you you you you Sorry to break into your music. That was great. I don't know who picks those, Jason, but you're doing a good job, if you are. I've got just a few announcements today. Well, a bunch, but we'll make them quick. The church picnic's coming up July the 11th, which is only a couple of Saturdays from now. So if you haven't signed up, please do on the back board indicating how many are coming and what you might like to bring and how you might like to work it if you would. The Sunday school classes today will again meet outside like last week and I understand that as long as the right person brings the right toys, all the classes are very satisfied with the way that's going. The ladies' lift gathering is going to be at Amy Wolfe's home, which is at 4330 County Road J, in Sheboygan Falls, instead of downstairs, where all the mess is. But if you haven't been downstairs, I would encourage you not to go downstairs. Just take a look at the progress pictures on the glass back there. We do have wall board up, and they'll start mudding and taping on Monday. And they're moving right along. We're aiming for, I think, the third week in July to be done. Repeat from last week if if someone needs to use the bathroom and this one up here is busy You can go downstairs and use the appropriate bathroom downstairs but don't go anywhere else the Hallway is pretty well swept so you probably won't get a lot of dust on your feet But if you do kind of wipe it off on that bottom part of the stairwell before you come back up and Tonight there will be no evening service, but on Wednesday there will be a prayer meeting service. So if you're at all interested in interceding for some of your fellow congregants here or your family or friends, please consider coming. We do have a good time. Good time. Yes, it's a good time to pray. So please consider coming. Youth, there is another activity coming up on Friday, the 25th, this Friday. So you need to sign up on the sheet today or you'll miss a chance. I have no idea what's gonna happen at that activity, but probably not quite as exciting as getting dunked in the Sheboygan River because your canoe turned over. But that's coming up this Friday. The Senior High today will be with the adults up here in the auditorium. So Senior High's Sunday School meet up here with the adults. And last, but certainly not least, Happy Father's Day to all you fathers. And happy fathers, I assume you're gonna wish your fathers a happy Father's Day if they're still around. And if not, you've got some memories to think about today. I think that's all. Anything I've missed? Jack? All right. In our prayer time today, we want to mention Pastor Kurt and Maria who are vacationing and hoping that they'll have a restful time as they conclude their vacation this week. And we're happy to have Dave Lingo from Wisconsin Family Council as our speaker for today. He will, he's a church ambassador for Wisconsin Family Council, headquartered in Madison. He will be speaking this morning and also in the Adult Sunday School will be sharing more about the ministry of the Family Council. So be sure to take note of that. Our missionary of the week is Paul and Janessa. I won't give you their last name, and I won't tell you what country they're in, partly because I can't pronounce it, and partly because I don't know where it is. But you know who I mean. And they have been through some trying times lately, because the business that they're associated with there in their country in Central Asia has lost one of the leaders and Paul has been filling in as an acting director, but as it turns out, that business is closing. So they're deciding what to do. Are they going to start a business of their own? They're in the agriculture business as they serve as missionaries. And they're going to have to change their visas. So they're doing it during a transition time right now. But they do have some thankful praises. They both have tutors now. So they're learning the language. And they both have tutors. And their family's adjusting well. They had to move from one location to another. So their family is adjusting well to that. And they've also mentioned that they need to make decisions concerning their new visas. So we'll pray about that. They have interns that are coming to work with them. And they're praying for more relationships with the local people. So let's remember Paul and Janessa in Central Asia. Our person of the week is Joe Seibel, and Joe is a faithful servant back there in the sound booth, and thankful that he's part of our church. Joe has requested prayer for some of his aunts and uncles, and who do not know the Lord, brothers and sisters. And so let's pray for Joe in that regard, and also as he is seeking a closer walk with the Lord. So we'll pray for Joe. Our persecuted saint of the week is a pastor in China. who has been detained and severely beaten and hospitalized, and we're not sure what his situation is now because this happened on May 23rd. Pastor Yang of the Livingstone Church in Gaiyang City was arbitrarily detained at a local police station and questioned by a government official. During the interrogation, the official appeared to have lost his temper. Knocking Pastor Yang down, he yelled, believe it or not, I can beat you to death. As Pastor Yang got to his feet, he responded, whatever you want to do is fine. I will not fight back. The enraged official continued to violently beat and choke the pastor. At last report, he remains hospitalized but in stable condition. And so we'll pray that Pastor Yang will fully recover and continue serving, that his church will also continue, and that those who are persecuting will either be brought to justice or at least turn to the Lord. So let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for this opportunity today to worship in your house. Thankful for those who have gathered together and for those who may be watching online. And