Transcription downloaded from https://yetanothersermon.host/_/church4u/sermons/87063/as-for-me/.

Disclaimer: this is an automatically generated machine transcription - there may be small errors or mistranscriptions.
Please refer to the original audio if you are in any doubt.


[0:00] How marvellous, how wonderful is my Saviour's love for me. I like that one as it talks of him in the garden. As he bore those sorrows for my soul that night.

[0:16] ! And perhaps they're descendants, as you could say, of the trees that were there that night.

[0:38] Where our Lord prayed for us. Maybe our soul was on his mind as he prayed in the garden. Because as he faced the cross, as he faced that bitter cup that he prayed for us.

[0:52] And he bore those sorrows for our soul that night. It makes you wonder, doesn't it? And as Julie and I had that blessed privilege of just being in the garden of Gethsemane.

[1:03] It's still there. On that Mount of Olives. And we think, wow, that our Lord prayed for us there. Amongst those, well, what were the forebears of those trees that are there still today.

[1:16] Those very trees of the garden of Gethsemane. Friends, just some thoughts. A little devotional before we get to the main message later. But the thought of, as for me.

[1:32] As for me. And about the power of decision. Really, consider the power of decision today. David says some things. There's three times in Psalms, actually more.

[1:43] But there's three. David says, but as for me. David says, but as for me. Now, Neil and I and others were out witnessing yesterday and we met some folk.

[1:59] And one in particular stood out to, I think, Neil and myself was a man. He called himself Buddha. And he was a Hindu. Strangely enough, his name was Buddha, but he was a Hindu.

[2:12] And he was saying that he's been given a Bible by someone. And he was, it sounded like he was earnestly searching the Bible, reading the Bible. He was searching for God, I think.

[2:23] But he was saying, but my family. But my family. You know, they're Hindus. You know, I might be. He was kind of intimating that he would be kind of shut out from the family.

[2:34] That this would be such a heart-wrenching thing for him to become a Christian. It might mean he'd have to abandon that kind of familial relationship. And, but really we tried to urge him, what about you?

[2:48] It's about you and God. It's between you and God. It doesn't matter about your family. Who else is going to follow or not follow what you do or say? They may not understand. It's as for me.

[2:59] As for me. It's as for you. And David says, as for me. As for me, he says, I will worship. In Psalm 5 verse 7, he says it. As for me, I will worship.

[3:10] Psalm 5 verse 7, he says this. But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy. And in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple.

[3:22] David says, as for me, I will worship. Another time he says it in Psalm 26 verse 11, it says, As for me, I will walk in mine integrity. Psalm 26 verse 11, he says, but as for me.

[3:36] Same word, same phrase. I will walk in mine integrity. Redeem me and be merciful unto me. David says, redeem me. Save me. I'm going to walk in my integrity.

[3:47] And a third time he says it, Psalm 69 verse 13. Psalm 69 verse 13, he says it. But as for me, my prayer is unto thee, O Lord.

[3:58] In an acceptable time. O God, in the multitude of thy mercy. Hear me in the truth of thy salvation. David says, I will worship. David says, I will walk in mine integrity.

[4:11] David says, I will pray. I will pray. Hear my prayer. God does hear prayer. It says, he hears prayer. Unless your sins have separated you from him, he will hear your prayer.

[4:25] So get the sins sorted. Ask him to save you. Ask him to forgive you. To cleanse you. He will hear your prayer. The question is, ask for me. Where do you stand? In that decision time, as was referred in the opening prayer.

[4:40] Joel 3, 3, 14. It says, multitudes, multitudes. In the valley of decision. For the day of the Lord is near. In the valley of decision. This gets to that crunch time, doesn't it?

[4:52] In the valley of decision. In that time, we've all got to make a decision. Where will you stand? And I urge you today to consider these things. We know in the world of today, there's much crisis going on.

[5:05] There's much thoughts about what's going on. This control. This seems like there's an agenda going on.

[5:16] More than just a virus going on. It's bigger than a virus. And where will you stand? You know, people are bowing down. I know it's coming to a crunch in America now.

[5:28] Where, you know, they're trying to close the church doors. And there's churches that are saying, well, should we be bowing down to Caesar? It's a question, isn't it? When it ultimately comes to the point, are you going to bow down to Caesar or bow down to Christ?

