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

The reason some sermons are good for anniversary is because it just reminds us to continue serving the Lord, continue walking in His ways. Over many years in church, I've seen very faithful people not be in church. I've seen very faithful people eventually leave and just think it's too hard. It's not worth it to live a righteous life and go to life and to try your best. And just I don't think church is really that difficult. Like just turning up for a couple of hours a week. I don't think it's that hard. Like really, I mean, maybe the drive to church can be difficult for some people. I understand that. But church itself isn't that tough, right? And like knocking some stranger's doors. It's a bit embarrassing, but it's not really that hard. Like, you know, you're not worried that some guy's going to, at least in Australia, not worried some guy's going to pull out a gun and just shoot you in the head or something like that. If you go door to door, soul winning. Picking up the Bible and reading it for 15 minutes a day isn't really that hard. Like really, I mean, it looked good. If 15 minutes is too hard, do five minutes. It leads to something, right? You know, is it really that hard to serve the Lord? And what I wanted to point to you today is just there in John 10, just one verse. Jesus Christ says these words, my sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me and they follow me. Title for the sermon this morning is following the Lord is rewarding. Following the Lord is rewarding. Is it tiring sometimes? I guess so. It can be tiring sometimes, I suppose. But really, I'm just trying to point out for everyone that it's not that difficult to follow the Lord, right? Here's the shepherd. We're the sheep. We hear the voice of the shepherd and we go, okay, Jesus will do what you've asked us to do. And you know, Jesus Christ says that his yoke is easy. You know, that we ought to come to him and it's not, it's really not that challenging to live a Christian life that pleases the Lord. And that's what I just want to focus on this morning, just to remind you. And I want to give you many reasons why following the Lord is rewarding. So if you ever feel like quitting and you feel like that's it, I'm just done living the independent Baptist life or something, right? I'm done living the Christian life and it's just too hard and so many hypocrites. Pastor Kevin let me down again or something like that, right? I just want to encourage you, just continue following the Lord because it is greatly rewarding. First thing I want you to turn to is Proverbs chapter 3. We'll just turn to a very familiar passage in the Bible there in Proverbs 3 and you all know it, Proverbs 3 verse number 5. And primarily these points that I have for you this morning are the reasons I find it rewarding. I hope you can relate to the reasons I give you, maybe just as a reminder, if you are getting discouraged and you walk with the Lord. But the first reason I think following the Lord is rewarding is I don't have to determine. I don't know if you like this or not. I don't have to determine what is right and wrong. God tells me, like God tells me in his scriptures, what is right and what is wrong? What is black and what is white? What is holy and what is unholy? What is light and what is darkness? I don't have to enter this, you know, philosophical world to determine what is truly correct. What is truly true? I don't know. It's just here. I just read a random verse and what that verse says must be true. And I don't have to doubt it because it's God the creator. The one who is righteous that can tell me what is right and wrong. And so we look at a very familiar passage there in Proverbs three, verse number five. Trust in the Lord with all thine hearts. Look at this and lean not unto thine own understanding. Oh, I'm going to work out whether this is the right thing to do or whether. Just forget your understanding and trust in the Lord with all thine hearts. Brethren, I tell you, you just trust in the Lord. You know what his word says? You spend time, you pray to God, you ask for his leading. He's going to direct you in the right paths. And sometimes the reason you don't want to depend on your own understanding is because your own understanding can be wrong. Do you believe that? I know my understanding can be wrong. I know your understanding can be wrong because we're human beings. We're not infallible like God, so we don't lean on our own understanding. We trust in the Lord and verse number six says, and in all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths. You know, I think about the different decisions we can make in life. And you know, many times people say, did I make the right decision or did I not make the right decision? Forget about it. Don't worry about what decision you made. Just acknowledge God in the decision you've made and he shall direct your paths. This tells me if I make the wrong decision, a bad decision, and I go, well, you know, I'm thinking I'm leaning on my own understanding. I make a bad decision. But even in my own bad decision, I acknowledge God. God will make sure my paths get on the right decision eventually. Okay, a bit of a detour, but I'll get there eventually. That's what I love about following the Lord. I don't have to work out what's right and wrong. I can rely on the Lord and he'll direct my paths. It continues in verse number seven. Be not wise in thine own eyes. You know, is that something we can fall into? For some reason, I know better than everybody else. When you start thinking that it's wise. You think it's so wise in your own eyes. Be the Lord and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel and marrow to thy bones. You see, the ways that God directs us will be good for our health. It'll be good for our lives. And he simply asks us to depart from evil. You say, I don't know what is evil, Pastor. I don't know what is wrong or what is wicked or the bad paths. And obviously you go to the