Coming up on Court to Court. For the clerk's office, it's been an amazing morale booster, simply because it was their idea in the beginning. But before the treason issue could be taken up, Burke confronted Marshall with another constitutional question, a test of the separation of powers between the executive and the judiciary. We're reaching out to the community and opening up this building so that they can come in and see that it's a living building. This is Court to Court. Your connection to what's happening in the federal courts around the country, providing information and ideas that will enhance your job and how the courts function. Now with today's program, Michael Burney. Welcome to Court to Court, the educational magazine program of the Federal Judicial Center for all court employees. Today we'll learn about the success of telecommuting at one clerk of court's office. We'll hear another moment in court history, and we'll see how a district court promotes community outreach. Telecommuting is an alternative workplace option available to a growing number of court employees, especially as more and more work becomes electronic. Flexible and compressed work schedules involve when you work. Telecommuting involves where you work and it challenges assumptions about the nature of work and of home for that matter. We visited the district and bankruptcy courts combined clerk's office for the western district of Missouri to learn about its experiences with telecommuting. I just love it. I think it works out great. I love it. It's been very beneficial. Once you get used to it, you'll love it. The biggest surprise to me is how much work I get done when I telecommute. For the clerk's office, it's been an amazing morale booster, simply because it was their idea in the beginning. It was an exercise where staff were actually broken into small groups and asked to draw a picture of how they saw their future with the court. To a person, every group pictured themselves home, working at home. I telecommute every Wednesday. My son stays at the babysitters. It's not very far away from my home, so I'm able to go and have lunch with him and then come back also to my home to finish my day. The clerk's office expects employees not to use telecommuting in place of a babysitter, but will make as needed exceptions.  I decided to participate mainly because it gives me flexibility with my time and frees up some time, especially since I'm getting ready to move and I'll be further away from work. Employees can work at home up to 10 hours in each two-week pay period. Many who participate use most of the time in a single day. I do it a little bit differently than some of my co-workers. I tend to do a little bit each night. I'll work maybe an hour, an hour and a half. Reasons for telecommuting often involve family obligations. Hey, Mom, will you sign my planner, please? When Kathy Popejoy's family moved, they no longer lived in the district of the school in which they wanted to keep her daughter, which meant no bus service. Okay, y'all ready to go? We gotta wait for you soon. Since school doesn't start until 9.25 in the morning, I needed to telecommute in order to work from home and then go in later after I could take her to school. And then if my two little ones get up, they usually bring their toys and sit right in here in the study on the floor. The three mornings a week she telecommutes and goes to the court later. Popejoy's husband teaches at a nearby university. The other two days he works from home and so takes the children to their respective destinations. And she goes in early. While telecommuting is ideal for staff who primarily work with electronic information, one courtroom deputy for an Article III judge also telecommutes. The United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri is now in session. The Honorable Nanette K. Lowry presiding. She says for telecommuting to work successfully, the judge and courtroom deputy must plan carefully. I am fortunate to work for a judge that sets her calendar once her calendar is set in a compact manner. We will put our hearings, phone conferences, and things of that nature into clumps. We will fill days up solid. We will not set just one hearing in an afternoon. We will set four or five so that we will have more open blocks of time which permits telecommuting. To ensure that the bar in public can reach her when she's telecommuting, Denise forwards her office phone to either her home or cell phone. Not everyone telecommutes a set number of hours or on specific days. For us, it's really helpful because we're allowed to work from home on an as-needed basis, so I probably in a month's time, maybe at the max, would do 16 hours. All staff, including part-time staff, are eligible to participate. It doesn't have to be an electronic job. It can be a project-based assignment that maybe they want to go home for two days for the next two weeks to get a particular project done. We do have a few supervisors who are telecommuting and what they primarily work on are special projects. For example, one of the supervisors is updating the dictionary events for version 2 of ECF, so that's a perfect thing for her to do at home. Bruni says that when they initially discussed implementing telecommuting, one of the hurdles to overcome was... Getting managers to trust that employees would still be working even when we weren't directly watching them work. I just noticed that we got this claim then from Wells Fargo and it's in paper form. I think the scariest part for anyone is wondering, how is this going to affect my job? If all my employees are out working at home, do you really need me? And so we had to stretch the managers and make them understand that there are other ways to measure the work, that we needed to measure the process and the output as opposed to seeing someone physically in their chair. We asked them on their timesheet, which is an Excel spreadsheet, to go ahead and notate the TC and what they were working on. There really are no problems keeping track of the time. I just have to be a little more diligent than what we used to be. Along with that timesheet is they would turn in a transaction report and this is a report that's very easily accessed by ECF. And I can go through and notate, yes indeed, from 10 o'clock at night until perhaps 11 o'clock in the evening, Patrick really was working on claims. The key is going to be trust, but you still must assume, I think rightfully so, that you're dealing with an adult professional population and they're going to do it well and they're going to do it right. And employees appreciate the fact that we are offering a perk that many private sectors offer. So I think morale has picked up. That I really have found that when I am home, even if I have a sick kid at home, I actually can get a lot done. That's what they were planning on, that was their intent. Rooney says telecommuting is not for everyone, especially those for whom work is a social experience. Probably half of the people that we originally approved are still involved in the program because once the noob wears off, then you find out who really wants to perform in that way and for whom does it really work well. A few problems that telecommuting causes generally involve the speed of dial-up internet service. It's something that you get used to, but in the beginning it was frustrating because you're used to fast screens moving and there is three to five second lag between screens. Every now and then we do have problems getting connected to the network from home.  