Alright, so I'm really happy to see your faces, guys, I really, really missed you.
I was trying to work out how long I've not come to Sydney, I think it was almost three
months, close to three months that I've not been able to come to see this church, and
you know, there's the border closures, there's the lack of flights, all those kinds of issues
outside of my control, but I still feel really bad about it, you know, it's horrible for
the shepherd to be away from the sheep, right, the pastor's, one of the titles for the pastor
is a shepherd, and it's horrible to be away from the sheep, it's not something you really
desire, and for that, my apologies brethren, but you know, outside of my control, I feel
really bad about it, but I'm happy that I can be with you guys today, I'm happy that
I can see your faces and fellowship with you guys, and I'm really thankful that you've
continued coming to church, even with these restrictions, continued to do the best you
can to serve the Lord, I'm very thankful for your faith, and you are an encouragement
to me, you are an encouragement to me, and you guys really are encouragement to the church
up there as well, at New Life Baptist Church, but you know, in light of all these restrictions,
and these pandemic, and whatever you want to call it, and the laws, there's been a lot
of opinions, there's a lot of thoughts, there's a lot of ideas, you know, is this virus real,
is it not real, is it manufactured, is it 5G, is it, you know, is it, I don't know,
flu or whatever, I don't know, people come up with all these things, is it even real,
is it just a flu, what is it, you know, and has the reaction been right, and you know,
what I've noticed, and the reason I wanted to preach this is, what I've noticed in, you know,
yes, in the world, there's a lot of opinions, but even within our own churches, there are
different opinions, pastors have done things differently, some pastors have closed their
churches, some have, oh, there's not so much in Australia, in Australia, things have been pretty
consistent, but in America, you'll find that some have kept it open, and copped the fines,
and others have continued soul winning, or stopped soul winning, there's all been different
reactions, there's been different opinions that have been given, and that's okay, one thing that
I really want you to understand, it's okay to have different opinions, it's okay to react differently
from your brother and sister in the Lord, that's fine, that's fine, and here's the thing, you know,
I don't care about this virus, I don't think, you know, I would have come faithfully to Sydney every
single week, even though Sunshine Close is fine with the virus, even though apparently there's
some of it here, I have no fear of the virus, I'd be willing to be here every week, but then I also
understand that maybe other people may have had concerns, maybe other people who are maybe elderly,
or have breathing issues, may have wanted to protect themselves from this environment,
and that's all good as well, because here's the thing, I don't know, I don't know what's true,
I don't know what information I'm hearing is right, you listen to this expert, they say that,
you listen to that expert, you say that, you listen to that YouTube video, it says that,
you listen to that YouTube video, it says that, who knows, I don't know, I don't care,
I really don't care, because here's what I know as a Christian, I know this book is right,
I know this is a hundred percent truth, I know that whatever I read is true, even the lies that
people have said have been faithfully captured for us truthfully by the Holy Spirit, so we know
whatever we read here is correct, is 100% correct, and the issue with going to find an expert,
and hearing what they have to say about the matter, is they might be 90% correct,
they might be 99% correct, but if they're 1% wrong, if there's 1% deception, if there's 1% lies,
it's all a lie, that's how the devil works, the devil works by mixing the truth with lies,
the way you accept lies, the way you digest lies, is by something being very true, say well I know
this is true, and then you swallow it, but you've also swallowed the lies, and so you've not received
the incomplete truth, in fact if it's not a hundred percent true, it's all lies, okay,
it's all lies, and listen, every man will lie to you, every pastor will lie to you, you know when
I come here to stand behind the pulpit and preach to you the Word of God, I try my very best,
I try the best to expound the Word of God, but am I gonna make mistakes sometimes, other times
that I'm going to listen back to my preaching, that I might have preached two or three years ago,
and said you know what, I was actually wrong about that, could that happen, well absolutely,
it should happen, unless you're full of pride, unless you think every word I say behind the
pulpit, everything that I expound from the Word of God is 100% true, that's my desire,
I'm not trying to deceive, I'm not trying to lie, but guess what, I'm a human being,
guess what, you're a human being, hey and I have the Holy Spirit of God, and I've got the Word of
God, and we're trying our best to communicate what God has to say, but what about all these
other experts out there, what about all these opinions and these videos out there, are they
saved, do they have the Holy Spirit of God, do you think they're gonna be more honest and more
truthful than your pastor, are they gonna make mistakes, they will make mistakes, in fact they'll
probably make even more mistakes about the truth, and what you ought to believe in the current
environment, and so what I'm trying to say to you brethren, is that everyone's got different
opinions, everyone's got different thoughts, everyone's going to react differently, no two
churches are necessarily gonna do the same thing the same way, but I want you to know that's okay,
that's okay, look at Romans chapter 14 and verse number 8, Romans chapter 14 and verse number 8,
it says for whether we die, sorry, for whether we live, we live unto the Lord, and whether we die,
we die unto the Lord, whether we live therefore or die, we are the Lord's, we are the Lord's,
who do you belong to brethren, do you belong to pastor Kevin Sapulveda, do you belong to some
other pastor online, do you belong to some other man, no you belong to the Lord, alright, and what
does it teach us, that you know when we die, as a safe person, when we die, we know where we're
going to go, we know we're going to be with the Lord, why, because we're of the Lord, okay that's
easy, if I die today, you die tomorrow, guess what, we're gonna go to the same place, we're
gonna be with the Lord, we know that, but the truth is also that if that's true, so is what
we said there in verse number 8, it says we live unto the Lord, we live unto the Lord, listen when
you live out your Christian life, when you do what you can in your life that God has given you,
you're doing that unto the Lord, you don't do it to impress a brother, you know, brother so-and-so,
you don't do it to impress sister so-and-so, you don't do it to impress pastor so-and-so,
otherwise you're gonna be living a life and you're gonna be wondering, man what does someone think
about me, you know what, I've decided to protect myself in home in case this is a deadly virus,
you know, but what's brother so-and-so gonna think about me, no, listen, that's bondage,
that's wrong, that's not right, you trying to live for somebody is not the Christian life,
the Christian life is living for Christ, it's taking the truth that you know and living in
accordance to that truth, that means there's gonna be times that we have different opinions,
