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Okay brethren, please take your Bibles and turn to Psalm 15. We'll be going chapter by chapter through the book of Psalms. And this is the last Psalm that we're going to be looking at for now. And then we're going to get into a new book of the Bible next week. But Psalm 15 for now please. Psalm 15. And look at verse number 1. Psalm 15 verse 1. The Bible reads, Lord, who shall I abide in thy tabernacle? Who shall dwell in thy holy hill? So it starts by saying, Lord, who shall abide? That's the title for the sermon this afternoon. Who shall abide? And you know, this Psalm is about taking practical steps in order for us to be abiding with God. You know, how we can maintain a close fellowship with God. You know, and so this is such an important Psalm. It just gives us some very practical steps in order to have a good close fellowship with God. Please keep your finger there and go to John chapter 15. We want to learn about abiding in God. That's such an important task in order for us to do. If we're commanded to abide in God, then it's also true that we can also not abide in God. Okay, we can actually distance ourselves away from God. Please go to John chapter 15 verse 4. John 15 verse 4. And there's a really great lesson here from Jesus Christ that teaches about the importance of abiding in Christ and the advantages that we have if we abide in Him. John chapter 15 verse 4. Jesus says, Abide in me and I in you, as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself except it abide in the vine, no more can ye accept ye abide in me. So you can't go to a tree, break off a branch and think it's going to be fruitful or it's going to grow. No, it's got to be attached to the trunk. It's got to be attached to the tree in order for it to have life and be fruitful. And so as a Christian, we need to be attached to Christ. We need to be attached to God in order for us to be fruitful. We cannot be fruitful if we are not abiding in Christ. Now before I keep reading, this has nothing to do with salvation. Don't forget, once you're saved, your sins are forgiven, it's all been paid for, there's eternal security, but then how we walk in our Christian life can depend on whether you are abiding in Christ or whether you distance yourself from Christ. And Christ is telling us, no, abide in me, stay in close fellowship so you can be fruitful in your saved Christian life. Look at verse number 5. Look at verse number 5. So the first point that we see here, the first thing that we will be able to achieve if we abide in Christ is that we would be able to bring forth much fruit. What does that mean? We have different opinions as what does it mean to bring forth much fruit? But brethren, what is the fruit of a believer? What is the fruit of a Christian? A lot of people think it's the fruits of the Spirit. And look, that's great, we should have the fruits of the Spirit in our lives, but it's not the fruit of the believer, it's the fruit of the Spirit. You see, as we walk in the Spirit, we walk in the new man, the Holy Spirit will develop this fruit in our lives. That's not the fruit of the Christian, that's the fruit of the Spirit. What is the fruit of the Christian? What is the fruit of the righteous? We read about that in Proverbs 11 verse 30. It says the fruit of the righteous is a tree of life and he that win of souls is wise. See, there's wisdom. The wise man will win souls. That is the fruit of the righteous. But if you've gone and you've been able to show somebody the Gospel, they've understood it, they've believed, they've called upon Christ to save them, then you've been wise, then you've been fruitful. Our Christian life ought to be one where we're seeking to give the Gospel and see people get saved coming to Christ. That's what it means to be fruitful. And if you don't abide in Christ, you're not going to have success in winning souls. And if you have had success in winning souls, you know why you've done that? Because you abode in Christ. You are abiding in Christ. You wouldn't have been able to do it without Jesus Christ. Look at verse number six. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch and is withered and men gather them and cast them into the fire and they are burned. Wow, so if the branch is not fruitful, just like if you had a tree and he wasn't bringing forth fruit, you tried your best to make it fruitful and it just doesn't do it, hey, you'll take that plant, you'll take that tree, you'll burn it up and you'll put a new tree in its place, wouldn't you? And so some people think this has to do with salvation because obviously someone that is lost will burn in the fires of hell and the lake of fire to come. But this is not about that. Obviously you cannot lose your salvation. What is this speaking about? It's using the metaphor, obviously, of a branch being cast into fire. If you can keep your finger there and go to 1 Corinthians 9, go to 1 Corinthians 9, because this is talking about casting away the branches or the believers that are not bringing forth fruits. So 1 Corinthians 9, let me show you how this language is used in the Bible of a castaway, 1 Corinthians 9, verse 27, this is now Paul, the Apostle Paul, speaking about himself. It says here, You see, Paul was concerned he did not want to be a castaway. He did not want to be this branch that is unfruitful that would be then taken, cast away and burnt. You see, a believer can become a castaway. If you are not