Speaking Truth to Power

[0:00] Speaking truth to power. It's the kind of phrase people use these days. Speaking truth! Now I checked this in Wikipedia and this is what I read. It means a means employed by dissidents! Against the received wisdom or propaganda of governments that they regard as oppressive! Or authoritarian. Speaking truth to power means like if the government of the day is putting out some various propaganda it means saying no that's not true. That's not right. We disagree.

[0:34] We're dissidents. We don't go along. We don't go with the flow. We don't follow the lemmings. We're actually saying no that's not true. Now in our fair land on Wednesday last week June the 19th the High Court of Australia found that a sperm donor is a father. The letter of the lesbian couple who were raising a child together had wanted the man to be known only as a sperm donor and not as a parent. The High Court of Australia went all the way to the top to make this obvious statement isn't it? The obvious reasonable decision about who was a parent.

[1:22] And even if they had said otherwise. Even if the court official, even if the judge had declared otherwise it really doesn't matter does it? It doesn't matter what they legislate, what they redefine, it doesn't even matter what they put on the birth certificate does it? For me it's plain obvious, it's crystal clear that that man is the father. It doesn't matter what people say. Isn't it about time that people started telling the truth? Don't you think? It made me feel really mad to think that all of the wasted money that would have gone through all the law courts to get to the High Court of Australia to state the plain obvious that the biological father is the father. Madness.

[2:10] It's about time people started telling the truth isn't it? In our land, in our world. I'm going to be straight up with you this morning about a few things and it might step on some toes. But I know that it's needful that I'm not mince my words here today and tell you something straight up, somewhat blunt you might say in fact. So I think we need to speak the truth, don't we, in Australia? We need to speak the truth in a world full of lies and falsehoods and fake news. We need to be honest enough to get to the heart of things and tell the truth. Tell the truth. Let's call abortion what it is. I believe that a mother's womb should be the safest place on earth. And for me it's plain obvious when a doctor injects poison into a baby within a mother's womb then he is committing the murder of an innocent life.

[3:10] Let's call abortion what it is. Now look, I want to put it out there that if you have had an abortion, God's merciful and kind and gracious and forgiving. And we're not putting anyone down here this morning.

[3:26] There's grace and mercy with God, whatever your circumstance. But let's not call abortion, let's not negate what it is. Some would excuse unfaithfulness and having a fling.

[3:40] As just having an affair. It's plain what it is. It is adultery. Let's call it what it is. What about living de facto? It's clear that God's design is marriage. It's marriage, plain and simple.

[3:58] They used to call it holy matrimony. Now the world's redefined marriage. It doesn't care what they redefine marriage as. God says what marriage is. Julie is not my partner. She's my wife.

[4:19] God's plan has not changed. I am her husband. That's how it's meant to be. That's what marriage is. That's something precious and godly and should be sought after. People can call other things marriage, marriage, but it doesn't meet the definition. So it's not marriage. It's just not marriage. The government can call it marriage. The government can give you a certificate saying you're married.

[4:44] If I was to marry a man, supposedly, they can call it marriage, but that is not marriage. It doesn't make it marriage because God says what marriage is.

[4:56] It says, Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother. It says, Genesis 2.24. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife, and they shall be one flesh. That's marriage. That matters, doesn't it? Doesn't the truth matter?

[5:15] Sometimes we mince words and we use words that tone things down. We need to speak the truth. We need to speak truth to power, as it were. Where do we get truth from? From the one who is the source of all truth. He's written the book, the word of truth. And after all, it's one of his very precious names, who said to us, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the father, but by me.

[5:43] What does he say? That's what matters. A man who sleeps with a man is a sodomite. That's what the Bible calls that. It doesn't say it's gay. It's saying it's sodomy. I'm telling it like it is. I'm being truthful with you this morning. A man who dresses like a woman is effeminate. Men are meant to act like men, women to act like women. That's God's will. It's God's plan. It's how it's meant to be.

[6:14] We need to speak truth to power, to speak the truth, to tell the truth about what the Bible says is so. Some would reckon, oh preacher, that's so outdated. That's just so 1990s.

