SPEAKER_00: Welcome to Sharper Sword, the publication ministry of Lighthouse Baptist Church in Lemon Grove, California.
SPEAKER_00: Lighthouse believes that individuals can reach their potential for the Lord as they grow in Christ.
SPEAKER_00: We want to hear our Lord say, Well done, thou good and faithful servant.
SPEAKER_00: Let's join Pastor Doug Fisher as he preaches another important biblical message from the Word of God.
SPEAKER_01: Take your Bible tonight, look at 1 John.
SPEAKER_01: And would you also then pick up 1 Kings chapter 5?
SPEAKER_01: 1 John chapter 5 and 1 Kings chapter number 5.
SPEAKER_01: I want to give you a little bit different mindset than I would normally do.
SPEAKER_01: 1 Kings chapter 5 and 1 John chapter 5.
SPEAKER_01: I'm not going to quite ask you to turn to as many scriptures as I was normally do tonight.
SPEAKER_01: I want to be just a little bit more casual with you on some personal things for our church.
SPEAKER_01: 1 John 5, 1 Kings chapter 5, 1 John chapter number 5.
SPEAKER_01: I want to see something tonight, and then we'll get into 1 Kings in just a moment.
SPEAKER_01: 1 John chapter 5, a principle that's important.
SPEAKER_01: Look at verse 1.
SPEAKER_01: Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God.
SPEAKER_01: And I want you to see the next little phrase.
SPEAKER_01: And every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him.
SPEAKER_01: Let me say this to you again so you can get the begats and the begots.
SPEAKER_01: Everyone that loveth him.
SPEAKER_01: And there's only one way you can really love him, is you have to be born of him.
SPEAKER_01: And the only way you can be born of him is to believe that Jesus is Christ.
SPEAKER_01: People who say, I love God, they may not be saved, and they mean well.
SPEAKER_01: But the only way you can really love God is to be born of God.
SPEAKER_01: Would you agree?
SPEAKER_01: Because then God puts us a love in us that we can love him properly.
SPEAKER_01: And every one that loveth him, saved, that begat, loveth him also that is begotten of him.
SPEAKER_01: So the simplicity of that says the brethren love the brethren.
SPEAKER_01: His will is that we love.
SPEAKER_01: So that's what he says.
SPEAKER_01: Look at 1 John chapter 3.
SPEAKER_01: 1 John chapter 3.
SPEAKER_01: And notice verse number 14.
SPEAKER_01: Verse number 14.
SPEAKER_01: For we know that we have passed from death unto life.
SPEAKER_01: How?
SPEAKER_01: Because we love the brethren.
SPEAKER_01: It's that simple.
SPEAKER_01: When you get saved, when you get born again, you start loving people that normally you would have not loved.
SPEAKER_01: Would you agree with that?
SPEAKER_01: We start loving each other.
SPEAKER_01: Normally we wouldn't be taking an interest in each other.
SPEAKER_01: We wouldn't be loving each other.
SPEAKER_01: And somebody says, no, I would have loved people anyways.
SPEAKER_01: Not the way you love once you're born again.
SPEAKER_01: Because uh love tolerates, love forbears, love puts up with, love forgives.
SPEAKER_01: Would you agree with all that?
SPEAKER_01: And the idea then, verse 14, is because we love the brethren.
SPEAKER_01: How do we know that we pass from death into life?
SPEAKER_01: Because we love the brethren.
SPEAKER_01: He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.
SPEAKER_01: So the the concept is, and he goes on, he's pretty strong with this, verse 15 who hope whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer.
SPEAKER_01: And we don't want to go into that.
SPEAKER_01: The idea is when we love, uh when we get saved, we love each other.
SPEAKER_01: Now I want you to see verse number 17, and this is part of what we're talking about tonight.
SPEAKER_01: But whoso hath this world's goods, and see his brother hath need, and shutteth up his bows of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him.
SPEAKER_01: So when we have things and we love the brother, why?
SPEAKER_01: Because we're born again.
SPEAKER_01: When we have things that someone needs, we're not supposed to shut up our bows of compassion because it says, How dwelleth the love of God in him.
SPEAKER_01: Now, if I could, and I I hope I don't do this scripture wrong, brethren, uh, we can't meet everybody's needs.
SPEAKER_01: Uh it'd be impossible, if you would, to give everything to everybody who has needs, even the brothers.
SPEAKER_01: But when the Holy Ghost uh says to us, you have something that is called the world's good.
SPEAKER_01: You have something that's maybe it's materialistic, maybe it's something you have.
SPEAKER_01: And uh when the Holy Ghost says your brother has need of that, what we're supposed to do is obey and not shut up our bows of compassion from him.
SPEAKER_01: Would you agree with that statement?
