Landmarks

[0:00] It's been 22 years that we mark as a church today and over half of our married life, Julie and me, and we reflect back and think what God has wrought, what God has done and is yet doing and will yet do in the future.

[0:19] I want to put to you some four things that we would stand for as kind of landmarks, the sure things, things that we stand for and uphold as a church. And they're sure things.

[0:31] You know, some would say that the only sure things are death and taxes. I had a letter from the tax office saying that I did not owe some tax payment that I thought I would normally pay because I wasn't required.

[0:43] I didn't earn enough. So that was nice. That was nice to know I didn't have to pay the tax. You know, sometimes you get a word from the tax office, you think, oh no, it's going to be some big bill. But there's some sure things.

[0:54] And the Bible tells us about some sure things. That's which we can be assured of. They're real things. They're true things. We can stand on them. It seems like today the world says question everything and believe nothing.

[1:07] But the Bible says we can have some landmarks. We can have some things that are sure, that are steadfast, that are absolutes, that are true and we can trust in. It seems in this world people have no or little or no reality, no certainty.

[1:22] And this philosophy sometimes comes into the church. But the Bible says this in Proverbs 22, 28. It tells us about some wonderful landmarks that are from God, that are by God.

[1:35] Some absolutes. The Word of God is filled with these absolutes and not this uncertainty of our world. And I'll put to you some sure things you can take heart in today.

[1:45] Some landmarks. The Bible says remove not the ancient landmark which thy fathers have set. Landmarks you can think of as kind of pegs in the ground as you would measure a block, a lot of land that you might want to build on.

[1:58] That they set those marks in the ground and they are locked in. They're not to be moved. They're not to be changed. They are definite. They are sure. They are trustworthy. And likewise too as God's people we've got some sure things.

[2:11] Some things we can absolutely surely believe in and know confidently they are right and true. Are you sure of your Bible? Yes, you should be.

[2:22] Of salvation. Yes, you can be. We can have a sure and a pure Christianity. Though uncertainty is everywhere around. Though moral absolutes have been questioned and redefined.

[2:34] You know, it's kind of weird. Even in the church settings. I heard recently that apparently the top Christian music performer these days, they're on the top of the iTunes. She's a lesbian.

[2:47] And she's the one that all the Christian music lovers are flocking to. And she's rated as number one. Top of the pops. Shows what popularity says, doesn't it?

[2:59] Discernment is thoroughly lacking. It's totally lacking. And there's an uncertainty. There's a doubt. There's unbelief. And there's a horrific compromise that's going on in much of the church it seems.

[3:11] And that's not to say we can't be immune from that too. We want to be a New Testament church though. Where we uphold some things as a church against the tide of unbelief. Things that we can know, that we can trust, that this is true.

[3:25] And so I put to you this morning, there's some sure things. There's some things that are sure. And through God's help, He has given us and is working through for us as a church these sure things.

[3:37] We can have faith in God. We can have an assurance in His Word. It puts really, I put to you, it starts with that. The Bible. The Scriptures. We've got a sure Bible.

[3:49] We've got a real Bible. A perfect Bible. You can be sure of your Bible. By faith we can trust and believe and practice and obey the clear and plain teachings of the Scripture.

[4:02] It seems as the Bible tells there will be a famine in the land. A famine of hearing the words of the Lord. A lack of faith in the Bible. And there's this fear and confusion.

[4:13] But people don't know where to turn. And some people have got little things in their, kind of the footnotes of their Bible. Well, there's a bit of a question mark about this or this or that.

[4:25] And things that they don't have a Bible that they can say, yes, this is true. This is God's truth. We can have an assurance in it. There's no doubt being cast upon it. But sadly it seems many are turning to other Bibles that don't have that stamp of authority on them.

[4:42] We don't have that today. We've got an assurance in the Scriptures. We've got a Word of God we can resolutely stand upon. The devil attacks this book. He has right from the beginning. Right from the garden.

[4:54] You know, is it God's Word? Has God said? That's what the serpent said. Was it the first thing pretty much out of his mouth? Has God said? Is what?

[5:05] We have what God said or is it not? We can have assurance. We can have that certainty about the Scriptures. I believe it is a sure word.

[5:16] As Peter writes in 2 Peter 1 verse 19. He calls it sure. He says we have a more sure word of prophecy. Whereunto we do well. But we take heed.

[5:27] As unto a light in a dark place. Until the day dawn. And the day star arise in your hearts. He says take heed unto it. As unto a light that is shining in a dark place.

[5:39] We can confess today. I am a Bible believer. A Bible believer. Not a Bible doubter. Not a Bible critic. But a Bible believer. And this book is the final authority from God.

[5:52] He's got his stamp of authority upon it. And our Lord says if you love me. He says keep my word. He says if you love me. Keep my commandments. John 14 verse 15.

