I was thinking about what to preach for an anniversary service, you always want to pause
and think about where you are as a church or where we are as a church family or where
I am as a pastor.
And I was kind of thinking about what do I want to be preaching about this church anniversary.
And if I can share with you how I'm feeling, I actually decided to preach on how I'm feeling
actually.
And if I can be very honest with you, I'm feeling quite tired, I'm feeling quite tired
as a pastor.
It's been five years and I'm not saying that I'm tired or that I despise being a pastor
or that I'm about to throw the towel in and quit.
Of course not, I love serving the Lord, I love serving this local body.
It's been a pleasure, it's been an honour to serve the Lord, but you can get tired,
you can get a bit weary as the Bible puts it, doing that which is right.
And I think if I were to summarise what 2022 is like for me, I'd say it's been a very
weary year for me.
And there's several reasons due to that.
Of course, we started the year in Sydney not knowing when we were going to be able to get
back to the Sunshine Coast and that uncertainty, living in our house, thank God we have a house
in Sydney, but we didn't have the comforts of a house.
We had couches that were breaking down, the kids were sleeping primarily on the floor.
We went to serve, blessed are the Baptist Church for that year, but we did not desire
to be comfortable.
We were there for temporary measures and to come back and then of course to move back.
The kids have grown, the kids are a bit older, they require a bit more time and attention
from the parents, a bit more instruction, especially when it comes to as they get older
the decisions in life.
Just having to pass the two churches, the travel between the two churches, I just found
myself becoming very weary, just doing God's business.
Just the last couple of weeks I've been sick and it's just kind of come out of nowhere.
Normally when I feel ill, when I get a bit of a chest infection, a bit of a cough, I
can see the progression.
I can maybe feel the sore throat or I can feel there's something not right with my
body and then it kind of breaks down, I get a fever, but honestly this past couple of
weeks there's just been this sudden collapse in my physical body and I think I've just
been able to summarise why that is.
I've been feeling weary.
The move to the new house and all the things that need to be done, I've been feeling
quite weary.
And again, I'm not talking from a negative perspective, I'm just thinking okay, if
I'm feeling this way, Lord, then I'm going to preach about that tonight, this morning.
Maybe there are other people in this church that are feeling quite weary for whatever
reasons.
I mean, just getting through life can be weary.
Challenges of life, the difficulties, the problems that arise can cause people to be
weary.
Look at Galatians chapter six, verse number nine, it says, and let us not be weary in
well doing, for in due season we shall reap if we faint not.
The title for this sermon this morning is solutions when weary.
Solutions when weary, we become weary.
We can get weary in well doing.
I mean, look, if you're going to be weary about something, you might as well get weary
about doing well.
Okay, you don't want to become weary in wickedness.
You know, weary in walking a path that God does not want you to walk.
At the very least, we're doing that which is well.
And you know what, even when you're doing that which is good and what is righteous and
what the Lord requires from you can become weary.
And the danger of becoming weary, as you continue reading that verse, it says, for in due season
we shall reap if we faint not.
You see, when you start to realize you're becoming weary, the danger is you can faint.
Okay, that is to quit, to stop.
Now you must remember that in the Christian life, we're all running a race.
We've been given a race that has been set before us and God wants us to be moving forward.
You know, we should never get to a point in the race that we stop because you're no longer
racing.
You know, even if you're taking one step at a time, even if you say, look, I can't run
right now, but I can walk, I can take one step forward, at least you're still in the
race, at least you're still moving forward.
There are times that you can run harder.
There are times that you can run fast, but there are other times you become weary and
you need to slow down.
But you don't want to slow down to the point where you stop, where you faint, or even worse,
you go backward.
That's what we call the backslider.
When you go backwards, when you stop picking up your Bible, when you stop attending church,
when you stop praying to the Lord God, and you become so weary that you just start going
backwards.
You say, I don't want to run this race anymore, I'd rather run back where I started.
It's a bad place to be.
You know, we don't want to get to a point that we faint and so we need some solutions.
You know, when it says here in verse number nine, and let us not be weary, it's because
God knows we become weary, okay, and it's been five years, maybe some of you are weary
of this pastor.
I hope not.
I hope I can still be a blessing to you.
You know, I hope so.
I hope I can still be an encouragement to you, but we can get weary in areas of life.
I mean, I've seen pastors that have quit the ministry because they've become weary.
I've spoken to some of those and they say, look, it's just been, it was just too much,
I just couldn't handle all the ministry, all that the ministry required from me.
And so the best thing for my health and for my sanity was to step down.
I've heard those testimonies from pastors.
I never want to get to that point.
I want to be a pastor till the day that I die, till the day that the Lord takes me home
to be in heaven, or at least until this brain can function, you know, as best as it can.
I want to serve the Lord God my whole life as a pastor.
You know, when I was ordained to start this church, I had no, you know, it never dawned
on me, well, we'll try this for a year.
We'll try this for five years.
We'll try this for 10 years and let's see how things go.
You know, I resigned from my work, you know, that provided much of my needs, you know,
and I said, no, we're moving to the Sunshine Coast.
This is a permanent decision.
I want to serve the Lord God for the rest of my life.
I want this church to continue to grow, you know, all the days of my life.
I want to be here till the Lord returns.
That's where my heart is set.
But hey, in that journey, you're going to become weary, weary in well doing.
Now again, I never want to get to a point where I stop, okay.
In fact, next week, praise God, you know, I have the pleasure to be able to preach at
a church in Harvey Bay, an independent fundamental Baptist church.
I'm not looking to stop.
Hey, next month for several of us and in Sydney, some of us are going to Melbourne to do a
soul winning event.
Praise God, I don't want to stop.
I want to continue serving the Lord here on the Sunshine Coast, yes, but also in other
places in this nation that God has given us.