SPEAKER_01: I know we can't supply everybody's needs, but once in a while the Holy Ghost will say, You have that, give that to that person.
SPEAKER_01: Now it's not only materialistic, sometimes it's uh wisdom, sometimes it's time, sometimes it's a help, sometimes uh, please don't take this wrong.
SPEAKER_01: I know the Boy Scouts, I was a Cub Scout, and we learned you're supposed to do good deeds to people.
SPEAKER_01: And the Cub Scouts, you know, and I know the Boy Scouts have changed and all that, but we're just supposed to be out doing good deeds if you're a Cub Scout or a Boy Scout.
SPEAKER_01: Well, as Christians, we're supposed to do good deeds to each other, especially when we have it.
SPEAKER_01: Now, I want you to see an illustration of that.
SPEAKER_01: Stay right with me.
SPEAKER_01: Look at 1 Kings chapter 5, and then I'm gonna get a little casual with you, if you would, and talk to you about some specifics that deal with us.
SPEAKER_01: 1 Kings chapter 5.
SPEAKER_01: So the concept is when we're born, again, we uh love those that God has begat, especially if we're already begotten.
SPEAKER_01: If we're saved, we love those that get saved.
SPEAKER_01: We may not love them right away, but we learn to love them.
SPEAKER_01: And then we have goods, and we try to give that, but I don't want to put a guilt trip on anybody here about, well, you know, so-and-so needs this, and now we need to give that.
SPEAKER_01: The Holy Ghost will guide in that.
SPEAKER_01: Look at 1 Kings chapter 5 and watch this illustration.
SPEAKER_01: Verse 1, Hiram, king of Tyre, sent his servants unto Solomon.
SPEAKER_01: For he had heard that they had anointed him king in the room of his father.
SPEAKER_01: Please would you underline the next little statement?
SPEAKER_01: For Hiram was ever a lover of David.
SPEAKER_01: So Hiram loved David.
SPEAKER_01: When he heard that David's son Solomon had begun to reign, had come king, Solomon sent to Hiram.
SPEAKER_01: And he said, Thou knowest how that David my father could not build an house under the name of the Lord his God, for the wars which were about him on every side, until the Lord had put them under the soles of his feet.
SPEAKER_01: But now the Lord my God hath given me rest on every side, so that there is neither adversaries nor evil occurrent.
SPEAKER_01: And behold, I purpose to build a house under the name of the Lord my God, as the Lord spake unto David my father.
SPEAKER_01: Let's stop there for a moment.
SPEAKER_01: Hiram, I know you're a lover of my father, you love David.
SPEAKER_01: I'm sending you to say that, you know, David had in his heart to build a house, but he couldn't because of the wars going around.
SPEAKER_01: And now we've been given rest, and now it's my purpose to build in house that my dad purposed to do, and I'm gonna do that because now I'm in my dad's stead, and I'm reigning and ruling, verse number six, and you have something, Hiram, that we need, and I know you loved my dad.
SPEAKER_01: Verse six.
SPEAKER_01: Now therefore command that thou that they hew me cedar trees out of Lebanon, and my servant shall be with thy servants, and unto thee will I give uh hire for thy servants according to all that thou shalt appoint.
SPEAKER_01: For thou knowest that there is not among us any that can skill to hew timber like unto the Sidonians.
SPEAKER_01: So here's what he says: You love my dad.
SPEAKER_01: You know he purposed to build this house for God, and now he's gone, and now it's me, and I purpose to build this house, and you know we don't know how to cut lumber the way you all know how to cut lumber.
SPEAKER_01: The Sidonians are skilled in that, and you've got the wood.
SPEAKER_01: We'd like to come down, and I'd like to join up with you, and we'd like you to supply cedar trees out of Lebanon.
SPEAKER_01: Verse number seven.
SPEAKER_01: And it came to pass when Hiram heard the words of Solomon, he rejoiced greatly.
SPEAKER_01: He wasn't offended because he was asked to do something.
SPEAKER_01: Please listen.
SPEAKER_01: When you love somebody and they asked you to do something, and it's within your power, and you have that, then what the Bible says is we ought to give that, if we possibly can.
SPEAKER_01: And in this case, uh Hiram, if you would, understood.
SPEAKER_01: He said, uh he said this, he rejoiced, verse 7, Blessed be the Lord this day, which hath given unto David a wise son over this great people.
SPEAKER_01: And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, I have considered the things which thou sentest to me for.
SPEAKER_01: I've considered your request, and I will do all thy desire concerning the timber of cedar and concerning timber of fir.
SPEAKER_01: And my servant shall bring them down from Lebanon unto the sea, and I will convey them by sea in floats unto the place that thou shalt appoint me, and will cause them to be discharged there.
