Calvary Chapel Staten Island

Male Voiceover: Andy Chrisman of 4Him has spent 40 plus years in Christian music and chances are he knows your favorite artist personally. Now he's bringing you their stories. One Degree of Andy. He sits down with the voices behind the song for real, honest and faith-filled conversations you won't hear anywhere else.

If you love Christian music, this is your backstage pass. The One Degree of Andy podcast. Listen now to One Degree of Andy wherever you get your podcasts.

Female Voiceover: Hello, and welcome to God in Our City, the daily edition. Your host and Bible teacher is Pastor Dave Watson. Pastor Dave has been the pastor of Calvary Chapel on Staten Island for 35 years. In addition, he is the co-founder and president of the New York Institute for Biblical Studies.

To receive a special downloadable gift from Pastor Dave, please go to calvarychapelsi.org/gioc. That's calvarychapelsi.org/gioc. Now, here's Pastor Dave and our show.

Pastor Dave Watson: Welcome, everybody, to God in Our City, the daily edition. My name is Pastor Dave Watson. I have the privilege of being the pastor of Calvary Chapel on Staten Island. I've had that privilege since January 1st, 1990. I also have the privilege of being one of the founders and the president of the New York Institute for Biblical Studies. Beyond that, I get to host this incredible show where we come to you weekdays to talk to you about God's Word. Who's got it better than me?

I trust you're well. I trust you are seeking the Lord. I trust that as you have listened to these broadcasts, they have been a great blessing to you. We are in a series on the book of Proverbs. The series is called "Living iSmart in an eStupid World." It's our goal to help all of us to wise up, to be all that God would have us to be. For all of us to be just not people who have a lot of knowledge, but people who have a lot of wisdom. And we do that, or we become that, by looking at the book of Proverbs on a regular basis.

We've been doing that now. We're in our 10th week. We took a week off for Easter. The first eight weeks, we went through the first nine chapters of Proverbs. We talked about Proverbs step-by-step through those books because you can look at it verse-by-verse and it walks you through a set of very important principles. Proverbs are principles more than they are promises.

Then we went off, and last week we talked about work. This week we're talking about the fact that you and I matter. We call it "iMatter," because I matter. I guess we could have called it "You Matter," but we are here talking about how we can make a difference in the world we live in. We've got great resources for you to use in order to stay up with us. We have a study guide. This is free and downloadable at calvarychapelsi.org/gioc. It's right there for you.

Along with that, you are encouraged to get our free resource, that is the book of Proverbs in the journal Bible form. It has a spot to write your thoughts—Proverbs on one side of the page, your thoughts on the other. Along with our memory verse, this is a free resource. You simply need to go to calvarychapelsi.org/gioc. Tell us where to send it. We pay the postage. We pay the handling. All of that's on us. We'd love for you to have that.

We also have our free downloadable 31-day Proverbs study. It takes you through the book of Proverbs in 31 days, looking at important topics. So please take advantage of all that we're trying to give you. While you're at calvarychapelsi.org/gioc, please consider making a donation to God in Our City.

You can also catch up with all of our broadcasts by simply going to oneplace.com and putting in my name or "God in Our City." Or you can go to WMCA 570 to their website. They host our podcast. So it's all there for you to just keep up, kind of know where we're going. But please order or download those free study guides. They are important.

Now maybe all this is a little overwhelming to you. I get it. I understand. It gets a little bit crazy. You can just call us. You have a prayer request? Call us. You have a question? Call us at (718) 720-5390. You want a resource? You're not comfortable going to the internet? Call us. You want to make a donation? Call us at (718) 720-5390. We will be here for you.

Let's read our scripture for today. We've been reading this all week because it's a significant set of scripture. I was recently in a police community council meeting and I opened up the meeting by reading these verses because they speak of you and I making a difference. Proverbs 11:10 and 11. "When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices, and when the wicked perish, there are shouts of gladness. By the blessing of the upright, a city is exalted, but by the mouth of the wicked, it is overthrown."

Father in heaven, thank You for the incredible opportunity we have to look at Your Word, to put Your Word into action in our lives. To put shoe leather on it, as it were. To put our feet to the ground and live out the truths that we are studying so diligently. Please, during our time together, be our teacher, be our guide. Draw us closer to Yourself.

Lord, help our listeners to be growing in You, seeking You, being honest with You and allowing You to change them. We all need to change, Lord. Please help us to do just that. Lord, we bring all this before You in the precious, the mighty, the holy, the matchless name of Jesus, our Savior. Amen.

Today we're going to talk about the application of these incredible truths to our lives. We want to begin by just reiterating what we read in Proverbs 11:10-11 and then talk about how this begins to play out in my life and your life. We want to talk about, again by review, righteousness versus wickedness. Proverbs 11:10: "When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices. When the wicked perish, there are shouts of joy."