there's gonna be times that we have different reactions to a certain environment, listen,
this restriction is once in a, not even a once in a lifetime, this stuff happens like once every
hundred years, are we all gonna know exactly how to operate, how to do things, are all pastors
gonna react the same way as me, no, we're all gonna react differently, listen, I'm going to
afford them that liberty to do what they believe is right because they are the Lord's, they're not
accountable to me and I'm not accountable to them, we do things in light of what God wants us to do,
we belong to the Lord, look at verse number 9, for to this end Christ both died and rose and revived
that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living, now look at verse number 10, but why
dost thou judge thy brother? You know what, if you live a Christian life and you're constantly
worried, what is pastor gonna say about me? If pastor Kevin came to my house, man, you better
hide the DVD cabinet quickly, you better hide the music collection, that's not living, that's not
how God wants us to live, God does not want us to be thinking that we're gonna be judged by our
brethren, it says here, or why dost thou set at naught thy brother? For we shall all stand before
the judgment seat of Christ, that's who's gonna judge us, we're all gonna stand before the judgment
seat of Christ, I'm gonna stand, one day I'm gonna be before Christ and that's a fearful thing, I'm
gonna be before Christ and Christ is gonna say, what did you do for in your life for me? Okay I'm
not gonna be judged for my sins because that's been paid for on the cross, that's been covered,
that's been forgiven, praise God, man I want to stand before Christ with one sin, oh no way,
thank God for Christ, okay, but then now that we are saved, he's given us our life, he's given us
blessed up Baptist Church, he's given us the Holy Spirit, he's given us the Word of God,
he's gonna say, hey what did you do with your life, how did you serve me? Alright and that's
what the account that we're gonna give of the Lord, I hope he says that, good and faithful
servant, here's a whole bunch of gifts for you, here's the rewards in heaven, I hope that's the
case, rather than we just go by the skin of our teeth right to heaven with the foundation of
Christ, but we're all gonna stand before the judgment seat of Christ, that means parents,
your children will individually stand before the judgment seat of Christ, that means wives,
you're gonna individually stand before the judgment seat of Christ, you can't hide behind
your parents, you can't hide behind your pastor, you can't hide behind your church, all of us will
give an account to Jesus Christ, this is why we are, we're not here to judge each other,
we're not here to put pressure on the brethren and make people feel bad or something like that,
because you're not living up to my standard, no, the standard you need to be living is the standard
of Jesus Christ, okay, now it's said in verse number 10, oh why dost thou set at naught by a
brother, what's naught, what's a number naught, it's zero right, it's a naught, one, two, right,
it's zero, nothing, okay, so what they're saying is by your judgment, by you judging your brethren,
you're making them feel like they're nothing, they're zero, they're naught, they're insignificant,
right, and that's when you get that attitude of someone that is holier than thou, that's righteous,
and says well that family is wrong, how they're raising their kids is wrong, because they're not
raising it like I raise my kids, that family is not living right, because they don't live like we
do, hey that brother is, his faith is weak because I'm so faithful, no, you know, we're not there to
judge each other, understand that your brother or sister will be judged by Jesus Christ, and that's
what I want, I want you to live your life in light of what is Jesus going to say about me, when I
stand before him, what is he going to say, not, oh pastor Kevin, quickly, you know, let's, you know,
dress a little bit, not so, you know, immodest, let's make sure we dress nicely for church,
listen, just live for Christ, you know, you do what's right for the Lord, and you'll find that
you're not going to have the fear of man, you're not going to be concerned what other men have to
say about you, you're going to be primarily concerned about what Christ has to say, look at
verse number 11, for it is written, as I live, say for the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue
shall confess to God, so then every one of us shall give account of himself to God, let us not
therefore judge one another anymore, but judge this rather, that no man put a stumbling block or an
occasion to fall in his brother's way, you know, my desire for you, brethren, is not to have a fear of
pastor Kevin, not to feel pressured by another brother or sister in the Lord, my desire for you is to
know that I'm going to stand before Christ one day, and I want to make sure that the life has given me
the truth that I've heard, I'm going to live that out, I'm going to live for Christ, okay, I want you
to have liberty in your life, in fact the title for the sermon this afternoon is individual soul
liberty, individual soul, soul liberty, freedom, individual, now this is known as a Baptist
distinction, you know, I was looking at some other churches, now some people within other churches
may feel or believe in individual soul liberty, but more than often, most Protestant churches,
especially the Catholic, I mean it's definitely the Catholic Church, they do not believe in
individual soul liberty, okay, what that means is they believe, you know, the priests, the pastors,
the church, they believe they have to control people's lives, you know, there are quotes that go
as far as saying, if you leave the church, you've lost your salvation, the only way you can be saved
is by being in the church, and then they'll set certain standards, they'll set certain guidelines,
they'll say you got to live like this, and they put this restrictive living on people, they feel
pressured, they do it because they don't want to be seen, you know, feel bad of other people, and if
they leave the church, you notice that even family will turn against them, people that they love,
even divorces, things like that, because you've left basically a cult, and there's this desire
in man that wants to control other people, but no, God has given us individual soul liberty,
we stand before Christ, we are answerable toward Christ, please take your Bibles and turn to John
chapter 8, John chapter 8, John chapter 8 and verse number 30, John chapter 8 and verse number
30, I want you to really understand this, because if you find that your Christian life is really
frustrating, I feel restricted, you know, man, all these things that I have to do to live like
Christ, if you feel cast down and heavy laden about that, you know, you're not living the
Christian life properly, I'm just telling you, you're not living the Christian life properly,
if you think it's all about these rules and restrictions in your life, no, God gives us
liberty, now, I want to be very careful when I say this, I'm not talking about liberty is sin,
I'm not saying, I'm not condoning, it's fine for you to just sin, but do you have the liberty to
sin? Of course, and if you do sin, guess what, there's consequences, you know, God will chastise
you or maybe even within that sin, there are inbuilt consequences within that sin, I'm not
condoning sin, I'm not saying that's fine, but what I'm saying is, God sets certain boundaries,
if you break that boundary, if you break, if you trespass against the Lord, you are committing
sin, but within the boundaries that God does give us, there's a lot of freedom, there's a lot of
