Okay.
Wow.
That's impressive.
That's amazing.
Thank you.
Enjoy.
And y'all look.
Yeah.
I don't know what to do with you.
I don't know what to do.
I don't know what to do with you.
I don't know what to do.
I don't know what to do with you.
I don't know what to do.
If you can please find your hymnal,
and let's take the song number 118.
Knee to the Heart of God.
Song number 118.
Let's sing it out loud.
There is a place of quiet rest
Near to the heart of God
A place where sin cannot bless
Near to the heart of God
O Jesus, blessed Redeemer
Sent from the heart of God
O God, we wait before Thee
Near to the heart of God
There is a place of comfort sweet
Near to the heart of God
A place where we, our Savior, meet
Near to the heart of God
O Jesus, blessed Redeemer
Sent from the heart of God
O God, we wait before Thee
Near to the heart of God
There is a place of full release
Near to the heart of God
A place where all is joy and peace
Near to the heart of God
O Jesus, blessed Redeemer
Sent from the heart of God
O God, we wait before Thee
Near to the heart of God
Let's open up to the word of prayer.
Lord, thank you for this day that we've gathered the church and your house.
I pray now, Lord, that we will sing. We'll sing with all of our hearts, with joyful noise unto your name, Lord.
Pray this morning for the preaching, Lord.
We will hear and understand from your word and the edified, Lord God.
Without you, we can do nothing, Lord. Thank you for the Bible and thank you for our salvation, Lord.
In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.
Please turn to song number 82, When He Cometh.
Song number 82.
When He Cometh, When He Cometh,
To make up His jewels,
All His jewels, precious jewels,
His love and His love,
Like the stars of the morning,
To make up His jewels, precious jewels,
His love and His love,
Like the stars of the morning,
His bright crown adorning,
They shall shine in their beauty,
Bright gems for His crown,
He will gather, He will gather,
The gems for His kingdom,
All the pure ones, all the bright ones,
Like the stars of the morning,
His bright crown adorning,
They shall shine in their beauty,
Bright gems for His crown,
Little children, little children,
Who love their Redeemer,
Are their jewels, precious jewels,
His love and His love,
Like the stars of the morning,
His bright crown adorning,
They shall shine in their beauty,
Bright gems for His crown.
All right, for our last hymn, please turn to 252.
Yes, no, 252.
252.
It's the last hymn again, by the way.
Lord Jesus, I long to be
perfectly whole,
I want Thee forever to live
in my soul, break down every
idol, cast out every foe,
Now wash me and I
shall be wider than snow,
Wider than snow, yes,
wider than snow, now wash
me and I shall be wider
than snow, Lord Jesus,
for this I was humbly intrigued,
I wait, blessed Lord,
at Thy mercy by Thee,
My faith for my cleansing,
I see Thy blood flow,
Now wash me and I shall be wider
than snow, wider
than snow, yes, wider than
snow, Now wash me and I
shall be wider than snow,
Lord Jesus, now see
His love patiently wake,
Come now and within me a new
heart create, to those who
have sought Thee, Thou never said
snow, Now wash me and I
shall be wider than snow,
wider than snow, yes,
wider than snow, Oh, wash me
and I shall be wider than
snow.
1 Samuel chapter 12.
Or whose ass have I taken? Or whom have I defrauded?
Whom have I oppressed? Or of whose hand have I received
any bribe to blind mine eyes therewith, and I will restore it new?
And they said, Thou hast not defrauded us, nor oppressed us,
neither hast Thou taken aught of any man's hand. And He said unto them,
The Lord is witness against you, and His anointed is witness this day,
that ye have not found aught in My hand.
And they answered, He is witness. And Samuel
said unto the people, It is the Lord that advanced Moses and Aaron,
and that brought your fathers up out of
the land of Egypt. Now therefore, stand still,
that I may reason with you before the Lord of all the righteous acts of
the Lord, which He did to you and to your fathers.
When Jacob was coming to Egypt, and your fathers cried
unto the Lord, then the Lord sent Moses and Aaron, which brought forth your
fathers out of Egypt, and made them dwell in this place. And when they
forget the Lord, their God, He sold them into the hand of Sisera,
captain of the host of Hazel, and into the hand
of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab.
They fought against them. And they cried unto the Lord, and said,
We have sinned, because we have forsaken the Lord, and have served
Balaam and Ashtaroth. But now deliver us out of the hand of our enemies,
and we will serve thee. And the Lord sent Jerubal and Bedan
and Jephthah and Samuel, and delivered you out of the hand
of your enemies on every side, and ye dwelled safe.
And when ye saw that Nahash,
the king of the children of Ammon, came against you, ye said
unto me, Nay, but a king shall reign over us, when the Lord your
God was your king.
If ye will fear the Lord, and serve him, and obey his voice,
and not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then shall both ye
and also the king that reigneth over you continue following the Lord your
God. But if ye will not obey the voice of the Lord,
but rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then
shall the hand of the Lord be against you, as it was against your fathers.
Now therefore, stand and see this great thing,
which the Lord will do before your eyes.
Is it not wheat harvest today? I will call unto the Lord,
and he shall send thunder and rain, that ye may perceive and see
that your wickedness is great, which ye have done in the sight of the Lord, in
asking you a king. So Samuel called unto the Lord, and the Lord sent
thunder and rain that day. And all the people greatly feared the Lord,
and all the people said unto Samuel,
Pray for thy servants unto the Lord thy God, that we die not.
For we have added unto all our sins this
evil, to ask us a king. And Samuel
said unto the people, Fear not, ye have done this wickedness.
Yet turn not aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart.
And turn ye not aside, for then should ye go
after vain things, which cannot profit nor deliver, for they are vain.
For the Lord will not forsake his people, for his
great name's sake, because it hath pleased the Lord to make you
his people. Moreover, as for me, God forbid that I should
sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you, but I will teach you
the good and the right way. Only fear the Lord, and serve
him in truth with all your heart. For consider how great things he hath done
for you. But if ye shall still do wickedly, ye shall be
consumed, both ye and your king. Let us pray.
Dear Lord, thank you for this portion of scripture.
Lord, help us to be attentive to your word this morning,
as it is preached. Fill Pastor Kevin with your Holy Ghost,
and help him to teach and to preach from your word. May it be a blessing unto us.