fruitful, you do nothing for God, you are worthless in his kingdom, you know you're selfish and live for yourself, you don't live for the things of God, you don't care about winning souls, well don't be surprised when God takes you and casts you away, when God takes you and you're being ineffective in the kingdom of God. You need to abide in Christ. And brethren, if you're doing nothing for God, if you're not serving in the local body, you're not being fruitful, you're not winning souls, you may very well be, you may very well be right now a castaway, cast into the fire, but we don't want to be that way, we want to be a branch that abides in Christ. So you see, this is not about somebody losing their salvation, this is about a believer losing their effectiveness for Jesus Christ, not being able to be fruitful for him. Look back to John 15, John 15, you say well you shouldn't go to 1 Corinthians, you know it should stay within the context, and let's stay within the context there in John 15, let's go back a little bit, let's look at verse number 3, John 15 verse 3, before he speaks about the castaway here, in verse number 3 he says, Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. You see Jesus is speaking to his disciples which are clean, they're forgiven of their sins, they've been washed in the blood of God, of Christ, they've been made clean, these are saved people, and so this message about abiding in Christ is not about salvation, it's not to the unsaved man, it is to the one that is clean. If you are a child of God, if you've been saved, you've placed your faith on Christ, you are clean. And so this is a message for you, abide in Christ. If you don't abide in Christ, you will lose your effectiveness, your fruitfulness that you could have had if you had remained in Christ. Look at verse number 7, verse number 7, Jesus says, Wow, look at the advantage of abiding in Christ, he will answer your prayers. You see the closer you are to Christ, the closer you're walking with God, your will will be closer to the will of God. You know, just as Christ was able to say, not my will be done, but thy will be done, we will get to that point as we mature, abide in Christ, grow closer to the Lord, where our will will become more like the will of God. And when your will is the will of God, you're going to be able to go to him in prayer, and ask him for things God will hear, and God will answer your prayer. You see, abiding in Christ is not just the advantage of winning souls, being fruitful for God, but also the other advantage is that we'll have our prayers answered. God will answer those prayers. God will answer those prayers. What amazing privileges we can have, should we just abide in Christ, should we just remain faithful, serving him. Look at verse number 8. Wow. You know, if you get people saved, it says here that the Father is glorified. You can bring glory to the Father. I mean, it's amazing to think the God of the universe, the Holy of Holies, can receive additional glory from us, the fallen creatures, just by being fruitful, just by doing the work that God has left us to do. He is glorified in that. Verse number 9. So we see that. How can we abide? We keep his commandments. Very clear. When we abide in Christ, we keep the commandments that he's given us to do. Is salvation by keeping the commandments? No. Salvation is faith on Christ, finished work of Calvary, and his resurrection. But abiding in Christ, our walk with the Lord, is about keeping his commandments. It says here, Verse number 11. Okay, what's the third advantage to abiding in Christ? Is that we would not just have joy, but that we would have the fullness of joy, that your joy might be full. Boy, you know, people in this world are looking for joy, looking for happiness in so many places, you know, maybe the ungodly world, even Christians sometimes in alcohol, in drugs, you know, in entertainment of this world, you know, in the movie theaters. You know, they're trying to find satisfaction and joy in so many carnal worldly things. But you can have the fullness of joy, not just joy, but it's overflowing in joy if you just remain in Christ. You just abide in Christ. You keep his commandments. There is great joy in just being close to God. So what are, again, from the passage that we saw here in John chapter 15, what are the three advantages of abiding in Christ? What do we get out of it? Number one, we're going to be fruitful, win souls. Number two, we're going to have answered prayers. And number three, your joy will be full. Okay? Back to Psalm 15 for me. Psalm 15. Look at verse number two. Psalm 15. So now we know, hey, this is something we want. You know, we should be people that abide in God and in his tabernacle and dwell in his holy hill, as it said there in verse number one. Verse number two. He that walketh uprightly and worketh righteousness and speaketh the truth in his heart. So this is what we need to do in order to abide in Christ, to abide in God, to abide with him. Okay? The first thing that was mentioned in verse number two is he that walketh uprightly. He that walketh uprightly. Please turn to, keep your finger there in Acts 15 and go to Acts 14. Go to Acts chapter 14. Walking uprightly. You know, this is, you know, when I think about the concept of walking uprightly, sometimes I think about, you know, our children. You know, my wife and I are constantly saying to our children, hey, sit up straight. You know, don't slouch. You know, have good