SPEAKER_00: Okay.
SPEAKER_00: Anyway, it's a privilege for me to come here because uh I see what God's been doing here over the last five years or so, especially.
SPEAKER_00: And I've always thought, and as I pray for this church, I every time this truth comes around me that this community around here desperately needs this church to be the light of Jesus Christ and to just show people that we're not perfect people, but we're following him, and it makes a huge difference in our lives.
SPEAKER_00: Makes a world of difference in that.
SPEAKER_00: So uh thankful for this church, thankful for Nate and the leadership that he's assembled here.
SPEAKER_00: And in fact, uh, do you guys know what the month of October is?
SPEAKER_00: Football?
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00: Halloween, parties, and everything.
SPEAKER_00: It is also unofficially shared as Pastor Appreciation Month.
SPEAKER_00: And I don't know who designated that.
SPEAKER_00: Uh that's not a biblical designation, but but there is a principle in the Bible that speaks to this.
SPEAKER_00: 1 Thessalonians 5.12 says, now we ask you, brothers, to acknowledge those who work diligently among you, who preside over you in the Lord and give you instruction to acknowledge them, to appreciate them.
SPEAKER_00: And so as those who are blessed to receive God's word from uh just faithful servants, I would just encourage you, because it is an admonition in scripture, to appreciate your pastors, to appreciate the leaders.
SPEAKER_00: And it can be done just a simple note, basically saying, thank you, thank you for being God's tool in my life to bring me closer to Him.
SPEAKER_00: It could be a little note, it could be a little gift or whatever I'm thinking about you.
SPEAKER_00: It's not to put them on pedestals.
SPEAKER_00: Pastors don't believe don't belong on pedestals because they're servants.
SPEAKER_00: And so I know that the staff in this church, they're not people who want adoration to be put on pedestals.
SPEAKER_00: They just want what's best for you.
SPEAKER_00: And I think about this as pastors, they're not here to fill a calendar, they're not here to run programs.
SPEAKER_00: They are here simply to bring men and women, children and youth, requip them for a face-to-face appointment with God one day.
SPEAKER_00: And that's a sobering, sobering calling.
SPEAKER_00: And I appreciate their desire to do it in such a good way.
SPEAKER_00: So uh we good with that?
unknown: Yes.
SPEAKER_00: All right, all right.
SPEAKER_00: Thank you, church.
SPEAKER_00: Uh, again, Nate didn't ask me to share that.
SPEAKER_00: He probably is not happy that I'm sharing that, you know, whatever.
SPEAKER_00: But but it's it's an admonition in scripture that needs to be followed.
SPEAKER_00: Um, the message that uh that I want to share today has been something that God has been growing in my heart for around two years now.
SPEAKER_00: Um because of a phone call that I received from a man who was a really, really good friend of mine.
SPEAKER_00: Uh, he was part of our church in in Vacaville, an amazing servant.
SPEAKER_00: Uh, he was a biologist by trade.
SPEAKER_00: Uh moved to University of Texas down in Austin to teach there.
SPEAKER_00: Um and uh he called me out of the blue and said, Yeah, I'm just calling, asking for prayer.
SPEAKER_00: Just got back from the doctor's office and I've been diagnosed with ALS.
SPEAKER_00: He goes, and I'm just shocked.
SPEAKER_00: Just don't even know what this means for the focus of my life.
SPEAKER_00: And so that began a uh a regular, pretty much weekly conversation between us about his struggles with faith and about his struggles to use whatever he has left in his life to glorify God.
SPEAKER_00: And uh he used the incredible brain that he had to do research in the book of Psalms and about where is God and suffering, and he wrote some incredible articles which I've sent and shared with those that I know are going through suffering in their own life.
SPEAKER_00: And uh Greg passed just a few weeks ago, and I would say that in the last couple of months, he had long since lost his ability to speak.
SPEAKER_00: We communicated through email and some texts.
SPEAKER_00: The last couple of months, our conversations turned to heaven, knowing that he's soon going to be there.
SPEAKER_00: And he goes, you know, I'm not all that clear about what God means when he talks about in heaven there are rewards.
SPEAKER_00: Isn't it just a reward enough to be with Jesus?
SPEAKER_00: But he talks more and more about rewards in Scripture.
SPEAKER_00: So I said, frankly, I'm not all that sure about those either.
SPEAKER_00: And so that kind of took me to a place where I wanted to dig in scripture to find out more what these rewards are all about and what should be our attitudes towards heavenly rewards.
