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Good morning, can I welcome you to our regular Sunday morning broadcast from Seamfield Baptist Church. We're delighted to have you along this morning. Maybe you're a normal attender to the church in Seamfield or maybe you've simply been joining with us during this time of isolation, time of lockdown, or maybe even this just is the first time that you have tuned in this morning. We're pleased that you're able to join us and we don't take that for granted so we do thank you for joining with us this morning and we trust indeed the Lord will bless our time together this morning. Maybe you were expecting to see Pastor Moffat this morning. He's having the opportunity to watch from home this morning and Pastor John Taylor from the Banbridge Baptist Church who's a good friend of the church in Saint Ville that's going to be speaking to us a little later on and we're really looking forward to that. We'd just like to commence this morning by reading from God's Word and we're going to take the opportunity to read from Psalm 86. Maybe you have a Bible in front of you you can join with us or you just simply can listen as I read and Psalm 86 and it's entitled A Prayer of David and it says bow down thine ear O Lord hear me for I am poor and needy preserve my soul for I am holy O thou my God save thy servant that trusteth in thee be merciful unto me O Lord for I cry unto thee daily Rejoice the soul of thy servant, for unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. Thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive, and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee. Give ear, O Lord, unto my prayer, and attend to the voice of my supplication. In the day of my trouble I will call unto thee, for thou wilt answer me. Among the gods there is none like unto thee, O Lord, neither are there any works like unto thy works. All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord, and shall glorify thy name. For thou art great and doest wondrous things, thou art God alone. Teach me thy way, O Lord, I will walk in thy truth. Unite my heart to fear thy name, I will trust in thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart, and I will glorify thy name forevermore. For great is thy mercy toward me, and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest grave. O God, the proud are risen against me, and the assemblies of violent men have sought after my soul, and have not set thee before them. But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion and gracious, long-suffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth. O turn unto me, and have mercy upon me. Give thy strength unto thy servant, and save the son of thine handmaid. Show me a token for good, that they which hate me may see it, and be ashamed, because thou, Lord, hast helped me and comforted me. This is a wonderful psalm and there's many wonderful things that we could consider. from it this morning. Verse 15 says this, But thy, O Lord, art a God full of compassion and gracious, long-suffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth. You remember David thinks about this and thinks about how God is full of compassion, how he's gracious, and how he's plenteous in mercy. Well what is his response? Well he comes to God in prayer knowing he comes to a God who's able to abundantly meet his need and David says this, give the ear O Lord unto my prayer and attend to the voice of my supplications. In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee for thou wilt answer me. And we come to a God this morning who not only hears but answers our prayers and that's what we want to do just now. We want to come and to pray to God in heaven as we have met on Sunday mornings as we join together. Pastor Moffitt's been praying particularly for our key workers, praying particularly for those that have been affected by coronavirus and praying particularly for our vulnerable and again we want to do that this morning so let's pray together now. Our God and our Father, again, we do come into your presence in and through the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We do thank you for him, Lord. We thank you for the finished work of the cross, Lord. We thank you that he could cry from that cross. It is finished. And we thank you indeed, Lord, that the price of sin has been paid in full. And we thank you for the wonderful forgiveness that our Saviour offers this morning. But Lord, we do thank you for the privileges of salvation. And we acknowledge that one of those wonderful privileges is that we can come into your presence and we can come right into the throne room of heaven and bring our needs to you this morning and so we thank you for that lord we do thank you as we've been reminded lord indeed that you are that you are gracious lord that you are merciful lord and that you abundantly bless your people lord and so we come lord we do acknowledge that we are a needy people lord but we come to one who's able to uh meet our need uh this morning so lord we do come again lord we have been particularly mindful in these days lord of those who are our key workers, Lord. Those that are even maybe simply working in the retail trade, Lord. Those that are doing deliveries, Lord. Those that are providing transport, Lord. But we think particularly too, Lord, of those that are working in our key services such as the police and the fire service, Lord. We pray for them and you'll keep them safe in these days. particularly Lord for those that are working in the NHS, we thank you for them Lord, we thank you for the nurses Lord, we thank you for the doctors Lord, we thank you for all the different types of staff Lord that are working and keeping us safe Lord and helping those that are in need at this time Lord and we do pray for them Lord, we pray that you'll keep them safe Lord, we realise such a stressful time Lord, help them to really rest and trust in you in these days Lord, we pray Lord you'll give them that strength that they need