Lord God, you trust with him with all your heart. You read his word. You ask him for wisdom. He gives it to you. He'll direct you. And that's what I love about being a Christian is the world's not that complicated to me. A lot of people think life is complicated. You know, decisions and what is morally right and wrong is complicated. And to me, it's not really that complicated. Well, God, what do you say? All right, that's what God says. Even if I disagree, God is right and I'm wrong. Doesn't matter. Okay, I'm not going to lean on my own understanding. Come with me to Psalm 119. Psalm 119, please. Psalm 119. Psalm 119. Following the Lord is rewarding because you don't need to determine what is right or wrong. God has done it for you. In Psalm 119. And verse 103. I'll give you a minute to turn there, right? But verse 103. Psalm 119 and verse number 103 says, You know, you can hate every false way. Why? Because when you go to his word, which is like honey, delicious. It gives you the right path to go. You say, oh, this is the right thing to do. And that's the wrong thing to do. I know I hate doing the wrong thing. I love doing the right thing because God has revealed that to me. He continues in verse number 105. That is truly God's word. You know, just the other day, I dropped something in the car and it was dark. It was nighttime. I couldn't see. I grabbed my phone and you know, you turn on the torch, you get the lamp and you're like, where is that thing that I dropped, right? You're looking for it everywhere. And that's what light does. It illuminates your path. And you know, many times in obviously in the Christian faith is we can't see the finish line. I don't know how long I'm going to live. I don't know how many churches the Lord's going to allow me to pastor over these years. I have no idea what the future holds. But all I can say is, Lord, show me in your word. Just light my path one step at a time. And whatever you, whatever pathway you light for me, Lord, I need to step in that pathway. A light that God reveals to us is beautiful. Determining what is right and wrong. What are the best decisions to make? You know, we simply rely on the Lord. You say, pastor, I sometimes don't know. I don't know what is the right decision to make in life. I've gone through God's word. I've studied. And I'm going to quickly read to you from James chapter one, verse five. I'll just read it to you quickly. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God. That giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him. I love that verse. Like, I think of many, many life verses that I have that just help me in life. That one is really good for me. Okay, it tells me if I lack wisdom, All right, who do I run to? Do I run to brother Jason Parkin? Do I run to, you know, brother Callum? Maybe sometimes if I need a bit of help, right? But I need to go to God, right? Before I go to any man, I need to go to God and say, God, I need a bit of wisdom. I need a bit of understanding. What do I do, Lord? And what I love about it in that verse, it says, let him ask of God. They give to all men liberally. Really, just generously. You're like, God, just, you know, he just wants to dump wisdom on you. But we forget to ask, don't we? We think surely my own understanding is going to reveal the right decision. But we run to God and give off all men liberally. And I love the next part, and upbraideth not. I used to think when I was young that God must be sick and tired of me, coming to him all the time. God, I need this prayer answered. God, I've messed up again. I've committed the same sin, the number 105th time now. Can you please forgive me? And I used to think God would just, he's so mad at me for coming over the same things, over the same weaknesses, the same problems. And it says he upbraideth not. If you come to God, I need wisdom. He doesn't tell you off. He's not mad at you about it. He wants you to come and ask him of wisdom. And it says, and it shall be given him. Boy, following the Lord is rewarding because you don't need to determine what is right and wrong. God tells you. God makes life very easy. You know, there are people in universities all over the world trying to figure out what is right and wrong. And man, I've got the best education right here in his word and seeking his face, asking for wisdom. Truly following the Lord is rewarding. Can you come with me to Psalm 23? I believe you're still in the Psalms. So come with me to Psalm 23. We're looking at obviously the most famous Psalm of all here, pretty much Psalm 23. The next reason that following the Lord is rewarding. Well, let's look at Psalm 23 verse number one. Psalm 23 verse number one. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. So if we make the Lord our shepherd and we're sheep and we hear his voice and we follow him, it says we shall not want. We shall have no need of anything. Truly, following the Lord provides great satisfaction. Well, I don't know anything else that satisfies as much as just doing what God says. I mean, we've all chased hobbies and interests, haven't we? Like, and maybe, I don't know, maybe bad habits in life over the years growing up and trying to find meaning for ourselves, maybe finding meaning in our education, maybe trying to find meaning in our finances or our investments or meaning in our friendships, meaning in, I don't know, lots of things, but there's nothing that truly satisfies. There's always, whatever the world asks you to seek for, it always, it's always lacking. I don't know about you, but I'm never satisfied just doing what the world wants me to do. But somehow when I just do what God wants me to do, I'm truly satisfied. There's nothing more that I need than to follow my shepherd. Verse number two says, I mean, that's pretty much all a sheep needs. Some nice green pastures to feed on, to rest on, and some water to drink when it's thirsty. That's what a sheep needs, isn't it? I mean, there's not much more a sheep needs. I mean, protection from the wolves and all