What Is Your Excuse?

Well, happy Sabbath, everyone! Good to see you, everyone. My wife and I, as was announced, our new address, have moved to a new address in Brittenwood. And so, this past week we've been moving, and I have the Bover's Disease, which is that I'm sore in places I've never been sore before. And one of the things I did, I don't know what I did, but I injured my big toe on my left foot. And I found out how important my big toe is. You know, and how, in fact, it can waylay you, just one injury like that. But anyway, I told my wife, I'll be all right today as long as I don't do any dancing behind the pulpit, you know. So, if you don't see me do my regular dance up here, you know, that I'm trying to cool it a little bit. But I did want to mention as well that other things are going to take place in the near future. I get a call from Mr. Holliday some time ago, and he said that we were going to have a trainee set to the Bay Area, so that should come about not too far in the future. And, you know, we'll give you, when the firm details come in, we'll let you know what it is. But anyway, we're going back to, again, the trainee program where you have a young man who comes in to an area, and he trains in the ministry and is assigned in some way or fashion. You know, whether he would remain here or go elsewhere, typically in the past we would send somebody somewhere else once they've been trained. And we have six new people that are doing that this year that the church is hiring. And if you got the email about the e-news, you know that, that certain individuals are being sent out this year. Well, you know, in a lot of ways, we have been called in the church pioneers. And we are, indeed, pioneers of a new way of life. For the future. But in the days of the Wild West, and I'm reading about the Wild West, you find it wasn't nearly as wild as many people made it out to be. You know, there wasn't a lot of gun slinging. There wasn't a lot of that kind of thing that occurred. But it's like the novels, the western novels, or the western little booklets that used to be available. And the Wild West popularized people like Doc Holliday and Wyatt Earp and all those that made them basically into movie stars of their day. But, you know, there were people who came to the West in a time when there was no state, a time when there was no civilization. And they traveled into the wilderness and they, wherever they went, they had to be self-sufficient. They had to stand on their own two feet and they had to be resourceful. They had to be self-reliant and they had to be tough. I mean, because where they were going, there was no doctor. You know, there was no trading post that had been established. There was no place in which they could fall back on that would supply any need. There was no shelter. There were no amenities of life that might have been available in the East. And so, they had to be a tough breed. And, brethren, I believe that God's people that are called in this time, in this day, in this age, have to be pioneers and they have to be tough people. They have to be tough. And they have to endure many hardships and difficulties.

And yet, we live in a world that is quite often quite the opposite of it. We live with creature comforts. And I can only wonder what is going to happen in the United States of America because we see things that are happening in the world. And, you know, as Mr. Spears was talking about, it used to be you'd sort of have to search for events that were prophetic significance. Not so anymore. I mean, it's readily available just about everywhere. It's not reported in the news, but if you watch the three major networks or any of the major networks, they don't talk about the major events and really earth-shaking things that are happening.

But, you know, it really is scary. If you... I encourage you today, take the prophetic times and look at the headlines, and what the headlines are, all of the headlines. You don't even have to read the articles. It should really cause you pause for concern for the times that we are living in. And I'm telling you, brethren, we have got to be tough to make it through what's coming, what is ahead of us. But we live in a world where people tend to, again, be soft and tend to want to make, you know, an exception to themselves and basically think that they are an exception to the rule, and they make excuses for why they do not stand up and be counted.

They don't stand up and do that which, in fact, is important for even Christians to do today, and that is to endure, be willing to endure. Let's do this over here in Luke 9. Luke 9, in verse 57, to begin with here. You know, Jesus had gone up and He was preaching, and He went into a certain Samaritan village, and they rejected Him. They didn't want Him to come through there. And, of course, we know the disciples, James and John, asked Christ, would you want us to call fire down from heaven? They just brought these people out. And, of course, Christ had to rebuke them, you know, because of their attitudes.

But I imagine it was not, by the way, for Christ something that was easy to go someplace and be rejected. You know, sometimes we have this idea that Jesus Christ was this person that was inured to having feelings. But if you've ever been in a situation where you've been rejected, what does it do to you? How do you feel? How does it come upon you, I'm sure, with Christ? Because He was like we are in the sense that He had emotions. Well, anyway, He was going along and He was preaching. But notice it says in verse 57, it happened as they journeyed on the road that someone said to Him, Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.

Well, that's pretty magnanimous, isn't it? And, hopefully, of course, you know, that attitude was real and they really meant it. But what did Jesus say to Him? And Jesus said to Him, Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head. You want to follow Me. You know, there's going to be a time you won't have a place to lay your head.

You want to follow Me. You know, you're going to have to be pretty tough. But notice what happens. And then He said to another, follow Me. But He said, Lord, let Me first go and bury My Father. So let Me go and take care of My Dad. He's old. He won't live long. But, you know, how many times have people thought, well, you know, My Mother and Father are on their deathbed and they live 20 years more. It is the nature of human life, isn't it, to survive? But Jesus said to Him, let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.

