March 19, 2025 • 25 mins
Pastor Ken Davis examines the crucial biblical principles that should guide Christians in daily living, highlighting the fundamental importance of humility and God-centered focus in every area of life.
• Our true calling as Christians is to "set our minds on things above, not on things on the earth"
• All abilities, possessions, and opportunities we receive are gifts from God, not our own achievements
• Whatever we do—whether working, serving, or engaging in ordinary tasks—should be done "heartily as unto the Lord"
• Every aspect of life becomes worship when we recognize our role as living sacrifices to God
• Pride is spiritually dangerous, while humility positions us correctly before God and others
• Like Christ, we should consider others' interests above our own, creating a community where everyone cares for one another
• Even mundane activities become sacred when done for God's glory rather than human recognition
If you don't have a church home, we invite you to join us at Calvary Chapel Southwest Metro, meeting Sundays at 10:30am and Wednesdays at 7pm. Visit heedtheword.org or call 817-447-5675 to learn more about our ministries.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
You're listening to Heed the Word with our pastor
and teacher, Ken Davis.
Pastor Ken is the senior pastorof Calvary Chapel, Southwest
Metro.
Please join us as we study ourseries entitled Lessons in
Christian Living.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
When you see someone who is impressed with themselves
, who is wise in their own mind,then there is more hope for a
fool than there is for that wisefool.
Right, At least the fool knowsthat he doesn't know.
The wise in his own eyesdoesn't know but thinks he does,
and that's worse than notknowing.
(00:38):
When you think you have theanswer and you think you know
the truth, you're worse off ifyou're wrong than the guy who
knows that he doesn't knowanything.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
There's no shortage of self-help books, motivational
speakers and even opinions outthere about how we're supposed
to live on this earth, but asChristians, we need to take our
direction in this area from theWord of God.
So we're bringing you ourseries entitled Lessons in
Christian Living, taken from the12th and 13th chapters of
Paul's letter to the church inRome.
(01:09):
In the book of Proverbs welearn that pride comes before
destruction and a haughty spiritbefore a fall.
You see, if we're of themindset that we have everything
figured out, that we have allthe truth that we need, we're
setting ourselves up for failure.
Any truth that we have, anyability that we possess, comes
from God.
Don't forget to stay with usafter today's message to hear
(01:32):
more information about Heed theWord, specifically how you can
get a free copy of this teaching.
But for now, please open yourBibles to the book of Colossians
, chapter three, verse one, aswe join Pastor Ken.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
There are parts of this world where a little
fellowship of believers finallygets a hold of a Bible in their
own language, and so that theycan all have at least a little
bit of it, they will tear itinto pieces, sections at a time,
and each family will take alittle section of it home with
them and they will read it andthey will pour over it and they
will memorize chapters, if notbooks, of the Bible that they
(02:09):
might have it for themselves.
And then they'll come back tothe little house church that
they're a part of and they'lltrade copies so that eventually
that whole Bible works its wayall around that little church.
And compared to some people,they're blessed, because there
are some places on this earthwhere people don't even have a
copy of God's word in their ownlanguage.
(02:29):
Now, here we sit in ouropulence, here we sit in all of
our blessing, all of our comfort, and we complain.
You see, when we complain, Idon't like the fact that I drive
a 10-year-old car.
Praise the Lord, you have a10-year-old car.
Praise the Lord, you have a10-year-old car.
Oh, I don't like the fact thatI had to buy my clothes at
(02:50):
Goodwill.
Thank God, there's a Goodwillyou could go to to buy your
clothes.
By the way, if anybody I've hadconversations with a couple of
you.
I'm not aiming at anybody,that's just an example.
Okay, now if I have my eyes onworldly things and let's say I
come into $25,000, $30,000, justboom, wow, there it is.
It would be really easy for meto spend all of that on myself,
(03:13):
right, and no one would fault mefor it.
Or if I have my eyes onheavenly things, then I could go
to God and I could say Lord,what do you want me to do with
this?
And he might say I want you tospend it on a house, or I want
you to spend it on a car.
I'm not going to say that Godwould never say that.
He might say that, but I atleast need to give him the
option, don't I?
And what he might say is I wantyou to invest that so that
(03:35):
someone in a third world countrycan get a translation of the
Bible in their own language.
A good portion of what you'vereceived needs to go to Wycliffe
Bible Translators, right?
Or some other missionaryventure in which the gospel of
Jesus Christ will be promotedthroughout the world.
You see, that is having youreye on heavenly things.
It's not to say, well, I needto do this with it or I need to
(03:56):
do that with it, but to haveyour eye on heavenly things is
to go to your father and say,lord, what do you want me to do
with it?
And acknowledge the fact thathe may tell you to do any number
of things with it, but seek hiswill for what he wants you to
do with the things and theblessings that you've received.
I hate talking about money.
People get the wrong impression.
(04:16):
So please don't misunderstandme.
I don't want your money.
As far as that goes, youunderstand.
If you are sitting here todayand you think, oh, that pastor,
you know he's just talking aboutmoney today, please don't give
a penny to us.
Give it somewhere else.
You understand what I'm saying.
If that's your heart, we don'twant it.
You do what the Lord commandsyou to do.
Why?
Because he's your Lord, he'syour master, he's your owner,
(04:38):
he's your boss, he's the one whodirects you, he's the one who
leads you.
