"Becoming a Pillar in the Church" by Philip Showalter | KFW 2023

Well, grace to each one today. Welcome to this service. This is my very first time being here, and it's been a very rich experience thus far. And I want to appreciate all the hungry hearts I sense here this weekend. God bless you for that.

Coming here hungry, coming here desiring God, wanting more. Lord, speak to me. That kind of heart there is precious. It's beautiful. And I want to appreciate the many hearts that are hearing this way. To have a big crowd this size of people that way, that is powerful. And may God bless each one who is that way.

Open your Bibles, please, to Galatians chapter two for our text this afternoon. And I'll be reading quite a few passages to you all, so I'll have you turn to this one passage here and park here for our text, and I'll read the rest of the passages to you. So just park here and Galatians chapter two with me this afternoon.

Let's go ahead and just bow for prayer again, if you don't mind, and we'll just ask the Lord's help again. Father, you see us here. You know my trembling heart, and I pray for your peace and for your power and for your anointing. God, give me liberty. Give me your Holy Spirit and that power to humbly give your word to your people. God, we have needs here. We are real humans, and we're groping for answers. God, would you speak clearly today, Lord, to each heart? And Lord, may your conviction work. May your healing work. And may hope be present, Lord, today. Give us grace. Bless this hour. Give inspiration and freedom and anointing. We pray in Jesus' name.

Amen. Now let's begin here by thinking a little bit together about King Solomon. Now, King Solomon was no doubt one of the greatest kings of the nation of Israel. He was an incredible leader. He took the nation to its apex of wealth and glory and power.

And he also built lots of buildings, tremendous structures, many of them, I think even at least one city, if not multiple cities. But one of the greatest buildings that King Solomon, I think, ever built was none but the House of the Forests of Lebanon. It was an incredible, incredible building. And there isn't that many glimpses we get in scripture about it, but what we do see is incredible. It was a staggering building. It was a display to the nation and to the world, the glory and power of his kingdom.

It's where he put his 300 golden shields was in this building. And also all the goblets, all the dishes, all the vessels, every, every vessel in this house was of pure gold, release of gold, nothing of silver. Every dish, every basin, every goblet was of gold, a display of opulence and wealth and power to the nation and to the world. But in this building, there was four rows, four rows of cedar pillars, four rows, one, two, three, four rows of cedar pillars with cedar beams upon those pillars, at least 45 pillars altogether, if not more like 60. It's a little bit unclear, but at least 45 pillars in this great house. These pillars, my friend, were very important to the strength and the stability of this house.

This incredible house would have collapsed and fallen down in a pile of rubbish if these pillars were messed with or weakened or damaged or somehow removed. This entire building, this glorious structure would have collapsed if it wasn't for these key pillars holding it up. Pillars, pillars are important for strength and stability.

Who all here went to DC before, Washington, DC? Raise your hand nice and high, please. Thank you. Okay. If you go there and you see the Lincoln Memorial, you'll see there a building, a monument, a memorial that has lots of pillars, a total of 38 pillars in that memorial. And they're 44 feet tall. And at the base, they are 7.5 feet thick. Now, that's a pillar, isn't it? That's a massive pillar. The Jefferson Memorial has 54 pillars, and those are 43 feet tall and 5.3 feet thick. That is a massive number of massive pillars.

And think also with me of what did Samson go after and taken down the Philistine house? He went for the two. What? Say it. The main pillars. Exactly. Why was that? Because they are a key for stability and for something solid to endure. And so he went there to these two massive pillars and toppled them down. And when they went down, the rest was history. Pillars are important. What are pillars? They're solid supports. They hold up the weight. They add stability. They strengthen the whole. They make things solid, firm, and enduring. Take away a few pillars, and everything begins to lean and tether and then tumble down in a pile of rubbish. Pillars, strong pillars are important, crucial for a strong, stable, enduring building.

But what does God call us as his church? First Corinthians 3:16 and following, it tells us, "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you. If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy. For the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are."

