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[0:00] 1 Corinthians 1 verse 21! It says, For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God.

[0:20] ! It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.

[0:33] There's over 150 references to preaching in the Bible. It's not considered popular these days, preaching. Preaching isn't always user-friendly or trendy maybe.

[0:46] Maybe it's not culturally relevant, which is one of the buzz phrases lately. I don't care. It doesn't matter what the world wants. It doesn't matter what is trending.

[0:58] It matters what God wants. And one of the methods, the method, that God has appointed is the message of preaching. It's His method, His message.

[1:10] It's been said that the most urgent need in the Christian church today is true preaching. And as it is the greatest and the most urgent need in the church, it is obviously the greatest need of the world also.

[1:23] The preaching of the truth. That's what we want to have as a body of people, as a church of God. It's the answer for our world in the darkness that prevails. Our world headed to damnation.

[1:36] There is a place called hell. The place of the damned. And this message must be delivered urgently and forthrightly as the herald of the king, as the spokesman for the emperor, goes forth and declares that important message from the royal throne.

[1:53] So too, He's decreed, our king, by His royal decree, as decreed preaching, as His methodology. So we must impart this word. We need the preaching of the word of God.

[2:06] And that's what we stand for as a church. I pray. I pray. That's my heart for this church. For why we are here. Why we've even started this fellowship of people.

[2:19] To honour God. And to have the authority of His word. The power of His word. The boldness of it. We must pray for that. Be expectant for that. Come expectant.

[2:31] Church is not some kind of a social club. It's God's design. It's by His design. By His invention. That it be God honouring, holy, Christ exalting, word based, word centred, Christ exalting assembly of God's own dear people.

[2:48] And then we went to, some of us went to some sessions of late about the church. The institution of God. It's a very precious and vital assembly.

[2:59] That God has designed. That we be that church. A people with hope. A people believing. Believing a Bible. That we can trust in. That's filled with God's power.

[3:10] That endureth forever. The word of the Lord. And we want to be such a people that are passionate about this truth. We care about the truth. Passionately. Believing it.

[3:20] And proclaiming it. Boldly. We believe in the powerful forthright declaration of this word. The word of God. We stand on it. We stand for authoritative biblical preaching.

[3:34] We believe what this book says. And it tells us, as God's people, that we're to be nourished up in the words of faith and of sound doctrine. God hasn't commissioned me to deliver pet talks.

[3:49] Or some slick self-help kind of motivational snake oil salesman speech. Or to tell you a whole lot of ear-tickling, fanciful stories.

[4:02] God hasn't called me to entertain you. To dazzle you with my brilliance. Or my personal charisma. As much as... No, I better not say anything stupid. Or to be some kind of stand-up comedian.

[4:14] As you can see, I'm hopeless at that. He's not sent me to be such a person. He's not sent me to please you. And the spotlight really is not upon me. Or whoever stands here to preach.

[4:25] But upon him, isn't it? It's upon him. God hasn't called me to be delivering to you a feel-good latter-day prophecy. Supposedly. To pander to your emotions.

[4:36] Or make you feel that I've got something more supernaturally than you have. Or to brag about some trip to heaven that I've made. And tell you all the things that I've seen. Or some fanciful vision.

[4:47] Or superficial, extra-biblical dream of man's making. I'm not here to impart that to you. God hasn't sent me here to make friends and influence people.

[4:58] As much as I like to do that. But I'm here to tell you the truth. To tell you the truth. No matter how uncomfortable that may be. The truth. The truth hurts sometimes.

[5:11] Paul told the Galatians. They were kind of provoked by what he was saying, I suppose. In Galatians 4, verse 16. He says to them, Am I therefore become your enemy?

[5:23] Because I tell you the truth. It's like some people react to the truth. And get offended. Or think the preacher's having a go at me. When he's just simply the delivery boy.

[5:34] Simply the messenger. God has sent me simply for this. To preach the word. To preach the word. And as a church, we believe in biblical preaching.

[5:46] We believe, and we deliver it through Pastor Adam. Through anyone who preaches. As they go through the word. As they go through the verses. As they go through the text. As they go through the Bible challenge.

[5:58] May we be such a church. That we can stand here, not to say presumptuously. Or a man's making. Or a man's thinking. But authoritatively, what the book says. Thus saith the Lord.