You know, there's a lot of great churches, but there are not many churches that are actually
getting out there and preaching the gospel.
You know, there are brethren that just can't find a church that will teach them or encourage
them to go and preach the gospel.
I want to be an encouragement to those brethren.
We need to preach the gospel.
There are people dying, going to hell every single day in our nation.
The worst thing is when God's people themselves are not willing and able to give just the
lost and dying, the precious words of eternal life, the free gift of salvation, free gifts.
You know, we've been given those everlasting words to bring people into the kingdom of
God.
So I want to keep going.
I want to keep pushing.
I'm not bored.
That's what we, you know, weary can mean tired.
It can also mean being bored, becoming weary.
I'm not bored in God's business, but sometimes physically you can get weary.
When you're doing a little bit too much and you've got to learn how to pace yourself.
Maybe this morning you're like me.
Maybe this morning you're feeling a little weary, a little tired, or let me give you
some pointers, some solutions, some things to remind you of when you become weary.
Can you please turn with me to Matthew chapter six?
We're no longer going to be in Galatians, so please go to Matthew chapter six and verse
number seven.
Matthew chapter six and verse number seven.
This morning I've got seven points to bring to your remembrance, seven points to bring
you back to the thoughts of not being weary.
What can I do, pastor, when I get a little tired, when I get a little bored potentially
of the things of God?
You know, we don't want to stop.
We want to continue to run that race.
What do I do?
Well let's remind ourselves of this simple truth for you in Matthew chapter six and verse
number seven.
It says, but when you pray, use not vain repetitions as the heathen do, for they think that they
shall be heard for their much speaking, but be not ye therefore like unto them.
Look, I want you to notice these words.
For your father knoweth what things ye have need of before ye ask of him.
Before you ask of God, God knows what you need.
And point number one, the solution to not get weary is to remind yourself that God knows
what you're lacking.
God knows what you're lacking.
You know, when we become weary, it's because we have a need.
We may need strength, we may need direction, we need something from the Lord.
Sometimes when we get weary and well-doing, you think maybe God's forgotten about me.
Because isn't it God that equips me to do his work?
Isn't it God who has given me his Holy Spirit to be on fire, to be zealous for the things
of God?
Remind yourself that God knows what you're lacking.
Remind yourself that God knows what you need even before you ask of him.
And the reason why that's an encouragement is because it reminds us that God's not forgotten
about us.
Like God is watching us.
When we become weary, God knows why we're becoming weary.
God knows where we're lacking.
God knows what we need.
But notice he still wants us to go to him in prayer, even though he knows that in advance.
God knows what you need.
When you get weary, you need strength, you need encouragement, you need a refresher.
God knows exactly what you need.
To me, that's very encouraging, to know that God loves me, that he's looking upon me.
Even though this world, you know, God must be so busy, I kind of think about this world.
You know, God controls the weather.
God is watching the politicians.
God sees iniquity and sees wickedness.
You know, God sees his churches.
God sees his preachers.
God sees his word being proclaimed, but God also sees me.
God also sees you.
God sees you in a time of need, and he knows exactly what you need before you even ask
of him.
I'm encouraged by that when I think of that truth, because sometimes I don't know what
I need.
Lord, I'm feeling weary, but I'm not even sure exactly why.
But God knows why.
And sometimes, you know what, it's just a matter of going to God and saying, God, I
don't know what the issue is right now.
I'm not sure why I'm feeling tired right now, Lord, but can you give me what I need
to keep running forward for you?
Lord, I've had to slow down.
I'm still in the race, praise God.
I still want to run.
I still want to get to that finish line.
I still want to be more like Jesus, but Lord, I need a little bit of a push.
I need a bit of a kick, Lord.
I need a bit of energy.
Can you give me what I need?
Because I don't know exactly what it is that I need.
Praise God for that.
Praise God that God knows exactly what we need.
You know, the Bible says in Philippians, I'll just read it to you, Philippians 4, 19.
It says, but my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ
Jesus.
Wow.
God shall supply all your need.
Isn't that wonderful?
Everything you need in life, everything you need to serve God, God says he'll supply
it for you in Christ Jesus.
Everything that you need.
You say, there is something that I need, pastor.
Something that I've been asking God, God, I need this, I need that, and God hasn't
come through.
Why is that?
Because God knows you don't need it.
God knows that he might even stop you from running the race.
You know, there are so many times that we go to God in prayer and it's just selfish
things.
We think we need this, but God says, no, you don't need that.
In fact, if I gave it to you, it'll cause harm.
It'll cause issues.
It'll cause problems.
It'll cause you to be off the racetrack, but God gives us what we need.
He can supply all our needs.
Let that be the first thought for you, brethren, this morning if you're weary, okay?
Remind yourself that God knows what you're lacking.
God knows what you need.
Please turn to Jeremiah 29, Jeremiah chapter 29 and verse number 10.
Jeremiah 29 and verse number 10.
And the natural progression.
Once you remember that God has what I need, God can provide what I need, obviously the
next step is what we'll read about here.
Now the context of Jeremiah 29 is that Jeremiah is preaching to the southern kingdom of Judah.
You know, he's telling them that they're going to be judged by the Babylonians.
They're going to be taken into captivity for 70 years.
This is their judgment for being a wicked nation.
But God was not through with that nation.
God was excited about the next generation that would come from that nation, that would
be brought back into the land.
And God says in Jeremiah 29, 10, for thus saith the Lord, verse number 10, for thus
saith the Lord, after that 70 years be accomplished at Babylon, I will visit you and perform
my good word toward you in causing you to return to this place.
That's returned back to Judah.
Verse number 11.
Look at this.
Look at this about God.
Even though God is judging such a wicked nation, it says in verse number 11, for I know the
thoughts that I think toward you.
Do you know God has thoughts that he thinks about you?