and we're mindful too Lord of their families Lord and the anxious time it is for families for their children maybe and for partners lord and so we pray for them as well lord that you may indeed bless their homes and the time that they have to spend together lord indeed you might bless them abundantly and and help them as families we do pray lord we pray particularly for those that have been affected by coronavirus lord and we do pray uh for those who particularly associated with our fellowship who have been unwell lord and we thank you for the recovery that they're making lord and we pray indeed you might continue to keep your hand upon them lord and that day by day lord they may grow grow stronger and know your help in these days. We're mindful too, Lord, of those that feel particularly vulnerable, Lord, those that are shut in, maybe particularly those that are at home on their own, Lord, and Lord, they're feeling, finding it lonely, Lord. And we pray even for those that have the opportunity to listen in this morning that indeed that they may be blessed as we meet together this morning. And we pray for each one of us, Lord. You know the need of every single person, Lord, that's tuned in this morning, Lord. You know those that are your children, Lord, in particular cares and anxieties they have drawn near to them, even in their own homes this morning, Lord. For those maybe that are listening in who are not Christians, Lord, we pray that even this morning, Lord, that they might look to you, Lord, and might be saved this morning. We thank you, Dane, for the wonderful saviour that we have and for the wonderful salvation that is indeed on offer Lord. Again we do thank you Lord for Pastor Taylor Lord we thank the help that he's been to us in the past Lord and we pray again as your word goes forward this morning Lord indeed it might be a help and a blessing to all who would listen in. We pray too for Pastor Moffat we thank you for him we thank you for the help that you've been giving him as he's ministered your word and we pray for him in these days Lord as he as he's in the quiet place Lord you may undertake for him Lord and feed his own soul Lord and bless him in the public place as he shares your word. So Lord as we continue on now Lord we thank you for the boys and girls that are tuned in as well Lord as we'll share a little word with them Lord we do indeed pray you might be pleased to bless them even in their own homes this morning. So Lord we give you thanks again and commend ourselves to you in the Saviour's name. Amen. One of the things that I personally probably haven't missed about lockdown is that I don't have to do the announcements each Sunday. Pastor Moffat has been doing that much better than I can and I have been telling him that when we get back to the church that he should just keep on doing that and I don't feel offended by that at all. But I do have the opportunity to do it today is my opportunity again and I just want to bring one or two things before us as we think about the week ahead. I've already mentioned Pastor John Taylor from the Bambridge Church is our speaker throughout the day so he's going to bring God's word shortly and then again this evening and we really do appreciate his help and we always enjoy what John has got to bring to us. So we will indeed be back again tonight at 6.30pm. Please join with us again we've got out over the internet please and tell others about the service as well. Encourage others to listen in 6.30 this evening. Every Tuesday evening we as elders have been meeting to consider the work and to pray for the work and to pray for those particular needs. We'll be doing that this Tuesday evening again at 8pm. We would appreciate you praying for us as we meet together on a Tuesday evening. On Wednesday evenings we're planning a little change on the first Wednesday of the month. Normally we have regular missionary reports in the church and we haven't had the opportunity to have those. So on the first Wednesday of each month we're going to have a different missionary organisation to come along and to record and to provide a report on the work that they're involved in. This Wednesday night coming Every Home Crusade are going to be giving a report. They were due to be with us for our missionary weekend on the last Sunday in March. but sadly that was cancelled and so we're giving them the opportunity to come along this Wednesday night and report at 8 o'clock so again please plan to join with us. Next Sunday, 11.30 and 6.30 we'll be going out over the airwaves so again please plan to join with us and Pastor Moffat will be speaking throughout the day God willing. Boys and girls we do miss many things whenever we're not in the church and probably one of the things that most people miss is seeing the boys and girls coming up to the front. It's a real blessing to see so many boys and girls around the church and coming up Sunday morning by Sunday morning and we have been trying to keep going with children's talks each Sunday. Pastor Moffitt has been doing that and that's my responsibility this morning so if you give me your best attention now boys and girls I've got something that I want to share with you this morning. Boys and girls, it's so important that we read our Bibles. It has so much to tell us about life. It tells us how we should think. it tells us about where we should go and how we should behave in so many different situations but one of the things that the Bible has a lot to say about is what we say. We read lots about our lips and our tongues and our mouths and you know it is so difficult to say the right thing and in fact it's so easy to say the wrong thing but the Bible wants to give us help regarding that. this is a verse that was in Proverbs and it was written by Solomon and he was such a wise man and it says there you can see it in front he says the heart of the righteous studies the answer but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things and that's found in Proverbs 15 verse 28 and really