Amen. Well let me begin by just saying thank you, thank you for being here tonight. This
is a great, great crowd for a Friday night and I appreciate you coming. I know many of
you drove a long ways or you traveled a long ways and I appreciate you coming and just
your friendship and being able to spend some time with you. Of course I want to say thank
you to Pastor Michael Johnson and Mrs. Johnson for their hospitality and for all the gifts.
Thank you very much. We already just started into all the chocolates and everything that
you gave us but we got a big basket with all sorts of treats and a book and soap and all
sorts of... Usually when I travel places I have to stop somewhere at the airport and
I pick things up for my kids and I pick something up for my wife but this trip I don't have
to worry about it, you know. I'm going to get home and say, hey kids I got you this
basket of chocolates. I'm going to tell my wife I bought you this 700 page book about
anti-Calvinism that I bought for you. No, I'm just kidding. No, it's great. I really
appreciate it and I want to say I'm honored that Pastor Paul Johnson and his wife would
be here tonight and the founding pastor and you know it's a rare thing in the day we live
in today we hear a lot about pastors that fail, pastors that mess up and that don't
finish what they started. So when you see a man of God who's stood by the stuff and
who's finished well, who's continuing to serve the Lord and with his wife and do it joyfully
that's a great blessing. So praise the Lord for that. I appreciate you being here tonight.
We're there in Deuteronomy chapter 7. I'd like you to look down at verse number 1. The
Bible says this, Deuteronomy chapter 7 verse 1, When the Lord thy God shall bring thee
into the land, and I want you to understand the context before I get into the sermon tonight.
In this passage we have God speaking to the children of Israel and he's explaining to
them how he plans to give them the land, how he plans to give them victory to possess the
land. The Bible says, When the Lord thy God shall bring thee into the land, whither thou
goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations before thee, the Hittites and the
Girgashites and the Amorites and the Canaanites and the Persites and the Hivites and the Jebusites,
seven nations greater and mightier than thou. And when the Lord thy God shall deliver them
before thee, thou shalt smite them and utterly destroy them, thou shalt make no covenant
with them, nor show mercy unto them. So he's instructing them, he's telling them here's
what I want you to do. Then he also encourages them. Notice verse 17, same chapter. He says,
If thou shalt say in thine heart, These nations are more than I, how can I dispossess them?
Thou shalt not be afraid of them, but shall well remember what the Lord thy God did unto
Pharaoh and unto all Egypt. Notice verse 21, he says, Thou shalt not be affrightened at
them, for the Lord thy God is among you, a mighty God and terrible. So he's telling them,
look, you don't need to be afraid. I've already given you the victory. I'm going to be with
you. You don't have to be afraid of the fact that they are greater than you or mightier
than you. I've given you the land. And then in verse 22, he gives them a little bit of
a disclaimer. In verse 22, he says this, And the Lord thy God will put out those nations
before thee, notice what he says, by little and little. He says, I'm going to give you
the land. You don't need to be afraid. I've already promised it to you. You don't have
to worry about that. He said, don't be afraid and don't be affrightened, but do understand
this. He said, I'm going to give it to you by little and little. Thou mayest not consume
them at once, lest the beasts of the field increase upon thee. And God tells him, look,
I'm going to give it to you, but it's going to take time. It's going to be little by little.
And he says, thou mayest not consume them at once. Just what he said. He says, I'm not
going to do it overnight. It's not something that's going to happen immediately. Now go
with me in the New Testament, if you would, to Mark chapter number four. In the New Testament,
you have Matthew and then the book of Mark, Mark chapter number four. Tonight, I'm preaching
on the subject of consistency. And consistency is so important in the Christian life because
it is how we get victory in the Christian life. Because the Christian life is won by
little and little. It's not something that happens overnight as far as having victory
in the Christian life, as far as being mature Christians. We begin as newborn babes and
by little and little, we grow and we develop, we win victories, we conquer more, and we
take more of the land. And it doesn't happen immediately. And really, in the Christian
life, if you're going to succeed, if you're going to make it, if you're going to be able
to get towards the latter part of your years like we're seeing tonight with the testimony
with Pastor Paul Johnson and be able to look at something that he started 20 years ago
and it's still going strong and it's still doing what it was meant to do. If you're going
to do that, it's going to require consistency. It's going to require the ability to stick
at it, to stay with it, to not quit. And that's really what we're celebrating this weekend,
is it not? Twenty years of consistency. Twenty years of consistent Bible preaching. Consistent
soul winning. Consistent service. And here's what I'm telling you, there is a huge value
in consistency and if you're going to succeed, if you're going to win, whether it's personally
or whether it's this church corporately, you're going to need consistency. And here's why
there's value in consistency. Because of the fact that anything that takes time, anything
that has value will require time. Are there in Mark chapter 4? Look at verse 16. Here
we have an illustration from the famous parable of the sower, Jesus said this, And these are
they likewise which are sown on stony ground, who when they have heard the word, immediately
receive it with gladness. But here's the problem, verse 17, and have no root. Because root takes
time. Getting a root down and getting a foundation down, that doesn't happen overnight. That
happens by little and little. That happens over a process of time. He says, And have
no root in themselves, and because they have no root in themselves, notice, and so endure
but for a time. The opposite of consistency. The opposite of long lasting. The opposite
of sticking with it. Afterward, when affliction or persecution arises for the word sake, immediately
they are offended. See the truth is this, that anything of value takes time. I mean
we can see it out just in the world. If you have a beautiful tree and it's strong and
it's producing fruit, it doesn't spring up overnight, it takes time. But a weed that
is useless, that is worthless, it'll spring up immediately. Why? Because it's of no value.
