The Dangers of Trifling with God: A Warning. A Call to Serious Faith: Walk Worthy

[0:00] I'm talking about walking worthy, walking worthy, and the counter to that not trifling, not trifling with God.

[0:10] ! It is possible to be unfruitful, fruitless, and that's a shameful thing for a believer to not be fruitful. Colossians 1.10 tells us the will of God.

[0:22] It says, as Paul prays, that you might walk worthy, walk worthy of the Lord, unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God.

[0:35] Walk worthy of the Lord, being fruitful in every good work. The Bible talks about fruit, of bearing fruit. Psalm 1 talks about the fruitful life of the righteous.

[0:47] The devil does not want you to be fruitful. That's the reality. We know that. And the devil is one who will constantly dog our steps and try to hinder us from bearing fruit.

[1:00] We think of 2 Timothy 2 verse 26. It tells us of some that they might recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken by him, taken captive by him at his will.

[1:13] The devil wants to ensnare you, to trap you, to stop you, to trip you. And there's needful warning right through the word of God about these dangers of the snare of the devil.

[1:28] Really, there's numbers of snares. And we're going to touch on a few we could reflect as being alike to a snare. Of course, the snare of the fowler is a picture of the bird catcher.

[1:39] He's got that stick on the trap and he yanks the stick and the trap falls and captures the bird. The snare of the fowler. We think of the snare of the ultimate fowler, the devil. He's got this trap that he sets.

[1:51] He wants to ensnare us. And we're told that we will one day give account of ourselves to God. It tells us that everyone, so everyone in this room, every one of us, every one of us here today, it tells us there, so then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.

[2:08] That's a somber thought, isn't it? And time will come when each one of us will be asked to give an account of thy stewardship.

[2:19] That's a telling thought too, isn't it? It is true that people can rob God. And that can be beyond our honouring the Lord with our substance. Of course, you've got to take it in the setting that it is, so that the sense of stewardship is a New Testament concept.

[2:34] That it goes beyond honouring with financial aspects. It's about honouring God with our life. It's our whole life, isn't it? That is our true substance. It is our life.

[2:45] It's our lifetime. Our use of our time. There's a stewardship. And we're going to give an account of that. We've got a stewardship to account, to fulfil.

[2:55] And we're all answerable for that. And I'm conscious very much myself. There is a higher level of accountability for preachers.

[3:06] A greater judgement. James 3.1 talks about the greater judgement of the preacher. And we know that there's a greater accountability. And this is a very important aspect.

[3:16] So, woe to me if I do not fulfil that. Better that I be too strong with you than to accommodate and fail to warn when I must.

[3:28] It reads there in Hebrews 13. Obey them that have the rule over you and submit yourselves for. They watch for your souls as they that must give account. That they may do it with joy and not with grief.

[3:40] For that is unprofitable for you. It tells me there that I must give account for your souls. There's that reality, that truth. So, I must exhort you this morning.

[3:52] And I'm exhorting you in his stead, on his behalf, walk worthy. Walk worthy. I want to be profitable, useful to you today. And so, I must tell you some truths.

[4:05] And there's need for me sometimes to hurt your feelings with the truth when I give loving warning. That's the reality. That when you give warning to someone, oftentimes they don't want to hear it.

[4:17] And dear saints, we all have need of courage. We all have need of resolve. And need of warning, yes. Rebuke, even. Correction. They're hard things to impart.

[4:28] But God tells Ezekiel, Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel. Therefore, hear the word at my mouth and give them warning from me. So, there's a sense there where the prophet, of course, in the context of Israel, is told, give them warning from me.

[4:45] We could reflect, likewise, a similar responsibility for New Testament believers, that we ought to heed the warning of God. There's warnings. And the teacher has a greater accountability to teach the truth.

[4:59] So, there's an element here in this message of taking heed. And it's meant as an encouraging thing. It's meant as a coaching, as an encouragement, a plea to every saint to take heed, to take warning, to be wary of trifling, trifling the things of God.

[5:21] Fact is, the snares. And the devil is a fowler. He's a catcher of birds. He's out to ensnare, to trip, to trap. And the devil has joined the church in some quarters as well.