SPEAKER_00: So, in with that in mind, um I've titled this message Motives for a Passionate Life.
SPEAKER_00: Motives for a Passionate Life.
SPEAKER_00: And really that began with a scripture that I was trying to uh look at the scripture to encourage Greg.
SPEAKER_00: And the the one that I fell on is Revelation 22.12.
SPEAKER_00: Uh, if we have that one up there.
SPEAKER_00: Um yeah, let me before we get to 1 Corinthians, Revelation 22.12.
SPEAKER_00: Uh Jesus says this Behold, I am coming soon, and my reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done.
SPEAKER_00: I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus says this when he's wrapping up scripture, saying, Hey, look at you guys, be sure that just as I rose from the dead, be sure the fact that I'm coming again, and my reward is with me.
SPEAKER_00: What does he mean by that?
SPEAKER_00: Well, Paul understood from his close relationship with God that rewards were important to him.
SPEAKER_00: And throughout the New Testament, we are enlightened about heavenly rewards mainly through the teachings of the Apostle Paul.
SPEAKER_00: It was his belief that, or it was his conviction that rewards were a major source of the motivation of his life.
SPEAKER_00: That one day Jesus was coming back, and when he does, there will be a time of rewards.
SPEAKER_00: Paul lived for that.
SPEAKER_00: And he reminds us over and over and over again about the rewards that Jesus will be giving us.
SPEAKER_00: Scriptures like 1 Corinthians chapter 9, verses 24 through 27.
SPEAKER_00: If you have your Bibles, you can turn to that.
SPEAKER_00: If not, they're up on the screen there.
SPEAKER_00: He says this, Do you not know that in a race all the runners run?
SPEAKER_00: But only one gets the prize.
SPEAKER_00: Run in such a way as to get the prize.
SPEAKER_00: Everyone who competes in games goes into strict training.
SPEAKER_00: They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.
SPEAKER_00: Therefore, I do not run like a man running aimlessly.
SPEAKER_00: I do not fight like a man beating the air.
SPEAKER_00: No, I beat my body and make it my slave, so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
SPEAKER_00: Now, when you hear Paul talk about things like this, he's a guy that I wouldn't want to meet on a one-on-one game in a basketball court.
SPEAKER_00: You know, it's like, hey, I'm gonna win.
SPEAKER_00: I just he just got this intense passion about him to win.
SPEAKER_00: What is it, Paul?
SPEAKER_00: Is it just your own ego that has to win?
SPEAKER_00: And basically, we're gonna see in our study that it wasn't that at all.
SPEAKER_00: It's the fact that if Jesus called me and saved me and promised me heaven, then with the rest of my life, man, I want to give him my very best.
SPEAKER_00: Wasn't about him, it was about his God.
SPEAKER_00: And it wasn't about trying to earn salvation.
SPEAKER_00: I'm not trying to beat my body in the air to be able to be saved or whatever.
SPEAKER_00: Because we know that the moment that you accept Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord, you pass from death to life.
SPEAKER_00: That moment, you're not working to save yourself.
SPEAKER_00: That happens by belief and by his grace given to you through your belief and faith in him.
SPEAKER_00: It's about love for God.
SPEAKER_00: And so, why is Paul so obsessed with rewards in heaven?
SPEAKER_00: And sometimes I struggle with this because when I look at rewards on earth, much of the time they lead to pride.
SPEAKER_00: You know, if I invite you over to my house and I say, this is my trophy wall.
SPEAKER_00: Hey, that trophy right there is when I was in college and I was the MVP of our intramural football flag football team.
SPEAKER_00: Wow, that's a good one.
SPEAKER_00: Here's another ribbon that I was uh second place in my city spelling bee.
SPEAKER_00: That was a big one.
SPEAKER_00: And when we share our rewards, our awards and things like that, we're saying, look at me.
SPEAKER_00: I am somebody.
SPEAKER_00: Look at what I've done.
SPEAKER_00: And so it's all tends to be all about me.
SPEAKER_00: But Paul's saying, no, these rewards are different than that.
SPEAKER_00: Because pride, you're right, God has no place for pride.
SPEAKER_00: In Proverbs 16, 5, God says, the Lord detests all the proud of heart.
SPEAKER_00: Those who believe that they need to be able to wave their own flags all the time and say, look at me, I'm somebody, I've done something significant.
SPEAKER_00: It's not about that at all.
