand that God loves us and works with us and wants us to grow out of our sins so that we can be like him. Let's go to Mark 14 and verse 27. Mark 14 and verse 27. It says, and he said to him, This is the blood of the new covenant which is shed for many.

Assuredly I say unto you, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God. And when they had sung of him, they went off to the Mount of Olives. Now verse 27. Then Jesus said unto them, All of you will be made to stumble because of me, and this night, for it is written, I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.

But after I have been raised, I will go before you in Galilee. And Peter said to them, Even if all are made to stumble, yet I will not be. Jesus said to him, Assuredly I say unto you, Today, that today, even this night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times. But, speaking of Peter, he spoke more vehemently, If I have to die with you, I will not deny you. And they all said likewise. You know, brother and Peter had a tendency to be bold and impetuous.

It is a trait that he had to work his entire lifetime to overcome. But you know what? God takes our weaknesses, and through the Holy Spirit of God, He takes our weakness and uses it for the glory of Jesus Christ. God was able to take this bold and impetuous personality and slowly begin to use it to make him, in spite of his weaknesses, a dramatic leader in the early church.

In Acts 2, it was Peter who stood up in the Day of Pentecost and gave an impromptu sermon that moved thousands in order to want to be baptized. In Acts 4, it was Peter who, boldly, because he had these raw talents that God was working with and refining and helping him with, it was Peter in Acts 4 who boldly addressed the Sanhedrin and said, You don't get it!

Jesus of Nazareth, whom you crucified, is the Messiah. Accept Him! Understand the Gospel! It was that same Peter who had these weaknesses that we read about. In Acts 10, it was Peter that God used to bring the first Gentile into the faith. Jesus never forget how bold that was. If you look at the Scripture in Acts 10, when He came back and the other believers heard that He went to a Gentile, He got flack! It says they disputed with Him. Peter, who do you think you are going to Gentiles?

He had to be a pretty strong and bold individual in order to have that kind of use by God, even though indeed He had pretty serious problems and flaws. Let's go now to Mark 14 and verse 66. It says, Then Peter called to mind the word that Jesus had said to him, And before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times, and when he thought about it, he wept. Even though he told Christ He wouldn't betray Him, He was no worse than any of the other disciples. They all abandoned Jesus Christ. It was ordained in prophecy that they would all desert Jesus.

It's easy in bold times, like He was in before the arrest, to be very courageous and be very bold. But let me tell you, when you're facing death squarely, when that time comes that you have to face death squarely, that isn't easy. And Peter wept here because he was ashamed of himself. Do you know that God used this event to help Peter to repent and to be used so powerfully by God?

This weeping was His repentance. He was ashamed of who He was. He was ashamed of what He was. And this is what led Him to ask God to give me your spirit in the day of Pentecost. Use me in the right way. In spite of my flaws, turn my weaknesses into something that can be used for your glory. That's exactly what Peter was experiencing here. Now let's go to John 18. It's the other side of Peter. It's something I'm sure he wasn't proud of. Something that also made him weep. John 18, verse 8.

Now this was a misguided show of love on Peter's part. He loved Christ so much that he wanted to protect him. Obviously, he's unconverted at this time. He's upset. And he lets his anger get the best of him. It's something in which Jesus sharply rebukes him. But his motive was the fact that he loved his Messiah. And at that moment, the only way in his unconverted mind that he could respond to protect the man that he loved was to attempt to become violent. And that wasn't the right thing to do. And of course, Jesus strongly rebuked him for trying to take matters in His own hands. Because when we try to take matters in our own hands, we leave God out of the picture. Any time in life when we try to start something as a result of our own hands, our own efforts, we take God out of the picture. Let's go to Luke 9, verse 51. We'll see how God also worked through other weak men. Luke 9, verse 51.

