Faithful Vows 3-10 WED

3-10-96 WED

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Jeremiah chapter number three. Psalms 106 and Jeremiah chapter 3. You know, I was uh you listened to a lot of different messages and as I was listening to one of the messages at the conference, I was thinking, wow, that's just about what I'm gonna talk about on Wednesday night, but I thought, well, I'll not change the message, not everybody's here, and we'll just do it a different way, maybe. But uh Psalms 106, if you'll look there with me. Yeah, we're getting everybody in. Good, great, glory to God. That's good. We're in good shape. Are you warm? Everybody in good shape? Are you warm? A little bit, no? Some warm, some cold. What's it on, Charlie? What's the temperature on, real quick? Okay, on a cool? Okay. Now that doesn't mean anything to you, say you're at 69? No, that doesn't mean anything. It means it's about 75 up there. And uh who knows what's down here. Uh maybe just a little turn on so it comes on about midstream there, Charlie. Uh knock it down one. And we're still learning this thing. We're trying to balance it all out and everything. It depends. Uh, if you're near the lights back there, it's about 80 and uh 90, okay? And so, anyways, we'll do the best we can. You won't get cold, you won't get hot, everything's just fine. Psalms 106. Uh, look with you if you would. In Psalms 106, it says in verse 7, let me read just a little bit so you can get the flavor of this thing. Would you read along with me today? Um, Psalms 106, and just read along in your mind. Verse 7, our fathers understood not thy wonders in Egypt. They remembered not the multitude of thy what? Mercies, but provoked him at the sea, even at the Red Sea. Nevertheless, he saved them for his name's sake, that he might make his mighty power to be known. Says how he rebuked the Red Sea, and he drived it up, and he saved them. In verse 12, they believed his words and sang his praise. But look at verse 13. They soon what? Forgot his works. They waited not for his counsel, but lusted exceeding in wilderness, and tempted God in the desert, and he gave them their request, but sent leanness into their souls. Verse 16, they envied Moses also in the camp, and Aaron the saying of the Lord. And it talks about how the earth opens up her mouth and swallows up uh biram and the company there. And then verse 19, they they make a calf in Horeb and worship the molten image, and they change the glory into the symbolude of an ox. Verse 21, they what? They forgot God, their what? Their Savior. So he does things for them. And remember, the Old Testament is our what? It's our example that we're learning by this thing. So God did a lot of things for them, and then verse 13, they soon forgot his works. And verse 21, they forgot God, their Savior, which had done great things in Egypt. But I know you haven't forgot God tonight. You're in church. Wondrous works in the land of Ham. Terrible things by the Red Sea. It talks about how Moses stands in the breach and if you would uh is a uh spokesman for them. Look at verse 29. Verse 29. Thus they provoked him to anger with their inventions, and the plague broke in upon them. It talks about how, verse 32, they angered him also at the waters of strife. It talks about uh if you go on down, verse 36, and they served their idols, which were a snare unto them. Look at verse 37. Yea, they, this is the Israelites, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto what? Devil, and shed innocent blood, even the bloods of their blood of their sons and their daughters. What they actually sacrificed. And remember, God had opened up the Red Sea, and then they forgot, and God did many works, and then they forgot. And here they get to the place where they're actually sacrificing their children and polluting the land with the blood to idols, if you would. And look what he says, verse uh 42. Their enemies also oppressed them, and they were brought into subjection under their hand. Many times, verse 43. Even though they were taken captive a few times, many times did he deliver them. But they provoked him with their counsel and were brought low for their iniquity. Man, look up here just for a moment. I mean, after they did all that, if we were God, we probably would have said, I'm done with you guys. And I understand they the uh there's a generation that dies in the wilderness. But I want to I want you to see something, verse 44. Nevertheless, nevertheless, nevertheless than all those things we just read about, how they worshiped the golden calf and they threw their sons and the daughters in the fire, and they forgot what God. Nevertheless, he regarded their affliction. That's something about God. Nevertheless, he regarded their affliction when he heard their cry. Brother, may I make a statement to you as I read this book and understand it? And I understand, you know, there's a lot of people that rebuke us on our belief and understanding about what the Bible teaches about once we're saved, we are his children, and we don't, we won't ever have a chance or an opportunity to become a person that's not his child. I'm talking about the eternal security of the believer. And we that's just so scriptural and so biblical, and it's so clear in my mind that uh he'll never leave us nor forsake us. And the idea behind this as we read this, nevertheless, he recorded their affliction when he heard their cry, and he remembered for them his what? His what? His covenant. What's a covenant? It's an agreement, his promise, and repented according to the multitude of his mercies. After they'd done all that, God was faithful to his promise. God was faithful to the word that he promised them they would do. And it wasn't so much the idea that since you did all that, I'm not going to be faithful to my word. He was still faithful to his word. Look at Psalms 105 real quick. Psalms 105, just back a little bit. It's good to know, brethren, that even if uh we've had a period of time where we got away from the Lord, he hasn't got away from us. Psalms 105, look at it. He says uh in verse 4, thank you for turning there. Seek the Lord and his what? Strength. Seek his face evermore. Remember his marvelous works that he had done, his wonder and the judgments of his mouth. Oh, ye seed of Abraham, his servant, ye children of Jacob, his chosen. He is the Lord our God. His judgments are in the earth. He hath done what? Remembered