Be Diligent

[0:00] I'm talking about the subject tonight of diligence, being diligent.! And the Bible commends hard work. The Bible commends that we work hard.

[0:11] ! It says that we should not be lazy, but that we should work. So I'm preaching works tonight, but of course not works to save us, but the works of the saved. The Bible commends hard work. It says we should not be lazy, and that there's a blessing in hard work.

[0:27] As we read in Proverbs 6, verse 6, it tells us this. It says, Go to the ant, thou sluggard. Consider her ways, and be wise.

[0:41] It's saying go to the ant, thou sluggard. In other words, you lazy person. Go to the ant, you that are slacking off, as it were. Go to the ant and look at the ant. Consider the ant. Consider her ways, and be wise.

[0:56] We can learn from ants. You know, you see stories and you see pictures of ants lifting huge items, much heavier than even their own body weight. They work hard. They work strenuously.

[1:09] And this morning I touched briefly on half-heartedness. Really, this is in a like theme of urging us to action. Urging God's people to action, to diligence, to working, to serving.

[1:26] And we serve God not out of an irksome having to, because we're badgered and coaxed and buttonholed and forced to, but we serve gladly.

[1:37] I know Julie sort of has moments when, if I'm feeling a bit weighed down, she says, serve the Lord with gladness. And it's a good reminder, because sometimes we can get a bit weighed down, even when we're doing something that we love to do, which is something for the Lord.

[1:56] We can get tired, we can get weary, because we're just flesh still, but serve the Lord with gladness. Make it that point that you do it gladly, as unto the Lord. And my plea to you tonight is, be diligent.

[2:10] Be a diligent people. Now, numbers of times the Bible itself tells us of diligence. For example, we read in Deuteronomy 6, from verse 4, where there's that call to Israel, to hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord.

[2:30] This is Deuteronomy 6, verse 4. Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord, and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul and with all thy might.

[2:47] And these words which I command thee this day shall be in thine heart, and thou shalt teach them diligently, teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, when thou walkest by the way, when thou willest eyeest down, and when thou risest up.

[3:08] In other words, all the time, right? Talk of the word of God, teach your children, train the younger generation, the word of God, train others, tell others, tell your children, tell the younger ones, teach them diligently it says.

[3:26] So make that something, I'm going to be diligent about that, because God tells me that's something that I should do. Do that diligently. Talk of the word of God. When you're going about your day by day, all the time, tell of the word of God, of these words, which shall be in thine heart, it says.

[3:47] Another reference to diligence is Proverbs 4 verse 23. Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life.

[3:58] Keep your heart diligently. 2 Corinthians 8 verse 7, it says, Therefore as you abound in everything, in faith, in utterance, in knowledge, and in all diligence, as that word again, and in your love to us, see that you abound in this grace also.

[4:15] Paul talks about abounding in everything, including faith, utterance, knowledge, and diligence, and abounding in grace.

[4:26] And then just another scripture, 2 Peter, there's a few here, and I'm stretching you by giving you multiple references, but 2 Peter 1, and there's numbers of references in 2 Peter.

[4:38] I've got five of them here. Peter, in the second letter, puts an emphasis on the same characteristic, the same value, the same important responsibility, that we are diligent.

[4:56] And he says that in these five references, in 2 Peter 1 verse 5, he gives a whole list of qualities, of character qualities, and he says, beside this, this is 2 Peter 1 verse 5, beside all those things he's mentioned, he says, beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith.

[5:14] And then he goes on, virtue, knowledge, and so on. He says, giving all diligence, add to your faith. In other words, don't have a faith that's stagnant, that's sitting, stuck, but a faith that's growing, that's adding, that's abounding, and be diligent in doing that.

[5:30] Then 2 Peter 1 verse 10, he says, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure. In other words, pursue your calling, what God's put on your heart, his saving grace, and his calling on your life, put diligence into that.

