Transcription downloaded from https://yetanothersermon.host/_/ccbrighton/sermons/88244/keep-yourself-from-idols/.

Disclaimer: this is an automatically generated machine transcription - there may be small errors or mistranscriptions.
Please refer to the original audio if you are in any doubt.


[0:00] We are going through a series of four messages and the global title is How Should We Live?! What dictates the way that you live? Christian, why do you live the way you do? Is it something you picked up from someone else?

[0:18] Or is it the way you grew up? So it's your habit or is it a church tradition or just what feels right for you? It is a particularly risky time for Christians. If you look around at the behaviours of your neighbours, friends, work colleagues out there in the world, you won't get a safe answer on how should you live.

[0:45] We're at sea. Last week we looked at this particular passage in the book of Romans, Romans 12, 1 and 2.

[1:00] I urge you, brothers, therefore, in view of God's mercy to offer yourselves, your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God.

[1:12] This is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

[1:22] Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is, his good, pleasing and perfect will. This is one of the most important two verses in the Bible.

[1:37] It is so critical for us to have this in the very DNA of our Christian being. In fact, I would encourage everybody to memorise this.

[1:51] If you're going to learn a passage of the Bible, and that's very healthy to do, here are two excellent verses to start with. And we saw that we as Christians need to start with thinking.

[2:04] We need to think as Christians. You'll notice one of the lines there. Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. You didn't used to think as a Christian.

[2:16] You now need to think as a Christian. And it's different. It's different to how you were, all the habits of your thought. And it's also different to how the world thinks. And it is a different way of thinking.

[2:30] And because of that, it creates enormous challenges for us. Because if we don't do the thinking, then we will tend to follow the behaviours of others. And what a challenge and encouragement it is to know for every day we are to offer ourselves as a living sacrifice to God.

[2:51] He gives us every day. He comes with his bounty and goodness. Mercies new every morning. We were singing, weren't we? And so we can offer ourselves as living sacrifices.

[3:04] We gladly do so. We want to be close to our Heavenly Father. And we want to walk in his ways. As we do this daily offering, we will be able to test and approve what God's will is.

[3:20] What is his will? It's good and it's pleasing and it's perfect. It's delightful. There's no better way for a human being to be than to be living in God's will and his ways.

[3:32] And we had some questions at the end of that. I hope you may have thought about this a little bit through the week.

[3:44] Why do I? Why do we live the way we do? How much Bible thinking underpins my and our priorities and decisions? Is it really just a book that we pick up and use to underpin our understanding?

[4:04] Or are we taking it seriously as a guide for the whole of our life? What is the result?

[4:15] What is the impact of God's mercy in my or our life? Things which get in the way.

[4:27] We have an enemy. And the enemy is the devil. And he is abroad in the earth. And the Bible says that the enemy is going about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.

[4:42] So that enemy is everywhere. And he is at work. And he has his agents as well. This isn't medieval stuff.

[4:53] This is at the very heart of Bible teaching to remember that. And as allies. He has an ally actually in us, which is the most surprising thing.

[5:05] But there is still that about us that feels attracted to some of the lies and deceits of the devil. If he were just an enemy out there, we might be better prepared in a way.

[5:21] But he is an insidious enemy. Subversive enemy. Because he finds that within us. Which he can speak to. And as we've indicated, the world about us is set up very deliberately and clearly with a non-God aspect to it.

[5:44] It's the way the world works. So there are things that get in the way. We shouldn't be surprised about that at all.

[5:55] I want to draw your attention now to this particular verse. I think it might be helpful if you turn that up in your Bible. You'll see the page number in brackets. 1, 2, 2, 8. 1 John 5, 21.

[6:10] Now why this is particularly helpful is because you'll see that it's quite a short letter and the Apostle John has written this short letter to Christians.

[6:23] And he addresses them in very tender terms in the very, very last verse of this letter. 1 John 5, 21. Dear children. Dear children. He's not making this as a public statement in Churchill Square to whoever happens to be passing by.

[6:39] It's a very intimate sort of letter which is being offered to these people who are believers. It's quite clear they're believers.

[6:49] If you were to flick through these chapters here, you see again and again and again. It's talking about the love of God that's been revealed to them in Jesus Christ and how they can have evidence in themselves and in one another that they really are believers.

[7:07] What are the tests? How can we know if someone actually belongs to Jesus Christ or not? It's a very important statement. John looks at this in this particular letter.