liberty, that means we don't have to think alike, that means we don't have to live alike, that means
when it comes to this coronavirus, we don't even have to have the same opinion about it, because
this is not what makes the church, it's not what makes brothers and sisters, it's not what makes
fellowship our opinion on a matter that has nothing to do of biblical consequence, what
brings us together are the fundamental truths is Jesus Christ and known one day we're gonna
stand before the Lord and give an account for our lives, that's what brings us together,
that's what brings unity into our church, look at John chapter 8 verse number 30, John chapter 8
and verse number 30, it says, and this is speaking of Jesus, as he spake these words, many believed on
him, hey what do we have to do to be saved, we need to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, amen,
so did these guys get saved, absolutely right, and then look what he says to them, then said Jesus to
those Jews which believed on him, if you continue in my word, now are they saved, they are saved,
okay, do they have to continue in the word, do they have to live a, do they have to live a
Christian life, to be, no, they're saved, whether they live a Christian life or not right, salvation
is faith on the finished work of Jesus Christ, but then he says, if you continue in my word,
then are you my disciples indeed, now look at verse number 32, and ye shall know the truth,
and the truth shall make you free, does Jesus want you in bondage brethren, does he want you to feel
under pressure to live this, oh man I've got to live so righteously, because brother so-and-so
might get, might say something about me, that's not how he wants you to live, he wants you to
live free, now when we got saved, did we, were we made free, yeah, because we were under the
bondage of sin, we had the bondage of you know the fear in, you know eternal life, we know what's
going to happen, am I going to heaven, am I going to hell, what's the way, you're under bondage in
that sense, so when you got saved, and you heard the gospel, you believe on Christ, you've been
made free, praise God, I know where I'm going now, doesn't matter what happens, I can be driving home
off the church today, a car accident, you know, I don't want you guys to go in a car accident,
but if it happens, you know where you'll be, and you know what, I'll be sad that you lost your life
here, but I'll be rejoicing because I know where you are, you'll be with the Lord Jesus Christ,
you'll be right there, and so there's freedom in salvation, but this is not about salvation,
this is about being a disciple indeed, this is about walking and living after the Lord,
and what he's saying is the Christian life is a life of freedom, the Christian life is a life
of liberty, look at verse number 33, they answered him, we be Abraham's seed, and were never in
bondage to any man, how sayest thou, ye shall be made free, Jesus answered them, verily verily I
say unto you, whosoever commit of sin is the servant of sin, and the servant abideth not in
the house forever, but the Son abideth forever, look at verse 36, if the Son therefore shall make
you free, stop there, has the Son made you free, are you saved today, are you free, yes, okay,
if that's you, ye shall be free indeed, Jesus Christ says, listen, I want my disciples,
I want Christians to be free, I want them to have liberty, again, not condoning sin,
sin is wrong, but within what God allows, he wants freedom, that means we're all going to
have different thoughts, now when it comes to the fundamental doctrines, I'm saying yes,
we need to be consistent about that, we build our church upon that, but listen,
when it comes to secondary or tertiary doctrines, or coronavirus, or anything else, listen,
we're all going to have different opinions, and you better get used to people having different
opinions, you know why, because when people have different opinions, you're going to get frustrated,
and you're going to be realizing, hold on, no, no, there's freedom, there's liberty to believe
whatever you want to believe, and listen, I've had, you know, people mention to me different
things about the virus, and this and that, this and that, and I'm like, listen, you can be free
to believe whatever you want, you can be free because I believe this doctrine, I believe in
individual soul liberty, you can believe whatever you want, but you also need to afford me to
believe what I want, and to live how I want, and how to respond how I want, and live in the truth
that I see there in the Word of God, we're not talking about the deity of Christ, you know,
we're not talking about the Trinity, we're not talking about salvation by grace through faith,
we're not talking about the second coming of Christ, we're talking about tertiary issues that
have no impact on these things, there's freedom, there's freedom, okay, I have 11 children, I'm not
going to you to say, hey guys, come on, you got to catch up, you know, we've got 11, what are you
going to do, are you going to get to six, at least go halfway with me, I'm not trying to put that
pressure on you, all right, what my goal as a pastor is to preach what the Bible says, and allow
the Word of God to work in your lives, okay, and do what you believe is right with the truth that
God has revealed to you in the Word of God, okay, because there are, there's freedom, and people
don't understand this sometimes, especially in independent fundamental Baptist churches,
they think we all need to be a carbon copy, we all need to dress the same, we all need to speak
the same, we all better be exactly the same on every little verse, right, that, are we on the
same page here, you're wrong, oh man, what's wrong with you, listen, we are constantly growing, we
are constantly learning, I would hate life if I knew all the answers straight away, you know, part
of enjoying life is the journey, part of enjoying life is growing, you know, getting more knowledge,
getting more wisdom, applying that thing, and learning from your trials and errors, and that's,
you know, enjoy the journey that you have in your Christian life, okay, you'll never be 100% like
Jesus Christ right now, until you pass away, or until, you know, the rapture, until you get that
new resurrected body, you no longer have that old flesh that you have to battle with, at that point
you'll be perfect, at that point you'll be like the Lord Jesus Christ, but for now, enjoy the
journey, learn, grow, and understand that not everybody's on the same page, not every family's
the same as your family, but we're all striving, God willing, to live in accordance to the truth
of God's Word. Please go to, um, please go to Genesis, go to Genesis chapter 2 for me,
Genesis chapter 2, Genesis chapter 2. When God looks at us, he sees us as free, and he also sees
us as servants. You go to Genesis 2, I'm going to read to you very quickly, in 1st Corinthians
chapter 7 verse 22, it says, for he that is called in the Lord, being a servant, listen,
some people are servants, and in this day and age, of course, there were some that were servants
to people all their lives, and there would never be somebody in authority that would always be
under a man, if you're an employee, you are a servant, maybe eight hours a day, you are a
servant of, you know, a master, for those hours, right, but it says here, being a servant is the
Lord's free man. I say, what? But I'm a servant, how can I be a free man of the Lord? It says,
likewise also, he that is called being free, hey, if you're actually someone that's free,
not a servant, maybe you're a master, you're not serving anybody else, it says, is Christ's servant.
