NPPBC's Media Ministry: Recent Episodes
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Weekly services from New Providence Primitive Baptist Church in Maryville, TN. For more information about NPPBC, go to our site at: www.nppbc.com.
What happens when we stop trying to be seen and start making sure Jesus is seen? In this powerful sermon, Pastor Tommy Boring preaches from John 3:22-30 and John 12:32 on the life-changing truth, “He must increase, but I must decrease.”
John the Baptist gives us a powerful example of what it means to live for the glory of Christ. He understood that everything good comes from God, that his purpose was to point people to Jesus, and that his joy was found in seeing Christ increase. John refused to take the place of the Bridegroom. Instead, he faithfully served, stood for truth, and directed attention away from himself and toward Jesus.
Pastor Tommy reminds us that every gift, ability, blessing, opportunity, and breath comes from God. We have nothing to boast in except Jesus Christ and His finished work on the cross. The flesh wants recognition, praise, and glory, but the Christian life calls us to surrender ourselves so that Christ can be lifted higher.
The message also points back to Moses lifting up the brazen serpent in the wilderness. Those who looked upon it lived. Jesus would later explain that He must be lifted up, and that when He is lifted up, He will draw people unto Himself. Our responsibility is not to manufacture salvation, manipulate people, or draw attention to ourselves. We are called to lift up Jesus and allow His power to work on hearts.
To truly lift Jesus up, we must get low. Humility is not weakness. It is the place where God can work through us. When we decrease, Christ becomes more visible. When we get out of the way, people can see their need for Him. When our lives point away from ourselves and toward Jesus, His glory becomes the focus.
John’s example challenges us to point up, set Christ above ourselves, stand for Him even when it costs us, and continually decrease so He can increase. We may be called old-fashioned, different, or out of touch, but our calling is to remain faithful to Jesus regardless of the world’s opinion.
This sermon is a challenge to examine our hearts and ask: Am I lifting up Jesus, or am I lifting up myself? Am I seeking His glory, or my own? Am I willing to surrender my plans, pride, and desires so that Christ can be seen more clearly through my life?
There is hope in Christ alone. Not in ourselves, not in a preacher, and not in a church. The answer is Jesus.
“He must increase, but I must decrease.”
The promise of resurrection gives believers a hope that reaches beyond this present life. In “Corruptible to Incorruptible,” Pastor Tommy Boring opens 1 Corinthians 15 and focuses on the great change that is coming when Jesus Christ returns.
Paul revealed the mystery that “we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed.” In a moment, at the sound of the trumpet, the dead in Christ will be raised and those who are alive and remain will be transformed. This corruptible body will put on incorruption, and this mortal body will put on immortality. The worn-out, temporary body we have today will be replaced with a glorified body prepared for eternity.
The message explains why this change is necessary. Flesh and mortality cannot enter a place where there is no corruption or sin. Our present bodies are wearing out, but God has promised something far greater. When the change comes, death will finally be swallowed up in victory. Jesus Christ defeated death through His death, burial, and resurrection, and the day is coming when death will have no power over the people of God.
Pastor Boring also emphasizes the urgency of being born again. No one knows the day or hour when Christ will return, so the time to be ready is today. Salvation is found in Jesus Christ alone. The heart must be changed, and those who have trusted Christ can look forward to the day when they will be changed physically and made like Him.
For the believer, death does not have the final word. There is a longing for heaven, a hope of Christ’s return, and the promise of a place where there will be no more sin, sorrow, suffering, or death. The saints who have gone on before are waiting for the resurrection, when the dead in Christ will rise first and God’s people will receive their glorified bodies.
This sermon closes with a powerful call to be ready. “Thanks be to God which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” If you are saved, rejoice in the promise that one day you will be changed. If you are not saved, there is still hope and an opportunity to say yes to Christ. The trumpet will sound, the dead will rise, the living will be changed, and God’s people will finally declare that death is swallowed up in victory.
A subtle compromise can lead to devastating consequences, and in this message, Brother Danny Buchanan, Jr. challenges believers to recognize the danger of allowing even the smallest foothold for the enemy. In “Give Him an Inch, He’ll Take Ten Miles,” he reminds us that Satan rarely begins with obvious rebellion. Instead, he works through small compromises, distractions, and seemingly harmless choices that gradually pull hearts away from God.
Using Scripture along with personal testimony and practical application, this sermon emphasizes the importance of guarding your heart, resisting temptation, and staying close to Christ. Every believer faces spiritual battles, but God has provided the strength, wisdom, and grace needed to overcome. The message calls Christians to examine their lives, remove anything that weakens their walk with God, and remain faithful before small compromises become life-altering consequences.
This sermon is a powerful reminder that victory begins with daily obedience. Don’t give the enemy any place in your life. Stand firm in the truth of God’s Word, rely on the Holy Spirit, and trust Christ to keep you grounded in faith.
If this message encourages you, please like, share, and subscribe to help spread the Gospel and encourage others with God’s Word.
From the image of an orchard to the truth of the Gospel, this message reveals what it truly means to be grafted into Christ. In “Grafted In,” Elder Ronnie Blair explores the rich teaching of Romans 11, reminding believers that salvation is entirely by God’s grace and that those who are in Christ are called to bear fruit that reflects Him.
Beginning with a personal testimony of unwavering assurance in Jesus Christ, Elder Blair shares how the Lord redirected his message just moments before preaching. Reflecting on over five decades since preaching his first sermon, he points listeners to the unchanging truth of God’s Word and the incredible privilege Gentile believers have been given through Christ.
Drawing from Romans 11:13-24, this sermon explains how the Gentiles, once like wild olive branches, have been grafted into God’s family through faith. While Israel’s unbelief opened the door for the Gospel to reach the nations, God has not forgotten His promises and remains able to graft the natural branches back in. The message is both a celebration of God’s mercy and a warning to remain humble, faithful, and dependent upon Him.
Using the practical example of grafting apple trees, Elder Blair illustrates how the health of the root determines the fruit. Just as a tree must remain connected to the proper rootstock, believers must remain rooted in Christ. Sin, like unwanted suckers growing from a tree, drains spiritual strength and hinders growth if left unchecked. Through daily repentance, obedience, and the power of the Holy Ghost, Christians can continue bearing fruit that glorifies God.
This sermon also offers encouragement for anyone who feels broken or unworthy. Through the finished work of Christ, God is able to restore damaged lives, remake broken vessels, and use them for His glory. The transforming testimony of salvation reminds us that when Jesus truly changes a heart, the evidence is seen in a changed life.
Whether you are seeking assurance, encouragement, or a deeper understanding of your identity in Christ, this message is a powerful reminder that those who are grafted into the True Vine have hope, purpose, and eternal security through Jesus Christ.
Scripture References:
• Romans 11:13-24
• John 15
• 1 John 2
• James 5
• Jeremiah 18
What if the problem was never God’s provision, but our response to it? In this thought-provoking message, Elder Steven Howard explores Isaiah 5 and reveals the powerful truth that God has already done everything necessary for mankind to know Him, walk with Him, and experience His grace.
Using the parable of the vineyard in Isaiah 5:1-4, this sermon examines how God carefully prepared His vineyard, expecting good fruit, only to find wild grapes instead. The question God asks is still relevant today: “What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it?”
Throughout this message, Elder Howard reminds us that God’s ways are perfect, even when our limited perspective causes us to question His goodness. While we often focus on pain, suffering, disappointment, and unanswered questions, God sees the complete picture from beginning to end. Our struggles are not evidence that God has failed us, but opportunities to trust the One whose plans are always right.