[7:20] So it's addressed to believers. The other thing I want you to notice is he goes on to say, it's the final thought. It's almost like a PS. But he wants to say this.

[7:32] Keep yourselves from idols. Keep yourselves from idols. Seems a very strong thing to say. The one thing to say, resist temptation. But keep yourself from idols.

[7:44] So he's talking to Christian people and he's saying, you, all of you, you have an issue to tackle here, which is that you run the risk of being an idolater.

[7:59] If you read this letter, you'll see there's nothing to do in this letter with paganism, other gods.

[8:13] He's not talking about that at all. He's not talking in that territory at all. They were around, of course, but that's not what he's bothered about. He's bothered about anything being present in the life of a Christian that is taking the place that belongs to the one true living God.

[8:36] Because our God is jealous. He's jealous of our complete affection, complete devotion. And he will not have any rivals.

[8:51] First commandment we had on the screen at the beginning of the service. You shall not have any other gods before or besides me.

[9:05] Not just in front of me, but even alongside, even to be compared with. You shall not have any other gods besides me. And idolatry is this other gods.

[9:19] So we know what the other gods were in the past, but gods of today is anything, something or someone which is taking the place that belongs only to the one true living God who has revealed himself in his word and supremely in Jesus Christ.

[9:40] And I think this is a very striking statement and it becomes the theme of what we're going to be looking at this morning. Dear children, keep yourself from idols.

[9:55] So, we read earlier Luke chapter 8 verses 1 to 15 and it will be good to turn that up now. Page 1037. We looked at this at the church weekend away in the context of what it means to be fruitful as a Christian.

[10:20] Because we said this isn't just about what happens when God's word, the gospel, the good news is spoken in a mixed gathering of people and we're just interested to know what sort of effect it has upon people who are not yet Christians.

[10:38] Of course that's true. But this is true of whenever God's word is spoken in a gathering, any gathering and to Christian people. What is happening at this particular moment?

[10:51] And we spoke about the fact that fruitfulness is God's aim, blessing, delight, longing for his people. This is what he wants to see about them.

[11:03] They should be fruitful in their relationship with him and in the expression of that in their lives. That really is the bit about the seed on good soil coming up and yielding a crop a hundred times more than was sown.

[11:21] You see the reference there in verses eight and fifteen. But before that moment, Jesus has something to say about there are many people who don't actually get to this point of fruitfulness.

[11:35] They don't get there. So we should listen very carefully because this is a general warning that is made to all of us that there is a danger that when the word of God is spoken we will not get it in a way that causes fruitfulness.

[11:55] Things will get in the way and stop it happening. So three causes of unfruitfulness. The first is they're given in the parables and then the application is given in the latter part of the reading there.

[12:13] So verse five A farmer went out to sow his seed as he was scattering the seed some fell along the path it was trampled on and the birds of the air ate it up.

[12:24] Jesus tells us what that means in verse twelve those along the path are the ones who hear and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts so that they may not believe and be saved.

[12:39] It's a little bit like when David was saying earlier what happens when you have Sunday club and then the afterwards you know you're doing something completely different.

[12:50] Well that happens all the time in church doesn't it? And it's frightening in a way that we hear things and at the time it feels very important but quite quickly that just disappears especially if there is some little incident that happens immediately after the word is spoken.

[13:08] That's why when we pray here in the morning the prayer is that in all our behaviours towards one another we should not be a stumbling block and we should not be a cause of causing the word of God to be snatched away from people so that it's not made valuable in their lives.

[13:27] How important that is. We also pray about technology because technology has a very interesting way of interrupting! of interrupting the word of God.

[13:38] If you hear a sudden oop coming through this device here and it's still chattering away I can hear it annoying isn't it? Yeah the word of God here is powerful stuff and yet technology can sort of get in the way.

[13:54] That's just what happens. Well there's a hand behind that often it's the hand of the devil. He's trying to snatch away the truth so let us just reckon with that and then the next was verse 6.

[14:07] Some fell on rock and when it came up the plants with it because they had no moisture. Jesus says here's the application in verse 13. These are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it but they have no root.

[14:19] They believe for a while but in the time of testing they fall away. So it appears that these are people who say this is good news but when some difficulty arises in their lives especially if it is some sort of mockery or persecution of some kind they just fall away.