[6:30] You know, we've come a long way in 10, 20 years, haven't we? A long way. You know, in some churches, they say, we're taking it to the next level. We're taking it to the next level. Yeah, they are. Level by level by level, taking it down, down, down. I heard a Christian broadcast just yesterday and it reported an evident anti-Christian sentiment across the world, across media. Here's a picture of a man in the United Kingdom, in the fair land of England.

[7:00] It's reported, I was listening into a broadcast and it was stated that in England now, they are arresting pastors on the streets for simply reading from the King James Bible.

[7:16] England is arresting preachers today for reading the Bible that is authorised by the King of England. This is a culture that has gone mad, isn't it? They're turning against the living God. Yes, the whole culture stinks. That's why we have such decadence and such a breakdown of morals and decency today. That's why we have this explosion of drugs and a rejection of authority that's destroying a generation. This has been the pattern through world history. This is nothing new. It's happened in Bible days. As we read, for example, Judges 17, verse 6. In those days, there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.

[8:09] It's one of the big failings of the democratic system, really, in fact. Often when you get, what you get from a popular vote is what can sound like a good idea. Everybody jumps on the bandwagon, as happened when David proposed the new cart, changed this procedure. He went against what God had stated to do, what God had directed to do, and he disobeyed God. As we read in 1 Chronicles 13, verse 4. And all the congregation said that they would do so. That's a great idea. We're right behind you, David. For the thing was right in the eyes of all the people. So going with the flow, going with the crowd can often be the wrong way. People often be inclined to do what is right in their own eyes, without a thought for what God has said about the matter. Don't follow the crowd.

[9:05] Step outside of the crowd. Turn around and go the other way. Exodus 23, 2, in part, it says, thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil. You might say, well, everybody else is doing it.

[9:22] Everybody else thinks it's okay. Follow your calling, not the crowd. Seek after God. Be different. Proverbs 12, 15 says, the way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but he that hearkens to counsel is wise.

[9:39] Some people think, like the pop song goes, and they sing along. It's got a merry tune. How can it be wrong when it feels so right? It just feels good. How can it be wrong when it feels so right?

[9:59] And the popular thinking, the mantra says to you, just follow your heart. Yet the Bible says the opposite of that, the direct opposite of the heart, it says, the heart is deceitful and desperately wicked. Who can know it?

[10:20] You ask, who then decides what is right and what is wrong? Don't follow your heart. Get a burden from the Lord and go God's way.

[10:34] That's the kind of government we need. Notice, as we've read, every man did what was right in their own eyes, in the eyes of all the people.

[10:44] King Asa did something different. For the most part, he did what was right. In 2 Chronicles 14, from verse 2, it says, Asa did that which was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God.

[11:00] He didn't do what was right in his own eyes, in the eyes of all the people. He did that which was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God. What did he do? He took the altars away. He broke down the images.

[11:14] He cut down the groves, the assembly places of the pagans. And he commanded Judah to seek after the Lord God, to do his commandment. Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord.

[11:28] I put to you that God has got better eyesight than you have, than I have. I know my eyesight's getting a bit blurry. Some of you look a little bit blurry. It could be the glory.

[11:39] Just shining out from you. Sometimes our eyesight starts to fail. But what is right in the eyes of the Lord our God, that's what matters, isn't it?

[11:50] That's what counts. Later in his life, King Asa, of course, he made some mistakes too. And went off track joining up with a pagan king. And things went sour there for him.

[12:01] And again, I put to you, we have to speak truth to power. To do right. To do right. Now, look, I'm going to step on some more toes this morning. And I'm going to show you a man here that people would revere.

[12:12] They would even call him Holy Father. Now, I put to you today, if someone bows down to statues and icons, whether they be of Buddha, Joseph, or Mary, or even Jesus himself, they are an idolater and they are disobeying God.

[12:32] The Bible is clearly against idolatry. We should not worship or venerate icons or images or statues or idols or pictures.

[12:44] Idol worship is specifically condemned by the Bible. You might be well-meaning and have such pictures or emblems in your house. The word tells us not to.

[12:55] Not to worship idols. Now, there's some things that are just plain obvious. And there's some churches just going completely left field here. Here's a picture of some Christians, some professing Christians from a church called Bethel Church.

[13:09] And they've got in front of them here what look like tarot cards. They call them destiny cards. But they're being fooled here to think that Christians can adopt this kind of spooky stuff to kind of foretell God's will or to guide people by the use of cards.

