Pastor Dwight Hicks at Living Word Church in Brisbane

The devil's tactics can cause churches to be silent, but the Holy Spirit teaches us to prepare for the future.

Preparation is a natural part of life, like saving for retirement or maintaining physical health.

As Christians, we should prepare for what heaven has in store for us, not just for our own benefit, but for the purpose of ruling with Christ for a thousand years.

Faithfulness in our daily actions, not just our accomplishments or donations, is what prepares us for this future role.

Hello everybody and welcome back to Living Word Church. My name is Wayne Clarus. I pray you guys are blessed wherever you are around the world watching today's broadcast. We thank you for dropping by. Now I ask you to watch this broadcast right through to the end and I'll see you there. Amen. The thing that I quite often find about preaching is that quite often when we're preaching about certain topics, we're preaching to the people that are here when really we're preaching to the people that are not here. It's weird, isn't it? So you preach about church attendance, so you preach to the people that are here, not to the people that are not here. and then with giving you always preach to the people that are here giving and not to the people that are not here not giving now I'm not saying that about anyone who's not here so let's just clarify that right now but and I say that because of what I want to talk about today as far as the devil tactics over the next number of weeks now we said last week and I'm going to do this just for the month of July 2018 around about October the Lord spoke to me about and this was long before COVID and I went to our pastor Pastor Colin shared these things with him too just to because he's our pastor and I believe that I if I have any questions or anything that I'm not sure about I share them with my pastor and that so it was about what the Lord had spoken to me about that the church is going to be coming into what the Lord said a silent time and now looking back which was 2018 four years ago coming up to four years it definitely has been a silent time as far as the church is concerned the church that we know not living word but the church that we know worldwide has never experienced what it has been experiencing over the last couple of years Cole said to me how long do you think that it will be I said well the Lord doesn't say that he doesn't give times but he does tell us about things to prepare us we've been talking about the Holy Spirit and one of the things or the responsibilities or job or whatever the Holy Spirit is to us is to teach us he's our comforter yes so there are times when we need to be comforted here's our teacher so there are times when um uh he will need to teach us or we need to be taught and it also says that he would show us things or warn us about things to come to prepare us to to um and people do it all the time most people most people if they're working for bosses or whatever or they have put away superannuation or superannuation is put away what is it put away for so that when they're a retirement time or certain difficult times comes, you can draw on that. People have savings accounts. Why do they save? Well, the old saying used to be save for a rainy day. What do you mean save for a rainy day? Well, prepare what is going to happen one day. You don't know what's going to happen, but you're prepared. And we also, the reason why we eat each day is to build our bodies up, to make our bodies strong and prepare ourselves for the things that are going to happen through the day and for the next number of days. We maintain health in our bodies by a preparation. If we look after all things being equal, if we look after our teeth, we can keep off certain things happening to our teeth as long as we can. We know that age is going to happen in our lives and that, but we look after our bodies and that's so that we are preparing for when that happens. So really our life, our natural ordinary life is a life of preparation. What are we preparing for? We're preparing to die. Isn't that exciting? We're preparing to die so that we can leave it all to our children so that they can prepare to die and leave it to their children and they can prepare to die and leave it to their children. I mean, this is just useless living. you know um my mum why did i have to be the strongest little sperm that made his way to the egg um you know and interesting you know job came up with these questions when he was talking to god what was the use of being born if i'm just gonna go through life and then all of a sudden a tragedy come and then go through life again being god rewarding again or rebuilding my life again and at the end of the day when I die I came into this world with nothing on I wasn't born with shoes on or clothes on or anything like that or or knapsack or anything like that and that came in naked scary wasn't it came in naked fought all the way but still had no choice came in naked then he said naked I came into the earth naked shall I return but this is the thing that we don't realize more than anything is that we as we as Christians we don't prepare ourselves we don't prepare ourselves for what heaven has for