This sermon by Pastor Clarence Veld is entitled, The Church and God's Truth, taken from 1 Timothy 3, verses 14 through 16. Please turn in your scriptures to 1 Timothy 3. We'll be reading the entire chapter together. As you're able, please rise for the reading of God's word. This is a faithful saying. If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work. A bishop must then be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous. one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence. For if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God? Not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride, he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. Moreover, he must have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach in the snare of the devil. Likewise, deacons must be reverent not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy for money, not holding, indeed, holding the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience. But let these also first be tested, then let them serve as deacons, being found blameless. Likewise, their wives must be reverent, not slanderers, temperate, faithful in all things. Let deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well. For those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a good standing and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus. These things I write to you, though I hope to come to you shortly. But if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. And without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen by angels, preached among the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up in glory. Thus far, God's holy and infallible word. You may be seated. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, you whose goodness is revealed in your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and declared through the gospel by your Holy Spirit, cause our conduct to be holy and godly before you, that we might know your love and bear the fruit of righteousness in the midst of a world that refuses to believe and rest upon Christ alone. May your holiness be magnified by and in us, we pray. Amen. So often we make plans and have plans and have hopes that we would like to fulfill those plans in the near future. Maybe those plans include visits to family or some other important event, or maybe even with the good intention of helping someone else understand something. Then something comes up. something unexpected, and those plans do not come to fruition. Maybe it is sickness or a pandemic or death in the family. Maybe it is a new job or a promotion that does not permit you to fulfill those plans at this particular time. We as a community have experienced such interruptions in our plans, haven't we? For example, our annual conference has been cancelled for the last two years. Some have been prohibited to travel in order to visit family. Whatever the source of the hindrance might be, Does that mean that the desire to fulfill those plans was merely superficial? Something that was put on that we expressed in order to make the other people, the other parties feel happy or maybe even to satisfy ourselves? If those things are of significant importance, the things that you wanted to say to your loved ones, to your friends, to those whom you are unable to fulfill those plans to visit with, if you are unable to do so, would you be prevented from communicating with them? Would you be able to communicate the essential points or would they simply be unspoken, unheard, untold? In our passage, we find Paul being concerned about the rise of false teaching within the church at emphasis. And Paul desired to provide the church with a mechanism of elders and deacons in order to be able to defend against the truth as that truth is summarized in verse 16 of the chapter which we have just read. but Paul is prevented from going directly and personally to give that instruction to the church. So he records it for us in this letter to Timothy. As we have already mentioned, Paul is writing to Timothy who was ministering to the church at Ephesus. He is writing to a minister who is being faced with all sorts of challenges and difficulties because there are those within the church who are teaching that which is not the truth, that which is not the gospel, that which is contrary to the teaching that Paul had set forth as he worked among the church at Ephesus, as he plants churches throughout the Roman Empire. And one of the things that needs that Paul saw that would be essential for the well-being of the church was the necessity of leaders to be appointed. But do we appoint just anyone to be leaders within the church? Anyone who is breathing? Is that the qualification that is necessary? Or is there something more? I mean, is the church like any other society? Is the church like any other group? And so we can appoint a CEO, we can have a president, we can have a board that makes all the decisions and we just abide by those decisions. Is that what the church is like? No. Fundamentally, the Church is not like any other society that men might establish in this world. Fundamentally, as you will see, the Church is the is the assembly of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. And so Paul in these first verses of chapter three of his letter to Timothy has given that instruction. He's given, and he's described, this is the qualification of elders. This is the qualification of deacons. This is what you ought to expect of the officer's wives as they seek to support the ministry of their husbands. the qualifications as to godliness and holiness and being blameless before the Lord. And now Paul, he turns and he concludes this portion of his letter to Timothy, having been satisfied that his instructions are clear and complete and will serve Timothy and the church and ultimately God's churches well through the years. The last time we looked at this passage you saw that faithful church officers supported by godly wives serve Christ and the church well. And I want to show you by God's grace today that the church must faithfully reflect the truth God has entrusted to her. The church must faithfully reflect the truth God has entrusted to her. You will see the gospel displayed by the church, the gospel deposited in the church. The gospel displayed by the church, the gospel deposited in the church. First of all, the gospel displayed. We see first that because God has entrusted truth to the church, she must be godly in all her conduct. Verse 14, Paul says, these things I write to you. these things. Paul is referring to the instruction that he has just set down for Timothy, that he has just laid out in his presence. He says, these things I write down. I set them in words on paper or on parchment. These are a physical record so that if you have any questions as to as to what I taught, what is required, what is desired in terms of leadership within the church, you can always look and turn to this letter and remind yourselves of them and make an examination of those leaders whom you are considering to appoint over the church. But Paul also writes this letter because he is unable to come at the moment. And I think the church is to be eternally grateful for this hindrance that Paul has experienced so that we have for ourselves even today a written record of how God desires the church to function. For Paul says, I write these things though I hope to come to you shortly. Paul was looking forward to traveling. There's an implication when he says, though I hope, there's a certain sense of confidence that he has that his plans to come will pass, they will come to fruition. He has an expectation that it will happen. But until that point in time, until he is able to specifically and directly come to Ephesus to address the false teachers and to assist Timothy and encourage Timothy, he says, I'm going to put these things down for you in writing. I'm going to come shortly. but it won't be quick enough in order to prevent the disaster that may come upon the church. So here is the instruction. And Paul recognizes too that he might be delayed for he says verse 15, but if I am delayed, I write. He recognizes that things may come up that is going to prevent him from actually fulfilling his desire, from actually being able to come. And so his putting these instructions onto paper is a sufficient stopgap measure until that time when he comes. But he says, but if I am delayed, I write so that what? you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the church. He says, so that. I'm writing for this purpose. in order that you might know, be acquainted, become aware of and understand how you ought to conduct yourselves. How you ought, that phrase there indicates an obligation or a duty that you have. He says, this is how you ought to work. He says, this isn't optional. You know, sometimes when you're filling out these forms, these questionnaires, they have these questions and it says required. And if you're filling it out on the computer and you press, you know, next, it gives you a big red square and it says, you can't go any further until you fill out this information. But then there are other questions where it says optional. And if you leave it blank, you can go on to the next one. Paul says, I'm writing that you may know how you ought to conduct yourselves. This is a necessity. This is an obligation. This is a duty that the believer has. And I just want to emphasize once again, that duty is not a bad thing. Duty is a good thing. I am forever grateful for those veterans who have served, who have done their duty in the military, as they have gone forth and put themselves in the place of danger. Yes, it's a dangerous and it's not always pleasant, but they have fulfilled their duty. Police officers, the same thing, firemen, ambulance workers, you know, duty. is something that is pressed upon us all. Even as parents, we have a duty to raise our children. Is that a bad thing? Are our children nuisances? Absolutely not. And so Paul writes to the church and he says, this is how you ought to conduct yourself. This is the duty, this is the requirement that I am setting forth before you for a proper functioning church. And that how you ought to conduct yourselves, your conduct refers to the manner of your acting, of how you both behave, the way that you live, the way that you treat one another, the way that you interact one with another. He says, this is important. The way that you interact with each other is not insignificant. It is vital. It is vital for the witness of the gospel in the church, as you will see in a moment. The instructions that Paul provides the church are meant for the well-being of the body of believers. You know, we have, we call ourselves a Presbyterian church. We have a form of church government that appoints elders and deacons. And in a particular way, I know there are other churches that also talk about elders and deacons, but not necessarily in the same way. And this is not the place to get into that. But we have elders. to lead us, to encourage us, to exhort us, to confront us when we sin. We have deacons who are to serve us, to help us deal with, be good stewards of the gifts and the blessings that God has given to us. The church is not a one-man show. There are many places where that seems to be the case. I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but I remember going to a conference, a broadly evangelical conference, hearing a man complaining about the board of elders in that particular location because they refused to allow him, his friend, to put in a pop machine in a fellowship hall in the church. He was just totally upset. How's that possible? And so he left and I'm not sure if he started another church or something like that, but those are the sorts of things that we find in our society all around us. The church is not my church. The church is not your church. The church is God's church. and how you as individual believers conduct yourself, interact with one another, treat one another, is of vital importance for the propagation of the gospel, that others might come to know God and to know the Lord Jesus Christ. And so he says how you ought to conduct yourselves in the house of God. The church, we come to this building and we call ourselves a church. And oftentimes we think about those that are seated around us as, well, that's such and such a family and such and such a family and so and so. And we look at ourselves as sort of as individual units and maybe as individuals. But the church, the assembly of God's people is a family. We are brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus Christ. As such, there is this relationship that we have that is similar to that which we find within our own families. Sadly, within our own families, there are arguments and fights and disagreements, and sometimes there's pain and sorrow, and we find that in the church too. But a well-run family is a family in which you will also find forgiveness and encouragement and love and growth into greater holiness. And that ought to be true of the church as well. how we speak of one another, how we interact. I've said that many times now, but how we, it's just how we, how do you, how do you show love to, how do you show love to each other? Are your words kind? Are they upbuilding? Or do they tear down? Maybe not so boldly in explicit terms, but is there an undermining of that love that we have one for another? If so, we need to examine our hearts and ask the Lord to forgive us and to teach us to love each other as brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus Christ. For God is our father and he loved us and he sent his son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to demonstrate his love for us. He did not spare his own son, but sent him to die upon the cross that in his shed blood, we might have the forgiveness of our sins. And so Paul writes, this is how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God. There's something else to consider concerning the house of God. For the house of God is the place where God dwells. In Matthew chapter three, Jesus is speaking to the Pharisees who have said, if you swear by the temple, it means nothing. But if you swear by the gold of the temple, Well, then you have to keep that vow. And Jesus responds to that, and he says, He who swears by the temple, swears by it, by the temple, and by him who dwells in it. Who dwells in the temple? God. And who is the temple of the Holy Spirit today? You and me, brothers and sisters of the Lord Jesus Christ. You see, God consecrates the temple and he promises to dwell with his people, Exodus chapter 21. God says to Moses, I will dwell among the children of Israel and will be their God. They shall know that I am the Lord, their God, who brought them up out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell among them. I am the Lord, their God. God dwells in the church. but I can't see Him. That's because God is Spirit, infinite, eternal, unchangeable in His being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth. But God lives in His people by His Spirit. Christ sent His Spirit into your heart and into my heart that we might know him and love him and be knit together as a family of God. And so God dwells within his people. And if God dwells within you and me, then that love of God ought to be exhibited. seen clearly by others in you and me. This is also why we read from Jacob's dream of Jacob's ladder. When Jacob woke up from his sleep, he said, surely the Lord is in this place. I did not know it. How awesome is this place? This is none other than the, what did he call it? The house of God. Bethel means the house of God. For we are the children of God, adopted Romans says, Paul says in Romans, as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God. The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. And if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ. We confess that adoption is an act of God's free grace, whereby we are received into the number and have a right to all the privileges of the sons of God. To be adopted is a wonderful thing. Many of us may have never experienced such a thing, but if we consider what adoption is, that parents specifically choose to make us their children, and that we have the same rights as natural born children. Think about it. We are adopted children of God. You have every right to the promises that God has made in his word. All of them. All of the privileges. Of course, along with the privileges comes the responsibilities as well. You see, God dwells with his people. God dwells with his church. God dwells in our presence. You know, we often, at the beginning, we pray a silent prayer and I say something to the effect of, you know, that the Lord might meet with us as we worship Him together. For if God doesn't meet with us, what is our worship? It is but a clanging cymbal, a loud gong. It is without melody. But our worship in God's presence is the exaltation of His name as we declare that He is worthy to receive glory and honor and power and dominion now and forevermore. You see, God dwells with His people. In the Old Testament, He dwelt in the midst of His people in the tabernacle and in the temple. But in these last days, in the New Testament, he dwells in our hearts. Ephesians chapter 3, Paul writes, I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. and the Holy Spirit dwells in the heart of his people as well. 2 Timothy 1, Paul writes, that good thing which was committed to you, hold fast to that pattern of sound words, that good thing which was committed to you, keep by the Holy Spirit who dwells in us. God dwells, he lives in your heart and my heart if you know and trust and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ alone for your salvation. So he says how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God. Church refers to an assembly, to the body of believers in a specific place. And you are the church of the living God. That is, you belong to God who is living. God who is sovereign, who is the deity, who is the one who is worthy of adoration and worship. He is the living God. God is self-existent. He has life in and of Himself. He doesn't need you or me, yet He has created you and me to worship Him and to glorify Him. He is the living God, in contrast to the gods of the peoples, the gods of the idols of wood and of stone. Remember Psalm 135? What is the psalmist right there? He writes, the idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of men's hands. They have mouths, but they do not speak. They have eyes, but they do not see. They have ears, but they do not hear, nor is there any breath in their mouths. I saw a while ago a picture of a flood, and there were people that were walking through the flooded streets, and you know what they were carrying? They're huge gods. because if they didn't move their gods, the waters would wash them away. Not so our God, he is the living God, the God who formed and fashioned us, the God who was and is and always shall be. He is the God who by the word of his power in the space of six days created all things out of nothing and declared it is good. The God who made you and me, who breathed into you and me the breath of life. The church, or the house of God is the church of the living God. And notice this. Well, I said it already, so I'll just say it again briefly. The church is not my church. The church is not your elders church. The church is not the elders and deacons church. The church is not your church. The church is the church of the living God. Let us consider that as we deal with one another. And not only is the church of the living God, it is, as he says here, the pillar and ground of truth. Now this continues on with that picture of a house. When you have a house, you've got walls and you've got a roof and you've got a floor, perhaps a window and a door depending on on where you live and the climate and so on. It's a place of rest. It's a place of security. And the church, we're told, is a pillar. Now, what holds the church together? I should say, what holds the building together? It's a pillar. You might not see it when you look at the ceiling. You don't see the rafters and the structure. You don't see the studs and the wall plate. I know somebody who's doing a lot of reconstruction. Actually, a couple people have done a lot of reconstruction recently. And you begin to see the innards and you see the studs that hold up and the headers that hold up the entire building. And then you've got this load-bearing wall that runs down the center. You knock that wall out, what's going to happen to the rest of the building? It's going to implode, isn't it? The church is the pillar. A pillar supports a building. It allows it to exist. The church is the pillar and ground. Now, what is ground? That word there in the original is the idea of a foundation, that which provides a firm base on which to build something. An entire edifice is built upon a foundation. If you've got a bad foundation, guess what? You've got a bad house. There was a home in our neighborhood in which they had a room that was down in a basement type of area. It was wet. It was always wet. When it rained, the water just poured into that room. Why was that? It was because it was built on a poor foundation. It was built on a foundation of sandstone. And what happens with water and sandstone? It eventually is going to work its way through. So they had to take and jack up the house. They had to dig it all out and they had to pour a good foundation on there to hold up the house. The church is the foundation of what? The pillar and foundation of what? Of the truth. The truth is an accurate and reliable description of reality. Truth reflects the world the way God created it to be. Truth is dependable because truth reflects God who He is. Remember, we confess in the scriptures, the scriptures confess that God is truth. Jesus himself said, I am the way, I am the truth, I am the life. The church is the pillar and ground of the truth. The church holds the truth up, but not in this sense. The truth isn't truth because the church holds to it. There is an ancient church that says that. that what the church says is the truth. No, we hold up the truth that God has revealed to us in his word. We hold up the truth that there is life in Christ and in Christ alone. The truth comes from God. And the church is, as it were, a repository of the truth. For the church is where God has deposited His truth. The truth concerning God, man, sin, salvation, judgment, redemption, Christ, the Holy Spirit. All of the doctrines of Scripture are given to the church in God's Word. This is the truth of God, that God has spoken to you and me so that we can know who God is. And it is the truth that the church protects. It is the truth that the church ought to project, to declare, to pray that it would go forth, that God would use it powerfully. For you see, the church must faithfully reflect truth God has entrusted to her. You see the gospel displayed by the church. Notice the gospel deposited in the church, as Paul ends this chapter with this great summary of the Christian faith. For you see, God has revealed the gospel in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ. Verse 16. And without great controversy, or without controversy, what is this truth that Paul speaks of? What is it that God has entrusted to the safekeeping and dissemination of the truth? Well, Paul begins, without controversy, literally, most certainly, there is no argument We can agree on this point together. Maybe we don't agree on everything, but on this, we can agree for sure. That's what he means when he says, without controversy. He says, without controversy, great is the mystery. It is above the standard of intensity. It is superior in importance. Great is this mystery. It is beyond our comprehension, as it were. And what is the mystery? The mystery is not a mystery novel. It's not a mystery movie. It's not a Hardy Boys or a Nancy Drew story that you might read. A mystery is something that is not understood. There are many things in life that are a mystery to us. Why do we experience the aches and pains that we experience? We praise the Lord for the medical technology that helps to uncover that those aches and pains, the sources of those aches and pains. But at times it's a mystery to us. Why is it that my foot is numb when the problem is up in my back? You know, that's a mystery to us. It reminds me of Psalm 139, we are fearfully and wonderfully made. But a mystery is that which is not understood, that which hasn't yet been revealed. And that's the idea here of how Paul uses it. And he says, great is the mystery of godliness. And godliness is an awesome respect accorded to God. Godliness is the manner of life characterized by reverence for God and behavior directed to obey God and His will. It is to be like God in holiness and righteousness, loving, faithful, caring. But the specific reference of this mystery of godliness is Christ, who is Emmanuel, translated God with us. And that's what Paul uncovers as he begins this confession concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. And notice it begins, God was manifested in the flesh. That is, he was revealed, he was made known. Paul writes in Philippians 2 that Christ laid aside his glory, not his deity, He laid aside the glory of his deity, but Christ continued to be fully God and fully man. Paul writes in Philippians, which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bond servant and coming in the likeness of men and being found in the appearance of man. Great is the mystery of the godliness. that God would become men, that God would be God with us, Emmanuel. Do you understand this? I don't. But scripture teaches it. This is God's self-revelation of himself. This is how God has made himself known to us, to his people. to be God who is one God in three persons, the same in substance, equal in power and glory. We don't serve three gods. We don't serve one God in three modes. I came across a small group of churches very recently and I looked at their confession and almost right away they said, we don't believe in the Trinity as the church historically has understood it. We believe that God exists in three modes. And to put that simply, God existing in three modes, that means that at one point God takes the hat off his rack and says, I'm God the Father now. Then he takes the hat off and puts it on the rack and he grabs another hat and he puts it on and he says, I'm Christ now. And he takes that hat off and he puts it on the rack and he grabs another hat and he sticks it on his head and he says, I'm the Holy Spirit. That's not what Scripture says. Scripture teaches us that there is one God in three persons, the same in substance, equal in power and glory, that God would dwell among his people. Christ laid aside his glory. He was the fulfillment of God's promise to Adam and Eve. He was the seed of the woman, her physical descendant. who was to come to crush, to bruise the head of the serpent. God was manifested in the flesh, born in a stable at the back of an inn, unknown, unheralded until the angels came. as we'll see in a moment, and declare glory to God in the highest and peace on earth. Goodwill. The man for God has fulfilled his promise. God manifested in the flesh. He was justified in the Spirit. And that word justified is the idea of vindicated, proven to be right, not justified in the sense of a legal declaration of innocence or correctness. He was vindicated in the Spirit. The Holy Spirit demonstrated that Jesus was who he said he was. And who did Jesus say he was? He said he was God. He said he would die. He said he would be raised on the third day again. And when was Christ vindicated by the Spirit? On the third day after his death, when he was raised from the dead. And the centurion who had declared at his death, surely this was the Son of God, was also vindicated by the resurrection of Jesus. He was seen by angels. Even the angels do not know the details of God's plan of salvation, but they themselves, imagine this, they themselves witnessed the unfolding of it. They had heard of the promises that God had given to Adam and Eve. They saw God's work and his counsel. They obeyed God's will. And they were witnesses of God manifested in the flesh. At Jesus' birth, we have already said they rejoiced. They were witnesses of Jesus' resurrection. Can you imagine the angels' excitement as they tell the women that Jesus is written, Matthew chapter 28. And behold, there was a great earthquake for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came back and rolled the stone from the door and sat on it. And his countenance was like lightning and his clothing as white as snow. Mark 16, the women, they saw a young man clothed in a long white robe sitting on the right side. But he said to them, do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who is crucified? He is risen. He is not here. See the place where they laid him. Can you imagine the excitement of the angel to be able to declare he is risen? And that's the same message the church is empowered to declare, he is risen. Your sins are forgiven in Christ, whose perfect life and obedient death is the full and perfect satisfaction for the payment of your sins and my sins. He was vindicated by the Spirit, proved to be right, proved to be the Son of God, and he is the Savior of all God's people. And he was preached among the Gentiles. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15, now if Christ is preached that he has been raised from the dead, how is it that some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead? Here we go back to that doctrine of the resurrection. But Paul says, if he is preached, if he is proclaimed, if he is declared to be raised from the dead, how can you say he isn't dead? And Paul himself was appointed to preach the gospel to the Gentiles. He says to Timothy in 2 Timothy, to which I was appointed a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles. The word of God continues to be declared, to be proclaimed in and among the Gentiles. And the word of God continues to have its effect and impact in the life of unbelievers and in the life of the believer. in the believer encouraging you that you might grow in grace and the knowledge of Christ, and the unbeliever challenging you to faith and rest in him. And he was also believed on in the world. Paul says in Acts chapter 5, now when the Gentiles heard this, or the Spirit says this, when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of God. And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed. And the word of the Lord was being spread throughout the region. See, there's this connection between the proclamation of the gospel and the spread of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. They are united together. What takes place on Sunday is an important part of the work of God's free grace in bringing Christ, setting Christ before you, that you may embrace him, that you may rest upon him, that you may be strengthened and encouraged to carry on before him. He was received up in glory. Jesus was taken into heaven, Acts chapter one. While they watched, he was taken up in a cloud, received him out of their sight. Romans chapter eight, Paul says, who is he who condemns? Is it Christ who died and furthermore is risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who makes intercession for us? This is the being received up in glory. Christ is at the right hand of the Father, interceding for you and me. praying, Lord, strengthen them, give them faith. Lord, they have sinned. Cover them with my blood. that they might enter into the joy of your rest. For you see, God has revealed the gospel in the person of his son, the Lord Jesus Christ. For indeed, the church must faithfully reflect the truth God has entrusted to her. Brothers and sisters, the start and end of your faith is Christ. He is the source, the power, the accomplisher of your redemption. In Christ, you have new life, everlasting life, The grip of death has been dispelled by the aroma of life in Christ. Jesus sent his spirit to apply that work of salvation in your life, that you might conduct yourselves rightly in God's house, the place where God Almighty dwells. that you might live godly lives in his presence, grounded in Christ's perfect life and wonderful death. Guard the truth as God has revealed it in his word. If you don't guard the truth, who will? If the church fails, to humble itself before the Lord and order itself according to the commands of God, how shall the nations hear about Jesus? If the church, and by which we mean the body collectively, ourselves as individuals, if the church does not abide by God's word, why should anyone else? If you fail to love your neighbor, if you fail to love your brother or sister in the Lord Jesus Christ who is here in this house today, why would the world love Christ, much less others? Know God's word. Rest on God's promises by faith. Look to Jesus' life and death for your assurance of pardon, Look to his resurrection, the guarantee of your salvation for all who believe in him. Brothers and sisters, the gospel is for you and for me as much as it is for those who have not heard or who have not come to Christ by faith. The ordering of the church is not of secondary, but of primary importance for guarding the truth and passing it along to the next generations. Pray for your elders that God might give them a love for the truth and pass that love for Christ along infectiously. Pray for the Lord to raise up godly elders and deacons faithfully supported by their wives as we saw last week to advance the banner of Christ. And above all, pray for the Holy Spirit to work in you, to see where you fail to measure up to God's standards of holiness and godliness and righteousness, as hard as that might be. And pray that God would cause you to cast yourself, to cast yourself in horror for your sin before the Lord and seek the cleansing of Christ's blood. If you do not yet know Christ, are not yet resting on him, listen carefully to this gospel message. Place yourself faithfully under the word of God. There is no other place, no other religion where you will hear about Christ and of his grace and of his mercy. For the gospel has been entrusted to the church. Things of the world will quickly lose their luster. The excitement with which you apply yourself for attaining peace quickly are followed by a lackluster satisfaction. If you are pursuing things of the world, but not the things of Christ, you will be dissatisfied. The only true sense of peace, the only source of eternal life and value is to be found by confessing your sins to God, clinging to Christ and moving forward by the Holy Spirit's power. then you will find that in the mundane and difficult you will find joy and happiness. For the things of today are but a pittance of the riches you will enjoy in the presence of God and of his Son, our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, forever. And so let us conduct ourselves in God's house as those who ever live in the presence of the living God. And let us be careful to preserve the gospel in all of its life changing glory and truth for the honor of God and the praise of Christ's name. Let us pray. Lord, we thank you for your church and the truth that you have given to your church. We ask, Lord, that we might remain faithful to our embracing the truth, to our declaring the truth, that we might know your love for us in your son, the Lord Jesus Christ. And so we ask these things in his name. Amen.