(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

Third John, I want you to notice verse number 11. Third John, verse number 11, it says, "'Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good.'" So we've been commanded here by the Apostle John here to do that which is good. Don't do that which is evil. Don't do that which is harmful. I won't give you the full context. We're not gonna be going through Third John in any great detail. I just wanna take one major thought here. But he's encouraging the church here to do that which is good. He says, "'He that doeth good is of God, but he that doeth evil hath not seen God.'" Now, verse number 12, it says, "'Demetrius have good report of all men.'" Demetrius have good report of all men and of the truth itself, yay. And we also bear record, and you know that our record is true. So Demetrius has been pointed out within this church. Hey, you know what? That Demetrius has got a good report. He's got a good testimony. He's got a good reputation, but not only within the church, it says, of all men. You know, anybody that interacted with Demetrius, whether it was in the church, whether it was in the workplace, whether it was family, extended family, friends, colleagues, neighbors, the community, you know, amongst all men, everybody said, you know that Demetrius, he's a good bloke. And he's a good guy. He's got a good testimony. He's a good reputation. And the title for the sermon this morning, brethren, is Build a Good Reputation Before All. You know, we're continuing our Perfect Man series. And I think it is so important that we also cover this topic of having a good reputation, a good testimony before all people. You know, sometimes as Christians, we think it's important for us to have a good reputation within our church. And of course, that's important, of course. You know, and we often don't forget sometimes that we also have a good reputation amongst our community. You know, when we go door to door soul winning, you know, that's one of the ministries of our church. We want to make sure that we leave people, you know, we leave a good note with people, right? We knock on a stranger's door. We're trying to give them the gospel of Jesus Christ. And look, you know, you can't stop. You know, there's going to be people that get upset with you. You can't please everybody in this world, right? I mean, that's something that I had to learn as a pastor. You know, even before I become a pastor, you know, when you take on positions of authority, you're never going to please everybody. So there's no point in trying to please everybody because you're not going to be a pastor. You're not going to please everybody. But the point is just because you're not going to please everybody doesn't mean you're to try not to strive to have a good reputation. And Dimitris here is being pointed out as a man that can be followed, a man that could be a good leader within this church because he's got a good report or a good reputation before all. And so what I want to cover today, Brevin, is how you need to develop that reputation. I mean, I don't know what kind of reputation you have before all. You know, I don't know. Like if you just think about our church, I mean, what would people say about you? Like if God were to ask brother so-and-so or sister so-and-so within our church, you know, what do you think of brother? You know, I won't name any names. What do you think of brother so-and-so? What do you think of sister so-and-so? And you could just, you know, you had no choice, but to be honest before God, you know, would you tell God, yes, you know, brother so-and-so, sister so-and-so, they've got such a good reputation in the church. You know, there's such a blessing in the church. You know, they serve God, they serve the church, they serve the Brevin with their whole hearts. And we can definitely see the love of God in them. Would they say that about you? Or would they have something else to say? You know, sometimes it's probably not a pleasant thing to think about, you know? Well, I mean, forget you're just churches. What about your community? What about your family? What about your extended family? What about your work colleagues? What would they say about you? What do they have to say about you? And first thing I want you to bring to light here, brethren, is that, you know, God uses men with a good reputation. God uses men and women with a good rapport. And I want you to turn to Hebrews chapter 11 for me. We aren't gonna come back to third, John. I just wanted to pull the thought there to begin with. But please turn to Hebrews chapter 11, verse number one. Hebrews chapter 11, we know that Hebrews 11, of course, is the chapter of faith, of faithful men, faithful women that serves God. And I just want you to notice just something how this chapter begins and how the chapter ends, okay? Hebrews chapter 11, verse number one. Hebrews chapter 11, verse number one reads, Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. So we often think, yeah, this is the chapter of faith. Faithful men, faithful women, yes, it is. But notice verse number two, for by it, so that's by faith, the elders, that's the past, the men of God, the women of God that have gone before us, the saints have been gone before us, for the elders obtained a good report. You see, as we go down the list of men and women mentioned in this chapter, the Bible says, each one of these people had a good report. They each had a good reputation. But I want you to notice that it started by faith, their faith in the Lord God, right? You know, not only being saved by grace through faith, but then faithfully serving God throughout their lives. Doing that which was right, by being obedient to God's commands, this shows that they were faithful and they obtained, because of their faith, they obtained a good report. Now, of course, this good report, this good reputation is one through the eyes of God. You know, God, of course, sees their faithfulness. You know, He sees the work that they're doing for them. You know, even if you're gonna be faithful and have a good report before God, you're not necessarily gonna have a good report before all men though, right, necessarily. Now, there are many times that we stand for God's truth and we're just not going to make people happy. Well, so be it. But you can see that the first step in order to have a good reputation is to have faith toward our Lord God. You know, this is why, you know, salvation is so important. You know, believing on Christ, not just being saved from our sins, being saved from hell, but now we can develop a new life, right? Our church is called New Life Baptist Church. You know, our past life before we were saved may have been one of a reputation that is tarnished, may have been one where we made a lot of mistakes and, you know, people, when they think about us, they've just got bad things to save. You know, the moment you get saved, you get given this new life. You know, you've been born a child of God and you get this opportunity to, by your faith, establish a really good reputation as you serve God. And you know what, as you serve God, you're gonna be of great importance and of great servitude to the rest of the people that know you. You know, once God has saved you and you walk in his paths, you can be a blessing to others and develop that good reputation. But I want you to notice, that's how Hebrews 11 starts. Well, let's have a look at how Hebrews 11 ends. If you drop down to verse number 39, without going through all the names, I'm sure you're all very familiar with a lot of names that are mentioned in this chapter, but Hebrews 11, verse number 39, it says, and these all, so all the people that are named in this chapter, having obtained a good report, there it is again, a good report through faith, received not the promise, God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect. And so we see how Hebrews 11 ends. Again, just showing again that these elders, that these people that had gone before us, these faithful men and women have obtained a good report, a good reputation through faith. So step number one, brethren, for us to start this new journey, our new life being the perfect man, we need to appreciate the fact that we've been given a new life, that we've been given a resurrected, a spirit, a safe soul, you know, the promises of heaven. And now what are you going to do with this Christian life that God has given you? Well, you know, you've been saved by grace through faith. Now we're sure to continue to walk in faith. And if we continue to walk in faithfulness to what our Lord God, where you're able to develop this good report before all men, a good reputation. And so I want you to just notice how important this idea of the reputation is in Hebrews 11, because we often think about the faithfulness being an important part, and of course it is. But the point of that faithfulness is to obtain, obtain a good report, a good reputation. Can you please turn to Acts chapter 22 now? Please turn to Acts 22 and verse number 11, Acts 22, verse number 11. So the first point that I'm bringing out here, brethren, is for you, in order for you to do the most for God, for God to bless you, to look down upon you and give you the ability to do great works for him, you need to be seeking this good report, this good reputation. God uses men with a good reputation. Look