This applies to you personally, but also to the church corporately, that we as the church are the temple of God. It says here that in Second Corinthians 6:16 tells us, "And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For ye are the temple of God. As God has said, I will dwell in them and walk in them, and they will be my people." You see there that we are the temple of the living God. Ephesians 2:19 and following, listen here. "Now, therefore, ye are no more strangers." Amen.

Amen. "Or foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and of the household of God and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom all the building." That's us. Amen. "In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto a holy temple in the Lord, in whom we also are built together for a habitation." Get that word, habitation of God through the Spirit.

The church, my friend, is the house of God. It's the temple of God. It's the habitation of God. It's the building of God. In the same way, in the physical sense of buildings having pillars to make it solid and firm and enduring, so also in the church, you have pillars in the church that make it solid, firm, lasting, and enduring. Amen.

And now for our text in Galatians 2. Galatians 2:9. "And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave unto me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship that we should go unto the heathen and they unto the circumcision." Notice the first phrase of this text here.

It says here, "And when James and Cephas and John, who seemed to be what? Pillars." I like that. Paul says that I was there at this church for maybe a few days, a few weeks, or a few months. He said, "While I was among them and observed the church, it seemed to me like those three brothers, that was James, Cephas, and John, it seemed to me like they were among the pillars of that church."

Paul could look at that and observe those were the key pillars of that church, not the sole pillars, I'm sure, but they were among the pillars. They were solid supports. They held up the weight. They were solid. They were stable. They were committed. They were faithful members. They weren't passive members. No, they weren't wishy-washy. They weren't spectators. No, they were solid, firm pillars in that church.

Now think with me a little bit here of pillars in a carnal sense. Every strong, thriving business has pillars in it. GM last year, they sold 2.274 million vehicles in one year. 2.274 million vehicles. Ford. Ford of the F-Series trucks only, they made 653,957 F-Series trucks last year. Now how can that be done?

There are committed, faithful, sacrificial pillars in those companies to crank out that many vehicles. Amazon. The great, wonderful Amazon. They totaled last year of gross sales $513.98 billion in one single year. Is that all on Mr. Jeff Bezos?

No, they are strong pillars who are sacrificial, who come there with purpose and labor for the good of the company that enable them to do that many sales. Now, in the business world, there are three main kinds of workers. There's number one, the passive worker, the one who clocks in in the morning and drags through the day doing what he just has to to get through the day with no purpose or sacrifice at all. He's lazy. He's a passive worker. The second kind of worker is the critical worker, the one who comes in looking for problems, looking for things to fuss about and to complain about and to pick out any kind of need around and harp on that.

That's the critical worker, always looking to fuss at things. And thirdly, you have your pillar workers, the sacrificial, the faithful, committed pillars in the company. In church, it's much the same way, my friends. Much the same way. I think all of us as church members, listen to me, fit into one of these three categories also. There's the passive member, the one who floats along with the rest of the crowd, enjoying the fellowship, enjoying the singing, enjoying the preaching, enjoying all the rich teaching. He loves it. He'd bask in that. They enjoy it, but they're mere floaters in the church. They're benchwarmers, as we often hear.

The same as a canoe rider hops in the canoe and goes along for this canoe trip. He hops in the boat, sits down, sits back, and enjoys the experience. All the nice scenery. It's a wonderful trip, right? But he fails to realize there's people in front of him in the canoe and behind him who are laboring, who are getting blisters on their hands, who are digging their oars in, busting their guts, laboring and sweating to make this canoe go down or up the river.

That's how some members are. They sit back in the church and soak it up and enjoy the ride. They never sacrifice hardly at all to contribute, but they simply enjoy the experience. There's also a second kind of floater in church, and that is the aloof members.

I said members. You get that? The aloof members, the ones that stay apart and won't draw near and be transparent. They kind of keep on the edge, on the fringe of the church, kind of quiet, maybe. They come to the church, might even be members, but they're always a bit aloof, the same as a puppy dog on the farm. It lives on the farm. It resides there. That's home, but it's always pretty aloof. It never comes very close. You can go up to it and try to get it to come closer toward you, but it always will come so close because it's scared to come too near. And that's how some members are in the church.

