 Today, we're in Romans. We're in chapter 15. We're going to be looking at verses 8 through 19. So I'll begin reading to you out of verse 8 here in Romans 15. Now read to verse 12 and we'll get into our study. Romans chapter 15, beginning at verse 8, reading to verse 12. Paul writes, Now, I say that Jesus Christ has become a servant to the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made to the fathers, and that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy as it is written. For this reason, I will confess to you among the Gentiles and sing to your name. And again, he says, Rejoice, O Gentiles with his people. And again, praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, laud him, all you peoples. And again, Isaiah says, There shall be a root of Jesse, and he who shall rise to reign over the Gentiles, in him the Gentiles shall hope. And so Paul has been writing to the church in Rome. And in chapters 14 and into chapter 15, he's had to instruct them concerning the receiving of one another. Remember with me in chapter 15 verse 7 how he had said, Therefore receive one another, just as Christ also received us to the glory of God. So he's been speaking concerning the fact that Christians need to accept or receive one another. The reason, and there are many, but one of the reasons that this is important is because we need to remember that God has created what is called the church to be what would be referred to as a composite unity. There are many that make up one. I have five fingers on one hand. There are many that make up the one. It's called a composite unity. And the church is made up of many believers. And so even though there are many of us, yet there is still only one body, the body of Christ. And so we have been created by God to experience relationship with one another. The first thing you find in the scripture that is ever declared to be not good is not good for the man to be alone. In other words, God has created us to have fellowship because we are interdependent and therefore we need one another. So our faith is more than just what we would speak of as a personal relationship with God. Our faith is something that we have individually, but it is lived out corporately. The first time the word church is used in scripture is found in the book of Matthew chapter 16. In that passage, the Lord Jesus Christ is ministering to his disciples, his apostles, up in an area called Caesarea Philippi. And as Jesus was there ministering, he asked the question. He said to his men, whom do men say that I, the son of man, am? And an immediate response comes, Jeremiah, Elijah, John the Baptist, one of the prophets. They begin to speak concerning the common thought of his day as to who Jesus is. And then Jesus said, but who do you say that I am? And that's when Simon Peter said, thou art the Christ, the son of the living God. Jesus' response was, blessed are you, Simon, by Jonah, flesh and blood has not revealed this unto you, but my Father in heaven. And he says, I am going to rename you and you are going to be the rock. But he said it like this, he said, and upon this rock I will build my church. Now, obviously he wasn't saying that Simon Peter, I'm building my church on you because the church belongs to Jesus Christ. What he was saying is your confession of faith, this declaration that I am the son of God, the Christ and Messiah. That is what the church itself is built on. And so when he says I will build my church, that's the first time the word is translated church in Scripture. It's a Greek word, ecclesia. And ecclesia was used during that time to speak concerning an assembly of people. It was commonly used to refer to synagogue meetings. It's a group of people who gather together for a purpose. Now, for some church speaks of a location or a destination, we're going to the church. But the fact is, is the church assembles together unified as a corporate body to worship God. So we are the church meeting in a location. So when Jesus was speaking to Simon, he was pointing out that upon this rock I will build my church. Upon this confession of faith, my called out ones will assemble. See, ecclesia speaks of the called out ones. So you have, I have, if we belong to Jesus Christ, we've been called out. We've been called out of the world and we've been placed in the body of Christ. So in 1 Peter, for example, chapter 2 verse 9, we read, you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, his own special people that you may proclaim the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Or what it says in Colossians 1.13, he has delivered us from the power of darkness, conveyed us into the kingdom of the son of his love. We have been called out of and placed into. So by one spirit have we been baptized into the one body. So it's not just individual personal relationship with Jesus Christ, but it is a corporate reality. We belong to him and we belong to one another. So Paul is speaking concerning the fact that these Romans need to accept one another. They need to receive one another. Why? Because they belong to one another because Jesus purchased them out of darkness and brought them into the light of the kingdom. And so Paul has been speaking concerning those things. And as he's speaking concerning those things, he wants them to accept one another because they are the one body. Like he had already said in Romans 14 verses 4 and 5, as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function. So