This sermon also points to the finished work of Jesus Christ. At Calvary, God’s perfect plan of redemption was completed forever. When Jesus declared, “It is finished,” every provision for salvation, forgiveness, hope, and reconciliation was fully accomplished. Nothing needs to be added to Christ’s work because everything necessary has already been done.
Elder Howard contrasts humanity’s tendency to blame God with the truth that sin entered the world through man’s rebellion, not through any failure in God’s design. Even so, God’s grace continues to reach every sinner, offering forgiveness and calling all people to repentance through Jesus Christ.
If you’ve struggled to understand suffering, questioned God’s goodness, or needed reassurance that Christ’s sacrifice is sufficient, this message offers a biblical reminder that God has never failed His people. His vineyard was planted perfectly. His salvation is complete. The question that remains is how each of us will respond to His finished work.
Scripture References:
• Isaiah 5:1-4
• Genesis 1
• John 3
• Hebrews 12
• 2 Corinthians 5:21
• Leviticus
• John 19:30
In a time when prayer is often neglected, this message is a powerful reminder that God is still searching for people who will stand in the gap for others. In “God Is Looking for Someone: Will You Stand in the Gap?”, Pastor Tommy Boring challenges believers to answer God’s call to become faithful intercessors for their families, churches, communities, and nation.
Drawing from Ezekiel 22:30-31, Pastor Tommy explains God’s heartbreaking search for someone willing to “make up the hedge” and pray on behalf of the people. He also examines Abraham’s intercession for Sodom in Genesis 18, showing how persistent prayer reveals God’s mercy and His desire to spare rather than judge.
This sermon emphasizes that prayer is not a passive activity but a vital ministry. Through examples like Moses, Aaron, Abraham, and Isaiah, listeners are reminded that God has always worked through men and women willing to seek Him on behalf of others. The message also confronts the spiritual complacency of our day, urging Christians to move beyond recognizing the problems in our nation and instead become people who earnestly pray for revival, repentance, and God’s intervention.
Pastor Tommy encourages every believer to examine their own prayer life and consider whether they are investing more time in temporary distractions than in eternal matters. Rather than waiting for someone else to pray, he calls the church to accept personal responsibility, asking God for a burden for lost souls, future generations, and a nation desperately in need of His mercy.
If you’ve ever wondered what it truly means to “stand in the gap,” this sermon offers both biblical insight and a heartfelt challenge to become the kind of person God is seeking.
Scripture References:
• Ezekiel 22:30-31
• Genesis 18:23-32
• Isaiah 6
• Jonah 3
Discover what Romans 8:28 really means in this powerful message from Pastor Tommy Boring. While this verse is often quoted as a blanket promise that “everything will work out,” this sermon carefully explains that God’s promise is not a blank check. Instead, it is a promise with clear biblical conditions for those who love God and are walking according to His purpose.
Preaching from Romans 8:28, Pastor Tommy explores one of the most treasured promises in Scripture and shows how easily it can be misunderstood when taken out of context. He explains that God is able to work all things together for good, including failures, heartbreaks, disappointments, and even the mistakes we have made. Nothing is beyond His ability to redeem. However, this promise belongs specifically to those who genuinely love the Lord and are called according to His purpose.
This message challenges believers to examine what it truly means to love God. Is Christ first in our lives? Do our actions reflect our devotion? Is our affection fixed on Him above everything else? Loving God is more than attending church or making a profession. It is a life of obedience, worship, surrender, and placing Him above every earthly priority.
Pastor Tommy also reminds us that every child of God has a purpose. Whether serving through ministry, witnessing, worshiping, or faithfully following God’s will in everyday life, believers are called to live with intentionality. Rather than settling into comfort or spiritual complacency, God continues to lead His people into deeper obedience and greater usefulness for His kingdom.
Throughout the sermon, listeners are encouraged to trust God’s providence instead of fear. When we love Him, follow His Word, and pursue His purpose, we can rest in the certainty that God is working behind the scenes for our eternal good. His promises never fail, and His faithfulness never changes.
If you’ve ever questioned Romans 8:28 or wondered how God can bring good from life’s hardest moments, this message offers biblical clarity, practical encouragement, and renewed confidence in the sovereign care of God.
Scripture References:
Romans 8:28, Matthew 22, John 14, 1 John 2, Revelation 2, Romans 1, 2 Timothy 1
From the storms we never expected to the hope we could never create on our own, this powerful message from Pastor Tommy Boring reminds us that God has never abandoned His people in the middle of life’s fiercest battles. In “He’s Never Lost a Ship to a Storm,” Pastor Tommy opens Psalm 107 to reveal God’s faithfulness through every season of hardship, showing that while storms are unavoidable, God’s mercy, power, and presence remain unchanging.
This sermon walks through the four pictures of distress found in Psalm 107: the lost soul wandering without hope, the prisoner bound by sin, the suffering brought on by transgression, and the sailor caught in an overwhelming storm. In every situation, the answer is the same: “Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and He delivered them out of their distresses.”
Pastor Tommy reminds us that we cannot escape trials, grief, sickness, loss, or uncertainty, but we never have to face them alone. God is still in control when life feels out of control. The Captain of our salvation has never lost one of His children to the storms of life, and nothing can separate those who belong to Christ from His love.
Through heartfelt personal testimony, biblical truth, and encouragement for both believers and those seeking salvation, this message points listeners back to the goodness of God. Whether you feel trapped in the bondage of sin, overwhelmed by suffering, or tossed by life’s waves, Jesus is still able to rescue, restore, and establish your feet upon the Rock.
If you’ve been carrying burdens that seem too heavy to bear, this sermon is a reminder that God’s mercy is new every morning, His compassion never fails, and He still hears those who cry out to Him. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, because He is always good.
Scripture References:
Psalm 107, Romans 8, John 10, Romans 5, Lamentations 3
Living for Christ is about more than what we say. It is about the example we leave behind. In “The Importance of Being a Role Model,” Elder Dustin Parks challenges every believer to consider how their daily life influences their family, church, workplace, school, and community.
Drawing from the lives of Barnabas, Noah, Daniel, Joshua, and the disciples, this message reminds us that God calls His people to encourage others, stand for truth, and faithfully follow Him even when it is difficult. Barnabas, known as the “Son of Consolation,” exemplified a life of encouragement, while Noah obeyed God despite ridicule, Daniel refused to compromise with the world, and Joshua stepped into leadership with courage after Moses’ death.
Elder Dustin emphasizes that every Christian is a role model to someone. Whether we realize it or not, children, coworkers, friends, and even strangers are watching how we respond to life’s challenges. Our actions often speak louder than our words, making it essential to live in a way that reflects Jesus Christ.
The sermon also contrasts earthly role models with the perfect example found in Christ. While even admired people can disappoint us, Jesus never fails. His life remains the perfect pattern for every believer to follow. Rather than chasing popularity or worldly approval, Christians are called to pursue holiness, integrity, and unwavering obedience to God.
This message encourages believers to resist compromise in a culture that constantly pressures people to conform. Just as Daniel purposed in his heart not to defile himself, Christians today must be willing to say “no” to sin and remain faithful to God’s Word. The call is not only for pastors and church leaders, but for every believer who desires to leave a legacy that points others to Christ.
Elder Dustin also reminds listeners that not everyone is called to lead, but everyone is called to faithfully follow God’s direction and support godly leadership. Whether leading or serving, each member of the body of Christ has an important role in strengthening the church and encouraging others in their walk with God.