his what? Covenant, how long? Forever. He remembered his covenant. He remembered his words, his agreement, forever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations. Which covenant he made with Abraham, his oath unto Isaac, and confirmed the same unto Jacob for a law and to Israel for an everlasting what? Covenant. He didn't forget what he promised Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. Look at Psalms 89. Stay with me. I'll get to something practical in a moment. Psalms 89. He made a promise and he's going to keep it. Psalms 89. Even after what they did, he made a promise and he was going to keep it. Psalms 89. Look, if you would, in just a simple little verse, I guess. Verse 39. I like this, just this little six-word sentence here. Would you read those six words with me in the beginning with verse 34? Ready? Begin. My covenant will I not break. Say it again. My covenant will I not break. You say that's talking about the Old Testament. You know what? He's the same with the Old Testament as he is the New Testament. He is the I am. Is that right? So he says, My covenant will I not break. You know why? It's impossible for God to lie. Is that right? It's impossible. Sometimes says nothing is impossible with God. It's impossible for God to lie. He can't lie. He can't tell us something and not keep his word. Amen? My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is going out of my lips. Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David. His seed shall endure forever in his throne as the sun before me. The idea is he can't break his word. Look at Jeremiah chapter 3. Stay with me. Jeremiah chapter 3. And by the way, it's good every once in a while. Just to remember who we're serving. Jeremiah chapter 3. He can't break his word. He won't break his word. His covenant is sure. Stay with me as we head towards the New Testament. The new covenant. Jeremiah chapter 3. Verse 1. Boy, this is a great little verse here. This has helped me a number of times when I felt like, Lord, I'm just so far away from you, maybe. Verse 1, they say, if a man put away his wife and she go from him and become another man, shall he return unto her again? Shall not the land be greatly polluted, but thou hast played the harlot with many lovers. That's Israel. Yet return again to me, saith the Lord. The idea here is the Lord said, Hey, you went out and you played the spiritual harlot. You burned your sons and your daughters in the fire, but I'm going to take you back. You worship that calf, but I'm going to take you back. You forgot me, but I'm going to take you back. And God is the type of God, if you would, that he is able to, if you would, have enough mercies and have enough covenant and have enough agreement that he can't break his words. And he just said, Hey, even though you played the harlot, and even though you were out with many lovers, I'm going to take you back again. Now that's that's the kind of God we have. Look at Luke chapter 1. Stay with me. Luke chapter 1. Now we'll get something to practical in just a moment. Luke chapter 1. Brother Charles, you knock it down, agree? All right. Luke chapter 1. Thank you for turning there with me. Good to be in church tonight, isn't it? Luke chapter 1. And just if you if you're just kind of saying, well, I wonder if God remembers me, he remembers you. Luke chapter 1. Look what they said in verse number 68. Verse 68. This is Zacharias, and he's filled with the Holy Ghost. That's two words. And prophesied. Amen. Blessed be, verse 68, the Lord God of Israel. For he hath visited and redeemed his people, and hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David. An horn is often likened to a king. Is that right? In the book of Daniel and the book of Revelation. And what he's talking about here is he's prophesying, he's talking about the horn of salvation, who is the king of kings. Is that right? That's Jesus Christ who's going to be born. He spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began. That we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all that hate us, to perform the mercies promised, the mercy promised to our followers, and to do what? Remember his, say it, holy covenant. I'm just telling you, brethren, that he won't break his word. Look at Hebrews chapter 12. Stay with me. Hebrews chapter 12. And in Hebrews chapter 12, would you also pick up 2 Corinthians chapter 1? Almost done looking at these scriptures to preliminary, get our minds on what we're doing here tonight. Hebrews chapter 12 and 2 Corinthians chapter 1. It's good to be able, once you get to the place, you can just start flipping around in your book. Amen? Hebrews chapter 12. And he just says this, and I want you to see this. That was the covenant of the Old Testament, if you would. But there is a new covenant, a new testament, and the same God that kept his word in the Old Testament, brethren, will and is and shall keep his word to us in the New Testament. So we need to remember that. Look if you would at Hebrews chapter 12, verse 24. Verse 24. And to who? Jesus, the mediator of the what? The new covenant. That's that new agreement. And to the blood of the sprinkling that speaketh better things than that of Abel. See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. The idea here is Jesus is the mediator of the new covenant. And if you would, he shed his own blood. There had to be the death of a testator. He shed his own blood, he died. The covenant, the agreement, the new testament is now in force. And I want to just say to you that the same God of the Old Testament, I said it once, I want to say it again, is the same God of the New Testament and all the promises that are in there for us, brethren, he can't break his word. It's secure, it's settled. Now look at 2 Corinthians chapter 1. You say, well, that's great, man. I'm glad to know that about God, and I already know that, but stay with me just a moment. 