God is thinking about you.
Okay?
You say, pastor, I'm under the judgment of God.
I'm under his chastisements.
You know, I'm weary of the chastisement of God.
Well, God is thinking about you.
God does not want to leave you in a place where you're just downcast and trodden.
Okay?
If God is chastising you, it's for your profit.
It's for your best.
Okay?
He says in verse number 11, for I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the
Lord.
Look at this.
Thoughts of peace and not of evil to give you an expected end.
You know, when God is judging you for your wickedness, God is thinking peace toward you,
not evil.
God wants you to do better.
God wants you to have peace between himself and him.
God wants to give you peace, to give you an expected end.
Verse number 12.
Look at this.
Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto
you.
Look at verse number 13.
And ye shall seek me and find me, and when ye shall search for me, when ye shall search
for me with all your heart.
Brethren, when you start to become weary, your next solution, solution number two, is
to seek the Lord.
Go and find the Lord.
Say why is the Lord far away?
Because you've departed from the Lord.
You've walked away from the Lord.
You've walked away from his path.
The Lord can be found if you seek him with all your heart.
Now we know that, you know, once you're saved, you can never lose it, praise God.
You can never lose your salvation.
But even as a Christian, you can get pretty far from the Lord, where the Lord has to step
in and chastise you, judge you, okay, bring you to a point of weakness.
And you might become weary with that chastisement.
But what's the point behind it?
Does God just want to leave you down the dumps?
No, God is thinking good thoughts about you, not evil ones.
He's thinking peaceful thoughts, okay?
But he wants you, when you get to that point of weariness and hurt potentially, okay, of
being downcast.
God says, look, pray toward me, seek me, call upon me, and he'll hear you.
He'll hear you, okay?
So remind yourself, God has everything that I need, all right, that I need to go to God
when I'm weary.
I need to go and ask for his help.
I need to go and seek his face.
I want to be brought back into fellowship with God.
Sometimes you can just be weary just because you've broken fellowship with God.
You're far from the Lord.
Again, you can be physically here in church this morning, but you know your heart can
be very far from him.
You know, it'll bring weariness to you, because God sustains us.
God gives us the strength to take one step at a time.
When you get far from the Lord, you can become very weary, very tired.
You need to be brought back to the Lord.
Point number two, brethren, is you need to seek the Lord.
Hebrews 11 verse six says,
God is a rewarder of those that diligently seek him.
Maybe you're weary this morning because you're far from the Lord.
Well, God is going to reward you if you seek him.
Okay?
If you seek him, if you diligently seek him,
you must go before God in faith and say,
God, I know that you can answer my prayers.
I know you can help me, Lord, in my weariness.
So I'm going to seek you.
I'm going to pick up your word once again.
I'm going to pay attention in church when my pastor is preaching.
I'm going to seek you, Lord.
I want to hear the words that you have to say to me.
I want to be in touch with your Holy Spirit
that has instructed me in truth.
And when you have that heart for,
when you seek the Lord with all your heart,
he says he's going to reward you.
Praise God for that.
Praise God that he can reward you
even after you've been far from him.
So point number two, brethren, is seek.
Seek the Lord when you're weary.
Seek the Lord.
Please go to Psalm 94, Psalm 94.
So this morning we are bouncing around
in different passages of the Bible, as you can tell.
But Psalm 94, Psalm 94.
Listen, when you're a little bit downcast,
when you're a little bit weary,
when you're a little bit tired,
let me encourage you that your first point of call
is the Lord, okay?
If you're a little bit downcast and weary,
don't come to me as your pastor first, okay?
I'm just a human being, okay?
That's what I am.
I'm just a sinner saved by grace like the rest of you, okay?
But there is a God that you need
to be going to first and foremost, okay?
Truly, you go to him first.
He'll give you everything that you need.
But look at Psalm 94, please, Psalm 94, verse number 17.
Psalm 94, verse number 17, it says,
unless the Lord had been my help,
my soul had almost dwelt in silence.
So you can see a downcast Psalmist here.
He goes, look, it's the Lord that's gotta be my help.
It's not another human being.
I've gotta go to God.
He's my number one that I go to for help.
It says in verse number 18,
when I said, my foot slippeth,
like, you know, the Psalmist is trying to run the race.
He's trying to live a righteous life,
but he starts to slip.
He starts to fall.
He starts to get weary in well doing.
He says, when I said, my foot slippeth,
thy mercy, O Lord, held me up.
Remember, who's gonna hold you up when you start to slip,
when you start to become weary?
It has to be the Lord.
It's the Lord.
You go to him.
You say, God, help me, I'm slipping.
Lord, I'm growing tired, help me, Lord.
Lord, I'm starting to backslide potentially.
Lord, I'm stopping.
I just don't feel like running the race anymore, Lord.
You say, Lord, you go to him, say, God, help me.
Help me, Lord.
Look at verse number 19.
In the multitude of my thoughts within me,
thy comforts delight my soul.
In the multitude of my thoughts,
we have multitude of thoughts,
stress, worries, you know, concerns, you know, fears.
Hey, in the midst of those thoughts,
it says thy comforts delight my soul.
Isn't that amazing?
You go to God, you say, God, help me.
Point number three that I have for you, brethren,
is that the Lord is your help and comfort.
The Lord is your help and comfort.
He can comfort you in your thought life.
You know, as I said to you in the last couple of weeks,
I've been weary in my flesh because I've gotten sick,
but if I were to describe what 2022 for me is like,
it's more weariness in the mind.
I feel like I'm mentally weary.
Okay, there's a lot of thoughts in my mind this year,
probably more than other years, okay?
But it says here that even when your thoughts
are troubling you, when you can't really find the solutions
that you're seeking for,
the Lord is gonna be the delight of your soul,
the joy of your soul, the delights.