[13:32] And there's even like a Christian Ouija board, apparently, that's out there. People have just gone crazy these days. I don't know if they sell it down at Kurong yet, but give it time. Likewise, these days there's a lot of interest in the metaphysical realm.

[13:47] Meditation, sorcery, fortune telling. And many of these days are toying with the supernatural, with magic, with spiritual. I'm so spiritual, they say.

[13:58] And even in our fair city today, just down the road, there's a fair happening, the psychic fair. It's happening in our city today, just down the road from here. There's people chasing after crystals and destiny cards and astrology, tarot cards.

[14:14] Some churches are blindly adopting these New Age practices. Look, you've missed out, but here's an advert to the first annual Christian Witches Convention. It's already happened.

[14:25] Sorry to disappoint you if you were planning to go there. But this was held in Salem, Massachusetts in April this year. An annual Christian Witches Convention.

[14:37] And it featured an internationally recognised prophet called Calvin Witcher, who agrees with the convention's host that Jesus was a sorcerer and the Bible is really a book of magic.

[14:49] Now, I know this is disgusting here. I don't want to dwell on this unduly. But friends, we need to be alerted and alarmed. Interest in witchcraft is on the rise and we need to tell it like it is.

[15:03] Don't dabble with the horoscopes. It's witchcraft. It's astrology. Get rid of it. Don't play with that. You're playing with fire. Reject it. Reject it out of hand.

[15:15] You know, some do it as a bit of a laugh, but it's not right. It's fortune telling. The Bible's against that. I'm telling it like it is because we need to speak truth to power.

[15:26] We need to speak the truth in these days of evil and falsehood. This is witchcraft and should be totally rejected by the Bible believer. I would urge you to get rid of any such things from your life, from your house.

[15:44] What does the Bible say? Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. Ephesians 5.11. Reprove them. Stand against them.

[15:54] Oppose them. Reject them. Throw them away. Don't dabble. Reject. Have a little fellowship. No fellowship. No fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness.

[16:08] Now, it's going to get a bit more pointed, a bit more, ooh, I might sort of jab you somewhere that hurts when I start to say a bit more here this morning, but I've got to tell you the truth, and you might say, this guy's a total fruit loop.

[16:24] Look at Disney. Oh, God, what are you doing, preacher? This is Disney. That's family friendly. That's harmless.

[16:36] Actually, I think there's a really big question mark over many Disney movies. Harmless. Preacher, look, there's nothing to that.

[16:48] You're just totally going nuts here. I put to you they are filled with many references to magic and the magical. Aladdin is the latest Disney movie.

[16:59] It's an enchanting movie. Yes, enchanting. Enchanting. It looks very entertaining. From one of the shorts I've seen, no doubt the most of it is entirely harmless and enjoyable.

[17:12] A lot of fun. You know, beautiful quality, latest technology. Movie reviews tell of many good, uplifting themes about this movie, the movie Aladdin.

[17:25] However, the story is filled with themes such as a sorcerer, incantations, spells, astrology and hypnotism.

[17:37] Genie. The genie of Aladdin. What does a genie mean? A genie. Aladdin's genie is a genie. D-J-I-N-N. It's in the Quran.

[17:49] Genes. Now, a genie is a spirit with supernatural powers, often demon-like, that can possess people. That's what a genie is.

[17:59] That's what a genie is. The name gen derives from the Old Arabic. It means covert or darkness. Occult.

[18:11] Covert. Hidden. Hidden. Darkness. Who's behind all this stuff? I've never heard this sort of thing before, you might say. Who's behind all of this?

[18:22] Now, of course, we know Walt Disney has passed away. Walt Disney was a 33rd degree mason. Walt Disney had an ongoing acquaintance with Anton LaVey, the author of the Satanic Bible, the leader of the Satanic, the Church of Satan.

[18:40] Some reckon that Disney himself was an occultist. Look, it's hidden. It's covert. They don't come out and say so. But if he's mixing, making friends with Anton LaVey, the leader of the Church of Satan, I'll put two and two together.

[18:57] Disney World is called what? The Magic Kingdom. It's a mystical, enchanted place.

[19:10] I read an article about Disney World that described it as follows, and it was a Wiccan, a witch who was telling us, and was writing this article, and this Wiccan said this, hordes of people come and collectively conjure up powerful energy.