[5:48] And I was talking with someone earlier today, about how diligent they have to be, in pursuing university study. And some of us can identify with that. The hard yakka that it is, to concentrate, to focus, to tick all the boxes, and get sufficient grades, and hopefully good grades, to get through the qualification.

[6:09] And some people put their life diligently into that. And that's a good thing to pursue, which will benefit us. Pursue your calling diligently too.

[6:20] 2 Peter 3, it talks, verse 14, wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that you may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.

[6:31] We look for the coming of our Lord. It says, be diligent that you be found of him. 2 Peter 1 verse 10, I've covered, 2 Peter, actually, I've covered them all.

[6:44] I've doubled up there. Hebrews 11, 6, it says, but without faith it is impossible to please him, for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

[6:57] Believe that he is, and he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. So there's many references, many underlinings of this truth, of how important it is to be diligent as a Christian, to be like the ant, to be not unduly inactive, but to rather be activated, activated Christians.

[7:30] It's a theme right through the word of God, that we should serve the Lord, and of course we can all serve in many different ways, in different capacities, but it certainly is a theme, and our Lord set the example for us, when they were looking for him, and he said that he must be about his father's business, and friends, when we think about life, and we've heard a record there, as much as it wasn't a short life, life is short, isn't it, in terms of life is finite, and you think, how much can I fit into that lifespan, into the dash, as it were, on the tombstone, how much can I fit into that little, little segment of time, that is allotted to me, and we should be about our father's business, that, what is it that I can invest my energy, and my, ability in, while I've still got some, to be about my father's business, in Ecclesiastes 9 verse 10, it says, whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might, for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in the grave, whither thou goest, there's a, there's a truth there, find what you're able to do, and do it, with your might, and even the world recognises this truth, you know,

[8:53] I can give you, some secular examples, for example, Thomas Edison, you know, the, the man that we have to thank, for light bulbs, in our homes, he said that, genius is 2% inspiration, and 98% perspiration, there's a sense where, and I think, as much as I'm, stretching the, application of this, I think you could put, some spiritual, connotation to that too, as Christians, I know, as a younger man, stepping out into, talking about the word of God, was something that was, scary, when we do something for the Lord, especially, when we first start to do it, it can be daunting, and we can be afraid, and we can feel, inadequate, and incapable, yet there's that sense of, applying ourselves, to, that which God has, put on our heart to do, and even Edison, he put 18 hours, days in, until he, discovered, those secrets, those inventions, that he came to, to, to realise, as we know, and he talks about, how he had, so many failed experiments, but really, they were, part of his finding, the solution, the failures, were part of his finding, the solution, because he found, all the ways that didn't work, until he found, the one way that did work, and we think of that, spiritually too, how can I apply myself, diligently, how can I put, that, intense, intensity, of application, so that I can be, a stronger Christian, where we can, put a motivation in, to study the Bible, to use our time, for spiritual reasons, because, in the world we live, as, as we all know, life is busy, everyone is busy, and it's so easy, to be distracted too, by the, so many gadgets, and, and, you know, social media, and, technologies, that sometimes, can actually be, quite a distraction, and take us away, and consume our time, such that it's, gone before we know it, and, at times, there's many that are poor, in their spiritual life, because they're spending, so much time, on such, really, you could say, vain things, vain things, you know,

[11:21] I like to say, as I kind of jokingly, demonstrate, you know, and you hold up the phone, and, you take the selfie, and it's all kind of, it's vanity isn't it, really in a way, as much as Julie and I, had some fun lately, we had one of those, phone apps, where you, kind of distort your face, and, and you've got, all these weird smiles, especially with my tooth, missing at the moment, and it looked really funny, and, and, I was kind of joking to Julie, we'll have to put it on Facebook, but no, that would be too, too humiliating, for the, for the pastor, to be, to be looking so silly, but, you know, of course, there's, there's some harmless fun, in such things, but of course, the danger is when they consume our lives, aren't they, and some people, they just live, on the computer, playing video games, and, and wasting so much, of their lives, sadly, our life is limited, and we ought to think, carefully, apply ourselves diligently, to something that's useful, there's, a problem today, of spiritual slumber, a lot of saints, are sleepy, and I noticed some people, kind of yawning there, and, and starting to nod off, so,