SPEAKER_01: It was a trade agreement, if you would.
SPEAKER_01: But it was based on love.
SPEAKER_01: It was based on Hiram, who was ever a lover of David, and for the sake of time, we won't go back further to see why Hiram loves David, but you might want to study that sometimes.
SPEAKER_01: It's very interesting.
SPEAKER_01: Verse number 10.
SPEAKER_01: So Hiram gave Solomon, these are the goods, these are the world's goods that we read about in 1 John.
SPEAKER_01: So Hiram gave Solomon cedar trees and fir trees to all his desires.
SPEAKER_01: They didn't stop there.
SPEAKER_01: Look at verse 12.
SPEAKER_01: And the Lord gave Solomon wisdom, as he promised him, and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and they too made a league.
SPEAKER_01: They made an agreement.
SPEAKER_01: They made an agreement to help one another towards the building of God's house.
SPEAKER_01: Not only did they do just the trees, but they went a little further in verse number 15.
SPEAKER_01: Verse number 15, and you'll see hewers in the mountains.
SPEAKER_01: These hewers were those that would hew out great stones.
SPEAKER_01: It seems like hewers are always associated with stonework.
SPEAKER_01: Verse number 17.
SPEAKER_01: And the king commanded, and they brought great stones, costly stones, and hewed stones, to lay the foundation of the house, and Solomon's builders and Hiram's builders did hew them and the stone squares, so they prepared timber and stones to build the house.
SPEAKER_01: I want to say timber and stones were a major part, if you look at the percentage of what they needed.
SPEAKER_01: This was a major part, if you would, of the building of the house of the Lord and surrounding structures.
SPEAKER_01: But Solomon and Hiram did it because Hiram loved David.
SPEAKER_01: So here's the principle for us in the New Testament.
SPEAKER_01: When you love someone and you have something, and you can team up with them to do something that God is pleased with, then if possible, we should do that.
SPEAKER_01: I'll say it again.
SPEAKER_01: When we team up with each other, something I have, something someone else needs, or vice versa.
SPEAKER_01: When we do that for the work of the Lord, God's very pleased with that.
SPEAKER_01: And love is what binds that together.
SPEAKER_01: It's a little further down that I want you to see something.
SPEAKER_01: And this kind of fits with where we're going tonight in this concept of the message.
SPEAKER_01: Look over at 2 Chronicles 2, and we'll almost be done with the scriptures.
SPEAKER_01: 2 Chronicles chapter 2.
SPEAKER_01: And this is Hiram and Solomon again.
SPEAKER_01: And remember, uh Solomon says, you know, we we don't have skilled people like you have that can do this tree work right and that can do the stones right.
SPEAKER_01: And by the way, I don't in a moment uh want you to think that I know anything about cutting out lumber and floating it down and hewing stone and all that was involved with that.
SPEAKER_01: All I know is Hiram had people well skilled in that, and Huram of the king there had people well skilled, and Solomon needed that help.
SPEAKER_01: Hiram loved David, so he said, I'll help you, I'll team up with you.
SPEAKER_01: And then Solomon asked for one more thing.
SPEAKER_01: He said, uh he said, I need one more thing.
SPEAKER_01: I need somebody especially skilled.
SPEAKER_01: I need a cunning man.
SPEAKER_01: I need somebody that's really dedicated, endued with understanding, to lead this and to do this work.
SPEAKER_01: Notice verse 11.
SPEAKER_01: 2 Chronicles 2, verse 11, it says Huram, king of Tyre, answered in writing, which he sent to Solomon, because the Lord hath loved his people, he hath made thee king over them.
SPEAKER_01: Huram said, uh, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, made heaven and earth, who hath given to David the king a wise son, and due with prudence and understanding, that he might build an house.
SPEAKER_01: And then he says this, verse 13, and now I have sent a cunning man, endued with understanding of Huram my father's house.
SPEAKER_01: And it goes on down to speak about it, and I don't want to go into great detail.
SPEAKER_01: It's in 1 Kings 7 also.
SPEAKER_01: What he said was, I need somebody really skilled that understands to lead this whole thing that can take responsibility for it.
SPEAKER_01: And may I say to you that that was provided, and this teamwork was what was necessary to build what David had envisioned by God.
SPEAKER_01: And even though David was already done on his earth, with his life on the earth, they got this job done, if you would, and God was pleased enough with it that when the temple was finally built, God filled the temple with his power, his cloud of glory.
SPEAKER_01: Now, brother, I want to make this statement to you.
SPEAKER_01: One of the things we Christians need to know is sooner or later we need to work with other Christians.
SPEAKER_01: Sooner or later we need to work with other Christians, and we need to let Christians work with us.
