Jesus only uses 'Zeroes' to build His Body

I'd like to begin by looking at a verse in Luke chapter 16. Luke 16 verse 15 is a phrase that at the end of that verse we read a phrase that we probably know well. But the Lord's been speaking that phrase afresh to my heart as I thought about this weekend and our being together.

It says, that which is highly esteemed among men is detestable before God. That which is highly esteemed among men is detestable before God, is detestable in the sight of God. I wonder, dear brothers and sisters and children, if we really believe that.

That's the question the Holy Spirit's been asking me. Do you really believe that? And if we are honest with ourselves, as I've been trying to be honest with myself in the light of this verse, I realize how much of what I value, how much of what I bring in to the church, because I think it's valuable, is detestable in the sight of God because it's highly esteemed among men. And because the world makes much of it, I make much of it in my own eyes, and I bring that to the church thinking, this is how we can build a church.

I have this idea, and I have that idea. And we're not talking about sinful things. We're talking about things that the world thinks is valuable and highly esteemed.

So it's a good thing for us to ask ourselves, if we're serious this weekend, we're going to be thinking about the fact that Jesus is building his church as a body, and that's something we've all known. We know what the church is. We know what the body is.

These are terms we use. There's a church on every few blocks in this country. And as we look at Christendom and we look at how all over the world people are trying to do something for God in the name of Jesus Christ, all that is highly esteemed among men is detestable.

If the world thinks it's valuable, God detests it. And now let's examine our hearts and think about the things that we think are highly esteemed. Good music in church.

Good preaching in church. A nice building, nice comfortable chairs, a large crowd of people. Whatever it might be, those things that the world esteems highly, those things that you would be proud to invite your friends to your church because we've got this cool thing.

I mean it could be in some cases it's a coffee shop, or we've got a youth ministry, we've got this other program, or our preacher, he's dynamic, and the band is really good, and all these other things. The other day I heard about a church that now hired a tattoo artist so you can come to church and get a tattoo there. She's seeking to win the world and that's what that church is proud of.

And you know the list goes on and on. That which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God. That verse alone is probably enough for us to meditate on for this weekend.

So the converse of that is that which is nothing in the eyes of the world, that which is detestable in the eyes of the world is what God esteems highly of. And you see that God is always looking for the small things. God is always looking for that which is insignificant, that which you're likely to overlook and think nothing of in order for him to take something and make something out of that.

Let's turn to the book of Zechariah. For the benefit of the children or anybody else that doesn't know where it is, Zechariah is the second last book of the Old Testament. The last book is Malachi and before that is Zechariah.

Zechariah chapter 4. Zechariah 4, let's begin reading in verse 1. Then the angel who was speaking with me returned and roused me as a man who was awakened from his sleep. And he said to me, what do you see? And I said, I see, behold, a lampstand all of gold with its bowl on the top of it and its seven lamps on it with seven spouts belonging to each of the lamps which are on the top of it. Also two olive trees by it, one on the right side of the bowl and the other on its left side.

Then I said to the angel who was speaking with me saying, what are these, my Lord? And the angel said, do you not know what these are, verse 5? And I said, no, my Lord. Verse 6, then he said to me, this is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel saying, not by might nor by power but by my spirit says the Lord. Now if you just read up to that point, you might think, well, what does that have to do with this candle and the lampstand with the bowl and the lamps on top of it? And if you read it carefully, you see that actually what's there is this little lampstand with the olive trees that are pouring oil into it.

But behind it is this big mountain, huge, a mountain that overshadows, I mean, imagine how small a little lampstand is, right? It's a very, very small thing. And it's being fed by these trees. And it's set in the backdrop of that is this huge mountain.

And it's interesting that by the Holy Spirit, Zechariah didn't see this. And then he says, verse 7, what are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel, you will become a plain, and he will bring forth the topstone with shouts of grace, grace to it. So what are we reading here? We're seeing that there's this immense mountain, a mountain of a task, the task of being a church that is a true representation of Jesus Christ.

And God is accomplishing it through a small little thing. And that's why he says, not by might, not by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord. And you continue reading.

Also the word of the Lord came to me, saying, the hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house, and his hands will finish it. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you, for who has despised the day of small things, or the day of small beginnings? This is God's way, dear brothers and sisters and children, that God looks for something so small that you will despise it. This is a verse that brought much comfort to us.

Olu could tell you stories as well, where when the Lord allowed us as a church to shrink to a very, very small number compared to what we were, and it was easy for us in our mindset to think, what is this? How could this be the body of Christ? How could this be something that is going to accomplish great things for God? And this is the word the Lord gave us. Don't despise the day of small beginnings. Because everything that God does begins with something small.

And you read that throughout the scriptures, especially in the New Testament. In 2 Corinthians 3, Paul describes the new covenant here, and his apostolic ministry. But look at what he says here, 2 Corinthians 3 verse 4. Such confidence we have through Christ towards God.

What goes through your mind when you think of a man saying, I have such confidence through Christ towards God. You get a picture of a man with his chest all puffed up, and he's gifted, and articulate, and big and great in the eyes of the world. No, in fact, it's just the opposite.

Such confidence we have through Christ towards God, not that we are adequate in ourselves. So, Paul was so confident with God because he saw that he was absolutely nothing. His confidence through Christ toward God was so great because he realized how absolutely useless he was.

He realized he was absolutely useless, good for nothing, like they say in the world. Paul saw that he was so good for nothing, he says, now I can have confidence before God. You see how it's the exact opposite? That we think I can have confidence because I did this so good, or I did that so good.