posture. Okay? Walk uprightly, as it were. You know? And the reason we do this is because number one, if you're slouching, you know, it doesn't look good. You know? But there are health issues about that. You can have poor digestion or back pain. You know? You can cause some major damages in your spine if you're slouching, you know, if you're crouched and you're not upright, if you don't have good posture. And so, of course, this is spiritually speaking, right? But the same idea that if we're not walking uprightly, it can have damaging effects on our lives. And please go to Acts 14, as I said, verse number 8. Acts 14 and verse 8. Look at this. And there sat a certain man in Lystra impotent in his feet, being a cripple from his mother's womb, who never had walked. So this is a man who can't walk uprightly. This is a man who's crippled, right? And since the time of his birth, he's not been able to walk. Verse number 9. The same heard Paul speak, who steadfastly beholding him and perceiving that he had faith to be healed, said with a loud voice, stand upright on thy feet. And he leaped and walked. And he leaped and walked. So we have a story here of the cripple who is unable to walk uprightly, physically speaking, right? But then Paul comes. He sees a faith in this man. He wants to walk uprightly. The power of God heals him and he's able to leap, you know, leap in joy because he's able to walk uprightly, okay? So what is walking uprightly? This is a benefit that we get for ourselves. You know, this is walking in righteousness. This is doing, you know, living our lives in light of what we see in Scripture, okay? And the benefit is for the cripple. If you're not walking uprightly, spiritually speaking, you will like that cripple, okay? But you want to be able to stand up. You want to be able to walk, right? And in Psalm 84, verse 11, it says, For the Lord God is a sun and shield. The Lord will give grace and glory. No good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. No good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. Boy, if we just live and walk uprightly, the Bible says here, the promise is that God will withhold no good thing. He's going to make sure that you receive everything good that you can receive out of his hand. All you need to do, brethren, is stop being a cripple, get up and walk, leap up and walk uprightly. You know, what amazing promises. Proverbs chapter 2, verse 7, He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous. He is a buckler to them that walk uprightly. He's a buckler. Buckler is a type of shield. God's going to protect us. He's going to shield us from harm, from evil, if we walk uprightly. We should desire to walk uprightly. We're going to receive the goodness of God if we do that, and He will protect us from evil. So walking uprightly is about getting the sin out of your life, right? Walking righteously, it is primarily about personal sanctification. We're all sinners, you know, and when you got saved, you probably didn't even know half the sins that you commit. And so, you know, in the process of time, you know, as we learn the Bible, as we grow in Christ, we will start to be able to overcome, identify those sins. God will be able to give us His power and help us through, cleansing ourselves, you know, sanctifying our lives from these sins. This would be walking uprightly. Just like the cripple who could now walk, the benefit of the miracle is primarily toward the person that walks uprightly. But, you know, after the cripple could walk, it's not just walking uprightly. Now he can work, right? Now he can be a blessing to other people. And so the next thing that was mentioned there in Psalm 15 verse 2 is the one that worketh righteousness. You see, when you get saved, yes, let's begin by walking uprightly. Great, let's get in the sin in our lives, living for God. But the next thing we ought to do is work righteousness. Worketh righteousness. Of course, salvation has nothing to do with works. The Bible says in Ephesians 2 eight, For by grace that ye save through faith, and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. So we understand that salvation is not of works, simply your faith on the finished work of Jesus Christ, in who he is and what is done for us. But then in verse number 10, once you are saved, it says this, For we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained, that we should walk in them. So now that you're saved, it is God's desire that you would work righteousness, that you would do not just the benefit for yourself, but that you would be a blessing to other people, that you would be a workman in the house of God, that you would serve the Lord God and serve your brethren. And so this is about being a blessing to others, you know, praying for one another, you know, encouraging one another, you know, everything that we can do to edify our brethren that would be working righteously. So if our brother has needs, physical, spiritual needs and you're able to fulfil those needs, that's you working righteousness, that's you being a blessing to others, you've been blessed, you're walking uprightly, your benefits for you, great, now you can work righteousness, do the works that God has asked you to do. What was the next thing that was mentioned there in Psalm 15 verse 2? It said, And speaketh the truth in his heart, and speaketh the truth in his heart. So this is about abiding in Christ. If we're not doing this, brethren, we're not abiding in Christ. If we're not