Not like around here. Not to mention other things. All right, so I'm continuing my sermon from, well, not last Sunday, I wasn't here, but the one before, that originated from a text that Brother Chuck sent to me. And Chuck texts me regularly about what he's heard in the sermons or maybe at prayer meeting and Bible study and makes his own evaluations and insights and Church sort of relishes in the things that are being said and done here and it's good to hear that from a man who is willing to uproot himself from the state of Washington just to come here to Clayville. That's a big deal, you know? And, yeah, you know, we don't get them from Foster, but we get them from Washington State, you know? Go figure. But Chuck sent me a text, and I thought, that text is very nice, it's excellent, and I agreed with everything that was in it. And so I decided I was gonna use that as a template for a sermon to bring to you. And so I did that two Sundays ago, I started that, and I wasn't able to finish my thoughts, and I've made the decision, I'm not gonna finish it tonight! You didn't realize your text was so long, did you? It really wasn't that long, really. I mean, it's long for a text, but it isn't three sermons, but I said, you know what, it's good, and I'm gonna talk about it. And so I wanna continue that, but let me start off by raising the question of the propriety of doing such. Should I be referencing points from a text message that was sent to me by our brother, no matter who it's from, and use those points made in the text as a template for a sermon. Is that proper to do? And a lot of Reformed people say no, because a lot of Reformed say you should only take a text of scripture, exegete it, make application, exegete it, interpret it, then make application as to why it's meaningful to us. Get it in its original context. And this is all true, this is what you do with the scripture, that's how you're supposed to approach it. But teaching is not limited to that, and I've told you before, you look at the Bible, Jesus didn't teach that way, Paul didn't teach that way, Luke didn't teach that way, or Peter. They would take a text and expound upon it, I mean that would happen, but it's not that they say, oh now let's take these five verses from Deuteronomy, and then we have something being said in Peter about the five verses from Deuteronomy, and he's just interpreting, no. And oftentimes they take this, that, now I believe in that, we always should be going through books of the Bible, we should always be teaching chapter by chapter, verse by verse, we should also be taking a block of scripture, maybe out of, you know, not covering the whole book, and then just exegete that. That's the mainstay. But also, there's nothing wrong with a topical sermon and there's nothing wrong with a sermon that isn't one topic. Oftentimes Jesus, or even Paul, He gets to the end of his epistles, and all of a sudden he starts laying out, oh yeah, and this, this, this, be sure you do this, this, and it's all kind of seemingly unrelated. So there's room for that, and sometimes that needs to be done by discretion, according to what's happening, according to the ministers that God has given to feed the flock. I can't just make a schedule of what I want to preach on, and then say, I'm going to go through the book of Deuteronomy, and you're not going to hear anything else. It doesn't matter what happens in the world around us, what happens in our lives, I've got a schedule to keep because I'm What? You're everything that Jesus and the apostles didn't say you had to be. So I believe in a well-lawed view. The problem is topical preaching lends to ministers skirting the word of God, avoiding the problem, the so-called problem text, the text that are problematic to them and that are inconvenient to them. And so it allows them to be chickens. And so, no, we can't use it that way. And I think, you know, we don't do that. I got to thinking, is it right for me, someone can raise the question, is it right to take some points from a text someone else gave me and use it as a template for a sermon? Well, I would say so long as those points are scriptural and they emanate, at least in principle, from the concepts that we find in God's word. Yes, I think that's perfectly fine, why not? I mean, think about it. I could ask the question, should I make my own observations and come up with my own outline for a sermon? And then preach on that. Why should mine be any better than his? Maybe because I'm a preacher, maybe, you know, it ought to be something, but the truth is, I'm a man made of clay, descended from Adam, but saved by the grace of God through the mercy of Christ, just like our brother was. So we share things in common. He made good points. I'm going to talk about them because they're biblical. And that's why I would talk about my own points. I said, yeah, I got an observation I want to make and I want to show you from the scripture. That's proper. It's biblical and you can illustrate it by examples in the Bible. So if it comports with God's word, yes, that's perfectly fine. Is it wrong to preach a sermon? that's premised on the Reformed acronym of TULIP? Is that wrong? All the Reformed out there might think I'm going nuts because they're so legalistic about their pharisaical approach, which they have invented from their own imagination and did not extract it from God's word. Would they avoid preaching on the acronym of TULIP? You can't find tulip in the Bible. You can't find T-U-L-I-P mentioned anywhere in the scripture. You can't see that laid out like that in that way with that acronym. You don't find that in the Bible. You find the doctrine of man's total depravity, whatever you want to call