the master's patience and to seek to build those up uh for him and for his glory all right it's a topical message this morning so if you got your bibles just be ready there'll be times where we come to some scripture maybe we'll be there for a little while and i'll give you those texts and you can go ahead and turn to them as needed you know i thank god this morning that i have a christian heritage now i i grew up and i i remember at times thinking why you know i was born into a christian family why was my you know my parents growing born into christian family it's a great blessing not everybody has that and i'm very exceedingly grateful uh for that on both sides of my family my parents uh it was christian them their parents and on both sides uh were born again grandpa schwar was a dairy farmer and he was a county worker but they were godly people my grandpa roth he was a navy soldier and then i worked at a print shop and then became a self-employed upholsterer and had that business for decades and retired uh from that but again they weren't ministry families but they were very faithful to god their my grandparents were christians that had convictions uh they knew where they stood on matters of practice uh from the word of god they went to good churches and in those churches they helped with those ministries they were faithful to do that they were godly and they led their families to follow the lord and they had family altar in their home and would worship god as a family and so i i just again i praise god for that my dad uh grew up in again a good home he and mom formed a great home and my dad was called into the ministry and at the age of 20 he became a pastor out in dove creek uh colorado then he pastored a church uh in galesville wisconsin that he started it was there that his wife uh and children were killed in a car accident uh and then my dad met my mom and so uh in our family uh i i grew up in a pastor's home my dad pastored uh temple baptists in la crosse wisconsin i was there from zero to three i was born there in la crosse and uh then from there we went to lake mills wisconsin rock lake baptist church and dad pastored their my age from about three years old up to eight years old and then um we went to california and that was a huge move uh several days traveled to get out there to california i remember driving through silicon valley uh and out there to san leandro the bay area san francisco and dad pastored manor baptist church in san leandro i was there from about nine to ten years old uh we weren't there very long but the next ministry that my dad took uh was in hudson wisconsin bible baptist church uh and uh for 27 years my dad pastored that church and again i just praise god for that my parents had convictions they had standards they had positions that they held to based on the word of god we dressed in our home modestly we dressed appropriately we were we're taught that i mean our parents taught us to address with gender distinction the ladies dressed like ladies the men dressed like men with modesty both men and women in our home uh were modest even as guys we didn't walk around without our shirts on or uh or in my shorts or something like that or parents my parents taught us modesty and uh we dressed up for church we got ready for church it looked like we're going to church uh you know that sort of thing and i again my parents had those uh convictions i thank god for that i thank god for generations in my family and in previous generations just speaking about christianity of people that had a conviction and i think of that verse jeremiah 6 16 where it says ask for the old paths wherein is the good way and ye shall find rest for your soul okay ask for that and there's something about something that's tried and true that you look back on and say that was really good that lasted for years that's why i love this bible this translation has been around for 400 years i think god's honored it i think god's blessed it you know and i think it's the best english translation there is but there's some to looking back at what other generations have done and and saying you know what i want to stick with that for some reason i want to stand with that because that was really a good thing you know sadly many many churches or christians today would not be able to define their standards okay they wouldn't be able to say this this is my position on this this is how i apply the truth of the word of god on this and when i'm speaking about biblical standards and that's really what i want us to look at today a biblical standards is why i do what i do and what i do or won't do okay why i do what i do and what i do or want to so that has to do with faith and practice the faith part is what i do or i'm sorry why i do what i do in other words i know my position i know what the word of god says about this standard and i understand the biblical basis for it truth like this be not deceived god is not mocked for whatsoever man soweth that shall he also reap so i'm going to have a standard that that has me sowing to the spirit not sowing to the flesh because if i sow the to the flesh i'm gonna reap corruption i saw the spirit i reap life everlasting so i know the scripture behind that so i set a a standard based on that bible verse uh come out from among them and be separate saith the lord and touch not the unclean thing that somebody that is a christian ought to be somebody that has a life that's distinctly different like we looked at uh in sunday school so there's a biblical basis uh for that uh what fellowship hath unrighteousness what conquereth christ with belial you know in those those those scriptures that speak about there is a distinction that ought to be in the life of somebody that is born again and so why i do what i do i know my position on god's word and so based on that i determine the second part of what i'm talking about with the standard is what i do or what i won't do and we ought to know this we ought to understand today where we stand and what that is that position that we hold to let me give you an example from my life growing up if we were on holiday uh we're traveling our standard was the lord's day it's the lord's day you're in church on the lord's day and so you find a church to go to my family still practices this but that was our practice