Or, look Lord, you brought so many people to the church, or this or that. Those are the things that in the world would give us confidence. And in the new covenant, you see that it's exactly the opposite.

When we have lost confidence in ourselves completely, we have no adequacy in ourselves. Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves. Can you imagine the mighty apostle Paul? This is the second time he's writing to the church in Corinth.

He's served the Lord as a mighty apostle for so many years. And he says, nothing can come from me. But Paul, you preach so many sermons, you've even written scripture.

He says, no. We are not adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves. But our adequacy is from God, who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant.

This is the new covenant, dear brothers and sisters. That God is doing a work through that which is good for nothing, that which is useless. Now you look at your own life and you think, who am I? Maybe you can think of some gifted person and say, yeah, I could see how God is using them to build a church.

Or that other brother, or that other sister. They seem to be able to do so much. But what am I? I'm good for nothing.

Do you feel like you're good for nothing in the church? Do you honestly really think that? God wants to use you. God wants to take that good for nothing you and make it useful in his kingdom. This is how he builds the church.

Let's turn back to 1 Corinthians chapter 1. Over and over again you see that this is God's way. He uses that which the world is going to pass by. You see this even in the life of Jesus.

That when he was born, think about all the other people that walked by that cow shed. When Jesus was born. I mean all the other famous people.

They just walked by. Along their way, going through life. Not realizing that God himself was there.

Hidden among the cows and the sheep and the goats. And the smell. God was there and they missed it.

And even the wise men who traveled across land to come there went to the palace first. They almost got sidetracked. Because they thought surely the king of the universe must be born in the palace.

And God was showing us that all that is big and great in the eyes of the world is detestable before God. And it's the same thing with the church today. God is building a church in stables.

In mangers. He's forming the body of Christ in ugly, stinky, smelly situations. In marriages that they won't write books about.

In lives that you're almost embarrassed if they would know the details about. But that's what God is looking for. Because when we reach that place of complete nothingness.

Complete inadequacy. That's what that inadequacy means. Nothing.

I'm absolutely good for nothing. I'm such a failure. But I'm giving it to you Lord.

I mean think about Joseph preparing that manger. And here he knows that this is the king of the universe. About to be born.

And the best he can do is this little manger. With some hay and you know. It's what the cows eat out of.

And that's all he can put the baby in. Can you imagine how helpless he must have felt? How poor? I mean imagine if you're the dad. And your job is to provide for your family.

And you can't even have a nice little place for your wife to give birth to your child. Can you imagine what shame that must be for a dad? I'm a dad. I've had children.

And I'm thankful that God provided me the means to. For my wife to at least have a comfortable place. And nowadays they come up with all kinds of things.

They've got water, baths and all this stuff they come up with to make it easy. Can you imagine what Joseph was going through? What a failure he felt like. That the best I can do.

For not just my wife and our first born child. But this is the king of kings. The one son I gotta make sure is healthy.

The best I can do is a stable. How helpless. How ashamed he must have felt as a husband.

In the eyes of the world they thought. What kind of a husband are you? Can't even get a nice little room. You didn't plan ahead Joseph? Waited till the last minute till all the rooms were booked out? All of these things were going through his mind.

And God was planning. The father who planned the one birth that had for sure been planned from the very beginning. Was his only son.

And God had planned it. My dear brothers and sisters. If you're serious about building the church.

God wants to do it through these broken circumstances. And the danger is. We will look at all the work around us.

And all the books that are written around us. And we'll gather intellectual ideas. And we'll miss the simplicity of the body of Christ.

I missed it for many years. And now the more I search and seek to know the body of Christ today. I want to know it in its simplicity.

In a way that's unimpressive to the world. In a way that if somebody says. Why should I come to your church? I don't have anything to boast about.

I have nothing to brag about. But I say if you come here and see. You will know that God is here.

And the shepherds came. And God revealed to them. This is the Christ.

God will do the same to hungry people. He won't bring the intellectuals. He won't bring the learned.

The wise and the intelligent. He'll bring the shepherds. The stinky people.

Who are looking for life. So, God can only use zeros. 1 Corinthians 1 verse 18.

For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing. But to us who are being saved. It is the power of God.

For it is written. I will destroy the wisdom of the wise. And the cleverness of the clever I will set aside.

Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God. The world through its wisdom did not come to know God. God was well pleased through the foolishness of the message preached.

To save those who believe. Look at this verse. Verse 22.

For indeed Jews ask for signs. And Greeks search for wisdom. But we preach Christ crucified.

And I've been convicted about this verse. I've been reading it over and over again over the last few days. Is my preaching so foolish.

That an intellectual person would say now. You mean that's the way to become. That's true wisdom? Because in the world we're trying to refine our sermons.

And make them more presentable. And more dynamic. And the power points.

And all these little flashy gadgets that they use nowadays. Nothing wrong with trying to explain things in a simple way that people remember. But if we're relying on our ability.

And our presentation. To draw people into the kingdom of God. Then we've missed it.

And Paul said. I'm just going to preach Christ and him crucified. So simply.

That most people will just listen and think. This cannot be God. This cannot be God.

This cannot be the truth. Let's continue reading. But we preach Christ crucified.

To Jews a stumbling block. And to Gentiles foolishness. But to those who are called both Jews and Greeks.

We preach Christ the power of God. And the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men.

