Well, will you turn with me to
Luke's Gospel again, and the eighth chapter, Luke's Gospel,
chapter eight, and I want to look at a couple of verses in
the middle, verse 16 to 18, verse 16 to 18, and talk about responsibilities. Our Lord Jesus Christ talked
about the responsibilities of his people. the people's responsibilities
to witness what they've heard and to hear what they've heard.
Now I'm always conscious when coming to passages of scripture
like this and to preaching like this that no doubt people will
accuse me of preaching works. Let me say right at the start
that everything I say about our responsibilities doesn't in the
slightest way affect our standing in the Lord Jesus Christ. The
salvation, the security of the sinner saved is in the works
of Christ and Him alone, and nothing can change that. But
it's absolutely clear from the Scriptures that our Lord Jesus
Christ talks about responsibilities. He talks about taking the way
of salvation and the road of faith, taking it very, very seriously. It's not to be treated lightly
or glibly. He talks about counting the cost.
Anybody setting out on a project, he says, don't start it because
you'll be embarrassed. You'll get halfway through and
you'll find it too hard and you'll give up and people will go, oh,
look at him, look at her. She started on this road and
then she decided it was too tough and gave up. He said, count the
cost. He's talking about responsibilities. Well let's put it in context,
because we must always put the scriptures in the context where
it's given. You know people are so good,
this is all error arises from people having their statements
of faith and their confessions of faith and they make those
their authority in all matters of doctrine. And then they go
looking for proof texts which they take out of context to make
them fit their confessions of faith. That's not the way to
do it. The Word of God is our confession of faith. Our rule
of life is the Gospel of Christ. We hear what He says, what He
says to us. We read, we saw last time about
Christ giving the parable of the sower and how it was in the
context of him preaching everywhere, going through everywhere he could,
without distinction, all types of people, because the scriptures
had always said it was God's eternal purpose to save people
of all types. His elect were from every tribe
and tongue and kindred. And therefore, he went everywhere,
without distinction, to all sorts of different places. And what
did he do? He preached and showed, which must have been from the
Scriptures, from the Old Testament Scriptures, he preached and showed
from the Scriptures the glad tidings of the Kingdom of God. What glad tidings are those?
Those glad tidings are the tidings of peace with God, a salvation
with God, a salvation of a people chosen in Christ from before
the beginning of time, and redeemed on the basis of the saving work
of the Lord Jesus Christ, the atoning work of Christ. This
is the glad tidings. This is why it's called the Gospel.
Good news. It's glad tidings. Glad tidings,
what were the angels when Christ came? Peace, goodwill to all
men. Glad tidings was their message.
This is joyful. Why? Because in our sins we're
condemned and we face only a lost eternity, but in Christ and what
He has done, there is complete salvation, for He is able to
save to the uttermost those who come to God by Him. and he gave
them the parable of the sower. What's it like when you go out
scattering the seed of the word into the big wide world? There
are four types of ground and only one of them is good ground. There are few who are good ground
believers. Do we need any more evidence
this morning of that than we've got here? How many people live
in this area within a ten mile radius of here? Thousands, hundred
thousand or more I would imagine within a ten mile radius of here,
easily. And how many want to gather to
listen to the gospel proclaimed? You don't need much more than
the fingers of two hands, do you? These are the days in which
we live. There are few who are good ground.
This truly is a wilderness where we are. but it's all in the purposes
of God. In Revelation 12 the woman is
the church and the woman is driven out into the wilderness where
God has a place for her in the wilderness to feed her there.
God feeds his people, he keeps his people, he feeds his people
in this wilderness world. There is no hope in this world.
We read last week that friendship with the world is enmity with
God? The scriptures say that, that's
not just some bigot preaching to you that says that, the scriptures
said it. Friendship with the world is enmity with God. It's one thing to be sociable
and pleasant and inoffensive to neighbors and people that
we meet, but to love their friendship more than those who love the
gospel of Christ, there's something odd about that according to the
word of God. No. Friendship with the world,
beware of it. We live in this world, it's a
wilderness. John 17, our Lord Jesus Christ talked about his
people in this world, and he said, I'm not taking them out
of this world. He said, I'm leaving this world,
I've been in this world, I'm leaving this world, but these
are staying here. And he prays, Father, keep them.