Set your mind on things above,not on things on the earth, for
you died and your life is hiddenwith Christ in God.
When Christ, who is our life,appears, then you also will
appear with him in glory.
Therefore, put to death yourmembers which are on the earth.
(05:00):
Fornication, uncleanness,passion, evil, desire and
covetousness, which is idolatry.
Because of these things, thewrath of God is coming upon the
sons of disobedience in whichyou also once walked when you
lived in them.
But now you must also put offall these things anger, wrath,
malice, blasphemy, filthylanguage out of your mouth.
(05:21):
Do not lie to one another,since you have put off the old
man with his deeds, deeds, andhave put on the new man, who is
renewed in knowledge accordingto the image of him, who created
him, where there is neitherGreek nor Jew, circumcised nor
uncircumcised, barbarian,scythian, slave nor free, but
Christ is all and in all.
Verse 12,.
Therefore, as the elect of God,holy and beloved, put on tender
(05:42):
mercies, kindness, humblenessof mind, meekness, long
suffering, bearing with oneanother and forgiving one
another.
If anyone has a complaintagainst another.
Even as Christ forgave you, soyou also must do Christian.
For you, as a Christian,forgiving somebody else is not
an option, it's a requirement.
(06:02):
Do you understand that Godcommands you to forgive?
He doesn't command you to beable to forgive.
Only he is able to forgive, butyou purpose in your heart to
forgive that person, and Godgives you the ability to do that
.
But above all these things, puton love, which is the bond of
perfection, and let the peace ofGod rule in.
(06:23):
And here's really the verse Iwant to get to today.
And whatever you do in word ordeed, do all in the name of the
(06:56):
Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God, the Father, through him.
And verse 23 is like it, whichsays and and whatever you do, do
it heartily as to the lord andnot to men.
You see, whatever we do in life, if we belong to jesus christ,
then whatever we do in life isan act of worship to god.
(07:20):
If I can't do it as an act ofworship, then I ought not be
doing it as a Christian.
Do you understand?
Whatever you do, if you vacuumthe floor, that vacuuming of the
floor should be done with allyour might.
Do it heartily as unto the Lord.
If you get up and go to work inthe morning, you should go to
(07:41):
work in the morning not toplease your boss, but to please
God.
If you're washing dishes athome, kids, you're not washing
dishes to please your parents.
You're washing dishes to pleasethe Lord, and you should do it
heartily as unto him.
Do you hear what I'm saying?
Whatever you do, do it heartily.
(08:04):
In other words, put all of youinto it.
Do your best, because when youdo your best you're bringing
glory to your Father in heaven.
Do it heartily as unto the Lord, romans, chapter 12.
Makes all of life holy.
(08:27):
It makes all of life a worshipservice.
You see, we worship God onSunday mornings when we come in
here and we sing songs to him.
But you should also worship Godon Sunday nights when you go
home and cook dinner for yourfamily.
You should also worship Godwhen you tip the waitress at the
restaurant this afternoon forlunch, and you should tip that
(08:48):
waitress to the glory of God.
You know, even when I get badservice, I find it almost
impossible not to tip because Ithink of how gracious God was to
me.
You know, especially if thatperson saw me praying over my
meal.
Guys, if you're not going totip, please don't give thanks in
public.
You understand what I'm saying.
(09:08):
My pastor back in Bakersfieldused to say if you can't afford
to leave a tip, go to McDonald's.
People used to call it church30, when all of the churches
would come into the restaurantafter lunch, right, notoriously
one of the worst times forwaitresses and waiters, because
a lot of those folks don't tip.
(09:29):
Don't bring a bad report uponthe Lord, don't reflect badly
upon him.
Be generous as God.
Prospers you and understandthose poor folks only make about
$2.11 an hour.
I wouldn't want to have that onmy heart, you know.
So, whatever you do, do it asunto the Lord.
Verse 1 of chapter 12, again,paul urges you.
(09:52):
He says I urge you or I beseechyou.
Therefore, brethren by themercies of God, that you present
your bodies a living sacrifice,holy, acceptable to God, which
is your reasonable service, anddo not be conformed to this
world but be transformed ormetamorphosized or completely
changed by the renewing of yourmind, that you may prove what is
that good and acceptable andperfect will of God.
(10:14):
Moving into verse three for Isay Paul is writing, for I say
through the grace given to himor a certain something that he
(10:41):
did not deserve, that has beengiven to him, and it is through
that which has been given to himthat he is speaking.
Well, what Paul has received,among many other things, is
apostolic authority.
God ordained Paul as theapostle to the Gentiles.
In other words, he was one whowas the messenger of God to them
.
And so Paul is saying, throughthe grace given to me, in
(11:03):
essence, as the messenger of God, do these things.
So, in essence, what he'ssaying is I'm not speaking here
in my own authority, but I'mspeaking in the authority of God
.
So Paul writes again, for I say, through the grace given to me,
to everyone who is among youNow.
Of course he's speaking to thechurch in Rome, but he's also
(11:24):
speaking to the church inBurleson today, speaking to the
church in Rome, but he's alsospeaking to the church in
Burleson today, to everyone whois among you, not to think of
himself more highly than heought to think, but to think
soberly, as God has dealt toeach one a measure of faith.