Recognizing that no one is perfect, the sermon closes with a challenge to seek forgiveness when we fail, remain humble, and continually strive to magnify Christ in every area of life. The goal is not to make our own name known, but to live so faithfully that others see Jesus through us.
May this message encourage you to examine your own testimony and ask: What kind of example am I leaving for those who are watching?
From the depths of despair to the solid foundation of Christ, Pastor Tommy Boring’s message, “Out of the Pit and onto the Rock,” powerfully illustrates the life-changing work of salvation through Jesus Christ. Using Psalm 40 and the truth of being born again, this sermon reminds us that no one can escape the bondage of sin on their own, but God is able to lift every repentant sinner out of the pit and establish their life upon the Rock.
Beginning with David’s testimony in Psalm 40, Pastor Tommy explains the picture of the “horrible pit” and “miry clay” as the hopeless condition of every person apart from Christ. Sin leaves us trapped, unable to free ourselves, and destined for judgment unless God intervenes. Yet the same God who hears the cry of the lost is faithful to rescue, forgive, and place their feet upon the solid Rock, Jesus Christ.
This message emphasizes that salvation is not religion, good works, church attendance, baptism, or simply knowing Bible facts. Jesus told Nicodemus, “Ye must be born again.” True salvation is a supernatural work of God that transforms a sinner into a new creature in Christ. When the Holy Spirit moves into a person’s life, old things pass away, new desires are born, and a new song of praise fills the heart.
Pastor Tommy shares his own testimony of conviction as a child, describing the moment the Holy Spirit revealed that he was personally lost before God. No preacher manufactured the experience. It was God who spoke to his heart, bringing him to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. That same saving grace is still available today.
The sermon also challenges those who may have religion without a relationship with Christ. Going through religious motions, attending church, or trying to improve yourself cannot satisfy God’s righteousness. Only the finished work of Jesus Christ and the new birth can make someone whole. Christ doesn’t simply make people better. He gives them new life.
Throughout the message, listeners are reminded of God’s incredible mercy and the countless blessings that follow salvation. The greatest miracle is not earthly success, but being delivered from the bondage of sin, placed into the Father’s hands, and given the assurance of eternal life.
With eternity drawing nearer every day, Pastor Tommy lovingly urges everyone not to delay responding to God’s call. The invitation to salvation is still open today, but it will not remain open forever. If the Holy Spirit is speaking to your heart, now is the time to come to Christ and experience what it truly means to be lifted out of the pit and onto the Rock.
A sobering reminder of the urgency of eternity, Brother Bobby Whitehead’s message, “Repent or Perish,” centers on Jesus’ warning in Luke 13 that life is uncertain and every person must be prepared to meet God.
Drawing from the accounts of the Galileans slain by Pilate and the eighteen who died when the tower of Siloam fell, Brother Bobby emphasizes that tragedy and death can come unexpectedly. Jesus made it clear that these people were not greater sinners than others, but His warning remains the same: “Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.”
Throughout the sermon, Brother Bobby shares personal testimonies, reflections on suffering, and the burdens he carries for lost souls. He speaks candidly about daily repentance, acknowledging that even believers must continually seek God’s forgiveness and guidance. He reminds listeners that repentance is not merely feeling sorry for sin, but honestly recognizing our need for Christ and turning to Him for mercy.
The message highlights the reality of heaven and hell, the certainty of coming judgment, and the danger of putting off salvation. Brother Bobby warns against trusting in good works, religion, family heritage, or following other people instead of following Jesus. Salvation comes only through Christ, who died for sinners and made a way for all who will come to Him.
Using the illustration of the falling tower, he urges listeners to consider their own lives. None of us know when our “tower” may fall. Death can come suddenly, and after death comes judgment. Because of that, the call to repentance is not for another day, but for today.
The sermon also addresses the distractions of the world, the deception of the enemy, and the importance of staying grounded in God’s Word. Brother Bobby encourages believers to remain watchful, prayerful, and ready for the return of Christ, while continuing to share the gospel with those around them.
Most importantly, this message points to the hope found in Jesus Christ. No matter a person’s past, failures, addictions, or mistakes, God’s grace is still available. The same Savior who changed Brother Bobby’s life is still saving sinners today.
If God is dealing with your heart, don’t wait. The message is simple and urgent: Repent or perish.
What does true repentance really look like? In this heartfelt and convicting message, Brother Keith Mitchell challenges listeners to examine their hearts and respond to Christ with genuine repentance that produces lasting change.
Drawing from Mark 1, Luke 13, Matthew 3, Matthew 13, and other passages, Brother Keith explains that repentance is far more than feeling sorry for sin. It is a complete turning away from sin and a wholehearted turning toward God. Jesus Himself began His ministry with the call, “Repent, and believe the gospel,” and that message remains just as urgent today.
Throughout the sermon, Brother Keith warns against becoming comfortable with outward religion while neglecting a true relationship with Christ. Referencing Charles Spurgeon’s message on the wheat and the tares, he reminds us that people can attend church, sing the songs, and participate in religious activities while still missing genuine salvation. The greatest danger is not open rebellion, but self-deception.
Through powerful personal testimonies and biblical examples, including Jonah, Nineveh, Jeremiah, John the Baptist, and others, this message demonstrates that true repentance always bears fruit. A broken and contrite heart leads to a transformed life marked by humility, obedience, generosity, forgiveness, and love for others.
Brother Keith also encourages believers to practice daily repentance, allowing God to search their hearts, reveal hidden sin, and draw them into closer fellowship with Him. Rather than trusting in routine, tradition, or religious appearances, we are called to seek Jesus with sincerity and allow His grace to change us from the inside out.
If you’ve ever wondered whether your faith is real, or if God is calling you to a deeper walk with Him, this sermon is a powerful reminder that God’s invitation is still open today. Don’t settle for just enough religion. Seek the Savior who alone can forgive, restore, and transform your life.
Scripture References: Mark 1:14-15, Luke 13:1-5, Matthew 3:7-10, Matthew 13, Jeremiah 8:18-20, Galatians 5:22-23
In a world filled with competing voices, conflicting beliefs, and countless ideas about truth, Pastor Tommy Boring brings us back to the unchanging foundation of the Christian faith in this powerful sermon, “One Christ, One Gospel.”
Preaching from 2 Corinthians, Pastor Tommy examines the Apostle Paul’s warning that believers must guard against having their minds corrupted from “the simplicity that is in Christ.” Just as the serpent deceived Eve through subtlety, the enemy still seeks to distract people from the only message that saves by promoting another gospel, another spirit, or another version of Jesus.
This message emphasizes the beautiful simplicity of salvation. We are not saved by religious rituals, good works, traditions, emotions, or human effort. Salvation comes only through the finished work of Jesus Christ. There is one Savior, one Holy Spirit, and one Gospel that points to the shed blood of Christ and His power to save all who believe.
Pastor Tommy also warns of the danger of adding to or subtracting from God’s truth. When people replace biblical doctrine with cultural opinions, personal preferences, or man-made requirements, they create confusion and lead others away from the true Gospel. The call of Scripture remains unchanged: repent, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and be born again.
Throughout the sermon, listeners are encouraged to test every teaching against the Word of God, reject counterfeit gospels, and remain anchored in the truth that has never changed. Whether hearing the Gospel for the first time or needing a renewed confidence in biblical truth, this message points us back to the only hope for salvation.