that, God does that as well. But truly, what is wonderful about following the Lord, what is rewarding is that it just satisfies. I can't think of anything else that satisfies. You know, I don't know what, I think the World Cup, the Football Soccer World Cup is the biggest sporting event in the world. Like the most billions of years that people watch and you've got the team that wins it every four years. Whatever team wins it, okay, and they lift a trophy, woohoo. You'd think they'd be satisfied. You think like, you're the world champions. You've conquered the world. What happens four years later? We want to win it again. It's like, nothing's satisfied. It doesn't matter what you chase. You got billionaires, like billionaires making money and, you know, whatever they buy and sell can alter the stock market. And they're making billions upon billions. Say, are they satisfied? They're still trying to make more billions. They're never satisfied. That's what in the world satisfies. Simply following the Lord, making him our shepherd and following in his ways. Can you come with me to John 4, please? John 4. We're going to look at a few passages in the Book of John. This sermon's no groundbreaking sermon. Just a reminder that following the Lord is rewarding. It's worth it, brethren. If you're feeling a little discouraged, a little cast down, a little unmotivated, losing the zeal, losing the passion. I want you to be reminded this morning that following the Lord is rewarding. John chapter 4 and verse number 13. Jesus answered, John 4 13, Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again, but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst. But the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. I love these words. Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again. Brother Michael, I remember that when you came. He's like, you know, I was buying like my family bottles of water. He goes, I'll get you a reverse osmosis filter. It's like awesome. Like the water is amazing. Tastes beautiful. Like it's it's it's perfect, brother. Thank you for being a great blessing to me. But you don't want to drink up that water anyway. Doesn't matter how reverse osmosis it is. Doesn't matter what minerals there are. A few hours later, I'm thirsty again. Like you get the best of the best water. I'm telling you, brethren, you're still going to be thirsty. You know, again, God truly satisfies the moment you're saved. I mean, I don't do I don't doubt I'm saved. I've drunk all those waters. I'm done. I know I'm saved and I'm going to heaven. I know all my sins are forgiven. I know it doesn't matter if I, you know, my life ends on a spiritual high or my life ends on a spiritual low. As soon as my eyes close, I'm going to be with Jesus Christ. I know that I'm satisfied. I'm not seeking some new religion. I'm not seeking some other way. I'm not seeking for my sins to be cleansed by some other method. It's all been dealt with me. And then not only that, not only am I satisfied. It says there, but the water that I shall give him in him, shall be in him a well of wet water, springing up into everlasting life, meaning that I can provide the waters to others. They too will be satisfied forever. So not only are we saved and we're satisfied with the salvation God has given us, but we can satisfy the needs of others by being a well of water unto other people, to show them these wonderful waters that will never cause you to ever thirst again. Come with me to John 6. John 6 and verse number 33. John 6 and verse number 33. Same concept here. John 6, but Jesus adds a little bit more here. John 6, 33. For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. Then said they unto him, Lord evermore, give us this bread. And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life. He that cometh to me shall never hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. Once again, not just a thirst, never thirst, but never hunger. Could you imagine never hungering again? Doesn't matter what meal, the best meal, you go to some expensive restaurant, you get the gold plated tomahawk steak or something like that. You go, this is so good, right? You eat that steak, that was delicious. But tomorrow you'll be hungry again. Again, what this world offers, even the good things, like a gold plated tomahawk steak. It's okay, I'm not against it. If you want to eat it, go for it. But it doesn't matter what this world provides, you'll never satisfy. Jesus Christ is our bread of life. He's our water of everlasting life. And the moment you trust in him, brethren, it's done, you're done, aren't you? I'm not wondering ever again, what my future holds, what eternity holds. I know I'm going to be safe in the hands of Jesus and that's enough for me. John chapter 10, please, John chapter 10. We had the reading there in John 10 and verse number 8, John 10. John 10, verse number 8. Why do young people leave church many times? They think church is a bit boring, a little bit nerdy. You know, my cool friends goes to the Hillsong down the road, you know. That's where the cool kids hang out, you know. And I just want to remind you of these words. Look, these are the words of Jesus in John 10, 8. All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. You know, everyone else that comes besides Jesus. If salvation is not Christ alone and they're offering you some other thing down, you know, some other gospel, some other religion, some other faith, God says these are thieves and robbers. They're stealing away your satisfaction. They're stealing away your love. But we should be like the sheep, but the sheep did not hear them. Verse number 9, Christ says, I am the door. By me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved and shall go in and out and find pasture. The thief cometh not but for to steal and to kill and to destroy. Then I love these words. I am come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly. Life more abundantly. Brethren, following the Lord is rewarding because it gives great