the word studies means to think and the Christian really what it's saying to us is the Christian should think before he speaks and that's what I want to talk to you about this morning boys and girls that we should think before we speak. I've just put down the word think here to help us to think a wee bit more about that and to give us some help as we would learn how we should use our tongues and what we should and shouldn't say. The first thing whenever I thought about us thinking boys and girls was we should ask ourselves before we speak is it true? You know it's so easy to tell a wee lie isn't it or it's so easy to make something up I mean, what does the ninth commandment tell us? It says, thou shalt not bear false witness. So the Bible tells us that we should be true. And so maybe before we think, before we say something, boys and girls, we need to think, is it actually true or is it something that we've made up? But whenever I looked at this word, think, the next thing I thought about was this. whenever we before we speak we should think about is it hurtful you know so easy to say something that's hurtful the bible tells us that our tongues are very powerful that james tells us that you know the things that we can say can cause so much harm you know it's like starting a fire once we start a fire it's so difficult to fix and you know so difficult to fix whenever we say something hurtful maybe we say something hurtful to our brothers or sisters maybe we say something hurtful to our friends Or maybe we even say something hurtful to our mums or dads. You know, before we speak, boys and girls, we need to think about, is it true? We need to think about, is it hurtful? But, you know, the third thing I thought about was, is it inspiring? And this really just means, boys and girls, is it helpful to others? Or maybe another way of thinking about it was, will it make them feel better? You know, maybe somebody we know is feeling sad. can we come along and say something to encourage them and to help them. You know Solomon again in Proverbs says this, he says a wholesome tongue is a tree of life. And saying good things, saying encouraging things really can help other people and encourage them and help them to grow even in their Christian walk. So is it true? Is it hurtful? Is it inspiring? But the next thing I thought about, boys and girls, is this. Before we speak, we need to think, is it necessary? Is it something that we really needed to say? Or sometimes we'd be better saying nothing. Maybe we're angry. and maybe just be better rather than say something and say the wrong thing. Well, maybe we would just be better keeping quiet. Again, the Bible tells us that in the game of Solomon speaking. And he says, you know, there is a time to speak, of course, but he also says there is a time to stay silent. And that's maybe something we need to learn. Even mums and dads, we need to learn sometimes. So we need to ask ourselves the question, is it necessary for us to speak? But the fifth thing I thought about, boys and girls, and you'll see the letter K there, I thought about Is it kind? No, before we speak, we should ask ourselves the question, is it kind? Again, I'm going to go to Solomon, back to Froverbs again, and he said this pleasant words, or we could put in there kind words, or as in honeycomb, sweet to the soul and health to the bones and what he was really saying boys and girls was this kind words are sweet and they make people feel happy and healthy so maybe next time before you speak maybe even before the service is over maybe this afternoon before you speak think about is it true is it hurtful is it inspiring do we really need to say it and is the thing that i'm about to say kind you know so important boys and girls that we think about that before we speak but I want to suggest to you this morning there's something even more important about us thinking about before we speak and what I want us to think about is about what the Lord Jesus had to say. I want us to think about what the Lord Jesus had to say. You know, whenever Jesus spoke, what about what he had to say? Where do we read about that? We've got a picture up in the top right hand corner of a Bible, and that's where we read about what the Lord Jesus had to say to us. And that's why it's so important that we read our Bibles. because we want to know what the Lord Jesus has to say about something or how we should speak, then we need to read our Bibles and read about the Lord Jesus, particularly in the Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, we can read about the Lord Jesus and the wonderful things that he said. Some of the people that met the Lord Jesus said, never man spake like this man, there was never anybody else that was born, never anybody else that lived that spoke like the Lord Jesus spoke. So again I want to use the word think to help us look at the Lord Jesus and how he spoke. He is our perfect example. So again you'll maybe remember the letters as we go down through them. The first thing I want to ask is when Jesus spoke was it true? Of course it was true. He was the Son of God. He was perfect. Everything that he said was true. I was thinking particularly about a verse, boys and girls, and I'm sure you know it very well. John 14 and verse 6. And this is what the Lord Jesus said. He said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me. You know, it first tells us lots of things. It tells us that the Lord Jesus is the truth. It wasn't possible for him to say something that wasn't true. It wasn't possible for him to lie. Everything that he said was perfectly true. But it also tells us, boys and girls, that he is the only way of salvation. He is the only way that we can get to heaven. He says, I am the way, the truth and the life. No man, no boy or girl no man can cometh unto the Father but by me. The Lord Jesus tells us he's the only way to heaven, only by trusting him as our saviour, only by asking him to forgive us, only by asking him to come into our hearts, he's the