Walk about seeking, neither give place to the devil, Ephesians 4 verse 27, neither give place to the devil, don't invite the devil to destroy you, don't foolishly give him opportunity to destroy you, brother, sister, let me warn you, don't play the fool with a lion, you think God doesn't weigh up every word, he allowed to be in this sacred book, when I was a boy, every year the circus, in our country, South Africa would come, now those days, it wasn't so much activity on the internet, and the television, and whatever that keeps people at home, that no one can compete with, with Hollywood, if that's where your heart is, well, the circus would come, now everybody, trust me, weeks upon weeks, the lines, the rows, the queues, around the blocks, around this massive tent, that holds hundreds and hundreds of people, we, day after day, night after night, and we would stand in that long line, Boswell Wilkie Circus, now when I was a boy, there was a big advert, and a big painting, right across the whole tent, of a lion taber, called Carl Fisher, he was famous, in Africa, Carl Fisher, but they had these big steel, things all around, there's all the banisters, all the seating places, hundreds watching, all the children, oh, there was the clowns, yes, there's the trapeze, yes, everything that goes with the circus, thrilling, and thralling, yes, and then there was the lion tame, and many had come, you see, on that big painting, and in the newspapers, it advertised a strange thing, a beautiful thing, this Carl Fisher, used to take a lion's mouth, and pull it open, literally, and put his whole head, into the lion's mouth, now that was very foolish, and I sat there, and watched him, I was trembling, I stood you know, all the children, as he pulls his, keeps pulling, and throws his hands up, and all the people applaud, oh, what a wonderful man, the next show, when I sat there, the next show, filled the people, children, that lion that he trusted, had no fear, raised from a little cupboard, with those ferocious teeth, and that strength, just, what he did, to the rest of that body, before they could stop that lion, I can't even tell you, what the newspapers said, for children not to be shocked, and undone, play the fool with a lion, and God's thought, you might think of that, when he called it a lion, in his book, because about seeking hope, will give him place, give him opportunity, and folly, to destroy him, oh, that was a terrifying thing, to have witnessed, but beloved, it is more terrifying for me, today, and fearful to witness, this lion that God warned us about, destroying, minister, preacher, and prominent Christian, again and again, everywhere, here's an article, in one of our main newspapers, back in Southern Africa, I tore the top part of the page out, it's in Afrikaans language, how this man, there he is, kitty, kitty, fancy calling a lion kitty, and they just ripped him, ripped him apart, that was this year, 11th of May, 2014, oh, how many people, preachers, prominent Christians, I know, foolishly, tragically, gave place to Satan, to the devil, believing that they could get away with it, I have a list here, that I hope nobody ever finds, but I dared to make it, of names, preachers, that I knelt beside, and wept with the souls, wept within their conferences, where they allowed me to preach, their pulpits, I have no doubt they were godly, I have no doubt, the souls that came to Christ, under their ministry, that were influenced, it was God, the Holy Ghost, using them, those souls stand, who the devil has destroyed, in this last two years, only, let alone, the 40 something years I've preached, that I knelt beside, and prayed, that makes me fearful, sir, but what was the tragic cause, what was the cause, of so many preachers, and prominent Christians falling, into shameful sin, what was the tragic cause, I was preaching on a tour, of our country, and they took me, into the high mountains, and there was a two hour journey, through a very large pass, similar to the Grand Canyon, but not of course, in any way, comparative because, there's nothing like the Grand Canyon, it's so magnificent, so long, so rugged, but it's beauty, Maring's Port Pass, where they took me up, through where the river, had just washed away, down through the years, down, hundreds of feet, mountains, going through all the beauty, now that river is still there, that did this, but as we stopped, at one of the viewpoints, waterfalls, climbed up to the water, I noticed something staggering, the largest tree, and there were many, magnificent trees, in that whole gorge, I'm talking about magnificent trees, that have stood for many, many years, but the very largest tree, which caught my notice, so I walked across, I suddenly looked in here, fearfully, you see that tree, had stood longer than, all the other trees, growing, and strength, flourishing, growth, but now, most of its roots, had been, the soil had been washed away, here it was, most of the roots, were hovering over nothing, a few roots left, holding that tree up, one wondered how it's possible, the tree could still be standing, this takes a little wind, or a little more water, when the river rises, that tree is going to fall, though it stood longer, than any tree in sight, and had been stronger, than any other tree there, to have survived all that time, its roots were hovering over nothing, most of its roots, the soil had been washed away, by that river, here was a tree, whose roots were no longer, safely sunk into good soil, no longer rooted and grounded, safely, in the soil, in the earth, now in Cape Town, where I live, the most beautiful city in the world, they say, I don't think you can argue, with literally millions, from all over the world, that come every year, every year millions, is flocked to Cape Town, not to South Africa, but to Cape Town, to witness, and they have agreed, of all these tourists, there's no city on earth like this, such amazing beauty, Table Mountain, so high you can't believe it, but flat for two miles, we walk up these big cable cars, taking all these, visitors up, restaurants, and paths, and the views, of the two oceans meeting, Atlantic and Indian Ocean, India, the