Your Christ is offering this individual an opportunity. But what did He do? He made an excuse of why He couldn't do it. No, not Me right now. You know, but let Me do this. Take care of My Father. And Jesus was talking to another. And He said, Lord, I will follow You, but let Me first go and bid them farewell, who were at My house. And how long was that going to take?

But Jesus said to Him, no man, having put his hand to the plow, in other words, you have made your commitment to God, you've been baptized, you've had the laying on your hands, you've received the Spirit of God. And He said, no man is putting his hand to the plow and looking back, he is fit for the kingdom of God. You wonder what was the purpose of your being baptized to begin with. You know, if there's not going to be a commitment to do whatever God commands us to do.

Let me ask you, brethren, does it look like Jesus Christ was in the mood? Not that God is in the mood for things, but does it look like that Jesus Christ tolerated people's endless inane excuses? Doesn't sound like it, does it? It doesn't sound like that He was basically telling people, don't make excuses with me.

Well, brethren, I want to ask you, and I want to talk about this in the course of the sermon here today, is what is your excuse? What's your excuse? If God has called you, if God has enlightened you by the power of His Spirit, what is your excuse? What is your excuse for not moving forward toward the great calling that God has given to those who have been called? Well, let's examine the kinds of excuses that people tend to make for not doing more, for not being more committed, for not even doing the things that they are commanded to do.

No, some things we could put in the category. Well, there's no specific command for anybody to do this. I don't know that there's any law that says that if a guy gets baptized, that he has to go into the ministry. There's no law against that. But Jesus said that this individual that made the excuse for not preaching the gospel, he wasn't willing to tolerate that. And the man didn't really have, again, apparently a wholehearted attitude, did he? Let's go to Isaiah 58. Isaiah 58 over here. Isaiah 58. In verse 6, here, of course, Isaiah is talking about fasting and how that fasting is for the purpose of loosing the bonds of wickedness. In other words, it is a purpose of overcoming sin, of making real changes in our lives, to undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke. So if anything yokes you, if anything yokes you so that it holds you back, isn't that what a yoke is, brethren? A yoke on an animal, if you put a bridle on a horse, as much as a bridle is to guide the horse, it's also to hold the horse back. You don't want to put a bridle on a horse and just have it run free. You want control. But in this world, we are yoked. We're yoked sometimes to, you know, the things that keep us from going forward, of moving forward in our lives. But going on down here, verse 9, he talks about where if people begin to take a different approach to their calling, he says, then you shall call and the Lord will answer. You shall cry and He will say, here I am. If you take away the yoke from your midst, but notice it says, the pointing of the finger and speaking wickedness. So, you know, if you take away this, God says, and speaking wickedness, and by that He means what people tend to say about other people. So, one of the excuses, by the way, that people make for themselves, keeps them from moving forward, from making that full commitment to God, that they ought to be making, is they point the finger at somebody else.

You know, the scribes and the Pharisees were pros at pointing the finger at other people, and accusing others of not being as righteous as they were. You know, you can always compare yourself downward, can't you? Even those people don't compare themselves upward, ever.

No, they don't tend to do that. Unless it's carnal things, you know, if it's carnal things, yeah, they do that, because somebody, you know, compares themselves to somebody wealthier than they are. You know, they compare themselves to somebody, maybe, who's more talented than they are, but people tend to, when it comes to, you know, they're making really changes in their lives, and making a commitment to go forward in their lives, they point the finger at others and say, well, I'm not like them, at least. I'm not in that category. But again, the scribes and the Pharisees were pros at that kind of thing. But brethren, oftentimes we can be the same way. You know, we can hold back in making more of a commitment of doing what we need to do, because we point the finger at somebody else. Mark chapter 2, I should say, Mark 2, in verse 14, over here, in Mark 2 and verse 14, it says, As he passed by, and as he passed by, he saw Levi, the son of Alpheus, sitting at the tax office, and he said to him, follow me. So here was this evil, rotten tax collector.

And Jesus said, follow me. And so he arose and followed him. And now it happened, as he was dining in Levi's house, that many tax collectors and sinners also sat together with Jesus, and his disciples, for there were many, and they followed him.

And when the scribes and the Pharisees saw him eating with tax collectors and sinners, they said to his disciples, how is it that he eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners? These were the dregs of society. And when Jesus heard it, he said, those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.

But you notice how the Pharisees compared themselves downward, and that basically we're doing better than these guys, you know, these old, terrible tax collectors. You know, we, of course, can do that in our everyday life, too. You know, we can be driving along and see some poor man on the side of the road begging for money, and we can think we're better than they are. You know, we're not better than they are. You know, except for the grace of God, we'd be there. We'd be in the same place. And, you know, we should have compassion for people, no matter why they may be there. And, you know, I know we can't support everybody that's on the road that's got a sign up. You know, that's not what I'm saying, but I think we should have compassion for people. And where we have opportunity, where it's fitting, I think we should help. But God, you know, sent His Son, Jesus Christ, into the world to call sinners to repentance. Now, I've found over the years, by the way, that if you want to have somebody do something, it's not always in the Church giving the job to someone who's most qualified.