So he's saying listen, you areoffering your life as a living
(11:46):
sacrifice to God.
Don't start thinking that it'sthe best sacrifice ever.
You know Well, of course theLord would want me as a living
sacrifice, because I'm sowonderful.
Of course.
You see, don't we act that waysometimes?
Oh God, I'm so glad you choseme to be on your team.
Lord, that was such a good moveon your part.
You know, that's our attitudesometimes as though we bring
(12:08):
anything to the table.
Paul is reminding us that whenwe offer our bodies as a living
sacrifice to God, god willreceive that sacrifice and he
will use us to bless otherpeople.
And as he uses us to blessother people, the temptation
that will rise up in our heartis that we might become prideful
or proud or haughty.
And so, before Paul even startsto talk about the gifts through
(12:31):
which we will bless God andothers, he wants to remind us to
keep the right perspectivetowards ourselves.
Paul says in verse three for Isay to you, or I say rather,
through the grace given to me,to everyone who is among you not
to think of himself more highlythan he ought to think, but to
think soberly, as what he'ssaying here is this as you begin
(12:55):
to serve the Lord, thetemptation is going to be there
to think more highly of yourselfthan you ought to think, and he
wants to warn us against this.
He wants to keep us from makingthat mistake, because the thing
that we've got to remember isthat there's nothing we have
that we didn't receive fromsomeone else.
There's nothing that we havespiritually that God did not
(13:17):
impart to us.
So, no matter how much God usesus to bless him, to bless
others or for his kingdom togrow and expand, we don't have
the right to take any of hisglory upon ourselves.
In verses one and two, paultold us what our attitude toward
God was to be, and here, inverse three, he's telling us
(13:38):
what our attitude towardsourselves needs to be.
God is God.
We are not, and we need toalways remember that.
Always, we need to rememberthat.
I say to you Paul says throughthe grace given to me, not
through my own authority, butthrough the grace given to me.
Paul says to everyone who isamong you, so who does this
apply to?
Everybody?
Right?
(13:58):
This hits all of us Not tothink of himself more highly
than he ought to think, but tothink soberly, as God has dealt
to each one a measure of faith.
Proverbs 16, 18 tells us thatpride goeth before destruction
and a haughty spirit before afall.
Isn't that right?
(14:19):
When we boast, we're headed fordestruction.
Our confidence, our boast is tobe in Jesus Christ and in his
cross.
Our boast is to be in ourweakness and how, in our
weakness, he's made us strong.
Proverbs 26.12 says this Seestthou a man wise in his own
(14:42):
conceit, there is more hope of afool than of him.
And what that's saying in themodern vernacular is when you
see someone who is impressedwith themselves, who is wise in
their own mind, then there ismore hope for a fool than there
is for that wise fool, right?
At least the fool knows that hedoesn't know.
(15:04):
The wise in his own eyesdoesn't know but thinks he does,
and that's worse than notknowing.
When you think you have theanswer and you think you know
the truth, you're worse off ifyou're wrong than the guy who
knows that he doesn't knowanything.
Do not be wise in your own eyes.
In Micah 6, verse 8, the prophetwrites regarding the Lord, he
(15:28):
hath showed thee, o man, what isgood and what doth the Lord
require of thee?
But to do justly and to lovemercy and to walk humbly with
your God Humility, toacknowledge the fact that all
(15:49):
that I have comes from him, andso whatever I give to you, I can
take no credit for, because itwasn't mine to begin with.
1 Corinthians 4.7 puts it thisway For who makes you differ
from another?
And what do you have that youdid not receive?
Now, if you did indeed receiveit?
(16:12):
Why do you boast as though youhad not received it?
In other words, if I can teachthe Bible, that isn't from me,
that's a gift from God.
So why should I boast about myability to teach the Bible, when
it's not mine at all, but it'sthe Lord working in me?
Or if you have the ability tosing beautifully, who gave you
(16:35):
that ability?
God gave you that ability.
So should you boast in yourability as though it was
something you did all on yourown, or should you give glory to
God for what he has done?
Turn with me to Philippians,chapter 2.
Philippians, chapter 2, verse1,.
Paul writes Therefore, if thereis any consolation in Christ,
(17:00):
if any comfort of love, if anyfellowship of the Spirit, if any
affection and mercy, in otherwords, if you guys are really
born again, if the Spirit of Godis really working in your heart
to create these attitudes, thenfulfill my joy.
How are you going to fulfillthe apostles' joy?
How are you going to make Paulhappy?
Well, by being like-minded, inother words, by being agreeable
(17:23):
with one another, by agreeingover the Word of God, that the
Word of God is truth, right.
By being like-minded, in otherwords, by being agreeable with
one another, by agreeing overthe word of God, that the word
of God is truth, right, by beinglike-minded, having the same
love, in other words, loving thethings that God loves, having
the same love, being of oneaccord and one mind.
Let nothing be done throughselfish ambition or conceit, but
(17:48):
in lowliness of mind.
Let each of us esteem othersbetter than himself.
Let each of you look out notonly for his own interests, but
also the interests of others.
You see, so what Paul is sayingvery simply is this as
(18:08):
Christians, if we're reallybelievers, we should be more
concerned about what is good foryou than we are about what is
good for me.
But likewise, you should bemore concerned about what is
good for me than about what isgood for you.
