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[0:00] Glory. Message from God. Message from God. Now, I stand here as a frail human, inadequate, unworthy vessel to still be a carrier of a message from God.

[0:22] ! We're going to start in Judges 3. Judges 3. And I've got the verses here. You can refer to on the screen so you can see the words that I'm reading to you.

[0:37] A message from God. It's not something light. It's not something lightweight to be standing here to profess really to deliver such a message to you.

[0:50] But I trust that it is God who will speak despite my lack. And we see that here in Judges 3 verse 20. And Ehud came unto him and he was sitting in a summer parlor which he had for himself alone.

[1:04] Here was a man. It was King Eglon. Eglon king of Moab. And Ehud, the man of God, came and had audience with him. And it says, And Ehud said, I have a message from God unto thee.

[1:21] And he, Eglon, arose out of his sea. So here was Ehud, the man of God. Eglon, the king of Moab, a wicked king.

[1:33] Ehud, Eglon, walks in and he's got audience. He cleared the room really to have private word to the king.

[1:47] There may still have been some guard nearby. But King Eglon, it says, then he arose. This was something important. A message from God.

[1:57] Lord, I have a message from God unto thee. And he, Eglon, arose out of his seat. And then we see what happened next. It's pretty shocking really. And Ehud put forth his left hand.

[2:11] He was a left-handed man. Ehud had his left hand. They would have thought nothing of a left hand because everyone used their right hand. Ehud put forth his left hand.

[2:21] He took a dagger from his right thigh. There was a dagger, a sword dagger in his belt, in his, wherever, down there on his left side, right side, on his right hip.

[2:37] And he thrust, he took the dagger from his right thigh. He thrust it into his belly, into Eglon's belly. And the haft also went in after the blade and the fat closed upon the blade so that he could not draw the dagger out of his belly and the dirt came out.

[2:57] Like his intestines ruptured. This is pretty graphic this morning. So you can imagine what a graphic, horrible picture this was. And the point here, and now I trust you do get the point, this morning, that Ehud said, I have a message from God unto thee.

[3:18] We're not going to labour about this setting here. But Ehud was a messenger, is the point. Ehud was a messenger. And sometimes as preachers, we have a message from God that people may not want to receive.

[3:33] Oh, tell me something else. I don't want to hear that today. My message is not a dagger thrust into your belly. But I hope you get the point.

[3:47] We have a divine message to impart. All of us have. All of us have. A divine message. And like the message of Ehud, it's unheeded, unpopular, unwanted, mostly.

[4:01] But it's a divine message. It's a message from God. That should make it important, shouldn't it? That should make us want to sit up and take notice. And as Eglon did, he got out of his seat.

[4:11] This is important. And he got the point. It's imperative that we deliver the message, isn't it? We all have a message from God to deliver. We must deliver the message.

[4:22] Each of us. In 1 Corinthians 9, 16, Paul says that though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of for necessity is laid upon me.

[4:35] Yea, woe is me if I preach not the gospel. Paul says, I've got to preach it. I've got to deliver it. I've got to communicate the gospel, the good news. And really every Christian has this message, don't we?

[4:48] Every Christian has the gospel message, this pressing message. We are all messengers. Necessity is laid upon me. This is something that's necessary.

[4:59] It's not kind of, what's the word? The opposite of necessary. Optional. This is necessity, he says. This is not optional. This is necessity.

[5:09] I'm compelled. I'm constrained. I'll have an obligation. We have a burden. A burden. And it's the king's message. Now, you might recall in days gone by, I can remember such envelopes where it said, O-H-M-S.

[5:26] Now, you work in the government and sometimes they have O-H-M-S or they used to on envelopes. And of course it means on his or her majesty's service.

[5:40] That's the commission we have, isn't it? O-H-M-S. We're on his majesty's service. This is important. When something's stamped O-H-M-S, it's important.

[5:50] And our message is concerning the king, the king of kings and the lord of lords and his kingdom, the kingdom of God. When it says they went preaching, they preached the kingdom of God. We've got a sense whether the message we have comes from another kingdom, the kingdom of God.