I wish it were so that everybody was so committed we could even use the most qualified person to do a job. I'm not standing in front of you because I was the most qualified. So, you know, I'm talking about when I was sent out in the ministry, I wasn't, you know, I wasn't the cream of the crop, you know, I'm sure there were many others that had much more ability. But when they were sending, I said, I'll go. And here I am today, you know, in the ministry. But oftentimes, you know, I'm sure Jesus was in that same boat. But, you know, the all I hear out of the this Pharisee over here, he may be listening to what I'm saying, but all I hear out of him is he thinks he's more righteous than these people over here. But at least Levi, at least Levi was repentant. And maybe, maybe that Levi can be transformed into the kind of servant I need to have. And so Jesus took fishermen like Peter and James and John, and they became the apostles of the church. They were always apostles, and God has done that way with everyone who is in the ministry serving as elders or deacons within the church. But, you know, you got to get rid of this. Stop making excuses. Point thinkers of other people making excuses for why you don't do something. And as they say, sort of man up and do what you need to do, or woman up. You know, if you're a man, you don't want a woman up. And if you're a woman, you don't want a man up.

So the world's way, again, is the point, the finger, at other people. Let's go over to chapter 10 here. There's another aspect of this I want to sort of throw in here as well in chapter 10. Chapter 10 in verse 21. When Jesus was talking to his disciples, he said this, where he was praying at this time, he said, I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you've hidden these things, the things that he was talking about, from the wise and prudent that revealed them to babes. Did you get what he's saying there, brother? You revealed it to babes. That's you and me. We're babes. So, honey, I am a babe.

But he didn't mean it in the way that oftentimes people talk babes today. Even so, Father, for it seemed good in your sight. And so, we are babes, brethren. And by that, I mean, you know, we're not the well endowed of the world and the society that is out here, but we are those that are babes by comparison to the world.

We're the lowest echelon, even those that think that they're among the elite. You know, we'll be careful again about claiming to be in the elite, particularly if you're called in this day and age that God is calling. But in going on, he turned his disciples and said privately, Blessed are the eyes, verse 23, which see the things you see. For I tell you that many prophets and kings have desired to see what you see and have not seen it and to hear what you hear and have not heard it. You know, so Christ is saying what you are hearing is precious information, precious knowledge. So, brethren, the excuse, the major excuse that people use oftentimes is point in the finger. You know, let's get rid of that as God's people and not, again, have that attitude. Because if we get rid of that particular problem, then, you know, God can begin to work with us. If we begin to think about what it is that we're doing, what kind of commitment have we made? Another thing, brethren, that is very important for us to set our hands to the plow and not look back. Because if you, you know, begin to look back and you're plowing ground, what's going to happen is you're going to plow a crooked row.

Your life is going to be crooked, but you want to be in a straight and you want to be on a narrow path, as the Bible talks about. And, you know, when we point our finger at other people, we're ignoring the greatest standard of all, and that is Jesus Christ, you know. And let's all compare ourselves upward. In other words, how do we measure up to Jesus Christ? That's the ultimate standard. And following the faults of other people, thinking that somehow it's okay for us to do it, you know, if somebody else is doing it, except we're going to be better than they are, a little better than they are, it means we're going to be plowing crooked rows and not on a straight path to the kingdom of God. Another problem that people have, brethren, in making excuses is whenever they, maybe God gives them an opportunity, they think that they deserve better.

You ever been in a situation, brethren, where you thought you deserved better? You know, even the servants of God have faced this kind of problem where they thought that they deserve better. I know that, you know, some of our men who have come out of the ministry, I'm talking about, you know, in the old days back in the 60s and the 70s, some of them came into the ministry and they expected something different. You know, they expected something far different. You know, they didn't realize that they would have to be out and about, and sometimes until one and two in the morning, talking to people. But sometimes it was not easy to be in the ministry. They didn't realize that being a minister is not always, you know, sitting on a throne somewhere and people coming up and kissing your ring. You know, and saying, Mr. So-and-so and Mr. you know, such-and-such. Oh, I've had people say things to me through the years that would curl your toes. You know, maybe they're already curled, but I'm not going to go into what I've heard from people. But let's just say that there have been times I haven't felt like I was the, you know, the cream of the crop. And that's pretty mildly, you know. But, of course, you have to continue on. And if you think, again, being in the ministry, if a person thinks that being in the ministry is all, you know, respect and honor and all that, far from it. It is a very, in some cases, a very humbling experience, very humbling experience. And if you don't go through humbling experiences, I can promise you you will eventually go through very humbling experiences. And, you know, the thing about being humble is, as soon as you think you are humble, you've lost your humility.