See things that are of value, things that are of value require time. That's why sometimes
people will point out churches to us and they'll say, Well look at this church and they just
started and overnight, you know, they got a rock concert going and they got the ESV
in there and overnight they're running a thousand or they're running two thousand. Well you
know what? Weeds, they spring up fast too. But something of value and something of strength
and something that's going to get a root down in the foundation, it's going to take time.
It's going to take years, it's going to take decades, it's going to be something we stake
at it and this is where consistency comes to play. And I want to preach to you tonight
on the subject of consistency. Now go with me to the book of Isaiah towards the end of
the Old Testament. You've got all those major prophets, they're all clustered together.
Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations of Ezekiel. Go to Isaiah 28. And let me begin by giving
you the why of consistency, the accomplishment of consistency. What is it that consistency
accomplishes and why is it that we would want it? And actually before we say that, let me
just say this. Let's talk about why we don't get excited about consistency. Let me talk
about why generally speaking, generally speaking, when you're a guest preacher somewhere, you
don't preach a sermon on consistency because it's not something that we really get all
that excited about. When it comes to being consistent and even if we don't apply it to
spiritual things, when we talk about just being consistent with like our exercise, right?
Being consistent maybe with a diet, being consistent with your finances, being consistent
with different things. We don't generally get excited about consistency and the reason
that we do not get excited about consistency is because here's a truth about consistency
that we all understand and it's this, that when it comes to consistency, there is no
immediate benefit to any single installment of time into any particular activity all on
its own. Now I know that's a little wordy. Let me say it again. There is no immediate
benefit to any single installment of time into any particular activity all on its own.
Is that true? I mean, you know that if we just think about that in regards to exercise.
Wouldn't you say that's true and that's often why we don't exercise, right? Because if exercise
worked like this, if exercise worked like this, where I got on the scale and I realized,
wow, things are getting out of control, I better go do something and I go get on a treadmill,
right? I get on that treadmill and I start running and I get sweaty and I get tired and
I'm huffing and I'm puffing and I've been doing it for five minutes now, you know? And
I get off that treadmill and I look in the mirror and I'm like, wow, I look amazing.
See if it worked that way, I'd get on the treadmill every day. But the truth is that
there is no immediate value, there is no immediate benefit to any single installment of time
into any particular activity. So you get on the treadmill for five minutes, you get off
the treadmill, you look in the mirror and you say, it didn't work! Nothing happened!
Because the reason we don't get excited about consistency is because there is no immediate
benefit to any single installment of time into any particular activity. But here's why
you should get excited about consistency. Because there is, however, a cumulative value
to investing a small amount of time into specific activities over a long period of
time. See, that's how exercise actually works. There is no immediate benefit to any one particular
installment of time, but there is a cumulative value when we consistently, time after time,
little by little, invest into our health, into our exercise routine, there is a cumulative
value. That happens over time. And this is what the Bible teaches, this is what God was
teaching the children of Israel. Let me show it to you from the book of Isaiah, Isaiah
28. Look at verse 10. Isaiah 28 and verse 10, and here God is speaking about how to
learn the Bible. He says, For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, line
upon line, line upon line, here a little and there a little. What does that mean? It
means that it's going to take time. It means that it's going to take a lot of small investment
of time into your Bible reading, into your church attendance, into your spiritual life.
Why? Because consistency is the fact that there is a cumulative value to investing into
one thing over a long period of time. Notice verse 13, same chapter. But the word of the
Lord was unto them, precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line
upon line, here a little and there a little. He says, Look, it takes time to grow, it takes
time, but why don't we do it? Why don't we do it? Because there is no immediate benefit.
And here's the truth. There is no immediate benefit to a consistent routine, to a consistent
repetition in time. But there is, there is a cumulative value. And over the last nine
years I've pastored church in Sacramento. You know, I'm excited you're celebrating 20
years here. Next year we'll be celebrating 10 years in Sacramento. And one thing that
I've noticed over the last 10 years of ministry is that sometimes people show up to church
and they're kind of like the illustration I gave of the treadmill. They show up to church
and their marriage is falling apart and their relationship with their kids are falling apart
and they've got all sorts of issues and all sorts of problems and all sorts of addictions
and all sorts of things and they show up to church and they're like, Well, I went to church
for a Sunday and nothing happened. And here's the thing, and please understand this, even
when it comes to church, there really is no immediate benefit to any single installment
of time into church. There is, however, a cumulative value in investing a small amount
of time into activities that are spiritual. And here's the point, and here's what you
need to understand, though. Because maybe you say, Pastor, I understand that, I get
that. Okay, are you trying to get us to buy treadmills? What's the point of this? And
we all understand how consistency works. I don't really care about this. You know, why
are you preaching about this? But here's what you may not have considered. We understand
the positive side of consistency. The positive side of consistency is that though there is
no immediate value to any single installment, there is a cumulative value over when we invest
small amounts of time over a long period of time. And you say, Well, I don't care about
that. That doesn't matter to me. Well, maybe this will matter to you. Let's talk about
why we don't worry about inconsistency. The opposite of consistency is inconsistency.
