In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the importance of valuing and embracing instruction and admonishment. He quotes Proverbs 4:13, which encourages believers to hold fast to instruction because it is their life. The preacher also references Proverbs 8:33, which urges listeners to hear instruction and be wise. He emphasizes the need to turn away from darkness and repent, highlighting Peter's sermon in Acts 2:36-39 as an example of repentance and baptism for the remission of sins. The sermon concludes with a reminder of God's love and the importance of loving Him more.

Hello, this is Brother Denny. Welcome to Charity Ministries. Our desire is that your life would be blessed and changed by this message. This message is not copyrighted and is not to be bought or sold. You are welcome to make copies for your friends and neighbors. If you would like additional messages, please go to our website for a complete listing at www.charityministries.org. If you would like a catalog of other sermons, please call 1-800-227-7902 or write to Charity Ministries, 400 West Main Street, Suite 1, EFRA PA 17522. These messages are offered to all without charge by the freewill offerings of God's people. A special thank you to all who support this ministry. Father in heaven, thank you for loving us, Lord. Father, we can only love you because you first loved us. You loved us first and best. You loved us with an everlasting love. You loved us while we were yet in sin and trespasses. You loved us so much that you gave the best, your only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. Praise you, Lord. Father, we love you, but oh, we want to love you more. More love to thee, oh, more love to thee. Father, today we come in Jesus' name and we just do thank you for the blessing of fellowship and coming together, Lord, to worship, to hear your word. Father, to receive of you, and Father, now we do ask you humbly, Lord, would you continue, Father, to pour out your blessings and your grace upon us, Lord? For, Father, all is vain unless you come, Father, but yet, Lord, we know that you're here, Father, for where two or three are gathered in your name, there you are. There's a lot more than two or three, and, Father, we thank you for each one that is here. We ask your blessing upon each one, and, Father, those that would be listening by way of telephone, maybe they're sick, Lord, or couldn't be here for various reasons, we ask your blessing upon them too, Lord. And, Father, maybe it's a tape that someone's listening to. We ask you to touch them and bless them wherever they are, God. Oh, Father, we pray that you would just take your word and enliven and quicken it to our hearts, Father, by the Holy Ghost, Lord. Oh, God, that we may see the Lord Jesus and be changed from glory to glory, pressing on higher, pressing toward the mark, preparing the way of the Lord. Oh, God, this is our heart's desiring prayer. We praise you in Jesus' name. Amen. You may be seated. I want to encourage you this morning. Like we said at the brothers' meeting, our heart's desire is to have a time of just drawing near to the Lord as a church family. As it were, just pulling up our chairs, getting in a nice, tight little circle, laying aside our fears, our inhibitions, and just opening up our hearts to the Lord and say, Oh, Lord, here am I. Speak to me. Cleanse me. Purge me. Wash me. Heal me, Lord. I'm in need. Deliver me, Father. I need help. That we can, just as it were, pull our chairs together in a nice little circle, put a couple logs on the fire, and have warm fellowship together. Not a frivolous time. Not a time to just have fun. But a time to draw near to Jesus. A time to gather around and press in, like they did when they knew that Jesus was in the house. And they gathered around the house, so much so that they couldn't get near with their sick person to find healing, to get him to Jesus. So they climbed up on the roof, and they opened up the roof, and they led him down through the roof. Oh, glory. May the Lord give us such a heart of persistence that will not give up. If I didn't get my need met today, or Monday night, or Tuesday night, I'm not giving up. If I need to break up the roof. So I just want to encourage us. We chose on... Well, we didn't really choose not to have corporate meetings based upon this need. But as we had decided not to have a larger in-gathering in August and have a tent, or have the meetings up at Ephrod, invite people from across the nation, we just had a burden and felt it would be so good to just have the church family be able to gather together night after night, and just nurture the local body. Preach. Teach. Admonish. Exhort. Do you want to grow? I know you do. We're going to look at some Scriptures that will show us how we can grow. Turn with me to Romans chapter 15. Your Bibles this morning. Romans chapter 15. Beautiful chapter. Verse 13. Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing that ye may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost. And I myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another. The God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing. You know, when we come to the Lord Jesus Christ, we must come believing. We must come in faith. God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him, but those that come to God must believe that He is. So when you come with your cup, and you say it's only half full, or maybe it's dry, maybe you feel like you're in a dry and a thirsty land, and your soul is panting out for the living God, but you know when you come, bringing your empty vessels, not a few, come, bring your vessels, all of them, all of your needs, come just as you are, but come believing. Jesus often said, when people came with needs and requests, He said, do you believe that I'm able to do this? Maybe we have to say like the father of that little child. He said, yea Lord, I believe, but help thou mine unbelief. We find ourselves there sometimes, because we've had a long, hard struggle and battle with an area of a besetting sin, or maybe an infirmity, or a need, and we're crying out to God, and it's been a long-standing problem, but I'm glad to tell you this morning, Jesus is the specialist of long-standing problems. That woman had an issue of blood for 18 years, but when she reached out in faith, and she pressed through the crowd, and touched but the hem of His garment, she was healed instantly of her infirmity. But she had to lay aside her reserves, she had to lay aside her fears, she had to lay aside her inhibitions, and purpose, and determine, I'm going to press through the crowd. No matter what it takes, I'm going to press through the crowd, and I'm going to get to Jesus. Oh, we want to encourage you, brothers and sisters this week, lay aside as