Sincerity in Christian living is the central theme, emphasizing the importance of being genuine and real in one's faith. The sermon contrasts the insincere actions of the priests and their sons in Haggai 1 and 1 Samuel with the profound sincerity of Hannah's prayer and Jacob's wrestling. It further explores sincerity through the parables of the Pharisee and the publican in Luke 18 and the importance of genuine thanksgiving as exemplified in Daniel 2. The message concludes by urging believers to appreciate the church, attend assemblies faithfully, and live with true devotion, highlighting that sincerity is demonstrated through earnest prayer, gratitude, and active participation in worship.
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Well, you can do better than that. Good morning. I do thank the Lord, and I thank you for your kind invitation to have me here today and to share in the ministry of his word. You must forgive my voice. I came with a coal, I thought it had gotten better, then it got worse. And my brother was kind enough yesterday to drop me off at one of the drugstores where I purchased a couple of things to assist. Now there is an old adage, the doctor that treats himself as a fool for a patient and a fool for a doctor.
I've enjoyed very much being with you. I've enjoyed the singing. I've enjoyed the soloist immensely. But I'm a little biased. My favorite instruments are the keyboard instruments. And brother and I enjoyed you. As a matter of fact, I don't know what heaven is going to be like. The Bible doesn't tell us too much. But I've asked the Lord, If there are going to be pianos in heaven, I'd like to play one. I don't know if I'll realize that. Now, the brother asked if we give a brief biography. Mine is very, very brief. I was born in New York City.
Everybody has heard of New York City. That's wicked city. That's where I was born. In a very wicked area called Harlem. I see my sister there smiling. That's where I was born. That's where I was raised. That's where I was educated. And best of all, that's where I was saved. That's my biography. Now, I want to follow along, well, before we do that, I've known some of you for a while, sister and brother here, back since maybe the fifties or sixties. I've got to be careful on that because I don't mind dating myself, but I don't want to date them. Brother Donovan here I've known for some time.
Donovan tell me, did I baptize you? Yes. Yes. So it's a joy to see the progress that he has made in things spiritual. And Sister Carolyn, I reminded her this morning, oh, I knew her, she and my children, they were all small, and her parents, I would take my children and several others every Saturday during July and August. We'd meet at the beach and have a wonderful time. And one day I hope to get all of you together because I still have the pictures. And that will be a very nice thing for you to see. Now we want to follow along along the lines that our brother has been speaking to us from. And my subject is sincerity in Christian living.
You will notice in the first eleven verses of Haggai chapter one, as our brother indicated, you had people who were working. Thanks very much, brother. People who were working and doing things. but they weren't sincere. They weren't genuine. And I personally believe that that is the big problem with the Church of God today, a lack of sincerity. We're so prosperous that we put, as we've been hearing, spiritual things behind. Now turn, let me please, to Joshua chapter twenty-four. Joshua chapter twenty-four. Sincerity in Christian living.
How sincere are you, child of God? How real are you? How genuine are you? Joshua chapter twenty-four, verse fourteen, Joshua speaks, Now therefore, fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in truth. Philippians chapter one. Philippians chapter one, verse ten. This is the prayer of the Apostle Paul.
We won't start at the beginning of the prayer, but in the course of that prayer, he says in verse ten, that he may approve things that are excellent. that he may be sincere, pure, genuine, real, true. You remember the Lord told us about the single eye, having our eye focused on one object? That's sincerity. Now there is an animal that we all know of, a chameleon. Some call it chameleon, have your choice. Now we know that that animal changes color depending upon the environment, right?
We know. But what many people do not realize is that the chameleon can look over at that flock with one eye and look over there at the organ with the other and see the stigmas. But we're not supposed to do that. And I think that this is one of our problems as believers. We don't have a fixed vision on our Lord Jesus Christ. And that accounts for much of our lack of sincerity. Now I want to look at one Bible character who portrays sincerity at its best. And then we're going to look at some of the evidences. We're going to examine ourselves as to how sincere we are.