[19:30] You might laugh at this and think, I'm just going extreme here. Magic is an occult religious concept. Magic.

[19:43] Mickey Mouse. Look, I know you might think that's stretching it. This is just over the top. But the occult is covert.

[19:55] It's hidden. It's subtle. It's sly. It's sneaky. Just like the devil himself. Deceptive. Occult themes are evident, I put to you, in much of what Disney produced.

[20:11] And since he passed away, it carries on. What do you see in Disney pictures? The summoning up of demons. Many mentions of spirits, of ghosts.

[20:24] Occult messages. Most subtle. Covert. Not blatant. But Masonic symbolism. You look on this expose of this stuff out there.

[20:37] There's hidden messaging that's weaved through these movies. Hollywood. Okay, let's really get down to it now. Oh, he's now going to pick on us for watching movies, watching television.

[20:50] I need to tell you the truth. I need you to be informed. I'm informing you. What you do with that information is up to you. Hollywood itself is another case in point.

[21:03] The source of many movies. Let's face it. Many modern movies. Look, I watch movies. I'll make that confession. I have watched movies and I probably will continue to watch some movies. But we need to be informed, don't we?

[21:18] Hollywood. Hollywood. Hollywood was used by the Druids of ancient England in fabricating their magic wands.

[21:30] They made their magic wands out of holly wood that they used in casting spells. As did Harry Potter.

[21:41] The Druids. Who are the Druids? The Druids were tree worshippers. They worshipped trees. Especially the oak. And the holly was one of their most sacred symbols because it was sacred to the mother holla or hel.

[21:56] H-E-L. The Norse goddess of the underworld. The Norse goddess of the underworld. So holla, holly wood, is hel wood.

[22:07] H-E-L, wood. The place of magic. That's what it means. The place of magic. And Harry Potter had a wand that was holly wood.

[22:18] Now you might, look, I'm really going to offend you this morning by showing you some holly wood. Here's some holly wood. It's holly wood that people hang on their door at Christmas time. Oh no, that's what I always do.

[22:32] Holy wood. This custom stems back to the Druids. And it was related to the warding off of spirits. It was their superstition of warding off spirits.

[22:46] Holy wood. The wood of the holy. The wreath of holy. Holy wood. We see Hollywood today. Look, we don't have to be Einstein to know that Hollywood reflects the morals, the standards, or lack thereof, of our nation.

[22:59] Doesn't it? Of our world. I haven't talked about some really gross things that Hollywood put out there. I'm talking about the family friendly stuff. Disney. We see the pop culture of our world.

[23:12] It's endemic. It's embedded. What it stands for. What it stands for. Or against. Hollywood movies are filled with anti-God messages.

[23:24] For example, now, again, I know many Christians who think there's nothing wrong with Star Wars. What do they say on Star Wars?

[23:35] May the force be with you. May the force be with you. This phrase is what witches use to greet each other. You know, we say God bless you. They say may the force be with you.

[23:47] Don't say that. Don't partake of that. We must speak the truth to power. Be informed. Be aware. Be alerted this morning.

[23:58] Don't touch the unclean thing. The Bible says, I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes. I hate the work of them that turn aside. It shall not cleave to me. Psalm 101 verse 3.

[24:10] What are we to do? Do we drink of the polluted waters of Hollywood? You know, it's like Adelaide water, isn't it? After a while you don't notice how bad it tastes, you know?

[24:24] Do we drink of the polluted waters of Hollywood? Before long it won't taste so bad. And we'll get used to it. We won't smell the fluoride anymore.

[24:37] We won't smell the stench of it anymore. Now, look, yesterday I had occasion to go to the city dump.

[24:49] And who's ever been to the dump? What do you do? You take a clothes peg with you, don't you? You go down the dump and you try to stay there as short a time as possible, you know?

[25:00] The smell is overpowering when you walk in. After a while you get used to it, don't you? Yeah. People work there all day. They don't notice. The smell is overpowering when you walk in.

[25:14] And you kind of get used to it, don't you? Isn't that a bit like movies sometimes? Let's be honest. Oh, there's just a little bit of swearing. There's just a little bit of nudity. There's just a little bit of immorality.