To telecommute, staff must have their own internet service provider at home. Brief training is also required. I'll share a little bit more about why transferring files maybe to your local drive at home may make things work a little bit more efficiently for you. It's not so much about the policy because we've left that up to the supervisor, but it's more just an opportunity to look at how the connection takes place, the software, how things just look a little bit different. When you dial in from home, do you need to always click on that advanced button to double-check the server you're connected to? I would recommend that you do, if you click advanced and you see and it just drops the menu down and you see your server is already identified there, you can go ahead and log in at that point. Employees are certainly welcome to check out and use court equipment, and if you are using a court computer at home, the court will maintain it. On the flip side, if you're using your own computer, it's your responsibility to maintain it. But court system staff make sure that home computers have the necessary virus and firewall protection. The clerk's office makes clear that telecommuting is not an entitlement. There's a comprehensive written policy adapted from the administrative office's guidelines. There are a checklist, a work schedule, and an agreement which is signed by employees and supervisors. One of the rules and one of the criteria to be eligible is that the work in your group area is covered adequately. That has to be a decision by a frontline supervisor. The routine logistics of running an office are also accommodated. There are certain days that are called full attendance days where no one will telecommute and that drives the scheduling of staff meetings and that sort of thing. This level of detail was worked out during extensive staff discussions prior to implementing the policy. A successful telecommuting policy is going to include a number of things. The first and the most important is an open communication between all employees. Make sure that you've pulled out all those little hidden places where it could go bad for your particular unit and listen to your staff. They will tell you if it's going to work or not with how they respond. Ask for employees' input on what kind of things that they want to see. Ask for managers' input on what the outcomes you're expecting your employees to do when they do take work home. Set ground rules at the beginning so that they know what's expected. I think is the easiest thing so that there's no surprises later. To me, the telecommuting is a natural add-on to the whole electronic environment that the courts find themselves in now. The work is invisible. It truly can happen from anywhere. It truly can go anywhere. The challenge is for management to move into the 21st century and they're thinking about how they handle their staff, how they work with folks. As we researched this topic, it became clear that the telecommuting experience is influenced by an office's culture and size. For example, some offices adopt telecommuting because there's not enough space for everyone. In other offices, managers think that telecommuting increases productivity. For example, people can complete detailed reports more quickly without office distractions. Whatever the case, the most important factor in a successful policy is good communication between staff and management. In the election of 1800, Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr tied for president in the Electoral College so it fell to the House of Representatives It took 36 ballots to elect Jefferson President and Burr Vice President. The rivalry between these two ambitious men reached its peak in 1807 when Jefferson, then in his second term, had the former Vice President arrested and tried for treason. Here with that extraordinary moment in court history is my colleague Bob Fagan. You may remember Aaron Burr as the man who killed Alexander Hamilton, the nation's first secretary of the treasury in a duel. But that infamous event was only one of Burr's escapades. The 1804 duel with Hamilton signaled the end of Burr's political future in the East after his term as Vice President. But he saw opportunity in the West and plotted conquest with an old friend, General James Wilkinson, Governor of the New Louisiana Territory. How Burr hoped to establish his own base of power in the West remains a mystery. His supporters said he planned to capture Mexico and other Spanish possessions. But his enemies insisted he wanted to sever the western states and territories from the United States. In 1806 Burr wrote a coded letter to Wilkinson telling him that with several hundred men he would meet Wilkinson in early December. With rumors of insurrection threatening to implicate him Wilkinson betrayed his friend. He sent the deciphered letter to Jefferson. Burr was arrested in March 1807 and brought to Richmond, Virginia for trial in the U.S. Circuit Court. Held in the state Capitol building the trial was one of the great public events of the time. Presiding over the trial as circuit judge was Jefferson's estranged cousin Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall. Marshall, a federalist and Jefferson, leader of the Democratic Republicans had long been antagonists each determined to shape the young republic according to his own political beliefs. The grand jury returned an indictment against Burr for treason. This charge raised a constitutional issue because treason is only crime defined in the Constitution. It states treason against the United States shall consist only in levying war against them or in adhering to their enemies giving them aid and comfort. But before the treason issue could be taken up Burr confronted Marshall with another constitutional question a test of the separation of powers between the executive and the judiciary. Burr asked the court to issue a subpoena directing President Jefferson to appear at the trial and bring with him the deciphered Wilkinson letter and other papers. Jefferson's lawyers argued his claim of executive privilege contending that the court had no power to subpoena the president to turn over documents. Relying on the Sixth Amendment Marshall ruled that the subpoena could be issued to Jefferson but the law does not discriminate between the president and a private citizen. He conceded though that the president's duties to the nation might sometimes afford him an exemption from compliance. Marshall's decision established the principles of presidential accountability to the judiciary that were applied 167 years later in the Watergate case. The parties then turned the prosecution planned to call 140 witnesses to testify to Burr's reasonable intentions and actions but after only a dozen had testified Burr moved to exclude the testimony of all witnesses as irrelevant because none of them could testify about the overt act stated in