Godliness

[0:00] Godliness, Godliness. Titus 2, verse 11. Feel free to read along with me.

[0:10] ! Let's pray.

[0:45] Lord, we thank you again for your word, for our gathering together unto it. Lord, still our hearts. Help us, Lord, to hear from heaven. Not a voice that speaks within, but the voice that comes from your word that is clear, crystal clear to our soul.

[1:00] Lord, your voice, as it speaks to our hearts in your word. Let it be clear and crystal clear, Lord. Let it be something we can hear and act upon and take in.

[1:11] Let it be life-changing, Lord, we pray. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen. It says the grace of God has appeared. It says, teaches us how to live soberly, righteously, and godly, even in this present world.

[1:30] It says, looking for that blessed hope. Jesus is coming. Amen. Get ready. Amen. That blessed hope and the glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

[1:41] He will come. He gave himself for us to redeem us, to set us free, and to purify unto himself a peculiar people.

[1:53] A special people. You're special here. Everyone here is special in God's sight. You're special in him because he has redeemed you. In other words, he's set you free.

[2:05] He's paid the price of your setting you free by his precious blood. And it tells us here that this grace of God, this grace of God that has appeared to all men, it teaches us things.

[2:20] And one of those things is that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, the world and the flesh, the devil, rather live soberly, righteously, and godly.

[2:32] Godliness, we call to. Godliness. Godliness, what is it? What is godliness? Godliness we could reckon is Christian character and conduct. Amen. It identifies us as God's children, as God's sons and daughters.

[2:48] Godliness, it's living as we please God, our Lord. It's living devoted to him. It's walking with God. It's doing all for the glory of God. It's fearing God in awe of his majesty, his holiness and his glory.

[3:04] It's just that wonderment that comes from knowing our Saviour. Imagine how you would feel if you got a special invitation to go and meet somebody important.

[3:15] Maybe the president, the prime minister, the king, the queen, some earthly one who's got some esteem. And how you might feel just to have the invitation.

[3:27] But what's more, you've got an invitation to come into the very holy of holies, to meet someone beyond any earthly king or queen, someone beyond any earthly majesty or might, the one almighty God, almighty.

[3:44] Imagine a special invitation. And multiply that beyond imagination to have that opportunity to know and reverence your God and love him.

[3:57] Love him. As our preacher said earlier, love the Lord. There's a lack of godliness today, isn't there? In this world. Yet it says that even in this present world, we can be different.

[4:09] We can deny ungodliness of worldly lusts. We can live soberly, righteously and godly in this present world. But there is a lack of godliness. As David cried in Psalm 12 verse 1.

[4:23] Psalm 12 verse 1, he said, Help, Lord, for the godly man ceaseth, for the faithful fail from among the children of men. He says there's a lack of them.

[4:33] There's a failing here. There's a failure. There's a ceasing. There's a lack of godly men. The godly man ceaseth. David saw there was a lack of men with this special quality.

[4:46] This quality of godliness. Godliness. We've seen what it is. Now why? Why is it needed? Why do we need godliness? Because it is our duty to obey God.

[4:58] To live godly. To live godly lives. To adopt a godly lifestyle. We're called to that. We're commanded. And our Lord says there's so much blessing there. There's blessing found there as our Lord said.

[5:10] Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Matthew 5 verse 8. Paul says to Timothy, But thou, O man of God, flee these things.

[5:20] Talking about worldly sin. He says flee all that and follow. Pursue, chase after, he says, after righteousness, godliness.

[5:31] There's that word again. Faith, love, patience and meekness. Follow after that. Flee that. Follow that. Flee the worldly junk and the sin that ensnares.

[5:43] And follow. Rather follow godliness, righteousness, faith, love, patience, meekness. And brothers and sisters, we're living in a day where times are worsening, aren't they?

[5:58] You see the headlines? Even the secular press, let alone the Christian news feeds that you can get that even lend more strength to what you see in the news media of the world.

[6:11] We see the science escalating. The global tinderbox that we live in. And we see some positive and negative.

[6:21] We see North Korea on a bit of a knife edge. And now it's looking like it's going to go a bit more in a safer direction. But we're seeing all these global changes around the world with the rise of China.