[12:27] I'm not having a go at you tonight, because I know it's been, sometimes it's a long day, on a Sunday, and I feel like having a good sleep, right now, but it's, it's high time to awake, the Bible says, isn't it, in Romans 13, 11, it's high time, to awake, awake out of sleep, for, now is our salvation, nearer, than when we believed, Romans 13, verse 11, it's time to wake up, you know, wake up Australia, realize what's going on, as I touched on this morning, the, the signs of the times, we, our Lord is coming soon, and it's high time, to awake, out of sleep, in 1 Thessalonians 5, verse 6, Paul says to the Thessalonians, he says, therefore, let us not sleep, as do others, but let us be, let us watch, and be sober, let us watch, and be sober, a lot of people, are sleeping, they're playing the video games, wasting time, carelessly, on social media, idly surfing the net, for no point, and it's just, a waste of life, isn't it, you think, in the old days, you used to, preachers used to have, kind of statistics, how much time people, waste watching television, and they're kind of, alarming things, but it's probably, even more alarming, nowadays, because the internet, has got just such a, a draw on people, such that you can, just sit there, and time just goes, without you even, realising it, and the Bible, talks about, that the hand of the diligent, maketh rich,

[13:51] Proverbs 10 verse 4, but it contrasts that, with the hand of someone, of the slack hand, that it's just, a waste of a lie, that's Proverbs 10 verse 4, and so we need to be careful, about the use of our time, in Proverbs 24, there's a, a few verses here, in Proverbs 24, from verse 30, you might want to turn, to that one, our Lord rebukes, sloth, slothfulness, this is Proverbs 24, verse 30, and the Proverbs writer here, he says, I went by the field, of the slothful, and by the vineyard, of the man, void of understanding, this is Proverbs 24, now verse 31, and lo, as he went by the vineyard, it was all grown over, with thorns, and nettles, and had covered, the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof, was broken down, then I saw, and considered it well, I looked upon it, and received instruction, yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding, of the hands to sleep, so shall thy poverty, come as one, that traveleth, and thy want, as an armed man, so the picture here, is of a vineyard, in disrepair, a vineyard, grown over with weeds, a vineyard, that is, a lost cause, and it's a picture, of a lie, where there's a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding, of the hands, to sleep, it's talking of laziness, now Julie and I, were just driving around, of late, in certain streets, not far from here, and thinking, wow, they just don't seem, to care about their garden, these people,

[15:30] I mean, sometimes it's hard, to get time, for your garden, this is not, to condemn anyone, with a bit, of a messy garden, because I'm guilty, of that sometimes too, but there's a sense, where you see a garden, in disrepair, you think, surely they could have just, you know, pulled a few weeds, out here or there, or surely they could have, run the mower, over that, or tidied up, that rubbish, that's in the yard, it's a picture, of laziness, isn't it, here's a vineyard, growing over, overgrown, with weeds, and nettles, and it's a picture, of laziness, laziness, is a wastefulness, it's a waste, in Proverbs 18, verse 9, it says, here that is slothful, in his work, is brother to him, that is a great waster, Proverbs 18, verse 9, someone who is slothful, in his work, is a brother, to him, that is a great waster, now occasionally, I might go down the shops, and sometimes, I see these people, and they're sitting, in front of this screen, that's hung up, on the wall, and they've got a piece of paper, in their hands, and they're watching the, watching the numbers, on the screen, and then they think, oh no, another waste of money, the lottery, what a waste,