much as you can, the cares and the duties of life, just lay them aside as much as you can. I know we have jobs to do, families to provide for, but I want to encourage you, lay aside the things of the crowded life, that crowd out coming to the Lord Jesus, lay them aside as much as you can, and come believing, expecting in a God who is able to do exceedingly, abundantly, above all that we could ask or think. What a mighty God we serve. Do you have a need this morning? We all have needs, but how do we approach our Heavenly Father concerning our needs? Sometimes we get pretty discouraged, and it looks pretty hopeless, but the Word of God tells us, the God of hope. The God of hope. Not hopelessness. The God of hope. Oh, I like that. He gives hope to the hopeless, to the down and outers, who are at wit's end corner. God is the God of hope. Fill you with all joy, and you don't feel very joyful. Maybe your cup of joy is a little low, running a little empty. God can fill up your cup again. He can do that. Peace in believing, that you may abound in hope. A lively hope, because we serve a lively God. He is the living God. He is the God of the living, not the God of the dead. But He raises the dead. Oh, yes. He raises the dead. So, if you are dead in trespasses and sins this morning, and you need to be saved, God raises the dead through the power of the Holy Ghost. You know, it's not because we pull our chairs together, and we gather around, and we just help each other, that our needs are going to be met. It's because there is a God who created each one of us, and made us and formed us for Himself. And He knows what we are made of. He knows that we are made of dust. And He looks down upon us, and He has pity upon us. And He reaches down, and He lifts us up out of that married clay, and sets our feet upon a solid rock. It's because of Him. It's because of the Holy Ghost being present. That's why. That's why. So, our expectation is in Him. You want to grow? Are you willing to respond to the Lord in whatever He shows you? Is your heart open? Is your life open? Very important. We've seen people sit through meetings where the presence of God was present, and people were getting saved, people's lives were getting touched, their lives were being filled with hope and faith. But others went out from those same meetings untouched. Perhaps it was because they sat there like this, and narrowly looked at the preacher, or narrowly dissected the words that were said, and had a closed heart. Could it be? Am I willing to respond when God speaks to me and lays His finger on my heart in an area of need in my life? Am I willing to respond? The title of the message today is Able to admonish one another. He says, I am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another. The word admonish means to warn, to notify of a fault, to reprove with mildness, to counsel against wrong practices, to caution or advise, to instruct or direct, to admonish of a fault committed, or against committing a fault, able to admonish one another. If you are looking at a number of Scriptures, Hebrews 10, 23 tells us, Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering, for He is faithful that promised, and let us consider one another to provoke unto love and good works, and that has the meaning of considering one another, is to give attentive, continuous care, watching over one another. Attentive care one to another, watching over one another, and to provoke unto love and good works, to stir up, to stimulate, to love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another, and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. Now the word exhorting, and the word admonish, is the same root word. So let us exhort one another, let us admonish one another, let us encourage one another, and so much the more, all the more faithfully, all the more diligently, as ye see the day approaching. This is a New Testament standard, this is a Biblical standard, not just New Testament, this is a Biblical standard, admonishing one another. Colossians 3.16 tells us, let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another, in psalms, in hymns, in spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. But you know, that is something that I believe that we are standing in need of, to stir up our hearts and our minds, because this thing of admonishing one another is not real popular, doesn't go over real good many times. Because we all want to live our lives to ourselves, and we say, well it's just between me and Jesus, I don't need anybody else to tell me anything, so we have our guard up. If the Lord will tell me straight, well then I can receive it, but if somebody else comes to me, hmm... You know there's different responses to admonishment. I was blessed with the opening meditation. Prepare ye the way of the Lord. If you come with a heart that is open, wanting to grow, not holding back, no secret places, open to the admonishment, to the prophesying of the Word of God, and to the reproof and correction and instruction of God, God will meet you there. You're going to go home with a blessing. Your life will be changed. But if you come closed, listen to what the Word of God says. Hear counsel and receive instruction that thou mayest be wise in the latter end. Proverbs 19.20 Now to hear, is to perceive by the ear. Can you hear me this morning? Sure you can. You can hear me. That's the first definition. To perceive by the ear, you know you hear the sound waves, they come into your ear, and there's a little ear drum in there, and it vibrates, and it translates those vibrations into intelligible understandings in your brain. I mean, it's amazing the way God made us. Some people are deaf, they can't hear. I can be up here and talk as loud as I want, and they can't hear me. But you can hear me this morning. The Word of God says, he that has an ear to hear, let him hear what the Lord says to the churches. I believe God's going to speak to the church at Charity Christian Fellowship this week. God is going to speak to us. May we set our hearts to look at ourselves, and not deflect it. You know, a deflector, holding it up. Oh, that's good for those people over there. Or that congregation over there. Or my sister over here. Or my brother sitting beside me. He needs to hear this. You know, you won't get much out of it that way. Hear counsel, receive instruction, that thou mayest be wise To hear with the heart is to give an audience an attendance and to listen and to give an allowance to speak. So when the Lord comes with a gentle admonition, do you give him audience? Do you hear? When the Lord chooses to use a brother or a sister to come with a gentle admonition and admonish, do you allow them to speak? Do you attend? To listen? Hear counsel, receive instruction, that thou mayest