[6:10] Not delivering to you some extra biblical prophecy. Which is very uncertain. But the more sure word of prophecy. God's true and sure word.

[6:22] In which we can take our stand. Firmly and assurably. Thus saith the Lord. It's what the word says. That we want. As Paul urged Timothy. Paul gave Timothy a charge.

[6:34] In 2 Timothy 4. He says, I charge thee. Therefore, before God and the Lord Jesus Christ. Who shall judge the quick and the dead. At his appearing and his wisdom. What does he say in verse 2?

[6:46] Preach the word. Be instant. In season. Out of season. In other words, be always at it. Whether it's convenient or inconvenient.

[6:58] He says, reprove, rebuke, exhort. With all long-suffering and doctrine. These are strong words. Reprove. Rebuke. Exhort. Challenging words.

[7:10] Why? For the time will come. When they will not endure sound doctrine. But after their own lusts. Shall they hint themselves. Teachers. Having itching ears.

[7:20] And they shall turn away. Their ears from the truth. And shall be turned unto fables. Now what you hear in a lot of churches these days sadly.

[7:32] Is a whole lot of fables. The preacher just yarns on about all kinds of stories or experiences. There's not a lot of word content. There's a whole lot of preachers and teachers so called out there.

[7:46] Causing a whole lot of confusion. That's why we see numbers of people fall by the wayside. As they've gone off into tangents. They've gotten off into tangents.

[7:57] Maybe as a pastor, as a preacher I should have been stronger on some matters. So I could exhort people. So they could hear it. But sadly some have gone off into tangents.

[8:09] Onto tangents. And they've gone astray. People are tuning into a whole lot of tinching. That it's not under the authority of the local church. So they end up getting tossed about with every wind of doctrine.

[8:22] They're like some sailboats on a choppy sea. Just getting blown all over the place. It's the authoritative preaching. Of the unadulterated word of God that we need.

[8:33] It's what changes us. Moody said the scriptures are given not to increase our knowledge. But to change our lives.

[8:44] This book is life changing. It's living. It's active. It's powerful. It's sharper than any two inched sword. And we see that this is what matters. In Jonah chapter 1.

[8:56] The word of the Lord came to Jonah. It says the word of the Lord came to Nathan. It says the word of the Lord came to Elijah. It says the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah.

[9:09] It says the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel. And on and on and on. And in Acts 15. We see that it says that Paul and Barnabas preached the word of the Lord.

[9:20] This was their message. The word of the Lord. In Acts 13.49 it says the word of the Lord was published throughout all the region. Now we don't know necessarily whether it was published in printed form.

[9:34] But it was certainly proclaimed and spread. It was spread all around about. Maybe through the words of individual Christian witnesses. As they declared it. As they memorised the word.

[9:45] As they repeated the word. And transmitted the word in every fashion that they could. Yet now in our time we live, I believe, in a time foretold. When they will not endure sound doctrine.

[9:58] They will become intolerant of it. Why so? Because we have lost the word of God. It's been lost. The more sure word has been replaced with some wishy-washy, trashy paraphrases.

[10:12] Or worse. In many quarters. And it's missing. It's lacking. The church by and large has gone the way of the world. Where we see tolerance is the chief virtue in our world today.

[10:24] What does the media go on about? It's all about tolerance. Tolerate this and tolerate that. Which is abomination in God's sight. A tolerance is like that's the primary virtue of our world.

[10:40] That's the values of our world. When people, you know, politicians talk about values. Sometimes the values are right off. Right off.

[10:51] And we see in the times that we live. It's like there's a tolerance for everything but the word of God. And sad to say. We see this evident in laws that seem to be tolerant of everything but Christianity.

[11:07] And this is what our children and grandchildren are faced with. And it's everywhere. The media plays its mind games. And people are captivated by this programming.

[11:21] It's like a mind control. I don't want to get into conspiracy theory. But this is conspiracy reality. That is happening. It is happening. But we know that behind the scenes, God is in control.

[11:33] He's in control of history. He's in control because he has the final authority. He will ultimately say, time's up Satan. You've had enough time to cause havoc.

[11:45] And this planet has had enough time to hear the gospel. But our sinful planet, meantime, needs this old-fashioned, talent like it is, no nonsense, printing. This is what we need.