walking uprightly, if we're not working righteously, and if we're not speaking the truth, we're not abiding in Christ. This is practical things that we can do to abide in Christ. Let's not forget the main point that we have today, but speaking the truth. All right? So we just thought about, you know, being right on the inside, this is more about being right on the outside, you know, what is coming, sorry, sorry, we spoke about what is right on the outside, this is more about the inside, you know, making sure that we're right on the inside, because what you speak about is a reflection of what is in your heart. In Matthew chapter 12 verse 34, it says, O generation of vipers, how can ye be in evil speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. And so if we're going to abide in Christ, we need to speak in truth, that means your heart has to be true. You have to be focused on the things of God, you know, and what you speak about is an indication of what you spend time on. You know, if you desire to speak about, I don't know, the latest Hollywood movies, you know, you're focused on the things of this world, then we know what you're thinking about, we know what you spend time on. If you're someone that's speaking about the Bible, you're someone who, you know, praises God, we know what you're thinking about, we know what's happening on the inside, because you can't help but speak the things that your heart rests upon. Okay, if you can go to Ephesians, chapter 4, go to Ephesians, chapter 4, this is about speaking the truth. We need to be people that are honest, that say true things. We need to put away the lion, and we've all lied, we're all liars. You know, we often say this when we knock on the door, you know, have you ever told a lie? And it's like, yeah, well how many? Hundreds, thousands of lies, we've all done that. We need to change that about ourselves. Ephesians, chapter 4, verse 25, it reads, We're for putting away lying. Speak every man truth with his neighbour, for we are members one of another. This is speaking in the context of the church. We are members one of another. We should not lie to our brothers and sisters in the Lord. We should not lie to people in our church. We're members of that one body. Go to the next chapter for me, Ephesians 5, verse 29, let's understand this. Ephesians 5, 29, it says, For no man ever yet hateth his own flesh, but nourisheth and cherishetheth it, even as the Lord the Church. You see, we are not to hate the flesh, the body of Christ. Look at verse number 30, For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. The church is the body of Christ. If we're lying to one another, Brethren, you're lying to the body of Christ. You're lying to Jesus Christ. You know, lying is such a wicked sin, and we all do it. We've all done it. This is something that we're commanded to put away. Wherefore, put in a way lying, it's said in Ephesians 4, 25, we need to speak the truth. There should be no reason to lie, okay? Speak the truth, you know? And again, you've got to work on your heart. What are you spending your time on? You know, the reason you may lie is because you know the things that are in your heart are wicked. You know the things that you spend time meditating on are worthless things that have nothing to do with the kingdom of God, and so that's why you lie, because you've got that, and you're trying to hide the fact that you are wicked, and listen, we all have wickedness in us. We all have the flesh, the sinful nature, the old man, and so we need to put that line away and speak the truth of God's word. Back to Psalm 15, please. Psalm 15 and verse number 3. Psalm 15 verse 3. We saw what we need to do, walk uprightly, work righteousness, speak truth, but now we learn about the things we need to stop doing, okay? So here in verse number 3, again, this is someone that is abiding in Christ. Hear that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbour, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour. Let's talk about that. Hear that backbiteeth not, okay? So in order for us to abide in Christ, we have to not backbite, okay, not backbite. What does it mean to backbite? It means to speak behind someone's back. You know, I come up to you at church, brother, you know, I'm like, hey, brother, good to see you. Man, you know, love seeing you, love talking to you, I hope you're doing well, right? And then I go to another brother in Christ in church. Oh, man. I can't believe he's still living like that. Can you believe what he said the other day? You know, and you speak against that brother. Your all smiles in his face, but then he's behind his back. You're backstabbing him. You're backed by him. Hey, if you're of that persuasion, you are not abiding in Christ. Okay, you are not abiding in Christ. Now, please go, keep your finger there again in Psalms 15, but go to 1 Timothy 5. 