it. Yeah, that's in the Bible. You find the doctrine of unconditional election. Yeah, that's in the Bible. And yes, all you scatty cats, even limited atonement. Christ didn't go to the cross with a big question mark. Well, whoever's going to be saved and whoever's going to be willing, I guess we're going to find out. So I'm going to die for everybody. So he paid for the sins of some people who will die and go to hell. What kind of nonsense is that? What kind of weak blood of Christ is that? No, that's not what the scripture teaches. He laid down his life for the sheep. He died for the world. Male, female, bond and free, Jew and Gentile. The remnant of male, female, bond and free. It was efficacious. Now his blood is powerful enough to forgive all men in an infinite number of worlds and universes. It's not that, but it was efficacious. It was intended and it procured for a remnant. Bible teaches it. Same thing with irresistible grace, perseverance of the saints. All these doctrines are found in the scripture. They're not labeled. So someone comes along and puts a label there, and I've noticed this commonality of teaching, I'm calling it this because it's a good description. Well, there's nothing wrong with that, you know? It's perfectly fine. Paul, in his letter to Timothy, just to give you another example, Paul, in his letter to Timothy, quotes another believer. In Scripture, now what Paul is writing is Scripture. Paul quotes another believer. He's not a prophet. This other believer is not Moses, he's not the lawgiver. He's not an apostle. Whoa, who in the world is Paul quoting? Quoting Luke. Let's take a look at it, 1 Timothy 5. First Timothy, chapter five, and verse 17. Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honor. especially those who labor in the word and doctrine. So obviously, Paul is saying to, teaching and explaining to Timothy that the elders that rule well, Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine, which would be the elders that are teaching elders, that take on the particular responsibility of teaching the large people. I mean, we've got ruling elders and teaching elders, and teaching elders are always also ruling elders, but not all ruling elders are teaching elders, but all elders should be apt to teach. Okay, well, we're not gonna divide all that now, but I'm just saying. And so, in other words, the ministry ought to be supported by God's people. And the reason for that is so that they can devote themselves to the Word and to prayer and to the Lord's business when that's possible. So, okay, we understand that point, but look what he says in the next sentence, verse 18. For the scripture, the scripture saith, thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. Now, Paul is quoting to Timothy Moses from Deuteronomy. He's quoting Deuteronomy 25, verse four. Okay, we don't have to go there. I think you're familiar, that's there. What did Moses say? Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. That ox makes your living for you. You need to support that ox. You need to feed that ox and give him what he needs to sustain him and give him a shelter to protect him and keep the prey animals from him. You take care of him. I've blessed you with him. It was Robert E. Lee that gave the eulogy for the family milking cow. I tell you, when you read it, it makes you want to cry. I mean, it was a very solemn thing, but their milking cow passed away. Moses said in Deuteronomy 25, 4, thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. So we understand Paul, in Scripture, quoting Moses, because that's Scripture. Now watch this. That's a new sentence, and comma, so, for the scripture saith, and he quotes Moses, thou shalt not muzzle the ox that tradeth out the corn. And, in other words, also, the scripture also says this, and then he quotes, the laborer is worthy of his reward. What scripture is that? It's nowhere to be found in Moses. It's nowhere to be found in the prophets. That comes from Luke. Luke is not one of the Twelve Apostles. I know he wrote the book of Luke, but Luke is not one of the Twelve Apostles, he's not a prophet, he's not Moses the lawgiver. Paul quotes him, though. Now Luke is recording what Jesus said. Well, then it's Jesus, but Luke's given the report. Paul did not hear Jesus say that. He's quoting Luke, who's telling us what Jesus said. And Paul quotes him. In fact, if you want to take a look at it, go to Luke chapter 10, just so you see that. Luke 10. And just for context, start at verse one. After these things, the Lord appointed other 70 also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come. Therefore said he unto them, the harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few. Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth laborers into his harvest. You know, John the Baptist said, the winnowing fork, the harvest tool is in Jesus's hand now, whose fan is in his hand, that's a harvest tool. And the future will tell us, the harvest hasn't come yet, really? So 2,000 years ago, Jesus picked up the harvest too, like the harvest is about to come. Oh, you mean like when he said his coming was gonna be sooner at hand in this generation? And like, as I said this morning, John said when he wrote the book of Revelation, the very first verse, he said, well, I'm writing about things that do shortly come to pass. Oh, well, the Christians say, that can't be, because he didn't come. So John's wrong. Jesus is wrong. Well, I can't see how, well, that's your problem, you can't see. How about sticking with what you can see and go from there? Well, at any rate, that's not the subject. But he says, pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth laborers into his harvest. Go your