God-Blessed - 3

How blessed we are to be together again this evening and how kind you are to reappear tonight for another dose of our time together.

I was thinking a little while ago. Knowing the guy that's preaching. I'm not sure that I would come back. But I'm glad that you have. It is wonderful to see you and to be with you in the word of God this evening in the series of messages on the Scripture, the word of God and I continue to remember the things that I forgot last night and the things that I forgot yesterday morning and I'm tempted to re-dive into those but I will spare you that, and hope not.

I hope not to be as forgetful this evening but indeed that forgetfulness seems to be the order of the day with me so if I show up tomorrow night, why, get me okay.

It's blessed to be with the people of God, and let me just mention you might hear me call little bit now and then. You probably already have and I just wanted to assure you that I am not toxic or anything else of that nature. I'm in the best health that I can be for a for my age. I think in the general health conditions and it's not like that. So you don't need it ran out shouting unclean in front of me or anything of that nature, but it's it's the kind of thing. Someone mentioned last night or today thing was last night at dinner time that they when I talk about this when it comes especially excuse me that I'm able to to speak in preaching and not do it in that it seems to be the pattern when I endeavor to speak conversationally like with my wife. That's when it comes and it seems inevitable at home when she and I sit down together for dinner and we bow together for prayer.

That's when it strikes, which tempts me to think it might be of the devil.

But I think it's just a matter of me it's me God has blessed his word and this evening we want to consider how God has blessed his word, by the way of blessing his people who receive his word. That's what we've read from Deuteronomy chapter 28 but if the people of Israel would receive the word of God the Word of God, to them, then was some of the writings of Moses the book of Deuteronomy was not yet complete, which Moses wrote so perhaps he was writing it, as these things were taking place, but the whole of the Scripture certainly was not there nothing more than the first five books and they were incomplete, but that was the word of God for the people of Israel, to which they were doing here and they were promised. These blessings if they took heed to receive the word of God and as pastor Barbara mentioned by the same measure warned of great dangers if they did not embrace the word of God, and in fact the dangers of which they are warned. Point by point are almost the opposite of the blessings that are listed that God would bless them with if they adhered to the word of God. So indeed, this evening were speaking about the word of God and God having blessed the word.

That blessing being not only in its preservation as we consider last night truly that is the blessing of God upon his word with the blessing of God upon the people who embrace his word and I will say at the outset that where ever the Scriptures go and are received. Prosperity follows. That's what were speaking of this evening.

Now, in this age, I must add the explanation that I am not talking about what is properly, popularly called the prosperity gospel whereby thieving deceivers promise in often impoverished people that they'll just sow a seed and a generous one at that door their ministry God will bring back to them. Boatloads of blessing by that means many many people have been so greatly deprived of the true knowledge of God.

My brother in Kenya speak of the American preachers that come over there and speak to crowded stadiums full of people, telling them that if they will simply give so much money God will come back and bless them and the people have no money to get believing what the preacher said they go out and borrow money to get which they of course never get back and then Islamic imams come along with oil money out of Saudi Arabia and pay them well so thereby Islam gets to Kenyan comfort.

The prosperity gospel that promises you, you will be rich and famous and have no problems at all. If God is for you is a false and deceivers gospel. But what I am dealing with is this culture wide nationwide people. Why where the word of God is received prosperity follows and that prosperity is the blessing of God upon his word, a blessing promised to Israel in the past we've read in a blessing promised in various portions of the word of God so we read from the Scriptures in Psalm one. Blessed is the man that walk is not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standard in the way of sinners, nor citizen, the seat of the scornful bot is July is in the law of the Lord and in his law doth he meditate day and night comes, he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that bringing forth his fruit in his season is leaf also shall not wither. And whatsoever he do it shall prosper. The ungodly are not so. But I like the chaff which the wind drive away.