we, being many, are one body in Christ and individually members of one another. So we receive one another because God has received us. So if God has received us, we receive one another. And it's that trail of thought that he's continuing here when he says in verse 8 of Romans 15, I say that Jesus Christ has become a servant to the circumcision for the truth of God to confirm the promises made to the fathers and that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy as it is written. For this reason I will confess to you among the Gentiles and sing to your name. And so he's continuing his thought and he wants people to know that Jesus Christ had a purpose and what he did was unify as a symbolist together. Now he points out that Jesus has become a servant to the circumcision for the truth of God. Jesus was first and foremost born as a Jew and he was circumcised identifying with the sign of the covenant. But in this way he's able to minister to the Jews for what would be called the truth of the gospel. Now the truth of the gospel is the fulfillment of the promises that God had made to the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and so forth. They had all received God's blessings through faith and that faith that they exercised is what we exercise today to receive blessings from God also. So Jesus became a servant to the circumcision in that he took upon himself human flesh, was born to a Jewish mother, ministered to the Jews, received the right of circumcision, obeyed the law in order that he might win them. But that statement is to make the Jew and the Gentile realize that they are both saved in the same way. The Jew and the Gentile are saved in the same way in that they have placed faith in God through Christ. So it wasn't through the Jews keeping of the law and it wasn't simply that the Gentiles didn't have any law and they had to come in a different way. It's that they were both saved in the same fashion. They both placed faith in Christ and so they have become one in him. So if God has received us, Jew and Gentile, making up the church, we are to receive one another. So it's really reminding both Jew and Gentile that they are one in Jesus Christ. And that's why he's emphasizing Jesus as the example because Jesus is one who accepted both Jew as well as Gentile. When Paul was writing to the Galatians in chapter 3, verse 28, he said, There is neither Jew nor Greek. There is neither slave nor free. There is neither male nor female for you are all one in Christ Jesus. You have been brought into the one body, Ephesians 2, 13 through 15. He says, But now in Christ Jesus, you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace whom has made both one and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in his flesh the enmity that is the law of commandments contained in ordinances so as to create in himself one new man from the two thus making peace. And so he's just confirming the fact Jew and Gentile came to faith in Christ and are part of that one body. Well, what's the result? Well, notice how he's speaking to the Gentiles here. He says, Rejoice, O Gentiles. He says, Praise the Lord, O Gentiles. And he says, In him the Gentiles shall have hope. The reason that a Gentile has hope is because that Gentile has been accepted by God through faith in Jesus Christ. So as he's speaking concerning this, he continues on into verse 13 by saying, Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. So we abound in hope. It super abundantly overflows in us because of who Jesus Christ is. God is the one who inspires hope. God is the one who imparts it to us. And so the way that you and I can have any kind of hope at all is to have a relationship with the one who's called the God of hope. Because he is the God of hope and he produces hope within us by the power of the Holy Spirit. You see, the Holy Spirit produces within the believer hope because the world cannot do so. If you just examine the world and the direction the world is taking, you lose hope. You don't gain hope by it. You don't go and see it as getting better and better and better because very slowly the world deteriorates. And the things around us are in a state of deterioration. And so everything that has been created ultimately has a shelf life and it's going to go down. It all begins to just go down. That's what happens. And so if I'm watching the world today in hope, to get hope from the world, then I'm making a big mistake. Because in the world there is absolutely no hope. The only hope I have comes from God in his word and his spirit. And so it's the Holy Spirit who produces within the believer hope because the world cannot do so. We cannot hope in a world system that's going down. That's winding down. It doesn't have the ability to produce a hope in us even if we have people who campaign on promises that they'll bring the hope. We know that they can't. Nobody can. Only the Lord can give me hope. But the world is going down. In 1st John 2.17 it says this world is fading away along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever. Lamentations 3.24 says the Lord is my portion says the Lord says my soul therefore I hope in him. So the Lord is my portion therefore I hope in him. So he's saying that we can have hope. You can have hope. The hope that you can have is going to come from God. It isn't going to come from the world. It doesn't come through personal relationships with others. It doesn't come