us we don't do it now we do in a way we do but we don't think about we don't think about that too much we really live our lives I'll just speak in general not you personally we live our lives to please our lives today to have things today to do this to the best of our ability, even as Christians of that, but we don't think about heaven. Now, Geraldine and I talk about this regularly and she says, I really don't care because when I get to heaven, it probably won't be what I think anyway. That's probably true. But, you know, heaven will be a different place. I probably need to do this. Transcription by CastingWords Now I'm just going to say it as the Lord said. Now you'll consider and think about the scripture that it has not entered into the heart of man, the things that God has got prepared for him. But it does say that it has entered into the spirit. But the information from the spirit to the carnal man is kept secret. the spirit knows about it but the carnal man, the natural man the man that lives on this earth most people which live for the natural man the carnal man never ever think about the preparation for the future heaven's future what does it mean to lay up treasures in heaven? for what purpose? for what purpose is there to lay up a treasure in heaven. Well if God was to reveal it to you if God was to reveal it to you and to show you you wouldn't live a life of faith. You would live a life to please yourself and for your gain when you get to heaven. But if I was to say to you but if I was to say to you today your preparation today your preparation today is not so much for heaven but is so much for you ruling for a thousand years with Christ as king on the earth your preparation today and the things that you do for God and the things that you will accomplish for him are the preparation today for a thousand year reign yes there will be people, death will not be destroyed people will still live, people will still be born and people will still die but you won't you will live for a thousand years there will be there will be that time when yes you'll go to heaven and then you will be informed about the second coming informed about coming back with Christ as king and then you will reign with him for a thousand years but it won't be on the amount of things that you do or that you give on this earth it will be on your faithfulness to him that's where the widow the widow could reign over cities and over countries the widow that has just come to church and been faithful with her attendance and her giving and the things that she does for the Lord through the week you see it's not on the amount of faithfulness of the things that you do today but it's on your faithfulness with the things that are in your hand not with the things that you're believing for but the things that you are doing today your faithfulness with the things that you are doing today it is preparing you for rulership it is preparing you for doing great things for the kingdom of God for a thousand years you might say how could this be possible you might say is there anywhere in the scripture that gives any insight into this well then read the first few chapters of Revelation to the letters to the seven churches to he that overcomes I will give to he that overcomes and one specifically to he that overcomes will I give to rule over the nations with a rod of iron but what if I don't overcome what if I don't consider my Christian life as important? What if I live my life for my life as now? And I'm not living my life now for the future. What will happen then? There will still be places of importance. But God wants you to consider the now living for him. Not for the gain, but for the now living for him. And that is where Christians struggle. They always have. Even when they were walking with Jesus, they struggled. They thought walking with him close to him, can I sit on your left hand? Can I sit on your right hand? Or could I be next to you, Jesus, the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? And Jesus very simply explained to them, servants become the rulers of all the last become first and the first become last you'll see many great men of today or that have been that will actually be servants in the kingdom of heaven accomplishments will not mean anything accomplishments will not mean anything it faithfulness just as he declared when he comes on the earth will he find faithful men Really it is will he find faithfulness You see, faithfulness is the trait of God. He is faithful to his word to perform it. Not for our gain, not for the gain of the individual, but for the gain of the kingdom of God that's the reason why the scripture says he that wins souls is wise he that wins souls is wise he that keeps the faith is wise he that stays true to the scripture is wise not so that when he or she gets to heaven and the accolades, and the rising and the clapping of hands, and that. No. No. Because when you get to heaven, all people are equal. But what you do for God in heaven is not equal. For live for God today. Tomorrow has enough evil. Live for God for today. faith is not for the future faith is for today the present day and let the future look after itself you look after yourself today keep yourself strong in the Lord