Take your Bibles this morning and let's turn to James chapter 3, verses 16 and 18. And we will be studying on that God is not the author of confusion, part two. James chapter 3, 16 to 18. For where envying and strife is, There is confusion in every evil work, but the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, without and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace." A very interesting passage from God's Holy Word. The point we want to review, first of all, is the word confusion. That God is not the author of confusion. I have two definitions that I brought last week that I want to bring to your attention once again as we continue this study. Webster says, confusion means to bring to ruin, to perplex, or disconcert, to make an indistinct blur, jumble, to mistake for another confusedly. Now a Christian brother by the name of Vine says that confusion means to confound, to confuse, or confusion means instability and denotes a state of disorder, disturbance, confusion, and or turmoil. Now the Bible has different places where these words come to our attention. In 1 Corinthians 14, we're not turning there, but you can if you want. In 1 Corinthians 14.33, and then as well as in James 3.6, that word also includes, the same word in the Greek, includes revulsion or anarchy. And then it is translated commotions in Luke 21.9 and Tumults in 2 Corinthians 6.5. And so, all of us know what it is to be in the midst of confusion. To be in an area where it's unstable or instable. That there's disorder, there's disturbance. there's confusion going on and no one really well I can't say no one there's a lot of people who like that but personally I don't like that kind of situation how many of you like confusion I know no one's going to raise their hand no one likes to be in the midst of confusion but everyone wants things to be orderly, to have some semblance of order. For example, teachers in the classroom, teachers that I've had, everyone, like in the music classes, they all wanted their music, there had to be a librarian for the music to take care of all the music. Because he didn't want to go into that room where the music was held and see confusion. In the shop areas of our wood shops and metal shops in our high schools, it's the same way. All the tools have a place wither to hang. And the shop teacher wants that all of those be put back before the next class comes in. Because he wants order. Now, Sometime confusion is just there. It just happens. Look under the dash of your car and look at the wiring harness under there and you'll think, confusion, ah, what do I do? But it's not. It's all color-coded and everything goes to its proper place and everything's working right. In the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, God does not want it to be confusing. You and I in the Lord's Church do not want confusion amongst ourselves either. The Bible, as we've just read, says that God is not the author of confusion. You look at the order of this world as it was created by God. And you go back to the book of Genesis and read how these things were done, and God looked upon it, and it was very good. Very good. There was order in everything. Things that Brother Terry brought this morning, that there was an order in those things. He mentioned that God was not the author of confusion. And so we too, as God's children, we want that God's church is a place of peace, a place of harmony, a place of unity and of accord. That's what God wants for you and I to be able to worship Him. And so I believe that that is what the men of God that are called of Him to preach, to teach God's Word, should also desire as they portray God's Word. Now, the last thing I want to do is muddy waters and make things worse than what they were. To try to explain something that I haven't studied and make it worse for the hearer than clearer for the hearer. That's not right. That's confusion. Now once again, in 1 Corinthians 14.33, the Bible says, For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace. Notice here what it says. As in all the churches of the saints. of the saints. So, I know this is simple, simple speaking, but this is the way that it's got to be. Silence and order is imperative for us to learn and retain what we hear. Psalms 46, 10 says, Be still and know that I am God. He said, I will be exalted among the heathen. I will be exalted in the earth. And so we are instructed in God's Word that we're not to preach ourselves, but Christ and His Holy Word. We need to be serious not to fall into the modern way of tickling people's ears and making people feel comfortable all the time because God's Word is going to correct us where we're wrong. is going to make us examine ourselves. And that's what every one of us need. That we examine ourselves making sure that we're doing exactly what God would have us to do. And so, I want to read in 2 Timothy. In 2 Timothy chapter 4, if you would, 2 Timothy chapter 4 and reading verses 1-5. The Apostle Paul, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit of course, writes, I charge thee therefore before God, he's speaking to Timothy, and the Lord Jesus Christ who shall judge the quick and the dead that is appearing in his kingdom. And he tells us here, preach the Word. You know, one thing that I find some preachers are guilty of, and that is apologizing for reading the Scripture when they're preaching. We shouldn't apologize for reading God's Word. Never. Because we're told to preach the Word. be instant in season and out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. That is to make sure everybody is in line, that everybody is in agreement, that everybody is seeing eye to eye in the Word of God in the Lord's church. And the only way to do that is calling attention to what God's Word says, to the hopes. Bring us in line showing us, listen, if you don't go according to God's Word, you're