through a marriage. It doesn't come through a dating. It doesn't come through having children. As a matter of fact if you have children you lose hope. I mean it doesn't come through any of that. And we know that. Our confidence is in God. God is in control of everything. I may not know what tomorrow holds. But I know who holds tomorrow is a true saying. Because I don't know what is in front of me. All I know that I have an eternal destiny awaiting me. But what is going to happen five minutes from now. An hour from now I don't know. So what I do is I prepare for eternity by living in the present with him. And I do so with faith. So God works in my life. And he produces in me that hope. Because he's the author of hope. He imparts hope. And so we'll have hope as we go through the trials. And we walk through the times of struggle as we go through the pains of loss. There is always our God who is there to comfort us. He never leaves us nor does he ever forsake us. And so he holds our hand as we walk through the valley of the shadow of death. And in doing so we will fear no evil for God is with us. His rodent staff they comfort me. And he produces in me a joy that this world cannot give. You cannot go and purchase hope. You cannot purchase joy. You cannot purchase love. You cannot buy those things. It doesn't happen that way. Though sometimes people may be confused in the thinking that it just may. That money is going to make you very happy. Money does make it very possible for you to do a lot of things. Thank God when we have it. But it certainly does not produce an everlasting joy in us. I was just sharing with my grandson the other day about that. The things that last and the things that matter are the things that God gives to us normally for free. And I said to me my family is very important. And I was sharing with my Josiah who is 10 years old. And I said to him you know a car will not make you happy and other things like that will not make you happy. But what will give you something that is of substance is going to be the Lord. And I said and so the things that I value and I was talking to him as a grandfather to a grandson. I said what I value is you. I value you because I love you because you're my baby. And I love you that much. You're the one that matters to me. My kids matter to me. My wife matters to me. People matter to me. Things don't because they're just things. And so many people have a tendency of trying to find their happiness and joy and hope in things. Even in things like a relationship where they think that that person will make them fully satisfied. That's not true either. What you do is you love them and hope and turn that they may return love to you. But it's not the love to get love. It's love because you are loved. And that's how it works. And so one guy I was sharing something like that one time I said my job is not to raise my kids to love me. My job is to raise my kids to love their kids. And sometimes we make a mistake in thinking that the reason that we love them is so they'll love us in return. But that's not why I do that. The reason I tried to teach my kids to love is so that they'd love their own children. And I've watched my children who have children and I've watched the love that they shower on their kids. And in that I take great hope because I know that comes from the Lord because God does that kind of work in us. So it's a Holy Spirit who does all of this. He produces within the believer hope because the world can't do so. But faith in God will always produce a hope and it produces joy and it produces peace. In John 15 11 Jesus said these things I've spoken to you that my joy may remain in you and that your joy may be full. In John 14 27 Jesus said peace I leave with you my peace I give to you not as the world gives give I to you. Let not your heart be troubled neither let it be afraid I've given you peace I've given you love I give you joy. That's what the Lord does. And as he does so Paul is glorifying the Lord for that. That's why in verse 13 he says may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace. Because it's the Lord that does that that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Now he goes on in verse 14 now I myself am confident concerning you my brethren that you also are full of goodness filled with all knowledge able to admonish one another. Nevertheless brethren I have written more boldly to you on some points as reminding you because of the grace given to me by God. That I might be a minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles ministering the gospel of God that the offering of the Gentiles might be acceptable sanctified by the Holy Spirit. And so continuing he says to us that he himself is according to verse 14 confident concerning you. He says you're full of goodness and filled with knowledge and you're able to admonish. As a church you have qualities that are to be commended. First he says you are full of goodness when he says you're filled with goodness is an abundance of goodness amongst them and it speaks of moral excellence. Whenever you think of the church the body of Christ assembled together for worship or the individual who's walking down the street on his way to work. When you think of a member of the church a person the body of Christ one of the things that we ought to be known by the world as being is filled with goodness. That there's a quality of our life that is good. It used to be of such nature