SPEAKER_00: And so Paul talks about rewards mainly.
SPEAKER_00: The bulk of his teaching comes from 1 Corinthians chapter 3.
SPEAKER_00: If you have your Bibles, grab and turn there, because that's what we'll be at the rest of this time this morning.
SPEAKER_00: And that basically the background of the book of Corinthians, Paul, God used Paul to found that church.
SPEAKER_00: And he taught there.
SPEAKER_00: And he and he and he uh raised up disciples to be able to be part of that church, but that church was stunted in their growth.
SPEAKER_00: They were an immature church, they had many, many different problems, but they were still Christ's church.
SPEAKER_00: You know that?
SPEAKER_00: He didn't give up on him.
SPEAKER_00: He said, No, let's scrap this one off the face of the earth.
SPEAKER_00: Let's try again.
SPEAKER_00: No, you believed, and God never lets you go.
SPEAKER_00: Reminder that there are no perfect churches, no perfect pastors.
SPEAKER_00: And we all struggle, but we're all growing, we're committed to what Christ is doing in our life.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: So, in that same light, Paul is chapter by chapter dealing with some of the problems and the issues of their lives and saying, hey, we need to correct this.
SPEAKER_00: Chapter three, the issue was people got into people worship.
SPEAKER_00: You know, and sometimes people in the church can do this.
SPEAKER_00: We we try to make celebritize our leaders.
SPEAKER_00: Oh, look at this guy.
SPEAKER_00: Have you heard his tapes?
SPEAKER_00: Have you read his books?
SPEAKER_00: He's incredible.
SPEAKER_00: No, he might be used by God in a great way, but like I said before, they don't pastors don't believe they don't uh uh shouldn't be placed on altars.
SPEAKER_00: But but but they were doing that back in 1 Corinthians 13.
SPEAKER_00: They were saying, Man, Apollos discipled me.
SPEAKER_00: He is such a great guy.
SPEAKER_00: We'd go out to lunch together and have fun, and oh, he's the best.
SPEAKER_00: Somebody else would say, Hey, look at I hung out with Paul.
SPEAKER_00: He is such an incredible teacher, he is way better than Apollos in this way.
SPEAKER_00: So they're arguing about people.
SPEAKER_00: And Paul's saying, no, no, no, no.
SPEAKER_00: Get your eyes not on people, but about Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: People are God's servants that he uses, but you're to put your eyes on people, on God, not on people.
SPEAKER_00: So Paul starts addressing this right in the middle of this argument in chapter 3, verses 5 through 7.
SPEAKER_00: What, after all, is Apollos and what is Paul?
SPEAKER_00: Only servants through whom you come to believe, as the Lord is assigned to each his task.
SPEAKER_00: I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow.
SPEAKER_00: So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who makes things grow.
SPEAKER_00: That is so cool to see Paul's humility here.
SPEAKER_00: In fact, if you want to know what the attitude of a godly spiritual leader is, you just look at verse 7.
SPEAKER_00: When he says, So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who makes things grow.
SPEAKER_00: I mean, if there's if there's some great work of God, God might have, and he did use godly leaders, but it was God's spirit that caused the growth, right?
SPEAKER_00: So anybody who claims that for themselves, man, I would wonder about them.
SPEAKER_00: Because a truly godly servant says, Hey, I'm just a servant of God.
SPEAKER_00: I'm a tool of his to build this kingdom in such a powerful way.
SPEAKER_00: So that's Paul's attitude.
SPEAKER_00: And then we go on into verses 10 and 11.
SPEAKER_00: It says, By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it.
SPEAKER_00: But each one should be careful how he builds.
SPEAKER_00: For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_00: Stop there for a minute.
SPEAKER_00: Paul is saying, remember the church isn't about flashy preachers, it's about the foundation of the church.
SPEAKER_00: And Paul says, I laid that foundation, which is what?
SPEAKER_00: Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_00: In 1 Corinthians chapter 2, Paul says, I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
SPEAKER_00: That's the foundation of our lives.
SPEAKER_00: That leads to salvation.
SPEAKER_00: That's the source of your strength and your direction every day of your life.
SPEAKER_00: So Paul's saying, This is the foundation that I laid here.
SPEAKER_00: And everybody is building upon that foundation of Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: There are other religions in this world that have different kinds of foundations.
SPEAKER_00: Some religions have foundations of traditionalism.