[25:26] There's just a little bit of people killing each other. Just a little bit of blood and guts. And you get used to it. You condone it. You get immune to it.

[25:37] It's just like the dump. The smell just doesn't hit you anymore. Now, are you aware of the...

[25:48] There's a network of indoctrination centres scattered throughout our suburbs. Did you know that? I'm talking about schools. Indoctrination centres.

[26:00] What are our children learning? The Bible says, learn not the way of the heathen. Like it's been said, if we send our children to the Romans to train them, don't be surprised if they end up worshipping Caesar.

[26:14] Now, some people hear this kind of talk and switch off and write me off as some kind of conspiracy nut. But this is just over the top this morning. But we must speak the truth to power. We need to be alerted.

[26:25] We need to be discerning. Look after our families. We must speak truth. Even if the ones that we speak to will not hear it. Like they did in Isaiah's day.

[26:38] You know, here we are. Send your children to the Romans. And before long, they start worshipping Caesar, you know. Isaiah was told, go and tell these people.

[26:50] They're going to hear, but understand not. They're not going to receive it. But tell them anyway, basically. And we may hear this and think the whole world has gone mad.

[27:01] We can feel like we're a voice crying in the wilderness, like John the Baptist. He spoke the truth, didn't he? To a world that didn't want to hear. He confronted the sin of Herod to his face.

[27:15] He spoke the truth. Now, I'm going to further offend someone here, I know. I put to you that it doesn't matter how much a man cuts his body or adds bits to his body or shapes his body to look like a female body.

[27:31] If he has a Y chromosome, then he is a male. He is a male. It doesn't matter what he says he is, if that's not true.

[27:42] Like someone put it somewhat tongue-in-cheek. I heard there are 56 genders now. Take your pick. There's a smorgasbord. 56. And someone said, actually, in reality, there's only two, male and female, and then there's 54 new mental disorders.

[28:00] You can modify your body as much as you like. You can mutilate it all you want, but it doesn't change the fact of who you are. The very first chapter of the Bible says God created man in his own image, the image of God created he him, male and female created he them.

[28:17] It's only two choices, male and female. Look at the madness of women's sports today. Many of the winners in the events are biological males pretending, masquerading to be women.

[28:29] And this church is just accepting all of this stuff. You know, it doesn't smell so bad anymore. They just got used to it. There's many signs around us today of a decaying society.

[28:40] Now, I ask to you, what is this a symbol of? What is this a symbol of? The rainbow. The rainbow is a...

[28:51] It's God's covenant, isn't it? It's a symbol of God's promise to never flood the world again, to never flood the whole earth again. This symbol, the symbol of the rainbow, has been hijacked such that some of the sins that provoke the flood, it's actually that.

[29:11] It's become a symbol of some of the sins that provoke the flood. We need to speak truth to power, to speak the truth. Here's another example. Euthanasia.

[29:24] Assisted suicide became legal in the state of Victoria in our nation on Wednesday, the 19th of June. Just gone. A dark day for Australia. Vulnerable people in Australia will be now under greater pressure to view themselves or loved ones as a burden, to take their own lives.

[29:46] What a terrible message this sends. The value of a human life, as if someone's more discounted, as if someone's less worthy, less valued. The value of a human life.

[29:57] And in order to legalise assisted suicide, Victorian legislators pushed past the AMA, the Australian Medical Association, the World Medical Association, the Council of Experienced Care Doctors and such.

[30:12] Our Lord was bold to speak the truth to power. He confronted the wrongs.

[30:23] He confronted the corrupt religious players of his day. He did not hold back. The money changes. He spoke truth to power. He spoke it. He told it like it is.

[30:35] And so should we, shouldn't we? Tell it like it is. Let's be informed by the Bible. That's the source of truth, of rights and wrongs. The political parties can talk Labour values, Green values, Liberal values, you name it values, but we need Bible values.

[30:50] That's what we need. We need God's values. To bring back our nation, our state. To the truth. Here's another issue facing us just now.

[31:01] In South Australia, the 13th attempt to push the decriminalisation of prostitution. And the upper house has passed it by 13 votes to 8.

[31:11] South Australian sex workers are a major step closer to having their industry decriminalised. You know, one of your daughters could apply for a job to be such.

[31:22] That's how desperate our land is. That's how desperate and decayed and disgusting our world is. The bill has passed the South Australian upper house after seven hours of debate.

