Why don't you stand and we'll sing our songs this morning. 382, Be Thou My Vision, 382. 382, Jeremiah. And we'll sing 1, 2, and 4, 382. not be all else to me, save that Thou art. Thou, my best love, my bringer, my night, Thou be thou sleeping, my presence, my light. ♪ Thou my wisdom and Thou my truth, Lord ♪ ♪ I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord ♪ ♪ Thou my refuge, Thou my true son ♪ ♪ Thou in me worthy and Thou with me, Lord ♪ My King of Heaven, my victory won! And the next one is 2-0-6. There is a Redeemer 2-0-6. There is a Redeemer, Jesus, God's own Son, Precious Lamb of God with Son, O Holy One. Thank you, O my Father, ♪ Forgiving us your Son ♪ ♪ And leaving your Spirit till the work on earth is done ♪ ♪ Jesus my Redeemer ♪ ♪ Name above all names ♪ Thank you, O my Father, for giving us your Son, and leaving your spirit till the work on earth is done. I will see his face. There I'll serve my King forever, in lamb and holy flesh. and leaving your spirit till the work on earth is done. You may be seated. We have a few announcements this morning. Our bulletins were all sent out via email, so you can look at those attachments on that. We have the Life Chain Sunday. It's going to be on the corner of Blue Mound and Moreland, right in front of the bank. And Keith and Margie, they have the signs and stuff, so you can ask them if you're willing to go there from 2 until 3.30. And then remember Mary Beth, she's having surgery for her breast cancer on Monday. And we have our Agency of the Week, which is Camp Fairwood and all of the churches this week. You can look in your bulletin for prayer as well. Don't forget our offertory is in the back table due to COVID. That's what we're doing. So why don't we bow our heads and we'll pray over the offering and then we'll sing a few more songs here. Lord we thank you for the day that you have given us that we're able to come and worship you freely in our nation and we ask that you bless the offering that we're able to give back to you because you have blessed us and we ask that it be able to bless those ministries that we support as a church and be able to bring those lost souls to you and we thank you for this great day that you've given us and that we are able to come here and learn about your word. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Why don't we stand? We'll sing two more songs. We'll sing 349, Trust and Obey. 349. We'll sing 1, 2, and 4. 1, 2, and 4. In the light of His Word, all our glory He sheds on our way. And the Father will trust and obey, trust and obey. For there's no other way to be happy in Jesus than to trust and obey. ♪ And victory drives it away ♪ ♪ No doubt nor a fear ♪ ♪ None in sight nor a tear ♪ ♪ Can abide holy, trust and obey ♪ ♪ Trust and obey ♪ ♪ For there's no other way ♪ ♪ To be happy in Jesus' sight ♪ ♪ But to trust and obey ♪ Number four. ♪ But he never can prove ♪ ♪ The demise of his love ♪ ♪ Until all on the altar he lay ♪ ♪ Whatever he shows ♪ ♪ And the joy he bestows ♪ ♪ Our friend who will trust and obey ♪ And to make it easy, you can flip to the next page, 350. You don't even have to turn, just look over. We'll sing one, two, and four. One, two, and four. Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him, how I trust Him. Oh How I trust Him, how I trust Him more and more. Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus. Oh, for grace to trust Him more. ♪ How I've trusted precious Jesus, Savior, Friend ♪ ♪ And I know that He is with me ♪ ♪ Will be with me to the end ♪ ♪ Jesus, Jesus, how I've trusted ♪ ♪ How I've proved Him o'er and o'er ♪ You guys may be seated. As you know, pastor is away today and we have a guest speaker. So we had a nice introduction to everything that Dave does here. And why don't you come forward again, brother? Thank you. Well, good morning to you. Thank you for being here today. And just a few things. First of all, my name is Dave Lingle. I serve as church ambassador for Wisconsin Family Council. And if you hear me coughing today, which I might do, hopefully not too much in the middle of the message, but it's not COVID. It's not a cold. It's not contagious. Okay, so please be at ease about that. It may be related to a heart issue. I might say something about that later on. But So please don't be overly concerned about that. So on the back table are some items that might be of interest. One of the things that I promoted in the Sunday School Hour was our LEAD Wisconsin ministry. The brochure has good accurate information except for the dates because this was for this year and we will be having LEAD again this coming year, Lord willing. And the mission of LEAD is equipping teens to become effective, godly leaders who engage the culture from a biblical perspective. And I don't think I've shared the mission. This morning in the Sunday school hour, but that is the mission and it is just a wonderful week of ministry to young people and for them it's really investing in the next generation and if you're a teen 13 to 19 years old and or if you know of a teen 13 to 19 years old, hope you'll consider helping them get to lead Wisconsin this coming year. Enrollment will be limited. We were praying for 50. God gave us 80 campers. This last year