You see, think about this Ifeach one of us worries about
(18:30):
what's good for ourselves, thenhow many people are worried
about what's good for you?
One person, right.
But if each of us is moreconcerned about what is good for
the others than for ourselves,then how many people are worried
about what's good for you?
So which one makes more sense?
Is it better for 49 people tobe concerned about you or for
(18:52):
one person to be concerned aboutyou.
I mean, it's simple math.
So it's good for us as a bodyto be concerned about one
another, to consider one anotherabove ourselves, to look out
for the interests of each otherrather than for our own
interests and, what's more, whenwe do that, it's pleasing to
(19:12):
God.
He likes it when his childrentreat each other with kindness.
How many of you have kids?
Do you like it when your kidsfight?
No, you hate it when your kidsfight.
Do you like it when your kidsget along with each other?
Absolutely, you love it whenyour kids fight.
No, you hate it when your kidsfight.
Do you like it when your kidsget along with each other?
Absolutely, you love it whenyour kids get along with each
other.
So, thus, saith the Lord, kidsget along with each other.
(19:34):
And I'm not talking to thelittle ones, I'm talking to you
grownups.
Are you children of God oraren't you?
So if you like it when yourchildren behave, then don't you
think the Lord likes it when youbehave?
If you like it when yourchildren behave, then don't you
think the Lord likes it when youbehave?
If you like it when yourchildren live in harmony with
each other, don't you think Godlikes it when you, his children,
live in harmony with each other.
(19:54):
You, as parents, want yourchildren to obey you.
Well, if you're children of God, then you ought to obey him,
not because by obeying himyou'll become children of God,
but rather ought to obey him Notbecause by obeying him you'll
become children of God, butrather obey him because you are
children of God.
Be children that bless hisheart, be children that make
(20:17):
your father happy.
Treat each other with kindness,love one another.
You know he's given us theexample.
Philippians 2, verse 5,.
Let this mind be in you, whichwas also in Christ Jesus.
In other words, the attitudethat I am asking you to have is
an attitude that was shown toyou by Jesus himself Let this
(20:39):
mind be in you which was also inChrist Jesus who, being in the
form of God, did not consider itrobbery to be equal with God.
In other words, jesus was God'sequal.
Father, son, holy Spirit's partof the Godhead, he's God, did
not consider it robbery to beequal with God, but made himself
of no reputation.
(20:59):
Taking the form of a servant andcoming in the likeness of men
and being found in appearance asa man, he humbled himself and
became obedient to the point ofdeath, even the death of the
cross.
Therefore, god also has highlyexalted him and given him the
name which is above every name,that at the name of Jesus every
(21:21):
knee should bow to stay inheaven.
He had the right to cling tohis glory.
(21:47):
He had the right to neversuffer pain and to never die.
Those were his rights as God.
But he laid aside those rightsand came to earth in the form of
a man, laid aside those rightsand came to earth in the form of
a man.
He wasn't born in a palace or ina sultan's tent.
(22:10):
He wasn't born into the lap ofluxury.
He was born in a stable.
He wasn't the child of anearthly king or of a governor or
an emperor, as it were, or evenof a earthly king or of a
governor or an emperor, as itwere, or even of a wealthy
(22:31):
merchant.
He became the child of aworking-class couple who were
just trying to keep body andsoul together, joseph being a
carpenter.
He was born into a humbleestate and he humbled himself,
even to the point of death on across.
You see, he was more concernedabout what was good for us than
(22:51):
he was about what was good forhimself.
Let that attitude that was inhim be in you.
And now I've finished talking tothe Christians for a moment and
I want to talk again to thosewho don't consider themselves
Christians or, more importantly,have never received Jesus
Christ as their Lord and Savior.
(23:11):
In the passage that we justread, the scripture tells us
that there is a day coming whenevery knee will bow and every
tongue will confess that JesusChrist is Lord.
Now the choice is yours.
You can do it now and receiveeternal life, or you can do it
(23:34):
later, before the throne ofjudgment, and spend an eternity
in hell.
God does not want you to spendan eternity in hell.
That's why he allowed you tohear this gospel message today.
He wants you to turn from yoursin and turn to Jesus Christ, so
(23:56):
that you can be forgiven foryour sins and receive eternal
life in him.
That's what he wants for youtoday, and that's the
opportunity that I want topresent to you, right now.
Speaker 1 (24:12):
The Christian life was never designed to be a solo
flight.
God designed us with the needfor relationships with others
who can encourage us in ourpersonal journey of faith.
Maybe you're listening todayand you don't have a home church
and this message, minister,deal.
Well, we'd like to take thistime to invite you to join us
for one of our worship services.
Calvary Chapel Southwest Metromeets each Sunday morning at 10
(24:36):
30 am and Wednesday evenings at7 pm.
Besides our Sunday morningservices, we have ministries for
children, men, women, couplesand youth.
To learn more about CalvaryChapel Southwest Metro, log on
to heaththewordorg.
That's heaththewordorg and whenyou get there, just follow the
(24:56):
link.
Or, if you'd like to talk withsomeone, give us a call.
Our phone number is817-447-5675.
That's 817-447-5675.
So visit the website or call ustoday.
Now we also want to encourageyou to review this study.
This study and many more taughtby Pastor Ken are available at
(25:19):
our website, heedthewordorg.
Many of Pastor Ken's teachingsare available in MP3 format.