Now there you have the prosperity to those who delight themselves in the law of the Lord and it is indeed true that some of them delighted themselves in the law of the Lord had gone to martyrdom and some may say that is not prosperity. Although it's better to be absent from the body and present with the Lord. But culture wide nationwide people why a people who receive the word of God, who embrace the Scriptures will know of blessing upon them as a that is not present with the ungodly, so the Proverbs tell us in Proverbs 1434 righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people. And we know from other scriptures that indeed the blessing of God comes upon those who embrace his word and delight in his word I may read a little to you from one of the Psalms, one that I'm sure you're familiar with and I will ask you to turn to it. It is the 37th Psalm that out to three portions of the Psalm, and you'll see the pattern and what is being stressed here with regard embracing God's law. It says, fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity, for they shall soon be cut down as the grass, and wither as the green herb. Trust in the Lord and do good, so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. Delight thyself also in the Lord and he shall give the desires of our heart.

Midthigh way unto the Lord, trust in him and he shall bring it to pass. And he shall bring forth a righteousness as the light and thy judgment as the noon day rest in the Lord and wait patiently for him and the Psalm continues in that frame repeating over and over. I'll read it to you. For evildoers shall be cut off, but those that wait upon the Lord. They shall inherit the earth. But the meek shall inherit the earth, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. The Lord know if the days of the upright and their inheritance shall be forever, for such is the blessed of him shall inherit the earth, and they that be cursed, of him shall be cut off.

The righteous shall inherit the land and dwell therein forever inheriting the land are Lord quoted from this as he gave his own Beatitudes. Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth. And the point being made again is that those who take the word of God unto themselves who delight themselves in the God who is given that word in there and revealed himself on the mankind. They will be blast and it will not be a blessing that they have engineered by some scheming or conniving it will be the blessing of divine providence upon his word as it dwells within them and as they endeavor to live forth the truth of his word, and so the Scriptures are God blessed as proclaimed by the Scriptures themselves, they declare a blessing upon a people that know the Lord, happy is the people that know the Lord but you add to that that the teaching of the script sure includes elements that are guaranteed to bring about prosperity, blessing yes God moves and blesses his word and those who embrace it.

But a part of that blessing is that the word itself instructs us and how we might live in order to be prosperous and blessed in what I speak of their is a very clear teaching abundant in Scripture and I'll refer to a number of different passages which command diligence. I think it interesting that when God created Adam before there was anyone else on earth before the curse of sin had come in to engender the growth of thorns and to make survival will be by the sweat of his brow. When everything was still in the glorious state in which it was created, God made a garden and put Adam in the garden to dress and to keep he wouldn't have to pull weeds like we do in our gardens.

If you pull the weeds in your garden.

It wouldn't have to pull up and tear out and round up Greenbrier's those multi-floral rose, invasive species, briars, but there was work for him to do in the following earth.

He was to attend and to keep the guard. Maybe it was pruning back the abundant growth which would be unimpeded by insect. I don't know I won't guess the point is this God created man not to be idle, but to be diligent to be working, and even before the curse of sin came upon humanity. One man created was given a job to do by God and throughout the Scripture, there is the admonition unto diligence. Let me read just a few of them to and I will go rapidly so that it won't serve you probably took to try to keep up either where they are and Oakley have been sufficiently marked to find them. But let me just read beginning in Proverbs chapter go to the end sluggard and consider her way which, having no guide or overseer or ruler provided her to meet in the summer and gathers her food in the harvest.

How long will Kyle. Sleep well. Sluggard when well without a rise out of thy sleep, yet a little sleep little slumber, little folding of the hands to sleep, so shall thy poverty come as one. The travel of and I want as an armed man. Chapter 10 Proverbs in verse number 26 as vinegar to the teeth and as smoke to the eyes. So is the sluggard to them that send him chapter 12 in verse 24 the hand of the diligent shall bear rule. But the slothful shall be under tribute in verse 27 the slothful man roast. If not, not that which he took in hunting the substance of the diligent man is precious.

Chapter 15 the 19th verse, the way of the slothful man is as an hedge of thorns, but the way of the righteous is made plain.

The 13th chapter verse four the soul of the sluggard desire if and have nothing but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat. Chapter 18 verse number nine. He also that is slothful in his work is brother to him. That is a great waster. Chapter 19 verse 24. A slothful man highlighted his hand in his bosom, and will not so much as bring it to his mouth again. Have I read enough you get the idea of what it's saying certainly, there are many more.

I could go to. But the point is, the Bible is a book that admonishes us to industry unto diligence unto labor and when a people is instructed to be diligent to put aside slaw to get out of bed and get to the job they are going to progress. That is the order which God has established. And so among the blessings which come from God upon the people that embrace the word of God is the blessing of instruction on to productivity which is certainly an element in prosperity and without productivity. There is no prosperity. Many of the Scriptures to be given old Timothy Verne significantly chapter 3 and said, if any would not work, neither shall he eat know this is the teaching of the word of God, and it is in order to produce prosperity, blessing the blessing of God comes upon those who embrace his word and one element of that blessing is the blessing upon those who heed the word on the diligent their leaf also shall not wither but whatsoever he do with shall prosper. There's 1/3 thing that I want to point out this evening in 19 058 German sociologists Max Weber wrote a book which was the product of his observation of a certain phenomenon in the field of sociology that had aroused his grade curiosity, why is it. He pondered that Great Britain and the United States and Canada, Germany, the northern European countries. Why is it that they are so wealthy and the rest of the world.

So impoverished. What is it that is made then so well off while the rest of the world has much resources minerals in the ground. Soils for agriculture.

What is the difference in his Max Weber study that came to the conclusion that he wrote in his book entitled the Protestant work ethic.

He recognized that the nations of the world which were prospering and excelling and not simply Protestant nations but nations that had embraced the Calvinistic emphasis is upon the value of hard work and diligence. When we come to the time of the Protestant Reformation 1517 is the year that Martin Luther is pointed to as having nailed his 95 theses to the door and in the century following the Protestant Reformation came about and there was a total revolution economically across Europe.

You see, prior to that during the medieval era of the church of Rome had come to be the ruler of thought. The rumor of things throughout Europe and so they could set the price for certain commodities and their value, the church taught that the work of God was what people should do in the work of God in fall going into a monastery or convent, and thus giving your life entirely to the shirt for the service of God that was virtuous.

That was good. And if you just couldn't do that well then you could settle to to get married, have many children to make up the difference for those the priests and nuns were not producing and work at some menial dirty job for income now that mindset made work something less than upstanding and upper right. That mindset presented diligent work as something less than monastic seclusion and the effect of that was a culture that did not understand the value of work, but when at the time of the Protestant Reformation, the shackles of mind and soul and body that Rome had fettered Europe with were thrown aside and much of Europe.

The reformers came out expounding the Scripture and preaching the word of God, and you cannot preach the word of God without preaching. He who will not work shall not eat, and in fact work is good.

This is what God gave Adam to do before the curse came upon mankind. Work can be done for God. The plowman following the oxen across the field and walking in the furlough that they plow and thereby glorify God, for God has honored work in the Scripture prescribes work as something not as a distraction from religious or not is a distraction from spiritual service, but as an active spiritual serve most of you are involved in or were involved in some location other than standing in the pulpit and I had no argument at all with the statement that your calling is as sacred as my calling God has called each to his own labor and it is our duty.

Whether a farmer or an electrician or a plumber or a doctor or an accountant to do in that profession very best job I can for the glory of my God.

Such work is honorable and you can see I'm sure how that when such a mentality replaced in the Europe, the medieval mentality that had been fostered by the church. It brought economic explosion. There began to be a new understanding of trade of work of productivity in the nations themselves began to prosper, so that by the turn-of-the-century the early 1900s. You have this German sociologist scratching his head and wondering why is it that America and Canada and United States and Germany in the northern Europe countries are so prosperous and the rest of the world.

So one thing and he observes all Protestant in their orientation and the Protestant doctrine which they subscribe to is one that elevates work as something good and virtuous.

It's the Protestant work ethic that explains the prosperity.

It is true.

My friends wherever the word of God has gone prosperity as a company and as I think I mentioned him on the message yesterday. The pure, the exposition of the word of God among a people more prosperous that people use repeat myself this country was founded and settled by Christians, not Moslems, Hindus or Taoists. It was establish by Protestant Christian's not Roman us professed Christian and it was established by reform Protestant missions and their ideology. And God has blessed this nation of any nation on her. In the blessing of God upon this nation is his blessing on his word which was preached from shore to shore throughout the wilderness. Wherever people were in this land. There was a preacher proclaiming the word of God blessed the Protestant work ethic is a growing outgrowth of Christian teaching doctrine living and illustrates for us yet another illustration of God's blessing upon but then we take a little further. I want to speak to you just for a few minutes out of my own experience in another context of ministry in God's cutting Providence a number of years ago I was contacted by a pastor in Kenya who somehow or another had gotten a copy of one of our church bulletins and contacted me about coming there to make a long story short, I've been there.

I think 15 times now in process of trying to teach local pastors in Kenya. I just as your pastor has done in Zimbabwe, men who will never have the seminary or the Bible college men who cannot leave their village in order to study elsewhere. They must be there the opportunity to meet with them, perhaps a week at a time and endeavor to help them on in ministry and in the effort to be as effective as I could be in ministering to them. I felt I ought to try to understand what their culture is and why it is that these men who are diligent man men who want to progress to the knowledge of God's word. Men who embrace the Scripture and are taking a very good and bold stand why it is that there nation is not among the great prosperous nations of the earth, and as I studied the matter. Once again I was taken back to the religious orientation of much of planet Earth, the people outside the reach of his story developing Christian teaching. Most of the continent of Africa. You take most of the world has been heavily influenced by what we call animus animistic world animism is a religious mode of thinking that is convinced that the whole world is filled with and run by spirit tree should fall upon someone's hot and kill the sleeping person inside. It's not a tree that fell into its spirit thereby is doing something to try to get back at them for the ill, that they've done. If there is a flood in the river washes away from the banks that have built their huts there again. It is not a raging river. That's the problem it's the spirits that have been offended and we must go and do something to pacify the spirits.

That is the mindset of animism and in many of those countries, you might find in the major cities. People in Western dress going about professional tasks and yet that is their worldview and their mindset and so it is vital that people in those settings. Make sure they do nothing to enrage the spirits and in fact the spirits of their dead ancestors are present and must be appeased and therefore you must go back to your tribal land back to your own land and pay homage to the dead spirits of your parents and your grandparents and their parents. An additional to anyone who may have missed, so that you are not ignoring any of the spirits and that's the mindset of animism and it has this effect upon the thinking of a people. It's continually turning their focus to the past, they are ever looking back to the ancestors that preceded them, and they are named to placate those ancestors, lest they be angry and come from their graves to inflict our so you have an entire culture throughout much of the world which has been made backward looking by the worldview of animism. One African writer who has assessed these situations made the observation that, to the African on the continent. There is a fast pass. A very small present and virtually no future to be considered a live for the day and so I think I see evidence is that mindset in godly Christian people that I work with their who will get together the money to buy a ticket for a bus fare from their village out 200 miles away into Nairobi but have not thought about how they're going to pay for the trip home. It's just not the sense of of planning that we note here. Now contrast that with what the word of God, word of God makes us a future looking people. Christ is coming again, Lord Jesus where ever looking to the day when we shall ever be with the Lord. As for our ancestors.

We bury them with respect and may go and put lowers on their grave at certain occasions we remember them with gratitude, but for the most part were expecting to see him again in the future and our whole orientation is forward-looking.

Now you can see I'm sure how the contrast between those two worldview has advanced the cause of civilization in Christian's if you're simply going back to offer some gift to the spirit of a dead ancestor. There is no need to do it in any better way than they did it or leave it. If you're coming with an offering of praise to the great King of Kings and Lord of lords come with your best. You want to do it in the best way possible you want to yield herself under rather than being enslaved to the spirits of past ancestors and soak the spirit of inventiveness, creativity, advancing is fueled among people who are of a Christian mindset and worldview that are looking to the future. Progressing forward, and thus from this nation has come, the greatest creativity and inventiveness of any people in all of human history. While in the nations that are dominated by an animistic world you kept in what is literally dark ages and such animistic thinking is woven through Islam and the other far Eastern religion.

And so, whereas those religious concepts related all that will ultimately be rather unproductive. By contrast, just keeping up the status quo in the Christian world rather than building some little hopeful of as a shrine for past ancestors.

There was the drive to build the great cathedrals of Europe in order to reflect the WANDERER and might of God himself. Instead of choosing some rhythmic mantra repeated over and over with either the drum as is the case in the animistic world. There was this seal of those composers at the time of the Reformation and afterword to compose the most glorious melodies and symphonies. They God for the glory of God. This is why it's the holidays, Christmas time, we will hear with chills up and down her spine. The hallelujah chorus, the Messiah, and the animistic world has never produced anything of any sort like that. What I'm saying is this, those nations that had the word of God and embraced its message have thereby had their minds framed in shape to be destined to be of highest production activity and industry and progress, whereas those nations that have not had left behind. This is just an extension of what Max Weber had observed in the Protestant work ethic and the contrast which we could point to many other elements of between animism in Christianity is the difference between night and day, and it is a contrast which exhibits in the large fact that God blessed his word and bless those who embrace his word. One final example in 2012 another sociologist researcher completed what I think was a doctoral dissertation was 12 years of research when he was researching the matter of missionaries influence in the lands to which they went and using the most fine to research methodology that his profession has developed with significant statistical analysis of the data that is gathered from his observations and research. He came to the shocking conclusion that one of them made sure contributing factors to the rise of democracy was the work of 19th century Protestant missionaries.

They didn't go out to established about see it was not their objective to impart to people and is an understanding of what Democratic Republic such as we have is that was the furthest thing from your mind. Missionaries went out with the word of God to instruct people in what the Scripture says and what you know your irrefutable research that is been done in this work that was published in the American political science review demonstrates conclusively that wherever a certain missionary when everything there was improve by now.

This researcher Robert Woodberry uses name came to an even more amazing conclusion amazing for the academic context in which he was reporting it. And from what she was doing his research. There are several kinds of missionary they were the missionaries sent out by the Roman Catholic Church's research reveals that they had no impact to her proving the culture or elevating the people there were the missionaries sent out by various state countries that have a state church. For example, would send out missionaries with those where those missionaries went there was really no discernible improvement me, but there was 1/3 type of missionary Woodberry labeled conversion airy Protestants, you can pretty much guess what that is kind of missionaries, you would send out to the mission field.

Protestants believe in the necessary necessity of conversion missionaries to go out not in order to feed the hungry, but in order to save us all.

And wherever those missionaries went there is a measurable difference in the welfare of the people living there now. Many of those missionaries went out during the era of Europe and colonialism when England and France and Holland were establishing colonies across the continents that they were capturing subjecting the national people to a form of oppression, often taking their land. Sometimes the missionaries might be identified with their countries, colonial ambitions, and so the missionaries realizing that were careful to distance themselves from the colonialists who were in the same country establishing the colony distancing themselves so as not to be hindered in the spread of the gospel and consequently those missionary wound up opposing what representatives of their own government were trying to accomplish and taking the land from the natives and stood with the national people and thereby won their hearts to hear the gospel and many souls were saved they would help as conversion, airy Protestants to see the souls of sinners brought to Christ to see those blinded by the darkness of satanic deception illumine with the light of Scripture, the word of God to see those blinded to an end enslaved by animism liberated from their bondage to a backward review unto their anticipation of the coming of Christ and his coming for them. In cases where some missionaries sent out by state would be at this with conversion, airy missionaries, the state would establish in its territory, certain longitudinal and latitudinal lines to which the conversion airy missionaries had find themselves and they did what you know. Years later, as the research is being done. The people on the side of the line where the conversion airy missionary are living much better than their own tribesmen on the other side of the line such an impact of blessing came along with the preaching of the word of God. There was as a result, the development of democratic thinking. Our nation has taken great military efforts. Perhaps espionage efforts to try to export democracy to other countries so I think ill advised become quite evident in fact it's noticed in the research that Woodberry did the nations that adopted theocratic or a dictatorship are the ones that never receive or accept it gospel Scriptures, the nations were such conversion, airy missionaries were excluded wound up predominantly being led governed by a tyrant thought or by his with the nations where the gospel was received democratic government. They may not be of the strength we would hope to see but that's what is there and is attributable to those missionary sleepers. They labored for the conversion of soul's in order to do that.

Those souls needed to be able to read the Scripture but for them to read the Scripture. The Scripture had to be translated into their language and then they had to be taught to read and so you can see, can't you that the conversion airy method missionaries who went there to see the souls saved. Also fostered literacy without which democracy cannot exist and they began educating the children teaching them to read teaching them their own language. In some cases missionaries going along a tribe and living an entire life behind their in order to reduce the sound of the language they had to learn on their own to writing.

So then they could develop an alphabet or that leg and in writing and then teach the people to read and when such is interjected into an ill literate society. You know it is going to have a revolutionary effect on that society.

Such was proven to be the case.

Democracy literacy. All of these things certainly lead to social reform missionaries didn't go there to effect social reform. They went clear to bring the saving Gospel of Christ.

When a person is saved by grace, there's going to be a change in their social existence and communication as well. Wife and I watched a documentary weeks ago of an Australian news reporter who was wanting to see real live chemicals on earth, and he discovered where there was a try on one of the islands. There in the far South Pacific where they did eat human flesh and so he arranged to go and observe his they learn how that within this animistic tribe when a calamity occurs some spirit is angered and perhaps some person there in the tribe is the one who is this person upon them, and so the witch doctor of the shaman can identify who that person is that person then may well be killed and eaten. This practice try. There was a little boy bear six years old. Both of his parents died orphan and because both of his parents had died. Certainly there's something bad about the spirit of this child to produce such effects and so at any time that child might kill and the reporter weighed the circumstance.

Should he intervene and take this child out by some that all of the secular thinking of this world is savage is a noble savage one I send missionaries in there to change their culture. This is been the real attitude toward conversion, airy missionaries, why do you want to change their culture happen the way they are let them alone.

I would respond.

They're not happy with the way they are. Anyone who is eating other human flesh, though he may feel no guilt in doing it is not living a happy life. Porter decided this is not for me to intervene. What darkness and tragedy befalls those who are blinded without the word of God and what darkness and tragedy befalls those who because of the influence of the word of God are living in a culture that is prosperous but refuse to acknowledge the source of the prosperity and instead leaned into their own understanding will walk in the counsel of the ungodly, will stand waves stick scores Nike and get that scene out of my mind. Boy walking around with terror in his missionaries would go into that circumstance and seek to it that the child was spare would go with the gospel and preach the gospel for the conversion of the P culture would be changed. Literacy civilization when the word of God goes into a people they start wearing clothes in the land of civilization where the word of God has made such a prosperous land.

The rebels against God are now stopping plunge back toward hedonism. Well, the study concluded that after Protestant missionaries had a significant present those lands only average are more economically developed with comparatively better health, lower infant mortality, lower corruption, greater literacy, higher educational atonement attainment, especially for women, and more robust membership in nongovernmental Association. The work of the missionaries turns out to be the single largest factor in ensuring the health of nation. This is God's blessing upon his word and it's to be noted. In conclusion, that the greatest way to achieve social change which and cultural transformation is not to seek social change in cultural transformation.

The greatest way to affected is to proclaim the word of God.

Missionaries didn't focus upon changing the world on saving soul results. Souls were saved in the world history.

That is the order divine blessing upon his word wherever his word is taken in receipt, prosperity follows folks. This is because for us to support for admission's earnestly generously to increase their number and what were doing to enable them to take the word. The world will not be changed by the great social programs of any government by the simple preaching of the gospel in the conversion of souls.

The world will be teaching and out of that means, which is despised by man. God will bring forth his purposes out of the mouths of babes and sucklings has lower gain strength because of my minimum that Mike is still the enemy and the avenger. Word of God and the people to receive it last. Wherever it goes show about together as we pray Lord our God instruct our hearts concerning urgency of the gospel message that is committed to our stewardship.

We give thanks to the that when we go forth with the word of God is not simply human beings with a religious book to try to persuade persuade people to change their minds, but it is with the promises of the God who created all things without our aid and who is able to re-create the soul, but it's dead in trespasses and sins, we thank you for your blessing upon the word above all, the blessing of the soul sleep from sin, but with that all of the blessings that the company without the Lord make us conscious of these things may such consciousness if you will average a seal for the proclamation of your word both at home and abroad, may that proclamation be foremost in each of our lives day by day.

Pray in Jesus name