And why we don't worry about inconsistency is because here's the truth. There is no immediate
consequence to missing any single installment of time into any activity all on its own.
Isn't that true? There is, however, accumulative consequences to neglecting small amounts
of time into certain activities over a long period of time. And here's all I'm telling
you. Let me talk to you dads here for a minute. You might say, Well, you know, I'm going to
work late and I'm going to work some extra hours and I'm not going to have dinner with
my kids and I'm not going to have dinner with my family and I'm going to get home and they're
going to be in bed already. And here's the thing. I'm not telling you there's anything
wrong with that. If you do that from time to time, we all have to do that from time
to time. I'm gone away from home now. I've got my son Joel with me, but I'm skipping
dinner with my family and I'm skipping time with my wife. I'm not telling you that there's
anything wrong with doing that because here's the truth. There are no immediate consequences
to neglecting any amount of time into any relationship all on its own. But please understand
this. Dad, you do that long enough, you work late long enough, you skip enough meals, you
skip enough family time, you get home when your kids are in bed long enough and consistently
enough and you'll lose the heart of your children. And you'll lose the heart of your wife, potentially.
You'll end up having kids who don't know you or don't like you or don't respect you. You
might end up in divorce court and the reason is this, because there is no immediate consequence
to missing any single installment of time, but there is accumulative consequences to
neglecting small amounts of time. So though you say I don't care about consistency, you
should care about inconsistency. Because the benefits or the consequences will be there
either way. So we begin tonight by just kind of talking about what it is that consistency
achieves. Consistency achieves great things. A church, a small church. And look, any good
church this day and age is not going to be, you're not, if you got to make a church you're
doing something wrong. They love Joe Lowstein because he's a liberal, because he's of the
devil because he doesn't preach anything that God actually said. They crucified our Savior.
If you preach what the Bible says, they'll hate you. Our God is a consuming fire and
His Word is a consuming fire. You say, oh well what can a small church do? Well you
know what, a small church might not look like it's doing a lot week after week, month after
month, year after year, but 20 years down the road you'll realize you've accomplished
a lot. Because there's a cumulative value. And there are accumulative consequences. We
talked about the achievement of consistency, but let's real quickly talk about how to attain
consistency. We talked about the why, but what about the how? How do you do it? Go up
to the book of Daniel, Daniel chapter 1. If you're there in Isaiah you're going to go
Lamentations Ezekiel Daniel, Daniel chapter number 1. Now when you get to Daniel do me
a favor and put a ribbon or a bookmark or something there because we're going to leave
it and we're going to come back to it. Daniel chapter 1 and look at verse number 8. We talked
about achieving consistency, but let's talk about the attaining of consistency. And when
it comes to the attaining of consistency or the how of consistency, how to attain consistency,
there's two words you need to remember, routine and repetition. Daniel chapter 1 look at verse
8. Notice what the Bible says. But Daniel, but Daniel purposed in his heart. What that
phrase means is that he was not living randomly, but he was living on purpose and with a purpose,
meaning he already had an answer to the question. He'd already decided when the question arises,
when the question is asked, I already know what I'm going to do because I've established
a routine for my life, but Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself
with a portion of the king's meat nor with the wine which he drank. Therefore, he requested
the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. They were offering him wine.
They were offering him meat. It was defiled. It was not something he should eat. And he
did not wait till the question was asked for him to react. He already had a response because
he had a routine. He purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with a portion
of the king's meat. Keep your place there in Daniel. We're going to come back to it.
Go to the book of Acts, Acts chapter number 11. Acts chapter number 11. And here's all
I'm saying, and especially you young people, you know, you young people, that the time
to decide whether or not you will live a life of purity and whether or not you will keep
yourself pure till the day of your marriage and make sure you walk down that aisle on
the day of your marriage as a virgin, as a pure virgin, both male and female, the time
to decide that, excuse me, is not in the back seat of the car with your boyfriend. In fact,
you should have made the decision before that to keep you from even getting in the back
seat of the car with your boyfriend. From even getting in a room alone with your girlfriend.
See, Daniel purposed in his heart. He already decided what he would do before the question
was asked, before he was tempted, before they said, hey, do you want to drink this? Do you
want to smoke this? Do you want to see this? Do you want to listen to this? Do you want
to go there? Before the question was asked, he had already decided. Here's how I will
respond. Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion
of the King's meat. Notice there in Acts 11, look at verse 23. Notice what the Bible says
here. Acts 11, 23, who when he came and had seen the grace of God was glad and exhorted
them all. Here, we're going to exhort some new believers. What are we exhorting them
to do? Here's what we're exhorting, that with purpose of heart, they would cleave unto the
Lord. See, you're not going to cleave unto the Lord on accident. Do you understand that?
