[0:00] Morning, go to Jeremiah chapter 6, Jeremiah chapter 6, Jeremiah chapter 6, Kathy says, I preached on this back in 2017, and I did, more than once.
[0:20] I preached on it here, but I also preached on it somewhere else. In 2017, the church I grew up in, Heartland Baptist Church, celebrated its 175th anniversary.
[0:33] And one of the guys here I was talking to that day, one of those days around that time, he said, who ever heard of a church that old in Maine that is still preaching the gospel?
[0:46] You know, that is quite an accomplishment. They're still preaching the gospel. People are still being saved. It's just an amazing thing. Today we're going to talk about Jeremiah chapter 6.
[0:58] Look with me at verse 16. Jeremiah 6, beginning at verse 16. Thus saith the Lord, stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls.
[1:17] But they said, we will not walk therein. They said, we will not walk therein. We're not going to be obedient to God. But I'm not concentrating on that part today.
[1:29] I'm concentrating on the first part of the verse, where it says, Thus saith the Lord, stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and find rest for your souls.
[1:42] We're talking today about standing at a crossroads. You know, our world is changing very rapidly. We have to make some decisions.
[1:55] There are some things that are taking place that put us at a crossroads. How are we going to live? What direction are we going to go? And so we're going to talk about that this morning in relationship to church.
[2:06] Seeing just back to church Sunday, we're going to take some time to look at some things about church, and what we learned here. Let's have a word of prayer.
[2:17] Dear Heavenly Father, I pray this morning that you would help us. As we look at your word, Lord, help us to grow from it. Lord, help us to understand that we are at a crossroads.
[2:29] Our nation is at a crossroads. The whole world, decisions are being made, and decisions that don't include you as part of the equation. And Lord, I pray that you would just help us to understand you're the most important thing.
[2:46] Lord, help us to understand that decisions we make and try to make them without God as part of them are doomed to fail. And Lord, I pray that you would just help us today to learn about the importance of this group of people.
[3:04] It's not the building, it's the church, it's the people. And so, Lord, help us to understand how important we are to one another, how important we are to you, how important you are to us.
[3:16] Lord, help us today. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen. You know, those people that started that church, now 180 some odd years ago, in Heartland, I think if they were to show us scripture and show us things that maybe had guided them when they started, this verse might be one of them.
[3:40] We have to stop, and we have to look, and we have to say, what are we going to do? He says, look, you need to make sure that you stand in the ways and see and ask and walk.
[3:56] Are we doing our due diligence to stay on the paths that God has given to us? You know, they might have looked at this as a promise to keep. Or they might have looked at it as a command that God has given to us.
[4:11] Either way, God says, this is what I want you to do. This is the direction I want you to go. See, crossroads call us to make a decision. That's what God's doing here.
[4:22] He's calling them to make a decision. Now, we read the whole verse so we know they made the wrong decision. But God is calling us to make decisions about where he would have us to go, what he'd have us to do.
[4:33] You remember the old poem from high school American literature, Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken? In that poem, he says, two roads diverge in a wood, and I, I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.
[4:52] God is asking us in our travels in this life to make a decision about the direction we're going to go. And are we going to follow the world, or are we going to follow Christ?
[5:05] He says, I made the one, took the one less traveled by. God tells us in Matthew that there's two paths, the broad way and the narrow way. One leads to destruction, one leads to heaven.
[5:17] Which path are we going to go on? This question comes up a lot. Is church really worth it? Is it really important? There was a man who wrote in a letter to the editor in a newspaper, and he was complaining.
[5:34] It made no sense to go to church every Sunday. He said in his letter, I've gone to church for 30 years now, and in that time, I've heard something like 3,000 sermons. But for the life of me, I can't remember a single one of them.
[5:47] I think I'm wasting my time, and the pastors are wasting their time by giving sermons. Well, that started a controversy. You can just see the letters of the editor coming in now, can't you?
[5:59] And finally, it continued on for a few weeks, and finally one man sent this in. He said, I've been married for 30 years now. In that time, my wife has cooked some 32,000 meals.
[6:10] But for the life of me, I can't recall the entire menu for a single one of those meals. But I do know this. Those meals nourished me and gave me strength.
[6:21] I needed to do my work. If my wife had not given me those meals, I would be physically dead today. Likewise, if I had not gone to church for nourishment, I would be spiritually dead today.