we had to cap registration because we only had so many staff and so we're planning to and expecting to grow this coming year. but appreciate your prayers for that ministry. Maybe take a brochure and just use it as a reminder to pray that God will use the coming week in July, July 10th through 15th of this coming year. We're just gonna trust the Lord that he'll use it as greatly as he did the first week of LEAD. this last August. And then on the table, also, there are some prayer reminders if you wonder, well, who are these people who work for Wisconsin Family Council? Well, there's our names and pictures. You can take one of those along. I invite you to do that and pray for our work in the state. One of the things that I mentioned was a Choose Life license plate. This is what they look like. And, well, I mean, if you got one, it wouldn't say Child 7. It would have something different on it. But I encourage you to think about getting a Choose Life license plate for your vehicle. That will help to support the work of pro-life pregnancy resource centers in our state, as well as send a positive message to the culture, and our culture definitely needs a positive message, does it not? And then there's a cup on the table with some pens in it, and the pens are for Wisconsin Family Council, and if you would like to take a pen, maybe you need a pen, maybe it would be a reminder to you. to pray for the work of Wisconsin Family Council. And so we encourage you to take advantage. There's some other materials there that are available for donation. And there's some really good, helpful materials. So if you have any questions, talk to me after the service. Be happy to talk to you about that. I want to say thank you to Pastor Wooten and to you as a church family for the privilege of being with you today and for everything that you folks do to support and encourage not only the work of Wisconsin Family Council in our state, but the pro-life work that goes on in our state. We appreciate what you do more than we can say. You know, we live in a in a day in our culture where truth has been turned inside out and upside down. And that's why I'm bringing this message this morning on standing up for truth. On the one hand, you have people like Oprah Winfrey tell us we need to speak our truth. But if we speak our truth, what Christians believe to be true, and it happens to be at odds with the current cultural moment, well, then your truth is labeled hate speech. In fact, not too long ago, I was behind a car in my town, which is Watertown. I was behind a car that had a sticker on the back that said, truth is the new hate speech. I thought, yeah, that's exactly right. If, or I should say when, we speak the truth and it's not truth the culture wants to hear, then we are labeled haters and phobes. of every sort. And those are the nice things that are said. What is good is now called evil and what is evil is now called good. And we need to recognize that. It shouldn't surprise us. Paul told Timothy that in the last days, evil men and seducers or imposters would wax or grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived, 2 Timothy 3.13. And we've seen this happen in our big cities. Many have committed the sin of destroying property that does not belong to them and stealing property. And it was called good because it was done in the name of quote unquote social justice as defined by the mob. If you dare speak a word against various forms of immorality, including homosexuality and transgenderism, you are accused of violence. We call the genocide of abortion a woman's choice and women's reproductive health care without giving a single thought or consideration to the moral status of the unborn child. Truth truly has fallen in our streets. In some places, law enforcement officers are being vilified as the bad guys, while the bad guys, so to speak, are being defended. As a culture and country, we have lost our way. It is so bad that to even speak about the concept of truth is difficult. People don't know what truth is. For example, for some time, it has been popular to say that truth is relative. Yet when someone makes that statement, they're making an absolute statement about something they believe to be relative and not absolute. It's self-contradicting and self-defeating. There are also those who declare that truth is a myth. Yet in making that statement, they make a statement they believe to be true. You just can't have it both ways. If the statement is true, it's self-defeating, and if it's false, we obviously should reject it. Who wants to believe something that's false? There are those who say, what is true for you is not necessarily what's true for me. But you can't live life that way. What happens if I believe in private property and you believe the government should own and control everything? Something has to give. Besides, you can make this claim about truth all you want, but it doesn't make it so. Here's the bottom line. Things that contradict each other cannot both be true. They may both be false, but they cannot both be true. There are those who say that we can make up our own truth. You see this manifested in the transgender movement today. But saying you are male when you were born