Bill Kauble 0:09
Thank you, Billy, Bob, Bob, Bob, Bob Bob and law we wish warm welcome to you guys. And influencers Orange County. We are social distancing, and we have a mass on. And we want to invite you to come back because we are open for business. One of the things that we are blessed by
is Pete’s book about Susan the tug of heaven. And they’re available here. Just give me a call 714296685 and we’ll get you some and Bob boxer. What a great title. This is our own Bob boxer right here having hoping crisis.
And when the crisis comes, encouraged us to Kyra, God expects his men to have such confidence in him, that we are the reliable, dependable ones. And that is only because of the confidence that we have in him. We are faith based, Christ centered, Grace driven. And we believe in five things. One, Jesus is not only Savior, but he’s Lord over our lives. Number two, the Bible is the final authority. Three we are men of prayer, for we link with like minded men, and five, we give it away. And fundamentally, one of the things that we focus on is men, marriages and missions, and one of the men that embodies humility, which Pete is going to talk about this morning is a guy named Glenn Smith. And I wanted to ask Dennis or Julio to come up and interview. Dennis do it. Thank you. That’s an ad for your rock of hammer. Thanks, Bill. Thanks for butchering my name.
Dennis Ruvilo 1:57
Thank you.
Unknown Speaker 2:51
Phil Hanlen going to Israel with tick that, or Jasper’s Jasper VidCon ucwa from Africa who was here and he was part of the rock of Africa ministry with Glen.
Glynn Smith 4:31
Well, it used to be really easy to talk about beacon of hope because we only did one thing and that was doing aids education, training kids about what AIDS is all about. We’ve been doing this now for 17 years and and things have multiplied we into all sorts of different ministries now. So our original thing was aids education.
These are the areas that we work in Africa. We started in South Africa and we’ve expanded to Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Uganda.
is the AIDS education AIDS prevention ministry. We’ve developed this discipleship program also, where we go back into the schools, where we’ve trained the kids for HIV and AIDS and do discipleship with them. We’ve grown into sponsoring children. And we partner with an organization called horizon International, to sponsor orphan children.
Or per kid per month. This is one of the new projects signing up in Uganda, we’ve got a young lady this, Nora, Doreen, she was one of the very first people that participated. We trained six people, the first year that we were in Uganda, she was one of them. She has since gone on to do other things. And she’s found these a bunch of orphan kids living in the streets. And she’s taking control of about 37 to 40 of them, that she is providing accommodation for feeding them trying to make sure that they have clothes to wear and get to school. And so we’re trying to raise funds right now, she’s needing about $500 a month to be able to take care of those kids. Besides the 37 or 40, that she’s taken care of. There’s about another 150 that she cares for that are undernourished, still living with their families, but they need additional food. And a lot of them have got
medical conditions. This is not a very good picture. But this little girl down here has got hydro encephalitis, you can see the size of her head. A lot of these little kids just need a $350 surgery to put a shunt in their brain to drain off the fluid so that that doesn’t happen to them. Incidentally, this little girl just passed away in the last four months, because she didn’t get the care that she needed. And this is a bunch of the kids of the 37 or 40 that are living with her at the moment. This is a farming project we’ve been trying to encourage a lot of our teams we’ve got I didn’t mention we got 16 teams spread across those four countries that are doing all of these different ministries, and we’re trying to get them more autonomous. So they don’t depend so heavily on us for funding. One of the projects is Abraham from Bulawayo Zimbabwe, started a farming project. And so this is what he This was his cabbage crop that he grew last year, he is being given an opportunity this year to buy a plot of land, which is this one right here, which is seven acres, number seven is seven acres. And we were able to raise the funds for him to buy that property for 19 $100, it would typically cost you probably $20,000 to buy a property like that he got it for 1900 through a special government project. Right now he’s got the foundation’s dug for a building. And we’ve right just this week raised the money for him to put down the foundations. And then he’ll be continuing on to build that building, which will consist of two rooms, one for a caretaker to live in, and the other one to be like a storeroom for all of his equipment.
Dennis Ruvilo 3:08
Glen McGill. And it got me out of the bleachers and into the onto the playing field. I I just was so impressed with these men and their testimonies that it got me active. I’ve been to Africa twice with the rock of Africa ministry. And with with Wayne and Tom, we go to Chino up until COVID stopped us we’ve been going to Chino prison every Sunday night, and for the last eight years sharing the journey in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. So what I’m trying to say is that we have an opportunity to really get to know these men and these ministries that they’re in and know their hearts. And and in so doing that God will speak to your heart and draw you into helping and partnering with some of these ministries. So Glenn, is one of the guys it’s always in the back of kind of quiet, the helping out with the audio visual and the live streaming. But he’s not quiet when it comes to the the beacon of hope international ministry. So I got a little cheat sheet here about Beacon of Hope International, bringing hope and the love of Jesus to the African youth by educating discipling and assisting their communities and becoming self sustainable. So Glen, take it away.