only true way of us getting to heaven. There's lots of people telling us different things, we may hear different things, but they're all false, they're all lies, the only true way of being saved, the only true way of knowing that we're going to heaven is by trusting the Lord Jesus as our saviour. So whenever Jesus spoke, was it true? Yes, of course it was true. When Jesus spoke, was it hurtful? And the answer to that is simply this, boys and girls, never. There was never anything the Lord Jesus said that was hurtful. The Bible tells us that he did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth. And really that just tells us boys and girls, he never had to say sorry. Maybe sometimes we have to say sorry, maybe sometimes mom or dad tell us that we need to say sorry to our brother or sister, but the Lord Jesus never had to say sorry sometimes we maybe say something we regret that we said we wish we'd never said it but for the Lord Jesus there was never one word that he had to take back he never regretted one word that he had to say and you know boys and girls because of that there was no sin in his life and because the Lord Jesus never sinned because he was perfect he was able to go to the cross and there he was able to die for you and me. The one who did no sin was able to die for you and me who had sinned and he paid the price for our sins whenever he died on Calvary's cross and so he never said anything that was hurtful but most importantly that meant that he had lived that perfect life and he was able to go to the cross and die for your sins and my sins. Next thing again we thought about was whenever Jesus spoke was it inspiring? Oh yes it was always inspiring. He said one occasion he says I am come that you might have life and that you have it more abundantly. The Lord Jesus didn't just come to give us eternal life he came to give us a wonderful life here on earth and he wants us to live for him here on earth. And so everything that he said was about inspiring us, about encouraging us to live for him and to serve him. And I trust if you know him as your saviour, that you're trying to live for him. You're trying to shine as a light for him and even tell other people about him because that's what he wants us to do. Next thing we thought about, of course, was when Jesus spoke, was it necessary? And again, the answer is yes, it was always necessary. He never wasted his words when he had something to say. it was always so important. I knew he had a message that you and I boys and girls needed to hear. He had a message that this whole world needed to hear and the message that we needed to hear was this, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. We've already thought about that lovely verse in John 14. It was so necessary that we heard that he was the only way to heaven He says, I am the way, the truth and the life, no man cometh unto the Father but by me. And it was so necessary that we heard that message of salvation that the Lord Jesus came to tell us about. The last letter, boys and girls, K, I hope you can remember, it was was kind when Jesus spoke was it kind again the answer is simple yes it was kind you know the Bible says talking about the Lord Jesus that he was full of grace and truth really that just tells us boys and girls that he always spoke the truth we've already thought about that but he always said it in a kind way he was full of grace and truth and he's such a perfect example for you and me this morning boys and girls you know how kind and he must have sounded when he said suffer the little children to come unto me and forbid them not for as such is the kingdom of heaven. I know he says that to you this morning boys and girls that he wants you to come to him he wants you to come to him and to trust him as your saviour and if you come to him he'll receive you and he'll give you the wonderful gift of eternal life. Well I'd like to thank you very much today for the invitation to come and to share the word of God with you here at Seinfeld. That's always a great privilege and I appreciate very much the invitation today. These are difficult days for all of us. I'm sure you are very aware of that. So I hope that the word of God will be helpful to each one of us this morning. Now, please turn with me in your Bible to Psalm number one and we're going to look at this Psalm together. Psalm number one. Tonight, God willing, we will look at another Psalm, and that will be Psalm 51. But for our meeting this morning, I want us to concentrate on Psalm 1. Let's just listen to the reading of God's Word. Psalm 1, verse 1. Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that bringeth forth his fruit in his season. His leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. The ungodly are not so, but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly. shall perish. Amen. God will bless the reading of his word to our hearts. Let's just pray together and ask for the help of God. Father, we thank you for your word. We praise you for the opportunity that we have just to read it publicly and now to meditate upon it together. We pray that the Holy Spirit will help us both the one who preaches and those who listen And we pray, our Father, that something from your word today would encourage us and to help us to keep pressing on with God in these difficult times. So hear our prayers and bless your word, we pray. in our savior's precious name. Amen. Amen. As Christians, we know that when we come to the book of the Psalms, that we're coming to a wonderful book and one that has been described as a collection of Israel's sacred songs. The book, of course, begins in Psalm one with God with man blessing God. And in between, we have so many Psalms to warm our hearts and to challenge our lives. and to help us in our Christian walk. And I think it would be true to say that no other book, other than the book of Psalms, has given us so much help and encouragement over the years. Because this book seems to reflect every mood that is known to man, and