ways, behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves. carry neither purse, nor script, nor shoes, and sleuth, no man by the way, and into whatsoever house he enter, first say, Peace be to this house. See, the Lord gave them authority. And if the Son of Peace be there, your peace shall rest upon it. If not, it shall turn to you again. Wow. Okay, but look at verse seven. And in the same house remain eating and drinking such things as they give, For the laborer is worthy of his hire. Go not from house to house. See, that's Jesus saying that. The laborer is worthy of his hire. Jesus is not quoting Moses. He's not quoting Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, or Daniel. That's Jesus. That's something Jesus gave us. Paul did not know that I said that Jesus said that, but Luke did. And Luke cannot be quoting from the Old Testament. He's quoting Jesus. It's a truth that Jesus declared. What I'm saying is, is it wrong to quote other men? Not if they're telling you what the Bible tells you. Why should I say anything? Then maybe the only legitimate thing to do is to read the Bible. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. But I shouldn't say God loved us so much that he sent his only begotten Son, and he died on the cross that we might have eternal life. Well, that's not the way it's said by what authority, and we're gonna go that route? Now, maybe I'm in me, it seems to you maybe I'm making an obvious point, but I'm making it because there's, as Pastor Cugini would say, nitpickers out there. So, you know, close the mouth on nitpickers. Paul could quote Luke, even though he wasn't an apostle, to make his point to Timothy about the proper support of the ministry, because Luke is referencing what Jesus Christ said. And that's biblical. Why? Because Jesus said it, okay? Jesus said it. So in quoting our brother's text, I'm really just saying amen to his observations and I am likewise taking the time to show you or to explain to you the biblical foundation of those observations. You see, that's my responsibility. I mean, rather than me preaching, I could just step aside and he'd come up and preach. We'd receive that, why can't I tell you what he said? So that's what I'm doing, you see. I can make a contention, even as your pastor, but I need to establish it with scripture. I don't have any authority if it doesn't comport with scripture. And the brother can make a contention. And I can establish his contention by pointing you to the scripture. Where is the authority? The scripture. See? So it's just that simple. It's that easy. It's not complicated. We don't have to make rules that aren't necessary. So what I wanna do is ask a question here. Well, before I do, let me say this. I wanna pick up where we left off two weeks ago, but I wanna first summarize the salient points that the brother brought out without having to read them again, because I was reading them last time. And Brother Chuck noted in his discussion that on a Wednesday night, I don't know, a few weeks ago, whatever it was, we noted, we made a notation that false professors, that is people that confess Jesus as their savior, but maybe they're not really saved. And sometimes maybe they know that and they're wolves in sheep's clothing, and sometimes they don't know that, they've been self-deceived, you know. But false professors, whatever nature they are, will tend to avoid serious churches. And that's something, we were making that observation on Wednesday, then the brother was making the observation as well. And we noted that the false believers will prefer to attend meetings that are just not as serious or so serious about the word of God. And that's usually because that is where they're going to find themselves more comfortable. And they don't want anything too hard, hard-nosed or too, you know, they don't want it as straight as an arrow. They want a little curve to it. See, they're not believers and that's part of their trajectory, part of who they are. So they prefer these other churches that want to make compromises. And the reason that's true is because we're talking about people that aren't regenerated. And people that aren't regenerated and haven't been given new hearts, they just don't want all that God has. They want some of His things. I want corn and wine and blessing and destroy my enemies. Okay, you want that, great, good for you. But a lot of things the Lord gives to His people, they don't want it. They don't want to hear it. So they can't go to a church that's gonna give them what they don't wanna hear. And that's what people do. That's what false professors do. So they go where there's palatable compromises made according to their own liking. And sometimes you just have to go church hopping until you find that right niche that's just where you want God to be. Then you're a happy camper, see? Now, there is a reason, and the brother brought this out, there's a reason people choose to attend the church they do choose to go to. Everybody has some kind of reason. They go to a specific assembly. And the brother brought out some points. He said, sometimes people go to a church because it's expected of them. That is why some people go to church. We talked about that, so I'm not gonna go on about it. But usually that's a bad thing. If you're just doing it for that reason, that's not very good. But sometimes, on rare occasions, it can be good. Like, junior, you're coming to church. Family's going to church, you're coming too. That's a good thing. They gotta go because it's expected of them. At that stage, that's proper. But sometimes people just go to church because it's expected of them. It's how they were brought up, the brother noted. It's habit. In and of itself, that