out of line. You're not walking according to His Word. And why does He say this? For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine But after their own lusts shall they leap to themselves teachers having itching ears, and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. But watch thou in all things, in your afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry. In 1 Corinthians 14, verse 37, we read this, If any man think of himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him take knowledge of the things which I write unto you, notice here now, that they are the commandment of the Lord. Now, there are some things that churches practice today that Paul never preached. They never preached. And he said that he preached all things unto us. When the commandment comes from the highest authority, there is, and it needs to be obeyed and not ever ignored. Look in the book of Acts, chapter 20. I want to bring this verse to you because it helps us understand. It's a little bit lengthy, the reading, but ten verses. But I want to read this to you this morning. Acts 20, starting in verse 17. And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the church. And when they were come to him, he said unto them, Ye know, from the first day that I came into Asia, after what manner I have been with you at all seasons, serving the Lord with all humility of mind, and with many tears and temptations which befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews." Notice here, "...and how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, and from house to house." In other words, I preach to you the whole counsel of God's Word. I have preached to you what God wants me to preach to you. Continuing, verse 21, "...testifying both to the Jews and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. And now, behold, I go bound in the Spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there, say that the Holy Ghost witnesses in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me. But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy in the ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God. And now, behold, I know that ye all among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God shall see my face no more. Wherefore, I take you to record this day, and I am pure from the blood of all men." Now notice again, this is a companion to verse 20. Verse 27, "'For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.' For example, The celebration of X-mas, Christmas, or whatever you want to call it. Where did Paul teach the churches to celebrate it? You'll find it. Where did he teach them to celebrate Easter? It's not fair. And so they are pagan celebrations that Christianity has taken on the Catholic Church, adopted those things, I'm not going to go into all that, but that is the truth. He says, I'm not, he said, I've declared to you everything. But he didn't do that. Is Paul lying? Or is he telling us the truth? Verse 28, "...take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock over which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God which he hath purchased with his own blood." If the preacher and the teacher are faithful, and they obey the commands of the Lord, they must teach the whole counsel of God's Word. because the Lord's Church is the pillar and ground of the truth. It must be taught all places here in the Lord's Church. The spiritual man and woman will be thankful for every truth that comes from God's Word. They're going to love it. They're going to look for the way in which they can obey it. That was the encouraging thing about working with the Latinos down in Honduras. It really was. You say, this is what the Word of God says. It didn't matter whatever people taught around them. This is what the Bible says, and you can show it in the Bible. That's what they're going to believe, generally speaking. It was wonderful. Teaching the doctrines of grace was no problem. They didn't have any prejudice against the doctrines of grace. about church truth. And it was, I hate to say it, a lot easier in some ways. Here people have been indoctrinated against the truth. But down there it wasn't that way. Maybe in some areas, maybe in the more populous and educated areas they were. But the spiritual man and woman that love the Lord will be thankful for all the truth that is taught from God's Word. Not going to fight against it. Whether it be the teaching of God's sovereignty, of the creation, you name it, anything in God's Word from that to the other end of the spectrum of the length of the hair on a man or a woman, modest dress, biblical creation. or the scriptural purpose of the gift of speaking in tongues. People say, well, y'all don't believe in tongues. Oh, yes, we do. The scriptural way that it was done. Yes, we do. Is it today? For today? No, there's no need of it. How many people in here are the dialect from Jewish people that can't understand what I'm saying? That's my point. How many people here speak Spanish? Well, if you spoke Spanish and that's all you spoke, I could speak English and Spanish and translate what I'm saying to y'all. But it's not meaningful. Why? Because there's no Spanish-speaking people here. And so, we should rejoice that the truth is being taught in God's house. He's not the author of confusion. If it's not being taught, it can be confusing. It should be all loved and received joyfully. If the Word of God teaches these things, it should cause more hunger and seeking out the nuggets of gold found in Holy Scripture as you listen to what's being said. Ah, He said that. And so I note this thing in my notebook and I go home and I study it out and find out more about what He meant, what He said. Matthew 5, 6 says, Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness. For they shall be filled. Who is that kind of person? Who is that person who are blessed because they