Now many people tell me that the Bible is prejudiced against women. Have you ever heard that? Now I don't know what Bible you're reading but mine is not. There isn't a word in this Bible biased against women. So if your Bible has some bias against women, get another one. You've got the wrong one. First Samuel chapter one. First Samuel chapter one. the latter part of verse nine.
First Samuel chapter one. The last sentence in verse nine. We want to see the times as they were then. Now Eli the priest sat upon a seat by a post of the temple of the Lord. There's the priest. He wasn't very sincere. He was sitting. Nowhere in the tabernacle or in the temple or in any of God's dwelling places in Old Testament time, were there any seats? I wonder who told him to get a seat. I wonder what design he got the seat from, because every article in the tabernacle and in the temple were divinely designed.
Where did he get the design for the seat? Have you ever thought of that? But there he is, city. Chapter two, verse twelve. Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial. They knew not the Lord. The priest's custom with the people was that when any man offered sacrifice, the priest servants came while the flesh was in seething with a flesh hook of three teeth in his hand. And he struck it into the pan or kettle or cauldron or pot. All that the flesh hook brought up the priest took for himself. So they did in Shiloh unto all the Israelites what came to them.
Also, before they burnt the fat, the priest-servant came and said to the man that sacrificed, Give flesh to roast for the priest, for he will not have sodden flesh of thee. And if any man said unto him, Let them not fail to burn the fat presently, and then take as much as thy soul desirous, then he would answer him, Nay, but thou shalt give it me now. If not, I will take it by force. Wherefore, the sin of the young men was very great, before the Lord. They abhorred the offering of the Lord. Verse twenty-two. Now Eli was very old and heard all that his sons did unto Israel and how they lay with the women that assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
Verse twenty-seven. There came a man of God unto Eli and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Did I plainly appear unto the house of thy father? when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh's house and so forth and so forth, you will grant me that times were bad when the priests behaved as they did. Now verse one of chapter one. I'm sorry that some of the young people were invited out. I like to talk to young people. Read with me verse one of chapter one, first Samuel. Now there was a certain man of great Mithane Zophon, of Mount Ephraim.
His name was Elkaner, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohul, the son of Zeus, and Ephraim. Why did God put all that in there? What does it mean? Every word in the Bible has meaning. Now, I'm not saying that when you start as a young believer, that necessarily you must look up all of these words. But I want to assure you that every word has meaning. As one brother put it, reading these names will teach you patience. That's a good reason to read these names. And another brother said, suppose your name were this. Wouldn't you want it read? So we should read these names.
But there is more to it than that. If you will, and we won't do it now, connect this verse with First Chronicles chapter six, you will discover a fascinating thing. Hannah's husband was a Levite. Any child, any son, I should say, that she would have could work in the temple. Now let's see how she prayed. Verse eleven. She vowed a vow and said, O Lord of hosts, if thou will indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but will give unto thine handmaid a man child.
Why did she want a man child? Because he would be a Levite and could go into that temple and clear things up. That's what I call being sincere. Genuine, real, interested in the work of the Lord. It's progress, it's advancement. She was genuine. Now you know the rest of the story. I bet God did answer her prayer. But look at verse eleven again. Verse fifteen now. Hannah answered Eli. Eli said in verse fourteen, How long will thou be drunk? Well, he had no sense of discernment.
Things were in a bad condition. The priest is sitting down. His sons are at the maximum of evil, and he has no discernment. There's a woman praying to God Almighty, and she says that she's drunk. Terrible state of things, wasn't it? Now come with me, please, to verse twenty-one of chapter two. You know the rest of the story. She had the child, dedicated him to the Lord, and you know what happened, how he was used to the Lord. Because one woman was sincere. But it's nice, you know, when you have God first. She wanted a male child for God's purposes.