Do you understand that you're not going to become a King James only, soul winning, separated,
hates the homos, hates the world, you hate rock and roll. You don't just wake up one
day and accidentally become one of the most hated preachers in America. Did you know that?
It happens on purpose. It happens with purpose of heart. You cleave unto the Lord with purpose.
You cleave unto the Lord on purpose, with purpose, with a response, not a reaction.
See, there are some areas in your life that you need to get on autopilot. There are some
areas in your life that you need to get on purpose and get a purpose and put that on
autopilot and you don't bring that up for discussion. It's not back up for questioning.
I've already made the decision. I already know what I'm going to do. And when you get
your decisions on autopilot, you will respond and not react. You won't react to what happens,
but you'll respond to what you've already decided you will do. See, if you're going
to attain consistency, you need to learn this word, routine. Routine. Get your decisions,
get your life on a routine, on autopilot. Here's what I do. Here's what I do every day.
Here's what I do in the morning when I get up. I get up and I grab a cup of coffee and
I grab my King James Bible and I sit down at the dinner table or at the couch or wherever
and I read the Bible. Now, don't wake up and ask, is this something I should do this morning?
I've already decided this is what I do. I don't get up on a Sunday morning and ask,
hmm, I wonder, should I go to church this morning? No, we just go to church. That's
what we do. We go to soul wedding. That's what we do. We live for God. Why? Because
it's on routine. It's a routine. It's something we've already decided, but you need more than
just a routine. You need repetition. Repetition. You're there in Acts 11. Go to Acts 17. Acts
17. I want you to notice an example of Paul. Paul was probably one of the most greatly
used men of God in all of the Bible. One of the most successful soul winners, evangelists,
missionaries, church planters, whatever you want to call them. He was the most successful.
He took the Gospel into the Gentile world and just, you know, turned the world upside
down for Christ. And in Acts 17, verse 2, the Bible tells us a little bit of his character.
It says, and Paul as his manor was. See that word manor? Word manor means a prevailing
customer habit. See, Paul was the type of person that already had a routine and just
constantly repeated that same routine. He had a routine and he just had a manner about
him. And Paul as his manor was went in unto them in three days Sabbaths reasoned with
them out of the Scriptures. See, Paul didn't walk into the city and say, well, I wonder
what we're going to do now. I wonder how we're going to do this now. Paul wasn't a seeker
sensitive type. I'm going to go start a church in Ephesus. I'm going to go start a church
in this place and in that place. Let me send out a survey and see what kind of music people
like. We'll do that. Let me go out and when the liberals knock doors, they're not asking
do you know for sure if you're that today or you're on your way to heaven. They're asking
what's your favorite type of music? What kind of environment? Do you like country? Do you
like rock? Because they're trying to figure out, you know, let's bring that music so we'll
attract the crowd. Paul didn't worry about that. He already had a manner. He already
had a routine. He already had a prevailing customer. Paul understood if it worked in
Jerusalem, it'll work in Ephesus. If it worked in Ephesus, it'll work in Philippi. And if
it worked in Philippi, it'll work here too. He had a manner about his life, a prevailing
custom or a habit. That's why I always think it's funny. People, whenever you plan a church,
I'm sure Pastor Johnson could give us some testimonies. Whenever you plan a church, people
always want to tell you why it won't work. Why it won't work in California because you've
got all the liberals? Well, it seems to be working fine. You know what we found? God's
Word is stronger than liberals. I'm sure they, I'm sure, oh, it's not going to work in Jacksonville.
You've got too many military people. Too much turnover. Everywhere you go, people want to
tell you why. It's not going to work. It's not going to work. It's not going to work.
You know what? The Bible says that I can do all things through Christ which strengthen
its will. I can just stand on the Word of God. I can just stand on the King James Bible
and know that it will work if God said it will. But like the children of Israel, it
might be by little and little. It might take time. It might not happen all at once, but
what do we do? How do we respond? We need routine. We need repetition. We saw that Paul
had a manner about him. We're going to come back to Acts. If you can keep your finger
there, that'd be great. Go to Luke chapter 4, Luke chapter 4, and look at verse number
16. Luke chapter 4 and verse number 16. If you go back, you're going to go past John
into the book of Luke. Luke 4, 16. The Bible says this, and he came to Nazareth where he
had been brought up. Let's talk about Jesus. Notice what it says, and as his custom was.
See the word custom there? You know what that means? A habitual practice. Something he did
on a regular basis. As his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day
and stood up for it to read. And here's what I'm telling you. Paul, who made a huge impact
in this world, Jesus, who obviously made a huge impact in this world, these two men lived
their lives on routine and repetition. They just had a manner about them, a predictability
about them, a way they lived their lives. Go to Genesis chapter number 18. Genesis chapter
18. It should be fairly easy to find the first book in the Bible, Genesis chapter 18. Routine
and repetition, and by the way, when you live a life of routine and repetition, this is
what will forge your reputation. A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches,
right? You want a good name? How do I get a good name? How do I get a good reputation?