You can also receive a CD copyof this message.
Simply log on to heedthewordorgand select the option for CD
requests.
The CD that you'll receive isthe full-length, unedited
teaching.
When you fill out the orderform, please keep in mind
(25:40):
today's date.
This helps us make sure that wesend you the correct message.
Well, that's all the time wehave for today.
Please join Pastor Ken nexttime as he continues teaching
through our series entitledLessons for Christian Living,
right here on.
Heed the Word.
You're listening to Heed the Word with our pastor
and teacher, Ken Davis.
Pastor Ken is the senior pastorof Calvary Chapel, Southwest
Metro.
Please join us as we study ourseries entitled Lessons in
Christian Living.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
When you see someone who is impressed with themselves
, who is wise in their own mind,then there is more hope for a
fool than there is for that wisefool.
Right, At least the fool knowsthat he doesn't know.
The wise in his own eyesdoesn't know but thinks he does,
and that's worse than notknowing.
(00:38):
When you think you have theanswer and you think you know
the truth, you're worse off ifyou're wrong than the guy who
knows that he doesn't knowanything.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
There's no shortage of self-help books, motivational
speakers and even opinions outthere about how we're supposed
to live on this earth, but asChristians, we need to take our
direction in this area from theWord of God.
So we're bringing you ourseries entitled Lessons in
Christian Living, taken from the12th and 13th chapters of
Paul's letter to the church inRome.
(01:09):
In the book of Proverbs welearn that pride comes before
destruction and a haughty spiritbefore a fall.
You see, if we're of themindset that we have everything
figured out, that we have allthe truth that we need, we're
setting ourselves up for failure.
Any truth that we have, anyability that we possess, comes
from God.
Don't forget to stay with usafter today's message to hear
(01:32):
more information about Heed theWord, specifically how you can
get a free copy of this teaching.
But for now, please open yourBibles to the book of Colossians
, chapter three, verse one, aswe join Pastor Ken.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
There are parts of this world where a little
fellowship of believers finallygets a hold of a Bible in their
own language, and so that theycan all have at least a little
bit of it, they will tear itinto pieces, sections at a time,
and each family will take alittle section of it home with
them and they will read it andthey will pour over it and they
will memorize chapters, if notbooks, of the Bible that they
(02:09):
might have it for themselves.
And then they'll come back tothe little house church that
they're a part of and they'lltrade copies so that eventually
that whole Bible works its wayall around that little church.
And compared to some people,they're blessed, because there
are some places on this earthwhere people don't even have a
copy of God's word in their ownlanguage.
(02:29):
Now, here we sit in ouropulence, here we sit in all of
our blessing, all of our comfort, and we complain.
You see, when we complain, Idon't like the fact that I drive
a 10-year-old car.
Praise the Lord, you have a10-year-old car.
Praise the Lord, you have a10-year-old car.
Oh, I don't like the fact thatI had to buy my clothes at
(02:50):
Goodwill.
Thank God, there's a Goodwillyou could go to to buy your
clothes.
By the way, if anybody I've hadconversations with a couple of
you.
I'm not aiming at anybody,that's just an example.
Okay, now if I have my eyes onworldly things and let's say I
come into $25,000, $30,000, justboom, wow, there it is.
It would be really easy for meto spend all of that on myself,
(03:13):
right, and no one would fault mefor it.
Or if I have my eyes onheavenly things, then I could go
to God and I could say Lord,what do you want me to do with
this?
And he might say I want you tospend it on a house, or I want
you to spend it on a car.
I'm not going to say that Godwould never say that.
He might say that, but I atleast need to give him the
option, don't I?
And what he might say is I wantyou to invest that so that
(03:35):
someone in a third world countrycan get a translation of the
Bible in their own language.
A good portion of what you'vereceived needs to go to Wycliffe
Bible Translators, right?
Or some other missionaryventure in which the gospel of
Jesus Christ will be promotedthroughout the world.
You see, that is having youreye on heavenly things.
It's not to say, well, I needto do this with it or I need to
(03:56):
do that with it, but to haveyour eye on heavenly things is
to go to your father and say,lord, what do you want me to do
with it?
And acknowledge the fact thathe may tell you to do any number
of things with it, but seek hiswill for what he wants you to
do with the things and theblessings that you've received.
I hate talking about money.
People get the wrong impression.
(04:16):
So please don't misunderstandme.
I don't want your money.
As far as that goes, youunderstand.
If you are sitting here todayand you think, oh, that pastor,
you know he's just talking aboutmoney today, please don't give
a penny to us.
Give it somewhere else.
You understand what I'm saying.
If that's your heart, we don'twant it.
You do what the Lord commandsyou to do.
Why?
Because he's your Lord, he'syour master, he's your owner,
(04:38):
he's your boss, he's the one whodirects you, he's the one who
leads you.
Set your mind on things above,not on things on the earth, for
you died and your life is hiddenwith Christ in God.
When Christ, who is our life,appears, then you also will
appear with him in glory.
Therefore, put to death yourmembers which are on the earth.
(05:00):
Fornication, uncleanness,passion, evil, desire and
covetousness, which is idolatry.
Because of these things, thewrath of God is coming upon the
sons of disobedience in whichyou also once walked when you
lived in them.
