Hopewell Baptist Church Napa, CA Sermon Podcast

Below is an excerpt of the sermon...

If you have your Bibles, let’s open them up, please, to the Book of Acts. Acts chapter 16. Thank you so much for your faithfulness. You have brought a wonderful spirit to church today. You get out of church what you put in it. If some of you haven’t smiled since COVID started, I’m sorry. I’m sorry God died, the Bible is not true, the Holy Spirit left us. Hey, God still alive. And you’ve got a lot to smile about, and if there’s no joy on the inside, it’s not God’s fault. But anyway, Acts chapter 16. I’m going to look at several passages here. This is a wonderful, wonderful passage, and God shared this with me this, week and I’m going to share some of the things He gave me.

Where is this on the timeline? It’s 52 A.D. So, the apostle Paul has now been a Christian for 18 years. This is a man that hated Jesus Christ, I mean hated him. Like Adolf Hitler hated him, hated him. Like Osama Bin Laden hated America. There was hatred welled up inside of the apostle Paul before he got saved. They called him Saul of Tarsus. He arrested Christians. He tortured them until they blasphemed Jesus’ name. He cast him into prison. Very, very cruel man. But it’s amazing God never gives up on anybody. And there he is traveling to Damascus with arrest warrants in his hand to kill more Christians, and a light shines down from Heaven. And God says, “Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?” God never gives up on anybody, as long as they’re breathing, there’s hope for you. And soon we hear him say, “Who art thou, Lord?” “What wilt thou have me to do?” And he got saved. We call it the Damascus Road experience. He gave his heart to Christ. God’s got a big eraser, and God started using him. He begins preaching the Bible, and God said this, “There will be a lot of things you’ll suffer. You hurt my people a lot, you reap what you sow.” He said, “Paul, you’re going to suffer a lot.” And he did.

In this passage, he ends up in jail for preaching the Bible. Let’s notice quickly. If you have a Bible. If not, I’ll just read it. If you can just kind of hang on for a few moments. But here it is in Acts chapter 16. It says, Acts 16:1 “Then came he to Derbe and Lystra: and, behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timotheus, the son of a certain woman, which was a Jewess, and believed; but his father was a Greek:” So, Timothy’s father was not a Christian. His mother was. She was a Jew, his dad was a Greek. They didn’t believe the same.

And then we see Acts 16:9 “And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us.” So, Paul sees this vision at night. About the only time I ever have visions is after a pepperoni pizza about 1:00 AM, and I started having visions and things like that. But he had this vision of someone saying, “Come over to our country and help us.” By the way, there are cities all around us saying, “Come over and help us.” Uh there’s families all over. They’re not doing this, but in their hearts they’re saying, “Come over and help us.” There’s teenagers saying, “Come over and help us.” I’m glad that Paul obeyed the heavenly vision and said, “I’m going to go bring some help.” And that’s been the purpose of this church all these years—to answer that Macedonian cry and say, “Help us on the way.” That’s what we’re here for. And so, then we see he preaches in Macedonia. Acts 16:14, “And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul.” And it says “and when she was baptized, and her household…” So, the first European convert was a woman. You can basically say she was at the washateria. She’s washing clothes at the river. Paul steps up, has a little sermon for the ladies there, and ends up giving her the good news. She said, “I’d like to receive Jesus.” She got saved, got baptized right there, and all her kids got baptized, too.

So, everywhere Paul is going, he’s just bragging about Jesus Christ. Lives are being changed. Either there’s revival or a riot. Either people got glad and heard the good news, or they got mad when they heard the good news. So, that’s what happened. And then we see this last episode, and here’s the message. We see in Acts16:20-21 “And brought them to the magistrates, saying, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city, [21] And teach customs, which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans. [22] And the multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them.” Hey fellas, you want to be in the ministry? Here it is. “They rent off their clothes and commanded to beat them. [23] And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely: [24] Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks.

And at midnight Paul called his lawyer. He was a victim of crime. No. Acts 16:25. “And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.” You know, this guy just had something I don’t know if I have. He has beaten but innocent. He’s bleeding. He’s in stocks. He thinks he’s going to be killed for his faith, and he’s singing. I wonder if he was singing, “I’m so glad I have a Bible.” I don’t know what he was singing. Look at this. He had something. “…and the prisoners heard them [26] And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed.”

So the jailer, he heard Paul and Silas singing and praying, but he didn’t want to get saved yet. Not until God picked up the prison and shook it. You know, sometimes God has to get a person’s attention before they ever become a Christian. He’s got to shake things up. Sometimes it’s a death. Sometimes it’s a broken marriage. Sometimes it’s a wayward child. Sometimes it’s an arrest. Sometimes it’s a bankruptcy. Sometimes it’s a doctor’s phone call. Sometimes, it’s a medical exam. And all of a sudden God’s got our attention. You ever been there?

Below is an excerpt from the sermon...

Mark 4, looking down in verses 18 and 19. And these verses are talking about the seeds which are sown among thorns. Mark 4:18 “And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word.” So, they’ve heard it just like we have. How come it didn’t bear fruit? Here it is. Mark 4:19 “And the cares of this world…” So that would be worry, pressure, anxiety, having a full plate. Second: “…and the deceitfulness of riches…” What’s the deceitfulness of riches? It gives false security. Somehow, if we have a lot, we feel like everything’s okay. And and sometimes people can have a lot and things aren’t okay. So, it’s this false security: “I don’t need the Lord”. When’s the last time someone won the lottery and came to our church and said, “I just want to get saved”? “I just won the lottery and things are falling apart.” It’s not usually that way. You won the lottery, it’s, “Sayonara!” We will never see you again. But Mark 4:19: “…the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lust of other things entering in…” And notice the result of these things. “…choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.”