Keep them in your word, in your name. Keep them in the gospel
of your grace. So this thing, salvation, is
for all sorts of people without distinction. And we have to preach
to all without distinction. And that's a foolish thing, because
to the Greek, to the philosopher, to the worldly person, the non-religious,
it's foolishness, is that message. Foolishness. It doesn't make
sense to them. The reason is this. It's the
natural man, and the natural man doesn't receive the things
of the Spirit of God. It's foolishness to him, neither
can he know it. You must have spiritual discernment.
And where does that come from? The Holy Spirit alone, by the
new birth. Unless a man be born again, he
cannot see the things of the Spirit of God. Foolishness! It's
foolishness that such earthen vessels as fallen sinful men
are given the responsibility, burdened with the responsibility
to bear the Gospel before men. Foolishness! The best of them,
the very best of them, all have feet of clay. They're earthen
vessels, old clay pots in which is divine eternal treasure. Have you heard and believed the
gospel of God's grace? If you have, oh what a light
has been switched on. You look at this dark world around
us, look at its opinions, look at its philosophies, look at
its morals, look at everything that it says about who we are,
where we're from, where we're going. It's darkness. But if you believe the gospel
of God's grace, a light has been switched on. about things of
eternity, about God, about His holiness, about His justice,
about sin, about repentance, about redemption, about atonement,
about justification, all in the Lord Jesus Christ. It's a candle
in a dark room. Look at verses 16 and 17. Let's
look at this candlestick. No man, this is right after the
parable of the sower, verse 16. No man, when he hath lighted
a candle, covereth it with a vessel, or puteth it under a bed." So
you've got a power cut at home, okay? It's dark, it's the middle
of winter, the lights have gone off. But you happen to have a
candle and some matches. And you light the candle so that
you can see where you are. Where do you put it? Underneath
the bed? Well, the bed might catch fire, so that's not a good
idea. Put it on the mantelpiece, but put a pot over the top of
it. No, that's not a lot of good, is it? You don't cover it, you
let it shine. You let it shine. You don't do
that. You set it on a candlestick that they which enter may see
the light. For nothing is secret that shall not be made manifest,
neither anything hid that shall not be known and come abroad.
He's talking about the secret of the gospel. That secret that
Paul says in the epistles, that mystery which was hidden from
generations, he's now made manifest, open, seen by his saints, his
people. The secret of the gospel is to
be made open. And there's that world out there
and you have the seed of the word if you believe. Go and scatter
it. Go and scatter it. Are you in Christ? What does
it mean for you if you're in Christ? You've got something,
liberty. Liberty that the world doesn't
have. A hope that the world doesn't
have. Go to a funeral. Have a look.
Yes, we have earthly sorrow. But we don't sorrow, says the
scriptures, like those who have no hope. We sorrow, we grieve
when we lose loved ones, but it's not as those who have no
hope. What a difference between going to the funeral of one you
know was in Christ and others, the majority, who you go to,
who you know were not in Christ. It's a terrible thing. But you've
got that hope in the gospel. You've got assurance. Why? Because
Christ has done all things. He tells you, what do I need
to be right with God? You are complete in Him. Christ is the end of the law
for righteousness to everyone who believes. You have eternal
life. How much clearer can it be what
you have? You have peace with God. You
who were enmity with God, you who were children of wrath even
as others, you who were without hope in this world and destined
for a lost eternity, if you believe in Christ, if you trust Him,
if you trust Him, you have eternal life, you have peace with God.
You know about adoption, where there was nothing other than
a fearful Mount Sinai shouting and thundering the law of God
at you. You now have the adoption papers before you, you can see
them. This child is adopted into the family of God. What blessings
you have, don't hide it! He says, put it on a candlestick,
don't hide it. So what does that mean? Does
that mean I've always got to be on a soapbox preaching at
people? Most definitely not. Don't do
that. Don't do that. No, if you're
in the workplace, your employer doesn't pay you to preach, pays
you to do the work for which he's paying you. Don't preach.