at Acts 22, verse 11, Acts 22, verse number 11. Now this is the testimony of Paul, of course, on the road to Damascus, when he was confronted by Jesus Christ. And, you know, he was blinded. And, you know, God sends a man to Paul to teach him the gospel, to guide him in the past of Jesus Christ. And it says there in Acts 22, 11, And when I could not see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of them that were with me, I came into Damascus. So he's blind, been blinded by the glory of Jesus Christ. Now who comes to him? Verse number 12, And one Ananias, a devout man, according to the law, look at this, having a good report of who? Of the Christians? A good report just amongst the brothers and sisters in the church? No, it says having a good report of all the Jews which dwelt there, came unto me and stood and said unto me, Brother Saul, receive thy sight. And the same hour I looked up upon him. And so God sends Ananias to help Paul understand these great truths of Jesus Christ, you know, to help him begin this journey that Christ had for the apostle Paul. But notice this good report, this good reputation that Ananias had. You know, it's very clear that he had a very good report amongst the Jews. Now at this point, you know, when referring to the Jews in this sense, these are non-believing Jews, okay? These are ones that are contrary to the church, contrary to New Testament Christianity. And yes, you know, many times the Jews would be enemies to the Christians, they would persecute the believers, they would go on and persecute the apostle Paul. But I want you to notice that Ananias, you know, a faithful man, someone that God is using in a mighty way, you know, amongst the community, amongst all the other Jews, even though he's a Christian, even though he's a New Testament believer, amongst the non-believing Jews, he still has a good report, a good reputation. And I think this is important for us to once again, absorb, understand, oh, I got saved. Yeah, I'm gonna get myself plugged into church. I'm gonna be faithful in my church. I'm gonna try to get along with the brethren, love the brethren. Yeah, but don't forget the rest of your community. Don't forget those that are non-believers. You know, we ought to have a good reputation even amongst them. You know, we're not here just trying to offend everybody at every opportunity. You know, I'm not interested in offending the unsaved world with the truth of God's word. Now, if they get offended by it, so be it. But that's not my purpose, brethren. My purpose is to win the lost. You know, my purpose is to go store to the soul in the morning. You know what? And if you have a good disposition, if you have a good reputation, if you carry yourself well amongst the community, more people are going to be willing to listen to you when you come knocking on their doors, okay? When you show that good report, you show that good reputation. You know, you show yourself to be a good ambassador for Jesus Christ. People are more willing to listen to what you have to say. Amen. So I just want to show you there a few passages and also a very familiar passage to you all because we've recently gone through the books of Timothy. So I'll just quickly read to you that in order for you to become a pastor one day, you know, if that's your desire, that's on your heart, you know, the Bible says in 1st Timothy 3.7, moreover, he must have a good report of them which are without, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. That's 1st Timothy 3.7. So that in order to be qualified to be a pastor, you must have a good reputation, a good reputation within the church. Well, obviously, but it said that a good report of them which are without, those that are outside of the church, you know, those that he works with, those that he knows. What do people have to say about pastor so-and-so? And you know what? If you have no idea what kind of reputation a pastor has, I would encourage you, don't get under the pastor. Like you would want to know that, you know, the church that sent the pastor has a good report about him. You don't want to know that the family that he's come out of has a good report about him. You don't want to know the friends that he has a good report about him. You don't want to know that the places that he's worked, the employment, they have a good report about him. You don't want to know all the churches that have been to in the past have a good report about him. And brethren, if you have a heart to be a pastor one day, you need to think about your reputation. You need to think about the people that you surrounded yourself with, because it's going to come back and bite you on the behind. If you don't take care of your reputation, you don't take care of your testimony. This is an important part of our Christian life. You know, if you want to really do a great work for God, start working on your reputation. And what was that first step? Being faithful toward God, right? Having faith, doing what God says, and God will help build your reputation together, put it together for you. Now, you know what? This good reputation can even go toward unbelievers. You know, God can also bless unbelievers, non-Christians that have a good reputation. Please turn to Acts chapter 10. Acts chapter 10 for me, please. Acts chapter 10. And yeah, Acts chapter 10 and verse number 21, please. Acts chapter 10 and verse number 21. I just want you to notice how God helps a man who is lost, a man who is not saved, but he's got a good reputation, okay? And so God steps in and ensures that he's able to hear the gospel and get saved. And of course, this is the story about Cornelius, the Roman centurion. It says here in Acts chapter 10, verse 21, then Peter went down to the men, which were sent unto him from Cornelius and said, behold, I am he whom you seek. What is the cause wherefore ye are come? And so Cornelius has been seeking God. He's got a heart for God. He wants to know salvation. He wants to know about Jesus Christ. And God is able to seek that prayer, hear that prayer, and send Peter to preach him Jesus Christ. In verse number 22, it says this. And they said, so this is not coming from the mouth of Cornelius. This is coming from the mouth of his servants, those people that are around him. And they said, Cornelius the centurion, a just man, look at this, and one that feareth God. Hey, that's great, fearing God. And then it says this, and of good report among all the nation of the Jews. Wow. You know, this is a Roman centurion. This is a foreign power, all right? The Jews, you know, they did not like the Romans. You know, they weren't happy to be under Roman control, under Roman power. But even though this is a manner of authority, even though this is a man, as it were, invading another land, he still had a good reputation, a good report amongst the Jews. Even the people that he is, in a sense, you know, putting his foot upon them, you know, showing the authority of Rome, he's still able with his authority, even though you would think that people should hate the soldiers, people should hate the Romans, people should hate the centurions. Somehow, this man ended up having a good reputation amongst the Jews. I mean, this is just interesting, isn't it? You know, how people can actually like you, even though you're of the opposing force, you know, an opposing power against nation. And so he's known as one that has a good report amongst the nation of the Jews. Then it says this, was warned from God by a holy angel to send for thee into his house, and to hear words of thee. Then called he them in, and lodged them. And on the morrow, Peter went away with them, and certain brethren from Joppa accompanied him. And the morrow after they entered into Caesarea, and Cornelius waited for them, and had called together his kinsmen and near friends. And so Cornelius is such a great man, right? What do we find about this man that has a good report, a good reputation? Hey, he's got near kinsmen, he's got friends. He says, look, I've got the apostle Peter coming. He's coming to preach Jesus Christ, you know? And he's able to get his friends. He's able to get his acquaintances, his kids, and his own family. He's got such a good reputation. He's able to get them all into the house to hear Peter preach the gospel to them. And it's just an amazing event. You know, many of them in the house, of course, household of Cornelius got saved. It all came down to him having a good reputation. He said, listen, come listen to this preacher. And they said, man, Cornelius has a good reputation. He's a man that fears God. Of course, we're going to go to his house and listen to this man that God has sent to preach to us. You can see how God loves a good report. God loves a good reputation. You know, if you're saved, you're able to serve him at your fullest. But even if someone is unsaved, you know, God's going to have an ear inclined toward that person. You know, hoping, you know, leading people, leading soul winners to come before them that they would hear the good news of the gospel. And so, you know, building a good reputation is important. You know, building a good reputation takes time. It's not something that you can do overnight. It requires a lot of work. It requires maybe many years. In fact, there's a quote that I want to quote to you. And I apologize because the quote is good, but I don't like the man that quoted it. Okay, the man that quoted it is Warren Buffett. You know, he's a very rich billionaire in this world, probably a very wicked man, right? But the quote is good. Okay, please, my apologies for this. But the quote goes like this. He says, it takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you'll do things differently. It's so true. Now, I don't know if it takes 20 years. I don't think it necessarily takes 20 years to build a good reputation. But yeah, it can take five minutes to ruin it. It takes a lot of effort to build a good report, a good reputation before all men. You know what, if you make such a major mistake in your life, you can completely destroy what people have to say about you, your reputation. And we need to be aware of that. We need to be aware of how much work you need to put in to build that reputation and be careful about destroying it. All you need is five minutes, brethren. And I'm gonna quickly read to you from 1 Samuel chapter two, verse 22. 