Glynn Smith 5:29
About three years ago, one of our brothers from the central California District went over to Africa. And he started this program here for training pastors, along with Bruce Wilkinson. He’s got a program which they call Bible school on wheels. So you you buy a kit for $300. And you can train 10 pastors with their kit. There’s 10 manuals in it. And so we’ve got well over 300 pastors in Uganda now that have been through the first year of their program, and we tried to raise funds to get them through year two and year three. And I might add that that that came at exactly the right time, because while he was over there, starting this program up, the government in Uganda had started cracking down on pastors that didn’t have any qualifications. So if they didn’t have any theological training, they had to shut their churches down. And so this training came in exactly the right time. And then last year, because because COVID, kind of shut our whole ministry down, we couldn’t go into schools couldn’t do anything. So we just diverted all of the money that we were getting into a feeding program. And then I’m going to just talk very briefly about the last few items, which is a farming project, and then an opportunity to sponsor more kids. So just results, what have we accomplished over the 17 years that we’ve been doing this? So for our aids education and discipleship program, we’ve had over two 209,000 children that have been through the program, and approximately $3 per student is what it cost us. Every one of those students has sat through a six hour seminar, to teach them everything that they need to know about AIDS. They’ve heard the gospel, they’ve seen the Jesus form, they’ve been offered the opportunity of following Jesus 200,000 of them or more, about 4600 children have started going through a discipleship program kind of got shut down by COVID. We’ll be starting to pick that up again, this year, hopefully, sponsored children, we’ve had somewhere between 205 100 orphaned children that have been sponsored at a rate of $40 per child per month. I’ve lost track of that, because there were multiple people, I was just one of three people that were able to sign up 200 Kids initially in that program, but it’s grown from there, and I’m not sure how, how big it’s grown. So it’s probably probably exceeded 500 by now, the past the training, I’ve said 100 to 330. pastors, they’re the ones that are under our control, trained, trained and managed by our guy in Uganda. There’s about 130. But there were about 20 other kits that were given to other pastors around the country. And so I’m not sure exactly how many they had. That’s what I’ve got 130 to 300 330 results of the feeding program for about a six or seven month period last year. Our guys across those four countries, bought 22 tons of food and distributed it to two families, about 2000 people a month we’re getting food from the program, touching about 40 families a month. These are just pictures of some of the kids that have been through discipleship program. The This was one of the very first programs we did in 2004 Richards Bay. This is one that we did in Victoria Falls where Dennis goes often now, in Zimbabwe, the name of the school mercy or Tunisia, which means the smoke the thunders from the smoke that arises from Victoria Falls all the time.
These are some of the orphans that have been through the program. This little girl here, that one there. This little guy here are three of the kids that have been programmed been through the program. So this girl here is that girl now that she’s finished high school, she’s been through three years of college, and she’s working as a volunteer at the magistrate’s office in inner city. This little guy down here, that is him now. And this this was in about 2007. He’s now attending college doing electrical engineering. And then this little guy is he was also sponsored from about the age of three. He was the son of a 16 year old mom who was still going to school when he was born. And he’s now also just finishing school. This year and going into college next year. These are for children that we still have on our books that we need to find sponsors for at a rate of $40 per student per month.
This is the plants of the building that they’re planning to put up. And so one of the questions dennis is going to ask me is how how can you guys are big enough or influences help us? Those are all the ways in which you can help us financially. Ups $200 will will sponsor an entire team during our aids and discipleship program $1,000 a month would sponsor in an entire country, okay. sponsoring a kid if anybody would like to sponsor a kid $40 a month training a pastor $300 kit will try and 10 pastors for the next year farming project. Like I said, we’ve we’ve just raised the money for the foundation, we’re still going to be looking to raise about another two or $2,000 over the next couple of months to complete that building. And then he’ll get into buying animals and planting crops and and continuing on with that and that we’ve got at least two other teams that are wanting to do the same kind of farming project to raise funds for their ministries. So let me just get to the final slide. That’s my final slide. So turn it back to Dennis,
Dennis Ruvilo 13:53
we’ll say up here that I can testify to the fact that your your money goes a long way in Africa. We’ve had men who’ve contributed and helped us to do some mighty mighty work. If the money goes a long way, the sad thing about Africa is that there there are people there for lack of just some simple antibiotics will will wind up dying because of that. And and it’s it’s it’s just the money that we spend here goes so far over there. So on a monthly basis, the rock of Africa is helping prisons, schools, churches and other areas, other people in the area of Victoria Falls. So anyway, let’s all raise our hands to do a brother here. Glen Smith in the beacon of hope and just pray. Father, we thank you for this man. We thank you for his heart. We thank you for the ministry that you’ve put on his heart Lord, we ask you, Lord, that You would just touch the hearts of people here Lord and Lord Just minister through a lord coming alongside Glenn, whether it be funds or help or helping him raise money, Lord, we thank you for all that you’re doing through this Ministry. We thank you for the the people in Africa that are being blessed. The people that are learning, Lord, about age prevention and about Lord, staying, chat, chastised or chased Lord until their marriage. So Father, I thank you for all that you’re doing and blessing this man and bust this ministry, in Jesus name, amen.