Now read verse twenty-one of chapter two. The Lord visited Hannah so that she conceived, and there are three sons and two daughters, and the child Samuel grew. Do you want prosperity in your Christian life? Put God first. And all the rest will follow. And I say that to those of you younger school children, even in school, put God first. Now, we want to look at some examples. Or better still, we want to examine ourselves. How sincere are we? How genuine are we? Following along the same lines that our brother has been telling us, about those in the day of Haggai, interested in their own homes, their panel walls, and all these lovely things, but no interest in the things of God.
Now, beloved, let's see. How interested are we in certain things pertaining to God? Luke chapter eighteen. Now, as I mentioned the other night, I'm one of those. You see, our brother was very nice to us. He just turned to one scripture, two scriptures, the Psalm and then Haggai. My method is a little different. I turn through the Bible. And I find it fascinating. And young people develop the habit of comparing scripture with scripture. Don't just take one scripture and come up with a thought which may be a wrong thought. Reinforce that with another scripture. Get in the habit of turning the scriptures.
And there's another thing about turning the scriptures in an audience like this. It sounds nice. Listen to it as they turn the pages. It's like a day in the summer when you go out as the leaves are rustling as the breeze goes through. Have you had that experience? Just stay there and listen as the breeze comes through the leaves and then another breeze comes the other way and you get a question and an answer. That's how it sounds when the audience turns the pages. Luke chapter eighteen. How sincere beloved are we when it comes to the matter of prayer?
Luke eighteen verse nine. He spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others. I hope this is not true of any of us. Two men went up into the temple to pray. The one a Pharisee and the other a publica. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus to whom? With himself. Do you pray with yourself, beloved? And then notice his rudeness, God. That's no way to address Almighty God.
and especially for us as believers, he is our Heavenly Father. Incidentally, he's not the man upstairs. He is the man Christ Jesus. And we need to learn to respect God. The world at large doesn't respect him, and much of their ways are for rubbing off unbelievers. And from time to time, I hear believers using expressions that are terrible. Watch your language, child of God. Reverence for the divine person. God, I thank thee. I am not as other men are, extortionists, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.
I fast twice in the week. I give tithes of all that I possess. What sort of prayer is this? I, I, I, and me, me, me. It's like the witch man there in Luke twelve. I will build bonds and I will say to my soul, take thine easy drink and me merry. That's not prayer. That's not sincerity in prayer. The poor public in verse thirteen, standing afar off, would not so much as lift his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast saying, God, be merciful to me as sinner. He was sincere. And we need to be sincere in our prayers, beloved. Too often I find that we say prayers, just like a Sunday school recitation.
There are some brothers, I remember this as a youngster, the minute they got up a prayer I knew exactly what they were going to say. Just a recitation. That is not prayer. Prayer comes, now I'm not saying you can't use the same words, but it comes deeper than that. And the question is, How earnest are we when we pray? Do we really mean what we say when we pray? Or do we just pray routinely because we're supposed to pray? Genesis chapter thirty-two. Now I reminded you that we would be turning and see we're in Luke. Are we going back to Genesis? Genesis chapter thirty-two.
How earnest and how sincere do we really mean what we say? Genesis chapter thirty-two. Verse twenty-four. You know the story well. Jacob wrestling with the angels. Genesis thirty-two, verse twenty-four. Jacob was left alone, and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. When he saw that he prevailed not against him, he, the angel, touched the hollow of Jacob's eyes. And the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint as he wrestled with him.
And he said, the angel said, Let me go for the daybreakers. And the angel said, I will, or rather Jacob said, I will not let thee go except thou bless me. Now tell me this. Do you think for one minute that Jacob could out wrestle an angel? Well, how did he hold on so? How is it that he was yet to be able to get the angel to say, I will bless you and so forth? I won't let you go. Where do you get all that strength from? Have you ever thought of that? A mere human being, and he's wrestling with a mighty angel and pulls him to the point where he gets what he wants.
I wonder how he did it. Moses, please. Moses, chapter twelve. The secret of prevailing prayer. How did Jacob hold on so long? Was he stronger than the angels? Hosea chapter twelve. Let's start at verse two.
The Lord has a controversy with Judah and will punish Jacob according to his ways. According to his doings will he remember him? He took his brother by the heel in the womb. You remember the story when they were born. Jacob was holding his brother's heel. And by his strength he had power with God. Now read. Yea, he had power over the angel and prevailed. How? Read the next one. He wept. That's how he got the power. A broken and a contrite heart, God will not refuse. And too often we say a prayer of mere words, and there's no weeping.
You want to get answers to prayer? Weep. Sincerely weep and pray, and you will get answers. Jacob was able to get what he wanted, not because he was strong, but because he cried. Now, it's not stylish and popular for men to cry, is it? But brethren, I suggest to you, if you want some answers to prayer, you better start crying. And that means it comes deep from within. Those are the prayers that God will answer. I often say my prayers, but do I really pray? And do the wishes of my heart go with the words I say?
I may as well kneel down and worship gods of stone as offer to the living God a prayer of words alone. The prayer must come from the heart of sin six. Now, next question. For whom should we pray? You know the story of the little boy who prayed? Bless mommy, bless daddy, my sister Mary, me, us for it no more. We're to pray for all men. And I tell you, they need it. If they don't need it here, they sure need it out my way. With all of the drugs and all of the filth that's going on, the immorality, and the president needs prayer.
Pray for, stop criticizing him. Pray for him. That God will guide him. All men we are to pray for. And notice what we read in Luke eighteen and verse one. We didn't read it. The Lord said, Men always ought to pray. That's a military term. It's their duty, our duty to pray. You remember the story of the elderly man that met a little boy and said, Son, did you say your prayers last night? Oh, no, I didn't say any prayers last night. Why didn't you pray last night? I didn't need anything. That's not why you pray.
Men ought to pray. It's our duty to pray. We are dependable. And as I mentioned the other night, have you ever studied the prayer life of the Lord Jesus Christ? Creator of the heavens and the earth. Study his prayer life. Why, at one time, he prayed all night. Have you ever prayed all night? I won't ask you to raise your hand, but within yourself, when is the last time you prayed all night? We need to be sincere in our prayers.
And then too, often we can answer our own prayers. You heard the story of the wealthy man, and there was a very poor neighbor, or maybe a mile or so away. And they decided to have a prayer meeting on behalf of the poor brother that the Lord would meet his needs. And they met him in the wealthy man's home and prayed, Lord, have mercy on this brother. Provide for him. He has nothing. You know. And when they finished, the rich man's little boy came to him with daddy. You don't have to pray to God to help that poor man. All you have to do is take some of what you had and give it to him.
And we could often answer our own prayers if we would only be faithful, be conscientious. Another time, and this you might have read recently, it was in one of the either choice leanings of one of those papers. Two girls were going to school. It dawned on them that they were going to be late. The first girl said, let's stop and pray. The second girl said, no, let's run and pray. What are you going to stop for? Our prayer must be wise. Now I could talk a long time about prayer, but we won't.
Now the next thing. How thankful are we? How thankful are we as believers? Are we serious about our thanksgiving? Psalm thirty-four and verse one, please. Do we give thanks? Are we a thankful people? I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise shall continually be in my mouth. First Thessalonians chapter five. And I could already hear my wife at home, more particularly my daughter's telling me, you're turning too fast.
But you know these scriptures. First Thessalonians chapter five. Verse eighteen. In everything give thanks. And one of the problems I think that affects us as believers is we are a thankless people. We're not grateful. I believe I mentioned the other night. You remember when the Lord cleansed the ten lepers? One returned to say thank you. And I get the impression that the Lord was hurt. We're not ten lands, and just as one comes back to say thanks.
Child of God, are you thankful? Or do you complain? The time moves so fast, you're talking like our clock out in the east. But when you get home, read Genesis chapter twenty-four about Abraham's servant. He prayed for certain things. And when they were granted, he gave thanks. And he gave thanks. And he gave thanks. Read with me, please, in the book of Daniel. Daniel chapter two. Giving thanks. We need to be a thankful people. We need to show our sincerity and our genuine devotion to God by thanksgiving.
