Happy anniversary, oh that one didn't work, it didn't work?
All right, happy anniversary. All right, Genesis 26, verse number 15,
Genesis 26, verse number 15, it says,
For all the worlds which his father's servants had
digged in the days of Abraham his father,
the Philistines had stopped them and filled them with earth.
All right, so we have here these worlds that Abraham had digged,
but the Philistines, like enemies to Abraham there,
had taken these worlds, instead of his descendants there,
and Isaac being able to dig up that world and use the water,
the Philistines had filled them with dirt.
Drop down to verse number 18, it says,
And Isaac digged again the worlds of water,
which they had digged in the days of Abraham his father.
For the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham,
and he called their names after the names by which his father had called them.
And Isaac's servants digged in the valley,
and found there a well of springing water.
So notice that the worlds themselves,
there was nothing wrong with the worlds, there was definitely water.
They had taken these worlds, they had redugged the worlds,
and they found a well of springing water once again.
Okay, the problem was, again, the Philistines were filling these worlds with dirt,
with earth, so they couldn't use it to feed their cattle.
Now if you drop down to verse number 24, it says,
And the Lord appeared unto him the same night,
and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father,
fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee,
and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham's sake.
And he builded an altar there, and called upon the name of the Lord,
and pitched his tents there, and there Isaac's servants digged a well.
The title for the sermon tonight, brethren,
is Examining the Worlds.
Examining the Worlds.
I almost knocked down that bottle.
Examining the worlds.
So Isaac's gone through those worlds again, seeking water,
he wants to be able to use it to feed his cattle, feed himself, feed his family,
so they could drink of that beautiful nourishing springing water,
but they examined the worlds, they were filled with dirt.
Now, you know, the picture there, of course, is that he has a choice.
He can either redig worlds, or he can just go back to the same worlds,
clean it out, fix it up, dig them once again, and find that water.
And, you know, we are celebrating our three-year anniversary,
and we are in lockdown.
I don't know if you're feeling discouraged,
because, you know, there's something special about being in church.
The flesh, the old man doesn't really want to be in church.
I mean, the old man can typically think of many other things
that you would rather do than being in the house of God,
you know, driving a distance, sitting there, singing praises,
hearing the preaching, hearing some man scream behind the pulpit.
You know, the flesh would rather do so many other things than be in church.
But there's something special about church.
You know, when you come, and the new man, it enjoys the praises,
the new man enjoys the God's word, the new man enjoys the preaching.
And many times, you may come to church not really,
oh man, I didn't really want to be there today,
but you leave church, and you feel encouraged,
you feel fed, you feel full, right?
You feel the spirit of God,
because there's something special about church,
being gathered together with believers.
Well, you know, just like these wells, three years ago,
Blessed Hope Baptist Church, you know, not just myself,
but the families that were all there at the very beginning,
we dug this well.
We started Blessed Hope Baptist Church,
what we called New Life Baptist Church, Sydney, weren't we?
It doesn't matter. It's the same well.
It doesn't matter what we call it.
It's the same well.
We dug those wells.
We found the springing water.
It was wonderful.
You know, we enjoyed being in church,
enjoyed being in each other's company,
enjoyed going preaching, you know, preaching the gospel,
hearing God's word.
And, you know, it was tough because, you know,
in those early days, I would have to travel
pretty much every week for the first year.
I was traveling for the midweek services.
It was tough for me.
Hey, but we enjoyed it.
I enjoyed your company.
You guys enjoyed having the church that we can meet in.
And so those wells were wonderful, weren't they?
There was plenty of water.
Well, you know, three years on, okay,
forget the lockdown for a moment.
Forget the lockdown.
But three years on, I just wanted to ask you,
are you still able to drink from those wells?
You know, does Blessed Hope Baptist Church
still do it for you?
You know, when you come, do you still get nourished?
Can you see that water
or do you feel that it's been filled with dirt?
You know, are you able to be nourished
still by Blessed Hope Baptist Church
or have those wells been, you know, defiled?
Have they been darkened?
Have they been filled with dirt?
Maybe you filled it with dirt.
Maybe an enemy has come and filled it with dirt.
And, you know, that dirt that can be thrown into a well
or the earth that can be thrown into a well
can be several things.
You know, it could be maybe that you've,
you know, maybe you don't feel close to the Lord.
Maybe you haven't got the same love for the Lord,
you know, three years in as you did before.
And that's a bit of dirt that you've thrown into the well.
You know, maybe you just don't really appreciate the brethren.
You know, yeah, after three years, we know everybody.
We know each other.
Yeah, you know, you know, we know not everyone's perfect, right?
No one's perfect.
And sometimes brethren can get on each other's nerves a little bit.
Maybe it's a bit of dirt that you've thrown into the well.
Maybe you just don't see the importance of solving,
going out and preaching the gospel to the lost,
and you've lost a bit of that love.
Well, that's a bit of dirt that you've thrown into the well.
You know, again, it could be the enemy.
It could be an enemy come and throw some dirt in himself,
you know, with distractions,
other things that take up your time.
You know, on a Sunday morning instead of church,
maybe the enemy has thrown some dirt to distract you,
you know, keep, you know, help you
or has caused your priorities to be on other things
rather than in the house of God.
Well, all of these things, you know, after three years,
it's just a little bit of dirt at a time,
and eventually those wells are useless.
And it's not that there's no water.
It's not that there's not, you know, no spring and water in the well.
It's just that it's been filled with other things.
And so I want you to think about these three years
that we've been meeting as a church.