1 Timothy 5. Because I do realise that this is one of the challenging things in life, even I sometimes struggle with this, is many times you have to explain, speak the truth, and when you do, it may put somebody in a bad light, even though that's not your intention. You know, your intention is to answer for the decision you may have made in life, but by answering that, by being honest, it may cause somebody to look bad. And so sometimes when that happens, you know, you may be accused, especially by that person, of backbiting them, okay? And here's the thing, we need to understand the difference between you know, your intentions being of good, you know, to give an answer, versus your intention to backbite somebody. And sometimes these things can be a little bit hard to understand. So I want to give you some clarity of thought here in 1 Timothy 5, verse 13. Backbiting, okay? So look at verse number 13. Speaking about women here, women who are not busy, it says, and with all they learn to be idle, wandering from house to house, and not only idle, but toddlers also and busybodies speak in things which they ought not. So you have, there are some women, okay, this is in the context of church, that will go from house to house. They'll visit this sister, they'll visit that sister, they'll go here, they'll go there. Now, is there anything wrong with visiting your brothers and sisters? Of course, there's nothing wrong with that in of itself. But notice why they go and visit. They don't go there. But notice why they go and visit. Okay, what's the purpose? It says that they are toddlers and busybodies. That's why they go from house to house. They go to gossip, they go to backbite, they go to be a busybody. That means they're interested in affairs, they have nothing to do with them, okay? They're interested to talk about things and other believers, you know, parenting, children, whatever, the pastor, backbiting people, it's got nothing to do with that person, because then it says there at the end of it, speaking things which they ought not. It's got nothing to do with them, okay? There's a difference between a backbiter and you just explaining to somebody your decisions, why you're doing something. Sometimes you have to make decisions in light of someone's bad mistakes, decisions they've made, and sometimes that just comes out, but that's not backbiting. Backbiting is intentionally going to people when it's got nothing to do with you and just trying to turn their opinion of that person against them, okay, just for your own satisfaction. That's a backbiter. That is someone that does not abide in Christ, okay, so I'll never do that. I think we've all done it, okay? We've all been backbiters to some extent. We need to stop doing that. Notice here, though, this is something quite often that ladies will do. This is one of those things, you know, men and women, we have different strengths and we have different weaknesses, there are things that men struggle with that women don't struggle with as much, and there are some things that women struggle with, and this has been in Tatlers and Busybody, that men don't necessarily struggle so much, okay, but we're all able to commit these sins, okay, just, you know, some are weaker than others in this area, and so we are asked to not be Tatlers. Don't intentionally go to cause somebody to think negatively about them. It said there, things which they ought not, okay? Listen, let me give you an example of this. Let me give you an example. Let's say I, you know, brother and sister so-and-so, the way they raise their kids, I don't like it, you know, let's say I just, I think they're bad parents, I think they're letting their kids get away with too much, the kids don't respect them, and so I'll go, you know, I don't like brother so-and-so, so I'll go to brother and sister so-and-so over here and say, man, can you believe how they're raising their kids? That's bad parenting. They're going to have rebellious children when they grow up. What does that have to do with me? You know, that has, God has put mum and dad there to raise those children, did they not? And listen, if mum and dad do a bad job, they're going to suffer the consequences, okay? And they're answerable to God. They're not answerable to you. You don't go to somebody else and tell them about how bad so-and-so's children are over there. It's got nothing to do with you. Those are things that you ought not to do. That you ought not talk about, okay? But let's think about it in a different scenario. Let's say, I really don't like the way brother and sister raise their kids. In fact, their kids are out of control and they're having a negative impact on me bringing up my children. My children, you know, when they're hanging around those kids, they're influenced in a bad way. They come home, you know, speaking, you know, maybe saying cuss words or something and I don't like that, right? Okay, I might make a decision to not allow my children to hang around those children much, okay? I don't want them to be influenced all that much. And someone might say to me, oh, you know, I notice that your kids don't really play with the kids over there. Why is that? Well, at that point, you know, if I'm going to give an answer, a reason for that, I would say, look, you know, brother and sister so-and-so, their children have had a bit of trouble with their children. You know, I don't like that rubbing off onto my kids right now so I've asked my children not to be heavily involved with that family, okay? Now, I'm not going out of my way to go and backbite against another brother. All I'm doing is answering the question that has come my way and I'm simply stating why I've made the decision that I've made. There are ways you can just talk about things without completely trashing other people, backbiting completely other people. Listen, there are a lot of Christians in my life, you know, that I've come across, I don't like the decisions they make. You know, in fact, I might be even against many times the decisions they make in life, but I realize it's their life. I realize it's their family. It's their children. They're going to have to do and deal with the consequences as they come, but I hope they do well. I hope they learn from the mistakes. I hope they don't have to suffer a lot. I hope they learn the Bible and make the necessary changes they need to make to be better. You know, I can think about many things that people have done, okay, just because I express, you know, I don't like that, but want the best for them, just because I, that doesn't mean you're backbiting, and that's where people get offended. How dare you say that? Look, we're just deciding, we're just stating the decisions that are being made, okay, and, you know, it's not my fault that the reason I have to make those decisions is because of a bad consequence or bad decisions someone else has made, but, you know, it's not about backbiting that person. You know, you've got to understand the difference between you going around when it's got nothing to do with you, no effect on you whatsoever, but you're going around just to trash other people versus you sometimes having to give a little bit of information so people understand where you're coming from in relation to a bad decision or mistakes people have made in the past. We need to be able to separate those things, and I think 1 Timothy 5 verse 13 does a really great job in explaining what it means to be backbiting, what it means to be a tattler going around purposely trashing other people for no reason. It's got no effect on you whatsoever. It's none of your business. That would be a backbiter, and that is someone who cannot abide in Christ. Now back in Psalm 15, please, Psalm 15 verse number 3, we're still on here, that backbiter, if not his tongue, then it says here, nor doeth evil to his neighbour, nor doeth evil to his neighbour. Doing evil is to harm, okay? So again, backbiting is surely one way to harm somebody's reputation. But I'm going to read to you from 1 Peter 3 verse 10, which says, For he that will love life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile. Let him eschew evil and do good. Let him seek peace and ensue it. You see, instead of wanting people for evil to come upon people, instead of wanting harm upon that person, you ought to be seeking peace. Ensue peace. That means pursue. It's like ensue means pursue. You know, you need to chase after peace. Verse number 12, For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers, but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil. If you're seeking to do evil to somebody else, the Bible says the face of the Lord is against you. Against them that do evil. Even as a Christian, you're going about doing evil things, God's face will be against you. God will judge you, you know, for the wickedness that you're doing. No, we need to seek peace. We need to seek the best for other people that are around us. Let's not pursue evil. Let's not do evil. Let's seek after peace. Back in Psalm 15, let's keep going. Verse number three, the rest of it says, Nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour. So instead of you being somebody causing harm to somebody else, this is someone that receives that rebuke, okay? So this is like, if someone, you know, you have a gossiper who's doing wickedly, but this might be you listening to the gossiper. You know, looking forward to hearing what they have to say. You know, looking for the drama. This is somebody that is taking up a reproach against his neighbour, okay? So please go with me to Proverbs chapter 18. Proverbs chapter 18. You see, when somebody gossips, that's wicked, that's wrong, but if you're listening to gossip, you're doing wickedly as well, okay? Say, well, you know, it wasn't me. I wasn't gossiping yet, but did you give them the occasion to gossip? Did you lend them an ear to hear that gossip? You're doing evil. You're participating in that gossip. They wouldn't be able to gossip if you didn't lend them your ear to hear those things. And listen, you know, gossip harms the person that is being gossiped about, but it also harms the listener of the gossip. Proverbs chapter 18. Look at Proverbs 18, verse 8. Proverbs 18 and verse 8. It says, the words of a tail-bearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly. Notice, the words of a tail-bearer. If you're listening to the words, the gossiper, the tail-bearer, it'll go down into you like wounds into the innermost parts of the belly. It'll wound you. It'll cause you damage, okay? And the reason for this is when someone's telling you negative things about somebody else, it's gonna have an effect in your outlook, in your relationship with that person, okay? And you're gonna think differently about that person. You know, you may have really liked that person. You may have thought really well, thought of them highly. If you didn't hear the gossip, you'd still think of them highly. You hear the gossip all of a sudden, you go, well, that's a wicked man, and you have a different view completely to that person. It's actually called damage in yourself. You know, have you ever, like, you know, let's say church, you know, we use that example, I guess, but this doesn't have to be just church. It can be anywhere else in your workplace, just in your family life where somebody treats you well, you know? You need to be hidden off, developing a friendship, having a good relationship with somebody. You know, next day, just, you know, it seems like in a moment, all of a sudden that person just ignores you. That person just, you walk past, they turn their heads. They don't wanna look at you. They don't wanna talk to you. And you're like, what in the world? I thought we were, like, getting along. I thought we were great friends. Why doesn't this person even wanna greet me? Why does this person turn their face against me? I'll tell you why. Wounds in their belly. They don't wanna talk to you. They don't wanna talk about you. And it's affected the way they look at you. Okay? We've all been victims of gossip. I'm sure we've even all gossiped. Okay? I'm sure we've all been that person that's listened to gossip. Hey, listen, this is a wound. This is damaging to everybody involved. You know, let's not be the person that goes around trying to cause damage, you know, destroying somebody's reputation. It destroys your reputation by being the gossiper. Proverbs 17 verse number four. Proverbs 17 verse four. It says, a wicked doer giveth heed to false lips. If you listen, heed, listen to false lips, it says you're a wicked doer. That's what the Bible thinks about you. That's what God thinks about you. If you're listening to gossip, you're a wicked doer in the eyes of God. And it says, and a liar giveth ear to a naughty tongue. So you're giving tongue, the Bible says, you're a liar. Okay, you are the wicked. You are the person that God will turn his face against. And if he does that, you won't be able to abide in Christ. You see, it's not just doing what's right. It's stopping to do the things that are wrong, the things that harm your brothers and sisters in the Lord. You know, being a reckless person, destroying the reputation of people, this will cause you to not abide in Christ. Back to Psalm 15, verse number four. Okay, so we've seen what we should do in verse two, what we shouldn't do in verse number three, but now how we should think. What we should think. The kinds of friends that we should surround ourselves with is covered here in verse number four. It says, in whose eyes, so this is about your eyes. If you want to be someone that abides in Christ, this is how your outlook should be. In whose eyes a vile person is condemned, contempt. But he honoureth them that fear the Lord, he that sweareth to his own hurt and changeth not. So it's not just your behaviour, but how you view other people that matters. And so the first thing here is that your eyes should be in contempt of that vile person. Okay, that means you should be disgusted by sin. If you come across a wicked person, you know, you shouldn't just accept that, and go, well, that's just fine, you know, and this is about the friends you have. What kind of friends do you have? You know, if you're someone that says, well, I just seem to get along better with the ungodly, unsaved world, you know, than my fellow Christian man. Well, there's a problem with that, okay, because you've got the wrong mindset. Hey, they might be easier to get along with because they're probably closer to you in your wicked behaviour, in your sins. Maybe you're more comfortable to be around because it makes you feel more holy, perhaps, and maybe next to a Christian who's striving to live godly, trying to be like the Lord, maybe that's making you feel bad about yourself, okay? We need to have the right perspective on this. You know, we shouldn't surround ourselves with friends of the world. We shouldn't surround ourselves with the wicked. It's going to have an effect on you. Your outlook is important here, you know, and when we think about, I guess, one of the most vital sins today that's been accepted not just by the world but even by Christians and by churches is homosexuality. You know, it's a vile sin. It's a wicked, disgusting sin, an unnatural sin. And how many churches are like, well, he's just another sinner. Hey, it's vile, it's wicked. God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah for that sin. He rained fire and brimstone from heaven to destroy that wicked sin. And then we have pastors in churches, oh, yeah, we let them in church. Just let them in and serve in the local church, in the local body. Hey, you've got the wrong mindset. You have the wrong view. You know, who should we elevate? Let's keep going. It's said there in verse number four, but he honoreth them. This is who you should honor. But he honoreth them that fear the Lord. Okay? So when it comes to a Christian, yeah, we're not perfect. Yeah, we're all striving. We're all struggling. We're trying to live more godly. We want to learn the Bible. You know, we're trying to serve the Lord. And, again, we have weaknesses, but if someone's fearing the Lord, someone's fearing God, that's the person we ought to honor. He can be someone that's just saved today, brand new salvation, wants to get into the Bible and wants to fear God and learn from God, but he's got the long hair. He's got the tattoos. He doesn't, you know, he's got bad language about him. But if he fears God, he's the one that I'm going to honor. I'm not going to honor the clean, shaven, well-dressed man if he's full of wickedness and sin. I want to honor the one that fears God, the one that's striving to live godly. It says here, he that swearth to his own hurt and changeth not. Who are the people that we ought to honor? The people that swear to their own hurt. Now, what this is saying is, this is a man or woman of their word. You know, you know, they speak and they will do what they said they're going to do, even if it's going to hurt them. You know, and a good example of