[6:36] How important is church? We say, I don't remember. I can't remember things. I try to do a good job of giving you alliterations and things to help you remember. But yeah, I know, I understand.
[6:48] In the last 12 years, I've preached over 2,000 sermons. Can I remember everything I've preached? No. I don't remember them all.
[7:01] I have somebody like Kathy who tells me, hey, you preached this back on such and such a day on this verse. She writes it down. What?
[7:17] The one message is Jesus. If you want to know the theme of my messages, those 2,000 messages, that would be it. Yes, it would be Jesus. But give you the details of what I said?
[7:27] No, can't do that. So, we're at a crossroads every day. Every day, you have decisions to make. Every day, you have to make a decision about where you're going, what you're going to do, how you're going to do it, all those kind of things.
[7:44] You know, Jeremiah here is looking at the urgency of those decisions that we have to make. How important are they?
[7:56] As a disciple of Jesus Christ, I have to make decisions every day, and the decisions I make should be based on as a disciple of Christ, which direction am I going? Which is most pleasing to the Lord?
[8:09] And he gives four commandments here. He says, look, stand, look, see, ask, and walk. We have to let the Holy Spirit guide us in every decision we make.
[8:21] So, who are we supposed to be looking to? Well, did you notice this verse began with, thus saith the Lord? God's given us instruction.
[8:32] God's given us direction. He's helping us to know which way to go. If you've been in church any time with me, you know, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God, looking unto Jesus.
[9:00] We have to keep our focus there. If we stare, excuse me, if we're going to stay on the right road, we have to keep our eyes and our hearts fixed on him.
[9:15] Last week, I mentioned some verses about being fixed. I put them in today so that you could see them. Psalm 57, 7. My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed.
[9:26] I will sing and give praise. When we have a purpose and a direction, life is so much easier and so much better, isn't it? Psalm 108, 1. O God, my heart is fixed.
[9:38] I will sing and give praise even with my glory. Psalm 112, 7. He shall not be afraid of evil tidings. His heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord.
[9:51] See, when God gives us direction and our lives are looking to him, our heart is fixed on him, we have no trouble understanding where we're supposed to go and what we're supposed to do.
[10:05] We follow him wherever he leads. We basically have the same calling that Moses was given to give to the children of Israel.
[10:16] In Deuteronomy, chapter 28, verse 9, He says, keep God's commandments and walk in his ways.
[10:37] You want to know which direction to go? Does God give a commandment about it? Walk in his ways. Andrew Murray was a Scottish pastor. He wrote books, One of them was entitled With Christ in the School of Obedience.
[10:53] And in that book, he said this, the true pupil of some great musician or painter yields his master a wholehearted and unhesitating submission.
[11:07] In practicing his scales or mixing the colors in the slow and patient study of the elements of his art, he knows that it is wisdom simply and fully to obey.
[11:18] It is this wholehearted surrender to his guidance, this implicit submission to his authority, which Christ asked. We come to him asking him to teach us the lost art of obeying God as he did.
[11:35] Let me read that again. We come to him asking him to teach us the lost art of obeying God as he did.
[11:45] We're supposed to obey God like Jesus did. We're supposed to follow him like Jesus did. And he says, it's a lost art. People have got their own ideas, got their own way of doing things.
[11:59] Obeying God and his word is not part of it. He goes on, the only way of learning to do such a thing is to do it. The only way of learning obedience from Christ is to give up your will to him and to make the doing of his will the one desire and delight of your heart.
[12:16] He says, making Jesus' will the center of everything you do, everything you think. He says, that's the one thing that we need to be doing.
[12:28] That's the one thing we need to do as a Christian. And that would include the verse I have on the signboard out there for the last couple weeks. Hebrews 10, 25.
[12:40] Not forsaking the slumping of ourselves together as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another and so much more as you see the day approaching. How's it going to benefit us when you're standing at the crossroads and you look to Jesus and you ask for his guidance and walk in his ways?
[12:59] We're going to be on the right path. We're going to do exactly what God wants us. We're going to have God's blessing on our life when we do that. He says, if you do that, what did he say there toward the end of the verse?
[13:11] You will find rest for your souls. Our world is in a turmoil today, isn't it? Our world is just so upside down. Everybody's complaining about everything.
[13:22] Everybody's frightened about things. Everybody's just, oh, it's a mess. what if we just stopped and obeyed God?
