 Good morning. Oh, I'm on wonderful Well, it's great to be here with you to be able to share. I was interested to know how David was gonna introduce me after he introduced Raul as his favorite speaker in the world the I asked him I said so That makes me to hope for your second. He said no, that would be Tony Clark. He said I I Invited you here for contrast so they would appreciate the other men so walking worthy If ever there's a time for a discussion on this For us as men is the body of Christ whether his husbands or his fathers or friends or neighbors or Just as human beings as men and Paul I verb Raul just so wonderfully addressed that who we are day in day out wherever we are To be men and we're living in a world. Obviously that is struggling terribly with matters of even how to walk no matter where they are and But it's something that's a great exhortation in the Bible It's not new to us and it's not something just necessary in our generation. It was a problem in the first generation On the early church now Paul of course is here the theme here today for Ephesians 4 1 where you know Paul He says I'm a prisoner of Christ. I belong to him lock stock and barrel. I'm his bond slave He called himself. They're fully given over there, but he said I bc chew There is men that you would walk worthy Of your calling your vocation are that we have now been brought into in Christ Wherein you're called he tells the church at Corinth in 1st Corinthians 1613. He says watchy Stand fast in the faith quit. He like men and be strong. I like that for quit He like men. It's an old English I think a lot of people think today it means quit being men You know the illiterally there is such a weird thing going on in our society that if you're a man You should be embarrassed about it somehow another but that You need to get in touch with your feminine side or something like this. You start hearing this crazy stuff I don't get it. You know, I mean you were you know, you need to get in touch with your your feminine side I have no desire to get in touch with my feminine side. I have no I've never thought about that I don't want to get in touch with my feminine side any more than I want my wife to get in touch with her masculine side I'm not interested in it but But if there's anything that's needed in the world today, it's men and and if there's anything it's needed in the church it's men of God and In 1st Corinthians 1558 Paul writes there and he says therefore my beloved brethren. He said be steadfast Unmovable always abounding in the work of the Lord for as much as you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord And I just want to kind of give a little bit of a rush through a book It's a dangerous thing to attempt to do but through the book of 1st Corinthians. So if you're there We're gonna kind of just swing through it a little bit Paul as he's coming to the end of Corinthians he tells them at a couple of occasions there He says he says you watch keep your eyes open look around Stand fast in the faith. Could she like men be strong? He looks at them and he's looking at the men in the church He's looking at the men for leadership and calling them out into that role and And then 58 verse 58. He says therefore my beloved brethren as I said be steadfast unmovable You know there and always abounding and back up a little bit here when you would look at the church This is first century first century church of course and when you look here It's it's it's in Corinth and as you may or may not know a Corinth at the time was a very very important city of Greece It was a capital of a Roman province there of Acacia and it was very Strategically and ideally located there it kind of the Empire's trade routes travel routes went from east to west and it was the fourth largest city in the Roman Empire and Corinth was noted in the world at the time for its commerce its culture and its corruption and Everyone in the world at the time knew the known world around knew of what they called the Corinthian girl and The and the Corinthian feast it was basically just a time of of just throwing themselves into luxury and Licence and it was the capital essentially there as well of the worship of Venus and a lot of the mystery cults there of Egypt and Asia were there and the Temple there boasted of having a thousand prostitutes and it was just kind of almost like the Las Vegas of the day And it just boasted in its immorality it pried it it pushed it out there It wanted everybody in the world to know if you want to come for pleasure You want to come where there's no rules and anything is My wife and I went so we're we're not home an awfully lot, but when we are we'll watch these fixer upper shows We're kind of addicted to them Just I don't know why you can just turn them on and space out or something to watch You know or where they're or they're buying house and they're moving here It's just kind of that channel just has all of these things But we're watching it last night and now it came up three or four times An ad for Las Vegas what I've never seen before I know that just came out with it But it ends up these two women running around having a wonderful time in Vegas And then it ends up the little ad there with one of them proposing to the other and there's a secret wedding all of a sudden Prepared the people jump up and these two women give a quite passionate kiss to one another and they say in Vegas Join us, you know and just inviting there the world You you have no morals. You have no values or yours, you know just come here you'll have a pleasurable time and and that was that that was Corinth it In spades at the time. It's just the way that it was and here The sad thing was is that the church at Corinth rather than it changing the culture the culture it infiltrated the church And and the church was in dire straits to say the least when you would look at this I just want to give you a quick rundown of the issues going on within the church at Corinth at the time and For one thing they were very distracted Because of their immaturity, but and their identity struggles and Paul writes in verse chapter 1 verse 11 He said it's been declared to me concerning you a brethren that those of Chloe's house that there are contentions among you And now I say that each of you says well, I'm a Paul or I'm of Apollos. I am of Cephas or I'm of Christ Is Christ divided was Paul crucified you were you baptized in the name of Paul? But one of the the things they're just of the immaturity of the church at the time is that they were connected to people There were ones there that they looked there and they identified with personalities not with spiritual life so much But just the people that delivered the message the way they liked it the best That you know, I'm a Paul, you know, you know that guy. He's just so clear