2 Corinthians chapter 1. One more time, and I like this. Look at verse 20. Verse 20. For all the what? Promises of God. All of them, not some of them, all the promises of God in him are what? Yea. And in him? In him what? He amended himself. Now did you ever think about that? There's God. And he, inspired by the Holy Spirit of God, to pin it down to the holy men of God, spake as they were moved by the what? The Holy Ghost. In verse 20 says, here's God speaking about himself through a man, pinning it down. He says, All the promises of God in him are what? Yea, and in him? Amen. Under the glory of God by us. The idea is God's promises are secure, and God can't lie. Alright. We got that. Now, look at Numbers chapter 30. And Ecclesiastes chapter 4. I'm sorry, chapter 5. There we go. Numbers chapter 30 and Ecclesiastes chapter 5. I'm secure in that. By the way, if uh if you're in here tonight and you had a long day, I just want to remind you that he's promises there would be new and fresh mercies in the morning. They're there every time we wake up. In fact, they didn't run out today. He never runs out of mercy. You say, well, somebody else used up all mine today. No, no, that's not the truth. There's plenty. Numbers chapter 30 and Ecclesiastes chapter 5. In Numbers chapter 30, we know God can't lie. But I like that. Oh, Brother Coral. But Numbers chapter 30. Look at verse 2. Verse 2. God had to put a whole section in here on man. If a man vow a vow unto the Lord, or swear an oath to bind his soul with a bond, he shall not do what? Break his word. He shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth. Now I understand this is Old Testament. But brethren, uh, you know what? There's still a lot of stock. And when I was growing up, you just don't break your word. You, you know, a good name is rather to be chosen. And part of being a good name in the little community that I grew up in was you don't break your word. But I found myself now, uh, after a few years of being a Christian, I find myself, I don't know if you would call it just purposely breaking my word, which I guess I do sometimes, and you do too, but it seems like we've been in an awful lot. God can't lie. But it seems like we sometimes make promises and make a covenant and make a vow. Seems like every once in a while the Holy Spirit says, Well, you broke your word. Yeah, you didn't keep your promise there. Look at Ecclesiastes chapter 5. Stay with me. And I'm going to give you something in a minute. This is not meant to scold. Ecclesiastes chapter 5. One more scripture on the idea that who we are as men, God can't lie. God won't break his covenant, but but we have to work on it a little bit more. Ecclesiastes chapter 5. Look at verse 1, brethren. Look what he says. Keep thy foot when thou goest where? To the house of God. And be ready to do what? Here. Then to give the sacrifice of fools, for they consider not that they do evil. Be not rash with thy mouth. Where? In the house of God. And let not thine heart be hasty to utter anything before God, for God is in heaven and thou upon earth. Then he gives us a suggestion here. Therefore, let thy words be what? We're better off with making a fewer promises, a few less promises than keeping the ones we make. Amen? Man, when I was first saved, I don't know about you, but I promised him everything. Do you know what I'm talking about? I mean, when I first got saved, man, I'm just down there all the time making all kinds of vows and promises. The preacher would preach and I'd say, I'm coming down and making that promise. How about you? Now I'm not against going to the altar, but he says in the house of God, just be careful what you're promising. The older I get, the more I hear a message, and I go, I'm going to hit the altar, but I don't do it like I used to. I mean, used to, man, I'd hear a message, and men, I'd be at the altar, and I'd say, I'm promising everything he just preached about. Do you know what I'm talking about? Because I want to be faithful. Now, when I go to the altar, there's a lot of times I say, Lord, now I'm I know what he preached about tonight, and I want to do that, but I want to be careful about being rash with my mouth and making you a bunch of promises. So I'd I'd like you tonight to begin to work on my heart, so when I make a promise, you help me to keep it. You say, you mean you mean you don't always get up there and just promise him the world? Oh, no, no, no, no. No, no, no. You know why? As I get older, I want to be found more faithful. Now, if and don't don't go away and discourage because when we're young in the Lord, I tell you what, didn't you make a lot of promises? Come on, yes or no? And after a while, it's like, oh yeah, I heard that one. Yeah, I heard that one. Yeah, I heard that one. Yeah, I heard that one. And an hour later, we broke half of them, amen. And the Lord's, you know what, the Lord's merciful. He's he's He's long-suffering, he's patient. But I think as we get a little bit older, hey, let me ask you a question. Uh how many of you have ever raised two and three and four-year-old boys? Now, let me ask you a question. Two and three and four-year-old boys, and I I know girls don't, but boys lie. I mean, I can I remember I remember ourselves growing up. There's a three or four-year-old boy. Did you do that? You don't have to teach them how to lie. Amen? And then by the time they're four-year-old, I mean, you correct them, and they're promising never, ever, ever to do that again. And 15 minutes later, guess what? Come on. They're back at it again, right? You promise never to do that again. Five-year-old, six-year-old boys, especially, not girls, but boys. I mean, you promise never to do that again. Oh, daddy, daddy, I promise, I promise, I promise. About an hour later, they're back at it again. Amen. Come on, yes or no? Sure. Well, now, would you agree with this? By the time that boy's 17, his word ought to mean more. He makes a promise, it ought to mean more. Hey, as a two, three, four, five, six-year-old boy, a lot of grace. By the time they're 17, 18, grace is smaller. Now there's still grace. There has to be grace. If you ever run out of grace, then it's not godly. God never runs out of grace. Come on, amen. But I mean, by the time they're 17 and 18, they're saying I'm going to do this. We hold them more accountable, don't we? Now, shouldn't God do that with us? I mean, here I am 16 years old in the Lord, and that's not very old, really. Adolescent. But shouldn't it be when I make a promise I try to keep it? Or on the other side, maybe I'd be I better be careful about how many promises I make and how I make them. You know, uh, I'm I'm careful when we have different stewardship drives that if I make a promise financially, I'm gonna do my best to keep it. I mean, don't be rash with, well, I'll give this or I'll give that, and then don't do it. That's uh unjust in the least.

unknown 20:11

Amen.