be wise in the latter end. To receive instruction is to take a thing offered or sent and to accept it. To receive is to take a thing that is communicated and to receive it. To receive is to receive a word of counsel or opinion from others. How do we receive? To receive is to embrace. To receive is to allow. To receive is to admit. Hear counsel. Receive instruction that thou mayest be wise in the latter end. Prepare ye the way of the Lord. I'm not going to ask you to make a vow this morning, but you know what? If you come with a heart that says, yes Lord, whatever you show me, whatever you speak to me, I will respond. God's going to speak to people like that. Do you know that? God's going to speak to those people. But if you come closed, as a Christian now, you come closed, I don't want to go any farther. This is enough. I don't know that I can assure that you'll go away with a blessing. Sometimes God so powerfully moves that the people that have their guards up, God breaks them down. But it is a dangerous thing to come that way. God may just let you there. He might. Listen to the two different responses. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. Here's the other response. Fools despise wisdom. They scorn at it. They disdain it. They have a lowest opinion of it. I don't want to hear it. Fools despise wisdom and instruction. Hear instruction, be wise, and refuse it not. Proverbs 8,33 To refuse is to deny. My brother, could I share with you a need in your life that I see? Could I just share my heart with you? And then, what is our response? Denial. You're being too hard on me. I really don't think that's fair. I mean, denial. Self-defense. I'm going to keep that shell around me. Denial. Rejection. To reject. To refuse instruction or reproof. As worthless. As of no value. You're going to be wise? Hear counsel. Receive instruction that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end. Or you're going to be a fool? Fool. Fools despise wisdom and instruction. They scorn at it. They disdain it. They have a low opinion of the counsel and of the wisdom that is given. They refuse it. Thrust it aside. Drive it back. Repulsed. Begin to speak and spew out. I can't believe they said such a thing about me. Oh, but I trust that here this morning there's many who are wise. And like Paul said, I have this confidence and am persuaded of you, my brethren, that you are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another. How many times have we heard the testimonies of a brother or sister standing up here saying, if you see anything in my life that is not Christlike, that doesn't glorify God, please come and share it with me. Please come and admonish me. We've heard that, right? We've said that. Yes? Amen. But are we doing it? It would be interesting to find out how many ever received an admonishment that was from the heart to the heart in this congregation. How many have given one? You know, brothers and sisters, if we want to grow, want to go on with God, we must open up our hearts to the Lord and to one another, be able to admonish one another with grace in our hearts. I don't mean going around picking on each other. No. But in Christian brotherly love, admonishing one another, exhorting one another. And so much the more, as you see the day approaching, I need it. I can't see everything by myself. I need it. I believe it's in Hebrews 3 where it talks about it in this way that about admonishing one another, about exhorting one another, lest any be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. Do we want to just let each other go? Say, I saw it coming. I can see it. But no, we didn't say anything. Oh, that we would have the grace in our hearts to be able to admonish one another. Now, that means we need to be able to give an admonition. We also need to be able to take it. Sometimes I've heard this statement. Well, I'm not going to say anything to those people again or to that person again because they didn't receive it. They were offended. Sometimes people make statements like this. Well, go sweep at your own door. If everybody would sweep at their own door, then all of our houses would be clean. That is a lie from the enemy who is against Christ and God's Word. That's not right. That is a human reasoning, a human philosophy and something to try to belittle a person who comes to share in Christian love in an admonishment. Well, if you go home, sweep at your door, what about you? When someone comes with an admonition, it's not time to point the finger at them. But it's time to just open up our hearts and to receive. Turn with me to Proverbs 1. Able to admonish one another. It is the standard of the Bible. It is the standard in God's church. Proverbs 1, beginning in verse 1, It says in the Proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel, to know wisdom and instruction, to perceive the words of understanding, to receive the instruction of wisdom, justice and judgment and equity, to give subtlety to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion. A wise man will hear and will increase in learning, and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels. To understand the proverb and the interpretation, words of the wise and dark sayings. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. My son, hear the instruction of thy father and forsake not the law of thy mother, for they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head and chains about thy neck. Beautiful. Beautiful. We'll just quickly look at a number of scriptures. I'll give you the reference. I'm not asking you to turn there necessarily. Proverbs 4, verse 13 says, Take fast hold of instruction. Let her not go. Keep her, for she is thy life. Maybe we need to readjust our attitude. How we view instruction. How we view admonishment when it comes to us. The Bible says, Take fast hold of instruction. Proverbs 4, verse 13. Let her not go. Keep her. It speaks to me of something that is very valuable. Take a good firm hold to instruction. Let her not go. Keep her. Guard her. Why? For she is thy life. You know, if we really believed that instruction and admonishment and counsel and admonition and encouragement and all of these things when they come our way, that we should take fast hold because it is thy life, then we would change our mind about how we view admonishment when it comes our way. Proverbs 8, verse 33 says, Hear instruction and be wise and refuse it not. Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors. For whoso findeth me findeth life and shall obtain favor of the Lord. Oh, glory! Blessed is the man that heareth me, sayeth the Lord, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors. For whoso findeth me findeth life and shall obtain favor of the Lord. Beautiful! But verse 36 says, But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul. All they that hate me love death. These are strong words. But they're wise words. They're true words. Hear instruction. Welcome it. Receive it. Because therein you find life and favor of the Lord. You know, there's hidden this a beautiful, far-reaching blessing. Give instruction to a wise man, he will be yet the wiser. Teach a just man, and he will increase in learning. He is in the way of life that keepeth instruction. It's a beautiful way. The way of life. It's the highway of holiness. It's the way of blessing. It's the way of growth in grace and in wisdom. But you have to have a disciple-learner attitude. If you have a know-it-all attitude, you're not going to gain anything. You're going to smart for it. You're going to hurt for it. He that refuses reproof erroreth. Have you seen it? Have you seen the testimonies, the living testimonies? Those who receive reproof, oh, it's a way of life. Their pathway is paved with life and blessing. But he that refuses and shutteth up his soul, he erroreth in the way. He falls into many hurtful, sinful things in his life who shuts off reproof and correction. A wise man heareth his father's instruction, but a scorner heareth not rebuke. A scoffer won't listen. He'll shut his ears, shut his heart. And like they say, the words run like water off of a duck's back. A scorner will go farther than that. He'll mock the one who's giving him reproof. And he'll deride and criticize and spew that poison out to others. Whoever would listen, be wise. Do not listen to a scorner. Do not listen to one who's spewing out revengeful, hateful, envious, grievous, sinful words. Yeah, that fellow came to me and talked to me about what I'm doing and poison others. Sow some discord toward that brother. He came to me, had the nerve to come to me and talk to me about something in my life. A scorner, a scoffer. He won't listen, but he's not content to just not listen. He has to try to draw others into his mire and spread it around to others and get some support against the one who came and reproved him and admonished him. Oh, that way and that road leads down to destruction. Poverty and shame shall be to him that refuses instruction. He that refuses instruction despises his own soul. He despises his own soul. He doesn't know it, but he despises his own soul. That which would have been good for him, that which would have been life for him, he despises it because it goes against the carnal nature. It goes against my own will. It goes against my own plans. It goes against the Lord that I am over my own life. And I don't want to give up. I don't want to yield. He that refuses instruction, he that ignores instruction, he that shutters his ears to instruction. And you know it's possible someone could be sitting here this morning. They're not holding their hands up like this, but they're shutting their ears to the counsel, to the instruction, to the prophesying of the Word of God even this morning. He that refuses, ignores instruction, correction, despises his own soul. But he that heareth, reproof, geteth understanding. The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom and before honour is humility. Proverbs 15, 32. Hear, counsel, receive instruction that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end. Whoso loveth instruction, loveth knowledge. But he that hateth reproof is brutish. He's brutish. He's like a beast that is undiscerning, indiscriminating and stupid, says the dictionary definition of brutish. Don't be like the ox who has to have a bridle put in his mouth and be led about. Love instruction for it is life. But he that hateth reproof or an admonition is like a beast, like a brute beast. He's brutish. Zechariah 7, 9-14. Please turn there. Zechariah 7, 9-14. Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Execute true judgment and show mercy and compassion every man to his brother. And oppress not the widow nor the fatherless, the stranger nor the poor. And let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart. But they refused to hearken and pulled away the shoulder and stopped their ears that they should not hear. Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law and the words which the Lord of hosts hath sent in his spirit by the former prophets. Therefore came a great wrath from the Lord of hosts. Therefore it is come to pass that as he cried and they would not hear, so they cried and I would not hear, sayeth the Lord of hosts. But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations whom they knew not. Thus the land was desolate after them that no man passed through nor returned. For they laid the pleasant land desolate. This is a sad commentary. When God spoke, they refused to hearken. They pulled away the shoulder. They stepped away. They pulled away. Don't talk to me. It says that they made themselves hard. They made their hearts as an adamant stone. And I looked up that word and it says as a sharp stone or as a flint. As if their stony heart wasn't hard enough, they made it harder. There is a verse in Proverbs also, I believe where it says that he that being oft reproved and stiffens his neck, hardeneth his heart, shall suddenly be destroyed and without remedy. It's a very dangerous thing when you hear the voice of the Lord to harden your heart. They made their hearts as an adamant stone lest they should hear the law and the words which the Lord of hosts sent. I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations. The land was desolate. Do you know anybody like that? Do you know anybody like that who refused to hear words of admonition, words of the Lord speaking to their heart, giving direction and instruction? And they hardened themselves and today, five years, ten years, twenty years later, their life is in shambles. They are scattered as a whirlwind. Oh, my brothers and sisters, hear counsel. Receive instruction that thou mayest be wise in the latter end. Proverbs 1.22 I invite you to turn there, spend a little time there. How long? Proverbs 1.22 How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity and scorners delight in their scorning and fools hate knowledge? How long, ye simple ones? How long, ye scorners? How long, ye fools? Hear the word of the Lord. Turn you at my reproof. Behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you and I will make known my words unto you. Oh, prodigal heart, this morning. Oh, rebellious soul. Oh, proud self-willed. I know it all. I know better. How long, ye scorners? How long, ye fools, will you hate knowledge and hate and refuse reproof? How long, ye simple ones? The word simple means you're open to evil. You have not the covering and blessing and protection of God. Ye simple ones, ye self-confident scorning fools, how long will ye love darkness? How