[11:57] We need to preach the word. In some trendy churches nowadays, they have what they call a conversation. That's what the emergence call it, I'm told. In some quarters, they don't have preaching anymore.

[12:08] They have a conversation. It's like the preacher gets up and it's like a talk show kind of show, kind of whatever it is. But meanwhile, sound gospel preaching is under attack and it's scorn.

[12:21] They laugh at churches like us. Another product of post-modernism and the popular man-centered movements of our day is a loss of belief in the authority of the scriptures.

[12:33] They've lost the belief in it. They don't believe this book is true. That we can rely on it. That it's assured from God. It's certain. It's certain. Infallible.

[12:46] I was talking to someone just early on tonight. There's Baptist churches and there's Baptist churches. And there's churches that are not Baptist churches that are better still.

[12:58] Because it's not about the name on the door. It's about whether the book has been preached. Soundly preached. And there's many churches that call themselves Baptist churches that are nothing but.

[13:11] Really. So we must be very alert. Very concerned. I'm concerned about what I see in the Baptist churches of our state. The faithful preaching of the word of God is what we must have.

[13:24] We must have it. Most of all. And this word must be proclaimed. It's been said that the preacher is called to preach the word of God accurately and faithfully. I'm quoting here.

[13:35] There's many temptations to preach other things. And end up neglecting the primacy of preaching. The powerful living word of God. The primacy of preaching. It should be that which we censor.

[13:49] Our meeting around. The word of God. Preaching the word. It goes on. It can be unpopular. In an entertainment oriented. Short attention span generation. But preaching the word.

[14:00] Is a must. The greatest power ever known. Is the spoken word of God. It's called worlds into being. It's toppled empires. It's healed. And comforted the sick.

[14:11] It's shaken the proud. And it's resurrected the dead. Yet in far too many pulpits. That powerful word lies unopened. Unspoken. And therefore uncomprehended.

[14:22] And the word of God preached. Paulie. Has more power. Than your opinions preached powerfully. In some quarters. You know.

[14:33] It could be where. The word is read. In some flaky churches. At least they're hearing the word of God. Amen. Thank God for that. That even. And I thank God. That I got saved.

[14:44] In some. Very doubtful. Kind of. Background. As far as. The kind of church I got. To come to know the Lord in. Was.

[14:55] Probably not a church. I've had much to do with. These days. Maybe it was a bit better then. I don't know. But. As a church. Our desire. Must be this. That we. Want to have the word of God.

[15:07] Preached. We must have the whole counsel of God. We must be. Founded upon sound. Biblical principles. That's our heart. And my heart for us. As a church. We uphold this.

[15:18] This preaching. And so. Some things to consider. What. Are we to preach. We are to preach the word. Paul says to Timothy. Preach the word.

[15:29] We are to preach the gospel. Preach the gospel. You know. Thank God for. Our youth group. It's not a youth group. That's all about. Fun and games. There's a degree of that. But the focus.

[15:40] Is the gospel. That's what it's about. That's what we're here for. That's what our Sunday school. Is here for. Not fanciful. You know. Baby stories. But. Gospel truth.

[15:51] Is imparted there. Because that's what matters. The gospel matters. We preach the gospel. In this church. And Romans 10. 17. It says. So faith cometh by hearing. And hearing by the word of God.

[16:03] And the context says. How shall I hear. Without a preacher. Faith comes by hearing. The word of God. Preached. Proclaimed. And so we need preaching. Brothers and sisters.

[16:14] That's why we put an emphasis there. Preaching of the cross. Preaching of salvation. Preaching of the saving grace of God. Faith in Christ. This vital message. Must be transmitted.

[16:25] To our generation. And this is the message that saves. It says. It pleased God. By the foolishness of preaching. To save. Them that believe. This message. Is a saving message.

[16:37] And we must have the strong. Sound preaching. Of the powerful living. Word of God. It pleased God. It's pleasing him. That we preach.

[16:48] That we hear the preaching. That we act on the preaching. The preaching. The preaching saves the soul. And it builds us up. As God's people. The unsearchable riches of Christ. The word of God.

[17:00] Think of what we see all about us. I know. There's some faithful ones going out. Witnessing. Down the streets of Salisbury. And I was down there one time. And there was others there witnessing.