satisfaction. An abundant life. Brethren, it's the best life you could ever live by following your saviour, by doing what he asks of you, by being saved and just doing what the Lord wants in your life. You won't get a better life. I know the world will tell you, don't worry, the drugs, the alcohol, the nightclub scene, the dating game, fornication, all of these things are going to give you a life more abundant than what you have by being a church-going Christian trying to live according to the Bible. Brethren, it'll destroy. It'll kill and destroy your life. Don't make the mistakes that previous generations have made. You know, there are adults in this church building that say to you, children, I've done it all. I've messed up my life. I followed the world and it never satisfied me. Brethren, I'm just telling you, especially young people, I know the world's going to throw all kinds of things at you and, you know, churches will have a false gospel because that's where the cool kids hang out. Whatever it is, right? I mean, you know, the nightclub scene, the alcohol, the drugs, the world is going to throw all kinds of things at you and you'll be wondering for a moment, maybe those mushrooms aren't that bad. Maybe just give me a little bit of a kick. Maybe just a few drinks past. I won't get drunk. I'll just get a little tipsy. I'm telling you, look, you'll laugh. You'll have some photos. You'll do some pictures. You'll put it up on there on social media somewhere. A few months down the track, maybe a few days down the track, you'll be thinking, what an idiot. Why did I do that? Why did I behave this way? Why did I disgrace? Why am I ruining my testimony? It doesn't satisfy. The world does not satisfy you. Can you come with me to Psalm 16? Psalm 16. So reasons for following the Lord is rewarding. Number one, you don't have to determine what is right and wrong. Number two, it gives you great satisfaction. And when you're greatly satisfied, well, let's look at it in Psalm 16, verse number 8. Psalm 16, verse number 8. Psalm 16, verse number 8, the Bible says, I have set the Lord always before me, because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. These words that we're about to read are the words of Jesus Christ, but they're also the words of the Psalmist. And these are words that can be true for us as well. You know, if we set the Lord always before us, verse number 9, it says, Therefore, my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth. My flesh also shall rest in hope. For that will not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine holy one to see corruption. That will show me the path of life. Look at this, in thy presence is fullness of joy. At thy right hand, there are pleasures forevermore. Fullness of joy. Reverend, the reason I follow the Lord is rewarding is because there's fullness of joy. It's going to give you great joy in life. I need to be reminded of this from time to time, because you know, as I know that life throws all kinds of problems at you, and you can be cast down and depressed and frustrated at times. But I just want you to remember that is just that's just life. That's how everyone look. It doesn't matter whether you're a believer or non-believer. Everybody has problems in life. You need to understand, okay? This is just a universal law after Adam and Eve sinned. There was a curse on the earth. All right, things are difficult. We lived in a sin-cursed earth. We live in sin-cursed bodies. You know, the world's, you're never going to live this trouble-free life. But even within a trouble-free life, you can have fullness of joy. If you always set the Lord before you. Pleasures forevermore. There's nothing more joyful. There's nothing more. There's nothing that gives you more gladness. What else would it say? The gladness, fullness of joy, pleasures. My glory rejoiceth. There's nothing better, brethren. There's nothing that will bring you greater joy than following the Lord. Can you come with me to Psalm 30, please? Psalm 30. Psalm 30. While you're turning to Psalm 30, I want to read to you from John 15 and verse number 10. John 15. John 15. You say, Pastor, how do I get this joy? I'm not really experiencing that much joy in my life. I mean, it's not that complicated, okay? It's not that complicated. But John 15, verse number 10. These are the words of Jesus. Do we believe Jesus? We should believe him, right? He says in John 15, 10. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love, even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. Could you imagine getting to a point where you have just so much joy? You just can't add any more joy. Like you're at max. Max level joy, right? To borrow Brother Oliver's phrase, right? Max level joy. How do we get the max level joy? He says, if we keep his commandments, we abide in his love. We continue in his love. And he gives us the example. He follows his Father's commandments. He abides in his Father's love. And he says, these things have I spoken unto you, that your joy, that, he says, my joy might remain in you. Wow. So the joy Jesus gets by following his Father, his Heavenly Father, the joy that Jesus had, can be in us if we keep his commandments. And of course, if we have Jesus's joy, that's max level joy. That's what it says. And that your joy might be full. I mean, I like being a, I want to be a happy person. I try to force myself to be happy sometimes by joking around and being sarcastic. And then I offend people sometimes. I'm just trying to be funny. Okay, I'm not trying to be offensive. I'm trying to be funny. Because I actually like living a life where I'm happy. I got a smile on my face. I've been criticized for preaching with a smile on my face. I'm like, what? I mean, this gives me joy. I love preaching. Like, can I, do I have to have a frown every time I preach? Do I have to be angry every time? Look, there are times that my emotions are going to change as I preach. But man, I've told you guys, this is the best job I've ever had. It's the best. And