Make sure that people know that I'm someone that loves the Lord or serves the Lord. Here's
how you do it. Routine and repetition, routine and repetition, routine and repetition. You
just get a manner about you. You just get a custom about you. You just get a purpose
about you. Genesis 18 and verse 19. I think this verse is an amazing verse. God is speaking
of a man named Abraham and he says this, he says, for I know him, for I know him that
he will command his children and his household after him. And I wonder how God knew that
about him. And I would submit to you that God knew that about him because he studied
the life of Abraham and he'd seen a life of routine and repetition, routine and repetition.
For I know him that he will command his children and his household after him and they shall
keep to the way of the Lord to do justice and judgment that the Lord may bring upon
Abraham that which he had spoken of him. And here's the question I have for you. I wonder
what God knows about you. I wonder what God knows about me based on my routine. I wonder
and my repetition. See, your testimony, your reputation will be forged on your routine
and repetition. Go to Daniel. Go back to Daniel if you kept your place there. Daniel chapter
number 6. And continue to keep your place there because we're going to leave it and
we're going to come back to it. But I want you to see this. Daniel chapter 6. Notice
verse 4 and 5. You have this famous story of Daniel, Daniel and the lines then. We always
focus on the lines then and on the lines and that's a great story. But leading up to that
story we need to understand that the only reason we have that story is because Daniel
is a man of great reputation. Daniel chapter 6 verse 4 says this. Then said these men,
the enemies of Daniel, the enemies of God, we shall not find occasion against this Daniel
except we find it against him concerning the law of his God. That's a great reputation
to have. I wonder how they knew that. Well we know how they knew that. We know it from
the rest of the passage. We'll come back to it later in the sermon. We know how they knew
that because of his routine and his repetition. Then said these men, we shall not find occasion
against Daniel except we find it against his concerning the law of his God. None of these
words. Notice verse 4. Then the presidents and the princes sought to find occasion against
Daniel concerning the kingdom but they could find non-occasion nor fault for as much as
he was faithful. Is that word faithful? I want to be known as someone that's faithful.
Okay, learn these words. Routine and repetition. Routine and repetition. For as much as he
was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him. Here's all I'm telling
you. Here's all I'm telling you. The enemies of Daniel, the enemies of Daniel were able
to look at him and say, we know what he's going to do. We know when he's going to do
it. If we're going to find fault against him, it'll only be in his character because of
his routine and repetition. Go to Acts. Go back to Acts. We're going to come back to
Daniel if you could keep your place there. Go to Daniel. Excuse me, Acts. Could I get
somebody to help me with a little water here? I spilled mine. I apologize. But I'm going
to need another one if somebody could get that. Thank you so much. Acts chapter 20.
We talked about the achievement of consistency. Why do you want to achieve it? Thank you so
much. You want to achieve it because though there is no immediate benefit to any single
investment of time, there are however, a cumulative value to investing small amounts
of time. And if that's not enough to intrigue you to want to be consistent, you want to
not be inconsistent because though there is no immediate consequence to any immediate
neglecting of time, there is however, a cumulative consequences to neglecting time. Then we talked
about how to attain consistency. Routine and repetition. Routine and repetition. This is
how your reputation is for it. I'd like to end tonight by talking about areas for consistency.
And let me go ahead and apologize because putting it that way sounds like we're almost
done and we're not. But I want to give you some areas in which you should be consistent
in. Now there are more than these and these are just ones I'd like to focus on when it
comes to the Word of God and you can probably find different ways to apply this. But there
are some areas that we're going to have to determine to be consistent and I'd like to
just give you a few to consider. Number one when it comes to areas for consistency is
in your church attendance. Acts chapter 20 and verse number 18. Acts 20 and verse 18
the Bible says this, And when they were come to him, he said unto them, this is Paul speaking.
Remember the guy that had a custom about him? Ye know, here's what he says, Ye know from
the first day that I came into Asia, after what manner? You see the word manner? After
what prevailing custom? After what repetition? What habit? Notice, I have been with you at
all seasons. I have been with you at all seasons. What does it mean to come to church?
It means to be part of the congregation. It means to assemble yourself with other believers
and Paul said, Hey, you know what manner I have been with you at all seasons? Even football
season Paul? Yea, even football season. Even baseball season Paul? Yea, even baseball season.