SPEAKER_00 20:12

I'm not not I'm not getting on anybody. I'm just saying we need to be careful not to be rash with our mouth. Well, look what he says. Verse 2, be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter anything before God. For God is in heaven, thou upon earth, therefore let thy words be few. For a dream cometh through the multitude of business, and a fool's voice is known by what? Multitude of words. When thou avowest to vow unto God, defer not to pay it. For he hath no pleasure in what? Fool. And what does a fool do? He's got a multitude of words. Amen? I promise it. I promise it. I promise it. I promise it. I'm gonna do this. Come on, brother. And after a while, it's it's foolish. So we slow our words down a little bit. We're more careful with our words, and we ask God, I I don't know about you, Duke, but I ask God, now put it in my heart, Lord. That's what needs to happen. Put it in my heart. And I know it's not gonna be me doing it, it'll be you doing it through me. So when I finally make that commitment, it'll be sure. Or at least it's got a possibility of being more sure. Amen. For example, now don't take this in any wrong way and everything. Man, I tell you what, I did a lot of praying before I married my wife. A lot of prayer. Why? Because it is a big, big vow. Huge. It is a huge vow. I'm not trying to put anybody out. It is a huge vow. I spent three or four days alone in a little trailer on that property over there that we left on the Amherst property. There's a little trailer over there and uh a little camper. And I I stayed in that camper probably seven, eight hours a day while I was there for those last three or four days, and I just prayed and said, Lord, I tell you, if this isn't the right one, I'll break it off. I don't care. Who's it hurts? I just don't want to do this if this is not your will. I meant it. I mean I meant it. I wanted to make sure. As sure as I could be, when I walked up to the altar and I said I do. As sure as I could be, I meant it. I gotta tell you though. Oh, don't say that. Well, that's what faith's all about. Now I gotta tell you this. Over the years the doubt has dissipated.

unknown 22:33

Amen.

SPEAKER_00 22:34

Oh yeah, I'm sure. I mean, she put up with me this long. This is the one. Amen. But I gotta tell you, when I when I got married, I there's there's well, I'm hoping. I'm I'm saying I do, and there was, you say, oh, there's no doubt. I'm being honest with you. There was there was a pinch over the years now. That doubt's gone. But I just didn't make a rash decision. And I know she didn't. Let's just say she didn't marry me for my charm. And she didn't marry for me for my good looks. And I know guaranteed she didn't marry me for my money. I had zip giving it all away. Commissions. And whatever reason it wasn't there, it had to be faith. What do you just call it? Blind faith. Big val, though. Hey uh brother, when I said to this church when they uh when they asked me to pastor the church, boy, I tell you what, I that was another huge decision. I wasn't something just, oh yeah, here's my chance. I'm gonna pastor. Are you kidding? No way. I was 29 years old and uh five years old in the Lord. I was kind of young. And uh when they asked me to become pastor and everything, boy, I tell you what. I needed scripture. Boy, it came too. I got it. And I wasn't looking, I mean, it wasn't like, okay, God, I gotta dig out a scripture so I could state my claim on that one. No, there was just reading along one day, and boy, it just came out at me, and there it was. It wouldn't have been one you would have thought of either. Do you know what I'm saying? Just something just for me that I needed. And by the way, if if you come into my office ever, uh, if you look right on the wall, my wife has cross-stitched that scripture and it's just hanging right on the wall. And I look at the thing often because that's my scripture that I needed. Just right where I'm supposed to be right now. Why? Because when you make a vow that big, don't take this wrong, but I'm married to this church. You know what I'm saying? I'm not the head. He's the head. But it's about as close as a marriage as you get as far as when you when you make a commitment to pastor a flock. Amen? And ought not to be done with just, well, I want to do that. Nothing else worked, I think I'll pastor. Amen? There'll be more to it than that. Let's go on just a little bit more. I'm saying that verse 5. Better is it that thou shouldest not vow than thou shouldest vow and what? Not pay, not keep our word. Now, I want to show you something before. Look at 2 Peter chapter 2. 2 Peter chapter 2. Thank you for turning there. Charlie, go knock that down one more time. 2 Peter chapter 2, if you don't mind. Did I say chapter 2? 2 Peter chapter 1. 2 Peter chapter 1. Now, here's what I want to kind of get to tonight, so you can see this in 2 Peter chapter 1. Verse 2. Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto what? Life and godliness. Through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue. Whereby are given unto us what? Exceeding great and, say it, precious promises. And brother, they are precious. Hey, look up here. We're banking our entire soul on these promises. We're putting everything we got. I mean, the bottom line is our soul. We're putting our soul on the promises of this book. You can't put any more. You say, am I leaning on God as heavy as I possibly can? I'm putting my soul. I'm putting, I'm, I'm encouraging my wife. I'm encouraging my children to put their soul on this book. And the words of this book and the promises of this book. You can't do anything more than that. And then we cast our cares on him. But before we cast our cares on him, we lean on him with our soul. Where it's going to spend eternity. Is that right? And then that we, in this life, we cast our cares on him. So we're leaning on those promises that by these, what's the these? Those precious promises, ye might be partakers of the what? Divine nature. Having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. Having, now that we're partakers of the what? Divine nature. What's that mean? The divine nature? Let's talk about this way, ladies, the hidden man of the heart. God in you. Is that right? Man, uh, would you agree that God's in us, ladies? God's in us. Would you agree that in us there's a divine nature? We call it the new man. Is that right? The old nature, the new nature? This new man is partaker of the divine nature. So look up here, please. In me is a new nature, and please understand this. It's just a simple thing. It's not a remake of the old, it's a brand new. We've got to remember that, and I know I've said that before. It's not a remake of the old Doug Fisher, it's a brand new Doug Fisher. Is that right? Now that divine nature in me, please look up here, wants me to keep my word. Why? Because the divine nature always keeps his word. To be divine is to not lie. Are you following what I'm saying? The divine, what does divine mean? Godlike, godly, divine. So the divine nature in me, the new nature in me wants me to keep my word. Why? Because God keeps his word. Is that right? Now there's a problem. There's a war going on. Do you have a war in you? There's a new and there's a sure. And the new wakes up and said, You promised to read his word. And the old says, let's go eat. It's time to eat, amen. In fact, let's read his word and pray before we eat. And the old says, listen, you can do that later. Let's go eat. Oh, I tell you