And do you need to re-dig those wells?
Do you need to re-examine those wells?
Have a look at them and say,
hey, you know what, I'm not getting out of Blessed Hope Baptist Church
what I used to get when we first started.
Why is it?
Well, you've got to examine the well.
What's caused it?
You know, who's from dirt is that well.
Why aren't you as excited about church as you used to be?
Now, praise God, you might say I'm just excited.
In fact, I'm more excited now in three years
than I was about church when we first started.
Well, praise God for you.
All right.
But just because you may feel that way,
hey, you understand that you need to examine that well
from time to time,
make sure nothing else has gone in the way
and that you're still able to drink
from the nourishing spring and water of that well.
So this well, as I said, was dug three years ago.
You know, are you still able to drink water from it?
Okay, so what I've got for you today, brethren,
is just to bring to remembrance why this church exists.
And I want you to remember,
I think it's very important to understand,
especially if you're a family,
someone or even a single person that was here
in the very early days,
you know why this church exists.
Okay, don't forget the reason why this church exists.
If you forget,
then you're going to lose a love for the church.
All right, it's important for us to remember
why this church exists.
Why is it that, you know,
I was happy to be a pastor at New Life Baptist Church
on the Sunshine Coast,
but then was willing to travel
to get something happening here for the brethren.
If we look back and remind ourselves
what it was those three years ago that got us started,
that got us digging those wells,
then we can examine and say,
hey, are these wells still providing the nutrients?
Is this well still providing the waters
that I need in my life?
So can you please now,
we're not going to come back to Genesis 26.
Can you please turn to Titus chapter one, please.
Turn to Titus chapter one.
There's my grape juice.
Titus chapter one.
And so we dug this well,
we built this church, all right.
And point number one that I have for you tonight, brethren,
is that this church was built on sound doctrine.
This church was built and is still built on sound doctrine.
Why did we start this church?
Many of you were coming from a church
or maybe several churches
where you felt sound doctrine was being neglected.
You felt that false doctrine was being accepted
and you just couldn't take it anymore.
You couldn't enjoy it anymore.
You wanted to come to a church.
You wanted to come to the house of God
and believe that what you're going to hear,
the word of God that you're going to hear
was going to be clear and sound
without any kind of problems, right,
any kind of false teaching, okay.
This church was built on sound doctrine.
You know, many people,
we have visitors that come to this church from time to time
and they travel long distances.
Why do they do this?
Because they're struggling to find a church
in their local area that teaches sound doctrine.
And so they come.
They come to bless it up at the church
and they come a long distance
because they just want to hear the truth of God's word.
And we need to remember,
this is what this church is based on, okay.
This is why we dug these wells.
And so look at Titus chapter one, verse number nine.
It says,
All right.
So this church has never been a church
that is about, you know, how much money can we make, right?
This church is not about filthy Luca.
This church is about sound doctrine.
And you know what?
The Bible is warning us
that there are going to be people
that come into church,
that come into this church,
desire us to move us away from sound doctrine
and turn our ears toward fables,
things that are not true.
And again, many of you have come from a church
or maybe several churches
where you felt, no, the teaching is not true.
You know, there's a problem here.
And your heart was to find the best church
that you could find in Sydney.
Remind yourself this.
This is why we started this church, right?
There were concerns about doctrines
being taught in certain churches, all right.
And so we need to remind ourselves
that this church is built on sound doctrine.
Let us never be a people that say,
well, you know, let's put away God's word
for a period of time.
You know, let's be like the other churches
that are, you know, able to, you know,
bring many people into the church,
many families, many young people into the church
because they're cool and hip and happening, right?
They've got all the ways of inviting people
and that they know how to attract people.
They've got the entertainment.
Let's never be that kind of church.
But let's remind ourselves
that we desired a church of sound doctrine.
This is why we dug the well.
Now, if you can go to 2 Timothy,
you're not too far from there,
2 Timothy chapter 4.
Go to 2 Timothy chapter 4 and verse number 2.
2 Timothy chapter 4 and verse number 2.
Because when a church is built on sound doctrine,
you need to understand,
you need to remind yourself
that the preaching is not always going to be popular.
The preaching is not always going to be accepted.
You know, in this year of 2021,
the preaching behind this football
is going to seem a little offensive
sometimes, okay?
And you might be a pastor,
you know, you need to just soften in that area.
No, that's not why we dug the well, okay?
If we change, you know, the reason we,
you know, the cause of the world,
if we change our reasons behind that,
what we're doing instead of not taking that water,
we're throwing dirt into that well, okay?
But in 2 Timothy chapter 4, verse number 2,
it says,
preach the word,
be instant, in season, out of season.
It doesn't matter what season we're in, brethren,
we've got to preach the truth.
I hope when you think of blessing up at the church,
you can say, honestly, you can say it to yourself,
this church is where I get preaching in season,
out of season, I get the truth of God's word.
And look, I'm not saying that we're the only church in Sydney
that is this way.
I believe there are a lot of other great churches in Sydney, okay?
But I want to be the best.
I want this to be the best well
where somebody comes and can drink that everlasting water,
they can drink the precious water of God's word
and know that it's not defiled.
It says, be instant, in season, out of season.
Look at this, reprove, rebuke, exhort
with all long suffering and doctrine.
You know, to reprove and to rebuke,
these are negative terms, you know?
Sometimes you've got to take people down,
you've got to make people realize that they're wrong,
that they're insane,
that they need to change something about themselves.
But it's not just that,
you also need to exhort with all long suffering, right?