[16:41] I know, you might, you might be one of the, the lucky ones, one in a million, but really, we know it's a waste, don't we, it's a waste of money, you know, they sit there, transfixed, by this, they're kind of, in a, what's it called, in a trance, they're trance-like, looking at the screen, they put their $10, whatever it is, into the lotto, the lottery, and it's a vanity, it's a waste, they think they can earn money, by sitting, and getting some lucky number, and the one who is slothful, is a brother, to the one, who is a great waster, it's a waste, slothfulness, laziness, it's wasteful, the Lord tells, in Matthew 20, verse 6, of a man, who went out, early in the morning, to hire some labourers, to work in his vineyard, this is Matthew 20, verse 6, and he went out, about the 11th hour, and he found others, standing idle, and saith unto them, why stand you here, all the day idle, you know, they were standing idle, in the marketplace, here's a marketplace, teaming with life, and business, and activity, and transactions, and people working, and the master, of the vineyard, he says, why are you standing here, idle, in the marketplace, you could put that word, idle, unemployed, why are you unemployed,

[18:01] I have work for you to do, and the context, the application, is a spiritual one here, our Lord is saying, why are you not active, when I have work for you to do, why are you standing idle, when I have work for you to do, and he called them to the work, friends we're called to the work, there's a song that goes, to the work, to the work, there's work to be done, and there's work for every believer, every Christian, has a place of service, in the vineyard, for the master, in 1 Corinthians 3 verse 9, it says, not only are we laborers, but we are laborers together, with God, in hand, in hand with God, it's working with God, he is working with us, he's bearing the yoke, he's being the one, who is directing us, and assisting us, to do the work, in Luke 10 verse 2, our Lord says, the harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few, pray you therefore, the Lord of the harvest, that he may, that he would, send forth, laborers into his harvest, so, certainly a prayer point, a prayer that we ought to pray,

[19:11] I put to you pray, regularly, is to pray, Lord, send laborers, the word commands, believers to be workers, to always abound, in the work of the Lord, I love 1 Corinthians 15, 58, that stirs my heart, and it stirs me, it provokes me, it challenges me, it says, 1 Corinthians 15, 58, therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye, steadfast, always, abounding, in the work of the Lord, for as much as you know that, your labor, is not in vain, in the Lord, you might think when, you know, preachers, ministry, they labor hard, sometimes there's not much to see, but those, there's intangible, blessings, there's intangible, impacts, as we know, as we work, we work, hand in hand with God, we're doing his work, and younger people, older people, there's something you can do, we've had a challenge here tonight, of a man, you would think, some would say, you know, bear with me, if you're in that age group, which I'm getting close to, they're past it, no one, there's no use by day, in Christianity, is there?

[20:30] There's no retirement age, amen? There's no retirement plan for, for you that serve the Lord, which is all of us, it's not some select group, all of us, have a work to be done, and what a challenge here tonight, of that man, and I've heard similar stories, of men, of women, older in life, frailer, feeling like, what can I do?

[20:52] And I know, there's some that have been giving out tracts, that are on gophers here, in this church, is people are doing things for the Lord, that you think, I can do that, I can do that, maybe that's all I can do, but I can do that, I can put a leaflet in a letterbox, it's saying, be ye steadfast, unmovable, now, postage stamps are getting more expensive, you notice that?

[21:19] But at least, they've got this one attribute, they stick, to one thing, till they get there, and that's what we need to do, isn't it?

[21:29] Brother, sister, you might think, oh look, okay, I can do this or that, and you might get a bit, weary in well doing, you know, there's some that, have been a blessing to the church, I know, there's some, you've done different ministries, and there's some that are saying, I can do some visitation, thank God for you sister, that have said that, and others who have said, I can do this, I can do that, I probably need to be a bit more organised, to delegate more to you, to be able to give you more to do, but the sense, there's some senses where, perhaps there's things you can do, that you just need to open your eyes, to see what needs to be done, we do need a bus driver, please help me, we need a bus driver, we need, we need people, we need people in the sound ministry, because it's about to fall over, unless we, well thank God for you sister, we need people to take, on, these tasks, need people to turn up, and be at things, when we can, when you can, be there,