on things or Apollos He is the prince of expositors He's a preacher boy that guy is or Peter, you know, he's just a wonderful fellow and or others Well, I'm of Christ myself, you know, I'm just the plain Christian But they all but it was said in a way there that just paraded almost these things around But they were babes in Christ Paul tells them straight out in chapter 3 verse 1 He says I brethren I could not speak unto you as under spiritual But it's under carnal even as under babes in Christ I fed you with milk and not with solid food for until now you are not able to receive it And even now you are still not able and he says for are you not still carnal for where there is envy and strife and divisions among you Are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? He looks and he says you're you're you're just living like this natural unsaved mere men natural men You're not spiritual you're carnal you're natural you're behaving just as if nothing had ever happened in your life As if no spiritual change had occurred as if you were not born again you didn't appreciate being born again You didn't appreciate the new life. There was no transformation. There was no need to transfer after all You know, I'm a saved person now when the role is called up yonder. I'll be there. I'm fine And yet now I can just go on living how I was before I Can just carry on because I I'm saved and I got my ticket to heaven And that seemed to be all that was it all important to them Paul did tell them and that they were saints They you know he looked there. He didn't argue whether you were born again That was never the argument of a spiritual person. It's never an issue. Are you are you a saved person primarily? Now if you are saved, are you enjoying it? Are you living it? Are you walking worthy of it? Because from that point on as soon as somebody is is born again Now a whole whole new project begins I've got 12 grandchildren one great-grandchild and another one on the way and that's wonderful But the moment they were born I mean all the way through the pregnancy was quite exciting quite wonderful But the more they were born the project that the pregnancy ended and a whole new project began Feeding changing burping doing everything you possibly could to try to get them to mature To get them, you know up to a week in a month in a year and two and five and say learning to walk to talk Learning it did mature for are they acting their age? I we watched them, you know, and mothers are always concerned there with a child You know my my child is two years old But I look at other two-year-old children and and their their mannerisms their behavior Their awareness is you know are beyond my child. What's wrong and they want to go to a doctor? They want to have somebody look is there something we need to do that's not right a good parent does that? Well, so also in the body of Christ you we we look there and it's somebody there not not now you are are you saved? But now because you are saved are you growing are you maturing are you somebody that ten you know years later? You're still wrapped up in the same things the same struggles the same immaturities and a not not to be so Paul says you're acting like mere babes. You're living like it They also had terrible moral problems, which obviously little babes do You know but in chapter 5 he says in a reported commonly that there's fornication among you and such fornication It's not so much is named among the Gentiles and that one should have his father's wife Are you not puffed up? Usually have you not rather of mourned that this who has done this deed might be taken away from him among you here He says here you've got a man who is openly living with his father's wife presumed to be a stepmother the way that it's recorded there But here you know it's just the guys coming to church. She's coming to church. They're carrying on Oh, well there they're getting the word way way we believe in friendship evangelism Maybe a little by little something might happen with them And yet here as this is carrying on No change Nothing happening. He says are you not carnal? It's interesting back in chapter When I when I mentioned there in chapter 3 in verse 3 This is are you not carnal for where there is envy or strife or divisions You know in the Greek language and actually between Greek and Hebrew there's seven different words for for love. They're very The languages are much more descriptive than we we just use the same word for love You know, I love my dog. I love my wife. I love my car. I love hot blood Sundays. I love my job I love, you know watching football. I mean those hopefully are a little different loves You know, hopefully the way that you love your wife and the way you love your dog is is a little different You hope for that You know some guys some men are often times wondering I don't know who loves me the most my dog or my wife or something Didn't he by the way, there's a very easy test for that You don't know When you go to work tomorrow or Monday, I just lock your wife and your dog into the garage When you leave and when you come home see which is the happiest to see you and You'll know Nothing to do with my message. I don't know where that came from But anyway, but the thing is is here Paul looks at them. He says where but in the Greek There's actually there's a word that you're familiar with Agape. It's love without discrimination a pure love Then there's filet oh where we get the word Philadelphia the city of brotherly love then there's another word arrows and You know, which describes a sensual love a sexual love primarily But actually in people say the word is not in the Bible. Well, it actually is in the Bible It's it's actually in it's in first Corinthians 3 3 and he says where there are our envy and stripe that word strife is the Greek word Aaron and In here Aaron is a baby's love. It's a selfies immature Sensual love it just whatever it sees it has an appetite for it wants it Doesn't care where it came from who owns it? Is it my wife? Is it my neighbor? Is it, you know like? Panagraphy is was just being shared. There's something about every air all sent all up. You're all sensual we're born sensual God created you sensual and It's a part of our design And God loved to do it that way when God put Adam in even the garden the Bible says they were both naked and they were not ashamed There they were, you know, if they had this unashamed a love It was a pure love that God had given them these it'd be fruitful and multiply He noticed she was beautiful to look upon he had a desire for her the God created that the world didn't do that the devil didn't do that But when you and I come into this world as fallen men Born spiritually dead we still have that that sensual nature about us But the fallen nature the natural man has no discrimination