growing up and so uh we'd be out west we'd be traveling and and it was sunday or something we we didn't we didn't travel on sunday uh we went to church on sunday and so we'd find a church we'd go into that and uh if we sat down in that church and the music that they brought out was ungodly music was worldly music our standard was uh that's that's not the way we worship god so another position would take place and that would be us walking out of church even though we intended to go to church and worship god because that's what we do on the lord's day if that church was compromised in their positions practically then it wasn't a church that we desired to be a part of because we had a standard for a reason as a family we believed this is what honors god and so this is what we're going to do now a standard is like a fence if i could illustrate it like that this morning offense keeps you from danger in other words you put up a fence if you have a property and you've got a cliff or something on that property the last thing you want is for your kids to go running off the cliff all right most of the time all right and so you put up that fence there to protect them to keep them safe and it also allows you to know the boundary you look at that and say you don't go past that it's very easy to see kids that's the fence uh you don't go past that so a a standard is something like that that is for our protection as well as we know where we stand that's not something that we go uh beyond let me give you just some examples where a standard com can come into play so what what you will do or won't what you want to and these are just examples because standards could be a very broad topic this morning so many things but for instance church attendance uh if i have a standard my standard might be uh i'm in church at least on sunday mornings my standard might be i'm in church every time the doors are open okay whatever my standard is i have a standard about that i have a position that i take on that that's what i do or what i don't do activities on sundays uh maybe even saturday nights what we will do or won't do on saturday nights because we're preparing for sunday morning what i will do or won't do on the lord's day because it's the lord's day so uh we have a position on that what is our position on that a dress what i what i wear what i won't wear why i wear what i wear and why i don't wear what i won't wear we should have a position of that that we understand uh music what i listen to what i don't listen to what i what i will allow what i won't allow uh movies right entertainment what i will watch what i won't watch why i why i won't watch what i won't watch you know et cetera but we know where we stand on that alcohol uh why i i have this position like i will drink that or i won't drink that based on whatever my position is on that we should have a position on that that we know why we stand where we stand my position's t total and i think our church understands that uh but i'm just saying people have different positions on that why do i have that position uh dance could be another thing what i'll participate in or with dance you can just think activities well should i participate in that or not why i do what i do will i do that or will i not do that places where will i go you know i i had a no in my mind that's a place i don't go to there's a reason i don't go to it because the bible says this and so i've got a standard uh on that relationships who i who i will be with who i will not be with how that works out with what the word of god teaches about that and then technology social media so many things that we could throw into that what what social media accounts i will have what social media accounts i won't have why i will why i won't tele internet all these things there ought to be in our hearts and minds kind of ahead of time offense that we have that is a biblical fence that we say that's a position that i take and there's a reason that i take that and so uh now let me say about this thing i just listed a bunch of things some standards impact areas of sin others do not so uh some some if i if i do those things or if i don't do those things it's sin but some you could say that's neither center or not i mean it's just it's just kind of a neutral area but it might be an area that is a good to have a standard even though you look at it and say but that's not a sin issue okay uh and that that'll all come into focus i think as we look at this topic uh this morning now god's word gives us everything we need to form biblical standards and so 2 timothy chapter 3 paul said to timothy he said but continue thou in the things which thou hast learned in other words do these things that are right has been assured of knowing of whom thou hast learned them and then skipping ahead to verse 16 all scripture is given by inspiration of god and is profitable for doctrine for a proof for correction for instruction righteousness that's really what we're talking about we're talking about the taking the word of god applying it to our life for instruction and righteousness so if my faith impacts my practice but why is my practice my practice you know what is my position there or my standard that the man of god may be perfect mature that means uh truly furnished unto all good works so we want to take the word of god apply to our life in a way that allows us to be a biblical uh christian and again that standard is going to come into play there 2 peter 1 verse 3 says according as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness through the knowledge of him that called us the glory and virtue so the truth is this this morning the word of god has an answer it's got an answer on dress it's got an answer on music it's got an answer on uh media it's got an answer on uh church attendance it's got an answer on the lord's day it's got an answer on uh relationships all those things that we just considered the word of god has an answer and so many more so what we need to do is search out the word of god and say what is my position on this and why is that my position on this so my message this morning is you need to have standards that please god okay you need to know why you do what you do the biblical principle and know what you do or what you won't do the practice that is based upon that so