what, let's go get that shower and let's get all dressed up and let's do all that. And I'm just saying, there's a battle that goes on, and then and then the mind is like, oh, let's go do this, and it's time to read the Bible, and there's a magazine laying there, or something like that. And the old says, Well, let's read that. Let's give let's give your mind a rest. You know what I'm talking about? My old would say something like, listen, you you've been in, you just listened to 20 messages. You don't need to read your Bible. In the last 11 days, you read, you read, you listened to 20 messages. You've been in church all that time. You don't need to read your Bible. And my news says, get in your book, you promised. Get on your prayer, you promised. Study, you promised. Intercede, you promised when you became pastor. Intercede for who? You all. Moses stood in the breach. Amen? And I'm not Moses, but I'm supposed to act like it. Amen. You asked me to pray for something, I'm supposed to pray for it. So the idea is, the new says, keep your word. And the old says, ah, do you believe all that stuff? And all the rest of the stuff it says. Now, on this side is the Holy Spirit prompts. On this side, principalities and powers work. Principalities and powers want my old to be domineering. Holy Spirit says, no, crucify that old so you can walk after me and keep your word. Why? Because God's nature is to do what? Keep his word. Amen? Statement. My old man doesn't keep his word nearly the way my new man wants to. How about you? Now you say, now wait a minute. I grew up in church. I got saved at a young age. I've always been in church. I don't really know my old one like that. I mean, I just always have wanted to keep my word good. You don't want to get to know your old nature. Listen, I've seen Christians who grew up in church, been in church, been in their book, been in the whole bit and everything, and I've seen them, now I've been at this thing a few years, and I've seen someone backslide way back. And I've heard them say, after backsliding a year or two, say, I can't believe what I'm doing. I never would have thought it's possible. So if you're over here in this and you don't even know your old nature that well, good. I hope you never meet them. Him, her, it. I mean it. I I hope you, I hope you never, I hope you just, I mean, you you you see it every once in a while, you go, oh, I don't want to be anything like that. I hope my children never get to meet their old nature like I met mine. Do you know what I'm talking about? But in every Christian, there's that. Why? Because I don't believe the Bible teaches eradication of the old nature. It talks about crucifixion. I die daily. Amen? But it tries to rise up out of the grave daily, too. Come on, is that okay? Are we okay with that? Theologically? So the idea is if we're partakers of his divine nature and feeding that and feeding that, we want to keep our word. Now look at Luke 19. Stay with me. You're doing great tonight. Luke 19. Why is it important to the Lord to keep our vows? Let me show you why. Luke 19. Keep our promises. Best we can. Or just want to make a statement, maybe not make so many promises. Now, oh, I want to say this. Luke 19, while you're turning there. I didn't say don't promise God. I say be not rash with our promises. That means not hasty. That means, oh, I promise this, I promise this, I promise this, I promise this, I promise this, and walk away, and our words don't mean anything. It would be better to promise a thing. Or a couple. And just work on that. And the Holy Spirit brings up something else. I mean, for example, if we promise to witness, and the Holy Spirit says, it's been a while, it's been a while. Come on, go get that track out again. Go on. It's been a while. Get back on that soul winning bus. Get back in that soul winning mode. Make a schedule. Make a time. You're not doing it the way you used to. You know, you promised me you would. Hey, we need to get back to it then. Because it's the Holy Spirit trying to lead us back. The old nature says, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. And how many excuses? New nature says, you know how. You promise. Now come on, get back to it again. Amen? Giving, tithing. It doesn't matter what it is, church attendance. Look at Luke 19. You know this, but in this context now. Luke 19, stay with me. You're doing great tonight. And I'm not scolding you, you know that. Verse 12, and we're not going to read the whole thing. This is the story where the nobleman goes off and he tells those that are left behind to occupy verse 13 till he comes. And when he uh when verse 16 he comes and he says to the Lord, thy pound hath gained what? 10 pounds. Oh, wow. That pound that I gave you, it's gained 10 pounds, verse 16. He says, verse 17, he said unto him, Well done. Or well, thou good what? Servant. Because thou hast been what? You know what he said? I can trust you. Because I can trust you in that very little, have thou authority over what? I think that's millennial context. He says, Because that you're a good servant, I trust you in that very little, that little thing down there, that money, or that pounds in this case. Hey, you know what? I can trust you. Verse 18. Second came saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained what? Say it. Five pounds. And he said likewise to him, Be thou over five cities. Another came saying, Lord, behold, here is thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin. Now the idea behind this, if you know the one where he talks about the talents, the principle is when he talks about the other, where there's five and two and one, and I won't go into that one tonight as much as say this. He actually literally, to the one who didn't gain anything with what he'd given him, what did he do? He said, Take it. Take it, take it, take that one from that one who just laid it up, and go give it to the one that gained ten. Is that right? The concept is this, and I don't want to get off track with studying that out, but the concept is this. He's looking for people he can trust. He's looking for his children that he can trust. Now I believe we're all going to heaven, but there's no doubt about it that the ones that he can trust, I think he's going to give us more. And give us more to do. I want him to trust our church. I want him to trust your family. I want him to trust you as an individual. I want him to trust me. I want to keep my promises. I want to keep our promises as a family. I want to keep our promises as a ministry. I want to keep our promises as a church. Now, are we perfect? Absolutely not. Is he merciful? Absolutely so. But we ought to not test that mercy to see if it runs out. Now I know it's not going to, but you know what? Here's the mindset. Now, wait a minute. His mercies will never run out. Okay, I promise. I'm going to break it. No big deal. His mercy is going to be when I come back. Don't do that to God. I heard a statement the other day, and I really, really, this just hit me. I was thinking about it more and more. We lean on God, right? Come on, stay with me. We're leaning on him. We're trusting him with our soul. We're trusting him. We're casting our cares on him. We're leaning on him. I wonder how much he can trust us. It'd be kind of like this with Brother Pierce. And here's what I heard a statement. He said, now, Brother Pierce, you know, uh, if if we have this mutual loyalty, not only can Bill lean on me, but I can put my weight on Bill. And I can trust him.