So, let’s pray. Father, bless this brief time we have. Help us to get through this material and maybe taking notes, people could just write down, “Do this.” Maybe it’ll just be one or two things they need to say, “If we did this, it would take some pressure off of us,” whether they’re teenagers just starting out their life of debt or while they’re young adults, they’re just in some debt or other people in a lot of debt. I pray that You would show us Your principles to help us to relieve a lot of pressure. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Let’s find out: Who’s ever been at a restaurant or some place, and someone was eating and began to choke, and then someone had to do that famous maneuver—get behind them, put their arms around them, and pull up? It’s called the Heimlich maneuver. Anyone ever see someone do that? Not practice but in real life—anybody ever seen that? Alright, several, of you have. They had a kid at youth conference years ago, and they were having some stuff-your-mouth contest. I don’t know what they were eating—the ostrich egg or balut or whatever that is, that unborn chicken from the Philippines. You’ll never get me to do that, not for a million dollars, I won’t do it. Two million, I won’t do it. Three million, I won’t do it. I’m not eating a raw chicken, I’m not doing that. And so anyway, this kid was trying to win the contest, and pretty soon he started turning blue. He stopped chewing, and he’s just sitting there. He was choking, and someone said the kid’s choking, and this girl out of the audience ran up on the platform. It’s on the Internet, and the world is watching. She comes up, gets behind him, and pow! And then he wasn’t choking anymore. They fell in love and they got married. And so…no, I don’t know how it turned out, but that was the Heimlich. So, sometimes what God does is He sees that we’re choking because of finances, and He takes the Word of God, His truth, and somehow, as we understand it, the Holy Spirit invisibly comes around and helps us so we can bear fruit. What a weird comparison. Okay.

And so the question in the notes tonight is, “Are we choked?” We’re not choked physical. We’re not turning blue, but emotionally, are we turning blue? Spiritually, are we turning blue? Here’s a statistic (and probably you can find different ones). They say the average family in America is $38,000 in debt. And that’s not counting their house payment. So, if they’re paying for a house or rent, that’s not including that. It’s just the average. Average credit card bill is $5,000. So, if you’re under $5,000, you’re doing good. If you’re under $38,000, oh wow, good job. And so, just several, several areas here to give you quickly, Biblical areas of wealth. It’s going to pop up on the screen here, and we’ll just kind of comment.

First of all, it starts off with earning. Each of us needs to be earning, whether it’s a retirement check coming in, you have earned that. Whether it’s Social Security check you’re getting because you’re a little bit older, you have earned that. Maybe you have invested money and you’re getting a return regularly, you’ve earned that. So, earnings. Here’s what Scripture says under that. I think it’s several verses, but here’s one. Deuteronomy 8:18 “But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day.” Notice it says it is God Who gives us power to get wealth. So, about the time we think, well look what I did, but it was God. One man says, “I earned all this money with my own two hands.” One guy said, “Where’d you get your hands?”

And then there’s another verse here on earning. Next one. Here it is. 2 Thessalonians 3:10 “For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.” Now if America took that Scripture, we would not have as much debt as we have right now. America has the wrong philosophy. If someone is a human, the country has to feed them. And that’s our philosophy here. God says if they don’t work, they don’t eat. If people get hungry enough, they’ll work. They’ll do something to earn a meal. They will do that. It is not our responsibility to feed the lazy. By the way (you do what you want to do), I’ve seen people with a little work-for-food sign, and I understand sometimes it’s mental illness. Sometimes they’ve gotten off their medication. Sometimes it’s an addiction. Sometimes it’s alcohol. But I don’t want to give to someone and watch them take my money, and go into 711 by a beer with it. Might as well just take them to the bar and buy him a beer at the bar. And so, you want to be wise. And I know some of you bring food and things to the homeless, and that’s and that’s wonderful. But here’s what He says. If they don’t eat work they shouldn’t eat.

One last one: Proverbs 10:22 “The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, And he addeth no sorrow with it.” There’s two types of richest. There’s riches with sorrow. That’s what the movie stars have. That’s what some of these basketball players making $29 million dollars a year have. They got the riches, but they got a lot of sorrow with it. And God says it’s not wrong to have things and to have wealth, but He wants it to be obtained properly so that sorrows don’t come with it, you see?

Below is an excerpt from the sermon...

Let’s open our Bibles for a moment to the book of Acts. The Book of Acts chapter number 13 tonight. And it may sound unusual. We have mentioned this morning that we would talk about the man who finished strong (This will be our last message, I believe on this subject), and it’s David. But we’re looking at the book of Acts of all things. Acts 13, and a key character trait of his is mentioned in this passage here. Acts chapter 13, and we’ll be looking at the message tonight. Sometimes a message, most messages ought to have 3 to 5 points. And that’s what we always tell the preachers when they’re preparing sermons—three to 5=five points. Don’t be like that guy crawling under a barbed wire fence: “Just a few more points and I’ll be through.” You know, it’s not like a porcupine sermon, lots of points. Most ought to have a few. Tonight, there’ll be a lot, but they’re brief because we’re not going to spend a whole month on the life of David. So, if you feel like, boy, Pastor’s got a lot of points and they’re not related, there’ll be something that will be pointed towards you in your life. And so, what a wonderful life.

Look at this in Acts 13. And let’s look down please in Acts 13:22. And it says, “And when he had removed him…” He’s talking about King Saul. “…he raised up unto them David…” Notice that phrase “he raised him up.” And that’s what leadership is. Anytime God sees someone with a heart that’s right, He reaches down to where we are and raises us up so others look to us for leadership. “He raised him up.” And that phrase is used a lot in the bible. “He raised him up.” And some of you, even at work, you’ve got unsaved people that come to you and ask your advice. You say, “Well why are you asking my advice?” Because God has raised you up. Sometimes you go through a trial and people know about it. So, God has raised you up, and now people are looking to you to see what kind of God you serve. And here’s what the Lord did for David, and it says he raised him up. Obviously, he was a shepherd. He becomes the king thirteen years later. You know, those are not the proper steps. Right now, almost every president except one, they’ve been in politics their whole life. And then it was just kind of the next step to be the president. But can you imagine someone holding a homeless sign on the street corner, and then thirteen years later, there’s the president. It just doesn’t usually work that way. David the shepherd, but now he’s the king.