[6:06] And fact is, you are his messenger, a messenger of the king. But the response we often can face is one of rejection, isn't it? Think of, I know our little door-knocking team, you were to weigh up the rejections and the receptions.

[6:23] There's a lot more rejections than the receptions. And a lot of people, when they hear the message from the king, they have the same response as the people in Luke 19. We will not have this man to reign over us.

[6:36] They don't want to come under the rule of him, of the king of kings. They don't want Christ to be the ruler, the king of their lives. We will not have Jesus to be our king, to reign over us, to rule us.

[6:47] We want to be our own boss, the master of our own destiny. Our message is his message and you are his messenger. Believer. Everyone. Every believer here.

[6:58] Every man and woman who knows and confesses Christ, you are his messenger. And you know, when you give the message, when you witness him, we know it can be refused.

[7:10] But that doesn't stop us. The king's message must get through. Now, I've seen some shorts, you might have seen these. There's a new movie called 1917. Now, I'm not in any way endorsing this movie because I've read some actual movie reviews about it and it's apparently filled with a lot of swearing.

[7:29] So, I'm not recommending the movie. But the basic storyline of this movie is quite intriguing. The movie plot is all about the transmission of an important critical message.

[7:41] An important critical message and it's getting the message through a war zone for the soldiers facing danger. Now, back in World War I, the work of signalers was to carry messages through on foot to the front lines to relay important communiques from the HQ and this signaler, this man had to go through a great danger to get the signal to get the message through.

[8:10] That's the point here. And it's the same for us. There's a sense of urgency. There's a sense of intensity. Now, we've got to get the message through. We've got to get the message delivered. And so, these signalers had to carry these messages through on foot through great danger.

[8:29] And we likewise are messengers, aren't we? Taking a message through a vital message, a message that must be relayed, a message that must be communicated. Here's another powerful image of blood on a man's hands.

[8:45] There's need to deliver a message of warning. Our Lord said to Ezekiel, the prophet, said, Son of man, I've made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel.

[8:56] Therefore, hear the words of my mouth and give them warning from me. When I say unto the wicked, thou shalt surely die, and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way to save his life, saying, wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood will I require at thine hand.

[9:18] Yet, if thou warn the wicked, and he shall not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity, but thou hast delivered thy soul. And then, a like verse in Ezekiel 33, 7, says, So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel.

[9:39] Therefore, thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, warn them from me. Now, of course, the setting here of Ezekiel in the setting, the context of Israel, different setting, but I think the principles apply still for us.

[9:56] We should have our eyes watching and alert, and we should be used of God, our voice box should be used of God to relay that which he wants us to say to others.

[10:10] And, as our Lord said to Ezekiel, he says, warn them from me. Warn them from me. The Lord wants to give a message to this world.

[10:21] You know, the world is in dire straits. You see how a virus can contaminate and spread like a plague, and we wonder what's going to happen next.

[10:37] The world is in great peril. Our Lord wants us to deliver a message, and it's critical. We should be like that signal of running through, no matter what, is in his way to get the message through.

[10:53] There should be that intensity, that urgency. He wants to deliver the message.

[11:07] Friends, we think of people we know, people we rub shoulders with. What are they going to hear? tell them? How can they hear?

[11:18] We know God in his sovereignty could send an angel to tell them, but we know that is quite unusual. Largely he uses human vessels, doesn't he?

[11:32] Just like you. what does he say? Warn them to me.

[11:45] Imagine if you knew there was a road with a, and there's an earthquake and there's this big chasm in the road and drivers just speeding their way to this danger.

[12:01] Want to stop? Warn them, wouldn't you? Tell them of the danger that awaits them. Don't. Stop. We have a message from God to urge and warn people of the danger that lies ahead of them, the peril that they have outside of Christ.

[12:22] It says, warn them from me. Do it for me, he says, to you, me. You are the ones who must communicate the message. Paul was such a messenger, he held nothing back.

[12:35] There's a Paul, I bear record, he says, go from the blood of all men, I've not shunned to declare unto all the counsel of God. He wanted to declare the whole counsel of God.