[6:04] Friends we have the word of God in our hands. In between the covers of our Bible. And I put here the King James Bible. It's that Bible. That is most accurately and faithfully translated.

[6:15] Of the original perfect word of God. And we have basically two camps in the world today. One says have we thus saith the Lord. Or the other camp says hath God said.

[6:28] Hath God said. There's no doubt and unbelief. For us we can trust this book. We can assuredly trust this book. There is so much doubt and unbelief today. But we can have a sure foundation.

[6:39] The Bible is our sole and final authority. It is written. This is our trust. God has written it. And we have it in our English language today. Faithfully translated.

[6:51] From that perfect book God has given. Tells us that the law of the Lord is perfect. Perfect. We have that assurance. This is perfect. It's complete. It's whole.

[7:01] It's absolute. The word of God. The scriptures. The law of the Lord. It is perfect. It says. Converting the soul. It's the testimony of the Lord. It makes wise the simple.

[7:12] And we have a perfect Bible today. We stand on that as a church. We have a sure Bible. It is sure. It is pure. Others can go to other Bibles. The New King James.

[7:23] Whatever it be. There's not the same authority there. That we have here in this book. The King James Bible. So I commend that to you today. That we have a Bible that is sure.

[7:34] That is pure. It says that the word of God. Every word of God is pure. Every word of it. Every word of it. There's no doubt there. Every word of God is pure. And he has a shield unto them.

[7:45] That put their trust in him. So I commend the Bible to you today. The word of God. The scriptures. That you can have assurance in them. It's a landmark for us. And revival starts with the Bible.

[7:57] There was a little boy who heard an announcement. As they use in America. The term revival services. The special services they conduct. And he heard this announcement concerning these revival services.

[8:09] And he was telling one of his friends later. That we're going to have a re-Bible at our church. A re-Bible. He misheard it. But it's true still isn't it? We need a re-Bible in our church.

[8:21] You know. To think of that. And friends. You know. We can be urged in this vein. Further. That we don't just settle. As I was preparing this message. And thinking. What we stand for as a church.

[8:32] As if we would stand on it. And then sit back on our laurels. And think we've arrived. But no. We need to do more. To be such a church. That has confidence and faith in the scriptures.

[8:43] That we need to live biblically. To actually put it into our lives. To walk biblically. To believe biblically. To talk biblically. To dress biblically.

[8:53] To have church biblically. To be such a people. That the Bible determines the lifestyle that we live. And the life that we walk. Is Bible centred.

[9:06] Not to stay in camp unbelief. But to be in the faith. And the faith is in the word. It tells us that we believe in the faith once delivered.

[9:17] The faith once delivered to the saints. And we contend earnestly for that. We've got a Bible worth fighting for. And standing up for. And telling others about. And God has given us such a book.

[9:28] A Bible. That we can have absolute confidence. And faith in. We have an assurance in the book. And we are sure that we have. Thus saith the Lord. And every word of God is pure.

[9:41] Another area that we can stand on as a church. And stand for as a church. Is about the assurance of salvation. That we can have an assurance.

[9:52] An assurance who we believe. And that we have soul saving faith. You know Trent was sharing there. As someone who trusted the Lord. That's what we want as a church.

[10:03] To be a church that reaches out. A church that reaches out to our world. And some these days they cast doubt about salvation. As if it's something you can never be sure of.

[10:15] You know there's some churches that teach. A salvation is some kind of flaky. Kind of you've got it. You haven't got it. You've got it. You might have lost it. Regain it. It's all flaky and flimsy.

[10:26] And not of God. To have that kind of weak. Kind of uncertain salvation. We can be sure of salvation. We can be sure of salvation.

[10:37] Because we have a saviour. Whose word is true. And who assures us we can know. That we have salvation. Are you sure of your salvation? You can be.

[10:49] You can be. Hebrews 6 verse 19 it says. Which hope we have. This hope of salvation. This assurance of salvation. This confidence of salvation. We have it as an anchor of the song.

[11:02] And it's both sure and steadfast. This salvation is sure. It's steadfast. And it says it enters into that. Within the veil. This will see us through to the other side.

[11:13] Of the curtain. Into eternity. This assurance that we have. Is not just in the here and now. It's beyond the veil. It's beyond the curtain. Of eternity. It is forever life.

[11:24] And God's salvation is from. God's abounding grace. The Bible calls it so great salvation. This salvation is something that's great. This salvation is affected.

[11:35] By the precious blood of Christ. People are putting it out there. That salvation is uncertain. But we don't know till we die.

[11:46] Whether we're saved or not. I've had people give such a line of argument to me. As if we don't know until our last breath. Whether we're going to heaven or not.