Say, what? I'm free. No, no, you're Christ's servant, and those that are servants in this
earth, guess what, you're free. Say, what's that about? It says in verse number 23, ye are bought
with a price, be not ye the servants of men, ye are bought with a price. Why do we have individual
soul liberty? I tell you why, because Pastor Kevin did not buy your life, okay, you did not purchase
the life of anybody, nobody purchased your life except for Jesus Christ, and he purchased you by
his shed blood, on Calvary, his sacrifice, his resurrection, and through that sacrifice, you
belong to him now, you belong to the Lord Jesus Christ, and what is, what Christ is saying is
this, if you live on this earth, and all you are is a servant, you never become someone that's a
master, an employer, you never take on a position of authority, you just stay a servant, well you're
free in Christ, you know, your real state is the fact that you're free, that you have liberty in
Jesus Christ, but hey, if you aren't free, if you aren't a servant, and you are free, guess what,
that makes you a servant of Christ. Say, what does that mean? It means that as a servant of Christ,
there's freedom, that means if you work a job, and you're a servant, and you have an employer,
that's not your real boss, okay, the real boss is the one above that guy, which is Jesus Christ,
and then when you go to work and say, oh man, I'm under bondage here, no no, you're serving Christ,
and if you're serving Christ, you're free, you're Christ's free man, from God's perspective, you are
free, and what makes you free is the fact that you're a servant of Jesus Christ, okay, so this is
important for you to live your life, to be content, to be happy, yes you'll be judged by your manager
on this earth for those few hours that you work, but ultimately your judgment comes with the, you
know, at the judgment seat of Christ, when you stand before Christ, and you have to give an
account, that's the one that matters, the fact that you're a servant of Jesus Christ. The Bible
says in Galatians 5, 1, stand fast therefore in the Liberty, listen, stand fast, therefore in the
Liberty, where with Christ has made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
You know the big problem of the Jews in the days of Jesus, they were trying to put all the
Christians under bondage, you've got to keep this, you've got to keep the Sabbath, you've got to do
the circumcision, you've got to do all this, it's like no, Christ has made us free from the law,
he's done all of that, it's all done, and then we get to 2020, we're in independent Baptist churches,
and the pastor is saying hey, you've got to do this, you've got to raise your kids like this,
you better do homeschooling like this, you better educate your kids like this, and all of a sudden
you've got all these burdens, it's no different to what we saw in the days of Jesus Christ. You know,
Christ gives us freedom, there's choice, you're in Genesis 2, Genesis 2 verse 15, Genesis 2, 15,
hey there's been individual soul liberty from the very very beginning, from the time that Christ
created Adam, Genesis chapter 2 and verse number 15 says, and the Lord God took the man, that's Adam
of course, and put him into the Garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it, and the Lord God commanded
the man saying of every tree of the garden that may freely eat, look at that, God says all these
trees, I don't know how many trees do you think there were in the Garden of Eden? Hundreds, maybe,
maybe thousands? God says look, eat from any of these, but then he says this, in verse number 17,
but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it, for in the day
that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die. So did God put a boundary? Absolutely, he said
listen, that one tree over there, knowledge of tree of good and evil, you can't eat of that
fruit over there, that if you do that, that's sin, that's you disobeying the Lord, there's the
boundary, okay, so I'm not saying we should bypass that boundary and have the liberty of that tree,
I'm not saying you should go and just sin and enjoy it, no, there's a boundary, but guess what,
within the boundaries, a lot of freedom, maybe hundreds, maybe thousands of trees that Adam
could eat of. Now listen, there are people today, you know, I don't know, in this church, maybe,
maybe other pastors, maybe other preachers, that if they were God, and if they created Adam and
they put him in the garden, they would say to Adam, Adam, this one tree you can eat of, these
are the hundreds of trees, don't touch them. No, our God is a God of liberty, our God is a God of
freedom, and he says, listen, a hundred trees, a thousand trees, go enjoy it, enjoy life, okay,
don't touch that one, because it's sinful, don't touch that one, it's wrong, but hey, enjoy all
whatever you want, eat whenever you want. Listen, that's the freedom that God has given us, as long
as it's within the boundaries of his word, outside of those boundaries, sin, don't go there,
within the boundaries of God, there's freedom, there's choice, there's liberty, this is how God
wanted to create man, okay, this is how God wanted to create man. Let's keep going, verse number 18,
and the Lord God said, it is not good that the man should be alone, I will make him and help me for
him, and out of the ground, sorry, and out of the ground, the Lord God formed, look at this, God
formed every beast of the field and every fowl of the air, and brought them unto Adam to see what he
would call them. Why did God bring all these animals to Adam? It says here, look, and brought
unto Adam to see what he would call them. So God creates all these animals to Adam, and God's
curious, he's like, okay, Adam, I've created you, I'm wondering, what are you going to call them?
Can you name them? Did God say, hey, name the giraffe a giraffe, name the elephant an elephant?
No, he said, you know what, Adam, I want to see what you come up with. You know what he did? He gave
Adam freedom, he gave Adam liberty, hey, God was curious, what are you going to do? How are you
going to name them? Right? This is from the very beginning, it says, and whatsoever Adam called
every living creature, that was the name thereof, and Adam gave the name to all cattle, and to the
fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field, and for Adam that was not found and helped meet
for him. So Adam was free to choose whatever tree he wanted to eat off, except that one, and then
God gave him a job, hey, name all these animals, he was free to call them whatever he wanted. Does
that sound like a life of bondage? Does that sound like a life of restrictions, oh God, you make it
so hard for me? Or does it sound like a life of liberty, a life of freedom? In fact, so much so
that God wants to see what you do, with the choices that God allows you to have, you know?
And so what I'm saying to you brethren, is there is a time and a place for very specific prayers,
you know? Maybe there's a girl you're interested in, and you're thinking of marrying this girl,
and you say, Lord can you just clarify for this for me? Can you just give me confirmation that
this is the one you want to marry? You know, can you just close the other doors? Can you make it
easy for us to go ahead with this? There's a time and a place for very specific things,
for very, you know, restrictive questions that you might ask the Lord. But I'm telling you this,
and I had to learn this kind of the hard way, most often that's not how the Lord's going to
answer your prayer. You know, you might be like, Lord I need to work a job. Which job, Lord? You
know, look, you go to your newspaper, you go to seek.com, and you see all these work places,
you say, Lord is it this one? Which one is it? And you see Christians agonized. Which one,
Lord? Which one do you want me to? What's your will, Lord? And the Lord's like, hey,
there's a thousand. Choose whichever one you want. Because it's not, you know, God doesn't say,
be an electrician. God doesn't say, be a pastor. He doesn't say, be a mechanic. He says, men,
work and provide. And look, there's options, there's professions, there's all amounts of
freedom, as long as it's the job that doesn't cause you to commit sin. Okay, of course,
there are jobs that are very sinful, you shouldn't go there, don't touch that one tree. But most
often than not, there's going to be 100 trees, there's going to be 1000 trees that you can eat
from. And the Lord's just, hey, why would I give you one answer when all of these answers are right?
And I'm actually curious to see which one you choose. Because there's freedom, there's liberty
in the Christian life. Again, opinions also, our thoughts, how we live our life, you know,
as long as it's true to God's Word, you do it. Now, let me give you a quick example. I do,
the Bible is very clear that when we discipline our children, okay, to use the rod of reproof.