Lord, we just ask your special blessing on our service today as Brother Dave brings the message to us and later explains about the work that he's doing, the very important work that he's doing here in Wisconsin. We also want to pray for Pastor Kurt and Maria as they finish their vacation time and ask Lord that they'll come back refreshed and that this will be a special, enjoyable time for them and as they reunite with their family. We want to also pray today for Joe Seibel, thankful that he has been faithful in this church serving every Sunday faithfully and helping with the men's breakfast as well. And we ask you, Lord, to bring a special blessing upon Joe during these days. We're concerned about his family as he is and those who do not know you as Lord and Savior, Lord, that they would Be convicted of their sin and their need of you. Be convinced that you have the answer to their need. And Lord, that they would have the courage to step forward and receive you as Lord and Savior and turn their life over to you. So we pray for Joe. We also want to pray for Paul and Janessa as they serve in Central Asia. Give them wisdom we pray concerning the business the agribusiness that they Either will be starting or that they'll have to change to another type of business In order to stay in the country we ask you Lord as they prepare they're prepared to apply for visas Now you'll give them wisdom and just how to do that and and what I questions they have to answer and what needs they have. We just pray that you'll undertake for them. We're thankful that they have tutors now that they can help with language learning and for their family, Lord, that they have adjusted well. And we do pray for continued outreach among the local people, Lord, that they will be encouraged and helped in that. We also want to pray, dear God, for our brother Yang, Pastor Yang in China, who has been undergoing such terrible persecution. We ask you, Lord, that you would bring complete healing to him from the beating that he's had. We ask you, Lord, to work in the hearts and lives of those who are oppressing him. because they have seen his testimony. They've seen his attitude towards them and towards you. And Lord, I just pray that he'll fully recover, that the church will continue the ministry they have there, that those who are persecuting will be convicted of their evil ways, and Lord, that even that they would come to know you as Lord and Savior. So we commit that need to you. We pray as well for the fathers here this morning and for those who are wishing to be fathers. some planning to be fathers, and so we just commit them all to you. May this be a special day as we celebrate Father's Day here in our church, in our country, in our families, and we ask that this will be a special day for all. Continue blessing in our service today, Lord, we pray, and give us a good time in the Lord, we ask in Jesus' name, amen. Please stand as we sing Faith of Our Fathers. ["Faith of Our Fathers"] ♪ Faith of our fathers living still ♪ ♪ In spite of dungeon, fire, and storm ♪ ♪ Though our hearts be high with joy ♪ ♪ Where we hear that glorious word ♪ Of our Father's holy faith, we will be true to Thee till death. Of our Father's we will strive to win all nations unto Thee. ♪ Know the truth that comes from God ♪ ♪ Kind shall that be truly free ♪ ♪ Faith of our Father's holy faith ♪ ♪ We will be true to thee today ♪ ♪ Speak of our fathers we will love ♪ ♪ Both friend and foe in all our strife ♪ ♪ And preach thee too as love knows how ♪ ♪ By kindly words and virtuous life ♪ ♪ Faith of our Father's holy faith ♪ ♪ Will be true to thee till death ♪ How deep is our Father's love for us. ♪ How deep the Father's love for us How vast we are no measure That he should give his only Son To make our anxious treasure O great the pain of searing loss, the Father turns His face away, as wounds which mar the Chosen One bring many sons to glory. Behold the man upon a cross, my sin upon his shoulders. Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice, call out among the scoffers. It was my sin that held him there until it was accomplished. His dying breath has brought me life. I know that it is finished. I will not boast in anything, no gifts, no power, no wisdom, but I will boast in Jesus Christ, His death and resurrection. Why should I gain from His reward? I cannot give an answer. But this I know with all my heart. His wounds have paid my ransom. The Lord is my salvation. The grace of God has reached for me And pulled me from the raging sea And I am safe on this solid ground The Lord is my salvation I will not fear when darkness falls His strength will help me scale these walls I'll see the dawn of the rising sun The Lord is my salvation Who is like the Lord our God? Strong to save, faithful in love My debt is paid, and victory won The Lord is my salvation My hope is hidden in the Lord He flowers each promise of His Word When winter fades, I know spring will come The Lord is my salvation In times of waiting, times of need When I know loss, when I am weak I know His grace will renew these days. The Lord is my salvation. Who is like the Lord our God? Strong to save, faithful in love. And when I reach my final day, He will not leave me in the grave. I will rise, He will call me home. ♪ The Lord is my salvation ♪ ♪ Who is love? The Lord, our God ♪ ♪ Strong to save, faithfully loved ♪ ♪ My death He has paid and the victory won ♪ ♪ The Lord is my salvation ♪ Glory be to God, the Father. Glory be to God, the Son. Glory be to God, the Spirit. The Lord is my salvation. Glory be to God, Father. Glory be to God the Son. Glory be to God the Spirit. The Lord is our salvation. The Lord is our salvation. The Lord is our salvation. You may be seated. Let's pray. Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you that we can come and worship together this morning, and we thank you for the many blessings that you have given to us. Now as we give a portion of what you've given us back to you, we ask that it be used for your honor and glory. We pray this in Jesus' name, amen. you. Morning. Today's scripture reading is going to be the chapter 17 of Genesis. We will go through the whole chapter. If you would please rise for the reading of God's word. When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, I am God Almighty. Walk before me and be blameless, that I may make my covenant between me and you and may multiply you greatly. Then Abram fell on his face, and God said to him, behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant to be God to you and to your offspring after you. I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan for the everlasting possession, and I will be their God. And God said to Abraham, as for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations. This is my covenant, which you shall keep between me and you and your offspring after you. Every male among you shall be circumcised. You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised. Every male throughout your generations, whether born in your house or bought with your money, from any foreigner who is not of your offspring. Both he who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money shall surely be circumcised. So shall my covenant be in your flesh, an everlasting covenant. Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskins shall be cut off from his people. He has broken my covenant. And God said to Abraham, ask for Sarai, your wife. You shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. I will bless her, and moreover, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall become nations. Kings of peoples shall come from her. Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said to himself, shall a child be born to a man who is 100 years old? Shall Sarah, who is 90 years old, bear a child? And Abraham said to God, oh, that Ishmael might live before you. God said, no, but Sarah, your wife, shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him. As for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I have blessed him and will make him fruitful and multiply him greatly. He shall father 12 princes, and I will make him into a great nation. But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this time next year. When he had finished talking with him, God went out from Abraham. Then Abraham took Ishmael, his son, and all those born in his house, or bought with his money every male among the men of Abraham's house, and he circumcised the flesh of their foreskins that very day, as God had asked him. Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, and Ishmael, his son, was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. That very day Abraham, his son Ishmael, and his son Ishmael were circumcised. And all the men of his house, those born in the house and those bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him. Leaning on the everlasting arms, What a fellowship, what a joy divine Leaning on the everlasting arms What a blessedness, what a peace is mine Leaning on the everlasting arms Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms. Leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms. Oh, how sweet to walk in this pilgrim way, leaning on the everlasting arms. Oh, how bright the path grows from day to day, leaning on the everlasting arms. Leaning, leaning, deep and secure from all Leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms Have I to dread? What have I to fear? Leaning on the everlasting arms, I have blessed peace with my Lord so near. Leaning on the everlasting arms, leaning, leaning, Safe and secure from all alarms, leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms. You may be seated. Well, good morning. Thanks for being here this morning. And I appreciate the opportunity Brother Kurt extended to me to be with you folks today. Before we get to the message, I just want to make a couple comments about Father's Day, because that is today. It's also the first day of summer, by the way. I'm not sure if you notice that on your calendars. But I think it's a great day to honor dads. And let me just say to you dads here today, you don't have to be perfect to be a good dad. I don't think there is such a thing as a good dad who is a perfect dad. Our culture has discounted the importance of fathers, of dads, and that's wrong and wrong-headed. A lot of bad things happening in our culture today trace back to the absence of dads in the lives of children. It should go without saying, but we need to say it in this day and age. Dads, your value in your home is more than just the material financial support you provide to your family. In fact, the Institute for Family Studies published an entire article addressing whether or not a man's value in the home is only material. Their research concluded that a father's social engagement, in other words, his involvement in the family unit, actually made the most difference in his children's lives, not his financial or material contribution. Imagine that. So dads, let me encourage you to be not weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap if we faint not. And as I mentioned in the June issue of our monthly church connection, which I think you folks get, I don't know if you read it or not, I always encourage folks, please read our monthly church connection that we send you, just don't do it during the message, right? But I mentioned in there that we as dads or granddads or great granddads, we need to be praying for our children, we need to spend time with them, and we need to trust God to work in their hearts. and lives. And for those of you here today who aren't dads, let me encourage you to honor your dads. You know, Paul said in Ephesians 6-2 that children are to honor their father and mother, and there was no time limit on that. You do that by praying for your dad, by encouraging