want to know the truth? They want to obey the truth. They are not afraid of the truth. Not like the person I know who said, I'm not going to study that subject because I know it's in there, and if it's in there, and I see it in there again, I'll have to do it, and I don't want to do it, so I'm not going to study it. That's ignorance. Complete ignorance and disobedience and rebellion. It's rebellion. And so, just a note regarding authority. That he is all authority, is he not? God has all authority. We are His creation, and all that this earth contains, He has control over it. If He desires to destroy it, He can destroy it. I was listening to a program a while back, and they were talking about the volcanoes over there in Hawaii that are causing havoc in one area. This was a few years back maybe. And just recently, they've been having some more activity over there, and they want to know how they can relieve the pressure, that man can relieve the pressure of a volcano so it won't wipe out this next town it's going to hit. So somebody said, well, why don't we drill holes around the edges of the volcano? And this one guy says, well, the problem with that is, If you drill down there, when it goes, he's going to go, too. And they said, no, you can't. You can't, they say, beat Mother Nature, which is ridiculous. It's God. You can't beat God. He's in control. No matter what level of nature there is, you cannot circumvent God. God's will will be done. No matter what man tries to do toward us. Regarding this authority, we should all stand in awe. Every one of us should stand in awe when God speaks through His Word to us. Isn't that true? Shouldn't that be the reaction of someone that knows the Lord Jesus Christ? I mean, to stand in awe at God and His Word, His grace, His mercy, what He's done for you and I to make it possible that one day we'll spend eternity with Him. That He loves us. And now because He loves us, we love Him. And then notice in how many areas of life He shows how much He loves each of us. So he does have all authority. He has the authority to judge and he has the authority to take us to heaven if he so pleases. The law of God was never meant to be a covenant of works by which man would in himself secure his own salvation. Yet the saint and the sinner alike are responsible to esteem the law as a rule of life. The governments that have used God's law as a guide for the laws of the land have enjoyed more peace and order as a nation. And that is proven in our country for many years. Proven here. But now, we're walking away. They are walking away from God. The lost man will be judged for every sin and disobedience, but the Christian has a debt canceled by the Lord Jesus Christ, who died in his death. Faith in Christ Jesus. For us as believers, it is a guide for walking the paths of righteousness, for his name's sake the Bible says. Look with me in Psalm 23. And I read verses 1-3. In Psalm 23, 1-3, the Lord is my shepherd. I'll say, amen. The Lord is my shepherd. Aren't we happy that He's our shepherd? Continue on with me. He maketh me... Oh, that's a word that some people don't like. Huh? He, God maketh me. Some people don't like to hear that. Some people don't like to hear someone's making them to do something. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul He leadeth me in paths of righteousness for His namesake. Okay, who's leading you today? Who is your shepherd today? You might say, well, I do as I please when I please and how I please. Oh yeah? Better watch out. You better watch out. Why? God says, don't do it this way, but do it my way. Follow my steps. Stay within my guidelines. Walk my narrow path. That's what he tells us. And if one is rebellious and says, no, I will not, what difference are you than the Jews that said the same thing when they, when he told them to do something and they said, no, we will not follow. It's a path to sanctification. John 17, 17 says that God is not the author of confusion. He has the right to tell us what is right and what is wrong. Look at me in Psalms 119. In Psalm 119 and reading verses, verse 11. This is what happens to the one who doesn't like confusion, the one that loves the Lord. Thy word have I hid in my heart. Why? That I might not sin against Thee. You know, when we voluntarily, when we openly, boldly, and blasphemously walk into that which is wicked and unholy, we have let go. We've let go. He'll eat us. But he'll let you go. And you start walking down that wrong path. And if you're truly his child, he's going to bring you back with some correction. Hebrews 11 tells us that. He has a right to tell us what's right and wrong. Why? Because he is the boss. He's the boss. I'm not the boss. I'm not the boss. God's the boss. He has every right to tell us exactly how to live and how to act and how to read His Word, what to read. He has a right because He is God. In Romans 10, in verse 8, Romans 10, verse 8 says, that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." Many men, many women, many boys and girls have done just that and live a life pleasing to the Lord. They love the Lord. God's not the optimist. When He says He's going to do something, He will accomplish it. He will accomplish it. In Colossians 3 and verse 16, let the Word of Christ dwell richly in you, richly in all wisdom. What does that do? What does that Bible do to you? Teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs Sing with grace in your heart to the Lord. And rock and roll and country and rap won't do it. It won't do it. It just won't do it. It's opposed to God. And so we must remember that the Scripture is not on trial today. It's not on trial. It has proven to endure through the ages the book which we have in our hands. Even though powerful men through the years have tried to confiscate and burn this precious book up, it's still the most sold book in the world. This book of books will be here long after you and I are gone from this scene. You're going to die, I'm going to die, it's still going to be here. It's still going to be here. It's this book, the Word, the Word of God, which will judge in the last day. This tells us who we are. Man would not have written a book like this by himself nor alone. He wouldn't have done it. Why? Because it condemns man in a lost estate. It condemns him. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. Oh, that's rich. I love that. How much of the Scriptures are God's Word? Some people say that Paul wrote that and he said it that way because he didn't like women. How many of you heard that statement about the women keeping silent in the church? God inspired him to write that for a reason. I don't fight it. Why should we fight it? It's God's Word. It's a command which God has given us. It tells us how many men are to speak in any given service as well. Paul said this, the things that I write unto you, they are the commandments of the Lord. In other words, obey them. If God has set up the pause for writing the book and the book is given to us to read and we're saved and it's now our guide, is it not logical to follow the guide? You buy anything that you have to put together in the store or adjust or regulate or whatever, you're going to have a book of rules. Well, we came back and started buying the different stuff we had to have, different equipment and so forth. Man, I had handfuls of books, manuals on how to do stuff. I couldn't understand. James gave me one I still can't figure out. The speedometer on that bicycle. I can't understand that thing. There it is. There's the manual. Just read the manual, Brother Tweet. Okay, I read it, but it's Greek. I had it working for a while. Here's the book. Just read the book, church members. The book will give you the instructions you need to have. to live a Christian life. Of course, you have the Holy Spirit dwelling within you. If you're saved and so, you're going to love the book. The book is not going to be set up on top of the refrigerator to collect dust between church services. You're going to want to find out how to live this life that God has given us to live. Baptists have always taught that the entire Bible is God's Word. Our confessions of faith say that it is our only rule of faith and practice. The Bible says that. 2 Timothy 3.16. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for refruit, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. Why? Why do we need an instruction book? So there won't be confusion. God's not the author of confusion. Why do we need this instruction book? That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished or cruelly furnished unto all good works. And I get smiles out of that word every time. 2 Peter 1.21, For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man, But holy men of God speak as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. Don't. Don't get mad at the preacher. Don't get mad at the song player, the music player, or the flutist. Listen, we, we, the Sunday school teachers, if they step on our toes and say, thank you Lord, something new that I've learned that I need to do, Why? So there will not be confusion as we march through this life as a body of Christ, as a church of the living God. In our text, it mentions in 1 Corinthians 14.40, let all things be done decently and in order. Let all things be done decently and in order. How do we do that? By listening to God's Word. It can be done. For something to be in order means that we must teach what we understand regarding the subject and that includes the Bible principle as well as the need to observe and then take action or put that into practice in our lives. What good does it do to have a head full of knowledge if we do not use it in our personal lives? Because the Bible tells us that we're to be doers of the Word and not hearers only. Does it not say that? Why, of course it says it. You know it does. The Baptist churches have been given the privilege to be the guardians of the truth for 2,000 years. Over 2,000 years, I believe. And so, because we are the pillar and ground of the truth, we have a great responsibility for God and man. It doesn't matter what they say against us. It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter if they turn us down and say we don't believe that way It doesn't matter. We're not in competition. I'm not in competition with anybody. Preach the truth. Just preach the truth. Preach the truth. Don't be led astray. In 1 Timothy 3, verses 14-16, these things write I unto thee, hoping to come unto thee shortly. But if I tarry long, if I wait a while, if I stay back a while, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. OK. you go into the majority of churches today and what you're going to find are assemblies that are not practicing a lot of things that the bible tells us to practice and some of the churches that we know are going away from the truths instead of embracing the truths which is so sad I mean, it brings tears to our eyes to see people walking away from God's Word and believing in the customs. I mean, preaching more about the customs of the people than the truth, which is read clearly in God's Holy Word. Ephesians. I want to say something else, but let's go to Ephesians. Ephesians chapter 4. Ephesians chapter 4, verses 11-16. The Apostle Paul speaking here, writing this from the Lord, And he gave some apostles, and he gave some prophets, and some, evangelists, and some pastors and teachers. What for? For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. Brother Doyle Thomas, Brother Skidmore, spent years preaching the truth here. Brother Doyle continues. Preaching the truth. I've got four years under my belt. A little over four years now. And the desire that God-called preachers have is that the truth be proclaimed. Every teacher that teaches in