SPEAKER_00: Some it's moralism, you know, keeping a standard of rights and wrongs, and that's their religion.
SPEAKER_00: So many different things that people can make as their foundation.
SPEAKER_00: Paul says, this is where Christianity is different.
SPEAKER_00: In our culture today, we like to be so um multicultural, which is a good thing, but sometimes multi-belief system.
SPEAKER_00: Oh, if that belief works for you, fine, fine.
SPEAKER_00: I believe this, fine, fine.
SPEAKER_00: Paul says, you know what?
SPEAKER_00: There is one foundation for the church.
SPEAKER_00: It's not Jesus and moralism.
SPEAKER_00: It's not Jesus and anything else, it's Jesus alone.
SPEAKER_00: Basically, the points to the New Testament.
SPEAKER_00: The four gospels speak of Jesus' life.
SPEAKER_00: They explain what he did, what he came to do.
SPEAKER_00: All the letters in the New Testament interpret Jesus' life and comment on what that should mean for our life.
SPEAKER_00: The book of Revelation tells us that Jesus is coming back again.
SPEAKER_00: It's all about Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: That's the foundation of our building.
SPEAKER_00: And so if you're keeping any kind of notes, that the first point really is whether you realize it or not, you are under construction.
SPEAKER_00: A building that happens every day of your life.
SPEAKER_00: It happens through your thoughts, it happens through your actions, it happens through your uh relationships.
SPEAKER_00: The moment that you began a relationship with Jesus, basically you started this building process.
SPEAKER_00: And it will be completed when Christ comes back for you.
SPEAKER_00: Kind of a cool idea.
SPEAKER_00: That your life matters to God and everything that you do matters to Him.
SPEAKER_00: So Paul makes it very, very clear that this is the foundation that we live, we we live with.
SPEAKER_00: And the second point, if you're taking notes, is the quality of your building will be clearly revealed one day.
SPEAKER_00: The building that you're building makes sense.
SPEAKER_00: You know, um, several years ago when our kids hit the fourth grade, and how many of you have children have gone through the fourth grade in a California public school?
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you know what fourth grades, you know, if you happen to remember what you do in the fourth grade, you have a section called California Missions, all about the missions that uh that that came up here.
SPEAKER_00: And then the culminations of that mission segment is every kid has to build a model of a California mission.
SPEAKER_00: And I'm convinced after going through this twice, that 90% of kids have nothing to do with those projects.
SPEAKER_00: It's all the parents.
SPEAKER_00: Both of our sons kind of, you know, okay, you have to build a mission.
SPEAKER_00: What do you got?
SPEAKER_00: How do you want to do this?
SPEAKER_00: Uh so thankfully, uh, they had a mother that's very creative, and so she says, let's build it out of graham crackers and frosting.
SPEAKER_00: And I, okay, uh, you know more than I do.
SPEAKER_00: And so she's getting this together and putting it together, and it looked kind of like a gingerbread village instead of a mission, but whatever.
SPEAKER_00: So we're bringing this over inside the school and we're hoping that it doesn't fall apart, bringing it into the classroom.
SPEAKER_00: So we set it up there, and a couple of the walls were shaky, and so we fake patched it up with more frosting.
SPEAKER_00: Just about the time we're setting that down.
SPEAKER_00: One of uh our son's best buddies comes in with his parents, and his dad is an architect.
SPEAKER_00: And uh and he's built this thing to scale, he's built it out of supplies that will be there long past time, my lifetime.
SPEAKER_00: You know, that thing was just like a fortress.
SPEAKER_00: And so we kind of sheepishly looked at our little mission, okay, we're done, we're out of here.
SPEAKER_00: But but you we build those buildings, and and Paul's saying this, you're building this building, and what you build with matters.
SPEAKER_00: He said, Well, I thought that it was just about knowing Jesus when you go to heaven, that's it.
SPEAKER_00: Well, I mean, that's the main thing, right?
SPEAKER_00: But he's saying it's important that the rest of your life is about building this building, and it's gonna be revealed what you've built one day.
SPEAKER_00: So when Jesus, he's saying what when he comes for us one day, whether it's the second coming or whether we go to be with him sometime soon.
SPEAKER_00: Either way, we stand before him, he welcomes us in, and then he takes his blowtorch and basically turns it on our building.
SPEAKER_00: And we're going, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.
SPEAKER_00: This is my building, it's precious.
SPEAKER_00: And he and the fire burns up the stuff that wasn't really important anyway.