And doctrine.
And so to exhort is to build up, okay?
But we need to be long suffering about that.
You know, if we see believers that are struggling
for a long time to become mature,
they're still carnal,
they're still struggling with basic doctrines, okay?
Hey, you be long suffering,
you be a help to people in this church
so they can learn the sound doctrine.
But look, it says exhort with long suffering and doctrine.
We're here to preach doctrine.
Say, what is doctrine?
Doctrine is another way of saying teaching, okay?
We're teaching God's Word,
we're teaching the doctrines of God,
the commandments of God.
So we walk away from church knowing more about God's Word,
knowing more about who God is, okay?
And that will build you up,
that will exhort you as a person.
I hope, blessed are Baptist Church,
it's still that church that rebukes you when you need it,
that reproves you and that exhorts you
with long suffering and sound doctrine.
Let's keep going.
Verse number three, it says there,
for the time will come
when they will not endure sound doctrine.
You know, I don't know,
I don't know where you're at in your life right now.
I don't know where you are, you know,
three years into this church.
Maybe after three years, you're at a point now
where just you're not really wanting
the sound doctrine anymore.
Maybe you're wanting the preaching to be softened.
I don't know, I don't know where you're at, okay?
But here's the thing, there's a time coming
when people will not endure sound doctrine, okay?
It says, but after their own lusts
shall they heap to themselves teachers
having itching ears
and they shall turn away their ears from the truth
and shall be turned unto fables.
You see, there are some preachers
that are there to just tickle your ear,
just to make you feel comfortable.
I'll tell you what you want to hear, you know,
and they won't teach anything negative,
they won't teach any kind of damnation,
they won't teach the judgment of God,
they won't teach against your sin,
just so you can feel comfortable in church, okay?
That's not what we want
because they're going to turn you away from the truth
and turn you unto fables.
So brethren, point number one,
this church was built on sound doctrine.
How are we doing three years in?
Are we still keeping that mark?
Are we doing, hopefully we're doing better.
Hopefully the waters are even more precious
now than they were when we first started.
You know, when we first started,
we only had one service a week,
we only have the midweek services.
Right now we have three services.
I'm not sure what the future holds right now
when I return to the Sunshine Coast.
Hey, but you know what?
There's more coming out of the world, isn't there?
There's more truth.
There's more waters coming out of the world
three years in than there was when we first started.
But it doesn't matter what's coming out of this church.
The question is, are you drinking from that water?
Do you appreciate this church, you know?
So let's keep going.
Let's get to the second point that I have.
I think I've got six points.
Yeah, I've got six points
as to what this church was built on.
But if you can go back to Titus chapter three,
go back to Titus chapter three in verse number 10.
Titus chapter three in verse number 10.
The second reason this church exists
is because this is a church
which doesn't accommodate for heretics.
Okay?
This is a church that doesn't accommodate for heretics.
Right?
What's a heretic?
Someone that is basically teaching false doctrine.
Now, I'm not saying that I'm perfect
and I know every doctrine perfectly
and I'm always 100% correct about everything.
In fact, I know that's not the truth.
Okay?
Anybody, everybody has something wrong
unless you're God himself.
Okay?
That doesn't mean we're all heretics.
Okay?
But we could believe some false things
and you know, when we're shown
by the light of God's word about something
that we've believed wrong,
we ought to change our minds about that, right?
We ought not to be a church
that accommodates for heretics.
If someone is outright wrong
on clear doctrine,
oneness, for example, right?
That they're wrong about something
that is fundamental to the faith.
You know, it's not our...
We should not be people that are just like,
well, don't worry about that person.
Let's accommodate that person.
Let's make them feel comfortable.
You know, they're not completely wrong.
They're right about some things.
Listen, that's not what this church was built upon.
You know, some of you, as I said,
left, you know, their church
because you felt they were accommodating heretics.
And then the concern is,
where is this going to lead our church in the future?
So second point, brethren,
we're a church that doesn't accommodate heretics.
Look at Titus chapter 3 and verse number 10.
Titus chapter 3 verse number 10 reads,
A man that is an heretic
after the first and second admonition rejects.
We're commanded to reject heretics,
not accommodate for them,
not make them feel comfortable.
Boy, I'm not saying that.
Look, someone comes, right?
They're just eager to learn God's word.
They could be wrong about a few things,
but they just want to learn.
They want to get things right.
Praise God.
But you know what?
When you've got argumentative people
trying to bring in false doctrines, right?
Trying to tell you that the Trinity
is a false doctrine or something like that,
we should not be accepting these people.
We're commanded to reject them.
One admonition, second admonition.
You correct them twice.
They don't want to change.
Reject them, okay?
They're to leave the church.
And unfortunately, you know,
some of you left the church
because you felt it was accommodating toward heretics.
Let's keep going and look at verse number 11.
Knowing that he, that's the heretic,
that is such is subverted
and sinneth being condemned of himself.
Now, please go to 2 Corinthians chapter 11, please.
Go to 2 Corinthians chapter 11.
2 Corinthians chapter 11.
So even though we're a church
that's excited for sound doctrine,
we need to be careful when heretics do come in
that we do not allow them to come
and teach their nonsense, okay?
To teach their false doctrines in this church.
2 Corinthians chapter 11, verse number 3.
Now, as I said,
there are some things that we're all wrong about.
And that's just the way it is.
We're all learning, we're all growing, right?
But there are certain things
that we need to keep in the back of our minds.
When you start hearing certain doctrines
about certain topics,
that's when you can definitely identify this person
as a false prophet or as an heretic, okay?