Glynn Smith 15:35
good business cards on the back table. If you want my contact information or our website,
Bill Kauble 15:40
thank you very much. We’re gonna take an offering, guys, so get your big checkbooks out. I wanted to mention about Bob boxer. These books are available in the back if you want those. So again, I would encourage you for time such as this, there’s out there, oh my gosh, they’re free. This one’s not free. It’s a donation. So let us pray for the offering. Father, we have been amazed how much we’ve missed. Coming together. And you’re into Hebrews, you talk about us coming together. And and Don Rael mentioned it also, Lord that, that it’s a privilege to spur each other on to love and good deeds. And Father, you blessed us for so many years, so many years. And I pray Father, that the offering that we take right now will continue to be multiplied by you for your purposes, Lord, not our purposes but your purposes. We pray this in Jesus name, amen.
Pete McKenzie 16:59
Good grief, Is this good? Is this this we own on this one?
Testing 123. Okay, got it going. We’re trying to get our act together. Again, it’s gonna take a few weeks for us to get our time schedule and all our rhythm back in this thing, but it doesn’t matter does it? Doesn’t to me anyway. It’s good to be back. It’s good to have you back. It’s good to be abandoned brothers again. This keep clapping for voyagers shirt to allow us to come back in here. Let’s give them a big hand.
You know, we’re in a war. And we’re trying to make sure that we’re adequate and equipped for every good work in that wars we talked about last week. And one of the things that God put on my heart to do was to make sure that we have the inward adequacy and equipping that we need to face the kind of things that we face in life in general, and in this pandemic, and things that are going on in the country and politically and health wise and sports wise, and every otherwise, it doesn’t matter what direction you point in, we got uncertainty and challenge and things are all up in the air and chaos when the crisis comes in. It has come. And it’s a crisis. But you know, it depends on how you look at it. And last week, we talked about having a good perspective, it’s really important that you have a right perspective on this crisis. Because crisis is a good thing. If you allow God to use it the way God is planned to use it. God’s not sitting up there biting his fingernails going, gosh, I can’t believe they’re having to suffer through this pandemic. I can’t believe that they’re the shenanigans are going on. Right and left on broad daylight. He knows exactly what’s going on. He’s allowed every bit of it. And God is a God of planning purpose. He has a plan and he has a purpose. And for us to be able to work alongside God and work for God and let him work in us. We’re going to have to have one thing to start with. Everything begins with one thing, which is a characteristic of the site the lady and characteristic of a man of God is humility. It all starts there. When Jesus was explaining in Matthew five, six and seven, what the lifestyle in the kingdom of God was because he was introducing the kingdom of God he came to establish the kingdom Have God on earth. And he says there’s a different lifestyle than you’ve ever known. It’s going to be different than you want. It’s going to challenge everything in you. It’s going to make you wonder and scratch your head. You’re going to walk away going when I teach you what it means to be a Christian and what Christian living is all about, you’re going to walk away going nobody can do that. And who would want to do that? Because he was talking about turning the other cheek and someone slaps you on one cheek turn the other. Well, you grew up going someone slaps on one cheek I’m gonna feel Roomful uppercut, uppercuts. If someone forces me to go one mile, and I don’t want to and I shouldn’t have to, I’m not going to go two miles. Why would I do that? He’ll think I’m a wimp. You want me to pray for that person? You don’t know what they’ve done to me. Pray for your enemies, bless those who persecute you. They’re persecuting me. They don’t wish me Well, they’re trying to hurt me. They’re trying to shut me up and silence me. And you’re telling me to pray for them? Bless him. What’s that all about? He’s calling us up higher. He’s calling us to a standard that no man can live out. It’s Christian life is not hard. It’s impossible. Apart from Christ, and the Holy Spirit living in us, we need to be reminded on a regular basis is James and john were when they asked God if he wanted to call down fire on these guys over here because they weren’t lining up with what he wanted. And they rejected him. But I wouldn’t I didn’t want him to come into their village. And James, john says, You want us to call fire down on those guys. He says, guys, you don’t know what spirit you’re off. That’s not the kingdom living that I came to down the cross in came to rise from the dead and live today to give you power to live. And so when he started that whole sermon on five, six, and seven in Matthew, He started with what we call the Beatitudes. In the first beatitude, blessed are the poor in spirit. And
