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["O Come All Ye Faithful"] ["O Come All Ye Faithful"] Amen. We want to welcome you to the Wednesday evening service here at Verity Baptist Church. We're glad you're with us. We call it the most encouraging service of the week. And it's good to get out in the middle of the week and be with God's people under the preaching of God's word. Let's go ahead and take our bulletins tonight. We'll look at some announcements. If you did not receive a bulletin on your way in, just raise your hand and one of our ushers can get one for you. Just keep your hand up and we'll get one for you. The verse this week, Romans chapter 6 and verse 4, Therefore we are bared with him by baptism into death, that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we should walk in newness of life. And that's a good verse there. We like that. If you open up your bulletin, you'll see our service time Sunday morning service 1030 a.m. We're glad you're with us this evening for our evening service at 7 p.m. And then, of course, we have our Sunday evening service at 6 p.m. If you look at our soul-winning times, our main soul-winning times on Saturday morning at 10 a.m. Soul-winning, of course, is when we bond in the community, we knock doors, we invite people to church, and we preach the gospel to anyone who's interested. We'd love for you to come out on Saturday at 10 a.m. We also have additional soul-winning times on Thursdays, on Fridays, and on Sundays at 2 p.m. So if you'd like to make it to one of those, we'd love for you to join us for that as well. If you're a first-time guest, it's your first time here at Verity Baptist Church. We're so glad you're with us. We have a gift we'd like to give you. As you walk out of the church building this evening, as you go through the foyer, you'll see a little table set up, and on that table you'll see these little gift bags. Please grab one on your way out as a gift from us to you for being our guest tonight. There are several resources in this bag that we'd like you to have, but the one I'd like to highlight is this documentary that our church made. It's called Being Baptist. It's a documentary that we made here. It's very well made, very interesting, it's entertaining, it's educational. I want to give this to you as a gift, so please make sure you don't leave here this evening without grabbing one of those on your way out. If you are a guest, we'd ask that you please take a moment and fill out the communication card, which is inserted in your bulletin. If you need a pen, just raise your hand, and one of our ushers can bring you by a Verity Baptist Church pen. You're welcome to keep the pen as a gift from us as well. When we're done with the announcements, we're going to sing a song. When we're done singing, we're going to receive the offering, and as the offering plate goes by, you can drop this card in the offering plate, or you can hand it to me after the service. I'll be standing at the back for a few minutes at the main door, greeting people on the way out. If you look at our bulletin, of course you'll see we are a family-integrated church. What that means is that children and infants are always welcome in the service. We don't separate children from their parents for any reason. We do have mother-baby rooms and daddy rooms available for your convenience. All of the rooms have comfortable seating. They have monitors set up so you can watch the service and listen to it. So if you have a child that's been distracted during the service, or if you need some privacy, we would encourage you to use those rooms as needed. If you're here tonight, you need to be baptized, please let us know. We'd love to talk to you about that and get you scheduled for that. If you look at the announcements and upcoming events, of course on Sunday mornings and Sunday nights, we're going through this series. You might have one of these in your bulletin. You can use it as a way to invite someone to church on Sunday. We're going through a series called Journey with Jesus. It's a verse-by-verse study through the Gospel of Luke, and we are on a journey with the Lord Jesus Christ. We're making 2022 the year of Jesus, and we're learning about his life and his ministry. And then of course on Wednesday nights, we're going through the book of 2 Corinthians, so we're glad you're with us for that. And of course if you look at the announcements there, we have a wedding this Saturday, January 15th at 3 p.m. You're invited to the wedding of Shah Radari and Ava Blair. And we'd love for you to join us for that, of course. If you'd like to attend, you can sign up on your communication card. It is a potluck, so if you can bring a dish to share, that would be great. And we encourage you to join us on Saturday at 3 p.m. for that. Then of course we have the Nine Chapters a Day Challenge. We hope you're sticking with it. You are right at the point right now where you've got a couple more days where the chapters are really long, and then they're about to start getting a lot shorter. So even if you've gotten behind, use up those grace period days, but realize that once you get out of the book of Acts and into Romans, and really out of Romans and Ephesians, Galatians, and all those, the chapters get a lot shorter. You can read way more than nine chapters. You can do 12 chapters if you need to get caught up. So stick with it. Don't give up, and you'll be glad you did. So you can read the whole New Testament in the month of January. Then of course we have the VBC Choir. They're practicing at 5 p.m., and they are practicing for I Love My Church Sunday in February. And then of course we've got the VBC Homeschool Group. They've got PE class tomorrow, Thursday, January 13th at 10 a.m. It hasn't been raining, so we should be able to have PE class, so make sure you plan for that. Upcoming cleaning crew, you can check for your name there. There's other things there for you to look at. Please don't forget to turn your cellphones off or place them on silent during the service. They're not a distraction to anybody. If you look at the back of the bulletin, birthdays and anniversaries for the month of January. We had Brother Jeff and Miss Claudine Bahamundi's anniversary on January 9th this week. And Miss Casey Chandler's birthday is on January 14th. Maya Johnson's birthday is on January 15th. And Madeline Gonzalez's birthday is on January 15th as well. Praise report, money matters, all those things are there for you to look at. I do have just a couple of special announcements. One thing that we didn't announce, because I wasn't really aware of it, but Pastor Joe Jones from Shield of Faith Baptist Church is going to be with us this weekend. He's coming down for the wedding. And when I found out about that, I asked him if he would preach for us. He's going to be preaching for us on Sunday night. So I want to encourage you to be here on Sunday night for Pastor Joe Jones. And of course, we planted that church up there in Idaho, and he took over. And we're proud of the work that they are doing there. So I'll be preaching Sunday morning. He'll be preaching Sunday night. And if you haven't heard Pastor Jones, he's an awesome preacher. So I encourage you to be a part of that. I do want to just make a quick announcement. All of you ushers should have got a text from us. We want to just let you know that I need to have a meeting with all of the ushers after the service in my office. So maybe about five minutes after the service. If you can get rounded up and meet with me in the office, I would appreciate that. I think that's it for all of the announcements. So let's go ahead and take our song books. And we're going to go to page number four. Page number four, and we're going to sing the way of the cross leads home as we prepare to receive the offering tonight. The way of the cross. And let's go ahead and sing it out on the first. I must needs go home by the way of the cross. There's no other way but this. I shall ne'er get side of the gates of light. If the way of the cross I miss. The way of the cross leads home. The way of the cross leads home. It is sweet to know as I onward go. The way of the cross leads home. All right, that was a good warm up round. Okay, let's sing it out with some passion on the second. Number four on the second. I must needs go in. I'll shrink away the path that the Savior trod. If I ever climb to the heights sublime where the soul is at home with God. The way of the cross leads home. The way of the cross leads home. It is sweet to know as I onward go. The way of the cross leads home. Good, sing it out on the last. Then I bid farewell to the way of the world to walk in it evermore. For my Lord says come that I seek my hope wearing waves at the open door. The way of the cross leads home. The way of the cross leads home. It is sweet to know as I onward go. The way of the cross leads home. Amen. Good singing. We'll have the guys come up and help us with the offering at this time. And let's go ahead and bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, Lord, we do come to you tonight asking that you bless the offering. Lord, we pray that you bless the gift and the giver. We ask that you meet with us as we take time to pray for our church family. And then, of course, as we open up your word and study the Bible together. In the maxillist name of Christ, we pray. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Alright, well let's go ahead and take our prayer sheets tonight. If you did not get a prayer sheet tonight, go to the group and pray with us. And we'll see you next time. We'll see you next time. Amen. Thank you. Amen all right well let's go and take our prayer sheets tonight if you did not get a prayer list on your way in just raise your hand and one of our ushers can get one for you you know prayer sheet just put your hand up and we will get one for you and of course I want to remind you that the way you add a request to the prayer sheet is through your communication card on the card there's a place for you to write a request on the back of the card make sure you mark whether it's private or public if it's private only I will see it if it's public we'll put on the prayer sheet if you don't mark it we'll do our best to figure it out but we usually don't put those on there so make sure you mark that if when you put in the request we add them in the order they're received and then we remove them after a couple of weeks there is a request I'd like you to write in if you would and that is for Miss Denise Anderson and she was tested positive for COVID so her and brother Ray are at home quarantining and getting better and all that so please pray for healing for her honestly wait the last several weeks we've had maybe two or three people that have tested positive for COVID and some of them are coming back and then there's others that are testing so we're kind of in this little cycle where at any given time we've got a couple of people that have tested positive for COVID and they're quarantining and doing all the things you're supposed to do so just be in prayer for everybody and that everybody gets better and all of that but Miss Denise specifically today if you would let's go and take these requests to the Lord I'll pray out loud as you follow along in your mind in your heart and let's pray together Heavenly Father Lord we come to you tonight asking for our church family and Lord we begin with these salvations regarding these requests regarding salvation we pray for brother Ron who's praying for his mother and family's salvation also miss Natalie praying for her mom's unbelief so that she would be saved and brother Vlade and Miss Antonina praying for their family's salvation and Miss Christine Ortiz praying for her daughters and her sons to be saved and Lord we pray for these individuals we ask that you would move in their hearts Lord that you would help them to come to the place where they'd be willing to hear the gospel and Lord we pray that a soul winner would be able to communicate the gospel clearly to them also pray for these that are asking for their families brother Alan praying for his brother he submitted a visiting form to the warden for approval to visit his brother in prison and just praying for favor there that that would go through and Lord we ask that you would take care of that Bible says the King's heart is in the hands of the Lord as the rivers of water he turned at that whether so ever he will and Lord we ask right now that you would move in the heart of this warden help him to approve this that brother Alan may be able to go see his brother and preach the gospel to him also we pray for Miss Christine praying for her family and friends Miss Nicole Johnson praying for her daughter Diana and brother Salvador praying for his family but the Brandon praying for his family Lord we ask that you would help these individuals and be with them and in these different requests we also pray for those that have physical financial needs brother Alan praying for a raise at his job and brother Salvador praying for finances and work brother Brandon praying for future job prospects and work and things like that Lord we just pray that you'd open up the right doors and help them here Lord I asked for the Alan that you would grant him this raise and give him favor with his boss in regards to that no Lord we pray for these that are asking for help whether Alan praying for healing for his elbow issue and Miss Christine praying for her sister Judy to get well brother Joe Maples praying for healing and recovery from illness for his family and also just continued prayer for Joe Jr. for his health and his healing brother Nate praying for brother Gabriel Ruiz's aunt who had surgery to remove cancer and it went well but we're praying for a quick recovery we're asking for Miss Denise who is getting just recovering from from COVID Lord and asking that you would heal her and help her and and we pray for brother Salvador for his health and brother Brandon for his health we ask for Miss Docma for strength to come back to church and for her health to improve we ask for her son-in-law's cancer report to come back negative we pray for a little Urezi that she would continue to be healthy and strong and Lord we ask for all these individuals that you put your healing hand over them whether dealing with doctors and nurses we ask that you would give wisdom to the doctors and nurses dealing with them Lord we ask that you would help all of the individuals in our church that are been diagnosed with COVID and dealing with that that you would help them to be able to get better and get back soon then Lord we pray for the ladies in our church that are expecting we ask for Miss Angel and Miss Ruby Miss Sarah Miss Lindsay Miss Rebecca and Miss Casey asking that you'd give them all healthy pregnancies with no issues and no complications we pray that you would help them Lord to be able to have no problems there we also pray for Miss Christine's daughter who's having her sixth child and for her granddaughter who's having her second child and asking that you would help in regards to that and move in regards to that we pray for brother Salvador for the Brandon for their walk with you and their personal walk in their faith and Lord we ask for all of these that have unspoken requests for the Ron Edwards and brother Alan and also miss Nicole and brother Salvador but the Brandon all having unspoken requests you know what their petitions are you know what they're asking for Lord we pray that you would answer according to your will and Lord we pray for our church we ask for this prison ministry that we have that you continue to help us to reach people with the gospel and disciple and train people in regards to that I thank you for all those that have volunteered to be pen pals to men in prison and to help develop relationships with them and disciple them through letters and Lord we ask that you continue to bless that ministry and we pray for our church in general that you keep us healthy and strong and safe and going forward Lord we pray for our church plants in Manila and Pampanga I know that the COVID restrictions are getting difficult there and we ask that you would help them to be able to manage those and maneuver those and that you would alleviate those things what we pray that you'd meet with us tonight as we open up your word and as we study the Bible together in the matchless name of Christ we pray amen let's open up to 2nd Corinthians chapter 6 2nd Corinthians chapter number 6 if you need a Bible put your hand up and I know she might bring your Bible 2nd Corinthians chapter 6 if you need about keep your hand up first we'll come by 2nd Corinthians 6 we will read the entire chapter as our custom 2nd Corinthians chapter number 6 being in verse number 1 we then as workers together with him beseech you also that you received not the grace of God in vain for he saith I have heard thee in a time accepted and in the day of salvation have I suckered thee behold now as you accept the time behold now is the day of salvation giving no offense in anything that the minister be not blamed but in all things approving ourselves as a ministers of God in which patience and afflictions and necessities and distresses in stripes and imprisonments and tumbles and labors and watchings and fastings by pureness by knowledge by long-suffering by kindness by the Holy Ghost by love and faint by the word of truth by the power of God by the arm of righteousness on the right hand and on the left by honor and dishonor by evil report and good report as deceivers and yet true as unknown and yet well known as dying and behold we live as chastened and not killed as sorrowful yet all your rejoicing as poor yet making many rich as having nothing and yet possessing all things OE Corinthians our mouth is open unto you our heart is enlarged you're not straightened in us but you're strained in your own bowels and now for recompense in the same I speak as it to my children be also enlarged be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness and what communion hath light