Even when the Super Bowl is on Paul? Yea, even when the Super Bowl is on. Even, you
know, at all seasons? He says all seasons. I have been with you at all seasons. Hebrews
chapter 10 if you were to go there. Hebrews chapter 10 towards the end of the New Testament
if you go backwards you got Revelation, Jude, 3rd, 2nd and 1st, John, 2nd and 1st, Peter,
James, Hebrews, Hebrews chapter 10. Look at verse 25. Hebrews chapter 10 and verse 25
the Bible says this, Not forsaking, not forsaking, the assembling of ourselves together. What
is that? That's church. When we assemble together that's church. He says, Not forsaking the
assembling of ourselves together, don't miss it, as the manner of some is. What does the
word manner mean? Prevailing customer habit. See, some people have a prevailing habit,
they don't have a routine of skipping church. They don't have a routine of being faithful
to church, they have a routine of skipping church. See, some people they're so faithful
to church that if you miss church people are like concerned. Or what happened? Man, brother
so-and-so is so faithful, if he's not here something must have happened. He must be on
his deathbed. Some people you're so inconsistent when you show up to church people are like
what happened? Your life must be falling apart. Did your mom die? You know like good
night. Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is. But exhorting
one another and so much more as you see the day approaching. I don't know why this happens
to me. I think maybe because I'm running off of four hours of sleep I feel like I'm losing
my voice. But I came all the way from California, I'm going to preach the sermon. You ought
to be consistent in your church attendance. You ought to be consistent in your church
attendance. Go back to Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy 17. Excuse me. I remember when I was a kid
growing up. We used to play baseball, I was in Little League, my brother and I. And in
our home, you know we grew up in an independent, vulnerable Baptist home. Three to thrive,
Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night. And I remember when we, my brother and I wanted
to play baseball and we asked my dad, you know, could we join Little League? And I remember
my dad, he didn't have to say this but he looked at us and he said, you can join baseball
but you're never going to skip church to play ball. Church is the priority. And I remember
we used to back then, they didn't play on Sundays, I think leagues play on Sundays now,
back then they didn't play on Sundays but they always played on Wednesday night. And
the games would start at 5 p.m. and my brother and I would be out there at 5 p.m. on Wednesday
night. And right around 6.40, you know, you could see my mom and dad just kind of grabbing
their stuff and it was just kind of this known thing. Grab your bag and grab your shoes and
you know, change out your cleats or whatever. It's church time. It's like, oh we're in the
seventh inning. No, it's church time. I'm going to bat next. It's church time. It's
church time. You say, did that scar you for life? You know, I don't know but here's what
I know, as a 33-year-old man, I don't play baseball but I go to church. And there's something,
there's something in forging in the lives of your children a consistency, a consistency
for church attendance. You ought to be consistent in your church attendance. Let me say secondly,
in this list, you ought to be consistent in your Bible reading. Deuteronomy 17, look
at verse 18. Deuteronomy 17 and verse 18, the Bible says this, and it shall be when
he, talking about the future king of Israel, seated upon the throne of his kingdom that
he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests
and the Levites, notice verse 19, and it shall be with him and he shall read therein
all the days of his life that he may learn to fear the Lord. You say, why do you read?
Why do you read the Bible every day? Why do you have a check mark and you check it off
every day? Is it just so you can check it off? Is it just so you can show up? Is it
just so you can say, there, we read more than the liberals? No, you know, that's just a
bonus, okay? You read therein that he may learn to fear the Lord is God. To keep all
the words of this law and these statutes to do them. Go back to Acts 17. Acts 17. You
ought to have consistency of your Bible reading. I always teach our people back home, I tell
them, look, if you want to be consistent in your Bible reading, here's what you need.
You need to choose a time. You need to choose a place. You need to choose a plan. Get a
Bible chart. Pick a time, pick a place. In our home, it works well for us. It might not
work this way for you in our home. My wife and I, we get up in the morning before the
kids get up. We're downstairs at our dinner table. She makes coffee, two cups of coffee.
We open up our Bibles. We don't even talk to each other. We just sit there. We read.
That's our Bible time. We just got to have an appointment, a set-aside appointment with
God. We have a place. We have a time. We have a location. We have a time. We have our Bible
reading schedules. We have a plan. Look, here's what I'm telling you. You're not going to
read the Bible accidentally. It's not just going to happen. When I get to it, you'll
never get to it. You must purpose in your heart to do it. Let me give you a third, Acts
17. Actually, let me show you this. Acts 17, verse 10, the Bible says this, and the brethren
immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea, who coming hither went into the
synagogue of the Jews. These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received
the word with all readiness of mind. So they were in church. They received the word with
all readiness of mind, but then notice what they did at home. And searched YouTube daily
whether those things were so. Is that what it says? And searched Facebook daily whether
those things were so. Is that what it says? And searched the commentaries daily. And searched
the radio programs daily. No, they searched the scriptures daily. Whether those things
were so. You need to have a consistency in your Bible reading. You need to have a consistency
in your church attendance. Here's a third one. You need to have a consistency in your
prayer time. Consistency in your prayer time. Go to Matthew, chapter 6. Matthew, chapter
6. You say, Pastor, you're saying this is our 20th anniversary. You're really preaching
about Bible reading and prayer time? That's not very deep. Here's what I know. You won't
make it the next 20 years without Bible reading and prayer time. We want something deep. Here's
something deep. Read your Bible and pray every day. Be faithful to church. You'll be fine.
I want to know something about Daniel's 70th week. You read the Bible every day, you'll
figure it out. Read the Bible every day, you'll get to it. Matthew, chapter 6, Luke, verse
9. After this matter, therefore pray ye. The disciples asked Jesus, they said, teach us
to pray. He says, okay, and he used this word, I like it, manner. After this manner,
therefore pray ye. He said, this is just an example. This is just a pattern for you to
pattern yourself with. Not for you to pray it and repeat it vain and repetitiously like
the Catholics, but I want to give you an example for you to develop a habit or a pattern or
a practice with. After this manner, therefore pray ye. Our Father, which art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven.
And he's just given us an example. Here's what he's saying. Before you start asking
God for all the things you want, first tell God, thy will be done. Thy will be done in
earth as it is in heaven. Thy kingdom come. Then he says this, he says, give us this day
our daily bread. And he teaches us that you and I should be praying for our physical needs.