SPEAKER_01: Sometimes we have something that they need, and sometimes they have something that we need.
SPEAKER_01: And I mean between families or between individuals.
SPEAKER_01: May I say also, I'm going to take another step up, not just between individuals, not between families only, but with ministries, with churches.
SPEAKER_01: And I want our church to be the kind of church that says we love other churches.
SPEAKER_01: And if we have something that they need and we can supply, we want to give that to them that enhances the work of God where they're at.
SPEAKER_01: Come on, are you still with me tonight?
SPEAKER_01: We're supposed to love the brethren.
SPEAKER_01: We want our church to love other churches and other ministries.
SPEAKER_01: And if we have something that they have need of, then we want to be willing to give that.
SPEAKER_01: And would you agree by that principle that that's kind of what our leadership conference is about?
SPEAKER_01: We feel like we have something that can help other churches.
SPEAKER_01: We really don't want anything in return.
SPEAKER_01: We're not asking them to send people here.
SPEAKER_01: We're not asking them to send money here.
SPEAKER_01: We're not asking really for any any, I don't know, we're not asking for anything in return.
SPEAKER_01: All we want is for the work of God to go on where they're at.
SPEAKER_01: That God is pleased.
SPEAKER_01: And I believe if we have that mindset and that attitude, then wouldn't you agree that God in his own way will bless us?
SPEAKER_01: I'll give you a case in point.
SPEAKER_01: I'll be a little, I'll be a little uh specific with you.
SPEAKER_01: I wrote down uh just two or three illustrations, so this point kind of comes home.
SPEAKER_01: A number of years ago, uh I had met Sam Filbert.
SPEAKER_01: Uh Sam is uh from St.
SPEAKER_01: Lucia, and so a number of years ago I ran into him, and to be honest with you, he would know where we ran into each other.
SPEAKER_01: I think it was in Hamburg, New York.
SPEAKER_01: I think it was at a tent meeting at Louis Gadano's church or at that time Big Lou's Church.
SPEAKER_01: And uh Louis is his son now who's pastoring now.
SPEAKER_01: Uh uh Big Lou is now in heaven, and uh I think that's where we met Sam.
SPEAKER_01: And Sam and his wife were there, and I think I met them there.
SPEAKER_01: Uh to make a long story short, uh I saw him there a couple of years, and he finally said, uh, Brother Fisher, would you come to St.
SPEAKER_01: Lucia?
SPEAKER_01: And I said, Let me think about it.
SPEAKER_01: I committed, I went down to St.
SPEAKER_01: Lucia, uh involved with his conference a little bit, got a heart for the islands down there a little bit, and met some people and was just kind of a visitor.
SPEAKER_01: I didn't uh didn't think anything more than that, other than I'm preaching, I'll try to help out a little bit.
SPEAKER_01: We met a couple times.
SPEAKER_01: I think I did that for two years.
SPEAKER_01: And then the third year I was planning on going and down again to try to help with the conference and everything.
SPEAKER_01: I was in New York at a meeting with my wife, and we were doing a couples conference, and I remember it specifically.
SPEAKER_01: I'll tell you why.
SPEAKER_01: When you have a kidney snow, it's memorable, especially a big one.
SPEAKER_01: And I think mine was, I don't know, nine millimeters or something like that.
SPEAKER_01: And I don't know how big big is, but for me, that was big.
SPEAKER_01: And I guess everybody's different, but I just know the pain was involved, and uh I didn't know what it was, and so I started going to this pain deal, and on Saturday, after I spoke, uh Friday night and Saturday morning, I got in this pain, and I mean it just was no relief.
SPEAKER_01: And um, I said to Patty, my wife, I said, uh, look, uh, you go on back to California, I'm gonna have to stay here.
SPEAKER_01: And she said, I'll go back to California because we had children here and everything.
SPEAKER_01: But she said, I'll only go if you go to the hospital right now.
SPEAKER_01: She said, Otherwise, I'm not getting on the airplane, I'm staying with you.
SPEAKER_01: I said, Look, the pastor's here, I commit to you, I will go to the hospital right now.
SPEAKER_01: By that time, I had been in this pain for six hours, and it was like, Yeah, I'll go to the hospital.
SPEAKER_01: What are you gonna do?
SPEAKER_01: And so uh one car took her towards the airport, I got in a van, and I remember heading for the hospital, wishing that I could go to heaven right then.
SPEAKER_01: Personal rapture would be great.
SPEAKER_01: And uh we got into the hospital, sitting in the you know, waiting room, etc., etc., and uh got in there, they did the testing and said, You've got a very large kidney stone.
SPEAKER_01: Uh we can't operate today, we need to get a little bit more time.
SPEAKER_01: They gave me some morphine, and I forgot what was going on after that.
SPEAKER_01: I was due to fly back on Saturday, preach here, and fly out to St.
SPEAKER_01: Lucia overnight, Sunday night.
SPEAKER_01: I uh I didn't want to miss my commitment out there, so I called Brother Cheney and I said, I'm in New York, I'm getting ready to have surgery.
SPEAKER_01: I had the first surgery for that kidney stone on Sunday.
SPEAKER_01: They got most of it.
SPEAKER_01: It was quite a week for me, memorable.
SPEAKER_01: Uh I did two surgeries that week, but Brother Cheney got on an airplane in a moment's notice, so to speak, and flew out to St.
SPEAKER_01: Lucia, and Brother Cheney connected out there in an unusual way.
SPEAKER_01: I viewed that kidney stone after the fact as God redirecting what he wanted.
SPEAKER_01: Now, if you say, well, that was chastening, look, humbling, I'll accept whatever you say it was that God brought in my life because when you have a kidney stone, you don't mind whatever it is, just get that thing out of there.
SPEAKER_01: And whatever God wanted to use it for, I was fine, but I knew I couldn't go out there.
SPEAKER_01: I knew we still need to keep the commitment, and so God, please listen, don't take this wrong.
SPEAKER_01: God sent a cunning man that understood, that hooked in with them in a very unusual way, better than I could have ever connected with them.
SPEAKER_01: And God used that because here was the deal they had need of something, and we had something that they needed uh a mentality, uh, and ideas for leadership, and ideas for vision.
SPEAKER_01: Different things that it wasn't money, wasn't finances, but it was a skill that we could impart to them that they needed.
SPEAKER_01: Are you still with me tonight?
SPEAKER_01: It was something we had that they could use, but I wasn't the one to give it.
SPEAKER_01: God wanted Brother Cheney to go to give it.
SPEAKER_01: And ever since that time, I've not been back.
SPEAKER_01: Brother Cheney has gone out there, and Mrs.
SPEAKER_01: Cheney and other people, and I've not been back.
SPEAKER_01: I'm thinking about going back this year.
SPEAKER_01: I'm a little nervous though.
SPEAKER_01: Okay, thank you.
SPEAKER_01: You've read my mind, right?
SPEAKER_01: Brother Sam has asked me every year, and every year I say, I'm busy, Sam, I can't quite make it.
SPEAKER_01: And I'm thinking, kidney stone, kidney stone.
SPEAKER_01: No, just kidding.
SPEAKER_01: But the idea is, Brother Cheney has done such a good job that I haven't needed to go.
SPEAKER_01: And I really feel Brother Cheney hooked up, connected.
SPEAKER_01: Now, as a result of that, Brother Cheney's been in not just St.
SPEAKER_01: Lucia, but he's been in other islands out there.
SPEAKER_01: And as a real result of that, the Cayman Islands showed up at our conference.
SPEAKER_01: Did you meet some of the people?
SPEAKER_01: That was a result really of Brother Cheney going out there, and I wouldn't have been as connected.
SPEAKER_01: I wouldn't have been as influential out there.
SPEAKER_01: And I'm not putting myself down.
SPEAKER_01: I'm just saying sometimes God has a skilled worker that's more skilled than someone else, that can understand better than someone else.
SPEAKER_01: And I believe Brother Cheney was given something to understand and to have perception and could get in there and talk with them in a way that I could never talk with them, work with them.
SPEAKER_01: And as a result of that, every time they come in, the group from the islands, I know many of you have ministered to them and had them in your homes and everything, but Brother Cheney kind of watches over them and makes sure they get what they need and extra things and kind of checks with them while they're here.
SPEAKER_01: And uh Sam and the influence there of, I don't know if there was other islands here this year, but what I'm saying is that came because God put a special love in Brother Cheney's heart for Brother Filbert and the islands out there.
SPEAKER_01: We've had uh the island of Grenada or Granada.
SPEAKER_01: Uh, brother, is it uh Celeste?
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, uh, comes in, and I mean, and we'll have more.
SPEAKER_01: God will bring more in.
SPEAKER_01: It's gonna spread a little bit.
SPEAKER_01: Now, I want to make sure you understand something.
SPEAKER_01: We're not trying to be popular.
SPEAKER_01: We just want the work of God to go on.
SPEAKER_01: I didn't know it, and I'm being a little casual with you tonight.
SPEAKER_01: Uh, last year, my family, we we scheduled for two years to take a cruise.
SPEAKER_01: We went down there into that area, the Caribbean, and one of the islands we stopped in was the Cayman Islands.
SPEAKER_01: We didn't even know that that pastor and and that group was there.
SPEAKER_01: They said, Man, had we known you were coming, we would have done this and this and this and this and taking you here and this and that.
SPEAKER_01: Well, it wasn't quite meant to be yet.
SPEAKER_01: Meaning we didn't know he was there and he didn't know we were coming, and and everything worked out fine for us.
SPEAKER_01: My point being is God's timing is perfect.
SPEAKER_01: Even if we miss it a little bit, we don't miss it.
SPEAKER_01: Because when God wants something to happen, it's going to happen.
SPEAKER_01: And maybe it wasn't when we when we got into caven, maybe we weren't supposed to connect.
SPEAKER_01: Maybe that connection was still supposed to be with the cunning workman.
SPEAKER_01: What do you mean?
SPEAKER_01: Solomon said to Hiram, Do you have a man you could send that really understands this, this hewing, the mountains, and this cedar?
SPEAKER_01: And do you have somebody cunning that can really understand?
SPEAKER_01: Because I want to tell you something.
SPEAKER_01: Uh, I don't think we quite realize how cutting down these cedar trees and floating them down and getting them all there to the appointed place, or the rocks, uh huge stones, and how they were going to do that, because once you get a log down, that doesn't mean you're done.
SPEAKER_01: There's a lot still to do with that log to fit it perfectly as it's supposed to be.
SPEAKER_01: And may I say to you, think about this.
SPEAKER_01: If you remember the temple, they carved that wood before they overlaid it with gold.
SPEAKER_01: Once they carved it and overlaid it, then they impressioned the gold in there and everything.
SPEAKER_01: Somebody had to understand how to do all that that was skilled.
SPEAKER_01: And what Solomon says is we don't have anybody that knows how to do that.
SPEAKER_01: Cut and carve, and you say once they laid the gold, then they did this.
SPEAKER_01: There were impressions and all that.
SPEAKER_01: I've looked it up just a little bit.
SPEAKER_01: I don't understand it all, but it was an art and a skill.
SPEAKER_01: And I believe that God skills men and women to help other works, and what we're supposed to do is loan them out.
SPEAKER_01: We're supposed to give to help the work of God.
SPEAKER_01: Uh, brother Torres, very, very rarely do I go south anymore.
SPEAKER_01: Now I'll let you think about that for a moment.
SPEAKER_01: Because anywhere south you go, you're you're you're into the Hispanic culture, then you're into Central America, then you're into South America, and very rarely do I go south anymore.
SPEAKER_01: But we send a skilled worker south.
SPEAKER_01: Our church sends a skilled worker south.
SPEAKER_01: And Brother Gill goes down there quite a bit.
SPEAKER_01: Uh, Central America, South America.
SPEAKER_01: Uh, this year I'm gonna go down to Mexico City with Kevin Wynne.
SPEAKER_01: I've committed to a couple days down there.
SPEAKER_01: Not that I'm anybody, but he's asked me to come every year.
SPEAKER_01: I went a few years ago, and uh, and if you don't know, one of his daughters has married one of my sons, but he's not asking me because we're father-in-laws.
SPEAKER_01: He's asking me because I guess the Holy Spirit wants him to.
SPEAKER_01: But Gil has been down many times, and we've tried to help that work down there.
SPEAKER_01: Now, brother, I want to tell you something.
SPEAKER_01: When you're in Mexico City and you're running 8,000 people a Sunday, that's a good investment.
SPEAKER_01: And we've tried to invest in that ministry, but we don't have this great affinity or anything like that.
SPEAKER_01: I might talk to him once a year, and we're not trying to get anything from that, and he's not trying to get anything from us.
SPEAKER_01: I gotta tell you, a lot of times I don't even know he's coming into the area, and his mother lives up in Carlsbad.
SPEAKER_01: So he comes up here to visit his mother, and he's very faithful to visit his mother and the children, and he was just in with us.
SPEAKER_01: I didn't even know he was gonna be in town except his daughter, my daughter-in-law, told me, hey, uh, my father's gonna be in, wanted to know if you were gonna be in town, you know, and wants to come over and hear you preach, etc.
SPEAKER_01: But when I heard he was in, I said, no, we'll have him preach.
SPEAKER_01: He's very unassuming.
SPEAKER_01: Brethren, these are the type of ministry relationships that we ought to count it as a privilege to be a part of.
SPEAKER_01: Literally a privilege.
SPEAKER_01: They've started down in Kevin Wynne's out of Kevin's Winds Church.
SPEAKER_01: They've started like 430 churches now in Mexico, in Central America, and in South America, and his goal is 500 churches.
SPEAKER_01: That's his first goal.
SPEAKER_01: They're turning out pastors and they're starting churches each year.
SPEAKER_01: And these are churches that are sticking and staying and having fruit that's remaining.