[12:46] He wanted to hold nothing back. He says, I don't want to have blood on my hand. I'm going to declare to you the whole counsel of God. I'm going to tell you the thoughts and all, I'm going to tell you like it is, I'm not going to hold anything back.

[13:00] We must hold nothing back. We've got a tremendous responsibility, brothers and sisters, every one of us, to know his word and to pass it on. The word of God is entrusted to every believer.

[13:14] This is not, some would think, it's the preacher's job, or the pastor will do it, or only select people, have that calling, that mission.

[13:26] We're all apostello. We're all sent out. He sent the whole lot out. He sent all the disciples out. Sent them out. We're all missionaries.

[13:37] We're all on the mission field. You're either a missionary or you are the mission field. You're one or the other. You're saved, you're a missionary. We all ought to be communicators of the message, truth bringers.

[13:50] This message we have, we hold, love, it's the greatest message we can ever impart. You are a messenger, God's messenger, brother, sister, and he's placed in your charge this message.

[14:02] Now you've got this message and stamped upon it, really the message is Jesus Christ, isn't it?

[14:13] the daily teach and preach Jesus Christ as the early church did. Now the early church, they were forbidden in the context here to use the name of Jesus.

[14:26] Use any other name you like, just don't use the name of Jesus. You can have religion, you can have religious words and religious sentiments, but just don't talk about Jesus.

[14:36] It's a bit like our world today, isn't it? A lot of talk about spirituality. You hear the worldly, you know, the worldly wise would talk about, oh, I'm a spiritual person.

[14:47] I believe in Gaia, the new age goddess, or I believe in Mother Earth, or something out there, something, some fuzzy wuzzy kind of something, someone.

[14:58] They're very religious, aren't they? And they will allow anything but Jesus Christ. Don't preach Jesus. They don't want to hear Jesus today, but nothing is more important than his name.

[15:11] And they were forbidden to speak in his name, but they carried on regardless. So should we. When they say don't speak in his name, all the more speak in his name. And because, friends, we've got a package here, and it's marked urgent.

[15:27] We've got a message, and it's marked urgent. It's a time limit on our time to impart it. It's stamped, urgent. You get something in your letterbox, and it's marked urgent.

[15:40] You want to open it, don't you? You want to have a look at what it is, because it's important. And you've got a message marked urgent, and the sender has placed it in your hands. And it's your job to deliver it.

[15:52] You're the delivery boy, the delivery girl, and we are to proclaim the truths of God such that this message is urgent, and we are compelled. He's placed it in your charge.

[16:04] His message, his task is urgent. There's no time to waste. The urgency. And so when you think of the posting, the message has got to get through.

[16:18] Rain, hail, sleet, or shine. I like it when we do some door knocking, and it's raining, and we've still got some people who brave the elements, and say it doesn't matter what the weather's doing, we've got a message, this is urgent.

[16:32] Nothing's going to stop us. Even the pouring, driving rain, it's not going to stop us, because this message must get through, it's urgent. And so as the early church kept on telling the message of the name of Jesus, and the message of our great king, the harvest is great, workers are few.

[16:53] Friends, there's a harvest. When you think of harvest, if the harvest is great, the harvest is ready, that's saying don't dilly-dally, isn't it? When the harvest is ready, go into the harvest.

[17:09] And the harvest is ready, it cannot wait. Jesus says it's ready, it's great. And when something's marked urgent, you put everything else aside, because this is urgent, outweighs all the other matters.

[17:29] When something's marked urgent, you put what is urgent first. And we must go to the work, we have a responsibility, and I'm not saying necessarily everyone can go door knocking, although wouldn't that be great?

[17:42] But we've all got a message, and we've all got means of imparting, we've all got a mission field all around us, in your workplace, your home settings, you are a missionary for Christ, and we've got a responsibility, he's entrusted his word to you.

[17:57] This is compelling, isn't it? His message is pressing, as it says, as he pictured of those communicating the message, he says that they are to compel them to come in, tell them to come in.

[18:11] Sometimes it goes against the grain, doesn't it, to be pushy, to be in your face, I know for me it can, I kind of resile a bit from being confrontational, but there's a sense where this message should even outweigh our human tendencies to step back.

