What am I to?

[0:00] Thanks, everybody. Let's go to Romans 12. Romans chapter 12, bear with me.

[0:26] What does God want me to do? What am I to do? We all face decisions and choices in life. What am I to do?

[0:37] We're all faced with choices we have to make. Decisions. Could be decisions about education, about what job we choose, what career, where we live, marriage, such things.

[0:52] What am I to do? Better yet, to ask, what does God want me to do? What's God's best for me to do? And I like to reflect on these things we see here.

[1:04] The word of God, the will of God, the wisdom of God, and the way of God. What is God's best for me? And through life, I know for myself, I might have made some hasty choices.

[1:17] I know I haven't always asked God what he wants, let alone talk to my wife at times, and when I've made decisions about relocating and applying for jobs that took us to other places in this nation.

[1:29] And I haven't always prayed. I haven't always really sought after the Lord. What was God's best for me? And maybe I missed that along the way, but hopefully God, I'm sure God worked in my life, despite my lack of prayerfulness, my lack of really seeking him for what his will is.

[1:44] But what is God's best for me is an ultimate question, isn't it? It's a critical question. You may think after this sermon is done that I'm being legalistic, that I am being too strong with you, maybe having a go at you.

[1:57] You might get mad at me. You might think, I'm offended. I'm not coming anymore. This church is too legalistic. That's putting people under bondage. That's too hard. But I have to tell you the truth, the truth.

[2:11] God helping me as I seek to proclaim it. And someone asked me just today, actually, shall I go to the Uniting Church that's nearby because it's closer and it's much easier for me to get there?

[2:25] It's a valid question, isn't it? What am I to do? What am I to do? Maybe you could ask yourself when it's time for a meeting, even though you know you could be there, you think of some excuse like, oh, I think it's too cold for me today.

[2:41] It might rain. I'm feeling tired. Shall I just skip church? What am I to do? What am I to do? When you're down the shop and, ladies, it's time to buy something new, to wear a new outfit, do you stop and ask yourself, is that too skimpy?

[2:58] Is that too revealing? Is that something that is maybe a unisex item instead of something that's distinctly feminine? Is that modest? Does that show my cleavage?

[3:09] I don't have to worry about that myself. But does that honour my Lord? If not, I will not even consider buying it. And I know some might even fail to consider when I, maybe I should look through my wardrobe and throw out any items that fail that test.

[3:30] And I know there's a woman in this church who has made that decision. One young woman, bless her heart, determined to do just that. Does it honour my Lord? And she threw some things out that were in her wardrobe.

[3:43] She actually considered, what is God's best for me? It's all about choices, isn't it? Choices we make. How about asking ourselves, do we harbour unforgiveness and bitterness against someone?

[3:56] Sure enough, we may clearly see, oh, that obvious splinter in that person's eye. That obvious piece of word, that splinter. And if we look critically enough, we can see that splinter hanging out of our brother's eye.

[4:10] Yet we fail to see our own fault, don't we, so easily. Do we whisper that gossip that sounds so juicy and so that discord because we just have to make our point when we could just as easily have come with a heart to love, to pray, to care, to edify one another, with that heart, with the heart of Christ.

[4:31] Do we even enter into some gossip or do we say, actually, I don't need to hear this? We don't actually receive the gossip in the start of it. What am I to do?

[4:42] What am I to do? Do we consider when we're offered choices about a job, maybe there's a shift we could take that's on the Sunday where we could make some money?

[4:54] It's quite attractive. If we've got the choice, even though it's quite attractive, do we say, actually, no. That's going to stop me from taking my family to church.

[5:08] That's going to stop me from getting some good fellowship. Do I do what's important for my soul? What am I to do? When my child takes up a sport, do I try to help them choose a team that plays maybe on a Saturday instead of a Sunday so they don't get out of the habit of attending church?

[5:31] One man in this church did just that. He made that decision. I'm going to encourage my boy to play the sport on a Saturday, not to join a team that plays on a Sunday because he counted it as too important for his son to miss church, the fellowship, the habit of being in church, of attending fellowship.

[5:50] What am I to do? Do I think about the Sunday night meeting or whatever meeting and I think, well, the nights are darker now. It's getting colder.

[6:00] I'd much rather stay home where I'm comfortable. I can just sit back and kick back and watch the telly. If we can be there, why aren't we? What am I to do?

[6:12] Do we hear the still, small voice of God stirring us up to do some good work, to do something good for Christ? But we don't do it because it means putting ourselves out. It will mean it will cost something.