And the weakness of God is stronger than men. For consider your calling brethren. That there were not many wise according to the flesh.

Not many mighty. Not many noble. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world.

To shame the wise. And God has chosen the weak things of the world. To shame the things which are strong.

And the base things of the world. And the despised God has chosen. The things that are not.

That are zeros. So that he may nullify the things that are. So that no man may boast before God.

But by his doing you are in Christ Jesus. Who became to us wisdom from God. And righteousness.

And sanctification and redemption. So that just as it is written. Let him who boasts.

Boast in the Lord. I want to continue reading chapter 2 verse 1. And when I came to you brethren. I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom.

Proclaiming to you the testimony of God. See Paul was one of the most brilliant minds of his age. I believe.

When you read his writings. You see that he was absolutely brilliant. The way he lays out the book of Romans for example.

He studied again under the top Jewish scholar of his day. Gamaliel. And yet Paul says.

Paul saw the danger. That if he presented the gospel. He presented Christ in an attractive way in his own strength.

It would lack the power of God. And I believe with all of my heart. That what's lacking today.

The reason that the power of God is missing in many churches. Is because far too many churches are busy trying to beautify the gospel. To add their own nice cute little touch to it.

Their own nice little intellectual presentation to it. So that it will be attractive. And the power of God is sucked right out of it.

Paul recognized that and he says. That's why he says. I determined that I would not come to you with an impressive speech.

It's almost like Paul was intentionally very ordinary. He could have impressed them. He could have quoted from the scriptures and says.

Let me tell you what we studied when we were with Gamaliel. And quote this and quote that. And impressed them with his presentation.

But he said no. If I do that. It will lack the power of God.

God is looking for fools. As it were. God is looking for fools.

And so we must understand this dear brothers and sisters. It's more than just me saying that we must become zeros. But I pray that as you set your heart towards really.

Allowing God to build a church that's meaningful to him. And that's useful for his kingdom. That we recognize he's waiting for us to come to that place of zero.

1 Corinthians chapter 15. The work of God is always this work of bringing us down to zero. To bringing us down to nothing.

And that's why we preach so much in the church about the death of the disciple. The death of Christ. Yes.

But us following him in death. Becoming partakers of his death. And there's nothing more zero than death.

If you haven't died. If there's still a little bit. Then you're not zero.

You may be 10. Or 9. Or even 1. Or .9. Or .8. And God is waiting to bring us to the place where we actually experience the death of Christ. That means I've actually become a zero.

Now how do you know that you've actually become a zero? How does a dead man react to circumstances? How does a dead man react to being provoked? How does a dead man react to what he sees in others? How does a dead man react when things don't go their way? Or a woman? That's the test of whether we've actually become zeros. And if you have a complaint against somebody else. If you have a complaint against the elders.

Or a complaint against another brother. Or another sister. Or that child that's so noisy in the meetings.

Or whatever it might be. God can't use us to build a church. Because I'm not yet a zero.

I think I have an idea about something. Or I deserve to be treated a certain way. I have a high opinion of myself.

Now of course I think I'm humble. Because I walk around with humility. And I have a nice little smile on my face.

But the proof that I'm not really humble is the fact that I get offended. I cannot be corrected. I have high thoughts about myself.

I judge others. I criticize others. I complain about this.

And I complain about that. In such people, do you think God can build a church? So, 1 Corinthians 15, we read in verse 35. Someone will say, how are the dead raised? And with what kind of body do they come? How is Christ going to build his body? With what kind of a body will it come? And look at what he says.

You fool. That which you sow does not come to life unless it dies. If you want the body of Christ to come alive through Atlanta CFC.

It can never happen unless it dies first. And if you want God to use you to be instrumental in building his church. A pure testimony for his name's sake here.

In this town. Here in Georgia. The only way it can happen is if it dies.

If you're trying to build God's church and somehow you haven't fully died. It can never happen. It says you fool.

I mean, if God says you're a fool. That's pretty serious. And here, you know, and I tell you brothers, I'm speaking from my own testimony.

Things that the Lord kind of just hit me upside the head as it were. And says, Santos, you've been doing it wrong the whole time. You've been trying to build my church with this and with that.

And bringing your gift and bringing that other thing. And thinking if we could do this or we could advertise here. Or hand out so many tracts and all that.

We could build a church. He says, until you die, you're wasting your time. You fool.

That which you sow does not come to life unless it dies. All your conference planning and live streaming and tracts handing out. And telling this person and telling that person.

Is useless unless you die. And that which you sow, you do not sow the body which is to be. But a bare grain, perhaps of wheat or of something else.

But God gives it a body just as he wished. And to each of the seeds a body of its own. So what's he saying here? When you want to see something happen.

God's way is this. That when he wants to build a body that's beautiful and glorious. The bride of Christ.

When he's building the body. It doesn't start out looking like that. He's the church of Jesus Christ.

Standing right next to Jesus. Will be tremendously glorious. All glorious within.

We read in the Psalms. The bride of Christ. All glorious.

And you and I have the privilege to be a part of that. But it's not going to start glorious. That's what he's saying here.

It will not look glorious at the beginning. It's going to look bare. He says.

It's going to look. Let's continue reading in verse 42. So also is the resurrection of the dead.

It is sown a perishable body. It is sown. Perishable means fragile.

It is sown fragile. And raised imperishable. Verse 43.

It is sown in dishonor. It is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness.

It is raised in power. It is sown a natural body. It is raised a spiritual body.