at whatsoever about it It just looks anywhere and anything it's attracted to it's just attracted to it doesn't care anything about it It's just isn't attractive to me and in his heart it can go ahead and take it That's why Jesus said if a man looks at a woman with lust after he's committed adultery in his heart It's already occurring there within him There maybe the opportunity hasn't presented itself yet, but the internal mechanism to provide Opportunity and desire is there But it's only the spiritual man that looks there I mean I we all have if you're if you're a natural man you have a natural desire Now maybe some of you are you here and say you know I don't know what you're talking about I Don't I don't have it any sensual desire for women at all. Well, God maybe have given you the gift of celibacy God bless you. I don't have it. I really don't care to have it, but if you do God bless you Been married 50 years, and I'm quite happy but the you know with but it's something there that with it when you but With that appetite They're with that desire that God if either either is giving you you don't have it Which makes you a celibate or you're or you're lying Or you need to see a doctor again, I mean in the sense there what it comes down to but I mean something there God but but the natural man can't distinguish between the natural mind. I can go out to dinner with you and you know and David and Raul and whoever and we can sit down and you know David can order a prime rib Raul can order a steak Somebody else can order Salmon I can order a hamburger or whatever I can sit there and look over at the Salmon or the steak or the prime rib and I can't tell the difference. They all look I could hey Could I have a bite of that? Could I have a bite of that? Can I have a bite of that? It's all attractive to me. I have no you know, I my flash can't distinguish And also the same thing on the physical level I can look around and see you know, there's about three billion women running around the world They're not all ugly and the But but there's something there Wouldn't try to be funny I was trying to be nice to the other ones, you know or something but the but But But in terms of looking and see but but of realizing there, but the spiritual man can look there and discern The spiritual man looks there and says but that's not my steak. That's not my prime rib. That is not my leave That's on their plate. This is what is on my plate. This is what God has given to me This is what belongs to me and where my effects and my desires to be and tragically You know at at Corinth and the rest of the world because they can't discern they can't distinguish they're still babes They just see what's on anybody's plate. And if they want it, they go get it And you know and so here's there's a thousand prostitutes down there and they don't come well Hey, they got to earn a living, you know or whatever their excuse Was for in the process but something there that is a babe But the tragic thing that has happened in our world today as many men because I just heard a little bit of the testimony shared over the pornography is invaded the world and All the pornography is is sex by proxy It's sex in your heart with it with all these other plates. That's just put out there And and then the tragedy of that is that now the marriage bed is defiled now you've taken somebody into your bed There and in your heart you're intimate with and now you defiled the love that ought to be pure for your for you and your wine That's shared there between the two of you it has now been defiled. It's been corrupted One time I was counseling a man in ministry not a senior pastor, but in ministry who was leaving his wife And finally it came out during the conversation that he had said well, you know admitted that one of the problems was he said But actually I haven't slept with my wife in 10 years. I said, well, it's a problem He said no, no, you don't understand. I've slept with her all the time only it hasn't been her It's been another woman all the time It's a secretary or it's a you know, we're a woman in a church or somebody else here somebody there my art So I figure if that's how it's what's gone on for 10 years. Why not just go find them? You see that their their marriage bed is defiled if you've allowed your marriage bed into file to be defiled That's it's a natural man's thing that we all understand naturally But the spiritual man looks there and puts an end to it. He realized I'm forgiven in Christ I'm cleansed with Christ and there I can look at somebody else. He will that some man's wife That's some man's daughter. That's some man's neighbor. That's some man's sister that somebody else is on somebody else's plate not mine And therefore I got you know, I want to the affection that what God has given me To build that well, they didn't know how to do that at corn So in chapter 5 There it goes on and he says the end I've written to you, you know Not to keep company with a man that's called a brother who's a fornicator covetous Idolatry a rail or a drunkard an extortioner, you know such a one not to eat Therefore put yourself away from such wicked people here is Rawl shared earlier there that we were sons of righteousness They were sons of holiness as he mentioned there and note has he mentioned holy is it means it's set apart for sacred use The day that you were born again You were to be set apart now is said from that spiritual womb in effect there and be dedicated and offers a little child for spiritual use for spiritual purposes and Then now there's nothing wrong, you know with with having friends and neighbors and people that you associate with You know into one degree. There's two different things that are in going on in life and ministry One of which is Fellowship and when Paul says don't have fellowship of the world The word fellowship means there to share in common To share in common a lot of you men maybe you go to work and you've got all these men you've worked with and You just and when people are sharing with what they have and with what they have in common And if you're sure if you're sharing in common with a man who only has the world All of his jokes all of his comments all of his interests all of his discussions are all worldly That's all he's concerned about That's all he knows and therefore all you have in common with him is your old life that once connected with that and laughed at that And enjoyed that well if you try to have fellowship with that all it's y'all is going to do is bring you down and it won't bring him anywhere Now the other thing is ministry Ministry is there where somebody there doesn't code it to to to share in common they go there now to be poured out to serve They are now I'm not here to get from you I am here to specifically pour into you and a loving kind patient gentle