[18:33] We should compel them to come in, the sense where we want to do everything in his power, the use of him, to reach people, don't we?

[18:45] To compel them to come in. Because it's a message of warning, it's a message that must be told. Stop! You're about to go over the edge. What sort of message is this message?

[18:58] Just some thoughts. What is the message? It's a message of righteousness. We see, Noah, of the eight who are saved, a preacher of righteousness.

[19:09] His message was righteousness. And I like to, Noah's day, our world's really got the same kind of blasé rejection mentality, doesn't it?

[19:21] They don't want to hear. I don't want to know about righteousness. I'm just having too good a time. But really, the best time you can have. The greatest fulfilment and joy and realisation of who he's made you to be, the best and greatest blessing is to know him and his righteousness, to know his saving.

[19:43] But it's a message of righteousness. And some people, they just don't want to know, oh, I've got to change, I've got to drop some things. God will help you drop things. He'll help you get rid, but what you'll get rid of is far outweighed by what you receive.

[19:57] There's much blessing. Honorable blessing, righteousness of God in Christ. And our message is of righteousness, our message is of reconciliation.

[20:09] Paul says we're ambassadors for Christ. Like these ambassadors sent from another nation into this foreign land that is the earth. And we are his ambassadors, ambassadors for Christ.

[20:22] And it says we beseech you, we pray you. In Christ's stead, we're appealing to you on his behalf. This is on behalf of Christ.

[20:34] In his place, be ye reconciled to God. We've got words of reconciliation. This is the greatest reconciliation we can know, to be made reconciled, to be made at peace with God.

[20:46] One we're at war with, that he would make peace with us. That's reconciliation. So it's righteousness, it's reconciliation, it's repentance. See, Barnabas and Paul, at the time in Acts 14, they were trying to venerate them and put them on a pedestal and virtually worshipped Barnabas and Saul, making out that they were some gods, as it were.

[21:15] And Paul and Barnabas, they ran among the people and they rent their clothes and say, no, don't do this. Why are you doing these things? And then we see in Acts 14, verse 15, it says, we are men of like passions with you.

[21:31] Preach unto you, should turn from these vanities unto the living God, and heaven and earth. See, and all that is therein. See, the vanities of this world, the emptiness of this world, the idol worship of this world, is in contrast to the living God.

[21:49] What a contrast that is. And really, we should turn from, turn unto. As a young man, we had a little radio program on shortwave, and I called it Turn to Jesus.

[22:04] Turn to Jesus. The message. Turn on, turn unto. Repentance. The message is repentance. It's turning.

[22:15] It's a change. It's heart deep. And our message is repentance. See, our message is of grace. Paul says, I command you to God unto the word of his grace.

[22:25] This message, this word, this word is the word of grace. It's grace. Now, you know, also, it's a message of judgment. As in Jonah's day, Jonah went into Nineveh.

[22:39] Ultimately, he went and died. Yet, 40 days in Nineveh shall be overthrown. This was no great lengthy technical message.

[22:52] It was a very simple message, very short message, very to-the-point message, message of judgment. It says, Nineveh's about to be overthrown. He's essentially saying, God's judgment is upon you, that you've only got 40 days, you're going to be destroyed.

[23:08] Of course, they repented. They believed. Now, friends, we might face much opposition. We might be like Jeremiah, I'm afraid.

[23:23] The Lord said to Jeremiah, be not afraid of their faces. I am with you. Friends, people are going to refuse. I have all kinds of human reasons why it's hard.

[23:38] going to get angry of me. I might get them upset. They might refuse me. Even if they refuse you, and likely they will, must impart the message.

[23:56] What if we don't? We're stolen. You see a story in Matthew 21 where our Lord talked about a vineyard. There was peepers there and he went away and then he sent servants, messengers to the people caretaking the vineyard with a message from the owner.

[24:17] But the servants were rejected. And then ultimately he sent his son. They did not respect even the son. They killed him. And the picture there is of Israel rejecting the prophets that were sent to them.