that when somebody would use a profanity in front of a Christian this society used to say well excuse me I'm sorry for using that word. I can still remember as a young man working on a particular job site and I had shared with my supervisor that I was a believer in Christ and I was in my early 20s. And he was speaking in front of me to somebody and he used some profanity and when he did he actually did this he turned and looked at me and he said to me I'm sorry for using language like that Dave in front of you. To me I thought that's interesting I appreciate the fact that you do that but you've been using that language in front of God Almighty why would you be worried about how you're speaking in front of me. But the bottom line is that he respected that about my life and then he apologized and said I'm sorry I used this language and I said we're all that's okay just don't do it in front of the church. They're not as loving as I am. But you need to be that way this is something to seek and this is what he's saying be filled with goodness that's moral excellence. Secondly said that you're filled with knowledge. So you are carefully and properly it's instructed in the word of God you're filled with knowledge. Not just information that can get you on some of these talk shows or these game shows where you can win some prizes because you know so much. He's speaking concerning their biblical understanding their biblical expertise he's saying you've been taught well and you have the instruction of the word of God in you. And so one you're filled with goodness but two you're also well taught which leads you to the third thing that you're able to admonish that word admonish means to gently reprove or to remind somebody of something. So when you're filled with goodness and you're well instructed that makes you capable of being an individual who can bring a word of correction when necessary because goodness and knowledge are part of the qualities of your life. And people have a tendency of responding better to someone who lives out what they're saying than they do when somebody who's not living it out starts to correct them. That's what makes it very difficult today because there are a lot of people who have this attitude you're not the boss of me that attitude you can't tell me what to do. My granddaughter Sophia last year she just turned six she was at four four years old at that time so a little over a year ago was being cared for by one of the ladies in the church and the lady in the church said Sophia you need to do this and she turns and says you know I don't have to do that you're not my mother. And that's a that's an attitude that is ingrained in all of us I don't have to do that if I don't want to do that. But what is what is one of the ways to help somebody to receive. Well one when they see that you're living out the message that you're giving. When you're filled with goodness they're looking at a good person and that good person is very definitely been living out that message and and secondly that person when they bring an admonishment. They're they're capable of bringing a scripture that is rightly divided in that context to help them to see why what they're doing needs to be corrected. That's what Paul is saying he's saying as a church you've been so well instructed and the fruit of goodness is amongst you that you're able to to encourage one another to live properly for Jesus Christ because these are the qualities of a mature faith and it makes it possible for you to minister to those who are weak. Well in verse 15 he goes on to say nevertheless brother and I've written more boldly to you on some points as reminding you because of the grace given to me by God that I might be a minister of Jesus Christ of the Gentiles ministering the gospel of God that the offering of the Gentiles might be acceptable sanctified by the Holy Spirit. And so he's making it very clear that he has the authority in the Lord to give them instructions. Now Paul had authority he is an apostle and he uses authority to advise as well as to instruct that's what teachers are supposed to do. God had placed Paul by God's grace into ministry. It's like what he says in 1st Timothy 1 12. I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me because he counted me faithful putting me into the ministry. So he was somebody that God had placed into ministry and one who has placed in the ministry by the grace of God he is capable of sharing with them some things that they needed to know. So he says brother and I have written more boldly to you on some points as reminding you because of the grace given to me by God. I have the grace of authority as well as I live by this grace and therefore I'm capable of doing this I've been called to do that. Paul was commissioned to preach and teach the gospel. And in doing so would encourage them in their walks with the Lord and that's what leaders are intended by God to do to encourage people to Christian maturity. And so we've been called by God as teachers to admonish and correct to encourage people to rely on the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit that they might be able to do the things that are pleasing to the Lord. So he knew in verse 16 that he was called to be a minister of Jesus Christ but notice he was called to be a minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles. Now in chapter 11 verse 13 he had already mentioned himself as an apostle to the