long Suffering way that maybe with people that you live around you work around but God give me a way that I can pour into them Without receiving back from them. That's what Paul called ministry his service for Christ His witness and his testimony and it was obviously incredible everywhere. He went cities were turned around By him, you know there and what an incredible ministry and he knew the difference in between the two and when I'm when I'm I Fellowship within the body of Christ and outside of it. I minister. I'm poured out into it Next thing you know in this church. They're they're babes. They're carnal They're they're they're living sensually and sexually there's immorality. They're puffed up. They're within them There's drunkers. There's foreign occasion covers idolaters, you know extortioners, you know, they're within them there They're suing each other in court Chapter 6 verse 1 he says dare any of you having a matter against a brother go to the law before Before the unrighteous and not before the Saints Do you not know that the Saints will judge the world and if the world be judged by you are you? Unworthy to judge and sets the smallest of matters He says you're not getting along and so what do you do you go out and get yourself an attorney? Yeah, and you know and and and what whatever the argument is There's obviously problems within the body of Christ We're all human. We all have our struggles We all have problems. We can have them with each other and we can hurt one another We can offend we can stumble one another But here the body of Christ is a place where people can now go and sit down and say talk to us Help us resolve this the biggest question of all of our lives our eternal damnation has been solved By the Lord Jesus Christ perhaps there you can help a smaller you solve a rather small problem compared to that Within the body of Christ they didn't know this And they can't keep their bodies pure as a result in chapter 6 verse 12. He says all things are lawful You know not all things are helpful and he goes on he says he says now the body It's not for sexual pleasure and immorality, but for the Lord and the Lord for the body And he says how do you he says do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not or do you not know that he who has joined to a harlot and with one body with her for the two He says she'll become one flesh. Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you? You were bought with the price glorify God here. He looks there. He says are you unaware that When you go down to the temple or you pick up a prostitute That you just you the two should become one flesh. You just married her That's what that's what marriage is the union of two bodies He says you just you just went down now. Maybe you weren't planning. You know, I didn't I wasn't divorcing my wife. I Wasn't marrying her. I was just simply having sex with her. I was just simply a one-night stare You know and you know the I Don't know anything about her. I Doubt if her name was really poopsie, but the I don't even really know her name I don't know Republican Democrat independent. I don't know where she lives what she does I just know the moment's pleasure. I could get But Paul said you married that woman you broke your marriage vow You didn't owe you didn't divorce your wife, but you did You've separated yourself from her and united yourself with another You've been bought with the price your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. What are you doing? It doesn't make any difference as far as God's concerned whether it's you know a literal transaction that has occurred their bodily or as one that goes on within the heart One of the things that is just so incredible today. You can't go anywhere without sex selling Everything is about sex It's almost I mean so much isn't it? It's just sex is around absolutely it sells everything I when my my undergraduate degree was in business And I really took a course in marketing and way back in the 60s One of the things like that we did is that I just studied General Motors and General Motors what they actually did they went out and then they studied Selling and they discovered sex sells and so they wanted to sell a Chevy Well, they went unreal well what you got to do is you go get that Chevy You know maybe you know wax it make it look pretty night brand new thing But then you go put it on a cobblestone driveway with a beautiful you drive around it in this beautiful lawn and this beautiful stone house with You know with ivy growing up the side of it And you have some the door open out of the front door and some sleek woman come out and just slide into the car as She goes in there and all of a sudden you're sitting there saying I Want a Chevy? You know something I always love Chevy's I didn't know that before but it just clicked within me I need a Chevy And I mean that's something that it sells there's an appetite a natural appetite and the natural man feeds upon it It humors him it entertains them It's powerful. It's a drug. Yeah, they're coming out now with all these you know statistics on how it is more Addicting perhaps even than many drugs And on how powerful is God designed it to be so precious and so wonderful and so pure and so holy By the way, if you if your marriage bed has become undefiled the wonderful thing of the blood of Christ can cleanse you You can put all of that away in your heart and say God from now on whenever the enemy tempts me I want to be a look at this not minds might be attractive might be you know beautiful person none of my business. I Have my plate and God as soon as the enemy does that I want you to just right there speak to me Help me bring me out of this. I want my bed pure. I wanted you know my marriage to be pure I Want my heart to be pure as a result of this, you know the church in chapter 7 divorce is rampant Within it people are you know they come to church They find you know in this nice Christian woman nice Christian man their husband or wife is not saved and therefore I forget them they're getting divorced and Paul says what are you doing? When the world of what knowest thou oh man whether thou shalt save thy wife or what knowest thou woman or whether thou shalt save thy husband Go minister and pray and wait upon God to heal and to save this relationship. See what he can do wait upon him Chapter 8 they're fighting with diets and what foods are acceptable to eat Some people because they had been born and raised in around a lot of idolatry and where you know all this me This food it was offered done to you know idols and gods and goddesses Now they felt well the foods contaminated and oftentimes you could buy that food much cheaper than you could food that had not been offered to idols Now Paul could look there and says hey, there's no problem with the meat No problem