the question the kind of overarching question of everything that we want to consider this morning is is god pleased with the boundaries that you put up is god pleased with your practice that position that you take based on the truth of the word of god is that a standard that pleases god you need to have a standard that pleases god so let's pray ask the spirit of god to help as we come to this topic this morning father i thank you for the abundance of truth that you've given to us in the word of god by which father we can form biblical standards biblical practices lord that we can look at our life whatever we want to call those things we sometimes we might call those things convictions this is my conviction this is where i stand this is why i stand there by this this is an important topic this morning and so i pray that the spirit of god give us grace to look at it now it's a broad topic but i ask that the spirit of god would apply it specifically to our hearts and lives and father this when you do a topical message you know i can't cover everything and father that i might cover some things that would i there's maybe some better principles that could be considered but i commit that to you and father i pray that you give us ears to hear this morning that we'd examine our life in light of the truth of the word of god and now father's so many things out there i could not possibly take everything that's out there in life and make a list for us as a church and say you can do this you can't do this you can do this you can't do this that's not my uh position as pastor though i'm i'm to give guidance in these areas and father there are some things that i should definitely say as pastor that's not something that should be in a believer's life but father i pray that as a church we would learn how to discern and know where to stand that's a biblical place to stand and so to that end i pray a spirit of god would you bless this service this morning would you help me as i preach what i believe the spirit of god uh you have put upon my heart to preach i pray uh father for the i want to pray for the kids class i pray that you bless that bless mrs shores you teach us there just give the sweetness of your presence there make the kids know your spirit speaking to their hearts then the same for us today father may your spirit instruct us may your spirit help us as free baptist church but also as families also as individuals and father i can't speak without your enablement so i just pray help me to speak biblically practically lovingly and powerfully the truth of the word of god that it would touch the heart of the hearer is in christ and we pray amen all right so you need to have standards that that please god and so um again a standard is this is what god says this is what i do uh and the way i want to look at this this morning is kind of negatively all right i want to i want to present indefensible standards to us in other words if i if i've taken a position on something and i can't defend it then i can't say that pleases god i ought to be able this morning to say this is my standard this is what i do uh and it pleases god okay so i want to i want to kind of come at it a little bit negatively this morning and so you need to have standards that please god and so do not defend something that controls you all right do not defend something that controls you 1 corinthians 6 12 says all things are lawful unto me but all things are not expedient all things are lawful for me but i will not be brought under the power of any okay so paul is expressing the fact that this is okay whatever it is you know it's not a sin issue it's something that is okay that can be done uh but paul says even though i can do that i'm not going to do that if i have to do that i'm not going to do that if that is something that is in my life that i am bowing down to that i am serving that is telling me what to do and i'm i'm doing that because i have to do it not because it's a choice in other words it's become a master uh to me okay and to to make it very clear sometimes people want to defend a position uh because that position is controlling them for instance alcohol you'd be speaking to somebody they're a believer and uh you know they're they're not teetotal uh and they they're defending alcohol but the defense of alcohol is not uh just a logical argument it has to do with the fact that that's something that they love and something that they bow down to something that is an addiction in their life that they can't get victory over so rather than going to god asking god for victory they defend the position that they have on alcohol um it could be somebody that smokes cigarettes as a christian uh and defends it and they they defend it you know the bible doesn't say thou shalt not smoke it'd be kind of interesting you know to find uh something like that uh in the word of god doesn't say thou shalt not smoke but and so they defend it not because uh they're really honestly evaluating the question but to be honest uh they're addicted to it that's their lifestyle that's what's been in their life for a long time they can't get victory over it and it's controlling them now that could be so many other things it could be music wicked music it could be wicked shows you know back in when i was growing up it was the soap operas or things like that people got so into that story you know it's about immorality and wickedness and all sorts of uh junk but they're so into that they you know they're basically addicted to that they can't give it up so they defend it and they're defending their standard based on the fact that they've got something in their life that is controlling them the bible says in romans 6 16 it says know ye not that to whom you yield yourself servants to obey his servants they are to whom he obey whether of sin unto death or of obedience unto righteousness now we either serve god or we're serving something else and so in this case what i'm speaking about is don't defend something that if you're honest about it it's controlling you i preach to my teens i preach them about music and again music is such a broad topic is like so wide that how do you how do you cover everything if i as a pastor said and i can name some things pop rock i can't say it pop rock rap uh you know i could listen i could list