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Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh with fear and trembling and singleness of your heart as unto Christ. And the title of the sermon this morning is Be Obedient. Be Obedient. Now when we think of the word obedient, I think there's three different ways we can look at obedience. And the first definition or the first way that we could look at obedience is I think what most people think of. When you think of being obedient, it means that you're compliant with whatever instruction you've been given. Meaning that you actually fulfill the task that you've been given. They say, hey, can you give me a cup of water? And they bring you a cup of water. You say jump and they jump. It says whatever you actually commanded or whatever the rules are, it was followed eventually. So look at Acts chapter number five, if you would, flip back in your Bible to Acts chapter number five. We're going to see that some things are necessitated on compliance. Now in Acts chapter number five, look at verse number 30. The Bible reads, the God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom he slew and hanged on a tree. Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a prince and a savior for to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are his witnesses of these things and so is also the Holy Ghost whom God has given to them that obey him. Now some people that teach a works based salvation or a false gospel, they love it when the Bible uses the word obey because they're like, oh, you know, we're going to talk, it's obviously you got to do the works. I mean, it just said you got to obey. Now here's the thing. Every word of God is pure. Every verse is true. So if the only requirement to salvation is to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, why is it saying here that we have to obey? What is it that we're, what is it he's saying that we need to obey? Well keep, well don't keep your finger, but go to Romans chapter number 10, go to Romans chapter number 10. But it said here that the only way you're going to get the Holy Ghost is if you obey him. Okay. Now what happens when someone believes on the Lord Jesus Christ? They're sealed with the Holy Ghost right on believing. The Bible says you're sealed with the earnest of promise. I mean you got the Holy Ghost coming inside you, the indwelling of the Holy Ghost as soon as you believe. Now look at Romans chapter number 10 verse number 16. But they have not all obeyed the Gospel. For Isaiah saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? So then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God. Now if God's commandment is to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, what do you have to do in order to be saved? You got to obey that commandment. So yes, you have to obey the Gospel in order to be saved. The Bible says that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth, and believe in thine heart that God hath raised from the dead, thou shalt be saved. But guess what? You have to obey that in order to be saved. But that is not work salvation. It's not based on anything in yourself. It's based on you just receiving the free gift of eternal life. And the Bible words it as obeying the Gospel. Let's go to 2 Thessalonians chapter number 8. We're going to see this even further. I think it's important to just kind of look at these, you know, get them really solid in our mind. Just so, you know, some false prophet, some troll or somebody came, yeah, the Bible says you got to obey them. You know, and at first glance, you might not know exactly how to answer that question. You say, well, you know, you said the King James Bible is word perfect. It teaches work salvation. Didn't you know it says you have to obey him? You're like, yeah, I do. I have to obey the Gospel. If I want to get saved, I have to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. If I don't, I will split hell wide open. Look at 2 Thessalonians chapter 1 verse 8, inflaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. So who are those that don't know God? Well, that's the unsaved. Why? Because they didn't obey the Gospel. Did they hear it? Yeah, they did. Have the world heard the Gospel? That's what we had in Romans chapter number 10. Have they not heard? Yes, verily their sound went into all the earth. So according to the Bible, the Gospel's gone out. You find me a person that's never heard John 3.16, doesn't exist. The Gospel is gone out into this world. His creation is clearly evident. And the people that reject the Gospel, that do not obey the Gospel, they don't know God. Because the only way through the Father is through the Lord Jesus Christ. Let's keep reading though. ...from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power, when he shall come to be glorified in his saints and to be mired and all them that believe, because our testimony among you was believed in that day. So what was the difference between the people that didn't know God and the people that did? Well, it said they obeyed, but how did they obey? They believed. They believed the Gospel. That's what they got saved. Let's go one more place. First Peter chapter number 4. So one aspect of obedience would simply be performing the action that is required. What is the action that is required for salvation? It's believing. Now some people, you know, especially false teachers and these lordship salvationists, they think that you have to be like really emotional in order to get saved. They think that you have to, you just have to be like crying and like, oh, I'm just a horrible sinner. I'm so feel bad about my sin. Look, has anybody done that, that you've gotten saved? It virtually never happens. Sometimes people get a little bit choked up like afterwards receiving the free gift, but I've rarely ever seen a person just weeping and gnashing of teeth because of how sinful they are. Okay. I mean, it just doesn't happen. So does that just mean nobody gets saved? But here's the thing, obviously some levels of obedience are a little bit different. So the person that's really excited to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, he gets saved. The person that just says, well, you know, I need to do it, and he believes, he's saved too. It doesn't matter what your emotional state is. It doesn't matter how thankful you are about it. If you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, you're saved, period, because one aspect of obedience is just compliance. He did it. If you believed, you're saved. I don't care what you were thinking about or how emotional you were or what you thought. It's the fact that you believed on the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what saves you. Look at 1 Peter 4, verse 17, for the time has come that judgment must begin at the house of God. And if it first began at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? So what's the difference between the people of God and those that are not? They did not obey the gospel. They refused to just receive the free gift. They said, no, I