Gentiles. And so he's been called by God to minister. The word minister is one of those Greek words that is interesting. It speaks of a spiritual duty. It can be used to describe a priestly duty the kind of duty that priests would perform for the Lord. So Paul is saying that the Gentiles are an offering being made to God that have become acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. And that's why he says in verse 17 I have reason to glory in Christ Jesus in the things which pertain to God. So the acceptable offering up of the Gentiles to God would give Paul reason to rejoice. What's interesting in verse 18 is how he says this. For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ has not accomplished through me in word and deed to make the Gentiles obedient. I'll take a moment and look at this with you because to me this is interesting how he puts this. I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ has not accomplished through me in word and deed to make the Gentiles obedient. I will not boast in my own accomplishments and I am not he's saying going to exaggerate the things that I've performed for the Lord. Exaggeration is something Paul was not yielding to. It wasn't one of the things that he had to deal with. He had a tremendous ministry and the ministry spoke of its own virtue simply by the fact that it existed. So he would refuse to boast in his own accomplishments and was not prone to exaggeration. So you see Paul had to deal with people who entered into churches with the intent of stealing the hearts of the members. There are people who will enter into churches to this day with the intent to actually undermine the ministry of the word of God to steal hearts. In the earlier days within the first few years up to about 10 years or so of our ministry that happened more than once. When people would actually come in and want to debate and want to argue and want to steal the hearts of the sheep. It happened more than once in our fellowship. On a Wednesday night I still remember inviting two men who had come to church to want to debate about how to be saved. And one of them was sitting across from me and another one was sitting to my left and then I had one of my assistants with me. And he was trying to convince me that I was teaching error and then I needed to be part of his movement which is his movement was one that was teaching error. And I still remember him sitting across from me sticking his hand out to me and as he was reaching towards me and we were we weren't that far apart. As he reached forward to take he said take my hand he said take my hand and come and follow me as we pursue God together. And so I spit on him. No I didn't. I just wanted to. I smiled at him and I said I'm not going to take your hand and we're not going anywhere together not in the place you're going. What we really need to do is agree to who Jesus Christ is and we went into more conversation about that because the people will sometimes even come and will talk to me afterwards to try and convince me that their way of thinking is true. And in reality what they want to do is they want to steal the hearts of people and very often what they do is they will exaggerate their own accomplishments or how great they think themselves to be. When you read your New Testament you'll see that the apostle Paul quite often had a deal with this kind of attitude. He did so with the Galatians. He instructed Titus that there were people who would come in and they would try and undermine the work of God. First and second Corinthians deals with infiltrators especially second Corinthians. People who came in under the guise of being what we called super apostles and they would bring accusations against Paul in order that they might somehow win the people over to themselves. And as we've been going through second Corinthians in Wednesday nights I've pointed out to those who are in attendance that there are no less than 22 accusations that Paul answers in second Corinthians. He writes his letter but he's actually answering 22, at least 22 accusations that had been launched against him because these super eminent apostles had entered in with the attempt to steal the hearts of the people from the ministry that God had given to Paul. That's why in first Corinthians 4 Paul would say though you have 10,000 instructors yet you have but one father I begot you in the gospel. That's why he would remind them I brought you into faith I brought you in yes you may receive things from others but don't forget how you got saved in the first place. And so these super eminent individuals were coming in and trying to undermine the work and they do that all the time. And one of their tactics is to exaggerate their own credentials that they might gain honor from the church. When Paul was writing to the Corinthians in second Corinthians 5 verse 12 he said it like this he said for we do not commend ourselves again to you but give you opportunity to boast on our behalf that you may have an answer for those who boast in appearance and not in heart. So he's saying look at I am you are you are living letters don't you read by all men I have written on the tablets of your heart the word of God you're living them and you yourself can have as an evidence your life that has changed but there are those who want to boast in appearance and the things that they've accomplished. And he's saying you are living a living examples of what God can do in somebody's