2 Corinthians chapter 11, verse number 3.
It says,
But I fear lest by any means
as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety,
so your mind should be corrupted
from the simplicity that is in Christ.
You see, the serpent wants to pervert our minds, right?
He wants to corrupt our minds,
but he does it very subtly.
Look at verse number 4.
Unfortunately, many of you came out of a church
that was starting to preach another Jesus,
a Jesus who is the Father,
a Jesus of oneness theology, right?
And cast in doubt on the Trinity,
or just accept,
well, that's an acceptable view of God.
You know, another Jesus, not a big deal.
Brethren, we can't accept that, right?
We started this church
because we wanted to get away
with those kinds of heretical teachings,
those kind of false teachings, all right?
We need to remind ourselves,
this is why this church started, okay?
We don't want to receive these false things.
It says,
Or if you receive another spirit
which you have not received,
or another gospel
which you have not accepted,
you might well bear with him.
You see, churches bear well with people,
for some reason,
with people that come with another Jesus,
another gospel, have another spirit, okay?
And Paul is warning us not to be deceived.
When we have people coming in like that,
trying to teach this stuff,
they're of the devil, okay?
The devil is the one that's bringing them in
to pollute the church of God.
Now, you know, unfortunately,
I know of good,
I still consider them good,
good IFB churches,
where people in the congregation
believe in another gospel.
You have some people in the congregation
that believe salvation is by grace,
through faith, alone,
on Christ's work alone,
and not of works,
and then you've got other people
in the same church that believe,
well, yeah, you've got to believe in Jesus,
but you've also got to repent on your sins.
You also have to clean up your life.
You have to put some effort in,
I've got to turn away and follow after God,
and they start adding works to the gospel.
And the reason this happens
is because the pastors
were not vigilant enough.
They've allowed people,
they've allowed heretics, okay?
They've allowed people of the devil
to creep into the church
and defile the minds of the simple, all right?
So we are not a church like that, okay?
If someone comes preaching another gospel,
listen, that person's getting kicked out, okay?
We are not a church that allows people,
we don't bear with people
that are like this.
So the second reason
this church exists, brethren,
is because this is a church
that doesn't accommodate for heretics.
Now if you can please turn,
you're in 2 Corinthians,
so please go to 1 Corinthians chapter 9.
Please go to 1 Corinthians chapter 9.
1 Corinthians chapter 9.
The third point that I have for you, brethren,
why does this church exist?
You know, when I knew of certain families
that were churchless
or seeking a church, finding a church,
you know, my biggest concern
was that people would get away
from soul winning.
You see, soul winning,
preaching the gospel door to door
is hard when you do it by yourself.
But when you have brethren,
when you have brothers and sisters
coming together, right,
let's knock some doors,
you motivate each other,
you encourage one another.
The third reason this church exists
is because this is a church
is a church that values soul winning.
A church that values soul winning, okay.
We don't want to be a church
that decreases in soul winning.
Granted, it's been hard.
Since COVID, it's been very hard.
And I know that our soul winning times
have dropped since COVID.
But I know the reason why.
It's not like our hearts
have become cold and hardened
toward the lost.
It's just because it's been tough, right,
in COVID days.
Nevertheless, praise God, hey,
before we went to lockdown,
four of us went out soul winning
on, what day was it,
it was Saturday morning
and we had two salvations.
Praise God.
Hey, we don't get the hundreds
that people get in the Philippines, right.
We don't get the thousands
that people get in Africa.
Hey, but we get one or two souls saved.
Praise God, those souls
are going to be in heaven.
And they're going to be thanking,
not just the soul winners,
they're going to be thanking,
blessed hope after the church
for sending those soul winners
to the door
so they can have everlasting life
and escape hell.
Reverend, soul winning is so important, okay.
I do not want to pastor a church
if that church is not soul winning,
all right.
Well, before I read 1 Corinthians 9,
I'll read to you from Proverbs 11 verse 30.
Proverbs 11, 30 reads,
the fruit of the righteous
is a tree of life.
Reverend, you are one of the righteous
if you're saved.
The Bible says,
you're a tree of life.
You can bring forth life.
What is that life?
And he that win of souls is wise.
You see that we ought to be a tree
that brings forth fruits,
that fruit our souls,
that come to Jesus Christ,
that call upon the name of the Lord,
that believe the gospel.
And if you do that,
Reverend, the Bible calls you wise.
Hey, this is a soul winning church,
blessed hope after the church.
And if you say,
well, I've been coming to this church
for three years
and I've not yet been soul winning.
Well, you know what?
It's time for you to get out, okay.
It's time for you to get out
as a silent partner.
Okay, let's wait for these lockdowns
to wind down a bit.
We'll get out there
and let's just re-dig those wells, right?
Maybe you started soul winning
in the first year or so
and now you're not really doing that much.
Or maybe you're not doing that at all.
Hey, you know what?
You've got to examine that well,
re-dig it,
find out that water once again,
drink from that water once again.
Look at 1 Corinthians chapter 9,
verse number 19.
1 Corinthians 9, 19.
It says,
for though I be free from all men,
yet I have made myself servant unto all
that I might gain the more.
So brethren,
you know what the key is to soul winning?
You have to make yourself a servant to all men.
You know, when we go door to door,
we are a servant to all men.
We're a servant to the lost.
We're going and we're serving them.
We're ministering to them
the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Let's keep going, verse number 20.
And unto the Jews I became as a Jew
that I might gain the Jews
to them that are under the law,
as under the law,
that I might gain them that are under the law.