this might be, you know, there's a lot of businesses now that are really struggling because of the coronavirus and losing business and maybe they've quoted somebody, you know, I'll do this work for this amount. But now, you know, that's not going to make ends meet. But because you've made that agreement, because you've committed to that amount, you know, and they might even lose money from doing that work. Okay, now because of the changes in the economy, well, they'll still honor what they said, even to their own hurt. That's somebody that fears God. That's somebody that abides in Christ. And listen brethren, there are many times that you're just going to have to do what you've said you're going to do, even if it hurts you. Even if it doesn't benefit you, but it benefits someone else and you put your word to it, that's the person that should be honored. Look, it says here, and changeth not. He that sweaveth to his own hurt and changeth not. He doesn't change his mind. He said what he's going to do and he accomplishes what he's going to do. You know, sometimes I have people say to me, you know, I'll be at church, then they're not at church. You know, that's someone that I don't honor. You know, they don't deserve to be honored because they're not a person of their word. You know, you want to be honored, you need to be someone of your word, even if it is to your hurt. Look at verse number five now. It says here, again, abiding in Christ, abiding in this tabernacle. This is what we're striving to do. Verse number five, He that putteth not out his money to usury, not taketh reward against the innocent, he that doeth these things shall never be moved. He that doeth these things shall never be moved. So what are the things, what are the final things that we have here in this chapter? Verse number five, he that putteth not out his money to usury. Listen, if you lend money, don't look to be taking advantage of that person. If you lend a hundred dollars, you know, to your brother or sister, you know, do it for their benefit. Don't do it for your benefit. You know how our banks think, oh, this person needs a loan? All right, we'll give them a loan, we'll take advantage of them. Instead of them just paying back the loan, they're going to have to pay the loan plus more. They're going to pay the interest. They're going to pay the usury. The banks don't care about the loan being paid back. They care about how much they can take advantage of the person seeking the loan. You don't be that way, Brevin. You know, just let them pay back the hundred dollars. Don't ask for more. It's for them. You'll lend them money because they're in need. Okay? But you might say, well, I can't lend them money, so I'm going to charge them interest because this is an expense for me. Well then, if you can't lend it, without usury, don't lend it. If you can't lend it, don't do it. You know, whenever you're going to lend money or something of value, have the mindset that this may never be paid back. And if you're not willing to lose it, don't lend it. Okay? But when you do lend, you lend for that person's benefit. So you don't charge them usury. You don't charge them interest. Okay? Now listen, if you lend them money and they come and they pay back that hundred dollars and they say, you know what, thank you so much for being a blessing. Here's an extra twenty dollars, you know, for being a blessing to me. Well, receive the blessing. You didn't charge them usury. They're just seeking to be a blessing in return. That would not be usury. Okay? And then it says, nor takeeth reward against the innocent. Nor takeeth reward against, and this is like false accusations. This is somebody that's innocent and you falsely accuse that person for reward, for your own reward. Okay? And this might, you know, happen, let's say in a workplace where you're seeking a promotion. Maybe you might be going for a job and you know somebody else is. Okay? And you think that, you know, if I tear down this person's reputation, if I share all the bad things that I know about this person to others, you know, if I make false accusations against the innocent, then I'll be rewarded from that. I'll be the one to be able to get that position ahead of that person because I've made them look bad. That's a horrible way to live. That's a horrible attitude. Listen, if you need promotion, you need the pay rise, you work hard. Alright? You show yourself valuable and you don't tear somebody else down. You know, if you tear down the innocent, you're seeking to take reward for yourself. That would be somebody that cannot abide in Christ. What else? It says, He that doeth these things shall never be moved. Boy, if we can just abide in the Lord, abide in His presence, have a close fellowship, the Bible says that we will not be moved. We will never be moved. And if I can just end on 1 Corinthians 15 verse 58. 1 Corinthians 15 verse 58. It reads, Therefore my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, for as much as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. Brethren, we need to seek to be people that are steadfast, unmovable, abounding, doing lots of work for the Lord, being fruitful unto Him, being that branch that's attached to the vine, abounding, attached to the vine, abiding in Christ. And so brethren, the purpose of Psalm 15 is pointing to the fact that we must abide in the Lord and the practical steps that we need to take in order to do that. I hope this has been a benefit. God bless.