I'm sorry if that offends anybody, but that's very clear in the Bible. Okay, so do we have
the freedom there to say, well, you know, I'm going to go super nanny, I'm going to put my kid
in timeout for five minutes in the corner. Would that be, that would be sin, that would be sin,
because God's very clear about how to use the rod, isn't He? To use that rod. But then guess
what, when I talk to my wife, and we raise our kids, and we decide to make some rules around
the house, I'm going to make certain, we're going to make certain rules that are different to your
certain rules in your house. We're going to apply that rod at different circumstances, different
times than what you may necessarily use that rod. You know, when it comes to lying, I'll apply that
rod five times. Lying for us is like the worst sin our children can do. You know, usually if they've
done something wrong, and they just tell us the truth, they've done it, they're going to be,
they're going to get a lot of mercy. This is like God, right? If you've done a sin, and you go to
the Lord and ask God, please be merciful to me a sinner, I've sinned, I've done wrong, God's going
to be a lot more merciful to you, right? But if you're someone that's prideful, you hold on to
that sin, you don't go to the Lord, the Lord's hand of chastisement is going to be very, very
heavy on you, okay? But does that mean I expect you to discipline your children five times with
the rod when they lie? Not this freedom, this choice, right? The rod, yes, but how you apply,
how often you apply, what rules you create, where you would have to apply that, is up to you guys.
We're not living in a cult, we're not all trying to be the same, we're not all trying to think
the same, that would not be liberty, understand the difference there? So we have the boundary,
the boundary is use a rod, but God doesn't tell you how often to use it, when to use it,
that comes between husbands and wives, you put your heads together, these are our kids,
and listen, some of my kids, 11 kids, you realize they're all very different, okay? You apply the
rod once to one of those kids, they learn like that, sometimes the other one needs like 10 times,
before they learn the same lesson the other one learns, so even with the kids you have,
it's going to be different, okay? But there's liberty, there's choice, and God is saying,
how are you going to apply the truth that I've given you in the word of God?
Please go to Hebrews chapter 7, please go to Hebrews chapter 7,
and I'm going to skip some of my notes here, because I think I'm going to go over time,
but Hebrews chapter 7, the question is, why do we have liberty? Why do we have
liberty? Well I'm going to read to you from 1 Timothy chapter 2 verse 5,
it says, for there is one God and one mediator between God and men, oh who's that one media,
must be Pastor Kevin, that's how I get closer to God, I got to come to bless up at this church,
get around Pastor Kevin, ask for his advice, ask him to forgive me for my sins, so I can be right
with God, and that's Roman Catholic church mentality right, and in fact many other churches
are like that as well, you think I'm right with God if I'm close to the man of God, or the one
that's in control, no, there's one media, who was the one mediator? It says between God and men,
the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all to be testified into your time, do you
belong to Christ? Are you in Christ Jesus? Is Christ Jesus in you? Do you belong to Christ?
Then guess what, you've got that one media on your side, you don't need the pastor,
you don't need some other man, all you need, oh actually you don't even need more, you've got him,
you've got Christ, you don't need anything now, you've got direct access to God, you've got direct
access to the father, now you can just bow your head anytime you want, on your drive home from
work, just bow your head, well you can't close your eyes when you're driving right, you better
pay attention if you're driving, but you can pray to the Lord, you can ask him for guidance,
for wisdom, for direction, you can up, you know, take the burdens that you have, vent to the Lord,
he wants to hear your prayers, you've got direct access to God, individual soul liberty, because
Christ has given us direct access to the father, each of us have this, you don't have to go to God
for your parents, you don't have to go to God for your pastor, each of us if you're saved,
has direct access to God, the Bible says in Revelation 1 6 and have made us kings and priests
unto God and his father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever, kings and priests,
we have direct access, we don't need to go to some other priest, some other mediator to get
to the Lord, we've already been made priests, in fact even more important than that, we've been
made his children, his sons, listen I've got children, I want them when they have problems
to come directly to me, I don't want them going to their friends, you know, with their problems
and their concerns, I want them to come to me, I want them to come and ask help from mum and dad
and I tell you what, as their parents we're going to do everything we can to help them,
what a great privilege we've been given as Christians to have direct access
to God, this is why we have liberty, each of us are answerable to God, okay and God is going to
judge us eventually in how we live our lives, you're in Hebrews chapter 7, look at verse number 22,
by so much was Jesus made, so verse number 22, so by so much was Jesus made a surety of a better
testament and they truly were many priests, that's in the old testament, there were many priests
because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death, but this man, because he
continued forever, have an unchangeable priesthood, wherefore he is able also to save them to the
uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them,
what a privilege we have brethren, that we are the children of God, we have direct access to God,
because of Jesus Christ, he is our surety, you know he's given us this access, it's amazing to
think we can just talk to the God, the creator of all things immediately, so what's the point of
this sermon? Number one, understand your liberty, understand your freedom, understand that if you
disagree with me it's okay and understand that I'm free to disagree with you, I'm talking about
matters that are tertiary, I'm talking about matters that none of us have probably ever faced
in our lives, but one thing we know for sure, if it's coming from the word of God, if there's truth
in the word of God, we can stand sure of that, but what I'm saying is, God gives us liberty,
he gives us freedom, and it's not our responsibility to judge our brother, it's our
responsibility to understand that our brother will one day stand before Christ, as will I stand one
day before Christ, and so there's liberty, okay, but what keeps us in check of that liberty, what
keeps us in check of not just running wild and getting to sin and going clubbing and getting to
alcohol and destroying our lives and sleeping around and living like this wicked world, what
gives us that fear is knowing that one day I'm going to stand before Christ, and Christ is going
to say what did you do with the life that I've given you, with the resources that I've given you,
okay, so these things keep us in balance, the fear of one day being before Christ, giving that account,
but at the same time enjoying the freedom that God has given us. Listen brethren, you know what,
I'm almost 40, I'm 39 now, if I died at 50 years old and I continue the way I am, I'm really happy,
I enjoy life, I'm fine with that, I would rather live 50 years happy with my liberties,
one day know I'm going to stand before Christ, then live 100 years constantly worried, constantly
depressed, constantly, man what's brother so-and-so going to say about me, what's sister so-and-so
saying about my family, and you're trying to fit this mode of a independent fundamental Baptist,
you're trying to live out that life and all you're doing is stressing about it, I don't want to live
like that for 100 years, I'd rather live the 50 years knowing that I had the liberty and the joy
and being content with what God has given me, okay. Now please go to Luke 14, please go to,
no actually let's go to Matthew 23, let's go to Matthew 23, Matthew 23.