with darkness and what conquered of the Christ with Belial what part of he that believeth with an infidel and what agreement hath the temple of God with idols for ye are the temple of the living God as God hath said I will dwell in them and walk in them and will be their God and they shall be my people wherefore come out from among them and be separate saith the Lord and touch not the unclean thing and I will receive you it will be a father unto you he shall be my sons and daughters saith the Lord Almighty let's pray family father thank you for this evening God I thank you for your word and for our church and proven that's here as you please give us the ten hearts of the message as you please be the pastor to strengthen him and from her spirit we love you Jesus name pray amen amen all right well we're there in 1st Corinthians chapter 2nd excuse me 2nd Corinthians chapter number 6 and of course we've been working our way through the book of 2nd Corinthians on Wednesday night verse by verse chapter by chapter it's actually been a couple of weeks since we were in 2nd Corinthians and if you remember last time we were in the book of 2nd Corinthians we were dealing with these lists that the Apostle Paul gave us and in verse 4 just to give you a little bit of review if you go back to 2nd Corinthians chapter 6 and verse 4 the Bible says this but in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God and the Apostle Paul what he does in verses 4 through 10 and he gives us a series of three different lists he gives us the first list in verses 4 and 5 you'll notice that those lists are the reason that I I look at these as three different lists is because that that first list in verses 4 through 5 which we looked at last time we were in the book of 2nd Corinthians they're set apart by this word in if you notice there in verse 4 he says but in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God he talked about the fact that we have to approve ourselves as ministers if you remember the book of 2nd Corinthians has the theme of the ministry and being in ministry and dealing with people and then he talks about the fact that the way that we're going to prove ourselves as ministers of God he says there in verse 4 in much notice he says patience in afflictions in necessities in distresses in stripes in imprisonments in tumult and labors and watchings and fasting so we have 10 things are listed there as the the things that we're going to have to endure in ministry if we're going to serve people and help people and love people and I call that list the difficulty of ministry we talked about that last time we were in 2nd Corinthians then in verses 6 and 7 you have a different list and in this list he tells us how we're going to do ministry in verses 4 and 5 he tells us what we'll need to endure in ministry he says in necessities in distresses in patience in afflictions in stripes in imprisonments in tumult in verses 6 and 7 he tells us how we're going to do ministry and I call this list the demands of ministry the first list is the difficulty of ministry this is the demands of ministry because this is what the ministry is going to demand of you if you're going to be in ministry and and and of course this is applied to a position of spiritual leadership but honestly all of us should be in ministry every single one of us should be dealing with people and working with people reaching people with the gospel and dealing with your own family if you're a husband and wife with children and he says if you're going to do ministry here's how you're going to do it he says there in verse 6 he says by pureness he says by knowledge by long-suffering by kindness by the Holy Ghost by love unfeigned by the word of truth by the power of God by the armor of light on the right hand and on the left and then in verses 8 through 10 he gives us the third list and this is a list of nine things as well and this list is set apart by the contrast you'll notice it's set apart by these words and and yet in this list he gives us two different things that are opposite of each other and he talks about the fact that these things are both found in ministry I call this list the dichotomy of ministry he says there in verse 8 he says by honor and dishonor he says by evil report and good report he says as deceivers and yet true he says as unknown and yet well known as dying and behold we live as chastened and not killed as sorrowful and yet always rejoicing as poor yet making many rich as having nothing yet possessing all things so you'll notice that he is these three different lists and I talked about this last time we were in the book of second Corinthians that it would be easy to just kind of walk through this or run through this quickly but I think that there's every word in the Bible is there for a reason and I think that there's some value and being able to slow down a little bit and study these things so last time we looked at the ten things in verses 4 through 5 in the list on the difficulty of ministry tonight what we're gonna do is we're gonna just slow down a little bit and look at the list in verses 6 and 7 as we look at the demands of ministry and next Wednesday we'll deal with probably I think the most interesting of these lists and we'll look at the dichotomy of ministry and we'll look at those nine things that he lists there but tonight we're gonna look at these nine things in this list in regards to the demand of ministry and again I call it the demand of ministry because Paul gives us a list of things that ministry will demand of you if you're going to deal with people if you're gonna help people if you're gonna minister to people these are things you're going to have to have you're going to have to produce these and have these in your life if you're gonna make an impact in the life of others and minister to them you're going to have to do these nine things so I encourage you to write these things down and I'll give you the outline is simply the list but we'll have many cross-references things to look at on the back of your course of week of course there's a place for you to write down some notes but let's go ahead and jump into this list and look at it notice there in verse 6 the first thing he says he says by pureness he says by pureness and here's what we we begin with this idea that to minister to others we must possess pureness he says if you're going to be in the ministry if you're going to be counted as someone accounted for the ministry he says you're gonna have to do that by pureness now keep your place there in 2nd Corinthians chapter 6 that's our text for tonight but go with me if you went to the look of Matthew Matthew chapter number 5 first book in the New Testament should be fairly easy to find Matthew chapter 5 and look at verse number 8 he says by pureness you say what does pureness have to do with ministering to people and I would submit to you tonight that pureness doesn't have a lot to do with ministering to people but it does have something to do with ministering to God or ministering for God or having a relationship with God it's interesting to me that the Apostle Paul here is going to give us a list of things that you need if you're going to minister to others and and help others but he begins by saying he says you must have pureness he says by pureness and when we study this idea of pureness in the Bible we'll realize that pureness has more to do with our relationship with God than our relationship with others now we should be pure in all of our relationships but the way that we draw close to God is through pureness are you there in Matthew 5 look at verse 8 notice what the Bible says it says blessed this is Jesus speaking this is the great passage on the Beatitudes he says blessed are the pure in heart why are they blessed if they're pure in heart here's why for they shall see God the Bible teaches that when we are pure in heart the word pure means to be clean means to be without corruptness without without stain it means that it's clean it means that it's it's right it means that it's holy the Bible says when we are pure in heart if Jesus said blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God and here's what you need to understand our closeness and our relationship to God has to do with our pureness or our holiness go to 1st Peter if you would 1st Peter chapter number 1 if you start at the end of the New Testament and head backwards you have the book of Revelation Jude 3rd 2nd 1st John 2nd and 1st Peter 1st Peter chapter number 1 Revelation Jude 3rd 2nd 1st John 2nd and 1st Peter do me a favor when you get to 1st Peter put a ribbon or a bookmark or something there because we're gonna leave 1st Peter we're gonna come back to it throughout the sermon so I'd like you to be able to get there quickly 1st Peter chapter number 1 now again you might ask you say okay well pureness has to do with our relationship with God and us being close to God what does that have to do with ministry well here's the thing if we're gonna minister to others we better make sure we're right