[22:35] I was trying to, lost my train of thought, but, there's a sense where, even when someone, you notice, oh, so and so, wasn't at church this week, okay, the pastor will follow them up, yeah, I should, and I try to, I don't always get to everybody, I do try, but, there's, ways we can all help, with that need, you could send a card, you don't have to ask permission, or you need the address, of course, but, I can share that, I think within, you know, naturally there's confidentialities, we try to respect that, but, if you're doing God's work, and you say, I'd like to be, someone who sends a card, when someone's not here, I'd like to be able, to make a call, let me know, I'd like you to help me, I would like that, it is, it is quite busy, you know, as much as I have more time, to put it into it now, I still feel like, I'm not doing enough, but it doesn't, have to be just me, it's all of us, we've all got a part to play, this is your church, your church too, and you can play a part,

[23:44] I can make the mistake, of doing it all myself, and that's a big mistake, because, I can run myself ragged, and I, I do run out of energy, and, and then I get too spread, too thin, that I can't do it well, as well, being honest with you tonight, be steadfast, unmovable, look at, I know I've told this, before in other messages, but, for example, as a, as a bit of a, a testimony to us, think of, for example, preachers of old, when they used to do, some preaching, and they did, circuit preaching, where they went to different churches, and one such man, John Wesley, and he put, in his diary, May the 5th, that's today, isn't it, he preached in St Anne's, was asked not to come back anymore, and that Sunday PM, preached in St John's, deacons said, get out, and stay out, we don't have any deacons, at the moment, but we need, we need some deacons too, May the 12th, he preached in St John's, can't go back there either,

[24:47] May the 19th, preached in St somebody else's, and the deacons called special meeting, and said I couldn't return, May the 19th, PM, preached on the street, kicked off the street, couldn't even get it, they couldn't even put up with him on the street, he's too radical, May the 26th, AM, preached in the meadow, chased out of the meadow, as a bull was turned loose, during the service, June the 2nd, AM, preached at the edge of town, kicked off the highway, June the 2nd, PM, afternoon, preached in a pasture, 10,000 people came out to hear me, you know, be steadfast, unmovable, amen, always abounding, God will bless, you know, there's a sense where, we've got to keep on keeping on, where we work through the hard times, and I know, especially in the early days of a church, numbers can be lacking, it can be hard going, you feel, it's hard, hard work, but we have to put the hard yards in, God will bless, Paul sets a godly example for us, in Acts 20, 31 it says,

[25:53] I cease not to warn everyone, night and day with tears, night and day with tears, he was earnest, prayerful, pleading, weeping, for the saints of God, are we diligent in prayer, diligent in prayer, one day George Muller began praying for five of his friends, George Muller, a man of God, used mightily, and trusted the Lord for God to provide, and he prayed for five of his friends, a man of prayer, after many months, one of them came to the Lord, 10 years later, two others were converted, it took 25 years before the fourth man was saved, Muller persevered in prayer, until his death, for his fifth friend, and throughout those 52 years, he never gave up hoping, that he would accept Christ, and his faith was rewarded, for soon after his funeral, the last one was saved, keep on praying, be diligent in prayer, he says,

[26:54] Paul, in 1 Thessalonians 2 verse 9, brethren, you remember our labour and travail, for labouring night and day, we preached unto you the gospel, may we be diligent, how can I be more diligent, how can I be a Christian, that I really care about God, I want to hear and do, I want to be obedient and active, I want to find what he wants for me to do, and I want to do it well, looking diligently, Hebrews 12 verse 15, talks about looking diligently, the grace of God, it talks about, not letting things trouble you, the root of bitterness, it talks about looking diligently, lest any man fail, of the grace of God, let's look diligently, looking unto Jesus, in Hebrews 12, looking diligently, may we be a church, of diligent workers, that exist to glorify God, that our heart is to serve him, and you know,