But here's what's interesting. He didn't say, and give us this day our weekly bread, our
monthly bread, our yearly bread. He says, I want you to pray for your daily bread. You
know what I get from that? He wants you to pray every day. Every day he wants you to
go to God and say, give us this day our daily bread. Meet our needs on a daily basis. Go
back to Daniel chapter 6. Remember our friend Daniel? Remember his reputation? Remember
his repetition? Remember what he was known for? Daniel chapter 6, look at verse 8. When
the enemies decided, when they said, what are we going to get this guy on? What are
we going to get him on? They said, now O king establish a decree and a sign, the writing
that it be not changed according to the law of the Medes and the Persians, which altereth
not. Wherefore King Darius signed the writing and the decree. Now when Daniel knew that
the writing was signed, he went into his house and his windows being opened in his chamber
toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day and prayed and gave things
before his God. Now when you read that, you think, does Daniel have a death wish? Daniel's
just some sort of, you know, anti-government, you're not going to tell me what to do. But
you know, the truth is, I'm sure Daniel was all of those, but the truth is, the truth
is that he did it because that's what he did. Notice what he says at the last part of verse
10, as he did a fourth time. He had a routine, a consistency, a repetition. He had a prayer
routine. He prayed every day at this time. They knew it. They saw it. They said, we're
not going to be able to find fault in this guy, so let's just take something he does
every day and make that illegal. People say, oh, they're going to outlaw the Bible in the
United States of America. They're going to outlaw the Bible. You know, the way Christians
read the Bible, why would they need to? They're going to outlaw soul winning. We're going
to be like Russia. The way most churches go soul winning, why would they need to? It's
practically outlawed already. Nobody's doing it. Nobody's knocking the doors. Nobody's
free. They're going to make Leviticus 20 illegal and Romans 20 illegal. No one's preaching
it. You say, well, why are you guys are just these radicals, you're preaching these sermons,
you're preaching the gospel, you're going so what are you going to pray? Hey, you know
what? What's a God that we would pray so much our enemies would say, let's make it illegal.
We preach the Bible so much. We go soul winning so much. This is why Paul said, pray without
ceasing. You got to have a consistency in your life of church attendance. You got to
have a consistency in your life of Bible reading. You got to have a consistency in your life
of prayer. Let me give you a fourth one. Go back to Acts chapter five. Acts chapter
five, look at verse 42. Let me give you a fourth one. You got to have a consistency
in your life of soul winning. Acts 5 42, and daily in the temple and in every house, they
cease not to teach and preach Jesus Christ, except for when they took the winter off.
No, they just never ceased. Acts 2 47, praising God and having favor with all people and the
Lord added to the church daily, such as should be saved. Acts 20 31, therefore watch and
remember Acts 20 31. This is what Paul said. He said, therefore watch and remember that
by the space of three years, I cease not to warn everyone night and day with tears.
It's a joke today when someone would say, Oh, we're going to cancel soul winning because
it's cold outside. We're going to cancel soul winning because it's cold outside. You know
where it's not cold? Hell! Oh, we're going to cancel soul winning because it's cold outside.
Oh, really? I didn't get the message. Did they close hell down for the winter? People
stop dying during the winter time? The Bible says if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them
that are lost. You know, I don't know how the weather is here. I can tell you it's colder
than California. You know, we're spoiled in California. People stop soul winning because
it's raining. They don't come to church because it's raining. I'm like, really? Raining? Are
you made out of sugar? I mean, are you going to melt? It snows in other places. I cease
not to warn everyone night and day with tears. Let me give you the last one and we'll finish
up. I got to finish up. My voice is done. Go to Proverbs 24. I said we ought to be consistent
in our church attendance. We ought to be consistent in our Bible reading. We ought
to be consistent in our prayer time. We ought to be consistent in our soul winning. Let
me say something. I realize our churches are filled with people that commute. I get that.
I understand that. You drive four hours. You drive five hours. It's going to be extremely
difficult. I get that. But look, let me tell you something. You find a church in your area
and you be faithful there when you're not here. And if you say, well, there's no church.
You figure out a way to be consistent and you say, I can't come every week. But don't
do this. I'll come when I can. You'll never come. Say, Pastor, I drive four hours. You
know, what should I do? You got to pick a week every month and say, I'll be there the
first week of every month. I'll be there, you know, the second week of every month.
I'll just find a way to be consistent, to have a routine, to have a reputation, a faithfulness.
Let me give you a fifth area. We'll finish up. Areas for consistency, church attendance,
Bible reading, prayer, soul winning. Here's the last one. Standards. We ought to be consistent
in our standards. Proverbs 24 and verse 21, the Bible says this. My son, fear thou the
Lord and the King and meddle not with them that are given to change. Right. You know
what? We don't need to be changing our standards. Just be consistent. You have to turn there.
Malachi 3.6, for I am the Lord. I change not. You know, if God, if homosexuality was an
abomination in the 50s and in the 60s, you know it's still an abomination today. If God
wanted men to dress like men, ladies to dress like ladies, if he wanted that back in the
days of our forefathers, our Baptist forefathers, he still wants it today. We ought to be consistent
in our standards and we ought to not meddle with those that are given to change. I am
the Lord. God says, I change not. Hebrews 13, 8, Jesus Christ, the same yesterday and
today and forever. You ought to be consistent. You ought to be consistent in your standards.