with God and oftentimes what we forget about in the Christian life isn't this funny what we forget about in the Christian life because we get busy in the Christian life we've got all sorts of things that we need to do I feel like I'm a little echoey if you could just turn me down a little bit I'd appreciate that in in the in the ministry we we get busy and I think we should be busy you know we get busy with Bible reading we got busy with prayer time we get busy with soul winning we get busy with church attendance we get busy with all sorts of spiritual disciplines and things that we have and I'm not preaching against those things those things are good things we need to do those things but sometimes I fear that we get so busy with all this activity and I'm not against the activity I think we should do the activity but sometimes we forget about God and sometimes I want to ask the question whatever happened to God because the truth is this in the Christian life God should be the goal the goal should be you say what's the goal the goal should be God the goal should be to be close to God to have a walk with God you say what about all those other things well here's what I believe I believe when you're close to God you have a walk with God you'll show up to church I believe when you're close to God and you have a walk with God you'll read your Bible when you're close to God and you have a walk with God you'll pray when you're close to God and you have a walk with God you'll live a separated life when you're close to God and you when you walk with God you'll do all those other things I'm not as concerned about those other things but we need to remember this that sometimes we can do those things and forget about God forget about our walk with God God is not something we think about and the Bible says Paul says look if you're going to be in the ministry which we all should be he says you've got to do it by pureness why because blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God and there in 1st Peter 1 look at verse 14 notice what he says he says as obedient children not fashioning yourselves notice according to the former lusts he says look you have a former lust you have a past you have an old man you have a a past in your life he says look don't fashion yourself according to the former lusts in your ignorance but as he which hath called you is holy notice he says so be ye holy in all manner of conversation the word conversation our King James Bible means conduct or lifestyle he says look you used to have a former a former lust used to have a former conduct a way you lived your life things that you did in your past he says as obedient children he said if you're gonna be obedient children to God the Father he said you can't do that by fashioning yourself according to the former lust and then I love this phrase he says in your ignorance isn't that true all the things you in your past you're embarrassed about and ashamed about they were in your ignorance but as he which have called you is holy so be holy in all manner of conversation notice verse 16 he says because it is written be ye holy for I am holy see I'm here to tell you tonight that God is looking for a people that are pure in heart they're holy that will minister by pureness you say why because pureness will draw us close to God and let's not forget in the midst of ministry let's not forget God keep your finger there right there or keep something there in first Peter and go to the book of James if you would if you go backwards you have the book of James James chapter number four James chapter number four I'm reminded of the story of remember the story of Mary and Martha one was busy serving cumbered about with much service Jesus said that the other had chosen the right thing when she had chosen to sit at the feet of Jesus and commune with Jesus and again I'm not against the busyness I think we ought to be busy I think we ought to be soul winners I think we ought to be active for the work of God but if we're going to be in ministry we must start by pureness James chapter 4 look at verse 8 James chapter 4 verse 8 notice what the Bible says draw nigh to God now that's encouraging right there draw nigh to God that ought to encourage you that you and I have the ability and the possibility to draw I mean think about that draw nigh the word nigh means to get close he says you can draw nigh to God God in heaven God the creator of the universe God the one who created you God the one who gave you a plan and a purpose God that the one that that has a plan for your life the Bible says you can draw nigh to God that's interesting enough that's encouraging enough here's what's even more encouraging the Bible says when we draw nigh to God then then it says and he will draw nigh to you know that God is interested in getting close to you the Bible says when we take a step towards God he takes a step towards us when we draw nigh to God he will draw nigh to you but notice the connection to the pureness cleanse your hands ye sinners and purify your hearts you double-minded often we look at the this verse in a negative way right we say hey you're gonna draw close to God you need to cleanse your hand but there's a positive aspect there and the positive aspect is there that you don't have to be perfect or sinless to draw nigh to God you and I can draw nigh to God you say well if you knew my past if you knew the things I was doing if you knew the the stuff that I'm currently into hey you can cleanse your hands you sinners you can draw nigh to God you can cleanse your hands you can purify your heart you can stop being double-minded you can be blessed as God says as Jesus says and be pure in heart and you shall see God so he says draw nigh to God and he will draw nigh to you you say why would we start there here's why because the goal is God don't ever forget that our goal in life ought to be pleasing to God pleasing to the Lord so we see that Paul says by pureness keep your place there in first Peter I hope you did that go back to 2nd Corinthians chapter 6 let me show you the second thing on our list here he says to minister we must possess pureness he says by pureness and then he says the second thing there in verse number 6 he says by pureness then he says number 2 he says by knowledge he says if you're going to minister to others he said not only are you going to minister by pureness but he says you must minister by knowledge did you keep your place in 1st Peter go to 2nd Peter if you would 2nd Peter chapter number 3 continue to keep your place there in 1st Peter we're going to come back to it throughout the sermon but if you're there for Peter go over to 2nd Peter chapter 3 you know this verse but let's look at it together 2nd Peter chapter 3 we saw by pureness then we see this by knowledge by knowledge 2nd Peter 3 and verse 18 the Bible says this but grow in grace notice and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to him be glory both now and forever amen the Bible says that we are to grow in knowledge that we are to grow in our knowledge of God so he says we're going to do this by pureness and he says we're going to do this by knowledge now go to me if you would to Romans chapter 15 Romans 15 if you go backwards there from 2nd Corinthians you got 1st Corinthians and then the book of Romans Romans chapter 15 knowledge is important we've actually kind of had a theme lately at our church regarding knowledge we've been talking about it Hosea says that my people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge Jesus often told the people the Pharisees in the New Testament in the Gospels he said ye do err not knowing the scriptures knowledge is needed we've had this theme over the last several weeks I preached the sermon that you're aware of on building our lives on the Bible and we talked about how to build your life on the Bible and the first step is to know the Bible that's why we read it that's why we're reading nine chapters a day in the month of January you say why would we do that so that you can know the Bible you say why would we need to know the Bible so that you can trust the Bible and that so you can apply the Bible see if we're going to minister to others we're going to need to know what the Bible says Romans 15 are you there look at verse 14 Romans chapter 15 and verse 14 the Bible says and I myself also am persuaded of you my brethren that ye also are full of goodness now notice what Paul says here he says filled with all knowledge filled with all knowledge they say well what does knowledge have to do with ministering to others and helping others here's what he says filled with all knowledge notice able also to admonish now the word admonish means to caution to advise to give counsel and here's what Paul is telling us he's saying look you need to be filled with all knowledge why not just so that you can know the Bible believe the Bible apply the Bible now that's good enough right there build your life on the Bible I hope you'll do it but he says you know another reason that you want to have knowledge