[14:42] So that happens. Look this is happening. This happens. We see this going on. This is not old stuff. This is current day experience.

[14:54] This is the bit that I want us to concentrate on this morning which is verse 7. Other seed fell among thorns which grew up with it and choked the plants.

[15:06] The seed and the thorns growing up together. Verse 14. Jesus' application. The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear but as they go on their way they are choked by life's worries riches and pleasures and they do not mature.

[15:29] I think this is the particular danger that afflicts western culture. we are not yet at the place where we are facing overt persecution like our brothers and sisters in China and in India and parts of Africa but the day may well come and when it comes that sort of a verse will become more important for us.

[16:01] We'll see that happening in a bigger way. The verse is about persecution and people turning away but don't think that's the problem there.

[16:13] But what is a very great problem and pressure for us is the insidious effect of what Jesus terms as thorns growing up alongside the word.

[16:27] Verse 14. I just want to read it again. The seed sorry the seed that fell among those thorns stands for those who hear but as they go on their way they are choked by life's worries riches and pleasures and they do not mature.

[16:47] So there are the thorns and just behind that you can see there's some green. It's a rather sad picture. It seems to be an encouraging start but the thorns grow up and choke.

[17:01] Jesus says here as they go on their way it's a kind of as you just go about daily life on your way the thorns are growing up and choking.

[17:16] You're just going on with life normal stuff nothing special it's just that the thorns get in the way. What's left? Well Jesus doesn't really talk about this but I think it's interesting that there's a sort of life but it's stunted it's stopped it's uncertain we see passages in our own life which I think are like this where we just seem to have stopped and it's really painful pastorally to see that happening in people's lives in a church setting but it is happening it is happening when just the appetite for the word of God is just depressed and there's no interest in having walked with

[18:20] Jesus Christ in a day to day way no real desire and longing for a 24 7 relationship with him surely none of us if we're here today surely none of us wants to be in that place I do trust so I mean if you've come here today and you just have a full intention of going away and not being wholehearted for Jesus Christ then you are of all men or women most miserable that's a really miserable place to be the Bible knows nothing about this sort of halfway house and I just plead with you make this the day when you make you say I am going to follow Jesus Christ 100% there's no other way there's no other option but like thorns this can creep up on us and the place that belongs to God can be taken by something else

[19:24] I want to have two really important points here NB nota bene note well nice worries riches other versions have wealth pleasures in the other parallel passages in the gospels in the gospel of Matthew and Mark exactly the same story is given and I think it's Mark he says other things right firstly these things we have to be very clear on this they are not inherently bad they're not inherently bad this is not a message about the badness of life's worries the badness of wealth the badness of pleasures there will be some folk who take that view there were folk at the time of the

[20:40] New Testament church and in fact the apostle Paul speaks to them in several of the church letters he says you know there are people who are just going to forbid you doing this forbid you doing that forbid you this is not about this these issues are not inherently bad 1 Timothy 6 verse 17 says this God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment because that's the sort of God he is why has he made!

[21:11] the world the way it is why does the sea sparkling invite you to go and have a swim you know why is there sand on the shore why is there beautiful walks on the downs is it just to please God it's because he loves his people to enjoy so much in life that there's richness there's texture and flavor and color and variety for us to enjoy in the full range of life there's creativity there's opportunity so when we talk about thorns we're not talking about these things being inherently bad no no no secondly please note this is not about other people this is not about a message for other people or perhaps one poor person in this Gorgoshen I've just prepared all this message for this one person it can't be that way and the reason why it can't be that way is that you just have to look at the context here to see that

[22:20] Jesus is talking to a load of ordinary people he's not talking to the Sanhedrin he's not talking to Herod Paul here if he had been doing this wasn't talking to the Roman Emperor it says there are just people coming from town to town and they just gather it's just a complete cross section of society so these are not people to be defined by their mortgages or their pleasure seeking life or anything like that they're just ordinary guys going about their daily job and it's important because life's worries you have this kind of picture of this poor guy here he's sort of overwhelmed by an immense worry John's looking as if he recognises the moment it's a hard moment but it's probably a little bit more like this or you know what do you think about money and wealth you think of these stock brokers don't you here's the

