Esteeming Others

This final hour of ministry, Lord, help us to have attentive minds, help us to know just what you want us to do in these coming months and years. Open our eyes, O living God, and speak to us from your word. In Jesus' name, Amen.

It's really quite a blessing almost every couple of hours to meet someone who's just arrived from some distant place. And we just praise God for his mercy in this whole area of travel. It's thrilling to hear of the answers to prayer that have been taking place in different countries.

And we know that even in the prayer meetings here, we are making a further impact in that way. I'd like to say a word about the coordinators conference which will start on Friday morning. Your conference will continue right here with a few changes in terms of certain rooms.

The coordinators conference will be completely in this building, though you will have difficulty trying to find us, so please don't bother. We desperately need these three days away alone to deal with some of the most important and major issues we are facing as a movement. This goes right through Sunday evening at 10 o'clock without much of a break.

This conference is for coordinators and one or two or few of their main area leaders or main responsible people in their country. So we would like you to really be praying for that, those important meetings. Some of our leaders, because of their responsibilities on the field, can only come for these few days.

Like Dennis Alexander, who will soon arrive from Turkey. The coordinator of OM in the Middle East. And Paul Troper from the States.

Brother Bert apologizes that he'll not be coming to the conferences this year. He's already away from his wife so much. He has chosen to go to India a little later on instead of Belgium now.

It's exciting to see OM even getting more international each year. I would like to take a few minutes to recognize people who come from countries where just a few of you from that country, less than 10 people from your country. If there's less than 10 people from your country here, then you stand up.

That does not include Malaysia and Singapore. We have more than 10 from those places. This is the less than 10 club.

Then let's start up here and see where you're from. Give us your name and what country. Amen.

Japan. Welcome. How do you say welcome in Japanese? How do you say hello? Hello.

Good. Right behind you. And your name? Alan.

Praise the Lord. Bangladesh. I didn't know we had anybody here from Bangladesh.

Wonderful. Over here. Denmark.

Oh, yes. Little Denmark, but so influential. Especially the butter.

Yes. Okay. Way back there.

Manjula. India. That's right.

We've got less than 10 from India. First we got 175 more out there, but that's good. Yes.

Denmark. All right. Norway.

Are these all Norwegians sitting in this little clan here? Give your names. Good. Any other Norwegians? Names? There's eight Norwegians.

Now let's give your names. Start over. We all know Rolf.

He's the cook. Praise the Lord. Hallelujah.

Okay. Any other Norwegian? All right. Over here.

What do we have in the back? Belgium. We have a few more Belgians, but they aren't at the meeting. Paul Nelson.

Okay. South Africa. And your name? Good.

And we have two others from South Africa that'll be here in a few days. Thailand. Amen.

Land of the free. Amen. Fred from the Philippines.

Fred La Cuesta. Pat from Australia. Margarita from Espana.

Gloria a Dios. Marco from Italy. Peter from Denmark.

Nigeria. There's another brother from Nigeria. Where is he? Way in the back.

What's your name? Anthony. Good. Okay.

Let's continue. What's here? Barbara from Southern Ireland. Hey, Winston.

Hey, Winston, how come you're not standing up? Come on, stand up. Winston Lindsay from the Emerald Isle. Amen.

Okay. Thank you. Let's continue.

Another South African brother. Name? Good. Australia.

Antonio, another Spaniard. Assam from Jordan. Amen.

One of our coordinators. Any others from small, less than 10 group? No, there's many more from Canada. Well, I think there are a few others actually floating around.

Various places. I know we have a brother from Pakistan somewhere. And the unusual, if we didn't have at least one Turk and one Egyptian, must be some people not arrived yet.

Well, we really want to welcome those of you who find that you're a little bit alone as far as your fellow countrymen and your language, and we hope you will feel welcome. We hope that everyone will make an effort for cross-cultural fellowship. I know, cliques, but cross-cultural fellowship.