another reason that you need to have knowledge in ministry is that you might be able to admonish one another you know what I need knowledge for so that you can caution others so you can advise others so you can counsel others so as you minister to others as you talk to others as you influence others as you use your influence to help other people you're not just giving them of your own heart but you're saying well here's what the Bible says what do you think I should do about the situation well let me tell you what the Bible says well what do you think I should do about my marriage well here's what the Bible says about marriage what do you think I should do with my finances well here's what the Bible says about finances what do you think I should do about my health well here's what the Bible says about health see the reason that we need knowledge to minister to others is that we may be able to admonish one another I'm often encouraged by people go back to 2nd Corinthians chapter 6 if you wouldn't I'm often encouraged by people who come to our church and also those who listen online we get emails and and and with testimony from our own church people saying you know I went to some other church for a long time and I didn't learn as much there as I'm learning here and I praise and I praise the Lord for that what that tells me is that there are some ministries out there that they have a whole lot of things their ministry lists might say by you know flashy lights and block by you know smoke machines but not by knowledge and what we need is knowledge what we need is to grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ the him be glory both now and forever amen so he says by pureness then he says by knowledge then he says this in verse 6 go back to verse 6 2nd Corinthians chapter 6 in verse 6 notice he says by long suffering by long suffering these are this is the list that Paul says he says you're gonna minister to people you're gonna be around people by the way you say well I I don't I don't minister to people I just go to church well you know the Bible says that when we assemble ourselves that we are actually exhorting one another and forsake not the assembling of ourselves together as a manner of some is but exhorting one another and so much the more as you see the day approaching just your presence here just your presence here is an encouragement to somebody else just you being here is admonishing and encouraging somebody else but let me tell you something if you're going to be a member of a church like Verity Baptist Church if you're going to be part of a body of believers that is trying to reach people with the gospel and that means that we're reaching people all sorts of people red and yellow black and white I mean rich and poor big and small no matter where they're at we're bringing them in of course we're not talking about reprobates but people with backgrounds and with differences hey if you're going to help people and minister to people you're going to have to be long suffering the word long suffering means having or showing patience in spite of trouble especially those caused by other people he says by long suffering now you're there in 2nd Corinthians I'd like you to go go to Ephesians if you would you there in second Corinthians Galatians Ephesians Ephesians chapter number 4 he says long-suffering Ephesians 4 and verse 1 notice what the Bible says Paul wrote this he said I therefore the prisoner of the Lord beseech you that you walk worthy of the vocation where with you are called by the way we've all been called into ministry he says how you can do that here's how verse 2 with all lowliness and meekness notice with long suffering you say I can't be patient with people people irritate me people upset me I just you know I just lose I just I'm I have a short fuse I have a short temper well stop it Bible says that we are to have long suffering you say well how do I do that well notice with all lowliness and meekness with long suffering notice this word forbearing one another what forbear means to endure it means to stick with it and look any sort of relationship whether it's a marriage relationship a parenting relationship or a church relationship you're going to have to realize that sometimes people are gonna rub you the wrong way sometimes they're gonna upset you sometimes they're gonna disappoint you sometimes they're gonna hurt you but if we're gonna deal with people and minister to people then we must have long suffering you say how do I do that with forbearing one another here's the key in love you need to actually choose that you're going to love people and we'll talk a little bit more about that here in a minute but he says look you can't minister you can't minister and by the way you say well I don't I don't need this I'm not in ministry okay are you married you're gonna need pureness and knowledge and long suffering you're gonna need all of it you have kids you have friends you you work somewhere with people he says you'll need long suffering by long suffering you're gonna need forbearing you're gonna need to be forbearing of one another not and look the idea of long suffering I'm shocked I'm shocked in the society that we live in today where people are just willing to cut and walk away from relationships just at the at the drop of a of a dime I mean just willing and like I understand there are situations where you need to cut people out of your lives I'm not talking about that but it's just interesting to me you know you're gonna have a friend or a family member a loved one someone you've had a relationship with a long time and then just just within a matter of seconds I mean just completely cut them up hey the Bible says that we're to be long suffering with people forbearing one another in love keep your place right there I know you've got it in 1st Peter but just keep your place there go back to 2nd Corinthians chapter 6 let me give you the next thing on the list he says by pureness draw an eye to God and he will draw an eye to you you can cleanse your hands you sinners and God will draw an eye to you he says by knowledge we can learn the Bible we can apply the Bible and we can use the Bible to minister to others he says by long-suffering we're gonna have to sometimes for bear people and have forbearance one another and love then he says this by kindness by kindness now I'd like you to go to Colossians if you would if you kept your place right there in Ephesians you have Philippians and then you have the book of Colossians Colossians chapter number three if we're gonna deal with people we're gonna need some kindness the word kindness is defined as the quality of being friendly generous and considerate in Colossians chapter 3 in verse 12 the Bible says this put on therefore as the elect of God holy and beloved when he says put on therefore he the the terminology that he's using there is that you are to put something on like like a garment like the way you put clothes on in the morning he says it's as simple as this and it's easier said than done I understand that but he said all you need to do if you want to have good people skills and love people and be kind to people is get up in the morning and decide that you're going to put on as the elect of God holy and beloved decide you're gonna put on bowels of mercy kindness humbleness of mind meekness long-suffering now sometimes you talk to people and they'll say you don't understand I'm just so angry all the time I'm just upset about this I'm upset about that look it's as simple as you getting up in the morning and saying I'm naturally angry but I'm going to stop and I'm going to put on kindness I'm gonna put on bowels of mercy what does that mean mercy it means compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is within one's power to punish or harm you're gonna decide though I could punish though I could inflict pain I'm going to have bowels of mercy I'm going to have humbleness of mind what does humbleness mean means to not be proud or haughty not arrogant or assertive it means to have the proper perspective of self you have no problem with humility if you wake up every day with the realization that you are a sinner saved by grace and that you were forgiven and therefore you can have bowels of mercy you can have kindness you can have meekness you can have notice our word long-suffering I want you to notice how these words are all connected you'll see them all connected throughout the New Testament he says if we're gonna minister to people if we're gonna minister to people we need to do it by kindness by kindness you're there in Colossians go back to Ephesians if you would pass Philippians into the book of Ephesians Ephesians chapter number four Ephesians chapter four in the last list Paul told us all the things we have to endure in ministry afflictions trials imprisonments tumult in this list he tells us the things we're gonna have to we're gonna need for ministry you're gonna have to if you're gonna do ministry you're gonna do it by pureness by knowledge by long-suffering by kindness