[6:24] We might actually have to put our hand in our pocket, spend some time, some energy, forfeit some work or give something that we could have spent on ourselves. It will be inconvenient.

[6:36] It would be much easier to be selfish, wouldn't it? Much easier to do nothing. If you do something for God, you might get criticised even for that. People don't think, people might still criticise you when you actually do something for God.

[6:51] Much easier to say, I'm not going to get hurt. I'm not going to do anything. I'm just going to hide in my shell. I want to stir you this morning to consider these things. Honestly, consider these things before your Lord.

[7:04] The best thing that we can do with our life is to yield it unto him, to yield it over to God, to find and to do God's will. How can we know his will? The will of God.

[7:14] The will of God, it matters. It matters, the will of God. The will of God, it's revealed to us through his word. What is it? It's why he's made us. For this purpose, we've been created.

[7:27] It's the highest and greatest ultimate. And the biggest question for us is, what is God's will for me? What does God want for me? What's God's will for my life?

[7:38] The essential thing is to know, really, number one, that you have eternal life. That's the starting. To know that you have, as he offers it, abundant life. That you've received his gift and he gives you new life.

[7:51] He gives you peace in your soul. A joy beyond compare. Not found in this world, but a joy to know your creator. Who's made you. He's designed you. You find your fulfillment there, in him.

[8:03] And our Lord calls us to this, to present ourselves as living sacrifices. As the word tells us in Romans 12, from verse 1. He will renew our mind.

[8:14] He will transform our lives. I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

[8:27] Present yourselves. And be not, not conformed. Not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing, the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

[8:42] What is God's will? Give yourselves as a living sacrifice, in personal surrender to God and to his will, as the first and foremost, as the best, his best for you.

[8:54] His word can train you. It can prepare you for service, for his work, in whatever capacity he enables you to. As God's dear people, we will want to please our Lord.

[9:07] And as believers, we can know that joy, that great deep joy of finding and doing his will. And it says that God's will is contrasted to the things of the world.

[9:19] There's a contrast. There's polar opposites. What the world and the love of the world is and what the will of God for us is. In 1 John 2, We must let go of the world.

[9:31] Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

[9:50] And the world passeth away and the lust thereof, but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever. It's something that is of the world, then chances are it's not of God.

[10:06] Chances are it is not the will of God for you if it is of the world. Do you want something that matters, that counts, that abides, that goes forever, is eternal in quality?

[10:17] Or will we settle for the empty and vain things that pass away, the things of the world? What is God's will that matters? The will of God that it can be summed up as Christ in you and you in Christ.

[10:30] That's our message, our mission. Christ in you. Paul wanted Christ to be formed in the people he was preaching to. To the Colossians, he says in Colossians 1, in part from verse 27, he tells of the riches of his glory, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

[10:46] Whom we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.

[10:58] And Paul says, Whereunto I labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily. Christ wants every man perfect in Christ. Wow, that sounds out of this world, doesn't it?

[11:10] Perfect in Christ. And that's what God wants us to seek after, God's perfect will, the perfect will of God. That every man can know what it is to be perfect.

[11:22] Made whole, it means, in Christ. Without Christ, we haven't been made whole. There's this empty space that only he can fill.

[11:34] Perfect in Christ. In other words, made whole. Not half-hearted and lukewarm, but whole-hearted. Whole-hearted. And that doesn't come by the pastor brow-beating you or bashing you.

[11:48] I know someone bashed a spider with a Bible this morning. You know, I don't go around and bash people with a Bible. But God helping me, I pray you'll be stirred up in a good way, in a godly way, to be whole-hearted, whole-hearted.

[12:03] There's a fullness there. There's a wholeness there in Christ. We are made complete in him, it tells us. And without him, we are incomplete. The Lord wants your whole heart. Brother, sister today, yield it unto him as a living sacrifice.

[12:17] He tells, Paul tells of warning, every man, warning. There's need of warning. Now, warning can be hard, can be hard for a preacher to warn you, let alone you warn one another as brothers and sisters.

[12:28] But yet there is a need for warning. Warning. Warning people. You know, the road's out ahead. Don't go any further. The road's out. You're going to crash. There's need of warning.

[12:40] There's warning when, you know, not that you should flash your lights when you're speeding about the speed trap down the road, but you want to warn people.

[12:50] Hey, slow down. Warn people. Warn people. Warning people can be hard, though, can't it? When you're warning someone about something, that means a change in them. Our world wants tolerance.