this church, I believe, has got a God-called desire to teach Baptist doctrine, true doctrine. What for? Why do we do that? This verse here, "...for the perfecting of the saints." Is there anything wrong with saying that? That was God's Word. know the truth, then we might practice the truth. Why do I say practice the truth? Because over in Matthew 28 and verse 20, it tells us that we are to teach them to observe all things. Maybe it's 19. To observe all things. Whatsoever I have commanded. Jesus, those were Jesus' words. for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying, the building up of the body of Christ. That's why. Until when? Look at the next verse. Till we all come to the unity of the faith. What's unity once again? Your unity is the opposite of confusion. Now if every single one of us had a different idea about all the doctrines of Noah, there'd be confusion in here, wouldn't it? No one would agree with anybody when they stood up here. That's not what God's church is supposed to be like. We're supposed to have unity until we all come into the unity of faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the statue Stature of the fullness of Christ. Christian. Christ-like. The Statue of Christ. Why? Why all this? That we henceforth, or from this time forward, be no more children tossed to and fro, carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the slight of men and cunning craftiness whereby they lie in wait to deceive. I can remember when I was a mealy-mouthed, soft-brained little kid, you know, teenager, and I could get swayed by people. Even though I sat in the church and listened to my dad preach for years, from age four up, at 15, 16 years old, people would say things to me, and I'd think, well, I wonder if that's true. My dad's been wrong all this time. Instead of turning around and saying, no, this is what the Bible says and proven from God's Word. Why? Because we doubt what God's Word says. Don't doubt what God's Word says. To take the Word of someone out there that's not even born again, probably. Or if he's born again, he's confused and believes in doctrine that's not of God. Till we all come into a new place. Verse 14, that we henceforth, from this time on, be no more children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the slight of men. See, there are men that want to carry you off so they can build their empire, their whatever. But a slight of men cunning craft us whereby they lie and wait to deceive. But, verse 15, but speaking the truth in love, You know, sometimes preachers, and I'm guilty of this, I'm sure, that sometimes y'all look at me and I'm, why is he so mad and wrought up? It's not because I'm mad. It's not because I'm angry about something. It's that it's just the way that preachers do. Some preachers do. Speaking with fervency, with conviction, hopefully, but speaking the truth in love may grow up into him in all things, which is the head. even Christ, from whom the whole body fitly joined together. You know, that word, fitly joined together, brings to my mind dovetailing. If you've ever done any dovetailing with wood, it's one of the prettiest hand-done works that you can do for making jointery with wood. It's gorgeous when it's finished. And I love that the church should be that way. That we fit glove in hand just perfectly together. That we mesh together. That we understand the Word of God and we follow what He says. From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth according to the effectual working and the measure of every part making increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love. Oh, and we could go on, but time won't allow us to because our time is gone. But how wonderful it is to know God's truth. To know that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God. That even though men can take this word and twist it out of its context. I mean, some dear brethren that we know have twisted some things out of context and make the same things that they don't believe, that don't, it's not sane. All the scripture is given by inspiration of God. It's profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. The man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. Oh, I want to go on, but time doesn't allow. Let all things be done decently and in order. Oh, we could go with that for a while. Then the Great Commission tells us to observe all things. May God bless you with these things that we brought this morning, and I pray that you'll be encouraged in God's Word. Remember, He's not the author of confusion. If you're confused, it's because of The lack of study, generally. Lack of study. The lack of asking the proper questions. But he's not the author of it. He wants you to know the truth. And remember the Bible says the truth shall set you free. And it will. It'll give you freedom. And people will take that wrong. It's amazing. That liberty that we have in Christ never, never does that liberty we have in Christ takes us to the outer limits to break any of God's statutes and laws. Never. Never. It won't do it. But when man says liberty To live the way they want. And a lot of people say that. To live the way they want to live. Do what they want to do. Not follow the Word of God. You know, the world is going to be worldly. And if we follow the customs of the world, we're going to go away from this. Can't do it, folks. Can't do it. May God bless you with these things. Let's all stand and have a word of prayer as we dismiss. We'll be back here at 2 o'clock to worship the Lord once again. I want to mention this. We're not going to vote right now, but I want to mention this. Sister Donnelly said that she won't be having a free day for at least a month right now. So for us to go ahead and schedule a date for the Lord's Supper. So may we do that this afternoon or next week. So we pray regarding that. Let's hear it, lead us in prayer please.