The Gospel is not complicated. Christ has done everything necessary through His death, burial, and resurrection. Our responsibility is to respond to His invitation by faith.
Scripture References: 2 Corinthians 11, Romans 1:16, John 3:7, John 14:6, Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 10:10-13, Romans 6:23, Matthew 11:28, Hebrews 9:27
This message centers on the greatest decision anyone can ever make: trusting Jesus Christ as Savior. Using Luke 16:19-31, the account of the rich man and Lazarus, Brother Mason reminds listeners that every person will spend eternity in one of two places. While there are many differences among people in this life, when life ends there are only two spiritual conditions: saved or lost.
The message begins by emphasizing God’s unconditional love for every person. Regardless of age, past mistakes, church background, or life experiences, God loves each individual and demonstrated that love by sending His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for the sins of the world. Because life is uncertain and no one knows how much time they have, the invitation to receive Christ should never be delayed.
A central theme throughout the message is the question, “How long are you willing to be lost before you ask for directions?” Using the familiar experience of becoming lost while traveling, Brother Mason illustrates that no one seeks directions until they realize they are lost. Likewise, a person cannot be saved until the Holy Spirit reveals the true condition of their heart. Salvation begins when God lovingly convicts a sinner of their need for Christ.
Drawing from Luke 16, the rich man and Lazarus provide a sobering reminder that eternity is real. The rich man enjoyed earthly prosperity but died without God and entered a place of torment. Lazarus, though poor in this life, was carried into comfort because of his relationship with God. The account illustrates that earthly possessions, accomplishments, and status cannot determine one’s eternal destiny. Only a personal relationship with Jesus Christ can prepare someone for eternity.
The study also explains why every person needs salvation. Referencing Psalm 51 and Romans 5, Brother Mason reminds listeners that all people are born with a sinful nature inherited through Adam. Because all have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory, no one is qualified to enter heaven through personal goodness or religious works. Sin separates humanity from God, and only the blood of Jesus Christ can remove that separation.
Throughout the message, it is repeatedly emphasized that salvation cannot be earned. Good works, church attendance, family heritage, or even the prayers of parents and pastors cannot save anyone. Every individual must personally respond to the conviction of the Holy Spirit. When God speaks to the heart, the proper response is repentance, faith, and complete trust in Jesus Christ alone.
Brother Mason shares his personal testimony of believing he was saved for several years before God revealed that he was still lost. Through a season of conviction and prayer, the Holy Spirit made his need for salvation unmistakably clear. That encounter with God brought genuine repentance, forgiveness, and the peace that only Christ can give. His testimony serves as an encouragement that salvation is not based upon repeating words or participating in religious activities, but upon a personal work of God’s grace in the heart.
The message also reflects on the incredible sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Though He dwelt in the perfection of heaven, He willingly came to earth, lived a sinless life, suffered, shed His blood on the cross, and rose again so that sinners could be reconciled to God. His death removed the barrier that separated humanity from the Father, making forgiveness and eternal life available to everyone who believes.
As the message concludes, listeners are urged not to delay responding if God is speaking to their hearts. Tomorrow is never guaranteed, and eternity is too important to ignore. The invitation is simple: if the Holy Spirit reveals that you are lost, trust Christ today. Through His grace alone, sinners can receive forgiveness, experience true peace, and have the assurance of eternal life.
Ultimately, this message points to the hope of the Gospel. Every person is born in sin, but because of God’s great love and the finished work of Jesus Christ, anyone who comes to Him in repentance and faith can be saved. The greatest decision anyone can make is to accept Christ while there is still time, knowing that He alone is the way, the truth, and the life.
This Bible study continues an in-depth examination of prayer by focusing on the importance of humility, private fellowship with God, and developing a consistent, meaningful prayer life. Using Matthew 6:5-13 as the primary text, the lesson contrasts genuine prayer with the prideful, outward displays of religion that Jesus condemned.
The study begins by identifying pride as one of the greatest enemies of effective prayer. Jesus warned against praying merely to be seen or heard by others, reminding His followers that those who seek the approval of people have already received their reward. True prayer is not about impressing others but about humbly approaching God with a heart that recognizes complete dependence upon Him. Believers are encouraged to examine their own hearts, lay aside pride, and remember the sacrifice of Christ on the cross as the greatest motivation for humility.
The lesson also challenges the common misconception that prayer exists primarily to present God with a list of personal requests. Instead, prayer is presented as a relationship and ongoing conversation with the Heavenly Father. Jesus’ model prayer demonstrates that worship and praise should come before petitions. Prayer should begin by acknowledging God’s holiness, greatness, and sovereignty before bringing personal needs before Him. Worship is not limited to church services or singing but should become a central part of every private prayer.
Another significant emphasis is the danger of prosperity and self-sufficiency. The lesson notes that when life becomes comfortable, people often become less dependent upon God. While many believers feel too busy to pray, the reality is that they are too busy not to pray. The study reminds us that compared to much of the world, most Americans enjoy tremendous material blessings, yet these blessings can quietly diminish our dependence upon the Lord if we are not careful. Prosperity often becomes an obstacle to spiritual growth when it replaces a daily reliance upon God.
The heart of the lesson centers on Jesus’ command to “enter into thy closet” when praying. This private place represents intentional, uninterrupted time alone with God. Public prayer certainly has its place, but personal communion with the Lord cannot be replaced by praying in church or with family. The speaker explains that true intimacy with God is developed in private, where worship, confession, thanksgiving, and honest conversation take place without distraction or the desire to impress others.
Drawing from personal testimony, the speaker shares how God answered a prayer for more time by allowing unexpected life changes that ultimately provided extended seasons of private fellowship with Him. Although the circumstances were difficult, they became the beginning of a deeper, life-changing prayer life. This testimony illustrates that God often answers prayers in unexpected ways and uses life’s challenges to draw His children into closer fellowship with Himself.
The lesson also reminds believers that meaningful prayer requires time. While prayer does not have to be lengthy to be sincere, developing a close relationship with God cannot be rushed. Just as Jesus frequently withdrew to spend extended periods alone with the Father, believers are encouraged to establish regular times of private worship and communion with God.
Finally, the study examines the Lord’s Prayer, not as a prayer to be repeated mechanically, but as a pattern for approaching God. Jesus teaches that prayer should begin with worship, acknowledging God’s holiness and kingdom before moving to personal requests. His example provides a framework that includes praise, submission to God’s will, dependence upon His daily provision, confession, forgiveness, and spiritual protection.
Ultimately, this lesson reminds believers that effective prayer is built upon humility, sincere worship, and a personal relationship with God. Public expressions of faith can never replace private fellowship with the Father. As Christians spend intentional time alone with God, their dependence upon Him grows, their hearts become more aligned with His will, and prayer becomes not merely a religious duty but one of the greatest privileges of the Christian life.
In this Bible study on prayer, we continue exploring the promises Jesus made concerning prayer and examine what it truly means to pray effectively. Beginning in John 16:23-24, we are reminded of Christ’s bold promise that whatever we ask the Father in His name, He will give according to His will. These promises encourage believers to approach God with confidence, faith, and expectation.
The lesson emphasizes that powerful prayer is not simply about asking God for what we want, but about developing a closer relationship with Him. The speaker shares his own personal conviction, acknowledging that studying prayer revealed areas where his own motives and priorities needed to change. This serves as a reminder that every believer can grow in prayer and that spiritual maturity begins with humility before God.
Several obstacles to answered prayer are examined throughout the study. We are challenged to consider whether we truly believe God is able to answer our prayers, whether we have failed to ask Him altogether, and whether we have given up too soon instead of praying persistently. Drawing from the teachings of Jesus and the book of James, we learn that faith, perseverance, and unwavering trust are essential characteristics of an effective prayer life.
A major focus of this lesson is the importance of our motives. James warns that some prayers go unanswered because they are asked selfishly, with the intention of satisfying personal desires rather than glorifying God. The study encourages every believer to honestly examine the reason behind each prayer. Are we seeking God’s glory, or are we seeking our own recognition? Every answered prayer should point others to the goodness, power, and faithfulness of God rather than to ourselves.
The lesson also highlights God’s loving provision for His children. Just as He faithfully feeds the birds of the air and clothes the flowers of the field, our Heavenly Father already knows our needs before we ask. This truth frees believers from anxious, self-centered prayers and encourages greater trust in God’s care and perfect timing.
Prayer is presented not as an emergency resource but as the daily means by which believers remain connected to God. One memorable challenge asks whether prayer functions as our “steering wheel” or merely our “spare tire.” Rather than turning to God only during times of crisis, Christians are encouraged to allow prayer to guide every aspect of their lives.
The study concludes by emphasizing the necessity of personal holiness. James teaches that “the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much,” reminding us that God looks beyond outward appearances and examines the heart. Hidden sins, selfish attitudes, pride, and impure motives all hinder fellowship with God. Through confession, repentance, and the cleansing power of Jesus Christ, believers can experience restored fellowship and greater confidence in prayer.
Ultimately, this lesson reminds us that effective prayer is not produced by eloquent words or repeated requests alone. Powerful prayer flows from a heart that believes God, seeks His glory above personal gain, walks in humility and righteousness, and remains completely dependent upon the Holy Spirit. As we grow in our relationship with God, our prayers become more aligned with His will, and our lives become greater instruments for His glory.
Even in the darkest valleys, God is still faithful. In this encouraging message, Pastor Tommy Boring shares how the life of Jeremiah reminds us that hope is never lost, even when hardship seems overwhelming.
Preaching from Lamentations 3, Pastor Tommy walks through Jeremiah’s deep sorrow as he witnessed the judgment of Jerusalem and endured suffering alongside his people. Jeremiah felt abandoned, broken, and without peace, even believing that his hope had perished. Yet everything changed when he stopped talking about God and began talking to God.
This sermon highlights the powerful turning point found in Jeremiah’s prayer. As he remembered God’s mercy, compassion, and faithfulness, hope returned to his heart. The same God who met Jeremiah in his darkest moments continues to meet His people today. No matter how heavy the burden, how long the trial, or how impossible the situation may seem, God’s mercies are new every morning, and His faithfulness never fails.
Pastor Tommy reminds us that suffering does not mean God has abandoned us. Instead, difficult seasons can humble us, draw us closer to Christ, and help us remember the promises that never change. When fear, discouragement, and despair threaten to consume us, we are called to seek the Lord, patiently wait on Him, and trust that He is still working.
If you’re facing disappointment, grief, uncertainty, or spiritual exhaustion, this message offers biblical encouragement to keep your eyes on the Lord. True hope is not found in changing circumstances, but in the unchanging character of God.
In a world filled with uncertainty, heartache, and constant distractions, Elder Dustin Parks delivers an encouraging message from Romans 8 titled, “Not Worthy to be Compared.” This sermon reminds believers that no trial, burden, or suffering in this life can compare to the glory that awaits those who belong to Christ.
Drawing from Romans 8:18-39, Elder Dustin explores how the enemy works to keep people focused on fear, discouragement, bad news, and worldly concerns. Whether it’s personal struggles, family hardships, sickness, anxiety, or the pressures of everyday life, Satan seeks to distract God’s people from the promises of God and the hope found in Jesus Christ.
Through personal testimony and biblical examples, he shares how salvation transformed his perspective on life and death. Before knowing Christ, fear and uncertainty dominated his thoughts. After being born again, he discovered a peace that only God can give and the assurance that eternity with Christ awaits every believer.
The message highlights the powerful truth that believers are “saved by hope” and sustained by the Holy Spirit, who intercedes for us even when we don’t know how to pray. God remains faithful through every circumstance, working all things together for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.
Using examples from Scripture, including Job, Moses, Esther, David, and the Apostle Paul, Elder Dustin demonstrates that God’s people have always faced difficulties. Yet each found strength by trusting the Lord rather than their circumstances. The same God who carried them through trials continues to guide, sustain, and strengthen His children today.
The sermon also points believers toward the incredible promises of heaven found in Revelation 21:4, where God will wipe away every tear, remove all pain, eliminate sorrow, and bring His people into eternal joy and peace. The troubles of this present life are temporary, but the glory awaiting God’s children is everlasting.
Most importantly, this message challenges listeners not to allow daily circumstances to dictate their worship, faith, or confidence in God. No matter what burdens we face, nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
If you’re carrying heavy burdens, struggling with fear, or simply need a reminder of God’s promises, this message will encourage you to lift your eyes beyond present troubles and focus on the eternal hope found in Jesus Christ.
In this heartfelt message, Pastor Tommy Boring shares the powerful truth that salvation is as simple as responding to the call of God. Drawing from Luke 11:9-13, he explores Christ’s promise: “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.”
Reflecting on the overwhelming love of the Father, Pastor Tommy describes the joy and assurance that comes from knowing God personally. He reminds listeners that prayer is never wasted when directed to the living God, who hears, answers, and works in ways beyond human ability. Through the power of the Holy Spirit and the truth of God’s Word, hearts are awakened to the reality of eternity and the need for salvation.
Throughout the sermon, he shares his personal testimony of being saved as a young boy when the Holy Ghost revealed his lost condition and drew him to Christ. Salvation was not earned through good works, religious knowledge, or personal merit. It came through a simple response of faith. He asked, and God answered.
Using examples such as Zacchaeus climbing the sycamore tree to see Jesus, Pastor Tommy emphasizes that every person must make a personal decision when Christ comes calling. God does not force Himself into anyone’s life. He stands at the door and knocks, offering forgiveness, hope, peace, and eternal life to those who will open the door and receive Him.
The message serves as a reminder that salvation is available to everyone, regardless of background, age, or past mistakes. Jesus has already done everything necessary through His death, burial, and resurrection. The question is not whether God is willing to save, but whether we are willing to respond.
If God is speaking to your heart today, don’t delay. Tomorrow is not promised. The invitation remains the same: Ask and you shall receive.
A powerful reminder of both the simplicity of salvation and the urgency of sharing the gospel, Brother Victor Stefanini’s message, “The Simple Promise,” centers on the life-changing truth of Romans 10:13: “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Drawing from personal testimony, missionary experiences, and the Word of God, Brother Victor explains how salvation is not earned through religious works, traditions, or keeping laws. While the Old Testament contained hundreds of commandments, God’s plan of salvation is available to anyone who will believe the gospel and call upon the Lord in faith. Through Jesus Christ, believers are saved from the power of sin, the penalty of sin, and one day even the presence of sin.
The message highlights the necessity of hearing and believing the gospel. Brother Victor shares how, despite growing up with religious knowledge, he did not truly understand the saving message of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection until someone personally brought the gospel to him. That encounter changed his life forever and serves as a reminder that many people around the world, and even in our own communities, still need to hear the truth.
Using Romans 10:13-14, he emphasizes God’s heart for all people and the vital role believers play in carrying the gospel to others. From the mission field in Italy to neighborhoods across America, countless souls are waiting for someone to tell them about Jesus. The question posed throughout the message is both personal and challenging: Who is waiting for you to share the gospel with them?
This sermon encourages believers to trust God’s promise, rejoice in the simplicity of salvation, pray for revival, and faithfully proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ while there is still time.
What does it look like when God completely changes a life? In this powerful testimony and message, Brother Danny Buchanan, Jr. shares how the transforming power of Jesus Christ took him from years of addiction, brokenness, and hopelessness to a life filled with purpose, peace, and a desire to serve God. His story stands as a living witness that no one is beyond the reach of God’s grace.
Drawing from personal experience, Brother Danny recounts a past marked by drug addiction, multiple overdoses, and a life that seemed headed nowhere. Yet through the mercy of God, everything changed. The cravings that once controlled him have been replaced with a desire to walk with God, study His Word, and share the gospel with others. Today, he testifies that the same God who delivered him can deliver anyone who calls upon Him.
Using the illustration of neglected flowers that were restored through the care of a gardener, the message highlights how God takes lives that seem broken, unwanted, and without value and transforms them into something beautiful for His glory. The changes God makes are so real that family, friends, and coworkers cannot help but notice the difference.
At the heart of the sermon is the life-changing power of the Word of God. Through passages such as Psalm 119, John 1, 2 Timothy 2:15, Jeremiah 23:29, and Hebrews 4:12, listeners are reminded that God’s Word is alive, powerful, and able to reach places no human effort can touch. It cleanses, guides, convicts, strengthens, comforts, and reveals the condition of the heart.
Brother Danny emphasizes the importance of studying Scripture, praying for understanding, and applying God’s truth to daily life. The Bible is more than a book. It is God’s instruction manual for living, a source of hope during trials, and a light that directs believers through life’s darkest moments. Through its pages we find God’s promises, His forgiveness, His guidance, and the assurance that He will never leave nor forsake His people.
The message also challenges believers to live out their faith before others. It is not enough to talk about the gospel. Christians are called to live in a way that reflects the change Christ has made within them. The world is watching, and a transformed life can be one of the greatest testimonies of God’s power.
Throughout the sermon, Brother Danny openly acknowledges ongoing battles and temptations, while emphasizing God’s faithfulness to provide strength, forgiveness, and a way of escape. His testimony serves as a reminder that spiritual growth is a daily walk of dependence upon God.
“Living Proof” is an encouraging message for anyone struggling with addiction, temptation, discouragement, or doubt. It points listeners to the hope found in Jesus Christ and the power of God’s Word to change hearts and lives. If God can transform one life so completely, He can do the same for you.
No matter where you’ve been or what you’ve done, God’s arm is not too short to save, His ear is not too heavy to hear, and His grace is still sufficient today.
Reflecting on the greatest demonstration of love ever shown, Elder Bruce Whitehead’s message “The Love That Opened the Veil” centers on the truth that God’s love made a way for sinners to come directly to Him through Jesus Christ. Drawing from John 3:14-17, this sermon magnifies the grace, mercy, and sacrifice of God, who gave His only begotten Son so that whosoever believes in Him would not perish but have everlasting life.
Beginning with a personal testimony of prayer and preparation, Elder Whitehead shares how the Lord directed his thoughts toward the overwhelming reality of God’s love. Though many struggle with feelings of unworthiness or question whether God truly loves them, Scripture provides a clear answer: the cross is proof of God’s love for humanity.
The message revisits Christ’s words in Luke 10, where the disciples returned rejoicing that demons were subject to them. Yet Jesus redirected their focus, telling them not to rejoice in power or accomplishments, but to rejoice that their names were written in heaven. Elder Whitehead emphasizes that the greatest reason for joy is not what we do for God, but what God has done for us through salvation.
Looking back to the Old Testament, the sermon explores the ministry of the Levites and the enormous effort required under the law to minister before God. Thousands of Levites were assigned to various responsibilities in the temple, offering sacrifices, maintaining worship, and serving as intermediaries between God and the people. Yet all of that pointed forward to something greater.
When Jesus died on the cross, everything changed.
At the moment of His death, the veil in the temple was torn from top to bottom, opening direct access to God for all who believe. Through Christ’s sacrifice, the barrier between God and man was removed. No longer would people need earthly mediators to approach the Lord. Through Jesus, every believer can come boldly into God’s presence.
The sermon highlights the significance of this moment as one of the clearest demonstrations of divine love. God did not merely provide instructions or religion. He provided Himself. The tearing of the veil declared that salvation was available to all through faith in Jesus Christ.
Elder Whitehead repeatedly returns to the beautiful simplicity of the gospel. The promise is for “whosoever.” Salvation is not based on denomination, status, achievements, or personal goodness. It is offered freely through faith in Christ. God’s desire is not condemnation but redemption.
The message also points toward communion and Christ’s desire to fellowship with His people. Just as Jesus longed to share that final meal with His disciples, He continues to call sinners to Himself today. The invitation remains open to all who will believe.
Throughout the sermon, listeners are encouraged to reject the lies that question God’s love and instead rest in the certainty of what Christ accomplished on the cross. Because of His sacrifice, names can be written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, sins can be forgiven, and souls can be reconciled to God.
“The Love That Opened the Veil” is a powerful reminder that every part of the gospel story is rooted in love. From the cross to the empty tomb, from the torn veil to the promise of eternal life, God’s love remains the foundation of salvation and the greatest reason for rejoicing.
Using the story of Jonah and the testimony of Scripture, Pastor Tommy Boring delivers a sobering message titled “Two Hells, One Hope.” This sermon draws a powerful distinction between the temporary consequences of rebellion in a believer’s life and the eternal reality of hell for those who reject Jesus Christ.
Beginning in Jonah 1:17 and Jonah 2:2, Pastor Boring examines Jonah’s experience in the belly of the great fish, where the prophet described his affliction as being in the “belly of hell.” Though Jonah found himself in a place of darkness, despair, and discipline because of his disobedience, there was still something available to him: hope. Jonah could still pray, God could still hear, and repentance could still bring restoration.
The message explains that many believers have experienced a similar “hell” in this life. When God’s children become indifferent, rebellious, or wander from His will, they often find themselves in painful situations of their own making. Yet even in those moments, God remains willing to hear a repentant cry and extend mercy. Jonah’s experience was not punishment without purpose. It was God’s way of awakening him and bringing him back to obedience.
In contrast, Pastor Boring presents the terrifying reality of eternal hell as described throughout Scripture. Unlike Jonah’s temporary affliction, the eternal hell awaiting those who die without Christ offers no relief, no second chances, and no escape. Referencing the rich man in Luke 16, the sermon highlights the immediate torment, the absence of hope, and the irreversible nature of eternity without God.
Several striking differences are emphasized:
- Jonah could pray, and God heard him. In eternal hell, the opportunity to call upon God has passed.
- Jonah still had hope. Eternal hell offers none.
- Jonah was alive and able to repent. After death, the opportunity for salvation is gone.
- Jonah received a second chance. Those who die without Christ will not.
- Jonah’s suffering ended when he turned back to God. Eternal punishment has no ending.
Throughout the message, listeners are reminded that hell was prepared for the devil and his angels, not for mankind. God desires that all people come to repentance and be saved. Through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, God has provided a way of escape from judgment and eternal separation.
Pastor Boring stresses the urgency of responding to God while there is still time. No one is promised tomorrow. The opportunity to receive Christ exists only in this life. The message repeatedly points to the truth that while a person is breathing, there is hope. Once life ends, eternity is settled.
“Two Hells, One Hope” is both a warning and an invitation. It warns of the dangers of rebellion and the reality of eternal judgment, while offering the only true hope found in Jesus Christ. Whether someone is a wandering believer in need of restoration or a lost sinner in need of salvation, God’s call remains the same: come to Him today.
If God is speaking to your heart, don’t put off what needs to be settled. Today is the day of salvation.
Centering on Hebrews 12:1-2, Elder Gary Massengill delivers a Christ-centered message titled “What Are You Looking For?” This sermon challenges listeners to examine the focus of their lives and directs their attention to the One who is worthy of it all: Jesus Christ, the Author and Finisher of our faith.
Drawing from the powerful exhortation to run the Christian race with patience while “looking unto Jesus,” Elder Massengill reminds us that salvation is not based on human effort, religious works, or personal merit. Our hope rests entirely in the finished work of Christ on the cross of Calvary. Before the foundation of the world, when no one in heaven, earth, or beneath the earth could be found worthy, God provided the perfect Lamb. Jesus willingly left the glory of heaven, took on human flesh, and became the sacrifice for the sins of mankind.
The message reflects on the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, especially during the Easter season. Jesus endured the cross, suffered shame, and shed His precious blood so that every sinner could be saved by the grace of God. His cry of “It is finished” declared that the plan of redemption was complete forever. Nothing can be added to it, and nothing can be taken away.
Elder Massengill beautifully illustrates salvation through the Old Testament tabernacle. The single door into the tabernacle points to Christ as the only way to the Father. The laver speaks of cleansing, the candlestick represents light, and the showbread reminds us that Jesus is the Bread of Life who sustains His people. When Christ died, the veil was torn from top to bottom, opening direct access to God through our great High Priest, Jesus Christ.
Throughout the sermon, listeners are asked a simple but searching question: What are you looking for? Are you looking for fulfillment in the world, or are you looking unto Jesus? The world cannot satisfy the deepest needs of the soul. True peace, joy, forgiveness, and eternal life are found only in Him.
The message also highlights the incredible love of Christ. While we were still sinners, He came to where we were, reaching into the depths of our brokenness to offer salvation. Through the convicting work of the Holy Spirit, He continues to call hearts to repentance and faith today.
Elder Massengill reminds us that Jesus was looking for something as well. As He hung upon the cross, He was looking ahead to those who would believe, trust Him, and receive the gift of salvation. Even now, He is still drawing souls, making intercession for His people, and preparing a place for those who belong to Him.
The sermon concludes with a glorious vision of heaven. A place where there are no more tears, no more death, no more sorrow, and no more pain. A place where believers will be reunited with loved ones, gather at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, and most importantly, see Jesus face to face.
Whether you’re searching for hope, purpose, peace, or salvation, this message points to the answer found in Christ alone. The question remains: What are you looking for?
Drawing from the sobering account of the famine in Samaria found in 2 Kings 6:24-29, Elder Dustin Parks delivers a searching message titled “Starving for the Word.” While the biblical famine brought people to unimaginable desperation for physical food, this sermon warns of a far greater crisis affecting many churches and believers today: a famine of hearing and obeying the Word of God.
Elder Parks contrasts the horrifying conditions in Samaria, where people paid outrageous prices for scraps of food and even resorted to unthinkable acts to survive, with the spiritual condition of modern society. Unlike Samaria, many people today are surrounded by comfort, convenience, and abundance, yet remain spiritually starving. The danger is not an empty refrigerator but an empty desire for God, His Word, His house, and His presence.
Using the prophecy of Amos 8, the message warns that we are dangerously close to a generation that no longer hungers for truth. Churches are struggling, attendance is declining, and many who once stood firmly in Christ are drifting away. The problem did not happen overnight. Spiritual famine often begins when believers slowly take God’s blessings for granted and allow other priorities to replace their love for Him.
Throughout the sermon, Elder Parks challenges listeners to examine their own hearts. Have we become comfortable with the world? Have we traded worship for entertainment, conviction for compromise, and spiritual devotion for worldly pursuits? The enemy works gradually, drawing people away one step at a time until they find themselves distant from God and lacking spiritual hunger.
The message emphasizes the importance of assembling with God’s people, enduring sound doctrine, and remaining faithful to biblical truth. Christians are called to be separate from the world, refusing to embrace the sinful values and influences that continually seek to pull them away from God. What one generation tolerates, the next generation often accepts as normal.
Elder Parks speaks candidly about the deceptive nature of sin and the danger of following feelings rather than God’s Word. The world often presents sin as attractive while hiding its destructive consequences. Only the guidance of the Holy Spirit and obedience to Scripture can keep believers from falling into spiritual famine.
At the heart of the message is a call to repentance. Whether for the lost soul needing salvation, the backslider who has drifted away, or the believer who has lost their desire to serve God, the invitation remains the same: return to the Lord while there is still time. God stands ready to forgive, restore, and heal those who humble themselves and seek His face.
Quoting 2 Chronicles 7:14, Elder Parks reminds listeners that God is not the problem. God remains faithful. The need is for His people to repent, pray, and turn from their wicked ways. Revival begins when individuals allow God to search their hearts and reveal anything that stands between them and Him.
This message is both a warning and a plea. Don’t wait until spiritual famine has consumed your life. Hunger for the Word of God. Desire His presence. Stay faithful to His house. And if God is speaking to your heart, respond today while His Spirit is still calling.
From the pages of Proverbs 4:20-23, Pastor Tommy Boring brings a challenging and practical message titled “Guarding and Yielding Your Heart”. This sermon focuses on the spiritual heart, the inner man, the soul that will live forever, and the responsibility every believer has to protect, maintain, and surrender it completely to God.
The message begins with a powerful reminder that the heart is the most important part of who we are. While much attention is given to the outward life, God is concerned with the inward condition of the heart. The issues of life flow from it, making it essential that believers diligently guard what enters and influences their soul.
Pastor Boring warns that there is a real enemy who is after the heart of every child of God. Satan’s goal is not merely to disrupt the outward life but to damage the inner man, dull spiritual sensitivity, and render believers ineffective in their walk with Christ. What we allow into our minds through entertainment, habits, relationships, and worldly influences can either strengthen or weaken our spiritual condition.
This sermon emphasizes the necessity of spiritual discipline. Just as physical health requires maintenance, spiritual health requires effort. Believers are called to pray, stay in the Word of God, and actively guard against anything that draws them away from Christ. If something leads toward sin or weakens fellowship with God, it must be removed.
Pastor Boring explains that guarding the heart involves more than avoiding wrong influences. It also requires attending to the heart’s needs. A healthy spiritual life includes regular cleansing through repentance, feeding on the Word of God, and exercising the heart through worship, prayer, obedience, and faithful church attendance.
The message highlights the importance of allowing God to search the heart. Only He can see every hidden motive, every wound, every struggle, and every area that needs attention. When believers bring their hearts before God with honesty and humility, He is able to cleanse, restore, and strengthen them.
A central theme throughout the sermon is surrender. Many people want God’s help without fully yielding their hearts to Him. Yet Scripture teaches that God desires complete devotion. We are called to love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. A broken and contrite heart is never rejected by God.