Let us not be hearers of the word only, but do us also.
In Jesus' name, Amen.
Teach and preach from your word, and may it be a blessing unto us.
All right, I think you can hear me. Let me just see how we're going here.
All right, I'm really hoping that feedback doesn't come through.
Let's see how we go.
All good so far. All right, let's just, let's get into it. All right, let's get into it.
First Samuel chapter 12, please, in verse number 21, it says,
And turn ye not aside, for then should ye go after
vain things which cannot profit nor deliver, for they are vain.
The total for the sermon this afternoon, Brevin, is vain things, vain things.
Now, I'm suffering a bit of déjà vu. I almost feel like I've preached
a sermon like this or a similar sermon not that long ago. So, apologies, Brevin,
if for some reason, I'm losing track of time. I'm preaching
two sermons up here, two sermons down there. I don't know if it's déjà vu or not.
I tried to double check. I went to the YouTube channel to see if I already preached a sermon, and I hadn't.
So, it should all have been you, but that's all I said is vain things.
And, you know, God has given us life. He's given us today. He's given us
many years of life. And, you know, God wants us to use our time for
profitable things. It's so easy to lose time, to waste
our time, and to get thinking and following up with things that are vain. What does the word
vain mean? It means empty, worthless, you know, empty and worthless.
And we see this in First Samuel chapter 12. We hear this great sermon from the prophet
Samuel. And the context of this is basically, he's preaching to Israel
as King Saul, as the first king of Israel, has been put
into his position. He's getting ordained as a king. And so, Samuel's teaching these things
to the people of Israel, and it's very clear that, you know, let's not turn
aside against God. Let's not go after vain things, which cannot profit
nor deliver, for they are vain. All right? So,
I know that if I assess my life, and, you know, even
up to probably in the last week or so, I'm sure there are things that I've wasted
my time on unnecessarily, vain things, worthless things, things that don't matter
for eternity. And so, we'll be looking at several vain things.
Now, often when we think about the term vain, we often like to go
to the book of Ecclesiastes, don't we? Because Ecclesiastics, you know, the key
theme of Ecclesiastes is about vanity. I won't be doing that today,
but we will be looking at the book of Ecclesiastes toward the end of
the sermon. But what I really want you to do is please go to the Psalms. Please go to
Psalm chapter 2. Please go to Psalm chapter 2.
Psalm chapter 2. And we're going to be looking at several vain things.
Now, if I sat there going, hey, let's look at everything
that is vanity, that's mentioned in the Bible, then this will be a ten-part sermon, okay?
I just want to look at a few things here in the book of Psalms that are referenced
as vain things, and I really want you to stop and assess your life and consider
are you wasting your time? Are you wasting your time on things that are worthless?
Look at Psalm chapter 2, please, verse number 1. Psalm chapter 2, verse number 1.
What's the first thing that is vain? Well, the first thing that is vain is to
live without God's laws. Living without God's laws is vanity.
Look at Psalm chapter 2, verse 1. It says, why do the heathen
rage and the people imagine a vain thing?
Hey, who are the heathen? The heathen here, of course, are the non-believers, the unbelieving
world. They imagine a vain thing. Say, what is the vain things that they're imagining?
Well, let's keep going there. Verse number 2. It says, the kings of the earth
set themselves and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against
His anointed. That's against Jesus Christ, saying, let us break their bands of
sunder and cast away their cords from us. And so the
Psalmist is saying, look, the kings on this earth, the heathen, the ungodly nations, they're
saying, hey, let's turn against the Lord, let's break away these commandments, let's
break away from God's laws, because they're restricting us. They're stopping us from
living lives that we want to follow after. And the Bible says
this thing, this action, is a vain thing.
Point number 1, brethren, is living without God's law is a vain thing.
You know, sometimes as human beings, we think we can accomplish more, be more
productive, if we just do it our way. You know, if we
think, well, God's restrictive, He's got His commandments, He's got His laws, and let's break away
from that, let's try our own journey, let's try our own way of serving the Lord
or doing great works, brethren. It's vanity. When you break away from the
commandments and the laws that God has given us, it's vanity. Now I'm
going to read to you from Deuteronomy chapter 32. You say there in the Psalms, Deuteronomy
chapter 32 and verse number 45. Deuteronomy chapter 32, verse number 45.
The Bible reads, And Moses made an end of speaking
all these words to all Israel, and he said unto them,
Set your hearts unto all the words, all the words,
which I testify among you this day, and ye shall command
your children to observe and do all the words of this
law. Alright? So Moses is telling the Israelites, listen,
teach your children God's word, teach them the laws of God.
And then it says in verse number 47, For it is not a vain
thing for you, because it is your life, and
through this thing ye shall prolong your days in the land,
whither ye go over Jordan to possess it. So brethren, guess what? God's
laws, it is not a vain thing. It is your life, the Bible says.
Moses says God's words, God's laws is our life.
It's not a vain thing. You see, the time you spend reading your
Bible, studying God's word, meditating upon his word, it is not a vain thing.
It is not a waste of your time. It is very profitable for you.
And, you know, if you're able to look at yourself, your spiritual life, and say, you know, I haven't really
grown all that much. I haven't really developed all that much. I haven't grown in maturity in my life.
I ask you a simple question, how much time do you spend in God's word?
Because God's word is not a vain thing, meaning it's very profitable. It'll help you
grow. It'll direct your life. It is your life. It says it'll prolong your days
in the land. And so what a great promise that God gives us.
The more time we spend in his word, the more he's going to prolong
our days. Now, sometimes people don't read their Bibles because they say, well,
I just don't have the time. You know, I'm a busy man, Pastor Kevin. I've got to get up. I've got
to go to work. I've got a family. I've got this and this to get to. I haven't
got time. Listen, brethren, you don't have time. What you don't have time for
is to not have been in the word of God. You must spend time in God's word. The promise
is he prolongs your days. If you say you don't have enough time to read the Bible,
well, you can add more time to your life by reading the Bible. It is not
a vain thing. It is profitable. It will give you direction to life.
So, brethren, when's the last time that you've seriously picked up your Bible
and had a good read? Because I remember, I remember just being a regular church member.