[5:33] In some church settings, they're just playing church. They're playing games with God. Preachers in churches are more and more astray from the Bible. And that can happen in the best of churches. It can happen right here.

[5:45] So, we warned against snares. And we warned against unfruitful works. Think of the distractions that we can all fall prey to. There's the danger of drifting, of backsliding.

[5:56] And friends, it can happen to the best of us. And it happens, how? Gradually. There's a slipping. We let things slip, and they slip more and more. It's a slippery slope.

[6:08] Paul said, Demas hath forsaken me. He says, for Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world. And now it's interesting how the world got hold of Demas.

[6:20] He was lured away. The love of the world, it lured him. His love for the world was more than his love for God. And that's a sad thing, isn't it? That can happen.

[6:31] It can happen to any one of us. It can happen to me. At one time, Demas was listed as one of the workers in Philemon 1.24. He was one of the workers.

[6:42] He was listed as a fellow worker of Paul. He was there at the front line, Demas. But he dropped the ball. Now we remember Demas as a has-been. He was a has-been.

[6:53] He did not take heed. He did not walk worthy. He failed to fulfil his calling. What a shame that Demas is remembered now for what he failed to do.

[7:04] How sad. I must warn you. There's hindrances. Satan loves to hinder believers. And he'll hinder you every chance he can. And he's wanting to hinder you right now. And he's going to hinder you next week.

[7:16] And every breath you breathe till glory, Satan wants to hinder you. And we see that in 1 Thessalonians 2.18. Paul says, but Satan hindered us.

[7:27] So even the Apostle Paul, he knew what it was to get hindrances. Friends, Satan is intent on hindering you. He wants to hinder you. He wants to stifle your spiritual growth. He wants to hinder you with all manner of schemes of the flesh, the world, all kinds of things, all kinds of attacks.

[7:44] He wants to detour you. He wants to get you off track. And sometimes he'll use people. Paul tells the Galatians, take heed. He says, you did run well.

[7:55] Who did hinder you that you should not obey the truth? Paul saw the Galatians, they were running so well. They had a good testimony. And then, whoa, what happened?

[8:05] You were running so well. Who's hindered you? Some have gotten slowed down. They were going so strong in their spiritual walk, in that running race of the faith. But somebody hindered them.

[8:18] And they haven't let go of some things too. With some, on this running race, they're hanging on to things they should have let go of. Of course, we know the familiar one, Hebrews 12.1. Wherefore, seeing we are also compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every way.

[8:36] And the sin which doth so easily beset us. And let us run with patience. The race that is set before us. Friends, there's a laying aside of weight.

[8:48] If there's something weighing you down, lay it aside. Lay it aside. I must warn you. There's a weariness too. A weariness. It says, Paul tells the Galatians, And let us not be weary in well-doing.

[9:01] For in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. So, there's a weariness that can be another hindrance to our race, on this racetrack of life.

[9:13] That weariness that can sap our strength. There's a human tiredness naturally. We can all get weary. And it tells us of a wearing down of the saints. As we come to the end of days in Daniel 7.25, a wearing down of the saints.

[9:28] And of course we know, let us not be weary. Not be weary in well-doing. We shall reap, if we faint not. So, don't faint. Keep on reaping. Keep on sowing. Keep on.

[9:40] And there's a quote here. If you don't like what you're reaping, then change what you are sowing. It's a good point, isn't it? If you're reaping some things that are not so good, maybe it's a problem with what is going in the ground.

[9:53] What you're planting. Reaping time is just ahead, people. Reaping time. I don't know how long. Some of you are going to get to the reaping time before me. I'm going to get there before you.

[10:04] Some of you. But now is the reaping time. That's the present. Now. It's the, sorry, it's the sowing time now. Now is the sowing time. So, don't miss that. And there's going to be a reaping of what you're sowing.

[10:17] So, sow right. Now is the time we should be sowing. Sow to the spirit. It talks in the context. Sow to the spirit, not to the flesh. So, I must warn you. There's entanglements.

[10:29] Worldly entanglements. We see Galatians 5. It tells how of some, they're entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Of course, they were going back to the law. They were taking on things that were not valid.