a female doesn't make it so. Your belief, no matter how sincere, cannot alter the objective scientific reality of your chromosomes and your DNA. As author and theologian Al Mohler observes, ontology always trumps autonomy. Autonomy is the idea that I can live life on my own terms, and I'm in total control of my destiny. Ontology is the study of the nature of reality. So here's his point. Trying to live life on your own terms, autonomously, or trying to create your own reality, ontology, always runs into actual reality, and actual reality always wins in the long run. Always. Since we're speaking about truth this morning, we need to have a basic understanding of what truth is. Truth is what corresponds to reality. You know, 2 plus 2 equals 4 is a true statement because it corresponds to reality. Things released from a height fall to the earth because of gravity is a true statement because it corresponds to reality. A train can only run on two rails parallel to each other is a true statement because it corresponds to reality. These things and many others are absolutely and objectively true. Now, I don't know about you, but I actually enjoy flying. And over the years, I've had the privilege of being able to fly to a number of places in our country and in our world. But you know what? When I fly, I'm trusting that the pilot and co-pilot of that plane believe in absolute truth when it comes to flying that plane. I don't want them believing they can create their own reality. I don't want them thinking that they can be relatively accurate. I don't want them thinking truth is a myth. I don't want them thinking that if ground control tells them they're flying too fast or too low or too close to another plane that that might be true for the ground controller but isn't necessarily true for them. You see how this works? There are things that are true, and there are things that are not true. And true things, true beliefs, are those that correspond to reality. And no, we do not get to create our own reality. Let's look to the Lord, shall we? Thank you, Lord, for the truth of your word. And thank you, Lord, that it is true truth, that it is truth that we can depend on, that we can trust in. And Lord, help us to know the truth and to understand the truth and to believe the truth, and help us to live lives that are permeated by the truth. And help us to love him who names himself to be the way, the truth, and the life. We ask in Jesus' name, amen. So what does it matter? Well, truth matters because Jesus came to testify to the truth. That's what he told Pilate. He said to Pilate, for this cause came I into the world to testify to the truth, John 18, 37. Jesus believed there was such a thing as truth, and he believed that truth could be communicated, and that men and women are responsible for knowing and believing and responding to the truth. If Jesus came to testify to the truth, then truth must have been kind of a big deal. And if it's a big deal to God, it should be a big deal to us, too. Furthermore, Jesus believed and declared that God's word is truth, John 17, 17. He said, through the truth, thy word is truth. That means that it corresponds to reality. It is historically and scientifically true, and it is theologically true, and there are serious consequences for not believing it. And then two, I would observe that we are called to be conformed to the image of Christ, and we are told that our incarnate Redeemer was one who was full of grace and truth, John 1.14. If we would be like Jesus, truth needs to matter to us, and truth needs to be something that permeates our being. Who will stand for the truth if believers don't? And what hope is there for a lost and dying world if we fail to stand for the truth? We're told in 1 Corinthians 4, 2, that it is required in stewards that they be found faithful. If we're to be faithful stewards of the truth God has given to us in his word, then standing up for truth is not optional, it is something we must do. So let me give you a few examples of where we as believers need to stand for truth today. We need to stand for the truth about the sanctity of life. God is the creator and giver of life, and he has created man in his own image. Every image-bearer, born and unborn, deserves to have their life respected and protected. Abortion has taken on a sacramental nature for the so-called progressives in our country. But we need to boldly tell the truth about life. Life is good. God created life. Scientifically and objectively speaking, life begins at conception. When those two cells come together and they form unique DNA and that life begins to grow. Dead things don't grow. Right? Dead things don't grow. So you know it's human life. And you know it's human life because it has human DNA. God created human life, and human beings bear his image, and so we believe that human life is inherently valuable and deserves to be protected. Since every unborn child is a human life, every unborn child is inherently valuable and deserves protection. As pastor and author David Platt observes, everything revolves around what is happening in a mother's womb, and scripture is clear. That womb contains a person. the image of God. Any distinction between the unborn and