SPEAKER_01: This is not like, you know, it's not just uh a guy going down and gathering some people under a tree.
SPEAKER_01: They're building buildings, they're doing right, they're being very, very productive, and they're going down to South Central America and South America.
SPEAKER_01: Brethren, we ought to be thankful we've got a Spanish ministry that can send laborers down to work and to minister and to and to help, and we get benefited also.
SPEAKER_01: Here's the principle again.
SPEAKER_01: When you have something that's the world's good, you say, well, what does that mean, worldly?
SPEAKER_01: No, that just means something that that would consider uh necessary, whether it be materialistic uh cedars or or or mountain stone, if you would, or in this case, wisdom, knowledge, Bible.
SPEAKER_01: Uh brother Cheney's very interested in helping with the discipleship program at some of these churches.
SPEAKER_01: And he's got a way that he's got some materials that he can help that they need, and they need to enhance their churches down there.
SPEAKER_01: And he's been thinking about how he can do that, and and we need to pray, God give wisdom and a cunning spirit that we can provide something for them that they can utilize, that the work of God gets enhanced.
SPEAKER_01: Are you still with me tonight?
SPEAKER_01: The idea is when we have something that we can give, that we can expect nothing in return, and just give of our time, of our effort, of our goods, what we have, and uh and and God bless, God is pleased, and the work of the Lord goes on.
SPEAKER_01: May I say to you, what a great thing to be part of.
SPEAKER_01: Why do we do that?
SPEAKER_01: Because we love the brethren.
SPEAKER_01: Because we love the brethren, because God has put a love in us, and again, we're not doing it because we have something we're building, like reputation, or have you heard of us?
SPEAKER_01: Brother, we are so unconcerned about that.
SPEAKER_01: We'd rather say, go thy way and tell no man.
SPEAKER_01: Just use what you get.
SPEAKER_01: May God bless it.
SPEAKER_01: We're all down here trying to help each other out.
SPEAKER_01: We serve the same king, we serve the same God, and if we got something that we can help you with, uh look at Titus real quick.
SPEAKER_01: Two more scriptures.
SPEAKER_01: Everybody still all right with this tonight?
SPEAKER_01: Try to give a principle, and then I'm gonna have them in just a moment, guys.
SPEAKER_01: I'll tell you when.
SPEAKER_01: In just a moment, I'm gonna have you shut off the recording.
SPEAKER_01: Titus.
SPEAKER_01: Look at Titus chapter number one.
SPEAKER_01: Titus chapter number one.
SPEAKER_01: And notice something that it says for me here.
SPEAKER_01: Titus chapter one.
SPEAKER_01: And this is just something it says for me.
SPEAKER_01: I think though it applies to, I think it applies to all Christians, but it starts to go through a uh a scenario about leadership.
SPEAKER_01: And he's speaking verse number four, he's speaking to Titus.
SPEAKER_01: And he says to Titus in verse number five, for this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city as I appointed thee.
SPEAKER_01: That scripture has a very, very special meaning to me.
SPEAKER_01: But one of the things he continues on, he says, If if any be blameless, the husband of one wife.
SPEAKER_01: He's talking about ordaining elders.
SPEAKER_01: Verse 5.
SPEAKER_01: So he says, if the elders that you see, if they're blameless, the husband of one wife, that they have faithful children, and um, then he says, for a bishop, he says, when you ordain elders and you're looking at this leadership, a bishop must be blameless as the stewards of God.
SPEAKER_01: He says, Titus, when you're looking for these men, they can't be self-willed.
SPEAKER_01: They can't be soon angry, they can't have this temper problem.
SPEAKER_01: They can't be given to wine.
SPEAKER_01: There's, I'm just giving you some general principles when you choose these elders, these leaders.
SPEAKER_01: They can't be a striker, they can't be one to get in those fist fights all the time or verbal fights.
SPEAKER_01: Not given to filthy lucre.
SPEAKER_01: Money can't rule them.
SPEAKER_01: They've got to be a lover of hospitality.
SPEAKER_01: By the way, I'm working on that one.
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_01: I am.
SPEAKER_01: A lover of hospitality.
SPEAKER_01: But here's the next little one.
SPEAKER_01: Look what it says: a lover of good men.
SPEAKER_01: A lover of good men.
SPEAKER_01: So leaders here need to be lovers of good men.
SPEAKER_01: And by the way, I hope you understand.
SPEAKER_01: We can say that, and I'm not worried about that.
SPEAKER_01: I'm from California.
SPEAKER_01: Let's talk about what the book says.
SPEAKER_01: I'm supposed to love good men.
SPEAKER_01: I'm supposed to care about good men.