something say hey don't listen to that but music is much broader than that to be honest uh you know i'm kind of losing touch with a lot of the things that are out there and i'd say uh we probably ought to realize that probably 90 percent or or more of what's out there is is not good not godly not something that should be in a believer's life but as a as a pastor youth pastor preaching to my teens i'd say to them stay away from this music and they would try to defend their music and i'd say to them look you're addicted to it it's controlling you you watch those athletes they get they're getting zoned you know into the zone of of their athletic event whatever they're gonna do what are they doing they got music on i mean it's just like it's there they're meditating on it taking it in i mean it's a it's controlling them it's getting them hyped up it's getting them ready uh to do that event or whatever it's like a it's like a drug to them i say to my teens look if it's not if it's not addictive do without it for a week it ought if it's not something that's controlling you you ought to be able to set it aside and that's fine because it's not something that's dominating your life i don't know if they tried it or not but if they did probably they found out hey it's not as easy as i thought because i really really desired that because that is a controlling influence uh in my life you know uh who alone is supposed to control us as a believer god is right so the bible even says uh in ephesians 5 18 it says be not drunk with wine we're in a success but be filled with the spirit in other words don't let alcohol control you but in the same sense be controlled by the spirit be drunk with the spirit let the spirit of god uh have his way and that ought to be the way it is for me as a believer i ought to be willing to say to god god whatever you want with my music god whatever you want with my drinking whatever beverages i drink whatever you want with my music whatever you want with whatever issue is in my life god you control it okay so i uh if i've got that standard that standard ought not be set somewhere because there's something that's controlling me that ought to be a warning to me if that's controlling me that's not a good standard so do not defend something that controls you and then do not defend a stumbling block okay a stumbling block romans 13 verse 14. it says but put ye on the lord jesus christ and make not provision for the flesh to fulfill the lust thereof okay so do not give yourself opportunity to sin don't uh don't have something around you that is an avenue to temptation uh is an avenue to uh then destruction and failing god in some area of your life you know over this past um over this past week i was doing evangelism on wednesday with pastor dillman and we're speaking at uh lunch with amanda baker and all these guys have been to israel i've been to israel so we're talking about that and uh don says our our professor that took us to israel uh was kind of a nut uh he would take us off the path we'd be going down through the wilderness you know uh wanderings there in israel and he said one place this jewish man that was up above us he he yelled down to us and he said get up here there's a good trail up here and the professor just kind of continued on and he goes there's snakes down there you know and uh don didn't say anybody got bit but if anybody got bit they'd been warned you know it's kind of the thing uh of you don't walk down a path that's a dangerous path and if something bad happens on that path in that danger don't blame it on anybody else but your ignorance in being on that path that you shouldn't have been on you know the bible says in proverbs 27 verse 12 it says a prudent man foreseeth the evil and hideth himself but the simple pass on in our punish you know a standard against like a fence it ought to be something that we put up it's going to protect me it's going to protect my marriage it's going to protect my family it's going to protect our church it's going to help my community in the sense that my example to my community so i set it up there to guard against a transgression 1 thessalonians 5 22 says abstain from all appearance of evil in other words stale stay away if evil is going to come out of that place stay away from that place of danger and just again by way of illustration it might be somebody says to you as a believer you know i'm really struggling with alcohol and i i just want to get victory over how call i just keep failing uh in that and um and so you asked them saying well where are you getting alcohol and they they say something like this well i know i shouldn't have alcohol but i get alcohol because i cook with alcohol and so i've got cooking alcohol and then i end up drinking it and consuming it and getting drunk and what would you say to them you'd look at them and say hey brother or sister uh just stop buying it take a position of t-total set a set a standard for your home that is not a standard that's going to allow for that sin because you're going to be defended against that sin and protected from that if you take that position of t total and so don't defend uh having a stumbling block in your house ezekiel 14 verse 3 says son of man these men have set up their idols in their heart and put the stumbling block of their iniquity before their face should i be inquired of at all by them therefore speak unto them and say unto them thus saith the lord god every man of the house of israel that setteth up his idols in his heart with a stomach block of his iniquity before his face and cometh to the prophet i the lord will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols that i may take the house of israel in their own heart because they are all estranged from me through their idols and they're saying we're coming to god we want to worship god and god says they got their idols set up they've got their positions against god and so we ought not to have a standard that allows for failure so i'd examine that my life and say where am i failing why am i feeling there is it because i haven't set up a fence to protect my heart and my walk with god and so do not defend a stumbling block do not defend something that controls you and then do not defend what your conscience condemns do not con uh defend what your conscience