So, it says, “…he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David…” So, I guess God was looking for him, huh? If God found him, He had to be looking for him. And God is still looking for people today. He’s looking for people to use. He’s looking for people to bless. He’s looking for people to lead. He’s looking for people that He can use as an instrument. “…I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will.” That phrase is mentioned about one person in the whole Bible. It’s David, a man after My own heart. We would put it this way: you feel about things the same way I do. I found someone that finally feels how I do about this. And that’s what David was, the man after God’s own heart.

He’s a man that finished strong. David had his ups and downs. I wish he didn’t have any negatives in his life, but if you were to color David’s life would be like a checkerboard. If you’ve ever played Checkers or Chess, there’s light spaces and dark spaces. When David was good, he was real good. When David was bad, he was real bad. And there was no in-between. But somehow God blended it together. Isn’t it something how God averages grades. Ever noticed? I remember I had a professor when I was backsliding in my heart attending LSU. Never should have gone there, Lucifer State University. I went there one semester because I had a scholarship. Long story. And I had a scholarship to LSU, and it was academic. But when I was there, the professor said, “We’ll have five major tests in this class.” Each test was three hours long. I mean it was quite—I mean we finished the textbook. He said, “I’ll throw out the worst test. “He said, “We’ll average it all together.” That’s how God does. You know, you have ten great years of service and you have one summer when you don’t do much. God doesn’t throw it all down the drain. God says I have seen all your service, we’re going to average this thing together. And God is so merciful. There’s so much material on the life of David in Scripture. There’s 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, the book of Psalms, and some places in Acts where he’s quoted.

And get this about David: When Jesus was on Earth, they called Him the son of David. “Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me.” When they referred to Jesus ofttimes, they referred way back to His lineage to David. What a blessing. They were both born in the same city, Bethlehem. They grew up in the same town. What a guy. The only one called the man after God’s own heart. Why so much material about him? Maybe God wanted us to examine what a heart for God looks like because he wants more than one person to have that heart.

David went through many tragedies. He had a child that died under age two. It was a boy. We don’t even know his name. He had a son that rebelled against him. In fact, he wanted to kill his own father. David had a son that was killed in battle. David had a son that was a murderer. David had a daughter who was abused. David had a wife… we would describe her as cantankerous. And that’s a Hebrew word. I think it means cantankerous. He was persecuted by his siblings. He had his brothers who did not believe in him. So much of David’s life looks a lot like Jesus’ life. He fled the palace. They wanted to kill him. He was publicly cursed in front of a large crowd. His best friend was killed in the military. The king he served was killed. His preacher, Samuel, was killed. David had a tough time, a lot of loss. Yet at the end of his life in 2 Samuel 23, here’s how God described him, “the sweet psalmist of Israel.” He went through all the negatives and ended up sweet. He had all the bitter events, but when he finished, God said he was the sweet. Still had a song in his heart. Was a sweet man.

Below is an excerpt of the sermon...

If you have your Bibles, let’s open them, please, to the book of Philippians this morning. Philippians. We’re going to look at a few Scriptures here, and if the pastor cuts up a little bit too much, it’s because I haven’t been out much and sometimes my wife won’t let me out of the house, and so I don’t get out much. And so, sometimes it’s a little bit crazy. Philippians, a little of the background… We’ll do a little teaching on this book and then will bring the message.

And by the way, it is good to have some bus riders back. It’s good to have our buses back. And we have missed you. And we’ve got a great crowd of teenagers here on the property today, and I appreciate them as well. It’s so exciting. I had two teenagers fist bump me (You know, you can’t shake hands. It’s illegal), but they said, “Pastor, it’s good to be back. And I’m so glad that you’re back today.

Philippians. Let’s look at it just for a moment. You may remain seated because we’ll kind of skip around some. But here’s the background Philippians. The city is named after Philip, one of the political leaders there in the area of Greece and Rome and all these places at the time of Paul. So here it is. This church actually started in a jail cell. The apostle Paul, him and one of his coworkers, Silas, they ended up witnessing into a young lady, and she accepted Christ, and the area did not like that. Her life was changed. So, the Bible says they stripped them—the two preachers—and commenced beating their backs. And then they chained them, and they put them in—thrust them in—the lower part of the prison. So now they are beaten, they’re bleeding. They’re humiliated. They’re now chained in the bottom of the prison. And guess what they did at midnight? I know what I’ve been doing, calling my lawyer. I’d have been blogging or texting or on Instagram, posting this on my Instagram: “Look what they did to me.” No, it’s not what they did. They sang and praises to God at midnight. How come? Because Paul and Silas had something on the inside that others didn’t have. They had Jesus Christ as their Savior. And though they were beaten, they didn’t beat the joy out of them and they didn’t beat the salvation out of them. And at midnight God shook that prison cell. The doors busted open. The jailer comes in and says, “What must I do to be saved?” Where had he heard that word? He had heard it probably when Paul and Silas preached. He’d probably heard it as they sang all night long in prison. In other words, he wanted what they had. By the way, if you’re a Christian living the way you ought to, someone wants what you have. They may not say it, but they’re observing and they’re watching and they’re waiting for you to slip up because you’re different than them. And a church was established, the jailer got saved. His whole family accepted the Lord. Paul got them up out of bed, he baptized them all in the river that night. That started the church at Philippi.