Don't preach. You may have a word at a tea
point or a water cooler or whatever it is, maybe if somebody asked
you, but don't preach. No, that's not what this means,
putting your candle on a candlestick. Don't be like those who everybody
regards as an offensive nag. You know, nag, nag, nag, nag,
nag. You know, those who are just offensive. If you go down,
I'll give you an example. I don't know if he's still there
but he used to be two or three years ago, Stephen knows who
I mean. Oxford Circus, you come out of
the tube and there's the crowded street and you'll find a man
with a megaphone there and he's just an offensive nag. He brings
shame on the gospel because what he's proclaiming to preach is
not the truth of scripture. It's falsehood, absolute falsehood. No, don't be like that, don't
be like that. Yes, cause offense, but make
sure it's only this, what Paul calls the offense of the cross.
If people ask you and they're offended that Christ died for
his people to save his people from their sins, yes, that will
offend people, that's the offense of the cross, but don't be offensive
in that you do nothing other than annoy people, that's not
putting your candle. on a candlestick, and causing
it to shine. And also, beware, because elsewhere
Christ warns us about casting the pearls of the gospel before
swine, because there's so much of this world, when they hear
it, will just trample it underfoot, and they'll treat it with contempt.
So beware of that. But, this is what I think it
means. The new man of the Holy Spirit, the new man of the new
nature given by God, bears fruit. the fruit of the Spirit. And
that's in character, and in attitude, and in demeanor, and in view
of self. And situations arise. This is
not works religion. Not at all. This is the response
to the absolute sovereign grace of God. And you respond to situations. If that new man is within you,
the world's pleasures come along. How do you respond to them? There
are some of them that you think, I don't want anything to do with
that. the philosophies of this world you know it comes up cliff
and i are often talking about uh... that the wisdom or otherwise
of watching question time because it's just full of the wisdom
of this world and to the believer to the child of god it's an offensive
thing it's an offense we don't want that the morality of this
world you know in the last thirty years i believe That which was
black is now white and that which was white is now black in terms
of moral standards. The moral basis of this society,
Britain, in which I was brought up in the 1950s has completely
turned on its head. And then, most things were governed
by the word of God in terms of our laws and our moral stance.
Now, it's all been, they've cast off the yoke, the bonds, it's
all been thrown away. What about reaction to a news
item. You know, the believer reacts
differently to these things. For we see all things in the
sovereign power of God. What about when somebody nearby
dies that you all know? And how you react to that? Oh,
what a terrible tragedy. Well, yes it is if you're outside
of Christ. What do you mean? Questions,
you see? Questions. A personal tragedy
comes upon you. How do you react? The world? Oh, terrible, my entire world,
my entire reason for living has collapsed around me. No, I have
a hope. I have a rock, which is eternal.
People see a difference. It leaks out, as somebody once
said. If you're Christ's, the fact
that you are Christ's, it leaks out. You know, you can't get
away from it, it leaks out. They observe a higher hope. And
they might even ask you, what is the reason for that? And if
they do, light that candle. Make sure it's not hidden. Light
that candle. As a church, we witness. We witness
here, publicly, that we're here. We witness on the internet. People
have access to the internet. Preaching is God's means of that
light being diffused. And what can you say? I mean,
you're not all preachers. Obviously not. But you can say
this. Come and hear. Look at our website. Go and listen to this gospel
truth, you know, and the power of preaching in the hands of
God and in the economy of God's Spirit. You know, Christine's
sister, when she died, what, it's coming up for four years
ago now, but you know, she asked that question, I want to know,
and what did we do? We just gave her an old MP3 player
loaded up with about a hundred sermons on it, just on that one
little thing, and she lay in bed, in her sick bed, as she
was slowly dying, and she listened to gospel preaching. Not just
mine, but others on Free Grace Radio, that you know is true
gospel preaching. And in it was the truth, and
it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save those who
believe. As the Samaritan woman said to
those men of that town where she was, you know when she met
Christ, And she went back and she said to them, and this is
what we can do, putting a candle on a candlestick, come and see
a man who told me all things I ever did. Is not this the Christ? Is not this the one in whom is
salvation from sin and peace with God? So there's a responsibility. Our Lord Jesus Christ places
this responsibility on his people. He says, If you are amongst those
good ground hearers who've got the light of the gospel of grace,
put that light on a candlestick. Don't hide it. Put it on a candlestick. Don't be offensive. Don't be
offensive and aggravating and somebody that people want to
avoid, but put that light on a candlestick when somebody asks
you a reason for the hope that is in you. But then there's another
responsibility, and it's this that I want to spend the majority
of our time on. this morning. It's in verse 18.