that means blessing is a word that means happy, spiritually, spiritually prosperous, to be admired, forgiven, refreshed, by God’s grace, inwardly peaceful. If you want to be spiritually secure and worthy of respect, you need to be poor in spirit, you’re going to be blessed, you’re going to be spiritually prosperous. Now, who is blessed, the poor in spirit. That means those who are devoid of any spiritual arrogance, who don’t regard themselves as insignificant. Now, we live in a day when everybody says it’s all about you. It’s all about your plan, your your desire, your will your feelings, how people treat you, it’s all about you. Now, who do you think the author of that the one who came in said, I didn’t come to be served, but to serve and give my life a ransom for many are the one who says I want you to be depressed and discouraged, I want you to be the opposite of all this stuff. I just read spiritually bankrupt. If you look at yourself, you just get depressed, if you just keep focusing on all the
just somebody needs to know what they’re doing up here, thank you. And then trained in this equipment. Thanks, Dan. blesser, the poor and spirit those who are devoid of spiritual arrogance, who regard themselves as insignificant for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. The Kingdom of heavens now Now, if you’re going to get into heaven, you’re going to get there because you were humble. And the reason is, because you had to surrender something, you had to give up something. You had to consider yourself insignificant. You had to say, I cannot do it. You had to confess and admit I can’t do this. I don’t know what your senators prayer was. But I’ve shared mine with you many times, God, I’m a total failure here. I can’t do this. I can’t live up to all the standards you’ve given me. I can’t obey all that stuff. I can’t handle my language. I can’t handle my lust. I can’t handle my thoughts. I can’t handle these habits, my drinking, whatever it is your can’t handle it. I couldn’t handle any of that. I could stop for a while. I stopped a lot. But I couldn’t keep stopped. And I’d go back to it. I’d rededicate my life in church on a regular basis. And it was a good 24 to 48 hours panacea for me. But I was right back to the old stuff again. I got really tired Prior to that, and miserable, I got tired of guilt and shame, I got tired of not being able to live the life that I wanted to live, but couldn’t live god, I’m a total failure. Well, that’s a big thing when a guy is I look back on it, that was a big thing, when a man can look at God, and say, I’m a total failure. Sometimes we need to look at our wives and say, I’m a total failure. Sometimes we think of our children, and I’m a total failure. Sometimes we even at work in the tasks that we have, I’m a total failure. And men have a hard time with that. It’s reminds me that fonts and happy days, saying I was wrong, I was, couldn’t get it out. He couldn’t say I was wrong. And that’s kind of where pride comes in. pride that says, If you admit that you’re wrong, they’re gonna take advantage of you, they’re gonna walk all over you, if you submit, they’re gonna take advantage of you, they’ll use you, they will consider you weak. And that’s what the enemy, the devil and the demons, when we give in, they see that we’re weak, and they have their way with us. And they’re just looking for us to do that. There’s is a kingdom of heaven. In the second thing, he said, and this is all and process, one comes after the other. You got to be poor in spirit. And when you get to that place where you’re poor in spirit, humble yourself so that you’re poor in spirit. And then he said, the second beatitude Blessed are those who mourn. who mourn over their sin and repent. God, I’m a total failure. I can’t live this life. I’m not the man You created me to be. That’s repentance. I repent for the man that I am. I’m sorry for the man that I am. I’d like to be a new man. I’d like to be a different man. But I can’t be that man. I know I’m not the man You created me to be. But I want to be. And then this was the great requests the best prayer ever prayed? Would you make me that man. And when I prayed that God made me began to make me that man, he started that night, he gave me the Holy Spirit, He forgave my sins. I knew that I was a different guy, I knew I was under new management, something dramatically happened. And that was 55 years ago, or more. And I’ve never been the same guy since. But it all started with humbling yourself and saying, I’m a total failure. I can’t do this. Left to myself, I’m set to self destruct. I can’t handle this life. And, you know, Ron shared with us last week at the peace officers for Christ meeting they attended. They shared the statistics 25 peace officers were killed on the line of duty last year. 230 committed suicide