condemns it says in james 4 17 therefore to him that knoweth to do good and doeth it not to him uh it is sin all right so somebody that knows what's right don't do what's right that's sin to transgress what you know is something that you ought to do you know oftentimes uh with a child they might get their hand caught in a cookie jar or something like that and with their hand there they very quickly try to come up with ideas like why it is the way it is and you know how it happened that they tripped and fell and got their hand uh stuck in the cookie jar but when they're reaching the cookie jar they knew something wasn't right they're convicted about that they knew that they knew the the actual law was thou shalt not without mom's permission uh take a biscuit or or whatever it is that was taking place you know it's a very easy thing for us again to defend something that if we're honest about it we stop and look at it if we're honest we say you know what sin it's something that is a transgression against god and so if we're going to do something a standard we ought to be persuaded that it's right in other words whether it's music whether it's dress whether it's a place whether it's a friend whether whatever that is that we're thinking about whatever that is we need to be persuaded in our heart that this is right that it's something that ought to do it's a position that i knowingly uh stand uh in obedience to god in romans chapter 14 verse 5 says one man esteemeth one day above another another esteemeth every day alike let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind okay so if you're gonna do that it was a holy day uh some some honored it some didn't honor it wasn't speaking about the lord's day but a special feast or something like that that maybe somebody wanted to continue to do after the gospel took place in jesus christ and salvation but they still wanted to kind of have that holy day to remember god if somebody wanted to do that unto the lord great if they didn't want to do it fine it's not a sin issue but everybody ought to be fully persuaded in their heart that it was right the position that they were taking on that because if not if they if they did it and they felt like they shouldn't do it then they violated their conscience then they had sinned against god and so the point is not if i think it's right and if i can convince myself it's right does it make it right but if i'm doing it it's definitely not right if i don't believe it's right does that make sense so if i if if i think it's right that doesn't make it right but if i think it's wrong and i do it anyway then i've transgressed i've got to be fully persuaded in my heart otherwise i'm violating the conscience that god's given to me and in violating my conscience i'm sinning him that know what to do good doeth it not to him it is sin you know a lot of times again my teens would say to me maybe something like show me in the bible where it says thou shalt not listen to rock thou shalt not listen to rap thou shalt not listen to this type of music and you know what i could as easily say back to them show me where the bible says it's right because that's really the question the question ought to be where does god say this is acceptable where does god say this is okay where did where does god say that this standard whatever it is is acceptable and pleasing aside ought to be fully convinced in my heart because if i'm not and i violate my conscience then i have transgressed god's law and i've sinned against god and so whatever that standard is test it with the word of god let me give you one for music and movies and and all these things philippians 4 8 it says finally brethren whatsoever things are true whatsoever things are honest whatsoever things are just whatsoever things are pure whatsoever things are lovely what sort of things are of good report if there would be any virtue and if there be any praise think on these things you know i ought to be able to take that music or that that video or whatever it is and take it and test it with the word of god and say is it pure is it honest is it true because if it's not it's sin and so my standard ought to be hey you know what if i'm going to listen to music that music is going to be pure if i'm going to listen to music it's going to be honest it's going to be true it's going to be a good report that people would look at and say that's good music that's good music that's good entertainment because if it's not again it becomes indefensible and so my conscience ought to be fully convinced that what i'm doing is right if that's if that's a position i take i ought to take it because that is what i've come to as i study the word of god on whatever that is and so don't defend something if your conscience condemns it and then fourth do not defend what satan loves do not defend what satan loves one corinthians 10 verse 20. it says but i say that the things with the which the gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice the devils and not to god now let me just give you a context of what the verse is is speaking about uh the gentiles were offering meat to idols that meat after it was offered to the idols would then be sold or or would be used it would be eaten it wouldn't be wasted and so uh it was offered to idols then it be offered to maybe a believer and a believer uh that was offered that paul's gonna teach them you shouldn't eat that a standard you should have in your life is that you're not gonna partake of something that was offered that you know was offered to an idol and and to the devils and so the bible says 1 corinthians 10 20 again i the things which they sacrificed they sacrificed the devils not to god i would not that you should have fellowship with devils you cannot drink the cup of the lord and the cup of devils you cannot be partakers of the lord's table and of the table of devils do we provoke the lord to jealousy are we stronger than he and so he's saying to them look if you know it's offered to idols you know they worship the the devil with that don't sit down and partake with them lest you offend god and you offend a jealous god that wants you to only do those things that are pleasing to him you know very sadly today many churches have standards it's kind of like what we looked at in sunday school the standards are