that's why we have found so much encouragement in the Psalms. Today, I want to turn your thoughts to Psalm 1. and I suppose if I was to give this a title it would be maintaining our walk in difficult times. Maintaining our walk in difficult times. I think all of us would agree that in this ever-changing world with all its ups and downs and with all the pressures that it brings not just into our individual homes but also to our own individual hearts. I think there are times when we find it difficult to maintain our walk with God on a daily basis. There are so many pressures and problems in life. Sometimes we struggle spiritually, and when we struggle spiritually, we often neglect those things that are for our spiritual good and for our spiritual growth. and yet if we're going to impact the lives of people all around us today, then you and I need to be the people that God wants us to be. We need to be men and women of integrity and honesty and we need to be those who are salt and light in this dark and dying world and all of this can only happen whenever you and I are in a right relationship with God in our walk with God, so therefore it is absolutely vital that we maintain our own personal walk with God, and yet that is not always easy. So how can this help us today with all our struggles that we might benefit and maintain our walk with God? Well, firstly, the word of God must be preeminent in our lives. The word of God must be preeminent in our lives. You and I know that life can be so busy for each one of us, and when we neglect our walk with God, then we begin to neglect the reading of God's precious word. And yet you and I as Christians are exhorted time and time again to build our lives on the Word of God. John Wesley, who is often referred to as the founder of Methodism, he once said this about the Scriptures. He says, I am a man of one book, and that book is the Bible. And every one of us who profess faith in Jesus Christ today, we should be able to say the same. You might say to me this morning, well, why on earth should I dwell so much on the word of God? Well, there are many reasons for that. We get to know the Lord Jesus Christ much better and more intimately through his word. We get to deepen our relationship with Christ through the written word of God. and as we learn to live in obedience to him, the word of God becomes much more personal to us and then we begin to understand the ways of God and the will of God for our individual lives. And so that means that we need to read it often. We need to memorize it so that we can call it to mind at those times of doubt and difficulty, and we need to meditate upon it so that we as Christians ourselves do not wither and dry up in our faith. That's why it's essential to read it systematically. It's essential to read it daily and prayerfully, asking the Holy Spirit to guide us to the truth of God's word and then helping us to apply the truth of God's word to our own individual lives on a daily basis. To read the word of God and then not to obey it or apply it to our hearts in these days would be a great mistake. Now here in Psalm 1, we get a reminder of the importance and the impact of God's Word on our lives. Listen again to verses one to three. Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season, his leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper." Now we must understand that when we come here to Psalm 1, that in this opening psalm, the whole book of the psalms is shaped And by that I simply mean that the psalmist seeks to pave the way for all the other Psalms that will follow after Psalm 1, because he speaks about the way of blessedness for the child of God, and he speaks about the way of destruction for the sinner. Just in passing, you will note here that there is a great distinction made between the godly man and the ungodly man. Their position before God is very different. Their pathway through life, it's very different. Their attitude to life itself is very different, and their destination at the end of life is very different. In other words, there is a clear distinction made in the scriptures between the child of God on one hand, and the man or woman who knows not Christ on the other, and all of us should consider that today. You see, to put this in terms that you and I understand, we're either saved or we're lost. We're either going God's way or we're going our own way. We're either living our lives for God's glory or for our own enjoyment. and we are either on our way out into the beauty and the bliss of God's heaven or we're going out into a lost eternity and that's why I say to you today, it is so important that you and I consider that. How we start out in life and where we end up in eternity and how we live our lives in between. is concerned. But when we turn here to Psalm 1, here's something that would help us to maintain our daily walk with God. Because you see, we're told here in verse 2 of the godly man or the godly woman, but his delight or her delight is in the law of the Lord and in his law doth he meditate day and night. Now the psalmist is speaking about the godly man or woman who's prepared to wait upon God. And if you and I are going to walk with God and we're going to live in ways that are pleasing to him, that means we must guard our devotional lives and we must know what it is to really walk with God. And I'm talking about that place of intimacy with him. just just having a vague understanding of the bible or understand something about the lord jesus christ but getting to that place so we can say with the apostle of old that i might know him there's something personal about that there's something there that encourages us to seek that place of intimacy in our walk with him the psalmist says here therefore that we must take time to walk with god We must take time to pray. We must diligently meditate upon his word. We must make the word of God not only our delight, but its truth must govern the way that we live our lives. The psalmist here uses a picture of what