a person or a human and a person for that matter is both artificial and unbiblical and I would add arbitrary. A person is a human being and a human being is a person. Personhood is inherent to being human and to be human is to be a person. It is as simple as and as profound as that. And we do not have the right to take innocent human life. That is a truth that we need to stand for both in word and deed. That's why we like to promote our Choose Life license plate. We also need to stand for the truth about human sexuality. When God made man, he made man mankind, or if you prefer humankind, as male and female. That was very intentional on God's part and he isn't ashamed or embarrassed about it and neither should we be. But our sexuality is to find expression within God's parameters and not outside of those limits. Frankly, If we started practicing God's guidelines for sexuality in our culture, the issue of abortion would practically disappear overnight, and the pandemic of sexually transmitted diseases would likewise begin to disappear. But no, people do not want to hear the truth about this issue, and they want to live life on their own terms. And if you preach against adultery, fornication, promiscuity, homosexuality, and pornography, the culture is not going to like or appreciate what you have to say, but it needs to be said. We need to stand for the truth in this area because it is right, it is the truth, and it is the truth of God's Word, and it is what is best for our families, our neighbors, and our fellow citizens. Love for God and love for neighbor compel us to stand for and speak the truth, even though it is not popular, even though it may not be comfortable, and even though it is not what they want to hear. The problems in our country relative to marriage and family are not merely cultural or economic or political. They are spiritual. We can read the statistics about divorce and abortion and abuse. and we can be disturbed by them, but do we get that behind the statistics are men, women, and children whose lives and souls are being crushed by our common enemy, the devil? How can we do anything other than stand up for the truth? More than ever, our families, our neighbors, our world need the light of the truth of God's word. We need to circle back to the issue of gender for just a minute. God created us as male and female, and that is a good thing. You can rejoice if God created you a boy, and you can rejoice if God created you a girl. He did not make a mistake. Transgender activism is sweeping across our country, and if you dare speak up against it, you are called names and accused of being hateful. But it is never hateful to speak the truth, though we should always do so with grace and in love. But here's the truth. The truth is your sex is determined by your chromosomes and it is written large, or maybe we should say it's written very minusculely, in your DNA, in the DNA in virtually every cell in your body. It is an objective and scientific reality determined at the point of conception. Sex is not assigned at birth, and a lot of times in these discussions you will hear the activists saying, you know, we need to quit assigning sex or gender at birth. But sex is not assigned at birth, it is recognized at birth. And actually with the advent of ultrasound, we recognize it now many months before birth. That's why we have these gender reveal parties, right? And so I met Titus earlier. Did you know you were having a boy before he was born? Oh, you didn't do that. Okay. So, yeah, we didn't either, but, you know, that was a long time ago. And we never knew, even though we had ultrasounds, we never knew if it was a boy or girl until They arrived, and I was like, oh, you have a boy. Oh, you have another boy. Oh, you have another boy. So we had three boys. But their sex wasn't assigned at birth. It was just recognized at birth. The name-calling and hate-mongering of the progressive element in our culture must not stop us from speaking and standing for the truth. God created us as male and female. And when he was done creating, he looked at everything he made and declared it to be very good. It is very good, and that is the truth. And so, for instance, when I was reading to my two-year, well, it was when he was two years old, my two-year-old grandson Tobin, he's now seven, but several years back I was reading to him a little alphabet book, right? And B was for boy. And I said, Tobin, I said, you know, God made you a boy, and that's a good thing, right? We need to teach our children these things. You might seem rather obvious, but they need to hear it from us. You know, God made him a boy, and that's a very good thing. And he has a sister named Erin, A-E-R-Y-N. She'll thank her parents for that one of these days, I'm sure. But, and Erin, she's just adorable. And God made her to be a girl, and that's a very good thing. And we need to be good. And there's not a broad spectrum of genders, right? In spite of Facebook categories. No, no, there are two genders. It really is a binary thing. That's how God created us, male and female. And we need to be very comfortable with that and very assured of that. It is the truth. We need to also tell the truth about racism. I know that's a