[24:31] Prophets that were sent to warn them, some of whom they rejected, some were killed. And it's a picture for us, this is always happening from the Old Testament right through.

[24:44] God sends the messengers but the messengers are rejected. So if you are rejected, there's all more reason to keep going. Surely they will respect the Lord Jesus when he comes.

[24:58] What did they do? He was despised and rejected. They received him not. They did not even respect the Lord Jesus.

[25:12] So what more reason that we can think, well, if they reject me, it doesn't, it's no reason for me not to tell.

[25:28] What more reason that I ought to tell? I'm in good company. So it is likewise for you as his messengers. We can expect ill treatment.

[25:41] It reminds me of one occasion we were doing some door knocking and I was at someone's front door and there was this huge ferocious dog and it was lunging at the fly screen and the fly screen was ajar and I thought, okay, I've got to be just careful here.

[26:00] But then the owner came and then the dog burst through the fly screen and he sunk his teeth into my shoe. Now, mind you, it was actually a little dog.

[26:11] But it felt scary enough that it was a big dog. But he actually, he almost damaged my shoe there. He just sunk his teeth into my shoe. But thankfully the human actually listened.

[26:23] So that was a blessing. It was worth getting bitten by the dog. So sometimes humanly speaking, it would be easier for us to not speak up. It would be easier for us to be afraid.

[26:34] Afraid of their faces. Afraid of what might happen. Well, someone might get angry with me. Here, on one occasion we were doing some open air preaching in Rundle Mall and they were throwing carrots at us.

[26:47] And different things, you get situations like that. People just throw things at you. And we think of Wesley in his day, they threw rotten tomatoes and whatnot at him. And you think, this is par for the course.

[27:00] Be not afraid. Sometimes it would be easier though, humanly speaking, not speak up. But we dare not.

[27:12] We dare not withhold it. It says in Jeremiah, he had a time when he thought, I'm not going to talk anymore in his name. It says, give it to, you know, they have you had some doubts or human feelings that, oh, I'm not going to speak anymore in his name.

[27:29] This is just too hard. But his word was in my heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones. I was weary of the forbearing and I could not stay. Jeremiah said, this word was like a burning fire.

[27:43] He just couldn't shut it up inside his bones. He had to let it out. And it's the same with you and me, isn't it? We dare not withhold it. We cannot. We cannot but tell. His love constrains us, it says, doesn't it?

[27:56] And this message we have, the message of righteousness, it's a message of reconciliation, it's a message of repentance, the word of his grace. It's also a message of his cross.

[28:08] This is the preaching of the cross. Then the perish is foolishness, but to us that are saved, it is the power of God. Our message is the cross. The world would consider it foolishness, what we are saying, yet our message cannot be changed.

[28:24] If we don't change the message, maybe we'll downplay the cross a little bit. We're talking about a bleeding man, talking about sin, maybe that's a little bit too confrontational, a little bit too archaic.

[28:39] We need something more modern, more uplifting, more about people's self-image and self-esteem or some other religious methodology.

[28:50] But no, it's the cross. It's the cross. It's the cross that we need to impart. It's the preaching of the cross. Even though the world would think that it's foolishness, even though the world would think it's foolishness, our message cannot be changed.

[29:04] It's still the same. Our message is the uncompromising message. Word of God is likened to a plumb line. This sets what is right and wrong.

[29:17] This says what's right and wrong. This says what's up and down and here and there. This says what's right and what's wrong. This is the plumb line and it always has, always will be.

[29:29] In this fickle world, the Bible is unchanging, steady as a rock. And all the words of men must be measured by the word. Some would profess to be teachers and speakers.

[29:42] They'll pander to their hearers and scratch them where they itch and tickle their ears. But the message that people need is still the same message. It's not ear tickling, it's heart changing.

[29:54] It's the uncompromising word of God that people need. The truth does not bend. It's still straight up and down, straight down the line. It's a plumb line. And as messengers, we're not to deviate or revise the message, we're to deliver it, simply deliver it, to love the word.

[30:12] And as messengers, we've got a big responsibility. Friends, we're accountable to God. This is no light thing. When I say I have a message from God for you, that's pretty strong, isn't it?