it means to meditate on the word of God. The idea is eating and digesting the word in the same way that a cow would chew its cud. She takes her time and enjoys it. She chews it time and time again in order to extract all the flavor from it. And that's the idea that is in this psalm on the word meditating. The believer must do the same with God's word. We start the day with God. We pray and we glean from his word. We meditate upon it throughout the day. We digest it for the good of our souls and then in the evening, As we lie down, then, the word of God should still be burning in our hearts. The psalmist says, his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law doth he meditate day and night. Beloved, I would encourage you today to be a man or a woman of this one book and get to know your Savior and get to know what God demands of you and me by way of Christian living, and get to that place in our lives where we not only know the word of God, but we know the God of the word. If we want to be what God wants us to be, it is essential that we learn to spend time alone with God and around his word. George Muller, many of us will hear his name before, this is a man he's often referred to as George Muller of Bristol. He set up orphanages across England and so many children were reached and fed and trained and educated. He read his Bible over 100 times and this is what he said about making time for God's Word. He said, I look upon it as a lost day when I have not had a good time over the word of God. I've always made it a rule never to begin work until I have had a good season with God and with his word. Now that's great to read and it is really worth repeating. But you and I know from experience and from the busyness of life that that is not always easy to maintain. That's because there are pressures and problems that we all have to cope with. There are so many things to do in our home. There's so many things out in the community. There never seems to be enough time in the day for us to get everything done. But if you and I don't take time with God, and if we don't make time with God, spiritually we'll be running on empty. and eventually we will end up simply going through the motions in our quiet lives. You say to me, but hold on a moment, Pastor, that's okay for you to say that. You do not know the busyness of my life. You don't know how difficult it is to get up in the morning and to have a family running around, and there are so many things to do. I just feel that I'm being pulled from this way to that way throughout the whole day, and I understand that. All of us sometimes find the going tough when it comes to making time and taking time to get alone with God. But we must find that time that suits us. We must find a quiet place that suits us. We might even have to break what we call our quiet time up into different segments. and rather than spending one prolonged period in the presence of God, we may have to do it over a number of little periods throughout that day. It's a matter of us finding out individually what suits us best and what is the best we can do in a busy program. I'm only encouraging you today to get alone with God and to feed your soul as I must on his word. I know there are many books that we carry with us, and I'm sure all of us have many books in our home about all kinds of different subjects, but the Bible is the most important one of them all, because it saves. Aren't we told in the scriptures that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God? It sustains us. It's food for our souls. It sanctifies us. In other words, as you and I apply these principles that the spirit of God brings to our hearts, then you and I become more like our Lord Jesus Christ and it satisfies our every need. In God's word, we have everything we need for faith and for practice. And therefore, our prayer should be as the hymn writer penned. Oh, may these hallowed pages be my ever dear delight and still new beauties may I see and still increasing light. Divine instructor, gracious Lord, be thou forever near. Teach me to love thy sacred word and view my savior there. If we're going to maintain our walk with God, then firstly, the word of God must be preeminent in our lives. But secondly, when we come to this psalm, we note that the walk of the Christian must be different to the world. Because not only should the Christian build their lives upon the word of God, they must be different from the world in which they live. Look at what the psalmist says in verse 1. Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. Now according to the psalmist, the walk of the godly man or woman is one of separation. It's not just a separation from the world and worldly men. It's also a separation onto God and onto the Word of God. And you can notice the sequence here. Firstly, he does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly. Secondly, he does not stand in the way of sinners. And thirdly, he does not sit in the seat of the scornful. And whenever you and I think about that and all the implications of that, he's concerned here about three important aspects of his life. He's concerned about his company. He's concerned about his character. and he's concerned about his conduct. Now, the man or the woman who wants to be godly, who really wants to walk with God, who wants the word of God to govern every aspect of their lives, they need to take these things to heart, and they need to take their lead from the word of God. They will not take their lead from worldly men. they will be careful about their company, they'll be careful about their conduct, they'll be careful not to do anything or go anywhere that would bring God's name into disrepute. And you'll note here in this development that the psalmist uses, he talks about walking, he talks about standing, and he talks about sitting. If you and I were looking for an illustration of all that that actually means, perhaps Lot's life is a good illustration of this, and it helps us to grasp the psalmist's