And so you never arrive at that. You know, we need to, again, keep the big picture, brethren, that if you and I received what we deserve, we would be dead. We would be put to death. You know, that's what the world, of course, deserves, and that's where we were. And God called us out of the world to give us life. Now, imagine if you had been in the first century of the church and you had, you know, a powerful individual, a powerful servant of God who was preaching and teaching, and he was baptizing people right and left, and people were coming to this individual, that there might be a little problem with ego. You know, this person had disciples, followers. He was respected even into the higher echelons. They may not have listened to what he said, but they respected him, you know, during that time. And that individual, by the way, was John the Baptist. Let's go to John here, John 3, in verse 28. John 3, in verse 28.

And we know the story in the account of how John recognized who the Messiah was. He sent his disciples to Jesus and basically said, through his disciples, he wanted to ask God, are you him, or do we seek another? And, of course, Jesus told him the evidence that there were healings that were taking place, and he said, go tell him that the gospel is being preached to the poor. The most important thing, in fact, that Jesus Christ had to say was the gospel was being preached to the poor. But finally, John came to realize that Jesus Christ was, indeed, the prophesied Messiah. Can you imagine how hard it would have been for his disciples to accept this new individual on the horizon who began to, in fact, have many that were baptized as a result of his ministry? But here in John 3, down in verse 28, you know, John here says, you yourselves here bear me witness that I said I am not the Christ. I am not the Anointed One. I am not the Messiah. But I have been sent before him. He was to prepare the way before him. He who is the bridegroom, but the friend of the bridegroom who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice. Therefore, this joy of mine is fulfilled. He, Jesus Christ, must increase, but I must decrease. I must decrease.

So, so John realized that he was going to begin to fade from the same.

That, in fact, Jesus was going to begin to increase. Now, John maybe did not fully understand what was going to happen to him. He would be beheaded before it was all done, and he would be gone altogether. But, you know, he could have had a wrong attitude here, but he did not. He was very humble, realizing his role. The purpose for which God had called him was diminishing. And he had, again, prepared the way for the Messiah. He knew that was what his job was. That was what his responsibility was. You know, brother, if all of us had that attitude, that mentality that John had, we would never have a problem within the Church of God. You think about it. But how many problems have we had through the years that when it was time to make a change, that there were those that resisted that change? I know sometimes it was purposeful, and it was necessary. Because, in some cases, of course, it was very important matters of doctrine that we were involved. But often it has not been that. But there comes a time when one person has to increase and another person has to decrease.

You know, God wants us to, again, to learn to be humble. Cain was an example, by the way, that couldn't stand the fact that Abel was respected more than he was. And when Cain brought his offering, God did not respect his offering. And what happened to Cain is he became angry. He became upset because God honored Abel's offering. Now, I don't think that Cain would have would have, in fact, had the same attitude if God had rejected Abel's, too. But because he accepted Abel's, he got angry. And God said, why are you angry? Why are you dejected? And he said, if you do well, shall you not be accepted? And if not, sin lies at the door. And, brethren, unless we can be humble, unless we can get over the idea that thinking we deserve more, that we deserve better, you know, then we're going to be in the same boat as Cain. We're going to go down the wrong path, and sin is going to lie at the door. We've got to be very, very careful again to not use that as an excuse, brethren. God calls us, and He puts us in the body as it pleases Him. And that is regardless, brethren, of how God chooses to use us. You know, whether it's a pastor in the church, or an elder within the church, or a deacon, or a deaconess. But, you know, just because somebody is given a job in the church or the ministry, all have to overcome. You know, sometimes in man's government, it seems that the higher up you go, the law is less important. Actually, in the ministry, God puts more on us on those who are leaders to set a good example, and to apply God's laws than everybody else, because they're going to receive the greater condemnation. But whatever the job, the responsibility, brethren, we all have to overcome. We all have to grow. So don't let your ego get in the way, brethren. Now get rid of your ego. I remember when we met all of us in 1995, in Indianapolis, that Bob Dick, who at the time was, I think he was the chairman of the Council at that time, and Bob Dick basically said, you know, let's leave our egos, he talked into the ministry, let's leave our egos at the door. And he had a, there was a wastebasket, you know, that was there. Leave the ego, you know, in that wastebasket. Unfortunately, that some just didn't put their ego in there. And of course, we've had problems through the years, but we pray someday we get that right. I think, brethren, when Christ returns, it'll be right, right up to the last minute, we'll probably, all of us will be working on different things, but I mean, maybe we'll get it right before Christ returns. If we don't, you know, Christ himself then can do some knocking of heads, can't he? He can take care of it. Another problem that people have, brethren, and maybe you could sort of lump the first two under this category, is comparing themselves to others. You know, in the world, in society, people tend to compare themselves to the majority. You know, people think that the majority is right, not so. The majority is usually wrong. The majority doesn't believe what God says, even though the majority of people in the United States have the Bible just like you do in your lap, except, of course, they have in their lap, if they take it at all, you know, to church on Sunday.