Remember we said "going well" meant to do good, to be morally good. The righteous are the righteous ones that come by placing our faith in Christ and living out our righteousness. Righteousness exalts a nation, exalts a city, but sin is a reproach to any people. We kind of summed up that section by saying when the righteous are succeeding, the city is winning. When the wicked shrink in number, there is vocal joy.

Then we talked about upright versus wicked. Righteous versus unrighteous or the wicked, and upright versus wicked. By the blessing of the upright, a city is exalted, but by the mouth of the wicked, it's overthrown. We talked about the blessing, the endowment, the gift that the city is blessed with by the upright in a city. By them just being there, the city is exalted, the city is blessed, but it's overthrown by the mouth of the wicked. So by means of the blessing of the upright people, the city is rising up, but by the words of evil, it breaks down.

What's the takeaway in all this? What is all this to you and me? I think there are five principles—I don't know if we'll get through all five today—but they're very important principles that we gather from these verses about the fact that you and I matter.

The first principle: the righteous, the upright ones, have the potential to make a significant impact on a city or any place they live. The righteous, the upright ones, have the potential to make a significant impact on a city or any place they live. On September 23, 1857, a man named Jeremiah Lanphier, a merchant who had little experience in organizing spiritual things, began a prayer meeting with six people on Fulton Street in Manhattan.

He rented the hall. He had 40 people by his third meeting. Then the stock market crashed, and he had 10,000 people were praying daily in New York City and 2,000 in Chicago, Cleveland and St. Louis. He made a difference. One person, one upright person. He wasn't a clergy person. He wasn't even a good organizer. He didn't have a lot of experience at it, but he made a difference. He made a difference.

So we, the righteous ones, the upright ones, have the potential to make a significant difference or impact on any place we live. If you live here in New York City, you have the potential to make an impact. If you're listening to me someplace else in the world, you have an incredible opportunity to make an impact. You have the potential to do so if you'll just let God use you.

Secondly, in order for that impact to occur, the upright, the righteous ones, must live up to who they can be with God's help. 1 Thessalonians chapter 1 is a very significant passage in the scripture when it talks about the Thessalonian believers. Paul, in Acts chapter 17, was at Thessalonica. It says for three Sabbaths. So maybe he was there total 27, 28 days, depending on when he got there and when he pulled out. But he had a tremendous impact on the Thessalonian believers.

Just listen to the words of 1 Thessalonians 1:6 and 7: "And you," that is the Thessalonians, "became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia."

When Paul came to Thessalonica in Acts 17, there was a great uproar because they had come. There wasn't a welcome that you would have expected, but rather a pushback. A crazy pushback. Yet Paul and his team did what they needed to do. They preached the gospel and they did it in such a fearless way that the Thessalonian believers, the Thessalonian people who came to believe, were immediately seeking to become imitators—*mimetai*—of the Apostle Paul and, more importantly, of the Lord. They received the word in much affliction with joy of the Holy Spirit, and then it says they became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia.

So you became an example. The Greek word there for "example" is *typos*. It speaks of an imprint made by something impacting something. Something impacts something and it leaves an impression. The Holy Spirit, through the ministry of the Word of God, had left such an impact on the Thessalonians that all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia heard about it. They made a difference because the Lord made a big difference in them.

Let me just stop for a second and just ask you a very difficult but very important question. Has the Lord impacted you in such a way that you're a different individual? Maybe you would say to me, "It used to be that way with me, but it's not so much anymore." It doesn't have to stay the same, my brother, my sister. You can get back on the right track. But it's important that all of us allow the Lord to impact us in such a way that we make a difference. That we experience the maximum impact.

The first part of 1 Thessalonians 1 speaks of the Thessalonians' work produced by their faith, their labor produced by their love, and their perseverance produced by their hope. They got genuinely saved. They turned from idols to serve the living and true God. And from them sounded out the word of the Lord, not just in Macedonia and Achaia, but everywhere. So Paul says, "I didn't even have to say anything because of what had happened in your life."

May God help us to allow Him to so impact us that He makes this incredible difference in our lives, and it's obvious. It's obvious to everyone that that difference has been made. We must walk uprightly in our city. The contrast here is Lot, right? How did Lot walk in his city? Remember the dickering that Abraham did. We talked about this on Tuesday. Abraham says, "Suppose there are 50 righteous within the city. Will You then destroy the place and not spare it for 50 righteous who are there? Suppose there are 45. Suppose there are 40. Suppose there are 30. For the sake of 20," the Lord says, "I will not destroy it. For the sake of 10," the Lord says, "I will not destroy it."