[23:30] Wall stock broker handling money phones in both hands shouting making a million dollars in five seconds so that's wealth I should have put a picture of one of these smiling couples who just won five million on the lottery I think there's more millionaires in this country per head of population than any other country in the world extraordinary isn't it that's what the lottery has done so maybe one of you is out there doing this but that's not really what this is about and nor am I thinking of people who are in a constant state of partying when they're looking at pleasures in their life it's not about that either why do I say all this the simple point is if you think this is about other people then you will switch off you'll just switch off won't you because you think it's there for somebody else it's meant for someone else this theoretical person no no no it has to be meaningful for each one of us there is something about life's worries riches and pleasures or other things that is actually intended by

[24:48] Jesus for every single one of us in this room life's worries Luke 10 38 to 42 would you like to turn that up it's the story of the home of Martha and Mary Luke 10 38 to 42 as Jesus and his disciples were on their way he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him she had a sister called Mary who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said but Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made she came to him and asked Lord don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself tell her to help me Martha Martha told him told him told him the story and he went to record this story

[25:59] I wonder who he got it from I wonder who told him the story I think Martha probably told him told him the story and he went and checked it out with her went to her home and enjoyed her wonderful meal and she told him that story it's interesting it's given to us here in the Bible and obviously something important for us to learn from that what do we know about Martha and Mary well they were good women Martha opened her home to him what a precious testimony that is that she wanted Jesus to be in their house you know they were the sisters of Lazarus so you know of all the families on earth as it were that he became close to aside from his own this is probably the closest isn't it so he loved being there fantastic so really good hearted people and when you see the death of

[27:01] Lazarus and everything that occurred about that you see coming to the surface just what good women they were and where their hearts were how they actually looked so intelligently and spiritually to the Lord but I draw your attention here to verse 40 as an example of life's worries Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made she came to him and asked Lord don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself tell her to help me now I think there's a wealth of meaning behind this particular verse and it's just lovely to sort of linger in there and try and think what's going on here and I picture a scene if they had two rooms there is Martha in the kitchen I don't know why it's only

[28:01] Martha there at the time maybe Mary went to answer the door Jesus comes into the front room Mary immediately gets into a conversation and Martha it says she's distracted it means she's really beside herself it's quite a strong word she's beside herself by all the preparations that had to be made so she's one of those people might say she's a bit house proud or whatever but she knows what is the right thing to do you have a guest around you look after them you feed them you provide for them but probably she hasn't got all the ingredients and she doesn't know quite what to be doing and what comes next and so forth so she's distracted by all the preparations that had to be made if you're a good Jewish woman there are things that should be done and that's what she's so busy about and I can just imagine the noise level in the kitchen getting louder because that's what happens when you get upset isn't it things just get noisier they don't get quieter they get noisier and she probably drops something at some point and that just is sort of like the end so she's made a mess of one of the preparations she's got to start all over again and she's beginning to seethe in her spirit

[29:14] I have a sister what's she doing she could be with me just helping me out here but she's not she's just she's just having a conversation doesn't she realise what's going on I can imagine they're quite close but close doesn't necessarily mean you always get on does it sometimes you know each other too well and they were obviously different characters as well different personalities so after the sort of second or third occasion of sort of bustling into the room where Jesus and Mary are she sort of blurts out to Jesus Jesus don't you know can't you tell my sister that there's things to be done I need her help just tell her to come I suppose eventually the meal was made and eventually they had the meal but it wasn't a very good preparation of spirit was it for Martha for herself to then sit down and to listen to the words of

[30:19] Jesus I mean there are some people who just go off the end and then calm down afterwards immediately but most of us find it very hard after some harsh words have been spoken after we felt in a certain way to get into a right spirit Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made let me suggest that you know I've just taken one case out of here and the thing that happens is that you can say right I can understand that kind of situation but mine is a lot more tricky than that and it's all very well to talk in those terms but they didn't have a six month old baby who needed changing did they no they didn't or they didn't have the telephone going or they didn't have a neighbour knocking on the door at that precise moment or they didn't have a deadline to reach at nine o'clock in the following morning when all these things start coming together and that is the nature of life's worries and that's the nature of what every single person in this room faces because we're all busy we're all busy

[31:45] I've never come across anybody who says that they're not busy so anybody today today who would dare to put their hand up and say I'm not busy I'm not just talking about busyness of activity but you'd be busy in your head can't you no one's volunteering because if they put their hand up I'd give them a job we all feel busy don't we we all feel we all feel busy we're all in the same place we've all got those things that are very particular and special to us that constitute for us a life worry so you tell your worry to someone else and they just look at you and they're not really identifying with it it's not for them a big problem they can see a way in which it's actually rather rather straightforward but for you it's actually massive nice worries well for all of us here today let me just say this this is a thorn that can choke a spiritual life the worries of life can choke us spiritually because if if our days are just filled with this sort of issue where we actually are worried people then it's not surprising if the word of God doesn't actually find space to be expressed and to grow there's a very real case that we have to be sufficiently free of our worries in order to be able to properly and seriously entertain the encouragements and challenges of God's word how might we respond to that let me suggest that we could involve

[33:41] God rather than forget that he's present so it seems such an obvious point but if I know my own heart how often we struggle with situations before we come to God in prayer God involvement rather than God forgetfulness you all know this verse from Philippians be anxious about nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving make your requests known to God that is a command it's an encouragement because there's light at the end of that tunnel don't be anxious but bring the matter to the Lord in prayer secondly looking for God's answer and supply 1 Corinthians 10 13 is helpful for us here it's actually a passage that is after the rather sad tale of the disaster in the desert when the people had turned their backs on God and so forth and

[34:49] Paul says to them in 1 Corinthians 10 13 no temptation no trial has seized you except what is common to man God is faithful he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear I love that that's lovely isn't it God will not let you be tested beyond what you can bear now we always think we're just the wrong side of right in terms of worries but God says no you're not the wrong side of right it's just please take the steps please take the steps these things are set before you so that you might trust me you might look to me and recognize the limitations of your own resources we always have to keep learning that all of our days because we go through different types of worry in life a trial can so easily turn to a temptation and sin but

[35:58] God can supply a way forward for instance it might be to drop the issue put it on hold it might have been a good idea for Martha to go and sat at Jesus feet turn the cooker off kitchen is in a mess leave it as it is but after all Jesus doesn't come this way very often it might just be appropriate to go and sit at his feet and just hear a bit because other things might be able to wait or maybe God has a way around this the preparations that had to be made I don't know what that really meant but maybe she thought he's an honoured guest he's a guy haven't seen him for a long while tick tick tick tick tick tick this sort of person needs that sort of treatment I rather think if she come into the room at that point and said well he'd just see it in her face and he'd say do you know what

[37:00] Martha I could just do with a I'm stuck at the back and it's hot and I've got this to do and to get to that point of saying I'm here and that's where God wants me to be and I'm just going to serve him in that kind of way because we can't be in all places at all times can we so all of us know those occasions and parents especially know those occasions!

[37:58] where you just have to have a servant heart and to be doing something I don't know what the answer might have been in that particular situation but I think those three solutions are pretty applicable to many of the things that we get worried about but we must start with asking the Lord bringing our care to him mustn't we right I press on to this one this point now which is why is it so hard for the rich to enter the kingdom of heaven have you thought about that a bit why is it so hard for the rich to enter the kingdom of heaven because it is that's what Jesus said that's his words easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for the rich to enter heaven and the disciples were amazed weren't they why is it so hard when we have already said there's nothing inherently wrong in riches well the

[39:06] Bible has a lot to say about it in fact Jesus speaks more about the issues of money than on any other single subject so it's important we won't look at all these but just the first lines give you the sense of it do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth rather than treasures in heaven the next Matthew one no man no one can serve two masters you cannot serve God and money Luke 18 talks about the rich young ruler there's so much going for that man but in the end he couldn't follow Jesus because he had great wealth that was the thing which got in the way for him and 1 Timothy 6 10 says for the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil it's almost like the fundamental root of evil is implied in that text so!

[40:09] riches and wealth are mentioned in this particular passage but actually and again you have to go to the Mark passage to see that what Jesus is getting at here is the deceitfulness of riches and wealth they deceive it's not the fact of the pile of money it's the fact that it gives a message and it deceives you and here's a load of the deception money riches wealth offer satisfaction but they never truly satisfy do you agree it offers to serve you but can become your master it offers security but you end up with nothing think about that man who built his big barn so he could put all his stuff and eat drink and be merry I'm going be fine fine for what Paul says to Timothy we brought nothing into the world we'll take nothing from it it offers freedom if only

[41:15] I had more I should be free but you end up with cares it offers opportunity to give but you could end up selfish so that's the deceitfulness of riches because it keeps on offering so much and yet it is a very poor payback that's given to us it can suck up the energy motivation etc that ought to be devoted to God so it becomes an idol how much we can rejoice in God's own lovely provision 1 1 Timothy 6 says this but godliness with contentment is great gain if you're sitting here today and you can say I know something about godliness and I know something about contentment I haven't got much I haven't got much stored away but I know what it is to have a degree of contentment in my life well

[42:19] Apostle Paul says that's a great gain that's a fantastic place to be for we brought nothing into the world and we can take nothing out of it but if we have food and clothing we will be content with that so I say that for your encouragement all of your encouragements this morning whatever the state of your bank balance whatever your prospects in your career may look like however small your home may feel and how much anxiety you may have to know you know my children grow up how am I going to be able to feed and clothe and look after them and you see there's horrible statistics about how much it costs to raise a child in Britain today you think I can't even do the sums how that can work but if we have food and clothing we'll be content with that and and if God blesses with more if God blesses with more well that's a blessing you're put under a real responsibility if you have more than that if you have more than the the basic you are put under great responsibility and privilege to use what God has given in a wise way to bless others reason why

[43:44] I wanted to read the first opening verses in this whole chapter is it talks about the women who belong to Herod's household and did you notice that these were the ones who helped him out of their substance they helped them out of their substance there was no other form of income for Jesus and his disciples but these women they had means and they were a blessing to those disciples if any of us here today has more than we absolutely need well may we be a blessing to others that's what I think the word calls us to in that way but finally pleasures desires for other things is anything else so I put down there hobbies sport relationships media entertainment food and drink travel holidays your thing whatever it is it might be a beautiful gift from God to be enjoyed with thanksgiving we see that therefore everything

[44:48] God created is good and nothing is to be rejected if it's received with thanksgiving because it's consecrated by the word of God and prayer or it might become an idol now I said as we go through this series this is going to prove challenging and uncomfortable and you may just not be wanting to to take any of this but I'm still pressing on because I think this is what Jesus is talking about and I think it's a challenge for us and I think these areas can be thorns for us which can stunt our spiritual growth and none of us want that do we we don't want to be stunted and stopped nothing is worth that so you need to ask these questions can I engage in these things with the felt presence and pleasure of Jesus are these things weakening my spiritual priorities these are very challenging questions aren't they but why not why shouldn't we ask them because I think they're valid and Bible questions to ask do you remember this chariots of fire this is a picture of Eric

[46:22] Little as played by an actor and he said this he was a runner he won a medal at the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris and he said when I run I feel God's pleasure isn't that fantastic he ran well and he felt God's pleasure he could do it to the glory of God amen fantastic if you can say that you're in a great place keep bringing your life to the Lord the daily sacrifice and say to him can I do this with your pleasure are you pleased with this father I'm forcing this before you is this what you want me to be the sort of person that you want me to be yeah I've made you fast I want you to be a runner hallelujah but he had boundaries didn't he he had boundaries he wasn't going to let his running get in way of his spiritual priorities so he refused to run on Sunday because he said it's the Lord's day I will not run on

[47:35] Sunday and there are still Christian people out there I think it's one of the football sports commentators Christian man he won't work on a Sunday praise God he's got a spiritual priority he knows where he needs to be on the Lord's day which is to be with God's people I run to his pleasure but there's a limitation I put the limits on there because I want to honour God in every aspect of his word is this too extreme why if you feel niggled by this I put that list up and you say why should this be so extreme when our jealous God wants all of us and he's a good God and he wants the very best for us why should we fear to bring our lives before him and allow him to test and approve are these

[48:41] Bible taught questions do you agree so ask the questions William Cooper the poet wrote this which is our closing hymn the dearest idol I have known whatever idol be help me to tear it from thy throne and worship only thee even the dearest one is picturing the throne of God and he's saying there's there's something which is alongside the lamb and it's obscuring my vision of the lamb I'm not seeing God as clearly as I might because there's something on the throne next to the lamb of God help me to tear it from thy throne and worship only thee brothers and sisters if we're in that place and want to be in that place at the end of this meeting hallelujah praise

[49:47]  God and God's blessing is upon us and his pleasure if there's repentance we need to make before the Lord please let's do that and if we need to trust him in a way because you think I really need this I really need this pleasure well let God be the judge of that and if he says you have my blessing hallelujah and if he says you don't have my blessing in that at all trust me for something better hallelujah for that let's sing our closing song hope for a closer walk with God ending ending