not to please god but the standards are to please the world the standards are you could you could argue the standards are to please the devil is to please those that are against god and specifically the illustration that i used this morning about the baptist union and the the idea that they're having homosexual groups come and present before them the idea that they as an organization ought to allow for homosexual marriage uh and so the christian institute again says of that at the baptist council meeting and march activists from pro lgbt groups including a firm and open table gave presentations to members promoting equal marriage and inclusivity the court leadership team ministerial recognition committee and trustees are currently deliberating and how to best respond to the request to abandon the biblical code of conduct for its ministers a decision is not expected this year the christian institute wrote that that's why they're very clearly stating what's taking place and so the standard of that church why are they taking that because it pleases the world it pleases the devil now again let's apply it to other standards music a lot of churches are compromised in their music the music that they had in their church if you weren't if you couldn't hear the word jesus or god occasionally you'd never know that it was christian music it sounds just like it it looks just like it i mean a lot of these churches they got the strobe lights they got the party feel and everything it's just like a big hubbub that's the doctrine of devils they worship the devil listen some of the and i'm not a great musical historian maybe i shouldn't say something i don't fully know but i have i do know enough to say this i have read some of the artists that do write some of the music and they do say that they get it from demons that's what they say and so can you you know they're going to take the the doctrine of devils and say that's my standard listen again we ought to stop and think about that do not descen defend what the devil loves i ought to be able to defend things that are god honoring god pleasing clearly identifying with jesus christ and the truth of the word of god i ought not to defend things that satan loves and so if our standards allow for wickedness we don't have biblical standards we have the devil's standards we ought not defend what satan loves and then fifthly do not defend what does not build up okay do not defend what does not build up and i should say more specifically tears down okay it doesn't edify it doesn't build up but it tears down one corinthians 10 23 says all things are lawful for me but all things are not expedient all things are lawful for me but all things edify not okay uh to edify us to build up and so paul is saying you know what i could do this it's fine but it's not gonna help my brother it's not going to help me in my walk with god it's not going to make me better as a christian better as an individual and so yeah i could do this but it doesn't build up and so let's take the example of music again does the music you listen to edified does it make you a better person all right um have you ever got a song stuck in your head i'm really bad this way uh and i think god programmed just a little bit this way but i mean you just you get it in your head last time we went to camp in germany uh they do a skit night on thursday night so we tried as a family thought let's participate in that uh and so what we did is uh have you ever seen a chin people skit you actually lay down a table turn your head upside down put two eyes on your chin and then cover the rest of your face with something that's hanging down which we use bandanas uh and you got these little chin people you know it's kind of a bit of fun but we did the oompa loompa song from uh a charlie chocolate factory oop loom dupity dude sorry if you get this stuck in your head it gets stuck in my head and my kids know this sometimes i'll forbid a song it's not a bad song it's just bad for me because i've got it in my head and listen it doesn't edify it doesn't fill me up i hope there's some edification the fact that we participated in skit night we had a bit of fun uh in fellowshipping and that but i mean there there are things that we could have in our mind and we could say well i'm listening to it but it's nothing it's empty to us the bible says in ephesians 5 19 it says speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs singing and making melody in your heart to the lord it's a blessing to to have the word of god in our hearts and our minds because of god honoring music this morning redeemed how i love to proclaim it twice two different melodies that we sung this morning sunday school sunday morning redeemed how i love to proclaim it redeemed by the blood of the lamb what a that's a that's a blessing that encourages me that edifies me now i want to say this about music as well i've already spoken to it a little bit but just taking some god terms from the bible and putting them with wicked music does not make wicked music pure all right i can't take the devil's rhythm and the devil's sound and take god's supposedly god's word and put it with that and make the devil's music uh good hagai speaks about this so he's not speaking about music but hagiai chapter 2 verse 12 it says if one bear holy flesh in the skirt of his garment and with his skirt to touch bread or pottage or wine or oil or any meat shall be holy the priest answered and said no in other words they're carrying something that's clean something that's good but in bumping into an object that clean doesn't make that unclean thing clean all right it doesn't sanctify it doesn't purify it or anything like that but then he asked another question then said hagiai if one that's unclean by a dead body touch any of these those things shall be unclean and the priest answered and said it shall be unclean so clean doesn't make something clean clean doesn't make unclean clean but unclean makes clean unclean if you've got poison and you've got water and you pour them together the water doesn't purify the poison the poison defiles the water all right it's the same with music i i can't think well god doesn't by the way let me just say it like this god does not sanctify sin god does not make sin okay and so i can't take wicked music and write words