But oftentimes, again, people will compare themselves to another person, and they go with the majority of people. But Christ said the broadway leads to destruction.

And He said many are that enter that way, and then He said narrow is the way that leads to life, a few enter there. And that's what, again, the church is about in a lot of ways. We are set apart. We're separate from the world, and most have not chosen to go this way. But back in the Old Testament, by the way, ancient Israel was told, you shall not follow a crowd to do evil. But in our society, this is what happens all the time.

People follow a crowd to do evil. That's what happens, and it's happening in Baltimore. You know, that's what's happened in the, you know, St. Louis area as well. Every time there is a riot, people want to get in out there on the riot that's taking place. They get out there, and they get involved with it. And I really did like, I believe it was, was it in Baltimore where there was a mother that actually was slapping her boy in the head? By the way, that might be a time it's okay to slap a boy on the head, you know, and but she was really upset at him, and it went viral. Maybe you saw that. How many of you saw that, by the way? Boy, you really are plugged in. But, but, you know, it was good and refreshing, actually, you see somebody who cared that their son was out, you know, knocking windows out of cars and setting them on fire, you know. We need more parents that take a hand and get control of their children. But, you know, God says we shouldn't follow a crowd to do evil. We shouldn't be comparing ourselves to the majority of what majority of people are. We, as God's people, again, have to be a people that are that are quite different than that. In fact, God says to us in Romans 12 verse 2, you know, it says that we should not be conformed to the world. But we need to be transformed, as it puts it over there, by the renewing of our minds. You see, we are pioneers, brethren, and we are plotting the path for the future.

And what kind of an example, again, are we, as God's people, setting for one another, for our children, and for those in our community. You know, the latency in mind, by the way, conforms to the world and not to Christ. So, brethren, we've got to, again, be, as God's people, being transformed, not conforming to what is in the world. Let's go to 2 Corinthians over here. 2 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians in verse 2 of chapter 10.

Here Paul puts it in a very declared-with manner, but he says, for we dare not, we dare not do that. We dare not class ourselves or compare ourselves with those who commend themselves. For they, majoring themselves by themselves and comparing themselves among themselves, he says, are not wise. You know, again, if we're being conformed to the world, or if we're being conformed to even if somebody's in the church, if they're not doing the things that are godly, if we're conforming to that, we're not conforming to Christ. And we don't do that. Paul says we dare not do that, because that's not the path to the kingdom. That's not the way to the kingdom of God. So, brethren, mimic the good character of Jesus, who is that ultimate example. And if you see good character in God's people, mimic that. Don't ever get into the trap of mimicking people's faults. You know, you wouldn't think people would do that, but sometimes it does. It's like the old saying, monkey see, monkey do. You know, we want to make sure, first of all, we're not monkeys. But second of all, that we're conforming to Christ.

That we hopefully are carrying, you know, the attitude of we're striving as God's people to change what we are. We're pioneers, again, of a new way of life.

That's why, by the way, when I came to the church back in the 60s, I remember walking into the church and it was Fort Smith, Arkansas was the first place I ever attended, you know, the worldwide Church of God. And it was a schoolhouse that, in fact, the part of the ceiling had caved in and the church had taken this church over, basically. It was a small schoolhouse, as you might imagine, but the part of the roof was still caved in when I was there. But what the church had done is they had taken this old schoolhouse and they had worked, all of them probably worked very hard. There may be 200 people in the Fort Smith church at that time. And they'd worked very hard and they transformed this old beaten-up building into something fairly nice, had a stage and nice floors and had a small kitchen that was there. But some of the people, I remember, as I looked around that day, you had some that were wearing pretty rough-looking clothing. Because a lot of these people were farmers, a lot of them were ranchers, or they worked at factories, or whatever else. But as time went on, I began to notice that things began to change. People began to make real transformations. You can imagine, I told you this before, how you'd have these men that were giant men that had the big hands, the big fingers, where today, if you gave them an iPhone, one of their thumbs would probably cover the whole screen. They could never type. This past week, somebody asked me to type something on their phone. We were trying to type Jack-o-Renda on their phone so they know how to get to the place where we were going. And I said, I don't know if I can do that, because those are such tiny little keys. It's like this telephone up here. The keys are so tiny. First of all, I can't see them. I can't make the numbers out. And when you do see them, I always do two at once.