There was times that I would just go days. I might even go weeks
not picking up God's word, not reading God's word. Well, brethren, when we turn away
from God's laws, when we turn away from his word, this is a vain thing. And I don't
want you living a life which is wasted, unprofitable for you. I want you to have
lives that are profitable, you know, that you prolong your days, you grow in knowledge.
Brethren, you need to get in God's word. Get in God's laws, all right?
Living without God's laws is vain thing number one.
All right, you were there in the Psalm, so please turn to Psalm 127.
Psalm 127, please. Psalm 127,
what else is vain? What else is vain?
What else is vain? Well, in Psalm 127,
verse number two. Psalm 127, verse number two,
it says, it is vain for you to rise up early
to sit up late to eat the bread of sorrows, for
so he giveth his beloved sleep. Now, I'm pretty
sure I've preached this verse to you guys not longer. Maybe that's why it's feeling like déjà vu.
But, hey, listen, it is vain for you to rise up early and to sit up
late. It's vain for you to not get enough sleep, right?
You go to bed super late, you get up early, you don't get the hours
you need. I mean, I need at least eight hours to be able to function properly.
I didn't get eight hours last night because I had to get up early to get here to the Sunshine Coast
and I feel tired. I can feel it, okay? I need a good eight hours.
Some of you can go with seven, some of you can go with six hours. But, Brethren, you need to
get your sleep. You know, there's been times that I've cut my sleep because
I felt like, you know, maybe I've been busy with work
and I've been like, hey, you know what, I'll just stay up late and I'll keep working.
But one thing that I found that the later it goes,
the less productive that I am, the less mental clarity that I
have. When I get my good eight hours of sleep, then I wake up in the morning,
I feel refreshed, my mind's working, my mind's able to, you know,
gather more information, present more information. You know, one thing that I
experience sometimes in the past is getting up to, you know, obviously I've got to preach on a Sunday
and sometimes I'm working on my sermon late on a Saturday night,
right? And I find myself sometimes up really late at night on a Saturday because I'm
trying to, especially now, I'm trying to get two sermons done for a Sunday
for two different churches and I can be up very late working on
my sermons. And I find that it just takes me a long time because I'm
up late Saturday night, I'm there, like, I'm just looking at the Bible, I know what I want
to say, but it's just taking on me a long time to be able to put it together. And
sometimes I've just got to say, you know what, I give up, I'm going to go to sleep. I'm just going to go to sleep trying to get as many
hours as I can, wake up early, my mind's refreshed, and the things that are taking me
a long time to process at night, in the morning, it's quick, I'm able to put it,
you know, finalize, you know, edit down my sermon, get it exactly how I want it to be,
and then I can be more productive and more profitable to those that listen to the preaching.
But I also remember this in my secular job. I remember times when I was just overwhelmed
and sometimes I take work home, I'd be working hard, be up late, and
I'm just wasting my time, it's vanity, it's vanity, okay, I'm
mentally tired, and it'd be just much better if I just got my sleep, and then
I'd be more effective the next day, and I'd be more productive and able to do a lot more.
So Brethren, a lack of sleep is vanity. Please try
to get your lack of sleep. The Bible says in Matthew 6 34,
Take therefore no thought for the morrow, for the morrow shall take thought for the things
of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
Brethren, we can only do so much every single day, right? God gives us
today, get as much as you can done today, don't worry about tomorrow, get your sleep,
worry about the things, when tomorrow comes, then you can deal with the evil things that
come with tomorrow. And so Brethren, what are some vain things that we've looked at so far?
Number one, living without God's laws is a vain thing. Number two,
lacking in sleep, that's a vain thing, okay?
And please, because I talk to a lot of people, sometimes they say, I can't sleep, I can't, you know,
I struggle to sleep. You need to get that sleep. You need to find a good pattern,
okay, to give your body rest, to give your mind rest. That's the second thing.
The third thing, if you can please turn to Psalm 26 please, turn
to Psalm chapter 26 and verse number 4. Psalm 26
and verse number 4. You know, some of your friends might
be vain, vain things to you, okay? Some of your friends, some of the people that you associate
with might be vain things. Psalm 26 please, verse number 4.
Psalm 26 and verse number 4 says, I have not
sat with vain persons. Okay, so
the psalmist says, look, I don't sit with vain persons, I don't fellowship, I don't spend time
with vain persons. And then he says, neither will I go in with
dissemblers. So we learn that the vain persons in this verse are
dissemblers. Say, what's a dissembler? Let's keep going there, verse number 5.
I have hated the congregation of
evildoers and will not sit with the wicked.
So a dissembler is an evildoer and a dissembler
is a wicked person, okay? And the dissembler is a vain person.
What is a dissembler? You know, I used to think that
the word dissembler was the opposite for assembler.
Right? If you assemble something, you build something, you're constructive,
I thought a dissembler was the opposite. Instead of being constructive, they were destructive.
Well, no, the opposite of an assembler is a disassembler.
The word dissembler, what the word dissembler means, it's kind of like the word
seam, dissembler. You can kind of hear that word seam.
Well, the word dissembler means someone that seems to be one
way, or they present themselves one way, but they're another.
And they're difficult to identify. They're two-faced.
They present themselves one way, but they're really another way.
Two-faced, backstabbers, you know, this is the kind of thought that you get with people that you might
associate with, right? They put up a front, they look all holy and
righteous, look at me, praise God, hallelujah, but behind the scenes
you know they're up to wicked things. And they've got just this phony,
you know, this mask about them, this phony thing. That's a
dissembler. They want to seem one way, but really they are another.
And Brevin, if you come across people like this, you know, if you've got friends
that seem one way, they try to present themselves, but really you know
that deep down they're wicked, or they're just a plain
discouragement to you, you've got to break away from those people, okay? Those people are
vain persons. The Bible says, actually you can maybe turn there, please go to Proverbs 26.
Please go to Proverbs 26, just because you're not too far away.
Please turn to Proverbs 26. Proverbs
26 and verse number 24, please. Proverbs 26 and verse number 24.
The Bible reads, He that hateth,
dissembleth with his lips, and layeth up
deceit within him. When he speaketh fair,
believe him not. You see, they try to pee one way,
but don't believe him, the Bible says. Don't believe that way, believe him not.
Look at this, for there are seven abominations in his
heart, whose hatred is covered by deceit. His wickedness
shall be showed before the whole congregation, okay?
So what this is telling us is that the dissembler, okay, is wicked.
Again, they speak one way, don't believe him the way he presents himself.
He really is wicked, he's got seven abominations in his heart, and
one day it'll all reveal itself. One day it's going to be clear
that they're false, that they're false brethren, or they've
put up this appearance of righteousness, and they're not truly that way at all.
It all eventually becomes exposed. Be careful of dissemblers.
These people exist, you probably have them in your life right now. You probably know
dissemblers, you know, people that present themselves one way, but deep down you know they're not that way
at all. Well as the Psalmist says, I have not sat with vain persons,
neither will I go in with dissemblers. Please be careful
with the people that you associate with, that you fellowship with, okay?
You can't help yourself if you're, I guess, in a job, in a workplace, and you've got to work with
certain people that you know are dissemblers, you can't necessarily change that, but you
can change your network of friends, your acquaintances that you have, okay?
If you identify someone as a dissembler, don't sit with
that vain person, okay? Dissemblers are a vain thing.
Now, I'm going to quickly read to you from Galatians chapter 2 verse 12.
Galatians chapter 2 verse 12 which reads, For before that certain
came from James. He did eat with the Gentiles, so he got James eating with the
Gentiles, okay? But when they were come, that's the
Jews, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them that
were of the circumcision. And the other Jews
dissembled likewise with him, in so much that Barnabas
also was carried away with their dissimulation,
okay? So Barnabas, you know Barnabas was Paul's
right-hand man, okay? Even a godly man like Barnabas was carried away
by the dissimulation. You can see that word, dissimulation, sounds a lot like a
simulator. Yeah, that's what it is, right? It's a simulator, that it's not real. They present
themselves one way, but they're not truly that way. And so when you've got
James, he's eating, he's fellowshiping with the Gentiles, but when the Jews come, right,
he tries to present himself a different way, oh no, the Gentiles, I don't fellowship with the Gentiles,
you know? And so, you know, even Christians, even God's people can't get
caught up being a dissembler or fellowshiping with dissemblers.
So the three things so far, brethren? Living without God's laws
is a vain thing. A lack of sleep is a vain thing. Dissemblers, associating
with dissemblers, they are a vain thing. They are a vain person.
Can you please go to Psalm 62 now? Go to Psalm 62.
What else is vain? What else is vain? Psalm
62, verse number 9. The next thing that I've got for you, point
number 4, brethren, is your social status is a vain thing.
You know, there are people that, you know, are very worried or concerned about
how others think about them. They want to climb that social
ladder in life, or they want to have that career, they want to have that
big name, or they want to have that big bank account, or they want to have that nice
car, just to show everybody how successful they are,
you know, how much they've lifted themselves up in society. You know,
the social status, these things that men look at, brethren, it's all a vain thing.
It's all a waste of time. It's all nothingness. Look at Psalm 62, verse 9.
Psalm 62, verse 9. The Bible reads,
surely men of low degree, that's like a low social status, surely
men of low degree are vanity. Hmm, that's interesting.
You know, men who have a low social class, the Bible says
it's vanity. Okay? Hold on, Pastor Kevin. You're talking about people
that are seeking a high class, a high social status.
Well, let's keep going there. It says here, and men of high degree
are a lie. They're liars. And look what the rest of
the verse says. It says, to be laid in the balance,
they are altogether lighter than vanity.
Alright, so what is it saying? If you took a balance, okay, and you put
lower social class people in the balance on one side, and
together with the lower social class, you put the higher social class, okay,
people on that side, people that have all the, you know, big names,
big titles, you know, big degrees and big whatever, you know,
bank accounts, you put them all together on one side of the balance, and then on the other side of the balance
you put vanity, which is worthless, empty, unprofitable.
Well, they are lighter than vanity, meaning
they're actually worse than vanity, okay? Because vanity is light
and they're lighter than vanity. Obviously, we're not talking about
the individual person. We're talking about people that look at the social
class. They look at the social status of people, and they're a respecter of persons.
I'm going to respect this man because he has money. I'm going to respect
this man because he's got a good job. He's got a good career.
I'm going to respect this man because he's dressed how, you know, I think
a respectable man ought to dress. You know, this person has a lower status. All of that
brethren, it's vanity, and it's unfortunate that so many people
look at this or they judge your character based on your social
status. The Bible says in Acts 10 verse 34,
He opened his mouth and said,
Brethren, when God looks upon this earth, what does he see?
He's not a respecter of persons. God doesn't uphold you just because you've got a better education
than someone else. He doesn't uphold you higher just because you've got a better job than someone else.
Brethren, or you've got a better name than someone else, no. God is not a respecter of person,
but in every nation, that includes Australia, he that fear of him
and work of righteousness is accepted with him.
See, God looks down at those that fear God. You know, if you
don't want to be following vain things, hey, one of the great things that you can do is just have a
healthy fear of God. We definitely need more fear of God
here in Australia. Alright, so that was number four, social status.
That's vanity. Alright, let's go to Psalm. Actually, you're still there
in Psalm 62. Let's look at the next verse. Psalm 62 verse number 10.
Psalm 62 verse number 10. The Bible reads,
Trust not in oppression and become not vain. So there's the word vain.
Not become vain in robbery. If riches
increase, set not your heart upon them.
So number five, brethren, what else is vanity? Earthly wealth.
Earthly wealth is vanity. Trust not in oppression
and become not vain in robbery. You see, the context of that is if
riches increase. You see, some people increase in riches
out of robbery. You know, robbing a bank, for example, or robbing from your neighbour, they may
increase. And many times, I do believe, you know, if you play in the stock
market, you know, I believe those that make billions and trillions on the stock market, it's just robbery.
You know, they know what stocks are going up. They know what stocks are going down.
Ultimately, they're pulling away the funds from those that
don't have the insider knowledge. Okay? But yeah, you can become
wealthy by robbery. And the Bible says, look, earthly wealth is
vanity. Now, notice the second part of
verse number 10. It says, if riches increase. So could there be times
that your riches increase? Yes. If riches increase,
is there anything wrong if your riches increase? No. Is there anything wrong if you get a
mention on the job? No. Okay, there's nothing wrong with these things. But if they do
increase, brethren, set not your hearts upon them.
All right? There's nothing wrong with riches increasing.
There's nothing wrong with making a profit. But if your heart is upon your riches,
these are vain things. Okay, vain things.
Thinking that you're somebody because of the size of your bank account,
you know, material wealth that you have, the possessions, brethren, it's all vanity.
Don't set your heart upon them. Brethren, if God allows you to get riches,
God allows you to become profitable, just thank God. Just appreciate
God for the blessings that He gives you. Because if you set your heart upon
riches, not only is it vanity, it's going to increase in your pride
and you can easily seek mammon rather than the Lord God.
In fact, the Bible says in Matthew 6 24, no man can serve
two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other
or else he will hold to the one and despise the other.
Ye cannot serve God and mammon. You cannot serve God
and mammon. Okay? So if your heart is set on how much
money you can make, how much wealth, how much possessions can I make?
And that's your goal? That's where your heart lies, brethren? The Bible says you cannot
serve God. It's one or the other. You cannot have two masters.
The Bible also says in Matthew 6 20, but lay up for yourselves
treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt,
and where thieves do not break through nor steal, for where your
treasure is, there will your heart be also. Where is your treasure,
brethren? Is it in earthly riches? Is it in wealth? Or is it
upon the Lord? You know, I hope it's upon the Lord. I hope your heart is upon the Lord.
You know, laying up treasures in heaven, thinking about eternity. And I
understand this world that we live in, you know, it
tries to cause us to put our hearts on everything else
that this world can offer, except the Lord God. But don't forget, if you start
serving mammon, the word mammon means riches and wealth. You start serving that,
okay? You know, your hearts and minds are just, how much can I make?
Then, brethren, you're not going to be serving the Lord God. You're not going to be laying up treasures in heaven.
Okay? Earthly wealth is vain. It's vanity.
It's pointless. Okay? You can't take your earthly wealth with you to heaven.
All right. Please go to Psalm 33 now. Please go to Psalm 33.
Psalm 33 and verse number 16.
I'm hoping that the audio has been working all fine for you guys, but Psalm 33
verse number 16. The next thing that
is vain is the watchdog. The watchdog.
Say, what is the watchdog? Well, I often think about a watchdog because, you know,
we go door-to-door soul winning, don't we? We go door-to-door, and many times you knock on
someone's door, and this is the worst. I think, like, my worst
experience soul winning is not necessarily people getting mad at me or
saying filthy things at me or slamming the door in my face. That's not the worst part of soul winning.
At least, I feel that way. The worst thing is when I knock on the door
and you hear, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof. All right? You've got some dog
just going nuts at the door, you know, and I just think, man, this is kind of like
this watchdog. This dog thinks it's protecting the house and its
occupants from the person going door-to-door soul winning. You know, these dogs
just frustrate me, brethren. All right? But the watchdog is a vain thing.
Look at Psalm 33 verse 16. Psalm 33 verse 16.
The Bible says, there is no king saved
by the multitude of a host. A mighty man
is not delivered by much strength. Now, this is the
truth of God's word. There is no king saved by the multitude
of a host. Interesting. So when you've got a
king going to war, all right, he takes his army to war, and you
think, man, this king won. This man won the war because of his army. No.
That's not why. Okay? A mighty man is not delivered by much strength. No.
It's not that. Okay? Now, is there anything wrong with having a large army for
self-defense? No. Okay? Is there anything wrong with preparing your army in case
your nation gets attacked? Of course not. But look at verse number 17. It keeps going.
And horse is a vain thing for
safety. Okay? Neither shall he deliver any
by his great strength. You see, once again, this is very similar to what we
looked at earlier, the earthly wealth. Okay? Is there anything wrong with riches?
Is there anything wrong with profiting? No. But if your heart is set upon these
things, brethren, it's vain. Well, when it comes to your defense,
when it comes to your protection, is there anything wrong if you're capable
of having an army, you know, having, what, a watchdog,
having some German shepherd, right, that's protecting your house? Is anything wrong with a German shepherd
in your backyard in case someone breaks into your house? No. There's nothing wrong with that.
But brethren, if you've got your heart upon these things, okay, and you think you're
safe and protected by anything else besides the Lord,
you know, you've got a horse prepared for the battle, brethren, it's a vain thing.
It's a vain thing. We need to be able to trust our Lord with our safety.
Look at verse 18. It says, Behold, the eye of the Lord
is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope
in his mercy. Brethren, we all want safety. We want
security. Yeah? And there's nothing wrong, once again, of trying
to secure your house. I remember when we moved into our house back there in
Bonnerig many years ago, my wife felt a little bit uncomfortable
because Bonnerig back then had some issues and some break-ins, etc.
So we decided to get some shutters for the windows, okay, so we closed the shutters
at night. It's a lot more protective. I gave some security to my wife in that sense.
But at the end of the day, brethren, my heart is not in those security shutters.
I'm not thinking these security shutters are going to protect me.
You know, if my heart was upon those things, brethren, that's a vain thing.
Our dependence, our trust, our hope must be on the Lord God.
If the Lord doesn't want to defend you, if he does not step in to defend you, it doesn't matter what other
protections you put in place, you will be defeated, okay?
It's a vain thing to have a watchdog. Is anything wrong with having no? But don't put your trust
in the watchdog. Don't put your trust in your army or your horse.
Put your trust in the Lord for protection.
Now, I'm going to quickly read to you from—actually, you're there in Psalms, aren't you? So please
turn to Psalm 119. Please turn to
Psalm 119 for me, please. Psalm 119.
Now, we just went through six things, six things that are vain, okay?
What were they again? Number one, living without God's laws. Number two, a lack of sleep.
Number three, the assemblers. Number four, the social status. Number five, earthly wealth.
Number six, the watchdog, all right? And again, I could have just given you a list of things.
I'm just throwing things at you because I just want you to assess your life.
You know, are you spending time on vain things? Are you
spending time on things that are not profitable for you, okay?
Because, you see, we all have vain thoughts. We all have
stupid thoughts. Even myself, Reverend, I'm sure probably this morning
some stupid vain thought crossed my mind, okay? And
we need to learn how to battle these thoughts, okay? You're never,
especially in this life, you're never going to get away. You're never going to get to a point
where you don't have some vain thoughts or some vain imaginations.
But look at Psalm 119, please, in verse 113,
113, the Bible reads,
I hate vain thoughts, but thy law do I
love. We need to get to this point in our spiritual maturity
where we say God's laws, God's words, this is what I love,
and when it comes to my imaginations, my thoughts, that are just
a waste of stupidity and a waste of time, just say about yourself, I hate those vain
thoughts. Why do I have those vain thoughts? Now listen,
the Psalmist himself has vain thoughts. That's why he says, I hate them.
I hate the vain thoughts. I'd much rather, you know, just love God's words
and love God's laws. You know, we've gone through the Jeremiah,
the book of Jeremiah, haven't we? And I'll just quickly read to you from Jeremiah chapter 4
verse 14. The Bible reads, O Jerusalem, wash
thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved. How long
shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee?
How long shall your vain thoughts lodge within thee? Brethren, you've got
vain thoughts, I've got vain thoughts. How long shall these vain thoughts continue
in our minds? Can you please turn to 2 Corinthians chapter
10? 2 Corinthians chapter 10, please. 2 Corinthians chapter
10. Now while you're
turning to 2 Corinthians chapter 10, I'm going to read to you from Romans chapter 1.
And we know that many of you know, of course, that Romans chapter 1 is the chapter
that deals with, you know, quite a decent level of
detail about reprobates. And before someone becomes a reprobate,
there is this downward spiral that they go through. And let me just show you this
part of this downward spiral that will lead to reprobation. It says
in Romans chapter 1 verse 21, the Bible reads, Because that
when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God,
neither were thankful, then this is this, but became vain
in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
Okay, so for a non-believer, listen if you're saved, you're not going to be
affected by this, but for the non-believer, if they don't manage their vain
imaginations, it will cause their foolish heart to be darkened. This will lead
to this process of becoming a spiritual reprobate.
Alright, now when we think about that, we think about this downward spiral that leads to that,
that should really highlight to you how important it is for us not to have
vain thoughts. What's a vain thought? For example, you know,
as a married man thinking, you know, about other women, you know,
saying, you know, thinking, oh man, you know, I wish I had a different
woman than my wife, you know, or, you know, just that brethren is a vain
thought. Okay, I'm a married man, my wife,
you know, she's my number one, and she's my only one, okay, till
death do us part, and to think about some other woman, brethren, that's a vain
thought, it's a foolish imagination. These are things that we ought to
hate, we ought to hate these things, okay brethren? But notice
that, I just wanted to bring to your attention, that is a downward spiral that can
lead to reprobation for the non-believer. Now let's talk about the believer,
because in 2 Corinthians chapter 10 verse 5, 2 Corinthians chapter 10
verse number 5, the Bible reads, casting down
imaginations and every high thing that exalts of itself
against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity
every thought to the obedience of
Christ, okay? This is so difficult,
this is so difficult, you know, I personally think it's easier
to overcome the sins that are done in the body, because
the sins that are done in the body are visible, okay? And we don't want to
disgrace ourselves, not only before God, but before man, okay?
And so I understand that there are certain things that maybe
if you knew nobody's watching, nobody ever found out, you might end up doing in the
body, but that worry, that concern, that, you know,
what if people find out, or, you know, this destroys my life, or destroys
this issue, you know, and that prevents you from doing certain sins. But here's the problem
with your mind. No one can read your mind. The only one that knows your mind, of course,
is you and the Lord. You and the Lord. No one else can see
what's going on in that mind. And when Christ comes, you know, He highlights this
part of our life, you know, not only to not commit adultery,
okay, but even if you look upon a woman with lust, you've committed adultery with her
in your heart. You know, the Lord God does a lot, speaks a lot about the mind, and
a lot of sins that can transpire in your mind, okay? And the Bible
tells us here, when we have those vain thoughts, those vain imaginations,
to cast them down, all right? So as soon as you start thinking
some stupidity, you know, something that is not right, something that is wicked
and sinful, brethren, you need to cast that down. Bring it down.
And every high thing that exalts of itself against the knowledge
of God. You start thinking about something, you know, man, God would not be happy for me to be thinking
about these things, okay? Well, you've got to bring it down. And this
bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience
of Christ. Yes, we have to be obedient to Jesus Christ
even in our thought life, brethren. As soon as you start thinking
some vain, wicked imagination, wicked thoughts, you've
got to bring it into captivity. Take it as a prisoner. Throw it in the
dungeon. Lock away the key, all right? And bury
it to the obedience of Jesus Christ. It's a high standard,
you know? Living out this Christian life. Living out the Christian life.
You know, I know, you know, the mind can bring about
all kinds of stupid thoughts. You know, sometimes, you know,
as I prepare to go to sleep, you know, you start, your body starts to get, you know, tired
and, you know, I find myself sometimes my brain just starts
like without my will almost. It is, of course, it is my will because it's my mind, but
you know, it just starts to think some stupid things
and then I'm like, what am I thinking about? What is that all about?
Why is it even going there? And you've got to remind yourself, you've got to take that down, okay?
Bring it into captivity and say, hey, you know what, this is not in accordance to the obedience of
Christ and bring it low. And brethren, this is the battle we have,
you know, these vain thoughts. I don't want you wasting your time on vain things,
brethren, and be careful with the vain thoughts that get processed through your mind.
Bring it into captivity of our Lord Jesus Christ. Can you
please turn to Proverbs 31, please? Proverbs 31.
Proverbs 31, please, in verse number 31.
Proverbs 31, oh sorry, in verse number 30.
Proverbs 31, verse number 30. What else is vain?
Well, you know, your physical appearance is vain. Your physical appearance
is vain. The Bible says in Proverbs 31, verse 30,
Look at this, and beauty is vain.
But a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be
praised. Brethren, beauty is vain. The reason it's vain, empty,
is because as you get older, you're just going to become less beautiful.
Okay? You know, you get the wrinkles, you get the
whatever, you know, ladies, you know, and look, generally speaking,
I think men that spend a lot of time on their appearance, that's pretty bad.
Okay? But it's definitely an issue that women struggle with, because it says
but a woman, that fear of the Lord, right? You know, this is for the ladies, you know,
there's nothing wrong with fixing yourself up to some extent, okay, looking presentable,
et cetera, but please don't spend all your time, all your hours trying
to fix your appearance. Your physical appearance is vain.
Okay? It's empty. It has no purpose. You know,
we're all going to lose our physical appearance to some extent,
right? You know, if you marry a woman just because she's beautiful, I mean, that's
great that you married a woman that's beautiful, but you know what? She's going to get older.
You know, she's going to have kids. There's going to be changes in her body, okay? She's not
going to be looking necessarily as attractive as she did when she was younger.
And if you're just marrying for beauty, once that beauty starts to fade, Brethren,
then what have you got? You know, did you really love that woman? Did you really
care about her? Did you really, you know, were you really, you know, did you really love her
really or was it just a beauty? And we've got to be careful about this. You know, men,
we also age, right? We get older and
we can't always look as young as we used to. Well, so what? That's part of life.
You know, but beauty is, is there anything wrong with beauty? You know, there's nothing wrong with beauty,
but again, if you've got your hearts and mind and you're spending hours and, you know, fixing
yourself up and trying to make yourself look as beautiful as possible, it's all vanity.
It's all worthless. It's a waste of your time. You know what is not a waste of your time?
You know what is profitable, ladies? But a woman that feareth the Lord.
She shall be praised. And, you know,
in our church we have ladies that fear the Lord. You know, you deserve to be
praised. Praised by your husband, praised by your children. The Lord God will praise you
when he sees a fear of God in you. That's what matters.
That's what's profitable. That's what's going to be rewarded for you in eternity,
not how beautiful you looked on the outside. The Bible says
in Proverbs 31 31, look at the next verse, give her the fruit of her hands
and let her own works praise her in the
gates. So what should she be praised for? For her beauty? No.
For the work of her hands, the labor, you know, the efforts that she does to, to look
out for her husband and to raise the children and to be the homemaker
and whatever profitable thing she is to, to, to her
family. That's what she ought to be praised about, not praised
for her beauty. But, you know, we live in this generation
that's been bombarded with Hollywood, Hollywood actors, and Hollywood actors
always look beautiful, so-called, okay. They spend hours in the makeup chair.
They got all the Botox and they've got all the modifications to their body.
And then when you see pictures of them without their makeup, they look horrible.
All the drugs and alcohol that they've been taking, you know, it's all that beauty, Brevin.
It's deceitful. It's vain. All right, please turn to
the book of Ecclesiastes. Turn to the book of Ecclesiastes, chapter 12.
Ecclesiastes, chapter 12.
Actually, Ecclesiastes, chapter 1.
Ecclesiastes, chapter 1, please. I'm near the end of the sermon now.
Ecclesiastes, chapter 1, please, in verse number 2.
Ecclesiastes, chapter 1, verse number 2.
The Bible, you know, the book of Ecclesiastes, you know, the word Ecclesiastes is kind of like the word
for church, which is ecclesia. And so the
book of Ecclesiastes is really a preacher. Yes, it's Solomon
and his life experiences, but it's also what preachers should be
preaching to their congregation. And it says in Ecclesiastes, chapter 1,
verse 2, vanity of vanities. Save
the preacher. Vanity of vanities. All is
vanity. So, wow, you know, what is
the preacher's job? To tell you everything is vanity.
Okay? A lot of the things that we do, Brevin, is a waste of time.
It has no eternal values. You know, the preacher's job is to cause
you to help you move away from the things that are vain, are worthless,
and set your heart on things that are true, eternal,
and earns rewards for you in heaven. That's how the book of Ecclesiastes
begins. Let's have a look at how the book of Ecclesiastes ends. Let's go to chapter
12 now. Ecclesiastes, chapter 12, and verse number 8. Ecclesiastes,
chapter 12, and verse number 8, please.
Ecclesiastes, chapter 8, and verse number 12. The Bible reads,
vanity of vanities. Save the preacher. All
is vanity. Just like we started with. And then it says this, and moreover,
because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people
knowledge. Yea, he gave good heed, and
sought out, and set in order, many proverbs.
Hey, we've gone through some proverbs today. Okay, that's what preaching ought to be.
To clear out the vanity, bring something fruitful, bring something profitable
to the people of God. Verse number 10. The preacher
sought to find out acceptable words, and that which was written
was upright, even words of truth. So it's the
preacher's job to seek out acceptable words. We go to God's word, we
find out what's going to help the church, what's going to help them clear out the vanity in their lives.
That is the work of the preacher. Okay? Preaching
the truth of God's word is one sure thing that is not vain.
It is one thing that cuts through the vanity of
life. And so brethren, vanity of vanities, save the preacher. Vanity
of vanities. All is vanity. Yes, everything
that we've amassed on this earth, brethren, it's all going to burn. You know,
we can't take it with us through eternity. I mean, think about what you can take to
heaven. What would it be? You can take your soul. You can take
the souls of your children or your family that you've preached the gospel to.
You can take the souls of people that you've seen saved. What else can you take to heaven with you?
That's it. That's it. The number one thing, brethren,
that we can take with us are souls. Not just your own soul, but the souls of
others. And you know what? Everything else that we amassed on this earth,
you know, that has no eternal value, at the end of the day, brethren, it's all vanity.
It's all going to burn. You know, we're going to be, we're going to be, you know,
I don't know, a million years in eternity. Not that time
that necessarily gets mentioned in that way, okay? And we're going to, I mean,
all we're going to have with us, brethren, are the rewards, the riches that God has given us,
the souls that we've been able to lead to the Lord Jesus Christ. And I
want you to think about, I really want to challenge, you know, we've got a soul winning event coming
up this Saturday. And if you haven't gone soul winning in a while, I want you to start thinking about
what is profitable? What is not vain? You know,
I've spent too much time on the vanities of this earth. What is it
that's profitable? What matters for all eternity? And I'd strongly encourage you to
come out soul winning this Saturday. Brother Anthony's organizing it. I think
there's going to be a morning session, an afternoon session. Please do the best to be there. If you
say, I can't preach the gospel past the heaven, hey, come as a silent partner. Hey,
come do a work that is not vain. Okay, come do a work
that is not vain. Something that will profit for all eternity. Can you please now turn to
1 Samuel chapter 12? We'll end on this one. 1 Samuel chapter 12.
We started with 1 Samuel chapter 12. Now let's end on it. Let's get a few more
thoughts here. 1 Samuel chapter 12 and verse number 20.
1 Samuel chapter 12 and verse number 20.
So,
Vain Things was the title for the sermon this afternoon, brethren.
And, you know, if we're all honest, for sure,
we just spend too much time on vain things. Things that just don't matter. But 1 Samuel
chapter 12 and verse number 20. The Bible reads, And Samuel said unto the
people, Fear not, ye have done all this weakness,
yet turn not aside from following the Lord, but serve the
Lord with all your heart. And turn ye not aside,
for then should ye go after vain things. That's where you get the title from the sermon.
Which cannot profit nor deliver, for they are vain.
Alright, what else does Samuel preach in? Verse number 22.
For the Lord would not forsake his people, for his great name's
sake, because he hath pleased the Lord to make ye his people.
Moreover, as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the Lord
in ceasing to pray for you, but I will teach you the
good and the right way. So, brethren, you've got a choice.
The vain things, or the good and the right way.
Verse number 24. Only fear the Lord, and serve him in truth
with all your heart. Now notice the next words. For
consider how great things he hath done for you.
So, consider what? The great things.
You see, brethren, you've got a choice. Do I go after vain things,
or do I think about the great things that God has done for
me? Verse number 25. But if ye shall still do wickedly,
ye shall be consumed, both ye and your king.
And yes, brethren, we can be consumed as far as wasting our
time on vain things. Alright, brethren? Now listen, we have to function
in society. We have to get through life. We have to make money.
We have to, obviously, provide for ourselves. We've got to do a lot of things that won't matter
for eternity, but don't lose out the opportunities you have
to step away from vain things, to think about the great things
that God has done for you. And, brethren, God's word is not
vanity. It's not a waste of time. Serving in God's house
is not a waste of time. You know, once again, this pastor and his family, we're moving back to
Queensland. I want to challenge each one of you. How can you serve in the
local body of Jesus Christ? How can you serve in your church? Serving the Lord
is not vanity. It's profitable for you. It's going to benefit the
church. Now think about where you can step in and be a blessing.
Consider the great things that God has done for you. Don't waste
your time on vain things. Alright, brethren,
thank you for your time. I hope the projector and the sound system works just fine.
And I'll be with you guys once again there on Thursday.
And I'm just trying to think, what are we doing again? Okay, so next Sunday,
let me just quickly announce, next Sunday, we've got our service at 12 p.m.
And following the service, we've got the baby shower
for sister Leticia and baby Titus. So let me just
remind you guys that it's not just for the ladies, it's for all.
I know last Sunday I said it's for the ladies, but no, Christina corrected me. It's for all.
We're going to organize some lunch, and we're going to try to decorate the place a little bit. So
if you can hang around after the service, that'll be a great blessing. And then
the following Sunday, Sunday the 20th, is our final
Sunday as a family. There's a pool of our family together on the Sunday.
I strongly encourage you to be there, because it'll be our farewell
in many aspects. I'd love to be able to say goodbye to you with my wife and kids.
I'll still be traveling. You know, the plan is that I'll still be traveling every week
for the midweek services, but I'll go into that a bit more in later on in more detail.
But not only are we having a service, that service is
going to be at 10 a.m., okay? So please remember this. Sunday the 20th
the service is at 10 a.m., alright? And that'll be
from that Sunday on, all our Sunday services will be on at 10 a.m.
After the service, we've got two baptisms at least to be
done. If you need to get baptized, please reach out to me, and we'll get those baptisms
done. After the baptisms, we'll go and celebrate, you know, I'm not sure
exactly just yet. We might find a restaurant in the local area, and we all, you know,
not rachis this time. I think we're all sick of rachis. We'll go somewhere else, and we'll celebrate
our church anniversary, two-year church anniversary. We're almost up to four years,
brethren. Come July, we're up to four years, but we still haven't celebrated our two-year
anniversary because of lockdowns. So that's what we'll be doing, all those things, farewell for the
supporters, baptism, and celebrating our two-year church anniversary.
Alright, let's pray. Heavenly Father, Lord, I just want to thank you for your word. Lord, thank you
for helping the technology, the system, Lord, from working once again.
And Lord, I also come before you and ask that you please forgive
us for our sins, Lord, for the waste of time that we have, Lord, and vanity, vain
things, Lord, vain imaginations. Lord, please remind us of the great battle that we have
of the mind. Lord, help us to be able to capture those imaginations that are not right, that are sinful,
that are contrary to your words, that are disobedient to Christ. Lord, to help us to be able to, you know,
work hard in managing that part of our Christian life as well.
And Lord, thank you for giving us so many great things. Thank you for your blessings. Thank you for the
rewards and the opportunities that we have for eternity, Lord, looking forward
to heaven. And Lord, I pray that we would live our lives in light of the great
things that you've done for us. We pray all these things in Jesus' name, Amen.
Alright, brethren, God bless. Thank you.
Alright, please find a hymn.
Let's send to song number 56,
When We All Get to Heaven.
Song number 56.
Sing the wondrous love
of Jesus. Sing His mercy
and His praise. In the
mansions bright and blessed,
He'll prepare for us a place
when we all get to heaven.
What a day of
rejoicing that will be. When we all
see Jesus, we'll sing
and shout the victory.
While we walk the pilgrim path,
when clouds will overspread the sky.
But when traveling days are over,
not a shadow, not a sigh.
When we all get to heaven,
what a day of rejoicing that will be.
When we all see Jesus,
we'll sing and shout the victory.
Let us then be true
and faithful, trusting, serving
every day to the lips of
Heaven. Living glory will burn
all so brightly paid. When we all
get to heaven, what a day
of rejoicing that will be. When we all
see Jesus, we'll sing
and shout the victory.
Onward to the prize before us,
beauty will be whole. Soon the
pearly gates will open, we shall
shred the strings of gold. When we all
get to heaven, what a day
of rejoicing that will be. When we all
see Jesus, we'll sing
and shout the victory.
Amen, we're the Smiths, we'll see you next week on Thursday.