[13:34] Did what his word says? What if we even did things like getting into the word of God and studying it together in church?
[13:48] Remember Horatio Spafford? Horatio Spafford? Lost business in the Chicago Fire.
[14:02] He sent his wife and daughters off to England while he took care of business and he said he would join them. As they were going to England, the boat that they were on sank.
[14:16] He got word all is lost. A wife and four daughters. He got the word and he headed for England to see if there was anything he could recover, if there was anything he could do on his way over on a boat.
[14:38] Captain came to him one day and pointed out that this was the spot where the other boat had gone down. And as Horatio Spafford sat there and looked out over the water, words started to come to him.
[14:53] It is well, it is well with my soul. Through trials should come that this blessed assurance control, that Christ hath regarded my helpless estate and has shed his own blood for my soul.
[15:09] It is well with my soul. It is well, it is well with my soul. How could it be well with his soul?
[15:21] Jeremiah 6.16 Thus saith the Lord, stand ye in the ways and see and ask for the old paths, where is the good way and walk therein and you shall find rest for your souls.
[15:33] He says, I can have rest because I understand God. I understand what he's doing. I understand what he wants from me. I may not understand all that he's doing, but I understand what he wants from me.
[15:45] He wants me to follow. You know that poem I read you from Robert Frost? What if we modified it a little bit?
[15:59] Two roads diverged in a wood and I, I took the one Christ traveled by and that has made all the difference. I took the one Christ traveled by and that has made all the difference.
[16:14] I was figuring out I will be 68 in December. My parents got saved when I was three. You talk about being in church and wasting a life.
[16:25] I've been in church for 65 years. Think about that. 65 years. Most of the time four services a week.
[16:37] As a kid growing up my dad believed the church doors were open, we're there. So we were there at least four times a week and sometimes more. We'd have special services and our evangelists or something.
[16:49] We were there for those as well. So I've heard a lot of sermons over the years. And you know the thing about being in church? You make friends, you establish fellowship with people, but you hear the word of God and you get established and firmly planted in your faith.
[17:12] because of being in church, I still believe that the Bible is the word of God. You can go to that next one.
[17:24] I still believe the Bible is the word of God. Think about this one for a second. There used to be a time when most preachers got up and preached the word of God.
[17:37] It was the most important thing they could do. When you went to church, you could count on the fact that you were going to hear things from God's word. You know, but today, we seem to have changed.
[17:52] We're competing with the world to get people's attention. If we were to have a concert here this morning, this room would be filled. We're preaching the word of God.
[18:06] You know, God never intended for us to compete with the world though. He wants us to preach his word. Now, I'm not saying there's no room for programs and things and stuff, outreach programs, things of that nature, that's fine.
[18:20] But the most important thing we can do is preach the word of God. Romans 10, 17, so then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God.
[18:34] He says, you want faith, you want your faith to grow, you want to be in church, hear the word of God. You say, well, I can listen to it on the radio, I can watch it on TV. Yes, but you can't fulfill all of God's requirements of being a servant of his by doing that.
[18:51] You need to be in church, you need to have fellowship. We've been talking on Wednesday nights about Elijah. What happened to Elijah when he thought I was the only one? When he was isolating himself off, he said, I'm the only one.
[19:03] Remember, he had a time of depression, time of discouragement, and God had to point out to him, Elijah, there's 7,000 more who have not bowed the knee. But he didn't have any fellowship with them.
[19:15] We need to have fellowship one with another. 1 Corinthians 1.18, for the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness, but to us which are saved it is the power of God.
[19:28] You want to get recharged, you want to have God's power, you want to know, he says, hear the preaching of the word. Get in and have that time of God speaking to your heart as you hear his word.
[19:42] Why is it so important that we hear the word of God? Well, first of all, it convicts. Hebrews 4.12, for the word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing of thunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
[20:05] It's a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. When you start reading the word of God, you start hearing the word of God, God's going to prick your heart. It's going to convict you. You're going to know I'm not doing this right.
[20:16] I'm not living the way I should be here. I'm not thinking right on this particular point. I need God's help. I need to have his word. And when we have God's word and it convicts, you know what else it does?
[20:28] It converts. It converts. 1 Peter 1.23, being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever.
[20:41] Being born again by the word of God. Where do we learn about salvation? Where do we learn about who Jesus is? Where do we learn about what is offered to us in our salvation?