[11:58] Friends. We don't know till we die. Whether we're saved or not. That's a problem. There's a problem there. If you leave it that late.

[12:08] To have a sure salvation. Then you are surely too late. But I put to you. I command the Savior to you.

[12:19] He says you can be saved. He says come unto me. He says come unto me. He says be saved. Look unto me. Be saved. We can know as you come. As you look to him.

[12:30] As you trust him. You can know a sure salvation. By faith. We can trust him. And trust his word. And he will keep the soul. That he saves.

[12:41] If he will keep that soul. That he saves. Friends. We read that in John 10. 28. Through 29. Our Lord Jesus promises this. He says I give unto them. Eternal life.

[12:52] And they shall never perish. Neither shall any man pluck them. Out of my hand. My father. Which gave them me. Is greater than all. And no man is able to pluck them out.

[13:04] Of my father's hand. So you can be sure. That you're saved. You can have that assurance. Here and now. In the present tense. You can be sure. You're saved today. And forever.

[13:16] Because it's all of grace. It's all of grace. Now that's not to negate. God wants us to be. Real. And I don't want to give people.

[13:27] A false assurance of salvation. But I'd like to give you. A bible assurance of salvation. I'd like to give you. God's assurance of salvation. You that have trusted him. You that have trusted.

[13:39] That it is all of grace. You can know. Yes. Assuredly I know. I know that I know. That I'm saved. And friends. We don't live by doubt. The bible says. We live by faith. That's how we have life.

[13:51] Life more abundant. It's faith in him. And friends. We must have that. Old fashioned. God sent revival. A sure bible. And a sure saviour. And see that which is false.

[14:03] For what it is. Again. I don't want to give anyone. A false assurance. That you can just. Mouth some words. And make some pretense. Or some show. But that it is heart deep.

[14:15] That we believe in our heart. That God has raised him from the dead. That we trust him. We confess him. Lord. With our mouth. You know. That's the.

[14:25] That's the grace. That we can know. And that's the assurance. You can assuredly know. You're heaven bound. Because you live by faith. And there's a sense.

[14:36] When we leave the false. And the flaky. We flee Babylon. We don't want the false fire. You know. The hoo-ha. The razzmatazz. That someone emphasised. Or the new cart.

[14:48] Some new ways of doing things. We actually need the old fashioned way. Of doing things. We need God's way. Of doing things. Don't we? We need God's salvation. And there's things that we can stand for.

[14:58] And stand against. We stand against that. Uncertainty. That says. Oh you don't know. That you're saved. You don't. You can't know. That you're. You're going to heaven. Or you might lose it.

[15:09] Tomorrow. And go to hell. Even though you've got it today. And the bible says. Nothing of such. The bible says. You can know. That you have. Eternal life. It says. This is the record.

[15:20] This is the record. You that have faith. That know him. That trust him. You can know. That you have. As a present tense possession. Eternal life. And that takes away. All that uncertainty.

[15:32] That lack of assurance. And it just replaces it. With a firm. And sure. Landmark. Of assurance of salvation. And that's the kind of church. We want to be part of.

[15:43] Isn't it? That we've got that certain saviour. And that we care enough. To tell others of that saviour. That we want to reach out. With this soul saving message. That blessed. Perfect salvation.

[15:53] That God affects in the hearts. And lives of his people. Individually. And as a group. So I want to assure you of that. That we can be assured of. A perfect bible.

[16:04] A real bible. A perfect salvation. A real salvation. And last. And secondly. Thirdly rather. Losing my points here. That we can have.

[16:15] A real spiritual life. That we can have. A sanctification. In other words. A holiness. That comes. A holy living.

[16:27] You know. It's. A common saying. People are looking for the. Perfect church. The perfect church. And as we mark our. 22nd anniversary. As a church.

[16:37] I can say by faith. That this is. A perfect church. A perfect church. Now. Before you start thinking. Andrew Craig's really lost it now. He's starting a false cult.

[16:48] Let me explain. God is building his church. And his church is. Perfect. Isn't it? It's perfect. It says it's going to be a glorious church. Without spot. Or wrinkle.

[16:58] Or any such thing. That's the kind of church. I want to be in. Amen. That's the kind of church. We are in by faith. That's. There's no spot. Or wrinkle. Or any such thing. God helping us. We are such a church.

[17:10] We're on that trajectory. At least. To. To purity. Because God purifies his church. He causes a holy people. That's his will for us. God wants us to be a church. Full.

[17:21] Of perfect. People. And by faith. Looking at you. I say. Amen. You are a church. Such as that. Because it's by his work. That you are a blood purchased people this morning.

[17:33] And God looking at you says. You're perfect. You're righteous. You're covered with my robes of righteousness. And he's the one who's making you a perfect church. Amen. He's the one making you perfect.