life. In second Corinthians 10 12 he said we do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves when they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves. And so it's not a matter of exaggerating. And I've heard so much and so have you so many exaggeration so many stories of how people have they'll start to share a story and they give their testimony the first time they give it it's kind of basic. But they are asked to give it again and now they start adding details and things that oh I have never really told you about this and before you know it it's an incredible story. And you don't know where it's true and where it's not true because they've added so much over the years that they don't even know what they've said anymore they exaggerate. Listen if you encounter somebody who's always exaggerating their their accomplishments you can't hope to compete with them. You can't outdo them. You can't outdo anyone who's been on excelling you. So I have a tendency of just leaving those things alone. And in terms of praising ourselves while Proverbs twenty seven two says let another praise you and not your own mouth someone else and not your own lips. I am tremendously attracted to humility and I am also repulsed by arrogance. Humility is a very attractive quality but arrogance is not it's off putting when somebody is arrogant and always bragging about their accomplishments I don't like that. There are there are those today in church world who are looking for heroes and heroes are more than willing to be made up for you. They're looking for a hero somebody who never loses an argument somebody who's always just doing wonderful accomplishments and all. And I've over the years of walking with the Lord I've I've heard many a tall tale spoken from a pulpit but that's just not true. I still remember this one fellow who said that the Holy Spirit was on him so much that he he walked off of the edge of the of the platform and hovered in the air in front of the congregation. And then he realized that he had actually was just hovering there suspended and he crept back onto the platform and I heard another guy who said this is going to probably contradict your theology but it's true. And then he got quiet and that that pause that's waiting for you to hear this true thing and he says I cast a demon out of myself and I'm looking at him and I said no you didn't he's still there. And he's a lying demon too but they say things they exaggerate you know gold dust is floating in the congregation or I was frozen in mid sentence for 24 hours and then I came out of it. I've heard so many stories send your money and I'll send you a blessed hanky you know I'll give you a wallet that that is sure to be always filled with money I mean one thing after another after another water from the Jordan etc. And all of these are going to show you how great my ministry is and how God works through me and Paul says we don't do that Paul says I don't do that. I dare not verse 18 I dare I will not dare to speak of any of those things with Christ has not accomplished through me in word and deed to make Gentiles obedient. What we need in in pulpits is integrity. We need people who have honest hearts people who speak the truth in love. If I was in 2nd Corinthians 12 6 if I should choose to boast I would I would not be a fool because I would be speaking the truth but I refrain so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say. I'm not trying to gain a following for myself it's what he's saying. Paul had made it clear Christ has given me strength to perform the works and therefore Jesus gets all the glory. It says in verse 19 in mighty signs and wonders by the power of the spirit of God. So that from Jerusalem and round about to Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ to two last things. Christ has given him strength to perform the deeds and therefore Jesus gets all the glory. In 1st Corinthians 1 27 through 29 he said God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things and the things which are not to nullify the things that are so that no one may boast before him. So he's saying God does the work God gets all the glory. He did so through mighty signs and wonders by the power of the spirit of God. So God had moved in his ministry supernaturally and God continues to move in such a way to this day. When he was writing to the Corinthians again in 2nd Corinthians 12 11 and 12 he said this. I have made a fool of myself but you drove me to it. I ought to have been commended by you for I am not in the least inferior to the super apostles even though I am nothing. The things that mark an apostle signs wonders and miracles were done among you with great perseverance. I performed these works but the power came from Christ. And so he's saying the miracles present made known to people that God is alive and moving. But he also said I have fully preached the gospel of Christ from Jerusalem roundabout to Illyricum. And that to me is exceptionally important. I have fully preached the gospel of Christ. When he was speaking to the Ephesian elders he said I have kept back nothing that was helpful but proclaimed it to you and taught you publicly in house to house. I kept back nothing that was profitable to you. That's the way ministry should be done word by word letter by letter line upon line. The Word of God in our day in our day the mindset of the Christian is being slowly but surely turned away from the more