1 Samuel chapter two, verse 22. And we're gonna be looking at the high priest, Eli. And Eli was serving God in the temple. He wasn't the greatest priest out there, but he had some really unfaithful sons. And this is what it says in 1 Samuel chapter two, verse 22. It says, now Eli was very old and heard that all his sons did unto all Israel. So what did they do? It says, and how they lay with the women and assembled at the door of the tabernacles, sorry, that assembled at the door of the tabernacles of the congregation. So Eli's sons, okay, they're priests as well. They're meant to be serving in the temple as well, but they're using their influence in the temple to sleep around, all right, to commit fornication, adultery, or whatever it is that they're doing, right? Women are coming to serve Jesus. They're coming to serve God at the tabernacle. And they're finding these opportunities to pray on these women, okay? So what do you think about these men? Of course, they're destroying the reputation. And this is what Eli has to say to his sons in verse 23. And he says, and he said unto them, why do ye such things? For I hear of your evil dealings by all these people, nay, my sons, for it is no good report that I hear. Ye make the Lord's people to transgress. So what do we learn about Eli's sons? They haven't got a good report. They've got a bad report. They've got a bad reputation. Why? Because they're committing a great sin. They're using their authority, they're using their influence to take women that they've met at the tabernacle and they're sleeping around, destroying their testimony, destroying their reputation. And brethren, one great way to destroy your reputation is to be a fornicator. One great way is to especially be an adulterer. You know, if you've committed, if you've made bows to your spouse and you go off and you cheat, you know what? Not only is it going to destroy your marriage, gonna hurt people, no longer are people not gonna trust you, you're just gonna destroy your reputation forever. People are always going to know you as that one that slept around. You're that one that did not stay faithful to your vows, stay faithful to your spouse, and you'll just have a tiniest reputation for the rest of your life. I mean, this is the truth. You know, we gotta be very careful, you know, to make sure we don't fall in such a serious sin, such a serious way. You know, it's important, as I said, it's a necessity for a pastor to have a good report. Hey, but what about these people, these priests? You know, you could say these are pastors in a sense. You know, they've got authority in the house of God and they've gone out sleeping around, cheating on their wives for communication, and they've destroyed themselves. And you know what? I wish this was just, you know, these things only happen in the Bible. I wish that. Nobody happens today. You know, I know of great pastors, well, you know, that were great pastors that ended up destroying themselves, destroying their reputations, destroying the ministry, going around chasing some other woman out there, okay? So be careful. You know, yes, it takes work to build your reputation, but hey man, one major mistake, you know, one major sin can completely destroy it. So for the next part of the sermon, I'm going to go through seven thoughts with you. Just seven things that I thought about. You know, how can we build a good reputation? What do we need in order for people to look at us and say, man, you know what? He's got a good report about him. He's got a good testimony about him. And don't forget, this is in all areas of your life. Please don't just censor this in church. Please, you know, make sure that you're building a good reputation everywhere you go, everyone you interact with. This is important, okay? Then God can use you in a mighty way to accomplish great works for him. But the first one that I have, it might be the most controversial one that I have. Point number one is be likable. Be likable, all right? I mean, you know, try to get along with people. You know, try to be pleasant around people. Try to be a blessing around people. Now, in order to have a good reputation, people ought to like you. Like, they ought to like your company. You know, they ought to spend time with you and think, you know, that was a valuable time of my, you know, valuable time that I spent with this person. Be likable. And you know, this may be a little bit controversial because, you know, we're not trying to be liked at the expense of truth, right? We're not trying to be liked at the expense of doctrine. You know, I'll preach doctrine. I'll preach against sin. I'll preach at the lost dying and going to hell. I'll preach against the filth of the sodomites, the homosexuals, you know, the filth of abortions. You know, I'll preach these things, brethren, you know? And if people don't like me for standing on the truth of God's word, so be it. But you know what? When it comes to just my interaction with people, I'm trying to be liked. You know, when I knock on the door of a stranger trying to preach the gospel, I'm trying to be pleasant around them. You know, I want them to feel comfortable that this is a likable person. Maybe he's got something important to say. I'll listen to him because he just seems like a pleasant guy. You know, we put that effort in to be likable, and that helps build our reputation. Can you please turn to, where can I get you to turn? I'll get you to turn to Hebrews chapter 12. Turn to Hebrews chapter 12, please. Hebrews chapter 12. And I'll just, I'll read some other passages to you while you turn to Hebrews chapter 12. And I'm going to read to you from a familiar passage in Proverbs 18, Proverbs 18 verse 24. Now you might say, Pastor Kevin, I'm not a very likable person. How do I change this? And I understand. Some people don't know how to be likable. You know, well, you know what? Number one, maybe put a smile on your face. You know, have a little smile when you greet people and talk to people, you know, let people know that you're not like frustrated and upset. And you know what, if you walk around with just a frown, you know, you're just always upset and cast down. People aren't going to like to interact with you. You know, just having a smile on your face. You know, just greeting people, saying hello to people. You know, just acknowledging people, brethren. That's the first thing to do. But in Proverbs 18 verse 24, just for a familiar passage, it says, a man that have friends must show himself friendly. I mean, this is common sense, right? You know, in order for you to have friends, you know what are friends? Friends are supposed to be people that like you. They like to spend time with you, right? If you want to have friends, just show yourself friendly. Okay, be friendly, get along with people. You know, don't be there trying to pick at everybody's problems, just trying to criticize everybody and, you know, trying to find people's dirt and skeletons in their closet and trying to call people out for the wrong they've done. Hey, just be friendly, just get along with people. Try to be an encouragement to people, right? Try to be pleasant around people. You know, show them that you appreciate who they are and, you know, that they're a creation of God. If it's a brother and sister in the Lord, just show them appreciation that, hey, we're the same family. You know, we're brothers and sisters in the Lord. We're all the same church. You know, we've got the same spiritual goals in our life to serve Christ and do great work for him. You know, be an encourager, be a motivator. Show yourself friendly. You know, when someone is going through hardship, you know, pick them up. You know, tell them that you're praying for them. Tell them that you love them. Show yourself friendly and people are gonna find you likable. Amen. You cannot be disliked and have a good reputation. Otherwise, everyone will just speak trash about you. You know, the Bible says in Romans 12, 18, if it be possible, if it be possible, it's not always possible, but if it be possible, as much as life in you, so put the effort in, as much as life in you, live peaceably with all men. That's what God wants from us. God would love us to just have peace with all men, but God also knows that it's always possible. But as much as it is possible, as much as life in you, and put in the effort in, try to have peace with people. Now, don't