God can help you.
You know, all the seven points that I have for you
this morning, it's all about the Lord.
What do I do, pastor?
You just gotta go to the Lord.
All seven points is to bring you back to the Lord.
Sometimes we do things in life
and we think it's our own strength.
As Christians, sometimes we just think,
like, it must be coming from me.
But really, as Christians, our source is the Lord.
You know, it is brethren.
Okay, look, I know we live in a world
and the vast majority of this world are unsaved.
They're relying on their own strength,
their own wisdom, their own abilities.
We need to be remembered that,
hey, we've been saved, we've become a child of God.
We have the Holy Spirit, we have a new man within us.
We can do great things for God,
but that help, the direction must come from the Lord.
You know, as a pastor, I can easily get to the point
where I think, well, look at me go.
I'm preaching three sermons,
four sermons a week sometimes.
It's easy to be to glory in your flesh.
You know, it's easy, but it's not the flesh.
If you think it's the flesh, you're gonna get weary.
It can't be the flesh, it's gotta be the power of God.
It's gotta be his strength.
So you gotta destroy your help, your comfort from the Lord.
You know, I'll read to you a very familiar passage to all.
Matthew 11, 28, Matthew 11, 28.
These are the words of Christ.
Such beautiful words.
He says, come unto me, all ye that labor
and are heavy laden, I will give you rest.
You know what, if you're heavy laden,
you're a little bit weary, you're getting a bit tired,
Christ says, come to me, I will give you rest.
Now here's what's interesting about the Lord Jesus Christ.
The rest, okay, when talking about salvation,
if you're thinking about salvation,
of course he gives us rest.
Salvation is not by works.
Salvation is not by your labor
and your efforts to clean up your life.
You know, salvation is not your efforts
to live a righteous life, no.
Christ gives us rest, amen.
But listen, once you're saved,
God, Christ continues to give us rest, okay?
But that rest is found in labor.
That rest is found in doing the works
that Christ has given us to do.
You see, God does not want us to just be saved
and be lazy and not serve him.
God wants us to do something,
to apply what we've learned in God's word,
to preach the gospel, to serve in the house of God,
to be a blessing to the brethren.
God has use for us.
But he continues in that passage in Matthew 11,
verse number 29, after Christ says
that he's going to give us rest,
he says in verse number 29,
take my yoke upon you.
What's the yoke?
You know, it's an instrument to tie two creatures together,
maybe two oxen together, to labor.
Christ says, look, I'll give you rest,
but you've gotta take my yoke upon you.
You've gotta do some works for me.
You gotta labor, not for salvation.
But once you're saved, God wants us to be productive.
Christ wants us to take the yoke upon ourselves.
Take my yoke upon you and learn of me,
for I am meek and lowly in heart.
Then he says these words,
and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
So how is it, Jesus?
You wanna put a yoke upon my neck?
You want me to serve you and work for you,
and yet at the same time,
you're telling me you wanna give me rest?
Well, just remember that the yoke is Christ's yoke,
meaning that, you know, if you put a yoke,
you're putting two creatures,
potentially maybe more, together.
The yoke of Christ, Christ has a yoke upon himself,
and then he puts the other part of the yoke upon you.
He's the one working with you.
When you grow weary and tired,
guess who's gonna continue to push you along?
It's Jesus.
He wears that yoke with you, okay?
And so Christ will give you the ability
to accomplish what you need.
This is why the Lord is your help
and comfort, the Lord is your rest.
He continues in verse number 30, he says,
for my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
Oh, interesting.
His burden is light.
Then why do we get weary and well-doing?
I'll tell you once again,
why do you get weary and well-doing
if the burden of Christ is light?
It's because you're doing things without the Lord.
You're doing things in your own strength.
You're forgetting the help of the Lord.
Christ says, no, that yoke is upon me
and it's upon you at the same time.
We're laboring together.
I love when Brother Michael,
maybe not so much now because he's got a family,
but when he's gone, so when he by himself.
You know, I say to Brother Michael,
Brother Michael, are you going so when,
are you going by yourself?
He goes, no, brother, I've got Jesus with me.
Amen, that's correct.
That's correct, all right,
because you share the yoke with Jesus Christ.
His yoke is easy, but sometimes we forget.
We say, Jesus, I've got Jesus.
I'll take care of the yoke.
You know, I can do it in my own strength.
That's when you become weary.
That's when you become tired, you know?
But again, you know, when these things happen,
you just remind yourself of God's word.
You know, when I preach these things,
you know, if you can relate to these things,
I don't want you to just beat yourself down,
go, oh man, yeah, that's me, pass.
I just, okay, well, Jesus, I need you back.
I need your help, Jesus.
I thought I could take this yoke on my own,
but I can't, I need your help.
That's what you do.
You put the solutions into practice, okay?
You identify where you're lacking.
You identify where you're weak,
and then you fix that which is weak.
That's the point of preaching.
It's to encourage you, you know?
It's to encourage you.
If I ever preach and I, you know,
I cause you to be downcast or something,
I don't want you to stay that way, okay?
That's not the point.
Again, the point is to just find the issues
and then to encourage you in the Lord.
But God is your help.
You've got to go to him.
God is your help.
God is your comfort.
God will give you rest.
Can you please turn with me to Psalm 37?
Turn to Psalm 37.
And while you're turning to Psalm 37,
I'm going to read to you from a very famous passage.
You've all heard it.
Okay, you turn to Psalm 37.
But Proverbs chapter three, verse number five.
Very famous passage.
Proverbs chapter three, verse number five says,
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart,
and lean not unto thine own understanding.
In all thy ways acknowledge him,
and he shall direct thy paths.
He shall direct thy paths.
But you've got to acknowledge him, okay?
Listen, brethren, we have options.
We have decisions that we make.