But now you must also put offall these things anger, wrath,
malice, blasphemy, filthylanguage out of your mouth.
(05:21):
Do not lie to one another,since you have put off the old
man with his deeds, deeds, andhave put on the new man, who is
renewed in knowledge accordingto the image of him, who created
him, where there is neitherGreek nor Jew, circumcised nor
uncircumcised, barbarian,scythian, slave nor free, but
Christ is all and in all.
Verse 12,.
Therefore, as the elect of God,holy and beloved, put on tender
(05:42):
mercies, kindness, humblenessof mind, meekness, long
suffering, bearing with oneanother and forgiving one
another.
If anyone has a complaintagainst another.
Even as Christ forgave you, soyou also must do Christian.
For you, as a Christian,forgiving somebody else is not
an option, it's a requirement.
(06:02):
Do you understand that Godcommands you to forgive?
He doesn't command you to beable to forgive.
Only he is able to forgive, butyou purpose in your heart to
forgive that person, and Godgives you the ability to do that
.
But above all these things, puton love, which is the bond of
perfection, and let the peace ofGod rule in.
(06:23):
And here's really the verse Iwant to get to today.
And whatever you do in word ordeed, do all in the name of the
(06:56):
Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God, the Father, through him.
And verse 23 is like it, whichsays and and whatever you do, do
it heartily as to the lord andnot to men.
You see, whatever we do in life, if we belong to jesus christ,
then whatever we do in life isan act of worship to god.
(07:20):
If I can't do it as an act ofworship, then I ought not be
doing it as a Christian.
Do you understand?
Whatever you do, if you vacuumthe floor, that vacuuming of the
floor should be done with allyour might.
Do it heartily as unto the Lord.
If you get up and go to work inthe morning, you should go to
(07:41):
work in the morning not toplease your boss, but to please
God.
If you're washing dishes athome, kids, you're not washing
dishes to please your parents.
You're washing dishes to pleasethe Lord, and you should do it
heartily as unto him.
Do you hear what I'm saying?
Whatever you do, do it heartily.
(08:04):
In other words, put all of youinto it.
Do your best, because when youdo your best you're bringing
glory to your Father in heaven.
Do it heartily as unto the Lord, romans, chapter 12.
Makes all of life holy.
(08:27):
It makes all of life a worshipservice.
You see, we worship God onSunday mornings when we come in
here and we sing songs to him.
But you should also worship Godon Sunday nights when you go
home and cook dinner for yourfamily.
You should also worship Godwhen you tip the waitress at the
restaurant this afternoon forlunch, and you should tip that
(08:48):
waitress to the glory of God.
You know, even when I get badservice, I find it almost
impossible not to tip because Ithink of how gracious God was to
me.
You know, especially if thatperson saw me praying over my
meal.
Guys, if you're not going totip, please don't give thanks in
public.
You understand what I'm saying.
(09:08):
My pastor back in Bakersfieldused to say if you can't afford
to leave a tip, go to McDonald's.
People used to call it church30, when all of the churches
would come into the restaurantafter lunch, right, notoriously
one of the worst times forwaitresses and waiters, because
a lot of those folks don't tip.
(09:29):
Don't bring a bad report uponthe Lord, don't reflect badly
upon him.
Be generous as God.
Prospers you and understandthose poor folks only make about
$2.11 an hour.
I wouldn't want to have that onmy heart, you know.
So, whatever you do, do it asunto the Lord.
Verse 1 of chapter 12, again,paul urges you.
(09:52):
He says I urge you or I beseechyou.
Therefore, brethren by themercies of God, that you present
your bodies a living sacrifice,holy, acceptable to God, which
is your reasonable service, anddo not be conformed to this
world but be transformed ormetamorphosized or completely
changed by the renewing of yourmind, that you may prove what is
that good and acceptable andperfect will of God.
(10:14):
Moving into verse three for Isay Paul is writing, for I say
through the grace given to himor a certain something that he
(10:41):
did not deserve, that has beengiven to him, and it is through
that which has been given to himthat he is speaking.
Well, what Paul has received,among many other things, is
apostolic authority.
God ordained Paul as theapostle to the Gentiles.
In other words, he was one whowas the messenger of God to them
.
And so Paul is saying, throughthe grace given to me, in
(11:03):
essence, as the messenger of God, do these things.
So, in essence, what he'ssaying is I'm not speaking here
in my own authority, but I'mspeaking in the authority of God
.
So Paul writes again, for I say, through the grace given to me,
to everyone who is among youNow.
Of course he's speaking to thechurch in Rome, but he's also
(11:24):
speaking to the church inBurleson today, speaking to the
church in Rome, but he's alsospeaking to the church in
Burleson today, to everyone whois among you, not to think of
himself more highly than heought to think, but to think
soberly, as God has dealt toeach one a measure of faith.
So he's saying listen, you areoffering your life as a living
(11:46):
sacrifice to God.
Don't start thinking that it'sthe best sacrifice ever.
You know Well, of course theLord would want me as a living
sacrifice, because I'm sowonderful.
Of course.
You see, don't we act that waysometimes?
Oh God, I'm so glad you choseme to be on your team.
Lord, that was such a good moveon your part.
You know, that's our attitudesometimes as though we bring
(12:08):
anything to the table.
Paul is reminding us that whenwe offer our bodies as a living
sacrifice to God, god willreceive that sacrifice and he
will use us to bless otherpeople.