And when the disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them just as Elijah did? Now, this, unfortunately, was a Zebedee family trait. As a matter of fact, Jesus' nickname for them, and it might have been tongue-in-cheek, he called them the Sons of Thunder. That was their nickname because they tended to be very impetuous, you know, tempetuous individuals. And Christ strongly rebuked them because he says in the following work, you have the wrong spirit. He says, I've come to save lives. I haven't come to destroy lives. And the moral of this story is twofold. The first thing is that being given a lot of responsibility is very heady for anyone. And if you're not on guard and if you're not very careful, it'll go to your head. It's what Mr. Armstrong used to call the Biggie Head. And it's very difficult for a man, you know, these guys are probably about 30 years old. They've been walking with a miracle worker for a lot of years. They've seen a lot of incredible things done. And it's pretty easy after a while, yeah, you know, I'm one of the group. I'm one of the Elite Twelve. Yeah, you know, I'm pretty special. I'm a pretty important guy in this world. And one can become vain and heady. And that's not a good thing. And Jesus understands that. He understands that totally. Again, He tells them, you have the wrong spirit. I've come to save lives, not to destroy it. Now, the second thing that He does is He wants us to understand that negative family traits are passed down from generation to generation. This was a family trait of the Zebedee family. They were just hotheads. You know, they were too emotional. And Jesus is trying to remind us that we need to work in these problems, these family traits, and we need to stop them in our generation. Or, my dear friends, they'll just be passed down over and over again to our children and our grandchildren and generations we love if we don't draw a line in the sand and say, God, through Your Spirit, help me the one who's the barrier of these family issues that I have in my life, whether it's constant divorce or whether it's complaining or whether I come from a negative family. My whole family just complains all the time. Help me be the one who's the break wall. Help me to be the one who breaks that cycle of dysfunction in my family so that my children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren can have a better life. It's at a time like this, too, that Jesus could teach His disciples servant leadership principles about what a real servant is, that they come to serve, not to be served. Now, let's go to John 12, verse 1. John 12, verse 1.

It says, Now, this statement was written by someone who was there. John knew that he was a thief. And yes, Judas was a thief. We can't deny that. And Jesus Christ, being the Son of God, obviously knew His heart and knew He was a thief. Isn't that pretty disgusting? Isn't that pretty corrupt? I think it is. Isn't that pretty unethical? I believe that stealing from people or congregations is grossly unethical. And I'm sure that you do, too.

So why did Jesus allow it? Well, like I hinted a little while ago, He allowed it. Because Judas' judgment was already sealed. The test was for John and for everyone else who knew that this was going on. They could have easily said, I'm quitting this organization. Look at this guy, Judas. Why doesn't Jesus do something? It was a test for them. Ask the question, why doesn't God do something? Where is God in all this? Jesus wanted to know if they would trust that God is willing to intervene when it's the right time for Him to intervene. Would they trust that God is all-knowing? Or would they become bitter or angry? Or would they think, we have to take matters in our own hands? Maybe Judas should have a little accident tonight.

Maybe we should take matters in our own hands. The story, the principle that Jesus is trying to tell them, is it's important to trust that God is in charge. You know what? If He sees sin, He'll get to a point where He removes that sin. I can tell you, in my 30 years in the church, and I've been around for a while, and I attended Ambassador College, and I shook hands with Herbert Armstrong, and I shook hands with Joseph Tkach, and I can only tell you this. There have always been problems, sometimes very serious problems, and every time it ever got to a point where God said, Enough! That person was gone. That's what faith is. It's believing that God is in all of this stuff, your life, and all that you've been through in your entire lifetime. It's believing that God has a plan, and oftentimes the test, usually, is how we will respond to situations where we hear or see something that's going on that shouldn't happen. The test is for us. Do we believe that God is in charge and that He'll remove any sin, any problem, any politics or corruption or unethical behavior when it gets to a point that He says it's enough? He always has, and He always will. So we wanted to know if they would believe in Him, and if they would believe and wait patiently for God to do His thing when it was God's right timing. Let's go to Matthew 20, verse 20. Then the mother, Momma Zebedee, the mother of Zebedee's sons, came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him, and He said to her, What do you wish? And she said, Grant, that my two sons may sit, one on your right hand and the other on your left hand, in your kingdom. And, of course, we know if we would continue to read the Scriptures, Jesus says, You don't have a clue about what you're really asking, do you? You don't understand the sacrifice that you would have to make in order to grow, in order to be used so that you could be in that position. You know, politics, and it is a case of politics, obviously, politics is human. And I can tell you that every organization or group that I've ever known, politics exists to some degree. Competition and the desire for recognition is built into all of us, and we have to resist it daily. When it's rewarded, it multiplies. When it's resisted, it can be minimized. But please, it can never totally be removed. If you have one human being, you'll have politics because he'll con himself.

