Opportunities In Preparing the Way

The speaker is reflecting on a recent conference where they were inspired by the opportunity for the entire church to benefit from the previous work and talents of individuals like Fred. They emphasize the importance of recognizing and taking advantage of opportunities, citing missed opportunities in their own life as examples. They discuss the need to be led by the Holy Spirit and to be doers of the word. They highlight the abundance of literature and resources available to the church and the importance of utilizing them. They mention the upcoming elders' conference where all elders will have the opportunity to speak before the livestream, emphasizing that it is a valuable opportunity for both elders and members of the church. Well, hello, everyone, and greetings from Indianapolis. I'm very happy to be here. Last week we had a conference, an elders conference in March the 12th, Sunday, and it was, I'll just tell you, it was the best conference I do believe we've ever had. It was very good. What I saw and what I heard, I want to pass some of this on to you. What really stuck with me was an additional opportunity that presented itself to the church during that conference. The entire church, not just the elders, but the entire church. It's an opportunity for us to continue to move forward and to benefit from the labors of those who have come before. And what I mean by that is basically Fred and all the writing and the research, the speaking, the books, the booklets, the talents that God has put in Fred. He's made us all individual. Fred has some individual talents, and Fred has allowed God to use him. He's submitted to that, and he's been very willing to use those talents. God has taken that and benefited the church. All this work that's gone before, the labors that have gone before, that's what I'm talking about. There's a foundation that has been built, and that is built on Christ. Of course, we know Colossians 2 and 19, it says that Christ is the head of the church, and Ephesians 2.20 says he's the foundation, he's the cornerstone. And that's what we build on. But Fred has built on that, and now we have literature. We have this wonderful literature, more than any other organization has. We have reams of books and CDs and sermons and such, and we're branching out. We're building on that. That's what I'm talking about. This is an additional opportunity for us to continue to move forward in the church and to benefit from the labors of those that have gone before us. It says it's secret. Benjamin Desirelli says that the secret of success is to be ready when opportunity comes, when your opportunity comes. And I do believe that this is an opportunity that's coming to all of us. Of course, you have to take advantage of it. You have to recognize it to take advantage of an opportunity, don't you? And you have to have the energy and the desire to go ahead and take it, to take advantage of that opportunity. Missed opportunities go nowhere. They become lost. They don't come around again. I can remember one time in Indianapolis years ago and worldwide that there was somebody in the congregation that was sick, and they made the announcement. And they asked for a visit, and anyone that wanted to come by and visit, they gave the room number, told them where and when and all. And so we left about Tuesday of that week. I can remember driving by the hospital, and I looked up and I saw the door, and I looked over and I saw a parking spot. And I had about an hour and a half before my next meeting, and I just kept driving. I just kept driving. I didn't go up. I didn't go in. It really bothered me, and as you can see, I remember it to this day. Why am I not taking that opportunity to go up there? The Spirit was leading me. Romans tells us in Romans 8, it talks about those that are the sons of God are led by the Holy Spirit. It was telling me there was someone up there that needed to be visited, and I didn't do it. The parable of the talents, we remember the talents, and the man buried his talent, and it was given away to the one that had more. And then, of course, the five foolish virgins, right, they missed an opportunity big time and knocked on the door. The door was shut, and they knocked on, and they weren't allowed to go in. Another major one of missed opportunities in God's Word, God gives us these little reminders that we need to grab the opportunity when it comes, to step up, take hold of it, and do what is laid in front of us. Matthew 7, 21 and 23, I think through 23, I think we all know that. I'll just read it real quick. 18, it says, A good tree cannot produce evil fruit, nor can a corrupt tree produce good fruit. Every tree that is not producing good fruit is cut down and cast into the fire. Therefore, you shall surely know them by their fruits. You see, you have to take hold of an opportunity, a good opportunity, and then that will bear fruit if you put it in God's hands and you're led by the Spirit, and it's good works, works of that Spirit through you, through Christ working in you. Not everyone that says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but the one who is doing the will of my Father who is in heaven. So many today are going to say to me, he says, many say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not cast out demons through your name? And did we not perform many works of power through your name? That's happening. People think they're doing these things, and we think that we're on board, we're okay, we're doing these things. And then it says, and then I will confess to them, I never knew you. Depart from me, you who work lawlessness. Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and practices them takes the opportunity to do what they hear. Be a doer of the word. Do the opportunity that's set before us, and then we'll have the benefit that comes, and we'll talk about that in a minute. I will compare him to a wise man who built his house on the rock, and we all know what the rock is, the Jesus Christ. He is the cornerstone that builds the building, that the building is built on. He is the wise architect, the master builder. He's the potter. Christ is busy. He says, I work, and my father works. He's not sitting back in a corner somewhere. He's hands-on with you and with me and with the church. He knows what's happening with the church, and that's what makes these opportunities so valuable and so important. We'll talk about that. One quote I picked up in doing this, I said, I've learned that opportunities are never lost. Someone will take yours. Doesn't that remind you of the crown being lost that he said in Revelation 3? Take your crown. Every minute we spend worrying about the future, we'll get back to that, and regretting the past is a minute we miss in our appointment with life, a missed opportunity to engage life and to see that each moment gives us a chance to change for the better. Isn't that what we're about? To experience peace and joy. Christ said, My peace I leave with you. To experience that. We experience that by being active, being in the arena, being in there and doing the things that are laid before us. And we have an opportunity now with this conference, another building block to the church, and we'll talk about that. Okay, I definitely want to talk about that in the conference. There were many things that happened in the conference, but this is the one that really stuck out with me. I think it shocked everyone. It showed everyone that we are not sitting still, that Fred is not done and that Jonathan is planning and thinking. You know, in Proverbs 29, 18, it says, Where there is no vision, people perish. Where there is no vision, it takes thought. God gives some visionaries into the church, in the church, in the body, and they look and they see and they plan and they schedule for the future. The fact that there are exciting opportunities for all of us in this, and for the future, and for you, and for me, and for the elders, and for the members, whether you're a widow, a widower, whether you're single, married couple, young, old, it doesn't matter. Whether you're an elder, it doesn't matter. We're all sheep, aren't we? Psalm 103 says, We are the sheep of his pasture, and Christ is the good shepherd. He also is the lamb of God, so he was both sheep, a lamb, and a shepherd. He understands what we go through. He's planning. He has a plan for us, for the future, for each of us individually, and for the church. Matthew 16 talks about, 16, 15 talks about, that the gates of hell will not prevail against the church. That's promised. The church is always going to be here, isn't it? I mean, why are we worried sometimes? You know, I know you have heard, and I've heard probably 30 or 40 times, people come to me and say, you know, let's just get it out there, because Fred mentioned in the conference, what are we going to do, what are you going to do when I'm gone? Right? No longer an elephant in the room, the subject. He brought it out, and he's done it before. It's a subject that he talks about, and that shows that he's a wise steward, that he's trying to be a steward of the possession that God's given him. What's going to happen when I'm gone? God's allowed him to produce all these, and through Fred, God has given us this library of this unbelievable wealth of accurate truth. I made a trip out to Hollister to pick up everything we had, because I deemed it very important. Accurate truth. I made the trip for another reason, too, but that was very important to me, to have that. It should be important to you, too. We should be studying it and meditating on it and ingesting it and making it part of our lives, walking it, doing it. That's an opportunity for us to have good grass, good feed from the shepherd, good water, clear, crystal water that we can use and drink and be refreshed and grow in grace and knowledge so that we come to the fullness of the measure, the stature of Jesus Christ. That's the whole point. And the church is where we have that fortress, that place out of the storm that we can come to and that we can worship and that we can be fellowshipping with one another. So that's what I'm talking about in this. Fred and Jonathan revealed in the Elders Conference, Jonathan told us about we're all going to have the opportunity, all the elders, to speak 30 minutes before the livestream. And so you're going to hear from all the elders, whoever wants to avail themselves of that opportunity. And it's open for all. It's a great opportunity not only for the elders but for you, too, because you get an opportunity to hear from those who labor among you and their experiences and what they know and what they've gone through. And you're going to benefit from that. And then you're going to have the knowledge, and you can put it into practice. And they're going to continue to grow, and they're going to continue to get better, and they're going to continue to study on their own and grow in that so they can be better speakers and, through God's Holy Spirit, be better pastors. A pastor is someone who cares for the sheep. If they have a flock, a small flock, they're a pastor. They feed that sheep. They feed water and give them water and shade and take care of the birds and the cuts and make sure they walk in the right path, the path of righteousness. And they care for the sheep. That's a pastor. Now, a teacher and pastor go together. A teacher is someone who feeds, who knows the truth well, and has studied it and teaches others. And God has given us as guides, given those to you. You benefit from that. And you are to be learning to be a teacher. Be ready to give an answer for the hope that lies within you. And that means ready. Now, that's impromptu. Be ready to impromptu. We do something on GoToMeeting that, in the end, we have a discussion, and those questions are answered impromptu. You have to be ready to give an answer. And if you're on there, you get an opportunity to hone your skills, to test an iron sharpening iron, to become sharp in the word of God and handling, learning to handle it. Not only the elders, but the individual attendees that are there, the members that are there, and all things done decently and in honor of one another, decently and in order, not confused, not having, you know, try to monitor that. But those are the things that we're going to benefit from by this