[10:41] They were getting ensnared. Entangled again. When Christ has called them to liberty, they're going back to some entanglement. And then we see another one, 2 Timothy 2.4, where Paul exhorts young Timothy, the young soldier in the faith.

[10:58] He says, So, there's a call there to not forget who you are.

[11:13] What you are. Whose you are. You're a soldier and he is your commanding officer. It tells you 2 Peter 2.20 of some. It says, After they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they're again entangled therein and overcome.

[11:32] What a shame to be set free, to have escaped the pollutions of the world, and then you get entangled again back in it. That would be a shameful thing, wouldn't it? And it's true that other things can get in the way for you.

[11:45] As a believer, we've got to cut those ties and break those idols, smash them down, stop being entangled. You might say, Preacher, I can think of some entanglements.

[11:56] That's good. God's pointing them out. Because I must warn you. He will show you what those entanglements are. And then there's the danger, too, of leaving your first love.

[12:07] We see the church at Ephesus. God commends this church. But at the end, he says, Nevertheless, oh, you're doing so well, but nevertheless, I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.

[12:22] I must warn you about backsliding. It can happen to the best of us. And it can be a subtle slide, a trifling with God, an entanglement, a hindrance, a sliding, a little leaven, just a little.

[12:36] Oh, Pastor, can't I just have a little? A little is too much. If it's leaven. A little leaven. Just a little disobedience. Oh, Pastor, just a little carnality.

[12:48] The problem is a little can become a lot. And we need to guard ourselves. It doesn't mean we tie ourselves up in knots, but we want to be in accord with him, don't we? We want our heart to be in accord with his heart.

[13:00] And I must warn you. Some will be ashamed. This is a truth. It tells us basically you've got two options. In 2 Timothy 2.15, Paul tells Timothy, Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed.

[13:16] Rightly dividing the word of truth. Notice here you can either be ashamed or you can be approved of God. There's two choices. Who are you?

[13:26] When life's tests come, you have a choice. Either your faith will be strengthened and you'll pass the test, or you'll trifle with the holy and you'll be ashamed.

[13:37] But thank God you need not be ashamed. You need not be ashamed. Brother, sister, study. So you can be approved of God. And I was proven, tested, passed the test.

[13:48] Proven. I must warn you. There's a lukewarmness that can creep up on people. And they can settle for an insipid, tepid kind of Christianity. They've grown cold.

[13:59] Friends, this is a reality. The Bible's full of these examples, and it's a gradual thing too. I know sometimes, I don't know if you've experienced it, but sometimes of late, especially nowadays, this time of year, you sit in a room without the heater on, and before you know it, it gets very, very cold.

[14:16] But you almost don't notice it, because it creeps up on you. Now that's how people get frostbite, and they lose fingers and toes, isn't it? Coldness, it can creep up on you.

[14:27] It's a gradual thing. It creeps up on you. And some spiritually so. They've lost the fervor. They've lost the flame. They've lost the zeal. They've lost the heat. They've lost the heart.

[14:38] They've lost the holy enthusiasm. Enthusiasm means God in you. It's theos there. Enthusiasm. It's God in you. That's true enthusiasm. I used to pick on the Wesley movement and call them enthusiasts.

[14:52] Well, it's probably not a bad thing to be an enthusiast for God, isn't it? To be full of God. Enthused. Entheo. God in you. But that's gone. For some, it's gone.

[15:02] It's become, and many, they've become one of the frozen chosen. Spiritually, they're just about dead. I don't know about you, but I've touched the hand of a dead man. And it's cold.

[15:14] It's cold. And friends, it's summer. They've lowered the temperature spiritually, haven't they? So to speak. They're just a little warmer than a corpse. And they're as good as dead. Coldness comes.

[15:26] And sometimes we're not aware of that. Where the temperature gets lowered spiritually. I must warn you. There's a danger of trifling with the things of God.

[15:38] And friends, this is true. The Bible's full of these examples. Another hindrance is fleshly efforts. We see in David's day. King David. He was doing something good here.