So anyway, here these big, burly men were in the church in Arkansas there, but they began to transform. I remember there was one individual that I saw when I walked in. Sometimes you see somebody knew his leading songs. We had Emil McKeelin up here leading songs, but they got to practice. But here you have this big, burly man standing by the piano, probably the first time he'd ever stood by a piano. He wouldn't know what a chandelier was if he'd tell her. He wouldn't know what he was. He'd think it was maybe something you played, an instrument of some sort. But he was standing there, and he was trying to lead songs. And of course, not that I could tell there was a beat or anything with this individual. Pretty soon, he was up in front of the congregation leading songs. Didn't look the part, by the way, but that's what they had. And he served in that way in capacity. And that individual became an elder within the church. But I'm talking about the fact, brethren, that God's people don't compare themselves among themselves, but they see Jesus Christ as that paragon of virtue and that act be described for. They're not stuck where they are, but they're progressing in their lives.

The kind of an attitude that one week, you know, somebody shows up and they might have overalls on. And they find out, well, you know, we should come before God and honor God. Next week they got slacks on. I remember when I first came to church, I didn't even have a jacket to wear. We went down to the thrift shop. And I think I bought two or three sport jackets. And, you know, in Arkansas, to wear a sport jacket in the middle of the summertime that is one of these big wool things, let's just say I was stopping wet at the end of the service because they didn't have ecritus in the hall where we were. But men and women alike, by the way, were transformed. You know, first time I ever drank champagne in my life was in the church. And I remember members inviting me over for the night to be much observed and had this elegance set up, you know, the wine goblets and champagne goblets and all that stuff. It wasn't, you know, these people were not wealthy. But you see, they were trying to train to be kings and priests. And to learn how, at least, if they didn't have that experience, to learn how to mimic the future king of kings and lord of lords. And that's what I'm challenging you, brethren, to do. Don't make excuses. Don't compare yourselves among yourselves. Don't set your own standard. Compare yourself to Jesus Christ, the striving, brethren, to attain, you know, to His measure and His stature as the king of kings and lord of lords. You know, another excuse that people make is, well, I'm different than other people. I'm just different than other people. I think I'm just different than everyone else. You know, I'm not a yellow pencil, you know, somebody will often say, like a box of yellow pencils. And God wouldn't surely expect me because I'm different. He wouldn't expect me to do things that He asked other people to do. Surely He wouldn't do that. Well, this is the problem with many people. You know, some people, you find that's the problem when a healthy, strapping young man pulls into a handicap parking place because he's different. You wouldn't expect him to to to iron laws, you know, you wouldn't expect him to do that at all. Sometimes people, again, think that they're the exception to the rule. Some, by the way, make this excuse physically and they make it spiritually speaking as well. That they're exceptions. Well, you know, we do have someone who understands how different we are, and that is none other than Jesus Christ, who's an advocate in heaven. And you know how our advocate in heaven understands how different you and I are? He knows that we are carnal. That's what he knows. He knows that we are selfish, and he knows this one thing, that whatever we are, how different we may be, we've got to overcome, and we've got to change to be in the Kingdom of God. That's what he knows. That's what your Lord and Savior advocate is in heaven. And he knows that about all of us, brethren. And God didn't call you, and He didn't call me because we were special. He didn't call us because we're different. He did call us as whatever state is in this life, brethren, to be like Him, to grow to the measure and the stature of Jesus Christ. Let's notice over here in Hebrews chapter 4, Hebrews 4 verse 14.

Hebrews 4 and verse 14. You know, it says, seeing then, and hopefully we do see, brethren, our Advocate in heaven. We see what He knows, what He's aware of, that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens. Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. We embrace Jesus as our Savior. If we, as God's people, you know, have received God's Spirit, we need to, again, hold fast. But it says, well, we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was at all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. He knows how tough this human nature is. But, you know, the first step, brethren, to having a relationship with our Lord and Savior is at the right hand of the Father, our Advocate in heaven, is realizing, brethren, this one fact, that we have carnal nature and we've got to overcome it.

And that while we may think we're different than everyone else, we fit in the same pool of every human being that has ever lived or ever existed. And the fact is that if we did not have Jesus Christ, we'd all be headed toward death. But God has given us an opportunity for life if we can see the big picture. You know, do we see the big picture of what God is trying to do? Over in 1 Corinthians chapter 10 over here, 1 Corinthians chapter 10, in verse 13, here Paul tells us this. Sometimes, again, we think we're different. He says, there is no temptation that has taken you or overtaken you, except such is common to man. And sometimes people think, well, you know, I'm different because I've got my physical limitations. Well, that again is a difficulty that people have. But, you know, I want to ask you something, brethren. Do you want God only to call people that have no health problems?

How many of you would be here if God only called people that never had a health problem? I wouldn't be here. So, and I suspect that every one of us have had something, a health problem of some sort. I knew one time a man who was paralyzed from his neck down. And he lived in Oklahoma, and he was a painter. And, you know, he would paint, he would put a paintbrush between his teeth and he would paint, you know, pictures. Some of them were really beautiful that he painted. And this same man who was paralyzed from the neck down, you know, he was attending church. They would roll in on a gurney, and he would be at the back of the hall, you know, be at church. But there again, if God calls you and that's your state, what do you do? What do you do? Well, he did what he knew he needed to do. And so he made good on his calling, and he went forward. You know, he didn't think, well, I'm different than other people. God doesn't expect me to do what he expects of other people. Well, you know, God expects someone who is in such dire straits even to overcome.