To them that are without law,
as without law,
being not without law to God,
but under the law to Christ,
that I might gain them that are without law.
So what are we aiming to do?
We're trying to gain the lost.
Verse number 22.
To the weak became I as weak,
that I might gain the weak.
I am made all things to all men,
that I might by all means save some.
That's our goal brethren.
We become all things to all men.
Okay.
When we knock on the door,
we don't go with a prideful attitude.
We don't go with an attitude with,
I'm going to heaven,
you're going to go to hell,
if you don't listen to me.
No, we need to lower ourselves.
We have to be all things to all men,
that we may gain some,
that we may save some.
You see, salvation requires the work of man as well.
God has given us his son.
He's given us the free gift of salvation.
But now he needs his saints.
He needs Blessed Hope Baptist Church.
He needs his believers to go out there
and save some.
Boy, you know,
if you've been able to win a soul to the Lord,
you can honestly say,
I've saved that soul.
And say, well, that sounds weird.
It's God that saves.
Of course, it's God that saves.
But you can see here,
we participate in the salvation process
when we go out preaching the gospel to the lost.
Verse number 23 says,
And this I do for the gospel's sake,
that I might be partaker thereof with you.
And brethren, if you're part of this church,
if you're part of Blessed Hope Baptist Church,
I want you to be a partaker
of the souls that get saved.
I want you to be a partaker of this ministry.
You know, again,
you know, we're not all able necessarily
to get out there all the time
and win souls.
But please keep soul winners in prayer.
You know, especially mothers with young children
or lots of children's heart for you.
I understand.
I'm not trying to make you feel guilty.
You know what?
You're helping.
You're looking after others.
You're looking after children
so you can release your husband
or you can release other people
to get out there and do the works of God,
to preach the gospel.
And you know what?
It doesn't matter who gets someone saved.
It's all done by the work of this church.
It's a combined work of this church.
So let us never be a church
that stops soul winning.
Let us be a church that desires, right?
Once these lockdowns are lifted once again,
let's get out there.
Let's go preach hard.
Let's do the work that God has left us to do.
Please go to 2 Corinthians now.
Go to 2 Corinthians chapter 4.
2 Corinthians chapter 4, please.
And verse number 1.
2 Corinthians chapter 4, verse number 1.
Soul winning is so important, okay?
It's a big part of this church,
all right?
2 Corinthians chapter 4, verse number 1.
It says,
Therefore seen,
we have this ministry,
as we have received mercy,
we faint not.
You say, what is that ministry?
Let's keep going.
Verse number 2.
But have renounced the hidden things
of dishonesty,
not walking in craftiness,
nor handling the word of God deceitfully,
but by manifestation of the truth,
commending ourselves
to every man's conscience
in the sight of God.
Look at verse number 3.
But if our gospel be hid,
it is hid to them that are lost.
Brethren, if you hide the gospel,
if you have no desire to see a soul saved,
you have no desire to speak
the eternal words of God
that lead someone to salvation,
if you hide it to yourself,
well, I'm saved, I'm fine.
You know, you hide it.
You know what?
You're not hiding.
The people you're hiding it to,
you're hiding it to the lost, okay?
You're preventing the lost
to hear the glorious message
of the gospel, okay?
And again, you know,
it doesn't mean you have to be someone
that gets out,
does a door-to-door ministry.
What about your family?
What about the lost souls in your family, okay?
What about your friends?
What about your co-workers,
your colleagues,
your associates,
the people that you know?
When you get the opportunity,
you're one-on-one with them,
you get the opportunity,
God opens the doors.
That's your opportunity, right?
So give them the gospel.
Don't hide it, okay?
You're going to hide it
to those that are lost.
You know, those same people,
if they don't hear,
if they don't have the opportunity,
if they don't call upon them the Lord,
they're going to die
and they're going to go
to an eternity in hell.
You know, what are you going to think?
How are you going to feel
when you realize that you've been given
opportunities to give them the gospel
but you've never did it,
you know, you hid it from them, okay?
Look at verse number four.
It says,
in whom the God of this world
have blinded the minds of them
which believe not,
lest the light of the glorious
gospel of Christ,
who is the image of God,
should shine unto them.
So we have the light
of the glorious gospel, okay?
We are the light of the world.
Christ came,
He was the light of the world
and then He left us
to be the light of His world.
He led us to be the people
that go and preach the gospel
in this dark and dying place, okay?
Have you lost a love for the lost?
You know, have you lost that?
Have you lost the love
of preaching the gospel?
You know, this is a world
that you need to re-dig, okay?
If you want to get the most
out of this church,
three years in,
you've got to re-dig that well
and drink from that water
once again, all right?
Can you please take your Bibles
and turn to Romans chapter three.
Romans chapter three, please.
Turn to Romans chapter three.
That's good juice.
Romans chapter three.
You know, when we started this church,
there's a lot of bitterness.
Bitterness about other churches,
other pastors
and I know, I understand,
you know, pastors let you down.
I remember my very first IFB pastor
letting me down in a sense,
you know,
thought he was a great man,
ended up committing adultery,
right, destroying his ministry
and you learn from these things.
You learn that, hey,
your eyes ought not to be on man,
your eyes ought not to be on a pastor,
your eyes ought to be on Jesus Christ, okay?
And be thankful for the man,
be thankful for the pastors
that God has put in your life
that have taught you God's word, right?
But at the end of the day,
you know, men are men and men fail.
They make mistakes, right?