You see how he's presenting what the church is going to look like when he starts out. Fragile. Dishonor.

Weakness. Natural. Just very ordinary looking.

So weak and fragile that you're going to miss it. And dear brothers and sisters, this is how God starts his work. It's going to look glorious.

It's going to look beautiful. But in the midst of that fragile, broken state, we could lose hope. We could get discouraged.

And we could think, Lord, what is the point of this? What is the meaning of all of this? And I pray that the Lord will encourage your hearts, dear Atlanta CFC, with what he wants to do. And not look at the way things are now. And not be taken up with the fragile and the brokenness and the weakness.

But to see that that weakness is actually strength. Let's turn to 1 Peter 2. Christ set us this example. 1 Peter 2. Verse 5. Let's begin in verse 4. And coming to him.

This is the head. This is our head. And the body is going to follow the example of the head.

The body is attached to the head. The body follows the same pathway that the head has gone. What was it like for Jesus? Coming to him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men.

The way of salvation that Jesus made started out being rejected by men. And even to this day it is. Coming to him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men.

If you've really come to Jesus as a living stone rejected by men. Why are you trying to build a church that is accepted by men? And for men. And why are you trying to build a church in a way that isn't men? When our head... So, read it carefully again.

Coming to him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men. Every time you... That says, oh, that's precious to me. The reproach of Christ is precious in the eyes of the Father.

You also as living stones. If I brought a bunch of stones in here. And said, here, this is what we're going to build a big building out of.

You'd say, come on. These little stones? But that's the way God does it. He takes these little stones.

Because if I brought a whole bunch of boulders and a whole pile of bricks. You could say, yeah, I think we can build a nice building out of it. But you've got a little pile of stones? He says, that's my way.

Your ways are not my way. I'm going to gather a few stones here and there. That all the other builders, they were looking for the big rocks and the big boulders.

Oh, this is going to be really good. That will be a nice little capstone. And we'll build a roof out of this.

And they gathered all the big ones. And the little small pebbles they ignored. And God says, oh, you left those behind? I'm going to take that and build a living building.

And all those other big structures with the big boulders will just fade away. And fall down and collapse someday. And God will show how he used the little living stones.

Because they were following the example of their chief living stone. Who was rejected by men. My dear church family.

What I'm emphasizing here is that the pathway to build the church. Or the way Jesus is building his church. Is through rejection.

It's through reproach. And unless we see that, we will constantly be trying to get acceptance. We'll constantly be trying to defend ourselves for the truth for which we stand for.

And we'll constantly be worried about who's going to get offended if we do this. And who's going to leave the church if we do that. Because we want to be accepted.

And it's so fundamental to building the church. And that's why I wanted to start with this message for the local church here. Before the others come tomorrow.

This is so fundamental. That the only way God is going to build his church. Is through the pathway of rejection.

It's the way he went. It's the way the apostles went. It's the way every other true work of God has gone.

Rejected by the world. Let's continue reading. You also as living stones are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood.

To offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Verse 6. For this is contained in scripture. Behold I lay in Zion a choice stone.

A precious corner stone. And he who believes in him will not be disappointed. But he doesn't stop there.

This is the stone. Yes, if you believe in him you will not be disappointed. That sounds great.

You mean that I can trust in Jesus and I won't be disappointed? He says yes, yes that's true. But hang on, let me keep going. This precious value then is for you who believe.

Or I think I like how the King James says it. For you who believe he is precious. Still sounds good.

Okay, but let's keep going. But for those who disbelieve the stone which the builders rejected. This became the very corner stone.

And a stone of stumbling. And a rock of offense. For they stumble because they are disobedient to the word.

And to this doom they were also appointed. All of a sudden, this stone that seemed so attractive has lost its appeal. Because it's going to involve rejection.

It's going to involve loneliness. It's going to involve something small. And yes, that's God's way.

Now let's skip down a few verses. I want to read verse 21. This is what that way looks like practically for us.

For you have been called. So what does this rejection that Christ went through look like for us? He's the chief living stone. And we all are being called like that as living stones in his body.

For you have been called for this purpose. Since Christ also suffered for you. Leaving you an example for you to follow in his steps.

And here's what that rejection looks like. First of all it says, Who committed no sin. And this is a message that will be rejected in Christendom.

The message of victory over sin. The message that you don't have to remain defeated in the same sins over and over again. And you know, for me it's interesting dear brothers and sisters and children.

That this is a message I heard from the very beginning. That sin shall not be master over you. And yet it's amazing to me how many times when I repeat that same message in different circles where I preach.

People say, no that can't really be true. And they say, oh you're preaching sinless perfection. And you're pretending like you're like Christ.

And all these other things are thrown at us when we preach it. And yet that is the truth. And I see that this message, if you preach the message of the cross.

The way of sanctification. The way of death to self. The way of pressing on to perfection and victory over sin.

And being an overcomer. You will be a lonely Christian. You'll gather only a few group of people who are really serious about it.

And everybody else will want an easy believing gospel. That allows them to continue to remain in their sin. Love their own selfish self-centered lives.

And think that they're going to go to heaven. He who committed no sin. Now all of us has committed sin.

Thank God for the blood of Jesus Christ that cleanses us from all sin. So we preach justification. That because I trust the blood of Jesus Christ.

His death and resurrection. I am forgiven of my sin. And I am justified.

And you've heard it said often. That this is what justification means. That God considers me righteous.

As if I've been righteous all along. That is the message of the new covenant. I've been righteous all along because I'm justified by Jesus Christ.

But now I don't want to remain in sin anymore. I don't want to continue to be defeated by the same old sins. And even recently I was preaching somewhere.

And afterwards, after I was done preaching. I had a lot of questions. People came up to me and asked me about it.

That can't really be true. You mean you can live such a life where you're not aware of any sin in your life? Let me ask you that honest question. Can you honestly say that at this very moment you are not aware of any sin in your life? Just think about it for a moment.

It sounds arrogant. It sounds proud. And yet that is the only true Christianity.

Now the book of 1 John says, If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves. There's plenty of sin in me that I'm not aware of. But every one of us ought to be able to say, There is no sin in me that I'm aware of.

If you're aware of it, you should have confessed it by now. It's that simple. If you were aware of sin in your life and you confessed it.

And the blood of Jesus Christ cleansed you from all sin. It's gone. And you can say, I mean Paul said it.

He could say, I am conscious of nothing against myself. He could say, I have a blameless conscience because I've repented of all my sin. And this is the message that will bring reproach in Christendom.

If we continue to uphold that standard, people will say, You're a bunch of hypocrites. You're a whole bunch of holier than thou. All these things that we've been accused of.

And yet, dear brothers and sisters, this is what it means to build the church of Jesus Christ. To be a part of the church that Jesus Christ is building. That we uphold that standard.

Because in him was no sin. And he says, He has set you an example to follow. You ought to be able to say, Yes, I'm following Jesus.

And there's no sin in me. Not because I've never sinned. Not because there isn't unconscious sin in me.

Sure there is. But I'm conscious of nothing in me. I've repented of every sin.

I have a clear conscience. I've set right everything. Is this the gospel we're proclaiming? If it really is, very few will follow.

There will be a reproach around that. Let's continue reading. Nor was any deceit found in him.

Okay? Just when we got done thinking, Okay, that's a wonderful standard to uphold. He says, Nor was there any deceit found in him. What is deceit? Yeah, sure we don't tell any lies.

But is there hypocrisy in your life? Think about being a church where we say, I come here and I don't have to pretend to be somebody I'm not. I am who I am. It doesn't mean that we confess all our sins in public.

But I'm not sitting here pretending to be perfect or pretending to have it all together. Putting on a nice show and a pretense in front of everybody. No hypocrisy.

If you don't have anything to say or if all you can say is 15 seconds, speak for 15 seconds and leave it at that. You don't have to try to impress people. In whom there is no hypocrisy.

Think about being such a church. This is the church that Jesus is building as his body. He goes on to say, When, verse 23, While being reviled, he did not revile in return.

When people speak evil of you, you have nothing to say. When people criticize you and judge you and say something harsh about you, you have nothing to say. You never defend yourself.

While being reviled, he didn't revile in return. Jesus has set an example for you to follow. I thought a bit like this.

There's two ways to respond to a situation. One is like a snake. And another is like a lamb.

If you kick at a snake, what is it going to do to you? It's going to strike back at you. You bother a snake, it's going to strike at you. You bother a lamb, and it will just kind of shrivel up and find another way to go somewhere else.

And just avoid that situation. Which are you? When you're in a situation of conflict, let's say in a home with your spouse, and maybe your spouse reacts a certain way, how do you react? Do you react back like a snake? Oh, you kicked at me? Sure, I'm going to strike you back. Oh, you said that to me? Let me dig up something you said two years ago and bring that back to you.

And then it goes back and forth like that. Or you hear that a brother is speaking about you in the church, or a sister is saying something about you. What is our response? This is the example Jesus has set for us.

Who when reviled, he just let it die. He didn't open his mouth. I love that verse in Isaiah 53 verse 4. He did not open his mouth in self-defense.

No matter how much you provoked Jesus, no matter how much you pushed his buttons, no matter how much you irritated him, he was like a lamb led to the slaughter. You could say anything about him. This is the church that Jesus is building as his body.

The body must be like the head. And if that's what we're reading here, if Christ set us an example, who when he was reviled, didn't revile in return, so must it be of us. Let's continue reading.

When suffering, he uttered no threats. While suffering, he uttered no threats. We sang, lest I forget Gethsemane, lest I forget thy agony, lest I forget thy love for me, lead me to Calvary.

What do you see when you think of Calvary? What did you see in your mind as you sang that song? You know what I saw? I saw Jesus. The way I understand it, they would put the cross on the ground and then they would lay his body on it and there he was laying on his back on top of the cross and they would drive the nails into his hand. And at that moment, I believe that the soldier who was driving the nail into Jesus' hand and into his feet was right there next to him.

And here's Jesus in intense agony. Can you imagine the nails going into his hand and the blood gushing out and they're banging it and banging it and banging it. And Jesus knows that he's dying for the sins of these very people who are nailing him to the cross.

And Jesus knows that one day he is going to sit on a throne and judge every single one of these people. And while he's suffering, he could have easily whispered to that soldier, I'm going to judge you one day. Just a little whisper.

You don't think Jesus was tempted to say that? Oh, I believe he was. Because I'm tempted to say that. You're going to find out I'm right after all.

I face that. When I know I'm right and the person is provoking me in that situation, everything within me wants to very silently whisper, you're going to find out one day I was right and you were wrong. And Jesus was tempted to say the same thing.

While suffering, he uttered no threat. What was the threat? I'm going to get back at you. One day I'm going to sit on a... This is all true.

Jesus is going to sit on a throne and judge that very soldier who drove the nail into his hand. But in that moment when he was an example for you and I, everything within him, the devil was telling him, just go ahead, say it, Jesus. Tell him that you're going to judge him.

His mouth was shut. The time will come when Jesus will speak judgment on all of those who have forsaken him and all of those Pharisees and those Roman soldiers will all face judgment for what they did, as will anyone who has not repented of their sin. And yet in that moment, Jesus was setting us an example.

When suffering, he uttered no threat. And then, perhaps one of those soldiers is in heaven today because they asked for forgiveness, like that thief on the cross. And they're in heaven today.

Let's continue reading. But kept entrusting himself to him who judges righteously. Kept entrusting himself to him who judges righteously.

And every time Jesus was misunderstood, and it wasn't just on the cross, throughout his life, he was misunderstood. Somebody said something about him. Somebody else misjudged him.

And they spread false rumors about him. And he never once opened his mouth. He didn't open his mouth in self-defense.

But he said, Lord, you've allowed them to say this about me. I'm just going to entrust it to you. You take care of it, Lord.

You take care of it. This is the church that Jesus Christ is building today, a body that follows the example of the head. Think about having such an attitude that no matter what people say about you, no matter what people do to you, you just say, Lord, you take care of it.

I'm not going to fight back. I'm not going to defend myself. I'm not going to explain why I did it like this and let them say that about me, let them think that about me.

Okay, Lord. You are the judge. You see everything.

Jesus kept entrusting himself to the one who judges righteously. In that, he has set an example for us to follow. This is the way of weakness.

This is the way of nothingness. Let's turn to 2 Corinthians chapter 12. Some years ago, shortly after when we went through a difficult time in our church and the Lord doing a work of renewal and allowing things to come to death, as it were, to die, really die, so that he could do a work of resurrection in us.

And today we see the fruit of that in our lives, how he's changed our marriages, changed our home life, changed our church life. And again, I don't want to make it sound like everything's perfect or anything like that. We still have to walk the way of the cross.

My brothers still have to put up with me because I'm not yet perfected like Christ. My wife still has to put up with me. But there's a difference, brothers.

There's something that God did when things finally died. And that's what I want to present to you. I hope the Holy Spirit will make it personal to you.

The way of death, the way of death and following Jesus in his death is the only way to life. In 2 Corinthians 12, I remember this verse 9 says, And he has said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness. Again, you know this verse, but meditate on it slowly.

Power is perfected in weakness, which means if a church is lacking power, the only reason for that is because they're not weak enough. Think about what I just said. If the power of God is lacking in a church, it's not because they don't have a good preacher or they don't have good music or they don't have a good building or anything like that.

It's simply they're just not weak enough. God is waiting for that church to come to the place where they are nothing. So completely weak that they are dead and then his power is perfected.

Instead, many churches are trying to go the other way. Let's hire this person because they're gifted at that. Let's hire that other person and let's join up with this ministry and let's do this and let's do that other thing.

Let's start this program. Let's do something on Easter. Let's do something on Christmas and more and more and more and more of that.

And the power of God is just denied. And some years ago, I was around this time when we were going through a difficult time in our church. We meet for prayer before our meeting in the back room.

And I remembered what those prayer meetings were like before the events in the church and how that room was packed full of people and there was not enough room. We're all scrunched up in that small little room praying. And then after the events, it was just kind of a handful of people as we gathered to pray.

And I still remember that moment as I kneeled down to pray and said, Lord, is this your work? Are we wasting our time here? And if we are to change the community around us, because I believe that God has placed us there in the heart of Loveland, Colorado to be a lighthouse in the community there. I don't know how God's going to do it or how He's going to fulfill it, but I believe that's not by accident that He's placed us there. And dear friends here in Atlanta, CFC, it's not by accident that God has placed you here in this little town of Little Bern.

You must believe that God very intentionally has placed you here to be a light. But as I sat there thinking, I said, Lord, how are people going to come here? Here's a scattered group of a handful of people. You can count them on two hands, the number of people sitting in this room praying.

And how are you going to do this? I think of all the other churches and what all they are proud of to invite people to their church. Oh, come to our church because we've got this and we've got that other thing. And sometimes I get on these neighborhood groups where they ask questions about can you recommend a restaurant or you recommend this.

Sometimes you ask, can you recommend a church? And I'm always curious to see. I never recommend our church, by the way, just so you know, because I want God to recommend our church. If I recommend our church, I might bring the wrong kind of person in.

I might present our church in such a way that they'll want to come to it and bring somebody that God doesn't want to be a part of that church. I fear that. Honestly, brothers and sisters at RLCF, I'm not trying to bring every Tom, Dick and Harry into the building.

I want God to bring them in. I want to be so in tune with God that He will keep away certain people and bring in certain other ones. The despised, the little living stones.

I want Him to be the one that adds the church because it is His church. It's not mine to decide who's a part of it. And I thought, you know, all these other churches have why our church is so good and why our church is so good and why this and that.

I thought, Lord, what are we? And then this verse came to me. It says, Santos, you missed it. Have you come to the place where you can glory in your weakness? See, Paul said it, and he didn't make it up.

Today when I say, therefore I would rather glory in my weakness, I'm quoting Paul. For Paul it was a reality. And that's what I long for.

I say, Lord, I want to come to the place where like Paul I can say, Lord, my weakness is what I'm proud of. That helplessness, that zero, that nothing, that thing that is unimpressive to everybody in the world, that's what I glory in because I know that's what you use. That death, the fact that things have gotten so bad, weaker, weaker, weaker, weaker, weaker, to the point it's dead, now I'm proud of it because God can use death.

God only uses death. That's what it came down for me. And the fact that I was still sort of breathing on my last breath, God says, no, I've got to give it a little bit more time.

God only uses death because then He knows that there's nothing left of you. And when we came to the place where we could glory in our weakness, and I said, it changed, brothers and sisters, I don't think I'm doing a good enough job describing it, but God put something in my heart where I started to glory in our weakness. And I started to look around in my life for how I could be weaker instead of trying to be better and stronger and more impressive and do this a little nicer and more efficient.

Yeah, I'm all for efficiency. Let's make sure the mics are working well and everything else, let's practice. But I'm not doing it to impress people.

Where it used to be that we practiced in the praise team so that we would sound good, I told the praise team afterwards, let's practice so that we're not a distraction, not to be an attraction. We want to practice so that we're not so out of sync and out of tune that people are like, I can't praise with this team. We want to practice so that we're together, sure, but not to impress people.

Not that people will say, oh wow, that sounded really good. This is the church. And I started to look for ways in which secretly or even unbeknownst to me, I was trying to be impressive as an elder in the church.

And trying for our church to be impressive in some way, shore it up and say, let's put on a front so that people will think, oh wow, this is a decent church. And I coveted it. And think about a visitor coming in, let's say, somebody who just happens to walk in that door.

Are we coveting the presence of God that in the midst of our weakness, He is so present, He's so manifest, that people realize God is here. And I tell you, my dear brothers and sisters, there are people in the world that are looking for that. They've tried the church with a nice band and a nice coffee shop and a nice singles group and a nice children's ministry and all of that, and it's not fed them.

They're still spiritually hungry. Their marriages are still ending up in divorce and their children are wayward and all of this, and they're realizing there's got to be something more in Christendom. And if we, seeking to be the body of Christ, are busy copying the ways of the world and the things that they do, it's just going to be more emptiness.

Let's seek for the power of God in our midst, glorying in our weakness. Let's turn to the book of Ezekiel, chapter 37, Ezekiel 37. You know this story? But here was a group of people that was once upon a time an army, and then things had gotten so bad that they all died, and now all that was left was just the bones of those people.

Things had gotten so bad, the death had set in, and they'd come to such a helpless place. And this was once upon a time an army that thought they could do certain things, but they got defeated, and they got crushed and destroyed, and things got weaker and weaker and weaker until finally they all died. And now all that's left is a pile of bones.

And again, this was a picture the Lord gave us there at RLCF, and you read in verse 3, He said to me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I still remember the time the Lord asked me the same question, Santosh, this pile of bones that you see here at RLCF, can it live? And in my unbelief, I would have said, No, Lord, it's just bones. It's too late now. You've got to find somebody else.

In my pride, I would have said, Yes, Lord, of course it can live. I have faith. Precaution, precociously, I would have said, like arrogantly, Yes, Lord, I have faith.

And that would have been wrong too. Look at Ezekiel's answer. Lord, you know.

You see how it's not unbelief, saying, No, Lord, you can't do it. It's not pride saying, Yes, Lord, we'll figure it out. Let's get the bones together.

Let's stitch them together. Let's pump them up, and let's get some music, and let's get a nice band, and let's get some good preaching, and these bones will live. No.

Ezekiel says, Lord, you know. I believe you, but I am inadequate. I trust you, Lord, but I have nothing to give.

I have nothing to offer. You know, Lord. If you want it to live, it can live.

It's up to you. This is the answer of faith. Lord, you know.

Oh, Lord God, you know. And then he says, Okay, you trusted me, and you don't trust in your own ability? He says, prophesy over these bones, and say to them, Oh, dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones, Behold, I will cause breath to enter you that you may come to life, and I will put sinews on you, make flesh grow back on you, cover you with skin, and put breath in you that you may come alive, and you will know that I am the Lord.

It will be such a move of God that you look back and think, Only you could have done it. I want to tell you, dear brothers and sisters, again, I don't say this except with my face in the dust. I look at what God has done at RLCF, and if I could go back and have shown you what it was like years ago when we felt empty, and we felt helpless, and we felt rejected, and felt like nothing, and felt hopeless even, and how God has breathed life into us.

Now, the danger is that we'll start to think we're something now. And that's why I say, I say it with reverence. I say it with humility.

I covet that place of weakness even now, but I want to encourage you, dear brothers, dear sisters, that God looks for nothing. God waits till things have really come to a place of zero death. And I want to tell you also that there were different stages.

There were times when I thought, Okay, this is as bad as it's going to get. And then it would get worse. And then I think, Okay, that's probably as bad as it's going to get.

And then something else would happen, and it would get worse. And God had to bring us to a place of death. Real death where we're like, Lord, we give up now.

But we're trusting in you. There's no hope. This is just bones.

There's nothing more we can try. It must be your work and your work alone. And He's done it.

And He's doing it. And He wants to do it again. And if you're in that valley of dry bones now, and you feel like that in some area in your life, you feel like there's a dryness, I lack the anointing, I lack the freshness, trust Him.

He's been watching over you, and He's brought you to this place where He wants to do something that you will look back and realize, it was God and God alone. I had nothing to do with it. And it says, verse 10, So I prophesied as He commanded, and the breath came into them, and they came to life, and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.

See, God didn't allow Ezekiel to seek Ezekiel. Are you willing to trust me? As you're looking about some circumstance in your life, the Lord, maybe it's your church life, something else, and you're thinking, Lord, this just feels like a whole bunch of dry bones. What are you going to do with it? Have faith.

You may not be able to see the great, exceedingly great army yet, but God is going to do it if you have faith. There was a phrase that really helped me, I'm close with this, by George Muller, around this time. He said, somebody asked him, he was in his 90s, in his late 90s, mid 90s, I think, a few years before he died, and he had lived a successful life.

You know the heroics of George Muller. Our children read about the things that he did, and how he would have a room full of orphans that he needed to provide food for, and there would be no more food left in the pantry or the fridge, and no milk, and they would get together, and the children would all look at him like, we've got plates, but there's no food. And they would pray, and thank the Lord for the food that wasn't there, and seconds later, there would be a doorbell.

The doorbell would ring, and somebody would say, hey, my bread truck broke down right in front of you. Do you want all this bread? And then another time, it would be the milk truck. And this is the man of God, who was used to do tremendously great things.

Now, you and I may not be called to do those things, but there's a faith. There's an emptiness that God wants to fill in your life. There's an empty plate, spiritually, that God wants to fill, if you're willing to trust Him.

Somebody asked George Muller, what's the secret of your ministry? And he said this, words I'll never forget, he says, the day came when George Muller died. Really died. Utterly died.

Died to himself, to his opinions, and preferences, and tastes, and will. Died to the world, whether it approved me, or rebuked me. He says, it's approval or censure.

That means, whether they approved of what I was doing, or said, ah, George Muller, what a waste of a life. Died to the approval or blame, even of my brethren and friends. He didn't even seek the approval of other brothers, and sisters, or other friends.

And since then, I only show myself approved to God. The day came when George Muller died, and from that day on, he said, I'm only going to seek the approval of God. That's it.

I don't care what anybody else says about me. I'm going to live for the approval of God. That's the only one whose approval I seek.

He says, Since then, my ministry started to be a blessing. The rivers of living water started to flow. And so I wrote this down.

I said, Lord, let it be so. There was a day when RLCF died. I first wrote my name there.

There was a day when Santosh died. It started there. Utterly died.

And I said the same thing about our church. Lord, let it be so that there was a day when RLCF died. Utterly died to ourselves, our opinions, our preferences, our tastes, and our will died to the world in its approval or censure, died to the approval or blame, even of other Christians and our friends.

And since then, we only show ourselves approved to God. And this is the testimony we seek to preserve. This is, I believe, the testimony that will be pleasing to God when He comes.

One last verse. Revelation 3, verse 1. Revelation 3, verse 1. Jesus says to the church in Sardis, to the angel of the church in Sardis, write, He who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars says this, I know your deeds, that you have a name, that you are alive, but you are dead. What a sad story.

Everybody around this church thought this is a living church. But the one person whose opinion mattered said, you're dead. And then the Lord gave me a promise that it would be said about RLCF.

He who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars says this, I know your deeds, that you have a name, that you are dead, but you are alive. Make this your ambition, dear brothers and sisters. If you want to be a part of the church that Jesus is building, everybody else in the world will think this is a dead church, good for nothing church.

And they'll throw all kinds of accusations against you, but covet the approval of God. Covet the approval of God. Let Him say, everybody else around you says you're dead.

And they have left the church because they say you're dead. But I know you're alive. Now let's not pretend.

Let's not imagine. That's true. But let's examine our hearts.

Let's examine ourselves. And if we truly covet the name of God to be honored, and we're not going to compromise on any of the standards that we've seen, no matter who gets offended, He says, you might have offended everybody else. They may all think that you're dead, but I know that you're alive.

This is the church that Jesus is building, a church that's alive because the head is alive. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, I believe that you have loved us tremendously, Lord, and you've been so patient with us.

We know that. Lord, I pray that you will open our eyes to see the church that you are building, a bride that you are preparing through the Holy Spirit for your son Jesus. Lord Jesus, show us more of what it was like for you to bear the reproach of the world, to be despised and rejected of men.

And through that rejection and through that reproach, you've made a way for us to follow. I want to follow you, Lord Jesus, no matter what it costs. And I want to commit to being a part of your church and to help me build your church, Lord, that is going the same narrow way, not broadening it one little bit.

Preserve us, Lord, I pray, in a spirit of zeal and purity. Preserve this church, I pray, Lord, in Atlanta, that it will be a pure testimony for your name's sake, not willing to compromise on even the littlest bit of the purity of the gospel. Do it, Lord, in our lives.

Free us from all pride. Free us from all self-centeredness and selfishness. And preserve us, Lord.

Thank you that there's hope while it is still today. Today is the day of salvation, Lord, and no matter what that valley of dry bones looks like ahead of us, Lord, we have faith. We see the army that you're raising up, and you're going to raise up as a victorious army, a triumphant church that takes down the gates of hell.

Pour out your spirit upon us, Lord, so that that spirit will come and breathe on these dry bones in our life, I pray. Thank you that you will do it, and your spirit will be here, Lord, in the midst of the church, stirring us up to be useful for your kingdom, that we don't have time to waste, but we will wake up and strengthen the things that remain. We'll wake up those that are sleeping, and if there's any sleepy areas in our life, that we will stir those up, Lord, through your Holy Spirit and breathe life, that we might be triumphant from this day forward.

We believe you're here, and you've heard our prayer. In Jesus' name.