Maybe not necessarily what we physically do, but what we think, you know. Of course, even somebody, again, paralyzed, can do wrong from a physical point of view as well. Don't mean to imply that they could not. But it says here, going on, but God is faithful who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you're able. But with the temptation will also make the way of escape that you may be able to bear it. But be careful, brethren, with this, by the way, because God is, oftentimes, he brings you to a cliffhanger.

You think he's not there. You think, as soon as you start thinking he's not there, you come, you're coming to the cliffhanger. That's when God's going to intervene if you can hold fast. So keep that in mind, brethren. Don't think of yourself again as being different than others. God expects you to deal with your problems, overcome them, and change and grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. Another excuse that people make is, that's just the way I am. And again, it's maybe a corollary for the last point that I make, but that's just the way I am. You know, I'm just a gossip.

No, there's telegraph and then there's, as they say, tell a woman, you know, and particularly tell some women. There's some people you just, you don't tell them a secret, whatever it is. I know we had some of our boys were that way, you know, you couldn't tell them a secret because they would not keep the secret, you know. It might take place in church in a public way. It could happen, you know. So you just didn't, you couldn't tell secrets. Or, I'm just lazy. You just kind of understand, I'm just lazy, you know. But you got to understand me. This is where I'm a loner. I'll always be a loner. And, you know, that's the kind of person, by the way, that is going to be when you, when they come to church, they're going to be in the corner away from people. And 40 years later, you want to fight them, they'll be in the corner getting away from people. You see what I'm saying, brethren? God doesn't want us to be that way. We've got to be transformed. You know, so be careful, brethren, about those aspects, and make sure, again, that you are very careful that you don't think about yourself. Well, this is the way I am, and I don't need to change, and I can't change myself. But, you know, it's like there was a common refrain, a song, a song in the Protestant churches, just as I am, dear Lord, just as I am. I don't remember the words of the rest of that. But God, brethren, doesn't accept us just as we are. He might lose in the door, you know, like a tax collector, or a publican, or whatever, but God expects there to be a change. You know, if somebody had been a Pharisee or ascribed, Christ would have expected change in that person. Brethren, don't minimize your part in your own salvation. You have a part. Don't for one minute think, just because you accept Jesus as your Savior, and are forgiven through the blood of Christ, that your job is over.

You have a great part in your own salvation, and it's critical, brethren.

Let's go to Proverbs chapter 27.

You know, how can you know, brethren, your own character?

How can you know your own character? Whether it's good or whether it's bad? What's Proverbs chapter 27 over here?

Solomon evaluated that, asked that of himself, well, how do you know? How do you qualify it? And how do you qualify it? But in Proverbs 27 and down in verse 19, it says, as in water, face reflects face. So a man's heart reveals the man. You ever looked into a pool of calm, pristine water? What do you see? You see your face looking up at you, don't you? You ever looked into a pair of black whale-shined shoes? You know, it's really buffed like the old military type of shoesign. You could see your face, a reflection, not nearly as clear, but as in water. It says, so a man's heart reveals the man. You want to know you, your character? Look into your heart. Look into your heart, brethren. If you want to know human nature, brethren, look into your own heart. Because that is where it is. Human nature right there in your own heart. If you want to know God's nature, where do you look? Where do you look for that? You look into the law of God, don't you? You look into the Word of God. In other words, you don't, brethren, look at your own flaws to overcome. You look at the law of God to overcome and to find out what God's law is and what His character is. And that's what we should mimic.

Now, sometimes when people, you know, you begin to counsel with them and you've said all that you could say. I mean, you kind of... I've been in this situation where I've counseled with people and it's like, you know, it's not the purpose, by the way, the ministry sort of put people in a corner and confront them about something. But pretty soon, you know, this book right here has that quality about it, doesn't it? And pretty soon we're sort of cornered over here and it's either... we make a decision or we don't, right? So sometimes people get, again, put in the corner, but then what kind of an excuse will people tend to make?

Well, he just doesn't like me. He doesn't like the way I am. He doesn't... maybe throw it off into another arena, you know. I see that happen to people that they basically turn on the messenger, the person that told them what they needed to do, and he doesn't like me. You know, first of all, sometimes people really have a wrong attitude if you try to tell them, you know, what they need to do. You know, they think, if you like me, you would agree with what I want to do. And so you must be my enemy. You know, you must be someone who is my foe. Of course, it's usually directed towards somebody in authority who they consider to be a foe of theirs. I've had people that have said to me, well, you've always had it out for me. I'm thinking, what? Where did you ever get that? But that has happened to people. And the reason why they say that is because they don't really want to do what counsel has been given.