have to pay for it. No, I have to work for it. No, it's based on my good works. They were willing to justify themselves. And because they did not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, they split hell wide open. Now, go to Luke chapter number 6. I just wanted to cover that. I think it's an important thing to kind of lay down, an important doctrine. Yes, I have to obey to be saved. What do I have to obey? The gospel. Do I have to obey all God's commandments? That's impossible. For all of sin comes short of the glory of God. There's not a just man upon the earth that doeth good and sinneth not. There's none good. No, not one, is what the Bible says. Look at Luke chapter 6 verse 46. And why call you me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? So is it obedient for you to just tell somebody that you're going to do it? Hey, I need you to preach tonight. Okay, I'll do it. And then you don't show up to church. Hey, I need you to help take out the trash. Then you don't. You don't do it. You ask somebody. You say, I'll do it. Yeah. I'm ready. I'm willing. Yes, sir. I'll do it. And then they don't do it. Would you ever say the person's obedient? Hey, son, clean your room. Okay. Yes, sir. I'll do it. Did they do it? So if you don't do it, you're not obedient. So the basic level, I mean the most simple principle, if you want to be obedient, you actually have to fulfill the task that's been asked of you. And you know, when we look at God's commandments, then we can think, hey, how obedient am I? Am I really doing what God said? Or am I just saying I want to? Am I just with lip service? And Jesus Christ is rebuking these hypocrites. They're saying, hey, Lord, Lord, you know, you're our master. But if you don't do anything that he's telling you, is he really your master? Are you really obeying him? Are you really doing what he's asking you? People say this. Yeah, I'll work with you. And then their actions prove differently. Look, it really doesn't, at the end of the day, it doesn't really matter what you say. It's most important what you do, okay? That's the most important. Now go to Colossians chapter number three. The Bible also says in Ephesians six, we didn't read all of the chapter, but it says, servants be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh with fear and trembling and singleness of your heart as unto Christ, not with eye service as men pleasers, but as the servants of Christ doing the will of God from the heart, with doing will doing service, with good will doing service as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free. So whenever you're doing any job, any task, your boss at work asks you to do something, a Christian should try to look at that as God asked me to do that. You know, if your husband, women ask you to do something, you should act like Jesus Christ asked you to do something. Children, if your mother or your father say do something, you should know that's God telling you to do it because God says to obey your parents and everything. So whatever your mom or dad says, you are supposed to be obedient under those commands. Look at Colossians three verse twenty-two, servants, obey in all things that you want to do, I'm sorry, obey all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eye service as men pleasers, but in singleness of heart, fearing God, and whatsoever you do, do it heartily as to the Lord and not unto men, knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance, for ye serve the Lord Christ, but he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done, and there is no respect of persons. The Bible's saying, whenever you do work, you shouldn't do work to be seen of men. That's what it means to do eye service, meaning when the boss is around, you're working hard. But as soon as he turns around the corner, you're just, whatever I want to do, I'll just sit here and relax and take a quick nap, and I'll put on the boss filter on my internet tab or whatever, watch the game, do whatever, and look, obviously anybody that works a white collar job, this is a big temptation, to not work as hard when people aren't paying attention, maybe even a physical labor job, when the cat's away, the mice will play, as the old adage is, right? And when the boss isn't looking, it's a strong temptation not to work as hard as you normally would. And God's saying, look, I'm seeing you, I'm paying attention to what you're doing, so why don't you use that as your motivation to continually work hard no matter what, fearing God. Go to Romans chapter number 13, let's go to Romans chapter number 13. We see the Bible's pretty consistent, though, I mean, have you seen anything different? Is it saying obey just the men that you want to listen to, or just some people, or the good people? It's just saying, look, if you have a boss, if you have a master, a Christian is supposed to obey that person, that authority figure, we're supposed to obey authority figures. Now, obviously, the caveat would be if they're asking you to do something criminal, if they're asking you to do something violating the word of God, I'm not saying being complicit in wicked actions, but clearly, if it's not wicked, you're supposed to obey every single time. Look at Romans 13 verse 1, let every soul be subject unto the higher powers, for there is no power but of God. The powers that be are ordained of God, whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God, and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil, wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? Do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same. Free as the minister of God to thee for good, but if thou do that which is evil, be afraid. Free beareth not the sword in vain, for he is the minister of God, or avenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake. Now what is he saying? If you read the book of Acts, these guys are some troublemakers. I mean, they're thrown in prison, they're turning cities upside down, people are getting all kinds of riots, people hate them, I mean, there is all kinds of stuff going on. And the thing is, you can have all of those same effects just because you're a terrible person. Just because you're wicked, because of the lust of money, because of strife and envy. And the Bible is saying, look, if you're going to suffer, you know, why don't you do it for the right reasons? And he's saying, look, if you do something wrong, you should be afraid of the dignities that be. So if you're getting in trouble with the law, if you're getting in trouble with the government, it better be for a righteous reason. That's why the apostles were getting in trouble, because they were preaching the gospel. They get thrown in jail, because they want to preach to this person thrown in jail, because they just used the name of Jesus Christ. They're thrown in prison, because they're teaching against false doctrine like Judaism. They're getting persecuted, stoned to death, causing all kinds of riots. So you see, why are all the apostles these big troublemakers? Aren't they resisting power? Aren't