[30:25] And if any one of us was to say that, we want to make sure that we're declaring what's true, what's the word of God. The master has given us a word and he calls us to impart it, share it, he commands us to.

[30:40] And we are stewards of his message, ambassadors of the king. And we've been given a sacred trust. As Paul said to Timothy, preach the word. Now we could preach all kinds of things, but the message is the word.

[30:54] That's the message. It's in this book. That is the message. And we've got a sacred trust here that he's entrusted it to us. To faithfully deliver the king's message.

[31:05] This is so vital. So friends, brothers and sisters here today, we've all been given something to deliver. It's stamped, urgent. Saying, O-H-M-S, on his majesty's service.

[31:18] This is a message that is important, it's urgent, there's a harvest, ripe and ready. As every man has received the gift, so let him in us do the same.

[31:32] We've got a gift, we've got a calling, we've got a word, he's given us this word, he's entrusted it to our charge. Paul says to Timothy, hold fast the word.

[31:45] Hold it fast. That which God has given to you, hold it fast. Elsewhere it says in Philippians, it says hold it forth.

[31:57] We're not only to hold it fast, leave it, hold it forth. Deliver it. So friends today, Paul and Barnabas, they preached the word.

[32:09] Word of the Lord. This is the word that we have to give. Not our own words, not our own embellishment so much, but the word. The word.

[32:20] That's what we must deliver. And we know the authority of this word. It's the word of the king. And where the word of the king is, there is power. This is the divine plan. We must deliver the message, no matter what the response.

[32:33] And as in Jeremiah 7, it says, they will not hearken to thee. Go on the words, but they're not going to listen. It's not it. Deliver it.

[32:44] Continue to deliver it. How are we to impart the message? Friends, it's by the Lord. And our resource is the Lord. Paul says, we have this ministry, the ministry of reconciliation.

[32:58] We've got this call to serve and to deliver. Word of reconciliation. Be reconciled to God. And he says, having received this ministry, this responsibility, faint not.

[33:13] Faint not. Friends, it's easy to faint, isn't it? Like I faint when I see blood. Or think about blood. Don't talk about blood. We faint not. We faint not.

[33:24] We're saying we've got this ministry, we've got this calling, we've got this mission, we've got this word, we've got this message, and you're his messenger. Faint not. And in the context, we see how Paul went through torture for the sake of delivering the message.

[33:40] And he says, we're not as those handling the word of God deceitfully. We're manifesting the truth, he says. And we're sustained by the truth. Friends, we've got promises here, we've got a message, we've got the words of God, the words of life, the very word of God.

[33:56] We believe it, we hold it, we hold it fast, we hold it forth. It's inerrant, it's infallible, precious, it's eternity changing.

[34:08] And the enemy doesn't want anyone to hear it. In the context of 2 Corinthians 4, which is a lovely set of verses there, it tells about people being blinded in their minds.

[34:20] There's the devil blinds people's minds. I can't think of a worse affliction than that, can you? You can have all kinds of physical, bodily afflictions, but for your mind to be blinded would be the very worst thing, wouldn't it?

[34:33] That you cannot see the truth. And that's what the devil does, the minds, he blinds the minds of those who will not believe. So friends, Paul says then we preach not ourselves, but focus.

[34:48] Whose agenda is driving us? Is it my agenda? Now we could think, oh, I'm going to preach about myself. And you can't go to some places and it is all about themselves. But we don't preach ourselves, we preach the Lord Jesus Christ.

[35:02] We're just a servant. It's whose agenda is driving us, that's what matters, isn't it? Is it my agenda or his agenda? Is it that which is urgent, in which case we put it first?

[35:14] Or is it my own agenda? And are we his servants? Friends, I urge you today, just drawing to close here, to think about faint not, faint not.

[35:27] There's the verse, we faint not. We faint not because we're serving us, not serving in our own strength or capacity.

[35:41] We faint not because the message we have is not our message, it's this message. It's words. We faint not because we're empowered by his spirit.

[35:55] We faint not because we're serving the Lord. We faint not even in time of adversity. As we read of 2 Corinthians 4, it goes on. Paul says, we're troubled on every side, yet not distressed.

[36:08] We're perplexed but not in despair. He says, we're persecuted but not forsaken. We're cast down but not destroyed. Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.

[36:22] He says, I will not faint even though I'm persecuted. I will not faint even though I'm troubled, all kinds of trouble. I will not faint even though everyone seems to be against me.

[36:35] It's for me. We faint not even in the midst of time of adversity. Praise God. Because we have his strength.

[36:49] Our light affliction, that's all it is. just for a moment, exceeding, far more exceeding an eternal weight of glory that we know. Heaven's smile.

[37:03] For the meantime, our outward man is perishing. We look not at the things which are seen but the things which are not seen. we see, we don't dwell on the temporary, think about the eternal.

[37:21] Friends, faint not because he calls us to this mission. Faint not because we have this wonderful message that he's given into our hands, into our charge. And we know the empowerment of the spirit of God.

[37:33] Our Lord Jesus. It's anointing me. Preach the gospel to me. Let me tell you. Pull the broken heart. Preach deliverance to me.

[37:46] Sight to the people that deliver them to me. We've got good news to share. There's no greater message you can impart to a human soul than this message, King's message.

[37:58] And we're called to, we're commanded to, go, it says. Go. It says. And it says that repentance and remission of sin should be preached in his name.

[38:12] You've got a sacred trust. There's this. Committed to your trust. You know, think of what God has entrusted to you. Yeah. If you had something, I know some of you got a safe at home filled with jewels and gold ingots and such things.

[38:28] Or under your mattress there's lots of dollars or coins. And really, I'm being a bit lighthearted here, but what could be more important than this?

[38:43] It's committed to your trust. You know, this is, this is more important than all the valuables you could talk about or reckon up in your accounting of all that you own or are paying off.

[38:55] He says, keep this in your trust. He says, this is in your charge. This is something that's valuable. This is, there's nothing more valuable than this word.

[39:07] Nothing more than that. And hold it fast. Hold it forth. It's Christ in you. It's Christ and him crucified. And Paul says, I didn't come with big words of flashy talk.

[39:19] He says, I came to live with Jesus Christ and him crucified. I determined not to know nothing else among you than Jesus Christ and crucified.

[39:31] And for instance, none other name under heaven given among men. Why we must. When Philip went preaching and he went delivering the message, it was simply Jesus. We can talk about all manner of things.

[39:46] Jesus Christ and him crucified. I trust. As we started off here this morning, it's a message from God.

[39:57] The message from God is Jesus Christ and him crucified. That's the message. Simply that. And the message must be delivered. Stamped, urgent.

[40:09] And it's in your hands. He's committed it to your trust for you to deliver it. It's got someone else's name on it. And you're the messenger to give it to them.

[40:20] Thank you. And I know Ehud delivered the message. That the message we have is not a dagger in the stomach as such.

[40:31] But it is confronting. And it's unwanted. And you will be rejected in delivering it. But thank God some will hear. Trust him. And friends, if you're here this morning outside of Christ, message from God, trust him.

[40:49] Trust you. Trust you. Save you. Trust his dying on your part of the cross. Trust him that it was your sin paid for in full. To receive a gift of eternal life in simply trusting him, knowing him.

[41:06] And then you're his messenger. Each one here this morning. Let's pray. Lord, we bless you. Thank you, Lord, for your precious word, for the message from God. Lord, it's in our hands, the word of God.

[41:17] It's your message to our soul. And Lord, it's too important and urgent a message that we hold it, just hold it fast, but we must hold it forth as well.

[41:29] Lord, let us be such a people. Lord, pray. Help us, Lord. Lord, when we're nervous, when we're afraid, when we're humanly feeling like we cannot, that we can do all things through Christ, which strengtheneth us.

[41:44] Lord, thank you for these things. Lord, I pray for every believer this morning that each one would be stirred to consider how can I deliver it?

[41:57] how can I deliver it? And who are you telling me to deliver it to? Lord, help us to be led by your spirit to take action. In Jesus' name we pray.

[42:09]  Amen.