it's the most uncomfortable job I've ever had at the same time. Standing in front of God's people, opening God's Word, doing the best I can as a weak man, to be utilized by God, to teach his Word. It's uncomfortable, but it gives me so much joy. And so, I'm sorry if I got a smile on my face when I preach. I have fun. Isn't that okay to have a bit of fun, to be happy in the house of the Lord? To praise him and just remind myself of the wonderful things God has done in my life and what God has done at New Life Baptist Church and what he continues to do with us. I don't know, when I get up to preach and I get up to song lead, these things give me a lot of joy. Because I'm serving my Lord. I just want him to get all the glory. I want him to get all the praise. I want only the Lord Jesus Christ to be exalted in this church. Sorry, I got you to turn to Psalm 30, didn't I? Psalm 30 in verse number 4. Psalm 30 in verse number 4. Sing unto the Lord, all ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness. Look at verse number 5. For his anger, that's God's anger, endureth but a moment. Does God get angry at you sometimes? Yeah. Obviously, when we disobey the Lord, we don't keep his commandments, when we walk in darkness, we walk in our selfishness, when we lean on our own understanding rather than trusting in the Lord, his anger is there, okay? And I'm sure if you've lived a Christian life long enough, there are moments in humility that you can say, Pastor, I've been chastised by God. You know what pride says when you've been chastised by God? Pride says, I'm being persecuted. The devil's persecuting me and the world's persecuting me. Maybe God is chastising you with the world's persecution. You know, whenever you're going through a hard time, whenever difficulties come up, before you just run, I'm being persecuted. Just analyse your life for a moment. I'm not saying, is there sin in your life? Of course there's sin in your life, okay? I'm not saying, I'm just saying, is there something serious that's standing out there? Is there some long-standing issue that you haven't dealt with? Some sin that you've not confessed to the Lord for a long time? Maybe months and months and months ago. And it's still outstanding. Some issue that you've offended someone over there a long time ago and you've not dealt with it. Or just some great sin that you find yourself in. When trouble comes my way, I just have to stop and it's uncomfortable and say, Lord, is there something I've done? Alright? Search my heart, try my thoughts, see if there'd be a wicked way in me, Lord, and sometimes there is. I've got to go to God and humble myself and confess it. Sorry, Lord, help me to learn my lesson. But I'm not saying all troubles is because you've been chastised. It can just be. You're serving the Lord the best you ever have and the devil doesn't like it and he tries to stop you. But it's good to do some self-reflection first. Sometimes the Lord can be angry at you. But what I love about it, it says, but a moment. It's just a moment. It's a short period of time that God is angry with you. It says here, in his favour is life. Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. So if you're not feeling very joyful today, you say, pastor, I've been crying tears. And I'm not, you know, we don't want to take this completely literally that you can only weep at night and then the joy literally comes in the morning. It's just, it's used in poetic language here. That obviously, as you're soaring, as you're depressed, that's like darkness in your life. That's night in your life. But God is promising us that the morning is coming, the sun will rise and once again, you're going to find that joy. It comes in the morning. So if you're cast down, you're depressed this morning, say, pastor, I'm not being rewarded much by following the Lord because I'm cast down. I'm just telling you, joy is coming in the morning. All right? Get right with God. Confess your sins. Humble yourself. Have a broken and contrite heart. Go to the Lord and say, Lord, show me mercy now, please. And the Lord can just like take you from the miry, you know, like dungeon where Jeremiah was thrown in and then he can just lift you out suddenly and, you know, just taking you out of the problems of this world and remind yourself of the great God that you have, the great salvation you have, the great knowledge and the wisdom God has given you, the great life he's given you here on the sunny coast. What better life than living on the sunny coast? What a beautiful blessing we have just being here, just reminding yourself and the great joy that comes in the morning. So, brethren, following the Lord is rewarding because there's great joy. There's no greater joy than following the Lord and keeping his commandments. You're in Psalms, so come with me to Psalm 1, please. Come with me to Psalm chapter 1, Psalm chapter 1. Psalm 1 is another one of my favorite passages. I don't know why. I don't know if it's just because it's the first one you read when you open Psalms, but it's just so great. I mean, there are so many. All the Psalms are great, don't get me wrong, right, but just some of these are amazing. Another reason why following the Lord is rewarding is because of his blessings. You know, you follow the Lord, he's going to bless you. He's going to bless you in this life. Things are going to go well for you in this life. Psalm 1, 1, it says, Blessed, God's blessings upon us. Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor siteth in the seat of the scornful. You want to be blessed? I know doing the right thing blesses us, but also not doing the wrong thing blesses us, right? Not having the wrong people around us, having ungodly friends, ungodly counsel, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor siteth in the seat of the scornful. I don't know what is wrong with, I don't know, am I like this too? I wonder sometimes. We're scornful, we rebuke, we mock, we laugh at, we criticise. I don't know, what's wrong with human nature to be this way? But listen, you need to get that out of your life. I'm just telling you now, if you want to be blessed by God, you want to receive his great blessings, you've got to stop worrying about everybody else and start focusing on your walk with the Lord. I don't know if it's social media. I don't know, like, because I'm thinking about like, I lived in the time of brother Callum. We didn't have mobile phones. Callum is still trying to live in the 80s, right? And yeah, like your life was just me, my family, my friends, my school, my work. That's it, like really. And then you turn on the news and you're like, this is garbage. You turn that off. Your life is revolved around what you do and what affects you and how you influence people around you. And I feel like, and I love the internet. I actually love social media because it allows me to connect with my, maybe my friends that I've not seen for years and years, my family that's overseas that I didn't get to grow up with and all this. But then it just generates this scornful attitude one toward another, looking at other people's lives and just being transfixed on everybody else and everything else, passing opinions and criticizing and attacking and mocking. It's like, is that the world we live in? I think we need to teach our kids to be careful of social media. We need a sermon on social media. Okay, so one of the men who's preparing, please think about it. Actually, brother, I think you are. You are. Okay, brother Callum's got it sorted, okay? It's a sermon against mobile phones and then it's a sermon against social media. But I think that's what it is. Everyone seems so focused on everybody else's lives and that scorn comes in. I want to show you that there's blessings by just following the Lord. It's rewarding. There's blessings on this earth. Just to stay away from trouble. Stay away from sinners and you'll be blessed. Verse number two says about that person that stays away from the wicked, but his delight is in the law of God. And his law doth he meditate day and night, and he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, and bring forth his fruit in his season. His leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. That's a blessing. Whatever I do will prosper. You're thinking my bank account. I'm saying, you get married? You get a prosperous marriage. You have kids? You can have prosperous children. You go to work and you'll be a valued employee to that company. You come to church and you'll be a valued church member here. Whatever you do, whatever you touch, whatever you accomplish, God can prosper you. God can bless you simply by staying away from the wicked and enlightening his law, meditating upon it day and night. Look, truly following the Lord is rewarding. Again, I'm not saying there will be no problems, but maybe how you handle problems, how you get out of problems, you'll prosper versus others. You might have the same problem as someone else, and somehow you're just able to figure it out, sort yourself out of that, sort it out, fix problems better than the next person, simply because you've been blessed by God. Your hand is being prospered in everything that you do. Can you come with me to Matthew 6? These are all very familiar passages of course, but we need to be reminded that these are great passages. The reason they're popular is because they're great passages. They apply in so many areas of our life. Matthew 6 and verse number 31. Matthew 6 and verse number 31. Maybe the reason I preach in this is because I need to be reminded, you know, being a sole income owner with 12 kids, you know, with 11 kids now, but it's not easy. I'll tell you that, you know. But then we have these wonderful verses here in Matthew 6, 31. Therefore take no thought saying, what shall we eat? Or what shall we drink? Or whether withal shall we be clothed? I mean, man, we don't have a problem. We buy clothes and we still wear them 10 years later. So it's mainly, that's the ladies, right? What am I going to wear? That's the ladies. But you know, as men, we're kind of concerned more about what are we going to eat? Are we going to be able to take care of our family needs and all this? Verse number 32. For after all these things the Gentiles seek, for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things, but seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. What a blessing. Lord, I know I'm not going to go hungry. I know I'm not going to have to beg on the streets for my children to be fed. Or to be clothed. Lord, I know you're going to take care of our needs. What a blessing. But what do we have to do? Seek his kingdom first and his righteousness. So Lord, I want to follow after your righteousness. You do the things that God asks of you and he'll bless you. He'll provide your basic needs of life. Basic needs of life. Must be true. Must be true. Because you all seem clothed and you all seem fed. I'm assuming you put God's kingdom first. You know? And I bet you we all admit we've not been perfect at putting his kingdom first. We've not been perfect at following after his righteousness. And still you're clothed and fed. Because God's merciful. Because he's gracious. Because he loves us. Following the Lord is rewarding. Can you come with me to Psalm 147. Psalm 147. Psalm 147. As I get older, in my faith, in my maturity. There are elements that become more important than they were before. I don't know if you understand that. Like even in my Christian faith, even in my Christian walk, my understanding of things. And I'll read this to you first and I'll talk about it. Psalm 147 in verse number 10. This is about God. He says, He delighteth not in the strength of the horse. He taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man. So man, if you miss leg day at the gym, don't worry about it. Don't worry about it. God doesn't take pleasure at your legs, the strength of your legs or the strength of the horse. Okay? Verse number 11 says, The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him. In