[17:11] The revivalists. Telling people. You've got to speak in tongues. The supposed tongues. That they speak. To be saved. We know it's a lie. From Satan.

[17:23] We see. As I visited the home. Of an African family. Recently. And they had a Swahili Bible. Published by. The Watchtower.

[17:34] The Watchtower. The New World Translation. In Swahili. The devil is hard at work people. He's hard at work. He's publishing his word.

[17:45] He's publishing his lies. He's promoting his gospel. False gospel. And we must have this soul saving message. In our day. We must have the strong sound preaching.

[17:56] Of the word of God. This message that saves. It's the gospel that we need. The gospel true. In Psalm 94.16. The psalmist cries out. Who will rise up for me. Against the evildoers.

[18:08] Or who will stand up. For me. Against the workers of iniquity. False doctrine. False religion. False movements abound. We must stand and preach the gospel.

[18:18] This soul searching. Soul saving. Old time. Soul winning. Uplifting truth. We need preachers. Who will speak out. Spare not. Cry aloud. Speak out.

[18:29] Against evil. And for the right. And so that's our prayer. That we. We hold fast. Our course. As God. Has made this course for us. It is critical.

[18:40] That we preach. The word. It's the most helpful. And refreshing thing. For the soul. This zeal for the truth. Must compel us. Must constrain us. Must drive us forward.

[18:51] Friends. These are perplexing. Perilous days. Yet. Christians want to play at church. In looking for a church. People look for a place. They can be made to feel good.

[19:05] They make the judgment. On that basis. Where they can be entertained. Everything. Just so. Where they can socialize perhaps.

[19:15] Where they can make business contacts. Where their children can. Be careful. But. These are not. Not the reasons why. We should search for a church.

[19:26] Sadly. The church has become good for nothing. The church as in. Other gatherings of believers. Where. They're missing the point.

[19:37] Where the Lord Jesus says. Ye are the salt of the earth. If the salt have lost it. Save it. Wherewith shall it be salted. It is thenceforth good for nothing. To be cast out.

[19:48] And to be trodden underfoot of men. Just like. Salt that's lost it's. Quality. It's lost it's. Strength. And they just threw it on. The ground like dust. It was just a. Rubbish.

[19:59] And the picture there is of. A good for nothing Christian. Salt that has lost it's saving. Some Christians. Some churches. Are good for nothing. Good for nothing. Make believe Christians.

[20:11] Friends. We should be challenged in these days. These days of apathy. Of apostasy. The saving of salt. It's quality. It's value. And so too.

[20:22] We should. Want to be such salt. Strong. Vibrant. Vital. Salt that is valued. And seasons. And preserves. As salt was used in.

[20:33] Before fridges came. To preserve food. And salt was seen as so valuable. That wars were waged over it. In times past. It was so valuable. It was considered more valuable.

[20:44] Than precious metals. But when salt is lost. It's salt in earth. It's worthless. It's good for nothing. So Christ calls us to be salt. He wants his church to be a salt.

[20:56] As it were. That we be strong. We don't lose that strength. It doesn't weaken. But rather we carry the torch for truth. And so let us have that strength.

[21:09] As God's people. I urge you. Brother. Sister. To be encouraged in this. That we can have that strength. As a local church. To be that body of believers.

[21:21] But we'll not bow to compromise. Or stand for conviction. We won't bow to popularity. But we'll stand for principle. We won't bow to entertainment. But rather we'll stand for truth.

[21:33] Which is the foundation. The church is the pillar. And ground of the truth. The truth must be. That which identifies us. And so. How can we be the salt and light.

[21:44] To a lost and dying world. It's like the old time. Gospel preaching message. Has been lost.

[21:55] And it's been weakened. As we see. Error abounding. In so many fashions. And it's an outrage. The devil has done this. You know.

[22:06] I've seen. Over just my short. Lifespan. How things have changed. In the churches. You know. In our own. Churches. In these churches.

[22:17] That we identify with. There is a. A subtle. Slide. And. A substitute. For that which is.

[22:28] Right. And strong. There's a weakening going on. It's been said. That some. 80% of. Professing Christians. Today. They do not hold. A biblical world view.

[22:39] They're just so. Biblically. Stupid. Biblically. Lacking. They're not salt and light. Anymore. Through church history.