they resisting authority? I mean, they are in a lot of ways. Their authority figures are saying, don't do this. But it's because it's clearly the commandments of God to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. So if you're ever going to resist any authority, it better be clear commandments of the Bible. But if you decide to be a troublemaker, you better be afraid of those dignities. So what does that mean? That means if America says, Pastor Shelley, you can't preach against the homos, you can't preach the Bible, you can't preach about the gospel, I am going to preach it from the housetops with no fear. You know what? If I go off and I start doing wicked actions, I start being a hypocrite pastor, I start going off and doing drugs and I start doing prostitution and I start doing all these things, I better be greatly afraid because the minister is going to come and revenge those actions. God is not going to protect me in that situation. He's going to destroy me, in fact, because the Bible said, God chasteneth and scourgeth every son in whom he receiveth. So if you as a Christian today decide, I'm just going to go do whatever I want and just break the law because it sounds fun, you better be afraid of the law. But if the law is passed that's going against this, I'm not going to be afraid of it. And they might throw me in jail, they can do all kinds of stuff to me, but I'm still not going to be afraid of it because God is going to take care of me. And whatever is going to happen, God wanted it to happen anyways. Maybe I'll find the most receptive guy in the prison, he just falls down and says, sir, what must I do to be saved? I can just be like, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Let's go to Matthew chapter 21. So we see, we need to be compliant with the rules that are given. And we have a clear authority structure. The Bible, it's always this, it's always the pure words. This is the top, it doesn't get anywhere, there's nowhere else. Then whatever the law of the land is, the Bible says that we're supposed to be obedient under the ordinances of man. Whatever the statutes and laws of the country that you live in, whether you like them or lump them, you're supposed to follow them unless there's a contradiction here. And look, there's a lot of things I don't like about some of the rules in this country. But if I want to be in God's will, I'm going to be, you know, I'm going to make sure I'm compliant with those ordinances. Look at Matthew 21. What think ye? A certain man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, son, go work today in my vineyard. And he answered and said, I will not. But afterward he repented and went, and he came to the second and said, likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir, and he went not. Whether of them, twain, did the will of his father, they say unto them, the first. Jesus saith unto them, verily I say unto you, that the publicans and harlots go into the kingdom of God before you. So this is an interesting story when we think about this concept because we have two different people. One person says, I'm not going to do what you said. But then they do it. And then you get another guy who says, I'm definitely going to do what you said, and then he doesn't. And then the questions asked, well, who was obedient? It was the guy that did it. So you see, look, people love to tell you one thing. I could care less what you tell me. Your actions tell me a lot more than your words, sir. And look, people will lie to you today. There is so much liars. It's ridiculous. You can't trust anything that comes out of people's mouth today. You know what I trust? Your actions. When trying times come, people's hearts get exposed real quick. It's real easy to spot someone that's a fraud, that's a phony, and it's real easy to spot someone that's a rock solid, has morals, has integrity, has character, and esteems other better than themselves. It's crystal clear. But the interesting thing is, even though he was compliant, is that still the best level of obedience to say, I'm not going to do it. Go if you would to Proverbs chapter 23, Proverbs chapter number 23. So obviously, if you ask somebody to do something, it's not pleasant for them to just immediately reject whatever you're asking them to do, because then you don't even know they're going to do it. You're trusting them not to do it. So even though they did it, you're kind of like, well. And obviously, the connotation, the example of the parable was the gospel. It was basically saying, look, the people that were trying to live godly that grew up in church, you would think that these are the people that were going to get saved, because it's like they're raised in church, right? And then the people that were just these derelict people and the poor and these heavily-published areas in abject poverty, they've not followed God's commandments. They've lived a hard life. But you say, hey, you want to go to heaven, they're like, yeah, and they get saved. They didn't really go on the same path, but we see they were more likely to get saved. Look at Proverbs 23, verse 13. Withhold not correction from the child, for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die. Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell. Now we're learning an important lesson here, that authority is important. Why are you talking about being compliant, Pastor Shelley? Why are you telling kids to be compliant? Because if a child does not learn to obey authorities when they're young, many times they will never obey authorities when they're older. And the most important authority is the Bible about believing the gospel. A lot of people will never believe the gospel because they were never disciplined as a child. And you ask them, hey, why don't you believe the gospel? I just don't think I've committed a sin worthy of going to hell. They just don't believe they're bad enough to go to hell. Why? Because they've never been punished for any of their actions. So you as a parent, you have a grave responsibility to punish your children so they actually fear authority. It actually has some reverence to authorities and figures in their life, and the people that are raised with parents correcting their children are going to raise great children. You know, if you don't correct your children, if you don't beat them with the rod, did it say here, just tell them off? No. Just beat them with the rod so you can deliver their soul from hell. I don't want any of my kids to go to hell, so I'm going to beat the hell out of them. I'm not saying that in a sense like child protective services. I'm not going to injure the child. I'm just beating the spiritual hell out of them. Does that make sense? Look, I don't agree with hurting children, but look, if you don't spank them and it doesn't feel pain, then it's not working. Go if you would to Numbers chapter number 11. So obviously the most important thing is getting people to be compliant, but let's look at obedience from another level. Let's get perfect obedience from the Bible. Wouldn't it have been better in the story that the one guy said that he would do it, that he did it too? That's like even better, right? Not only did he do it, but he said that he would do it. So another level of obedience is being consenting, is agreeing, is accepting whatever's been instructed of you. So whether you accept it or not, if you do it, you are compliant, right? But if you accept it, then you are also consenting. You're saying I do want to do it. I'm willing to do it. Let's go for it. You can trust in me. Look at Numbers 11 verse 1. And when the people complained, it displeased the Lord, and the Lord heard it, and his anger was kindled, and the fire of the Lord burned among them and consumed them, that they were in the uttermost parts of the camp. So let's say someone gives you a task to do, and you start doing it, but you just complain the whole time. Is somebody going to look at you and say, look how obedient this guy is? Look, it's going to completely undermine all of your obedience. If you complain and murmur and backbite, it's just going to completely undermine all of your actions. It's going to almost make all of your actions worthless. You're going to say, I don't want this guy to do anything for me again, because he just keeps complaining. He just keeps murmuring against me. You know what? I think teenagers are some of the worst offenders of this. You try to tell a teenager a task, and they're going to backbite. They're going to talk back. They're going to complain and bellyache and moan, because they're so immature. You know what separates a teenager from a man? Not being a complainer. Not being one who just always has to backbite what his parent says. Why do I have to do it? Why can't my other sibling do it? Why can't they do it? Why do I always have to do it? Why do I have to take out the trash? Why do I always have to help out in the kitchen? Why do I always have to do this? I did it last time. Why don't they do it? Oh, this is such an obedient child, isn't it? I mean, man, you're just really awesome. That's not my job. Isn't that Cain and Abel? Am I my brother's keeper? I mean, in teenagers, they're just like, I don't want to do it. You know, they just have this attitude. They think that they have this pompous, arrogant. They just look like jerks, and you can just see it from their countenance. And you know what? It's a whole sermon in itself, but God can judge everything about you by your physical appearance. He looks at your eyes. He looks at your mouth. He looks at the way you're carrying yourself. He looks at the stiffness of your neck. He's saying, look, all these physical characteristics are telling me your attitude, buddy. Why don't you shape up? Why don't you, you know, get a smile on your face? Why don't you be joyful that the Lord gave us a new day? Why don't you be joyful of the new mercies every day of God? And look, if you want to be considered obedient, you have to get this area right. You say, I want to be considered an obedient person. You can't be a back-biter. You can't be a complainer. You can't always ask, why? Every time someone asks you to do something, why? Hey, can you help me with this? Why? Do you want to help me with this? Why? Why? Why? It's annoying. It's stupid. It's pedantic. And look, obviously, there's a time and a place to ask for more clarification. Ask for, you know, understanding and trying to get information, but some people just ask why to be a complainer. Why? Why are we going to do that? Yeah. And you say, hey, I'd love to do that. If you could tell me, you know, a little bit more about it, I think I can do a better job. Could you please help me with that? Obviously, I'm not saying that's wrong. Why? Hmm? It's stupid. Look at verse 20. But even a whole month until it come out of your nostrils and to be loathsome unto you, because that you have despised the Lord which is among you and have wept before him saying, why, came before that of Egypt. They're like, why? Why are we here, Lord? And he's saying, look, we don't have anything to eat. And he's like, I'll give you something to eat. I'm going to give you so much of it, you'll be sick of it. You're going to go to that all you can eat buffet and when you leave, you're going to feel worse than when you showed up. You're going to wish you hadn't even eaten. I'm going to give you so much. It's coming to account of your nostrils. That's terrible. The only time I've thought of that is like when you vomit. That's like the worst thing ever. It's not going to come out of your nostrils. Why? Because they despised the Lord. Now, who are they complaining against? They're actually complaining against Moses, but he says, you know, you're really complaining against me. When you complain against the man of God, when you complain against the person in authority, you're complaining against God because God said to obey man. God said to obey the authorities in your life. Go to Numbers 14. Go forward a couple more chapters. Let's prove this. Numbers 14 verse 1, and all the congregation lifted up their voice and cried and the people wept that night. And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron and the whole congregation said unto them, would God that we had died in the land of Egypt or would God we had died in this wilderness. So they're just sitting here backbiting, complaining, murmuring, Moses, Aaron, stupid, I don't want to do it. Nobody likes murmuring. Nobody likes it. It's awful. And they're complaining against Moses and Aaron specifically, right? Let's look at verse number 11 now. And the Lord said unto Moses, how long will this people provoke Me? So who's talking? He says, and the Lord said. So he's saying, how long are they going to provoke Me? When they murmured against Moses and Aaron, who were they provoking? They were provoking God. And how long will it be ere they believe Me for all the signs which I have showed among them? I will smite them with the pestilence and disinherit them and will make of thee a greater nation and mightier than they. Now the most amazing thing about this is Moses and Aaron. Think about it. He's trying to lead all these people and the only thing they're doing, okay, is complaining and backbiting him and not doing what he's saying, talking evil of him. And then God says to Moses, I want to destroy them all right now. You know what Moses does? He begs that God doesn't kill them. Talk about a servant. Talk about a steaming other. I mean, just think about it. Somebody murmuring and backbiting you, you've sold everything, you're giving everything up, you're traveling through the wilderness, you have this heavy burden upon you and the only thing people can do is murmur and complain and backbite against you and God is advocating to kill them. And you say, no, please don't. I still love these people, they're still your people. He's advocating on behalf of murmurers and backbiters and complainers. That's the heart of a pastor. That's the heart of a deacon. That's the heart of an evangelist. That's the heart of a man of God. He says, I still love people, even when they treat me wrong, I still want to bless them. Look at verse 27. How long shall I bear with this evil congregation, which murmur against me? I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel, which they murmur against me. Again, he calls them evil and they're murmuring against God when they murmur against the man of God. Go to Exodus chapter number 16 now. Exodus chapter number 16, look at verse 1. And they took their journey from Elam, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came under the wilderness of sin, which is between Elam and Sinai, and on the fifteenth day of the second month, after the departing out of the land of Egypt. And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. Look at verse 7. And in the morning, then ye shall see the glory of the Lord, for that he heareth your murmurings against the Lord, and what are we that ye murmur against us? And Moses said, This shall be when the Lord shall give you in the evening flesh to eat, and in the morning bread to the full, for that the Lord heareth your murmurings, which ye murmur against him. And what are we? Your murmurings are not against us, but against the Lord. Look, if the Bible has a clear commandment, okay, and I am trying to tell you this is what you need to do, and you say, I don't want to do it, is it really Pastor Shelley's personal opinion that you're attacking? No. You're attacking whatever the Bible said. And look, it doesn't matter what person's standing behind this pulpit just repeating what the Bible says, if you don't like it, it's not the person, it's the God's word. It wasn't Moses, and Moses and Aaron are just the vessel that God's communicating to them with. He's just saying, here's what God said, and then they say, we don't like you. We don't like what you're saying. And it's like, it's not my words. It's God's words. You're arguing against the pure words. You're arguing against God, you're resisting God. So let's get it right. When you argue against the man of God, and he's standing on the Bible, you're arguing against God, not me. You're arguing against the Lord, against the Bible, okay? Let's figure out who it is. It's like, oh, we just don't like you as a person. No, you don't like God's word is what you don't like. Go to 1 Timothy chapter number six. First Timothy chapter number six. And look, when it comes to this type of a situation, someone that's in leadership, and if you're ever in leadership, and someone's attacking you for what the Bible says, the Bible says that you're not supposed to tolerate it for a second, that you're not supposed to put up with that garbage. Look at 1 Timothy 6 verse one. Let as many servants who are under the yoke count their own masters worthy of all honor, that the name of God and his doctrine be not blasphemed. When they did not believe in masters, let them not despise them, because they are brethren, but rather do them service because they are faithful and beloved partakers of the benefit these things teach and exhort. So according to the Bible, you're not supposed to let someone despise you because you're standing up for the word of God, or any commandment. This isn't even just the Bible. This is saying, hey, if you're the master, and you're giving someone instruction, and they're going to resist, you're not supposed to tolerate it. You're not supposed to tolerate people despising you, because God already said you obey every ordinance of the authorities in your life. Period. Look at verse three. If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and of the doctrines according to Godliness, he is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereth cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, and gain his godliness from such withdrawal thyself. Look at the Bibles crystal clear. When a guy will not hearken to leadership, when he will not hearken to authority, he's not in the right, ever. And you're not supposed to tolerate it. Period. Go to Titus chapter two. Titus chapter number two. And look, your boss doesn't want to fight you. Your boss at work doesn't want to fight you. Wives, your husbands don't want to fight you. Children, your parents especially do not want to fight you. And just as much as a parent is supposed to lay down the law at home, is supposed to the husband supposed to lay the law down at home, is supposed to the boss supposed to lay down at work. It's the same thing. You're always supposed to lay down the law and not let your servants despise you. Because you're the one in charge. They should realize, hey, if he's going to be that way, if I ever become a leader, if I ever have some kind of authority, that's how I'm supposed to behave. That's how I'm supposed to act. Look at Titus two, verse nine. Exhort servants to be obedient under their own masters and to please them well in some things. Oops, that's the NIV, huh? To please them well in all things, not answering again. Oh, wait, I thought we were supposed to backbite. Why? Why do I have to do it? I did it last time. The Bible says when your boss says to do something, it's either yes, sir, or shut your mouth and do it. It doesn't say answer again. It doesn't say, well, I don't think we should do this. I want to do it my way. No, you shut your mouth and just do what you're told is what the Bible says. Not answering again. Not purloining, but showing all good fidelity that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things. And look, the Bible says pleasing them. It's pleasant if you give somebody instruction and they just, yep, got it, done. Consider it done. I'm ready to do it. The person that backbites, the person that argues, the person that's answering again, why are we doing it over there? Why are we doing this? Why are you making decisions? It's frustrating. It's annoying. It's irritating. Nobody likes it. And obviously, as a leader, nobody's perfect. You can have grace with people. Some people don't really understand all their intentions. But if you want to have perfect obedience, if you want to please your masters in all things, this is how you're supposed to behave. And look, I work in the workplace, and people backbite and answer again, do all this stuff, and their bosses aren't like, you know, you're fired or something. Obviously, people let them walk all over them many times. But if you want to be a good employee, this is how you will act every single time. Look at verse 15. These things speak and exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee. So is the person in authority supposed to take it lightly? I mean, the Bible keeps telling me you've got to rebuke it. You're not supposed to tolerate it. He says, let no man. Some men could despise you. Let no man. That means no respect to persons. And look, if people don't obey you, it's because they despise you. When we were reading about Moses and the children of Israel wandering and they're murmuring and backbiting, God was saying they're despising me. They despise my commandments. They don't want to follow. So if you're not obedient by backbiting, complaining, murmuring, answering again, it's because you're despising your authority figure. And here's the thing. A lot of people despise the King James Bible. They see the commandments of God. They hear what God said, and they say, I don't want to do that. I don't like that. You're so judgmental. You're supposed to judge not. Look, these people despise God's word. And ultimately, they despise Christ. Because guess what? Christ is the word. In the beginning, it was the word. That's what the Bible says. Go to Proverbs 25. We'll look at the last aspect. And look, I've seen good men, good preachers, good people that I know are saved. But they just complain. They backfight. They're answering again. They won't subject themselves to any kind of authority. And the Bible's making it clear this is a grievous sin. This is not something God takes lightly. And we as Christians, we as God's people, and if we want to do great works for God, we should all be obedient to every authority in our life. And the Bible says we shouldn't even be subject one to another, meaning if I show up to soul-winding time and Brother Thompson's the leader, I submit to his authority. He says, Pastor Shelley, I want you to go here. And I say, yes, sir. You say, oh, the pastor's supposed to submit? Yeah. Amen. Hey, what if I worked for one of you? You know, and I was your employee. Everything you say, yes, sir. And look, I don't have authority in your life except for in this room. All right? In this room, I am the ruler. I am the bishop. I am the overseer. But I'm not going to come to your house and tell you anything because I'm not in charge. We believe in the priesthood of the believer, and the man of that house is the one in charge. The man is the authority figure, and the man is the one that's supposed to rule in his house. And if I have to be subject to people, I have to be subject all the time. And guess what? As a pastor of an independent fundamental Baptist church, we believe in pastor-led churches, OK? So you say, oh, so you just get to make all the rules. Well, guess what? I have to be subject unto what this says. It's not like I get out of jail, freak, just do whatever I want. No. I have to be subject to what God told me to do. And I have to study it and read it and be faithful and try my best to do what it says. Look, becoming pastor, you say, oh, it sounds cool. You can just do whatever you want. No. I have to try my hardest to obey what this says. I have to be as subject to this as I want, whether I like it or not. And I'll be honest, in my flesh, the things I'm telling you, I don't want to do. I'm a people pleaser by nature. I like to just go along to get along. I like to just, you know, someone could walk all over me and I would be like, OK, you know, just keep the peace. I don't want to fight anybody. I don't want to do anything. That's my flesh talking. Do you know what the Spirit of God says? I'm going to fight the good fight. And I'm going to stand on the King James Bible, and I'm ready to fight, and I'm excited to go out and take it to the enemy. Because the Spirit of God is going to lead me and give me boldness and courage. And if you walk in the Spirit, you can be filled with the Spirit. Look at Proverbs 25 verse 12. As an earing of gold and ornament of fine gold, so is a wiser prover upon an obedient ear. The most important thing that I'm going to teach you, because most people understand compliance, most people have a good idea about, you know, backbiting and planing, is being correctable, being teachable. Why? Because you're at fault. If someone's giving you correction, there's something wrong. So already most people get offended. I mean, most people today can take zero correction. I mean, you just try to barely say they're doing something wrong, and they're immediately offended. They immediately don't want to hear you. They immediately reject it. They're going to call you something. They're going to try and point something out that's wrong about you. People cannot take correction today, and it's a joke. And look, I had a really wise pastor tell me, he said this, if I give instruction to somebody and they as but yet roll their eye, I will never hire them. I will have nothing to do with that person. Because being correctable is an important asset, value, and character trait in somebody that you're going to trust. And look, we all have problems. We all have issues. But if you want to be anywhere close to what the Bible teaches, you need to have a very correctable spirit. You better have an obedient ear. You're just ready. I can't wait for you to tell me how I can do something better. I can't wait for you to help me and prove somewhere in my life. Go to Proverbs chapter 1. I'll read for you. It says in Jeremiah 7, But thou shalt say unto them, This is a nation that obeyeth not the voice of the Lord their God, nor receiveth correction. Zephaniah 3, Woe to her that is filthy and polluted to the oppressing city! She obeyed not the voice, she received not correction, she trusted not in the Lord, she drew not near to her God. If you won't receive correction, I mean, you're in trouble, because when I read my Bible, I feel corrected, like, on every page, every verse, every line, it's constantly reproving me. That's why the Bible told the king in the Old Testament to read it every day so that he'd be humble. Because every time you read the Bible, especially read the Old Testament laws, I mean, man, love is a huge deal. What does it mean to love? Well, the law will tell you. The law will tell you exactly how to love your neighbor and what kind of things you're supposed to do for your neighbor and how to be thinking of your neighbor always and putting others before yourself. And look, when you read your Bible, it's going to correct you. I'm not even close. I'm working on it every single day. Look at Proverbs 1, verse 5. A wise man will hear and will increase learning, and a man of understanding shall attain in wise counsels. You know why godly women are the meek and quiet? Because they're not so busy talking, they're hearing, they're listening. You don't get smarter by hearing yourself talk. You know how you get smarter by hearing someone wise give you instruction, by hearing somebody else tell you something. This is how you gain information. You already have the same level of information that you started with when you started talking. By talking, you don't get smarter. You only can use what you have already, okay? It's like natural selection. Sometimes people think natural selection is going to produce a new animal. Look, you can only use what it has. You can only speak the information that you already have. But when you hear, you can gain new information. You can get better. You can get smarter. You can get wiser. Now that's a dangerous thing, right? Because what if I start harkening unto wicked information? The Bible says if a ruler harkened to lies, all his servants are wicked. What if I just start feeding myself with junk? Then I'm going to be really, really bad. So what do I got to do? I got to find somewhere where I can harken unto some good instruction. Go to Proverbs 14, Proverbs chapter 14. The Bible says, Therefore whosoever hear these sayings of mine and doeth them, I will lie to them unto a wise man which built his house upon a rock. So Jesus says, look, you're wise if you do what the Bible says. If you don't do what the Bible says, you're not wise. So you sitting here this morning, hearing the instruction, you have a chance to be wise. Let me tell you, if you don't do it, you're not wise. Just hearing it makes no difference. In fact, it's probably worse that you heard it and decided not to do it. Because there's a lot of people that probably would do it if they heard it. There's probably a lot of people that would be compliant if they had a good person leading them and guiding them and giving them good instruction. There's a lot of people that would get saved if they could hear it. Look at Proverbs 14 verse 23. In all labor there is profit, but the talk of the lips tend only to penury. You're not gaining anything by all this talking. You're gaining by working. You gain by labor. And when you work hard, you're going to profit from it. And when you just sit around and back bite and talk, nothing. Let's look at Proverbs 18. So we're looking at a lot of different Proverbs. The Bible says in Proverbs 10, in the multitude of words, there wanteth not sin, but he that refraineth his lips is wise. The Bible says a good character attribute of a person is refraining his lips. So if everything that comes on your mind you speak, you're not wise. The Bible says the thought of foolishness is sin. And I think that's a hard one to get away from. And if you're not restraining your lips at times, you're going to be in sin. I mean, in the multitude of words, there wanteth not sin. He's saying if everything that comes across your mind comes out your lips, you're sinning. So if you want to prevent yourself from sinning, you've got to refrain your lips in a lot of situations and a lot of ways. Look at Proverbs 18 verse 2. A fool hath no delight in understanding, but that his heart may discover himself. You know, wicked people, though, they'd love to hear themselves talk. They love to find out what's manifest in their heart. The Bible says out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh. So he's like, hey, what's in there? I'll just keep talking. And I just love to hear myself talk. Some of the most wicked people love to hear themselves talk. These false prophets, these false teachers, arrogant, prideful people. You know, really godly, wise men oftentimes keep their mouths shut. Now, obviously, if you're preaching a sermon, I mean, it would be pretty devastating if I just decided not to talk for a while, right? It's not going to really work. So there's a time and a place to talk and there's a time and a place to not talk. But in your general life, when you're around people, you don't have to constantly over interrupt every single conversation, over talk people, get every single one of your desires and thoughts and ideas expressed. Some of your ideas suck. Some of your ideas are stupid. The Bible says to avoid foolish questions. If someone wants to ask me a stupid question, I'm going to avoid it. I'm not perfect, but if I'm doing what the Bible says, I just would ignore it. I got tons of foolish questions in the last few days. Ignore, delete, nope, block your number. People that have nothing to do with the situation trying to give me advice, it's like, pfft, I could care less what you think. I only care honestly what this says. Period. Go to Proverbs 7-9. A person who quietly obeys not answering again, listening and learning, willing to be correct, this is the obedient person. So we're looking at perfect obedience this morning. What's the perfect obedience? You're compliant, you're doing what they said without answering again, no backbiting and complaining, and you're willing to even take correction. If they say you're doing something wrong, you're like, cool, thanks, awesome. I want to do it that way, now I can do it better. Praise the Lord. Look at Proverbs 9 verse 7. He that reproveth a scorner giveth to himself shame, he that rebuketh a wicked man giveth himself a blot. Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee, rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee. You know, this is an interesting test to decide if someone's wise or wicked. When you rebuke somebody, the wise man will respond well. When you rebuke a wicked person, it will go very poorly. So you can see what's in someone's heart when you rebuke them. Look, if Pastor Anderson rebuked me at Faith Board Baptist Church, I would have been on my knees and I would have been fearing and trembling, okay? Why? Because he's an authority figure in my life, he's trying to correct me, and you know what? If it, obviously it's probably going to be true, I'm going to like that he did it. I'm going to be grateful that he did it. And look, there was times where he did give me correction and I'm so thankful that he did. I love that. And I didn't despise him for it, I love him that he corrected me when I'm wrong. Why would you want to continue being wrong? If you're doing something wrong, you're going to love the guy that's going to help you fix it. Hey, hey, you're doing something wrong here buddy, can you fix it? Thanks. You got your zipper undone. Pull it up. Thanks buddy, I didn't want to look like an idiot the rest of my life, okay? Go if you went to Hebrews chapter 13, the last place I want to have you turn this morning. The Bible says in Ephesians 6, 1, children obey your parents and the Lord for this is right. The Bible says in Ephesians 5, 21, submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God. Now look, any time you have somebody leading or in authority or in charge, no matter what's going on, no matter how old they are, no matter what the situation, you just be subject unto one another. You know, at Faith Word Baptist Church, we had like 11 different soul winning times and there was different men that would lead those times. Look, if I was leading a time, I would expect everybody would be obedient to me at that time. And if I showed up to a soul winning time, I would expect to be completely obedient to whoever is leading it. So it's constantly, you're being subject unto one another and some guy is going to lead some area, be subject to him. The next time it's your turn, he needs to be subject unto you. That's how we should act. That's how we should be. We can't think of ourselves more highly than we ought to think. And look, even when someone's in leadership or authority, I can still submit and subject myself unto you when appropriate, when it's the right situation. I'm not saying in everything. I'm not saying you're going to come up here and tell me what I'm going to preach. That's not going to happen. But obviously in certain situations, the Bible says in Exodus 19 verse 5, now therefore if you will obey my voice indeed and keep my covenant, then shall you be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people for all the earth is mine. Now what I've just taught you, what? Be compliant, be consenting, and be correctable. Are these the attributes of just normal everyday people? I mean, is this just like every single person is just exactly what I described? Or is it kind of almost the opposite, especially in today's culture, in today's workplace. Kids in the public fool system, they got this way mixed up. So when you do this, God says you as a person are a peculiar treasure. You're special. There's something special about a person that's always going to be compliant. There's something special about a person that's always consenting. There's something special about someone that's willing to be corrected. Now obviously if I get bad correction, I'm not going to receive it, okay, if it's not from the King James Bible. But if it's coming from authority, if it's coming from the Bible, you better believe I want to be corrected by it. Look at Hebrews 13 verse 17. Obey them that have the rule over you and submit yourselves, for they watch for your souls as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy and not with grief, for that is unprofitable for you. You know what, if you have a good ruler, he's going to lay down the law, but sometimes laying down the law can be enjoyable, and sometimes it's not. When I get up and I preach a sermon about throwing people out of church, and I'm like, there's no one in my church that's anywhere close to any of this. It's joyous. I like it. I just get to rip hard and I don't have to worry about it. But when the person comes in, rebelling against the word of God, and we have to physically remove them, that's not fun. I don't want to do that. That wouldn't be joyous unto me to have to go through that experience. So what should we do as a church? We should be obedient. And look, I honestly think most of the people in this church are already a peculiar treasure. You're a peculiar treasure unto me. This is not like to fix anything necessarily, but maybe in some area you thought, maybe I can improve a little bit. Maybe there's somewhere I can get a little bit closer. And with a pastor who's not necessarily always going to be present for every single situation, we can do great works for God if everybody decides they just want to be obedient. If everybody wants to decide to submit themselves to one another, we can be a peculiar treasure. We can still do great works for God. The apostle Paul's constantly saying, instructing churches that he's not physically at. He's just trying to help them and guide them and give them leadership and obedience. And if they do what he says, they're going to be blessed. Because he's teaching them the word of God. And look, there's going to be a lot of great preaching from this pulpit that's not from me. And I hope that you wouldn't be a respecter of persons to decide, well, I can't learn anything from so and so because they're not a pastor. I can't learn anything from so and so because they're not an evangelist, because they don't look like Pastor Shelley. You know, who cares? I mean, who cares about any of that? Does the Bible say it? Then you should be just as willing to be corrected and receive the instruction from anybody. It doesn't matter who it is. Now, if a woman gets up here and starts preaching, walk out, okay? You have my, you know, power and authority to just, you know, my opinion is just get up, walk out. Maybe you just rebuke it and it'll fix, but I'm just saying, like, don't hearken to that, all right? Don't hearken to some false prophet. If someone gets up here and starts saying you got to, you know, repent of your sins to be saved, just start screaming at them false prophet, all right? If I do it, it's not any different if I'm doing it, though. If I get up and I start teaching against the Trinity, you know, throw me out, pick me up and throw me out and get rid of me, or never come to my church, are you going to change on the Trinity? No! And if I do, just stone me with stones. Don't come to my church. You say, is that how much you believe the Trinity? Yes. Is that how much you believe the King James Bible? If I get up here, oh, let's read the NIV this morning, not for just an example, okay? I'm saying, like, you know, obviously we can preach against it, but I'm saying, like, this is the word of God, you know, throw a King James Bible at my face, all right? And look, that should be the same for anybody, and you know what's going to protect this church? You knowing the Bible, you being a Berean, you searching those things, but when you come to church, you should be ready to receive instruction, ready to receive the word of God, no matter who it is that preaches to you. And look, this is how cults start, is people get too interested in a man, and you know, there's a lot of people in the Bible that do a lot of wicked things. I've said from this pulpit, like, if you give me something nice, I will never give you anything. You know why? Because I don't want you to have any fondness towards me because of that junk, and you know, false prophets, they will flatter you and tell you how special you are, and I love everything about you, and you're just a great person, all thy matters are good and right, and they'll give you a kiss, like Absalom, and Absalom stole the heart of the people when David was away. If someone comes in here and starts flattering you and buying you gifts, you call me up. That's a bad sign, that's a horrible sign, and you know what, that's how cult leaders do it. They just flatter you and tell you how special you are, and they draw people away after themselves. And look, it's not about Pastor Shelley, it's not about Pastor Steven Anderson, it's not about any other pastor, Pastor Joe Major, it's not about any man, it's about Christ. And if this church is going to be the church that I'm trying to pour my heart out, this is what matters. The words of the Lord are pure words. Let's put all of our faith and all of our confidence on God's word, and if we do that, we'll be obedient. Let's close in prayer. Thank you Father so much for this morning, thank you so much for this great church, for all the people in this room. I pray that you would just greatly anoint and bless the preaching that's coming from this pulpit, that you would greatly bless and anoint all the men in this church that have decided to step up in leadership and have decided to be obedient unto God's word. I pray that we would all have an obedient heart, that wives would submit to their husbands, that children would submit and obey their parents, that every man would decide to be willing to be subject one to another, that we would be serving Christ, that we would be fearing God, that we would not despise thy word, we would not despise thy commandments, but rather we'd love it, and we would appreciate it. And I pray in these times that you would just raise up strong leaders, that you would change our hearts for the better. I pray that you would bless this church and all the future endeavors, and that you would bless the allowance of these people to encourage me to take on even more responsibilities. I pray that your hand would be on it, that your will would be done. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.