is not sufficient reason to be attaching yourself to any particular assembly in and of itself. Or the brother noted that sometimes people go to a particular church because of who else goes to that church? Who else is there? Maybe some big shot famous preacher, right? Or maybe there's a fantastic soloist. Or an awesome praise and worship band, you know? They can light their cigarette lighters. You're not going to see them doing that to the Psalms. No cigarette lighters for those. If you did light them, the building would probably burn down. Yeah, they go because of who's there. Maybe the guy went to the Christian ecumenical bowling extravaganza, and he met some girl that went to this other church that was pretty nice. Maybe the Lord's leading him to go there, yeah. I think I'll join that church, really. And why is that? So sometimes people go to churches because there's other people that are there. They can go there because that's where my parents go. You get a 40-year-old man, I'm going to there because, you know, That's what my parents do. You stand on your own two feet now. We know that sometimes people go to a church because of the music program. That's very popular now. It's all about the music. Preachy, you better keep that sermon short. Sometimes they go to a church because of the children's program. They say, oh, you can tell a Spirit-filled church because they've got a good children's program. Or sometimes they say, a really good on-fire, filled-with-the-Holy-Spirit church has a good youth program. I'm not too impressed with most of the youth programs I've seen that were considered successful because they were big. I wasn't impressed. Look, I've been around lots of evangelical churches before I ever came here. Not that I joined them, but I had the opportunity to circulate. Well, I went to one like that at one point. Our brother then noted that there are some folks that are very serious about where they go to church and why they go to that church, but they're sincerely wrong. So we're saying that, well, you know, the false professor doesn't wanna go to a serious church. But there are people that are very serious and they go to false churches and they're false believers. So do false believers, are false believers sometimes serious about the Lord? No, they're not. But they may be serious about what they want to do. That may be true, but there's a distinction between those two things. We have to, you know, recognize that. It is true, there are people that are serious. And he gave some examples, Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, you know, they're very sold out. Many Pentecostals and Armenians and Roman Catholics. You can get someone that's died in the war, Roman Catholic, they'd rather die than walk into one of those heretical Protestant churches, you know? And they mean it, and they're serious about that. But are they serious with the Lord, is the question. That's the seriousness we're talking about. They're serious within the confines of their own prejudices and willful blindness and rebellion. And that tells me they're serious within the context of their self-deception. But that's not being serious with the Lord. Look, I know that we can make mistakes and be sincerely wrong. That's true. I'm not denying that fact. But in most cases, they're not being serious or sincere with God's word. That's the problem. They have a blind spot that they've hardened their hearts to, and they're not being sincere with God or his word. Let me give you an example. For instance, you can have, say, a Roman Catholic, and all he's known is Roman Catholicism. It's the only thing he's ever known of Christianity. It's the world he grew up in. And it's a very tight-knit world. And he can believe in transubstantiation. Jesus said, this is my blood. Drink it. This is my flesh. Eat it. That's what he said. And I can understand where someone's saying, well, we're supposed to believe what Jesus said. And that's what he said, so it's gotta be true. That seems horrible. Well, no matter what it seems like, it's what he says, and we're standing with Jesus. And you can argue that a certain way and say, they can be sincere, and I think a person could be sincerely wrong in that. In isolation, they could be sincerely wrong. But that same devoted Roman Catholic transubstantiationist, as he looks out into his church, what's he see? Hey, what happened in 1960s over there at the Second Vatican? Oh yeah, you said, and by the way, the Roman Catholic Church, from its foundation right up until the 1960s, just like Clavel, the ladies covered their head because Paul said they need to do that when they pray and prophesy in this public worship in 1 Corinthians 11. Roman Catholic Church knew that, Baptist Church, Methodist Church, Presbyterian, we all knew it. But what happened in the 1960s? The Women's Liberation Movement and hyper-feminism, which we're suffering under now. And now because of that, Second Vatican Council, the Pope comes out, don't have to do it anymore, except when you come into my presence. So here comes Melania Trump and she has to step in front of the Pope, the Vicar of Christ, she has to cover her head. But if she goes into a meeting to worship the Lord and to take of the Holy Eucharist in the presence of the actual body and blood of Christ, she doesn't have to do it. Do they really believe that? You know, it's selective understanding, see? But they can be so sincere. You can be sincerely wrong, but you know, they're not so sincere, I don't think, in that. Or you think many people believe tongues are for today. And they're very convinced of that. And I understand why they would. I struggled with that when I was like 12 years old. I said, well, look, they