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Amen.

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That's that's loyalty. And I thought about that. But I'm gonna use Bob for an example, and Bob, don't go away and think, you know, we're gonna preach. Don't do that, okay? Let's say, let's say Bob trusts me. But you know, I can't I can't trust Bob. I can let Bob lean on me, but I just don't put much weight on him. Because I'm not sure he's gonna come through. Is that right? Now, not with Bob because I I guess I chose him. I'd never ask Bob to do anything he's not done. Even well and over and above. But the idea behind this thing is I I want my relationship with God to be more and more as I grow older and older, that not only can I lean on him, but I want him to be able to trust me. Does that make sense? And a lot of it has to do with me keeping my what? My promises, my vows. Consistently. Now you say, now, preacher, are you preaching it perfectly? Well, I'm preaching idealistically, but I understand God's got grace in there, but that doesn't mean I ought to be presumptuous. And just say, well, he's got grace, doesn't matter. I'm gonna operate in the old nature for a while, and when I'm ready, he'll he'll I know he'll take me back. Let me tell you a statement. Uh I mean, you know what? You go over there presumptuously for a while and come back and over there presumptuously for a while and come back, come over there presumptuously for a while and come back. He may not just take you right back all of a sudden and pour showers of blessings on you. There may be a chastisement period. Amen. We we play around with that thing long enough and make promises, don't keep it, make promises, don't keep it, make promises, don't keep it. We come back and oh God, well, and and it's it's it's you know, he's there, but he's not responding. Why? He's trying to teach us something. Amen. He's not a puppet that we just pull out every time we want to. He's God. I'm not trying to scold anybody tonight. I'm just saying we ought to look and make sure that we can be trusted. Look at Luke 16, real quick, brother. And if not, work on it a little bit more. Or work on being careful what we vow. You're doing great tonight. Stay with me. It's it's just 8 o'clock. I've got about five, ten more minutes at the most. Luke 16. We read this the other night, but I want you to see it. You know what? With Luke 16, can I ask you to pick up one other scripture? Uh I think we ought to do this too. Look at uh also pick up 1 Corinthians 4 with this. 1 Corinthians 4. Thank you so much. Luke 16 and 1 Corinthians 4, these two kind of go hand in hand, I think. Luke uh 16 and 1 Corinthians 4. Now, I want to make a statement. I want you to listen. Man, I don't want you to be demotivated by this message. I don't want you to go out and start beating yourself and say, oh, I can't be used, I can't be used, I can't be used, God will never use me. I'm just wanting to quit. Don't do that. No, you missed the whole point. You say, well, what do I do? Yield yourself and yield myself to that divine nature. That divine nature then causes us to want to keep our vows. I mean, let go. Let go of who? Let go of that old person. That old man, that old nature, and yield to that new one. Take some discipline, take some work. Got to be careful who you hang around, what you hang around, what you hear. It's good to be in church, amen. And the more we yield to that divine nature, the more that divine nature says, good, good. I'm going to help you get with it. Keep your promises. I'm going to make you want to go soul winning. I'm going to make you want to read your Bible. I'm going to make you want to pray. I'm going to make you want to go to church. I'm going to make you want to be faithful in your vows. It's him. It's him. It's him. It's him. It's not me, it's him. I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless I live. Yet not I. It's him. Boy, when that thing finally dawns on us at the new level, man, I just, I gotta stop trying so much and let him. You say, I don't get that. Well, it's kind of like this. Some Christians try to perform and try to perform and try to perform. And sooner or later there's a I'm letting him perform in me. That's a difference. It's such a difference. I gotta preach well, I gotta preach well, I gotta preach well. Oh God, I want them to, I want to, oh, I gotta preach well. And after a while, it's like, Lord, would you preach well through me? There's a difference. And then you yield and you yield your mind to me, you yield your emotions to it, and you say, I just, I'm not worried about what they think about me. I just want them to get something. Then it's him working. Then he feels free to work that way. Does that make sense? Luke 16 and 1 Corinthians 4. Luke 16, he says this. Verse 9, I say unto you, make to yourselves friends of unmammon of unrighteousness that when you fail, this is that parable, verse 10, he that is faithful in that which is what? Least. Talking about trusting somebody is faithful also in much. He that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. If, there's that if, if you are or if you're not, it's conditional. If therefore you have not been faithful in unrighteous mammon, that's the promises, who will commit to your trust the what? True riches. Now, you know, and I've said this before, but you know what? If I can't be faithful in those little things like giving and promises that I made to missions and promises I made, uh, I made promises to the school to pay my bill, and I made promises to the building program. I mean, I need to be faithful with that. Now, I realize sometimes, stay with me, I realize sometimes God puts us through a proving ground and we don't have enough money. But in our hearts, it's not like we're going, oh well. If you get to the place where you go, I know I owe that oh well. No big deal. Now you got problems. If you're, if, but if you're at the place, I owe that, I made that promise. Oh God, help me to pay that thing. Oh God, I think