[27:56] I was blessed this morning, actually someone, filled out this thing, I haven't had time to read it yet, but we've got this little leaflet, and there's some on the back wall there, you and your church, you and your church, this is your church, it's for you, and it's got on here, what this man would like to do for the Lord, it just helps me to know, how the Lord is putting on your heart, what you feel, you would like to do for the Lord, and I do try to take a note of this, so this man, he wants to get involved in prayer, in Bible reading, and there's other opportunities here, in youth ministry, in hospital visits, in serving in the kitchen, in gardening, you know, it helps us to know, these are things I can do, you know, they might seem a little thing, I can do the gardening, we need someone to do the gardening, well there's people who do it, that are doing everything else at the moment, but they need some people, that might say,

[29:01] I'd like to take that ministry on, I can do that, let me know, because we'd love to help you engage in ministry, the ministry is not one man, it's not a number of men, it's the men and women, all of us, in so many different kinds of ministries, and we want to encourage that, and foster that, so please think that through, and Philippians 2.15 says that we should, sorry I'll read it, Philippians 2.15 it says, that you may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, God wants us to shine, it's like that little gospel song, let my little light shine, I can let my little light shine, you might think, it's only a little light, but I can let that light shine, and God helping you can aspire to excellence, to let that light shine beautifully, and brilliantly, and gloriously, to the glory of God, praise the Lord, because of this Christian life, it's a life of service, it's a life of joyful service, of glad service, it's, the Christian life is described as, like the life of an athlete, in 1 Corinthians 9, it's hells of people running, as some run for a corruptible crown, we run for a crown that is incorruptible, it doesn't fade away, our crown is incorruptible, it doesn't corrupt, it doesn't decay, and fade away, the crown that lies ahead, is everlasting, not that we work for our salvation, but our salvation works for us, we put it into action, and we're meant to be like a keen athlete, training, pursuing, progressing, the Christian life is also compared to, in military terms, to being a soldier, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ, 2 Timothy 2 verse 3, and of course we know of the armour of Ephesians 6, we're called to wrestle, not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness, in high places, and having done all to stand, and that talks about the various armour, of Ephesians 6, 10 through 18, and friends,

[31:27] I'm, I'm, urging you tonight to, consider, your ministry, your ministry, you have a ministry, and, it might be some of those things, on that list that I talked earlier, and others that I haven't raised, there's ways you can serve the Lord, serve the Lord, and serve the Lord with gladness, as God puts on your heart to serve him, and really the church, is meant to be a training institute, for the Lord's soldiers, isn't it, of course we know, there are colleges, and, there are places of learning, there's formal Bible school courses, you can take, by distance, or in person, but the church itself, is meant to be a training place, a place of training, and it's meant to be a, a training school, for, for, for, for, Christian soldiers, to be the boot camp, and to be the advanced training, it's meant to be an outpost, of Christ's kingdom on earth, how can we serve, for our Lord, how can we be better trained soldiers, how can we, be better trained stewards, that are found faithful, and, friends,

[32:42] I'm, urging you tonight, to consider, how can I be, activated, more activated, and, please don't, misunderstand, that I'm, wanting you to be put on a guilt trip, and saying you're not working, because I know, every one of you are working, in your own personal witness, in your own personal ways, it's just, being mindful, how, how much can I do, that maybe I haven't thought, that I can do, because it's easy to, take a, have the attitude, oh, I could never do that, have you ever tried, you know, there was an older man, in our church, some while back, and he'd never given, a Bible, message, and, just wonder, said, can you, can you do one, and, he said yes, and he was kind of, packing it, he was sweating, and, feeling, I've never done this before,