spoke in tongues here, they spoke in tongues there, they believed and they spoke in tongues. And I get these examples and maybe what I was being taught was wrong. I'm willing to go over the Bible first. And I started studying it. And you know, I can understand someone being sincerely wrong. Is God able to cause a person to speak in tongues today? Of course he is. Is what's going on in most of these churches tongues? And I don't believe that for one second. Not one second. But many might, I understand. But if they look at the scriptures and say, well, no, it says we have to speak in tongues. Okay, so I think someone could be, in a certain realm of understanding and knowledge, be sincerely wrong. In other words, there's no malice there, they're sincerely wrong. But then let them look out around them in the group that they're in. And oftentimes in some of these, not in all charismatic circles, but maybe like assemblies of God or something like that, you say, no, speaking in tongues, yeah, okay, they can be sincere and sincerely wrong. We're doing it, this is all legitimate. How do you explain the woman preacher over there? That's filled with the Holy Ghost. How do you explain the slayings in the spirit? And the lady falls down, and her skirt goes flying up over her head, and they got guys with blankets waiting there to cover up the scene with modesty. You need to do that? How about when they're barking like dogs over there? Remember that movement? They're barking like dogs, and there was sprinkled fairy dust landing on their heads and stuff. They could be sincerely wrong in their understanding of tongues. But when you look at the broader picture, I don't think they're so sincere over there. You think that's the hand of God. The brother then asked a question in his text. And he asked if Clavel could meet the needs of false professors. Can Clavel meet the needs of false professors? Because he concluded, I think false professors will go to assemblies that meet their needs, not their true spiritual needs, but the needs as they perceive them. So I want a church that does this, this, but I don't know one that tells me that. So these are my needs. So they'll go to a church that meets their needs. I agree. I agree with everything they're saying. But yeah, they'll do that. So let's ask, he asked the question, could Clavel meet the needs of false professors? And he concluded very accurately, I think, yes, at times they can. And he gave us some examples. For some, people can be attracted to Clavel because of conservative moral teachings. Nowadays, you turn the TV. Don't be eating when you watch the news, you know. And it's a breath of fresh air to hear that which comes from the hearts of the brethren here, and that moral principle, when everything's so immoral now. So the people who come here just because there's a strong moral undercurrent that made America great, so we're gonna come here, and we can have patriots come here, because we're immoral. Well, there's something more to the gospel than that. But that's important, but that's not a good reason in and of itself to attend an assembly. That's what will draw some people. You know that some people are going to be drawn because maybe of our conservative political views, which we're not about politics. But politics is a manifestation of the spiritual state of a people, culture, and nation. So that's why we talk about it. Some people, he said, could come to Clayville because of our location. Oh, it's such a nice drive going out to Clayville. It's in the woods, you know, and I drive across where the reservoir is and the water's, the sun's sparkling off the water and, you know, and he says, and some people might come because of our size. You know, all these big churches, all this stuff going on. It's so quiet and peaceful. I feel like the Lord is there. I look out the window and the sun is coming in. Brethren, these are not valid reasons. They're not sufficient. They're not a sufficient reason for choosing the assembly to which you will attach yourself and raise your family. But false professors will do things like that. And then he went on to make another point. Now, let me get back to his text here. Paragraph number five. See, this is the length of his text. It's a page and a little bit of another. You didn't know that was going to be three sermons. Well, you didn't know it was going to be any sermons. But paragraph number five, he says, he asks, I think, a really good question. Is it a good thing for non-Christians to attend Clayville? I think the average Christian would think, what kind of question is that? Oh, I think it's a good one. He asked, is it a good thing for non-Christians to attend Clayville? Question mark. Then the next sentence begins with, I'll just read the first word of the next sentence. Maybe. Is it a good thing for non-Christians to attend Clayville? The brother says, maybe. Which seems to imply maybe not. I agree. Whoa. A lot of Christians wouldn't understand that. Now, I'll read the rest of his sentence, but let me talk about this for a little bit. There was a man, this isn't like an illustrative story, this is something that's real. This actually happened. A man said, I know that a man said, that he did not want to belong to a church that was filled with just Christians. I don't wanna belong to a church that's filled with just Christians. And the reason he wanted to belong to a church that was filled with just Christians is because he wanted unsaved people there. Why did he want unsaved people in that church? So that they could be saved. I think for the average Christian, well, yeah, of course. Of course we want unsaved people in our churches. Really? Do you know what a church is? You know, it's