with the meat, but if it stumbles people Don't let your liberty But they were just having that liberty in fact. I have a problem with that. I you know the I like meat Sorry, I like meat. I there may be there's some vegetarians among here. You're a bit God bless you That's fine Personally, I wish you were all vegetarians the price of meat would just drop big time and I can get a lot more Me but now but I shouldn't let my liberty stumble you There is something there within it where we look in life in the things that did with one person There that we want to see it You did your liberty that you don't allow these things to stumble another person But as he's going through all of this and he's just getting this litany of different of problem after problem You know in chapter 9 they're arguing of overpayment for people in service and in ministries in there And he and he tells them he says hey well, you know something you don't muzzle the ox if somebody serves you you Take care of them in chapter 11 while they're celebrating communion together some of them there They would come at these love feasts and bring in a lot of food They were rich and wealthy they could lay out this big old picnic back There's the poor people over there didn't have too many things and they're actually coming in Flotting this and then during the love feasts in the communion. They're getting drunk at communion They're gonna give you imagine here. I mean this is going people plotting everything then they're having You know communion getting you know drunk There within it and he says eating and such did take do this at home. Well, have whatever you want there But that is not the way it is within the body of Christ. You're aware that here you are around all sorts of different people And maybe you know you you're able to afford a life in a lifestyle that's way above other people around don't flaunt it Don't stumble people that they end up you know They're envying you and they're you know in chapter, you know 12 they're arguing and fighting over the greatest of spiritual gifts Who was the best to you know what what what's ones were necessary which ones worse? And he points out that there's two great problems within the body of Christ that so easily happened That is the foot you would say because I'm not the hand the foot's down here. It says, you know, I'm not the hand you know, I'm not necessary and You know and in one body part you could imagine, you know, and I could understand that you know my my feet you know I the It's miserable life being a foot At least on my body, you know or whatever it is It died, you know you it it it it maybe he'll have a nice night It can have a nice night but one of the very first things that you do is when the morning you stick a sock on it and Then then if that's not enough you put leather all around and tie it up tight Just say just shut up and do your job, you know wherever I want to go you get me there and You know with it and and and it looks at the hand the foot looks up at the hand So look at the hand the hand and it goes out and reaches shakes, you know things. It's look it. I'm not I'm not necessary You know and how that one body part, but even the hand can look at another part the eye I'm at the eye Wish there was an eye When people shake hands, what do they do their eyes? They look at each other. Hey Hey, I'm down here. I'm doing the shaking. Hello, you know more attention I'm no matter where you are or else the the more important part that it thinks is more important looks down It says I have no need of you There I'm sure that there's many men here today that you're sitting here. So, you know, I don't think I'm necessary I don't think I'm necessary the body of Christ. Nobody's ever really asked me to do anything Never really had any role of prominence That's insane that will not hold water before God Looks at you and you're a is important a part of the body of Christ is anybody else in it And in a sense there of just saying how can I serve? Where am I? I was offering my life my service on how it ought to be for every one of us and the way that we ought to be living our lives And here of course tragically in chapter 13. They'd forgotten love In the midst of all of this immaturity all this junk all this this stuff they'd forgotten that love was the greatest Chapter 14 they're having terrible times there and their computer their services there all sorts of confusing displays You know of gifts and people would think you know, they're mad if they came in and watched all this and Paul is just looking at this church You know and and I mean you be some of you may be born raised around different churches that could be a mess You know, I've been with Calvary job with 1971 when there was just one and now there's 1,800 around the world ministries of one form and we've had our we've had our problems But I'll tell you I've never seen Corinth yet I mean when you look at one thing after another after another after another after another it just makes if I if I was called into a matter like this, I would just And get I guess, you know one of my family members as somebody went to a Calvary Chapel of Corinth, I'd say just get out Just get out I wouldn't even know where to start with that thing, you know some of you see some of these these You know programs or somebody buys a house, you know for a rehab or fixer-upper or whatever else And they buy it and every once in a while they'll buy one and as they start getting into it They discovered the foundation everything is a mess. It's rotting all over the place They got termites and the plumbing shot electricals in and all they can do is just dose the thing down They just have to just get it's a tear down entirely start all over. I mean, it's like I do you look here This is like a church. You just just tear it down And yet Paul looks Paul looks at this thing and he says be me when you're all sitting there at Corinth What am I doing here? I don't know how to handle this Paul looks there in his answer to them You know instead of being disgusted and distracted and confused or just washing your hands of the thing He turns to him and he says be ye steadfast He looks here at the men He looks at them and he and and realizes there that the first thing that it's gonna say you want to fix this thing Paul says all of this incredible we can fix this it starts with the men and It starts with the men being steadfast now there as I went through the Greek on this thing There's a couple of illusions. They're close to each other but one of it is that this word steadfast it alludes to a to a statue Like a marble statue that somebody you know is made there this just Steadfast you just look there like a statue of David or Moses or some you know marble character or something this just fixed It's just solid And that's the way one translator