Look at verse 18. Take heed, therefore, how ye
hear. For whosoever hath to him shall
be given and whosoever hath not from him shall be taken even
that which he seemeth to have. Take heed how ye hear. Now this is a very serious message. I want you to really pay attention
to this. This is a serious message, very
serious. Take heed how you hear. Are you a good ground hearer
from the parable of the sower? Are you somebody who you consider
by the faith that God has given you that you must be a good ground
hearer? Are you? There are not many. Jesus said,
when the son of man comes again, shall he find faith in the earth? But think about the perils of
being any other type of hearer. The perils of being a wayside
hearer, a stony ground hearer, a thorny ground hearer. A thorny
ground hearer is one in whom the cares and the pleasures and
the attractions of this world have taken over and strangled
anything which is looking like the truth. Take heed. not to be. Now listen to me,
take heed not to be like those who go down to hell bitterly
regretting their lack of attention to gospel truth. Because God
will hold all responsible. You say, but it's not my fault
if I'm not amongst the elect. We'll see that next week when
we move on a bit further in Romans 9. You cannot say that to God. All are held responsible for
what they do, how they hear. There are warnings in the scripture.
Turn back to Matthew's gospel chapter 11 with me. Matthew chapter
11. Now as I say, please, pay attention
to this. This is important. This is so
important. There are things that are important
to know in this life, but honestly, you know, I've got through well
over three quarters of mine, I would guess, by this stage,
and I'm telling you, I know of nothing more important than paying
attention to this. Matthew 11 and verse 20. Then
Jesus began to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works
were done, because they repented not. He'd been preaching. and showing the glad tidings
of the kingdom and reinforcing it with miracles, his mighty
works. And he began to upbraid these cities. Woe unto thee,
Khorazin. It's a place It might say Datchworth,
or Nebworth, or Wellingarden City, or Stevenage, or further
afield. Woe unto thee, Corazin! Woe unto
thee, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works and the
gospel that was preached, which were done in you, had been done
in Tyre and Sidon, these foreign places, they would have repented
long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say unto you, it shall
be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment
than for you. And thou, Capernaum, oh we hear
a lot about Capernaum in the Gospels, don't we? Thou Capernaum,
which art exalted unto heaven. Why was Capernaum exalted unto
heaven? Because our Lord Jesus Christ,
our God and Savior, walked in human flesh through the streets
of that place, and did mighty works there, and preached truth
there, they were exalted to heaven, and they shall be brought down
to hell. For if the mighty works which had been done in thee had
been done in Look at it, Sodom. It would have remained, Sodom
would have remained, it wouldn't have been burned up in the judgment.
I say to you, it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom
in the day of judgment than for thee. That's a solemn warning. We're responsible. Take heed
how you hear. It's a privilege, a great privilege
of having gospel preaching. of having access to gospel preaching. It's the pearl of greatest price.
You find jewels as you go through this life in all sorts of things. And imagine like a great big
treasure chest full of things that are sparkling and you think,
oh, look at all of that. I tell you, if you find the pearl
of greatest price, if you find that great big Koh-i-Noor diamond
in the middle of it, you'll throw all the rest of it on the tip
because it's not worth anything. That's the thing you need is
that pearl of greatest price. That's this gospel. What a privilege
to be able to hear the Word of God proclaimed. These are the
words of eternal life. These are the words of peace
with God, of justice, of holiness. Will you take this privilege
seriously is what I'm asking you this morning. First of all,
make sure you hear the truth. Make sure what you hear is the
truth. The Bereans were more noble than
the others who persecuted Paul and Silas as they went about
preaching the gospel, and many of them treated them very badly.
But the Bereans were more noble than the rest because they listened
and they compared it with the scriptures. They searched the
scriptures we read to see whether the things that Paul spoke were
true. Make sure you hear the truth.
There are people bound in churches not far from here. who are doing
it out of duty and obligation, and not because they're hearing
the truth. And they have a responsibility. Christ says to them, take heed
how you hear. Are you hearing the truth of
peace in the gospel of grace, or are you hearing a set of legalistic
requirements? If you are, it's Babylon. And
the scriptures say, come out of her, my people. come out of
her. That's what it says. Make sure
you hear the truth. Make sure you're hearing the
shepherd's voice in what is preached. Not the voice of a man, is this
the shepherd's voice speaking to you? Jesus says, my sheep
hear my voice and they follow me. Don't go to church because
you need to go somewhere. Go where God has gathered his
people, and gifted a preacher to preach Christ, and to preach
the gospel of his grace, and effectual salvation. Based on
what? Effectual salvation is based
on particular redemption. Oh, it's a secret thing, I don't
tell anybody about that. You better had, because God's
word declares it. Particular redemption. How do I know I'm
safe for all eternity? Because I know Christ died for
me. I know that he put away my sins. He put away the sins of
his elect. That's how we know that salvation
is certain. And this is the truth, it must
be preached. And if you can't find a place near where you live,
or where you can get to, and believe me, there's a cost involved.
There's a cost. There's a personal disruption
involved. There's personal cost involved. And if it's there,
you should go to it and try and get to it and make sure you're
not away from it. And use the internet if there's nothing else.
And if there's nothing else at all, then maybe pray that God
will open a way for you to move where there's somebody where
you can get to and a group of God's people. Go only where a
preacher seeks Christ in all the scriptures. I had a very
good example of this pointed out to me this week, and I thank
Fabrizio for sending me the link from southern Italy. And it was
a little 20-minute message on Free Grace Radio, and it was
preached by Marvin Stolniker in West Virginia, in the USA.
Only 20 minutes long, and it was on Proverbs 15, verse 18.
And Proverbs 15 verse 18 says this, A wrathful man stirreth
up strife, but he that is slow to anger appeaseth strife. Now, how would people, how would
men, how would preachers not a million miles from here preach
that text? They'd say this, that if you're
tending towards a bad temper and anger, you're going to make
matters worse in your interaction with your fellow men, and that's
not a good thing. But if you're slow to anger, and if you're
a nice, peaceable sort of person, then things will calm down, and
isn't that a good state to be in, that we're all friends and
we all get on well together? Do you know something? That's
not looking for Christ in the Scriptures. If you're prepared
to put up with preaching like that, oh dear. You're living
on a poverty-stricken diet. Do you know what Marvin preached?
The wrathful man is the first Adam. The wrathful man is that
man of sin which is in all of us, and he stirs up strife. But
he that is slow to anger, who's slow to anger? Our Lord Jesus
Christ, God is slow to anger and plenteous in mercy, and he
appeaseth strife through the redemption that he purchased
on the cross of Calvary. That's Christ-centered preaching.
Is that what you're hearing? I'm not just talking to you here,
looking at me, but those out on the internet that might listen.
Is that the preaching that you're hearing? If you're not hearing
the second type, the first Adam and the second Adam, then go
and find it somewhere! Do your best to find it. Don't
put up with it. It's Babylon if you're hearing
that first type of preaching. Come out of it, my people. Paul
said, woe is me if I preach not the gospel. He said in 1 Corinthians
2 verse 2, he was determined to know nothing else amongst
them save Jesus Christ and him crucified. What does he preach?
Does he preach a broad spectrum of teaching? What does he preach?
He preaches Christ and him crucified. That's it. Everything is Christ
and him crucified. A wrathful man stirs up strife,
but he that is slow to anger appeaseth It's Christ and him
crucified. That's what he preaches. That's
it. And if it's there, and if you've
got it, oh what a blessed thing it is. As the psalm says, 133,
how blessed it is when brethren dwell together in unity. There
the Lord commands the blessing. Talking about gospel, gospel,
there the Lord commands the blessing. He doesn't command the blessing
in religion. He doesn't command gospel blessing
in Babylon religion. He does in Christ-centered religion.
Come out of it. Treat the gathering of God's
people. Remember what we're saying, take
heed how you hear. Treat the gathering of God's
people to hear God's words seriously. Do you know it's so important,
it really is. Ecclesiastes 5 verses 1 and 2,
keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God. And be more,
it means be careful. Be more ready to hear than to
give the sacrifice of fools. How many in religion go to a
church, so-called church, and they give the sacrifice of fools
because they don't do what the Bereans did. They don't examine
what they're hearing against the Scriptures, against the gospel
of God's grace. They give the sacrifice of fools
for they consider not that they do evil. you know it's, oh isn't
it a nice thing, well they don't get much gospel there but at
least it's nice for them to be nice civilized refined people
and they go to a nice church building and they have some nice
hymns and he's a pretty good man is that they do evil is what
the scripture says evil Be not rash with thy mouth, and let
not thine heart be hasty to utter anything before God. For God
is in heaven, and thou upon earth, therefore let thy words be few. That's good advice. That's good
advice. James says this, James 1, 19-22,
Wherefore, my beloved brethren, Let every man be swift to hear,
slow to speak, slow to wrath, for the wrath of man worketh
not the righteousness of God. Wherefore, lay apart all filthiness
and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the
engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. That's what
we're talking about, the salvation of your souls. Be ye doers of
the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. How
should you take heed? I've got four points, very, very
quickly, I'm not going to detain you long. How should you take
heed how you hear in respect of the worship of God? First
of all, prepare yourself. Prepare yourself. Get in the
right attitude to the gathering together of God's family, even
if it's only a very little family. It's a family. Verse 21, look
just down a few verses. Immediately after verse 18, the
mother, Mary, and the brethren of Jesus came. Oh, we want to
see him, but they couldn't get near because there were so many
people. And what does Jesus say? Verse 21, he said, my mother
and my brethren, my family, are these which hear the word of
God, the gospel, and do it, believe it, trust it. That's my family,
those who hear and believe. When we went to the United States
a few weeks ago, some of you know that have been, you know
what it's like. you're just immersed in a lovely warm family of grace
around the gospel of grace. It's heaven on earth, it really
is. It's absolutely wonderful to experience. Here are my mother
and my brethren, because here are the ones who hear the word
of God in the gospel of grace, unmixed with law works, and they
believe it, and they do it, and they live it. Oh, how are you
going to get them to be generous spirited? I tell you, it wasn't
any commandment about tithing that made them generous spirited,
they were overflowing with generosity of spirit. How are you going
to get them to be loving unless you threaten them with the law?
The gospel of Christ, the love of Christ constrains them, the
family of God, to be like that. Prepare yourself to meet with
the family of God, because it's a blessed thing. We sang in that
first hymn, and it's a paraphrase of Psalm 122, how pleased and
blessed was I to hear the people cry, come let us seek our God
today. It says, verse 5, my tongue repeats her vows, peace to this
sacred house, for there my friends and kindred." My family dwells
there. There my friends and kindred
dwell. It's an important thing. Prepare yourself to come to it.
Don't forsake it. Hebrews says, don't forsake the
gathering of yourselves together as the manner of some is. Hebrews
10 verses 22 to 26. Don't forsake it. as the manner of some is. Regard
it as important. If it's there, think about it
if you're starving hungry and there's a soup kitchen opened
up and there's no work and there's no money or anything like that.
You know, you're a fool if you don't go and avail yourself of
it if it's there, aren't you? And so it is with this. The people
of God should want to hear the word of God and meet with his
people. and prepare yourself to be awake, to be alert, to
receive the message that God has for you. Come with this in
mind. If you've already assessed that
here is one who is preaching the word and the truth of God,
then make sure you come alert, that you're going to receive
a message that's for you. God is going to speak to you
through this. and pray for God's presence. Pray that he'll be
here when we meet and gather. Pray for his blessing on it.
Prepare yourself. Secondly, come seeking Christ
alone. What do you come for? What do
people go to church for? Social interaction, friendship,
a bit of mental stimulation in the sermon. No, come seeking
Christ alone just him alone. We read in 2 Timothy chapter
3 verses 5 to 7 earlier about those who have a form of godliness,
a form of religion. but they deny the power thereof.
He says, turn away from them. Don't have anything to do with
them in things of the gospel. For of this sort are they which
creep into houses and lead captive silly women and no doubt silly
men, laden with sins, led away with diverse lusts. You know
how fickle people are, ever learning and never able to come to a knowledge
of the truth. No, don't come to have a debate,
but come with this in mind, to feed on the word of God, to feed
on the gospel of Christ, to have your soul done good. You know,
you talk to people about where they went on holiday and the
sermons that they listened to. And I remember Evelyn saying
to me once or twice about nothing there for your soul. Nothing
in the preaching that did the soul any good. And it's so sad
that it's like that. But it is. We should come seeking
Christ, not to have a debate. Thirdly, take heed how you hear. Listen carefully. Listen. Is this Christ's under-shepherd
speaking with the shepherd's voice? I'm talking about when
Cliff stood up to give the Bible study earlier on, when I stand
up to preach, is this Christ's under-shepherd speaking with
the shepherd's voice? If it is, heed it. Obey it. Follow it. Follow that man. Apply
yourself to the doctrine, to the message. Discuss it with
the family after the event. Don't just disperse and discuss
it. Do you know one thing I love
about our internet congregation, our dispersed virtual congregation,
is the emails that pass between members, and they copy me in
on them, and I just love seeing the fact that these people are
discussing the things of Christ by email. That's great. Listen
carefully, take heed to it. Fourthly, honor God's messenger
for the message's sake. Paul said that when he first
went to the Galatians they received him as an angel of God, as a
messenger of God to their souls with the truth. First Thessalonians
chapter 5 verses 12 and 13, and we beseech you brethren To know
them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord,
and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love for
their work's sake. That's the reason, not for their
sake, for their work's sake, for the message preached. And
be at peace amongst yourselves. He says elsewhere, 2 Corinthians
2.17, We are not as many which corrupt the word of God, but
as of sincerity. But as of sincerity, as of God,
in the sight of God speak we in Christ. This is it. For that
work's sake, honor this thing. I'm not talking about personal
honor to the preacher, to the pastor, I'm not talking about
that. Never ever put men on a pedestal, because all men are earthen vessels
and have feet of clay. Don't ever put men on a... but
when they are speaking the truth of the gospel of grace to your
soul, honor it, respect it, and do it. Do you know the thing
that marks out God's people? They obey Christ. When Christ
speaks, they obey. Yeah? God's people believe what
God says. They trust him against what their
reason might tell them, and they obey it, and they do it. And
to be outside of that is to be in a perilous, I tell you, a
perilous situation. So who knows what God will do?
He is sovereign over everything. But we are responsible to put
our candle on a candlestick and light it, and also to take heed
how we hear and respond to the gospel. As was Peter on the day
of Pentecost. Peter, the apostle on the day
of Pentecost, Peter, the weak vessel, full of bravado but then
running away and denying and blaspheming before even a servant
girl that he knew nothing about Christ on the night of his crucifixion. Peter, that weak vessel who was
so filled with shame and sorrow that he wept bitterly, that weak
vessel who when the risen Christ came to him and said, Peter,
do you love me? Yes, Lord, you know that I love
you. Three times, Peter, do you love
me? Yes, Lord, you know, you know all things, you know that
I love you. Well, Peter, feed my lambs, feed my sheep, What
did Peter do with that responsibility that was placed on him? It was
all the work of God, but what did Peter do with that responsibility? He waited with the others, he
prayed with the others, and on the day of Pentecost, he stood
up in the midst of the others, and he preached the gospel of
grace to that crowd, and 3,000 were added to the church that
day. 3,000 were added to the church in that day. Who knows what God will do? He
didn't just light his candle, he switched his lighthouse on,
didn't he? He switched the lighthouse on, and it shone into hearts.
God is sovereign over everything. God works, but he gives us responsibilities,
and he tells us, put your candle on a candlestick, take heed how
you hear, because you'll be held responsible for it.