not a building. It's not an uncommon view. We want lots of unconverted. And the assemblies, the meetings of God's people have turned into John 3, 16, Billy Graham rallies. That is not the function of the assembly. That's the function of the body of Christ when they leave. It's not the function of the assembly. But in these modern hip churches, where there's lots of Christian rock, and the preacher wears the skinny jeans with the pointy shoes, and his hair hangs in his face a little. He's got torn jeans. And they got a spectacular worship band. And the sermons are very short. Thank goodness, they say, secretly. Why do they do church that way? They're trying to draw in the unconverted. They say, that's so they can save them. I know that might be what's in their mind. The whole thought and arrangement of their ministry is unscriptural. It's how most people do church now. Here's the problem. The church, quote unquote, is not for the unsaved. The ecclesia is the body of Christ, not the body of this world. The Ekklesia is for the strengthening and equipping of God's people and for their corporate worship of Christ, so that when they leave their corporate coming together to be instructed and learn and to be exhorted, they would go out and be the witnesses in the workplace where it's the hardest place to do it, or in your family where it's the hardest place to do it. We can just invite people to church and then look out of the corner of the eye, oh, I hope my friend is getting convicted by what the preacher says. That's what we're supposed to do. By the way, I'm not against unconverted people attending the meetings. But the ministry of the assembly is for the sheep, not for the goats. It's for the sheep. In 2 Corinthians chapter six, go there, 2 Corinthians six. And well, so well known to us, you know. But 2 Corinthians six, not so well known by some Christians, but it is. 2 Corinthians 6, 14, where Paul says, be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers. You want unbelievers in your church? What is the church? It's the body of Christ. It's the gathering of the elect. You don't want unbelievers in that. Be ye not unequally yoked with unbelievers, for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial, right? And then he ends up concluding in verse 17, wherefore come out from among them and be ye separate, saith the Lord. and touch not the unclean thing, and I will receive you. God wants to separate his people from the world, he's gonna sit them down, he's gonna instruct them, he's gonna reprove and rebuke and exhort with all long-suffering in doctrine, and then he's gonna send them out at the 70. The function of the assembly is for the instruction of the saints. The elect of God. Look at Acts 20. Acts chapter 20. And verse 29. Well, where'd it be? 28. Take heed therefore unto yourself. Now, these are the Ephesian elders were called by the Apostle Paul to my leaders, right? And he figures he hasn't, Got much time left on this earth, right? So he wants to give some counsel to the Ephesian elders. So he calls them to himself and verse 28, Paul says to the Ephesian elders, take heed therefore unto yourself to all the flock over which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers. Wait a minute, who are the elders overseers of? The sheep, not the goats. To feed Not the goats, but the sheep, to feed. He's made you overseers over the sheep, that these overseers, these elders, would feed the assembly of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. That's not the goats. For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous one of separation not grow prideful. So the mixed multitude corrupted Israel. And what did God do? He ended up killing a lot of the Hebrews because of the sin they fell into because of the influence of the mixed multitude amongst them. You know, this is all recorded for our instruction. I mean, look at Solomon's wives. He didn't come out from among them. He went in amongst them and it changed him. And he was the wisest man. on the face of the earth by divine grace, and look what it did. So our brother Chuck says in paragraph number five, is it a good thing for non-Christians to attend Clayville? Maybe, as long as they know or come to know they're not Christians. I would think, he says, that many who listen online to your YouTube or sermon audios could be non-Christian, of course. I mean, we're on YouTube, not all Christians there. Sermon audio, they're not all going to be Christian just because they go into sermon audio. So we've got non-Christians listening to us. The important thing is that the elders, he says, the important thing is that the elders and yourself do not change your teaching to keep them coming. the false professors. So yeah, they're going to come. And like I said, I'm not against people coming in and unconverted people sitting here and listening. I want them to hear the truth. I want them to hear the convictions of God's people. I want them to see the words of the scriptures. I want them to hear the gospel. But I want them to be saved. And they're welcome. This is a public meeting. All are welcome to come in. But you're not welcome to have a right hander fellowship at Claiborne until you make a profession of faith in Jesus Christ, and confess him as Lord and Savior, and you believe the gospel. Not that we can know that for sure, we're just men, but if you make a profession of that faith and it seems reasonable and it comports with scripture, we're obligated to believe you, unless there's massive evidence otherwise. But the door isn't open for quote unquote membership at Clavel, which is anybody that wants to come, It isn't that way. Roger Williams stated it. He was very strong on this. Roger