I want to tie in soul winning into this, soul winning, now I don't know about you,
I love winning souls, I love knocking doors, I love preaching the gospel,
sometimes it's hard to do it at the beginning but once you're in it, it's awesome right,
you get into it and you see someone saved sometimes, it's really, really exciting when
that happens, but I don't know about you, have you ever seen a new Christian, a baby in Christ
who's really zealous, who wants to get out there, so when he may be the first time, and I've seen
this a few times, I don't know if I was like this when I started, I can't remember, but I've seen
Christians where you know, that you knock that first door, the person at the door says hey mate,
not interested, all right, they're polite about it, not interested, close the door and it's like
well if you want to go to hell, go ahead, or that guy was definitely a reprobate because he didn't
listen to me, that's the young, that's the young immature Christian that doesn't understand that
even the unbeliever has individual soul liberty, saying what way, they are free to reject the
gospel, they are free to reject Jesus Christ, they're not rejecting you, don't get offended
by that, they are rejecting Jesus Christ, and listen, they're free to do it, they're free to
do it, did I teach the term Matthew 23, Matthew 23 verse 37, Matthew 23 verse 37, these are the words
of Jesus, Jesus who was a soul winner, we saw how he preached and people believed on him, and then
he says this, oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets and stonest them, which are
sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathered
her chickens under her wings, and ye would not, so they said, God, Jesus, I'm not interested,
Jesus knocked their doors, not interested mate, you know, and what does Jesus want for them,
he wants to be like that mother hen, he wants to be a loving hen that gathers her chickens under
her wings, hey that's what we're trying to do when we go sowing, we ought to be going out of love,
our love for the lost, our love to preach God's word, to bring people into the kingdom,
but when they say we would not, then you need to just, well what does Jesus say,
look at verse number 38, behold your house is left unto you desolate, hey you're going to be without
Christ, you reject Christ, you're going to be without Christ, listen when someone rejects you
at the door, don't get emotional, don't get offended, understand he's got the liberty to
reject Christ, Lord willing another missionary comes, Lord willing he hears the gospel some
other way, you know, Lord willing you leave a seed that can that can be watered one day and
that person gets saved, but you move on to the next person, you don't waste time arguing,
getting offended, just have a smile on your face, no problem sir, or move on, you get to the next
house and you preach the gospel, otherwise you're going to get all worked up about that one person
that's rejected you and you're going to forget to knock the rest of the street where there was
that one person ready to hear the gospel that day, use your time wisely, understand that people are
free to reject Christ, you don't need to get offended because they're not rejecting you,
they're rejecting Christ, even Christ was willing, you would not, I wanted to get you saved, but you
would not, okay, Jesus was able to move on in that sense. Now let me just give you another tip with
soul winning, okay, because normally when we out soul winning we might be out for an hour, maybe
two hours, something like that, sometimes three hours, sometimes people forgot five hours, and so
you want to use your time wisely when you're out soul winning, and the bible says in Titus 3 9,
but avoid foolish questions and genealogies and contentions and strivings about the law, for they
are unprofitable and vain. I don't know about you, but I've gone soul winning and people bring up some
staff, maybe I knocked on the door of a seventh-day Adventist, but we've got to keep the Sabbath as
well, right, you know, you can't, you've got to get baptized as well, right, right, and so what I've
learned from this passage here is that there's going to be contention sometimes when you're
preaching the truth, but then it says in verse number 10, a man that is an heretic after the first
and second admonition rejects, knowing that he that is such is subverted and sinneth being condemned
of himself. What is that saying? He says a man that is an heretic, a man who rejects the truth
after the first and second admonition rejects. We've got to learn how to reject people as well,
and so when you're out there and you're preaching the gospel and someone's taking you on a 10,
you know, what's the word I'm looking for? Anyway, someone's getting you off track, you know, they're
taking you into some other argument, they've done that once and you're like, okay, let me get back to
the gospel, and you're trying to get back to the gospel, and then they take you down some other
rabbit hole and they start talking to you about how you need to keep the Sabbath, and you can't get
through the gospel the second time, that's your time to say this is a heretic, I'm going to reject him,
I'm going to move on, I'm not going to waste my time, my time is valuable, the gospel is important,
there is someone else down this road that is maybe ready to hear the gospel, there's someone
else that is going to be ready for a seed to be planted, and what I'm trying to say to you is,
you don't need to argue about it, you don't need to get upset about it, you don't need to waste,
you know, your time, 20 minutes, 30 minutes, an hour just going back and forth with this person,
if you can't even get through the gospel with this person, move on, reject, so you can preach
the gospel to someone else. They have the liberty to reject Jesus Christ, you know, and sometimes
we get in these conversations, we're trying to convince them by logic, we're trying to convince
them by some arguments, listen, if they're rejecting, they're rejecting, they're not ready,
they're not ready to receive Christ at that point, go and find someone that is ready to receive the
word, there is liberty, there is individual soul liberty in Christians, there's also liberty by the
unbelieving world to reject Christ, and we just have to learn that, accept that, it's not pleasant,
that's the reality of it, and we need to find the person that is ready to hear the gospel.