[5:43] It's one or the other, isn't it? And whose government are we going to come under? Multitudes, multitudes. In the valley of decision. Who are you going to bow down to? That question was asked of Joshua in Joshua 24 verse 15.

[5:57] And he uses that same phrase. But as for me. He says, and if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve.

[6:10] Whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

[6:27] That's the one he wanted to bow down to. Friends, we're in the valley of decision. Choose you this day. And you will serve.

[6:39] It's a vital decision. A vital question. And what will you do with Jesus Christ is the real ultimate decision. The ultimate choice. Pilate asked that mob.

[6:49] That seething mob. He asked them this question. He said, what will you then that I shall do unto him who ye call the king of the Jews? And they cried.

[7:01] Crucify him. They made their decision. They made their decision. Will you cry out as the Christ rejecters crucify him? Or will you worship him?

[7:13] You know, I've seen some reference of some who are the Christ haters of today that they said, if Jesus was to come back, we'd kill him again.

[7:24] There's this little thing. You can see it on the internet where some hate Christ so much. They are so frothing, mad, atheistic.

[7:36] The God they deny, they want to kill him again. They want to kill him. They want to kill the Christ. And he is coming again. And they're not going to be able to kill him.

[7:46] That's for sure. They'll be the ones who will be in trouble. That's for sure. Friends, the question today is, will you worship him? Even the angels worship our Lord.

[7:59] It says in Hebrews 1 verse 6, let all the angels of God worship him. You know, this last week I had occasion to speak with a Muslim man.

[8:11] And a Muslim man, and he was, I think he had some openness to hearing about the Lord. He says, I love Jesus.

[8:21] Of course, he loves Jesus as a good prophet, as a great prophet. Maybe the best prophet. Maybe they wouldn't call him the best prophet. But the Muslims would revere him as a good man, a good prophet.

[8:35] They say they love Jesus. But of course, they do not worship Jesus. They do not worship him. But the Bible says, let all the angels of God worship him.

[8:47] And it says of us that we are made a little lower than the angels. Hebrews 2 verse 7. So if all the angels of God worship him, shouldn't we? Who are less than the angels?

[8:58] Clearly it is right that we direct our worship unto him. And the Lamb of God is worthy of our worship today. Of the entire creation of Revelation 5.13.

[9:09] It says, every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth, and such as are in the sea and all that are in them, heard us saying, blessing and honour and glory and power be unto the Lamb.

[9:24] Sorry, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne and unto the Lamb forever and ever. He is worthy of the same worship as the Father. The Father, the Lamb. Glory, blessing, honour, power.

[9:37] Be unto him. And friends, it says in one time, in ultimate time, it says that every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that he is Lord.

[9:48] And that's Philippians 2, which is a direct correlation with Isaiah 45.23, which speaks of the worship of the Lord. Jehovah. He is our God.

[10:00] The Lord Jesus. And friends, today, your decision matters today in the context of the cross. Choose you this day whom you will serve.

[10:11] It's such a, my earnest plea to you is as you're in that valley of decision that you say, but as for me, but as for me, I will serve the Lord.

[10:27] But as for me, I will worship him. But as for me, I will pray. But as for me, I will walk in my integrity. But as for me, I will worship. I will praise him. I will know him.

[10:38] And I urge you today, when the crowd cried out, crucify him, will you be amongst the Christ rejecters or will you be amongst the Christ receivers, the ones who received him?

[10:49] As few they were, yet you can be saved. You can know him today. And I urge you in that vein. And there's nothing more important. And woe betide me if I would not challenge you, that I would be remiss in failing to warn you.

[11:06] And this is just not some little discourse. This is serious. We've got no guarantees of anything beyond the moment, beyond the now.

[11:21] I urge you, trust him now. Trust him now. And believers, you know, the sentiment's been expressed already. Things are escalating, aren't they?

[11:33] I put to you. Things are escalating beyond what, and I'm not meaning to scaremonger or make more. I guess Christians of times, of yesteryear, have made much of current events.

[11:45]  And this is not to overplay it, but it's not to downplay it either. Christ is coming. And I'll be talking more on that theme later.