[6:35] We're seeing the rise of Islam. We're seeing nations grappling with so much confusion and conflict and terror all around us.

[6:48] The world is in a very shaky place. And the Bible tells of such a time. And we see many scriptures that tell of the end of the age. Of the end where reckoning time will come.

[7:02] Where judgment time will come. And in 2 Peter 3 we read, It tells of this day, the day, the day of the Lord.

[7:13] The day, the day, the day of the Lord. But the day of the Lord will come. As a thief in the night. You know, when the thief comes, They move in quickly and move out quickly.

[7:29] And your stuff's gone. And then you wake up. And you think, oh, what happened? I've been robbed. A thief will come. As a thief. The Lord will come. As a thief in the night. Like, unsuspected.

[7:40] Like, just kind of out of the blue. And in this day of the Lord, it says, In the which the heavens shall pass away. With a great noise. And the elements shall melt with fervent heat.

[7:54] You know, you've seen what's going on in Hawaii at the moment. Fervent heat. As that lava just takes over. There's that picture there of the earth melting with fervent heat.

[8:06] And the earth shall melt with fervent heat. And things shall be burnt up. And seeing then that these things shall be dissolved. What manner of persons ought you to be?

[8:18] When we're seeing the world in such chaos and stress and disaster. When we're seeing the signs of the end of the age. Where false religions are encroaching.

[8:29] And atheism is endemic. And there's a godlessness in the media. And a hate of God. A hatred of God. Of truth. And of the Bible. When you see all these things.

[8:40] What manner of people ought we to be? What manner of people ought we to be? In all holy conversation or conduct. And in godliness. We should have godliness in such a day.

[8:52] Of such a time as this. And we should be looking for. And hastening unto the coming of the day of God. Wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved. And the elements shall melt with fervent heat.

[9:04] Nevertheless. Nevertheless. We according to his promise. According to his promise. We look for a new heaven. And a new earth. Wherein dwelleth righteousness. This old earth.

[9:15] You know. Forget climate change. God's going to burn it anyway. It's going to be a new one. A new heaven. A new earth. He's going to restore. He's going to renew. He's going to refresh the earth. And it's going to be made as a new.

[9:28] Heaven and the earth. New earth. Wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore beloved. Seeing that ye look for such things. Be diligent. Be diligent. That ye may be found of him.

[9:40] In peace. Find peace with God now. Before it's too late. You know. Once judgment comes. There's no. Kind of. You can't sort of stand before the great judge.

[9:51] And say. Oh. Please judge of all the earth. You know. Look on my good side. I've done some good things in my life. No. It's not going to be like that.

[10:02] You can't argue with the judge. He's going to. He's going to make a judgment. Based on. Where you are. And who you are. What you are. There's no. Kind of.

[10:13] Apologies. Going to make it any different. The judgment will be. Guilty. Or. You're pardoned. Receive his pardon. Now. Find his peace now.

[10:24] While you have the opportunity. Repent now. Trust now. Find the saviour now. And be diligent to be found of him. With peace. Find his peace.

[10:35] And. And without spot. So. Have. Not have anything. That you're going to be ashamed of. Get it right. If the sin. Get it right. Don't try to excuse it. Or hide it.

[10:46] His. His. His. His. His x-ray vision. Can see. Everything you're trying to hide. You know. And. In me. You know. He sees beyond. He sees deep. He sees deeper than your skin. Yeah. What's inside of you.

[10:57] He sees that. And. Be found. Of him. In peace. Without spot. And blameless. Have that integrity of heart. And it tells us here.

[11:07] Beloved. Seeing you look for such things. You look for that new heaven. You look for that new earth. You're looking for the saviour to come. Be found of him. And it says be diligent here.

[11:18] Notice that. Be diligent. Peter says. Be diligent. Be diligent. We talk about godliness being a lacking quality. Here's another one. That's lacking.

[11:29] Diligence. Diligence. What does the Bible say about doing things diligently? Now. The word diligent. It means. Hey. I'm going to be full on. I'm not going to be half.

[11:40] I'm not going to be kind of. Oh. Just easy going. I'm going to be full on. Diligent. It means. I'm going to be rock solid. Committed. Devoted. Strong.