the indictment that Burr had levied war against the United States on Blenner-Hassett's island. The prosecution had already admitted that Burr was not among the 30 or so men assembled on the island. Council for both sides spent days in heated debate. At last, on August 31st, Chief Justice Marshall delivered his opinion addressing how treason was to be defined and proved. Marshall doubted that Burr could be convicted simply for procuring the men who gathered on the island. Even if he could be Burr was not charged with procuring treason and Marshall wrote that he could only be convicted on proof of the overt acts which are charged. And the Constitution mandated that the overt act must be proved by two witnesses but there were no witnesses who could offer such proof. Thus Marshall instructed the jury that all the testimony was inadmissible with no relevant evidence to consider the jury returned its verdict in 20 minutes. The defendant, it said, is not proved to be guilty by any evidence submitted to us. The bitterness between Marshall and the Jeffersonians only increased after the decision. Republican newspapers called for Marshall's impeachment and there were threats of an amendment to allow removal of judges in both houses of Congress. In private, Jefferson railed that it now appears we have no law but the will of the judge. Only the spreading Napoleonic wars abroad which occupied Jefferson's attention brought an end to the furor. Burr, hounded by mobs and creditors fled to Europe. He returned to New York in 1812 and practiced law there until he died at age in 1836. Before he died that year Texas won independence from Mexico and Burr was said to have exclaimed, I was only 30 years too soon. What was treason in me 30 years ago is patriotism today. That's a moment in court history. I'll be back with another in a future court to court. Outreach to the public is handled in different ways by different courts. The best depends partly on what resources are available. Sometimes the community itself provides some of the resources and the court serves as the venue. That's the situation at the district court for the district of Nevada in Las Vegas. A federal court can be a bit intimidating I think to people generally. I think once they've been to the building they've seen that it's a building that involves itself and what some may consider the sterile law. This facility is so beautiful and had we not come to these performances we never would have seen it. These performances are the downtown cultural series sponsored by the city of Las Vegas and held in the federal courthouse. And before we even come in here we take a moment to stand outside and admire the architecture. It's really beautiful. District Court Judge Lloyd George is understandably proud of this courthouse in which he sees powerful symbolism. To me that pillar represents the rule of law holding stable and aloft a society and the two wings that we have are an open arm to the open arms to the city welcoming people. A real value of public outreach by the courts to the community is one of having members of the community come in here for something other than jury duty or something other than to watch a trial or a trial they're involved in. They realize that this is a community building. Courthouses historically were the center of communities throughout America and that's changed a lot as we've grown so large and with our suburban communities and the like. The downtown cultural series is a joint effort by the court and the city of Las Vegas. On the third Friday of each month the court hosts local performers in the jury assembly room. The city government's cultural affairs division schedules the performers and speakers and hires a caterer to provide a light lunch at these noon events. I don't think it's a chance to bring people downtown bring them together from all walks of life and let them have a little dialogue some time together and that's a very positive experience for everyone. I think the program is both educational and informative and entertaining. Events have included the Nevada Ballet Theatre, Bluegrass Music a classical guitarist historical lecturers and singers called the Tenors Three. Today it's Hot Lava a Polynesian dance troupe. Several of its members were delayed in traffic but MC Rooney Tafiaga kept the crowd amused and imparted some little-known knowledge. The word for this instrument is called Ukulele. It's made up of two words. The first word is uku. In the island uku means flea and lele means jumping or flight. So people ask me sometimes why do you call there the jumping flea? Well, it's very simple. We had your name for it and when we saw how they played it it looked like a dog scratching its dog. The patient audience included a school class on a field trip. So what are you expecting today? I'm expecting thrilling and feeling and fun moments. These monthly performances aren't the only cultural showcase. About two years ago, the court began displaying works by local artists in the Rotunda. Well, it's a beautiful space. It was a little bit bare. It's added wonderful color and another bit of culture to the building. And about once every six weeks we have a different artist coming in and putting up their work. Could you look at the artwork outside? Yes, fascinating. I thought it was really pretty the way that they put all the colors together to make it look really neat. Clark of Court Wilson says artwork is scheduled for the next year and a half and that he gets calls every month from two or three artists asking to participate. Despite its proximity, the more famous Las Vegas strip is not part of the city of Las Vegas. And the city's popular mayor, Oscar Goodman, is the downtown area's biggest booster. He's frequently in the audience for these programs. It's wonderful because of the fact that it brings in a cross-section of folks who work in the downtown, who are interested in culture, who are interested in expanding their knowledge and their horizons. It's just a plus-plus for the community. One of the values in partnering with the city, with the cultural series, is the obvious positive relationship that builds with the city. The city gave us the land for this building at no charge. And ever since then, the court's been committed to wanting to partner with the city and make this more of a cultural center rather than just a courthouse. The city has done more than I have. The concept was mine in the main. But they have taken the program. They have furnished food. They get the entertainers. Whatever expenditure there is, is well worth it because of the fact that so many people get to enjoy it. First of all a facility like this would put on these kinds of cultural events. It is impressive. We're retired and they're very nice cultural events. This is the third one we've been to and it's free. How can you beat that? I think that it brings people to the federal courthouse that may never have a reason to ever come here. I think it makes the public feel like it's more their building and not just another government building. Well, I think it's nice for the employees because it's something different and I think it's also nice for the community. It shows the community that the federal courthouse is not just for legal matters, but it's open for a variety of purposes.  