can’t handle this life. PTSD from being married PTSD from being in Iraq and Afghanistan. PTSD from being in trauma traumatic situations in the body is not just built to handle that we’re not built to be able to stand under that kind of stress and that kind of Mayhem and that kind of war. And that kind of evil. Body Parts flying all over the place. Some of the veterans that this come back, and we had one here one time and he was sharing how many veterans coming back from Iraq in the Middle East are committing suicide, because they just can’t handle what they had to go through and what they saw happen. But it’s true that people have PTSD from their marriages. It’s been so difficult, so hard to handle so pressure, so ugly, that their nervous system couldn’t handle it. We feel stressed and our body was not built for that kind of stress. Bless those who mourn and repent, who admit that they can’t handle it who admit that they’re This is more than I can bear. Jesus hung on the cross. But it wasn’t more than he could bear because his father was with him. Do not fear for I am with you do not anxiously look about you for I am your God. I will help you surely I will strengthen you surely I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. So we have a God who says Look, I’m coming alongside. I know you’re going through a tough time. I know it’s going to be difficult. It may be a health issue a financial issue a marriage issue or children issue, a political issue or pandemic issue. The Issues never stop. They just keep coming. We live in a fallen world All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. And there’s so much sin out there, there’s so much hurt, there’s so much hate. There’s so much lying and deception, authored by the devil, all authored by his demons. And they have total sway over the man who has no faith. Who doesn’t believe in God, who has no strength, who’s not been given the Holy Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit, love, joy, peace, goodness, patience, kindness, gentleness, self control. Those are the things that keep us from being stressed out. Those are the things we have peace that surpasses comprehension, bless it are those who mourn, who repent, for they shall be comforted. And that’s what happened to me that night. God said, you use the word he set me free. Have you been set free lately? Have you been anxious and worried and stressed fearful? And you got on your knees and said, God, I can’t handle this in myself? This is bigger than me. I don’t have answers. I can’t fix it. But you know what’s going on? I’m going to put it in your hands. I’m going to give it to you. I’ve got faith in you. I’m going to humble myself and surrender my ability to handle this. I’m going to admit I can’t handle this. But you can. And so Lord, I’m going to give it to you. And that’s what Jesus meant in Matthew 11, when he said, Look, come to me, come to me. Now to come to him, you have to humble yourself, to come to him, you have to give up your right, your strength, your personal ability to handle it. Now there are some things you can handle to a point, you’ve handled it, you’ve handled it, you’ve handled it, you’re not handling it well anymore. It didn’t stop. You thought it would go away, you thought you could fix it, but that didn’t happen. And so you kept trying to handle it. And it started to crush you. And you had two options. There’s two ways to get humility. One is you can as Peter said, humble yourself under the mighty hand of God that He may exalt you at the proper time. So you can Humble yourself, you can get on your knees before God. And you can say God, I can’t handle it is more than up to it’s hard for a man to say, See the old man code. We’ve talked about that through the years. The old man code says, You never say I can’t do it. You never say I need help. You never say I need a loan. You never say I’m sorry. You never say I love you. No hugging, no kissing. See that oh man code was authored by the devil. He wants to put man on an island.
He wants to put me out there all by themselves, because that’s the sheep that the devil always comes along and gets. It’s not the sheep that are in the flock. Close to the shepherd. It’s a sheep that wander away the sheep that get on their own. They get distressed and depressed and they lay down and roll over and they hadn’t been sheared lately, so they can’t roll back over again. And they just pray for every squirrel in the field. Because it doesn’t take much to take care of that sheep. The sheep is not fast. It doesn’t have sharp teeth. Doesn’t have claws. can’t defend itself. God compared us to sheep man don’t want to be sheep. We decided we’re going to be fighting sheet.