And you know, I've said it many times,
I'm going to let you down sometimes.
You know, it's going to happen.
I'm going to upset you, okay?
But when that happens, all right,
when I fail you,
I'm not saying I'm helping
ever do something disastrous
that destroys my ministry,
but I will fail you, okay?
And when I do,
I want you to remember
that your eyes should be on Jesus Christ, okay?
But this is a church
that does not dwell in bitterness, okay?
Another reason we dug this well
is because this church
does not dwell in bitterness.
You know, I've been in church
where all people do
is bag out other churches.
All they do is bag out their old pastors.
Oh, my old pastor doesn't believe
in the reprobate doctrine.
Oh, my old pastor believes
in the pre-tribulation rapture.
Oh, my old pastor believes
the Jews are God's chosen people, all right?
My old pastor doesn't get out there
and go sowing in as much as he used to
or whatever,
bagging people out,
and boy, you know what?
It's just bitterness, all right?
Holier than thou attitude, actually, okay?
Those things aren't too separated.
But I've been there.
I've been in a church
where people are just constantly
bagging out pastors,
bagging out pastors, right?
Pastors made this mistake.
Pastors made that mistake.
Of course they're going to make mistakes.
They're not Jesus Christ, okay?
But hey, if God has used them
to help you appreciate them,
appreciate the pastors,
they have done you good.
They have taught you great things
from God's Word, appreciate them,
because God has used them as a channel
to feed you God's Word, all right?
We don't want to be a church
that's full of bitterness
about the past,
about other pastors,
about other churches.
Sometimes you need to get things
off your chest, fine.
Get off your chest once you're done.
Put it behind you.
Move on, okay?
We're not a church
that dwells in bitterness.
Where did I get to turn to?
Was it Romans 3?
Romans 3, verse number 13.
Romans 3, 13.
These are people that are full
of bitterness in a church.
It says their throat is an open sepulchre.
Sepulchre is like a grave.
With their tongues,
they have used the seat.
The poison of asps
is under their lips,
whose mouth is full of cursing
and bitterness.
You want to be around these people?
People that are full of cursing,
cursing this pastor,
cursing that church.
Oh, that church doesn't do it this way.
They don't, you know,
they don't go sobering
as much as we do, whatever, right?
Listen, I hate that behavior, okay?
And part of it is
because I know how tough
it is to be a pastor.
I know how tough it is these days,
right now, right?
I've only been doing it for four years,
but hey, I feel like it's been,
you know, a lot of works, right?
It requires a lot of mental strain,
you know, it requires a lot of
a close walk with God.
It requires a lot of sacrifice.
It requires a lot of faith.
And when I see people
just bagging out pastors
and bagging out churches,
I just think, boy,
you didn't even know
how much that person has sacrificed
to help you.
So you can be closer to the Lord God.
We don't want to be a church
that's full of cursing and bitterness.
Look at verse number 15.
The feet are swift to shed blood.
Destruction and misery
are in their ways.
And the way of peace,
have they not known,
look at this,
there is no fear of God
before their eyes.
You know, people that are full of bitterness
against churches and pastors,
you know, good churches
and good pastors,
the reason is,
they don't have a fear of God
before their eyes.
And yeah, you know,
many of you joined this church
because you saw how much bitterness
there was toward maybe a certain pastor,
you know, and it created
a toxic environment in the church.
Just a negative feeling,
a depressing place to be.
And that's going to destroy a church.
Hey, we've come to bless
our brothers church.
We've dug these worlds
so we can get away from that bitterness,
get away from that,
those cursings, right?
Get away from those kinds of people
because it's important for us
to have a heart
that is clear before God.
Appreciate the past,
appreciate the church that you've been at,
appreciate the pastors
that you have learned from
and move on, okay?
We don't want to be surrounded
with bitterness.
It's going to destroy your life.
Can you please turn to 1 Peter?
Go to 1 Peter
and I'm going to read to you
from Ephesians 4 31.
You go to 1 Peter
and I'll read to you
from Ephesians 4 31.
Ephesians 4 31 says,
let all bitterness
and wrath
and anger
and clamour
and evil speaking,
look at this,
be put away from you
with all malice.
Then it says,
and be ye kind one to another,
tenderhearted,
forgiving one another,
even as God for Christ's sake
hath forgiven you.
You know why it's important
for you to put away
bitterness and wrath,
especially if you've been part
of an old church
that made you feel that way?
Because if you bring that
bitterness and wrath
and curse in here,
you know what?
You're just going to destroy
this church.
You're just going to
put the failings of other pastors
onto this pastor, right?
And you're going to have
that personality,
that character
that nobody wants to be around
because you're such a
negative influence on people.
This church is a church
that does not dwell
on bitterness.
But if you go to
1 Peter chapter 1 now,
you should be there,
1 Peter chapter 1,
verse number 22.
Because this kind of
leads to the next point.
The next point,
point number five
that I have for you brethren,
is that this is a church
that appreciates fellowship,
okay?
This is a church that appreciates
fellowship,
being amongst other believers.
There's a surprise if I told you
that there aren't many
safe people in this world.
There aren't many
safe people in Sydney.
There are a lot of churches.
There are a lot of people that
claim the name of Jesus Christ,
but they have another Jesus.
They have another spirit.
They have another gospel.
They're not saved.
You know how hard it is
just to be amongst other believers,
you know?
And there's something special
about fellowship.
There's something special
about being around others.
You know, I had to learn this
later in my life.
I, you know,
I used to go to a Baptist church
when I was little,
Cabramatta Baptist Church.