long will ye love going your own way and shut out the admonitions of loving, caring brothers and sisters and a loving, caring God, Father in Heaven. God says, turn ye at my reproof. Repent. Repent. Repent. This is Peter's sermon. Let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made that same Jesus whom ye crucified, both Lord and Christ. Now, when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart and they said unto Peter and the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you and unto your children and to them that are far off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation. Then they that gladly received the word were baptized. Repent. Turn ye at my reproofs. Acts 3.19 says, Repent ye therefore and be converted that your sins may be blotted out when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. Do you believe that there will be times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord as we seek Him in these nights to come, these days to come? I believe there will be. But he says, Repent therefore and be converted that your sins may be blotted out when the times of refreshing shall come. So it's possible for one to be sitting here experiencing refreshing and reviving and cleansing from the presence of the Lord because he's repented. Because he has an open heart that says, Yes, Lord, whatever you show me, I'll respond. I'll agree with God that you're right and you're righteous and I'm wrong. But others may sit there with their arms folded, critical, closed, and seasons of refreshing and showers of blessing are falling. But they remain in the dry and the thirsty land because their hearts are closed. And they would not have my reproofs and they would not hear. To beautiful promise, turn ye at my reproof. Behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you and I will make known my words unto you. Oh, thank you, Jesus. We'll finish reading the chapter and then close with that. Because I have called and ye have refused. I have stretched out my hand and no man regarded. But ye have said it not, all my counsel, and would none of my reproof. It is very sad. I will laugh at your calamity. I will mock when your fear cometh. When your fear cometh as desolation and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind and when distress and anguish cometh upon you, then shall they call upon me and I will not answer. They shall seek me early but they shall not find me for they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord. They would none of my counsel. They despised all my reproof. Therefore shall they eat the fruit of their own way and shall be filled with their own devices. For the turning away of the simple shall slay them and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them. That's the way of the fool, of the one who will not hear the reproofs of the Lord. Oh, but verse 33. But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely and shall be quiet from fear of evil. I just want to bring us back around again. What is my attitude? What is my heart? When someone comes to me with a reproof, with an admonition, is my heart open? Am I touchable? Am I intreatable? Or am I touchy? Defensive? In denial? And ready to lash back at them? Or is my heart open? Like I said, when I stood here and shared my testimony, if you see anything in my life, come and tell me. Are we able to admonish one another? Brothers and sisters, we must be able to admonish one another. We don't have a set rule of standards in this church. But the standard is the Bible. We must go by the Bible. We didn't have a rule and write out a list of don't do this and don't do that. But the Word of God is our standard. And the Word of God teaches us that we should be able to admonish one another. Paul said, it rejoices my heart. I am persuaded of you that you are spiritual brethren able to admonish one another. It's a mark of a spiritual body of Christ where we can admonish one another. And the defenses don't go up. And the words start flying. I can't believe he said that about me. No. Lord, help us. Because finally, as the Scriptures have warned us, finally, the end of the one who will not receive instruction and reproof is damnation and hell. Finally, that is the end. So, my dear brothers and sisters, I trust that we are of those that hear counsel, receive instruction, that we may be wise in the latter end. That we are of those that will take firm hold of instruction and keep her and guard her, for she is our life. We will hear instruction and not refuse it. Whoso me findeth life in favor of the Lord. But those that hate instruction, they love death and they hate their own souls. Can we just pull up our chairs? Can we just get real close? Let down our guards and open up our hearts to the living God and to one another and receive a blessing and obtain favor of the Lord in these next coming days as the Lord tarries and grants us that privilege. Shall we kneel together in prayer? Father in heaven, we do come in Jesus' name. Lord, we thank you for your word. Lord, we thank you that it is truth. We agree. We agree with you, Lord. Father, I pray that in all of our hearts we would be resolved that whatever you show us, Lord, we will respond. We will not refuse. Reproof, instruction, admonition. No matter how you bring it. Whether it comes through the preaching of the word or whether it comes from another brother or sister. And God, I pray that you would grow us up that we would also be willing to step out and in meekness and grace admonish one another rather than just let things go when we have a concern or a burden. Father, I pray that you would bless this congregation with that holy anointing that we can have such a practical Christianity and walk with you and with one another that we can fulfill these words, Lord. Father, I pray for those who have their guards up. I pray for those who are afraid to open up. God, please come and visit us in such a way that you would give them courage to let down their guards. And Lord, even if there's those that are perhaps too afraid, maybe been hurt, O Lord, our Father in heaven, would you gently, lovingly remove those boundaries, those walls. Tear them down. Lord, we pray for those that are rebellious and stubborn. God, would you work in their hearts lest they at the last cry out and say, Oh, how I have hated instruction. What a fool I was. God, this morning, we just give you this message. And we give you this congregation. And we ask you to bless us. In Jesus' name, Amen. Thank you, Brother Aaron, for sharing that message with us. I guess I had to think of the words you said. Is there anything? Anything. Am I free to have someone come to me and share about anything in my life? I'll try to think of. I thank the Lord for that beautiful message of reproofs. I'm not so