There's self-will in that way. And they imagine something sometimes, and it's true, brethren. It's true, I suppose, that, carnally speaking, it could happen that somebody wouldn't like us. I must say, you know, through the years, I haven't liked everyone that I've ever come in contact with in the church. But I can say, without equivocation, I loved everyone. I cared for everyone and still do a great deal. I love them very much. I want them to be in the kingdom of God, have no compunctions whatsoever of being with certain individuals, even if we may not, you know, get along with each other from a physical standpoint. I want them to be in the kingdom of God and all of that. But, you know, never, never of disliking, I mean, of hating somebody, always loving someone. Sometimes you give a sermon, and somebody will think, well, that sermon was just to me. Yeah, he's talking to me, all right. And you know what? Since he was talking to me, I'm not coming back. Well, better, am I talking to you today? You know, it's like Robin Weber says, can we talk? I sure hope so. I hope that you think I'm talking to every one of you in this room right now, every one of you, and realize this, rather than that I'm talking to myself as well, talking to all of us. But sometimes people can get in the idea, again, the wrong idea, that, well, he doesn't like me. Oh, brethren, you know, God loves us. I love God's people. He's just sometimes I don't like the ways, and God doesn't like our ways that may be contrary to His way. Let's go to Proverbs chapter 29, I believe over here, and verse 1. And I hope that you realize, brethren, from the pulpit, I don't think I'm always chasing in you. You know, I didn't bring my bull whip up here today. You know, are my six shooters. I remember one pastor, by the way, back years and years ago. He's from Texas, I think. And, you know, he took his, I think he took his revolvers that he had, you know, it was not loaded or anything, but he was in, I think, New Jersey, as I recall. Can you imagine a Texan, you know, moving up to New Jersey? And, anyway, you had to know this man, by the way. But anyway, he moved up there and he put his revolvers on the lectern. You know, you hear the clank. He said, I'm the new sheriff in town. But, you know, I don't believe I have ever been that way with you, brethren. Didn't bring my bull whip, my six shooters, or anything like that. You know, I think I've been fairly gentle with all of you. But it says, he who is often rebuked, Proverbs 29 verse 1, and hardens his neck will be suddenly destroyed, and that without remedy. You see, when we come into the church, brethren, one of the things we've got to be careful is not stiffening our neck. If we hear something like this saying, if the shoe fits, wear it. You know, if the shoe fits, wear it. Another excuse, brethren, that people make, and I'll just briefly mention this one, because we've talked about this a good deal in the church, is I don't have any talent. Yeah, God called me, and I'm really thankful, but I really don't have any talent.

Well, brethren, according to the Bible, all of us have one talent. I don't know what it is.

I once knew a man that, by the way, had a remarkable ability of being able to spit a long way. I don't mean that, brethren. That was his talent, but all of us have a talent. I don't know what it is. The talent that people have, you know, in fact, this individual was good, because he won watermelon seed spitting contest, you know, so that's good. I think he had a big gap between his teeth, and he'd get a lot of... and he would, you know, be able to force it out that way. I'm being facetious, by the way, but to say I don't have any talent is an excuse.

We always encourage people when they come to the church, of course, if we have a speaker's club, get involved in a speaker's club. Get involved in the women's club. The ladies' friendship circle. Get involved. Begin to grow, develop, expand yourself, begin to read, study, grow, and develop. Brethren, we are, as God's people, to be growing, always constantly growing, not remaining the same. So from the outset we read in Luke 9 that Jesus doesn't like hearing excuses. He didn't call us to hear our excuses. We're called the weak of the world, for cry out the base things of the world. God didn't call them noble. We know that. We know that. And if God wanted us to remain weak in the base of the world, He would not have challenged us by giving us His Spirit. So God, in Jesus Christ, our Father, in Jesus Christ, only hears excuses of why we're not pursuing the King of God with all of our heart and mind and soul. Why am I not pushing forward, regardless of the obstacles that get in the way? So, brethren, don't let anything become a barrier for you to progress and grow in godly character. Nothing. I don't care if it's your physical resources, your abilities, you know, whatever it might be, or the job, or your family, or your marriage, or whatever, brethren, it might be. Let nothing throw you off the pathway to the goal of being in the kingdom and being there to be a King and Priest when Jesus Christ appears on the scene. Like I said, brethren, we are pioneers as God's people, a people who become self-reliant, who, if need be, could survive on our own. Although that's not the situation right now, we're together, the time may come when we'll be by ourselves. So, you know, it might be that way for many in the future, in fact. But we are pioneers, brethren, of a new way of life leading to the new world that is coming. Let's make sure, again, we don't make excuses along the way, because our Savior, Jesus Christ, doesn't want to hear any excuses.