[15:51] They've got the ark back in their care. And it says in 1 Chronicles 13, 7, And they carried the ark of God and a new cart out of the house of Abinadab.

[16:03] And Uzzah and Ahio drove the cart. And David and all Israel played before God with all their might, and with singing, and with harps, and with sultries, and with timbrels, and with cymbals, and with trumpets.

[16:16] They had the whole shooting match. And verse 9, And when they came unto the threshing floor of Chudon, Uzzah put forth his hand to hold the ark, for the oxen stumbled.

[16:27] And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah, and he smote him because he put his hand to the ark, and there he died before God. So the context here, David was praising.

[16:37] This was a jubilation. The whole nation was ecstatic and praising. He was pulling out all the stops. He made this snazzy cart with all the bells and whistles.

[16:48] It was just like the Philistines used to use. And everybody was loving the worship. But David was trifling with the things of God. It was all wrong.

[17:00] It was all wrong. God brought judgment. It was severe. Trifling with holy things brings judgment. Of course, we know maybe there was right intention. Maybe there was the best effort.

[17:11] Best effort. Maybe there was every human invention and innovation. But it wasn't God's way. God's way was the ark was to be carried on the shoulders of the priest.

[17:24] It was to be carried in God's way. The worship was to be done God's way. But the problem wasn't that it wasn't being done God's way. That was the problem. It was being done in the flesh.

[17:37] We can even do a godly thing in a fleshly way. Trifling with holy things. I must warn you. Some would make excuses. They would try and accommodate their error.

[17:48] They would say, God knows my heart. Stop judging me. Everybody else is doing it. Can I rebuke you if that is you? Stop making excuses for worldliness, for fleshliness.

[18:01] We need discernment. We need to have a holy awe, a holy sense of what would God want of me to do? How would God want me to serve? Meaning well is not an excuse for disobedience.

[18:13] Now, they were outright disobedient in doing this. It seemed like it was all, look, they would have put it to a vote, all Israel was in favour. Yes, pastor, we vote to do this.

[18:25] But they weren't asking God what his will was, what God wanted. They were just doing what they wanted. And the pastor, David, was the most guilty. And so we have need of discernment.

[18:37] And there's a carelessness. There's a sloppiness. We can have that. Of course, in every way, we can compromise biblical truth. If God says to do it one way, then that's the way to do it.

[18:48] And we dare not compromise one iota. And we stand without compromise for the word of God. The King James Bible. Every jot and tittle of it. We believe the word of God. We stand firmly upon it.

[19:00] We trust that every word of God is pure. We will not deviate or accommodate. We must not tolerate that which is astray from sound doctrine. We need it clear. Thus saith the Lord.

[19:12] That's what we stand for. And I must warn you, when there's a lightness, when there's a carelessness, when there's a compromise, when there's a foolishness, the genuine is getting lost.

[19:22] There's a compromise that creeps up. And we become weak and ineffective. And this church, too, under my watch. And that's on my head. When that happens, we dare not trifle with holy things.

[19:35] The Bible tells us how we're meant to tremble, not trifle. We're meant to tremble at the word of God. This should be such that we tremble at the word of God, not trifle with it.

[19:47] And we see Isaiah 66, too. It reads, Much that's being accepted in churchdom today is alike to a Trojan horse.

[20:03] Error has come in all of its forms. They don't even have a Bible anymore. They've just got a load of flim-flam. And many are deceived. Many are not listening. They brush off conviction.

[20:14] Their hearts are hardened. There's much disobedience. There's a distraction. We see Philippians 2.12. It tells us, Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

[20:32] Paul says, hey, we don't want flesh and flakiness. We want fear and trembling. That's how he meant to serve. I must warn you, there's much flesh. There's much flesh.

[20:42] It's in me. The word calls us to crucify the flesh with the affections and lusts. Not pander to it. There's a weakness in the ranks. And this is a time not to be weakening, but to be strengthening.

[20:54] To steel ourselves for the fight. There's a softness. And it can be in me. A slackness. Where the church gets emasculated. That's quite often the case. Many... I've been looking at some church services on the internet just for curiosity.

[21:09] And I think it's just... The church has been effeminised. We can... Emasculated. It's become impotent. There's no fighting spirit.

[21:20] There's no army of God anymore. It's become a load of wimps. We've lost our nerve. We've lost our battle readiness. We have need of military discipline. This is war.

[21:30] And we need to resolve a courage, a grit to take the fight to the devil. And he'll test our mental. But we must not be shaken.

[21:41] It seems, I'm putting this honestly, that in some quarters, and even in our own circles, even in our own company, that we've lost the fight. We've caved in.

[21:52] Worldliness. It's like there's this antichrist spirit that's come in. And discernment is out the window. The problem is trifling. It's trifling. Trifling.

[22:03] You could define trifling as treating something serious with this lack of respect and concern. Think of the word reverence. Consider the gravity of trifling with God.

[22:16] We're going to go to some instances of that. Things that must not be trifled with. For example, the nature of God. Think of who we serve. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God.

[22:28] The Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of his glory. The angels cried once or the other. Holy, holy, holy. Think of God's holiness. That's not something we should compromise. We think of God's sovereignty.

[22:41] The Lord has prepared his throne in the heavens. And his kingdom ruleth over all. He's the king of kings. The king supreme. He's due the highest honour. And glory.

[22:51] We think of his love. Tells us, behold, the goodness and severity of God. There's goodness, but there's severity too. God is serious. God is serious about some things.

[23:03] And think of some examples of trifling with God. We can think, for example, we've heard about Uzzah and the cart. David and the new cart. Another example of carelessness in worship.

[23:16] We see Nadab and Abihu. And it tells us of Nadab and Abihu. They were sons of Aaron. So they were of the priestly line here. And they took of them his censer, each of them.

[23:26] And they put fire therein and put incense thereon. And they offered strange fire before the Lord, which he commanded them not. And then they went out fire from the Lord and devoured them. And they died before the Lord.

[23:37] So the picture there, again, they were doing something that outwardly might have seemed basically fitting to bring fire. But it was strange fire.

[23:48] It wasn't in accord with God's will. It was their own making and manufactured fire. It was their own fire. And so it was wrong. They disobeyed God. They did their own thing.

[23:59] It's an example of trifling with God. We think of a New Testament example. Ananias and Sapphira. They sold a possession. It says Acts 5. But they kept back part of the price.

[24:10] And his wife, also being privy to it, they brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles' feet. How generous. They put in this generous offering. That was very generous of them. But there was pretense there.

[24:23] In that they were saying that was the whole when it was only a part. And Peter said to Ananias, Why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost and keep back part of the price of the land?

[24:34] And Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and gave up the ghost. And great fear came on all them that heard these things. It was a trifling. A trifling with God. Can I urge you to consider the consequences of trifling with God?

[24:49] It tells us when we trifle with God, we suffer a loss of fellowship. Don't we want to be close to our Lord? It says, If we have fellowship with them and walk in darkness, we lie and do not the truth.

[25:02] A loss of fellowship. When we trifle with God, we suffer a spiritual decline. It says, Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God.

[25:13] Take heed to your heart. It's telling us there, We've got a great heart doctor we can go to for that spiritual check-up. Trifling with God will damage your heart. When we trifle with God, we suffer judgment.

[25:25] It says, Be not deceived. God is not mocked. For whatsoever a man soweth that, shall he also reap. Of course, we know we save people, but there's a sense where we'll have to face up when we've messed up.

[25:39] Even as a Christian, there's a sense of we'll be held to account. There's consequences. So check what you're sowing. Are you sowing to the flesh or sowing to the spirit? We have to get that right.

[25:50] It tells us that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Rather than trifle with holy things, rather let us determine to honour our Lord, to be in accord with him and his will.

[26:05] Rather, let's determine God helping us to live a life that honours our Lord, to walk worthy. That's really where I'd like to put the emphasis this morning, to walk worthy, to walk worthy.

[26:16] It tells us in John 4, our Lord says that the Father is seeking worshippers. Worshippers that will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. And think of it, friends, how we can walk worthy.

[26:30] Prioritise worship. Prioritise it. Treat it as important. Let other things fit around worship, not the other way around. God's looking for worshippers. Don't be a trifler.