those that hope in his mercy. Something about growing and maturing and maybe kids, because when I was a kid, I didn't understand this. But it pleases me. I find it rewarding to please my Lord. I didn't get that before. When you're younger, you think about your own life. Just me, me, like, you know, how do I please God? Like, what can I do to please God? You know, and again, is it that hard? To please him? Maybe if I just strengthen my body. Right? No. No. No, that doesn't please the Lord. Fear in him. Having a fear of God in your heart. Say, man, I better obey God. I mean, he's the creator. He's the maker. He's holy. He's righteous. He's without sin. What am I in his presence? I'm but dust. Humbling yourself. Go bad. That's a God that casts the ungodly into hell. Tormenting them day and night forever and ever. And at the same time, wow, what a God. And he loves me. He gives me attention. He sent Jesus to die in my place. And all I need to do is put my faith and trust on Christ. Whoso shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. He saved me. I mean, he gave the life of his Son, God the Son, for me. Who am I to deserve this? Like, doesn't that blow your mind? What? I'm your enemy, God. God, I offend you. I'm a sinner. Man, after all God has done for me, I better have a good dose of fear in my heart and just serve him and want to do the best for him, live a life that pleases him, do the basic things that he asks of me, being amongst the believers in church, reading my Bible, praying to him, confessing my sins when I mess up, going and opening my mouth boldly, the mystery of the gospel. Boy, when we fear the Lord, it pleases him. Not just that, those that hope in his mercy. That pleases God. We hope in his mercy. So we mess up, okay? We commit sin. We do wickedness. Oh, man, messed up. We have the fear of God. He's going to chastise me. Lord, be merciful to me. Please show me mercy, God. You know what? When you're seeking his mercy, he pleases the Lord. Boy, following the Lord is rewarding. I love pleasing my God. I want the thought that the church service this morning brings a smile to his face. That's what I want, right? I just want God to look down this Sunday morning on the sunny coasts and being pleased because his people have a fear of God. And when his people mess up and they seek his mercy, they hope in his mercy, that pleases God. I find that rewarding. It's kind of like when you're single and you're a single man. I'm assuming a single woman, that's true, but I don't know, I've never been a single woman. But a single man, like, you just look out for yourself. You know, you got to work and it's like, I got money. Who do I take care of? Myself, I guess. I buy myself new clothes, I buy myself a new computer, buy myself a new phone. I don't even know what to do with my money when you're single, right? But then when you get married, now you want to please your wife. It gives great joy and satisfaction to be able to be there for someone else. And then when you have kids, you realize, man, now I'm living for my kids as well. I want them to have a good life. You know, I got to this level. I want my kids to get to a higher level in life. I want them to be successful. I want them to love the Lord. And all of a sudden you realize your life is not just about you, it's about others. And it gives you great joy for your wife to be happy. It gives you great joy to have good, obedient, happy kids. And at some point in your life it goes, man, it gives me so much joy just to give God a smile, to please Him. What can I do? He's done so much for me. Can I just please Him sometimes? Can I please you, Lord? How do I do it? Oh, have a fear of God. So following the Lord is rewarding. You'll find this as you mature. It becomes more and more and more and more about God than about yourself. He must increase and I must decrease, like John the Baptist said. Can you come with me to, let's see, 1 John, come with me to 1 John, 1 John 3. While you're turning to 1 John 3, I'm going to read to you from Hebrews 11, verse 6, which reads, But without faith it is impossible to please Him. So we want to please God, what do we need? We need faith. We need to be faithful toward Him. It says, God is a rewarder. As I said, the title for the sermon this morning is, Following the Lord is Rewarding. He's got a reward that He wants to give you. And when you please Him, it's just like kids, when my kids please me, I'm like, alright, let's go to Maccas and get that grimace shake. Or whatever it is, right? Whatever it is, like, let's go and I'll get you that Krispy Kreme doughnut. Whatever it is, right? Because you've given, you've pleased me. Let's just do that random thing, that random thing to give you joy as well. But faith, we need faith. And of course that's what our life is. I mean, we're here gathered this morning and we don't see God. We can't see Him anywhere. We don't have idols. Bow down to the idol. Virgin Mary or something. No, we're, I thought we're crazy. Or there really is an invisible God that deserves our worship. That's why we're here this morning, aren't we? To please our Heavenly Father. Oh, you're crazy. It's one of those two things. You're nuts, okay? You belong in the insane asylum, something like that. No. You know, we have faith that God is here. We have faith that His Holy Spirit is moving. We have faith that as we sing His praises, as we hear His word, that we're pleasing the Lord. I believe that. I believe Christ is here in our midst. I believe we're putting a smile on His face this morning. Did I get you to turn somewhere? Where was I? Sorry guys. 1 John 3. 1 John 3, verse 22. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. What is pleasing in His sight? Keeping His commandments. Like, keeping His commandments is just good for us. To live a good life. To not mess up too much, right? But keeping His commandments just pleases God. Put a smile on His face. I don't know who brought me this water. Thank you whoever it was. That pleases the Lord. Just doing these kind gestures. Keeping the commandments that God has asked us to do. It pleases Him. And then it says in verse number 23, but I want you to notice this too. And this is His commandment. Oh, okay. Very specific. This is the commandment that pleases Him. That we should believe on the name of His Son, Jesus Christ. And love one another, as He gave us commandments. So if we keep His commandments, it's pleasing in His sight. In case you're wondering, which ones? There's so many of them. Just these basic ones. Do you believe in Him? That's a commandment. Believe in the Son. Alright, I've done that. I've trusted in His Son. Praise God. And then another commandment is to love one another. Can you do that this morning? Can we love one another? You know, loving each other pleases the Lord. Put a smile on His face. If there's any conflicts in the church, some brother you don't like and you ignore and you just don't want anything, or a sister or whatever family, brethren, that doesn't please the Lord. Just set aside your differences. Go sort out the... I'm not saying there is any. I don't know. I'm just throwing it out there, right? Okay? If there's some problem between me and Jordan, we need to sort it out, brother. We need to sort it out. We need to have love. And when we love each other, it pleases the Lord. Because you're already saved. You're already trusted in your Son. Does God ask that much from us? Oh, you don't understand, Pastor Kevin. This person at church really rubs me the wrong way. Yeah, you probably rub me the wrong way. Like, if we spend enough time in each other's presence, we're going to frustrate each other because we're sinners. I don't care. You pull out the most righteous man on the earth and you spend time with that person, you'll find problems. And you'll get frustrated at him because he's a sinner just like anybody else. We're interested to love each other. This is our family. If you trusted Christ, you're a child of God. You are my brother. You are my sister in the Lord. You are my spiritual family. I ought to love you. I mean, if God loves you enough to die for you, who am I not to love you? Praise God. And we do that, brethren. We just love each other as he gave us commandment. This is pleasing in his sight. One more passage. Come with me to Revelation 22. So why is following the Lord rewarding? Number one, we don't need to work out what is right and wrong. Number two, it satisfies. Number three, it gives us great joy. Number four, we have blessings on this earth. Number five, it pleases the Lord. And let's go to the last chapter there. In Revelation 22, some of the last words of Jesus Christ. You know how Christ is coming back? He's coming back. Alright, and he says these words in verse number 12. And behold, I come quickly and my reward is with me to give every man according as his work shall be. Jesus doesn't ask us that much. But when we do his work, he says he's going to reward us according to the work that we've done for him. Finally, the last point that I have for you. The reason following the Lord is rewarding is because of the eternal rewards. This life is a vapor. It comes and goes. Once we're in eternity, this life will be just this little blip in our lives. What is eternity compared to 70, 80, 100 years on this earth? Nothing, is it? It's a vapor. Well, the reason following the Lord is rewarding is because there's eternal rewards. Rewards that will last forever. I'd hate to get to heaven and be like, well, at least you just trusted the Lord. I mean, that's good. Don't get me wrong. That's like you've won. You've won. Okay, you've conquered. You're a conqueror. You're more than a conqueror if you trust in Christ. But then to be, alright, Lord, I stand before your judgment seat and you're going to judge me according to my works. And Jesus says, well, there's nothing. You had some wood hay and stubble, gone. The fires of God, judgment burns it all. What do I have left? Nothing but your foundation, which is Christ Jesus. Good enough. Perfect. But I want some rewards, brethren. I want to lay up my treasures in heaven. Okay, where the thief does not break in and steal. I mean, I don't know about you, brethren, but that's what I want in life. I want to be able to say, Lord, this is, you've equipped me to earn these great rewards. I don't know what that looks like. I don't know what the economy is like in heaven. I have no idea. All I know is I want some rewards. I want some treasures up there. I don't want to be zero in my bank account in eternal rewards. I mean, it's good enough. Like the thief on the cross, literally minutes away from going to hell, you know, turns to Christ. Remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. Today thou shall be with me in paradise. Good enough. You're a joint heir with Jesus Christ. Nothing's going to take that away from you if you're saved. But we know there are rewards that Christ wants to give us. Like I said, the title for the sermon this morning, Following the Lord is Rewarding. Yeah, okay, well, if it's just this earth and then we forget about it because we're in eternity, there's kind of limits. But there's a reward that lasts for eternity. So as we serve him, as we keep his commandments, I want you to think about how can I serve my Lord? How can I follow him more? How can I keep his commandments more? How can I make sure my life is rewarding here on this earth? Because in eternity, it's going to matter what we've done on this life, or what we've done on this earth. All right, brethren, thank you for your patience this morning. Following the Lord is Rewarding. I want to remind you, I want to remind myself, okay, whenever we're feeling a bit discouraged, a little cast down, we're losing a bit of fuel in the fire, you know, we're just starting to lose motivation. I want you to be reminded this morning that it's worth it, brethren. There's nothing more on this earth that will give you the satisfaction and the joy and the great rewards than following Jesus Christ. Okay, let's pray.