concern. Remember that in the book of Genesis that you and I are introduced to, God's servant, Abraham God, called him out of the year of the Chaldees and told him to go to a place that God would show him. He didn't know where he was going, but he stepped out in faith. He took God at his word. and he began his journey with God. And as you and I note this journey recorded for us in the book of Genesis, we note that along with Abraham is his nephew, Lot. And they settled together after Abraham had returned from Egypt, and God gave both of them great material blessings. But as they got bigger and richer, the time came when there was conflict in the family circle and it was necessary for them to separate and go their different ways. And you'll remember that it was Abraham who told Lot to make the choice and wherever he went, Abraham would go in the opposite direction. And of course, we know that Lot made his choice. It was a worldly choice. Because he looked up and he saw the well-watered plains of Sodom. But it was the wrong choice. Because he didn't consult God and he started out on a downward trail. He did exactly what the psalmist said the godly man shouldn't do. Because at the beginning, He pitched his tent towards Sodom and very soon he was in the company of the wrong people. Then soon he was at home in Sodom and the standards of Sodom became his. And then we note he was sitting as a judge in Sodom and he was so at home he had to be dragged out of it whenever the judgment of God was to fall. Now, we must remember that Lot is described in the scriptures as a righteous man. But he ended up living in a place where sin was abounding and this righteous man found himself living far from God. And that's why it's so important that you and I maintain our walk with the Lord Jesus Christ. That's why it is so important that we discipline ourselves walk with God. I know there are some Christians today and they will say to us, look, in order to reach the world you and I need to live like the world. That's not so. If you and I live like the world, How is the world outside going to see the difference that Christ makes? After all, God has reached us through the gospel of his grace, and the word of God makes it abundantly clear that if any man or any woman be in Christ, what are they? They are a new creation. Old things have gone. Behold, all things become new. Now, if we live in the world and like the world, how on earth are people going to see the difference that the gospel makes? And how on earth are they ever going to believe that the gospel really works? There needs to be a distinctive difference between the people of God and those who are in the world today who are godless. By way of introduction, in Psalm 1, I said to you that God makes a very clear distinction between the godly man and the ungodly man. Their position before God is different, their pathway through life is different, their attitude to life itself is very different, and their destination at the end of life is very much different. And that's why the word of God tells us that the walk of the Christian must be different too. That means practicing again the doctrine of separation that is clearly taught in the scriptures. Now I'm not suggesting for one moment that we become so heavenly minded, that we are of no earthly use. That will not help us to evangelize our families. That will not help us to evangelize our friends, nor those we work with. But what I'm saying today is simply this, we need to be careful that we do not take our lead from the world, that we don't follow the example of the world, that our friends are not the people who show us how to live, but that we who belong to Christ are the very people who show them how to live. I appeal to you today as a believer in Jesus Christ, never use your effectiveness or your distinctiveness, because if we do that, we will not be of much use to this generation that God has called us to witness to. If we're going to maintain our walk with God, the word of God must be preeminent in our lives. The walk of the Christian must be different from the world. And here's the third thing from this psalm. The witness of the Christian must impact lives of others and I suppose in a sense that follows on from our second point today about being different. The witness of the Christian must impact the lives of others and there's no doubt that if you and I learn to maintain our walk with God, we spend time in his word and as God continually changes us until we become more like the Lord Jesus in our Christian lives. It will be a profitable exercise. It will not only impact our own lives and our own relationship with God, but our lives in turn will impact the lives of others for good and for God. Verse 1 or verse 3 in Psalm 1 puts it like this, speaking about the godly man, he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that bringeth forth his fruit in his season, his leaf shall not wither and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. What a lovely picture this is that the psalmist gives to us. He speaks of a tree standing or planted beside a river from where it draws all its resources and in its season it brings forth abundant fruit. In other words, it is something that is beautiful, and it's fruitful, and it's prosperous. That's a picture of the godly man or woman who walks with God, who spends time in God's word, who applies its precepts to their lives. Their life will be beautiful. Their life will be godly. their life will be prosperous and I'm not talking there about monetary terms. I'm talking about the beauty of Christ and their lives will be a beauty to behold in the sight of others. There's a lovely illustration of this in the book of Genesis in Genesis forty-nine. You may remember on that occasion that Jacob pronounces his He blessed them one by one, and he brought them in one by one. And when he blessed them, he referred to the kind of people that they were, whether it was good or whether it was bad. But when it came to his son Joseph, Jacob says this