Now, at the point we are now, Paul is back in jail again. He just couldn’t get off probation, folks. But he was in jail for preaching because it was illegal. He was saying, “Jesus is the king,” and others said, no, no, no, no, “Caesar is the king.” You couldn’t say anyone was king but Caesar. So now he’s in jail again, and guess what he’s doing? He’s writing a book of the Bible called Philippians back to that church at Philippi. They should have been writing him, he is writing them. And the theme of the book is “Cheer up.” Most people from prison don’t write you and say you need to cheer up. And this is Paul, a supernatural thing.

Notice some of the highlights, if you have it. If not, if you don’t have a Bible, just kind of listen or look up here. Notice he says, Phil. 1:1 “Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ…” He said, I’m just a servant. Phil. 1:3, “I thank my God upon every remembrance of you…” He is imprisoned, but he’s still thankful. And then we see in verse Phil. 1:10 “That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence…” Paul said, I’m in prison, I’m innocent, but it didn’t offend me. I’m still serving the Lord. Then he goes a little further in Phil. 1:12, the last phrase, he said, this: “the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel.” Paul is saying, because we’re in jail, somebody’s going to get saved. He said, the Gospel is going to be furthered because of this. And then you see the times he mentions Jesus.

There are four words that are mentioned a lot in the book of Philippians. Here they are: Gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ’s death, burial, resurrection. Then also the word Christ. It’s another name for Jesus. So, the Gospel is mentioned. Paul mentions in a lot. He mentions Christ a lot. Then he mentions the word “joy” a lot. He’s in prison again. He’s chained. He’s saying, “Boy, there’s so much joy in my heart.” And you need to have joy. Then he mentions the word “mind” a lot. That’s the four key words that keep get mentioned in Philippians: “Christ,” the good news, the “gospel,” “joy,” your “mind,” and that’s what he is talking about. You say, “Pastor, I’d be cracked up if I was thrown in jail for preaching the gospel.” And then we see the word “Christ” is mentioned in verse Phil. 1:15, 16, 18, 20, 21. Paul says “For me to live is Christ, and to die, is gain.” Paul said, if they kill me, I’m just going to Heaven. What an outlook! He said, it’s a win-win situation. “I’m in prison, I’m always thinking about Jesus. If they chop my head off, I’ll be seeing Jesus.” Wow!

Below is an excerpt from the sermon...

We are going to be continuing the series on Psalms that Pastor is in. I’m excited about tonight and looking at this psalm—Psalm 134. This is the second shortest psalm in the entire Bible. Does anyone know the shortest one? You can shout it out. 117, there you go. Okay, so this one is only three verses long, but it is a very powerful chapter and I’m excited to dive in here with you.

If you would, if you’re able, let’s all stand together and we’ll read this short psalm and we’re going to read it together out loud in unison. Psalms 134:1. Let’s begin: Behold, bless ye the Lord, all ye servants of the Lord, Which by night stand in the house of the Lord. [2] Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, And bless the Lord. [3] The Lord that made heaven and earth Bless thee out of Zion.

So, it’s very easy to miss what’s going on here because it’s not talked about a whole lot in the Bible. So, 1 Chronicles 9:33 mentions this. It talks about certain Levite priests who remained in the temple and were employed there night and day. Okay. You read all of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy—all the places that mentioned the Law and the regulations of the Levites and everything they did. Absolutely all of it talked about what they did in the daytime. There’s not a single verse you’ll find that really that talks about what they did on the night shift. This psalm is addressed to the night shift workers in the temple.

Okay, so what’s this thing about the night shift? We’re going to talk about it in just a second. I’ll pray and let you be seated. If they’re not offering sacrifices and they’re not ministering to people during the night, then what in the world are they doing? And why is it not highlighted more in Scripture? Why don’t we know more about this? And what does the night shift mean for us today? Once we understand what this is, it will become clear why the night shift in our life is vital. The night shift is your service to God that no one ever sees. And there’s some lessons for us to learn here tonight.

Let’s pray and dedicate this to the Lord. Father, I pray that you would take this sermon, Lord, as an offering to You. help me to do my best, Lord. To offer it as to the Lord. I pray that You would speak to us through this wonderful chapter here, and let us see through the lens of a New Testament priest. Help us to understand what it means for us, Lord, and help us to walk out different. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen. Thank you for standing. You may be seated.

So, the term “night shift” or “graveyard shift,”—when I mentioned that, it’s almost like a trigger word if you’ve ever worked the night shift. It brings up some bad memories. Okay? Starting work from say 10 o’clock or midnight and then ending at 6:00 in the morning or 8:00 a.m. So, by the show of hands, has anyone worked the night shift before? You’ve worked the graveyard shift? Okay. You’ve, you’ve survived. And let me ask this: given the choice and assuming that the pay is the same, would anyone actually prefer the night shift to the day shift? There’s always one. Allen ,one in the back. Oh, no. Okay. So, I guess I can’t say what is in my notes. It says, “No sane person likes the night shift.” Okay. Sorry. You know, I have to stick to the script here.

So, many companies even give what’s called a shift differential to night shift workers because it’s less desirable than the day shift. Bosses have to bribe their employees to sign up for the night shift. Okay, with me? All right.

What did the night shift workers, the temple priests do? We have a couple ideas from Scripture and then some we just know from tradition, but some of them that we know for sure They had to keep the lampstand lit. That’s 1 Samuel 3:3 and other places. They had to keep the sacrifices burning. There was a certain sacrifice that they had to keep burning continually. They had to guard the gates. Right? I mean, there was a lot of gold in the temple. If you if you read through Exodus and Solomon’s plans. They didn’t want people looting the temple at night, They didn’t have Bay Alarm set up. And so, they had to have human beings stationed at the entrance. They had to sing praises to God. They meditated on God’s Word. David talks about looking forward to the night watch is so he could meditate on God’s Word. He says, I believe it’s is in Psalm 64. He says, my soul thirstiest for thee and I’m so looking forward to the night watch so that I can meditate on God’s Word. And then, according to some Jewish tradition, the priests also bathed and washed their garments for the next day. So, it was prep time for the next day.