[11:50] I'm going to be rock solid for God. It's not some wavering. Weak. Half hearted thing. It's being whole hearted. This word diligent.

[12:01] And the Bible speaks about being diligent quite a bit. These are just some short references. Some examples. Hearken diligently. It says. In other words.

[12:12] Listen diligently. To God's word. When he speaks. It's through this book. Amen. Hearken to it. Listen to it. He's talking. Amen. This is how he talks to you.

[12:23] Not like some spooky little. Oh. Some preacher says to us. Sayeth the Lord. And then. You know. Some. Oh. I've been to heaven. And God told me this. And God told me that about you. No. This is what God talks through.

[12:34] His Bible. The word of God. Speaks through the Bible. To your heart. Hearken diligently. Take. Hearken it. Hear it. Listen to it.

[12:45] Keep thy soul diligently. It says. It tells us. To teach the word diligently. It says. Teach these words. To your children. Fathers. That's what it says.

[12:58] It says. Fathers. Teach this diligently. To your children. That's you. Brothers. Fathers here today. Teach this book. Diligently. To your children. Deuteronomy 6.

[13:09] It tells us. Keep it diligently. It says. Do what God commands. Diligently. It says. Keep thy heart diligently. It says. Be diligent. In business. It says.

[13:22] Diligently. Obey God. It tells us. Diligently. Follow good works. Diligently. Seek after God. Diligently. Add to your faith. Now. We're a Bible believing church.

[13:34] That says. We are saved by faith. Plus nothing. Amen. Plus nothing. We believe God. Jesus says. Believe in me.

[13:44] And you shall be saved. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. And thou shalt be saved. Faith. Plus nothing. Saves you. Now. We don't leave it there though. No.

[13:55] Because as a Christian. We're to add to our faith. Amen. Add to your faith. Virgin. Amen. Add to your faith. Add to your faith. We don't leave it there. You know. It's interesting that. You know. Obviously it's talking about.

[14:06] When we're saved. That's the Christian life. When we're born again. When you become a Christian. You become a new creation. You're saved.

[14:17] He's taken away your sin. And you've got a guaranteed reservation. That he keeps for you. In heaven. But you see in 2 Peter 1.

[14:29] It says you shouldn't just leave it there. It talks about. Giving. All diligence it says. There's that word again. So be full on about this. Don't think.

[14:39] Oh I'm just going to get kind of casual Christian. I'm just a casual Christian. I'm a Christian when I can kind of. When I feel like it. When I get those. When I get feeling spiritual. I'll do something for God.

[14:52] No. It's saying diligently do this. Diligently do this. Diligently. Diligently. Giving all diligence. Add to your faith. Then it's got a whole list of other things.

[15:03] Add to your faith. Virtue. In other words. Be right. Live right. Add to your virtue. Knowledge. Learn. Grow. Increase your knowledge of God.

[15:14] To knowledge. Temperance. It talks about. Being sober. To temperance. Add patience. You know. Perseverance. To patience. Perseverance.

[15:25] Godliness. There's that word again. And to godliness. Brotherly kindness. To brotherly kindness. Charity or love. God. So. Get saved.

[15:36] Get faith. You're saved. But don't leave it there. Go on. Move on. Add to your faith. Add to your faith. Add to your faith. Add to your faith. Godliness. Diligently.

[15:48] Diligently make your calling and election sure. We read. So there's many verses that tell us about diligence. Look it up in your concordance. You know. If you've got a bible on your phone.

[16:00] Put in the word diligent. Have a search. Through your bible. The word diligent. Diligence. And there's blessings from diligence too. It says the diligent will be made. I think it says the diligent will be made fat.

[16:11] Doesn't it? So you know. God will bless you in other words. So be diligent that you may be found of him. Now. We're talking about godliness.

[16:22] How is it possible? We're seeing what it is. Why we need it. How? How can we get such a thing? It just seems so out there. This is something that's unachievable.

[16:33] It's unattainable. How can I get godly? Me and this flesh. And this vessel of clay. And all my faults and failings. And this shell. That is prone to sin.

[16:45] How is God's godliness possible in me? We see 2 Peter. Some more thoughts on this thing. Of godliness. He says grace and peace be multiplied unto you.

[16:58] This is 2 Peter 1. Through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. Grace and peace he says. Be multiplied. According to us his divine power.

[17:11] Godliness. Godliness. All things. That pertain unto life and godliness. Through the knowledge of him. That hath called us to glory and virtue.

[17:23] How is godliness possible? As his divine power. Has given it to us. All things. Everything.

[17:35] That we need. For life and godliness. Everything that we need to live this life. On this planet. While we have breath to breathe. And blood flowing in our veins. He's given us everything we need.

[17:46] To live. And. To live godly. He has given everything that we need. Through the knowledge of him. As you come to know Jesus as your Lord. And master.

[17:57] He'll give you everything that you need. To live godly. He'll give you all. The capacity. That you need. Because God is holy. God is holy.

[18:09] And he hates sin. And he wants the best for you. Which means to leave that. And to follow him. Now as Christians we still struggle with sin.

[18:19] But we don't excuse it. We don't go blatantly carrying on. When God points something out. When we get convicted. When his truth is clear to our hearts. We'll act upon it. And we'll appreciate the love of God.

[18:32] That bridge that gap. Between a holy God. And sinful man. Jesus bridged that gap. Didn't he? And the cross as he bridged that gap.

[18:42] From sinful man. To a holy God. He bridged that gap. And it wasn't man reaching up. As with other religions. Oh. I want to be holy. I'm going to try. I'm going to climb the ladder of good works.

[18:54] I'm going to climb that ladder. But oh. It's too short. The holy God is too far above. My very best efforts. It says that.

[19:06] We've all fallen short. Of the glory of God. The goodest thing. The best thing that you can do. The rung of that ladder. Is too short to reach that holy God.

[19:19] You can stand on the top of that rung. And reach higher. But the holy God is too far above. Any good that we can do. The difference with Christianity. Versus all other religions.

[19:31] Is it's not man reaching up. It's God reaching down. Isn't it? It's God reaching down. Coming down. Planting his feet on a solid ground. That is the planet earth.

[19:43] Coming in a flesh robed man. Coming as God. Manifest in the flesh. God coming down. Planting his feet on this planet. And reaching out.

[19:54] To reach us. To bleed and die. As the perfect sacrifice for us. That's Christianity. That makes it all so much different. From any religion that's reaching up.

[20:05] We should reach up. But our reaching is not enough. He will reach down. And save you. And take you. And love you.

[20:17] As the Father. The Heavenly Father. God is holy. And he bridges that gap. Between sinful man and the holy God. Remember. At one time.

[20:27] We were an object of his wrath. The Bible says we were an object. Of the wrath of God. We don't want to stay there. Do we? No. No. If you're outside of Christ today. You are an object of the wrath of God.

[20:40] Yeah. True. And his judgment is mighty. And awesome. Sure. And you don't want to be on that side of his judgment. You want to be on the safe side. You want to be on the side that says.

[20:51] I receive your pardon. You hear stories about some that are languishing in some horrible jail. And the judge, the king of the nation writes a letter of pardon.

[21:04] And someone goes and delivers it to the man behind prison bars. He says I don't believe it. And he doesn't receive it. He says no. You're just joking with me.

[21:15] This is just a joke. No. I just. They throw away the pardon. The letter of pardon. They don't receive it. Yeah. That's what some people do with Christianity.

[21:26] With Christ. With his message of salvation. They don't receive the pardon. So they don't receive the pardon. Simply receive the pardon. The grace of God. The grace of God.

[21:37] That's how it is possible. How salvation is possible. How godliness is possible. Simply receive it. Receive it. He gives us all things that pertain unto life and godliness.

[21:49] Paul tells Timothy. But refuse profane and old wise fables. And exercise thyself. Rather unto godliness. Exercise yourself.

[21:59] Rather unto godliness. Paul's saying here. Exercise yourself. Now some of you people. I know you're trim taught and terrific. You're down to the gym. Morning, noon and night. And you've got some big muscles.

[22:10] Even bigger than mine. And you discipline yourself. You go there and you follow a strict fitness regime. And a dietary regime. And you punish yourself to build that bulk.

[22:24] That muscle, muscular body of yours. But rather. How much more. How much more important it is. You know. You young fellas. Young women.

[22:35] You're so fit and healthy and strong. How much rather. To be fit and healthy and strong spiritually. How much rather. How much rather. To exercise yourself.

[22:47] Train yourself. Is the sense of it here. Train yourself. And notice here it says. Train yourself. Don't blame your church. Or your pastor. Or the. Don't blame somebody else.

[23:01] He's saying train yourself. Yourself. Make it your mission. In life. Young people especially. Older people. All of us.

[23:13] It's your responsibility. Not someone else's. Isn't it? Train yourself. To be godly. It means commitment. Daily exercise. Effort.

[23:24] And it takes coaching. You know. The coach that we have. Is our Lord Jesus. Ultimately. He coaches us. To be that. To be that athlete. That spiritual athlete.

[23:35] To inspire in us. Excellence. And he's the perfect role model. Isn't he? Our Lord Jesus. He's the perfect coach. To inspire excellence. To set high standards.

[23:46] And to correct faults. As I say. Some people are real fitness freaks. They're down at the gym. You know. Looking in the mirror at themselves. As they're. Doing their riding.

[23:56] Or walking. Or jumping. Or stretching. Or whatever. Or lifting. Or lifting. And what not. They're fitness freaks. But they neglect the real soul. What a shame.

[24:07] You can have the most perfect body. It might even be more perfect than mine. But yes. You can have a perfect body and go to hell. Wouldn't that be a shame? And as a Christian too.

[24:18] You can invest yourself in that. You might be a Christian. And investing yourself in so many things. Such as that. And missing. What really counts. What really matters.

[24:29] Spending all that time toning the muscles. And getting in shape. Physically. But in bad shape. Spiritually. God commends us. He commands us. To exercise thyself.

[24:41] Rather. Unto godliness. Rather do that. Train yourself. It's saying. Yourself. Train yourself. It says. As I say. Make it personal here.

[24:53] I'm going to. I'm going to obey that scripture. It says. Exercise thyself. Unto godliness. Get in shape spiritually. Train yourself. In the inner man. The spirit man.

[25:04] So what is this? Holiness. This godliness. All about. What is it? Someone has defined it like this. A 19th century. Scottish theologian. Said this. I quote. Holiness does not consist in.

[25:15] Mystic speculations. Enthusiastic fervors. Or uncommanded austerities. So in other words. It's not about. Getting some spooky feelings. Or some.

[25:25] You know. Really getting. G'd up. And really. You know. Like. You see down at the. You know. The motivational speaker rallies. You can. They do that too. You know. Down at. The Amway.

[25:36] Conference. You know. Not that I've been to one. But I've heard. You know. They get really g'd up. And. Oh. It's all about Amway. Praise Amway. Or whatever it is. Or. You know. Whatever the. The. The. The. The.

[25:47] The. The self-help. Motivational guru of the time. Wants to. G people up. It's not about that. It's not about uncommanded austerities. You know. Some people.

[25:57] Oh. I've got to flagellate myself today. I've got to flagellate myself. You know. Do that. Don't they. Some religions. They get this whip. And they. Flagellate themselves. Or. You know. You know. Some.

[26:07] You know. I believe it's Catholics. That. Go. Go up some great big huge flight of stony steps on their bare knees. And still their knees are bleeding.

[26:18] Or you see some religions where. They. They've got to crawl on. On rough ground. For. Long periods of time. Or. Or to fast until. They're at death's door.

[26:29] It's not about such things. Holiness. The quote goes on. Consists in thinking. As God thinks. And willing. As God wills.

[26:39] Thinking as God thinks. Willing as God's wills. So. It's. It's getting the word in you. It's getting the word in you. And look. People of God.

[26:50] I've got to tell you. A Sunday morning. Feed is not enough. Yeah. It's not enough. Tuesday and Thursday. It's not enough just going. To hear one sermon.

[27:01] Come through the week. Come through. And. At home. Come to the altar. At home. Get a feed of the word. There's daily bible reading guides.

[27:11] You can get. There's. There's good preaching. You can access on YouTube. On the. Through different. Media. There's ways you can get the word.

[27:22] Amen. Make it your purpose. To exercise yourself. Amen. Especially younger people. You know. Older people too. As a young man. You know. I used to listen to radio gospel programs.

[27:35] When I could tune into them. You know. I started to. Collect. Good Christian books. I tried to. Make copious notes.

[27:46] On lots of topics. And. Learn. Learn. Learn. Learn. Amen. Try to grow. Try to. Feed your soul. It's so important. It's so important. That you feed your soul.

[27:57] That you exercise yourself. And the Holy Spirit. Will help you with that training. With that learning. With that devotion. The Holy Spirit is our coach. In training us for godliness. And he upholds the highest standard.

[28:09] He trains us. He corrects us. He instructs us through the word of God. As we apply the truth of his word. To our lives. And again. That's the Christian.

[28:20] The difference with Christianity. This is not theoretical. This is reality. This is practical. And 1 Timothy 6.3. Paul tells Timothy. If any man teach otherwise.

[28:32] Something else. Consents not to wholesome words. Even the words of our Lord Jesus. And to the doctrine. Which is according to godliness. It says reject that. This is wholesome words.

[28:44] You know. Some of you have some wholesome breakfast cereal. This is wholesome for your soul. This is wholesome. It will do you good. And it talks about doctrine. Or teaching.

[28:55] Which is according to godliness. Now. When it's saying. Paul's saying here. There's a teaching. Which is according to godliness. It follows. That there's a teaching. That is not. According to godliness.

[29:05] We see that in so many circles today. In many. Sadly. Professing. Christian churches. Where there is a teaching. That is not. According to godliness.

[29:16] In fact. There's a lot of doctrine. These days. That is contrary. To godliness. And I saw some video clips lately. Of people talking about.

[29:26] God telling them this. Or god telling them that. And. And they get off track. It could be ever so subtly. But eventually. They're way off.

[29:37] It's like our brother. Nick tells me. You know. They set the compass. Just one percent out of sync. With true north. And. Before long. You're miles away. From where you're meant to be.

[29:47] And that's what happens. When we get off track. It follows then. This teaching. That is contrary to godliness. So let's be very careful. Of that too. When you're searching.

[29:58] For Christian teaching. When you're searching. For Christian material. When you're down at Curon. Avoid the top ten. Because. Their. Chances are. They're the worst.

[30:09] You know. Don't go with what's popular. You know. Sometimes the best Christian books. You can get. Are down at an op shop. Yes. When it's. But yeah. In our library. Hopefully. I'm sure. I'm sure.

[30:19] Shirley keeps a close watch. On what goes in the library. It's important. To be discerning. Because there's a lot of teaching. That is contrary. To godliness. And it takes practice.

[30:30] To apply. The training. That we need. To get into the word. To hear it. To study it. To read it. To learn it. Meditate. And memorise it. There's some other.

[30:42] So called. So called. Godliness. That we need to guard against. Some will pretend. Godliness. Paul tells Timothy. Some of them. Have a form of godliness. But denying the power thereof.

[30:53] From such. Turn away. You see some. You know. It's all. Very. Stiff. And starchy. And. Ritual. And. And mantras.

[31:05] And. Even talking in latin. And. And. Having. Smoke. Blown over them. And. And. You know. Gibberish. Or. Or. Mumbo jumbo.

[31:16] That you can't understand. What they're going on about. Or just. Just some really flaky stuff. Where. Oh yeah. Come on. The signs. Wonders and miracles. But it's not biblical.

[31:26] It's not. It's not bible. It's just. A form of godliness. But it's not the real power of god. Yeah. The power of god. Is the gospel. It's the power of god unto salvation.

[31:37] Yeah. To everyone that believes. Some will pretend godliness. Another danger is. Lukewarmness as well. Pretenders. They think they belong to christ. But they are deceived. Some will know the bible.

[31:48] They'll sing the songs. They'll talk the christian lingo. But they're not saved. Yes. This never happened. That's right. And god calls us to be faithful. Not lukewarm.

[31:59] And not lying. Either. There's another danger of. Fake godliness. In 1 John 1.6. Where some say. Oh I've got fellowship with god. But they're walking in darkness.

[32:10] That's right. And they're lying. That's right. They do not the truth. Some people claim that they walk. With god. But they're walking in the darkness. You know. Look. You can't be at church Sunday.

[32:21] And then. Down at the club. Monday. That's right. It's darkness. We don't walk there. No. We don't go there. If you're saying that you're walking with god. That you have fellowship with him.

[32:32] But you're walking in the darkness. You're a liar. You're a liar. And you do not the truth. They do not live by the truth. So. You can't fake it. It's got to be real.

[32:43] Real with god. True. Get real with god. And it takes commitment. Peter says in 1 Peter 2. Dearly beloved. I besiege you as strangers and pilgrims. Hey. We don't belong here. We're not Aussies.

[32:55] True. We're saints of god. Amen. We're Christians. Amen. Our loyalty. Our affirmation is not to this land. Right. Amen. Family nation.

[33:07] Not to this nation. Not to this government. No. We still want to live as good citizens of this country. But we're just passing through. This is temporary. We're strangers here.

[33:18] We're going for another country. The better country. The bog tells of heaven. And for the meantime we abstain from fleshly lust. It takes a determination to abstain. To abstain says no.

[33:32] Learn to say no. Learn that. Simply that. To say no. Abstain from fleshly lust. It's war against the soul. Some Christians never learn to say no.

[33:44] They're still kind of in this kind of half-heartedness. Don't walk in darkness. Abstain. Say no. It tells in the word when sinners say come and join us.

[33:57] It says consent thou not. Don't agree to it. I do not consent. I say no. Learn to say no. Learn to abstain. Because sin is against you.

[34:08] It's against you. And Christian brother, Christian sister, we're not immune to it. It's a war and it's on now and we're in it. And it's a war against you. This is a fact.

[34:18] You are in a struggle. You are in a fight against sin. And if you're not engaged in a battle against sin, then something is wrong. Amen. It's actually a good thing when, you know, I hear some people, I was in some exchange with someone lately saying, look, I'm doing all these bad things.

[34:35] I mustn't be a Christian. Well, actually, if you're feeling like you're concerned about sin, you're concerned about the struggle that's fighting within you, I mean, chances are it's God actually convicting you as a Christian.

[34:51] But, okay, it's not right for you to stay there. So get out of that. Sometimes it's actually God stirring you. If you didn't have a concern about sin, I'd be more concerned about your Christianity then.

[35:06] Really, you know. Because we should be in this unbending, unwavering, unceasing hostility against sin. And we must hate sin as the enemy of our souls and do everything in our power to eradicate it.

[35:21] And it is an ongoing battle. It's a struggle, as Paul said. There's evil in me, he said. Evil dwelling in me. That's Paul. The best of the Christians, you could say.

[35:33] He said, it's a daily fight for me. And there is that cross, that cross of godliness. Paul says again to Timothy, yes, he says.

[35:44] All who will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. He's saying, okay, you want to live godly? Get ready for some persecution. There's a cost here, there's a cross here.

[35:57] Whilst there is a cost though, there's a holy joy. I read this quote here, it says that this joy that we have is the hallmark of holy obedience. This ministry of self-surrender.

[36:10] It's not some silly, superficial, bubbly kind of joy. It's a deep, resonant joy that's been shaped and tempered by the fires of suffering and sorrow.

[36:22] Joy through the cross. Joy because of the cross. As a Christian, even as a Christian going through affliction and being battered by the winds of tests and trials and hatred against you and all manner of evil that you've got to battle through.

[36:41] Even through every storm that you face through your life. You can have a deep down joy that goes beyond all of that, can't you? Even beyond. Because the joy that we have is not dependent on circumstance.

[36:56] And the joy that we have is knowing we'll soon be with our Saviour. We'll soon be with you. And it will all be worth it. The cross before the crown. Isn't it?

[37:07] But know that the Lord has set apart him that is godly for himself. You're set apart. As God's dear children. You've got such a special place in the heart of God.

[37:20] You're so dear to his heart. You that know him today. He tells you that you are set apart for him. He's set you apart in that special calling. For the meantime then, follow peace with all men and holiness without which no man shall see the Lord.

[37:38] He says, follow after this. Follow after this holiness. He says, let it be your aim. Now one day there was a preacher talking to some little tackers and it was a bit of a poor village.

[37:52] And the preacher said, what is holiness? And one of the little urchins put his hand up and he was kind of in tantal ranks, this poor little boy. And he gave a very good answer.

[38:03] He says, please sir, it is to be clean inside. That's holiness. It is to be clean inside, isn't it? Are you clean inside?

[38:15] Do you pursue holiness? Really? Pursue it? Someone has said to desire something and to pursue something are very different. To pursue means to intensely desire it.

[38:32] To pursue it. It means it takes work, it takes diligence, it takes application. God tells you to pursue this, follow this, chase after this holiness. Make it your all-consuming desire to please God.

[38:45] To pursue that above anything else. And holiness is what God is all about. He says, be ye holy even as I am. Holy. It's about finding God's best and living it.

[39:00] Doing what Jesus would do. Living with love and grace. And as someone said, our faith is genuine because it produces holiness. How is our heart, our life?

[39:14] He that says he abides in Jesus, ought himself so to walk even as Jesus walked. It's Christ-likeness. Godliness means God-likeness.

[39:27] It means we're going to be like Jesus. Now, I've known some of you for some time and I think some of you are more like Jesus than when I first met you.

[39:37] That's what we should be. That's what we should be, isn't it? We should be going that way, not the other way. More like Jesus. Day by day. Having new desires. New values. Being a partaker of his holiness, it tells us.

[39:51] True. And our holiness is our lives set apart for him. People here today, let me urge you with this vital plea here today.

[40:08] You might be hearing all of this and say, okay, I'm going to try to be more godly. It's not about you trying to be more godly. First, are you saved? Get saved.

[40:21] Get saved. It's not about trying to be good, trying to be godly, trying, trying, trying. It's about trusting. Trusting.

[40:32] Trusting. It's not about doing, doing, doing. It's about done. It is finished. At the cross. It's about believing Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, receiving his free gift.

[40:44] Your pardon. Receive it. Receive it. And step outside of those prison bars. I'm free. Because he has set me free. The pardon has been written by my king.

[40:56] And it's written in blood. Jesus just paid it all for your saving. And then, as newly saved, that's the Christian life.

[41:06] The next stage is Christian living. Christian living. I'm going to live godly. I'm going to live to please my Lord. Because he has done so much for me.

[41:17] I want to please him. I want to live right. And his grace will help you. Let me close again with these words again. With which we started. It says, For the grace of God, which bringeth salvation, hath appeared to all men.

[41:32] Teaching us. Here's the teaching. It's God's teaching. That denying. Say no. Denying. Abstain. Denying ungodliness and worldly lust.

[41:45] We should rather live soberly, righteously and godly. In this present world. Be sober. Be righteous. Be godly. Looking for that blessed hope.

[41:58] Jesus is coming. Get ready. Get ready. You know, it's like some, I think I saw a quote of a bumper sticker that said, Jesus is coming.

[42:09] Look busy. Some people are like that in the workplace, aren't they? I work with people like that. You know, they're there on their iPhones. Oh, the boss is coming.

[42:19] I look like I'm doing some work. You know, they look like they're slacking off. Oh, look busy. The boss is coming. Look busy. Oh, look like you're doing some work. No, I'm not saying that.

[42:30] Don't have that kind of attitude. Like, you only look busy when you think Jesus is coming. Because at any moment, Jesus is coming. Amen. At any moment, Jesus is coming. So, be busy for God.

[42:42] Look for that blessed hope. Jesus is coming. Our great God and Saviour, who gave himself for us. That he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify.

[42:54] Make him pure. Pure. Unto him. A peculiar people. Sell us of good works. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you for that great love gift of Calvary.

[43:06] Lord, that on that rugged cross, you poured out your life's blood. That there you paid the price, the awesome price of our saving. If only we will believe.

[43:17] We pray each one will be a receiver of that pardon. Not a rejecter of it. Lord, help us to be such that the grace of God will teach us more and more. Day by day, moment by moment.

[43:29] That your grace, the grace of God, will teach us, will lead us, will strengthen us, will help us to live right. Will train us, will discipline us, will chasten us, will lead us.

[43:40] And we'll find that holy joy. We'll find that blessing within. We'll find that shaping, that transforming work by your Spirit's power. As you continue to make us more and more like our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

[43:53] In his name we pray. Amen.