[17:45] He's perfecting you. Because of course. Really. We know. We're all. Well I speak for myself. Imperfect. Imperfect. Now of course we don't mean to say. As some would say.

[17:57] We are the only church. Nor would we say. We are perfect. In a kind of prideful way. But it's God's grace. That is making us. More like him. Isn't it?

[18:07] That we. We're more and more. Unto the perfect day. That we will be shining. As it were the just. The path of the just. Shine us more and more. Unto the perfect day. There's that sense where.

[18:19] He's perfecting that. Which pertains to you. And we're not taking pride in that. Because it's only the grace of God. It's all of grace.

[18:29] Only God's grace. Working in us. Despite us. That he would get all the praise. That's what we want. There's a sense where God is making us. His vessels. Fit and useful.

[18:42] Meat for the master to use. Don't you want to be such. That you would be. Ready. Prepared for the master to use. And he wants to. Perfect his work in you.

[18:53] By his will. It tells us that. In Hebrews 13. 21. It says that. That God make you. Perfect. In every good work. Don't you want that. To be perfect.

[19:04] In every good work. That there's a completeness. There's a. There's that finishing. Of God's working in you. That his will is in you. And it's working in you. That which is. Well pleasing in his sight.

[19:16] Through Jesus Christ. To him be glory forever. And ever. Amen. God's doing some perfecting. God is working. He's working. Concerning us. You know we're still a work in progress.

[19:28] Aren't we? By God's grace. We're still that work in progress. And God is gracious. He's working. Concerning us. He's working in us. To do his will.

[19:39] And believe in here this morning. You can know. Assuredly know. A fullness. Of spiritual life and power. You can know that. That conviction. Of God's moving in your heart.

[19:50] Where he's pointing out things. That need dealing with. That deep hearted work. That real work. And we can know. A dependence upon him. That we can personally know.

[20:01] And experience his working. That as part of this. We can realize. The lordship of Christ. This is a fundamental. Issue. That we would know.

[20:12] The lordship. Of Christ. That we would know. He is master. That we would know. The spirit filled life. As in personal holiness. We'd walk and know.

[20:24] God's will. The will of God. And it's even our. Sanctification. Or our holiness. 1 Thessalonians 4. Verse 3. It's his will for you. Your sanctification.

[20:36] That you'd abstain from. Fornication. He says. Sanctification. It's the will of God for you. To abstain from sin. To have holiness. Sanctification.

[20:48] And. He gives his spirit. It says in Acts 5. 23. To those who obey him. Something we need to search out. Isn't it? To obey God.

[20:59] To trust him. To hear his call. To duty. He wants to work in you. To do. His perfect work. And so we must have the. Power of the Holy Spirit.

[21:10] To. Effect that. And God is perfecting. A church today. Even right here. Right now. In Adelaide. In each one of you. And me.

[21:20] He's doing a perfecting. That we would be a church. That's well pleasing. In his sight. Don't you want that? To be a well pleasing. Believer. And it's by his working.

[21:32] So we want to let go of that. Which is unworthy of him. And have a heart that honors our Lord. In 2 Samuel 6. Uzzah reached out to steady the ark. And he dropped dead.

[21:43] God had given a pattern. A direction. Uzzah has given. Uzzah has given us the pattern. But Uzzah thought he'd do it his way. And he dropped dead.

[21:54] Friends. We've got the pattern. The Bible pattern. Uzzah just did things his own way. But we must follow the God given pattern. And we want that. We want to follow that as a church. We want to be such a church.

[22:06] It tells how they made their robes white. In the blood of the lamb. That's how you can get perfect. Amen. When your robes are white. In the blood of the lamb. Don't we need that?

[22:18] That our Lord would wash us clean. And fit us for heaven. As we follow the Bible pattern. Trust the blood. Shed for you. A vital question is.

[22:30] Are we in the will of God? Are we right with God? It tells us this perfecting work. It's hard to get our head around this word perfect.

[22:42] As we know. We're so far short of that. But the Bible says that there is a perfecting that's happening. In 2 Corinthians 7 verse 1 it says. Having therefore these promises dearly beloved.

[22:54] Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit. Perfecting holiness. In the fear of God. God surely wants his church perfect.

[23:07] And this perfecting. This perfecting of holiness. In the fear of God. It's an ongoing work. And he does that. He is doing that. He wants to work that within us. And where we fail to have this heart.

[23:19] We can show a lack of discernment. Sadly there's a falling away. It seems that it's very prevailing. A spiritual decay. A lack of spiritual energy. Now I don't want to neglect to spiritually.

[23:33] Scripturally challenge and exhort you today. To declare unto the whole counsel of God. Church. Are we sleeping? Now I can't see anyone sleeping.