[20:55] By the word of God. Not only that, it corrects. It corrects. 2 Timothy 3.16, all scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.
[21:10] Then it goes on, the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished on all good works. But he says, it is there to teach his doctrine, is there for reproof, for correction, for instruction, and righteousness.
[21:22] He says, the word of God helps keep you on the right path. The word of God helps you to know right from wrong. The word of God will lead you where you should go. What happens if I decide I'm wrong?
[21:35] I'm not the way I should be. I'm not doing what God wants me to do. The word of God also cleanses. Psalm 119, 9, wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way by taking heed thereto according to thy word.
[21:51] He says, you get in the word of God, you let it work, it will cleanse your heart, it will wash away. because we learn about the blood of Jesus Christ and what it can do.
[22:02] We learn about what Jesus did on that cross for us and we can be cleansed from the sin that is in our life because it conquers. Ephesians 6, 17, and take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit which is the word of God.
[22:19] You want to go up and stand against Satan? You want to stand against the evils of this world? You better have some armor. And he says, and the sword of the spirit which is the word of God.
[22:30] It's an offensive weapon. A lot of the things he mentions in that armor of God are things for defense. But he says, the sword of the spirit, that's an offensive weapon. And he says, you know what?
[22:41] That is the word of God. Then he says, because it cleanses, comforts, it comforts. 1 Thessalonians 4, 18, wherefore comfort one another with these words.
[22:55] When you're going through trials and things, doesn't the word of God bring comfort to you? You go to funerals, they use the word of God to comfort.
[23:07] You go to situations in life, and you're like, I don't know what to do, I don't know how to handle. You go to the word of God, and you will find comfort in there. So because of church, because of all those years in church, because I'm still in church, church, I still believe in the word of God.
[23:30] I still believe the Bible is the word of God. You know what else I believe? I still believe in the virgin birth. I still believe in the virgin birth. Matthew chapter 1, beginning at verse 21, it says, And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins.
[23:49] Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, being interpreted is God with us.
[24:04] You notice what he said there? In verse 21, he said, For he shall save his people from their sins. He, who?
[24:17] Emmanuel, God with us, Jesus. He says, Look, he came to save us from our sins.
[24:31] He, personally, will do it. He didn't say an angel was going to do it. He didn't say Mary was going to do it. He didn't say, you know, Moses, or David, or Paul, or John.
[24:48] He will save us from our sins. And you know what else it says? He is coming back someday.
[24:58] He is coming to take us home someday. What a great blessing that is. God because of being in church and learning the Bible, I still believe the church has a cause.
[25:12] I still believe the church has a cause. There is a reason for the church still being here. What is it? Well, do you remember when David was going to go up against Goliath and he's talking to all of Saul and the others?
[25:28] 1 Samuel 17, 29. David said, what have I now done? Is there not a cause? There is a cause. Goliath was blaspheming in the name of the Lord.
[25:41] David said, isn't there a cause? Isn't there a reason that we should stand? God has not returned. The Lord has not returned yet. And in the meantime, is there not a cause?
[25:55] People are lost and dying and on their way to hell. Is there not a cause? People need to hear the good news of the gospel. Is there not a cause?
[26:06] When you stop and think about it, why did Jesus come? Luke 19, 10. For the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which is lost.
[26:19] And if Christ is the head of the church, what do you think his goal for the church is? Seek and to save that which is lost.
[26:29] And in Romans 10, 13, for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. He says people can be saved by calling upon the name of the Lord. Where are they going to learn about him?
[26:42] From the church. And when I say from the church, I'm not talking about this building. I'm talking about you guys. You're the church. The building is a place for us to meet.
[26:53] You're the church. How are they going to learn? How are they going to learn about salvation? See, there's a cause for us to gather, to learn and be armed, ready to go out and preach the gospel.
[27:08] There's a reason for us to sing the songs that we sing. It's a unifying thing. It's an uplifting thing. There's a reason for us to believe that we have victory.
[27:19] The Bible tells us so. We learn that here in church. We learn that there's a reason to preach the gospel. See, the cause is clear. There's no doubt about why we are here.
[27:33] We are here to take the message of the gospel. Which leads me to my next one. I still believe in a place called hell. You don't hear a lot about hell anymore.
[27:44] But I still believe there is such a place. Charles Spurgeon said, it is shocking to reflect that a change in the weather has more effect on some men's lives than the dread alternative of heaven or hell.