And as he uses us to blessother people, the temptation
that will rise up in our heartis that we might become prideful
or proud or haughty.
And so, before Paul even startsto talk about the gifts through
(12:31):
which we will bless God andothers, he wants to remind us to
keep the right perspectivetowards ourselves.
Paul says in verse three for Isay to you, or I say rather,
through the grace given to me,to everyone who is among you not
to think of himself more highlythan he ought to think, but to
think soberly, as what he'ssaying here is this as you begin
(12:55):
to serve the Lord, thetemptation is going to be there
to think more highly of yourselfthan you ought to think, and he
wants to warn us against this.
He wants to keep us from makingthat mistake, because the thing
that we've got to remember isthat there's nothing we have
that we didn't receive fromsomeone else.
There's nothing that we havespiritually that God did not
(13:17):
impart to us.
So, no matter how much God usesus to bless him, to bless
others or for his kingdom togrow and expand, we don't have
the right to take any of hisglory upon ourselves.
In verses one and two, paultold us what our attitude toward
God was to be, and here, inverse three, he's telling us
(13:38):
what our attitude towardsourselves needs to be.
God is God.
We are not, and we need toalways remember that.
Always, we need to rememberthat.
I say to you Paul says throughthe grace given to me, not
through my own authority, butthrough the grace given to me.
Paul says to everyone who isamong you, so who does this
apply to?
Everybody?
Right?
(13:58):
This hits all of us Not tothink of himself more highly
than he ought to think, but tothink soberly, as God has dealt
to each one a measure of faith.
Proverbs 16, 18 tells us thatpride goeth before destruction
and a haughty spirit before afall.
Isn't that right?
(14:19):
When we boast, we're headed fordestruction.
Our confidence, our boast is tobe in Jesus Christ and in his
cross.
Our boast is to be in ourweakness and how, in our
weakness, he's made us strong.
Proverbs 26.12 says this Seestthou a man wise in his own
(14:42):
conceit, there is more hope of afool than of him.
And what that's saying in themodern vernacular is when you
see someone who is impressedwith themselves, who is wise in
their own mind, then there ismore hope for a fool than there
is for that wise fool, right?
At least the fool knows that hedoesn't know.
(15:04):
The wise in his own eyesdoesn't know but thinks he does,
and that's worse than notknowing.
When you think you have theanswer and you think you know
the truth, you're worse off ifyou're wrong than the guy who
knows that he doesn't knowanything.
Do not be wise in your own eyes.
In Micah 6, verse 8, the prophetwrites regarding the Lord, he
(15:28):
hath showed thee, o man, what isgood and what doth the Lord
require of thee?
But to do justly and to lovemercy and to walk humbly with
your God Humility, toacknowledge the fact that all
(15:49):
that I have comes from him, andso whatever I give to you, I can
take no credit for, because itwasn't mine to begin with.
1 Corinthians 4.7 puts it thisway For who makes you differ
from another?
And what do you have that youdid not receive?
Now, if you did indeed receiveit?
(16:12):
Why do you boast as though youhad not received it?
In other words, if I can teachthe Bible, that isn't from me,
that's a gift from God.
So why should I boast about myability to teach the Bible, when
it's not mine at all, but it'sthe Lord working in me?
Or if you have the ability tosing beautifully, who gave you
(16:35):
that ability?
God gave you that ability.
So should you boast in yourability as though it was
something you did all on yourown, or should you give glory to
God for what he has done?
Turn with me to Philippians,chapter 2.
Philippians, chapter 2, verse1,.
Paul writes Therefore, if thereis any consolation in Christ,
(17:00):
if any comfort of love, if anyfellowship of the Spirit, if any
affection and mercy, in otherwords, if you guys are really
born again, if the Spirit of Godis really working in your heart
to create these attitudes, thenfulfill my joy.
How are you going to fulfillthe apostles' joy?
How are you going to make Paulhappy?
Well, by being like-minded, inother words, by being agreeable
(17:23):
with one another, by agreeingover the Word of God, that the
Word of God is truth, right.
By being like-minded, in otherwords, by being agreeable with
one another, by agreeing overthe word of God, that the word
of God is truth, right, by beinglike-minded, having the same
love, in other words, loving thethings that God loves, having
the same love, being of oneaccord and one mind.
Let nothing be done throughselfish ambition or conceit, but
(17:48):
in lowliness of mind.
Let each of us esteem othersbetter than himself.
Let each of you look out notonly for his own interests, but
also the interests of others.
You see, so what Paul is sayingvery simply is this as
(18:08):
Christians, if we're reallybelievers, we should be more
concerned about what is good foryou than we are about what is
good for me.
But likewise, you should bemore concerned about what is
good for me than about what isgood for you.
You see, think about this Ifeach one of us worries about
(18:30):
what's good for ourselves, thenhow many people are worried
about what's good for you?
One person, right.
But if each of us is moreconcerned about what is good for
the others than for ourselves,then how many people are worried
about what's good for you?
So which one makes more sense?
Is it better for 49 people tobe concerned about you or for
(18:52):
one person to be concerned aboutyou.
I mean, it's simple math.
So it's good for us as a bodyto be concerned about one
another, to consider one anotherabove ourselves, to look out
for the interests of each otherrather than for our own
interests and, what's more, whenwe do that, it's pleasing to
(19:12):
God.
He likes it when his childrentreat each other with kindness.
How many of you have kids?
Do you like it when your kidsfight?
No, you hate it when your kidsfight.
Do you like it when your kidsget along with each other?
Absolutely, you love it whenyour kids fight.
No, you hate it when your kidsfight.
Do you like it when your kidsget along with each other?
Absolutely, you love it whenyour kids get along with each
other.
So, thus, saith the Lord, kidsget along with each other.
(19:34):
And I'm not talking to thelittle ones, I'm talking to you
grownups.
Are you children of God oraren't you?
So if you like it when yourchildren behave, then don't you
think the Lord likes it when youbehave?
If you like it when yourchildren behave, then don't you
think the Lord likes it when youbehave?
If you like it when yourchildren live in harmony with
each other, don't you think Godlikes it when you, his children,
live in harmony with each other.
(19:54):
You, as parents, want yourchildren to obey you.
Well, if you're children of God, then you ought to obey him,
not because by obeying himyou'll become children of God,
but rather ought to obey him Notbecause by obeying him you'll
become children of God, butrather obey him because you are
children of God.
Be children that bless hisheart, be children that make
(20:17):
your father happy.
Treat each other with kindness,love one another.
You know he's given us theexample.
Philippians 2, verse 5,.
Let this mind be in you, whichwas also in Christ Jesus.
In other words, the attitudethat I am asking you to have is
an attitude that was shown toyou by Jesus himself Let this
(20:39):
mind be in you which was also inChrist Jesus who, being in the
form of God, did not consider itrobbery to be equal with God.
In other words, jesus was God'sequal.
Father, son, holy Spirit's partof the Godhead, he's God, did
not consider it robbery to beequal with God, but made himself
of no reputation.
(20:59):
Taking the form of a servant andcoming in the likeness of men
and being found in appearance asa man, he humbled himself and
became obedient to the point ofdeath, even the death of the
cross.
Therefore, god also has highlyexalted him and given him the
name which is above every name,that at the name of Jesus every
(21:21):
knee should bow to stay inheaven.
He had the right to cling tohis glory.
(21:47):
He had the right to neversuffer pain and to never die.
Those were his rights as God.
But he laid aside those rightsand came to earth in the form of
a man, laid aside those rightsand came to earth in the form of
a man.
He wasn't born in a palace or ina sultan's tent.
(22:10):
He wasn't born into the lap ofluxury.
He was born in a stable.
He wasn't the child of anearthly king or of a governor or
an emperor, as it were, or evenof a earthly king or of a
governor or an emperor, as itwere, or even of a wealthy
(22:31):
merchant.
He became the child of aworking-class couple who were
just trying to keep body andsoul together, joseph being a
carpenter.
He was born into a humbleestate and he humbled himself,
even to the point of death on across.
You see, he was more concernedabout what was good for us than
(22:51):
he was about what was good forhimself.
Let that attitude that was inhim be in you.
And now I've finished talking tothe Christians for a moment and
I want to talk again to thosewho don't consider themselves
Christians or, more importantly,have never received Jesus
Christ as their Lord and Savior.
(23:11):
In the passage that we justread, the scripture tells us
that there is a day coming whenevery knee will bow and every
tongue will confess that JesusChrist is Lord.
Now the choice is yours.
You can do it now and receiveeternal life, or you can do it
(23:34):
later, before the throne ofjudgment, and spend an eternity
in hell.
God does not want you to spendan eternity in hell.
That's why he allowed you tohear this gospel message today.
He wants you to turn from yoursin and turn to Jesus Christ, so
(23:56):
that you can be forgiven foryour sins and receive eternal
life in him.
That's what he wants for youtoday, and that's the
opportunity that I want topresent to you, right now.
Speaker 1 (24:12):
The Christian life was never designed to be a solo
flight.
God designed us with the needfor relationships with others
who can encourage us in ourpersonal journey of faith.
Maybe you're listening todayand you don't have a home church
and this message, minister,deal.
Well, we'd like to take thistime to invite you to join us
for one of our worship services.
Calvary Chapel Southwest Metromeets each Sunday morning at 10
(24:36):
30 am and Wednesday evenings at7 pm.
Besides our Sunday morningservices, we have ministries for
children, men, women, couplesand youth.
To learn more about CalvaryChapel Southwest Metro, log on
to heaththewordorg.
That's heaththewordorg and whenyou get there, just follow the
(24:56):
link.
Or, if you'd like to talk withsomeone, give us a call.
Our phone number is817-447-5675.
That's 817-447-5675.
So visit the website or call ustoday.
Now we also want to encourageyou to review this study.
This study and many more taughtby Pastor Ken are available at
(25:19):
our website, heedthewordorg.
Many of Pastor Ken's teachingsare available in MP3 format.
You can also receive a CD copyof this message.
Simply log on to heedthewordorgand select the option for CD
requests.
The CD that you'll receive isthe full-length, unedited
teaching.
When you fill out the orderform, please keep in mind
(25:40):
today's date.
This helps us make sure that wesend you the correct message.
Well, that's all the time wehave for today.
Please join Pastor Ken nexttime as he continues teaching
through our series entitledLessons for Christian Living,
right here on.
Heed the Word.
Popular Podcasts
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.