[31:35] It decriminalises acts relating to such things. I won't go into the gross detail of it. But friends, today, this is alarming stuff. This is Adelaide.

[31:45] This is South Australia. And there's a conscience vote being given. It's the first time it's gone to the lower house. And pray for our land. Pray for our government.

[31:56] Pray for our lawmakers that they'll have wisdom. We have a sick land and only God can heal it. We need to speak loudly like Paul in the marketplace of Athens.

[32:08] Don't hold back. Speak truth to power. Challenge the religious and political systems. Stand up and be counted. Like the three Hebrew children that would not bow down when everybody else did.

[32:21] South Australia. Adelaide, the city of churches. Now it's the number one ice capital. The number one drug capital of ice. The meth drug.

[32:33] And it's headed to become known as the city of brothels. The city of churches. God help us. God help us, Adelaide. What is going on in our world? In our state? In our land? In our city?

[32:44] Forces are being mobilised all around us against Bible Christianity. Here's China. They can walk into a church like this. The police and grab you and take you away.

[32:58] Never to be seen again. I saw a headline lately. China declares war on Christianity. Destroys churches. Burns Bibles. You better start memorising your Bible.

[33:11] Amen. Start memorising your Bible. You don't know how long it's going to be able to be in your hands. And Christians are being persecuted all over the world. Government control is rising.

[33:22] It's happening. Anti-Christian sentiment. It's in the movies. It's in the media. It's in the fake news. It's in the... It's everywhere, isn't it? Everywhere all around us.

[33:33] This anti-Christ, anti-Christian sentiment. And the media often paint us Christians, let's face it, in a negative way. You are in a war. A global war.

[33:45] They've declared war against Christianity. We need a biblical culture. We need to be salt, be light. Be not afraid. We should be obsessed with not what's speaking, what's politically correct, but what is biblically correct.

[34:04] What is correct in the eyes of the Lord? Not what is correct in our own eyes or the eyes of all the people, but what is correct in the eyes of the Lord? What is right in the eyes of the Lord? Think of how our Lord spoke up.

[34:16] It says, Friends, there's a lot of false teachers.

[34:37] We need to speak truth. As bold and uncompromising as our Lord himself, truly his word was with power. As it says in part, Ecclesiastes 8.4, where the word of a king is there is power.

[34:52] We have the highest authority in the land. It's not the high court, the supreme court. It's the supreme word of God. This is the highest authority in the world. We have it in our very possession, his very word, his words.

[35:05] And it says of his words, they were amazed. And they spoke among themselves, what a word is this? With authority and power, he commands the unclean spirits and they come out. They didn't go having tarot cards in the church or Ouija boards or Christian witches conventions.

[35:21] They commanded the unclean spirits to come out. That's what we need, don't we? This world and its demons cannot stand the word of God.

[35:31] That's why they hate it. And it's time that we lift up our voices and declare it, his word. Matthew 7, 28 through 29, verse 28, it says, It came to pass when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine.

[35:49] They were astonished. This is earth-shaking. This was shocking. And it still is. The world is, this is just counter-cultural. This is something our world just can't get its head around sometimes because it's so different.

[36:04] And he taught them as one having authority, not as the scribes, it says in verse 29. May we not be afraid to speak the truth. To speak the truth. And look, I know it's hard. In the employment settings, you've got to be as wise as a serpent, harmless as a dove.

[36:18] You've got to find your opportunities and use wisdom and tact, opportunities that present. To speak God's words is what we're called to. To speak his words with conviction and with zeal.

[36:31] It says in Mark 1, 22, they were astonished at his doctrine. This is astonishing stuff, isn't it? You've probably been a bit shocked by some of this. You might think, oh, I've got to throw out some of my DVDs when I get home.

[36:43] You might be thinking, well, maybe there's some things I need to take stock of here this morning. Maybe there's some opportunities to rethink some of this stuff that's been something, some of that, oh, it does smell.

[36:57] I never noticed it before. This stinks. His word has power, doesn't it? It still has power today. Let's get that refreshed passion, that passion for speaking the truth to power.

[37:09] It does not matter what men say about the Bible. It's still true. They might declare this book illegal. It doesn't matter. They're likely to, aren't they?