today don't say well what will happen no keep yourself strong in the Lord today the scripture says what do we know about tomorrow will we go into a city and buy and sell will we live or will we die he says consider today live for today faithful to the Lord today your lives are sown for today today is the day of salvation today is the accepted time this is our day and we will live it for the Lord amen praise the Lord the devil's tactics I've got more notes here than um that I could probably do for the rest of the year but anyhow the only one that we're going to look at more than anything is we're going to look at Galatians 5 we're going to have a look at this first of all because um uh it's important uh if the devil was going to do something he would he would it would have to be something that you wouldn't that you wouldn't know about it would have to be something it would have to be deceptive it would have to be where where that it would be a camouflage so that you wouldn't be aware that it's the devil just from you know if Wayne came to my house and you know knocked on the door and I looked out through the window that says it's all glass silly I'd say oh that's Wayne now I wouldn't look out the door and say oh that's Mark now if I did I should get my glasses checked because I know what Mark looks like you see but the trouble is with the when I say the trouble of things it's not a criticism please it's just observation observation through and you do too you have observations through the years if you've been lived longer or you've been saved longer There are certain things that you don't need the Lord to come down and say, well, don't do that. Because through observation, you've seen people that do things and the tragedy that happens in people's lives and that. And they have the Holy Spirit just as much as you. We don't need each other to tell each other what we should be doing and what we shouldn't be doing. We have the Holy Spirit. Our job is to love one another, not to criticise one another. Our love is to build each other up, not to pull each other down. So we endeavour to do that. That doesn't mean that we can't talk about certain situations and that, about people and people's lives and that. It's not criticism, it's just observation. So when I say things about churches or about ministers or whatever, it's observation. I was listening to a message the other day at this church and that, it's not one I listen to, I've listened to a couple of times in the whole of my life, and they had a special guest speaker and he was, after he'd finished preaching and that and I wasn't sure what he was preaching about when it came, he was in charge of doing the tithes and offerings this is him, I'm talking as he said and he said, well it's my responsibility to do a tithes and offering as a guest speaker because quite often they do that because they can get more money through a guest speaker doing it than the ordinary pastor doing it because the moment the pastor gets up, generally speaking no one listens not you, I'm just saying that General Waston listens and that. So he got up and he said, okay, do you want to talk about tithes and offerings? Now, we don't talk about tithes and offerings. We talk about offerings. Our life is an offering to the Lord, not a 10%. So he said, now, all of you have bought a flat screen television, yes, and you've paid so much, hundreds of dollars for it. It was in America. And, you know, people say, yeah, that's right, that's right. Okay, now, if you gave, have you ever given an offering that much? you know probably basically said well no not really you know what well then you really love that screen more than you love God and they went on and on and on I thought dear Jesus it's gone from it's gone from pathetic to just ridiculous now went on to on to make everyone feel guilty about not giving so if if we give because we feel guilty that we haven't given enough then we we may not give in relation to this gentleman now they may get a good offering They may get a good offering in the past. They might be really, really happy about it. But it's not about getting a good offering. It's not about preaching a message to make people feel contemned or guilty. God doesn't do that. What God does is he informs us and he lets us make the decision on anything that we do. And then it's not the pastor's fault. It's not anyone else's fault. It's our responsibility to respond to what the scripture is speaking to us. It's interesting about the scripture. is that so many people can get so different things out of the word of God from a message. And our lives are exactly the same because our lives are so diversely different to each other. That's the reason why when something happens, we might say to the person, well, I wouldn't do that if I was you. I always say, well, you're not me. Simple as that, you know. And you don't think like me. Whatever those little things are, the little electric things that go shooting through my brain at whatever speed they do. and whatever decisions come up. There's not anyone that actually has that same program happening in their brains as happening in me. You do not think like me and I don't think like you and I don't want to think like you. I get enough confused