All right, please go to Hebrews chapter 4 for me, please go to Hebrews chapter 4,
because, you know, there is something God has put in us, a desire to influence,
God has put in us a desire to control other people, so that sounds a bit weird, God has
put in us, and it's neither positive nor negative, it's positive if it's in the right context,
and it's negative if it's in the wrong context, so what is this about? Well, you know, in every man,
God has put a desire in every man to be a leader, to lead a wife, to get married, to be the head of
his wife, to look after his children, to raise his children, to provide for his children,
and that's your area of influence that God has given you, and that is the proper place
for that influence, even mothers, mothers with children, God has put you in a place
to have influence, to have some level of control with your children, that is the right context,
hey I'm the pastor of this church, I have authority in this church, you know, God has
given me the ability to exercise that authority, to exercise that rule in the house of God when
we're gathered together, but God did not give me the authority to go to your home and tell you how
to live your lives, God has not given me the authority to go and look at your movie cabinets
and movies and your music and tell you, hey I don't do that, I don't listen to that, why
aren't you living like me? That's outside, that would be outside, but yet there are many pastors,
there are many churches that are trying to control your life, okay, and I want you to understand, no,
there's liberty, there's liberty in Jesus Christ, and where is it wrong? That feeling of control,
once again, it's like those cults that say if you leave our church, you can't get saved,
if you leave our church, you're damned forever, or something like that, that is
control that is applied wrongly, that is influence that is applied wrongly,
you know, like I said, we've got 11 kids, if me and my wife are going to families and saying,
hey, why don't you only have one, why don't you only have two, why aren't you having more,
and making people feel horrible about themselves, hey, that's not my area,
that's that family's area, I'm here to look after my family, I've got authority in my home,
you know, I've got enough brethren, a wife and 11 kids, I don't want your kids,
I love your kids, I'm praying for them, but I don't want to have to tell them what to do,
I don't want to tell your wife what to do, I've got enough to deal with my wife and kids,
you know, and it's not my job to tell another pastor what to do about their church,
because we've got this church, I've got the church over there, most pastors don't even have
two churches they have to, you know, manage and influence, praise God that I have this ability,
right, praise God for that, and I've got to exercise that in the right way,
but it's not my job to tell a pastor what to do, you know, I had a friend call me this week,
because of all these protests, black lives matters, and you know, hey, they're meant to be
1.5 meters away from one another and all this stuff, right, and he said, he rang me up, he
said, anyway, he's my friend, if he's listening to this, you know that I love you, okay, but anyway,
he called me up and he says, you know what, I think the right thing for you to do is to just
open up your church, look at these protests, they're going out in the hundreds and the
thousands and they're marching the streets, and you're trying to, you know, follow the guidelines,
you're trying to, you know, be a good citizen or whatever, and you know, you should just open your
doors and just let everybody come, I said to him, okay, that's your opinion brother, you're entitled
to your opinion, but why would I not listen to what you have to say, why would I not carry out
what you just told me, and he says, oh, because you're striving to be a law abiding citizen,
I said, no, that's not why, the reason I'm not even going to listen to what you have to say,
is because you don't even go to church, you don't even go to church, you've been out of church for
weeks, you've been out of church for months, you haven't been going to your home church,
you haven't come to this church, and you're going to tell a pastor what to do with his church,
what kind of influence is that, in fact, I probably should do the opposite of what you're
telling me, because you're not even a church goer, how can you who has, can't even go to church, tell
even a pastor what to do, right, now listen, I love that guy, and you know, I said to him, I'm not trying
to offend you, I'm just trying to show you, what I'm trying to do is get him to church, I'm not trying
to, you know, bash him, I'm trying to get him into church and apply his influence in the right place,
in the right way, okay, now here's the thing though, you know, there's two ways that we can
influence people, my desire is to influence you, I want to have an effect on you guys,
I want you to leave church and and have more knowledge, I want you to leave church and live
more godly, but I can't make you do it, I can't make you do it, and I don't want to make you feel
horrible about it, if you feel horrible about the word of God, that's your problem, but I'm not
striving to make you feel that way, right, if we're challenged by the word of God, praise God, there's
two ways, there's two ways that as a pastor, and not just as the pastor, but as brothers and sisters
of the Lord, that we can affect one another, that we can influence one another, let me share what
they are, what did I ask you to turn to? Hebrews 4, sorry guys, I'm getting off track, but I'm going
to, while you're turning there, while you're going there, I'm going to read to you from Romans chapter
10 verse 16, it says, but they have not all obeyed the gospel, how do we obey the gospel?
By believing the gospel, how do we believe the gospel? For Isaiah saith, Lord, who have believed
our reports? So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. How do we get faith in
the Lord Jesus Christ? How do we get someone saved? Is it by our intellect, by our wisdom, by our choice
of words? No, people get saved by hearing the gospel in the word of God, that's how salvation
comes, that's how faith comes, but it's the same reality for a Christian, how do we grow in faith,
how do we become more godly, how do we become more Christ-like? By the word of God, okay, my desire
when I come here is not to give my wisdom, not to find some fancy theory on the internet and
try to preach that and trying to find verses that support that teaching, my desire is to see what is
God saying in his word and project that and explain that and help you understand what God says in his
word, and I hope that touches your heart because here in Hebrews chapter 4 verse 12, it says, for
the word of God is quick, and it says quick, it means alive, these words are alive, it's a living
book, it's strange, but it's alive and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing
even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit and of the joints and marrow and is a discerner
of the thoughts and intents of the heart, but when I come to preach to you, I don't know what's in
your heart, in fact I don't even know what's in my heart, I know it's pretty wicked, my heart, I know
all your hearts are wicked actually, the bible tells me that, okay, but really I don't know what's in
your heart, but when I preach this word, guess what, this word knows what's in your heart, this word
is supposed to work in your heart, and so when you have been influenced, my desire is that you've been
influenced of course by the word of God, and this is why we preach from this word, why do you come
to Blessed Hope Baptist Church, why do we have some first-time visitors today at Blessed Hope
Baptist Church, why do people go to New Life Baptist Church, why, why do you come here, is it
because I'm an entertainer, has brother David juggle for you lately, I don't know, did brother Luke
dance for you when he preached last time, were you guys entertained by the rock music and the bands
and the smoke machines and the lights, what got you to church, was it the puppet show, did anyone do a
puppet show last week, is that why you came to church, what brings you to church, and listen that's
what brings some people to church, a lot of churches put all these activities on and people
come, oh man it's school holidays, what am I going to do with my kids, well this church has a kids club
so they can be gone out of my hair for a few hours, let's dump them at church over there
for a few hours, and that's how people bring people into church, but why are you here, why are you at
Blessed Hope Baptist Church, I know why you're here, okay, you're not here for the concrete floor
and the paint off the walls there, you know, why did you come, you come because you want to hear
the word of God, you come because of doctrine, you become because you know this is probably the best
place that I'm going to, I'm not the best preacher, but this is probably one of the places that I can
find the best teaching in Sydney, where it's going to have an effect on my life, it's going to have
effect on my family, it's going to have effect on my children, and I want my family, I want my
children, I want myself to love God more, I want to be more like Jesus Christ, I want my will to be
more like the will of Christ, that's why you come here, you know, if this was all we had to offer
concrete floors and paint off, we wouldn't be here, we wouldn't have first-time visitors here, right,