hot topic today. But the basic truth relative to racism is that God has made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, Acts 17.26. Biblically speaking, there is only one race, the human race, and it isn't even really accurate to divide people into different races based on skin tone or other external variations. Every human being is a fellow image bearer and deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. God is much more concerned about your sin than he is about your skin. You're valuable to God, not because of your skin color, but because you bear his image. Though I would add that every skin color is beautiful to God because he created them all. What matters to God, ultimately, is what you do with Jesus. And that's the question we're confronted with today. What will you do with Jesus? What will you do with Jesus? That's the ultimate question that everybody needs to ask and answer. So we need to stand for the truth about life, about marriage and family, about human sexuality, about racism, and about every issue that God addresses in his word, which is virtually everything. In fact, Dr. B. Myron Sedum, who was the president of Maranatha years ago when I attended Maranatha, one of his favorite sayings was, God's word is God's mind about everything. And as the years have gone by, I have grown to appreciate the wisdom of his observation and accuracy of his observation more and more. We need to speak the truth and we need to do so in love. And what can we expect to happen when we tell the truth, when we stand for the truth? Well, the same things that have always happened when God's people stand for the truth. Some people will be upset. Need I remind you about our savior who was full of grace and truth? And how did the religious leaders and political power players of his day treat him? They crucified him. The devil is a liar and the father of lies. He hates the truth. His children hate the truth. If you stand for the truth, you can expect to be reviled, cursed, maligned, and mistreated. Jesus said, and he didn't pull any punches about this, he said to his followers, in the world, you will have trouble. He didn't say we should go looking for it, but he doesn't want us to be shocked or discouraged when it comes. In this world, if you speak the truth, you can expect to face trouble. But the rest of what Jesus said is so encouraging. He said, but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world. John 16, 33. So some people will be upset and some will call you names. You will be called a hater. You will be called transphobic and homophobic and worse names than these. If you don't agree with and affirm every form of error and perversion being promoted by the culture, you are the one who will be accused of violence. That's what they mean when they say silence is violence. If you don't speak up in favor of transgenderism, for example, your silence will be called violence. So what should we expect when we do speak up and when we speak against it by telling the truth about it? Well, unless God in his mercy sends revival across our country and we pray for that, and I hope you pray for that, we may soon reach a point where speaking the truth will actually cost us something. In fact, it is currently costing Jack Phillips something. He's a cake baker in Colorado who refused to bake a cake celebrating a gay wedding. It's costing him something, to stand for the truth. It's costing Baronelle Stutzman, who is a floral arranger in the state of Washington, who refused to create a floral arrangement to celebrate a gay wedding. It's costing her something. And there are others who are paying a price, even in our own country, for standing up for the truth. I cannot tell you that it will never cost you something. In the world, you will have trouble, but be of good cheer. Ultimately, we must speak the truth on these and other issues, because speaking the truth will require us to identify certain things as sin. Immorality is sin. Pride of race is sin. Rejecting your God-given identity as either male or female is sin. Living a promiscuous lifestyle is sin. Using pornography is sin. Committing adultery is sin. Polygamy and polyamory is sin. Conceiving a child outside of marriage is sin. Abortion is sin. Do you think the world wants to hear this? I'm afraid a lot of professing Christians don't even want to hear this, but we need to hear it because the point of the gospel is that Jesus came to save sinners. That's what makes the gospel good news. We are sinners, but there is a savior. He died to pay the penalty for our sins, a penalty we could never pay ourselves. He bore our sins in his own body on the cross. He was crucified. because of our offenses and raised again for our justification, Romans 4.25. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life, John 3.16. That's why we must speak the truth, not just so that men and women can be happy and healthy, but so they can be holy. So they can come to have a restored and right relationship with God by turning from their sin and turning to Jesus for salvation It's not a popular message, but it is a true message and it is the message that our world Desperately needs to hear and again if they don't hear it from us, where will they hear it? We are ambassadors for Christ 2nd Corinthians 520. There are no others. I What else will happen when we stand for the truth, when we tell the truth? Not only will some people be upset and some will mock and accuse, but some people will be converted. And I hope you find that encouraging. Listen to Acts chapter 17 verses 30 to 34. And the times of this ignorance God winked at or overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because he has appointed a day in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he has ordained, whereof he has given assurance unto all men in that he raised him from the dead. Talking about Jesus there, obviously. And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, the people that Paul was preaching to, some mocked, and others said, We'll hear thee again of this matter. So Paul departed from them, howbeit certain men clave unto him, and believed, among the which was Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them. Here's the fact of the matter. The only way for people to come to faith in Jesus is if they are told the truth about who they are, about who God is, and about what God has done for them. And that is what happened here in Athens. Paul boldly told the truth. He stood up for the truth. Some mocked, some lied and said they would come some other day to talk about it, but some believed. Often the truth is hard for people to hear, so we want to be careful to not be obnoxious when we speak the truth. Often the truth may be unpleasant, unwanted, and uncomfortable. If you go to a doctor because you aren't feeling well, do you want him to tell you the truth about your condition? You might not want to hear the truth, and the truth might not be easy to hear, but if there's any hope for healing, you need the truth. So in April, I went for a physical and the doctor listened to my heart and he says, that doesn't sound good. Well, you know, when the doctor says that doesn't sound good, that's not exactly exciting thing to hear, right? And further tests revealed that I have damage to the mitral valve of my heart. And so 20 days from now, 25 days from now, I'll be going to Frederick Hospital Lord willing, and they're going to do open heart surgery. And hopefully that'll help clear up this cough business that I've been dealing with. None of that was what I wanted to hear, right? I mean, who wants to, you know, and I was hopeful, I didn't know, you know, I was hopeful because, you know, they can do those repairs by doing the, going in through your arteries and stuff. Yeah, no, that's not gonna happen. When I met with a cardiologist, he says, you're going to have to have open heart surgery. And he must have seen my eyes get a little bit bigger. He said, you weren't expecting to hear that, were you? And I said, well, it wasn't what I wanted to hear. So if you think about it, you can pray for me on the 28th and for the surgeon at Frader. Well, it wasn't what I wanted to hear. but it's what I needed to hear, right? We don't always get excited about the truth, but if there's any hope for healing, you need to have the truth, and that's true spiritually as well. I wanna conclude with a favorite passage from Paul's letter to the son of the faith, Timothy. 2 Timothy chapter 2 verses 24 through 26. Paul says to Timothy, and the servant of the Lord must not strive, must not be a fighter, but be gentle unto all men, apt or able to teach, patient in meekness, instructing those who oppose themselves. If God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth, and that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will. That's what we do, folks. We don't fight with people. The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but we lovingly stand for the truth, and we teach the truth as skillfully as we can, and with great humility, we try to help people understand the self-contradicting positions they have adopted and chosen to believe. We do this knowing that some will get upset. Some may even retaliate. But we also do this knowing that God may use our testimony to the truth to bring them to repentance and to recognizing and acknowledging the truth with the result of being rescued from the devil's trap. More than ever, we need to be men and women and teens and even boys and girls who stand for the truth. We need to do so boldly, but also compassionately. And we speak the truth because ultimately it is only the truth that sets men and women, boys and girls, free. So what are some takeaways from all of this? I'm gonna give you four briefly. Number one, there is such a thing as absolute noble truth, and God wants you to know it. He is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father but by me. There are those in our, culture in our society that would say, wow, that's a very narrow-minded message, isn't it? Well, it's as narrow as God makes it. Jesus said, brought us a path that leads to destruction, but narrow is the way that leads to life, right? I didn't make this message up. This came from Jesus himself. He's the one who said, I am the way, the truth, the life. No man comes to the Father but by me. There is no way to get to God unless you go through Jesus and the cross. It may not be a popular message, but it's a true message. And Jesus wants to have and up close and personal relationship with you, he wants you to know the truth. Do you know him today? Are you trusting him today? And if you aren't trusting in Jesus today, won't you please carefully consider his claims on your life? So first, there is such a thing as absolute noble truth, and God wants you to know it. Second, if we're going to speak the truth, we need to know the truth. That means you really need to have a love for the Word of God, for reading it, studying it, understanding it, and applying it in your own life, so that you're able to share its truth with others. If we're going to stand If we're going to stand for the truth, we need to know the truth, and there's no way to do that apart from investing some time and effort. So read your Bible, and read good books that will help you understand how the truth of Scripture applies to the issues of our day. There's a really good book on the back table, and one of our friends here today picked up a copy of it, but it's a book by Erwin Lutzer. What was the title? Do you have that with you? We Will Not Be Silenced, I think was the title. Is that the title? Did I get it right? That is an outstanding book, and it will definitely help you understand the issues of the day and how we should, as believers, be responding to them. So read your Bible for sure, but then read some good books that will help you understand how the truth of Scripture applies to the issues of our day. Maybe we need to watch a little less TV and do a little more reading. What I find is I hate to say it, but we're growing up in a culture where people are not readers. We need to be readers. Okay, I'll move on. So third, if we're going to speak the truth, we also need to know that we may have to pay a price. The world is no friend of grace, and the world is hostile to the truth of the gospel. But the truth needs to be shared in any event, as it is the only hope. No one gets to heaven by believing a lie. The only way to heaven is a right relationship with God, and the way to a right relationship with God is the truth of the gospel. But when we tell the truth about sin, righteousness, and judgment to come, some will not like it, and we may expect to be attacked in one form or another, to some degree or other, but be of good cheer, Jesus has overcome the world. And then finally, when we speak the truth, God will use our witness to work in the hearts and lives of people. How does he do that? Well, Jesus told us in John 16, 7 through 10, he says, nevertheless, I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage or it is expedient that I go away for if I don't go away, the helper will not come to you. But if I depart, I will send him to you. And when he has come, he will convict or convince the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment to come. Of sin, because they do not believe in me. Of righteousness, because I go to my Father and you see me no more. Of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged." And how does God's Spirit, God's the Helper, the Comforter, how does He accomplish this work in people's hearts and minds? Well, in Acts 24, 25, we read about Paul testifying to Felix, and as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled. I believe God's spirit works in the hearts and minds of people like Felix as we speak the truth of God's word to them. May God grant each of us the strength and boldness today and every day to graciously and lovingly stand for the truth and speak the truth to a world that so desperately needs the truth. Let's pray. Thank you, Lord, for your amazing grace that you have given to us your word for our guidance and that we can trust it because it is true and because you're a truthful God and the truth matters to you. And because it matters to you, it should matter to us. And Lord, I pray that you will help us as believers to believe the truth, to live the truth, to not be embarrassed or ashamed of the truth, even as Paul said, I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. Lord, help us to not be ashamed or embarrassed, but help us, Lord, to firmly, boldly, and yet in humility and with kindness and grace, stand up for the truth. Lord, our world desperately needs to hear the truth. And Lord, if the world does not hear the truth from us, where will they hear it? They won't. Lord, you've commissioned us to be your voice to this culture. So help us to do that for your honor and glory and for the good of our neighbors. We pray in Jesus name for your glory. May your kingdom come and your will be done. Amen. Thank you, folks, for being here today. And I'll be around for a few minutes. And if you have any questions, please talk to me. Bob, anything else? Thank you so much. All right. Thank you so much for that message here. Why don't we stand and sing 379, Take My Life and Let It Be. 379, we'll sing 1, 2, and 5. 1, 2, and 5. you Let it be, consecrated for to Thee. Take my moments and my days. Let them flow in Jesus' praise. Let them flow in Jesus' praise. take my heart It shall be thy royal throne. It shall be thy royal throne. All right. Have a good week. I have to close with this little message. Let me turn this off so not everyone