just start conflicts for no reason. Avoid conflicts. If you feel like this conversation, we're gonna butt heads here, change topics, or just accept that's their view and I don't need to correct them. If that's what they wanna believe, so be it. It's not mine, you know? I've got my thoughts, I've got my ideas, I've got some other ideas, so be it, you know? I know that if I share my thoughts, they're gonna get offended. Well, then don't go there, if you know that, right? Try to have peace amongst people, peace in your workplace, peace in your family, you know? If I've got this family or relatives that are unsaved, that they're in a false religion, you know, if I find time one-on-one with them, I'll give them the gospel, but I don't need to go around carrying on that they're going to hell. I need to just carry on that they're false, they've got a false religion, and, you know, and just making myself dislikable. I'm trying to keep myself pleasant for those opportunities to come where we can be one-on-one with a lost relative, a lost loved one, to give them the gospel at the right time. You know, pray to God that he would open the doors, that instead of getting in conflicts with families that aren't saved, that God would open those doors, that you'd still be able to have peace and be pleasant amongst those that are not saved, that God would use you in a mighty way to see your family saved, okay? That's the advantage of being likable. Now, I think I told you to turn to Hebrews 12. Yeah, I did. Look at Hebrews 12. Because, you know, one of these things that you need to accept in life is that people are going to do you wrong, okay? People are going to offend you. They're going to sin against you. They're going to transgress against you. You cannot live a life of 70, 80 years, et cetera, and never go through life where people don't do you wrong. People are going to do you wrong. Expect them, okay? Now, in light of that, let's read what Hebrews 12.14 says. It says, follow peace with all men. So we saw that again, right? Follow peace with all men. This gets repeated a few times in the Bible, right? Try to have peace. Don't get into conflicts, unnecessary conflicts, for no reason. Follow peace with all men and holiness without which no man shall see the Lord. All right, so we want to be peaceful with men, but we also have to have holiness, all right? So this is the part that if it is possible, all right? So we're to be holy, we're to be separated, we're to be people of God. We're not there to interact in a sinful world and enjoy the pleasures of sin. We need to keep ourselves holy and pure. Now, sometimes when you keep yourself holy and pure, guess what? People aren't going to like you, amen? They're going to be, whatever. They're not going to like your service, your lifestyle that you're trying to keep yourself pure before God. But at the same time, you're still trying to keep peace amongst all men, all right? Look at verse number 15. Looking diligently, lest any man fail of the grace of God, lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you and thereby many be defiled. You see, when people do you wrong, you know what may develop in your life? That roots of bitterness, roots of bitterness, where you just can't let it go. Someone's done you wrong and you're like, you're five years later and you're still thinking about it. You're still talking about it. You know, you're still caught up about it. Brethren, no, that's not how it ought to be. You know what? Instead of having that root of bitterness, you know what? Just try to follow as it says in verse 14, follow peace with all men. Just try to be peaceful. You know what? When someone I foolest, if I want to develop a good reputation, even if someone's trying to upset me, you know what? So what? I don't care. I'm going to remain holy. I'm going to try to remain as clean as I can. I'm going to try to keep a good reputation. I don't need to go in there and argue and fight with this idiot. Okay, you know, if they want to be a moron and just be a nuisance, well, you know what? You can live that way. I'm just going to keep serving God. And I'm not even going to start interacting with the nonsense that you're talking about, right? You know, I don't want this root of bitterness. I don't want, I've had bitterness in my life in the past. You know, as a teenager, when you learn, you learn these things, right? People do you wrong. Something has happened. There's got to be justice. You know, I got to get revenge. And you have this bitterness and you know, you learn after time, hold on. I've gone all this time in bitterness. All it's done is upset me. All it's done is made me depressed and cast down. All it's done is hurt other people around me. And that other person that caused me to be bitter, they don't even know. They're just going about life. So what's the point of being bitter? I'm just going to, I'm going to fall a piece. I'm going to just try to get along. You know what? I'm, you know, someone says something to offend me. I'm just going to ignore them. It's not important to me. Who cares? I care about being holy before God. I care what God has to say about me rather than what man has to say about me. And I'm going to quickly read to you from Galatians chapter one, verse 10, which is along the same lines, you know? Because again, this is the controversial thought around this is I'm not saying be likable at all costs. Okay, we have to be holy. You know, we have to please God first and foremost. It says in Galatians 1, 10, for do I now persuade men or God? Do I seek to please men? It says, for if I yet please men, I should not be the servant of Christ. Because if I'm just committed my life just to please men, just to get along with everybody all the time, I can't serve Christ. You know, the apostle Paul realizes if we're going to serve the Lord, if we're going to be living wholeness, sometimes people are going to get offended. Sometimes people are going to turn against us with such as life. It then keeps going in verse 11. But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after men. So there it is, brethren. You know, when it comes to this lost and dying world, you know, I want to preach them the gospel. And if they get offended by me by the gospel, so be it. I'm there to serve Christ. I'm there to preach the gospel. There are people that do want to get saved. There are people that do want to understand the gospel. And that's why we go out preaching the gospel. Now, if people get offended by the gospel, so be it. Am I going to shut up about the gospel? Of course not. We're here to serve Jesus Christ. But brethren, outside of the gospel, you know what? When I'm interacting with this lost and dying world, I'm trying to get along with them. I'm trying to be at peace with them. You know what? Even if someone gets angry with me at the door because I'm trying to give them the gospel, I just say, hey, have a good day. See you later, right? Hoping that maybe this man's heart will open up in the future where another soul winner might come and be able to have the open doors to preach that man the gospel. You know what? If we're just there trying to cause conflict, just arguing people at the door, next time someone comes with the gospel, you may have very well shut that door of that person's opportunity to get saved because of the experience that he's had with you, the bad experience. Hey, you'd rather be someone of a good reputation where you've planted a seed and maybe another future soul winner would come along in the future and get that person saved. All right, point number one, brethren, was be likable. Point number one was be likable. Now, please turn to Deuteronomy, turn to Deuteronomy 23, please, Deuteronomy chapter 23. The next point that I have for you, brethren, for you to have a good reputation is stick to your word. Stick to your word, okay? Now, if I'm honest, I'll be as honest as I can. You know, when it comes to these seven things that I've listed here, I have a good reputation, I would say this one is probably the hardest for me, okay? I find it hard to stick to my word sometimes. I find that I over-promise. This is just, this is one of my problems, this is one of my weaknesses, okay? If you wanna pray for me about anything, pray about this one, okay? Not that I never stick to my word, not that I never keep my promises, it's just something that I wanna be better at. You know, I realize sometimes I commit to certain things and then I find that my plate is too full and I can't do what I originally thought that I would do. All right? But while you turn to Deuteronomy chapter 23, very quickly, the words of Christ in Matthew chapter five verse 37. He says, but let your communication be yay, yay, nay, nay, for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil. Jesus Christ says, you know what? If there's something you can do, you can accomplish, you know, then yes, say yes, yay, yay. But if you know you can't, or you're not sure whether you can, just say nay or I'm not sure. Like be careful with your communication. Like I said, I can over commit. You know, sometimes people say, you know, I get phone calls every day, you know, and I'm like, I'll return your call tomorrow. Sometimes I forget. And I might return the call the next day, two days later rather than tomorrow. And I feel horrible because I know, you know, I told him I'll call him