Ephesians 4 and verse 31 notice what the Bible says let all bitterness look at this list Ephesians 4 31 let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and evil speaking I mean I don't know about you that just sounds like a nightmare to me I mean that sounds like a difficult life to live a life of bitterness wrath anger clamor evil speaking they well what do I do here's what Paul says Paul says be put away from you with all malice I love Paul's counseling here and I definitely believe in Christian counseling and and and and we practice Christian counseling but he's looking at somebody says I'm so bitter and he says stop it I'm so angry stop I'm just constantly having evil speaking stop it be put away from you with all malice notice verse 32 and be ye kind one to another tender-hearted I'm I'm so amazed sometimes how hard hearted we can be towards each other but he says keep a tender heart be tender hearted and look this really is the key of all relationships and any really any any lasting relationship is gonna need this forgiving one another even as God and for Christ's sake hath forgiven you you don't marriage you're gonna need to learn to forgive one another in the parenting relationship sometimes kids need to learn to forgive their parents and parents need to learn to forgive their kids in church because I'm so angry at so-and-so well why don't you stop it and be tender-hearted and forgive one another why should I forgive because even as God for Christ's sake have forgiven you because you've been forgiven because I've been forgiven because all we deserve is the lake of fire and for that reason alone we can put off bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and evil speaking it can be put away from us and we can be kind one to another here's all I'm telling you if you're going to have relationships with people you have to learn to be kind you have to learn to have long suffering that means you'll be tender-hearted you'll have forgiveness go back to second Corinthians chapter 6 I want to show you the fifth thing on this list and I also want to show you the eighth thing on this list and we're gonna do the fifth thing and the eighth thing on this list together because they're just connected and it's hard to disconnect them there's nine things we're looking we're looking at on this list and we've looked at four of them by pureness by knowledge by long suffering by kindness then we have the fifth thing on the list is found there in verse 6 it says by the Holy Ghost but I want to do that in connection with the eighth thing because then it says by love unfaith by the word of truth and the eighth thing is this by the power of God and I want to do these two together because they're the same thing having the Holy Ghost is having the power of God and he says if we're gonna do ministry you're gonna need the Holy Ghost and you're gonna need the power of God let me just give you some references here to look at look at first Thessalonians chapter 1 if you would first Thessalonians 1 if you find all the t-books they're all clustered together in the New Testament for second Thessalonians for second Timothy Titus go to first Thessalonians chapter 1 let me show you how the Bible connects this idea of power in the Holy Spirit power in the Holy Ghost first Thessalonians 1 and verse 5 the Bible says for our gospel came not unto you in the word of in the word in word only I want you to notice it don't miss it for our gospel came not unto you in word only notice these words but also in power and in the Holy Ghost notice how when the gospel comes in the Holy Ghost it comes with power and in much assurance as you know what manner of men we were among you for your sakes and ye became followers of us and of the Lord having received the word and much affliction notice with joy of the Holy Ghost the point is this in ministry you and I need to have the Holy Ghost and obviously we have we're sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise but here we're talking about the baptism of the Holy Ghost the empowering of the Holy Ghost the power of the Holy Ghost go to Acts chapter 1 if you would Acts chapter 1 Matthew Mark Luke John Acts we can't do what we do without the Holy Ghost I mean I can tell you this I can't do what we do without the Holy Ghost I I can't I I can't do it what I'm telling you I'm not I'm not trying to be hyper humble here although I try to be humble very proud of it I I'm not being hyper spiritual here I can't do what I'm telling you know you can't have a hundred and sixty some odd people show up to church on a Wednesday night take a passage of Scripture preach it and apply it in a certain way and have 30 or 40 people tell you as they're walking on the door why the Lord spoke to me tonight thank you for that I really needed to hear that I needed this part was what I needed to hear that part I need to hear you say how do you do that I don't sometimes we were telling me man you know thank you for that pastor I really needed that sermon on X Y & Z and I'm thinking myself I didn't preach about that I really needed that pastor you know have you guys been dealing with me about tithing this Sunday morning you know I learned about tithing I'm thinking myself well praise the Lord for that but I preach about baptisms and here's all I'm saying is that it's the power of the Holy Ghost it is God who takes the Word of God the third member of the Godhead the Holy Spirit and applies it in the hearts and in the lives as needed Acts chapter 1 and verse 6 notice what the Bible says when they therefore were come together they asked of him saying Lord without this time restore again the kingdom of Israel they sound like Fox News Baptist and he said unto them it is not for you to know the times of the seasons which the Father hath put in his own power notice what he says but ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you you say I well I don't I don't need the Holy Ghost I'm not in ministry I don't need to minister to people well you hear Paul says look in ministry you're gonna need the Holy Ghost he says by the Holy Ghost he says and by the power of God you say why would I need that well here's why you would need it here's why all of us would need it but you shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you you say why and he shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and in Samaria and unto the uttermost part of the earth you know what you need you need the Holy Ghost power to be a witness for the Lord Jesus Christ you know what's a witness it's a soul winner it's going you say why is it called a witness here's what because you're not supposed to be a soul winner until you're saved and when you get saved this is why everybody you know everybody says well I couldn't be a soul winner I always think myself why you say if you're saved you'd be a soul winner because because he calls it being a witness you say what's a witness a witness is just someone that gives a testimony as to what they have seen or experienced I mean if you if you were the witness of a crime then you have the ability to testify of that crime and if you've been saved then you have the ability and look I'm not trying to oversimplify it for you we we teach that you gotta have a plan and we have a whole soul winning seminar that we tell people and you can go online and watch it and go through it and we've got sheets you can download and fill in the blanks and we want to train you and give you all the training you can get well you cut you show up for soul winning we'll partner you with somebody you can be a silent partner while they do all the talking and you can learn look I'm not talking about that we're just gonna throw you the wolves but soul winning is as simple as this I was a sinner on my way to hell somebody told me Jesus loved me somebody told me Jesus died on the cross for my sin somebody told me that all I had to do is put my faith in Jesus Christ to be safe and that once I had salvation I didn't I didn't have to earn it I have to work work for once I had it I couldn't lose it and all I'm doing is witnessing about my experience witnessing about my testimony and telling people hey I was a sinner on my way to hell and if you're a sinner and I got saved and you can get saved too Jesus saved me you can save you too but you know you need the power of the Holy Spirit to do that but you shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you and you shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem and all Judea and in Samaria and unto the uttermost part of the earth and let me say this you say I need I need the power of the Holy Spirit to go so any you need the power Holy Spirit to do anything I mean if you and praise the Lord for all of the cleaners that we have around here that people that volunteer in our cleaning ministry but let me tell you something if you show up for the cleaning ministry at very Baptist Church first of all I'm thankful for you and praise the Lord for you but hey you know clean with the power of the Holy Ghost I mean be whatever you're gonna