Let’s just put some words in front of sheep
blesser to those who mourn. And then after that, the third one was blessed are the meek. That means that blessing of the humble and the gentle in the kind hearted, the sweet spirited, the self controlled. Bless it are those who are humble. If you want to be blessed, that’s where you have to come you have to come to the place if you want to be spiritually prosperous. If you want to have that peace that surpasses all comprehension. You have to humble yourself so you can let God humble you or you can Humble yourself. That’s two ways to get it. Now God will humble you and and I’ll tell you one of my stories of God humbling me when I came to Christ, you know that you remember that? I was read the bobby Richardson story second baseman for the Yankees strong Christian in the back of his book was opponent I’m called the gods Hall of Fame. And about a year after I’d come to Christ, he came to Birmingham to speak to a baseball banquet now and I went to hear him speak. And at the end of his message, he quoted that poem and shared it with a group. And I was impressed. And I said, Boy, that is good stuff. I said, Well, I read his book, and I ought to be able to share that poem at the end of my testimony. So I memorized it. And at the end of my testimony, and I was getting opportunities as a ballplayer to speak at different groups, and I would share my testimony, and then I’d share the poem. And I’d always get a great response and people would be who, and on that one, can I get a copy of that? So I had copies made, so I could hand them out afterwards, when I was invited to speak to this church one time and they feel the chapel up. And I gave my testimony that night. And I got to the point. And I was feeling pretty good about myself. I mean, now I’m going to impress him again. And I said, and I introduced the poem, and I said, Well, this is a poem in the back of the bobby Richardson story I was telling you about. And it really helped me with understanding life and living this Christian life. And I’d like to share it with you and boom, God took it away. Man, I couldn’t remember the first word, I couldn’t remember anything. And they’re all sitting there like you are right now. And they’re going. And Susan sitting about where bill is, and she knew the point, she had heard it so many times, and she was trying to get me jumpstarted, your name, your name, your name. I couldn’t hear. But I could hear God. And God said, Look, that’s my point. If you’re going to use it for Your glory, I’m taking it away. Because I gave you that poem to give me glory, not you. I learned a great lesson that night, it humbled me. But believe me, I’m sitting there and people. Finally God gave it back to me. And I shared the point.
He just took it away. Your name may not appear down here and this world’s Hall of Fame. In fact, you may be so unknown that no one knows your name. The author, authors and the praise of men may never come your way. But don’t forget God has rewards that he’ll hand out someday. This Hall of Fame is only good as long as time shall be. But keep in mind, dad’s Hall of Fame is for eternity. To have your name inscribed up there is greater more by far than all the fame and all the praise of every man may star. This crowd on earth they’ll soon forget when you’re not at the top. They’ll cheer like mad until you fall, but then their praise will stop. not God. He never does forget and then his Hall of Fame. But just believe in own his son forever. There’s your name. I’ll tell you for it. And I wouldn’t trade my name, however small that’s written there beyond the stars in that celestial Hall. For all the famous names on earth, and glory that they share. I’d rather be an unknown here and have my name up there. Amen.
Take the opportunity to blow my nose on that one.
So we can humble ourselves or God will humble us Blessed are the meek, the kind hearted, the sweet spirited, bless it are the those who hunger and thirst now you’re never going to get to the point in your life where you can hunger and thirst for righteousness. Until you humble yourself. You’ll never get to the point where you’re hungry to be like Christ to be conformed to his image to be hungry for the word hunger to come on man a prayer hungry to give and serve. You’re never going to get there until you’ve been humble and make until you’ve been poor in spirit and mourn over your sin. Until that’s a condition of your heart. You can read your Bible all you want to but you’re not got a lot of people who read it just to say I read it. I got it done but you’re not going to hunger for it. You’re not going to the Holy Spirit is not going to shape your character bring you to repentance, raise you to the heavenlies in worship. It’s not going to happen unless you’ve come to him in a humble spirit realizing that he’s got and you’re not realizing that you’re his servant that apart from him. You can do that. Everything you’ve learned over your sin, you’ve repented, you do it on a regular basis, when the Holy Spirit holds up the sin in front of you, you shouldn’t have said that shouldn’t have thought that shouldn’t have done that. And then when you confess it, and you’re keeping your heart in a place submitted to him, you’re keeping your heart in a place where you want that righteousness. You want that clear conscience, you want to be God’s man. You want to have power and authority and confidence in the Christian life. You don’t want to be the guy walking around all the time going, I’m unworthy. I’m unworthy. That’s a slap in God’s face. That’s, you know, it’s the same as saying God can’t change me. God can’t fix me. I’m unworthy. I send too much. I don’t read enough study enough. do enough, serve enough given enough? No enough? I’m unworthy. You’re not unworthy. If he died on the cross for you and called you to himself. You’re worthy. You’re valuable. You’re precious to him. Don’t tell God you’re unworthy. And I don’t want to hear it either. We’re all unworthy. No one’s worthy. We talked about grace two weeks ago. Grace is unmerited favor given towards someone who doesn’t deserve it by someone who didn’t have to give it. We’re all unworthy. He’s given us something we didn’t deserve. You cannot work hard enough or be good enough for God to give you grace for God to bless you, for God to open doors for you for God to comfort you forgot to give to you with all that he does. I don’t care how good you are. I don’t care how many times you read the Bible, how much money you give, it doesn’t matter. You can’t impress God can’t get on his good side. They’re not they don’t have scales in heaven. Measure. Now your good works and your bad. It’s all of grace. Jesus said, and we needs to be our life verse. If you abide in Me and my word abides in you, you’ll bear much fruit. But keep this in mind. Apart from me, you can do nothing, nothing. Nothing, nothing good, nothing lasting. nothing that’s going to count for the kingdom of God. If you’re doing it in your own power, your own strength for your own glory, to make people think better of you. You know what the number one characteristic was when they took a poll? What’s the number one characteristic and a friend that that you admire and are drawn to? It was always humility, self effacing. And I don’t mean the kind of putting yourself down and beating yourself up kind of humility. God’s not impressed with that, and neither are people. That’s a pity party. That so I’m no good, I’m failed. I can’t make it. I’m going out in the backyard, neat worms kind of thing. Nobody’s impressed with that. But that true humility that puts others first. It wants to be significant. It doesn’t talk about itself all the time. It didn’t seek the limelight. It said that we’re talking about. And that’s a hard place to go, especially if you’re gifted, especially if you God has blessed you with some intelligence or some gifts and in the church for worship leaders, and we pastors we fight that all the time. putting ourselves first wanting to talk about ourselves, thinking more highly of ourselves, and we should measure ourselves by other pastors, other churches. Everybody struggles with that? one way or the other.