tomorrow and my desire is to do that, but sometimes I just get caught up with other things. And I should try to, you know, I should say something along the lines of, look, I'll give you a call within the week. You know, then I can be a little bit more flexible with my timing. I need to work on this as a pastor, okay. And I realized that, you know, the more you stick to your word, the greater your reputation becomes. People trust you. People know that what you speak is truth. People know that whatever you commit to, you're going to make sure that, you know, you stand firm on that truth, that you will come through, you know. And, you know, it was important for the planting of Blessed of Baptist Church here in Sydney that I was a man of my word, you know, that people knew that I would be willing to commit to travel every week to run services, et cetera, et cetera, as we continue to try to build this church and get the men involved here and eventually find a pastor. You know, but if I didn't commit to my word, what would happen? You know, what if I said, I'll be there every week, brethren, I'll fly down. And then, you know, one week I just don't have to turn up. Everyone comes to church and there's no preacher. Where's the pastor? He said, he'll be here. You know, next week people are going to drop off, aren't they? They're not going to be able to trust the pastor. Week after, they're not going to be, you know, before you know it, the church would fall apart. You know, because his pastor was not able to keep his word. You know, and, you know, it pains me a lot because I told New Life Baptist Church that I'll be back up there October, 2021. Now we all know that that's outside of my control. It's not like I could change anything about that, but it still cuts me up because you know what? I desired to get back up there October, 2021. That was my desire. That was my word. And unfortunately out of my control, those things changed. And I never would have thought the borders would be closed for that long. I mean, but thank God they're open now. But you know what? This is something that we all should be striving for. You know, if you know for certain, say yes. You know, if you know for certain no, then say no. And if you don't know, just look, I don't know. I'll try, but I can't commit. I can't promise that I'll get this done, but I'll see if I can find time to get that done. You know, if we're just more careful with our words, this will help us build our reputation. Now look at Deuteronomy 23. Deuteronomy chapter 23 verse 21. Deuteronomy chapter 23 verse 21. It says, when thou shalt vow a vow unto the Lord thy God, thou shalt not slack to pay it. So God says, if you make a vow and you don't do it, you're being slack. Hey, stop being slack. Yeah, that's how God sees you, right? That's being slack. If you don't commit to the vow that you've made. You know, husbands and wives, we've made vows on our wedding day, haven't we? Till death do us part. You know, in richer or in poorer, in sickness or in health, we've made these vows, brethren, okay? Commit to them, stick to it. Don't be slack in your marriage vows. It says for the Lord thy God will surely require of thee, and it would be a sin in thee. You know, God's gonna punish us if we don't stick to our words. If we make vows, we make commitments and we don't stick to it, God's gonna require of us. He's going to make sure that somehow we pay what we've vowed to, okay? Verse number 22. But if thou shalt forbear to vow, it shall be no sin in thee. What is it saying there? You're better off not vowing. It's better off just to not make any promises, okay? Don't, like, just forbear. And if you forbear, if you make no vows, it's no sin if you can't do it, okay? So we've got to be mindful, okay? We're trying not to sin, right? We're trying to clean up our lives, but we better be careful about what we commit to. You know, what we say yes to, what we say no to. Be careful what you commit to. Stick to your word. Stay true to your vows. Stay true to your promises. Stay true to your word. And this goes a long way to building a good reputation. All right, can you please turn to, please turn to Romans chapter three, Romans chapter 12, please. Turn to Romans chapter 12 for me. Romans chapter 12, I'm up to my third point now. Romans chapter 12. And the third point that I have for you about having a good reputation is be transparent. Be transparent, okay? Be open about who you are. You know, you can be open even about your own weaknesses sometimes. You know, you can be open about that. Show transparency, right? And if people can see that you're not someone that's just trying to hide things, you know, you're kind of sneaky. You know, people ask you questions and you can't answer the question clearly. People aren't gonna trust you. You know, you're not gonna have a good reputation. Be transparent, okay? Be transparent. I'm going to read to you from Acts chapter six, verse number three. And the portion of scripture we're about to read is when the church in Jerusalem, they're trying to find deacons. They're trying to find the first seven deacons that would help the apostles serve this church that was growing. I mean, they were in the thousands at this point in time, this church, okay? And it says in Acts chapter six, verse three, the apostles are saying this to the rest of the church. Wherefore, brethren, look ye among you, find seven men of honest report. That's another way of saying a good report, a good reputation. Look out amongst the church, find seven men of honest report. In other words, hey, look for transparent men, men of good reputation. These are men that you know, okay? Full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom whom we may appoint over this business. And that business will become the first deacons in the church in Jerusalem. You see, in order for you to get into a position of authority, whether it's a deacon or a pastor within a church, you have to be transparent. People need to know who you are. They need to trust you, right? They need to know you. They need to know your wife. They need to know your family, your children. They need to know, you know, whether you're working, they need to know, you know, your service for God. Let's just make it open for people. You know, don't hide things is what I'm trying to say. You know, brethren, look, here's the thing. Sometimes we want to hide things in our lives because, you know, we're ashamed of it. Well, so be it, you know? So, you know, it's fine to just be open to brethren and say, look, brethren, you know, I've got a weakness in my life. You know, this is a problem. This is something, an area of my life that I struggle with. You know, please keep me in prayer. You know, it's fine because if you're just open, people trust you. Saying, well, this person has nothing to hide. You know, when people feel like you've got something to hide, they can't trust you. They don't know what it is. Is it a major thing, right? And how can you build a good reputation if you're just trying to hide things all the time, right? Now be transparent, just be open. Now look, at the same time, we all have personal things that we need to keep secret. I mean, I'm not going to be open about you with every little detail of my life because there are personal things. There are private matters, okay? But here's the thing, if someone asks, and look, as a pastor, I'm a little bit more in the public eye, right? And I realized that I've got to be a little bit more transparent than maybe the average church member. You know, people ask me questions a lot, just different things, whether it's Bible questions, whether it's questions about my life or my family. And look, I've got to be open and honest, okay? But there are times I get questions that I feel are inappropriate. And I'll say it to the brother, I'll say, look, you know, you've asked that question. You know, that matters a little bit personal to me. You know, I don't think this is, you know, I think it's appropriate for me to share that information with you. But what I can share with you is X, Y, and Z, whatever that is, okay? And so I'm being transparent even about what I don't want to share about, okay? I'm saying, look, that is an area of my life that, you know, you don't need to really know about. Like, those are personal issues. We all have personal issues. We all have private matters. We're not here trying to tell everybody about every little detail about our life, okay? But the key is to be transparent. You're doing Romans, aren't you? Romans 12 and verse 17. Romans 12 and verse 17. The Bible says recompense to no man evil for evil. This is provide things honest in the sight of all men. Provide things honest in the sight of all men, okay? So, you know, in your honesty, as you serve and do good works, let it be known. You know, just, I mean, I'm not saying toot your own horn. I'm not saying boast of your achievements. You know what? But you don't have to hide things, right? I mean, you know, if you're going out there serving the Lord, preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, let people know about it, right? That you're going out and if you've seen souls saved, I mean, you're not boasting of yourself. You're boasting of Christ. You're boasting of Christ finished work. You know, you're enjoying the work that God has given us. And when you're honest and you're serving