[26:42] Worship in spirit and in truth. Don't be a trifler. Be a worshipper. Think how we can worship. Take those opportunities to worship. If you can, come to worship.

[26:55] Come to worship. Rather than trifle with God, may we aspire to an obedience to God's word. But be you doers of the word, not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

[27:06] Take heed to the word. Take heed to it. This is our guide. This is the manual of how to not trifle, but to tremble at his word.

[27:18] To take it seriously. And there's benefit for our soul when we do that. Rather than trifle with God, let's aim to be a humble people that will humble ourselves and pray.

[27:32] And seek his face. Turn from our wicked ways. We can switch off the spirit's conviction such that we can try and excuse the carnal.

[27:43] We can make excuses for the coldness. We can excuse the slip sliding. Say, well, everybody else is doing it. Or we can seek the face of the living God.

[27:54] We can humble ourselves and pray. We can respond to the spirit's promptings. Will we know a conviction of sin? Or will we brush it off? It tells us of the Holy Spirit that he will reprove the world of sin, of righteousness, of judgment.

[28:08] Friends, let's be honest this morning. Do we care? Do we care about holy things? Or will we shirk it off? Will we shake off the prompting? When God's urging us to a closer walk, to walk worthy.

[28:21] Will we shake off the promptings of God's spirit? Will we shut our ears to the warnings and carry on in trifling ways? Or will we heed the spirit's guidance?

[28:32] It tells us that the spirit of God will guide us into all truth. He is the spirit of truth. Do we care about the truth? In a world that's full of falsehood, do we care about the truth?

[28:43] Such that we let it impact our lives. That we pray, Holy Spirit, guide me into all truth. I want that. Thank God we have his power. As he promised in Acts 1.

[28:55] You shall receive power. After that, the Holy Ghost has come upon you. And then there's something that happens. You shall be witnesses unto me. I pray that you'd be urged this morning to think of that walking worthy and of avoiding that trifling.

[29:10] Because trifling with God is a serious matter. Can I urge you to a greater sense of reverence, of the fear of God? Really, that's the ultimate. The ultimate answer is to fear God.

[29:21] And we know it tells us the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. And the knowledge of the holy is understanding. Really, it's a truly fundamental building block.

[29:31] It's to hear the conclusion of the whole matter. Fear God and keep his commandments. For this is the whole duty of man. A trifling or a trembling. Which one will it be for you, for me?

[29:43] We do well to have that healthy sense, that healthy dose of the fear of God. God, that's a healthy thing to have. That's a good thing. Really, the fear of God is the antidote to backsliding, isn't it?

[29:55] To address our inclination, my inclination, to spiritual carelessness. It tells how we can serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. To serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.

[30:08] As many promises we can take heart to this morning, I urge you, I pray this is a blessing for you. To think, how can I do better at walking worthy of my Lord?

[30:20] The one who died for me, the one who took my place, as we talked about before. The thing, he's given me his righteousness. He's given me a new lease of life. He's taken me from the prison cell of darkness, of despair, of damnation.

[30:31] Damnation, he's given me his freedom, his liberty, the glorious liberty of the children of God. And we want to serve him acceptably, don't we? With reverence, with godly fear. Thank God there's a blessing if we do.

[30:45] We can have his promise of forgiveness, of grace. And friends, as we come to think of how to apply this, if we've been prompted in any department of our lives, if there's any sense where, well, I have been trifling with holy things, there's a simple guaranteed way of resolving it.

[31:07] Of course, we know if we confess our sins, he's faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. We can think this sermon applies to somebody else.

[31:17] Somebody else that's sitting here, oh, that will do them good. Or we can take to heart and think, yeah, there's been some trifling going on. There's some application for my heart.

[31:28] I want to have that God-blessed way of victory. I want to walk worthy. I urge you to walk worthy. And it comes as we let go of pride, as we humble ourselves. He promises a nearness to the humble.

[31:40] That's who he comes near to. You might say, oh, preacher, you've broken my heart this morning. The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart. If there's a contriteness, that's a good thing.

[31:51] That's a blessed thing. You're blessed if you've got a contrite heart this morning. May we seek to honour our Lord, to walk worthy of him, to know that Holy Ghost conviction that will say, yes, it's me, Lord, standing in the need of prayer.

[32:04] It's me, Lord. They could do with some help too, but it's me. It's me, Lord. You know, there's a pardon. There's a peace. And the Holy Ghost conviction, it doesn't leave us with condemnation.

[32:16] It's actually a freedom. This is an answer. As we seek him, we'll find his grace. Because, friends, there's no condemnation now to them that are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit.

[32:29] The question is, who are you going to walk after? There's some practical steps, isn't there? Think of prayer, of study of the word. We know the book of the law, the word of God.

[32:40] It says, It says, There's an active participation we can have in the fellowship.

[33:00] There's a shining of your light. Let your light so shine. don't be afraid to shine that people may see your good works and glorify your father which is in heaven don't be afraid to shine don't hide your light how are we going to respond to this challenge today to walk worthy can we reflect how have i been trifling have i been treating my faith lightly such that i've become careless am i treating god with that reverence he deserves the worthy god our lord he's worthy of reverence and can i examine myself it says examine yourselves whether you be in the faith can i challenge you to live with him to live your faith intentionally to walk worthy don't be afraid to stand up even if it be in the lion's den to stand up even if it be facing mockery and scorn to stand for christ and we know that can be hard in a workplace setting when others are genuine against god it can be hard to stand firm but be the one who stands be the one who stands stop trifling stop trifling by the grace of god and be one who stirs himself isaiah 64 the lord says there is none that calleth upon thy name isaiah says there is none that calleth upon thy name that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee how sad it would be if that was true that there's none who calls upon his name there's none who stirs up themselves i pray i've done a good a rightful stirring in a spiritual stirring way to stir us to to reflect to examine ourselves can i stir up myself a bit more can i get a bit more stirred up and some people they read the newspaper and they get stirred up they read what's going on or that you don't read the newspaper anymore but they read they see the news and it's all bad and they get stirred up what about getting stirred up spiritually that'd be a good thing wouldn't it and you might say but what can i do what can i do i'm just one person i saw this little meme lately and it was it's so true and it's asked the question it poses the question but what can i do i am just one person said seven billion people yeah you're one of the you're one of the ones who can make it happen amen you can be one of the seven billion now everybody else thinks the same as you what can i do but you can do something amen you can walk worthy you can a reality too is we can change and a change is really just turning in a different direction isn't it that's the start you can say there's things that yeah i could think maybe i've been trifling there's some things god's been putting his finger on and i know i've missed this and that and i'm doing stuff i ought not a change can happen and that's as simple as taking a different direction and then one step two steps 10 steps 100 steps the change it happens when you move shift your focus head in a different direction and to stop from this moment being a trifler with the things of god determine today set your face towards god set your face to call upon his name to stir up yourself to take hold take hold take hold of god and it's a decision you can make what can i do you can do that you can change your direction you can say i'm going to set my face i'm going to set my affection on things above i'm going to set myself to seek his face i'm going to stir up myself to take hold of him that's all it takes it's obedience isn't it to walk worthy walk worthy today now could i be failing in my duty to you when the lord says give them warning from me and i don't do it i don't want to be that man i'd rather say walk worthy walk worthy by the grace of god and that's me too lord we praise you that

[37:02] it's only by your grace we can walk worthy it's only by your salvation we can even be on the right track to know your saving love to know the way the truth and the life the way that leadeth unto life lord to know that way that is the way of salvation who are you are that way and lord help us to walk in that way to walk worthy of your calling to walk worthy of to be a people who tremble at your word not trifle with it lord that we won't take our faith carelessly and lightly carelessly lord god lord god do a holy work we pray stir up your church stir us up individually one by one stir up every one of us so that the whole lot of us will be stirred up to stir up ourselves to lay hold of you to lay hold of you in jesus name amen praise god let's go to our last song to finish and be encouraged there's there's no condemnation there's conviction but there's no condemnation and we can walk worthy god will help us it's a change of direction it can happen now right here and now on the inside of you amen pricing pricing pricing