[22:50] God's people. Were commonly martyred. They cared. About faithfulness. To the truth. Now. They could have weakened. Him. They could have gone. With the establishment.

[23:01] Church of their day. Where. The multitude. Just. Went along with it. But some. Stood faithful.

[23:11] To the truth. Now. You hear of them. In church history. They're called. Non-conformists. They didn't conform. To the establishment. Church of. Their day. The popular church.

[23:22] They were the remnant. If you like. They were those who. Would rather stand. And die at the stake. Than to weaken. And so too. We need to be strong. For the truth.

[23:33] The truth at all costs. We preach. The word of God. We preach. The gospel. And we preach. Christ. We preach. Christ. In.

[23:45] Colossians 1. 28. He is the message. That we preach. The context there. Is of Christ. In you. The hope of glory. It says. Whom we preach.

[23:56] We preach this one. Christ. In you. Warning every man. And teaching every man. In all wisdom. That we may present. Every man. Perfect. In Christ Jesus.

[24:07] That's. Our prayer for. Our church. And that might mean. At times. Warning people. Now. People don't like to be warned. They don't like to be. Made uncomfortable.

[24:19] Oh. Who are you to tell me. Warning. We're not warning. So that. We make you feel bad. We're warning because we love. That's the motive. Amen.

[24:30] And. Our object is that we may present. Every man. Perfect. Complete. Strong. Sound. In Christ. So. There's a sense of bringing. Every thought to the obedience of Christ.

[24:42] He is the center. We preach Christ. In Acts 5. 42. What did they do? Daily. In the temple. And in every house. They ceased not. To teach and preach Jesus Christ.

[24:53] These were the ones. Who were told. Don't preach in his name anymore. Don't use that name anymore. Don't use that precious name anymore. The name of the Lord Jesus. But they said.

[25:04] No. We're going to teach. And preach. Jesus Christ. Everywhere we go. And so too we. Every believer. Has this message. That should be on our lips.

[25:16] We are like heralds for the king. Get ready. Prepare the way. For the coming king. Get ready for his returning. The printer is meant to function as a herald.

[25:27] You know what did they do? Before the king would. When the king would issue a proclamation. They would send forth the herald. Hear ye.

[25:38] Hear ye. Hear ye. Hear the town criers. Ringing their bell. And making their statement. They're not speaking for themselves. But they're speaking for the king. As the herald. As the proclaimer of his message.

[25:50] Sent by the king to announce. His news. His official messages. And so too we. We are to be heralds. Those sent before the king. And a herald in the ancient world.

[26:02] Was a man. A woman. A personal integrity. Of character. Jesus. As one who had proclaimed. The public proclamation. The king had to trust. The herald. To speak the truth.

[26:14] And so too for us. As Philip. He proclaimed Christ. In Acts 8.35. It says. Philip opened his mouth. And began at the same scripture. He preached the word.

[26:24] And he preached Christ. He started at the same scripture. And he preached unto him. Jesus. In 1 Corinthians 1.23. Paul says. But we preach Christ crucified. Unto the Jews are stumbling block.

[26:37] And unto the Greeks foolishness. So we preach the word. Don't we? That's what we must have. We preach the word. We preach the gospel.

[26:49] We preach the truth. And we preach Christ. We preach straight.

[27:01] We preach straight. You know. In this church. And I'm not big noting this church. Because I'm a lacking man. In many capacities. I've got many refinements needed.

[27:13] In my Christianity. And in my delivery. And there's much more that I can do. I've not arrived yet. We're running towards the mark.

[27:23] Can't we? And we're all on the journey. You know. Forgetting those things that are behind. I'm pressed toward the mark. And we preach. But we preach. God helping us. We preach straight.

[27:34] That's what we want to do. We want to preach straight. Straight down the line. Not tiptoeing around the tulips. So to speak. I'm not here to accommodate sin. Or false doctrine. And where I see the need to.

[27:46] I'll address it. There's times. Maybe I could have been stronger. When I look back. I think of some. As I have said. I've gone off. Into all sorts of wacky ideas.

[27:58] If I've been stronger. And better as a teacher. Perhaps I could have saved them from that. But I am answerable to God. And if I fail to warn. And reprove. Like I'm supposed to.

[28:10] What he's called me for. And many today. No longer want a preacher like that. They'd rather have a preacher. That tells them all the positive things. All the things they want to hear. They don't want to preach. Who's got to preach.