[33:44] I'm really nervous, I just feel I can't, do it, but, yet he gave it, and he said, that was a real turning point, in his life, this is an older man, in his 70s, that he'd never done, such a thing before, and, it's, the first time, is the, is that, is that starting block, isn't it, it's that, it's, grade one, isn't it, and God will take you more, further, he'll grow you, in Romans 12, 11, it says, not slothful in business, there's that word sloth again, and I know, I did raise this verse, this morning too, not slothful in business, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord, how can I be fervent, it says, we should be fervent, and sometimes, we think, oh, when we look at other Christians, we think, wow, they just run around like a rabbit, someone in my family, comes to mind, when I say this, they just run, they run ragged, they run me ragged, just watching them running around,

[34:46] I'm talking about my dad, my dear dad, bless him, but there's a sense where, we can be fervent, and we might look at something, oh, look at the, look at this person here, they're just running off their feet, they've just got so much energy, and enthusiasm, and they think, oh, they're a bit over the top, they're a bit out there, a bit sort of, a bit, they're almost, they might, you might say, my dad's a bit of a fanatic, a bit of a fanatic, but the Bible actually says, we should be fervent, we should be fervent in spirit, it'd be better that someone accuses you, of being a little bit too excited, a little bit too enthusiastic, they used to say that at Wesley's time, they called it enthusiasm, it was kind of like a disparaging label, they called the Methodists, they were enthusiasts, or something along that line, there's a sense where they thought, oh, they're extreme, but we should be fervent, we should be fervent, it's a good godly quality, to be fervent, and we should be disciples, we should be disciples, such that, and the word disciple, it is allied to discipline, there's a sense where, we should be a disciplined church, that we should be disciplined, for the battle, you know, in that very brief, short space of time,

[36:04] I was in the army reserves, and I know I've mentioned this of late too, but there's a sense where, and it's almost like, they really, they really shout at you, don't they?

[36:16] So I was thinking, I wouldn't mind advancing in the army, but I just couldn't have, being a corporal, having to bellow these orders, and shout at people, and be kind of really mean, I thought, no I couldn't advance through the army, because I'm not one to shout at people like that, you know, to be a sergeant major, but there's a sense where, that discipline that is the army, makes stronger men, doesn't it?

[36:39] Stronger women, there's a discipline, that's a good thing, and we should be a disciplined people, have a good godly discipline, a good godly training, for the Lord's service, and there's that sense where we should be, in that good and godly way, we should be like a, a strongly disciplined army of soldiers, of God's army, and to be, such a, a fighting fit unit, for God's service, and I urge you to that tonight, so look, I'm going to close it there, just with a final appeal, just to consider these truths, that we're commended to hard work, we're commended to diligence, to discipline, to, to consider the ant, and look at how, they can tell us, and, they can speak to us, about, that, application of energy, and we can be activated, as God's people, let's pray, Lord we thank you, that you do, show us so much grace Lord, and, we thank you Lord, for, the word of God, that, we can see, that you tell us, to be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding, in the work of the Lord,

[37:56] Lord we pray, put on our hearts, that which you've called us to do, most importantly Lord, we know, for each one here tonight, that, if there's any yet to put their, hearts trust in you, to be saved, that's the, the starting point, because we know, we cannot serve you, unless, we are, your children, Father God, and you do, call us to yourself, to save us, by virtue of, Christ dying on the cross, for our sin, we can receive that gift, and that eternal life, that is not by our works, it's not by anything, we can do, to save us, or to keep us, Lord it's entirely, of your doing, of your saving, Lord and, as saved people, help us Lord, to, be, working, labouring, together with you, put on our heart, that which you've called us to do, help us Lord, to be, mindful, of that which you're, convicting us to do, that which we know, we are able to do, that's which you, you put on our heart, that we might think, we are not able to do, that by your spirit's power, we are able to do,

[39:10] Lord let it be, that this church, will be a church, filled, with people, who are ministers, of the gospel, that we will all be, in the ministry, in the full time ministry, Lord that each one, can find, that calling, that place of service, and we'll find it, and we'll, apply ourselves, diligently, to deliver it, in Jesus name we pray, Amen.