sure why or which one is the hardest. Is it harder to give reproofs or harder to receive? What do you think? Hmm? Which is harder? Yes, Paul. It's good that it's hard to give them, but it's not good that it's hard to receive them. I think that probably one of the things that makes it hard for us to give a reproof is because it is hard for us to receive them. We don't like to receive them very well because we don't have a right attitude about receiving reproof. We don't see it right. We don't see it clearly. If we would understand God's heart on reproofs, and if we would understand the blessing of reproofs, we could welcome them more freely. Let me read a few verses to you here. Again, in Proverbs, if I may just expand on what Aaron's been sharing this morning. A few verses in Proverbs 24, it says, He that saith unto the wicked, Thou art righteous. Him shall the people curse. Nations shall abhor him. But to them that rebuke him shall be delight and a good blessing shall come upon them. The tendency is that instead of reproving someone when they need it, our tendency is to, because we don't know how to handle the situation, maybe we might just try to pass it off somehow, so we end up flattering somebody. But if we flatter someone, or if we say to someone who is wicked, and we imply to them, okay, everything's okay, you're doing well, you're righteous, if we imply that to them, it says, and say thou art righteous when he's wicked, him shall the people curse. But to them that reprove him shall be delight and a good blessing shall come upon him. Brother and sister, if you see someone has a need, and you see that there needs to be a reproof given, the Bible says a good blessing shall come upon you to do that. Open rebuke is better than secret love. Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful. A friend is faithful in not being afraid to even wound us. The wounds of a friend, they are faithful. And then, in chapter 28 of Proverbs, in verse 23 it says, he that rebuketh a man afterwards shall find more favor than he that flattereth with the tongue. Okay, you see a need in your brother or your sister's life. And again, you're timid about going to that brother or sister and speaking to their life and reproving them. You're timid about that because you tend to think, oh, he'll think evil of me or it'll put a breach in our friendship or something, you know, I'm afraid he won't like me if I do that. That's the fear. I'm afraid he won't like me if I speak in his life. But the Bible says, he that rebuketh a man afterwards shall find more favor than he that flattereth with the tongue. This is God's Word. And then, in Psalms, I love this verse where it says in 141, verse 5, let the righteous smite me, it shall be a kindness. Let him reprove me. It shall be an excellent oil which shall not break my head, for yet my prayer also shall be in their calamities. Yea, let the righteous smite me. Let him come and speak to me. Let him come and show me my error. It shall be a kindness to me. Yea, let him reprove me. It shall be like excellent oil on my head. And that is the attitude we all should have. And, just a minute. I had a think that Aaron was sharing here. I looked at brother Aaron, and I have respect towards brother Aaron as a pastor here. As he's sharing this message, I thought, you know, brother Aaron just doesn't need reprove. I mean, I have nothing to reprove him about. And I kind of, you know, looked up to him. You know, I thought also, you know, he's just a man. He's just a brother. And I want to say for myself, I know I often should have reprove. And I welcome you brothers and sisters to come this week speaking to my life. You see needs in my life. You see that I need to be reproved, rebuked. I want to open my heart this morning and say, please come. It shall be an excellent oil upon my head. It must begin with us. I know that. Alright. We're going to open this for time of sharing and testimonies here. Ushers have mics. I had a hand here in the middle. You get your hand up, brother. We'll get a mic to you and you can share. Others, get your hands up. I'm going to share this morning. Put your hand up so I can see you. There you are. Your brother, 1 Timothy 5, verse 1. I had a question, but you've already answered. For it says, Rebuke not an elder, but entreat him as a father, and the younger men as brethren, and the elder women as mothers, the younger as sisters with all purity. And my question was, what happens when the Lord gives insight and you are timid towards an elder, but when you have a church like this where the elders are asking for a closer walk, then my question has been answered. Thank you. God bless you. Thank you for sharing that. I think it is a principle of honor there that when you're looking up to someone who is older than you, that you don't walk up to him. It doesn't seem right for a small boy to go to his father and rebuke him. But you can, as a younger, go to an elder and entreat him. And the entreat thing is more a picture of, well, what about this? What do you think about this? Or have you considered this? Rather than going up to him as an authority type thing. But I think that's what I see there. Down here. Yes, I think one of the ways that could make it easier, I know I'm one of the ones that it's very hard to share something with someone. But if we would do this, especially this weekend all the time, go to a brother or a woman, go to a sister and say, do you see anything in my life? Ask specifically. I think something like that can open up the door and make it easier for us to share. That should certainly be our attitude and our heart the whole time. So that even if we don't say it with our mouth, we're saying it with our life. In the back. Yeah, I appreciate the message. I definitely want to be entreatable. I just have an apology to make to the church. I should have done this a while ago. About two years ago, I had a disagreement with the ministry on a certain doctrine that I thought they were wrong about. The reason I'm confessing this to the church is because what I did is I went around and I started talking to whoever would listen to me and just directly disagreeing with the ministry and even wrote an article and sent it around to a few people. And a while after that, God dealt with me and just showed me the seriousness of spreading discord. And I was way out of place to do that. So I just want to apologize to the church for that. And I just want to say that I'm open. I want to learn from God and I don't have all the answers. And I'm just sorry for the way I disagreed and spread discord back then. So, thank you for the message too. God bless you, David. We forgive you. And Music Congregation, release our brother, release David there. Forgive him. A very sober lesson to learn has long-reaching effects in our lives when we do that. Others? Yes. My wife and I were talking about God's grace this morning, how it's enough. And the reason we can be open is because Jesus provided atonement for our sins. If there would be no atonement, we'd need to cover them and live in denial. But we can come and open ourselves up to those sins because there's an answer for them. We don't have to live with them. I was just thinking about inspection. We drive older vehicles and I cringe when it's time to inspect it. I tell the neighbor who does our inspection, tell me what it's going to take. Because I might not be able to afford what it's going to cost. A tire costs $100. But when we come to Jesus for an inspection, He just wants us to admit that, yeah, that's a bad tire. He will put a new one on if we are willing to just let Him look at it. So I think for me, my attitude comes when I get to thinking that I'm going to have to do something. I'm going to need to pay this. No, I just need to repent. I just need to say, I was wrong. I have this need. I'm going the wrong way. If I can get to that place, then the atonement is enough. There's grace enough. There's not a problem if I see that Jesus paid it all. But I must be willing to say, hey, I was wrong. Thank you for the message. Good thought. Are we willing to let the Lord inspect this vehicle? Others? One down here. Get your hands up so they can see them. That's good. I just want to share with the congregation this morning that I tend to be one of those kind that cannot take reproof very well. And I would like to be open for instruction and reproof myself. And just to allow those that would see something in my life to just come and show it to me and point it out to me because I do want to grow. And I feel the main reason I struggle with that is simply because the oppression I have of myself, it tears down that impression of how I feel about myself. And I'd just rather let God do the work and quit trying to protect myself. And I know it's going to take more than I can do of myself, but I just beg of you that you would be faithful and just come and point those things out. I'd be willing to take a look at them and allow God to work. Thank you for the message. God give you grace, Linden. I too, when I gave my testimony, asked for people to come and admonish me or whatever. Over the years since then, very few people have. And I'm not sure. I know it's not that I'm so perfect. So I'm not sure if I'm not being open. But I do want to be open. And I just want to say that. I just want to learn. Thank you. God bless you, sister. One of the things that I come to realize is that sometimes when we see needs in a brother or sister's life, I find that since God has had mercy on me and has had lots of grace with me, shown His grace towards me, that I also have mercy towards others and I'm willing to just show grace toward them and just overlook it. And I can still accept a person even though they're not perfect. I can overlook it. I think the issue of reproof and rebuke is something that is very glaring. It is very clear. It is something that stands out and is really a great hindrance in a person's life. That's what I believe we should be looking at as far as reproof and rebuke rather than... We should not be searching in the brother's life and say, well, maybe here, maybe there. Find some small detail. That's not what I'm talking about. I don't think that's what Brother Aaron means either. That's not what the Bible means. But when someone has a glaring need or someone is in error or someone has gone the wrong way, then a reproof or a rebuke in the Spirit of the Lord is a very effective tool in this place. Over here. I just praise the Lord that the windows of heaven are open and clear in my life right now. Recently I've had a need, some sin in my life that was grievous to the Lord and sharing with a brother and my wife and just clearing things up. And I'm so excited to go into this week. As Aaron mentioned, I honestly don't feel I have my arms closed, but they're just wide open. And I love the Lord. I just want to praise Him and give Him glory. And I would encourage any of you, no matter how embarrassing, humiliating the sins may be that you're facing, get it out. Confess your faults one to another. So, so important. Can't tell you how awesome I feel and what a blessing. I just see it's having ripple effects in my family. And recently, another issue, speaking of admonishment, one of my children came to me and entreated me something that had happened. The whole family got involved. And I was clearly in error. And what a beautiful thing that... The spirit that it was done was so wonderful. So I would just be careful. I agree with that, that it needs to be an entreating, not a rebuke or anything like that from a younger to an older, especially a child to a parent. But it does work in how God has purposely set in place that mechanism of blessing that we can receive and grow in Christ. Maybe it's a test of our maturity. Am I able to receive, reproof, rebuke? A mature Christian receives it with gladness. Amen? According to God's Word. And to be able to give a reproof in a right heart and attitude is also a test of maturity. Sometimes they're given in a wrong way. But there's still a reproof or a rebuke that we need to listen to. Even if they're given in a wrong way. That's why it's hard to take when, even when, suppose a person that is bringing the reproof has a greater need, you know, than what he's bringing to me. Sometimes it's hard to receive from them. But we need to look at it. There's no qualifications on him that's bringing it necessarily. The Scriptures are to me who it's given to. Is there one over here? Well, I just wanted to share a little bit what's in my heart. Seems like lately God's just really been working in me and showing me my ugly self and pride and envy, jealousy, and just things that it just feels like I've been going through operation after operation. I was just thinking a little bit ago, you know, the week hasn't even started and I feel like, I just, I just feel like God has been doing so much and I really want to thank Him for that. And I know that last weekend we were out in Indiana and Brother Denny was giving that illustration of a chair being over your life and just like you can't get through. And as he was sharing, he was saying that, you know, he asked the question, does anyone know what it's like to have a guilty conscience? And then when different people put their hand up, he said, well, that's not wrong. That means that God is speaking to you. And it really hit me that for years I've had this thing of with confession and with conviction that I've had such a distorted view of it and God just showed me that my problem is fear of it. I fear it. And He's just been dealing with me very sweetly and I just thank the Lord and I want to go through this week with the right view of that whole thing and knowing when it's God speaking or if it's just some thing that's trying to oppress me from the outside. I don't know if anybody understands, but if you don't, I know that God does and maybe this will help somebody, but I know that it's real in my life but I know that God is helping me and I just feel that He's just tenderly taking me through an operation and I don't know where it's all going to come out at, but I'm just trusting Him. God bless you for sharing, Barney. Another one here? I just wanted to share the Lord has been working my life in the fear of man, just showing me different areas it touches that I wasn't fully aware of and learning it growing up. I think that's one of the biggest hindrances of receiving correction is if I regard myself according to the flesh and someone comes and corrects my flesh, there's really nothing left, but as I'm growing as a new creation in Christ and that they're just coming and correcting this yucky flesh that is just constantly trying to take over, then I thank them because I want to walk as a new creation in Christ and so I know that God gives grace to the humble and so I just humble myself and say I need to keep growing in that, freeing the Lord. He's doing the work. I feel the same as Barbie said, that God has been having a pre-revival before the revival, so I also want to say we've been here about a year and I don't feel like a visitor anymore and I just open myself. I haven't had the privilege of saying this, so I just want, if you see anything in my life, I want you to come. I'm totally open to receiving. I have tasted the blessing of correction and have that freeze me more to walk as a new creation. Thank you. Amen. God bless you. I'm visiting today from Delaware. I'm not a speaker at all. I get so emotional, but I'm working on humility and I want the Lord to have His way in me and I have a hard time accepting people coming and talking to me, but I know that's important and I just don't want to let myself get away from doing what God wants in my life. So if you would just pray for me. Thank you for administering. God bless you for that courage. Well, I was really blessed to hear the message today too and I was also really blessed because I realized while I've given testimony before that I was afraid that of what God would ask of me next. I was really... I had been at a place where I was afraid to trust God and I didn't trust people but He showed me this morning that He... Well, I was one of those with a glaring need in my life and some sisters came and shared some things with me and it was really hard because it was really hard to see and scary. But God showed me today that He brought me back to the same place where I messed up in the first place because I didn't see what others were trying to tell me and I felt like they weren't listening to me. And I guess it's still not all sorted out but I'm just really, really glad for the service today. It's really scary sometimes to trust, especially when... It's just really scary to trust sometimes. But I just ask that you pray for me and also I want to say that God... He's been really dealing with me on this ever since I gave testimony about that. And He gave me the... I was really... Things were just really coming on me one day and I just cried out, God, how can I trust You? He brought the Scripture. He said, Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord. And I just realized that when things happen to us here, that God's Word says that He will repay and we don't have to. And even though we may not see justice, even here, that God will take care of it and we can trust Him to do that. Even our own sins, He'll deal with us too. Just really glad that He's a just God but yet in the midst of all that, He loves us. Amen. Amen. Praise God for the message this morning. I just want to... Your testimony kind of lines up with me. Some of the things Barbie shared, but... That God's surgery doesn't have the anesthesia and the Novocaine that a lot of modern surgeries do. And last year, God's just been teaching me that if I want to go where I've been asking Him to take me, I must stop pulling back from pain. I must just let go. Let it all go. You know when people come and bring things, maybe sometimes they bring things that aren't right and we've got to sort through that or they bring it out of an impure heart. We've got to try to find our way through that and decide, is there truth here or isn't? Just let it go and not defend ourself, even inside. Or maybe there's a rumor or somebody's talking behind your back and you find out about it. They didn't do what God wanted them to do about it. And just to let even all that go and just not defend yourself and say, you know, it doesn't matter about my name. It doesn't matter what people think about me anyhow. Only matters that Jesus' name is lifted up. You know, I think God wants radical Christians like that, that it doesn't matter what our reputation is. Sure, we want to have a good name and we want to be known as one who serves the Lord, but it really isn't about us. It's only about Jesus and about His name getting lifted up. So maybe there's somebody here this morning that God's dealing with and they're feeling the pain. It's more painful to hold on than it is to let go. It's much, much more painful and you only prolong the agony. You only make more suffering. And so embrace the cross and let the pain of the surgery happen. Allow God to shape His vessel and He'll be able to make something more beautiful and more quickly than if we resist Him. And through the world. Well, I was blessed with the message this morning. I just had another verse that I thought I would share with the congregation that I really cherish. I was reading and studying Ephesians a lot this last while and I came across this verse. Chapter 5, verse 8. For you were sometimes darkness, but now are you light in the Lord. Walk as children of light. For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth. And I just had to think, even if an unbeliever comes and points out a fault, do we accept it? And that's something that God has spoken to me already. Even an unbeliever can sometimes be right. When I was reading these verses, just seeing God was just knocking on my heart. Son, are you going to be honest? Even telling unbelievers where you misuse them or where you have faults. Just be open. Just not try to hide things and just tell the people who you are. May God bless you. Thank you Elam. Alright. Thank each one of you for sharing this morning. This is church life. Being able to share what God is doing in our hearts. Keeping our hearts open, transparent. Thank you for sharing that way.