Daniel chapter two. Verse nineteen. You know the king had a dream and he says he forgot it. I put it that way because it's questionable whether he forgot it. Many feel that he remembered the dream, but he wanted to test those astrologers. I'm sorry time doesn't permit us to talk about astrology. The Bible has a lot to say about that. Stay away from it. If you want any information, go to God. Our brother was telling us about that. He doesn't need any astrologer. He doesn't know anything. However, Daniel chapter two, verse nineteen. Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in the night vision. And what did Daniel do? He blessed the God of heaven.
Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God forever, for wisdom and might are his. Verse twenty-two, he reveals the deep and secret things. He knows what is in the darkness and the night dwelleth with him. I thank thee and praise thee, O thou God of my Father, who has given me wisdom. Are we thankful? Let me ask you something, beloved. You know, if I were to go through here, I dare say there are some that would complain, oh, I have a pain in my shoulder, a little arthritis in the fingers, and my knees, am I right? Anybody here? Yeah, that's right. You are here. You're not in a hospital, are you?
Well, thank the Lord. Even with a little arthritis, you can walk around and be here. We need to learn to be thankful, to thank the Lord for his goodness, the many things that he does for us. Can you see? When's the last time you thank the Lord that you could see? Anyone? I've been wearing glasses from the time I was eight years old, but I sure thank the Lord I can see. I thank the Lord that I don't have to wear those black ones. I thank the Lord that I can hear. We need to be a thankful people.
Let me read something for you. There are times when we see we have reached the end. The world that's folded upon us without a single friend. And everyone around us pays no mind to how we feel. though we have troubles to bear that seems so big and real. But we should trade our troubles with some others on this earth. I'm sure we find just what our blessings would be worth. So if you have ears to hear the robin's joyous call, remember there are those who live and never hear it all. That's what you can hear. Something to be thankful.
We are, especially in this great country, where we get so many things, things, things, we forget the giver of all things. How nice it is to say thank you. O child of God, let's be sincere Christians, genuine believers, just don't accept things. If you can see the sunshine and flowers in the park, and I might stop here to tell you I had a wonderful time yesterday, I didn't look at the flowers so much, but I went out to see the animals. Dear brother took me and his son and daughter. I enjoyed seeing the animals. And as I was riding, I don't know if the others noticed it, but I noticed a man going along with a cane feeling his way.
He couldn't see the animals. I thanked the Lord, I could see them. Now you say these are simple things. That's right. We're supposed to thank the Lord for where do you think they come from? We need to be a thankful people. If you can see the sunshine and flowers in the park, just think of those who cannot see. To them, it's always dark. If you can take a daily stroll in sunshine or in rain, just don't forget the millions who will never walk again. I've got a relative back in New York. Both legs amputated above the knees. We're the same age. that I can walk.
We need to be thankful. But let's go on. Your time moves fast. Now, beloved, the next thing, I'm hearing a lot of criticism about assemblies. Well, first of all, what does God think of the assembly? His people gathered unto him, believers worldwide. What does God think of? Ephesians chapter three. What does God think of the body of Christ? Ephesians chapter three.
Now, we can't read all of chapter three, so I'll just break in at verse ten. You know what goes before and what follows. To the intent that now, right now, unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church. The manifold wisdom of God. The church is God's masterpiece. Nobody says they made. You don't believe that? The church is God's masterpiece. The God who created the heavens and the earth and all these wonderful things.
Things which you look at through the microscope. Things which you look at through the telescope. Marvelous words. And of them all, the church is his masterpiece. Now, what do you think of the church? Simple people. Little learning, poor English, don't have much, don't know anything for that matter. What do you think of them? What do you think of them? Now God thinks a lot of them. And I tell you, it's a fearful thing, beloved, for you to think little of what God thinks a lot of.
We need to thank God that he has placed us as his own, the church. We need to appreciate the local assemblies of God's people. Let the others frown at them. Let the others look down. But we should appreciate what we have and where God has placed us. Read with me in Psalm eighty, eighty-four. David's evaluation of the house of the Lord. David's evaluation, Psalm eighty-four. Verse one, how amiable are thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts!
My soul longs, ye even saints for the course of the Lord. O child of God, do you like to go to the meetings? You remember when you were first saved? You couldn't get there fast enough, could you? What about now? A little rainy weather out there. Can't make it. Do you like to go to the meeting? What do you think of the Church of God? Another Psalm. One twenty-two. Oh, I like this one. And I want to tell you I feel this way particularly on Lord's day morning.
I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into the house of the Lord. I delight in Lord's day morning when we come to remember the Lord. How do you feel about it? I know some believers who will come to the family Bible hour but won't come to remember the Lord. What do you think of the house of the Lord? How sincere are you? Now, again, I'm sorry that we don't have more young people here. Some of you tell me the speakers are dull. That's true. Some of them.
And I'm not excusing them. James tells us that the responsibility of teaching God's word is a serious responsibility. And it's not to be undertaken lightly. But you know, my children never told me how dull the speakers were. You know why? Now those of you that have finished high school, you've gone on to college. Tell me how many good teachers you had. And note that his brother shaking his head. He's right. This way. Most of us can count real teachers that we had on the fingers of one hand and have fingers left over.
Am I right? Sure, I'm right. They don't teach you anything, but you have to pass the exams, don't you? All right, don't tell me about the dull speakers. You come to the meeting and get something from the dull speakers. That's what God expects. Let me read something for you. It's a little entertaining. Perhaps you've heard this before. Morbous sabbaticals. Have you ever heard that? It's a little track. It didn't be. It didn't be. It comes from the Latin meaning Sabbath sickness. Now as I read this, see if it pertains to you.
Morbous sabbaticals is a peculiar disease. The symptoms vary but never interfere with the appetite. It never lasts more than twenty-four hours. No doctor is ever called. And it's very contagious. The attack comes on suddenly on Sunday. Right? No symptoms are felt on Saturday night. The patient awakes as usual, feeling fine, and eats a hearty breakfast. And about nine a.m., the attack comes on, and it lasts till about noon.
In the afternoon, the patient is much improved and is able to take a ride, look at TV, visit friends, mow the lawn, or read the Sunday paper. He eats a hearty supper. But the attack comes on again and lasts through the early evening. Are you familiar with it? You know anybody who has this? He's able to go to work on Monday morning. And this ailment is often fatal to the soul. Morbis sabbatically. Now, I don't know about your assemblies here, but I know about assemblies back in the East.
And things have gotten so in some assemblies. They don't have any Sunday night meeting. Now, when I was a boy, the meeting started at eight thirty. If you didn't get there by eight o'clock, you stood up. That's the way it was then. I have another poem, Not on Sunday night. I love the church that Jesus bought. She is the dark world's light. I always go on Sunday mornings, but not on Sunday night. I love to sing the gospel songs and worship in the daylight. That's why I come on Sunday mornings, but not on Sunday night.
I love to hear the gospel horn. It gives me such delight. It fills me every Sunday morning, but not on Sunday night. I go through storm and rain or snow, do anything that's right to be at church on Sunday morning but not on Sunday night. I hope the faithful few keep on engaging in the fight. I'll do my part on Sunday morning but not on Sunday night. Too bad we all must die someday. I hope the morning is bright for I want to die on Sunday morning but not on Sunday night. I know that Christ is coming soon and he'll find me right if he appears on Sunday morning but not on Sunday night.
Now as I said this may not happen in these parts but it happens back east. It's a poorest attended meeting Sunday evening meeting. I was thrilled we were down in Florida oh in February yes and I was asked to speak at a gospel meeting. I was amazed. Four hundred people and standing room only at a Sunday night gospel meeting. Why, I haven't seen that in years. That's the way it should be. The Holy Spirit sent this poem. It set my heart aright. You'll see me there next Sunday morning and also Sunday night. I think my time is up.
So we'll continue this evening examining ourselves as to how sincere