be do it with the power of the Holy Spirit on your life this is by the Holy Ghost he says and by the power of God which are the same thing then he says this and second Corinthians chapter 6 look at verse 6 again notice the sixth thing on our list by pureness by knowledge by long suffering by kindness by the Holy Ghost here's number six by love on fame by love on fame you say what's the word on fame mean it means genuine or sincere the opposite of simulated pretend or insincere see when you feign something you're pretending you're faking it's not real on feign means it's sincere on feign means that it's genuine on feign means that it's opposite of simulated opposite of pretending opposite of insincere he says if you're going to do ministry you're going to have to do ministry by love on fame if you kept your place in first Peter I'd like you to go back there first Peter chapter number one first Peter chapter number one can I be honest with you sometimes in ministry we get frustrated we get frustrated with people and every once in a while we have to remind ourselves I'm talking about those of us in full-time ministry or ordained ministry when we find ourselves frustrated lacking a little bit in long suffering we have to remind ourselves that these are not my people these are God's people and God has called me to love these people and it needs to be love unfeigned sincere first Peter 1 verse 22 seeing you have purified your souls and obeying the truth through the Spirit unto the unfeigned love of the brethren see that you love one another with a pure and heart with a pure heart fervently the Bible says that we are to have unfeigned love here's all I'm saying you can show up to church and say hey brother are you doing good and then you walk out you know get in your car that guy's an idiot I can't stand her hey sister are you I can't the Bible says we have to have love unfeigned you say well I don't have love unfeigned well why don't you work on it why don't you ask God to give you a tender heart why don't you look I'm convinced of this you start praying for people your heart will be tender to towards them I'll promise oh so stop praying for so-and-so start praying for them start praying for for their for their marriage and and their children and and their and their job and and and whatever issue that they might be having in their lives and and maybe you see them on the prayer list you say I'm gonna start praying I don't like so and so I'm gonna start praying for so and so you'd be surprised you start praying for somebody you start realizing man they're just a sinner like I'm a sinner they just need help like I need help she says by love unfeigned keep your finger right there first Peter I know you've been keeping your place there this whole time but keep it right there cuz we're gonna come right back to those first go back to second Corinthians 6 look at the seventh thing on this list he says by pureness by knowledge by long suffering by kindness by the Holy Ghost he says by the power and we looked at the power of God he says by love and faint then he says this verse 7 by the word of truth the only way that we can help people and minister to people is through the Word of God the Word of truth is the Word of God and I just want you to notice how all these things we've been talking about they're all connected they're all connected go back to 1st Peter 1 look at verse 22 no notice what he says first Peter 1 22 first Peter 1 22 seeing ye have now I want you to notice how these all these things are connected right cuz those the first thing on the list by pureness right first Peter 1 22 seeing ye have noticed purified your souls that's by pureness first Corinthians 6 6 in obeying the truth that's the word of truth second Corinthians 6 7 through the spirit that's by the Holy Ghost second Corinthians 6 6 until unfeigned love of the brethren that's by love unfeigned second Corinthians 6 6 see you love one another with a pure heart fervently if we're going to be right with God love people draw close to people we're gonna need the Word of truth knowledge what does it come through the Word of truth drawing close to God how does it happen wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way by taking heed thereto according to thy word the Bible says sanctify them through thy truth thy word is true so we need the Word of truth the question for you is how's your relationship with the Word of truth how much time do you spend with the Word of truth how do you read how much time you spend reading the Word of truth studying the Word of truth the Bible says thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee so he says look if you're gonna do this it's gonna be by the Word of truth he says by the power of God go back to 2nd Corinthians 6 and verse 7 he says by the Word of truth and he says by the power of God we've already talked about that we connected that to the Holy Ghost by the Holy Ghost in verse 6 by the power of God in verse 7 let me show you the last one we've seen this list if we're gonna minister to people we need pureness by pureness by knowledge by long-suffering by kindness by the power of the Holy Ghost by the power of God by love unfeigned by the Word of truth I want you to notice here the last one there in verse 7 he says by the Word of truth by the power of God then he says this by the armor of righteousness by the armor of righteousness now I want keep your place right there we're gonna come back to it go to the book of Romans if you would and then in second Corinthians you're just gonna go past first Corinthians into the book of Romans this idea of armor in the Christian life is found throughout the the New Testament several different times the the main time is in Ephesians chapter 6 we're gonna look at that here in a minute but it's not the only place in second Corinthians 6 7 God says this if you're going to minister to people he says you're going to have to do it by the armor of righteousness he said you're gonna have to put on some armor to minister to people you say why would that be here's why because the best way to get the enemy to put a target on your back is to start reaching people the gospel of Jesus Christ baptizing them teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I've commanded you you start ministering to people and you better get ready for an attack you better put on the armor of righteousness Romans 13 look at verse 12 Romans chapter 13 in verse 12 look the enemy is going to attack Romans 13 verse 12 the Bible says the night is far spent the day is at hand let us therefore cast off the works of darkness and let us put on the armor of light you may not realize this and you may not understand this but you are in a battle there is an enemy and he wants to destroy you and just because you say well I don't want to fight well he wants to fight I I just I don't live the Christian life I don't want to fight the devil well he's coming for you he wants to destroy you the Bible says be sober be vigilant because your adversary of the devil as a roaring lion walketh about seeking whom he may devour he's walking about like a lion prowling and seeing who can I destroy Jesus looked at Peter and said the devil had desired to have thee said Satan had desired to have thee he might sift yours wait whether you like it or not he's coming for you in fact we're gonna talk about that Sunday morning temptations of Christ the enemy is coming so put on the armor of light Ephesians chapter 6 let's look at famous passage regarding the armor of light so why would I need armor only one reason you need armor because somebody's gonna attack you because somebody wants to fight you somebody wants to destroy you Ephesians 6 verse 11 put on the whole armor of God I want you to notice the emphasis about this armor is that you put on the whole armor why does he emphasize this idea put on the whole armor of God why why does he say that now notice it's because we're in an attack because we're being attacked we're in a battle put on the whole armor of God why that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil because the devil your adversary the devil as a rowing lion walked about seeking whom he may devour verse 12 for we wrestle not against flesh and blood look you're in a battle now not against flesh and blood but against principalities against powers against the rulers of the darkness of this world against spiritual wickedness in high places verse 13 wherefore take unto you notice the emphasis the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all to stand the emphasis when we talk about the armor of God the emphasis is that you put on the whole armor guy you say why because there's several there's different aspects of the armor of God there's a helmet of salvation you put the helmet of salvation on when you got saved of course that that makes sense because you would think that a helmet upon your head would be probably one of the most important thing in regards to the the the the saving of your life so he says you put on the helmet of salvation but he