and i'd argue that the words aren't that right but but write words and put them with that and make that ungodly music godly now there's a lot of churches trying to blend that trying to do that i think it's important that we consider that and so we need both good music and good lyrics that being the case colossians 3 16 says let the word of christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs singing with grace in your hearts to the lord there's a wonderful thing that happens when we lift our voice in praise to god we are edifying each other encouraging each other in the lord and what might happen this very week is you're going to wake up one morning and you might have something on your mind maybe a problem or something you're struggling with and also in a song from sunday is going to be in your heart in your mind and it's going to be ministering to the very thing that you are thinking about or burdened about i'll tell you this with the last two weeks in in the newspaper article coming out i woke up one morning and it was a song about about fighting you know the good fight of the faith it was something like that it was the spirit of god and that's good that edifies and so i just and i'm not saying we can't have any other genre of music than christian music but whatever the music is it ought to make me a better person on a physical level and then also on a spiritual level otherwise it's just a waste of time and possibly defiling my life rather than building my life up so don't defend what does not build up and definitely what tears you down and then sixth do not defend a stumbling block to man's salvation do not defend something that's a stumbling block to somebody else's salvation so the text here one corinthians chapter 10 that same text about not eating meat offered to idols it says let no man seek his own but every man another's wealth in other words you want to consider the benefit of the other person but if any man say unto you this is offered in sacrifice unto idols eat not for his sake that showed it and for conscience sake for the earth is the lords and the fullness thereof it's just meat it's it's fine god's given it but don't eat it conscience i say not thine own but the other for why is my liberty judged of another man's conscience why am i thinking like this paul says that i got to consider what my brother how it affects my my brother or my friend for if i by grace be a partaker why am i evil spoken of for that which i give thanks then it says whether therefore you eat or drink whatsoever you do to alter the glory of god now i could i could stay there that's a standard whether therefore you eat or drink whether therefore you go to that place or don't go to the place whether therefore you wear that or don't wear that whether therefore uh you listen to that or don't listen to that watch that or don't watch that whatever that is whether therefore you eat or drink or whatsoever you do do all to the glory of god give none offense don't don't be a stumbling block that word offend doesn't mean you bothered them it means that you tempted them to sin give none offense neither to the jews nor to the gentiles nor to the church of god even as i please all men in all things but wait a second paul we're not just be men pleasers all right you're right he's speaking about i'm seeking their benefit i'm seeking their benefit i please all men in all things not seeking my own prophet but the prophet of many that they may be saved paul says the thing you need to think about corinthian when you go to eat that meat is that if you if you eat it and it's offered to idols and they know that you might keep them from getting saved they might think you're partaker with them it's no big deal your life's the same as them and so uh there are things that i could do that i could say well it's okay i could do this i know it's okay i could thank god for it but maybe i shouldn't do it because the fact is that may be a stumbling block to somebody and to their salvation let me give an illustration away from music and some of the other things that we've talked about if i treat the lord's day like any other day how does that impact somebody does that help my neighbor get saved hey ben what are you doing you know it's sunday well you know it's i know it's sunday but uh you know that's old testament that's keeping the law whatever i could say about that but i my position is you know it's whatever if i get to church i get to church that's okay does that help my neighbor get saved no and it might be a stumbling block to their salvation does that help me raise children in the fear of the lord well uh maybe not if i don't if i design of the lord's day definitely not god's given me the opportunity to honor the lord's day or not honor the lord's day does that help me be the godly person i need to be to reach an ungodly world is it going to help me to be a spiritually strong person to have a position that you know the lord's state's no big deal and so the point is the standard that i have ought to stop and think how does that impact people's salvation if i hold to that position that's very broad you could apply it so many ways but i ought not defend a standard that somehow becomes a stumbling block to somebody else not getting saved i'd have retraced my steps step back put the fence up and say i'm going to stand here because that's going to be the best position i could take to help somebody come to christ and then seventh do not defend what's better sacrificed for god's glory do not defend what's better sacrificed for god's glory it says in luke 9 23 he said to them all if any man will come after me let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me you know there's some things that i think well i could do that i could do that but listen i could do better for god if i set that aside and i drew a standard and said i'm i'm not going to have that in my life i don't want that in my life because i want to be the very best i can be for god this week uh down south there's wimbledon that's taking place and andy murray's down there and i heard he got knocked out pretty early in the tournament or something like that but andy murray the scott he he would after his events he would take an ice bath so that he could be prepared to play the next day his standard was really high he's