Williams said it in a very, very succinct and powerful way. He said that the church is a garden. He's using the imagery of the Garden of Eden. The church is a garden. And it's surrounded and hedged in, right? When Adam and Eve sinned, you had angels guarding it with flaming swords. Can't come back. And that garden is a portrait of the New Jerusalem. And outside the New Jerusalem, there are sorcerers, dogs, and whoremongers. They can't come into the New Jerusalem, which we are. It's not a cube that floats down from the sky in spite of what Dallas Theological Seminary says. We're the New Jerusalem. And it exists now, we're not waiting for it to happen. And outside of the New Jerusalem, are dog saucers and homunculus. They can't come in, unless they drink of the water of life and partake of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the garden or in the midst of the New Jerusalem. And they become children of God. Then they enter in a part of the New Jerusalem, you see. Well, Roger Williams said that, The church, to use his terminology, the church is that garden of the Lord that's hedged in, and it's not intended for the unconverted, and he's not wrong. The unconverted, he made a point that's so strong and people cringe at it, but he says, for the unconverted to participate in the worship of Christ, it's hypocrisy. and it's false worship, right? If the unconverted worship Christ with their lips but not with their hearts, they're gonna be like the Pharisees and Jesus was not pleased with that at all. So Roger Williams concluded that it is dangerous for an assembly to open the door to the unconverted. It's dangerous because you may prompt them to false worship. in the assembly, and this will be from unregenerated people, and the Puritan church in Boston, he nailed them. He says they had a halfway covenant, and that halfway covenant was, well, you know, you're not full church members, you're half church members. Look, a half membership. They're confessing Christ, there's certain things, they're coming, but there's certain questions, there's certain lines they aren't willing to cross. There's a place, but they're learning, so they get like a half membership. Why is that? Because Governor Winthrop made it so that in order to have a civic say in the town or the city or where you are, in order to have civic input into the civic affairs of the nation, you had to be a member of the church. And the Boston Church recognized, well, we can't have a bunch of unconverted people, but we can't be depriving them of any kind of say in the civic. So we give them a halfway covenant, a halfway membership. And they're sort of members, but they don't have full membership. They can't make serious decisions, stuff like that, and they try to split hairs. Thing is, they're doing something they shouldn't have done. Now, what Roger Williams says, you've been bringing in the world into the assembly and you're saying you're our half brothers. It's not true, he says. And you're giving them a false hope. And now they're sitting there and you're causing them to sit in the pews and to sing the Psalms and worship of God when they won't come to him. They're worshiping Christ falsely with their lips. You're coercing them by saying you can't have a civic say without being a member of the church. So we'll give you a half membership and we're not taking you fully seriously, but then you have to bust both worlds and maybe they'll be ultimately saved. And Roger Williams saying this is dangerous business. You will destroy the body of Christ. He wasn't wrong. Roger Williams called it forced worship. Of course it's forced worship. I don't have a vote in the town. Well, I better go to that church. Hey, look, I want to be a member. Well, you know, study the catechism. Do this, do that, do that. They do. Well, we're still waiting. We're waiting to see fruit. Have you made a profession of faith in Christ? And there's this waiting period, and all the time they're like half members. And Roger Williams says, that's forced worship. It's forced because I can't have a say in my own town. I have property. I've got to pay taxes. I want to have a say. So they'll go along with whatever they say. You're making hypocrites, he's saying. It's forced worship. And to quote Roger Williams, he says, quote, only the way Roger Williams can say it, forced worship stinks in God's nostrils. How could he be wrong? Your new moons and Sabbath, the Lord hates. And so the prophet says to the Jews, you recognize the new moons, you recognize the Sabbath. Well, the scripture says we should. So God commends us. No, he hates your new moons and Sabbath. He hates your solemn assemblies. Oh, we're supposed to have solemn assemblies. Yeah, he just hates when you do it. Because you're hypocrites. And Roger Williams saying, you're making that happen by what you're doing. It's dangerous to think that the function of the coming together of the elect, when they come together as the assembly, is for the purpose of ministering to the laws. It isn't. Part of what we do is train the elect so that they can minister to the laws. But the difference between instructing and speaking to the elect, and to the saints, and to the regenerate, to teach them to go by life, word, and deed, bear witness of the gospel, and bring men to Christ, there's a difference between teaching that to God's people and then teaching the lost. And that's why a lot of churches, you know why they're all filled with young people and they get big and the old people leave? Because the people that are mature in Christ and have been in Christ for a long time and they want the meat of the word, they can't get it. They're stuck on John 3.16 and praise and worship music and bottom feeding stuff that's a mile wide or an inch deep and they're dying on the vine. But the young people come in fast and furious and say, look, God's blessing is the growing of the church and it's the Holy Spirit. Wrong, wrong, and wrong. It's a good question. Is it a good thing, our brother Chuck says, for non-Christian to attend Clayville? Let me read the whole answer together. Maybe, as long as they know or come to know they're not Christians. I would think that many who listen online to YouTube or Sermon Audio could be non-Christian. The important thing is that the elders and yourself do not change your teaching to keep them coming. And brethren, that is one of the biggest problems in the church today. That's exactly what they do. They're afraid to have any empty pews. I'll tell you what, God can put one person in this congregation, one. And if we're faithful to the best of our ability with what light God has given us, we don't know all things. But if we're faithful in what we do know, then God's blessing is on that. But as soon as we begin to say, wow, but this guy's been coming, and he's really a gregarious guy, and people love him, and he's beginning to join in with some of the ministries, and he's a very good supporter of the church, but you know, he's living with his girlfriend. So the minister looks the other way. God's blessing is not going to be on that. I don't care how big they are. I don't care how gregarious he is and how friendly and how much he supports and puts in the plate. When I became an elder, it was now my responsibility to take the offering. I knew Pastor Cugini said, you know, I'm going to train you for the ministry, so when I go, So I knew I was going to be the minister someday, when he finally laid that out. I said, well, now because I'm taking the offering and I'm going to do that, I don't want to take the offering anymore. He goes, why? I go, because I don't want to have to count the money. You're an elder. I don't want to see what people are given. I don't want to know what any one individual is given. I don't want to know. Good, I'll get someone else. Say, that's right, that's right. But some ministers, I was in a church, it was a larger church, and they were conservative, they were strong, they were fundamentalists. But when big decisions had to be made, the minister would gather around, not the spiritual men of the assembly, to kind of like, hey guys, give me some of your insight here, what do you think? He grabbed the money guys, the entrepreneurs that, you know, they got the nice cars in the parking lot, a couple of homes, big house. Nobody knows it. So there it is, we're going to have a business meeting, and who's he talking with? The deacons, the elders? No, they didn't have elders. The spiritual men of the assembly? No, he's talking to big money men, because they're going to be the backers. He said, this is wrong. The just shall live by faith. Stop that. So brethren, these points, is it a good thing for Christians to attend Clayville? Maybe. I love it. You're right. And he didn't say anything new to me, because I've said the same thing in my own words. But just to hear brethren digest that and express that themselves, it's like a relief to me. Like, am I going crazy? Not too many people want to listen to what I have to say. You know, the man that visited this morning, he said his mother listens all the time. He goes, now I do too. You're all my favorites. I listen to everything. He says, wow. And he said he really enjoyed our subject on the fear of God this morning. There's a remnant that can receive. But if the remnant is to remain strong and powerful and dynamic in the hands of God, Then they have to be separated from the world because we have a natural weakness because of our flesh. We need to separate from the world. And when Christ is talking to his people, we sit at his feet and we listen. And we shut the doors because we don't want anybody to disturb us. Now I'm not saying, again, if you have an unconverted friend or relative and they want to come to the meeting, let them come to the meeting. Let them hear the gospel. Let them be saved. I'm not against that. That would be a side thing that happens. The winning or the loss is when you and I leave, we say what we should say to our boss when we need to say it. We say what we should say to our brother or sister, our mother or father when we need to say it. And those are the hardest things. And so we invite them to special services at the church instead. It's not the Bible. What's the church? It's the gathering of the elect, not the goats. Smile, heads in a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for Your grace, which is all-consuming and is open to all men. All men can come to Him, but we know from Scripture that they won't, unless they're drawn by the Heavenly Father in His sovereign providence and mercy, which is inexplicable and is not earned. in the body of Christ is for those children, that we might grow in our Father's truth, we might grow in the law of Christ and the knowledge of the gospel, that we would be equipped and prepared to serve when we leave this gathering of God's people, to serve in a world where the lost are, where we are to live and bear that witness inward and in deed. We thank Thee for those that do come in, and that are lost, and who overhear us talking amongst ourselves. using the word, and they come under conviction. We're very happy for that, Lord. But may we always be reminded of why we are here. We're here to learn and to grow and to magnify and glorify Christ in our understanding, our knowledge, and our actions. Teach us to do these things, that we might be effective tools in thy hand. We pray all this in Jesus' name, amen.