God with a full heart, with joy, you know what that does to other people? It motivates others. It encourages others. They say, man, look at this man serving the Lord God. Praise God for him, right? I'm not saying with pride. I'm not saying to elevate you yourself and exalt yourself above other people. But you know what? You're serving Christ. Just let people know about it. You know, you don't have to hide those things. You know, because you're trying to encourage other people, right? You're trying to be an influence around people that are around you. And that influence is what develops that good report. As you're faithful toward God, doing the works that God wants you to do, you're going to develop that good report amongst others. Be transparent. I better hurry up. But my next point, point number four, brethren, I'll get you to turn to Proverbs, please. I want to show you a few passages here. Turn to Proverbs 22 and verse number one. Proverbs 22 and verse number one, please. Turn to Proverbs chapter 22 and verse number one. I'll read this passage first and then I'll give you the fourth point, okay? Proverbs 22 verse number one. It says, a good name. This is like a good reputation. A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches and love in favor rather than silver and gold. So what is better than great riches? What is better than silver and gold? A good name. A love in favor. You know, when people look upon you favorably, when people look upon you and say, you've got a good reputation. You are a good man. You are a good person, right? When people can look at that and say that about you, whoever it is, brethren, it's better than riches. It's better than silver and gold. These are the words of God, okay? So what, when you think about that then, reputation, we know that riches are valuable, right? We know that silver and gold, these things are valuable. You know, what's even more valuable is a good reputation. And so the fourth point that I have for you, brethren, is add value. And I'm not talking about money here. I'm talking about your reputation. I'm talking about your testimony. Your fourth point, brethren, is add value. You know, wherever you go, however you interact, you ought to have a mindset, how can I add value to this situation? You go and work for an employer, all right? You take on a new job. How do I add value to this job? You know, I don't wanna be seen as just another employee. I don't wanna be seen as doing the minimum. I wanna add value. I wanna make us more productive. I wanna make my job more effective. You know what? I wanna motivate and encourage people around me. I want people to look down upon me favorably. You know, I wanna add value to the company. Say, Pastor Kevin, I don't really have that heart, but you know, we've recently gone through all, you know, you guys are going through it right now in Queensland. You know, down here in New South Wales, you know, there are a lot of people that were forced or, you know, had to go through the mandates or the vaccinations and they didn't want to, okay? Look, some companies you can't change because there were government mandates being passed down. But then there were other people that are, I was talking to different people, some people even within the church and you're like at the church, where, you know, the bosses, you know, the management are like, you know, in order for you to continue working here, we need to make sure that you're vaccinated. You know, you're up to date with vaccinations. And there were some people, of course, in our churches that don't wanna be vaccinated and that's fine, of course. And it's been that awkward conversation. But you know, one thing that I've observed, and this is something I've observed my whole life, the people that get their way, the people that can actually get through and where your bosses, where your managers will pedal back and, you know, won't force you to do things that you don't wanna do, it's those people that have added value to their companies. They've added value to their business. Where you say, you know, you're a valuable employee. You know what, if you don't wanna take the vaccine, then so be it. You know what, let's just find a way to keep this guy so we don't have to, you know, because he adds value to our company. He's not just some other random guy that we can just, you know, let go and just bring someone else in. Reverend, if you add value, you've got a lot of leverage in whatever place you go. You know, there's been different challenges. And again, I'm not trying to boast of myself where, you know, I remember the time when we found out that my wife was gonna have twins. And like, this was much later in her pregnancy. And then I needed some time off work because she needed extra, you know, things done, you know, extra ultrasounds, all this kind of stuff, extra tests. And I could go to my manager and ask for extra time. And, you know, of course they approved it because in my workplace I added value. They knew, well, you know what, yeah, of course, you know, he deserves those extra hours of carers leave or whatever it is. You know, there's been times we've a larger family in the workplace where something has happened and I needed to get home, right? And I know that other employees wouldn't have the flexibility, they wouldn't be allowed to go home about certain things that I had to go home about. But my managers looked down upon me favorably because I had a good reputation because I added value to the company. And they knew that even if we let Kevin go home, he's still gonna get his job done and probably get the job done better anyway, okay? So he has value, let's be a little bit flexible around these people that add value. Reverend, I hope you add value everywhere you go. And I hope you add value to your family and hope you're not just another dad or just another mom, just another child. I hope you're trying to do the best you can to be a great influence and show great love in your family. I hope you are showing great value in your church. You know that you say, you know what, I'm not comfortable being just a regular church member that just comes to church and sits down, listens to preach and go home. You know, I hope you say, I'm gonna add value. I'm gonna serve this church. There's something that I can do. Yes, brethren, add value, this is great. A good reputation is to be chosen then great riches. Can you please turn to Ecclesiastes? Actually, no, you turn to Matthew 25. Please turn to Matthew chapter 25, turn to Matthew 25. Another passage I'll read to you is Ecclesiastes chapter seven, verse one. You go to Matthew 25, Ecclesiastes chapter seven, verse one says, a good name is better than precious ointment and the day of death than the day of one's birth. So the day of death is better than one's birth. Say, why is that? Don't we celebrate the births and we mourn the deaths? Yeah, but here's the thing, when you're born, you've got no reputation. When you die, you can die with a good reputation. It says a good name is better than precious ointment. Again, talking about the value, because back then precious ointments, the perfumes, these were very expensive gifts or even better than expensive gifts is a good reputation. Okay, and if you're able to live your life and end your life with a good reputation, there's some good words on your tombstone saying, this man had a good report. Hey, that's awesome, okay? That's even better than being born into this world where you've got no reputation, because you did nothing to be born into this world, amen? But you're there in Matthew 25, look at Matthew 25, verse 20. Matthew 25, verse 20, I wanna show you that, when I talk about adding value here, this is also precious in the eyes of God, okay? How do you add value to this life? Jesus Christ has saved us, he's given us everlasting life, he's given us the Holy Spirit. He wants us to serve him. Brethren, how do you add value? And I'm looking at the parable of the talents, and we're not gonna look at the whole parable, but just one portion here in Matthew 25, verse 20. Matthew 25, verse number 20. It says here, and so he that had received five talents, you may remember the story, that this man gives his servants different talents, they get different numbers, but just wanna look at this one man, this man received five talents, so that he had received five talents, and brought other five talents. Hey, did this servant add value? Absolutely. God gave him five talents, and he adds value. What does he do? He brings five more talents. He's got 10 talents from the five that he originally had, saying, Lord, thou deliverest unto me five talents, behold, I have gained beside them five talents more. He added value to his service for God. He took what God has given him and said, you know what? I'm gonna do some great works for God. He adds value. Verse number 21. His Lord said unto him, well done, thou good and faithful servants. Thou has been faithful over a few things. I will make thee ruler over many things, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord. Does God want us to add value? Does he want us to have a good reputation? Of course he does. And we ought to be desiring to add value to the work that God has left us to do. Praise God that you're saved. But what are you doing? You add value to his kingdom. Are you a valuable, faithful servant for Jesus Christ today? You know what? Let's develop our reputation, not just amongst men, but also amongst our Lord God and not side of God. So don't be someone, brethren, that does the bare minimum. You know, go above and beyond. Go above and beyond. Do more than what is required of you. Add value in whatever situation you find yourself in. That's point number four. Can I get you to turn to, let's turn to Proverbs chapter three, please. Turn to Proverbs chapter three. Proverbs chapter three. And the fifth point that I have for you, brethren, in order for you to have a good reputation, help other people. Be concerned about others, all right? This isn't just about you. Life is not just about you. Life is about what can you do for other people. Help other people. Well, you'll turn to Proverbs chapter three. I'm going to read to you from Philippians chapter two verse four, very familiar passage. It says, look not every man on his own things. Now, is it wrong to look on your own things? Of course not. But look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. So it's fine to look for your own things. You need to take care of your own needs, of course, but also every man on the things of others. You know what? If you can give a helping hand to somebody, step in and do it. This will build your reputation. Looking out for the needs of other people. You're there in Proverbs chapter three. Proverbs chapter three in verse number three. Proverbs chapter three verse three, it says, let not mercy and truth forsake thee. Bind them about thy neck, write them upon the table of thine hearts. So shall thou find favor and good understanding in the sight of God and man. Wow. So if we find favor in the sight of God, this is like, again, this idea of the good reputation, finding favor and good understanding in the sight of man and God. What do we need to do? How do we, how are we to treat other people? Again, look at verse number three. Let not mercy and truth forsake thee. Brethren, it's good to know the truth. It's good to stand for the truth, but you need to be merciful. You need to show mercy to other people. You know, our brothers and sisters, they make mistakes, they fail. You know, man fails, you fail, I fail. We all make mistakes. We need to show mercy one toward another. You know, yes, truth is valuable, but so is mercy. Bind them about thy neck, write them upon the table of thine hearts. So shall thou find favor and good understanding in the sight of God and man. Help other people, you know, help them when they fall. Don't kick them while they're down. Encourage the brethren, help others. You know, if you're just a helpful person looking out for the needs of others, praying for other people, you will build that good reputation. You know, I like Romans chapter 16. I'll have a quick read of it. Romans chapter 16, verse number one. Speaking about Phoebe, you may recall Phoebe is a lady that gets mentioned as a help to the apostle Paul. And he says to the Roman church in Romans 16, verse one, "'I commend unto you, Phoebe, our sister, "'which is a servant of the church, which is in Crencilla, "'that ye receive her in the Lord as becometh saints, "'and that ye assist her in whatsoever business "'she have need of you, for she have been a succorah "'of many and of myself also.'" You know what Paul is saying? Phoebe was a great help to me. Phoebe's been a great minister, a great servant to the believers. And now when Phoebe needs help, when she needs support, Paul is telling the church, hey, you go and help her. You go and meet the needs of Phoebe. Phoebe had a good reputation, okay? You know what? If you go out helping others, you know what's gonna happen? In your time of needs, others are gonna step in and help you. Why? Because you've got a good reputation. Because you're likable. Because you've been a service. Because people find favor in their eyes toward you. Point number five, brethren, was help other people. Help other people. All right, please turn to Philippians chapter two, verse 14, Philippians chapter two and verse number 14. Philippians chapter two and verse number 14. I'm gonna hit upon the sin that I hate. Well, is it a sin that I hate the most? Potentially, potentially, okay? Philippians chapter two, verse number 14, please. Philippians chapter two, verse number 14. You know, I've been your pastor for a few years, so you know this is a sin that I hate, okay? Philippians chapter two, verse number 14. And the sixth point that I have for you, brethren, is provide solutions. You know what? If you find a problem, find the solution. What am I saying? Don't be a whiner and complainer. That's what I hate the most. Whining, complaining. I hate it, okay? You know what? God hates it as well. Philippians chapter two, verse 14. Do all things without murmurings and disputings. Whatever you do, brethren, however you serve in the church, in your work, in your family, whatever it is in your community, do all things without murmurings and disputings. You know what? When it's, you know, you go to the shops, right? You go to Woolworths and Coles. You know, these days there isn't much stock on the shelves, right, because of the different COVID struggles that whatever is happening. Well, you know what I hear now when I go to the shops? Oh, there isn't any eggs. Oh, there isn't any meat. Where are the sausages? Why haven't they stocked any milk? People are whining, oh man, I'm so sick of this COVID world. Why do you need to complain about every little thing that goes on? Well, just find something else. All right, you don't have the eggs you wanted, get the other eggs. Oh, you can't eat cage eggs, so you can only eat organic eggs. Have the cage eggs. Or you wanted the cheap, you know, the cheap cage eggs. Well, eat the organic eggs. Just get something else. Stop whining and complaining about everything. It says do all things without murmurings and disputings. That's what I despise the most. My kids know this. They can't get away by complaining, okay? They've got to find a solution. Give me the solution. It's all right to identify problems. There's nothing wrong. There's always problems. It's fine to identify problems. All right, you found a problem, big deal. Everyone can find problems. What makes the good reputation is getting the solution. Hey, I found a problem. Hey, but here's the solution. Hey, pastor, there's a problem in our church. Hey, but I can provide the solution. Hey, praise God for you. That's building a good reputation. Just whining and murmuring and complaining. It's the worst things, brethren. Look at verse number 15, Philippians chapter two verse 15. That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world. God wants us to shine as lights in this world. God wants us to be different. God says we live in a crooked and perverse nation. You know what this crooked and perverse nation does? Murmurs, disputes, complaining, whining. God does not want us to be that way. If you want to have a good reputation, brethren, you've got to stop murmuring. You've got to stop whining about everything. And I get phone calls. People want to whine about me or whine about me or whine about you sometimes. I get calls about, hey, this man came to my door and left a leaflet on the door. It's trespassing. You know what? I'm not whining and complaining. You call the wrong pastor to whine and complain, especially when we're trying to do a work for God. They're not going to get any mercy from me when they come ringing and complaining about a soul winner is doing the most important work. Yes, we're called to live peaceably amongst men, but hey, brethren, the gospel comes first. Holy living comes first, all right? So provide solutions. Learn to be someone that provides solutions. You know, if you're an employee and you know there are things that can be done better in the workplace, before you go to the manager and complain about it, work out, hey, maybe this is one way we can fix it. Maybe this is another way we can fix it. Hey, this is a third way we can address this. And then go to your manager and say, manager, look, I've noticed an issue. This is an issue here. And, but I'm not just leaving you the problem, okay? I'm not just, I'm really here to just whine and complain to you and waste your time. I thought about three different ways that we can fix this. Hey, what do you reckon? Can I apply one of these? Is there one that you think would work? You know what? We're going to develop a good reputation. People are going to like you. You're going to be likable, okay? Instead of being the whiner and complainer. You know, what's even worse than just whining, complaining about a problem that you find is when people create a problem themselves and then they whine about it, okay? They're like, hey, you know, there's something that I can do. All right, you can do it. And then they do it and they complain about it. And then why did you offer to do it? You know, why are you complaining about yourself? I don't understand. What is going on? That's a person of a bad reputation. You know, Brevin, if you ever desire to serve in the house of God, you wouldn't do anything. You say to me, pastor Kevin, you know what? I want to be the toilet cleaner. From now on, you know what? I just want to humble myself, you know, serve God. And I think one of the most ways I can humble myself is to clean that toilet. Make sure that it's clean at every service. Make sure there's always toilet paper. You know what? And I'll do that. And that's the best way. Praise God for you. Praise God for you. But if you come to me on the second week and start complaining that the toilet's dirty, whining, complaining, why can't people, you offered to clean the toilet. God does not want us to murmur and complain. He wants to provide solutions. He wants to be lights in this crooked and perverse nation. That's honestly, Brevin, one of the best ways to build your reputation, a good reputation, is to provide solutions to problems. Don't be a complainer about problems. All right. And the last one that I have for you, please turn to Proverbs 26. Turn to Proverbs 26, please. Proverbs 26, verse 11. Proverbs chapter 26, and verse 11. And the final one that I have for you, point number seven, is learn from your mistakes. Learn from mistakes. Brevin, we all have pride. And you know what? We all make mistakes. And if you let pride get in the way, you're not going to learn from them. You're not going to acknowledge the mistakes that you make, because you're too prideful. You can't admit it. You know what? When you can't admit mistakes that you make, it's gonna destroy your reputation. You know, one thing that I learned, and I've learned this with others, and I've learned this with myself, sometimes it's hard to say sorry when you've done wrong. Sometimes it's hard to just put your hand up, I stuffed up, I made a mistake, okay? But when you do, everyone's like, forgiving. It's like, huh? Like, I'm always expecting, sometimes when I apologize, you know, I was in a workplace or whatever, made a mistake, I'm half expecting that my manager's gonna rebuke me, have a go at me for making a mistake, but I found that if I go first, sorry boss, I messed up, that they're merciful. Hey, this guy has humility. This guy's willing to humble himself. This guy's willing to acknowledge he's made a mistake. Yes, and once you've acknowledged you made the mistake, sorry boss, I'll do better next time. I'll learn from this. I'll make sure I don't do this again. Yes, that's gonna help you build a good reputation. Look at Proverbs 26 verse 11. Proverbs 26 verse 11. The Bible says, as a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly. You know, this fool returns to his folly. He doesn't learn from his mistakes. The fool makes the same mistake over and over and over and over again. He's the same as a dog that vomits and goes and licks it up again, okay? That is someone that does not learn from his mistakes. This is not a man of a good reputation. And of course, please turn to Proverbs 24 now, and another very familiar passage that we love to quote. Proverbs 24, please, and verse number 16. Proverbs 24 and verse number 16. It says, for a just man never falls. No, it's not what it says. For a just man fulleth seven times. You know, even a saved man, even a man that is trying to serve God, he's gonna fall seven times. He's gonna make mistakes in his life, the Bible says, okay? But then it says, and riseth up again, but the wicked shall fall into mischief. Brethren, yes, we make mistakes, we fall. But if you're a just man, you're a man that's trying to build a good reputation, what do you do? You pick yourself up again. You say, man, you dust yourself off. Man, I really messed that up, you know, but now I'm gonna try to walk better in the ways of the Lord. I'm gonna try to do what is right this time. I'm gonna try to learn from the mistakes of the past. You know, what's wonderful about the Bible is we don't always have to learn from our own mistakes. We can often learn from the mistakes of others. This is why the Bible is so full of men's failings. You know, this is not a book written by man, because if it was a book written by man, men would speak about their great achievements. The Bible is about the great failings of man. And that God has to step in and send his son to die for us. It's a message of deliverance, of hope, of salvation through Christ Jesus, not by the works of man. This is why you need a faith to begin with in order to build this good reputation, faith toward our Lord God. But man, if you're saved and you made a mistake, you know what, just put your hand up. Yeah, I messed up. Humble yourself, I messed up. I'll do better next time. God help me to make, do better choices in the future. And I'll quickly read to you a few Psalms, Psalm 55 verse 22. It says, cast thy burden upon the Lord and he shall sustain thee. He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved. Reverend, if you make a mistake, you know who you go to? You go to the Lord, take your burden to the Lord. Lord, I messed up. That's what we do when we confess our sins. Lord, I messed up again. Take your burden to the Lord. He's the one that's gonna sustain you. He can be the one that can help you to learn from those mistakes. Psalm 145 verse 14. The Lord upholdeth all that fall. Is God expecting that we're gonna make mistakes and fall? Yes, he does. But the Lord upholdeth all that fall and riseth up all those that be bowed down. So who does the Lord rise up when we fall? Those that are bowed down, those that humble themselves, right? When we own our mistakes, when we take responsibility, when we apologize, we are lowering ourselves. We are bowing ourselves. And what God does, he raises us up. Reverend, if you cannot acknowledge mistakes, if you're so prideful and you're just not willing to admit it, you know what, you're gonna fall. You're just gonna fall in mischief. You're never gonna learn. You're gonna make the same mistakes over and over and over again. You're not gonna see the power of God lift you up and help you develop that good reputation. The Bible says in James 4.10, Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord and he shall lift you up. Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord and he shall lift you up. So, brethren, if you make mistakes and we all do, own it, show humility, learn, apologize, whatever it is that you need to do, and then go to God and say, God, please help me to do better next time. All right, brethren, in conclusion, please turn to 2 Corinthians 6. Please turn to 2 Corinthians 6. And as I said to you, we are striving for a good report, aren't we? We're striving for a good reputation. But don't beat yourself up. If you're serving the Lord Jesus Christ faithfully, you're preaching the gospel faithfully, you're walking in his ways, and people have a bad report about you. Hey, brethren, in that case, there's nothing you can do about it, okay? Remember, holiness comes first. You know, being righteous with God comes first. But in 2 Corinthians 6.4, the apostle Paul says this to the Corinthian church. He says, but in all things are proven ourselves as the ministers of God in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses. Now, I'm not gonna keep reading, but drop down to verse number eight. He says, by honor and dishonor. He says, look, as a minister of God, I'm gonna serve God. You know, even if I go through the stresses and trials and hardships, you know, there are some places where I serve God and I'm actually honored by people who like me, people who want me in the church. They say, hey, man, it's the apostle Paul, right? It's fantastic. Let's go here and preach. There's also dishonor. So the apostle Paul, this guy again, hasn't he been to prison a few times? Hasn't he been arrested? It's an embarrassment. He goes, yes, sometimes people honor you, sometimes they dishonor you. Then he goes, look, by evil report and good report. You know, sometimes people can, yeah, you know, you've got a good reputation amongst others. Others just hate you, okay? Because you're serving the Lord. Then he says this, as deceivers and yet true. The point I'm trying to bring here, brethren, is we should strive to have a good reputation amongst all. But as you serve the Lord, there are gonna be people that don't honor you. There are people that just don't like you because they're a Christian. There are gonna be people that don't like you just because you stand on the truth of God's word. So be it, brethren. You know, we're ministers of God, we're servants of God. And sometimes you're gonna get honored, sometimes you're gonna get dishonored. Sometimes people are gonna have a good report about you, sometimes they're gonna have an evil report about you. But that doesn't stop us from serving the Lord God, okay? So a good reputation is valuable. We can all have it. We all should strive to have it amongst all men. But please remember, you're not going to please everybody. Not everyone's gonna like you. And so be it, that's just how it is. Have a clear conscience before God, walk in his holy ways. You know, try your best to live peaceably with all men. Try to go along with everybody, add value to every situation you find yourself in. Be a blessing to others, but understand as you go and serve the Lord God, just people, I'm gonna like you. And so be it, that's life. You continue, don't get discouraged, you continue serving the Lord. All right, brethren, just in conclusion, let me just go through those seven things once again in order for you to build a good reputation. Number one, be likable. Number two, stick to your word. Number three, be transparent. Number four, add value. Number five, help other people. Number six, provide solutions. Don't be a complainer. And number seven, learn from mistakes. Okay, let's pray.