[37:20] Yes, they are. You know, they still place a hand on this book in our courts, don't they? And they say, I declare, I profess to speak the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

[37:33] What do they put their hand on? The word of God, because there is no higher authority. There is nothing greater. There is no greater truth. There is no greater power than Christ and his word.

[37:46] It's still true. Nowadays, we see with recent events, Israel Folau essentially being punished for simply quoting the Bible.

[37:57] Honestly. Now, Israel Folau has got some peculiar doctrines, but the point is that he has declared the word of God, and for that he has been punished.

[38:07] And friends, it makes you wonder what on earth is going on. How long before the Bible is banned and true Christianity is outlawed? It's silenced. How long before just quoting the scripture, as in the UK, quoting the King James Bible in the land of the King of England, who authorised this book by his hand, that that book is now not wanted in the public domain?

[38:33] How long before that happens in our land? As a friend of, as has been put by a Christian author friend of mine, why are atheists and agnostics so upset when they don't believe in God, hell, or the Bible anyway?

[38:47] What does it matter what Israel Folau says? If there is no God, if there is no hell, he can say what he likes, but they're still offended. They're still angry. With a God they say they don't believe in, with a hell they say they don't believe in, yet it's still offensive to them because deep, deep down they know there is a God they've got to give account to.

[39:07] There is a hell that they must shun. That's why they're angry. Now, I'll put to you today, there's a lot of intolerance in Australia. A lot of intolerance, all right.

[39:20] They say that of you, of me, but it's Christians they're against, isn't it? Christians should be free to publish the very words of God. If they want to publish it on Facebook, on some blog, or whatever it be, Christians should be free to publish the word of God, the very words of God that are under attack.

[39:42] The people were amazed when Jesus spoke this word, and they said, what thing is this? What doctrine is this? Mark 1.27, he commanded with authority and even the unclean spirits obeyed him.

[39:56] This word is radical. It was then and it is now and it will be. This word is different. It's different. Wow, I've never heard this before. This is just blowing my mind. Look, you've just opened up the nostrils and smell.

[40:09] Oh, I've never smelled that before. Go down the dump and have a smell. And I'm just using that as a kind of graphic picture that this is disgusting.

[40:24] Oh, I don't want that. This world is filled with darkness and filth. And we must broadcast this clear word. The words that we speak, they are spirit and they are life.

[40:37] John 6.63. Jesus says, these words are spirit. These words are life. This is life changing. Now, there's a recent article that says Facebook is now banning people for wrong think.

[40:50] Wrong think. You know, they're using these means of checking words and phrases. And YouTube, the same. That, oh, if they say a certain thing or they make a certain statement or they use certain key phrases that they ban from Facebook, they just delete those posts, those statements.

[41:10] It never gets airplay. And this article cited Christian sermons and now hate speech. And it gave an example where Facebook has removed a link to a sermon and temporarily suspended the individual who shared it because apparently some Christian doctrines violate the platform's community standards on hate speech.

[41:29] So, in other words, put a sermon out there, put a statement out there that's Bible-based and might be confronting to the culture, and it's called hate speech now.

[41:40] And this was just a short video clip of a sermon. That was the instance here. And Paul urges people to adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things.

[41:52] You know, we're speaking about speaking the truth to power. Of course, some people can be obnoxious. They can be obnoxious and hateful and just plain repugnant in how they put their Christianity out there.

[42:05] We're not talking about that. I'm not supporting that. We don't go attacking people who have certain sins because we're all sinners. All have sinned.

[42:18] And the most religious are just as sinful and just as needful of the Saviour saving than those we might count as the more evidently sinful.

[42:30] Everyone's sinful. Everyone has sinned. And we want to adorn the doctrine of our God, our Saviour. We've got a Saviour who wants to save. His heart is to save.

[42:40] His heart is with compassion. And he calls us to adorn that teaching. Adorn the truth, the teaching of his truth. That our words will match up with our walk.

[42:53] That there'll be an alignment with these truths in this book. That we'll live the kingdom life such that we'll be contagious Christians. People will want to hear because they'll see Christ in you.

[43:07] Peter and John knew a boldness as they went. And they said, these guys don't know what they're talking about. This is the Andrew Craig version. These guys are just nutters, fruit loops, unlearned, ignorant.

[43:22] They don't know what they're talking about. But they marveled that these are they called unlearned and ignorant men. They marveled that they took knowledge of them that they had been with Jesus.

[43:33] Acts 4.13. They saw the boldness of Peter and John. What made the difference? They had been with Jesus. That's what counts, isn't it? Be with Jesus. Be with him.

[43:44] Commune with your God. Get that relationship sorted. Speak truth to power. Don't clam up. Speak up. I know it can be hard. You know, as a student, year 12, Elizabeth High, I was one of very few Christians.

[44:02] But we made an effort. We had a Christian fellowship. We got others together and we sought to encourage one another. Those few Christians that there were. I know there's folk in work settings that you feel like you're on, you're lonesome.

[44:15] But yeah, there's the one or two that you can encourage one another. And you can be a power. You can be a force to reckon with. And we care enough to say something, don't we? To speak up.

[44:26] And why? Because we care. You know, we were knocking on doors yesterday and there's a man there. He was saying, I'm a professed atheist. And I felt really sorry for him.

[44:37] I really did. And honestly, I did. I didn't come to him to browbeat him, to argue or debate or to belittle him or to attack his belief system unduly.

[44:55] But I spoke to him and I said, you're more than a body and brains. You have a soul.

[45:07] You have a soul. And that's why we're here. Because we care for your soul. We're here because we care for your soul. And friends, we're all ever-living souls.

[45:19] And the people that you know around you, even, let's face it, the ones you don't like, they're still souls, aren't they? Care for souls.

[45:30] Even the people you find get under your skin, they're an ever-living soul that will go somewhere for eternity. Let's care. That's why we witness. That's why we are a church that cares about soul winning, that cares about evangelising.

[45:43] It's because we care, not because we want to win a contest or be holier than thou or seem like we're putting others down. We want to lift them up.

[45:54] We want them to know the saviour. These words are spirit and they are life. And they're transforming, life-transforming truths. Now, what is our message? It's that we have life and have it more abundantly.

[46:08] Now, I'm going to something next week where I'm going to have opportunity in a secular setting to give a speech. And I want it to be a speech that is the truth. Speaking truth to power.

[46:18] Pray for me next week as I have this opportunity to deliver a message to a gathering of largely unsaved people. And I'm going to not hold back.

[46:29] But I want to speak truth to power such that that truth can get across to even those who are Christ-rejecters, even those who got no care or regard for the Bible, that it'll open their eyes, that they'll see, that they'll be receptive, they'll see my heart is to care, my heart is to reach, my heart is to speak for Christ, to speak truth to power.

[46:49] And let that be your heart, in your life, in your setting, in your circumstance, in your circle of influence, that you can be a powerful Christian. You won't be afraid, you won't speak truth to power in the sense of being arrogant or a put-down or a brow-beating or Bible-bashing or, you know, that kind of thing.

[47:09] We're not talking about that. But that you'll be a communicator that you will reach people for Christ. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you that your word is with power.

[47:20] It still is. It always will be. Lord, we pray, help us to be guardians of that message, but not holding it back, but holding it forth, holding it out, extending that message to others that they can hear and receive it and know the truth that sets men free.

[47:41] Lord, we pray if there's any here present, they've yet to put their trust in Christ as Lord, as Saviour, that today will be that day that they'll say, yes, Lord, I believe. I believe you died on the cross for my sin.

[47:53] Yes, Lord, I believe you rose again from the dead. You ascended and you're coming back. And yes, Lord, I believe that you have taken my sin when you were nailed at the cross, when you bled, when you shed that precious blood, I believe it was for me and I receive it.

[48:14] I trust you. I receive your gift of everlasting life. Help me, Lord, to live as we bless you, Lord. We pray for each one here this morning that each one would know that powerful, saving grace of God.

[48:32] Lord, and Lord, let it be, we pray, that each one will know how we can be a bolder Christian and stand up for you, Lord, in every opportunity that we can.

[48:45] Give us wisdom how to do it, Lord, and be glorified, Lord. Let it not be that in brashness or pride or self-righteousness, Lord, but in humility with meekness and with fear that will give an answer to those who need to hear this answer, which is the answer to the ultimate question, how can I be saved, Lord, that they can be saved.

[49:07] Use us, Lord, for your glory. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.