Pastor Steve Stoppe:
With Christian and and you can see it in your face and you can see the joy that you have. It it it just makes a pastor no. Thank you, lord. And it's not some, you know, selfish reward that, oh, I feel good. I'm doing a good job. It's like, Oh god, you have done this work in people. I'm and I get to be a part of it. And she's some of our men who have grown over the years.
Pastor Steve Stoppe:
Lord. Frankly, it's bringing me to tears. Lord. To see men in love with our lord. And our old ladies always do. They just they just give their life to Jesus and they just Seem to just follow follow him and put their fur their foot on the right firmness and the just seem to go. And I I know it's not always perfect, not yet Yeah. But men, if you can get men to follow after Christ with their regrets.
Pastor Steve Stoppe:
Amen. Little And even as I've loved you and as you've loved me over these years and we shared these last 20 some years together, there is there is a longing for you. And there is a desire to be with you. And I can say from a heart, you are my crosswalk. No interested in the church. So I'm just trying to get a little bit of a little bit of a little bit on a little bit on a little bit of a little bit of a Man, you're my crown. You're my reward. I just find my joy in you.
Pastor Steve Stoppe:
And then he says, now here's the word from the lord. And he gives a command. And church, it is a command. And he says, stand firm in the lord. Says, I want you to find faithful firmness. This isn't the guest time he said it. He said it back in, Philippians lord. Lord.
Pastor Steve Stoppe:
The word he uses. It it's an imperative command. It's a military word. It kinda means to stand your ground, to lord. To hold your post, to hold your position even in the middle of battle. No matter what's going on, don't go away from here. Stand firm. Lord.
Pastor Steve Stoppe:
I mean, there's times in battle where you're kinda going, I just wanna, you know, run like a little girl. Right? I'd like to just tuck my tail between my legs and move. And he said, no. No. No. You stand firm. Don't lose your place. Old that post.
Pastor Steve Stoppe:
We saw the same thing that Paul uses in Ephesians chapter 6. We just read that a few weeks ago and I hope you every once in a while regrets back to it. He says, says, in the middle of battle, you've got your Armor on. You've got, having done all to stand, stand firm, stand against the wiles of the devil. Remember? Wiles the devil. Stuff firm no matter what comes. Amen. Disappointment, Hardships, sickness, the fiery darts of Satan.
Pastor Steve Stoppe:
In the church. I'm not to if you're Christian to the to the church. I'm not sure if you're going to be in the church. I'm not sure if you're going to be in the church. I'm not sure if you're going to be in the church. Lord. That are here. I'm here right here in the word of how.
Pastor Steve Stoppe:
Right here in this passage. These 9 verses that we're gonna be looking at Have something to take to help us in every difficulty, in every stress. These verses will show us everything we need in finding faithful lord. Firmness. And it all goes back to what we truly think about god. This is really the heart of every true pastor. Remember in Acts chapter 11 verse 22, todays, and the news about them reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent lord. Barnabas off to Antioch.
Pastor Steve Stoppe:
And when he had come and witnessed the grace of god, he rejoiced and began to encourage them all with resolute. I love that word. That they would, that the heart to remain true to the lord. You know what I mean? That's what that's what a pastor does is Firmness. That's what Barnabas did. Peter does it as well. He in second Peter Real 17, he says, you therefore, beloved, knowing this lord. Beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability.
Pastor Steve Stoppe:
Lord. Oh, don't lose that foot foothold. Don't be carried away from some charlatan. Somebody is telling you a pack of life. Oh, well, he says some things the right. No. He's a liar and a deceiver. A grown grace and knowledge of our lord and savior Jesus Christ.
Pastor Steve Stoppe:
Peter says, don't fall Stanford. Lord. Concerned with people not living what god would have them live. Those that may be slipping or on shaky Ground. Peter also wrote in 2nd Peter to 14. He wrote about false teachers and agents of lord. We're always trying to, in his words, entice unstable old, not having a firm foothold. Why do you think Paul warned for 3 years in his ministry in Ephesus? The says, with tears, I warned.
Pastor Steve Stoppe:
Lord. We looked at that a couple weeks ago. Peter repeat things and he said, I've told you these things Over and over again to put you in remembrance so that when I'm not there, you can stay strong, Firm in the lord because they're concerned about stability of those who might be unstable. He also said in 2nd Peter Real, that Paul's letters, the ones that were inspired epistles of Paul We're taken, we're taken by what he says untaught, unstable people, and they distorted the writing of Paul to their own destruction. That's a powerful statement. Because even today, we have people who are distorting the teaching of lord. And the teaching of christian. How are confusing people, who are misrepresenting and misinterpreting god's word.
Pastor Steve Stoppe:
Church, it's happening everywhere. Jude was concerned as well. He said that god alone is able to make you stable and to keep you from falling. James warned about the same thing. He said that the spiritually unstable are double minded people who waver about lord. Things. They don't know what they believe. They don't know what is right, or they don't know how to make right decisions.
Pastor Steve Stoppe:
They go between doubt and faith. They're spiritually unstable. They're not focused on the character of god. They don't understand him. They don't understand his revelation. Even the old testament You really give us affair pretty good example of this instability. In Genesis 49. If you remember, Jacob would gather his sons and it was time for him to bless them and he was about ready to die and He starts with his oldest son, Reuben.
Pastor Steve Stoppe:
Know listen to what he says to him in Genesis 49. If you wanna look it up, you can because it's kind of an interesting passage. How says, Ruben, you are my firstborn, my might, and the first stuff of my strength, Preeminent on dignity and preeminent in power. Wow. I'd like for my dad to have said that to me. That would've been cool. 49. I mean, if you would've said to me, son, a
Pastor Steve Stoppe:
The got dignity. You've got power.
Pastor Steve Stoppe:
Wow. You got the right to the inheritance. But then look what, Jacob said to him after that. But then he said this, unstable as author. You shall not have the preeminence. That's sad. What disqualified Life is Spiritual inability, instability. You see, this is not a new problem.
Pastor Steve Stoppe:
It's a very old problem. Lord. He continues because you went up to your father's bed and you defiled it and he went up to my couch. In the world. And no I think that's a to people that are Fitted all of it because he was unstable as water. He committed fornication in his father's lord. In his father's house, in his father's concubine. You can go back to Genesis 35 You to can see that.
Pastor Steve Stoppe:
He was a fornicator. He showed his spiritual instability. He was disqualified, and his father said, you will not have the preeminence. You see, spiritual instability is a disqualifier for many things. Spiritual instability is a disappointment to everyone. Lord. Paul wrote in Galatians chapter 5 verse 1. Look for freedom.
Pastor Steve Stoppe:
Lord. On is praying lord. Epaphras is praying and that you should stand firm and complete the will of god. Stuff firm. I mean, that's the pastor's heart, is it know? For his body, for his church to stand firm. So you wanna make my life and ministry enjoyable? Man, stand fast in the lord. Don't waver.