That's just a way of life. I'm sorry, but that's the reality of it. Again, Jesus, in this exact case, strongly rebuked the Mother's request and what they were trying to do. Specifically, in these scriptures, use the experience to teach them about servant leadership. Jesus said, it's not about you. It's not about your power, your perks, your feelings, and whether you get adulation and how important you are and how recognized you are. He says, if you're a servant, it's about them. It's not about you. That's the principle that Jesus wanted them to know and understand. Let's now go to Luke 6 and verse 15.

Here Luke lists some of the disciples of Jesus. Luke 6 and verse 15 includes Matthew and Thomas, no relation, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called the zealot, Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who also became a traitor. So what does this tell us? Well, it tells us that God called people from all walks of life and back. He didn't just call fishermen. He didn't just call tax collectors. He called people that had political agendas. He did call people who were zealots. It shows that God calls people from all walks of life with all problems, all challenges, but He loves all of us and He wants to work with us so that we can be tools and putty in His hands and be used by Him for all eternity. I think that's important for us to realize. He was a zealot, but actually there's no evidence or proof that He continued to be a zealot after His calling. Actually, very little is said about Him here. Now let's go to Matthew 19.16, a very intriguing Scripture that the Protestants use. I don't mean that in a derogatory way, but Protestants use to prove that Jesus did away with the Sabbath. It's what I call negative thinking, proving something by something that isn't said. And you can't do that. You can't crawl inside someone's mind. You don't know what their tent is. I can't. I don't have that ability either. If somebody doesn't say something, I can't say, well, they didn't say it, so therefore they must really meant this, because they didn't say it. That's not reasoning. That's not logical to even do that. Let's read about this. Now behold, one came to him, good teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?

So he said to him, why do you call me good? No one is good but one. And that is God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments. And he said to him, which ones? And Jesus said, you shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness. Honor your mother and your father, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself. The young man said to him, all these things I have kept from my youth, what do I still lack? And Jesus said, if you want to be perfect, go and sell what you have and give it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. And come and follow me. You see, in context, Jesus doesn't mention the Sabbath because he understands the young man keeps the Sabbath. There is no secret, manipulative intent on behalf of Jesus that is not mentioning the Sabbath. The only commandments he mentions are those that are relating to our human relationships, not the four that point to our relationship with God, because the young man knew those. That was an assumption. That was an understanding. Jesus totally understood that. And, brethren, if our attitude isn't right, what we're going to do is we're going to begin trying to prove something by a negative or what someone leaves out. That's not the fruit of the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is giving someone the benefit of the doubt, claiming that we somehow can crawl into someone's head, and they have some seditious reason for leaving something out. That's just not a Christian characteristic or quality that we should possess. The conclusion of the sermon today, my final remarks are to remember that God works with flawed people. He always has throughout human history, and the disciples were flawed, and you're flawed, and I'm flawed, and everybody that God works with today has flaws and sins and problems and weaknesses. But God works with us. He loves us. Though we come from different backgrounds, and though we come from different philosophies in life and different trades, God knows our strengths and weaknesses, and He wants to take those weaknesses and work with them, and hone them down, much like a carpenter. He wants to chop out a little here and saw off a little there and sand us until we get to the point that we can take that negative trait we have and, being balanced and refashioned, use it for the glory of God. He did it with the apostles, and I'm telling you that He can do it with you.