This week, it's okay, you're in your, you know, your own language group, but next week we start to really jump the walls. Praise the Lord. Let us take our Bibles and look at a few scriptures.

Starting in Philippians. The title of my little discourse is called Neglected but Important Truths. In fact, these truths I'm going to speak about from the Word of God tonight, I feel are foundation stones of this movement, as much as many of the so-called big principles like world evangelism.

You may think you understand OM, but I don't think so many people do. Understand what is really pounding on our hearts. Perhaps it can be summed up in the word true spirituality, not just activity.

No one will judge OM for its lack of activity, but that doesn't always bring spiritual reality. Now, when we speak of spirituality, there's some very big and basic principles. For example, a true spiritual man knows communion with God.

A true spiritual man knows reality and witness, and he knows how to feed on the Word of God. Throughout the whole conference, we will be dealing with some of these areas. But I want to just mention some little things that sometimes we miss in terms of their eternal significance.

And I believe if we would obey the Scriptures and some of these things that we're going to speak about, we would see deep, deep change for the better and a revolution of love on our teams. This kind of Scripture passage, when I read my New Testament, just leaps, seems to leap from my Bible. And it just cuts me, it just cuts right through my subconscious until I must repent.

In Philippians chapter 2, we read about this first principle. Verse 3, let nothing be done through strife or vain glory, but in lowliness of mind, let each esteem others better than themselves. I call this the doctrine of esteeming others better than yourself.

How much do you really know about that? When it comes to the little practical things, when it comes to even giving people a chance to talk, sometimes we can dominate a conversation without thinking, well, maybe this other person would like to say something. We've seen this even in prayer meetings. Now, some prayer meetings, there's no problem with this if it's a small group.

But some meetings, the same person quickly, you know, cuts in to pray again, and the people who are a little slower, you know, they're trying to catch their wits, they don't get a chance to really pray. If you made a list of areas where you could esteem others better than yourself in this work, I dare to say you could list 50 points. Many years ago, I became so aware of the lack of reality in my life.

I am still, I am still aware. And some of you, I know there's a danger that this message will only depress you. It can depress me.

Even in little things. I find when I'm going to get on an airplane, I can be so rude. Even pushing ahead of women.

Mainly thinking that I've got to get a good seat on that plane in the no-smoking section by the window. We are naturally selfish people, and the sooner we realize it and learn to repent, the better chance there may be some reality in our life between now and heaven. It's all well and good to talk about all the great spiritual principles of a victorious life.

But when the crunch comes, when the test comes, we can mainly be interested in number one. You know who number one is? I, my, me, mine. Moi.

Is that how you say that? I have tremendous language gift. But I would just yearn that this revolution of love that we often talk about may bring us into reality in this area. Now, I probably have as many OM leaders here tonight as I'll ever get in a meeting.

So, I just want to mention that this message is dedicated to the leaders of Operation Mobilization. How would esteeming others as better than ourselves affect the recruiting efforts of OM? How many of us as leaders have a healthy, genuine, compassionate interest in the well-being of the other fields, not just our own field? Do those working in the Arab world esteem Iran better than themselves? Do those working in Iran esteem Israel as better than themselves? Now, we don't expect people to become sort of abnormal and super introspective. But I don't believe that a little more humility would harm Operation Mobilization at the present moment.

If you think I'm wrong, please correct me after the meeting. I yearn to see right across the movement among leaders, among everyone, more practical esteeming others better than ourselves. And I am included in this message.

I believe that it would cut the gossip level down probably to near zero if we could just esteem people better than ourselves. The Word of God says, be quick to listen and slow to speak. I wonder how many of us are practicing that.

We should esteem our parents as better than ourselves. There is no room as believers for depreciating our parents. And I hope that in these days, some beautiful love letters will flow from this conference to parents all over the world, esteeming them, loving them, and respecting them.