looks at it. Another one looks at it and says it's actually a wrestling term and And it's a term there that it has the same suggestion to it But one thing in wrestling I did a little bit in high school was never very good at it But one of the things that that the coach will if any of you are wrestlers and took it seriously I don't remember a lot of it, but I remember one of the primary things that they did is this is a wrestler He puts one foot in front another another behind it and then he spreads them out You don't stand there with your feet together if you're gonna wrestle somebody say come at me You don't just stand there and gazing off you put one foot up you put one foot down You bend at the waist you bend at the knee and Then you're a constant you don't just stand there immobile you're you're constantly Moving around you're waiting for a blow to come at you from any side so that immediately you can react you can duck You can move you can lean into it. You're ready to go forward back or anything You're living with with this idea of preparation for a blow to come You're looking there to say I am in this thing. I'm in this fight And I'm in it for the most noble wonderful awesome fight in the world. It's eternal It's lies It's awesome. You know you look here at this last session In a spiritual battle that I mean I don't obviously I didn't know the name of one that came forward But I tell you the Lord Jesus knows that not only the name of every person that stepped forward He knows the number of hairs upon their head. He knew them when they're in their mother's womb He knew he wanted to call them today He knew the battle they've been in for many years over their life in their soul And they knew people loving and caring and praying and helping them come to this day like he did with every one of us and There somebody was steadfast Somebody is behind this sort of a thing people just don't get saved just for the fun of it Or just it's it's a spiritual warfare that goes on and behind it there There's people that look and you know you look why does a place like this exist? Why has it gone on for years? Why are all of you here? Why have some of you loved and adored and worshiped the Lord Jesus Christ for decades now? And yet at the same time as the testimony earlier of you know one of the staff here I'm sitting there listening to him and I thought as he's going through He walks in the back room and he goes in the bathroom. I says look out He's gonna steal the toilet in there you know or something there I don't know who after the old life could come back You know if he comes out with a big white porcelain thing That's a hint you know but the but here but I've gone take somebody's life transform it Out of being on one side of eternity bring it into another side of eternity Stand there and now go back and get others and bring them into it That's somebody that's learning to stand steadfast Somebody there that they find themselves that they're in it that's steadfast in their life and their walk roll Hit that so clearly You know we're living in a day in an age right now where we're watching the world fall apart The world's fall apart in So many many ways you know it's interesting right now I'm not sure I am not a politician nor the son of a politician nor care to become one but the It's interesting right now. Some people are going now. Well right now unemployment. They say is it the lowest in history or recent history and You know with minorities it's the lowest in all recorded history. They're saying here we're North Korea might be coming to the table Iran is kind of being dealt with and Economy I saw an article this morning. It seems unstoppable And yet at the same time while all this supposedly is happening I think there's more stress in the world and struggle than there's ever been There's more struggle even though while everybody well, we should be happy Well, a lot of people they're saying you know this we're still right on the edge of who knows what Who knows what could happen and people are looking over at Russian China and what you didn't and also here here You know, there's there's something like 450 volcanoes on the what they call the ring of fire where you know, that's going on where it in over approximately 90% of Earthquakes and volcanic activities on that by the way, it runs right outside right here on pipeline the San Andres fault is right. I was looking at a map. It's as you go out of the street go slowly. Don't You can trigger it. No, I don't know where the item is kidding. I don't know whether it is but anyway But we're looking at a world is falling apart and in the process of it. God is looking for men that get all that Get every bit of it. I see the political world. I see the moral world. I see Corinth I see I see the worship of Aphrodite and Venus. I see there the junk I see the trash I see all the arguments. I see the pettiness. I see the image. I get it. I get it and Yet they are ones that long to be steadfast all the more reason Dear Paul exist be Because you want to say that well, what do I do about it Paul says I'll tell you be steadfast and And then he goes on and he says be a movable steadfast and unmovable and you know, this is an interesting way that Paul has written this the Greeks when they would write The word unmovable is actually a different word than steadfast, but much the same and When they take two Greek words that are approximately the same and they couple them together. It is for intensity It's like when you and I you and I we may say to somebody's you're you know, you're you know Your kids going out the door or something say be careful And then you may say well it be very careful But then you stop them and wait a minute be very very careful In other words, there is something here when Paul says this he is adding intensity. He says be steadfast Unmovable the word there unmovable much like the word steadfast, but it means firm fixed stable Unmoved, but it's a stronger expression than steadfast and you see you can have something that has been Determined to be steadfast But not know if it's unmovable There's a difference between the two my great-grandfather His name was John McClure. He was actually vice president of the Pacific Railroad Oversaw most of the railroad and a lot of the tunnels for railroads, California, Arizona, and Nevada his brother was a man named Wilbur Fisk McClure and Maybe have any of you ever heard of McClure Lake ever been to it? Nobody You got to get out. I've never been there either, but it's actually the largest earth and dam in the United States and it was engineered by Wilbur Fisk McClure and they named it after him He was also chief engineer for the state of California Oversaw a lot of construction the major thing that he did is that he was part of the construction of Hoover Dam Now if you know anything about Hoover Dam, it's quite an interesting thing that attempted five dams before this smaller all of which failed But here Hoover during the new deal they called it and trying to help the American economy they decided that they wanted to build a dam and That it was needed and so it employed Thousands of people when they did this but here when they built this It's an interesting thing because when they when it was completed. It was considered to be the greatest engineering feat in the history of the world and just some statistics on Hoover Dam is 726 feet high 1044 feet wide it is 660 feet thick at the base. That's over to a football field At the at the base is 45 feet thick at the top and it took four and a half years to build It has 4.4 million yards of concrete in it Which is enough to put a two-lane highway from the east coast of the west coast at the time They had never used any this is far more material used in this than it ever been used in anything in the history of the world and And and here when they built this thing behind it Was what is Lake Mead a lot of you probably been to Lake Mead? It took six and a half years to fill Lake Mead 589 feet deep at its deepest point. It is some 247 square miles in size. It's a hundred and ten miles long Now the interesting thing about this is when they built it because it was actually another thing is interesting It was originally named Boulder Dam a lot of people think there's a place called Boulder Dam another place called Hoover Dam They're one and the same when they built it because Hoover President Hoover got the money requisition and put led this thing They want to call it Hoover Dam. He said no Call it something else. I don't want it named after me till we know if it works We've had five that fails and no man wants a broken dam named after it and so they they called it Boulder Dam for years and Then they wanted to wait until the water rose They wanted to know not simply was it steadfast But the issue was was it immovable? And so for six and a half years they watched the water level go from 50 feet to a hundred a hundred and fifty feet 200 250 as they're metering industry the engineers are studying it Watching it looking for any what any instability as the pressure rose 200 250 300 feet 400 feet for higher and higher as the water rise the issue wasn't was it steadfast? But how much pressure could it take and stay in place? What could what could it resist how much could come up against it before it blew? And here when Paul when he says be steadfast immovable There he is looking there at the same sorts of things that not just simply a dam goes through but every child of God How many we've know that we're born again and kind of grew for a certain period of time But then is as the first wrestling match came along with the enemy or with trial or temptation They were flat on their bat, you know for the young three count they were out How many do we know they got dragged away and beat up? Because it wouldn't plant their feet. They didn't they did just casually just walked into the world And they could just turn on and watch anything they wanted to watch and they could go where they wanted to go And they could hang out with whoever they wanted to hang out and and then they're shocked when they fell Because what happened? He was such a wonderful Christian. He was in church every Sunday He boy, you should have heard him sing and a great voice that guy did you know or whatever else? But meantime the way that you when the guy went to work on Monday His feet weren't planted He wasn't going in there that was looking realized. I'm walking right into the world. I'm walking right into Corinth That's what they talk about what they think about what they're entertained about The other night my wife, you know, she said can we go to a movie? I we never we just don't do movies much and I said sure would you know pick one? Jackie, yeah pick one, you know, unless there's something really out there. That's really Bloody and warfare. I mean then you pick one and I don't I haven't heard of any no I didn't say that but anyway, I knew what you well. She had read a book and She thought and she said well, there's a movie called the book club And I think it and there was this really cute book that I read that was really really interesting I think this might be the movie on it. I said it had chick-flick written all over it to me, but I okay, I Love you. Let's go. We go to the movie and we go and walk it, you know And here it had all of these aging, you know actors and actresses of you know But you know older 70s, you know that are now kind of looking for a movie to do or something They're not at the heyday anymore, you know of it And so they're all in this kind kind of a neat list. Well, we get in there. We hadn't been in there five minutes The vulgarity of it the insinuation of it Just within that we're both looking at each other and think what are we doing here? We got up and we left and then I said wait a minute. I go back to the place I said, you know something we just walked out of a movie. My wife thought it was with this nice entertaining chick flick It was vulgar It was vulgar. He said well, we're sorry. You didn't appreciate it. I didn't appreciate and And I said and also two other things. I'm a Scotsman. I want my money back and I don't want to support you and so they actually said well We don't do that, but I'm real sorry that you're unhappy and they gave us two free tickets for some for the future But I went I'm not gonna sit there and take this stuff in now the world it makes stuff entertaining It makes it fine. It makes it. Oh, that was a great line. You know meantime while it's it went. It's just drawing us What's your drug? How do you respond? You know when somebody turned me what they told me about a movie that they thought it was a great movie You're gonna go see this movie Now it's got one part in it. You know, it's got it got some nude scenes in it. You just got to pass forward through it Oh dear, well, that's my flesh. I'm an old guy. I still have flesh I'm sitting there. It's somebody I may okay fast forward to it, but I'll still sit there You know what type of thing there's still what's going on there. What am I missing? You know something? When you just sit there realize I don't want anything to do with it. I Want to grow old with this woman her her alone And when somebody looks there and they're gonna protect themselves Care for it and then he goes on and he says now he says now you're steadfast. You're unmovable Always a bounding in the work of the Lord He looks now there this person they got saved they're in the body of Christ. There's problems in it Now he said you be steadfast you be unmovable and now Get in the hunt Join the battle Always a bounding in the work of the Lord, you know If you go Google, I