most magnificent city, we just live beneath it, by the way, we look out of our front door, there is the mountain, and climbed it many times, and enjoyed it very much, in this Cape Town, we have what they call, the company gardens, now historically, those company gardens, made it the oldest, man -made park, in the entire of Africa, there's many beautiful parks, botanical gardens, amazing parks, that draw the crowds, Crescent Bosch, is regarded by many, as the greatest park on earth, with the most variety, of wonderful trees, and vegetation, amazing place, but in the company gardens, running adjacent, to our beautiful Parliament building, some of the most beautiful buildings, in the entire world, are our Parliament, stood there for many hundreds of years, well, there's this company gardens, and there is a variety, of vegetation and trees, that have come from many parts, of the world, as the early immigrants, 200 years ago, 300 years ago, some, planted these things, now I've looked at these trees, because I go and walk down there, it's not too far from my home, and I pray, it's very beautiful there, and quiet, and secure and safe, and I look at these trees, and I look at these, I saw, this year, one tree, that really struck me, right at the edge, it's the largest tree, in the entire park, which goes on and on, something like Central Park, not quite as long as Central Park, but, oh magnificent, I saw this tree, just going up, and up, and I walked, and I looked through all the trees, walked through, and got to this tree, and I was stunned, it had roots, like no other tree, in the whole of the company gardens, the roots, were as high as this, wide as this, not just seeping into the ground, but going, right across, oh, seeping into the soil everywhere, just roots, that you could climb on, that you had to climb over, some were too high, magnificent roots, just spreading, further and further, no wonder it reached such a height, and so far, in spite of the capable storms, the most violent winds and storms, you could ever imagine, not quite like yours, sorry, America is really unique, nonetheless, here there's roots, so I, of course, look on the big plaque, steel plaque there, with writing on, against this tree, to see what this tree is called, and this is what I read, of course, it is, Fictus Elastia Murakaya, Fictus Elastia, what you call, in the benzene group of figs, you, you pretend that I, pronounced that right, but, it is, known generally as a rubber tree, in much of the world, it is native to, Northeast India, and Southern Indonesia, now in parts of India, the people, guide those roots, over chasms, high cliffs, dangerous, chasms, deep and steep, they guide those roots over, and eventually, they form living bridges, across the dangerous, gaps, down these cliffs, and they're able to cross, not on a man -made bridge, but a tree, that the roots can be guided, and steered by man, amazing, how does the devil, wash away the soil, that are the means, through which, our spiritual roots, feed, and gain strength, and security, how does the devil wash away, the soil, that kept us spiritually, solidly, seeped into the ground of spiritual things, beloved he sends a river, of legitimate, yet meaningless, non -essential, time -consuming things, to divert the soul, from spending any meaningful time, with God anymore, the meditation of his word, above everything, now may I ask, every one of you sitting here tonight, that names the name of Jesus, preachers included, someone is included, respected, by everyone, may I ask every one of you, has the devil, washed away, all the rich spiritual soil, that you once, sunk your roots into daily, has he washed it all away, with meaningless activity, even, religious activity, that you shouldn't be busy with, and now you neglect God, God's work can become, sin, if it keeps you from God, be careful, be careful, Christian you urgently need, to take those roots, that are tragically hovering now, over nothing, and redirect them, to sink them again, into God's word, foremost sir, from the day of your salvation, till the day you die, your greatest discipline in life, daily, must be the meditation of God's word, or you are a backslider, you aren't a little bit backslidden, you are totally backslidden, you are a grief to God, not a little grief, you are a total grief to God, if, the meditation of the word of God, is not primarily, your first discipline in life, and you'll be stunned, what you don't have to be busy doing, to find the time you say, you can't find anymore, if you're honest with God in yourself, which costs, the foremost discipline in life, if you stay right with God daily, and this is how you know you're right with God, is the meditation of the word of God, the unhurried meditation of God's word, it must be the most guarded, treasured, nurtured, discipline, of your life, every day of your life, that nothing Satan, or man can do, will divert you from, or hurry you from, or you are, a backslider, and in terrible danger, of bringing blaspheme on God's name sir, don't you doubt that sir, Psalm one, is placed there because, according to the rest of the scriptures, you'll be doers of the word, not hearers only deceiving yourself, Psalm one is there, and you have to live it, before you dare to read Psalm two, because sir, you skip that and try the rest of the Psalms, you're really going to stagger at things not working out, and how little you really have, that's why Psalm 119, is exactly the same as Psalm nine, the importance, the vital essential importance, of the meditation of the word of God, above anything, let me shock you, the more you give of God's word to your day, the less possibility there is, that you will ever neglect it, if you're neglecting it, it's because you gave a little bit, it's the only book that can do this, that the Holy Spirit, the more you give, the less, you have anything that could pull you away, or distract you, because nothing is more vital, nothing is more meaningful, nothing is more rich, nothing is more, more than gold, I treasure thy word, read Psalm 119, every single verse related to the vital, and it's the longest passage, in the entire Bible, why?