Amen. Sadly but truly. Then you also have the critical member, the fault finder, and most churches seem to attract way too many of those, it seems like. And I'm for admonishing. I'm for exhorting. I'm for even rebuking. That's scriptural, by the way, if it's birthed out of commitment and care. But if it's the product of a proud, critical spirit that's damaging to the body of Christ, and we should be aware of that, it's a contentious spirit and it's wrong. Then you have, of course, the third member, that is the pillars. Amen. The rock-solid, committed, sacrificial members. And my burden today, my burden today is that all of us could be pillars in the church for Christ Jesus.

Every one of you being an active, faithful, sacrificial member in your church. Not only the elders. No, not only just the deacons. No, every one of us being a pillar in the church of Christ Jesus. And there can be different sizes of pillars, some larger, some smaller. That's okay.

But all of us should be pillars in the church. Young man, you should be a pillar. Old man, you should be a pillar. Young lady, you should be coming a pillar in the church of Christ Jesus. All of us. This is the will of God for us.

Not a passive member, not an aloof member, not a critical member, a fault finder, but rather a strong, sacrificial, faithful pillar in the church of Christ. And I hope, I pray there's something deep in your heart that says, "Yes, Lord.

God, if you could see fit to make me a pillar, I'll be happy to be a pillar." I hope there's a burning thirst, a burning desire in each heart here today that says, "Yes, Lord. Could you make me one of those humble pillars in the church for you?"

My next burden is, is that listen here. Listen to me. Those younger ones among us who are growing up in the home church, let me challenge you today. Are you becoming a pillar in the church of Christ? Are you? Or are you a floater? Or worse, are you a critic? Or worse yet, are you a weight and a burden to the church?

And answer that question to God today. My third burden is for those of you who have just moved into a church, are you actively becoming a pillar? My last burden is, is because the church always, always, always needs more pillars. There's never a surplus. There's never one too many pillars in the church of Christ. There's always a need for more. And so I want to say, all of us, set your heart. Say, "Lord, make me a pillar in your church." And my title today, as you already know, is becoming a pillar in the church. Obviously, I mean local brotherhood.

I want to look at six simple steps that each one of us can take to become a pillar in the church. And I want to, first of all, before I get into that, give a few qualifying statements and a few disclaimers.

First of all, is this is not a complete list, and this sermon will be in itself incomplete. I want to also recognize that we have almost a myriad of backgrounds here today with lots of experiences and some good experiences, some bad experiences, and frankly, some very, very ugly experiences.

And I would love to sit down with every one of you today and hear your stories of your past experiences in church life. I'm sure if I did that, I would hear some very awfully sad and tragic and painful things that have happened to not just one or two, but to many of us here today.

There's some here today, I'm sure, who have been hurt very badly by church experiences. Some here today, no doubt, have open wounds and yet still unhealed scars from what happened to you and your experience of church. And I'm sorry about that.

And I care about that. And so does the Lord. And I feel your pain. Those are very real things, all too real and all too painful. And may God bless you with healing for those experiences. And I tremble because I know that you might misunderstand what I'm about to say here in this message today.

And some here would probably react majorly to what I'm going to say and run from what I'm going about to say to you here. And I also want to say that there is a place and time to leave a church. There is.

That's a necessary thing for some to do, an important thing. But why you leave and how you leave is extremely important. And also I want to say that your elders are not perfect. They're real humans like the rest of us. And they make mistakes and they at times fail us. And yes, they at times hurt us.

And I also want to say that I'm obviously very young and have lots to learn. So bear with me in my folly. And I might say a few hard things today, and it won't be in the lofty so much as in the nuts and the bolts of real practical brotherhood. So please hear my heart and don't turn me off. Please let the Lord speak through me, if he so does, to your heart today. I feel passionate and feel burdened because I believe with all my heart that what I'm about to say to you has the potential of changing your entire experience of church life. I believe if you hear this and apply it to your life, you may find church life to be very different in the future from what it has been in the past for you.

So the six steps, number one, is open transparency. Altogether, please, open transparency. This is the foundation and this is the starting point in this experience is open transparency in the brotherhood. This cannot be bypassed. This cannot be sidestepped. You must begin with open transparency in the brotherhood. Many people try to bypass it and slip around and find church to be a miserable tragedy, a colossal failure because they miss the beginning of open transparency in church life. Every close relationship requires this ingredient, doesn't it, of openness, of transparency?

In courtship, you need to be open and transparent, right? Otherwise, it will not work for you. In marriage, you have to have it there. In the home, there needs to be openness and transparency. Business partnerships require this ingredient of openness and transparency.

And what I mean by transparency and openness is simply this right here, is being real, learning how to be real in the church, in the brotherhood, learning how to be honest with how you feel about things, getting down and being able to talk on a heart-to-heart level in the church. That's so important. That's so crucial. Being able to be open about your needs and failures, mistakes, shortcomings, yes, even temptations, being that real and open and transparent is crucial for your experience in church life. Nothing hidden, nothing secret, nothing kept back there. Aiken, he made a mistake one day of going into his tent floor and digging a hole and burying some things and covering it up.

And no one around his neighbors knew anything about what was in his tent below the surface hidden down inside of there. I think too often we are the same way in church life. Not like there's some sin being hidden, but yet there's part of my heart and part of my life that is tucked away and hidden and no one knows about it. That struggle, that temptation, that failure is just hidden away and no one knows about it. And that does not work in the church for no one.

I've also seen it, and you have too, I'm sure, of some vehicles, maybe more the muscle cars and trucks. They will darken all the windows on the side with dark tint, and they go to the back glass and they just make it jet black. The whole thing is dark, and they go up in the windshield and down below put a great big black stripe. And go on top and put a great big black stripe.

He hops in the truck and goes down the road and he can see out, but no one can hardly see anything at all in that vehicle. But I think in church life, too often we are the same way. Amen.

We darken the windows with dark tint on the front windshield and behind and pull into the church parking lot right up in the doors and park in the pew and say, "Good morning and how are you?" and give the greeting and smile. But yet you're not transparent.

You can see out, but they cannot see inside. That will not work, my friend. Confess your faults one to another. That's scriptural. We need to be real with each other and live on a heart-to-heart level in the brotherhood.

Some people are very naturally expressive. Some are very quick to go on a heart-to-heart level in conversations. Some have their feelings right here in their shirt sleeve and they're just very real and frank and transparent. Some are natural chatterboxes.

But yet still others keep to themselves and hardly ever get real and honest about how they feel deep, deep inside their hearts. It's just kind of blocked off. They seldom, if ever, go with anyone to a heart-to-heart level and just share themselves.

Because of bad experiences in the past, some feel like it's safer to stay quiet and just keep it all hidden and clammed up. Like a turtle, it pulls its head inside and closes the shell. And that's how they live, not just for a day or two, but for months and even years right in the church life.

Some have only surface friendships, 5,000 miles wide, but a quarter inch deep. A lot of chatter in social life, but no open transparency. Today, I call us to open transparency in church life. Learn how to open up. It's an art that you must learn to prosper in the church. Learn how to be real and genuine. Learn how to go on a heart-to-heart level and share. Learn how to confess your faults and needs and failures. Learn how to dialogue with what you face in life, things in church, things in your marriage, things in the home, anything and everything. Learn how to be transparent.

In prayer meetings, that's a good time for you to just open your heart and share. When you're all in a circle about to pray, learn right there to just open yourself up and share. Learn how to just simply confess some things and then pray together and you'll find healing. The grace of God comes in there. There's love that knits hearts together in one accord. It's beautiful and it's powerful. It's a foretaste of heaven that you can experience when you're open and transparent.

This is vital for brotherhood. Learn to live vulnerably with your church. This is a mark of a pillar. This is the first step. Step number two, you ready for that one? Be unoffendable. Together, please, be unoffendable. Listen to me. To be or to become a pillar in the church requires that you are one who is totally and completely and altogether unoffendable. Why is that? Because you're going to get hurt by your church at some point. It's the real dynamics of all close relationships as we hurt each other, not by intent always, but by accident. We're real humans and it happens when you're together with people. And we must face this reality and face it head-on that you will be hurt by your church at some point.

Be honest about it. Don't be in the clouds saying, "We're going to be all hunky-dory." Listen, we're humans and it happens. You'll be hurt, listen to me, by those that you love and admire and deeply appreciate. You'll be hurt by those that you never thought would ever, ever hurt you.

You'll be hurt by those that you feel very close to today. By those that you love and trust the most will likely at some point hurt you. By the ones that you finally were able to open your heart to and just share and be honest, you'll find that you know what?

At some point, they will probably likely hurt you. And when this happens, listen to me, it will shock you. It will rock your world back and forth when this happens to you. But how you handle that, how you respond to that will make all the difference for you.

About 10 years ago, someone that I looked up to, someone that I loved and admired and appreciated very, very much, hurt me one day.

It happened in my living room back home with my family. There was a meeting called and this person came, this dear person that I loved and felt very close to emotionally, came in there. We're having a meeting and we were opening up and sharing some things. And then some things were spoken.

Some things were said that shocked me. And that meeting ended and many people were getting up and leaving in tears and devastated. I saw my own mother who's strong and who's rock solid and who could face the world almost single-handedly at a very, very low point after that. She was crushed and she was devastated. And so were all of us. And my boats almost capsized that day on the water. I was so let down and so jostled and so mixed up and so hurt.

And we came to a why that day in the road of our lives. We came to a why that day of receiving that pain, of accepting that hurts and wallowing in that pain and reliving that pain and letting bitterness grow and being offended or choosing the other one. Of saying, "By the grace of God, we will be among the few who choose to be unoffended by anything in life." And by God's grace, we chose that way. And that made all the difference in my family's history because of that one choice to once again, by the grace of God, be among those who are unoffendable.

How you respond is so, so vital and important. If your response is to watch, and that is, is to immediately withdraw and be quiet. Don't do that. Number two is to immediately withdraw and tell only a few close friends what happened and how hurt and crushed you were. Or thirdly is to go on acting unaffected, but all the while that hurt is festering and festering inside. Satan hits hard right here. He does. He knows how lethal these things are. But what should you do is you should simply just forgive and release and let them go free. And like water on a duck's back, let it just run off and not soak into your feathers of what happened.

You can go to them in meekness and just talk and just share your heart. You can also go to your ministry and ask for counsel and advice. But bottom line is know that you'll be hurt at some point. Don't begin to start mistrusting and crawling into a shell. No, keep loving and trusting, but plan today that when you're hurt in the future, that you will be among those who are totally and completely unoffendable. Settle in your heart right now that yes, I will be one who is unoffended. If we were all that way in the church, if every member were that way, that would be powerful, wouldn't it?

That would be beautiful. You would be an invincible church at that point, I believe. A pillar is one that refuses to allow himself to ever be offended in church. He has thick skin and a tender heart about life and people. He wants to get fans for nobody else. He won't nurse a wound. He simply forgives in love with malice toward none and charity for all. This is a mark of a pillar. Number three, learn the heart of the elders. Altogether, please, learn the heart of the elders.

Become a student to your ministry. In Philippians 4:9, it says here, "Those things which you have both learned and received and heard and seen in me, do, and the God of peace shall be with you." I want to apply this verse to your elders.

Learn them, study them. What you have learned in them, what you have received from them, what you have heard in them, and what you have seen in them, that do, and the God of peace shall be with you. This is God's will for every church and the congregation.

Be a student to your ministry. In 1 Peter 5, it tells us here that they are in samples to the flock. In Hebrews 13:7, it tells us, "Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God, whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation." Notice that powerful small phrase, "whose faith follow."

That's God's assignment to you is you are to follow the faith of your elders. A young man, listen to me, please. If your hair and if your clothing and if your vehicle is contrasted by that of your elder, something is not right there. This verse tells us that we are to look to them and get their values, get their hearts, get their vision for life, and begin to mirror that in my own self.

And if your life is contrasted by your elder and your hair and your clothing and your vehicle, something is not right there. You should be following in the footsteps, following the faith of your elders. Young lady, listen to me, please.

If your hair and if your covering and if your dress is contrasted by that of your elder's wife, something is not right there. Amen. Amen. Okay, we should be following in the steps. And I'm not saying blindly to just imitate them. No, it's a thing of where I'm looking to them and I'm following after their footsteps of values. What they hold dear to their hearts should be the same in my heart. 1 Thessalonians 5:12 and following, it tells us here, "And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, to esteem them very highly in love for their worksake and be at peace among yourselves."

The phrase there, again, small but yet also powerful, is what? Know them. Let me ask you, do you know them? Do you know them? Not just their phone number or their name or their address, no, but do you know your elder's heart? Are you learning them? Are you studying the heart of your elder and their values and lifestyle? Do you talk to them? How often? Do you dig into them by questions to learn to know how they think and how they feel about life? Are you learning their hearts? Are you learning their gut feelings about life? You know that gut feeling you have that kind of just guides you through life and kind of directs you?

Do you know your elder's gut feelings about life? Are you picking their brain? Young man, I call you to this. This is your assignment. You should go back home and become a student to your elders. Some years ago, a young man came to church from the outside, somewhere from way out there in society, came in a young man by the name of Colby Brown.

And a precious, dear brother, but this is all new to him. These doctrines, these values, it's all new to him. And guess what Colby did? He came in and he spent literally hours and hours and hours at the feet of our elders, asking them, learning from them, hearing them, wading through scriptures together, just hours of conversation, digging in by questions to learn their heart. You know what? Today, Colby is a pillar.

A strong pillar because he got to know their heart and now he's learned and he's following after them. Today, I want to call you to be a Colby. Be a Colby. Go back home to your church and to your elders and be a Colby.

By all means, have a teachable spirit and asking questions. Don't be critical with questions. Have a teachable spirit. There's two ways to ask questions. One is to challenge and the other is to learn from them. And by all means, be one that asks to learn and to understand. A pillar is one who spends lots of time talking to the elder and knows their heart and is following their faith.

Learn, know, and follow your elders. Number four, the fourth step to being a pillar is bending and blending. Together, please, bending and blending. The very nature of church life and brotherhood requires some bending and blending for it to work together. Ephesians 2:21 tells us, "In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto a holy temple in the Lord." Notice the phrase fitly framed together.

Here I see a picture of all kinds of sizes of boards, different lengths, different widths, different thicknesses, and they're all being cut. They're all being trimmed. They're all having angles put onto them and trimmed some here and cut some here. But the end goal, the end product is a fitly framed, beautiful, tight, well-built building. Not a long board sticking way out here or a long board that way, but no, it's all being trimmed and cut and fitly framed together. This is called bending and blending. In church life, we need to have this of being trimmed, of giving, of taking, and coming together to make a tight, well-built, unified church.

Or also like a great big choir of all kinds of voices, all kinds of parts. Over here is the bass. Over here is the soprano, the alto, the tenor, but they're all coming together and blending and mixing their voices to make one beautiful, harmonious, powerful sound. And that's a picture of bending and blending that should happen in the church, of all giving and taking and make one beautiful, powerful, harmonious sound. Or also like many streams of water all flowing and coming together to make one beautiful, powerful river. It's all being mixed. It's all coming together to make one beautiful, beautiful river, but it's many streams being formed together into that river. Because we are all different, right?

We're all different, different backgrounds, different experiences that shape our ideas and our philosophies and preferences on principles. But now we need to bend and blend all of that to make a harmonious brotherhood. And I'm not advocating at all by any means of compromise. You must stand for truth and even be willing to die for truth. But when it comes to preferences, get me here. But when it comes to preferences and applications to principles, there we must bend and blend to make and form a harmonious, beautiful, powerful brotherhood.

So how does it work in real church life? How does it work? Well, when I see that my mindset is different from the rest of the brothers, what happens then? Do you dig your heels in? Do you grab your sword out and prepare to battle and have an argument and just go at it? Or do you open your heart and mind and say, "Hey, I want to learn." Here I can maybe bend and blend to be harmonious with my brothers.

Or maybe in a men's meeting, a topic is being hashed through and we've all spoken, the elders have spoken and gave their heart, but I see, you know what? My view is quite different. My perspective is quite different in my application. What happens then? Do you dig your heels in and grab your sword and ready to go at it?

Or do you say, you know what? Here again, I can maybe bend and blend to form a united, beautiful, harmonious brotherhood. The fact is that most of us are naturally good defenders, but not good blenders. Most of us have very good, strong standalone muscles, but often weak blending muscles.

Most of us can see our own perspective much better than that of our neighbors. And that's reality. Your experiences shape you and form your ideas, and you're pretty dogmatic naturally on that. And to open your heart and mind to bend and blend is a whole different ball game.

Pillars can submit one to another in the fear of God. Pillars can lay down their ideas and blend with the brothers. How do you do when you differ from your ministry? What happens? What happens? Are you teachable? Do you endeavor to say, "Maybe I see it wrong." Now, can you ever say that phrase? Maybe I see it wrong. I'm open, I'm open to being taught by you all.

Are you being fitly framed together or are you unbendable? The goal in all this, my friend, is what Christ prayed in John 17, and that is that they may be one even as we are one. That's the goal. But the question is, how one is the Godhead? Christ said that they might be one even as we are one. That's the goal right there is unity and harmony and togetherness in the church. Christ says that they may be made perfect in one. That's the goal. Oneness is our calling. Oneness is the standard. Oneness is the goal. We must bend and blend to get there. Number five.

Number five is commitment to the church. Again, all together, please, commitment to the church. Pillars are always those and only those who have a strong, compelling commitment to the church. Their heart beats with a strong loyalty of their heart is just engaged in that, and everyone around can tell that they are committed to the church. The same as a ballplayer on the baseball team, when there's a practice evening, when there's a ball social happening, that person will be there. He'll be there engaged. He'll be there early. He'll be there with all his heart, and he'll be there early likely for that event. It's the same in the church as there needs to be that compelling commitment to the church.

A pillar values his church. It's important to him. They plan their schedules around the church events.

They place church high on the list of priorities. They're constantly involved with church and church events because, again, of that strong, compelling, inner driving commitment to their church. A few things pretty practical here is hear me out, please. A pillar with this compelling commitment that's just driving him, that arranges his priorities and schedule around church, they won't have a habit of being late Sunday morning.

Now, things happen. The tower gets flat. The baby throws up. Company Saturday evening, yes, those are real things in life, but I said a habit. A pillar won't have a habit of being late on Sunday morning. Pillars often show up in time for prayer before the service. Why is that? Because of that inner, compelling, driving love for his church.

Pillars rarely miss any church function. Again, things happen. I can't always be there, but they rarely miss it because of that strong commitment to his church, because of that passionate love for his church. Pillars have a habit, again, I said habit, of faithfully attending Wednesday evening Bible studies.

They have a way of showing up and being excited and being engaged because of that inner, compelling commitment to his church. Again, things happen. There's hay that gets cut down. The rain shower is coming. You can't always be there, but as a rule, they will be there because of that commitment. A pillar won't lightly skip midweek prayer meetings. Back home, we have prayer on Friday morning for the brothers at five o'clock in the morning. A pillar, he can't always be there. Maybe there's some health problems and some sickness or a busy week, but as a rule, that thing is high on the list of priorities, and they will find a way to often show up excited and engaged because they are committed to their church.

And here's the heart right here.

A pillar is very intentional about staying closely connected in his heart to his church. You got me there? He's intentional about not losing that heart connection to his church and what all happens and who all said what and what all went on because he wants to stay connected to his church. It's important to him. He values it, and he has a way of often being at the functions of a church. A pillar will get involved. He will step out and volunteer and be actively engaged in his church. A pillar simply values church because of that strong, inner, driving commitment to his brotherhood and all around can observe and see the value and excitement that he puts in to being a part of his church.

Let me ask you, how is it with you? Are you one who has that commitment? Are you one who's engaged and loves to be there and that heart connection is important to you? Or let me ask you, are you a floater in your brotherhood?

Are you a spectator? Are you one of those faithful pew warmers that keeps that seat nice and hot? And you're there every time, but you're just simply a bump on a log. Or is that fire and love for Zion in your heart? Do you have that strong, compelling commitment? That's a pillar is he will, she will have that. Number five, number five here, and that is a vibrant I'm sorry, number six. I'm sorry, that's the last one here is a vibrant walk with God. Together, please, again, vibrant walk with God. A pillar is characterized like Enoch in that he walks with God. It isn't a dull life of drudgery or a have to, but rather a vibrant living walk of love to God.

This is the foundation for the whole matter is a living, vibrant, real walk with God where you love God, you love his kingdom, you're excited about it, and you love to be in God's service. It's a passion of your life. There are four main passions in the life of one who has this living, vibrant walk with God. Number one is he will love the presence of God.

Why isn't that the boyfriend loves to be with his girlfriend? Because he loves the presence of his girlfriend. Why is it that you love the presence of God is because you love God himself. Amen. And when you love God, you love his presence. That just is one and the same. I love God. Therefore, I love to be alone with him. Early morning prayer, communing with God in secret. That's a pattern of one who has a vibrant living walk with God, worshiping God in secret, that quiet place of solitude and being alone in his presence, worshiping him, imploring him for grace and for his kingdom and for his work in my heart. That's a pattern of one who has a vibrant, living walk with God.

Their quiet times are faithful. Their quiet times are rich, and their quiet times are meaningful because, again, of that real relationship with the almighty. Number two is they love the service of God. They love God's kingdom. They are as the household of Stephanus. They are addicted to the ministry. It's a drug for them. They have to have their fix periodically because they're hooked on that stuff. They love the service of God, not recreation, not fun, not hobbies, not money, not business. No, they love God's kingdom. They love his service. That's the passion of their hearts and life. The souls around them burden them. They're concerned about the lost man over here and the lost lady over here.

They're concerned about people all around them. Christ's love compels them. Amen. Christ's love constrains them. It's a real thing of Christ's love being poured out in their hearts, and it comes out in a desire to minister and care for souls around them. Their life is filled with ministering to people right around them. In fact, they're unable get me here. They're unable to reach around to all the people that pull upon their heart of care and love and compassion because this love is real and constraining them, and their life is busy, not with money, not with their business, not with recreation. No, it's people that weigh upon their hearts, and their life is filled with care and for souls around them.

Number three is they love the word of God. They love their Bibles. They feed upon it daily. They go deep into the word and mine out all kinds of rubies and pearls and great things because of the in-depth reading and studying in the Bible. They muse upon it day and night. They commit it to memory. It gets time. It gets focus, and it gets priority in their lives.

Fourthly is they love the church, of course. Amen. They love Mount Zion. They love the place where God dwells. They love the bride of Christ. The church holds intrinsic value to this person. He's jealous over it. He's jealous over its health. He's jealous over its purity. He's jealous over its stability. It gets focus. It gets thought. It gets care because he loves the church of God. The church is dear to him. I love thy kingdom, Lord. The house of thine abode. The church, our blessed redeemer, saved with his own precious blood. For her, my tears shall fall. For her, my prayers ascend. To her, my cares and toils be given till cares and toils shall end.

Beyond, beyond my highest joy, I prize her heavenly ways, her sweet communion, solemn vows, her hymns of love and praise. This man loves the church. This lady loves the church. It's precious. It's sacred. It's dear to him. This person is not lukewarm. This person is abandoned to Christ and to his kingdom. His heart beats for the church and for the kingdom of God. This person is not lukewarm. This person is not carnally mined. This person is passionate for Christ and his kingdom.

No need to make this person get up and have his devotions in the morning. No need for that. It's spontaneous because of a living, vibrant walk with God. Christ is the passion, and his church is precious to him. Do you have a vibrant walk with God, or are you lukewarm? Be honest.