You know, whatever way you go in life,
please acknowledge the Lord.
You say, but pastor,
I can't acknowledge the Lord in this direction.
Well, if you can't, then don't go that direction.
If you can't acknowledge God in that way,
it's because it's a sinful way,
because it's the wrong way, right?
Hey, if there's a way that you can go and you go,
I can acknowledge my Lord by going this way.
I can give him thanks.
I can give him praise as I walk this way,
then God's going to direct your paths.
You know that passage very well.
Lean not on your own understanding.
All right, so the point that I have for you, brethren,
if God is going to direct our ways,
point number four is that you must walk
in the path of the Lord.
Walk in the path of the Lord.
Ask the Lord, which way do you want me to go, Lord?
Which way?
Which way do you want me to avoid?
What are the wrong ways in life, Lord?
I don't want to go that way.
I want to go your way.
And I've said this many times,
and I'll say this again many times.
When we say, God, show me your way,
except, okay, forget salvation.
Salvation is only one way, okay?
Jesus Christ said, I'm the way, the truth, and the life.
Okay, there's only one way in salvation.
But again, when we come to live in our Christian life,
God gives us many ways.
I want you to remember that.
As long as the way is not sinful,
as long as the way is not contrary to God's word,
there are several ways.
Choose which way you're going to go.
Acknowledge the Lord, and He will direct your path.
Okay, because there are Christians that are like,
well, what do I do?
Which way do I go?
There's probably several ways you can go.
Just trust in the Lord.
As long as it's a righteous way,
as long as it's a good decision
that is not contrary to God's word, walk that way.
There is liberty in Jesus Christ.
Christianity is not a cult, okay?
The way is not the pastor's way.
If pastor raises his family a certain way,
that is not necessarily the way you need to do things.
God gives us several ways to do things.
If the pastor homeschools his children a certain way,
that is not necessarily the way
that you need to homeschool your children.
There are several ways, lots of things,
lots of options in life,
as long as they're not contrary to God's word.
If you want a cult, we can establish a cult.
Just do everything that I do,
raise your family the way I raise my family, okay?
Eat the same meal.
I can email you guys every dinner decision we're making
so your wives can cook the same thing my wife is cooking.
That's a cult.
That's not how God wants us to be.
We trust in him, okay?
You make a decision in life.
You acknowledge him.
He'll direct you in your paths to walk.
I love Christianity.
As long as it's not sin, you can walk in several ways.
God gives us options, you know?
That's the freedom that God gives us, okay?
You're in Psalm 37, Psalm 37, verse 23.
Psalm 37, verse number 23.
Look at this.
It says, the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord,
and he delighteth in his way.
Steps of a good man.
You know, seek to be righteous.
Seek to have victory over your sin,
and when you sin, confess it before the Lord
as soon as you can.
Get right with him, be in fellowship with him,
and the Lord says that he'll direct your paths.
Your steps will be ordered by the Lord.
Verse number 24, look at this.
Look, these are the steps of a good man.
Then it says in verse number 24.
Though he fall.
Brethren, good men, good women, fall.
Okay?
When you fall, okay, don't stay fallen.
Don't be woe is me.
Oh, what a failure of a Christian that I am.
Don't stay that way.
Even good people fall.
You know, you can be having the greatest time
in your Christian life, walking victoriously.
And then you just, from one moment to the next,
you find yourself in sin.
You've fallen.
You've made a mistake.
Okay?
Look, good people fall.
Good people become weary.
Though he fall, look at this,
he shall not be utterly cast down.
Why?
For the Lord upholdeth him with his hand.
You see, we must walk in God's paths.
If we walk in the way that God wants us to walk,
we can still trip, we can still fall,
but as long as we're being ordered by him,
the steps that we're taking, guess what?
When we fall, he'll lift us up.
But it's only if you're walking in the path of the Lord.
As I said to you, point number four, brethren,
is walk in the path of the Lord.
If you walk your own path,
you walk a path that is contrary to his word
and you fall, you can't expect God to help you out
in that situation.
Okay?
I mean, you've gotta run back and seek the Lord
and say, Lord, I was wrong, I've messed up.
Lord, bring me back in righteousness.
Bring me back in fellowship.
I'm sorry, Lord, I've been going my own way.
I've not been going your way.
Lord, I need to get back in your paths.
Then the Lord will help you.
Then the Lord will establish back in the way
that you need to walk.
But you know what?
If you're gonna be someone that, you know,
when you get weary or you fall or you slip
or you back up straight away,
you need to make sure that you're in the paths of the Lord.
You walk in his ways, the way that God established
and ordained your steps to walk after.
Walk in the path of the Lord.
Look at verse number 25.
Straight afterwards it says,
I have been young and now am old,
yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken
nor his seed begging bread.
The Psalmist says, I've never seen the righteous
begging for bread.
I've never seen God's people, where God's children,
like your children parents, where they're going hungry.
I've never seen it.
You know, inflation is going crazy in Australia.
The cost of groceries are insane.
Insane.
My wife says, can you pick up some cucumbers?
I say, honey, we can't afford it.
I mean, it used to be like three dollars a kilo
and now it's like 12 dollars a kilo.
It's like, you know, I can't feed my family
on one cucumber.
We need a few kilos of that and we can't afford it.
You know what?
My seed's not begging bread.
God still provides.
I mean, inflation is going insane across the entire world.
I don't know when this economy is gonna collapse.
At some point, this bubble's gonna burst.
Things are gonna get pretty dire, pretty difficult.
You know, as parents, we worry a lot about our children,
making sure they've got enough to make ends meet.
You know, and that could bring weariness to you.
The thoughts, the concerns about making sure
you can provide, but what do we see once again?
I have been young and now I'm old.
This summer has lived a long life,
yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken
nor his seed begging bread.
We're never gonna go hungry.
But we must walk the steps that Christ has for us.
Walk in his ways.
Walk in the path of the Lord.
Lord will make sure your needs will be taken care of,
your physical needs.
He will make sure that your children's needs
have been taken care of.
You'll never go hungry.
That's God's business, by the way,
to provide for your food, provide your raiment.
That's God's business.
You leave it up to God, not stress and worry.
You just do what God's asked you to do
and God will take care of the rest of it.
Walk in the path of the Lord.
Please turn with me to Ephesians chapter three.
Ephesians chapter three and verse number 20.
Ephesians chapter three and verse number 20 please.
I know I've already kind of touched upon this earlier,
but Ephesians chapter three verse 20 says,
now unto him, that's unto the Lord,
that is able to do, look at this,
that is able to do exceeding abundantly
above all that we ask or think.
We know that already.
We know that God can do abundantly what we ask or think.
But notice the next part of this verse.
According to the power that worketh in us, in us.
God's power that works in us.
When we say, yeah, of course God can do abundantly
above what we ask or think.
But God is saying, but I'm using you to do that.
I'm giving you the power.
I'm working in the life of every believer
to do abundantly more than you realize.
God is at work in our lives, brethren.
It says unto him be glory in the church
by Christ Jesus throughout all ages.
And with that end, amen.
With that end, God is working you.
God is doing a work in you right now.
Point number five, brethren, is allow God to work in you.
Allow God to work in you, okay?
I already mentioned that it's by his strength
that we can do great things for him.
God gives us the ability, but we're weary.
We become weary in the flesh, become weary in the mind.
Hey, we can become weary spiritually,
but I want you to remember God is doing a work in you.
He's changing you.
Slowly but surely, he's doing a work in you, okay?
God is trimming you.
God wants you to be fruitful.
God wants you to have a great marriage and great family.
God wants you to be a great Christian,
a great follower of Jesus Christ.
God wants you to be a great soul winner.
God wants you to be a great member
of New Life Baptist Church,
but it's God that's doing the work in you,
an abundant work, exceedingly abundant work,
more than you can imagine.
I never thought I could pastor two churches,
let alone one church.
So how do you do it?
People ask me, how do you do it?
It has to be God.
I can't do it.
It's impossible.
I can't do it.
If I was just relying on my own work and my own strength,
I'd just rather quit.
It has to be God, and it is God.
He's the one that does the work in us.
You know, I never thought I could preach.
You know, before I became a pastor,
I was just preaching once a month.
Then you go, how do you go preaching once a week?
I don't know.
Just gotta try.
Just gotta try to do it.
But we started this church, we were preaching twice,
preaching twice a week before we had our location.
Then three times, now four times usually,
we blessed our Baptist Church.
You know, most pastors don't even preach that much.
Like, some pastors preach three times a week,
like on average, and they've got a decent-sized church.
They've got most of what we don't have exactly, you know?
My old pastors, in one of my old churches
that I was there for nine years,
we had two pastors in that church.
You know, a senior pastor, an assistant pastor,
and they would rotate.
Sometimes one would preach twice a week.
Sometimes one would preach once a week.
And sometimes they'd get other men to preach,
so pastors only preach once a week each.
And I'm talking about seasoned pastors,
20-plus years pastoring churches.
You know, how do you do three sermons a week?
How do you do four sermons a week?
I can't do it.
It's impossible.
I can't do it.
It's the work of God.
It has to be God.
You know, I can be sitting there sometimes
looking at a Bible verse, I'm like,
I don't know what I'm preaching about tomorrow.
I have no idea what I'm getting to.
And then I'm like, God, can you just show me?
Lord, can you open my eyes to your word,
because I'm blind right now.
I'm a little tired right now, Lord.
I've been looking at your Bible for too long.
I don't even know what I'm preaching about, Lord.
But he does it somehow.
He gives me the words.
He gives me the ability.
He gives me the work.
I'm sure there are many of you
that go door-to-door soul-winning
that thought, I could never do this.
I could never knock on a stranger's door
and tell them how to be saved.
And yet you do it.
So how do I do that?
How do I get that?
It's the work of God.
God's been working in you.
It's the strength of the Lord.
You can do exceedingly abundantly above all
that you ever expected if you allow God to work in you.
Please turn to Philippians, Philippians chapter one.
Philippians chapter one, verse number six.
Just a reminder, point number five is
allow God to work in you.
Don't stop the Lord.
Look when the Holy Spirit is pressing
an issue in your heart, you say, God, yes, I wanna listen.
Yes, God, I wanna change.
You know, you can stop the work
of the Holy Spirit in your life.
It's not gonna benefit you.
You know, if God is touching your heart this morning
with one of these points, you say, Lord,
then change that about me.
Lord, fix that within me.
Lord, do a work in me.
You can stop the work of God.
You can stop it in your own life.
Say, God, just use me as a vessel.
I wanna be a vessel that is unto honor for you.
Lord, you're the potter, I'm the clay.
Lord, make me into something that is valued by you.
Lord, just work in my heart, work in my life.
Be open to God's work in you.
Be open to it, Philippians chapter one, verse number six.
It says, being confident of this very thing,
confident of this very thing,
that he which have begun a good work in you
will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.
The day of Jesus Christ is the rapture,
the return of the Lord Jesus Christ.
God's doing a work in you.
He's got work to do in you.
From the moment you've been saved,
God's been working in you, in that new man,
making you something that you've never expected you can be,
to be used and utilized by God
in a way that you never expected that could possibly happen.
It's the work of God.
Philippians chapter two, next chapter, please.
Philippians chapter two.
Like it said, it's being confident of this very thing.
God is working in you, brethren.
Okay, but again, if you think, oh, it's just me, Lord.
You know, I can take it from here, God.
I can do the work.
You get weary.
You'll get tired.
You won't be able to accomplish what you thought,
you know, what you've been doing in the past for the Lord
when you become weary.
Philippians chapter two, verse number 13.
It says, for it is God which worketh in you,
both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
You say, you know what, I don't have the will.
I don't wanna do what is right.
You just say, God, make me want to will it.
He can change your will.
You say, Lord, not my will, but thine will be done.
God can do it.
God will make that change in you.
I've shared, you know, people,
where sometimes growing up as a Christian,
I'm just not aligned with God.
I'm just not where God wants me to be.
And I've had to go to God and say,
God, change my will, change my mind.
Lord, I can't just do it on my own for some,
I know what I had preached at church and I just can't do it.
I don't know what it is, Lord, but can you just change me?
And when I've said that, you know what,
God has changed me.
God has changed my heart.
God has changed my will.
God has changed my mind.
And then I just wake up one morning, I'm like,
why was I contrary to God?
Like, I don't understand it.
My will, my desires have changed.
It's gotta be God, okay?
He's the one that's working in you.
Again, verse number 13, for it is God which worketh in you,
both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
Look at verse number 14,
do all things without murmurings and disputings,
that you may be blameless and harmless as sons of God
without rebuke in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation
among whom you shine as lights in this world.
Reverend, this world is getting darker and darker,
more ungodly.
I can't believe how bad this world is getting.
What is legal in this world?
I just don't understand the laws
that get passed by parliament.
Makes no sense to me, contrary to God's words.
The world's getting darker,
which means we should be shining brighter.
God wants to be lights in this world, all right?
But look, again, God is working in you.
God wants you to shine brighter, okay?
You can sap that lights.
You can say, nah, I don't wanna shine.
I don't wanna stand out,
cause the light stands out.
The light draws attention, doesn't it?
But you gotta ask God, God, can you make that change in me?
Can you change my heart, change my will,
change my mind, Lord?
I don't wanna murmur and complain.
I come to, oh, a pastor's going on about that issue again.
Ugh!
Look, if that's your attitude,
you can't expect God to work in you.
You can't expect to be a light in this dark world.
Now look, if I just preach my opinions, all right?
If I preach things that are contrary to God's word,
you've got all the right to say,
ah, a pastor's going on in there.
If I'm preaching God's word, though,
that is how God's going to work in you.
Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.
How can you increase in faith?
How can you know what God's expecting from you?
How can you do greater things for God
if you're not taking in God's word?
Say, God's word has challenged me this morning,
that I need to change that, Lord.
Change my heart, change my mind, change my will.
Work in me, God, because I'm getting weary.
I'm getting weary to shine as a light in this dark world.
Lord, can you just replace my batteries?
I need a recharge, right?
I need to get plugged in, Lord, I'm only at 10%.
I need to get plugged in.
We're like that with smartphones, aren't we?
If it's not like 100%, it's at 97%.
Got to plug it in now.
I need a recharge, right?
And then, you know, others in the house
are fighting for the charger.
They're like, how much have you got?
I'm on 50%, I'm on 30%.
I've got priority, I've got to get recharged.
That's what it is with God.
God, I'm at 30%, I'm getting weary, I'm getting tired.
Lord, can you give me a charge?
Charge me up, do a work in me, Lord,
because I need to shine as a bright light
in this dark world.
Point number five was allow God to work in you.
Can you please go to Isaiah 55, Isaiah 55.
Isaiah 55, verse 11.
You know, brethren, traveling to Sydney,
again, I don't preach this, I feel sorry for the pastor.
No, these are my decisions, okay.
I'm serving the Lord, God's gonna reward me for my work.
But when I travel to Sydney, I get tired.
Sitting in that airport, oh, plane's delayed again,
Jetstar again, Jetstar's never on time,
but they're cheap, okay.
You get what you pay for, it's a good deal, all right.
But I get tired, you know, sitting on that plane
and then preparing a sermon for the church there.
I'm exhausted, by Thursday night,
I'm telling you, I'm exhausted.
Like, I really am exhausted.
But when I walk into blessed up at the church
and I get the chance to preach
and to fellowship with brethren that need a pastor,
you know, it's just this joy.
This joy of serving God, of being a blessing,
it's just overwhelming.
It just replaces the frustration of flying, you know.
And thank God I've been able to limit it.
Before, it used to be every single week.
Thank God now, it's like two or three times a month,
at most, okay.
I am reducing how much time I travel
because it is causing me to get a little weary.
But Isaiah 55, verse 11, it says,
Isaiah 55, 11, so shall my word be
that goeth forth out of my mouth.
It shall not return unto me void,
but it shall accomplish that which I please,
and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I center.
Brethren, if you're serving God by speaking his words,
yes, I get to do that as a pastor,
you get to do that, parents, when you teach your children,
soul winners, you get to do that when you preach,
to the lost at the door.
I want you to remember, when you become weary,
that the words that you spoke, they're going to prosper
in the thing whereto I center it.
Verse number 12, for ye shall go out with joy
and be led forth with peace.
The mountains and the hills shall break forth
before you into singing, and all the trees of the field
shall clap their hands.
You know, when we speak God's word,
God's creation rejoices.
And hearing the word of God, we don't understand that,
we know it's poetic language, but it must be true
that creation, also creation, loves the words of God.
You know, when you go door to door soul winning,
right, you only get John 3.16 out potentially sometimes
at the door, all right, people, I'm not interested,
I'm not home.
Look, at least you'll be able to speak God's word
because the blades of grass, the trees that you walked
through, they enjoyed hearing the word of God.
Praise God for that.
Okay, you know what, point number six, brethren,
is there is prosperity, joy, and peace in God's service.
Remind yourself of that when you get weary.
There is prosperity, joy, and peace in God's service.
I'll quickly read to you from James 1, 2.
My brethren, count it all joy
when things are going well for you.
Count it all joy when you've got no problems.
That's what it says.
It says, count it all joy when you fall
into diverse temptations, knowing this at the trying
of your faith, worketh patience, but let patience
have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect
and entire, wanting nothing.
When you go through trials, temptations, problems,
you rejoice, you count it all joy.
You know, as you serve God and difficulties still come
when you serve God, you say, woohoo!
God is working my life.
God is working patience within me.
God is making me perfect, entire.
God is making me to want nothing, to have everything
that I need, He's making me grow.
He's teaching me through the trials and difficulties
that I'm going through.
But, brethren, point number six is there is prosperity,
joy, and peace in God's service.
Just remind yourself when you get weary.
Don't faint.
You will reap what you sowed.
There will be rewards.
There will be blessings.
Just keep putting one foot forward, one step at a time.
Keep pushing forward.
If you gotta slow down, slow down,
but keep pushing forward.
Keep serving the Lord.
There is prosperity, joy, and peace in God's service.
Can you please turn with me to Isaiah,
Isaiah chapter 40, Isaiah chapter 40.
And while you're turning there, that's the last passage,
but I'm gonna quickly read to you
from Matthew 28, the Great Commission.
I'm gonna cover point number seven very quickly, okay?
But you turn to Isaiah 40.
The Bible says, now look, it's our job
to do the Great Commission.
That's what God has left us to do.
These are the final words of Christ, okay?
The mission that is given, the New Testament believers.
In Matthew 28, 18, it says,
And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying,
all power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost,
teaching them to observe all things
whatsoever I have commanded you.
And I love these words, and lo, I'm with you always,
even unto the end of the world, amen.
Point number seven, brethren, when you get weary,
don't forget that Jesus has not forsaken you.
Jesus has not forsaken you.
And lo, I'm with you always, even unto the end of the world.
What did he say earlier?
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations.
Listen, God has given us Australia, this nation to teach.
God is with us.
Christ says, wherever you are, wherever you go,
I'm with you always.
Again, when you feel far from God,
it's not because Christ has forsaken you.
It's because you've walked away, okay?
You've gone down a dark path,
a path that God cannot follow, but he's not left you.
He's ready.
You say, Lord, I just wanna be close to you once again.
Lord, forgive me for going the wrong way.
Christ will forgive you, okay?
He's not left you.
He's right there.
Anytime you call upon the Lord,
he's right there, ready to help you, ready to guide you.
Point number seven, brethren,
is that Jesus has not forsaken you.
Jesus has not forsaken you,
even though he may feel far away from time to time.
This is the last passage for conclusion.
Isaiah 40, Isaiah 40, verse number 28.
I want you to notice these words from God.
Isaiah 40, verse 28.
It says, has thou not known?
Has thou not heard that the everlasting God,
the Lord, the creator of the ends of the earth,
fainteth not, neither is weary?
Wow, I get weary.
You get weary, but God never gets weary.
Amen?
He never gets weary.
He never faints.
We sometimes get weary, so we sometimes faint.
God never does.
It says there is no searching of his understanding.
Now, because God never gets weary,
because God never faints,
he says this in verse number 29.
It says he giveth power to the faint.
Reverend, are you weary?
Have you fainted?
Have you stopped picking up your Bible?
Have you stopped caring about the things of God?
Okay, God's not gotten weary.
He wants to give you power right now,
power this morning,
to pick you up where you've fallen.
It says he giveth power to the faint,
and not just to lift you up.
It says, and to them that have no might,
he increase a strength.
I'm tired, pastor.
I'm tired.
I'm getting weary.
I'm trying to recover from this chest infection.
But you know what it says here,
that he increases strength.
We can be stronger than we've ever been,
because God increases the strength.
When we're weary, when we're cast down, when we're weak,
it comes from God.
Look at verse number 30.
Even the youth shall faint and be weary,
and the young men shall utterly fall.
Now look, you normally have more strength
when you're young,
but God says even the young,
even the youth will grow weary, okay?
Even young men will utterly fall.
And again, you know, I'm reading these passages,
because if you're fallen this morning,
if you're faint, if you're weary,
don't give up.
Don't go, I'm done for.
Don't go, I'm just this waste of a Christian, okay?
You go to the one that never gets weary.
You go to the one that gives you strength.
You go to the one that gives you power to pick you up.
It says in verse number 31,
but they that wait upon the Lord
shall renew their strength.
They shall mount up with wings as eagles.
Look at this, they shall run and not be weary,
and they shall walk and not faint.
As I said to you, God has given us a race to run, okay?
God has given us a race.
You grow weary, slow down,
but move forward, keep moving forward.
Go to the one that is not weary.
Go to the one who's actually finished the race,
which is of course Jesus Christ.
You know, he's the author and the finisher of our faith.
You go to God and say, God, I'm weary, I'm tired.
Can you give me some of your strength?
Can you give me some of your power?
Lord, can you get me to the finish line?
Lord, can you pick me up because I've slipped, I've fallen.
Lord, I've come off the racetrack.
Can you put me back on?
Can you make me walk in the paths
that you've made me to walk?
It's amazing.
They shall mount up with wings as eagles.
God can cause us to soar, okay?
If you can fly in the race, you can go a lot faster
than what your legs are gonna take you.
Now, the Lord can get to that finish line very quickly, okay?
But we must draw strength from the Lord.
All seven points is to bring us back to the Lord.
Let me just read to you very quickly what they are.
Point number one is God knows where you're lacking.
Point number two is seek the Lord.
Number three, the Lord is your help and comfort.
Number four, walk in the path of the Lord.
Number five, allow God to work in you.
Point number six, there is prosperity, joy,
and peace in God's service.
And point number seven, Jesus has not forsaken you.
Okay, let's pray.