Well, that's the end of the second sermon. Did you notice a difference in the attitude and the approach of the material? Brother, if our attitude isn't wholesome, if it isn't right, our hearts will judge everyone and everything and every event with a negative slant. It will look for it. It will find it even when it doesn't exist. I encourage you to choose to live by the positive fruits of God's Spirit. That's so very important. And understand that God always has, and God does today, work with flawed people. There have always been problems, and there always will be until we come, as Paul said in Ephesians 4, 13, into the fullness of Christ. And we certainly are nowhere near that. If God is in his church, he's big enough and he's powerful enough to remove all evil people or circumstances when the time is right. He always has. You'll find that from Genesis to Revelation. He always has, and he will today. And he will if Christ doesn't come back 100 years to now. He will always do that because he is in charge. He is in control. I encourage you to be led by the Spirit of God.

And though you know we might be quite imperfect, the Spirit of God is all-powerful. And I believe that the positive fruits of the Spirit should be the prism or the lens in which we look through everything in our lives. And I hope you will understand that and appreciate it. I'd like to give just a few final thoughts in the sermon today about the split that has occurred.

I'm staying in the United Church of God because of a philosophy, a life philosophy, that I've lived by that has served me very well and guides everything I do. I certainly don't do it perfectly, but it's an overall philosophy that I've guided my life. Every day I awaken and I choose how I want to think and act that day with God's Spirit, with God's help.

I can draw on God's Spirit and I can look at life. I can choose every day to look at life through the prism of the fruits of the Spirit. That means I try to avoid imputing motives on others. That means I give people the benefit of the doubt. That means I need to focus on positive things and activities. That means I need to avoid getting wrapped up in other people's personal agendas. And my! Do people have personal agendas today? That means I need to take a loss when I'm offended, not get angry, not get bitter, but to be accepting of taking a loss if that's necessary. And most of all, I realize I need to radiate positive joy to others. And again, I don't do these things perfectly. Please don't ask my wife about that because she's got an encyclopedia. But I'll keep working on these things.

Turn to John 10 and 11.

God called me into the ministry many years ago, and that calling included the admonition that I have to care for God's people first. And I have always tried to do that. What does it mean when a shepherd puts God's people first?

It means that I have to put my personal opinions, my feelings, and my hurts have to be secondary. You have to be number one. Jesus said in John 10 and 11, He said, I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. But a hireling who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming, sees problems coming.

A wolf is a problem. Sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees. And the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. My, I wonder when that has ever happened. He says the hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep. Well, I can't speak for others, and I'm certainly not going to judge the attitudes or the actions or the intent of others because they have to individually face the throne of Jesus Christ, and I do too. But I have to tell you this, that for me to resign and expect the flock to come to my pasture would be to abandon the flock that God has called me to serve. It's his pasture. It's not my pasture. I simply won't do that, and I won't support anyone who does. It's the Good Shepherd who owns both the pasture and his flock. And I and no one else has the right to create his own and move the flock of Jesus Christ somewhere else. I'll tell you one thing. I am not a hireling. I've served in the ministry for many years without compensation, and something you may not know is I've even eaten my own expenses over the years, and recent elders that I've served with would verify the fact that when I've driven to, you know, Meadville or Akron, Cincinnati, I pay for my... I haven't even asked for the right to have my mileage in meals because I've always felt that it's important to God's people. It's not about money. But I can tell you this. I will not abandon you. The only way that they will get me out of here is to carry my cold, dead corpse, because I will not abandon the flock that Jesus Christ called in his pasture. Thank you for restoring my faith in God's people today. Have a wonderful Sabbath.