SPEAKER_00: We're thinking, wow, that's kind of cruel, isn't it?
SPEAKER_00: No, because the purpose of that fire is rewards.
SPEAKER_00: He's not doing this to shame you for the stuff in your life that wasn't worth anything.
SPEAKER_00: He says, we're building.
SPEAKER_00: We either build with gold, silver, and precious stones, or wood, hay, and stubble.
SPEAKER_00: And he doesn't describe exactly what those really mean in this chapter.
SPEAKER_00: But basically, wood, hay, and stubble, it's not bad stuff, it's just not permanent.
SPEAKER_00: And Paul's saying, for what Jesus did to save you demands our best.
SPEAKER_00: We're not gonna give him stuff that's built with temporal products.
SPEAKER_00: I want what's lasting in my life to be built to last for eternity.
SPEAKER_00: And God says, I do too.
SPEAKER_00: I do too.
SPEAKER_00: I want your building to last.
SPEAKER_00: And so build with gold, silver, and precious stones.
SPEAKER_00: Well, what does it mean to build with gold, silver, and precious stones?
SPEAKER_00: For one thing, we know that God says in Hebrews 11, it's impossible to please me without faith.
SPEAKER_00: So, what are you doing in your life that requires faith?
SPEAKER_00: Do you serve by faith?
SPEAKER_00: Do you give by faith?
SPEAKER_00: Do you share your faith with other people by faith, even though it might mean that you might be rejected from certain family members or friends?
SPEAKER_00: But because you love Jesus and because you love them, you're willing to say, Man, I'm willing to put my reputation on the line because I believe that you will stand before God one day to give an account of yourself before Him.
SPEAKER_00: And I want you to know Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: I want you to know Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: So, so when we build with gold, silver, and precious stones, it matters what we build with.
SPEAKER_00: First Corinthians 4 verse 5.
SPEAKER_00: If you have that scripture to be put up here, there's a hint on what God matters to God.
SPEAKER_00: It says, Therefore, do not pronounce judgment before the time before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the conviction of the heart where each one will receive his commendations from the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: That's a huge clue.
SPEAKER_00: God looks at our hearts and motive matters.
SPEAKER_00: Why you do what you do.
SPEAKER_00: I think that many Christians kind of live their life to please God, almost like someone who has a frequent flyer member card, you know, and and if you know, those frequent flyer members is like you get one dollar for every mile flown, right?
SPEAKER_00: And you add up those cards, yeah.
SPEAKER_00: Those points.
SPEAKER_00: And they think they do that with God.
SPEAKER_00: Well, I I attended church today, that's a point.
SPEAKER_00: I read my Bible today.
SPEAKER_00: That's it, that's two points.
SPEAKER_00: You know, I even served in the uh in the Halloween of the fall festival.
SPEAKER_00: That's worth a couple points.
SPEAKER_00: God's got to be pleased with me.
SPEAKER_00: Now, none of those things are bad to do, they're good to do.
SPEAKER_00: But the motive of the heart is most important to God.
SPEAKER_00: Do I do that because I'm earning points?
SPEAKER_00: Or do I do that because I love him?
SPEAKER_00: And he's called me to be a servant, and that's my identity, and I serve and I love people.
SPEAKER_00: And if somebody needs me, God send me.
SPEAKER_00: That's who I am.
SPEAKER_00: That's gold, silver, and precious stones.
SPEAKER_00: That's what that means.
SPEAKER_00: Uh something else that it could mean is is when we when we whatever, when you serve in faith, when you give in faith, when you don't know exactly if your job's gonna last for the next couple months, but you know what?
SPEAKER_00: I give to God thinking, God, you deserve it.
SPEAKER_00: I'm not sure what's there, but I'm trusting that you're gonna take care of me because I'm gonna put you first.
SPEAKER_00: I mean, that's faith.
SPEAKER_00: And are you living by faith?
SPEAKER_00: I think another area that we can look at, we could we could go on all day to this, but just one more example is that God calls us as believers to be holy even as he is holy, right?
SPEAKER_00: And that's hard.
SPEAKER_00: It's so hard for every one of us.
SPEAKER_00: Not a pastor that doesn't struggle with that, not an individual that doesn't struggle with that until the day that Christ comes for us, we have that fleshly nature that hangs around and wants to be selfish.
SPEAKER_00: And every day of our life we look at Jesus so that we can be less selfish and more holy.