going to do something that's painful he's going to do something that is difficult he's going to deny himself why because he wants to be the best athlete that he could be and again a lot of christians can say i want this in my life i want this in my life i want this in my life i want this in my life but listen would it be better to set that aside for god and for god's glory and at that point we ought to say you know what why am i defending something that if i denied myself this it would be better for god and for the cause of christ ought to be willing to set that aside if god led you to take a higher standard would you sacrifice him for that for him you know we need to have standards that please god a biblical standard is why i do what i do and what i do or won't do do you know today why you do what you do do you have a bible principle that you grabbed hold of and then have you applied it to your life do you hold to that position tenaciously and again the examples that i've given are just some examples but church attendance working on sundays dress music movies alcohol dance language places relationships do you know where your lines are do you know your standards again i thank god for the christian heritage that i've got and i've got godly grandparents i've got godly parents but i tell you this i got to bible college and this is one of the times where the spirit of god very specifically worked in my heart because i know where i was when this took place i was out in the athletic fields at bob jones where the sand volleyball court is and i was praying my prayer was something like this god i don't want to have standards because my parents have standards in other words my parents had good standards godly standards but i didn't want to just take their standards i needed to decide for myself where i stood you know what my decision was god i want to stand where i don't just reach my kids and my kids are godly i want to stand where i reach my grandkids and my grandkids are godly you know hezekiah hezekiah was told judgment was going to come after he died you know what his response was at least it's going to be good in my day there's a lot of christians today that their standard is good for their day don't you know they could do it they could get away with it they're fine they're going to keep going to church but guess what their kids aren't going to go to church guess what their kids their grandkids aren't going to believe on the lord jesus christ why because the position they took was just good enough i don't want that i don't want that for myself i don't want that for my kids i don't want that for our church i want us as a church to say you know what i want standards that i can defend because they're biblical standards and they honor god other people might look at them and say why do you do that you don't have to do that but i do that because it honors god and i can defend it let me ask you this morning are you defending something that controls you something that you've got to have it you don't want to let it go because that's that that's a that's indefensible are you defending something that's a stumbling block if you're really honest about it you'd have to say pastor yeah okay uh it often i often get drawn further into something that i want to go it's it leads me to sin whether that's i don't have an internet filter i i don't have controls on the tele i don't have controls on my phone i don't have controls on my music whatever that is it's a stumbling block it leaves me a sin but i've been defending it that's not a good standard are you defending what your conscience condemns you'd have to be honest and say you know my conscience is saying that's not right i'll just tell you this that's probably the spirit of god too saying to your conscience that's not right we ought not be saying well that's my standard i allow that well you can't allow something that your conscience condemns that's sin are you defending what satan loves that if you're honest about it you have to say you know satan's pretty excited about that because that's more on his side than on god's side are you defending something that doesn't build up but really tears down are you defending a stumbling block to other salvation are you defending something that would be better to sacrifice for god and for god's glory so i'm just going to ask you about your heads just now as we come to the concluding part of the service and i just want to ask you two questions it's not for you to answer out loud but just in your heart before god as we come to the invitation time in our service first question has god put his finger on something specific this morning and i'm not asking you to acknowledge this in any way just in your heart before god is there anything specific whether music dress what i mean it could be so broad any standard is there anything the spirit of god said you know what you need to change this the second question will you nail down a biblical standard in that area a standard that pleases god now this might be having to change things at home we're not going to have that anymore not going to have that music not going to have that dress not gonna have that telly i'm not gonna have that device not gonna have that friend not gonna have go to those places whatever that is it may it may cause real change but you're gonna say to god god i'm gonna nail down something that i could defend and say this is right that's what i want to do let's go to lord in prayer father may the spirit of god just help us lord this this message is vain if it doesn't apply itself to our lives lord it's not just something to consider this morning something to respond to it's something to think about and say you know what i need biblical standards because i ought to have a position of this is why i do what i do and this is what i will do and this is what i won't do father somebody shouldn't have to get up on sundays and wonder are they going to go to church or not they ought to know if they're going to be in church when the doors are open they ought to know if they're going to wear something or not they ought to know what they're going to listen to or not listen to and so father i pray help us have biblical standards it's in christ and we pray amen amen let's stand please and we'll sing a hymn here do you really want revival 528