And it cannot be too soft because if you're soft then it doesn't make any noise. Whoever thought you could have fun in a federal courthouse, huh? You did. Well, I think it's a great way to spend your lunch hour with your family and your friends and your colleagues and to have an opportunity to experience the talent and the artistic performances of our local artists. Because of the problem with traffic, not all of the troops performers made it to the event. But that didn't keep the audience from enjoying a variety of island dancing. I associate courthouses with during duty and this is a nice move to use the facility and bring people together. Also very surprised that they serve a little refreshment, which we did not expect. So that was an added bonus. We saw the ballet and we saw the tenors and it's just great to have a cultural thing in this city. A New Zealand war dance dramatically changed the tempo. It doesn't mean anything. We don't throw away like a spear because if we throw this thing as a spear and we miss then we'll run real fast. Partnerships such as this don't just happen. Clerk of Court Wilson has advised on how to get started if a court were interested in a similar effort. I think the first thing is to reach out to the city or the county and determine if they have a cultural department, a leisure department because most cities are doing something like this in their own communities already and looking for a venue. Obviously the judges have to be supportive of a cultural series and I think it's always good for a judge to make the contact with the local government. I'm kind of an optimistic guy. The cooperation and the mutual interest in making it work. The marvelous help that has been given to us by the city has just been enthusiastic but it is a unique connecting link with the balance of the community that I think has improved community relations. We're very, very pleased and happy with it. I thought it was very entertaining. Our next Court to Court program will feature another Court's outreach effort, one involving courthouse tours with presentations by representatives from various units. We'll also learn how one clerk's office handled unexpected problems when it converted to CMECF and we'll find out what is emotional intelligence. We want to hear your reaction to our program and get your ideas on the topics we should cover. Please fill out an evaluation of today's program. You can find it at our website at the address on the screen. Click on FJC Broadcasts on the FJTN and then click on Court to Court to select and print the evaluation form. Please mail or fax it to us. Our fax number is<PHONE_NUMBER>. For all of us at the Federal Judicial Center thanks for watching.


All right, let's do some factory footage, and it would be New York City factory footage. Unless you could see the building across the street, Jeff, you got to see it close up. I did, yeah. And, you know, I take a little bit of interest in it because my old job was with a company that made software for steel building design. So, you know, I can look at it and understand a little about what's going on. This is your code. It might be, it might not be, but yeah, let's say that it was. I worked on ATM software that was in the McDonald's down the street for years, and every time I would walk by the ATM machine was broken, so I feel so good about that.


in 1 Kings chapter 3. So keep your place there. We're going to be using this story in the Bible for our sermon this evening. So this is the story, of course, 1 Kings chapter 3 about how Solomon got to be so smart. How did he get all his wisdom? And I think there's a lot we can learn from this story.  And I was thinking, you know, we talk about a lot of doctrine here. You know, we really dig into the Bible, especially Wednesday nights. We really, we go verse by verse through chapters in the Bible. And we look at every single thing that the Bible has to tell us there, you know, doctrine, heavy, heavy stuff, right? I mean, just the depth of Galatians we've looked at throughout the last few weeks. You know, heavy stuff, basic stuff. We reinforce the gospel here. You know, that's Galatians, right? It was reinforcing the gospel. Here you had teaching brought into a church that was perverting the gospel. And, you know, Paul is just reinforcing the gospel throughout Galatians using the Old Testament, proving that the gospel has never changed. Why would we change it now? It didn't change after Jesus came. It was always the same, even with the gospel of Abraham. We preach on all this stuff here. We preach against sin here. You know, we preach against things that, you know, you probably won't hear at a lot of other churches. In the Bible, we preach against it. We preach against the way the world is going here.  But I think, you know, as we look at 1 Kings chapter 3 this morning, you know, the topic I think we need to talk more about is, you know, our walk with the Lord. You know, who is God? You know, who is God and how does He respond to us? How are we supposed to respond to Him? You know, what's 1st, 2nd, and 3rd?  I mean, I understand we aren't saved by works. But, you know, our walk with God is very important.   Just like you had free will before you were saved. You still have free will as after you're saved. Okay?  Hopefully, we're saved by the fact that we have trusted in Jesus Christ, saved, sealed. That's it. There's nothing that's ever going to change that. But look, we can do whatever we want in our lives. And many Christians do just that. They get saved. They take that salvation and they do nothing in their lives for the Lord. And they feel like they can just go and do whatever they want in their lives. They can and not be unsaved. But I mean, then those same people, however, and this is why I want to get to the story in First Kings chapter 3. Those same people that get saved by nothing by their works, you know, just by believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. Those same people, they live a life of free will, however they want. And then they're confused about the events in their lives and how these things are playing out. Look down at First Kings chapter 3. First Kings chapter 3. And look at verse number five. The Bible says, And God said, Ask what I shall give thee. And Solomon said, Thou has showed unto thy servant David my father great mercy. According as he walked before thee in truth and in righteousness and in uprightness of heart with thee. And thou has kept him from this day, kept for him this great kindness that thou has given him a son to sit on his throne as it is this day. And now, O my Lord God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father. And I am but a little child. I know not how to go out or come in. So first of all, we see a great humility by Solomon here. He's saying, you know, I don't know anything. He's saying, I don't know what I'm supposed to do. I'm just a kid. Solomon was somewhere south of 20 when he became king. I don't know. I think he was probably, personally, probably 12 or 13 or 14 years old. He was a teenager. And he became king of a kingdom. Think about that. Think of one of the teenagers in this church running a