[28:01] We live in Maine. We understand things about weather and stuff like that. And a lot of times we're more concerned about what the weather is going to be than whether someone's going to heaven or hell or not.
[28:16] We need to be concerned about those around us. are we willing to tell someone about Jesus? Revelation 21 8 says, But the fearful and unbelieving and the abominable and murderers and whoremongers and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone which is the second death.
[28:39] And a lot of people would read that verse and go, ah, I'm okay. I'm not a murderer. I'm not a whoremonger or a sorcerer. And then I like the way God just slips in there and all liars.
[28:54] Anybody here never told a lie? See, all of us were heading to hell.
[29:05] All of us. But he gave us a way of escape. He says, you trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. You ask him to come in and take your sin away. You ask him to save you and he says he will do it.
[29:16] He says, you ask him to come. You know, I love the people who say, you know what? Me and my friends, we're going to wind up in hell.
[29:28] We're going to have a great time there. We're going to have a party. It's going to be such a, no. There are no friends in hell. There's no love, no hope.
[29:41] Why? No God. There's no God there. There is no hope whatsoever because there is no God. No exits.
[29:55] None of that. You know, the Bible tells us about hell. Here's what the Bible says about it. It's a place of torment, a place of everlasting punishment, a place of everlasting fire, unquenchable fire, a place for all eternity.
[30:10] Doesn't sound like a lot of fun to me. But, because of being in church and learning things from the Bible, I also believe in a place called heaven. I believe in a place called heaven.
[30:21] John chapter 14, beginning at verse 1. It says, Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you.
[30:32] I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there ye may be also. Jesus says, Whosoever shall come in the name of the Lord shall be saved.
[30:47] And he says, Let me tell you about the place I'm preparing for you. Aren't you glad that Jesus came as Emmanuel, God, with us?
[30:59] Aren't you glad that he spent 33 years on earth, facing everything that we face, going through everything that we go through, knowing how we handle things and what we do with things, and then did it all without sin.
[31:14] Aren't you glad that he died on the cross, he was buried, he rose again the third day, so that we could do the same, so that we could have eternal life, we could have victory over sin.
[31:33] then he says he's gone to prepare a place for us. He's gone to prepare a place for us, and someday we will be with him forever. You know the greatest thing you can know in this world?
[31:47] Jesus Christ. And along with that, this, Luke 10, verse 20, notwithstanding in this, rejoice not that the spirits are subject unto you, he's talking to his disciples, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.
[32:05] The fact that your name, if you know Jesus Christ, you've asked him to come into your life to forgive you of your sin, and to come and live within you, he says, your name is written in heaven.
[32:17] And then, on top of that, he says he's preparing a place for us. 2 Corinthians 5, 1, for we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
[32:37] I got thinking about that. God created the world in six days. And how does it say he did that in Genesis 1?
[32:50] He spoke. He spoke. And he spoke. And he spoke. And things came into being. He says, here in heaven, we have a building of God, a house not made with hands.
[33:05] God speaks. And it comes into existence. And God has been over 2,000 years gone from here. Can you imagine the place that's being prepared?
[33:19] Because it happens just by him speaking. There's not a lot of work. There's no construction crews. It's him speaking. I've got to hurry this up.
[33:31] I still believe in preaching and teaching on sin. I still believe in preaching and teaching on sin. You know, there was a time when every preacher preached about hell, preached about heaven.
[33:44] Now we hear positive thinking. Health and wealth. name it, claim it, and all those other things you can think of that people use.
[33:57] We don't hear the word of God about heaven and hell, sin, forgiveness, being redeemed, all of those type of things. You know, Jesus didn't beat around the bush.
[34:09] When he preached, he told sin, sin. A lot of the old time preachers did the same. The apostles, except you repent, you shall all likewise perish, the word says.
[34:26] I remember reading about some of the old time preachers, and they would preach about sin, they would name sin, they would go after sin, you know, it didn't matter what kind of things you were doing, gossip, they'd preach about it.
[34:48] sexual relations and things, they'd preach about it. I remember reading about Billy Sunday. Billy Sunday would go into a town and spend two or three weeks there preaching in revivals there, and when he left town, the brothels, the bars, they'd all closed, because he went in and preached about sin.
[35:15] We don't do a lot of preaching about sin anymore. We need to get back to it. I still believe in prayer. I still believe in prayer. Mark 9, 29, and he said unto them, this kind can come forth by nothing but by prayer and fasting.