SPEAKER_00: But in the face of sin, but there are some Christians who say, Yeah, I know everybody sins.
SPEAKER_00: This is kind of my sin, and God, I rationalize it.
SPEAKER_00: God knows we all sin.
SPEAKER_00: This is my sin, and uh, he kind of winks at it.
SPEAKER_00: I think building with gold, silver, and precious stones in this area of holiness says, God, I am not okay in this area of my life because I know you know it.
SPEAKER_00: And I want to be holy, and I don't want to hold on to this any longer.
SPEAKER_00: I'll do whatever it takes.
SPEAKER_00: I will gather some godly friends around me to pray with me, hold me accountable.
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, if I need to, I'll go to celebrate recovery.
SPEAKER_00: I'll do whatever it is because he's called me to be more like him, and I will never be perfect, but I don't want this sin to define me anymore.
SPEAKER_00: And when you say enough, and when you're saying God, it make me holy, even as you are holy.
SPEAKER_00: I believe that's building with gold, silver, and precious stones.
SPEAKER_00: So the idea then, when he puts the fire on that, it makes those precious stones even more beautiful.
SPEAKER_00: What the fire does to that.
SPEAKER_00: He says, These are the rewards when you allowed me to work in your life.
SPEAKER_00: And we're not gonna compare rewards and say, Oh, look at it, that guy's got a whole handful or arms full, this guy's got one little handful.
SPEAKER_00: Say, no, this is what you did to trust me, and I want to reward that.
SPEAKER_00: Because God loves you so much.
SPEAKER_00: He wants you to say, This is what you did when you trusted me, and when it was hard, and when it was so difficult, but you hung in there and you remained faithful.
SPEAKER_00: That's why it's so important.
SPEAKER_00: So then, the third point then is you will be rewarded for what God has built in you.
SPEAKER_00: 2 Timothy chapter 4, verse 8.
SPEAKER_00: Uh, he says, This henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me, but also to all who loved his appearing.
SPEAKER_00: Paul says it's a crown of righteousness.
SPEAKER_00: Other places he talks about the crown of victory, the crown of faithfulness.
SPEAKER_00: God says, Giving you these crowns, which are immensely costly.
SPEAKER_00: God, Jesus says, I want you to have these because of the way that you trusted me.
SPEAKER_00: So, what do we do then with those crowns?
SPEAKER_00: Revelation chapter 4, verses 10 and 11.
SPEAKER_00: It talks about the 24 elders, again, which is symbolic of the church of Jesus Christ at the throne of God, who were seated at the throne, who worship Him with lives forever and ever, and they cast their crowns before the throne.
SPEAKER_00: Worthy are you, Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.
SPEAKER_00: In the end, it's not about saying, Look at my crown, look at what I did.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus, you're amazing.
SPEAKER_00: You chose to use me, and I didn't deserve it.
SPEAKER_00: But you chose to make something out of my life, and for that I just take the crowns you've given me and give them back to you because you're great.
SPEAKER_00: And you use a very fallible human individual like me, full of selfishness and pride, and gradually you work through me to make something beautiful out of my life.
SPEAKER_00: So, church, the idea here as we wrap this up is what are you doing to build your building today?
SPEAKER_00: You know, what matters most to you right now is not what happened from the day you accepted Christ till now.
SPEAKER_00: What matters most is what you do now till the day that Christ comes back again.
SPEAKER_00: You have that choice to say, God, make something beautiful of my life.
SPEAKER_00: Help me to make choices, help my motives to be clear to walk with you.
SPEAKER_00: I love what a man named David Brainerd said.
SPEAKER_00: God, let me make a difference for you that is utterly disproportionate to who I am.
SPEAKER_00: I don't deserve it.
SPEAKER_00: But God, I I desire to point the light to you.
SPEAKER_00: So help me to grow in this way.
SPEAKER_00: Last quote is William Carey, who is the father of modern-day missions, spent most of his life sharing Christ in China.
SPEAKER_00: Before he died, he went to one of his assistants and he said, When I'm gone, speak nothing of Dr.
SPEAKER_00: Carey, speak only of Dr.
SPEAKER_00: Carey's Savior.
SPEAKER_00: And we have that privilege, church, the rest of our lives, every day, to say, God, do something in me that would Bring somebody else closer to you.
SPEAKER_00: You can do that, and I can't.
SPEAKER_00: So I yield myself to you.
SPEAKER_00: I want to be a servant like you.
SPEAKER_00: Let's pray.