You may think, oh yeah, well, now the old goat's become a parent himself. He's got himself a new message. I was preaching that message at 21, before any children invaded my house.

I was preaching that message at 21, before any children invaded my house. I was preaching that message at 21, before any children invaded my house. I was preaching that message at 21, before any children invaded my house.

I was preaching that message at 21, before any children invaded my house. I was preaching that message at 21, before any children invaded my house. I was preaching that message at 21, before any children invaded my house.

I was preaching that message at 21, before any children invaded my house. I was preaching that message at 21, before any children invaded my house. I was preaching that message at 21, before any children invaded my house.

I was preaching that message at 21 before any children invaded my house. I was preaching that message at 21, before any children invaded my house. I was preaching that message at 21, before any children invaded my house.

I was preaching that message at 21, before any children invaded my house. I was preaching that message at 21, before any children invaded my house. I was preaching that message at 21, before any children invaded my house.

I was preaching that message at 21, before any children invaded my house. I was preaching that message at 21, before any children invaded my house. I was preaching that message at 21, before any children invaded my house.

I was preaching that message at 21, before any children invaded my house. I was preaching that message at 21, before any children invaded my house. I was preaching that message at 21, before any children invaded my house.

I was preaching that message at 21, before any children invaded my house. I was preaching that message at 21, before any children invaded my house. I was preaching that message at 21, before any children invaded my house.

I was preaching that message at 21, before any children invaded my house. I was preaching that message at His most intimate companions were women, so much so that the world has often accused Jesus of being immoral and living and going to bed with all these women. He had a high esteem of women, and we see this in the Word of God.

The Word of God accepts that women have different ministries and that they are different, but not in any way less important than men, not in any way whatsoever. And we as men must, according to this scripture, esteem both men and women better than ourselves. You want to see a good case of the self-life come out in OM? Watch a girl who may be more intelligent, who may have a responsibility, try to tell a fellow, a dear child of God who's just come out of the prayer meeting, what to do.

Just watch Mr. Self-Life spring into action. He will of course say, man, woman is not to assert authority over man. But the Word of God says that you also are to control your tongue and walk all the time in all humility, meekness, loneliness of mind, esteeming others better than yourself.

Even if that girl has been wrong in what she has done, in some cases that may be, that's no excuse for you to add sin unto sin. And I'm just burdened that we see a practical revolution in all of our attitudes toward one another. This covers esteeming other groups better than ourselves.

How easy it is to find dirt about other groups. You think they have any trouble finding dirt about OM? You think they have any trouble finding something to complain about concerning what we are doing? We have to be ashamed of some of the things that have happened in OM this year. In one particular area, we completely, completely lost our testimony, everything, gone, because of this problem and that problem, and this sin and that sin.

There's plenty of dirt on OM, I can give you an encyclopedia of it if you feel that would be edifying. We may not agree with other organizations. There is a place for having convictions, just as I don't agree with some things that go on in OM, I have the privilege to disagree with some things that go on in XYZ organization, LLMNOPQ or whatever other organization.

But I must esteem them. I must love them. I must make a greater effort to understand them.

I must not allow their sins to push me into sin myself. Now we could be here all night just on this one doctrine. The thing that amazes me is that most Christians don't consider this a doctrine.

Take a course in doctrine, in seminary, do you think you'll spend a day studying the doctrine of esteeming others better than yourself? You see, this is the kind of doctrine that if you obey it, it's going to cost you. It's going to cost you. And other nationalities, we all have our nationality pride, let's be honest.

And one minute we can be tearing down our own country, but let someone else say something that is not pleasant and he will get a six-point straightforward message or even a punch. During the last week you're going to have a lot of instruction on cross-cultural missionary work. I can give you right now the summary of all of it.

Esteem that national in that country where you're working, esteem him or her better than yourself. You won't even have to go to the last week. Some of the greatest blunders O.M. has made have been in this area of failing to really esteem the local people better than themselves.