opportunity of the elders speaking. We're going to learn several things. We're going to have many, many benefits from all of this. This should be something that's very exciting. It was to me. And it reminded me of 2 Timothy 1, 6. It says, For this reason I admonish you to stir up the gift of God that is in you by the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. All these are things that we will receive and grow in, a sound mind. How do you handle the scriptures? How do you understand the truth? If you've ever had to give an answer for something, you've never done it before, and you hear yourself speak, the first time you go, oh, maybe I don't know it as well as I thought, or maybe I say that. You find out what you understand, but that through practice. Now, we're all going to be teachers someday, aren't we? Every one of us here, all of you out there, you're going to be teachers and guides in the world tomorrow. And you're teachers and guides now as people come to you and they say, hey, you look different, you're different. Tell me about why you're different, and you get an opportunity to share that with people as God leads you to do that. But in the future, very much so, we're learning to be kings and priests. All this, if we're not involved in these opportunities, if we don't tune in to the live stream and we have something else going on, you're going to miss out. You have an opportunity with GoToMeeting to come in. We have seats for 10,000 people. If you want to come on, just give me an email, I'll set you up, and you can come on and be part of that, enjoy that, and interact. Be part of that GoToMeeting. We have Breaking Bread. Breaking Bread is a Bible study. I put out an invitation last time for everyone. Of course, we want to do things decently in order. We have policies and procedures that love one another and respect and honor one another. But that's not a problem with the Church of God. It has not been. There are a couple that get outside of that, but that's not a problem. For the most part, we're very loving and caring for one another and respectful. But these are opportunities, see? These are building blocks to the church. The church isn't going away just because it's appointed to all men once to die, every one of us. We're all going to die. Fred is concerned about what's going to happen because it's up to us. It's not up to Fred because if Fred is gone, he's not, you know, there's not no thought or action or word in the grave where you go. And it's over for our loved ones, too, that have gone. They don't think. They don't praise God. It's over. They're waiting the resurrection. Graduation Day, you know, will come, but they've finished school. So here it is. He's very wise in his desire to help us prepare for that. And God has given us the tools. He's given us the building blocks. Are we taking advantage? That's the point. Are we taking advantage of these opportunities that he gives us? Then he says, Therefore, you should not be ashamed of the testimony, the word, the testimony of the Lord, nor of me, his prisoner, but jointly suffer with me for the sake of the gospel. Get in there and work. Get in there in the arena and fight. Suffer with me for the sake of the gospel according to the power of this Holy Spirit leading and guiding, the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, each and every one of us. What are we doing with it? Do we get in times where we're down and we don't quite do what we should? Maybe we get lethargic or weary. And that's understandable. But fire up that spirit and get back in it. Get back in there. A holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose, Jeremiah 29, 11. He has a purpose for us and grace that we grow in. But we have to avail ourselves of these opportunities to grow, which has given us in Jesus Christ before the ages of time always. It's always there. These new additional developments and opportunities that we've gotten in the conference and that we're going to start seeing on a regular basis on Sabbath in the live stream are a source of inspiration and encouragement as we go forward in CBCG. What's going to happen to CBCG when Fred dies? Nobody is like Fred, and that's true. And guess what? Nobody's like you. Nobody's like me. Nobody's like the next person because God personally puts us together. He gives us personal traits and abilities that are different from others to be used in the development and the growth of his church now and in the future. So the skills and abilities that Fred has been given are unbelievable, what he's left us. So now we move to another time. God is done with that. He's provided all this, and it's there. We move to the next. And I just like to say, I pray every day that Fred will live. I don't want to see Fred go, and Fred doesn't want to see himself go, but he knows that we all know that's going to happen. So we have to be visionaries, right? We have to look and see. And Jonathan is, and Fred, they are preparing. And we need to be part of that in preparing. We need to kick it into gear personally, in our personal lives, to be part of the operation to make this happen, to make sure that CBCG doesn't go away. And God will provide the leadership in each of us. He has his plan. He's laying it out now. He's letting us see that we can work together. Look at what happened at the New Testament church. There were 12 apostles. They all worked together, didn't they? Churches were held in homes. Ministers went around, all set up elders in different areas. But they worked together. There were some that came to the leadership roles, but God moved those leadership roles around, here, there, and all around. And they had a conference on Acts 15. They came together to discern what needed to be done. And so God worked it that way. But they loved one another. They worked together. I'm sure they had their personality problems, like any group of humans will have. But with the Holy Spirit being common and one spirit working together, one body, it was taken care of. God can do that again. So we just need to be here and pray and ask God, put it in God's hands, ask him to lead us, guide us in what we do, guide Jonathan, guide each and every one of the elders to become leaders, to support one another, to esteem others greater than themselves, to raise others up. And when that happens, God blesses our efforts. I've seen that. You raise other people up. You get out of the way, and God blesses it. He did it in June 6, 2017, when he inspired GoToMeeting to start. It's been six years now, and God has blessed it. He started livestream, I think, a couple years, maybe a year and a half ago. I can't remember exactly when. But God has blessed that. And now he's adding to it another dimension of bringing all the elders together and allowing them to have an opportunity to speak and you to get to know them and you to hear them and benefit from them and them to grow in their preparation. And maybe you'll have an elder that's in the town where you live. You didn't know it. And then we can get a fellowship to get approved together or whatever. There are many blessings from it. So it is a very exciting time that we're running into, okay? There are many other things that we can do. And I've got some ideas, and we all have ideas and things that God can bless and bring to help grow and widen our effectiveness, not in numbers. Here's the thing. It's not in numbers. It's in the personal growth. We're the workmanship of Christ. He's the potter, and he's the wise architect of the building and of the house of God and of the church of God, the church of the firstborn. He is the one that's doing it, okay? So these are the building blocks that he's given us. But in order for us to benefit from it, we have to take advantage of it. We have to be in there, in the arena. Both the speaker and the listener have the opportunity. We increase in the understanding of God's Word and speak the truth in love. Ephesians 4 talks about that. Learn to feed my sheep, he told Peter. Feed my sheep. This is an opportunity to teach the Word, to learn the Word, to learn how to handle the Word, both the listener and the elder, and to change our lives, overcome grace and grow in grace and knowledge. 1 Peter 4 and 10, it says, Let each one, according as he has received the gift from God, be using it to serve others as good stewards of the grace of God, which manifests itself in various ways, all sorts of different ways. If anyone speaks, let it be as the words of God, not something else, not brambles and briars and thick thistles that hurt the sheep. If anyone serves, and we all should be doing that, listener, speaker, let it be as from the strength which God supplies, so that in everything God may be glorified, and that's what we search for, that's what we hope for, through Jesus Christ, to whom is the glory and the power from the ages of eternity. So, Colossians 3, 17, what we should be doing on a daily basis, In everything, whatever you do, in word and in deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father by him. Each of us has been given by God certain gifts to be used by the body. And we've seen in Fred wonderful gifts. And we are now, if Fred dies, God will have something else for us to learn as a church. And he'll take care of that. You know, we put our trust in him. And we support whatever he does. That's what we do. We support, we esteem others better than ourselves. We get in there, get in the arena, get in there where the action is. Don't sit back. I've had naysayers and people who want to put down, you know, yeah, now what are you going to do when Fred dies? Yeah, huh? Now you have to come back to one of the other churches. No, that's not the way it's going to be. It's not what God had in mind. It's not going to happen. You can read, we won't have time for it, but 1 Corinthians 12. Everybody has something to contribute. It's just a matter of being given the opportunity to do so. And right now we have the opportunity. Okay. So I want to read something to you. It's been on my wall, and it's something that I go, I love, and I put it, internalize it, and I do it. I do everything for the glory of God, and I get out of the way, and I ask God to help me to do this. But here, Teddy Roosevelt wrote this on April 23, 1910. It says, the man in the arena, or the Christian in the arena, if you want to say, or the individual that takes hold of the opportunity that's laid before them. Okay. And you're always going to have somebody that says, well, I got something else to do. Oh, you know, I don't want to do that. Or you got the grasshopper who plays the fiddles and laughs and cuts up and plays music. Always a good joker. But when it gets cold, he freezes to death, and he's out in the cold. He hears, I never knew you. He never takes an opportunity seriously. He never jumps in and commits himself. The man in the arena. Now, think about it. Is this you? If it isn't, then maybe this should be you. It is not the critic who counts. Not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles. Or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming. But who does actually strive to do the deeds, who knows great enthusiasms and great devotions, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat. But we know that we will if we strive and we stay in the arena and we give it everything we have. We ask God to forgive us for our failings and our errors. And he does, through the blood of Christ. Reconciled and redeemed, made justified like Christ. And we stick with it and stay with it, and we hold up the hands of the feeble, but also those that are in the arena, and we're in there with them. We're not in the stands criticizing. We're in the arena. We're making the changes. We have an opportunity. We have opportunities before us. Take them. Ask God to lead you and guide you in them. Put them in his hands. Trust in him and ask him what you can do physically and trust in him for the spiritual outcome, and he will do it. And it will work. This is a great, great conference, wonderful conference. Think about what's coming, and when you see the 30-minute section, listen. Get to know these guys, those that labor among you, and let's learn from them and let's grow from them, and let's internalize and let's be part of, all of us, one in the body of Christ and in CBCG. So have a good day, a good Sabbath, and I'll talk to you later.