thinking like me, let alone thinking about you. But we have this one thing in common that we can do. We endeavour to read the scripture. We endeavour to read the scripture and we endeavour through the Holy Spirit that's speaking to us to get life from passages. That's what we do. And we can't have a feed, like the breakfast that I had this morning, it's not going to keep me going all day because this afternoon I'm ready to chew my fingernails. I don't chew my fingernails, but I'm going to be ready to chew my fingernails. Now I found out that you can't survive on the nutrition that's in a fingernail. The same as, you know, children, little children can't survive on the nutrition they get out of picking their nose and eating it. There's no nutrition in it or anything like that. Now, I don't know what that has to do with the Word of God, but I just thought I'd say that just for the sake of it to get your attention. So in Galatians 5 here, we've got this passage. I love saying things that shock you. Geraldine says you shouldn't say things that shock people. I says, why? It says here in verse 1, it says stand firm. So first of all, he's writing this passage to the Galatian Christians here. And he's saying, stand firm, therefore in the liberty with which Christ has made us free. And be not harnessed. I'm reading from the Aramaic. King James may say something different. It says, King James says, stand fast, therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free. And do not get entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Now we could straight away reading this passage, and I'll read it from the Aramaic. Stand firm therefore in the liberty with which Christ has made us free and be not harnessed. Entangled, harnessed, I suppose, to a certain degree they mean the same. Again, under the yoke of bondage. Actually, what it means is harness is a different thing than being entangled. I've been skin diving and I've got entangled in certain things, either fishing line or weeds or nonsense or whatever is on the bottom of that, but I get out. But harnessed means that I've got a harness on all the time, like an oxen and it's a burden to keep ploughing all the time. So he says stand firm. Now the trouble is here that I'm going to mention here and if I was to slip straight into verse 13 but I'm going to come back. Verse 13 says, for my brethren you have been called to liberty only do not use your liberty for an occasion to the things of the flesh. but by love serve one another. This is the trouble. This is the trouble. Like in the 80s, we've come through a number of movements, but in the late 70s and then in the 80s when the Word of Faith movement touched in Australia. And then in the 90s and halfway through the 90s, it lost its, we'll say, its impact or its power to control the environment as far as in the churches was concerned. and people went to the excess of faith was concerned and the excess of confession and the excess of this and the excess of, yes, the excess of giving, being controlled by a monetary system of gain to give. If you haven't received what you believe in, you need to sow a better, higher, bigger seed. I said this to a minister of one of the largest word of faith organizations in the world and I said well how come you know all of the seed that you're sown I still don't see you with a hundredfold return you know he didn't have an answer for me you know and I said well just from observation I would think that you should have a hundredfold return of what you've sown if the bible says that you know and that but it says in this passage here I need to get off that. It says here, for an occasion to the flesh. The trouble is we think with the flesh, you know, adultery, fornication, you know, and all of those things. But no, just being led by the flesh, not being led by the Spirit of God. And the thing about grace is that grace is a wonderful truth, fantastic truth. We continue to live by the truth of faith that we learnt about in the late 70s and the early 80s. We thought God was supreme and he is supreme, but God's so supreme that whatever happens was part of God's plan. We just believed that sickness was and everything was because that was just part of the old Pentecostal teaching that there was in those days. and we got onto faith and realised that you can actually do sort of, you can live a life that is overcoming and not a life that is being overcome and it was a great liberty and then as far as grace was concerned, learning about that quite a number of years ago also, but then we saw people come to the excess as far as grace was concerned and it's very prevalent within the Christian church today because people like to take everything in excess they never take anything in balance and that and it was happening in Galatians also so what was happening was that grace was yes grace took every restraint off of that you that you are actually held accountable for anything because if you do see it well it's forgiven so you can do whatever you like you know and I was talking with some people through the through the week and that about the older days I said I think it was better and i would just say this as a statement i think it was better when it was a little there was law a little bit of law involved with it but at least it kept people within a framework of what they're responsible for but but people today do what they like as far as christians that have gone to the oversight as far as grace is concerned you know well we can just do what we like we can commit every sin that we like because it's just covered under the blood of jesus But it might be, but there's still consequences. We're still responsible for our actions and that. We're forgiven, but we're still responsible for our actions. And people think because we're under grace, well then God's forgiven us, so nothing will happen to us because of what we do. No, it's not like that. Because it's one thing to have God forgiving you, but it's another thing also to be sowing seeds of discourse or just right as living or whatever and thinking that it's all okay. Yes, you will go to heaven and you'll go to heaven forgiven but it's not about going to heaven forgiven. It's about going to heaven and knowing that you have lived a life that is pleasing to the Lord according to the scriptures for our lives today. Now, yes, we've all made mistakes. So you don't look back and think, oh, crap, I made that. Yes, it is forgiven. But our lives can be controlled according to the word of God, not according to what we think the word of God says in relation to grace is concerned. And this is what was happening because in every age or every time frame of humanity is that they get on to certain topics and they always go to the extreme. And if we were to really, if we're really, we've got to do what the Bible says, well, come on, women shouldn't talk in the church. Well, that's what the Bible says. It's true, you know, women should sit on the left-hand side or the right-hand side. And if a woman does have a question, well, she can't talk in church and ask it. She can ask her husband when she gets home. That's in the Bible. And there's a number of passages that said that that's the way it should be. but time framing is very important with the scripture too incredibly important and then there are things within things within as far as the law is concerned and also the age of grace is concerned as far as the Christians are concerned here so that we're using I'm going to go back to verse 2 now and it says Behold I Paul tell you that if you are circumcised then Christ is of no benefit to you. So he is saying now in relation to circumcision because this is a big thing about keeping the law or living a life of grace or being born again as far as Jesus Christ is concerned. But remember that keeping the law was a justification by actions and now that we are saved through Jesus Christ it's not justification by actions of ourselves but justification by actions of one, Jesus Christ. While we are the righteousness of God in Christ, we still have to live righteous lives. We are still the righteousness of God in Christ even if we live an unrighteous life. You might say, how can that be? Well, it's got to be, otherwise you won't get to heaven. If you get to heaven because of a righteous life that you live, then it's on works. and no works go to heaven. Works benefit us here. So he says here, For I testify again to every man who is circumcised, verse 3, that he is under obligation to fulfil the whole law. And we know that that couldn't happen. Now you have ceased to adhere to Christ. Now remember, these are born again people in a church and they are having trouble with this transition period that's going on. This whole concept that's being produced here. Excuse me. Verse 4 says, You have ceased to adhere to Christ, who seek justification by the law. You have fallen from grace. Now you hear this quite regularly. You hear it on the TV programs. So-and-so fell from grace. Well, you can't fall from grace by committing adultery or fornication or having a few too many drinks or doing this. All those things are wrong. But all of this, you can't fall from grace because grace is unmerited favour, so you can't merit it. So how do you get back into grace if you've fallen from grace? As far as the Bible is concerned, you've fallen from grace if you go back to the law and you believe by keeping the law of Moses for rightness with God instead of Christ Jesus. So this was a great problem within the Jewish community, the Jewish Christian faith. And it was also a problem within as far as the first church was concerned because they didn't believe the Gentiles could be saved because Jesus said salvation is only to the Jews. So they thought, well, no Gentile can be saved because they're unclean. they can't be because they're not God's children so Paul comes along and through the years of his conversion yes he is converted but the years of his conversion from the law over to grace was this great problem that was going on they're trying to find out what is the balance to go on James I think you write the book of James is as pure religion as this, that you, yes, that you love one another, that's really pure religion, but that you visit the homeless, the widows and the orphans and that, that you look after those that need to be looked after, not those that can look after themselves, but those that can't be looked after, you look after those and you also, and that you love one another. That was the last commandment that was given as far as Paul was concerned in relation to the Ten Commandments. Yes the Ten Commandments are important and we should adhere to them But if we were to say well you're not going to go to heaven Because you've committed adultery That would be terrible People believe that that's the unforgivable sin Well it can't be that Otherwise King David's not there He's in hell Still suffering for the last couple of thousand years and for we through the spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith for if Christ Jesus neither is circumcised anything nor uncircumcision but faith which is accomplished by love you are progressing well doing really well I'm just going to paraphrase this a little bit just for the sake of today hey, you're doing really well, you were doing really, really good, then all of a sudden you just stopped doing what you were doing and you just did something else. So you were doing really well, but what hindered you? What was the last straw that broke the camel's back, really, that have made all these Christians that were all of a sudden give up, not on God, but give up on church, give up on everything else that is the Christian principles that we live by. Because they say, oh, we live by grace. And they're saying that. When Jesus Christ, yes, comes back, we'll go. That's true. But it's not about when Jesus comes back. It's about what we're living for Jesus today. And you don't have to live for Jesus according to what I say that you live for Jesus. The same and vice versa. You live for the Lord Jesus Christ according to a conviction, not that I have of you as your pastor, because it's my job to feed the flock. It's my job to teach you and to instruct you, as the Bible says, using the word of God in ways of righteousness. And it says that the word of God is given for reproof, for correction, for instruction, so that we might live righteous lives. That's what the word of God does. it's not for me to tell you as your pastor what you should be doing I preach a message and the Holy Spirit will be leading you and directing you in a way of righteousness according to the Bible not according to your environment so he says here you are progressing well who confused you that you should not obey the truth your persuasion comes from him who called you a little leaven leavens the whole lump that's pretty interesting isn't it so a little leaven leavens the lump people say about I just want to read out a few things about the last days a little leaven and the people that this applies to would probably never ever say that this would happen to them but they do happen because the Bible says that they'll happen in the last days the Bible is clear This is not a criticism. I'm going to say this so often. It's not a criticism. It's just observation of what the Bible says. I mean, Hebrews 10.25 is clear. It's not only clear then, but it's more clear today as we see the day approaching. Because the day is approaching more now than it was when Paul wrote Hebrews. It says in Hebrews 10.25, it says there, not to forsake the fellowship of ourselves together as the manner of some is, but so much more as you see the day approaching. and then it also says about that we are to fervently love one another. That's what the Bible says. So in this situation, you might say to me, well, what would you say if Geraldine says I'm not going to come to church no more? And I say, well, then don't come to church. You might say, well, that's cruel. No, it's not. It's giving her the liberty to do what she wants to do. What about if I said, well, I'm not going to pass these people no more. I've given them enough that I'm going to. I'm just not going to go to church no more. I hope Geraldine will say you're an idiot and go to church on Sunday. Because do you know what? That's the liberty Jesus gives you and I every day of our life. He gives you the liberty to make the choice on decisions to follow him or not. Now, I'm making this a statement. I made it once when I was in New Zealand. and the minister just about fell over that I said it. I said, if Geraldine came to me and said, I'm making it for the statement, Geraldine came and said, Darling, you know, I actually love someone else, and I want to leave you and go to them. How much do I love her? Do I love her enough to release her and to let her love someone else? Or do I get all khaki and what's the name and just make life really bitter and hard and everything for her and feel I've been damaged and I've done all this. The greatest love is that if I was to say I love her, my love for her would have to be a higher love than my natural carnal love for her. Just the same as the love that Jesus has for us. The highest love is, Dwight, I love you, but I love you enough to leave you, go and do what you want to do. That's the highest love. Because the highest love is to respect the decision that I'm making, not to agree with the decision, but to respect the decision because Jesus Christ, I said, no, Geraldine, I'll tell you what, I'm going to lock her up in the bedroom for the rest of her life and just feed her and slip food underneath it Mentally or physically But Jesus Christ lets us make decisions every day of our life because he loves us He left King David, committed adultery. Why didn't he want it? Why didn't he stop? Why didn't he stop? Why didn't he stop Adam and Eve from saying, it would have been just easier. You could have just got down off your throne for a moment, went down and says, it's not a good idea. don't do it, what did I tell you? I told you if you touch your fruit or eat it, you'll die, and in dying you'll die, you'll put the whole of the rest of the world, millions and billions of people, in a pathway to hell. He didn't say that, did he? He just said, don't touch. And in the cool of the afternoon, before the day that they touched the fruit, he didn't say, I tell you what, tomorrow is going to be a bad day, Adam. man alive it's going to be she that wife that you you wanted you know you got the one you brought by the way you put me to sleep and ripped out one of my ribs and made something you know and then and yeah and then brought it to me you know and you know i know the moment i saw i sort of got a little bit weak in my knees sort of thing whoa whoa man you know you know it was all over because He didn't bring her sort of dressed in a full costume. Well, she did have a full costume on. It was just the one she was born in. Why didn't he just sort of make it really easy to say, Adam? Now, look, this is what's going to happen. I want to prepare you and show you. Because God loved them so much. This is the thing about eternal love, God's love. God loves us so much. He allows humanity to make their own decisions for them. and to decide their own outcome. God so loved the world. He loved Adam and Eve so much. He didn't, when he woke up that morning, I'm saying God waking up the morning, he didn't say, Adam, don't go near the tree. When she brings the fruit, don't bring it. Give it to the bin chicken. Give it to the monkey over there. Look at his chops. Don't touch the fruit. But he left Adam and Eve going, touch the fruit, plunge the whole of the world for the next number of thousand years into a into a traumatic and terrible situation and that you might say well why did God that's why people say well why did God let that happen to that family why did God let that happen to that child or why did God let this happen to Ukraine or why did God let this happen to the Jewish nation and all that and and people Look, he's just. And if we said, well, it would be true if we said, if we said because God loves them so much, they go, I'm not going to heaven. I'd rather go to hell. You know, if that's what you call love. But that's what love is. Love is so deep that you allow a person to make the decision for them without interfering into their personal decision lives because the devil's different. The devil forces. John 10 says that he is a thief he comes to kill people's fellowship he comes to kill people's marriages people's businesses, people's lives he comes to not steal from them he comes to eventually kill them, he comes to make their life, their Christian life unpleasant but he has to be deceptive, Bible says don't be ignorant of his tactics let me read these things I was going to say to you and this is talking about the last days the love of many will become cold that means they once loved the Lord really really lot that meant that they were pastors and they were deacons and they were doing great things for God in that the love of many will become not the love of just some but the love of why does the love of many become so so cold why can't God just say hey guys you're stuffing it up stop doing that no he loves people that much that he allows them to do what they want to do. And then they can't blame God, even though as much as they want to blame God. They can't blame anyone else because then you and I become responsible for our actions. That's why our actions, we are hoping and we are trusting that our actions are, if it's in the book, I'll follow it. If it's not in the book, I'm not going to follow it. I don't care if it's a preacher or whoever it is, if it's in the book. And if I get deceived by what's in the preachers telling me that's in the book that's not in the book, I am believing that the Holy Spirit will lead me. Will lead me what is in the book. So the love of many will become cold. Many will depart from the faith. I thought there's going to be a great revival at the end. They just didn't read all the book. Many will depart and follow the world. Many will become lukewarm. They will love this present world more than be lovers of God. they'll be lovers of money and what it can buy instead of lovers of God this is just what the Bible says they will run to and fro they'll forsake fellowship and go into church it's just what the Bible says notice the scripture says also I'm just going to make it as a statement we can talk about it later on it says that he will send a strong delusion upon them. And then he also says that friendship with the world is hatred with God. He said that they will say, they'll also say abstain from meats. They'll also say forbid to marry, it's all right. They'll be slanderous of governments, Christians. They'll be disobedient to parents and authority. And they'll be saying, when is your Lord going to come? every day is just the same nothing changes, things are getting worse but in the book it does say that it tells us and it gives us the answers to the Christian church it says there'll be false prophecies tongues will cease, not by God but people will stop talking in tongues there'll be false teachers knowledge will increase I think it was Darren that did communion last week about how knowledge has increased knowledge will increase, we know that men's hearts will fail for fear signs in the earth will be in the heavens and earth there'll be earthquakes oceans will rise there'll be food shortages there'll be wars and there'll be rumours of wars and these are the things that we as Christians have to be aware of because they point to one thing they point for one thing is that the devil for a very short season wants to make life uncomfortable for the Christian people and the world. He doesn't care if you're saved or not. He really doesn't care. He's not going to be running around with a pitchfork making it hard for people that go to hell. He's going to be tortured awfully too. The thing is that with our hand on our heart and on the scripture, our hand on our heart and on the scripture, we endeavour to live what the book says, not for tomorrow but for today for the rest of the day what it says today the decisions that we make and we have to be wise in those decisions that we make if we want to have counsel yes that's true we can have counsel but the Holy Spirit is our great comforter I'm going to read this and I'm going to finish because I've done my time this is in relation to a Sunday as far as church is concerned this gentleman's name was John Butters The government's always trying to butter you up. Okay. He addressed the parliament in 1924, November the 3rd. And in Canberra, he said, this is what he said. I'll just read exactly what he said. John Butters addresses in Canberra about restricting social activity, sport, being played on Sundays. November 3rd 1924 this was the reason he said is this the commission has felt its duty to impose that it will be to the benefit of the moral and religious development of children in our country and will have some advantageous reflect on their future lives if they keep Sunday or a day of worship so they restricted everything everything except going to church on a Sunday it was interesting right back in the beginning of the colonies in America they classified, they made a law called the blue law and it went right through Europe, through England and everything in the English speaking countries and also through Europe and those that encompass Christianity They made that Sunday worship, it is called the blue law, Sunday worship is that if you are caught working or any other thing happening except going to church on Sunday, you will be arrested and put into prison. Imagine prisons today. Wouldn't be anyone on the street, except us, of course. How much has changed? In 1947, actually it was in December then that the government actually passed that. Then in 1947, it changed. They slowly allowed sport. Sport could be played in the afternoon on Sunday, but not before noon, because they believed that on Sundays, 1947, Sundays morning should be kept free so people could go to church and reflect on their Christian faith. from 1950 to 1960 and then then on the restrictions were watered down slowly until 1970 it just started to change completely until we have today whatever you can do on Sunday whatever that no one really treats the day that they would classify as the day for the Lord but if you work on Sunday we're not talking about that I'm just talking about a reason what do you believe pastor I just believe what the what it says for me not what it says for you but it's interesting just as I closed in 321 AD Roman Emperor Constantine said this all work will now cease and not be allowed so people can go to church pretty interesting isn't it but anyhow look doesn't matter what you're doing Sunday doesn't mean you're going to hell or that you're committing a cardinal sin or anything like that if you do whatever whatever because every man must have and woman must have a clear conscience not before themselves but before themselves with their hand on the book also and on their heart in Jesus name you believe that? I believe it Heavenly Father, we thank you for today. Thank you for the great Holy Spirit that continues to be our great shepherd, our great leader in all we do. And Heavenly Father, right now, if anyone here or the hearing of my voice, Father, as feels condemned or guilty or whatever, right now I want to let you know, people, in the name of Jesus, to feel guilty and condemned is not the Lord. It's the old carnal nature. It's an old religious carnal nature and the devil uses it. you just say I will not be felt guilty I have the Holy Spirit who will lead and guide me today today is my day today is your day people in Jesus precious name everyone said Amen thanks for watching what a great broadcast as I said my name is Wayne Clarus and you have just watched Living Word broadcast all the way from Springwood Australia now before you go I would ask you to like, subscribe and tell your friends about Living Words. And, of course, see you next week. Be blessed.

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