important things. When Chuck Smith was asked my pastor Chuck has since gone to glory when Pastor Chuck was asked what would you say is the most important thing that has made Calvary Chapel with Calvary Chapel is without hesitation. Pastor Chuck said the teaching of the Word of God. The teaching of the Word of God. There was a movement that was going around 20 years ago and it continued for a while. Where people were into the signs and wonders and actually believe that signs and wonders were the validating things that you needed the credentials to demonstrate that God was amongst you. And it had infected people to such a degree that the founder of this particular movement said that Calvary chapels have created a new trinity Father Son and Holy Bible. Because this person wanted to say that we Calvary chapels did not believe in the movement of the Holy Spirit and that his movement did. And so it was built on signs and wonders. He taught classes concerning it. He taught his church that they needed signs and wonders and all of that. And Walter Martin who was still alive at that time said that one of the problems this movement is going to encounter is the fact that it was not built on God's Word. And the fact that it's not built on God's Word will give it a very short shelf life which he proved to be almost prophetic in that because that's exactly what happened. There are movements today that are going on that are known for a variety of things. There are a lot of people who are Christians and are walking with the Lord and interested in Christian publications and music and all. They're familiar with and I was speaking to someone just the other day my music minister and I was talking to Jared and we were talking about reputations of ministry. And I believe that Jared's doing an excellent job in leading us in worship and I love him very much and all the volunteers who serve here. I love what God is doing in our worship ministry. Yet as we were speaking I said in this I said when I say Hillsong what do you think of when I say Hillsong. And he said well that's easy worship and anybody who is a Christian for a while is familiar with with Hillsong music. We sing many songs that are from Hillsong music we like and appreciate that facet of their ministry Hillsong is not just music though. And I told him that I said you know Hillsong is not just the music it's not just the bands it's not the big conferences or and it's not the big concerts that they have. Hillsong is a church movement. And I said yet when you associate with Hillsong what do you associate with it singing. I said what I want in our fellowship is when you say Calvary Chapel Chino Valley I don't want them simply to say singing I want them to say the word of God. Because that is what's going to keep you safe and solid is the word of God. You see when somebody from a foreign cult knocks on your door and you open your door and they say we're here representing the kingdom of God. What are you going to do get your tambourine and start singing our God is an awesome God. I mean that isn't going to do much good because they're just going to look at you. But when you're equipped with word the word of God when you're able to say this is what I believe that's what it's all about. And today we're moving so far away from being equipped and we're wanting to emote. We're wanting to have feelings about God. And so we sing romantic songs about God. It causes some problems in your theology and especially in your practice. Your true worship comes from your knowledge of the true God. We worship in spirit and truth is what the scripture says. And so we need to be well taught so that we are worshipers. The word worship speaks of an intimacy with God. It speaks of kissing the face of God. It speaks of that kind of relationship. But you need to know him before you're able to really kiss him in that worship experience. That comes to God's word. And so Paul said I have gone from Jerusalem to Illyricrum. I've gone in a long journey with one thing to fully and completely teach God's word to these people. Why so that they would be able to be fruit that remains. That they would continue to grow and be strong in the Lord. And that's the reason why I encourage us as a church to be readers of the word on a daily basis. And to be doers of the word. To be able to attend fellowship to come more than a Sunday. To be involved why so that you'll be well equipped. So you'll have the ability to do the things God has called you to do. And have that strength that comes from him by the power of the Holy Spirit. So Paul made it very clear that his ministry was validated as he went from place to place. God accompanied with miracles, signs and those wonders. But he said I was fully preaching the message of the gospel. And so that's what it is in order that the Gentiles might become obedient. That's why he fully preaches the gospel of Christ. And that's why we here in this church have made a pledge to the Lord that we would do our best every time we open this book to teach fully what it contains. To teach the word of God which will keep you strong in your seasons of trial or hurt. It's always the word of God because with God you have faith in him, hope in him, love in him and joy in him. And we know that because God's word has declared that to us. And we've experienced that by following him in obedience. That's what it's all about. That God might move in our lives through his word and by his spirit.