And I just,
I didn't understand fellowship.
You know, I thought
the point of church was to go,
listen to some preaching,
sing some songs to God,
give to the offering plate,
and go home.
Okay.
And, you know,
I don't know.
That was just my heart as a child.
It's something just
I didn't understand.
I remember when I went
to my first IFB church,
I think the very first time
I went there,
I think I left like 10 minutes
before the service ended.
Like the sermon ended
and I was like too embarrassed
to talk to everybody
because we were new, right?
It's like,
let's get out of here
before anyone talks to us.
You know, I didn't understand fellowship.
How nice it is to be
amongst other believers.
And, you know,
what's special about
Blessed Our Baptist Church
is that we can be amongst
like-minded believers, okay?
People that have
the same love toward one another,
the same appreciation
for a church that teaches sound doctrine,
the same appreciation for a church
that goes soul-winning,
the same appreciation
where we can be unified
under many doctrines, right?
Many doctrines that are taught
incorrectly in other churches,
they might not be
damnable heresies,
but heresies nonetheless,
then we can be in a church
that we're on the same page.
It's something beautiful
to be amongst believers.
We don't have to tiptoe
around people's toes, right?
What are they going to say?
What do they believe about the Jews?
What do they believe about the rapture, right?
You know, we've got the luxury
of a church that appreciates
the fellowship of the brethren.
So brethren,
how do you feel about the brethren, right?
Today, you know,
I'm sure you're excited
when you first started to be
amongst the brethren
and chatting and enjoying
each other's company.
Do you still feel that way
three years in?
And if you don't,
you've got to re-dig that well.
Okay, you've got to examine the well,
re-dig it,
find the appreciation
of enjoying each other's company.
And look,
if there's something we can do
in the church that helps fellowship,
let me know.
You know, I don't have all the ideas.
I'm not an ideas kind of person, right?
If you have some great ideas
that can really enrich
the fellowship in the church, right?
Dig that well back up.
Let me know how we can dig it, right?
Let's examine that well.
And if we're not drinking
from that water,
let's dig it once again.
Let's find that water.
Let's find that fellowship
that we can have toward one another.
Please go to chapter 3 now.
1 Peter chapter 3 and verse number 8.
Actually, we didn't even read chapter 1.
Let's go back to 1 Peter chapter 1
verse number 22.
1 Peter chapter 1 verse 22.
It says,
Seen, you have purified your souls
in obeying the truth through the Spirit
unto unfeigned love.
What's feigned mean?
Feigned means fake.
So unfeigned is true, okay?
Something that is not fake.
Unfeigned love of the brethren.
See that you love one another
with a pure heart fervently.
Fervently means like passionately, right?
We ought to love each other.
You know, there ought to be a great love
for each other in this church.
I hope you feel that way
when you come to church.
You know, I don't say this
just because I'm the pastor,
but I honestly love every family
that makes up this church.
You know, even other families
that have visited
and aren't here anymore.
Even individuals that have come
and are not here anymore.
I still love them.
You know, I want to see them.
I want them back in church.
I want people in fellowship,
you know, enjoying each other's company.
You know, I can tell you
that I have a pure heart for the brethren.
If I didn't have a pure heart,
I would never have been traveling
all the way from Queensland, right?
For this church.
I love this church.
I love the brethren.
I hope you can say you love your pastor.
I hope you can say you love
your brothers and sisters in the Lord.
I hope you can say you love
the children in this church
because they're the future.
They're the next generation
that will serve God.
Now go to chapter 3.
1 Peter chapter 3 verse number 8.
1 Peter chapter 3 and verse number 8.
It says,
Finally, be ye all of one mind,
having compassion one of another.
Love as brethren,
be pitiful,
be courteous,
not rendering evil for evil,
or railing for railing.
You know why that's there?
It's because in church,
a brother or a sister
might do evil to you.
You know what?
You don't do evil in return.
Someone's going to rail about you.
You know what?
Don't rail in return.
Okay.
But contrarize blessing,
knowing that ye are there unto God,
that ye should inherit a blessing.
You know what?
If somebody in church does you evil,
if you're like,
you know,
I just don't want to go to
Blessed or Baptist Church
because I don't want to see
Sister so-and-so.
I don't want to see Brother.
I don't want to see Pastor Kevin.
You know what?
If you just come
and you fellowship
and you praise God
and you do good,
you're going to receive
a blessing by God.
All right.
Because God knows
it can be tough to be in church
when you've maybe had
an argument with someone.
You're not getting wrong
with a brother or sister
in the Lord.
Hey, come for the blessing.
Come for the blessing of God
if you can do good
to your brethren.
One more passage
that I'll get to turn to.
Go to 1 John 3.
Oh, sorry.
One more passage on this topic.
Okay.
1 John 3 and verse 16.
1 John 3 verse 16.
And what we're about to read here
is just a very high standard.
Very high standard.
This is how you ought
to love the brethren.
In 1 John 3 verse 16 it says,
He by perceive we the love of God
because he laid down
his life for us.
And we ought to lay down
our lives for the brethren.
Isn't the love of God amazing
that he laid down?
This is basically saying
Jesus Christ is God
because God laid down his life, right?
And what love,
you know, what sacrifice
for Christ to lay down his life
when we're committed
to lay down our lives
for the brethren.
You say, well,
are we meant to die
for the brethren?
Well, no.
Okay.
Jesus died because he could
actually die for our sins.
Like I'm not going to die
for your sins, brethren.
That was done by Jesus Christ.