nation. Scary, right? No, I'm just kidding. But I mean, I'd rather have one of the teenagers in this church run a nation than some other teenager. Okay? But look, he was humble. He approached the Lord with humility. Look at verse number eight. And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hath chosen a great people that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude. This explains what, by the way, just a side note, why you should never do a census on God's people. Okay? Because, you know, the Bible says in God's promises where, you know, the people will be without number and they'll be a great people. And, you know, by doing a census, you're kind of saying, is there really that many? You know, are they really that great? Look at verse number nine. So that's how David got in so much trouble. It was a lack of faith in God. And here you see that Solomon just has that great faith. He just says, I know these people are great and I know they're without number. Look at verse number nine. Give thy servant, therefore, an understanding heart to judge thy people that I may discern between good and bad for who is able to judge this so great a people. So, look, verse number ten says, the speech pleased the Lord. It pleased the Lord. Essentially, Solomon here did the right thing. You know, he was humble first. He looked at the job in front of him and he said, who am I? He said, who am I to do this job? Turn to 1 Peter chapter five. So he said, you know, I'm just a kid. I don't know what I'm doing. You know, who am I to do this great job?  But I mean, please help me figure out how to judge these people, how to rule these people. Look at 1 Peter chapter five and verse number six. The Bible says, humble yourself there under the mighty hand of God that he may exalt you in due time. In James chapter four, I'll just read it for you. Verse number six, the Bible says, but he giveth more grace. Wherefore he said, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. So God, first of all, God responds to humility in our lives. Solomon asked, what really Solomon did was he asked for something, and this is what pleased God so much. He asked for something that would benefit the people instead of himself. He asked for something that was, you know, for the nation that he was going to be ruling instead of, you know, what probably most people would ask for, which was, you know, things for himself. Turn to Proverbs chapter 28. Essentially, what Solomon did here was he proved himself faithful in this moment to God. Look at Proverbs chapter 28. Proverbs chapter 28, look down at verse number 20. Proverbs chapter 28, look at verse number 20. Right in the center of your Bible, just past Psalms, you'll find the book of Proverbs. Look at verse number 20. The Bible here says, a faithful man shall abound with blessings. But he that make a haste to be rich shall not be innocent. Look, this is Solomon right here. Okay, this is Solomon. Solomon proved himself faithful, but the opposite of this, you know, Proverbs is opposites, right? It's saying, if you do this, this will happen. But if you don't, this will happen. So in this verse, the Bible is saying, a faithful man will abound with blessings. But he that make a haste, look, he that's just looking for something for himself, you know, shall not be innocent. So the opposite of being faithful is being self-centered and being focused only on yourself and making yourself rich, which is exactly what pleased the Lord that Solomon didn't do. God even mentioned it. He said, because you didn't ask for a long life and riches, he's like, I'm going to grant you all these things. So look, the point I'm trying to make this morning is a simple one. Okay, do you feel confused at times in your life? I'm sure many of you do. Are you confused on why God is not moving in your life? If this is you, if things are not going the way that you plan them to go, I mean, look, as a saved Christian, you need to understand this simple point. And look, it's a shame if you don't understand this. Solomon, look, here's the point I'm trying to make this morning. Solomon was faithful first. He was faithful first, and then God responded. Okay, look, I mean, it's not a chicken or an egg. It's faithful first, and then God responds. That's how God works. That's the whole point of what I want to try to get across this morning. And you say, well, how can I be faithful if I'm not in a place where I want to be? How could I be faithful? Well, exactly. That's exactly what you need to do. Solomon was not ready to be king here. It's important that he recognized that he had nothing that he needed to be king. He was just a kid. He was just a kid. Turn to Luke chapter 16. He was just a kid and he was about to rule a nation. Think about that. Look at Luke chapter 16 in verse number 10.  This morning, I'm telling you that if you want to have a successful walk with the Lord in your life, you need to be faithful first. Look at Luke chapter 16 in verse number 10. The Bible says, he that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much. And he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. You say, I just don't have much to be faithful over right now. Exactly. You say, I don't know. I don't really have anything to be, you know, look if you're faithful in your walk with the Lord, you know, look, turn to Hebrews chapter 10. Let's just talk about being faithful to the things of God. Let's talk about being faithful to God in your life.  Are you proving yourself to be faithful? Look at Hebrews chapter 10 verse 25. We talk about this verse a lot. This is a verse that people today, it seems, don't want to, you know, they just kind of want to delete it from the Bible. The Bible says, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the matter of some is, but exhorting one another. And so much the more as you see the day approaching. Look, the Bible says that you should go to church. That's what this is saying. I mean, it is one of the most clear commands in the Bible. It's ironic that we go out every single week soul winning. And you know, one thing that we're finding is that just not a lot of people go to church anymore. They just don't go anymore. It's just changed. You know, people don't go to church. It's just, I mean, it's rare to find someone that goes to church now. It's weird. I mean, he used to be able to find people. They go to different churches. They go to false churches, whatever. But I mean, it's rare. It's rare to find people just in general. I mean, if you find somebody today out soul winning that says, yes, I go to this church and I'm going every week or whatever. That's, that's strange today. I actually can't remember the last time that I found somebody that regularly goes to church out soul winning. But let's look at ourselves here this morning. Are you faithful to the house of God? You know, people, look, people ask me all the time. One of the, you know, I don't really like people asking me this, but it's just, it's one of those things as a satellite leader that when you visit other places, people, you know what the one thing people ask first? How many people are going to your church? How many people are going to your church? That's what everybody wants to