we come for the word of God, so if you're a preacher, you come behind the pulpit, you preach
to people, you make sure you preach not your wisdom, you preach the wisdom of God,
you preach the word of God, all right, the second area of influence, the word of God is good, yes,
that's the most important part, but also your example, also your example, now my friend that
called me said hey I've got some ideas for your church, you should do this, was he sitting a good
example, was he being a good influence to me, would I listen to you and say you know what brother,
you've got a good point right there, no, because he's got a bad example, he doesn't even go to
church, right, he sets a bad example, right, and if someone comes up to me and says you know what,
this is how you should raise your kids, but then I see your family life falling apart,
I see your wife complaining about you, I see your children not obeying you, am I going to take your
advice, are you sitting a good example where I think wow, you've got the words of wisdom,
yeah you're right, I better take this on board, no, when it comes to individual soul liberty,
I don't need anybody to tell me how to be a good husband, I don't need anybody to tell me how to
raise my kids, I think I'm doing a pretty good job, I don't need another pastor to tell me how
to pass a church, because I think we're doing a pretty good job with the resources that we have,
we're not a very big church, I think we're doing a great job here as well as up there,
what individual soul liberty allows you is when there's truth in God's word and you base it on
the truth, then you have confidence in what you believe, you have confidence in what you believe,
if you're striving to cause somebody to believe, to live, to be just like you, most often they're
not, it's because you don't even have the confidence in what you're doing, and you get
the confidence when you're able to convince somebody else to be more like you, so I must
be right because look, they're like me now, no, what gives you the confidence is knowing that
one day I'm ready to stand before Jesus Christ and give an account for how I live my life,
and that's freedom, that's true freedom, when you can do this because of Christ,
not because of another man, but we should set a good example, please go to 2nd Kings chapter 10,
go to 2nd Kings chapter 10, I'm sorry if I've gone a bit over time, 2nd Kings chapter 10,
the Bible says in 1st Corinthians 11 verse 1, this is Paul writing to the Corinthian church,
it says be ye followers of me even as I also am of Christ, what made Paul a good example,
why could Paul say hey follow what I'm doing, because he was a follower of Christ, but notice
this, now I praise you brethren that ye remember me in all things and keep the ordinances as I
deliver them unto you, so what's Paul saying, keep the word of God, keep the commandments,
do what God says in his word, right, so it's not his opinions, he's saying look, keep the things
that I've been able to pass on, the scriptures, the epistles, what we read in the word of God,
and then he says this, but I would have you know, just in case they forget, just in case they think
well yeah, I've got to follow Paul, and Paul is the leader, and he's the authority, and I need to
be more like Paul, he says this, but I would have you know that the head of every man is Christ,
and the head of the woman is the man, and the head of Christ is God, and husbands, fathers,
you get a privilege of being the head of your home, but then you also have the responsibility
of giving an account, not just for yourself, but for your family as well, so it's good to have
power, it's good to have influence in your home, but hey you better manage that Christ-like,
you better use the truth of God's word, and raise your family to love the Lord,
because you're going to have to give an account one day for how you raised your family,
with the liberties that God has given you, so there is an example we do, you know, my desire
is that I can set a good example, right, we have the, I'm sorry I keep using the kids, but I just
think about you know, it's not usual that people have 11 kids right, so you know with 11 kids,
I'm not here saying hey you need to be like me, my desire with 11 kids is to go you know what,
God says be fruitful and multiply, and you know what, if he's going to give someone 11 kids,
God can provide, hey I'm a single income earner, you know we're living in Sydney,
it's an expensive city all right, we lived here for many years, single income, raising my kids,
somehow God provided, I hope that sets a good example, not to make people feel horrible,
but they go hey it works, if we do things the way God wants it, it works, God is able to provide,
you know Pastor Kevin, he's not that smart of a guy, somehow he made it work, right,
he's a regular guy, but somehow they made it work, because they're trying to live
righteously, they're trying to follow the Lord, hey that's a good example right, that would be
a good example, I'm not trying to toot my own horn, but I'm just trying to use that
as an example here, but you guys are in 2 Kings 10 verse 15, 2 Kings 10 verse 15.
I'm a little bit all over the place this afternoon, but we use the example of soul
winning right, we go soul winning with the word of God, but when you go soul winning,
don't forget you're also setting an example okay, if you come and you're shaking,
and you're not prepared, and you don't know how to give the gospel to someone, and oh excuse me
sir, can I just tell you how to go to heaven, and you sound weak, you know that person's not going
to believe you, because your presentation, they're thinking this guy doesn't even believe what he's
got to say, if this guy doesn't have confidence in what he's about to say, how can I believe it,
okay, so the example that we need to set okay, and that's how someone, if you come with boldness,
hey man I can show you how can you be 100% sure that you're going to heaven, it's not based how
good or bad you are, in fact it's a free gift, people are more likely to go whoa what's that,
you know he truly believes what he has to say, let's hear it right, and that's how you open
the doors for that conversation, but even the example of the brethren one to another,
2 Kings 10 verse 15, 2 Kings 10 verse 15, it says here, and when he was departed thence,
he lighted on Jehonadab the son of Rahab coming to meet him, and he saluted him, and said to him,
is thine heart right, as my heart is with thy heart, and Jehonadab answered, it is, if it be,
give me thine hand, so this is about Jehu, and Jehu was going about to destroy the house of Ahab,
we haven't got time to go for the story, but though he was going about destroying the house
of Ahab, why, because Ahab and his family had gone and worshipped Baal, they hadn't worshipped
the true God, and Jehu's going about it, and he's coming with a sword, he's coming with strength,
and so Jehonadab sees Jehu comes, and he says is your heart right, is your heart right with God,
he says yes it is, look at verse number 16, and he said come with me, and see my zeal for the Lord,
so they made him ride in his chariots, hey come and see my zeal, you know what Jehu is saying,
look at my example, look at my love for the Lord, look at that I'm zealous, I've got passion,
I've got a desire to serve God, we're going to destroy this family, we're going to destroy these
false gods, these statutes, and we're going to serve Christ, and brethren that's how we have
the influence, not by judging each other, not by tearing each other down, not by making someone
feel stupid because they have a different way of living, or different opinion on a certain matter,
we set the example, and we use the word of God, because that is the discernment of someone's
heart, you know, and you know the question was is your heart right, and listen if you
are upset at somebody in the church because they're not just like you,
you need to get your heart right first, you want to be an influence, you want to be a godly
person that edifies that brother or sister in the Lord, get your heart right, get your facts
straight from the word of God, not some other resource, from the word of God, and just be a
good example, be a good example for your brethren, so brethren I'll finish up now individual soul
liberty, please understand the Christian life is a life of joy, it's a life of freedom, it's a life
of choice, not a choice to sin, but a choice to basically do whatever else that you want to do,
listen you want to come and move to the Sunshine Coast, it's your choice, there's a good church
there, you want to stay here on Sydney, hey it's your choice, okay, you want to work that job,
it's your choice, all right, you want to choose a wife, God's going to say look it's your choice
as long as she's saved, right, as long as someone that loves the Lord, hey that person will probably
be someone that you can marry, God gives us many many options, and I get really sad when I see
brethren struggling, cast down, feeling pressured by another brother because they've been judged by
that brother and they don't feel like they're right with God, or they're asking the Lord for
that one answer when God has given them all the answers they want, give them all the options they
want, and they're just striving about what do I do God, and God has given them the liberty to choose,
and sometimes God is just waiting to see what we choose, all right brethren let's pray.