[13:02] People want to hear just what is positive. Oh, don't tell me anything negative. I just want to have everything just warm and fuzzy. And some will want to stay in their carnality, in backsliding, in unfaithfulness, in sin, in bitterness, in error.

[13:17] They're comfortable there. Don't rock the boat. I'm just having a pity party and only I'm invited. But sometimes there's a need for warning. God gives us a need for warning.

[13:28] Warning that will help us. Warning that will lift us. Warning that will edify us. Warning that will build us up. And rebuke. There's need for that. Our Lord warns the lukewarm and the wayward.

[13:39] He warns of a little leaven. He says, don't even have a teensy, weency, oh, just a teensy, weensy bit of leaven. No, not a little leaven, not any leaven. And this need to say, in leaven it's a symbol of false teaching or it can be a symbol of hypocrisy and such.

[13:57] Remove that. Remove it. Take action. He calls us to truth, to action. There's warning, needful warning. And so may we love our Bibles.

[14:08] May we love fellowship. May we apply its truths in our lives. May we leave off worldliness. May husbands love their wives and train their children. May wives honour their husbands and be keepers at the home.

[14:22] May we not take the ways of the world in terms of immodest fashions and worldly thinking. God calls us to put his business ahead of our own business.

[14:33] What is it that's good for your soul? That's what counts. Make it your priority. Make that your priority. You know, as a younger man, I could have taken a certain track. I had offers of university study.

[14:44] I could have gone and chosen some profession. But at the time, I chose to go to Bible school. I thought, you know, it wasn't really a choice made about economic decisions or about career prospects.

[14:57] And thanks to my parents' support, I did that Bible course. And we can make choices in our life, can't we? From a young age, from an early age, and from a later age. We can say, how am I going to redirect my life?

[15:09] I'm going to actually make God my priority. What are the choices that I make? Do I choose what's easier? What's more for my gain? For my own comfort? Or do I stink?

[15:20] What is God's will for me? I urge you to keep your heart, your mind, your spirit right. Keep thy heart, it says, with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life. Guard your heart.

[15:31] You know, don't follow your heart, as in every women fancy that you might have of flesh. But guard your heart. Make it that God is in control of your heart.

[15:43] That God is at the centre of your heart. Don't mistake your will for the Lord's will. Sometimes they clash, don't they? Sometimes we have to take a step back and check, am I truly exercising the mind of Christ?

[15:57] Or is it just my will, my mind? Ask yourself, if I put to you today, without you getting offended at me, is my carnality showing? Is that my pride talking?

[16:10] Is it my ego that is driving me and not the spirit of God? Is my heart right? Is there something I have not surrendered yet? Present your body, so living sacrifice, that's from the head to the toe and everything in between.

[16:27] Present yourselves, living sacrifices. Is there an idol I've not yet torn from my heart? Is there an area of my life I've not yet yielded unto him? Is my flesh not yet crucified in some way?

[16:40] Keep your heart right. Keep sweet. What is the Lord dealing with us about? Am I resisting the spirit of God? It talks about warning.

[16:51] It talks about teaching every man in all wisdom. In all wisdom. Leads us to the next question. How can we get wisdom? Talked about the will of God.

[17:02] And these are all kind of tied together really. They're not necessarily distinct, but they're complementary. We talked about the will of God. Now look at the wisdom of God. And how can we get wisdom?

[17:13] Again, the wisdom of God is revealed through his word. The wisdom of God. How can I decide wisely? How can I be a wise man? How can I be a wise woman in my life decisions?

[17:24] It's God's word that gives us wisdom. It's God's word that gives us the right world for you. It's not any pattern of life or of tradition or of your own learning or experience.

[17:39] It's the word that should lead. And we know that the Lord Jesus himself, he's called the wisdom of God. It's one of his names. Jesus is the word.

[17:52] And he himself is the wisdom of God. And brothers and sisters today, it's through the Bible, we can know the wisdom of God. We can make wise decisions. The Bible shows us how to live rightfully, wisely, practically in the present.

[18:07] And reveals for us the future, what lies ahead. The decisions we yet face. We can use the word of God. Help us to have right thinking instead of wrong thinking. And right choices instead of going the wrong way.

[18:20] In every area of our lives. So I urge you on this point to seek after the wisdom of God. Be strong in his word. Seek after the word of God.

[18:33] Seek to engage with it. Seek to receive it. You know, you can, when you're driving or on the bus to work, you can tune in. You can play the word of God in your audio.