So if we want to get to the blessing, be blessed by being hunger and thirst for righteousness. blesses those who actively seek right standing with God. for they shall be completely satisfied. Oh, you’re hungry for God? Do you want to be like Christ? Do you feel a real love for the word today? If you’ve been in the word and been blessed lately, I don’t mean just have you been in the word but have you the Holy Spirit spoken to your heart? Is he convicted you of sin? Is he put you patted you on the back? I had to tell a guy the other day if you if you haven’t, and you want it. Do those exercises. We always do it retreats that I do in counseling all the time. Had to tell a guy the other day. I want you to write two letters. Write a letter to God Dear God, pour your heart out. Just be real honest. Tell him if you may had to tell him you’re mad if you’re hurt and wounded and discouraged. Tell him just lay it all out there for he’s not going to be surprised he’s heard it before. He’s heard worse in you guy. Write a letter to God in the second letter. Right. Let God write you a letter dear Pete. Dear bill. Iran, God knowing you as well, as he knows you right now, if he were to write you a letter today, what would he say? What would God say to you? Is he going to say, Boy, I knew you like he told Peter, remember when Peter denied him, you remember what Jesus said? He said, I knew you were no good. Remember Jesus saying that? I knew you wouldn’t make it. I knew you were all talk. You shoot your mouth off all the time and look at you. Little girl comes up and you curse and deny me. I knew you would. Is that what you think you’re going to hear from God? How many have ever written a letter from God to you? How many Keep your hands up? How many have heard God say I love you and then raise them higher. One of the first things God thank you one of the first thing God’s gonna say to you when you he writes a letter to his son, I love you. And when we’ve sinned, and we don’t deserve it, that’s a humbling thing. Son, I love you. I’m never going to leave you. I’ll never forsake you. I know you’re going through a hard time. But when you’re mourning in yours, you’re confessing your sin. That’s where the blessing comes. That’s where the forgiveness comes. We have to learn this. We have to live it every day. Because if we don’t live this and learn this, we’re going to be beaten down, we’re going to be pray for every animal in the field, the demons are gonna come after us. We have no confidence. If we don’t confess our sin, if we don’t mourn over us, and if we don’t hunger and thirst for righteousness, if we’re not abiding in Christ, if we have ulterior motives, if we want revenge, and we want to hurt people that hurt us, and we’re not willing to forgive, the unforgiving heart is an unforgiving heart. If you’ve been forgiven and God has touched you, and giving you the grace of forgiveness, he expects you. And he says it’s over in the Sermon on the Mount. I believe it’s in chapter six we share in the Lord’s Prayer, forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who have sinned against us. And you know what? He said right after that, if you’ve been forgiven, and you won’t forgive, then I won’t forgive you. He didn’t say, I may not or I probably won’t. He said, I’m not gonna forgive you. If you’re unwilling to forgive others, you but you don’t know God, what they’ve done to me, look what they did to him. If you want to understand humility, look at the humiliation of Christ. Look at him who laid his life down who suffered it since second chapter Philippians. I’m sure Bob talks about it in his book. Do nothing from selfish ambition or anti conceit, but with humility of mine, think of others as more important than yourself. have this attitude in you with it also in Christ Jesus, who even though he had equality with God, he didn’t regard equality with God as something to be grasped or held on to but he emptied himself and became obedient, even to death on the cross, have this attitude in you. That was also in Christ Jesus, who came not to be served even though he was God, even he was a son of man, the Prince of Peace, the Lord of Lord, the King of kings, he didn’t come to be served. He wasn’t born in a palace. He didn’t have a silver spoon is a child who was born in a manger he humbled himself, he condescended to become a man.