So easy to feel just a little bit superior. We feel we're a little better organized or we've had more training in soul winning. Or we have dug deep into the realities of prayer more than these local people.

We can even understand the writings of Tozer and Dr. Schaefer. These local people have not yet been exposed to some of these things. That's right.

Most of the great literature in the world never goes into many of these languages. So if we do have a little more light, if we do have a little more of anything because of these books, it should cause us to walk humbly before a merciful God and to be willing to just be walked on for Jesus Christ. Well, I know there's dangers when we speak this way.

If you put a wrong twist on it and you don't keep it in balance with other scriptures, you'll become a shriveled up, frightened little nobody who never takes any initiative because everybody is better than you, so why should you do anything? I wonder how many here classify themselves as basically extrovert, outgoing types of personalities. You know, like me, a little outgoing. Raise your hand, extroverts.

If you even know, you think at least you're extrovert, you're pretty verbal extroverts. Raise your hand. There's a few of you around the place.

How many of you feel that basically you're a little bit shy, a little introverted? That's more your type. You raise your hand. About 80%.

Of course, some of you are phonies. Others are just confused. We will not make an issue of it.

We've had special pictures taken of that from our cameras. But it is true, a great percentage of people do feel reserved and introverted, a little generally frightened of, you know, launching out. How many of you like to just walk in a room where everybody is talking, they all know each other, you don't know anybody, you just love to walk in that room and, you know, say, come on folks, do we have any money? Because we do have a psychiatrist available.

The fact of the matter is that all of us are more fearful of people than we should be. And yet that same quiet, introverted person with his or her tongue at the right moment can be as vicious as anyone who is outgoing or who is seemingly more on the attack. And they can maintain for weeks terrible thoughts about other people and never learn anything of really esteeming others better than themselves and yet accepting themselves as well.

In fact, without self-acceptance, you'll never learn the reality of esteeming others. I'm hoping that there'll be some other messages on that subject. Can we make that our goal this year? I believe that's the will of God for this work.

I believe it's part of God's plan to make us more like Jesus Christ. And I hope it will not be neglected. Turn over now to 1 Peter 5, verse 7. 1 Peter 5, verse 7. Casting all your care upon him, for he careth for you.

What an important teaching in God's Word. In Philippians it says, be not anxious about tomorrow. And this takes me to the second neglected doctrine.

The doctrine of not carrying the burden. The doctrine of the no-worry policy. Any of you have any trouble with worry? I won't ask you to raise your hand.

You'll get tired by the end of the night. But often we think, well, worry, this is not a sin. It's just a pastime.

It's just something we do because we're human beings. We all worry. We're waiting for a bus.

We don't have anything to do. Well, we can always worry. You would think that worrying was one of the main methods for redeeming the time, the way people go into it.

Imagine coming to someone on your team at the end of the day, asking what they've been doing. I've been worrying all day. Some of us do that.

Probably wouldn't report it to the team leader. Sometimes when people come and they share something, I have no answer. I can only say we've got to cast that upon the Lord.

I had some deep things that bother me. I've been to many people for counsel. In many cases, they gave me no satisfying answer.

I've been to quite a few people. I'm willing to go to you if you let me know. The answers come from the Lord.

Casting all your cares upon Him, the Lord Jesus Christ, because He careth for you. I believe that worry is sin. Until some of you learn to call it sin, you're never going to get victory over worry in your life.

I believe false ideas about sanctification keep people from facing reality in this area. We get to a point where we feel we're sanctified, and so things like irritability or worry or anxiety, we say, well, this is part of me. It's a personality defect.

It's a chemical imbalance. One of these leading Christian of an extremist type started engaging in a lot of immorality. When he was questioned about it, when he was caught, he said, well, it was just a chemical imbalance.

Just a chemical imbalance. That's not it. Sin.

You've got to call sin, sin. Now, being tempted to worry, that's not sin. But once you move into gear, once you take it out of neutral, the neutral of temptation in the gear, you're moving into sin.