You ought to be consistent in your standards for the sake of your children. I mean, look,
these other Christians, with their birth control and their 2.5 children, you know,
they could get away. They could get away with being real strict with their kids when they
were young and getting more liberal as they got older. But if you're going to be like
us, you're going to have 5, 6, 7, 8, 20 kids. That's too many kids. People are going to
tell. You know what I'm talking about? Think about my kids. You know, if I were to introduce
you to my kids, I'd say, here's my son, Joshua. He's named after my favorite Bible character
in the Bible, the great warrior Joshua. Here's my 12 year old son. Here's my son, Joel. He's
with me tonight. Named after the great prophet in the Bible, Joel. Here's my daughter, Elizabeth.
She's named after the mother of the greatest man who ever lived, John the Baptist. Cousin
of Mary, my daughter Elizabeth here. Here's my daughter, Lydia. Named after the seller
of purple, the help of a church planter in Philippi. Here's my daughter, Ruth. There's
a whole book in the Bible named after this godly Ruth. Here's my daughter, Hannah. Named
after a great prayer warrior and a mother who raised the great prophet for the Lord.
And then what if we got backslidden? Let me introduce my new son, Blake. If your name's
Blake, I'm not against you, okay? I'm just saying, I got too many kids to get backslidden.
You're gonna tell. Well, what happened there? Good night. Here's what I'm telling you. Be
consistent. Be consistent with your standards. For the sake of your children, be consistent.
You know what? Thank the Lord. Thank the Lord that the founding pastor of this church 20
years later is here, singing the songs, saying amen. You know why? Because it's the same
Bible, because it's the same God, because it's the same gospel. You know, he doesn't have to
just say, oh yeah, well, you know, I started that church 20 years ago, but ever since that guy,
Blake, you know what I'm saying? Ever since that guy, Michael Johnson, he took over, you know,
he brought in the rock band and they got purple lights and it's odd. You know what,
and I hope 20 years from now, it's the same thing. Still consistent. Why? Because I am the Lord. I
change not. Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever. Go to First Corinthians,
chapter four. We'll be done right here. This time I'm actually done, all right?
First Corinthians, chapter four. First Corinthians, chapter four.
We're talking about consistency.
Why don't we do it? Because there's no immediate benefit,
but there's a cumulative value to reading your Bible every day.
There's a cumulative value to being faithful week after week to the house of God.
There's a cumulative value to being a consistent soul winner, consistent soul winner, consistent
soul. I don't know how it is out here in California, in Sacramento, you know,
there are areas that are receptive. There are areas that are not. We're trying to knock the
whole city. We're trying to knock every door in the city of Sacramento. Sometimes we go to places
that's receptive. Sometimes we go to places that's not. Sometimes people get a little discouraged and
they say, you know, I've been soul winning for six weeks and nobody got saved and nobody's gotten
saved over six weeks. And here's the thing. It may seem like you're not accomplishing much if you go
soul winning for six weeks and nobody gets saved. But if you go soul winning for six weeks and six
weeks and six weeks and six weeks and six weeks and you've been doing it for 10 years and 15
years and 20 years, even if you only get somebody saved every six weeks, you're going to have a lot
of people in heaven thanking you. There's a cumulative value. There's a cumulative value
to being consistent to soul winning. There's a cumulative value for the generations to come
when we can see the older men before us just being consistent
in their standards and their beliefs. It's still the King James Bible. It's still independent,
fundamental Baptist. It's still soul winning. It's still hard preaching. It's still those
things. First Corinthians 4, 2. Notice what the Bible says. Moreover, it is required.
Oh, well, I don't know. I could take it or leave it. No, no, no. It's a requirement.
It is required in stewards. It's a steward, someone who manages the resources of another.
When you woke up this morning, you woke up because God gave you life.
Anything you have, anything you are is because God has made you a steward of those things.
You steward your time and your treasure and your talent and your resources and your abilities
for God. And it is required. Moreover, it is required in stewards that a man be found
faithful. How do you do that? Through routine and repetition. How do you do that? Through a life
of consistency. So tonight, let's celebrate. Let's celebrate 20 years of consistency,
but let's determine another 20 of consistency as well. Let's bow our heads and have a word of
prayer. Heavenly Father, Lord, thank you for your word. And Lord, I do thank you for this church.
And the impact that it's made in this community. Hearing of Gene Johnson in the late 60s starting
a ministry here for the soldiers. And Pastor Paul Johnson in the late 90s planning this church.
And now Pastor Michael Johnson continuing on the consistency. Lord, we thank you.
And we pray a blessing on this location. We pray a blessing on this congregation, Lord.
I pray that you would increase their influence, Lord. I pray that you would increase their resolve
to be consistent. And Lord, wherever this sermon lands for all of us, wherever it hits,
Lord, I pray wherever your Holy Spirit is dealing with us, that you would help us to live a life of
consistency. In the matchless name of Christ, we pray. Amen.