The point being the same love
that Christ had to his church
to the brethren.
Okay.
We ought to have that same love,
the same love that God has
that would sacrifice his son
is the same love
that we ought to have
toward our brethren.
Look at verse 17.
But whoso have this world's good
and seeeth his brother have need
and shut off his bowels
of compassion from him,
how dwell of the love of God in him.
So when you see a brother in need,
we ought to be compassionate, right?
And give to that need.
And look, we've done that recently.
Praise God,
where we've had brethren in need
and we've come together
and helped them in a time of need.
Well, you know what?
If we're not addressing that,
if we're not looking
for the needs of others,
we're not doing that.
The Bible says,
how can the dwell of the,
you know,
how dwell of the love of God in him.
You see, to love the brethren,
we must love them
with the love of God.
Okay.
Not just the love of man,
but the love of God.
Okay.
God has loved us.
We ought to take that love
that God has given us
and love our fellow man,
love our brothers and sisters
in the Lord.
All right.
I got one more passage
for you to turn to.
Please go to Ephesians chapter five.
Ephesians chapter five.
And we're going to read it first
and then I'll give you the
sixth point that I have here.
Ephesians chapter five
and verse number 25.
The Bible reads,
husbands love your wives,
even as Christ also loved the church
and gave himself for it.
We looked at that already.
He laid down his life for us.
But notice Christ loved the church.
Christ loves Blessed Help Baptist Church.
My question to you brethren is,
do you love this church
as much as Christ loves the church?
Do you desire to be here
to as many church services
as you possibly can
to learn God's word?
You know,
today's the first of July.
I've got my family and I,
we've got three months
before we head back up to Queensland.
You know what I really would like to see?
I'd really like to see everybody in church
as much as possible.
Not just over the next three months
while we're here,
but then, you know,
establishing that habit, okay?
I know we started with one service
and one service isn't too tough.
Then we went to two.
Now we're at three.
I'm not saying you have to be
at all three services
or you don't love this church.
I understand people live far away.
People have busy lives, you know.
You're not forsaking the assembly
if you just miss a service here or there.
All right.
That's why I don't get upset.
If someone doesn't turn up for a week,
I don't get upset.
You know,
I'm assuming you've got
other important things that have come up.
But really,
we ought to be prioritizing this church.
You know,
once the lockdown has been lifted,
I want you to remind yourself
this pastor and his family
is only here for another three months.
And again,
you're not coming to church for this past day.
It's not about me.
You know,
I want to encourage you
and I need your encouragement.
I want to love you
and I need you to love me, okay?
Christ is someone that loves this church.
He gave himself for it.
Look at verse number 26.
That he might sanctify and cleanse it
with the washing of water by the word.
So what does God want to do
to bless our Baptist church?
He wants to wash his church
and cleanse it in what way?
By the water of the word, okay?
We come to learn God's word
and when we take that water out of the well,
it nourishes us,
it cleanses us,
it gets us to be better Christians,
faithful Christians.
Look at verse number 27.
That he might present it to himself
a glorious church,
not having spot or wrinkle
or any such thing,
but that it should be holy
and without blemish.
Forever my heart is that this church
would be holy, without blemish,
without spot, without wrinkle,
without anything defiling this church.
Well, in order for us to be a church
that is holy,
that can be presented to God
as a glorious church,
I mean, do you want that?
Is that in your heart forever?
Are you, you know,
honest enough to say,
I want blessing up Baptist church
to be a glorious church for Christ.
You know, I want you to be,
I was going to say proud,
proud is a bit of sin,
but I want you to be
happy with this church.
I want you to support this church.
I want you to love this church.
I want you to go to heaven, right?
We're all going to die one day.
I want you to, when you get to heaven,
say, you know what?
I was so happy that God put me
in blessing up Baptist church
because it was a glorious church.
Well, we can only become a glorious church
if we come to the services
and we get washed by his word.
All right, brethren?
So the sixth point that I have for you,
the sixth point that I have for you tonight
is that this church was built
because it's a church that pleases the Lord,
a church that pleases the Lord.
That's our heart, right?
It's not just pleasing man.
I'm not here to just make you happy.
We want to make God happy.
We want to please God.
We want it to be a glorious church.
We want God to look down from heaven
and say, boy, thank God for blessing
up Baptist church there in Sydney.
Thank God, you know,
for the souls that are getting saved.
Thank God for the people
that are learning from God's word
and having a better relationship,
a better walk with God
because they're being nourished
and they're being fed,
they're being washed by the word of God.
So brethren, examine the worlds.
Examine the worlds.
You know, do you have a heart for the church
the way God does?
Do you have a heart for blessed
our Baptist church?
You know, do you have a great appreciation
for this church three years in
than you did when we first started?
Let me just go for those six points once again.
And listen, if there's an area here
that you're failing in,
you realize, no, I'm struggling
in this area, you need to re-dig that well.
So we have these stories in the Bible.
Okay, don't beat yourself up.
Don't be discouraged, right?
Just say, hey, I need to fix that.
That's a world I need to re-dig.
I need to get myself
those nourishing waters
out of that world once again.
You can examine the world,
you re-dig it brethren.
But the six points.
Why was this world dug three years ago?
Because it's a church
that is built on sound doctrine.
Number two, it's a church
that doesn't accommodate heretics.
Number three, it's a church
that values soul winning.
Number four, a church
that does not dwell in bitterness.
And number five,
a church that appreciates fellowship.
Number six, a church
that seeks to please the Lord.
Okay, let's pray.