You're saying, Jesus, you can't handle this. This is too big for you, Jesus. I've got to handle this all by myself.

Casting all your care upon him. Are you doing that? You know what one of the big worries can be when you come onto him? Maybe it's changing. It's a big worry, what do people think of me? Have you got into that yet? That's quite an exciting game.

That can keep you occupied for many hours. That'll keep you even awake at night for those of you who want to stay awake at night. That can even give you indigestion.

Then you won't be able to go to meals, think of the money that can be saved. It is foolish to get into that. What does everybody think of me? Have you ever heard some good, hot, raw, juicy gossip against yourself? Have you ever got a taste of that kind of thing? Real, you know, a real story.

Like you were found last night necking with one of the coordinators behind the mulberry bushes. If I even mention the name in a joke, it would become a rumor for history. In fact, if only we could understand.

Anyone who does anything, there will be some negative things said against that person. No one's saying anything at all negative about you. You really probably have got a big problem, if you're even alive.

We've got to learn to accept negative things about ourselves. Somebody comes in with something negative about me, I don't find it easy. One thing that's helped me, I've thought, well, if he really knew all the truths, boy, he'd really have something to go on.

If he had seen the way I lost my cool with my wife and screamed at her a few weeks ago, and if he had that on a cinema track, he would really have something to go on. Because that's sin. To lose your temper is sin.

Just like worry is sin. And in some of the countries you're going to, if you lose your temper, especially a girl, they will not believe you're saved. So, some of you have got some removal programs in the coming days.

Worry is, however, more deadly than losing our temper. We often worry whether we're being accepted. We all crave acceptance, that's quite normal, psychologically.

That's why we need to read Ephesians 1.6. Let's just take a look at that wonderful verse. To the praise of the glory of his grace, through which he hath made us accepted in the beloved. I like that French.

Accepted. Oh, because I know in some languages it doesn't say exactly the same thing. And one translation it says, endued with grace from the Lord Jesus.

And yet the meaning is still there. Let's revel in the acceptance we have from God. Let's learn to live for the well done, thy good and faithful servant.

You are going to be misunderstood sometimes. You know, and we as leaders are very fallible. We make mistakes.

We say the wrong thing. We sometimes put the wrong person in leadership. We sometimes misjudge someone.

We all at times make the mistake of judging people too much by outward things. And we need your help. And we need to practice.

Not craving so much the acceptance of men. Worry is deadly when it comes in that form. Let me just give you one more of these stepping stones to spirituality that I believe is so important.

Galatians chapter 6, verse 7. Here is a verse that has helped me almost since the day of my conversion. Be not deceived, God is not mocked. Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

By the way, that film is a Charlie Churchman film. If you haven't seen Charlie Churchman in Youthquake, then you may be interested in that film. It's a bit humorous.

Here we see an important principle. What we sow, we reap. In Canada, I had a wonderful opportunity to visit some of the farms.

So much farmland in Canada. They could feed the whole world from Canada. When they plant corn in Canada, what do you think they get in that field? Rice.

Bananas. No. Corn.

I've studied agriculture. If they plant wheat, they get wheat. Very simple.

And life is like that. If you sow bitter thoughts, you will reap bitter stomach. Or bitter mind.

Or a bitter personality. You're not going to reap a sweet personality and a healthy body from bitter thoughts and ascetic words. I want to share something with you that I'm afraid of.

I'm afraid of sin. I'm afraid of sin. I believe there's a legitimate fear of sin that we should have.

When I walk by one of those pornographic newsstands, and my body starts to go on like a light bulb, I get scared. Because I know that sin bites. And I know the devil will never be happy with me looking just at a few magazines.

He's out to destroy me. And I hope you have as well, have learned to hate sin. And to fear what will happen to me if I sin against the living God.

That helps me. Often times. Stay away.

And if I do have some initial fall and sin against the Lord, then I get more scared. So very seldom has it ever gone past ten or fifteen minutes that I haven't repented and crawled back to Calvary quick. I'm not going to bed anytime with any sin on my heart or on my mind.

I'm scared. Now I have to balance off what I said. Because I'm not scared like perhaps some of you are.

I know God is a God of love. I know even when I fall, He still loves me. He's ready to pick me up.

But I know as well if I continue in sin, I'm going to destroy my life and my ministry. That doesn't happen in every case. There are men who live in sin and go on for many years.

I would say that's a very small percentage. Their reward will come all at the end of their life. Only a fool would gamble that he's in that percentage category.

What you sow, you will reap. Those of you who don't get vicious, big, heavy, wild, freaky temptations, you know, you can go to sleep for a few minutes. But we've had a message on temptation.

And I'm one of those who gets freaky, wild, ridiculous, horrible, way out temptations. I like to go out and get completely stoned. Now that changed its meaning since my day.

It used to mean drunk. Now it means drugs. I remember when I was a student at Moody.

I felt so depressed. Place was getting on my nerves. And someday OM's going to get on your nerves.

If it doesn't, you probably haven't got any nerves, you better go to the doctor. And I headed for my door. I think I gave this testimony this summer.

I'm just going to go out and get the best looking hunk of woman I can get my hands on. And I'm going to get drunk for the first time. And I got to the door.

And it was just as if it were written on the door. What you sow, you're going to reap. And I ran back into the room.

And I've seen that happen again and again. Wages of sin is death. The soul that sinneth it shall die.

The devil demands big pay for his dainties that look so nice at times. Especially when you're depressed or put off or discouraged. One of the greatest goals of Satan is to make a fool out of you and me.

He'll try porno. He'll try bitterness. He'll try jealousy.

Always very clever at that in Christian work. Someone else on your team, they're so clever. They're doing so well.

They've broken the language in a few days. The leader seems to be impressed with the person. Again and again, they're chosen, you're left out.

They're asked to go and give their testimony. You're asked to go and reclean the toilet. Think of the excitement that brings to your spiritual backbone.

Jealousy can come in, O.M. All kinds of jealousy. And if you sow jealousy in your heart, you will reap a harvest in one way or other in your spiritual growth. These are just three, I feel, basic biblical principles in this work.

Where there are many ramifications, each one of them has many fingers, many ramifications. And I just pray with all of my heart that you'll not bypass these scriptures. Say, Lord, what does this mean to me? I'm not the same as George Burwell.

I don't have these big, fierce, ugly, hideous problems this guy's got. I'm just a more normal, well-balanced sinner. You ever heard of a well-balanced sinner? All sin is ugly.

Some of you can do in your own mind, in the dormitory, more than I could do in a newsstand with a hundred dollars. God wants us to hate sin. God wants us to take His Word seriously.

In esteeming others better than ourselves. Walking in humility and lowliness of mind. And when we go to these nations around the world, where this kind of Holy Spirit reality flowing out of us, I tell you, an impact will be made, with or without literature.

How many tracts did Paul the Apostle have on his great crusade? How many books did Peter sell? Great need in O.M. is holy living. True spirituality. That carnality may be driven out of this movement from India to Los Angeles.

Perhaps till the end of next year, you will fully understand why I've tried to so emphasize this. Let's pray. O Lord, I just yearn for these things in my own life.

And I know it's not going to come overnight. I know when I fail, you still love me. Your patience and mercy toward me is beyond measuring.

And we look to you. To learn this reality of esteeming others better than ourselves. Forgive us as leaders if we sin in this area.

We know it's hard to put this into practice. Because there are other truths that we must also obey. And we have a practical work to be done.

And we love the work you've put us into. So we pray, Lord, do this thing in our hearts. We give you the praise.

We give you the glory. And you will continue your work in us that you have begun. In the name of the Lord Jesus.

Amen.