did it Lake Mead You Google Lake Mead, that's that's the that's behind Hoover Dam Obviously, that's what it was created Hoover Dam created Lake Mead and it has all of this endless vacation packages Fishing swimming boating waterski jet skis house boating virtually anything that pertains to water or fishing or boating Above it below it snorkeling whatever else you want to do boating on the thing Hotels to hang out at all of this Incredible amount of entertaining You know, they're 200 or 110 miles deep 247 miles and then just filled with all sorts entertainment But you know something that is not why they created Hoover Dam Hoover Dam I've been to the base of it Down underneath it. There's ten acres There you know below Ground of 17 generators When they created this thing the reason that they wanted it to be steadfast and movable is that they wanted the absolute maximum amount of pressure That could be driving these generators below That could give them such thrust that would turn them around So powerfully with the amount of pressure upon them that they're out of that it would generate over four billion kilowatt hours of energy and With that at 56% of it goes to California 25% in Nevada 19% to Arizona and it lights up and empower cities business homes family The reason that it was created that something would be steadfast and immovable is that it would bring light Where there was darkness and Lives could be settled in and transport That's why you're alive That's why you're here And to be always a bounding in the work of the Lord. Did you know men? closing There's I'm sure I mean, I don't know you obviously, but I wonder how many of you Caught us taking your life. You're safe You've got a testimony like we've already heard in one way another You got something that God has done within your heart and within your life and you and it's wonderful. God saved your marriage Working within your family your children The grandchildren they've got a grandfather loves them shares price with them One way or another you've got somebody there that now you're steadfast. You're immovable now. Maybe some of you here You look I'm a Christian, but I'm not steadfast Minute I want to pray for you I want to pray for you and maybe some of you you're you're you're steadfast a lot of the time But a certain amount of pressure You lose it You're not immovable or Some of you you're steadfast. You're immovable and you're doing nothing Somebody there that you could be incredibly touching lives and you're not doing it When I came to Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa back in 1971 There was a fellow and there was several of them, but one of they'd all never forget is Herb Corwin He was an usher and Herb was such a character because I did look here. I think he's a retired banker or something I don't know what it was, but he was the one of these guys that he always not a hair out of place wore a suit as tie in this guy I mean he came there and he was an usher and He kind of uses in the hippies and barefoot and you know and tank tops and all this other stuff But Herb was one of these guys kind of looked like the epitome of the establishment sort of a retired guy But Herb was always right at the center door in the back. That was his spot There was usher's everywhere else but Herb he was somebody when you came down that Herb came up to who do whoever you were and You to thought you were royalty He walked up to you and with a big smile. Good morning. Is this your first time here? You're gonna have a wonderful time. Where would you like to sit? I've got I've got the perfect seat for you somewhere. Now if you're down front you can just you can get it all really good Okay, he'd lead you right down in front He would he he would usher you with a sense of ushering like you would think You'd walk down and he'd sit you down. How's this just for you? He made you feel like the most special guy in the world It ought to be when people come I imagine many of you are the majority probably from here Maybe other fellowships around If I don't know what you're doing in your church But if you're not doing anything and you and God has done some work in your life Let me just put it blunt you ought to be ashamed. You should you should look there and say God. I'm sorry. I Should be abounding Man, I may be old. I may not know what I'm doing or where I can do it But I want to go to somebody says how can I serve here? What can I do? What do you need that you need somebody to stead path is immovable that God has transformed his life giving him a wife and his side who loves him amazingly I Want to serve what we should have well anyway, I want to pray We're all already wonderfully opportunity if you didn't know the Lord Give your life to it But maybe some of you you look there and say, you know, I'm a Christian, but I don't know if I'm steadfast. I Don't think I am You you you watch me at work on Monday if you are sitting there Invisible watching me. I'm not the man there that I want to be I want to ask you if that's where you're at I want to pray for you. I want to ask you to stand up. I Want you to ask this stand up it may take more courage than you it'll do But if you can't do it here, you can't do it at work. I can assure you You can't take a stand there for the Lord now and say here. I'm not the man to work out of me I'm not the man in my neighborhood out of B But God I want to become that man We're all hit it bullseye And men if that's where you're at you stand You stand This is I mean all of us if there's any any nobody ever becomes, you know steadfast and immovable by coincidence It happens by choices and struggles Maybe some of you're you're now don't just stand all of a sudden you're all stand I don't know what I'm doing here Listen, I'm not giving anything out for free here. I assure you I'm giving you a job when we're done here somewhere in the body of Christ. Maybe some of you you're immovable You're fine here, but you go home, and you walk in the door your wife can say something all of a sudden you lose it Your kid can do something you lose it You know around you realize God I don't want to be that man. I want whatever it is. It's happening here today I want I want something And maybe some of you you're saying you know God's blessed me I'm steadfast and I'm pretty moved not because of me like Paul like Rawl says I'm humbled by it I can't believe God bless me, but I'm not a bounding in the work of the Lord I'm not serving I want to I Don't know what it means. I'm gonna find that out. I Want you to stand too? And we're gonna pray There's any of you you realize I'm standing here because I'm gonna Find out how God wants to use my life He's blessed me. He saved me my name is in the book of life. He's transformed me and marriage my home Incredible things and I'm not gonna hide my candle under a bush