[28:20] And what's negative. And I came across these. Just this next section. Is somewhat borrowed. To be honest. But it's got the sense of how.

[28:31] As this preaching that we love. And care about. Is not necessarily all about. A positive. Uplifting message. I trust it will still be uplifting.

[28:43] But it's not necessarily. Always a positive. Kind of message. And some will tell you. When they hear such preaching. Oh. You're being judgmental. Don't judge me. Yet without sin and judgment.

[28:56] There is no grace. And forgiveness. And if. A freight train. Is speeding towards you. I want to tell you. Get off the track. Get off the track.

[29:07] If you're in a burning building. I want to tell you. Get out. Save yourself. From the burning building. And so. There is need at times. To cry out.

[29:18] And to urge people. Without hell. There is no heaven. No repentance. No faith. No wrath. No mercy. No cross. No crown. No conviction.

[29:28] No Holy Spirit. No serpent. No paradise. No transgression. No gospel. You know. We need to hear the bad news. So we can understand. How good. The good news is. Don't we?

[29:39] Amen. We need the message. Fully delivered. The full counsel. The whole counsel of God. And the Bible is worthy to be believed. Obeyed. And followed. Now sometimes the message will be far from positive.

[29:51] The role of the preacher is to expose error. And reveal sin. Otherwise. You won't know. We won't know. And so we need the negative sometimes.

[30:02] And here I put to you. Similar to what Brother Bobby was saying this morning in fact. How there's a number of necessary negatives. And I've got them listed here. Some necessary negatives.

[30:13] For example. Number one. Be not. Be not. 2 Corinthians 6.14. Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship hath unrighteousness?

[30:27] Righteousness with unrighteousness. And what communion hath light with darkness. They're diametrically opposite. Aren't they? And so it says be not. There's a need to separate.

[30:39] Righteousness can have how much fellowship with unrighteousness? No fellowship. No fellowship. Be not. Be not. Join together.

[30:49] You know. Yoking together talks about the yokes. The wooden frames to hold oxen or animals together. In that joint working.

[31:02] We're not to be joined together with unbelievers. Secondly. Touch not. Touch not. Wherefore come out from among them and be ye separate, saith the Lord.

[31:13] And touch not the unclean thing and I will receive you. You know we can touch unclean things and we get unclean. Don't we? Now there's some paranoid people that worry about shaking hands in this church.

[31:29] And I won't say who it was but he coughed and then he went and said to shake my hand. It's an unclean thing there. Touch not the unclean thing. You know we don't want to touch the unclean thing. But we're talking spiritually here aren't we?

[31:41] Touch not the unclean thing. Brothers and sisters. You know. There's unclean things in this world. And the Bible says touch not the unclean thing. Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God.

[31:53] Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God. So touch not the unclean thing. If it's doubtful don't touch it. Have a barge pole between you and that which is unclean.

[32:04] And you know. If it doesn't look clean then it's unclean isn't it? Amen. If you can't honestly say that's something that's clean for me then it's unclean isn't it? Amen. So don't touch it.

[32:17] Thirdly love not. Love not the world neither the things that are in the world. For if any man love the world the love of the Father is not in him. Love not.

[32:27] Love not. And we can get a love for things. And we're human. We're fleshly. Well last time I looked I'm still flesh. And I know that I am sinful in my inclinations.

[32:43] And the Bible says love not the world. Love not the world. It's clear cut isn't it? The world's got a pull. It's got that magnetic attraction. It's that affection.

[32:54] That drawing power. And you know. It's about making that decision. When the world and the things of the world occupy our time. Our affection.

[33:07] Those things that devotion that God should have. Then we're missing out aren't we? We're missing out on the love of God. So love not the world. Don't love the world. Put your love on him.

[33:18] Put your love on him. Amen. Amen. Love not. Fourthly. Set not. Set not. Set your affection on things above. Not on things on the earth.

[33:29] Set your affection there. In heaven. Upon heaven. Upon things that glorify your king. The king of heaven. We are so in love with the things of the earth.

[33:43] That we can miss out on God's best. We truly can. And rather have time for God. Set time for God. Set your affection there. Where is your affection?