you're still okay. It's kind of like this. If I made a vow, I've got a vow still to the building program. I'm saying, oh God, help me to pay that. God help me to get that in. I did that by faith. God, I just want to keep working on it and keep working on it. God, if you could help me with this and show me some things, man, oh man, what do I need the kids need braces? Oh man, what do you mean the car broke? Oh man, what do you mean that? Oh, what do you mean a washer broke? Lord, I I made a vow. You know what I'm talking about. Man, I'm not, I'm not, you know, it's not luxury. It's luxury. It's it's just stuff happening. Oh Lord, I made that vow, man. Now that's taken. Oh Lord, I need, oh Lord, help me to get that. I think I'm still okay because I'm not going, huh? That's no big deal. So I made a Wow, it's just, you know, God's got grace and mercy. You get to that place, I think, we're unjust. Amen. And he's looking for faithful people. What? To trust with more. So it's kind of like this. So what I got to do is even though I'm still paying that vow and paying that vow and paying that vow, I think then he could still trust me with knowledge and wisdom. Because wisdom is much more than silver and gold. Are you with me? I think I can still go back to him and say, Lord, I just plunked in another 50. Lord, I just plunked in another 50. Lord, I need some wisdom. I don't think he's going to withhold because I haven't got a page yet. I'm working on it. But I think he will withhold if I go, ah, it's no big deal. So I made a vow. You know, I was crazy emotional, you know. Are you okay? So the idea, and don't go out here and say, oh man, I just totally, I'm a mess, and God's never going to use me and everything. Oh no, just get back to the divine nature. Help you out. This is not shouting, is it? It's thinking, isn't it? Are we thinking tonight? I hope you are. Because I listen, brother, I'm in this with you. I'm not trying to say you, you, you. I'm saying we, we, we. It's a French message. Amen. Stay with me. Charlie, I'm concerned about your machine tonight. Go hit it again. I'm not, I'm, you know. You feel any air moving? No do I. Come here, come here, come here. Everybody pray. All right, go on. I'm not trying to be sacrilicious. You make a promise, Charlie. 1 Corinthians 4. Stay with me. Just for a couple minutes. I just need five more minutes, and it won't get that cold in here. 1 Corinthians 4. Now look at it, brother. Thanks, Charlie. I don't care what they say about you, you're okay. And I want you to know I'm not listening to them either. Okay. Now, how many's hot? No, it doesn't get it. Look at 1 Corinthians 4. Stay with me. Verse 1. Let a man so account of us as the what? Ministers of Christ. And stewards of the what? Mysteries of God. Now we're getting to the true riches. God reveals something to us in this book, man, that's true riches. Moreover, it is required in stewards that a man be found what? You know what that means? He can be trusted with what he's been given and how he uses it. That's what we want. As men and women, we want to be found faithful. We want God, and I almost hesitate to say it because I don't know. I know it's not this way. It's not like God's leaning on us like we're leaning on him. You know what I'm saying? I'm not saying that at all. But I think God's looking for people he can trust to use them. Because he wants to use them. It goes back to the Sunday night message. He wants to bless them. He wants to give them rewards. He wants to put more on them. But we need to be faithful with that which we vowed. And keep our promises so he can put more on us to do more for him. Abraham. You know when you think of Abraham? I don't know if you think of this way. When I think of Abraham, the first thing I think of is faithful. Faithful Abraham. All through that, you read in that Old Testament and the friend of God and faithful and all that. You get into the book of Romans there, and faithful and Abraham go hand in hand. You know what? God could trust him. Now was he perfect? No. But God could trust him. When I think of David, God put a lot into David. Did David do some things wrong? Absolutely he did things wrong. I could begin to name him. I've studied David's life just about as much as I studied the life of Christ. David did a lot of things wrong, but he could be found faithful. Saul of the Old Testament? Couldn't trust him. Couldn't trust him. Started out great, little in his own sight. Saul of the Old Testament, but by the end he was going to the witch. Amen? Wasn't faithful. Where'd it start? God told him to do something. Samuel comes up and says, What meaneth this? What am I hearing, those sheep over there? Couldn't be found faithful to do what he said he was going to do. Amen? Oh, you say you don't know my background. How about Rahab? She made it into that chapter of faith. Faithful. She could be trusted. We just heard a message the other night about Jephthah. Man, Jephthah was the son of a harlot. Jephthah grew up with vain people. Jeff was, I mean, if you say, man, I, you know, when I was uh in my high school year, I uh had moved from Ohio and I was living in Redwood City, California, which is up in the Bay Area, and I was going to high school at a place called Woodside High School. And Woodside High School, there were two sections about Woodside High School. There was one on this side and that side. And it was, you know, literally two different sides of the tracks. Woodside High School is where uh Shirley Temple Black's daughter went. And they'd ride horses to school, and there were stables and stalls and all that. And then there was us who lived down by Palomino's Market. Uh near East Palo Alto, if you know anything about that. I mean, down in that area, and that's where I live. And I'm not saying it was uh I wasn't in poverty or anything like that, but there was a big difference between what was going up in those foothills, where all those big homes and houses, and and I mean it was not uncommon to see a 16-year-old or 17-year-old pull