[18:45] You can get the word and let it sink in. Let it fill your heart, your mind, your thinking. I urge you to be strong in the word of God.

[18:57] This is where it starts. It tells us, Paul wrote to the Colossians in Colossians 3.16. He says, let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

[19:14] Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly. Let it be something that's rich. That's a deposit. That's a treasure. That's, there's a richness there. Without his word, we're missing out.

[19:26] And this is where we find the wisdom of God, in his word. You know, the Bible tells of a time where people would be destroyed for the lack of knowledge. There's a lot of that going on, isn't there? A real danger of false doctrine.

[19:39] And yet, we must yearn to know God's word. That his word dwell in you richly, richly. Make it your decision today, I pray. That there'll be a richness in that wisdom of God, the study of his word.

[19:52] That taking in of God's truth. How we need wisdom. In a world where our politicians that guide us are making often unwise decisions, let's face it.

[20:04] Ungodly decisions. Or intending to. And so we need to be alert to this. There's a deep apostasy the Lord forewarns us of. And we're to draw close, as we draw closer to the return of Christ, we see there's a greater spiritual danger.

[20:20] There's a more falling away. There's greater need for vigilance against danger. We have much need of godly wisdom and discern some things. And the Bible tells us judge everything.

[20:33] And some people say, oh, don't judge me. Don't judge anything. The Bible says judge everything. Everything by scripture. Now that's the sense of, is it right or wrong?

[20:44] Is it discerning truth from error? Is it darkness? Is it light? Is it the wisdom of God or is it the foolishness of the world? What is wise counsel when I'm making God helping me wise decisions in my life?

[20:58] We read that it says abstain from all appearance of evil. So if it's doubtful, don't. The wisdom of God, it's relevant for how we go about our daily lives.

[21:09] It tells us how to live. And it shows us how to behave. In the house of God, it says, Paul writes to Timothy, he wanted him to know how he ought to behave. We ought to believe and then we ought to behave.

[21:23] How we ought to live. How we ought to act. How we should be. Behave in the house of God, which is the church of the living God. The pillar and ground of the truth.

[21:34] Now the house of God here, it's not talking about a physical house of bricks and mortar and cement. It's talking about a physical, not a physical house that is built, but it's talking about God's household.

[21:45] God's family. You know, we're amongst friends here this morning, but more so we're amongst brothers and sisters. That's even more precious, isn't it? My brother, my sister, from whatever nation or culture or tongue or tribe or kindred, we're all made one.

[22:02] One God. God blessed family. That's what he wants this church to be. And we're meant to function as a family. Hopefully not a dysfunctional family, but as a loving family.

[22:16] When we have brotherly love and cohesion. And what is the basis of this family, this family unit of God? Truth. It's truth. It's founded there. It's the pillar and it's the ground of truth.

[22:28] So it's got the structure and it's got the foundation of truth. God's word helps us to love one another, to have spiritual understanding, to forbear one another in love.

[22:40] You know, there's times that I disagree even with myself sometimes, let alone you lot. You know, I have, I changed my mind, this and that. And, you know, I have trouble with myself, let alone other people.

[22:52] But we should forbear one another in love, shouldn't we? We should grow together. We should have the grace of God together for one another. And here's how we can know right from wrong God's word.

[23:03] This is the standard. This is what sets the standard. And this is where we can hear his voice. It tells us, our Lord says, My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me. My sheep hear my voice.

[23:15] So we know there's many voices crying for our attention. How do we know which one is of God? Who is of God? What is of God? We have to tune in and tune out. Tune in to God and tune out to the world.

[23:27] Now, sometimes there's a reception problem. You ever had that? There's a bit of static and a bit of interference and there's these conflicting voices. There's all this noise and you say things like, I'm losing you.

[23:39] I'm losing you. There's a problem with the reception. There's a problem with the signal. I can't hear you. I can't hear you. Speak a bit louder. You know, and you get that reception problems. Sometimes we get that with God, don't we?

[23:51] A reception problem. We can't hear God. There's too much noise. There's too much interference. And we need to make a deliberate effort to receive his transmission. The word of God is the master's voice.

[24:03] The word of God. Not some man claiming to be speaking God's word, but the unadulterated, uncompromising, faithful word of God.

[24:15] The word of God. We hear his voice. It's hearing the message. It's hearing the Bible. It's tuning into the voice of God. The very message of God. And here is where we get the clear reception of that message.

[24:26] We have need of much wisdom. Brothers and sisters, the Bible tells us of the need to try the spirit. There's much error and it's rampant. You know, it sickens me to see that which people tune into in terms of error.

[24:43] That is overwhelming. It's across the skyways, the airwaves, the video. Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits, whether they are of God.

[24:56] Because many false prophets have gone out into the world. There's much need of spiritual danger. So we must have a warning. We must have a caution. There's false teachers.

[25:07] There's false teachings. There's false doctrines. And there's threats of deception. And how can we safeguard? By having the word of God. He that is of God heareth God's words.

[25:18] Do we love God's words? Do we hear God's words? John 8, 47. John 14, 23. Our Lord says, if a man love me, he will keep my words. May we commit to keep his words, Christ's words, to keep them, to treasure them, to love them.

[25:35] Store them up in your heart. Write them down and read them to yourself. Read the Bible to yourself. Write, as I've mentioned numbers of times, but you can write little cards, write verses out and have them so you can turn to them.

[25:50] When you're at the stop sign, you can't look at your phone, but you can look at the scripture, can't you? You can look at the scripture verse and read it to yourself, recite it to yourself, hide it in your heart like the Bible commands us to.

[26:02] Treasure up the word in your heart. Peter said that scripture is a light in a dark place. Surely this world is darkening. It's dark and it's getting darker, ever darker. And the light will take the shadows away.

[26:14] The Bible calls itself the light. It's a light for our path, a light unto our way. And the Bible tells us it's a more sure word of prophecy. Where unto you do well that you take heed.

[26:25] It's like a light that shines in a dark place. Until the day dawn and the day star arise in your hearts. He turns the light bulb on. When we say it, the light goes on. The light goes on.

[26:36] As it were, the light bulb moment. The light goes on in our mind, in our heart, in our soul. He dispels the darkness and we can truly see. We can see clearly now. We want to take heed to this light.

[26:49] Take heed to it. You do well to take heed to the word of God. To walk in his ways. The will of God is revealed through his word. The wisdom of God is revealed through his word.

[27:02] And thirdly, we see, excuse me, that I should say the way of God. The way of God is that which God reveals to us.

[27:13] The will of God, the wisdom of God, and the way of God. We see in Deuteronomy 10, Israel was told, What doth the Lord require of thee?

[27:24] But to fear the Lord thy God. To walk in all his ways. And to love him. And to serve the Lord thy God. With all thy heart and with all thy soul.

[27:38] We're told to walk in his ways. All his ways. It's like we come to the crossroads. In life, you come to that place. You come to that decision point. What am I to do?

[27:50] The will of God. The wisdom of God. The way of God. You come to the crossroads. There's a fork in the road. What will I do? Will I determine to go God's way?

[28:03] The Bible says, We seek ye the Lord while he may be found. Call upon him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way. And the unrighteous man his thoughts. And let him return unto the Lord.

[28:13] And he will have mercy unto our God. For he will abundantly pardon. And then the Lord says, For my thoughts are not your thoughts. Neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways.

[28:27] And my thoughts than your thoughts. You know, it's easy to go our own way. You know, like the singer says, I did it my way. We all like to sing that occasionally, don't we?

[28:41] You know, we say my way or the highway. But it should be God's way, shouldn't it? It should be God's way, not our way. Because our thoughts, our ways are falling short, aren't they?

[28:54] How can we find God's way? God's way. Of course, the Lord Jesus says, I am the way. There is no other way. And in his mighty word, we can find true blessing. I urge you today to contemplate these things.

[29:08] What direction will we take? What way will we walk? It tells us that happy is the man who finds wisdom. And it goes on to say, Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.

[29:22] Proverbs 3, 17. The way of God. There's pleasantness, there's peace there. Now, there's still challenge, there's still tests and trials. We know we'll still face hardship and difficulty through life, as is the lot of every one of us.

[29:40] Yet we have a way to walk that is set by God. He's established the way. He wants us to walk in his truth. And in practical day-to-day, he helps us through the day-to-day decisions of life.

[29:51] So we make good choices. And he wants to help us when the rubber hits the road, when we're facing real life, and we're facing the hardships and the discouragements, the setbacks, that we can still keep on the right way, on God's way.

[30:08] And we can put our Christianity into action. The Lord calls us to walk in his ways. It says, Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

[30:22] But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that bringeth forth his fruit in his seas, and his sleep also shall not wither, and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

[30:37] The Bible tells us there's a delighting, there's a way, and we're not walking in the way of the ungodly. We've left that road long ago. God helping us, as much as we keep kind of having a look over there, and I think might go the wrong way now and again.

[30:52] But God helping us, we want to go not in the way of the ungodly, but we want to go God's way. We want to choose God's way, the right way. We'll measure everything by God's word, that we'll have a discernment, because we're meditating in his word, day and night, day and night.

[31:06] It's talking about a daily, a nightly, meditating. Let the word dwell in you richly. You know, how can it, unless we take it in? And you know, God helping me, I need to spend more time with the word of God.

[31:19] Don't walk in the way of sinners, walk in the way of the Lord, and delight in his word. Take time to read it, to study it, to meditate on it, day and night. May we truly delight in it, to love the word of God.

[31:31] May it be our treasure, more necessary than our daily food, that we truly love it, and yearn for it, that we develop a knowledge of it. You know, God's wisdom is here, in this library, 66 books.

[31:46] You know, people might know, I like books, but there's one book, there's a whole library in one. Amen? The word of God, isn't it? A library of 66 books.

[31:56] And when we treasure his word, as we delight in it, he'll give us wisdom and discernment. He'll guide us in the way of spiritual protection, the way of blessing, and we'll know true fruitfulness. The child of God, is to love the word of God.

[32:10] Treasure it, take it to heart, value it above fine gold, above honey. Now, I like honey, I'm married to a honey, but I like honey as well.

[32:22] I like honey. And it's very sweet. But the Bible says that the word of God is sweeter than honey, and the honeycomb. Amen? Sweeter than honey, and the honeycomb.

[32:33] It's more to be desired than gold. Now, what are you chasing gold for? What are you chasing gold for? This is better than gold. This is much better than gold. Much more to be desired than gold.

[32:45] And we're called to love the truth. To have in our hands, this absolute standard of truth. The word of truth. The word of God is truth. As the Lord says, this is the truth. Thy word is truth.

[32:57] And he says, the scripture cannot be broken. You can't break this thing. It's unbreakable. Amen? The Bible is unbreakable. It cannot be broken. Men have tried to break it, to attack it, to undermine it, to vilify it, to cast doubt on it, but the scripture cannot, cannot, cannot be broken.

[33:17] It is unbreakable. It is true and trustworthy from cover to cover. It is correct and authoritative in every point. And in the Bible, you see God.

[33:27] You see him on every page, in every verse, his person, his character, his love, his holiness, his majesty, his peace, his salvation. May we study our Bibles with this in mind.

[33:40] The way of God. The way of God is to walk in the light. It tells us, have no fellowship. Zero. Fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness.

[33:52] Don't toy with the darkness. Rather, reprove it. Stand against it. Oppose it. Let's not go off on the byways, but stay on the right track. And we're called to shine forth, show forth his praises.

[34:06] He who has called us out of darkness. We're not there anymore. To call, to be showing forth his praises. The one who has called us out of darkness into his marvellous light.

[34:17] There's no comparison. It's darkness and light. That's the difference. And I've been encouraged to hear some good testimonies of men and women in this church that they're getting straightened out.

[34:31] God's straightening them out. God's dealing with them and God's working in them and there's a change. Thank God for you. Sister, thank God for you.

[34:42] There's a change. God's working in your heart. People are noticing that. People are saying, oh, have you seen so-and-so? She's changed. God's doing her work. Wow. That's what we want to see, isn't it? Life's changed out of darkness into his marvellous light.

[34:56] God can do it. He has done it. He is doing it and he will do it. He's calling people out. He's saving. He's rescuing. He's transforming out of darkness into his light.

[35:06] And we can learn to find the way of God, to think biblically that God's word will bring us light. It says, the entrance of thy words giveth light.

[35:17] It giveth understanding unto the simple. Psalm 119. Read that one about the word of God. Jam-packed with blessings about the word of God, what it means for us. Friends, what is the way of God for our life?

[35:31] It's a big question. When we come to the crossroads, which way are we going to go? I mentioned this before that I sometimes, when I come to a T-junction, I kind of get all sweaty and I think, which way?

[35:42] Which way? But thankfully, my wife tells me which way to go. But thankfully, the word of God tells us which way to go, doesn't it? It tells us the way to go. When we come to the crossroads, when we come to the T-junction, he tells us what is right and what is wrong.

[35:57] He gives us the right choices. And friends, it's about rejecting the wrong choices. The psalmist cried, I esteem thy precepts, all thy precepts concerning all things to be right and I hate every false way.

[36:10] There's a place for hatred, to hate false ways, to hate false doctrine. Now that might sound a bit strong, a bit legalistic. Oh, you're being a bit intolerant, pastor.

[36:21] The Bible says, I hate every false way. That's important to do. In other words, we reject it. We don't reject the person. You know, we've met some Jehovah's Witnesses when we've been out there talking to people.

[36:35] There's people with all kinds of wacko ideas out there. We don't hate the person, but we hate the false doctrine. We hate the false religion. And the Bible says, reject every false way.

[36:45] If it's contrary to God's word, we reject it. We reject it. We love the sinner, but not the sin, of course. And our love for God's truth and word means we reject what opposes him.

[36:56] The world is filled with many contrary and false philosophies. Everything that is contrary to the gospel is wrong. If it's contrary to the gospel, if it's a works-based religion, if it's a works-based philosophy, the Bible says, reject it.

[37:12] I hate it. Every false way. And rather seek after God and his spiritual protection. So there is a time to hate what is wrong, to hate what is error, what is evil. And, you know, sometimes it's hard to be hateful.

[37:25] I don't ordinarily have a hatred of things, but when I see the danger and the harm that comes from false teaching, I hate that.

[37:38] I'm opposed to that. And the Bible says, if they speak not according to this word, the Bible, there's no light in them. So we feel for people who are in darkness, that haven't seen the light yet.

[37:53] And what is contrary to God's word, we withstand. Friends, just to come to some closing comments, mind you, I've got a few more pages yet. Our love for God and his truth means we reject what opposes him.

[38:08] And we seek to please our God. And we should examine ourselves. Don't look at the splinter in your brother's eye. What's your problem? I know, I saw this, a good preacher one day, what's his name?

[38:21] David Ring. And he's saying, I've got cerebral palsy. What's your problem? He was preaching the gospel. He was doing a wonderful work for the kingdom of God. And he said, because people would say, he's an unfit vessel.

[38:35] He's too lacking. He's not able. I've got cerebral palsy. What's your problem? What's stopping you? What's stopping you from doing something for God? If you can serve God, if you can be a preacher when you've got cerebral palsy, what's your problem?

[38:49] Amen? Examine yourselves. Whether you're in the faith. And let's be such a people that we're redeemed. We should be a zealous people, it says. Zealous of good works.

[39:00] Not half-hearted, zealous. They're contrary, aren't they? Don't stay in the camp of the half-hearted. Jump over the fence and get in the whole-hearted camp. Amen? Get in the zealous camp.

[39:11] It says be zealous of good works, not half-hearted. And, you know, as mature Christians, we should be saying, I want to be in the company of the zealous, of the zealous of good works.

[39:22] It tells us, prove all things, hold fast that which is good. Test everything. Does it measure up to God's word? That should be the standard, the measure of truth, whether it's music, whether it's dress, whether it's attitude, whether it's entertainment, whether it's recreation, whether it's careers, whether it's relationships, whether it's work.

[39:45] Measure everything. Is it good? Hold it fast. Prove it. Test it. And seek God to help you to be a serious Bible student, to test everything.

[39:56] It tells us the Bereans that they search the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so. Let's be serious Bible students that we'll care about what does the Bible say. That's what counts.

[40:07] We'll learn about Bible theology. We'll learn about Bible history. We'll learn about Bible principles of interpretation. We'll make it practical. So this is just not head knowledge.

[40:18] This is not just a theoretical theology that I can kind of pass some quiz, but this is what's going to happen in my life. This is going to be lived out in my shoes. This is going to impact my worldview, my whole way of thinking.

[40:32] It's the noble thing to do. The Bereans were more noble than those in Thessalonica. And we search the Scriptures to test things, to do what's right.

[40:44] And that it's lived out. So we're unspotted from the world and we're doing practical things. In a world that's dark, there's an unfruitful works of darkness, we should be unspotted from that and rather seek after God, to be a biblical church, to choose the way of God.

[41:05] And that means maybe pray, Lord, make me more fervent. Make me more fervent. In what counts? People can get very fervent, can't they?

[41:20] See some people and, you know, it's footy season and the scarves are out and the beanies are on and look, we've locked in all those games. We're going to make sure we don't miss one of those matches.

[41:33] They're fervent. Shouldn't we be fervent for God? Fervent, fervent in spirit, fervent in love, it tells us, fervent charity, fervent, not half-hearted, not having to do things out of compulsion, but because we are fervent.

[41:50] We're in that camp. We're in that camp. Let go of nominal, half-hearted Christianity. Let it go. We love him because he first loved us.

[42:01] How much did he love us? He stretched out his arms and he loved us on the cross, didn't he? And he loves us now. He loves us still.

[42:12] He loved us to the extremity of the crucifixion. How much he loved us. We love him because he first loved us. How great is our love?

[42:23] Is it fervent love? Fervent charity? Let's let go of that which is half-hearted. Let it go. It tells us not forsaking the assembling of ourselves, but exhorting one another so much the more.

[42:39] You see the day approaching. How close is the coming of our Lord? How close? How close? Now, some of you are more students of Bible prophecy than I am and you know all the latest happenings and current events.

[42:55] How close? Surely it's close, isn't it? We see Israel back in her land. We see preparations for the third temple. We see they're getting the items for the temple together.

[43:09] We see globalism on the rise. We see a one-world economy and government shaping. We see apostasy, a pretense of Christianity. That is popular Christianity today.

[43:21] We see preparations underway for the coming Antichrist. May we search for a biblical church. May we be a biblical people. May we be a Bible-believing church that takes it seriously, that we've woken up.

[43:34] We've woken up and we smell the coffee. We know what's happening. Christ is coming. And so, let's get together. And so much the more, we see the day approaching.

[43:48] Let's make wise choices. While we can, fellowship, let's fellowship. One day it might be illegal. You know, I'll get assassinated or rounded up and put in a concentration camp.

[44:01] And God helping you, I hope you've memorized your Bible because your Bible's going to be illegal. Who knows, I'm being somewhat, I'm being, using words that may not happen.

[44:15] But we know that brothers and sisters in some country, that is the reality. That is the reality. I'm a marked man, you know. I'll be assassinated.

[44:28] I am anticipating that could happen. And we need to realize this is the reality that we're living in. Brothers and sisters, we've got to wake up, don't we?

[44:44] We really do. I've lost my notes now. We must be such a people. Friends, think of these things. Think, be not deceived.

[44:56] Don't mess with the evil communications. In other words, evil company. Don't toy with those that have got another love, another preoccupation.

[45:10] It's going to damage you. The sense here is of making friendship with the world or with those that do not know the Lord.

[45:21] It can corrupt our walk with God. Make wise choices. Who do you hang around with? In this ever more godless world, we know this culture is anti-God.

[45:32] And so we see these things. Just to close now, the word of God is where it all comes from. How we know his will. What is his will? Present yourselves. Living sacrifices.

[45:45] It's the perfect will of God. Give yourself to God. Yield him. Yield to him. Surrender. It's his will for you. We see the wisdom of God. When we make decisions, when we make choices, do we go to the word?

[45:59] Do we go to God for direction? And when it comes to the crossroads, which way are we going to go? Are we going to go God's way or the world's way? Are we going to go God's way or my way?

[46:11] Let it be God's way. Amen. Let's close. Lord, we thank you that you are gracious to us. And Lord, you give us much warning. You want us, Lord, to be perfect in Christ.

[46:23] Lord, we know we never can be perfect as the world would reckon such a thing, but we can be made whole. And without you, we are incomplete. We pray that each one this morning might know what it is to know your saving grace, to know you as Saviour and Lord, that they will know what it is to be saved, born again by your Spirit.

[46:45] Lord, that each one might know what it is to say, Lord Jesus, you died on the cross for my sin. I trust you. I receive your gift. I receive your saving grace. I receive your forgiveness and your eternal life.

[46:57] Lord, we thank you that we can know that today. And Lord, help us to be a people that are a biblical people, a biblical church, that we care about what your word tells us to do, to be.

[47:10] We'll be such that we are living sacrifices. We'll give ourselves, we'll yield ourselves in surrender, in glad surrender, not in some surrender of compunction, but a surrender that is a glad surrender, as your servants, Lord, to be in your will.

[47:29] Lord, to be in that place that we know your will and we do it. We don't hold back. Lord, to be a people that when we face life's choices, we'll make wise choices.

[47:43] We'll seek the wisdom of God in all of our life's decisions and help us, Lord, to choose wisely and well. When we face the time of the crossroads, we'll go your way.

[47:55] And you're helping us, Lord. You'll help us to walk in your ways, to walk in your light and to be a people who show forth your praises because you've called us out of darkness into your marvellous light.

[48:09] Thank you for that and for your mercy to us. In Jesus' name, amen.