[23:44] Just not quite yet. Maybe if I go on for another hour. But we need an awakening. Don't we? Don't we need a spiritual awakening? We can get spiritually sleepy. What about are we puffed up?

[23:56] With pride. When we're puffed up. We think we're the. We've got everything just right. And we've got it all laid down. And everything's just so. We can get puffed up.

[24:07] With pride. God doesn't want that either. That we would think we've arrived. That we have that humility. That humbling. Before God. That heart searching. Has there been a decline.

[24:19] Of our spiritual life. Let's be honest today. Before him. Can we gear our spiritual life. To get back on. Get the gears back.

[24:30] On the right track. To do things God's way. The Bible way. It says be filled with the spirit. That's a command.

[24:42] It's not optional. God wants you to be filled. Filled. Not just. A little bit. Filled. Keep on.

[24:53] Filling. Filling. Refilling. God wants that filling. Doesn't he? A fullness in us. Amen. A flowing. A fullness. A flooding. Not on our part.

[25:04] But God wants that. And we just have to be an empty vessel. Don't we? Sometimes. The stuff clogging. And blocking. The flow.

[25:16] I had a bit of a plumbing problem once. In my house. But now the blockage is gone. And I can be filled. And we can have a spiritual plumbing problem.

[25:29] Can't we? Let's God. Block. Unblock. And fill rather. It's a command. We must obey. And it's how we can be a useful Christian.

[25:40] He wants you to be useful. He wants us to be useful. For his kingdom's sake. And it takes that fullness. That flooding. That filling. It's an imperative.

[25:53] That we be filled. To command. Seek God for that filling. May we seek after God for a scriptural holiness. A practical holiness.

[26:03] So it's not just theoretical. That we might appear holy. But that it's practically. It's actually reality. It's in everything. It's in our fiber.

[26:15] Sorry. We love each other. Yeah. Yeah. It's that. God's character would be so filling us. That his love would flow. His grace would be ours.

[26:27] Do we care for souls? You know. There's people. I know this song. Very intelligent. Much more than me. Intellectual people. Doing university level studies and such.

[26:40] The Bible says. Here is wisdom. He that winneth souls is wise. That's the greatest school. Isn't it? The school of souls. The school of soul winning. That he that winneth souls is wise.

[26:52] Proverbs 11. Verse 30. Praise God. You know. We've been challenged with the story that Trent told.

[27:05] And look. You don't have to be there on a Saturday morning to read souls. You can read souls today. Monday morning. When you go to work. When you go to school.

[27:16] Whatever it be. Wherever you go. You can be a soul winner. He that wins souls is wise. It's the wisest thing you can do. Is to tell others of the saviour. Are we withholding from God.

[27:28] What he wants for us. You know. What are we withholding. Is there a coldness. Is there a bitterness. Is there a fault finding. Are there things God wants to crucify in us.

[27:41] That we haven't let him have. Is there a decay. In our spiritual life. Are we grieving the Holy Spirit. Will we yield to God. Will we set our heart on the things of God.

[27:55] That God's will is to be temperate in all things. Have that sense. I want to be temperate. I want to be actually. Make some wise choices. In every faculty. In every field of my life.

[28:06] Let go of sin. Whatever it be. That is blocking. That is stopping you. It says you have been bought with a price. Wow. You are so valuable.

[28:19] That you have been bought with a price. The price of the precious blood. And you belong to God. And that means our time. Our property. Our body. Our soul. Our all.

[28:31] God wants that for us. So we're called to do the will of God. To stay in his will. To seek God's pleasure. To seek God's presence. Friends.

[28:43] God is doing a perfecting work. Will we be like Enoch. It says of him. He had this testimony. That he pleased God. That's the greatest thing you can ever do with your life.

[28:55] Isn't it? To please God. To have that heart. That actually I want to bless my heavenly father. I want to do something that would bring joy to him. And gladness to him.

[29:06] That God would be pleased with me. Will we be like Noah. He was. He was another man. He was called perfect. Noah had arrived. But we saw he had some failings.

[29:17] As much as we might question. The circumstances. He got drunk. You know. He was called perfect. But God still had some working to do in Noah. As he has in all of us.

[29:29] God sees you as. He saw Noah. Perfect. He sees you as he saw Abraham. Abraham. Will we be like Abraham? He was called perfect. It says in Genesis 17 verse 1.

[29:41] The Lord appeared to Abraham and said unto him. I am the almighty God. Walk before me. And be thou perfect. Wow. That's a big call isn't it? It says be thou perfect.

[29:53] How is that possible? It says. I am. El Shaddai. The almighty God. You know. If you know the almighty God. He can do wonders with such as we.

[30:03] Can't he? If he is almighty. He can use such frail beings as we. To do his will. To change us. To make us. Perfect. Because it's his work. God is doing a perfecting work.

[30:15] And the work of perfecting. Is ongoing. There's that sense where. You know. It's quite interesting. If you do a word study. Of the word perfect. It's there. Lots and lots of times.

[30:26] It's quite interesting. As the Lord says. Be perfect. Wow. That's. A big call isn't it? How can I be perfect? Well it's Christ in you. He's the perfect one.

[30:38] If Christ is in you. Yes. He sees you are perfect in him. And he's perfecting us. It tells us in Hebrews 10 verse 14. By one offering is perfect to forever.

[30:49] Them that are sanctified. He's perfected you forever. He's provided everything that you need. Because of Calvary. Because of the cross. Because of his bloodshed.

[31:00] Because he took your penalty. And paid your sin debt. You can be saved and sanctified. Made holy. And he's provided everything we need.

[31:10] To make us even perfect. But we've got to get back. To the place called Calvary. That's where it happens. Perfect. Perfect. Sanctification. We can have perfect sanctification.

[31:24] Now I'm not preaching sinless perfection here. Not saying you're going to be so perfect. That you'll never have any sin problem. But there is a perfect sanctification. In that our sanctifier is perfecting us.

[31:38] Forever. That's what he's doing. Some of us are maybe a little further along the road. Some not so. But there's this truth that God is perfecting us. He's making us more like him.

[31:50] That we can have that perfect communion with God. That we can grow closer in our personal faith walk. To get closer to doing God's will. That we can be as a church. Marked as a holy people.

[32:03] A blessed fellowship. By those who are genuinely born again. And bearing fruit. So. Thus far we've seen it. We can know some landmarks.

[32:14] Some absolutes. Some things that are sure. They're locked in. They're pounded in the ground. And they're not going to be shifting anytime soon. We have an absolute Bible.

[32:27] It says, Thus saith the Lord. Yes, I believe it. From cover to cover. An absolute Bible. We've got an absolute salvation. Because we've got an absolute saviour. Who saves to the uttermost.

[32:39] Them that come unto God by him. And we have absolute spiritual blessings. Or spiritual life. An absolute sanctification. That by faith he's sanctifying us.

[32:52] And he's doing that. It's a forever work. This is an eternal work. It's a God blessed work. It's a God wrought work. That we can have a spiritual life. And fruitfulness. That is an absolute sanctification.

[33:04] And we can see also lastly. A fourth landmark. As I would term it. Is an absolute surrender. An absolute surrender.

[33:17] Now that's a big call too isn't it? That we would come in an absolute surrender. And we put our hands up and say. Yes Lord. Whatever. Is there a reservation in our surrender?

[33:32] You know we just. Oh I'll give God so much. But I'll just keep some of myself. Some of my ways for myself.

[33:44] Well will we say. God have all of me. Have my all. Are we guilty of. An incomplete surrender. We see in 1 Samuel 15.

[33:58] Where. Samuel. Gave Saul the word of God. And he said to utterly slay. Slay utterly.

[34:09] The Amalekites. And everything. Pertaining to them. Which represented the flesh. He said get rid of it. Slay it utterly. Kill it totally. Totally get rid of it. And Saul made out.

[34:21] That he had done so. And he put on all this. Kind of spiritual language. And pretense. And then we see that. Samuel says. What meaneth then.

[34:32] This bleaching of the sheep in mine ears. And the looming of the oxen which I hear. You know. Here was Saul making out. He'd done everything. He'd killed the Amalekites. And he'd made this big sacrifice.

[34:44] And he'd got this great victory. Over the Amalekites. Which represents the flesh. That which is not of God. That he had completely. Dealt with it.

[34:56] As God had told him to. But he hadn't. And Samuel said. What's that? I can hear some sheep. Bah. Bah. What's this? And the looming of the oxen.

[35:07] Woo. Woo. You can hear these sounds. He said. No. Something doesn't stack up here. You know. You're saying you've done everything. But it's a defective obedience. It's a defective consecration.

[35:22] God told. Saul. Get rid of the bleaching sheep. It is then. That you can have the blessing come down. But Saul. Wanted to have.

[35:32] It's his way. And. That's a great mistake. Isn't it? Friends. Likewise for us.

[35:43] God wants us to have. A. Absolute surrender. A. Reconsecration. Am I holding something back? Or will I have a false surrender?

[35:56] Count the cost today. Count the cost. This is a great day of opportunity. I read a little. Reference to.

[36:07] Counting the cost. And the point of the article said. Count the cost. Of a Christless. Selfish life. Would be a far greater cost. To.

[36:18] Not have. Your life. Given to him. That would be a greater cost. To pay. To miss. God's best for you. Count the cost.

[36:30] Of a Christless. Selfish life. Let's not. Let's not take that pathway today. Let's rather. Be willing to. Give ourselves. In absolute surrender.

[36:42] To let go of the carnal. To kill off those bleating sheep. And those oxen. You know. As. As Saul was. Instructed. To kill off. That which was off.

[36:52] The Amalekites. But he only did. Partly. That. That. Now we can be like that. Can't we? We can be. I'm a Christian. Yes. You're saved.

[37:03] But it's a partial obedience. You're only partly. Walking with him. You're kind of still. Toying with things. That you know. You must let go of. The carnal things.

[37:15] You know. The word tells us. Crucify yourselves. We ought to have. A passion for holy living. He calls us to. Prevailing prayer. To be fair dinkum.

[37:26] About our Christian war. To have a travailer soul. That God would so. Move us. That we want to meet with God. And get things sorted. We'd want to seek his states.

[37:38] We'd want to kill off. Those bleating sheep. We don't want to hear them anymore. We want to kill them off. As it were. Those things. Of the flesh. Those things. That we've not dealt with fully. That we've not.

[37:49] We've not given them to God. To get nearer to him. Than what you ever were before. We need to hear his still small voice. And there's that conviction.

[38:00] That Holy Spirit born conviction. That comes from him. So count the cost. And make the sacrifice anyway. Yes it's going to be costly. You know.

[38:11] You might think. Well there's some things. Maybe God's pointing out. To your heart. Yeah there's some things. I've not fully surrendered. Count the cost.

[38:22] And make the sacrifice anyway. Yes it will be inconvenient. Yes it will go against your flesh. Yes it will be something. You'll struggle and strive with. And battle with.

[38:34] Count the cost. And make the sacrifice anyway. Don't be like salt. Just partly. Obey. Full surrender.

[38:48] Absolute surrender. Come out and be separate. Come out of unbelief. And God will pour out a blessing. And wouldn't it be great. If God interrupted his sermon.

[39:00] I was thinking how. It speaks of Peter. While Peter yet spake these words. Bang. He hadn't finished his sermon. Wouldn't it be wonderful. While Peter yet spake these words.

[39:13] God moved. There was a holy upheaval. The spirit fell. God cut short the sermon. The program. Now we can be so programmed.

[39:25] And particular. And prepared. I think God wants to do a divine thing. A divine work. A divine disruption. A divine intervention. And we need to be perceptive.

[39:38] To what God wants. You know. Elijah and Ahab on the mountain. And it seemed like. Nothing was happening. And then.

[39:49] Then. Elijah's servants saw the. The cloud. And. And Elijah says to Ahab. There's a sound. Of abundance of rain.

[40:01] You know. There's a sound here. It's the sound of God. It's the voice of God. It's the word of God. We can believe it for us today. And God's got promises for us. It's like a. That rain that seemed.

[40:12] Well. It's not rain for so long. God wants to pour out his spirit. Upon each one. Of us his people. That we would be that church.

[40:23] That God wants us to be. And that means one by one. You know. Some people would say. They would sit back and criticise the church. And say. Find fault with the church. But when someone finds fault with the church.

[40:34] It's actually the individuals in the church. Because we all make up the church. You know. Some might judge the church by the preacher. But. Oft times it's by the people.

[40:45] It's by the atmosphere. It's by the spirit. It's about the nature of the people. Don't we want to be a perfect church. A church filled with God. God's people. That he's perfecting.

[40:56] He's perfecting you. That he's making you more like Jesus. Every day. And he wants to pour out of his spirit. So. For the meantime.

[41:07] Let's examine ourselves. Are we neglecting our spiritual life? How can I grow to be more perfect? How can I be more like Noah. Like Abram. How can I be more like Jesus.

[41:18] Who says be perfect. As I am perfect. Are we resisting the Holy Spirit? It's God saying. Do something. And we've not done it. We're digging our heels in.

[41:28] Are we cold hearted? When God's working in us. By his dynamic power. Holy Spirit revival. Is possible.

[41:40] As the Lord makes us willing. In the day of his power. Now revival is the day of his power. He's got to make the people willing. There's a willingness that has to happen in you and me.

[41:51] In the day of his power. For him to do his work. He wants to make us willing. Are we willing for that absolute surrender? Will we come under the scepter.

[42:03] Of the king. Who reigns forever and ever. He wants to rule. He doesn't want partial obedience. He wants full surrender.

[42:15] So then we must dethrone ourselves. So often. We say Christ is Lord. He's my king. But we're seated on the throne of our lives.

[42:26] We've got to dethrone self. And where does the blessing come from? The throne of God. Says the river shall flow. From under the throne of God. And of the land.

[42:37] The river speaking of. I guess God's abounding. God's refreshing. God's blessing. The river shall flow. From underneath the throne. Of the land.

[42:47] And of God. So the blessing comes from the throne. It comes from his authority. Over our lives. It comes when Christ is king. That's when the blessing will flow.

[42:59] And as someone has said. In revival. God's not concerned about filling empty churches. It's not about numbers. He's concerned about filling empty hearts. Friends.

[43:11] We've got some real things. We can be conscious of. Landmarks. Things that are. This is pounded in the ground. There's four matters I've talked about.

[43:24] And there's many more. But these are some real things. Some sure. Sure things. To believe God. We've got the real Bible. We've got real scriptures. We've got real salvation.

[43:34] God wrought. Heaven sent. We've got spiritual life. We've got a sanctifying. That's flooding our being. And making us more. Perfect. Perfect.

[43:45] And we've got. The opportunity. For a. Absolute. Surrender. And there is a sound.

[43:57] Of an abundance of rain. There's an overflow. God doesn't want you to be just a little trickle. He wants you to be abounding. That's what he wants. God doesn't want you to be just a few little drips.

[44:08] But to be a flooding. Flowing. Overflowing people. Be filled with the spirit. There's an overflow there. There's an abundance. Of rain. This is not just a little trickle.

[44:20] A little. A little spitting of rain. But an abounding of rain. And how does this happen? It's the authority of heaven.

[44:34] I hear the sound. Well we hear the sound. And we would believe. By faith. Yes. It is possible. For God to so abound today. And will it be as Ezekiel's vision.

[44:45] To be willing to go deeper. Now that surrender. That thought of surrender. That thought that Saul. Partially surrendered. He. Defectively obeyed.

[44:57] He partly obeyed. As Ezekiel. He went deeper. You know. Went to his ankles. You know. To his kneecaps. To his thighs. To his chest.

[45:07] Until he was right in the. The. The depths. God wants to take us to the depths. Of spiritual why. As we draw closer to God.

[45:18] We will look back. And we'll see what God has wrought. All of these things. God has wrought them. And he's doing a work. He's still. Effecting. That perfecting. As much as we know.

[45:29] Well. That such a. Such frail. Weak vessels. As we. Can somehow be. Part of that. Really. This here. Is God's ideal.

[45:40] Is God's ideal. For the church. That we absolutely. Believe. And obey. The bible. And I'm not just talking about. Yeah. Oh. You know.

[45:52] Intellectually. Yeah. We assert. This is the best. Bible. And yeah. We believe it. Just. Intellectually. Ascent to it. Or do we actually. Love the bible.

[46:03] That this is. Wow. This. It jumps out of the page at us. We love the bible. We want to be serious students. Of God's word. So we want to get. To study it. Wherever. However we can.

[46:14] At home. At. In our. In our daily lives. To love the bible. Absolutely believe it. To absolutely know. Real salvation. And not just profess it.

[46:25] That there's a true assurance of faith. Now we want to have. Genuine converts. Real salvation. I want to see real salvation. Where this is wrought of God.

[46:37] That's what we want. Jonah said. Salvation is of the Lord. When he came out of that fish. On to the beach.

[46:47] He said. Salvation is of the Lord. Wow. I couldn't do that. God did that. God wants to do a holy work. Salvation.

[46:58] And to be absolutely. Truly living. Spiritual. Spiritual living. Godly living. He wants that for us. That's his purpose. That we abound. That we have.

[47:09] Life. And live it. More abundantly. And have that absolute surrender. I don't think we're there yet. People. We've had 22 years as a church.

[47:21] But we're still not there yet. But God helping us. Let's put these into action. Amen. These are landmarks. That we can have. As those sure things. For our lives.

[47:31] Let's pray. Lord God. We thank you. That you are. Our mighty God. And saviour. And these things are wrought of you. We can say. What God has wrought.

[47:43] What God has done. You do all these things. And you continue to do them. And make them happen. Lord. We pray for every soul here. That each one might know.

[47:54] That blessed assurance. Of a heart saved. Of life eternal. Of your gift. Of everlasting life. Lord. We thank you. For these things. That we might walk.

[48:04] In these truths. That we might grow. That we'll have that love. For your word. That we'll care for souls. And salvation. Get it settled. If there's any yet.

[48:15] To trust you. This day. Today would be that day. Or say. Yes Lord. I do trust. Wholeheartedly trust. You are Lord. Of my life.

[48:27] I trust you. The work of the cross. On my part. I receive your gift. Lord. That we'll walk. In that holy. Living. Of a sanctified life. As you're perfecting us.

[48:39] And it will be a lifelong work. And yet. It is happening. By your grace. And we'll have that absolute surrender. Where. We'll see what you've pointed to us. We need to work on.

[48:50] And we'll lay it all on the altar. Not part. But all. That you would have all of us. That you would abound in us. And that we'd be filled. Not partly. But fully. Filled.

[49:01] With your spirit. For your glory. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.ยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยยย