Welcome here to our morning service at Calvary Baptist Church of Trihearne. And also welcome to those who join us via internet all over the world. Please open your hymnals to number 258. 258, He Hideth My Soul. Number 258. A wonderful Savior is Jesus my Lord A wonderful Savior to me He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock When rivers of pleasure I see He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock that shadows a dry, thirsty land. and covers me there with their hand. A wonderful Savior is Jesus my Lord, Taking my burden away He holds me up and I shall not be moved He gave me strength as my day He hideth my soul in the clefts of the rock That shadows a dry, thirsty land He hideth my life in the depths of His love there with his head. With numberless blessing it's moment he crowns and filled with his fullness divine. I sing in my rapture Glory to God, for such a Redeemer as mine. He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock that shadows a dry, thirsty land. He hideth my life in the depths of His love, And covers me there with His hand. And covers me there with His hand. When clothed in His brightness transported, I rise to meet Him in clouds of the sky. His perfect salvation, His wonderful love, I shout with a million sons high. He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock that shadows a dry, thirsty land. He hideth my life in the depth of His love and covers me there with His hand. Our Heavenly Father, we are thankful for that hand of Thine which we are held in if we are saved. Thankful for the protection that is found in that hand, the blessing that we can have in being at peace with thee and being protected from the onslaught of the devil as we build thy word into our lives after we're saved and we don't have to be deceived. that we can be following Thee faithfully, and we can help others to know the truth. We thank Thee for each one that has joined us today. We do pray for our internet. We pray for understanding of that whole system that we can broadcast to those who are seeking the truth, that we can help them to know Thy peace and blessing. And we do pray for each one that is listening, that each one would also see the importance of a true local church. We are thankful that The promise of thy son is still true today, that upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. So we are thankful that there are still today true churches across the world. And we pray for those that are thy children, that each one would allow thee to lead and direct them to the true church that thou wouldst have them in, that they can be blessed and be a blessing to others. We continue to pray for our country of Canada for the great need of salvation amongst our politicians, police officers, doctors, and nurses. We thank you for the rain that we're receiving right now. We do pray for the farmers as they are getting ready to start the harvest. We pray that many farmers would come to see that it's not mother nature that's in charge, but there's a God in heaven who governs with a purpose. and that the rains that we receive and the fertility of the soil, that's in thy hands. And we do pray that many farmers would want to come to know the true God as their God and Savior. We ask thy will be accomplished in the Dick family as they look at moving, as they look to get their septic system improved upon. We pray thy will be done there. and that they would trust thee and walk with thee and allow thee to lead and direct them according to thy will. Pray for others that need to be here. We know that there are many that have visited in the past but chosen to stay away. We pray that people would see the need for truth. they would want thy peace and blessing. We pray for the Eslers as they are reminded of their wedding anniversary and her birthday. We pray that they would draw an eye to thee and allow thee to direct their steps that thy will be accomplished in their lives. So guide and direct us. We do pray for our Zoom meetings in the Philippines as well, that we can be a help to people there. to know the truth. May thy will be accomplished, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. And over to 263. 263. A shelter in a time of storm. Number 263. The Lord our rock, in Him we hide, A shelter in the time of storm. Figure that never He'll be tied, A shelter in the time of storm. Oh, Jesus is our rock, Oh Jesus is a rock in a weary land A shelter in the time of storm A shield by day, defense by night A shelter in the time of storm No fears alarm, no foes affright A shelter in the time of storm Oh, Jesus is a rock in a weary land A weary land, a weary land Oh, Jesus is a rock in a weary land A shelter in the time of storm The raging storm's me round A shelter in the time of storm We'll never leave our safe retreat A shelter in the time of storm Oh, Jesus is a rock in a weary land A weary land, a weary land Oh, Jesus is a rock in a weary land A shelter in the time of storm Oh, rock divine, oh refuse dear A shelter in the time of storm a shelter in the time of storm. Oh, Jesus is a rock in a weary land, a weary land, a weary land. Oh, Jesus is a rock in a weary land, a shelter in the time of storm. And over to 386. 386, all for Jesus. All for Jesus, all for Jesus All my being runs some parts All my thoughts and words and doings All my days and all my hours All for Jesus, all for Jesus, all my this and all my ours. All for Jesus, all for Jesus, all my this and all my ours. Let my hands perform His bidding Let my feet run in His ways Let my eyes see Jesus only Let my lips speak for His praise All for Jesus, all for Jesus Lord, let my lips speak for this praise All for Jesus, all for Jesus Let my lips speak for this praise Since my eyes were fixed on Jesus, I've lost sight on all beside. So enchant my prayer with vision, looking at the crucified. All for Jesus, all for Jesus Looking at the crucified All for Jesus, all for Jesus Looking at the crucified Oh, what wonder, how amazing! Jesus, glorious King of kings, Legends told to His beloved, Let me rest beneath His wings. All for Jesus, all for Jesus, resting down beneath His wings. All for Jesus, all for Jesus, resting down beneath His wings. Let's take your Bibles and turn to the book of Luke, please. Luke chapter 5. And we're reading there from verse 12 to verse 16. Luke chapter 5, verse 12 through 16. We'll stand please for the reading of God's word. Luke chapter 5, verse 12, and it came to pass when he was in a certain city, Behold, a man full of leprosy, who, seeing Jesus, fell on his face, and besought him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And he put forth his hand and touched him, saying, I will be thou clean. And immediately the leprosy departed from him. And he charged him to tell no man but go and show thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing, according as Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them. But so much the more went their fame abroad of him, and great multitudes came together to hear. and to be healed by him of their infirmities. And he withdrew himself into the wilderness and prayed. Our Heavenly Father, we're thankful this morning again that we have that word, thankful that we have the absolute truth that we can study, that we can read. that can be used by thee to bring conviction to our hearts. We're thankful that we have thy word, which is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword. We're thankful that thy word is doing its work today, right now, in the heart of each one that just read thy word. I pray, Father, that we would want to listen to thy Holy Spirit as he speaks to us. We know that He will not lead us into the charismatic excesses, but that He will teach us the truth. And so we want to be taught, and we pray that we would allow Thee to be our teacher. I pray that Thou wouldst guide me in my speaking, that I would honor Thee, be obedient to Thee, and faithful to Thy word, that Thy will would be accomplished in each heart and life that's listening. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. may be seated. The title of the message this morning is Seeking the Will of God. Seeking the Will of God. In our world, there are many people that are interested in fame. I think the Olympics are still on. I'm not sure. I haven't been following them, but I think they're still on. And I know that the people that are involved in that are there because they are seeking fame. they want to get a medal. This past week there was a woman boxer from one country and a male boxer from another country that got into the ring together, the male claiming to be a woman, the Olympic Committee allowing him to go into that ring as a woman even though he was a man. And they started punching, and 45 seconds into that bout, she quit. The woman, the real woman, quit. I don't blame her. She shouldn't have been there in the first place, but that was open and legalized assault on a woman. And the news media, interestingly, has twisted it and saying that that whole thing was promoted through misinformation. And they're trying to suggest that the man, who claims to be a woman, never once said that he was transgender, as if that makes any difference. He's a male, and he's wanting to be a woman. And it's interesting that it seems to be that there are more men who want to be women than there are women who want to be men. And there's a reason for that. Men lust after women. And for some men, ungodly men, they can't find a woman. So if they can pretend to be a woman, they can go into women's washrooms, women's dressing rooms, into women's shelters, into women's prisons, and then they can abuse the women under the protection of wicked governments. It's a sick system that we're living in, and women today are very vulnerable. And it is important, again, for parents. To me, I can't understand, I can't fathom how any parent, any parent, would even put their children in a public school. Because those children are being brainwashed, and the girls in particular are in a very vulnerable position in any public school. And so Christians, for sure, need to wake up and understand that God created them male and female. And that's how a person is born. They're born either as a male or a female. And they don't change their gender somewhere along the line. That's brainwashing that causes them to think that way. And that's the corruptness that happens in the mind of ungodly people. And that's where godly parents and godly adults need to help children to understand what God says. And children need to develop according to God's law, not man's whims and wishes. As we look at the Bible, there were lost people in the Bible, Cain being one, who also wanted to make a name for himself. He wanted to form his own religion. It didn't work. In chapter 10 and 11 of Genesis, we read about a man named Nimrod. Nimrod also wanted to make a name for himself, and he went to great lengths. He convinced the people of this time to build a tower, and they were going to stay together under the shadow of that tower. God stopped them, confounded the languages of the people, and since that time, there have been restrictions on people's ability to communicate because of those language barriers. Most languages can be learned by other people, but it takes time and effort to learn another language so that you can communicate in it. It's one thing to be able to talk about a dog or an apple in a foreign language. It's another thing to be able to actually communicate on things that matter. And that takes time and it takes effort. The Bible was written, the Old Testament in Hebrew, the New Testament in Greek for the most part. And those were the common languages of the time. But God, in his mercy and grace, has given people the ability to translate the Bible into many languages, and English being the primary one, because that is currently the language that is used in the world. And so people today can still know the truth and we can understand that we really are not that important, but God is all important. And the important thing is to know him. And so as we continue our study of Luke's account of the gospel of Jesus Christ, we understand that Luke was directed to give us an accurate account of Jesus' ministry on this earth, his birth, and also his ministry on this earth, and his crucifixion and resurrection. So we're looking this morning at these verses, and the first point that we want to look at is confidence in Jesus' ability. In verse 12, it says, And it came to pass, when he was in a certain city, behold, a man full of leprosy, who, seeing Jesus, fell on his face, and besought him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. So in this particular passage, we're not told which city Jesus went into. It just says in a certain city. And it tells us that there was a man in this city that was full of leprosy. He was not just a leper, but he was full of leprosy. This man was in such a state that there was no hope for him in the physical realm. The law said that a man like this, a man with leprosy, needed to be outside of the city, and he needed to warn anybody that came close to him that he was a leper. Now, this man, we're not told that. It says that Jesus was in a certain city. And it tells us that there was a man full of leprosy. And this man was obviously close enough to Jesus at that point, it tells us, who seeing Jesus fell on his face and besought him. So this man is within close range of Jesus, able to speak to him and ask something of him. Jesus, of course, being the eternal son of God, had no fear of becoming a leper. He would not be contaminated by this leper. The leper, yes, leprosy was contagious and it could spread to other people. And so this leper was in great need, and if he would have been left to himself as a leper, he would have died from limbs falling off because they would rot, and he would eventually die. But he saw Jesus, so his eyes are still working, and he understands enough about Jesus that he fell down before him. And he fell down on his face. This man was a humble person who was seeking help. He was not a modern day charismatic. He didn't come to Jesus demanding something of him. He fell down on his face, and it says he besought him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. Very important here to understand, and this is how the Bible teaches us to pray, We don't come to God and demand things of him. We know what God is capable of doing. This man knew that Jesus was able to cleanse him. He knew that. But he also understood that it had to be Jesus' will to cleanse him. So again, the charismatics of our day, they say, if you're a Christian, you should not be sick. And if you are sick, you lack faith. Some years ago, one of my brothers was visiting, and I have heart trouble, and he knows that. And he drew me aside that particular time, and he said, you know, if you'll let me, I'll pray for you, and I can fix your health problems. And I said, no thank you, I'm not interested. And I didn't let him pray for me, because it's not that I don't want the prayer of other people, but I want the prayer of people who actually believe in God. And his belief system is of Satan, not of God. And I'm not going to have that kind of prayer over me. He maybe does pray for me on his own, I have no idea. But I'm not interested in giving any kind of legitimacy to heretics. But this man, he came to Jesus understanding that Jesus had the ability to make him clean. but he also wanted to make sure that it was God's will. And you know, God has different reasons why he allows sickness. Now, we know that sickness is the result of the fall. Adam and Eve were never sick until they fell. There was no sickness. Sickness is part of the curse. And that did not go away because Jesus died on the cross. The curse that was made possible to be lifted is the curse of eternal death. That's why Jesus went to the cross. He bore our sins upon his shoulders so that we could be set free from sin. Death is a certainty. How we die is different to each individual. But death is a certainty. And even the most prominent so-called faith healer, has either died or will die. That's a reality. And so death is a reality. And interestingly, even these charismatic kooks get sick. And how come they get sick when they're out there promoting the lie that you should not be sick if you are saved? You just need to increase your faith. So I guess they must be admitting that their faith is lacking. But this man was a humble person who was willing to come to the place where he knew he could find help, but he was also understanding that it needed to be according to the will of God. So the second point we have is that Jesus put forth his hand. In verse 13 it says, and he put forth his hand. Jesus stretched out his hand and he touched this leper. Again, Jesus was not afraid of getting leprosy. He is the eternal son of God. So he would not get leprosy and he touched this man. And there is something to that personal touch that is needed in our lives in times of need and other times. And the Bible warns in the New Testament of the caution of being careful not to lay hands suddenly on any man. Now, in that context, the laying on of hands has to do with approving a certain man for ministry. And so in Bible times, it was very common, and it used to be common up until recently. I don't know if it still is now, but it used to be quite common that if a man was going to be ordained into the ministry, that there would be other men that would be invited to come around that man, to put their hands on that man, and then to pray over him as he begins his public ministry. There's no power in the laying on of hands in that sense. It's just a matter of the laying on of hands is an evidence that these men are suggesting that they agree that this particular man is worthy of being called into the ministry. Jesus, on the other hand, when he put his hands on people, there was power in Jesus, and he could help people by putting his hands on them. But it tells us here that he put his hands on this man, he touched him, saying, I will. So Jesus now is telling this man, yes, I have the ability, I have the power to heal you, and I want to do that. And so then he says to him, be thou clean. So it was the pronouncement of Jesus here, be thou clean, that was needed in order for this man to be healed of his leprosy. It wasn't just the fact that he laid his hands on him, but he stated, be thou clean. And it tells us in that verse, and immediately, the leprosy departed from him. So we know that this is a miracle because immediately the leprosy departed from him. Now leprosy has open sores. So if you were to be a leper, you would have sores on your body, you'd have scars, and there'd be oozing probably taking place from some of the sores. But it tells us here that immediately the leprosy departed from him. There was no evidence that this man had been a leper. And again, keep in mind that it tells us in verse 12 that the man was full of leprosy. So his body was covered in sores from the leprosy. And not only that, but because it says he was full of leprosy, so it was inside of him. It was a part of him. And so even if he would have gone for skin grafting or something, it wouldn't have helped because he was full of leprosy. But when Jesus spoke the word, the leprosy was gone. There was no more danger of this man being a leper. He could have gone for blood tests or whatever, and they would have said, no, there's nothing here. You say you were a leper, but there's certainly no evidence now to suggest that, because Jesus healed him. And Jesus did this because he needed to prove to the people that he is and was God. The Jews of that time, they were living in expectation of a Messiah. They knew that there was a Messiah coming. Even the Pharisees knew that. But what the Pharisees were looking for was for a Messiah who would overthrow the Roman government and give them back autonomy, independence of the nation of Israel. That's what they wanted. They did not believe, they did not understand, that had the nation of Israel been given the opportunity to have a king again, it wouldn't have made any difference. It wouldn't have been any better than under Roman rule, because a godless Jewish king is no better than a godless Roman king. They're all godless. And that's why I've said many times in Canada, a godless liberal prime minister is no better or no worse than a godless conservative prime minister. Makes no difference. We had a godless conservative prime minister, Stephen Harper, who was good with his pencil. He helped us financially that we weren't as far in debt as we are now. But he didn't do anything to protect the unborn. He didn't do anything to protect against the sodomite agenda. It wasn't as popular back then as it is now, but he didn't do anything to stop that. He didn't do anything to address the crime in our country, and so on. So he was no better. It doesn't matter if you have $5 in your pocket or $1,000 in your pocket. If you don't have the Lord, it doesn't help you anything. is still going to be miserable and inflation will eat up that money. And they were talking about in the United States, Canada isn't any better, but in the last three years, three years, inflation has gone up by 20%. So they used the illustration, they said, if you had a job and if you got a 10% raise, which is highly unusual, but if you got a 10% raise, you still lost 10% of your income, because inflation is at 20%. So the country is going backwards, so is Canada. We are so far in debt that we will never pay off our debt. So for you children that are sitting here today, be guaranteed that all of your life, if you live to grow up and to get a job and to work and make money, you are going to be paying taxes to pay for the interest on the debt that Canada owns. You won't pay down the principal, but you'll be paying interest as long as you live. That's a guarantee. Our country is in a mess. And it's in a mess because we are morally bankrupt. So this man, he came to Jesus for healing, but Jesus came not just to heal the sick. He proved that he was able to forgive our sin because he had power over all things. and he has power over Satan. Satan is a defeated foe. He doesn't believe that, but he is. Even in the book of Job, we read that Satan had to come before God and he had to ask permission to affect Job's life. He couldn't just go up to Job and start to afflict him. He needed permission from God. So for anybody that is saved today, we know that in order for us to have problems, we know that Satan needs to be given permission to play with our bodies. Now sometimes, even we as Christians, we can disobey God and invite his chastening. And that happens to all of us as Christians, because we don't always obey him. The wise Christian is the one who learns from the chastening and seeks to draw closer to God so that he avoids more and more chastening. He wants less of it instead of more. The foolish Christian is careless and never seems to learn. And even though he may be chastened, as soon as the chastening is over, he goes right back to his old ways. But the Bible tells us that God's design in the chastening is to bring about the peaceable fruit of righteousness. According to 1 Corinthians chapter 11, sometimes that will happen by the person dying at a younger age than is normal. And so God has his ways of dealing with sin amongst his people. And again, the wise Christian is the one who listens to God and wants to walk in such a way that he's free from condemnation. So this leper here, he wants to be cleansed. He wants to be set free from sin, or from the curse of leprosy, I should say. But Jesus came and his desire is to set this man and many others free from the bondage of sin. And so as this man is healed, he is told in verse 14 to follow the law. So the third point we have is that the law was important. In verse 14 it says, and he charged him to tell no man, but go and show thyself to the priest and offer for thy cleansing according as Moses commanded for a testimony unto him. Now, keep in mind, we've already learned that this man has been healed, right? Verse 13 tells us that. This man is healed. So we look at verse 14, And you see the little word for, F-O-R, twice in that passage. And it says, and he charged him to tell no man but go and show thyself to the priest and offer for thy cleansing. This man is already healed. That word for is important. We find that word elsewhere in the Bible, in particular Acts chapter 2, a passage that many people misuse, where it talks about baptism for the remission of sins. And the baptismal regenerationist says, you see, you have to be baptized in order to be forgiven. No. you are forgiven through the blood of Jesus Christ, and then you go and you get baptized because God says you need to get baptized, not as a means of forgiveness, but because you have been forgiven. And so here as well, it tells us that he was to offer for thy cleansing. So it wasn't that if this man would offer the sacrifice, he would be cleansed. He's already cleansed. But because he has been cleansed according to Old Testament law, now he needs to make an offering, a sacrifice before the priest in accordance with Moses' commandment. Now, who gave Moses the command? God did. for a testimony unto them. So who's the them? The priests. What was wrong with the priesthood at the time of Jesus? They were very corrupt. They were not following Moses' law. And so the priests needed to see that this man was healed, and they needed to understand that their time on this earth, their office was coming to an end. was not finished yet, because Jesus had not yet died, had not yet shed his blood, but their office was coming to an end. And when Jesus died on the cross, the Bible tells us that the veil of the temple was rent entwined from the top to the bottom. And when that happened, the Old Testament priesthood was done. Now, in the book of Acts, we find that there were still chief priests. They still held on to that office, but they had no position. They had power because the Judaizers were a very powerful group. They were well organized, and they were still very powerful in that time. But under God's authority, they had no power. They had no place. There was no need for chief priests after the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. He took that away. He is the great high priest, and his shed blood finished that whole system off. So here, under the time of this man, the priesthood was still there, but very corrupt. And so Jesus wanted the priests to understand that he was the great high priest. He didn't have to come and talk to every one of them and say, I'm the priest, you're done. But he did that through men like this leper, who was told to go to the priest and offer that offering that was required for cleansing, as a token of the fact that he was cleansed. And it was according as Moses commanded. And of course, that's the law of God. And so in verse 15 it says, but so much the more went there of fame abroad of him. Tells us in verse 14, he says, and he charged him to tell no man. Now what this, what God, what Jesus had done to this leper was a great thing. And anybody that knew this man, and some people would have known him because, again, Old Testament law, he would have been announcing to everyone who came near, I'm a leper, I'm a leper, I'm a leper, unclean, unclean, unclean. So they would have known him. But now he's been healed. And it says the fame, so much the more, went there of fame abroad of him. It's impossible to keep good news to yourself. There are people today who claim to be Christians, but they don't tell you that unless you ask them. They claim to be Christians, but they're not going to be vocal about it. They'll sit down with the people cursing and swearing and telling dirty jokes, and they'll laugh along with them. They'll even use the same crude language But if you were to ask them if they were a Christian, oh yes, I'm a Christian. There are many people like that today. They are a shame to God. I mentioned, I think, last week that there's three members of a four-member music group that were killed in a plane crash. And as I did some research on them, because they were called gospel singers who have won, I think it's called the Dove Award and different awards that they've won because of their music. And it is a shame that that group traveled, according to them, all over the world, spreading lies. They are about as Christian as a dead dog. And the sad thing is that that brand of Christianity is very popular. Many people have been deceived by those kinds of people who call themselves Christians, but they're not. And we can say that because we have a Bible. This man, we don't know if he told anybody, but it says Jesus' fame was spread abroad. So that's the good news. This man was not a heretic. He was not a false professor. This man was truly healed. He had evidence. Look at my body. He was cleansed of his leprosy. So anywhere that he would go from that point on, anybody that knew him, would know that he had been cleansed. And most likely he would be telling people as well because of this great event that had happened to him. It was some good news that he would not be able to keep to himself. In the Old Testament we read of Jeremiah. Jeremiah sometimes referred to as the weeping prophet. Jeremiah was a faithful man of God. He stood before kings, told the kings the truth. He exposed the false prophets of his day. He was persecuted greatly for standing for the truth, almost to the place of dying because of it. And there was a point in his life where he was tired of the persecution. He was a man. And he decided, I'm gonna be quiet. I'm not gonna say anything more, not to the king, not to anybody else. I'm just gonna be quiet. I'm tired of the persecution. But the Bible tells us that the word of God burned in his belly and he could not remain quiet. And that's a fact. If a person is truly saved, they may grow tired of the persecution, but they also, they have a greater desire because they're saved, because the love of God is in them. They want to see people saved. So even as we've been looking at the Hebrews chapter 11, and there were people in Bible times who were persecuted, and they assessed the world of their time and said the world wasn't worthy of them. Why? Because they were saved and they were not going to allow the world to draw them back into the world because they had been given something better than this world. They had been saved. And nobody that is truly saved wants to go back into sin. We will sin, but we don't want to go back into that life of sin. That's, again, one of the heresies that is being taught by the New Evangelical crowd, that Christians can still be caught up in smoking and drinking and swearing and all kinds of things because they just can't get over it. Well, no, they can't, but if they've been saved, Christ is living in them. And Christ will give them the power to get over it. But as many as received him, to them gave he power, to be called sons of God. That's a fact of the Bible. And that's something that needs to be taught much more faithfully than it is in our present age. There are things that people get into when they're lost that are very powerful addictions. They can be very strong in the person's life. But nothing is stronger than God. And that's the problem of the new evangelical crowd, is that God is really quite weak. And as we said this morning in Sunday school, that crowd does not really believe in the inspiration of the scriptures. Because the scriptures tell us that greater is he that is in us than he that is in the world. And so there is nothing, as the Apostle Paul wrote as well, Philippians 4, I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. So if I am saved, I can serve God faithfully. He requires that of me, and I can do that. He would not require it of me if it was not possible. He equips his children to be able to serve him faithfully. And the only thing that is necessary is to be one of his children. And those who are his children, because the Spirit of God dwells in them, they will be drawn to a true church where they can be taught the truth. There are anemic Christians today who don't want to go to church, and they're not being taught. They're disobedient to God. Someone asked me that a while ago if I thought they were sinning because they were not going to church. And I said, yes, I do. Because that's what the Bible teaches. A Christian needs to be in God's house. You don't want to be in God's house. You're going against the will of God. What is that? It's sin. All transgression is against God's law. Sin is a transgression of God's law. So God gives us laws in the Old Testament. He gives us laws in the New Testament. The local church is important for the child of God. It's a place the child of God needs to be. It's a place the child of God wants to be. And God wants his child to be there. Now, there are Christians who are sick in a hospital bed, they can't walk, they can't get out of the bed, they can't come to a local church. But there are Christians who are well able to go to church, but they choose not to. There's a difference. So this man, because of what happened to him, says the fame of Jesus was spread abroad even more. And great multitudes came together to hear and to be healed by him of their infirmities. So Jesus had a message. He had a powerful message. He had a message that needed to be told. And because he had the ability to do all these miracles, people came to him. And Jesus never focused on miracles. He focused on preaching. The miracles, yes, he did many of them. But as I mentioned earlier, they were there to prove that he was the Messiah. That's what they were for. But nobody got saved by a miracle. Salvation, I believe, is a miracle, but it wasn't that someone was able to walk and that automatically made them a Christian. It was their faith in him that made them a Christian. And so Jesus taught the people, it says, they came together to hear and to be healed by him of their infirmities. So many people were impacted by the gospel of Christ while he was on earth. They heard the message. We've said before, and we'll see it as we continue on, that many of those people, even though they heard him, they did not respond to his message favorably. And the same is true today. There are many people who hear the truth, but they don't respond to it favorably. Our minds are powerful. Some people's minds are more powerful than others. It's interesting to observe people and to see how some people's minds are so powerful. They can look at the same thing that you can see, and they can draw a completely different conclusion. And you can show them from the Bible what God says, but they stubbornly insist on their way. And they develop their theology so firmly in their own minds that it seems that nothing that you say to them penetrates. They hear it, they might even respond, but they don't accept it. Our minds are very powerful. And if you go in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians, I believe, just a minute here. Yeah, 2 Corinthians chapter four. 2 Corinthians chapter four and verse three, it says, but if our gospel be hid, It is hid to them that are lost, in whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. That's what the Bible says. is the one who is behind the blinding of the minds of the lost. That doesn't mean that any lost person will be able to stand before the Lord and say, well, I couldn't help it, Satan blinded me. No, because again, God is greater than Satan. So Satan does have the power to blind people's minds. He does have the power to convince people that wrong is right. and right is wrong. He has that power. But his power does not supersede the power of Jesus Christ. And so we have the word of God and we have the spirit of God who works in the heart of the lost. And even though Satan is blinding the minds of the lost, The power of God is greater than his power, and so the lost individual knows that what they're believing is wrong. They know that. But they're not willing, they're too stubborn and too proud to stop believing it and accepting the truth. Now, by the grace of God, some of those people will repent and turn to God and be saved. But many of them continue on that way until they die, sadly. We see in the life of Jesus as well here in verse 16, it tells us, and he withdrew himself into the wilderness and prayed. So even though his fame is spreading, Jesus was not someone who was longing for fame. He wasn't looking for the praise of man. He didn't need to constantly have a crowd upon him affirming whom he was. He knew who he was. And so he knew that he needed to spend time with his father. And so he withdrew himself. We today, if we can get a crowd of people and we think that there's more to come, we say, well, I got to stick around. There might be more coming. I need to be here for more and more and more and more because we want affirmation. I'm still needed. I still have something that other people need. And so we want to stay with that as long as we can. But Jesus, He understood, as a man, he understood his limitations. As God, yes, he could always be with people, but as a man, he needed to withdraw himself from people, and he needed to spend time in prayer. And he taught the disciples that as well, that they too, they needed to get away from the crowds at times. They needed to become quiet before God. And so do we. We cannot carry on in the limelight, in the public eye, all the time. There's a church in the United States right now, I just saw the headline, that wants to be open 24-7. And the state that that church is in so far does not want to allow that church to be open 24-7. Now it used to be church doors were never locked. Because the teaching, and this goes back to Catholicism, the teaching was that you need to be able to come into church at any time to pray. Because the Catholic religion teaches that it is through them that you have access to God and through them that you have salvation. And so a lot of churches used to be open all the time, just in case somebody would want to come in at two o'clock in the morning, they're traveling through town, and they're guilty of something, they're hurting about something, whatever, they could walk into the church and they could pray, as if there was greater access to God because they came into that building. You can pray in your own car. You could pray standing outside in the rain there today. You could pray in your own house. This building is not superior to any other place when it comes to access to God. The purpose of this building is this is a place where we come together to learn of God because the Bible says that Jesus said, I will build my church. Now, people argue, and it's true, the church is not a building, it's people. That's true. However, when you read the book of Acts, you find that the Apostle Paul went to many different places and he started churches. And those churches met in particular places where people could meet together. In Philippi, Paul met at the river. And he went to the river because there was no church in Philippi at that time. And he knew that there were some godly women and other women, and he knew the women would go to the river to get water because that was one of their chores. And they would also go to the river to wash their clothes. And so he met with them at the river. But we also know that he planted a church in Philippi, and it wasn't at the river. So the argument that the church is people and therefore we don't need a building is a false argument. The church is people, but the church meets in a particular place so that they know where they're meeting and so that others can also join them there. We have a purpose. We're to be a light in a dark and dying world. You can't be a light if you're hiding. Now there may come a time where Christians may have to hide, as in the times of the Inquisition, where Christians would meet out in the wilderness, out in the bush, and they'd have to be ready to flee at a moment's notice because the Romans' government, the Catholic system, would be searching for them and seeking to find them, and if they found them, they would arrest them and maybe kill some of them. But we're not at that time. And in this time that we're living, the local church meets somewhere where other people can find it, and even where Christians can find it. If we're always moving around and never sure where we are, how would you know where we're meeting? Now, yes, we have cell phones today, but they don't always work everywhere either. So there has to be some organization, and the Bible teaches us that. And so we do need to come together. We need to be able to meet together and to encourage one another. But we also need to be able to withdraw and be able to spend time with the Lord. And so you ought to be able to have that in your house as well. There ought to be a time for you to, where there's no radio on, no noise going on, you can spend time with God in his word and in prayer. where you shut down the distractions of this world. You have scheduled things for the day, but at that particular time, nothing else matters. You are going to spend time with God. That's important. And if you're saved, you will understand that. This is not law-keeping. This is what you need to do in order for you to be able to have a healthy and strong relationship with your God and Savior. You need to withdraw yourself and to have that opportunity to spend time. So in a household, you're the father, you're the mother, you have children, but you need to find time where you as an individual can spend time alone with God. Yes, as parents, you need to lead your children, but you personally also need to find that time where you can be alone with God. you need to speak to him, you need to hear from him, you need to have that time of communion, of fellowship with him. That's important. And so there are things again here that we learn from this passage that we need to understand, and we need to understand the importance of seeking the will of God. We need to know what his will is, but we also need to know his will for our particular situation. The Apostle Paul, in 2 Corinthians chapter 12, he prayed three times to have a thorn removed from his flesh. It wasn't a literal thorn. It was something that God gave him to keep him humble. He prayed three times to have it removed. And God said, no, I'm not going to take it away. You need this to keep you humble. The Apostle Paul learned that and after three times he stopped praying about that because he knew it wasn't God's will for him to pray for it. So you and I today, we need to be walking close with God so that we can know what is his will for me. His general will is I need to be saved. His general will is I need to be faithful to him. But he has a particular will for me as he does for you. And so it's important for us to be walking with him in such a way that we know what it is that God wants of me, what he wants for me in this particular situation, what he wants to teach me, and how I can benefit from this time. So that is something that happens once we're saved, and once we walk obediently with him, then he can direct us. So that's important to know him. So if you're listening today and you're not saved, that is again the place to start. You need to be born again. And once you're born again, then you need to get yourself into a good church where you can be taught. You need to get scripturally baptized, become a member of that church, and be taught. Be faithful in that church and be taught. You need personal Bible study and reading in your own home. and you need the fellowship of the saints. If you're listening and you're not saved, you need to listen to the spirit of God as he speaks to your heart. He's not gonna speak audibly, but he's showing you that you're missing something in your life. And you know that. You need to listen to that. And God will lead you to a good church where you can learn the truth. And you'll lead some Christian person, true Christian person, into your path who will be able to help you. But if you continue to seek to avoid those kinds of opportunities, you'll have no one to blame but yourself. And you're the loser, not God. You're the loser. So choose to listen to God and want to follow him. Let's pray together. Heavenly Father, we're thankful that we have thy word. Thankful that we can know the truth. Thankful we have a savior who is able to meet our needs. We're thankful that we have a God who knows what our needs are. We sometimes confuse our needs with our wants. Thankful that we have a God who knows our needs and is able to meet our needs. But it's up to us to know what is thy will in the midst of our needs. And so I pray that we would be willing to know thee as our God and Savior, to walk humbly with thee, to allow thee to direct us so that we can be assured that we're going the right way. That it's not just our desire, but it's actually thy will that we're seeking to follow. So may thy will be accomplished in each one of our lives, we pray in Jesus name. Amen.