So if there are 10 righteous people in Sodom, the city is spared. Remember how we walked through the family of Lot and how, just in his family, there was likely 10 or more people. He had sons-in-law, sons, he had daughters. He and all likelihood had more than 10 people, yet he didn't impact them. He didn't make a difference in their life. He was vexed. His soul was vexed by being in Sodom and it messed him up, and he was unable to do everything God wanted him to do or be everything God wanted him to be. He had pitched his tent towards Sodom. He had associated with it, he had assimilated into it, and he lost his testimony completely.

Please don't let that happen to you. I'm not from here originally. This is my home now. I love it. I've been on Staten Island since January 1st, 1990. I've lived in the same place. I love Staten Island. I love New York City. But some of the customs aren't good. A lot of the language is not good. Some of the hardness that can be here is not good. And I've done my best not to adopt it. I've done my best not to assimilate into it, to be different because of the grace and mercy of God. I'm sure I've not totally fulfilled that, but I encourage you to do the same thing. Be different. Don't let the culture of the city wear you down and get you to be a person you don't want to be.

But note what the Lord did for Lot. It says, "And if He rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked, for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard." Lot didn't impact Sodom. Sodom and Gomorrah impacted Lot. Impacted his family. He lost his family for all practical purposes. Are you and I going to allow the city or the world around us to so affect us that we lose our testimony and it seems like we're jesting when we tell people about the things of God?

While we're at this, we must also pray for our city and our city leaders. 1 Timothy 2:1-7. First of all, he says he wants prayer to be made for all those in authority. For kings and all those in authority. He wants us to pray so that we might live a good and peaceable life in godliness. But it requires that we pray for those leaders. Many of us are guilty of not praying for our city. Jeremiah 29:7 says, "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem."

I'm begging you, pray for your leaders. Pray for your elected officials. Pray for the appointed officials and pray for the shalom of God. The wellness, the wellbeing that God can give, the wholeness that God can give. Pray for that for our city. You may disagree with the mayor, but you pray for the mayor. You pray for our cops, our first responders, our firefighters. We pray for them. That's part of what we do as followers of Jesus. We pray for them. It's our calling.

1 Timothy 2:1-2: "First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way." Jeremiah 29:7: "But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find welfare."

Remember Daniel. We want to be Daniels. Remember that song, "Dare to be a Daniel, dare to take a stand, dare to have a purpose firm, dare to make it known." Daniel 1:8 tells us that Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king's food or with the wine that he had drunk. Therefore, he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself. But Daniel had decided in Babylon that he was going to serve the Lord. Daniel decided where he was that he was not going to allow himself to compromise his values and eat meat offered to idols, drink drink that had probably had the same experience. The Lord honored that, and Daniel winds up being essentially prime minister of Babylon.

And then we need God's help for us to become salt and light in our city. We want to be the salt and light company. We're told, "But you are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden."

So we're two things: we're salt that creates a thirst and that slows decay, and we're the light of the earth, we're the light of the world. We're that way as we live out the truths of scripture, as we live out the Beatitudes. If I don't do that, what am I here for? If I'm not going to pray for my city, I'm not going to be salt and light to my city, what in the world am I here for? I don't know. I don't know. But we want to be salt and light.

It's been said that some people change their ways when they see the light, others only when they feel the heat. So as we pray, we may pray that those in authority might feel the heat. Living in a dark place can be scary and difficult. If, however, there are sources of light, things can change rapidly. If everyone who has a light shines it, soon light, not darkness, prevails. However, if a light source leaves or turns off their light, darkness and its associates will rule the day.

Lord, please help us to apply these truths to our hearts, to our lives. Help us, Lord, to be salt and light. Help us to be all that we're supposed to be in the city that we love. Help us, Lord, help us, Lord, to speak the truth in love. Help us to be all that You want us to be. Lord, we love our city, we love You, and we know You love our city more than we ever could. So Lord, please work deeply in it. In Jesus' name, amen.

Hey, go to calvarychapelsi.org/gioc. Get your resources. Consider making a donation. God bless, see you again tomorrow for another edition of the daily edition of God in Our City.

Female Voiceover: Thanks for listening to God in Our City with your host, Pastor Dave Watson. We hope the show was a blessing to you. Again, to receive a downloadable gift from Pastor Dave, go to calvarychapelsi.org/gioc. That's calvarychapelsi.org/gioc.

Please check out Pastor Dave's blog at nycshepherd.com. That's nycshepherd.com. Please invite a friend and join us every weekday for another edition of God in Our City.

Male Voiceover: Andy Chrisman of 4Him has spent 40 plus years in Christian music and chances are he knows your favorite artist personally. Now he's bringing you their stories. One Degree of Andy. He sits down with the voices behind the song for real, honest and faith-filled conversations you won't hear anywhere else.

If you love Christian music, this is your backstage pass. The One Degree of Andy podcast. Listen now to One Degree of Andy wherever you get your podcasts.