know. And I'll be honest with you. I have no idea. It's either 30 or 60. It depends. You know what I'm saying? I mean, I don't know. First of all, I don't really, it's not a metric that I really care too much about because God will grow the church. But I mean, personally, you know, I don't really know how many people come to church here because it all depends on the week. I mean, do you look for an excuse to not go to church? I mean, the first question is, if you do, the question is why? The question is why? Is going to church, here's a better, here's a better way to put the question, is going to church every Sunday or Wednesday a decision that you make every week? That's the question. Do you decide, you know, well, are we going to church today? Look, I'm telling you right now, it's not one that I make. That is not a decision that, I mean, I have some decisions that I make during the week. That is not one of them. And you all, look, you all should be glad for that. It's not just a decision. I mean, no matter the week or the circumstance, we just go to church. That's it. And you say, of course, you're the preacher. Of course, you're the preacher. Of course, you don't make the decision. But look, here's the thing. As far as me and not making that decision, my decision list for the week, that's not on it. But you know what? It's not because I'm the preacher. That has nothing to do with it.  That's why. I am going to serve God no matter what in my life. I will be at this house when the doors are open, rain or shine, even though it never rains here. I mean, that's just it.  Before, I was the preacher here. We were going to church. It was actually a few months before we left to move to Fresno. And we had a situation where in our family, one of our kids was going through, like, a medical condition that made it very difficult to be in church. But you know what my thinking was, and I was talking to my wife about it this morning, we never said, like, should we go to church or not? We're like, we really need to go to church now. It's a completely different attitude. It's a completely different mindset. It's a completely different heart where you're like, you know what, I really need to be faithful right now because I need some help right now. And I know, look, I know how God works. I need to be faithful first. Look, I'm not talking about salvation. I'm not talking about this. I'm talking about my walk with the Lord.  I need some help right now. And the first person I'm going to walk away from is the one person that can help me. I mean, what in the world? I don't understand this attitude that people have. I really, I mean, I don't get it. That's why this sermon. Say, why the sermon? This is why, because I don't understand. Help me understand. No, I do understand. I don't want to understand. But the problem is it's a mindset. It's really a hard issue. If coming to church or, you know, walking with the Lord is the decision that you make on a daily basis, you know, there's a problem there. And you say, this is a basic message. Well, why could we have 60 people here this morning or 28? Why? I mean, here's the answer. It's because some of you make this decision every single week. Some of you make this decision every Sunday and every Wednesday.  You know, that's kind of how I look at it. If you make a decision every single week on whether or not to come to church, you're a visitor. I mean, personally, I'm glad you're all here whenever you're here. Don't get me wrong. I mean, I'm glad to see, but the point is that you can't make time for God. And not only, look, it's not only just church. It's in your life in general. It's in your life in general.  You can't make time to pray, you know, on a daily basis with the Lord.  I mean, look, you haven't been faithful first.  These are things, here's the thing about these things. These are things you can do no matter what's going on in your life. These are things that you could be going through the most difficult times. Look, that was a difficult time for us, and you can be faithful. Like, it doesn't look, all those things. I mean, if you can't make time for God, what makes you think God's going to make time for you? I mean, Solomon, look, Solomon moved first, and then God responded to him. Look, think of it this way. Turn to Isaiah chapter one. Think of it this way. It's how God, how God moves in your life is an if-then statement. It's an if-then statement, and it's actually, it's in the Bible. It's right here. Look at Isaiah chapter one, and look at verse number 19. God promises, look, God promises a lot of things in the Bible. Okay, He promises you salvation if you believe on and trust in His Son. Look, all the other promises are an if-then statement. If you do this, then I will do this. All the other promises other than your salvation is an if-then statement. If you do this, I will move. Look at Isaiah chapter one and verse number 19. Even how He dealt with the entire nation of Israel, the entire Old Testament is an if-then statement on the nation of Israel. Look at Isaiah chapter one and verse 19, and this is, I mean, I could throw out 200 verses like this. If ye be willing, if, ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land. But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken it. Look, this is how God deals with nations right here. If you follow me and love me, then I will do these things and I will bless you as a nation and all these things. Look, God deals with nations exclusively on this level right here.   Are you not reading the Bible? The nation of Israel in the Old Testament wasn't blessed no matter what. They were judged many, many times. I mean, our nation, I mean, this idea that, like, all we have to do is just agree with everything Israel today does and we're going to be blessed. I mean, think about this for a second. Here's just a thought experiment for you. Have we been blessed since 1948 as a nation? Think about this. If you could have a time machine and go back in the United States of America in 1948, 1949, 1950, would it be a better country there morally than it is today? Or would it be worse? Look, somebody from, if you could transport somebody from the 50s into today, they would freak out. They would go crazy. I mean, they would be like, what in the world is going on here? To say that our nation has been blessed for the last 50, 60, 70 years, boy, is that a stretch.   You know, you need God. I mean, I guess that's one way to go. You know, I guess that's one way to go. But what I'm trying to get you to understand this morning is this idea that we see in First Kings chapter three with Solomon. This is a methodology. Okay? This is a methodology. And you know, here's another way we can tell that it's of God because it's written in our hearts.  You say, what are you talking about? Look, it works everywhere. It works everywhere. Kids, it works with you. Right? Kids, do you want favor from your parents?   I mean, it works with children.  