said that's not it there's a breastplate of righteousness there's a shield of faith there's a sword of the Holy Spirit which is the Word of God you you have your feet shot with the preparation of the gospel of peace he said you got to put it all he said he said it's not enough to just you say well I got the helmet of salvation okay well how comfortable would you feel going into war and and he's I don't need a shield I need a breastplate I don't even get sore I need not just give me a helmet walk out into battle with a helmet in your birthday suit how safe are you gonna be see you need the whole armor of God there's this idea that you need the whole armor of God because I'm here to tell you when the devil attacks he attacks hard now I want you to notice this it's this interesting thought go back to 2nd Corinthians chapter 6 he says look if you're gonna deal with people he said well why do I need to deal with people the the first thing in this and the last thing on this list they're a little interesting because the the first one has nothing to do with people it's just about pureness but you need that because God is the goal and we need God if we're gonna minister to others then the last one is this armor of light you said what I need that if I'm gonna minister people but here's why because when you reach others the devil will attack you I mean what I you know what I've learned my wife and I were just having a conversation about this today here's what I've learned if our church was reaching a handful of people and nobody was hearing the truth preached through the internet or whatever means that we use there'd be a lot less attacks the reason for the persecution the reason for all the things that we deal with around here is because we're reaching people so when you're reaching people by knowledge when you're reaching people by long-suffering when you're reaching people by kindness by the power of the Holy Ghost by love and pain by the word of truth by the power of God hey just realize you better put on the armor of righteousness because the devil's coming and the emphasis about the armor is you better put it all on now notice what he says 2nd Corinthians 6 verse 7 by the word of truth by the power of God by the armor of righteousness and this is the only one that he gives us a little bit more than just the title he says by the armor of righteousness then he says this on the right hand and on the left you say what he's saying he's saying put it all on if you're gonna put on the armor I put everything on grab the shield grab the sword grab the breastplate put the boots on put the helmet on and get ready for a fight because when Satan comes at you you ever heard this phrase when it rains it pours I'm here to tell you when the devil attacks it's not just a little attack Ephesians 6 let me show it to you Ephesians 6 go back to Ephesians if you would look verse 16 Ephesians 6 and verse 16 above all this is part of the this is part of the armor of God I'm not gonna take time to read the whole thing but he's already talked about the fact that put on the helmet of salvation the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God the breastplate of righteousness he talks about having your feet shod with the preparation of gospel of peace in verse 16 he says above all taking the shield of faith why do you need the shield of faith here's why wherewith ye shall be able to quench the fiery darts of the wicked he says look the devil here's he's using this illustration which would make sense to them in the ancient world because he says the devil is like an adversary that shoots these fiery darts the way that you and I would think about this if you've ever studied history or watched the documentary or even you know a movie about ancient warfare you might remember that a tactic that was used during ancient warfare the dart here that is being referred to the fiery darts of the wicked the dart is referring to an arrow and what they would do in those days is they would take an arrow and dip them into oil and at the tip of it an oil and set the tip of it on fire and they would shoot that arrow on fire towards the enemy now when the arrow that fiery dart was shot towards the enemy they were not just shooting one arrow in fact what they would often do is have a whole brigade a whole group of archers who would all dip their their arrows into the oil all have them be start a flame at the tip and they would all shoot all at the same time oftentimes armies would would would find someone would be out in the field or out whatever and also somebody gets hit with a fiery dart an arrow and then they look up and there's a hundred more coming this way that's how the devil attacks when it rains it pours it's not just one thing it's this thing and it's the other thing and it's the other thing and this person decides to hurt you this way and that person decides to attack you that way and God says when you put on the armor of righteousness make sure you put on the whole armor on the right hand and on the left because when the devil attacks he comes at you she says you're gonna need the armor of righteousness put on the whole armor of God he said put it all on you're gonna need all of it because sometimes the attacks come sometimes you get hit and then you look up and you get hit again and the devil will want to stop those that are accomplishing something for God so he says by the word of truth by the power of God by the armor of righteousness and I just think it's interesting that he says on the right hand and on the left he says look dealing with people and ministry it's not easy he says you need these things he says so work on it if it's pureness you say well what I do I just can't be close to God no cleanse your hands you sinners purify your hearts you double-minded you say if it's knowledge well what do I do we'll start reading the Bible start gaining some knowledge so you can minister and admonish others is it long suffering start being tender-hearted start loving people and being former is it kindness start forgiving and being kind is it the Holy Ghost of the power of God hey become a soul winner and ask the Holy Spirit to help you love on pain you say well I don't like so-and-so pray for him the word of truth it's what you need it's what I need the power of God and then don't forget put on that armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left let's buy her the novel to prayer Heavenly Father thank you Lord for your word think about this list Lord that you gave us that the Apostle Paul gave us regarding ministry Lord help us not not to forget that we need these things for ministry we need these things to deal with others and to love others and to help others and Lord help us to remember that there are things that we will endure in ministry like we learned in the previous list and then there are other things that we need for ministry like we learned in this list in the matchless name of Christ we pray amen we're not brother RJ come up and lead us in a final song just want to give you a couple reminders before we before he comes up first of all don't forget of course we have a wedding this Saturday and praise the Lord for that but don't forget that we have soul winning as well all right so show up to soul winning I'm not talking to the bride and the groom all right talk about everybody else though we have soul winning we have sewing tomorrow at 2 p.m. Friday 2 p.m. Saturday at 10 and then and then I just want to remind you that I will be preaching Sunday morning and then pastor Joe Jones I didn't know he's gonna be here but once I I found out yesterday he's gonna be here on Sunday and I asked him to preach so he'll be preaching and I apologize usually we would have it you know advertise that a little more but he was he's gonna be preaching Sunday night so make sure you come on Sunday night even if you don't normally come on Sunday nights come for pastor Jones you'll be glad you did and then and then don't forget if you're an usher I need to meet with all the ushers in my office about five minutes soon as the service over give me about five minutes and then we'll we'll meet in my office if that's okay my brother RJ come up and lead us in a final song there's anything we do for you please let us know we're glad you're here and of course gonna be a busy weekend so just get at it and stick with it if there's anything we do for you please do let us know why brother RJ come up at this time now let's grab our song books and turn page number 324 we're gonna be doing something different with this song on that last stanza it's gonna go up so watch out for that song number 324 let's sing that out on the first Oh Oh I'm third when I kneel in prayer my communis ran with friend now that's time drawing me to that precious there are deaths of love that I cannot know till I cross the narrow sea there are heights of joy that I may not be still arrested draw me bless it Lord to the cross draw me to that precious amen if I could have brother Nate deacons would you dismiss it a word of prayer man you you you