Okay. Notice that none of these duties that I that I just mentioned are performed in front of people. It is not a public ministry, but the night shift covered a third of the day. And this is the part in the priest’s life and ministry where it wasn’t between them and people taking the sacrifices and doing the rituals and everything. It was between them and God. Only God saw what was done on the night shift.

Okay, I don’t know if you’ve ever been there, but for me if I had to get, say, baby Tylenol at 2:00 o’clock in the morning, there’s only a couple little grocery stores that are open. And if you’ve gone to a grocery store at the wee hours of the morning, it looks a lot different than the daytime. What you will find: there’s boxes everywhere, the people that are on the night shift are not concerned about the customers at all. All the lanes are closed, and there’s one lane that’s kind of blinking and you have to stand there for 15 or 20 minutes to get someone’s attention. What are they doing? A lot of it is they’re restocking the shelves and doing inventory, taking stock of what they have to get ready for the next day. Imagine if they shut down the night shift for a day, maybe you wouldn’t notice too much. But you shut it down for a week and no one has stocked the shelves for an entire week, you’re going to notice. And more and more, I mean, until the shelves are absolutely empty. You’re going to figure out eventually that the night shift is very important. But they are the people that you don’t see, right? And usually, they don’t get the credit. They’re not the ones that the bosses are giving promotions to because they’re not seeing them. Okay? The night shift is less desirable. Not often seen but essential. It is that the night shift. The duty done on the night shift is essential for the day shift to work.

Below is an excerpt of the sermon...

Let’s open our Bibles, if you would please, to the book of a 2 Timothy 4. And we’ll look down in a passage here, and we’ve been talking about great finishers, people who finish strong. And so, we have another character tonight. It’ll be this week and then I think we finish up next week on one other character.

I don’t know if you’re like me, I like to be around finishers. There’re too many quitters. People start and they quit, they start and they quit, they start and they quit. Quitters never build anything, quitters never get the prize, they never get the gold medal, they never get the Super Bowl ring. You gotta finish. And it’s just so easy to quit. So much discouragement. But you want to be a finisher.

I got this wonderful text last week on Easter from one of our members that moved many years ago to Tennessee. He’s a scientist, he’s an inventor, and his name’s Lou Jones. Some of you remember Brother Jones, Lou jones. He sent me a text Saturday. He said, “We’re gathering (you know, three hours difference) We’re gathering a whole bunch of people in our living room, full of unsaved friends and coworkers to watch the Easter Sunday sermon. And so, he texted me after church last week. He said, “We have a 72-inch television.” I said, “Is that all?” And so, he texted me and said, “We had two saved in our living room last Sunday watching the Napa Easter service.” So I was really excited about that. So if you’re listening tonight, Lou, great job! Well, it’s probably 10:30 your time or whatever time, but great job.

2 Timothy. Let’s look down for a moment in chapter 4. We taught some of this in our adult class this morning, and so, if you’re listening online, this will be a little repetitious. But these are the last words of the apostle Paul. He is writing to Timothy, his son in the ministry, Paul realizes he calls himself Paul the aged. Not only is he getting older, but his life is at stake. He’s in a Roman prison, he has already seen Stephen stoned, John, the Baptist has been killed, Jesus was crucified and then Paul has brought many Christians to prison himself. So, he knows that the guillotine, if you will, is being sharpened. The executioner’s axe is being sharpened. He has little time left. And so, these are his last words.

So, 2 Timothy 4. Let’s just read some of this. If you would, 2 Timothy 4:1 (he is speaking to Timothy. These were his last words) “I charge thee therefore…” And that word “charge” means right before they’re heading out to battle. It’s the last words. It’s the drill sergeant saying some last words. It’s the coach right before the Super Bowl starts. Right now. Here’s the words. It’s that parent saying to their child heading off to college about to catch a plane—that one last statement to tell you. So, here’s Paul in 2 Timothy 4:1–3: “I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; 2. Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. 3. For the time will come [in 2021!] when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;”

I had compliment from one of our new men today from the Baxters, him and his family. They’re a sweet, sweet family, three kids. He was heading to the car, I said, “We’re going to have you all over in about two weeks. My wife’s been a little sick, nut we’re gonna have you all over to the house.” He said, “Pastor, (and they’ve been coming almost a year. Got saved at their house passed) the reason we come is because we hear the Word of God preached.” He said, “It wasn’t like that in the churches we were raised in, but we love to hear this Book preached, and that’s why we come.” I said, “Wow, I like that a lot.”

And then Paul says a little further in 2 Timothy 4:5, “But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions…” It’s gonna be some tough days. And folks, I just want to make this public statement. We don’t know where it’s all going, this political scene right now. I’m not going to be the gloom and doom prophet and be constantly saying it’s bad, it’s bad. You can watch the news and get depressed. You come to church to be encouraged, but we don’t know where it’s all going to go. But why should we think we ought to live on easy street as Christians when our forefathers were beheaded, there were jailed for what they said and what they preached and they were ridiculed. It may come one day when the Christians are the minute minority here and are persecuted. I don’t know. I don’t know where it’s all going to go. But if so, endure hardness, endure hardness. So that’s those church people, they must believe this, and they put us all in one lump sum. If you’re a Christian, you must have voted this way. You must believe this about the vaccine. You believe this about the math, and it’s this whole ball of wax. It’s a strange day.