It works at your job. Think about this. I mean, look, everybody in your work life is not saved. This is how you know that it's just in the conscience of man, this idea. This is why starting a new job is tough. Like, getting the job is easy. Starting a new job is very difficult. Why? Because of this methodology that we're talking about. Because, I mean, it's all about you performing at that point. You start a new job, nobody knows. Nobody knows who you are. Nobody knows what you can do, what you can't do, whether you're going to show up or not. The resumes and the interviews and all of that stuff, it's all fake once you get the job. It doesn't matter at that point.  We know what he said he's about. What's he actually going to do now? Look at a new job. It's difficult starting a new job because you have to prove yourself faithful first. You have to prove yourself faithful first. And look, and here's the thing. You're under the microscope. For those first few months, I mean, until you prove yourself, until you prove yourself faithful, then look, then come the rewards, right? Then comes the response from the boss or the company or whatever they added responsibility, right? I mean, look, here's the thing. If you're not given more, I mean, you hear this all the time. You know, I've heard it from several people here and other places. If you're not given more responsibility at your job, the problem is you. The problem is that you've not proved yourself faithful first. How do I know this? I know this because, look, a boss would love to have somebody just take over everything and do everything for him. He could just go golfing and fishing all the time. But the problem is, the problem that you have with, you know, business owners or bosses or whatever, is that they don't have anybody that's faithful that can be trusted. They can give those things too.  And once you're proven faithful in the small things, look, here's the thing. They don't want you wrecking something big. God's the same way. God's the same way. They don't want you wrecking something big. So if you've ever wondered, why aren't they giving me more responsibility here? Look, the question that you should be asking is, you're asking the wrong questions. You should be asking, what do I need to work on? What do I need to get better at? Where do you think that, you know, I'm struggling, you know, and after this, after this, and after you fix those things, will come the new responsibilities, will come the more, the bigger things that you're going to become, you know, get to be faithful at. And then here comes the skills that you're going to learn. Here comes the raises and the promotions and all of these things, but you first have to prove yourself faithful. And it starts with the small things. Turn to Proverbs chapter 31. Proverbs chapter 31. Ladies, you say, all right, you're really giving it to the guys this morning. Well, I mean, it's no different for the ladies. The methodology's all the same. Proverbs 31 11. Look what the Bible says. The Bible says of the virtuous woman in Proverbs 31 11, the heart of her husband, that safely trust in her so that he shall have no need of spoil. Why does this man trust his wife? I mean, think about this. Here's a guy, here's a guy that he's off doing whatever he's got to do during the days, running his business, he's working, whatever. And his wife, this virtuous woman, is at home and she's doing all these things. In Proverbs chapter 31, I just gave it away right there. She's doing all. Look, he doesn't trust in her because she's good looking.  He trusts in her because of the things that she does. He trusts in her because of the very next verse says she will do him good. And then it just goes off into all the details of all the things that she does. And that's how he trusts her.  But she was faithful first. And then he trusted her. I mean, does your husband trust you? Does he know that when he leaves, everything is taken care of? Does he know that that the school is going to run for the kids, that the home, that the plan that he has and you've worked out together with your family is going to run like a clock? Does he know that? Look, my wife was gone this week and boy, was there a missing piece? You know, I mean, we tried not to touch anything in the house and we tried not to, I mean, it just all fell apart within just a matter of two or three days. It's to the point where it's like, we got to go camping. We got to get out of here. But here's the thing, your husband wants to trust in you. There is no better feeling. There's no better feeling. And I've had this feeling for years and I'm so thankful for it. There's no better feeling than just knowing that whatever, look, whatever I have to deal with out in the world, whatever I'm dealing with at work, whatever I'm dealing with, with people or problems or whatever, I just know that everything's taken care of at home. There, I mean, if there's a better feeling in the world, I don't know. Because, I mean, just having that piece, because look, that's the important thing. That's the important thing. Whatever I'm doing to try to wrangle a paycheck every single week, there's nothing more important than knowing that the kids are taken care of, than knowing that the house is taken care of, than knowing that the kids are getting an education, they're getting a biblical worldview instilled in them, so they'll be able to deal with this garbage when they grow old and they'll go in the way that they're supposed to go. There's nothing more important than that. And that's why that feeling is so important. That's why that husband, he safely trusts in her. He safely trusts in her and he has no need of spoil.  The next generation is dependent on Proverbs 31. The next generation is dependent on these kids being trained up properly. And as Deuteronomy chapter six says, it's an all day process. It's when they rise up in the morning to when they go to bed at night. That's what it takes. But this woman proved herself faithful first and that's why her husband trusted in her.  Does he know that, you know, look, he wants that feeling. I guarantee it. He wants that feeling. So you say, you say, you know, I see what you're saying, but you know, things aren't working out in my life in general.   I used to be this type of person before I was saved when people would say, well, the Lord's just leading me in this direction and the Lord's just doing this. I'd kind of roll my eyes at those people. I mean, that wasn't even saved at the time, but I was like, you know what, God's not really involved in this thing. I used to think this way when I was younger, but it's not the case. God can move anything in your favor that he wants. This is not a prosperity message. This is a point that, look, if you're trying, try it, look, just try to do what you're supposed to do first. Try, I mean, try being obedient and faithful for more than five minutes in a row in your life. And then, and then, look, maybe God will move in your life. But look, it takes more than five minutes. It takes more than five days. You say, you know, you say, I want God to move first. I mean, you see people, they must think that. They must think that, that they just want God to move first in their life. You say, I just want, I want God to do this for me, and then when God does this for me, then I'll do this.  You know, it would just be like a child saying that.  And they're like, well, just give me the keys, and let me just, no, no, no, you prove you can drive first. You prove that you can, you can be faithful first. There's no reason that, I mean, you're spoiled brat, if that's the case. Never obeys his parents, and expects his parents just to give him, you know, look, they have zero trust in a child like that. That's the problem. And what are we entrusted with? Think about this. What are we entrusted with?  You know, a business owner just putting his most irresponsible employee in charge of the operations day to day of a really important business. Think about that. I mean, think about this guy that like, maybe has like a, a shipping business where things are just coming in and out constantly, and if things get messed up, things go to the wrong place, and it'll literally where like, the customers, like the trust, the trust is super important, and if, if they, if they wreck things one time with a customer, then the business will just go south immediately. Think about a business like that, and they're just taking the most irresponsible employee and putting him in charge of the business and just going golfing, or whatever. It would be a disaster. You know what the most important business God has on earth is this local church.  And what, what are we entrusted with? We're entrusted with the gospel, getting it out to Fresno, getting it out to the outer parts, getting it out to everywhere. That's what we're entrusted with.  I mean, look, that's why there's all these qualifications for the ministry.  This is God's most important business. I mean, number one, you know, it's tough to be one foot in in a church like this. I get it. But the reason for it is because it's the most focused thing that God has here.  And it's our job to preach the truth. Look, it's the truth of it. And if people don't believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, if people don't get the truth, when there's plenty of people spreading a false truth, spreading lies out there, that's the business of this church.  It's his business. If you can't be trusted, I mean, with the most important, he'll never give you more. But think about it. Think about the main, look, I mean, my wife and I were talking about this on the phone earlier, but this last week, but it's just, I just want to be able to do something with the short time that I have on this earth. And it's sad to see people, even saved people that, you know, just, they're just not going to use their time. They're just, they're going to take that salvation. They're not going to use that time.  But the Bible talks about, especially James chapter two in other places in the Bible about how you'll profit no one. Other people are going to suffer for that. You'll still get your salvation, but other people are going to suffer for that. Go back to First Kings chapter three. Go back to First Kings chapter three. Look at verse number 11 of First Kings chapter three. Look, I fear, I fear that some people, you know, this is, I mean, this is a complicated message this morning, but I just fear that some people are just never going to learn this. And that's why I thought maybe I need to, I need to hit this this morning.  For sure. Look down at verse number 11. And look what God says to Solomon. He says, And God said unto him, because thou has asked this thing and not asked for thyself a long life, neither asked, asked riches for thyself. There's Proverbs chapter 28 right there, nor has asked the life of thine enemies, but hath asked for the thyself understanding to discern judgment. Behold, I have done according to thy works, and lo, I have given thee a wise and understanding heart so that there is none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee. And I've also given thee that which hath thou hath not asked, both riches and honor, so that there shall be not any among the kings like unto thee all thy days. And if thou shall walk, thou wilt walk in my ways. Now, right back into the if then statement, here we go again. To keep my statutes and my commandments as thy father David did walk, I will lengthen thy days. So he gives them everything. He's like, I'm going to give you wisdom and judgment that no one's ever seen before. That's how God can move. He moved more than anyone had ever seen God move in this area before to this point. Then he tells them, you know, you didn't ask for a long life, but look, I'm going to give you that too as long as you do these things. You keep these statutes and then look, here's the thing. And then, no, here's the thing after you prove that yourself faithful, God will move in your life, but then you have to continue in the Lord.  That's where Solomon fell short. And that's where many people fall short. You're like, this sounds like a lot of work. It is a lot of work. It is a lot of work. It's not a lot of work to get to heaven. That's free.  Most people, look, I mean, I did a chart one time of the kings that started out good and ended good. It's like 4% of them. You had a lot of them that started out well, but most of them ended bad. Doesn't mean that they weren't saved or that they didn't go to heaven. But look, the point is, continuing your whole life is a lot of work. You get saved and you're like, oh man, this is great. It's all new. But you know, you're going to get to a point in your life where a walk with God and soul winning and preaching the gospel and having people not want to hear it slam doors in your face. All this, it's going to seem like, it's going to seem like work at times. You're like, but church is fun. I know. I can't imagine why people don't like to come to church. I love it. I can't even remember the last time that I was like, ah, church. I mean, what in the world? It's a hard issue. I mean, this was like the perfect weekend. It was like fishing on Saturday, camping, and then church on Sunday. It's like, boom, it's like a cherry on top of an ice cream Sunday. But here's the thing. A walk, a walk with the Lord throughout your life is labor and it's going to feel that way at times. And that's normal. But you have to just make that decision that you're going to do it because God gives Solomon, he moves for Solomon. He moves here and he just gives him everything right away. But Solomon didn't continue. That's why we have the book of Ecclesiastes is because Solomon didn't continue in his life.  Because that will be what you will look back at.  I took this salvation and look at all the things that God did for me. And I wasted the whole thing. You know, that the water, your life is like a glass of water being poured on the ground.  The little time that you have here and you could waste, you could waste it all. You could waste it all. So look, you have to be faithful first. If you're wondering why things aren't going the way that you think that they're going, try just being faithful first. Try it. Try being faithful in the things of the Lord. Try being faithful with everything that the Bible, everything that we preach here. Try being faithful in those things. Tell yourself, you know what? If it's in the Bible, I'm just going to do it. I don't want to do it, but I'm going to do it because it's in the Bible. And see what happens. Watch God move in your life.  This is just how God works right here. Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer.