Oh, there it is. Good morning, everyone. So good to see you. So good to be seen.
Yes. What a wonderful morning we've had so far. What a, you know, they talk about the great reset. I'm not going there, but this is the great reset.
This is where we begin again, so to speak, when we remember the Lord. And this morning, of course, we remembered the Lord with the Lord's Supper. And I want to encourage you, if you can make it to that, it starts at 9.30. You will be blessed.
It's a wonderful time of reflection and remembrance and joy and thanksgiving. And we are especially thankful today. I'll just one more note. I remember someone I was talking to on the street and they said, what has God ever done for you?
And I mean, that kind of blew me away. And so I just basically, I said everything. Because we have so much to be thankful for. I mean, I could start listing them off, even in alphabetical order.
But it is really staggering when you think about the riches we have in Christ, the gift of everlasting life. And if you're here today and you don't know, the Lord Jesus, if you've not been born again, please listen closely. Because this is important. This is your soul.
And we're going to talk about a few different things. And I pray that this will be a blessing and encouragement to us as believers. So let's begin with just a prayer. Father in heaven, thank you for your word.
It is divine. It is perfect. May we learn and apply properly what you desire to show us in this brief moment of time. This time echoes into eternity, Lord.
And may we be strengthened and encouraged and comforted by your spirit. And may the Lord Jesus be given great honor through the preaching of your word. Amen. OK, so I've entitled this message.
Think on these things. And it does come from a scripture which I'll put up in a little bit. I saw a very strange sight yesterday. It was a burning bush.
And as I looked at it, I noticed that it was not consumed. I thought, I will take a closer look. And as I approached it, I thought I heard a voice say, hey, get off my lawn. But I took a picture for you to see this marvel.
There it is. It's called the burning bush. I could give you the Latin, but why? And they're quite spectacular, especially in the fall.
We see them just coming to this brilliant crimson. And he has the common name, of course, burning bush. And it signals that fall is here. Winter is near.
No spring or summer till next year. Oh, dear. But that shrub it announces that winter is approaching. And when we get to winter, we all begin to look forward to spring.
And in the spring, we just, unless you're snowboarders or something, in the spring when we just want to forget about the cold and dark days and nights of winter and focus on what lies ahead. So this message today revolves around two key scriptures that will, Lord, will be beneficial to us as believers and encourage and comfort us as we interpret reality through the word of God. That's the wrong one. That's the right one.
Flipkins 3-3 says, brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended, but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead. In other words, Paul was saying, I haven't achieved this yet, or I haven't arrived at this state just yet, but this is how I'm getting there. I forget those things which are behind. And it's a heartbreaker on the street we meet many people, they're broken over their sin.
They see no solution to it. But even we as believers, a lot of the times, man, it just, it dobs us the things that we should be leaving behind. Christians, and it is sad. We can become the victims of past hurts or sins or regrets and sadly, unnecessarily, we can drive this line of thinking through our days and our lives.
It really is like a body of death that Paul in the book of Romans spoke on it. And he has the question, who will release me from this body of death? And the answer is, as we as believers, we know it's Jesus because we have been set free. We are free.
And sometimes, you know, we have to think on these things. That's a little bit early to be speaking of the title so much. But the thing is that these things are precious to us. And we're going to get lost in the mix like the world does, the world.
They want to interpret reality through their own lens. They want to interpret reality and they make no sense about the things that we're talking with many people over the years. They're just trying to cobble something together to figure out what's going on. And a lot of times, because they have no solution, they have no answer.
They look for a way to cope. And we as believers, a lot of the times, are chief resource, the word of God. We have to go back to it. We have to think on those things.
We have to remember those things. Our righteousness, the body of burden that we carry, Pastor Gretz is an example. And it can kill our joy and hope and leave us in bondage to despair and render us ineffective in our present lives where worries and concerns of the world that Jesus spoke of, those things that choke the word. And we can be rendered unfruitful, prevents us from being a blessing to family or at work or fellowship or even our outreach to the loss.
A lot of people that we meet on the street, believers, come out. And for one thing or another, they, some be setting sin, whatever it may be, they can't continue in that work because their hearts are so burdened and they feel like they're hypocrites. And of course, the devil's scrumps all over them too, right? He wants to convince, especially if you're a new believer, heartbreaking thing, a fellow brother in the Lord, last week said that one of his friends is struggling with his salvation.
He's struggling. It's like, am I saved? Am I still saved? And that a lot of times can be solved with good doctrine.
Reading the word of God, remembering who we are in Christ, that he's got us, he's got this, he's secured our salvation. And that's what we remember every time we come right every Sunday. It's a wonderful thing to comprehend and to understand and to think on. It can poison the very freedom in Christ we have.
We should be rejoicing in the Lord. This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it, right? You know, where eyewitnesses right now in this world to many things.
Worldwide, things that are moving the prophetic clock even closer to the seventh week where the great tribulation will occur, that would make for a fascinating study alone. As the God prepares the world for the return of the King, our King Jesus. We sang a song about the King, our King Jesus. He's our King.
And we'll be remembered that and who we serve and who saved us and who left his place in heaven to dwell with us. Even 2,000 years ago, it resonates through all time. Prior to his incarnation that was spoken of right from the very beginning in the Garden of Eden and wonderfully it's still being spoken of. And for eternity, what do you think we're gonna be talking about in heaven?
We're gonna be talking about him. We're gonna be looking at him. And that's wonderful. So we should of course care about the people of the world, in the world, of the world and be concerned for them regarding where they will spend eternity.
And I'll address that again in a bit. Okay, so back to our being ineffective because we don't forget the past failures since. This is why doctrine, thinking properly, biblically, thinking about even the smallest degrees of issues in our lives, like our salvation, it's so important. It's so important that we remember and we reflect on the truth so that we're not constantly dogged by the doubts and the fears and the things that come because we are human.
We are in the flesh. But we have a new nature, right? We have a new nature that constantly, as I'm gonna read a scripture here, it talks about this, the sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the spirit wants and the spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other so you're not free to carry out your good intentions.
However, in Colatians 5.25 says, since we are living by the spirit, let us follow the spirits leading in every part of our lives. And that occurs when we read and study and apply the word of God by the Holy Spirit's leading in our lives. The world, the flesh and the devil, that's why we struggle. We have a real enemy of ourselves, the devil, and his devices, or schemes.
He is a deceiver. We have our fallen natures that were against our spiritual nature as the scriptures just spoke on and our own sinful flesh. So forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, what kind of things that lie ahead are we looking forward to? Anyone?
It's not a trick question, as Evehaney says many times. Okay, I'll go first. Our home in heaven? Yes.
Looking forward to that. Anybody else? Shout out. Amen.
Incruptible body. Seeing our Savior face to face. No more death. No more cheers.
Amen. Amen. That's wonderful. For ever we will be with the one who died for me and you.
Peace. How about the marriage supper of the Lamb? The ultimate Happy Meal. That was wonderful.
It wasn't that great to be able to come together like that once again. It's refreshing and we need that. God has created us to be in fellowship with one another. And in heaven, something else we get to look forward to.
Why do we sometimes just think on these things and then we kind of forget it when we can just stay there. We can actually stay in that state of thinking. We're going to be with the Lord. Yeah, I know it's different if you've got a broken leg and you're thinking, we're going to be with the Lord as your leg is hurting you.
But one day we're having new bodies, no pain, no aches. Such it may even cause us even more so if we have aches and pains to look forward to that. And maybe that's part of the wonderful thing about understanding, looking at life through the Word of God that we can deal with some of these things. We can deal with pain.
We can deal with cancer. We can deal with all these things that many of us are going through or will go through. Believers all over the world are going through things. Some of them unspeakable, terrible persecutions and there's terrible things to come as we know.
And those things must happen as Jesus said. These rumors of wars, wars, these things are going to happen because of the fallen nature, because of mankind want to usurp the authority that God has given to this world. He wants to destroy the family. He wants to destroy the parental authority, the church.
Behind all of those things, even government authority, all of those things, behind the whole scene, God is working. He's preparing. We need to stay in that place, folks. It was wonderful this morning.
He said, do this in remembrance of me. And you know, his commandments are not burdensome. It is a blessing. No, wrong one.
No, I broke it. No, where's the Hebrews one? Oh, there it was. Okay.
Therefore, Hebrews 12. Therefore, we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. It is a race. It's a marathon.
It's not a rat race. Unless, of course, you're down by the old library on Friday nights at 7.30. Rats literally racing around. It's quite magical, actually.
Yeah. Are you there yet? Paul wasn't there yet. Have you maxed out your sanctification?
No, God has not done with us yet, folks. Nope. You're like the rest of Christendom. God, our Father in heaven, He's going to determine that perfect and good gift that comes down from Him, the Father of life.
A lot of times that we want to do a gift exchange, right? We don't want where He gives us a lot of the times because sometimes they're hard things, right? But they're tailored just for us and they're meant to make us look up, to look to Him, think on His word. And that's what we're going to find, our strength.
But unless we're immersed in the world or in the word, the world, we'll take our cues from the world. And that's why it's so important for us to maybe lay aside some of those things that's so easily ensnares us. You know, social media. If you think about social media, you can spend a lot of time on things like that, right?
And I want to encourage you, and E-Mays can encourage me when I thought about this, you know, just putting aside, you know, a lot of the news and things like that. It's going to be informed true, but we don't have to spend hours and hours on the news. You know, that time we can spend in the Word of God with our families doing these things that are holy, righteous, and just and good for us. God, our Father in heaven will determine the next days, weeks, moments of our lives.
And if life isn't going so well, isn't it true that at times our satisfaction or dissatisfaction stems from looking at others or when our hopes or goals are dashed? If only I had this job or that. If only I had done so and so and so, we become way down with the past regrets or the never ending plague of if only. If only I had done this.
If only I hadn't done this. I wouldn't be in a situation. Have you ever thought about the chain of events that occurred to bring you to the exact spot you were at in your life today? How God has orchestrated these things?
Even amongst the bad decisions we've made in our lives, maybe the best intentions that we've had that, you know, when arise, so to speak, but God permits these things. He's sovereign. We have to remember those things. So the next time someone hits your car or backs into your whatever, it's no big deal.
Even the big things. Like those things seem like people fret, right? We fret and we have to remember that he is in control. And a lot of the times he brings these situations into our lives to grow us.
I mean, how do you get patience? Waiting, enduring. That's how you get patience. So the next time you ask for patience, you know, be ready.
Has anybody here ever heard of a speed governor, a speed limiter? Yeah? Okay. That might be you.
Okay. It's purpose is to regulate the speed of something, like the speed of a vehicle or a machine like a ferris wheel. Many times people go to bypass the limiter to go faster, like an electric skateboard. Really?
Do you need to go? Yeah, I know I want to go faster. Or a dual cart so I can really go because those things are there for our protection, right? They're for our safety.
And people have a God given built-in similar matter called the conscience. And people will bypass the conscience so they can sit with reckless abandon. The conscience becomes seared by repeatedly branding that moral sensitivity instead of hearing the word of God and allowing the gospel to ultimately govern their thoughts and actions. It's a subtle trap of the enemy.
Try and leave us in the state of regret. Robis of the victory Jesus won for us, the lie that we as Christians aren't free of the condemnation of our sins of the past, present or future. Jesus said it is finished. He has secured our salvation.
He has disarmed principalities and powers. We are free in him and we can and must walk in that truth. Or we will. We will be ineffective in our witnessing to the lost or enjoying our new life in Christ that trickles down to our families, their jobs, our relationships.
It begins at the cross. We as believers must be entrenched in the word of God. So our minds will be transformed and we will interpret reality said earlier through the word of God. That's how we navigate through this life.
By the words and example of the captain of our souls. That's God to give you a renewed hope and restore it. Clean hard on you just as David did. If you're believing you're struggling with these things, doubts, all these things, Bible also talks about half compassion on those who are doubting, dealing with things that you know, we're just God and all of this.
That's why we're here. That's why we're all together collectively because we have a common interest. And of course, our focus is the Lord Jesus. But he has left us with so many wonderful things.
Family friends, our church family, brothers and sisters and the Lord. Our own flesh and blood, if they don't know the Lord, are not as close as we are, even though we may not be related biologically per se. But we are kind of related biologically, right? Through Noah, et cetera.
But you know what I mean? Don't leave your life to chance. Read the word of God. Meditate on it.
Pray. These days are evil, folks. These days are hard. And if the world, if we as believers struggle, imagine the world.
Imagine those that are in the world. I know many people, family members, they don't know the Lord Jesus. And if you today do not know the Lord Jesus, if you don't know the Lord Jesus, then you have no hope. You will stand before God one day.
He's going to judge you right down to your thoughts. And you need somebody to tell you, to plead with you, that there is a way. There's only one way it's Jesus. Jesus Christ.
The sinless, spotless Lamb of God who came into the world to save sinners. All of us will echo through eternity. Praising the Lamb. Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive all the glory, honor, and praise.
He is worthy. He's worthy of that message for others and sisters. He's worthy of you reaching out to the lost. He's worthy.
When you leave, I'm going to challenge you a little bit. When you leave, there's a gospel tracks down at the front there. Just take one. Just take one and just give it to someone.
I hear this is for you. What is it? It's good news. We say that all the time.
I want good news. And if they don't want good news, then you can give it to the next fellow or the next woman. Whoever. It's life.
I mentioned before, I was a new believer and I saw a sign that said, Jesus saves, Jesus heals, Jesus delivers. I go, how? How does he save? It's by grace.
Not by works. It's a free gift. And that's a mind blower. He saves us by grace.
We can't do anything to earn it. We can't do anything to maintain it. Our grace is free. It's not works.
And so many of us, I know we're trying just to get along through this world. We're just trying to hang on until the rapture, maybe now. We all want it except for dinner. But then there's the marriage supper of the lamb, so that's good too.
But we have such a hope. We have such a wonderful blessing in knowing that our Christians got that shirt. What does it say, Christian? You're hoodie?
This is not my home. I'm just here recruiting. Heaven is my home. But I'm just here recruiting.
Is that right? Yeah, I think that's great. This is not our home. I mean, it's really nice.
You know, when you look at all the good things that God has given us that we're thankful for, of course, it just gets better for us, folks. But if you're not a believer, it's going to only get worse for you because you'll stand before God. You'll be judged for every lie, every wicked thought you've ever had, every time you've used God's name and vein. And you'll be punished.
You'll be sent to hell forever. And you don't have to go there. We tell people on the street all the time. It doesn't matter who you are or what you've done.
There's forgiveness. There's mercy and grace. Think on these things, folks. Finally, brethren, I'm just going to read it.
Whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy, meditate on these things. Amen, let's pray. Father, once again, we thank you for your word, your wonderful promises, our hope, our redeemer, our everlasting joy. And so, Father, help us to keep thinking on these things to remember the truth that you so graciously have given to us, your dear son.
And those who are in heaven that don't know you, Lord, burden their heart, give them grieve, let them grieve over their sin. Let them come to you, Father, in heaven, and that they can find forgiveness in everlasting life. And they can, as well, rejoice in knowing that you are God and Jesus Christ, your Son. Amen.