into with a Porsche. And then there was me with my little 10-speed bicycle. With four speeds that didn't work, amen? You know, and high water pants. Not because, you know, I was in stock. I was just, you know, I outgrew them and they said you can wear them a little bit longer, amen? I remember, I listen, I remember going up to a party in Woodside. They were doing things I'd never seen before. With drugs and all that kind of stuff. I didn't know anything about that stuff. I didn't touch it until I was in college. But up there, they were doing it all and everything, and it was two different worlds. But I was thinking about, you know, uh, even if we grew up in a culturally different area than someone else who, you know, that doesn't matter. We can still be found faithful. That's the great thing about it, doesn't matter the culture. Anybody, I mean, anybody can be found faithful. Anybody, doesn't matter their education, they can still be found faithful. It doesn't matter if they have a PhD like Dr. Way. Or um uh never graduated from high school. Doesn't matter. Doesn't matter. Because God looks at character. Character. God isn't impressed with wages because he's a doctor. But it does show you is found faithful in finishing something he started. I I know guys in the hills of North Carolina. I mean, I mean, I've I've met some of these preachers that, you know, but they're faithful. I I met one guy one time, and uh, in fact, uh, I don't it won't be this year, but two years from now, I'm going up and preaching an Appalachian camp meeting. Way back in the hills of somewhere. I don't even know where. I I couldn't go this year because I've already scheduled, I got another meeting scheduled, but he said, next two years from now, I want you I want you to come back up in these hills. I mean, we're going way up in there. I can't wait. It's outhouse city, amen. That's okay with me. No, no problem with that at all. And I mean, it's it's just, I mean, it's uh it's slow. But you know what? I met one of those preachers, and he came up to me and said, Um, Brother Fisher, I'd like to talk to you. I said, sure. He said, um, I'd like to like to ask you about something. He said, are you ready? I said I said yes. I won't I won't tell you what he asked me about. Doesn't matter. Not anybody's ways. But you know what? After we talked for a while, I got to know him a little bit, and he's asked me about the opinion about a pastoral matter and how to do it and what to do and everything. I got to meet him, talk to him a little bit, and he said for years he's been going up to this old rock. And he prays up there. And he says he's just got the place now where you can see his knee prints in the rock. He just puts his knees right in there every morning. He taught me so. You know what he is? Faith. Knee prints in a rock. And he wasn't, I mean, he wasn't bragging post. He says, yeah, now some of my men go up there and put their knees in the prints in the rock. And they pray for me. God must be close here somewhere. Before he left, I said, hey, would you do something for me? He said, sure, brother fish. I said, let's me and you go in this room in here and let's you and I pray. I didn't want to hear me pray. I wanted to be around him when he prayed. He taught me something. Just by listening to his prayer. Oh, he knew who God was. You can tell when somebody prayed. It was like just picking up on the conversation where he left off. I leave you with one little statement, one little thought. Uh-uh. Don't close your mind. I know how that worked. I listened to 20 messages going, okay, he's done. Look up here and listen. Think about these words. Think. Well done, thou good and serve. You know what that means? He's saying well done to those he trusted. Good and faithful. You know what that means? I trusted you. I trusted myself. Now what I ask myself is, okay, what is he trusting me with, and what am I doing with it? My children, my wife, my ministry, my personal life. My personal life. I mean, it's not that I'm analyzing you. I'm trying to say that's the way I analyze myself, and I hope that's the way you'll look at yourself. Because if we all do that, God could trust us collectively. And he'll do more through us. And why not want to do all that we can for him? Doesn't mean everybody here is going to be a pastor. Doesn't mean everybody here is going to be a missionary. Doesn't mean everybody here is going to, you know, whatever it is. Everybody's a little different and everybody's got their own thing. But brother, all of us in some way, shape, or form, can be found what? Faith. All of us should work on not being rash with our mouth, but trying to keep our word, our vow, our promises. And sometimes a good way to hit to the altar is say, Lord, I'm not coming to make a bunch of new promises. I'm coming to ask you to help me with the old ones. And Lord, what I need to do is yield more to your divine nature because that's the one who keeps me on track with those promises. And I do want to be faithful in the least. And I do want to be found faithful so you will use me more. And I do want to not become, please look up here, a fool in your eyes. Because the fool is the one that doesn't give him that pleasure. Why? We make a bunch of promises we don't keep. Now, I'm not scolding you tonight, and I'm not saying never make another promise. I'm just saying, let's ask God to help us keep the ones we've made. And watch what he'll do. Now don't go out of here all discouraged and say, oh man, I'm a terrible person. I'm a terrible child. Man, I'm like that little two and three and four-year-old boy just telling God a bunch of stuff and I'm just lying to him and all that, and I'm not gonna do it anymore, and I'm just quitting and giving up. Don't quit and give up. Man, your heart's still beating. It's not time to quit and give up. There's no discharge from this. If you quit and give up, he's still gonna follow you. He's got a covenant. He's got an agreement. I'll never leave thee, nor what? Forsake thee. He can't break it.