[35:32] Do we still believe in prayer? Prayer meetings, Wednesday night, 630. Do we still believe in prayer?
[35:43] Getting together and praying that God would work in our midst and God would do things. You know, Moses cried out to God in prayer, and God spared Israel.
[35:55] He was ready to take Israel out. Joshua prayed and the sun stood still. Hannah prayed and she had a baby boy named Samuel. Solomon prayed for wisdom.
[36:07] He's known as the wisest man who ever lived. Those of you who have been with me on Wednesday nights, we've been talking about Elijah. Elijah. A 63-word prayer and fire came down from heaven and consumed the altar.
[36:18] And when I say consumed the altar, I don't mean the stuff on the altar. I mean consumed the altar. Took it all out. Consumed it all. Elijah, we're getting into, is about to get a guy who's going to walk with him and replace him eventually by the name of Elisha.
[36:37] And after Elijah died, what does Elisha ask for? Elisha asked for a double portion of what Elijah had. And God doesn't bat an eye and gives it to him.
[36:50] Do we believe in prayer? Do we believe in talking to God and asking of God, letting him work in our hearts and lives? Do we believe in praying earnestly for souls that are lost, for families that are lost?
[37:07] Do we pray over conviction of sin? Do we pray for solution to problems? Do we pray for our pastor and our teachers? We need to get back to the serious business of prayer.
[37:23] So, let me wrap this up. I see some of you are like, oh, it's been a long service. Oh, it's about time for lunch. I can smell a little bit.
[37:35] So, let me wrap this up. We say we believe in hell. When I'm preaching on that and I say, I still believe in hell, people, if I ask you, you say, yeah, I believe in hell.
[37:50] What action has it inspired you to do? When a lot of people talk about the fact that, oh, you just watch the world and the way things are going and the world is getting closer and closer to the end, Jesus is going to come at any time.
[38:07] What action has that inspired you to, knowing that Jesus is coming? when Jesus comes, there will be judgment on the world.
[38:24] What action has it inspired us to? We say we believe all these things, but what are we doing? You know, when I first started thinking about what to do for this Sunday, I was listening to a clip from Adrian Rogers.
[38:40] I almost was going to play the clip today and then I said, no, people will not like me if I play what he said. So, I decided I'll use part of what he said. Here's what he said, part of it.
[38:54] When you come to church on Sunday morning, you're saying two things. You're saying, number one, God is important to me. And two, you're saying these people are important to me.
[39:12] Why should I go to church on Sunday morning? Let me ask you this question. What did Christ die for? One of the verses in the Bible says he died for the church, meaning people.
[39:26] Not for the building, for the people. So, was the church important to God? Then it should be important to us because it's important to him. And then one another.
[39:39] You know what it's like to get together and have fellowship? I had a pastor's meeting. It's the first time since May.
[39:52] We take the summer off, kind of go by the school year calendar. We had a time Monday. Phenomenal time together. To talk with other pastors, to see what is happening, what God is doing in their lives, to listen to things that are taking place, to hear the word of God preach.
[40:12] One of them always preaches a message. To have a time of prayer together. To have a time of fellowship together. We have lunch together. Do you know what that does for me? Now, when we come to church on Sundays, it should be the same atmosphere.
[40:28] We get together. We talk. We talk about the Lord. We have joy together. We have fellowship together. We have, that's what it should be. Is that what it is?
[40:41] You can be a part of making it that just by being here. In a few minutes, we're going to go downstairs. Have fellowship together. Do that. Don't avoid having fellowship.
[40:54] Well, I don't want people to know my business. They don't have to know your business. But they can know that you're going to struggle and they can be praying for you. They can know good things that are taking place.
[41:05] God did this and God did this for me this week. That's great. Encouraging one another. Have a time of fellowship together. God is important to me.
[41:19] These people are important to me. Come to church. Be a part of church. Invite others to come with you and see the things that God is going to do. Bonnie, come on up.
[41:32] Bonnie, come on up. Alexander. Amen. We're going to let you answer these judgments in our fellowships. Hope. Vanessa. Tonight. Have a great job. We're going to let you go to churchernenary the point.
[41:44] Bye. We're going to let you него. Have a great job.學�가 أod marine hand to own the village happiness. Anybody in the world?
[41:58] Brewing it?