[33:54] What preoccupies you? Is it the secular or the sacred? Sacred. Now that's not to say. That you can't. Make the secular sacred. You can. Make your workplace.

[34:05] Such that. That people know you're a Christian. It was kind of amazing. Saturday night. I was. Helping with a funeral. A memorial service. And. There was about five people.

[34:15] Where I work. And. At this. At this. Memorial service. And. So you can't be one thing at work. And then one thing. In the church.

[34:26] You've got to be. Fair dinkum. Don't you? Amen. So that. They know you're. You're real. You're genuine. Sure. And so what preoccupies us? What drives us?

[34:36] Our motives. Our mindset. Set not. Your affection on. Things on the earth. Fifthly. Walk not. Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly.

[34:47] Nor standeth in the way of sinners. Nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. Amen. Walk not. You don't join arm in arm with someone who's going the wrong way. It talks about.

[35:00] That we should not join together with such people. But rather. Walk in the counsel. Of the godly. So.

[35:10] It's sad to see. As seems prevalent. And look. We can all be subject to it. Some walking in the counsel of worldly music. Some walk in the counsel of the soap operas.

[35:23] You know. They tune into. Tune into Oprah Winfrey. Or. You know. Whatever it be. The soap operas that are common these days. Or they. Walk in the counsel of ungodly friends.

[35:36] Now we can listen too often. Too much. To that ungodly. And their counsel. And we end up running with the sinners. And sitting with the scornful. So walk not.

[35:48] This is all negative brothers and sisters. But it's scripture isn't it? Amen. And number six. Give not. Give not that which is holy to the dogs. Neither cast your pearls before swine. Lest they trample them under their feet.

[36:00] And turn again. And rend you. So. Rather let's look for those that are hungry for the truth. And we can spend time with those. Who don't really care. They don't. They don't care about Christianity.

[36:12] You can spend all your time. You know. Pastor Adam and I. We've got limited time. There's. If you reckon it up. There's about a thousand people we've got to look after. Yeah. Talking about. You know.

[36:24] A couple of hundred. And all the children. Yeah. Yeah. We can't. Humanly. Do it. It's hard enough just to send an SMS or an email.

[36:35] Let alone make a phone call or make a visit. It's impossible. Yeah. So. We've got to. Determine. How can we best use our time. On those who really are interested. In the gospel message.

[36:47] Those who are really interested in growing as Christians. Let's look for those that are hungry. And spend time with them. Men. Hungry for the word. So.

[36:58] Give not. And number seven. Last one. Enter not. It says. Watch and pray that you enter not into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing. But the flesh is weak. The child of God is not.

[37:09] To go to places. Or do things. Or place themselves in situations. Where temptation will come. Enter not. Into temptation. Avoid it. But rather put you on the Lord Jesus Christ.

[37:21] Make not provision for the flesh. To fulfil the lust thereof. So these are all interesting points. Taken from a preacher. Message I came across.

[37:33] These are negative things. But needful things. Amen. And let's take heart. That sometimes we need the negatives. So that we can get right with God.

[37:44] And take these truths seriously. These eternal truths. They're not to be trifled with. There's a preacher who said. I preached. It's never sure. To preach again. And as a dying man. It's a dying man.

[37:54] I could get run over by lust tomorrow. Bam. Last chance for me to tell you the truth. Amen. I must not follow you. I want to be faithful to you.

[38:07] To God. In this message that must be declared. And likewise for you. Maybe this is the last message you'll ever hear. Again. You'll step into eternity. This week ahead.

[38:20] God forbid that I didn't declare to you. As truthfully and as faithfully as I can. What matters. What God says. And so pray for me. Pray for those who preach.

[38:32] Pray for those who minister. In all fashions. In the youth. In the Sunday school. In your faithful witnessing. Down the street. Open air preaching. If God leads you that way.

[38:42] God. In Jeremiah 1. It says. Be not afraid of their faces. For I am with thee to deliver thee. Saiteth the Lord. Then the Lord put forth his hand. And touched my mouth. And the Lord said unto me. Behold.

[38:53] I have put my words. In thy mouth. Now it's a very sacred thing. Isn't it? That God has put his words. Into our mouths. And so we must be faithful messengers.

[39:04] In this world. Where human life has lost its value. Millions of babies have been aborted. We need preaching. When we see lives being destroyed by alcohol and drugs. We see Christians blindly going along with it.