of him. He says, Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well whose branches run over the wall. What was Jacob saying about his son, Joseph? Well, he was saying that Joseph's life was rich, and it was refreshing, and it was reaching out to others. Joseph is a fruitful boy, even a fruitful boy by a well whose branches run over the wall. You know, beloved, that's the kind of life that you and I as Christians need to live in this day and generation, because perhaps more often than ever before, The walk of the Christian is put under scrutiny. Now, there may well be a number of reasons for that. For example, so many people outside in our world, they're tired of the hypocrisy that they see in our world just now, from the very top in politics to the person on the street. They're tired of hypocrisy. They want to see something that is real. They want to see something that is genuine. And the Christian and the Christian church gives them the opportunity to do that. Secondly, so many people no longer attend church. We sometimes use the term that we're now living in a post-church age, and there are many people who don't attend any church anymore. Yes, they might come into a mission, they might come to a certain meeting that suits them, but generally speaking, the world in which we live has departed from sitting in churches. They no longer have a Bible that they can sit and read in their home, and even if they do, they won't read it. So the only Bible that some people will read today is your life and mine. And thirdly, so many people we work with and rub shoulders with, they're watching our lives. They'll either be turned on to Christ or they'll be turned off Christ. And that's why our Christian walk and witness is of the utmost importance. whenever the Apostle Paul wrote to the church at Philippi, he says this in Philippians 127, he says, only let your conversation be as it becomes the gospel of Christ. And whether I come and see you or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs that you stand fast in one spirit with one mind, striving together for the faith of the gospel. Paul says, only let your conversation be as it becomes the gospel of Christ. And quite naturally, whenever you and I think of the word conversation, we think it's associated with our talking, with our everyday conversation. But Paul is not so much concerned about their talking as he is about their walking because The word conversation in the AV really means manner of life and the American Standard puts it like this. Only let your whole manner of life be as it becomes the gospel of Christ. What Paul is simply saying to those believers then is this. Know how to conduct yourselves. Walk wisely in the world where God has placed you Be witnesses whose lives are consistent and full of integrity because after all, God by his grace has called you. You belong to a different realm. You're no longer part of the world. You're citizens of heaven. You're heirs of God and you're joint heirs with Jesus Christ. Now live according to your calling. You and I cannot have lips that profess one thing and lives that do another. We cannot claim to belong to Christ if our affections are set somewhere else. We cannot claim to be heaven bound if the world and all its standards dictate how we live. Beloved, heaven is our home. We are pilgrims and strangers down here according to the Apostle Peter. Yes, I know that we are living in changing days and sometimes as a Christian, you might feel as if you're struggling in the world and sometimes you might feel that you're swimming against the tide and that you just can't make the impact that you'd love to do. I understand that. But having experienced a new birth, having been born from above and your life transformed, you're the children of God in a dark world. You're a citizen of heaven and God has left you and he has left me here that we might reflect him and his glory by the way that we live our Christian faith. I love the words that Thomas Brooks uses when he says this. A Christian's life should be nothing but a visible representation of Christ. Maintaining our walk with God in difficult times. Someone helps us to do that in that it reminds us of how we can do it and how we must keep doing it. He says the word of God must be preeminent in our lives. The walk of the Christian must be different from the world. And the witness of the Christian must impact the lives of others. May the spirit of God enable us to apply God's word to our hearts just now, that we might impact the world in which we live in good and godly ways, and that your life and mine might bring glory to the Lord Jesus Christ. Let's bow together in prayer. Father, we thank you so much for the challenge of your word, and yet at the same time for the help we find in your word that we might learn to maintain our daily walk with you, that we might learn the importance of your word in our lives individually, but also, our Father, that we might today understand that we have a great responsibility to live out your word in this world in which we live, that those around us might see something of the beauty and the glory of Christ. Father, we pray that you will hide your word deep within our hearts. We ask that you would make us the people that we need to be. Father, we pray that you'd help us to set aside those necessary times just to read, to meditate, and to pray. And in those times when we do struggle and we will, We ask our father that graciously you'll minister into our lives and that the spirit of God will find the flame that burns in our hearts that we might know what it is to really walk with God. So bless your word to us, bless this congregation, bless this local church, its pastor, elders, and every member and friend in it. May your grace, mercy, and peace be our portion this day and all our days. until Jesus comes or calls, and then forevermore. And we ask it in our Savior's precious name. Amen. Amen.
Maintaining our walk in difficult times
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