So, Paul says, “Timothy, hey endure afflictions.” And then Paul says—this is his final words—2 Timothy 4:6: “For I am now ready to be offered…” He says, I’m like a sacrifice, I’m ready to crawl upon the altar. He said, I’m ready. This is it. And then he says, “…and the time of my departure is at hand.” You study that word out. It refers to pulling up the stakes.

Below is an excerpt of the sermon...

If you have your Bibles, open them pleas to the book of Matthew in the New Testament. Matthew Chapter 6. Here’s the introduction to the message. Here it is. If by listening today I could guarantee you would have $50 more to spend in your lifetime and a lot of treasures up in Heaven on top of that, would you listen? Some of you might say, Make it $100 and I will. All right, wow, good. And then I was thinking for a moment, would I rather make you smile for 15 minutes in church today or have you smile for all eternity? And so, that’s what we’re going to shoot for. Some of this will be a little bit teachy today, and so I hope you’ll just kind of take the whole message. And the title of the message today is, “Where is Your Wealth?” And some little kids right now we’re saying, I know right where it is, right there in my piggy bank. I know right where it is. And other adults are here saying it’s in a sock in the drawer, and that’s where it is.

We’re right here in Matthew Chapter 6. You may remain seated. I’m going to turn to just a few different verses today. This is called the Sermon on the Mount. It is Jesus gathering his disciples, they’re about to launch out the church and get this church going. So He’s giving a speech if you will, a manifesto, a foundation, saying now all these things in our lives are what’s going to build this church and reach the world. So, it’s very important everything He says.

So right here in the middle of his message to the saved people, here’s what he says in Matthew 6… and looking down into Matthew 6:19–21: “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 20. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 21. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

Matthew 6:24: “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” The word Mammon simply translates “that in which one trusts.” So, God says, if there’s anything you put your trust in beside Me, he says, that’s not going to make it. Some people translate it, “You cannot serve God and money.” Sooner or later, there’s got to be a choice.

Then he says in Matthew 6:25 “Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?” Raiment is clothing. He’s saying life is more than just eating and clothes. Eating, clothes, and cell phones… He said life is more than that. And then verse 33 kind of summarize this, He says, Matthew 6:33 “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” So, kind of in a nutshell, God says, if you spend your life seeking things (and nothing is wrong with things. Parents that love their kids give them clothing and give them shelter and give them things. God says, if you get close to me, I’ll give you things.) But he said, if all you seek is things, that’s all you get. But if you seek God, you get God and the things, that’s how He does it.

And then there’s one more passage, I’m going to read part of it. If you want to turn to it, you can. Maybe next week we’ll start shooting some verses on the screen. But 1 Timothy 6, toward the end of the New Testament. In 1 Timothy, Paul is warning his preacher boy that he’s going to be taking over. He warns him of different traps. He warns him of pride, he warns him of certain people, and then he warns him of this thing of wealth. Notice, he says in 1 Timothy 6. If you don’t have it, that’s fine. And he says in 1 Timothy 6:6 “But godliness with contentment is great gain.”

So, you can put it in a math equation. Godliness (or being a godly Christian) plus contentment equals great gain. Or you’re rich. If your godly, it makes you content; and when your content, you’re rich. There’s two ways to be rich. One, have enough money to buy everything you want. Most of you do not fall into that category. Or, want everything you can afford to buy. Okay, moving right along…that went over my head too. 1 Timothy 6:6–9 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. 8. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. 9. But they that will be rich…” It’s not saying people who are rich, but those, who their whole goal in life is to be rich. It says, “…1 Timothy 6:9–10 “But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. 10. For the love of money is the root of all evil…” Or, you could say all kinds of evil” pornography, smoking alcohol, illegal drugs, abortion racketeering, all sorts of things. Money is at the bottom of that.  1 Timothy 6:10 “…which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” That’s what he talks about there.

Let’s have a prayer, and we’re just going to jump right into the message. Okay. Father, thank you for the Word of God. I guess there’s nothing really that brings stress into a marriage any more than children or finances. I guess in homes across America, there’s been a lot of arguing this year because of finances or a lack of it. So, I pray that you would help us. Help us learn something. Help us be reminded of something we already know, and help that person who’s having a pity party. I don’t have anything. Help them to recognize the richest they already have in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Below is an excerpt of the sermon...

If you have your Bibles, let’s look at Psalm 66, if you will. And we’ll be in the book of Psalms for maybe four more weeks. Four, maybe five weeks. We’re just hitting some of the highlights Psalms that I think are just so meaty and have so many practical lessons for us. The book of Psalms, of course, is written by several different authors. We think of Psalms as written by David. He did write probably 100 psalms or so. And then you think of Moses. He wrote some. A fellow by the name of Asaph. A fellow by the name of Heman. That’s what my wife calls me sometimes. No, I’m kidding. But this psalm we do not know who the author was. It doesn’t really matter who wrote this psalm. We just know it’s God’s Word. Some, some of the books of the Bible, we’re not sure exactly who wrote them. The authors are kind of up in the air who it could have been, but we know it’s God’s preserved Word.

And so, we’re going to pray and look at this. And the theme of this chapter is this: Trusted with a Trial. Trusted with a Trial. Now, you know, what a major and a minor trial is. You know, the difference: if it’s a major trial, it’s what I’m going through, if it’s a minor trial it’s what you’re going through. And sometimes that’s how we see things. So, that’s the theme of this chapter: Trusted with a trial. Let’s pray. Father, bless this time. Open our hearts help us to learn something more about You and more about ourselves in Jesus name, Amen.

Notice here, how it starts off. He starts off saying in Psalm 66:1 “Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands:” The theme of Psalms is praise, and the word praise… We don’t we don’t use it a lot, we use the words “brag on.” So, that would be our word. We don’t go around the house saying, “Praise daddy. He has a job, Praise dad, he’s a hard worker.” We don’t say, “Praise mother for this wonderful meal. Praise her.” And sometimes we’ll use the words “praise God.” But, really it just means to brag on specifically. Specifically.

Notice here He starts off and says, “Make a joyful noise unto God.” Why is that verse in the Bible? That’s for people who can’t sing very well. So, where He says singing to the Lord, some people can sing, some people just kind of make a joyful noise. I remember one man was in the choir years ago and he said, “Pastor, some people think I can’t sing.” And I think he kind of wanted me to defend him. It was like, he’d find one note—"Great is Thy faithfulness. Oh God, our Father…” And he sang bass. You know, it’s just that same note. I mean he found a note and stuck with it. So, some people can sing and thank God if you’ve got a gift and you can hit those notes, and people love it when you sing. And then thank God for those who make a joyful noise. And so when we’re in the pew and everyone’s singing, if you’re not a great singer, you’re still supposed to make some noise. You can go to a ball game. My wife and I got to see some of the the championship the other night where Baylor, the Baptist university beat Gonzaga. But anyway, on the screen it said, “Make some noise!” So here we are. Here’s fans and they’re telling them to make some noise. You know, there ought to be noise in the house of God because it’s an exciting place. You go to a bar, there’s noise. You go to a rock concert, there’s noise. You go to a funeral, it’s dead. Go to a doctor’s office, quiet. But when God’s children are together, there will be some noise. There will be some singing. There will be some fellowship after church after church. Sunday morning, people were in the auditorium. Just talk, talk, talk, talk talk. They were in the lobbies, talk, talk, talk, talk talk. They were under the porch, talk, talk, talk, talk, talk. And that’s how it ought to be.

So, He says, singing to the Lord. He said, “Make a joyful noise, all ye lands…” Singing for the honor of his namesake.  Now, what do we have to sing about? The Bible says in Psalm 40, we’re not going to look at all the references. It says “He has put a new song in my mouth.” And what is that new song? Well, what was the old song? Think? Think for a moment. Think of the unsaved world that we have. For most people, what is their music? What is the song about? It’s all about them. Me, my broken heart, what I’ve gone through. It’s all centered around me. But when we get saved, our song is all centered around him. It says, “He has put a new song in my heart.” And if it’s in the heart is going to come out of the mouth, and many shall see it. And what is that song? Praise unto my God. Praise—bragging on God. So that’s the difference. And so, that’s what he’s talking about there.

So, sin stops the song. If you’ve ever gone to church camp and you’ve gone with the teenagers, on the way there is just kind of normal and some have good attitudes and some don’t. But all the way there three hours is: If we are stopping eating McDonald’s, “I hate McDonalds. How come we can’t stop at Burger King?” And it’s like that? Well, “Because there’s no Burger King here.” And then they go, “I need a bathroom, I’m thirsty. So and so is touching my stuff.” It’s whining, griping. It’s these attitudes. But when you come home from camp, some kids have gotten some hearts right and some things between them and the Lord are right. You can’t shut him up. They’re singing all the way home. They’re singing this song and that song. How come? Because sin stops the song.

Below is an excerpt of the sermon...

First Corinthians 13 is the love chapter. Hebrews 11, the Faith Chapter. First Corinthians 15 is the Resurrection chapter.

Look down, if you will, for a moment in 1 Corinthians 15. And notice Paul is writing this great church at Corinth, located just right outside of Athens, Greece. I went to this church one time a long, long time ago. No one shook my hand. No one greeted me. Why? It's just ruins. It's just it's you know, it's just part of a building there. And that's why. But 1 Corinthians 15:1 “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;” The gospel is the death, burial, resurrection of Christ.

He said not only did you hear it, but you received it. And that's why you're here tonight. Not only you have heard it and maybe that's why you're listening tonight. Not only you heard the Gospel, but you received it. “And they said and wherein you stand by, which also you're saved.” He said, when we receive the Gospel, there's a word that describes us. We are “saved.” And then he gives just the very simple definition here in verse three. 1 Cor. 15:3 “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;”

So that's basically, in a nutshell, the Gospel: the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. It's symbolized in baptism. It's symbolized in the words we say when we baptize. “I baptize you in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Buried in the likeness of His death, raised in the likeness of His resurrection.” So here is the Gospel. And then he says verse in 1 Cor. 15:4 “And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: 5. And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:”

And so then he goes into who saw Him after He was resurrected. So, I want to speak on this subject tonight for a few moments. Rounding up the strays, rounding up the strays. Jesus is the Shepherd of our soul. So He's always looking for the lost sheep and then the straying sheep and we’re the sheep of His pasture. And so maybe there'll be something that'll be said tonight that'll be a help.

We're going to pray and jump right in. Father, bless now the reading of Thy Word. Thank You for giving us details so we don't have to wonder about the basics of Your death, why You died, Who You were, that You did rise from the dead. You're coming again. What all that means for us. So, I pray that You would help us, and help us if we're one of the strays, maybe physically, emotionally, spiritually, maybe no one knows it, but we're astray from the Lord. Help us get back into the fold tonight and close to You. In Jesus name, Amen.

All right, here it is. Jesus only appeared after the resurrection to saved individuals. It's interesting. You'll never see in the scripture where He appeared to Pilate. He didn’t appear to Herod. He didn’t appear to the other thief that did not believe (I think he was dead by then). He didn’t appear to all these that marked Him; He didn't chase them down.

He appeared to believers. The only people He appeared to were saved people. It's like that statement we made this morning in church: “No amount of evidence is enough for someone who chooses not to believe the truth.” If they don't want to know the truth, they're never going to see the truth. It's like that old that old story I tell. One of our kids (and they all claim it was the other one)—I came home and I said, “I'll give a dollar to whoever rubs my feet.” I'm outsole when my feet hurt so bad. The kids were young, it started at a nickel and inflation went up to dime. It went up to quarter. Now it's a dollar. Who wants a dollar to rub the man of God's feet?” And one of my kids said, “Can I see the dollar first?” And so I'm thinking, you know, I am good for a dollar. You know, the old man is good for a dollar. And, “Can I see it first?”

And that's how we are sometimes with the Lord. The Lord says, I want to reward you. Here's My words. And we say, “Can I see the dollar first? Can I see how it turns out first?” And so, He tells us so much about the empty tomb. I'm going to rise from the dead. But it seemed like no one believed it because the place all these discouraged disciples should have been was sitting in front of the empty tomb. He set four times…He said in the Gospels, “I'm going to die, be buried and rise from the dead. I'll be delivered to the hands of sinful man. I'll die, be buried. I will rise again.” Then he even said “after three days.” But somehow, they lost hope. Somehow, they got discouraged. Somehow, they didn't believe what He said or didn't listen. Every one of the disciples should have been sitting in front of that empty tomb and seen him personally come out.

You say, Well, Pastor, “Why three days and three nights?” We don't know why. You know, God's got His own timing as to why it was. But He told them it would be three days and three nights. Why 40 years in the wilderness? Why 100 years to build the ark? God's timing is always His timing. They were impatient and they were not there when it happened. No one saw Him come out.

But quickly, here's who He appeared to, and we must hasten. He appeared to the fearful. The Bible says He walked through the door. He appeared in the room of the eleven disciples. He appeared to them. They were fearful.

He appeared to the frustrated on the road to Emmaus. And that's a road we would go down on our Israel trip. It was two of His disciples. They said, “We just can't believe this. And we thought he was the Messiah. We thought he was the son of God. And now he's been crucified. And someone said his body's not there.” There were there were frustrated. He appeared to them.

Below is an excerpt of the sermon...

If you have a Bible, would you please open up just for a moment to the book of Matthew. Matthew Chapter number 28. And we'll look at God's word this morning. A good many people have had vaccines. They feel safer. They're back. The people have waited things out. And it's just like a big reunion today. So thank you. Thank you for being so special. Please be in prayer during the service that God will speak to all of us.

Matthew 28, and I'll read the passage out loud. You may remain seated.

Matthew 28:1-2: “In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. 2. And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.” They estimate the stone weighed one and a half to two tons.

All right. There we go. That's the background. “Rolled it back.” The stone was rolled back, and he set upon it. Matthew 28:3–9: “His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow: 4. And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men. 5. And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. 6. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. 7. And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you. 8. And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word. 9. And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him.” Matt. 28:19–20: “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”

Father, bless now the reading of thy Word. Speak to our hearts. Still us. In Jesus name we ask, Amen.

If you could travel back in time to in a Bible story, which story would you want to travel back to and see in person? I got to thinking a lot this week. I think I would want to travel back and sit in front of the empty tomb for three days just watching. I would want to be there when the stone was rolled back. And when Jesus walked out of that tomb alive, that's the one I think I would want to be at.

Some places are very famous today for who is buried there. For instance, Mount Vernon, George Washington. John Kennedy, Arlington National Cemetery. Westminster Abbey, Winston Churchill. But there's one tomb that is very famous for who is not buried there. And it's a little tomb in Jerusalem. We just call it the empty tomb. We don't have to say anything else about it.

It's empty because He's not there. One country preacher preached on Easter morning. Here's what he said: “I'm preaching this morning on he done got up and went .” Probably he's from Louisiana. Mrs. Brown, who's here today, taught Sunday school at our church for over 45 years. When our kids were in her class, she gave away empty tombs. I said, “You're giving away what?” Every kid gets an empty tomb. I said, “How are you going to do that?” She gave out those little tan colored Cheerios, and each kid got a Cheerio. And They said, “What is this?” She said, “It's an empty tomb. Look, He's not in there.” And I thought, that's a pretty good Sunday school teacher. So today on the way out, you get one Cheerio! And that's what we're going to do.

One little boy was riding home with his daddy. And the dad said, “Son, what did the angel say when he rolled back the stone from the tomb?” The little boy thought and he said, “Tuh duh!” And I think that's probably good, too. Before there was an empty tomb, of course, there had to be a Calvary. Before the positive, there was a negative. Before the glory, there had to be suffering. It all started when Jesus was born in Bethlehem. He left a heavenly city, a perfect city where he was worshiped. He came inside of a human body so he could feel hunger, tears, hurt, temptation, pain, rejection so one day He could look at us and say, I've been there. I know how you feel. At age 30, as a carpenter, He finally announced, “I'm not just a man, I'm God.” And he began healing blinded eyes and crippled legs and feeding the hungry and preaching and changing fishermen and preachers and prostitutes and Sunday school teachers, and transforming lives. He began preaching the word of God, and not everyone believed Him and not everyone liked it.

And of course, the Bible said they crucified Him. They spit upon Him. They plucked His beard, nailed nails in His hands and feet. They plucked His beard out, nailed the crown into His head and whipped His back. 361 lashes with a Roman cat-of-nine tails. He carried the cross up to the hill as they nailed His hands and feet. They stabbed Him in the side with a spear there on an old rugged cross.

Two thousand years ago, God did a miracle. He took the sins of the world past, present, future, even ours. Though we weren't born yet, he took all the hell we deserve for our sins and put all of that judgment on Jesus. Six hours He felt the fires of Hell for every one of us. And at the end He said, “It is finished.” He paid the payment for every person. His blood was shed enough that every person who accepted Him as Savior could be saved and go to Heaven forever. And that's the crucifixion story.

But today we celebrate the fact that He didn't stay dead. He came out of the grave alive.