SPEAKER_01: I want you to love good men and women that come in.
SPEAKER_01: I'm so glad, Brother Vic, you guys went over and you've been working down there a little bit in St.
SPEAKER_01: Lucia and you know them well, and you were down there working.
SPEAKER_01: Were you in St.
SPEAKER_01: Lucia or Granada?
SPEAKER_01: Both.
SPEAKER_01: St.
SPEAKER_01: Lucia and Granada.
SPEAKER_01: You have a heart for what's going on down there.
SPEAKER_01: Brother Cheney went, and that kind of paved the way for you all, so to speak.
SPEAKER_01: So I'm thankful for a kidney stone.
SPEAKER_01: Because I couldn't go anymore.
SPEAKER_01: Brother Cheney went, and then that somehow opened up the door for you all to go over there and help.
SPEAKER_01: And you got a real heart for them.
SPEAKER_01: You and Stace on what they and you know, you stayed down there for a few weeks, didn't you, on both islands or something like that?
SPEAKER_01: You guys know some of the specifics that I don't know.
SPEAKER_01: And I'm glad you could encourage them and help them and work with them, and they can come here, and you know about that stuff.
SPEAKER_01: Sister, did you get to know some of the gals from the Cayman Islands?
SPEAKER_01: I want to tell you now, don't take this wrong.
SPEAKER_01: But once you get in the kind of the Caribbean, let's understand something.
SPEAKER_01: We would look at them as, okay, the islands in the Caribbean and at St.
SPEAKER_01: Lucia.
SPEAKER_01: They would tell you there's a huge difference between those islands.
SPEAKER_01: A huge difference between the cultures.
SPEAKER_01: St.
SPEAKER_01: Lucia is more Creole, and they get more influence from South America.
SPEAKER_01: The Cayman Islands would not get influence from South America, and there are other islands down there, Granada and Grenada.
SPEAKER_01: They have uh the British were influential with the war that went on.
SPEAKER_01: When we went down there and fought, I still remember some of that.
SPEAKER_01: I wasn't involved, but I remember some of the time when we went down there and there was an uprising down there.
SPEAKER_01: My point being is each one of these islands I just said are different.
SPEAKER_01: They look somewhat the same as far as, you know, water and rocks coming out and all that, but the culture is a little different, and they've had to learn things a little bit different.
SPEAKER_01: But I'm just glad that we have the opportunity to minister to all of them in some way, shape, or form.
SPEAKER_01: And God gives a passionate heart for that.
SPEAKER_01: And then they come up here, and Vic, I know you guys watched out for them, took care of them, uh, brought them over to IHOP for that little morning meeting we had and everything, and and uh Brother Cheney took care of them.
SPEAKER_01: Many of you were involved with them.
SPEAKER_01: What am I saying?
SPEAKER_01: It's great to be a lover of the brethren, it's great to love them enough that God lets us minister to them.
SPEAKER_01: And not just the men, but the women.
SPEAKER_01: And they'll go back and minister to their teenagers.
SPEAKER_01: And we get to have a part of that.
SPEAKER_01: And what he says here about bishops is they have to be a lover of good men.
SPEAKER_01: And then I want you to look at one other scripture.
SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna ask them to turn off the CD back there.
SPEAKER_01: Galatians chapter 6.
SPEAKER_01: I hope I'm getting this across to you tonight.
SPEAKER_01: Galatians chapter number six, and let's finish the scriptures with this thought which you already know.
SPEAKER_01: Look at verse 9.
SPEAKER_01: Let us, Galatians 6, 9, let us not be weary in well-doing.
SPEAKER_01: For in due season we shall reap if we faint not.
SPEAKER_01: Now, one of the things about this that's really good is we get to enter into their labors and we reap together.
SPEAKER_01: Uh Hiram, or Hurum, king, got to enter into Solomon's, sent another Hiram to be the skilled laborer, and they all got to reap together when the temple went up, and God was pleased.
SPEAKER_01: And it became that because King of Tyre was a lover of David.
SPEAKER_01: Look at verse 10.
SPEAKER_01: As we have, therefore, opportunity, that's the world's goods, or wisdom, or encouragement verbally, let us do good to all men.
SPEAKER_01: Especially, especially unto them who are of the household of faith, especially unto them that are begotten.
SPEAKER_01: Those that are begot are supposed to love those that are begotten.
SPEAKER_01: Especially, he said, especially, do good to all men, but especially make sure you do good to your brother.
SPEAKER_00: Thank you for listening to this message by Pastor Doug Fisher of Lighthouse Baptist Church in Lemon Grove, California.
SPEAKER_00: To learn more about Lighthouse Baptist Church, visit our websites at www.lighthousebaptist.com or call 619 461 5561.