him, by telling him thank you, by giving him a hug, by submitting to his leadership if you're still living at home, etc. I'd like to have all the dads stand for just a minute if you would if your dad here today is I want to recognize you and thank God for you. Stay standing, if you would, and we'll have a word of prayer for you. Lord, I thank you for these men. You've given them a high and holy calling of being dads, grandpas, maybe even some great grandpas. I pray that you will help them to be spiritual leaders in their home. Help them, Lord, to be wise and loving examples of faithfulness. Help them to walk with you, to honor you in all they do and say. And when they fail, as we all do, help them to humbly acknowledge it, seek forgiveness, and grow in grace. Help them, Lord, in short, to be good dads, good grandpas. Strengthen every family in this church. And help us as men, as fathers, to remember and honor the important role you have given to us as leaders in our families. Give each of these men a blessing today, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Let's give a hand to the dads in our congregation. Several years ago, my pastor said to me on a Father's Day, he says, did you ever notice how on Father's Day we rail on dads, but on Mother's Day we honor moms? And I thought, I never thought about that. Evidently, there was some truth to that. And I am not here to rail on you today. So I wanted to encourage you and lift you up in the Lord. I'll say more about the work of Wisconsin Family Council in the Sunday school hour to follow. But we appreciate Pastor Kurt and this church. And I know many of you folks are familiar with us. You probably saw the display on your way in. And again, we'll say more about that in the in the Sunday school hour. Oh, there it is. I was going to say I wasn't seeing a clock. I was going to use that as an excuse, but I found it, so I'll have to abide by that. I do need to tell you before I get into the message, I do have a cough. I want to assure you of a couple of things. Number one, it's not a cold. Number two, perhaps more importantly in this day and age, it's not that other C word. COVID, okay, and it's not contagious, but it is annoying and distracting, and I apologize for that in advance. I always ask the Lord, please help me to get through the message with a minimum of coughing, so we'll see. Sometimes that prayer is answered, sometimes not, so if I have to break out in a cough, I'll try and cover the mic. spare you as much as I can, but I do want to make you aware of that. So again, thank you for the privilege of being here today. And again, we deeply appreciate your support. Jelaine Appling serves as the president of Wisconsin Family Council. I'm sure many of you have heard Jelaine, perhaps met her, seen her on TV. Homefront, some other venues in our state. She's a great colleague, a great boss. She doesn't like me to use that word boss. She's a great, she's not bossy, but she's a great boss. And she is dealing with a cancer in her left shoulder. And many of you are aware of that, appreciate your ongoing prayers for her. She has embarked on a regimen of oral chemo. And so we're just praying that it's supposed to, she's been assured it will totally knock this thing out. And so we're asking the Lord to, caused the treatment to be 100% effective with a minimal amount of side effects. So I appreciate your prayers on Jalene's behalf. The message today is about standing up for the truth. We live in a day in our culture where truth has been turned inside out and upside down. On the one hand, 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 will be labeled as hate speech. In fact, not too long ago, I was behind a car that had a sticker on the back that said, truth is the new hate speech. If, or perhaps I should say when, we speak the truth, and it's not truth the culture wants to hear, than were labeled haters and phobes of every kind. 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. And it shouldn't surprise us. You know, Paul told Timothy that in the last days, evil men and seducers will wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived, 2 Timothy 3.13. And we've seen this happen in some of our big cities, for instance. Many have committed the sin of destroying property. And yes, it was sin. It was a sin of destroying property that did not belong to them and stealing property. And it was called good in our media because it was being done supposedly in the name of social justice, as defined by the unruly mobs. But if you dare to 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 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 the truth is relative. Have you ever heard that? You can't grow up in this culture without being told 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-contradictory. I'll get it out here. 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. If it's false, we obviously should reject it. Who wants to believe what is false? There are those who say, what is true for you is not necessarily what is true for me. Have you heard that line? but you can't live life this 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 a claim, 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 might 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 a 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. He's saying, come on, Dave. What is that all about? Well, autonomy is the idea that I can live life on my own terms, and that I am in total control of my destiny. Ontology is the study of the nature of reality. Here's the point of Moeller's observation. Trying to live life on your own terms, autonomously, or trying to create your own reality, ontology, always runs into actual reality, and guess what? Actual reality always wins in the long run, always. Since we are talking about truth today, we need to have a basic understanding of what truth is. So I want to give you a definition, and I hope you'll hang on to this. It's easy to remember. Truth is that which corresponds to reality. Truth is what corresponds to reality. 