[39:17] We need preaching today. Our churches are getting colder and colder. Our preachers are getting milder and milder. And we need preaching. We need old fashioned faithful preaching from men of God.

[39:29] Men like John the Baptist. Who would not be popular. But delivered the message that he had to deliver. And what we need is this faithful preaching.

[39:40] Brothers and sisters. And God has chosen such a means. The foolishness of preaching. When we see this world going helter skelter to help. At high speed. It's high time.

[39:51] That we the saints of God. Do our bid. To pluck them out of the fire. Before it's too late. I'm not here to share my feelings with you. Or what I think.

[40:02] But rather to preach the word. Pray for me. Pray for Adam. Whoever preaches. In this gathering time. That we will be faithful to this.

[40:13] You know. Jonah had a simple message. A strong message. It was simply this. In Jonah 3 verse 4. Just a few words. Just a handful of words.

[40:25] Yet 40 days. And Nineveh shall be overthrown. And people must have thought. Oh he's a bit of a boring preacher. He's just saying the same thing. Every time he gets up. And preaches. You know.

[40:35] I heard of a preacher who did that. He just got up and said. Love one another. For a few. Week after week. You know. Sometimes you need to hear. Simple messages. Simple. Clear.

[40:47] Truths. And this was the message. That God gave to Nineveh. Yet 40 days. And Nineveh shall be overthrown. Now you can preach that. We can preach that. Can't we? We can deliver that.

[40:58] You can be his witness. It says in Isaiah. Cry aloud. Spare not. Lift up thy voice like a trumpet. And show my people their transgression. Paul said. God commands all men.

[41:09] Everywhere. To repent. These are. These are certain terms. Aren't they? There's no uncertainty there. These are clear cut truths. And this is what we must be about. Brothers and sisters today.

[41:20] So just quickly to recap. Paul says to Timothy. Preach the word. We are all commissioned.

[41:31] To preach the gospel. To take it out on the streets. To whoever we can. Wherever we can. Preach the truth. Preach. The gospel.

[41:44] And preach it straight. Preach it straight. Friends today. We must. Be encouraged. In this. In this. Vital truth. And it might mean.

[41:54] Negative things. You know. I know. There's some. Who talk turkey. With people they're witnessing to. And Christians. They're trying to exhort. And encourage. And edify. Build up. Sometimes they'll say. This is something you need to look.

[42:06] Work on. And I thank God for that. It's good that you say that. That you are forthright. Of course you do it tactfully. You do it in love. You do it because your motive is to help them. Not to bash them over the head.

[42:17] But. Sometimes you're going to tell the truth. Well we must tell the truth. All the time. And sometimes telling the truth can be hard. But God will give you the strength to.

[42:28] Amen. He'll help you to say the negative things. That we need to say too. Let us pray. Lord God. Lord God. We thank you. For each one gathered here tonight.

[42:39] And. Lord. We thank you for the foolishness of preaching. We know. Sometimes it's. It seems. Such a. A human thing to do. And yet. You put your Holy Spirit behind it.

[42:50] And you help us to get something. Out of it Lord. And. Your Holy Spirit can work. Through human vessels. As through each one of us. As we go about. Our lives. In.

[43:00] Our opportunities to witness. That we'll be such as. Drag them out of the fire. Or snatch them out of the fire. Those that know you're not. And help us Lord. To be such faithful ones.

[43:11] That we can be a faithful church. That we can have faithful preaching. And that we can have your faithful word. And declare it. At every opportunity we can. Lord we pray if there's any here tonight.

[43:22] Yet to trust you. They don't know the gospel. I pray that each one will know what it is. To say. Lord Jesus. Thank you. For dying on the cross for my sin. I trust you now.

[43:33] For time and for eternity. And know your saving grace. By faith. As I receive it now. As I turn from my way. And receive your gift. For my everlasting life.

[43:45] Lord we pray for each one. Each believer here tonight. That will all be encouraged. To take heart. And to be your people. In these days. That you give us to live. That we'll use each day wisely.

[43:56] Until we see your face. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

[44:07]  Amen. for my everlasting life. Lord, we pray for each one, each believer here tonight that will all be encouraged to take heart and to be your people in these days that you give us to live, that we'll use each day wisely until we see your face. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen.