(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

Now Malachi chapter 3 the part that I want to focus on is the beginning of verse 15 great chapter but beginning of verse number 15 the Bible reads and now we call the proud happy. Yea they that work wickedness are set up. Yea they that tempt God are even delivered. Then they that feared the Lord spake off in one to another and the Lord hearkened and heard it and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord and that thought upon his name and they shall be mine safe the Lord hopes and that day when I make up my jewels and I will spare them as a man spareth his own son that serveth them then shall ye return and discern between the righteous and the wicked between him that serveth God and him that serveth him. Now the phrase that I really want to focus in on is found in verse number 16 where the Bible reads then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another think about it then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another now the time that's being described here is very similar to the time that we're living in right now this is shortly before Jesus Christ would come to serve for the first time to be born of a virgin in Bethlehem and that we're living I believe shortly before the second coming of Christ I mean we don't know when that's going to be it could be 10 years from now 20 years from now we don't know when it's going to be we know it's not going to be today it's not going to be tomorrow right but it's not going to be it could be sometime in the very near future we don't know when it's going to be we don't know the day nor the hour but we are living in the days that will be known in the Bible as the last days shortly before the second coming of Jesus Christ which is similar to the days that were found before Jesus first time and look what it says in verse 15 and now we call the proud happy ye they that work wickedness are set up I mean I'm talking about the most wicked and vile people who walk the face of this earth are the people who are lifted up today in America as heroes I mean I think of this basketball player I think his name is Kobe Bryant is that right yes and here's a guy who he played basketball really well but he's an adulterer he's committing adultery with somebody that he didn't even know in a hotel room some lady is bringing him room service and he's lifted up and yet I can walk down the street today and go through the ghettos of America and see child after child a teenager after teenager wearing a jersey that says Kobe Bryant because he's lifted up as a hero he's lifted up as an idol when he's an adulterer and he ought to be killed according to the Bible yes that's right whether you like it or not the Bible says that adultery is wicked in the sight of God and in the old days the adulterer and the adulterers will be stoned with stones okay and so we see the most wicked and vile people are lifted up I was sitting on an airplane and they were flashing some kind of TV program I look up and it's just all queers some guy wearing a pink shirt with his hair spiked and a limp wrist and talk everything and he's lifted up I'm not on TV this morning I'm not lifted up this morning nobody in this room is lifted up on TV I haven't seen your face on a billboard on the way to church this morning because the most vile and wicked people are being lifted up and some of the best people in the world are in this room and they're not lifted up no the violent wicked are lifted up it says yea they that tempt God are even delivered then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another you say what do you what do you want to preach about that look it's important for God's people to speak often one with another see this is part of what Church is for so that God's people can speak often one with another he says as a result verse 18 then shall you return and deserve between the righteous and the wicked between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not and I turn to Hebrews chapter 10 if you would Hebrews chapter number 10 very end of the New Testament you see a lot of people today have a hard time discerning between the righteous and the wicked they have a difficult time telling the difference between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not but he says if you'll speak often one to another you'll be able to make that distinction look if you would at Hebrews 10 25 an extremely famous verse but I want you to lay your eyes upon it the Bible reads not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is but exhorting one another and so much the more as you see the day approaching now look what is the importance of church say when we come to church to listen to preaching you don't have to come to church to listen to preaching you could listen to it on the internet you can listen to a tape you can listen to a CD you know if you want you can turn on the TV and listen to a bunch of heretics and weirdos but the point of the matter is going to church is not just to listen to preaching you say well we go to church to sing the hymns you can sing the hymns in your house I sing them every day I sing when I drive down the road but you know what you come to church for is to speak with God's people to assemble together with God's people he said don't forsake the assembling of yourselves together there's something important about getting together with other people who fear God who love God who serve God and assembling with them and speaking to one another have you ever been to a church where people they get out of the car they walk into to church they sit in the service and as soon as the service over they're gone you know I'm talking about I've been to whole churches like that where everybody just the park hot fills up you know right when it's gonna start everybody walks in sits down the service begins the sermon ends and everybody's gone now is that what God wants for the Bible here no he said David the Lord should speak often one to another you see everybody speaks to somebody everybody pretty much has cramming pretty much I guess you know everybody has friends that you talk to right you have people that you might talk to on the phone you have people maybe that you got to lunch with or go out to dinner with or spend time talking with and fellowshipping with who should it be that you spend time with and talk with according to the Bible those that fear the Lord those that fear God you should be able to see the difference between somebody who fears the Lord and does not fear the Lord you should be able to see the difference between the righteous and the wicked and I'm going to tell you something nothing almost can be more important in your life than who your friends are I mean it could make all the difference in the world I preached about this several weeks ago when I preached the sermon about thou shalt prophesy with them about Samuel going to the company of the prophets and sending his servants on the forum and they prophesied with them just because they were there you see there are people who would never be a soul winner but if they came to this church they'd be a soul winner it's true I mean we've had visitors show up never been so winning never thought of so many came from the morning service as a visitor we had a soul winning that afternoon and I asked I asked one lady I said did you ever think you'd be out so what in this afternoon she said no I said this what you thought you're gonna do when you woke up this morning no but when you come to faith for Baptist Church you just end up going out so it seems like but what what I'm trying to say those same people in other environments would not be out solely some of the people here that go so what in another environment would maybe not be so okay I hired a burning desire to win souls since I was a little kid since I got saved as a six-year-old boy but I never one souls until I got the soul-winning church when I was 17 years old I never want anybody to Christ why because who your friends are who you spend time with who you speak with is gonna have a great deal of influence on who you are and that's why it's so important for the people who fear the Lord to speak often one with another not to show up for church just on Sunday morning and then just maybe blow in blow out not talk to anybody you need that Christian fellowship you need to spend time with God's people encouraging one another and as the Bible says in verse 25 exhorting one another and by the way he says and so much the more as you see today approaching we live in a day where we have less church than ever churches are cutting out their evening services they're throwing out Sunday night and Wednesday now tell me something in 2008 according to Bible do we need more church or less church if anything we need more because he says you're gonna need more assembling of yourself together as you see today approach because as the world gets more and more wicked you're gonna need more and more to get around God's people talk to them fellowship with them because the whole rest of the week you're talking to the world you're listening to the world you got to come to church and talk with God's people turn if you would to 2nd Corinthians chapter 6 2nd Corinthians chapter 6 and you know I hope I hope that you don't look at church as a place where you just come and listen I mean if we want to we could set up a turnstile at the front door and you could throw in a few quarters and ching-ching and walk in and sit down and enjoy the show you know we could start selling popcorn and sodas and everything and you can sit down relax and watch church and listen that's what most churches are becoming anyway like they don't even put a song book in your hand these days maybe they'll sing a token congregational song maybe if you're lucky you'll sing two verses of two songs and the rest of it is sitting down and watching some performer get up and perform watching some singer get up and sing a solo singing you way sing quartet sing the choir but church is not something that you watch church is something that you participate in you come to church and this is where it starts you speak one to another you say hi to people you you're friendly to people you talk with people you these are your friends not just people that go to the same church these are your friends your family these are your brothers and sisters in Christ you come to church and you talk with God's people then the service begins you take this song book and you sing the songs you don't listen to people sing you don't sit back and watch people sing you sing the songs you say well you're the song leader I don't have a microphone did you notice that I have no microphone I have no sound system I have no speakers there's no reason in the world why you can't sing just as loud as me right I mean I don't I don't have some kind of superhuman voice and so I'm up here just to wave my hands around you know down in out up down in and out up but your job is to sing just as loud as I'm singing and when I was in the pew I used to try to see how loud I could see I'm trying to out sing everybody around me but if you notice this when you walk into a church and nobody's singing out I don't even sing out I mean I've walked into a church where people are not singing out loud and I start singing but it is you want to sing out really loud if nobody else is singing out loud right but see this church ought to be a place where people sing out loud right where everybody's participate where everybody comes in everybody grabs a song book and everybody sings out and makes a joyful noise under the Lord and sing to the Lord with all your might that's what kind of church this ought to be so number one it starts when you get here you speak often one to another as it said in Malachi chapter 3 secondly you get here you get the song book and you sing out you sing loudly you you participate in the singing and what there's nothing better than a church where everybody's singing out loud I mean that's a powerful thing and I mentation I can't wait to get to heaven and you get up in heaven and to see with all of God's people who've been saved throughout all the ages I mean you met how great that's gonna be I mean I love sometimes I've had a chance to go to a big church a big church where everybody sings some big churches you know people don't really sing that loud but in a big church where everybody's singing at the top of their lungs it is a very powerful experience and can you imagine we get to heaven millions and millions of people strong the General Assembly the Church of the firstborn which are written in heaven and we're all going to be singing out the hymns Jesus Christ himself being the song leader can you imagine what that's gonna be like how good that's gonna be but you see when you come to church you speak often one to another you sing out the songs and then you know during the preaching you know you're listening you're here and you're turning in your Bible to the scriptures that's a good way to participate during the preaching you know turn in your Bibles be here to learn don't just glaze over and just think about where we're gonna go to lunch today is it gonna be Arby's is it gonna be Long John's is it gonna be Chipotle you know focus on what we're doing and then when that when the service is over we sing another song sing it out and then when we're done you don't have to run a race to your car you have to decide Jesus named me man smoke's coming up and peeling out of my life God forbid you talk to somebody God forbid you get to know somebody hey they've appeared the Lord the Bible says straight on one to another and by the way the best friends you're ever gonna find are you're gonna find this room right here are you gonna find a church like this that's the best friend you ever gonna find see the world's friendship is not like the friendship of God's people it just isn't reminds me of Samson in the book of Judges he had a you know his best man in his wedding it said it was a guy that he used as his friend you know I mean and that's what some people do in the world they use people as their friend and a lot of ever heard of fairweather friends you know a lot a lot of your friends in this world are fairweather friends because as soon as you get in me sir as you soon as you don't have any money anymore soon as you don't have anything to offer anymore soon as you're not fun anymore they'll be gone because they're just using you as their friend and the Bible says people would use you as your friend that's what Samson did but see we ought to be speaking often one to another as God's people going Bible look down at 2nd Corinthians chapter 6 verse 14 Bible says be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness and what communion hath light with darkness and what conquered hath Christ who be real or what part have he that believeth with an infidel and what agreement hath the temple of God with idols for you the temple of the living God as God is dead I will dwell in them and walk in them and I will be their God and they shall be my people wherefore come out from among them be separate safe the Lord is not the unclean thing and I will receive you and will be a father unto you and ye shall be my sons and daughters sayeth the Lord Almighty now look at verse 14 again be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers of course the most common application here which is definitely important is you don't want to be married to an unbeliever you know if you're already married to an unbeliever you're supposed to stay with them you're supposed to raise the children in a godly way don't depart from your husband if your wife and don't divorce your wife and all these different things but he says you know if you're single you are not being married to an unbeliever you should only be equally yoked with somebody's belief but he gives a reason why he says for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness now fellowship is talking about something that they have in common fellow interests fellow beliefs fellowship is not just meaning that you're getting together and spending time with someone fellowship means that you have something in common with someone that's what fellowship means he said what fellowship is there between righteousness and unrighteousness what communion hath light and darkness can there be two mix I mean you really mix light and darkness no as soon as light appears darkness is gone darkness is the absence of light and so you can't mix light and darkness there's no communion there's no connection between light and darkness he says and what concord hath Christ with the latter or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel and if the word infidel just means they don't believe Fidel is a word that has to do with faith and believing and so he's saying what part does somebody have that believes with somebody who doesn't believe and he says and what agreement at the temple of God with idols for you are the temple of God the living God as God has said I will dwell in them and walk in them and I will be their God and they shall be my people now listen to me if you if you can sit there and say well I have a lot more in common with people out there you know in the world and unbelievers unsaved people I just have so much more in common with unsaved people and I just can't find anything in common with the people at church you know what you're saying I'm I'm a spiritual I'm worldly I'm not right with God I don't love God God is not my life I mean solany is not my life I'm not filled with the Holy Spirit I just go to church and that's about it that's what you're saying I mean if you can't relate to people who are believers more than you relate to your unbelieving friends then there's something wrong with you spiritually and that's a fact you say well you know I just have so much more common with the world you're not have so much in common with the world you have not be so much like the world you see all of them we enjoy the same recreation and passive is that what your life is about is that the biggest part of your life I mean look I have recreation in past times you know when I grew up I had certain hobbies I have hobbies right now and you know what one of my hobbies now is traveling I love to travel I love to study foreign languages I love to read books I love to read history I think but you know what I think I have so much more common seeing down with somebody who's a born-again bible-believing Christian than I would with somebody who loves history or somebody who loves traveling or somebody who loves foreign languages you know I could probably enjoy talking that person for a couple hours but that's not gonna be my best buddy because to be honest with you I have so little in common with them because my recreation and my fun is not 90% of my life okay my life revolves around the Bible soul-winning church preaching I can get around people and this is interesting you'll get around people that if it wasn't for the fact that you were saved and they're safe you would never normally be president of that person you know I'm talking about like when I was growing up in school you'd gravitate towards certain people that are like you and then there are other people that were dramatically unlike you and you would not get around those people as much because you're gonna you know water seeks its own level birds of a feather flock together you tell man who loses by the company chooses and on and on anyway you know people tend to gravitate toward people that are like them but it's amazing how once I started living for God you know I've been saved since I was six but I wasn't really doing much for God's I was 16 17 years old once I started living for God I found that I could get along very well with people who I normally would have had nothing in common with normally they wouldn't people benefit but I did not gravitate toward in school growing up but because we were both safe we just all of a sudden had so much in common it was amazing I mean people that I would normally never be friends with these type of people but because we both love the King James Bible and so many all of a sudden we have way more in common than the being other people around me and I started gravitating toward a whole new crowd of friends because my life is not about what type of music I was me I don't listen to any music by the way but if I did that wouldn't be what my life is defined by who are you Steven Anderson oh I'm rock and roll I'm hip-hop I'm country but that's some people's identity in this world who are you oh I'm a skater oh I'm a skier I'm a snowboarder you know and by the way I'm a skier and not a snowboarder and anyway the point is and by the way there's only two guys people in this world skiers and snowboarding all right and you're either one together and don't be a compromiser and say you like both the point that I'm trying to make is that's not how I define myself I'm not gonna say oh you're a Roman Catholic snowboarder or you're a Roman Catholic skier I'll take the independent Baptist snowboarder I'll suck it up and hang around with some independent fundamental Baptist even if they do snowboard okay because that's not the most important thing in this world what's the most important thing in this world is your religion are you listening to me it's what you believe it's who you are spiritually for all of eternity that's what really matters not what you look like well I hang around with people who look like me I hang around people who talk like me who act like me no I hang around with people who believe like me that I'd be who I talk to the most but didn't say then they that feared the Lord spake often with all their worldly friends and every once in a while once a week they got together with them that feared the Lord and passed a few just casual words no I want to be close friends with the people in church and I want to be acquaintances with the people that are outside sir I want to be close friends with other believers who maybe don't go to this church but they're they're like-minded believers I want to be close friends with them and I want to be a casual acquaintance with the world I'm not going to be casual acquaintance with the people at church and close friends with those on the job close friends with my sporting buddies close I want to be close friends with my traveling buddy, close friends with everybody out there. I want to be close friends with God's people, because that's how I'm going to spend all eternity with. You say, well wait a minute, I have this really close friend that is not a believer, what do I do? Get him saved. Get him saved. You say, well they won't get saved. Well keep preaching the Gospel to them until they say, get away from me. And then your problem is solved. You think your unbelieving, ungodly friend is going to want to hang around with you when all you talk about is the Bible, Jesus, soul winning church. Get away from me. I'm saying people don't want to hear that, because they can't find fellowship with that. They don't have any concord with that. They can't have communion with that. You understand what I'm saying? And so what you believe is what should define who you are. Who you're going to be for this little tiny stretch of your life is not as important as who you're going to be for all eternity with Jesus Christ in heaven. That's what ought to matter to you the most. And so if you find yourself gravitating toward unbelievers, gravitating toward people that are worldly, just mark it down. You are not like the God. And you ought to work on yourself spiritually. I'm not saying you're not saved, but you ought to get in the Bible, read it, study it, meditate on it, get out of soul winning until you're filled with the Holy Spirit. And that's what you want to talk about. And that's who you want to be around. That's the truth. But turn, if you would, to 2 Samuel, chapter number 13. 2 Samuel, chapter number 13. You see, I would define myself most by the church that I attend. That would be my biggest... If I want to define myself, I define it by the church that I go to. Not as much by the job that I have, not as much by the town that I live in. It's more about where I go to church. You know where I... And by the way, I'm not one of those people that moves around a lot. I hate moving around a lot. I don't think it's good to move around a lot. And I'm going to tell you something. But whenever I've moved, it was only because of church. It was the only time I've ever moved. You know what I'm saying? Like, I grew up, I was born and raised in Sacramento, California. That's where I lived. And I wasn't moving until I moved to go to church somewhere. And then the only other time I moved... I'm not talking about moving around within a city. I'm talking about a major move, like a change of geography. And then the only other time I moved was to come here to start this church. And you know when the next time I'm going to move is going to be? Never. When I'm dead, they're going to move me. They're going to pick me up and move me somewhere. I'll be down. I don't know where that's going to be because I'm not even going to be alive. But I'll be alive in heaven, that is, but my body will be dead. But what I'm trying to say is... My decisions in life are based on church, the Bible, Christianity. That's who I am. If I had to define myself in a few words, it would be Baptist. That's who I am. King James Bible. That's who I am. I'm a believer. That's who I am. I'm not going to sit there and define myself well. I love long walks and the outdoors. I'm five foot, eleven inches tall. I weigh 175 pounds. I'm brown hair, brown eyes. No. I'll define myself like this. I'm a Baptist. If I believe the King James Bible is the word of God, I'm a soul winner. There we go. I have to define myself. And you know what? That's who I am. And so you ought to be able to think about your friends and say, Why do I love being around people who are against the Bible? Maybe my love is not right. But look at the danger of hanging around with your wrong friends. Look at 2 Samuel 13. We're talking about the positive of man. Get around God's people. Get around good friends. Get to know the people that are in our church. Be their friend. Be there when you say, Well, the people at church aren't friendly to me. Well, look, the Bible says, A man that hath... Look, this is a mean shit. This is a very friendly church. But the Bible says, A man that hath friends must show himself friendly. So why don't you reach out to somebody and be their friend? Why don't you be there when they need you? Help them. Do something for them. And then you'll have a friend. When you reach out to them and do something kind for them. Sometimes you have to take the first step to our friendship. But look at 2 Samuel 13.1. It says, And it came to pass after this, that Absalom, the son of David, had a fair sister whose name was Haman, that's his half-sister, and Amnon, the son of David, loved her. And Amnon was so vexed that he felt sick for his sister, Tamar, because she was a virgin, and Amnon thought it hard for him to do anything to her. But Amnon had a friend whose name was Jonadab, the son of Shemaiah, David's brother, and Jonadab was a very subtle man. And he said to him, Why aren't thou, being the king's son, lean from day to day? Well done, tell me. And Amnon said to him, I love Tamar, my brother Absalom's sister. And Jonadab said unto him, Lay me down on my bed, and make thyself sick. And when thy father cometh to see thee, say unto him, I pray thee, let my sister Tamar come and give me me, and dress the mead in my sight, that I may see it and eat it. Now I'm not going to read the whole story for the sake of time. But we see here that David's son Amnon had a wicked thought in his mind. He had this wicked idea of, boy, I love my half-sister Tamar. And obviously that was a wicked thought. I mean, there's a lot of fish in the sea, Amnon. You know, your half-sister is not one of them. And so you've got all these other women. I mean, you don't think this guy could have found pretty much any woman that he wanted because he's the king's son. He's a pretty eligible bachelor. He's got money, probably a good-looking guy. He can pretty much have whatever he wanted. But the wickedness of his heart made him desire the one thing that was off-limits, which is his half-sister. And he had decided in his mind, you know, this is what my thoughts are, but it's wicked, it's wrong, I shouldn't be doing this. And so he said, I'm not going to do it. I'm going to restrain myself here, and I'm not going to do it. But then look at the words in verse number 3. But. See, he'd already decided in verse 2, I'm not going to do it. But Amnon had a friend. You see that? But Amnon had a friend whose name was Jonadab, the son of Shemia, David's brother, and Jonadab was a very settled man. And so this wicked friend talks him into doing something vile and wicked. I mean, we're talking about something rape is what he committed. Incest. These are things that the Bible punishes with the death penalty. And later, guess what? He gets the death penalty from his own brother Absalom, who slays him in revenge for the wicked thing that he's done. And so we see here, a man who had decided, I better not do that, but he gets around his friend, and his wicked friend talks him into doing it. And then later on, if you read the story out on time, his wicked friend then tells on him. And explains to the David, oh, this is what happened, you know. Amnon, horse, Tamar, and this and that. And so the same guy who's egging him on later on is, oh man, you know, look what you did. Look at the wicked thing that you've done. That's Jonadab, which I believe is a picture of the devil. The devil will tempt you into doing things, then he'll try to make you feel guilty about it for the rest of your life. The devil will try to accuse you and make you feel guilty about the thing that he tempted you to do in the first place. He's playing both sides here to try to ruin your life. And so you ought to be careful to get the Jonadabs out of your life. You may have a friend like Jonadab, he needs to go. Oh, I've had friends with Jonadab for years. Jonadab is going to get you in the sand. Because one day it's going to be just you and Jonadab, and Jonadab's going to say, come on, just do it, no big deal. He's going to talk to you and do it. You're going to have a weak moment, and you're going to commit wicked sin that will ruin your life. It killed him here. And you see, many times we get around people that would cause us to sin, when in reality, if we had good Christian friends, let's say we had a weak moment, and we were thinking about doing something that's wrong, they would rein us in and say, hey, wait a minute, maybe we shouldn't do this, right? Because all of us are going to have a weak moment where we consider doing something simple, but if we have that friend there that's going to say, no, wait a minute, let's think about this, and rein us in and say, let's reconsider here whether we want to actually do this. But if you have some wicked, unbelieving friend, like a Jonadab, he's just going to egg you on in your moment of weakness and push you into sin. I mean, that's what this is. And so we have to be very careful about, and here's a good saying that I heard one time. The saying is this. You are right now or you soon shall be what your friends are. I mean, if I want to know your future, I can just look at your friends because eventually they will rub off on you. It's the truth. I mean, I'm telling you what, when I get around a guy from work and I'll work with different people, sometimes I'll go through a phase where I'll work with this person for a few months, I'll get in a phase where I'll work around this, I will begin to talk like that person, and I'm a pretty dominant personality, would you say? I mean, you know, I'm a very dominant personality. I'm a leader, but still, when I get around somebody for months on end, I will begin to talk like that person, act like that person, and be like that person. No matter who you are, it's the case. They will rub off on you. I mean, my wife says sometimes that I act just like my boss because I'll talk to my boss all the time and still say, oh, you sound like Tim, you know, or you sound like so-and-so because I'll get around those people and talk to them all the time and I will begin to be like them in certain ways. They will begin to be like me in certain ways. And we rub off one on the other. And that's a fact. You can deny that and say, oh, no, I know who I am, I know what I am. You'll start to pick up expressions from them, you'll pick up mannerisms from them, you'll begin to act like... I mean, people who go to this church kind of act like me in a way sometimes. And people who go to this, I act like them sometimes. I mean, it's just you rub off on each other. It's true. I mean, somebody came to this church and talked to somebody and they said, man, the people in your church remind me of you. That's what they said. I said, well, yeah, you know, these are my friends. I mean, this is my church. These are my brethren here. And so, yeah, of course they're going to act like me. Of course, I'm going to act like them. I'm sure I pick up things from them. The point is that if you get around friends, just look at your friends and say, is this who I want to be like? And if you look at that friend and say, I would never want to be like them, then why are you hanging around them? Because you will begin to be like them. Amnon became like John a dad. I mean, look, he had a great dad. David was a great dad, a godly man. But his friend ruined it and got him living an ungodly life. Look, if you would, at Acts chapter 2. Acts chapter 2, verse 42. And you say, well, I don't agree with this sermon. Well, then go ahead and keep hanging around with your ungodly, worldly friends, and we'll hear about you quitting the church. We'll hear about you. And you know what? The people who never fully get plugged in at church are the ones who usually quit the church. You know what I mean? The people who never get fully on board with our church. They're not out soul winning. They're not fellowshipping. They're the ones who are going to be gone. Because they never, do you understand what I'm saying? I mean, they never became friends with this church. And you see, many churches, I've even heard pastors get up and really discourage the people in church from being friends with one another. Seriously. I mean, I've heard them discourage it and say, you don't want to get too close with anybody in the church. You want to keep it on a very professional level, I've heard them say. Keep people at an arm's length. Keep it professional. Keep your distance. You don't want to develop these real close relationships at church because what they're afraid of is they're afraid of gossiping or intriguing or they're afraid of people scheming and getting together and talking bad about people. And look, is it right to talk bad about people? No. Is it right to be scheming and intriguing at church? No. But let's not throw out the baby with the bathwater. If we're not supposed to be close to the people in church, why did Paul say, greet all the brethren with a holy kiss? Now, I'm not going to kiss any of the brethren here this morning. But I'm going to tell you something. That denotes closeness. You know, it's a different culture. And that's not our culture. And that's never going to be our culture. It's the United States of America. Deal with it. And so, but I'm going to tell you something. That denotes closeness, doesn't it? I mean, he's saying, greet the brethren with a holy kiss. He's saying, close it, affect it. And so I'm not going to sit here and say, well, you know, ladies, don't get together outside of church because you're going to talk and gossip. Look, I'm not your dad. I'm not your mom. I'm not going to sit here and make rules so that you don't gossip. You know, that's between you and God. If you want to go around and run your mouth and hurt other people, you know, that's between you and God. I don't care. That's not my business. I'm not going to try to police you. I'm going to tell you something. Listen, you ought to be close with people in this church. You ought to be friends with people at church. I'm not going to say that you should keep people at arm's length. You should not keep people at arm's length. This should be your closest inner circle of friends right here in church. Look at Acts 2.42. Let me turn there myself. But Acts 2, verse 42. The Bible reads, and they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship and in breaking of bread and prayers. And fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles, and all that believed were together and had all things common and sold their possessions and goods and parted them to all men, as every man had need. And they continued daily with one accord in the temple and breaking bread from house to house. They'd eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people, and the Lord added to the church daily, says it should be seen. Now look, you can see people here getting together throughout the week, eating a meal together, spending time together, being close friends with one another. That's what we see here in the early church. We see people who loved each other. They were friends with each other. They would go out to eat with one another. They would spend time with one another. These were their closest friends, those who were together with Him in the house of God. That's what I believe in. And so you say, what were your friends? Look, you're looking at, these are my friends right here. This church, this is my closest friends. This is my closest circle right here. And you know what, my other friends, I can list off several of my other close friends. I'll tell you something about all my other close friends. They're all independent, fundamental, King James, Bible-only, soul-ending, Baptist. And they're all men, by the way, okay? Except for family, that is. I don't go around having a bunch of female friends because I don't think that's right either. I got my female friend back there and that's the one that I've limited myself to. I'm not gonna sit there and go after lunch with some other lady and do all this stuff. I don't believe that's right. But I'm gonna tell you something. They're independent, fundamental, Baptist. And you know, even among my family, you wanna know which of my relatives I speak to the most? It's the ones that are soul-ending, independent, fundamental, Baptist, King James-only Christians like I am. You say, why is that? Because it's just a natural thing that that's who I'm gonna gravitate toward. You say, did you decide to do that? I don't even know if I consciously decided to do that or if I just gravitated toward the people that are like me. And I found myself clashing with the people that are not like me because I just realized there's no fellowship in light and darkness. You know, there's just no concord with Christ in view. There's just no communion between me and somebody who doesn't believe on Jesus Christ. I just have a hard time finding some help. You can only talk about skiing for so long. You can only talk about history for so long. You can only talk about traveling for so... I mean, it's fun. You know, I'll get on the airplane with people, and I'll get on a three, four-hour flight, and boy, we'll talk. You know, it's me and some unbeliever, I'm saying. Me and some unbeliever, we'll talk and talk and talk for a couple hours. You know, and then I'll give them the gospel and go through plan of salvation with them, and maybe they get saved. Usually they don't. Sometimes they do. But I get through the whole thing with them really clearly. Most of the time, they don't get saved. Sometimes they do get saved. But then at the end of it all, really, if I were to get together with that person again, we probably wouldn't have much to talk about the second time. You know, the first time, there's a lot to talk about, but I'm sorry it's gonna get boring after a while just talking about those things, because this is not my life. This is not who I am. It's a very small part of who I am, and so I can talk to them for a few hours, but I really don't have any desire to continue the friendship after that. That's pretty much it. You know, if they were to get saved and in church and stuff, they would probably have a lot in common. Say, why is it that most of the people that you talk to on the airplane don't get saved? Because broad is the way that leads to the destruction of many of the people that you go in there with. Straight is the gate, and narrow is the way that leads to the light, and few that we define it, number one. Number two, a lot of people are getting saved the first time they hear the Gospel. Sometimes it's gotta be watered and harvested. And number three, the reason that we have so many more people saved outdoors or so many than I do on the airplane talking to the people that are with me is because when I go outdoors or so many, I go through, like, 50 doors, not interested, not interested, not interested, not interested, not interested, and then I get through one that wants to get saved. They're like, well, sure, tell me all about it. And that's the one who gets saved. But I don't sit next to 50 people on the airplane. I don't walk up and down the plane saying, you know, hi, you know, Pastor Steve Anderson, you know, sir, the Pastor Steve belt lights on, it's perfect, let's sit down. No, just a minute, I'm doing a little soul winning, you know, sir, I'm trying to get the beverage cart by, you know, I'm only sitting by one or two people, and so I've only got one or two shots at it, so, you know, at least I've got a captain body. At least I've got a captain body, that's nice, you know. Well, you're stuck with me for the next four and a half hours. I remember one time, one time my sister and I, my younger sister, we were flying somewhere, and we get on the plane and we were seated separate from one another. So I told my sister, I said, here's what we're going to do. As soon as we got on the plane, we're going to start talking to her really loud. And somebody's going to offer and switch, you know. Hey, Lisa, you know, so we're talking real loud, and usually somebody's like, would you like to trade seats, you know. And then, you know, they say, oh, yeah, okay, yeah. I can see that you're traveling together. Would you like to sit by her? We can trade you. So then me and my sister, and I told her, I said, then plan B. Plan B is I'm just going to start giving people the gospel, and then they're going to ask to switch, you know, after we be able to get in. So then I gave this guy the gospel, he didn't get saved, and then he's like, so, would you like to switch? I saw that you're with your sister, you know. Yeah, great, sure, thanks, and then you got to sit by my sister. And so, you know, people, sometimes they just want to kind of just tell, you know. But when you got that captive audience, it's a great opportunity to give somebody the gospel, because, you know, you're going to be stuck the next four hours, unless they go out the emergency agent or something, you know. It's going to be a good solid four hours, but if they're giving the gospel, let's plan until. And so, you know, it doesn't have anything to do with the sermon, but where was I in my notes here? The Bible says this, That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us, and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son, Jesus Christ. Proverbs 18, 24, A man that hath friends must show himself friendly, and there is a friend that's taken closer than a brother. You know, you'll find in your life that sometimes the people who stay closest to you are not always going to be your family. Did you hear that? Not always. Sometimes you'll be able to... And, you know, if you have a friend in your life that will stay closer to you than your brother, you ought to be loyal to that friend. Take care of that friend, because it's a rare thing to come by. But sometimes even when your family forsakes you, your friends can be there for you. But that's why you don't have the right kind of friends. And if you show yourself friendly, you'll have friends, and he says, you know, there is a type of friend, there is a friend that's taken closer than a brother. And then obviously also the illusion there is insinuating Jesus Christ. He's our friend, you know, and he will stay closer than a brother. Jesus Christ. But I think that the primary application here is saying, look, there are friends that can be closer to you than a brother. My office says a friend that is near is better than a brother that's afar off. And so friends should be an important part of your life. See, I just don't have friends. Look, God says he wants you to have friends. It should be a part of your life. Fellowship, friends, a church, a group of people. Why? Because Proverbs 27 and 17 says, iron sharpeneth iron, so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend. You see, that's why the Bible says, not forsake the assembling of yourselves together as a matter of some is, but exhorting one another. You say, what does that mean, exhorting one another? He says, don't forsake the assembly, but exhort one another. Exhort, number one, exhort people to be in church. Now, I'm not saying to rebuke them. I'm not saying to call them up and say, where were you? Don't miss a game. Sick of this. That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying exhorting one another as in, hey, let me show you how to exhort somebody to go to church. Exhortation is more of an encouragement. Exhorting one another would be like, hey, you coming to church tonight? You know, it's just like, man, you could be in church, right? Like, you want to see them there. Or, hey, we missed you in church. And really, you shouldn't even bring up when people miss church, in fact. I wouldn't even say that, hey, we missed you. Because you know what? I'm going to tell you something. Some churches, it's like you miss for a couple weeks. I've never been one that missed church. I mean, I've gone to church since I was born. I went to the services, whatever my parents went to. And the longest I've ever gone was I've gone to church was 20 days when I was extremely sick and in bed. I missed two Sundays and a couple Wednesdays. And so it was 20 days of being out of church because I missed two Sundays in a row. So it was almost three weeks later, I guess. So I mean, I've never been one that missed church. But you know, when people miss church sometimes, they'll be out of church, then they get back. Where have you been? What happened? Okay, that's going to make people apprehensive about coming back to church because this is what happens. People will miss church for a few weeks, are you listening? And then they're embarrassed to come back. I mean, trust me, this is a big phenomenon. You know, I've seen this in a lot of churches where somebody will miss church for a couple weeks, and they're embarrassed to come back because they don't want to face everybody saying like, Where have you been? Oh, I've just been backslidden. How are you doing? I just quit church for a while because I just got... I just got right with God. How'd you do? It's a dumb question to ask because, you know what I'm saying? It ought to be when somebody is gone for years and they show up and should just be like, Hey, great to see you. How you been doing? Shouldn't even mention the absence. It hurts, just, man, get here tonight, it's going to be great. We're having some ice cream after the service, maybe we can go out to dinner or something. Encouraging, yes, but not rebuking and ripping on people for not going to church. I mean, I just talked to somebody recently who left the church because they got tired and every time they would miss a Sunday, they'd come back and the pastor would come and be like, So is everything okay? I mean, are you doing all right? I mean, do you need to talk to me about anything? And this girl is just, leave me alone, you know what I mean? Just mind your own business, right? And look, people's business is their own business when it comes out. You're not... or another thing, you know, part of the family will come to church and it's always, Where's your wife? Where's your husband? Where's your kids? You know, and then again, it's negative. You're criticizing and ripping on them. Look, you ought to be friendly to them and just say, Hey, it's good that you're here. Great to see you. You know, and not always bring up the people that are not there. Be excited about the people that are there. You see what I'm saying? And you know what? Be more exhorting as in, Hey man, Wednesday night's been great. We're going to do this. It's going to be this. Come on. Hey, you come to the picnic. It's going to be a blast. It's going to be fun. But we're going to do this. I hope you're there. Man, it's not going to be the same without you. You know, that's the kind of positive encouragement that they can exhort people to not forsake the assembly of themselves. You know, make people want to come to church and not be afraid to come back because they don't want to face everybody. You know, you say, Well, they shouldn't be prideful like that. They should just face up to them. Well, look, maybe they shouldn't be prideful like that, but they are. You know, people are, and people don't like that. Nobody likes to have somebody get in their face and ask them where they've been. And so don't try to be the attendance police or something. You know, if people have gone for a while and come back, just pretend like they're never gone. Just say it. And by the way, let me say this. Since we finally don't have any visitors, you know, I always want to say things like this, but it seems like we have visitors every week, every week, every week, visitors. Every service, visitors, visitors, visitors. I can never say it. But this week, we don't have any visitors. I don't count the Colby's visitors because they've been here like, what, 12, 13, 14 times now. And so they're part of the group here. But let me say this. When we have visitors, and maybe I'm just kind of pausing the sermon, but not really because this has to do with speaking often one to another. When visitors come to church, please, I want everybody to make an effort to be friendly to that visitor. That is so important. I mean, don't you remember what it was like when you first came to a church that you weren't familiar with? You're embarrassed. Look, I'm by nature a very outgoing person. I'm not a shy person. And yet, I can remember every time I tried a new church, I was always nervous. Even the outgoing person that I am, whenever I walked in, I was uncomfortable. I felt like everybody is just looking at me. And I don't know where to sit. I don't know what to do. It's nerve-wracking. You say, oh, where are all these people you went to the Lord? I don't see them in church. In fact, not everybody's willing to just get in the car and drive to a church they've never been to where they don't know anybody, just walk in. They don't know what's going to happen, especially some people who've never even been to church. They don't know if somebody's going to make them get on their knees like in the Catholic church and sprinkle water and hoover dust and do all this kind of stuff. They don't know what's going to happen. I mean, look, this is maybe the... I hope I'm okay for telling the story, but I'm not going to name who it was, okay? But this is a relative of mine, distant relative. He got saved, right? And he was going to get baptized. And the pastor... My wife is laughing because she knows my mother. He's going to get baptized. And so the pastor told him over the... He called the pastor and said, you don't want to get baptized today? And the pastor told him, well, just bring a change of underwear, okay? Now, listen, he called up another family member of mine and said, are they going to baptize me in my underwear? Because he didn't realize that they have a... that there's a baptismal robe provided by the church so that you don't get your clothes wet. They give you a waterproof clothes to put on so that you can get baptized in your clothes. And the only thing you need to bring was the other change of underwear. And he said, what is going on? And so that's just to show you things that we take for granted that are obvious to us. People who are out in the world, you know what their idea of church is? All the mockery that they've seen on TV, making fun of church and making fun of religion, making Christianity look like a bunch of kooks and weirdos. And so they think they're getting baptized in underwear or something. And so what I'm trying to say is, you ought to be very friendly and reach out to people that come here as a visitor. And by the way, just because someone brings a visitor doesn't mean that you don't have to be friendly to them. Because a lot of times, the tendency is that what will happen is somebody will bring their friend to church and will just say, oh, that person's with Dave. You know, that's his friend, he'll be friendly to him. You know, no, if somebody brings a visitor, you should still go and approach that person. And not even just an obligatory, hi, how you doing, good to meet you, bye. But maybe actually strike up a conversation with that person. Maybe even say, hi, where are you from, what are you doing? And get to know people. Be friendly to them. And I want this church to be a friendly church. It ought to be, according to the Bible, a friendly church. It ought to be a church where people speak to one another and are friendly with one another. And when somebody walks in as a visitor and everybody's looking at them but not talking to them, that doesn't make them feel comfortable at all. And I'm going to tell you something. I've walked into a church before and I didn't even much like the church. But I walked in, I had people walking up to me, staying high. A guy took me and said, here, let me introduce you to some people. Let me introduce you. And he was introducing me to people that were my age and friends. And I was getting to meet all these friends. People were giving me their email address, their phone number, saying like, hey, you know, let's get together later this week. And even though there were a lot of things I didn't really like about the church, I continued to go there because of the way that I was treated. I thought, wow, these are some great friends. And I kept going back just for the friends. Oh, that's not why you should pick a church. I know, that's not how I pick a church. I don't think you should pick a church based on that. But people do. You understand what I'm saying? I mean, people that are new believers and they're weak spiritually, that is going to determine their information. And just because they're weak now, look, be their friend. That will make them want to come back. And by coming back and hearing the preaching and going out slowly, then they will grow and be strong. And then they will never pick a church based on that again. You understand what I'm saying? But you've got to reach out to these visitors. You've got to be friendly to them. You've got to talk to them. Get to know them. You say, well, I'm shy. We'll change. Get to pray for voters and go to people and talk to them and reach out and be a friend to them. Change our church. I'm telling you. And I'm not ripping out of our church because our church is good about this. But there is definitely room for improvement. You know what I'm saying? Some people are better about this than others. And all of us could do better about it. All of us could improve on this and do a better job of being friendly. And you know what else makes an impression on visitors? Singing loudly like we talked about earlier. Sing it like you mean it. Sing it like you want to be here. And you know what? You ought to want to be here anyway. And you ought to want to sing these songs. You say, well, I'm shy. I'm embarrassed. Last 24 weeks of Isaiah, every single week was about pride. Hit the pride out of your heart. Say, and I sing terribly. Sing anyway. Quit being prideful. Just sing it out no matter what you sound like. Nobody's going to care. We're not all foaming in on your voice. Oh, man. You don't believe and I'll see you sing. Oh, man. Oh, man. Listen to him. He can't carry two in a bucket. Oh, good night. Who is that? Nobody cares. Do you ever sit and think about how other people are saying? Nobody does. Everybody's just thinking about how am I sounding? And they're all singing out and wondering how they themselves are sounding. Sing it out. Get rid of your pride. You say, well, I'm embarrassed. Go talk to somebody. I'm afraid I'm going to look like an idiot. That's pride again. Come out of your comfort zone, humble in yourself, and walk up to the visitor and be friendly to them and reach out to them. Walk up to that person who's not a visitor, who's been a member of our church for a long time because you don't know, and get to know that person. Speak often with them. Make a new friend today and get to know people in this church. This church would be your inner circle of friends. I believe that. Because if this church isn't your inner circle of friends, your inner circle is going to be the world and you're going to go the way of the world. Because you're going to get your friendship somewhere. You're going to get your social interaction somewhere. I don't know about you. I'm going to get it here. I'm going to get it with these people right here. I'm not going to go out there and find a bunch of people that I have nothing in common with. You know, you hear about young people that date unbelievers, and they'll date them for a year. They'll date them for a year and a half. What do you talk about with them? Obviously not God. Obviously not Jesus. Obviously not the Bible. Hey, get right with God. Be filled with the Spirit. And you're not filled with the Spirit if you can talk about everything else all day. If you're filled with the Spirit, you're going to talk about the things of God. That's going to be... You'll talk about other things sometimes, but your biggest focus... Don't be a fly on the wall in my house. You know what my wife and I talk about? The Bible, church, soul winning. Because that's what our life is about. And that ought to be the focus of your life. Christ who is our life. The Bible says in Colossians chapter 3. Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Father, we thank you so much for the church that we had here, dear God, and our friends. And I pray that you would help everyone here to take advantage of the friends that they have here and get to know them and reach out to them, God. And help us to reach out to visitors and reach out to those who are new to our church and let them know that we love them and that we're here to be their friend. And help us to abstain from the wrong friends, dear God. And maybe then we can not have our lives ruined by a drop of death. And we love you. Thank you so much for dying on the cross for our sins and for being raised again for our justification that we could have this bond, one with another, of being in the brotherhood of believers. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. All right, let's go ahead and sing, let's see.