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. Absolutely and objectively true. A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of flying to San Antonio, Texas for a conference. You know what? I was trusting that the pilot and co-pilot of that plane believed in absolute truth when it came to flying that airplane. I don't want them believing that they can create their own reality, right? 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 are flying too fast or too close to another plane, that that might be true for the ground controller, but it isn't necessarily true for them. You see how this works? There are things that are true and 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. So what does it matter? Well, truth matters because Jesus came to testify to the truth. That is what He told Pilate. He said to Pilate, for this cause came I into the world to testify to what? The truth, John 18, 37. Jesus believed there was such a thing as truth and he believed the truth could be communicated and that men and women were 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. God's Word, right? The Bible. The Word of God. All 66 books. All the words of the book. John 17, 17. That means that it corresponds to reality, right? It is historically and scientifically true, and it is theologically true, and there are serious consequences for not believing it. Then too, 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, men and women, 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 are told in 1 Corinthians 4, 2 that it is required in stewards that they be found faithful. If we are to be faithful stewards of the truth God has given to us in His Word, then standing up for truth is not optional. It's 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, life begins at conception. Because God created human life and because human beings bear his image, we call that the imago dei, 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 David Platt, pastor and author, observes, everything revolves around what is happening in a mother's womb. And scripture is clear. That womb contains a person in 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. Let me repeat that. You need to get that locked into your thinking, into your mindset. A human being is a person, and a person is a human being. It is as simple and as profound as that. And we do not have the right to take innocent human life. That's a truth we need to stand for, both in word and deed. We also need to stand for the truth about human sexuality. When God made man, He made man, that is, mankind, or if you prefer, humankind, He made man as male and female. This 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, 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 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 and be disturbed by them, and we should be, 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 a minute. God created us 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 must always do so with grace and in love. The truth is, your sex is determined by your chromosomes, and it's written large in the DNA in every cell in your body. Or maybe I should say it's written in a very tiny, invisible way to the naked eye. in every cell, in the DNA in every cell of your body. It is an objective and scientific reality determined at the point of conception. 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. 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, male and female, and when he was done creating, he looked at what he had made and he said, it was very good. It is very good, and that is the truth. And by the way, I would encourage you to make a note here to yourself. Check out inhisimage.movie, inhisimage.movie. If you go on the internet, check it out, inhisimage.movie. It is a wonderful documentary. about God's creation of us as male and female, and you will hear some wonderful testimonies of God's redeeming work in the lives of folks who struggled with their sexuality. So I encourage you to go there and check that out, inhisimage.movie. We need to also tell the truth about racism. I know that's a hot topic today, And perhaps I tread where angels fear to go. 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. And by the way, I would say to you that that the only basis for treating other people with dignity and respect is the fact that they are fellow image bearers. Christianity is the only worldview that gives a basis for treating other people with dignity and respect. God is much more concerned about your sin than He is about your skin. You are 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 is what you do with Jesus. What will you do with Jesus is the ultimate question. 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 every issue. 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, as we mentioned earlier, was full of grace and truth? 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, mocked, and mistreated. Jesus said, in the world you will have trouble. He didn't sugarcoat it. 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, but be of good cheer. He said, I have overcome the world. John 16, 33. So people will be upset, and some will call you names. You'll be called a hater. You'll be called transphobic or homophobic or 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 we speak against it by telling the truth about it? Unless God in his mercy sends revival across our country, and that's a good thing to pray for, by the way, we may soon reach a point where speaking the truth will actually cost us something. In fact, it's currently costing people like Jack Phillips, who's a Christian baker in Colorado, it's currently costing him something, and there are others as well. Ultimately though, 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 the whole point of the gospel. 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 tree. 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 on 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 is 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, who will they hear it from? We are ambassadors for Christ, 2 Corinthians 5.20. There are no others. What else will happen when we stand for the truth, when we tell the truth? Well, not only will some people be upset and mock and accuse, but some people will be converted. I hope you find that encouraging. Notice with me Acts 17, verses 30 through 34. Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent. Repent, you know what that word means, right? It means turn from sin, turn to God in faith. Because he has appointed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by the man, that's Jesus, whom he has ordained, he has given assurance of this to all by raising him, that's Jesus, from the dead. And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked, while others said, We'll hear you again on this matter. So Paul departed from among them. However, some men joined them and believed. Among them Dionysius the Areopagite, 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. Some mocked, some lied and said they would come some other day to talk about it, and some believed. 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. You know, 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 the truth, and the truth might not be easy to hear, but if there's any hope for healing, you need the truth. That's true spiritually as well. I want to conclude with a favorite passage from Paul's letter to his son in the faith, Timothy. And the servant of the Lord must not strive, but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient in meekness, instructing those that 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." 2 Timothy 2, 24-26. That's what we do, folks. We don't fight with people. The weapons of our warfare are not carnal. We lovingly stand for the truth. 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 bring them to repentance and to recognize and acknowledging the truth with the result of being rescued from the snare of the devil. More than ever, men and women, we need to be people who stand for the truth. We need to do so boldly, but also compassionately. We need to do so no matter what the response is. 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 have four for you today. First, there is such a thing as absolute knowable 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." Do you know him today? He wants to have an up-close and personal relationship with you, and he wants you to know the truth. So if you are not trusting in Jesus today, won't you please carefully consider his claims on your life? 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 are able to share its truth with others. 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. And I would suggest to you that you won't get that kind of help from the television, okay? Enough said. I went from preaching to meddling, right? 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. 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 again, be of good cheer. Jesus has overcome the world. 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 said in John 16, 7 through 10, nevertheless, I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away. For if I do not 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 the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment, 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, the helper, the comforter, accomplish this work in people's hearts and minds? Well, in Acts 24, we read about Paul testifying to Felix, and as he, Paul, reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come. Sounds like John 16, right? Felix trembled. I believe God's spirit works in the hearts and minds of people like Felix as we speak the truth 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. Lord, we've talked about some challenging issues today and we could have spent a lot more time on any one of those issues. But Lord, our goal today was just to encourage ourselves as your people to stand for the truth. Lord, the truth is so vitally important. And the truth of the gospel is so absolutely needed in our day and age, in the hearts and lives of people. People are confused. People are bewildered. People are frustrated. Our society, our culture, our country is in a mess because we have turned our backs on the truth. We have turned our backs on you. Lord, I pray that you will turn the hearts of the children to the fathers. I pray that you will send a spirit of revival across our country. I pray that you will begin that work in the hearts and minds of us, your people. Lord, may we be difference makers because we are truth speakers. Most importantly, Lord, help us to be people who live the truth and speak it compassionately, graciously for your honor and for your glory. We ask these favors in Jesus name. Amen. Please stand as we sing, This is My Father's World. This is my father's world, and to my listening ears, all nature sings and round me rings music of the spheres. This is my father's world. ♪ I rest me in the thought ♪ ♪ Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas ♪ ♪ This hand of wonders wrought ♪ ♪ This is my father's world ♪ ♪ The birds their carols raise ♪ ♪ The morning light, the lily white ♪ ♪ Where their makers praise ♪ ♪ This is my Father's world ♪ ♪ And He shines in all that's fair ♪ ♪ In the rustling grass I hear Him bless ♪ ♪ He speaks to me everywhere ♪ ♪ This is my Father's world ♪ Oh, let me ne'er forget that though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet. This is my father's word. The battle is not done. Jesus, who died, shall be satisfied, and earth and heaven be one. You are dismissed. Yeah. Yeah.