And then he submitted himself to those who killed him, beat him spit on him, mocked him, humiliated him in front of everybody stripped him naked, hung him on across you, you had a hard time being humble. Just go to the cross. Spend some time and in watching that suffering savior on the cross, who condescended who humble himself who became obedient in his humiliation, obedient to his father to bring glory to Him and you know what? To give us salvation to redeem us to forgive our to be able to share his blood that cleanses us from our sin, He was willing to suffer and die, be humiliated, consider himself nothing. Do nothing from selfishness, pride, empty conceit, you know, I said empty conceit because our conceit is empty. You didn’t accomplish it on your own. You stepped on a lot of people to get there are a lot of people picked you up to get you there. You didn’t you’re not a self made man. But you’d like to think of that. But God’s in control of all this. Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God. And then he goes on in the Sermon on the Mount to say, Blessed are the merciful, for they shall be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Well, if you want to get there, if you want to be called a son of God, if you want to be a peacemaker, if you want to be pure in heart, and you want to see God, then it all starts with humility. Bless it to the poor in spirit, humble yourself, or you will be humbled about their stories all over this room of our God is broken and humbled you. God’s taken away what you had. God’s let you be destitute, desperate, not knowing where to turn and what to do. That’s why we have a band of brothers. That’s why he’s given us fellowship. That’s why we, every day are reminded, we need each other. We’re men of God. But as a man of God, I need to humble myself and say, I need you, Frank. Bill, I need you desperately. Ron, for him, man, I need you. Thanks for what you’re doing with that. Iris, thanks for what you’re doing in nursing home. So there, I need that model and example, thanks for all you’ve done throughout the years. Alien, giving God glory and all your contests, all the records you said, but you always give God glory. Thank you for that. That’s a great model. Chris, thanks, you had a brain bleed. And you’ve been through difficult times, it’s been a terrible hard year for you. But you’re sitting over there, you showing up. You’re giving glory to God. You keep your sense of humor. In your own the man in praise God, we need you. We need your example. We need what you’re doing and how you’re doing it. Coach you coach guys for years, they rise up and call you bless it. You got a sweetest spirit of a coach I’ve ever seen. Thanks for the way you invested in the lives of all those young men. You didn’t just coach them in football, you help them become men. And you built into their character and you did it by your model and your example. Thanks back there in the back. I’m having a senior moment. Tom, my good friend.
One of my best. There was another man it was a man that he did on the brink of death. He’s had heart problems. He keeps showing up. He keeps getting the job done. And pulling all over the room. Two guys in here that are show given us examples of everything I’m talking about here. Starting with humility, putting others first being generous and giving this Don’t leave it in the bank, man, let’s put it in those orphanages in Africa. Let’s put it in those nursing homes. Let’s put it in all of these missions that we’re giving to this put it in Craig Herrmann is ministering to athletes all over all campuses all over the place, bringing them to Christ. Let’s invest, let’s sacrifice, let’s give sacrificially, let’s pour ourselves out. And see if God won’t open up the heavens and pour out a blessing until we have no mornay. You got to give yourself and give of yourself and what God has given you your to give away. That’s humility. God didn’t give you all that for you. He gave it to you. For others, he gave it to you so you could be a blessing. And it’s a test. You know, I never buy lottery tickets. Because I’m afraid I’d win. What would I do with all that stuff? What I’ll be faithful with all of it. I think I would. Maybe I should actually get a shot at it.
No, I’m not gonna ask that. But guys, I think you get it. I think you’ve heard it, but you need to be reminded and my job is to remind you and as God reminds me of what we need to be as men of god in days like this, let’s be men who are praising God bless don’t look at the circumstances and go woe is me. As humble ourselves before God and say how can I be a blessing now?
I was gonna read one more thing, but that’s enough. Guys, let’s let’s be God’s men and to be God’s man. We have to humble ourselves. Let’s pray. Father, we thank you for being the God that humbled yourself. The guy that showed us what it looks like the God who hung on across And you’ve said we need to be crucified with Christ and Lord unless we’re crucified with you, there’s gonna be no humility in our lives no humbleness. No, no Lord victory in our lives, no confidence, no power, no authority. But we want all that for Your glory. We want to be able to speak, healing into people’s lives. We want to be able to forgive those who have heard us, we want to be able to go the second mile and turn the other cheek and bless those who persecute us. We want to live that kind of life. We want to empty ourselves out so you can fill us with your spirit. So we pray that you would do that in Jesus name And all God’s men said give them Heaven, guys.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai