Library

sermonette: Don't Ever Ring the Bell

Austin Del Castillo
Given 01-Aug-26; Sermon #1887s; 16 minutes

Description: (show)

---

So this this particular title I'm going to start with I hope it makes sense a little bit later in the in the message. The title of this message is, Don't ever ringing the bell. In consideration of the possible subjects for this message, I ask God, as all of our speakers I'm sure do, to inspire me for the particular subject that might be currently needed by us as a church group. I very much appreciated the opening prayer. In recent weeks, I've been thinking about the subject, but it was not until I received an email last Sabbath actually from a dear friend. Thank you, Gary Montgomery. Gary touched on the subject of discouragement and how we need to respond with resilience, as unlikely as that may seem at the moment. Discouragement can and often does take hold of us, but we can't allow it to dominate our course of action. We have a great enemy whose job it is to discourage us and to make us feel like we've taken enough punishment. Brethren, this is the life that we have been called to by our God. Any one of us in God's church can get caught up in this discouragement at various times in our lives. I know I have, and you probably have as well. This is often caused by our losing sight of the big picture. Which is God's plan for each of us to attain salvation as we become part of his family. What we need a time like this is God's help to determined to get back up on the proverbial horse. Let's read that in, in the book of Proverbs chapter 24, um, Proverbs chapter 24, and that would be verse 16 that I'm going to be reading from. For the, for a righteous person may fall 7 times and rise again, but the wicked shall fall by calamity. What I understand of this proverb is that the godly may fall completely. We need to remember 7 is the number of completeness. If we recall. Beaten to a pulp and yet rise again. That rising again may even refer to our very resurrection from the dead. Where I want to take us now may not seem to make a whole lot of sense considering my intention to encourage us, but I think you'll see, I think you'll see hopefully that there is a method to my madness, as some fellow once wrote. Please turn to Matthew 10. Matthew 10 and I'll be reading from verses 34 through 39. Matthew 10:34. This is Jesus speaking. He says, Do not think I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace without a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. Matthew 10:36, and a man's enemies will be those of his own household. He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for my sake will find it. Beloved brethren, this is what we signed up for. When we counseled for baptism, we were told to count the cost of what we were about to do. I do remember thinking on the way to my baptism, this could get me killed. Later on, I realized I could be killed permanently if I do not produce fruit, if I do not grow, if I do not endure to the end. OK, we might think that I've been a bit negative here. Who in the world needs things like this? Well, we do. This is what God tells us. It's His word, and as Jesus tells us in John 17, His word is truth. But that's not all he tells us, is it? What else does he tell us through his writings? How about Hebrews 13:5? Hebrews 13:5, I'll just read it. Let your conduct be without covetousness. Be content with such things as you have, for he himself has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you. So we may boldly say the Lord is my helper, I will not fear. What, what can man do to me? Has any human being ever told us that they would never leave us nor forsake us? Some have Some meant it and others did not. To some, it was something that sounded nice, maybe even Romantic. Nobody means it like Jesus Christ says it when he says it to his bride, and that's us. Isn't this what Romans 5:10 really means when Paul writes that we were, that we are saved by his life, Romans 5:10, he means to help us every step of the way. He means to help us grow in grace and knowledge. He means to help us endure to the end. To the end of each of our lives or to the end of this world. Our job is to grow, not to remain children. Having the attitude. Of a child is commendable, but not remaining with the mind of a child. We need to grow up, as Paul mentions in I Corinthians 13. We need to grow in what is known as to me anyway, street smarts that are known to us as godly wisdom. It's how we can test the spirits, for example. Otherwise we can fall for some very unwise points of view. So here is the thing all of us have to consider. After accepting the requirements of God's calling. We need to produce the fruit of that calling and to grow spiritually and keep growing till the day we die. This is where discouragement can kill us. We can allow ourselves to think that we did not sign up for this. This whole thing with God has gotten too hard. This all falls into the realm of feeling sorry for ourselves and Quite honestly, that's quite common. Please consider that. As I say this, I'm thinking of brethren that I dearly love who are suffering way more than I ever have. For example, I have a dear friend who's been bedridden for many months, and recently, I can't even reach him by phone. I can't even leave a message. I fear he may have died. He did move from our area to Texas, and I was used to speaking to him once a week but I can't reach him anymore. So he's been a friend of and brother for many years. Pain and suffering are quite a serious and continuing matter among us. We can never afford to stop caring and praying for our brethren. That's the great part of our business with God. We need to be determined in this matter. This is a great part of our encourage of our encouraging those who feel like giving up. Well, thinking about this message, I was reminded of an occasion that took place at the University of Texas at Austin back in 2014. It was a graduation ceremony, and Admiral William H. McRaven, a Navy SEAL, then Commander of United States Special Operations Command, was invited as the keynote speaker. As far as I'm concerned, I do not think I've ever heard a more inspiring message to a graduating class than this one. Now, I fully realize that this is an unconverted man instructing unconverted students how they can change the world to be a better place. This Navy admiral goes on to mention 10 different challenges in accomplishing this goal. The very first thing he mentions in his speech towards doing what is necessary of all things is make your bed. Not Not just any old way, but the navy way. Why? It goes to starting your day with discipline. We as God's people have to learn to discipline ourselves in this life. We must align ourselves with God's word. He mentions several other things that Navy SEALs have to master. We Uh, well, we must endure hardship. We must overcome our fears. We have to learn the principle of teamwork. We must give each other hope. The last thing this admiral describes. It is this finely polished bell in the middle of the camp. It is there, it's, it's there for anyone of the trainees to ring. It is there for everyone to know who rang it. By that act, whoever rings it is declaring that he wants out. He's quitting the training. He no longer has to get up at 5 o'clock in the morning. He no longer has to endure freezing waters off the coast. He no longer has to endure a 6 month program that a seal must complete. He can go back to basic naval training. Only the most determined cadets complete the SEAL team training. The last piece of advice this Navy admiral tells the students. As if they want to, that's, that is if they want to change the world. Never ring. That fell. I suggest, brethren, that our God has His own SEAL training program. Please turn over to Matthew 7. Matthew 7 and I'll be reading Matthew verses 13 and 14. Enter by the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. Yes, beloved brother, we have a hard row to hoe, but we have the greatest training officer in all of creation. They dedicated to helping us succeed. Yes, he allows us to have some very serious trials. He knows we can learn from them to take our positions in his kingdom. Our job now is to encourage each other no matter what we are going through. In closing, I want to share with you the most painful time that I've ever experienced, because I think it will prove helpful to us. My then wife and I were married in the church for 22 years, and we had 3 children. We bought a house in a nice neighborhood and we are happy to have brethren visit us. Tragically, one night my wife announced to me that she wanted a divorce. I was devastated, as you might imagine. I thought of the pain it would cause our children. I pleaded with her not to go through with this. To no avail One night I had a very vivid dream. I was standing At the start of the bridge surrounded by a forest, the problem was that the other end of the bridge was a dark, thick fog, which kept me from seeing the other side. It struck me that I was looking at the rest of my life. I just could not see my future. I realized I was going to have to cross into that fog anyway. I was going to have to summon the courage to keep walking anyway. I really needed encouragement, which I constantly asked God to give me. He did by using brethren in his church to give me what I needed. I ended up with the custody of all three of our children until they became adults. My former wife had left the church and married someone she'd met on the internet. I was quite surprised a few years later when she wrote me telling me that she did not think God was through with her. God inspired me to feel tender for her, and I helped her get a job when she returned to the state. I just knew that our children would be much happier knowing that we were getting along. She returned to the church and still attends to this day. Why am I sharing this with you? I guess what I want to point out is that no matter what God allows us to go through, He provides strength and the encouragement to endure whatever lesson He wants us to learn. In my case, he used my reverend to keep me positive and hopeful. We really do need to remember that our God will never leave us nor forsake us. Do not Ring the bell.