Pastor Boring encourages those who may have drifted spiritually, struggled with sin, or neglected their walk with God. No matter how much of a mess life may seem, God is still able to restore what has been damaged. When we finally surrender our hearts and allow the Holy Spirit to work, God begins putting things back in order and guiding our steps once again.
This message serves as both a warning and an invitation. Guard your heart carefully. Feed it with truth. Exercise it in worship. Cleanse it through repentance. Most importantly, yield it completely to God. The One who saved your soul is also able to help you keep your heart.
Pastor Tommy Boring delivers a passionate and heartfelt message titled “The Big Event of Salvation”, reminding believers never to lose the wonder of what God has done for their souls. Drawing from Acts 3:1-9, the account of the lame man healed at the gate called Beautiful becomes a powerful picture of salvation and the life-changing work of Jesus Christ.
The lame man expected only a few coins to help him through another day, but God had something far greater in store. Through the name of Jesus Christ, he was instantly healed, lifted from his helpless condition, and filled with praise. Pastor Boring uses this miracle to illustrate the greatest miracle of all: the salvation of a lost sinner.
Throughout the message, listeners are challenged to remember the day God changed their lives. The biggest event in life is not a career achievement, a wedding, or any earthly accomplishment. The greatest event is when the Holy Spirit awakens a sinner to their need of Christ and brings them from death unto life.
Pastor Boring reflects on his own testimony and reminds the church that salvation is not a small thing. It is a miracle that only God can perform. Religion cannot do it. Good works cannot do it. Human effort cannot do it. Only Jesus Christ can rescue a soul from sin, forgive the guilty, and write a name in heaven.
The sermon revisits some of the greatest moments in Scripture, from Zacchaeus meeting Jesus in the sycamore tree, to the birth of Christ in Bethlehem, to the cross of Calvary, and finally to the empty tomb. Each event points to the same truth: God did something so great that it should never cease to amaze us.
When Jesus was born, heaven announced it. When Jesus died, the earth trembled. When Jesus rose again, death was defeated. Because He lives, sinners can be saved and believers have the promise of eternal life.
Pastor Boring warns that many Christians have allowed the wonder of salvation to fade. If the cross no longer amazes us, if the resurrection no longer stirs our hearts, or if the day we were saved no longer fills us with gratitude, then we need to return to our first love and remember just how big God’s gift truly is.
The message closes with a call to remember, rejoice, and never get over the day Jesus changed everything. The greatest thing that ever happened was not what we did for God, but what God did for us through His Son.
If you’ve never experienced that life-changing moment, Christ still saves. Trust Him today and discover the greatest event that could ever happen in your life.
A sobering message with eternal significance, Pastor Tommy Boring’s sermon “Too Late!” from Luke 16:19-31 brings listeners face to face with the powerful account of the rich man and Lazarus. Through this well-known passage, the message reminds us that there comes a moment when opportunities end, decisions are final, and eternity begins.
The rich man lived in comfort and luxury while Lazarus, a poor and suffering beggar, lay at his gate longing for even the crumbs from his table. Though their lives looked vastly different on earth, eternity changed everything. Lazarus was carried into paradise, while the rich man lifted up his eyes in torment. In hell, the rich man suddenly realized truths he had ignored in life, but by then it was too late.
Pastor Boring uses this account as a warning against delay and spiritual complacency. Too many people assume there will always be another opportunity to pray, another church service to attend, another chance to get right with God, or another day to share the Gospel. Scripture reminds us that tomorrow is not promised.
The message emphasizes the tragedy of missed opportunities. The rich man had countless chances to show compassion to Lazarus and countless opportunities to heed the Word of God, yet he neglected both. In eternity, he desired only a drop of water and wished he could go back to warn his family. The realization of what could have been became part of his torment.
One of the strongest challenges in this sermon is the urgency of sharing our faith. The rich man begged for someone to warn his five brothers so they would not come to that awful place. Pastor Boring reminds believers that we still have time to witness, pray, invite people to church, and tell loved ones about Jesus while the door of grace remains open.
This message calls Christians to live with urgency and purpose. Be on fire for God. Love people. Care for those in need. Make things right while there is time. Do not put off salvation, obedience, forgiveness, or compassion for another day.
There is coming a time when every opportunity to respond will end. The question is not whether that day is coming. The question is whether we are ready.
Now is the time to seek God. Now is the time to warn others. Now is the time, before it becomes… too late.
A powerful reminder from Pastor Tommy Boring, “Qualified by Grace” centers on Colossians 1:10-20 and the truth that salvation is not earned by our works, merit, or goodness. We are made worthy only through the grace of God and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
This message turns hearts toward the Father and gives thanks for His eternal plan of redemption. Before the foundation of the world, God had a plan to save sinners. Because of His great love, He sent His Son so we would not have to face eternal separation from Him. As Pastor Boring emphasizes, salvation was never about what we can do for God. It has always been about what God has done for us.
The sermon highlights the call to walk worthy of the Lord, grow in spiritual fruit, and increase in the knowledge of God. Though the flesh wars against the things of God and becomes a hindrance in our lives, believers are reminded that there is something greater living within them through the power of the Holy Spirit.
One of the central truths of this message is that we were spiritually helpless and unqualified on our own. Pastor Boring shares the powerful illustration of the thief on the cross, who had no good works, no achievements, and no earthly qualifications. His only hope was Christ. Jesus simply said, ”Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.” That same grace still saves today.
The message explains that God qualified us through Jesus Christ. He paid the sin debt we could never pay and redeemed us through His blood. Our righteousness could never earn heaven, but Jesus made a way where there was no way.
Pastor Boring also speaks about the inheritance awaiting the children of God. Through Christ we become heirs and joint-heirs, promised an eternal home where there is no sorrow, sin, pain, or graveyards. Like Abraham who looked for a city whose builder and maker was God, believers are reminded to keep their eyes on a heavenly country.
This sermon also warns about the reality of spiritual darkness. Sin blinds people from seeing their need for a Savior, and many remain trapped under the power of darkness without realizing it. Yet through salvation, God delivers us, translates us from darkness into the kingdom of His dear Son, and makes us new creatures in Christ.
The invitation closes with a simple but important question. The issue is not whether God can save. The question is whether you have truly been made His.
If your heart is not where it needs to be with God, today is the day to prepare to meet Him.
Rev. Danny Buchanan delivers a heartfelt message titled “There’s a Cause” from 1 Samuel 17:27-29, centered on David’s words: “Is there not a cause?” Through the story of David and Goliath, this sermon reminds us that God has a purpose for every life and a calling for every believer.
This message challenges us to examine our walk with God and ask if we are truly listening, praying, witnessing, and obeying His voice. Too often people turn to prayer only in times of tragedy, but God is calling His people to humble themselves, seek Him, and cry out with sincere hearts. Revival does not begin with programs. It begins with prayer.
Rev. Buchanan reminds us that the battle belongs to the Lord. David was not the biggest or strongest, but he came in the name of God. The same God who delivered then is still delivering today. God has not changed. He still has power, still answers prayer, and still works in the lives of His people.
The sermon also carries a burden for lost souls. There are people all around us searching for hope, hurting, and far from God. We are called to witness, invite others to church, let our light shine, and never give up praying for family members, neighbors, and friends. Whether on the highway, in the grocery store, or in church, we are called to share the Gospel.
Rev. Buchanan speaks on the importance of preaching the true Word of God without compromise. In a day when many are changing the message, God’s Word remains pure and unchanging. The church needs truth, old paths, and a fresh desire to seek God.
This sermon is also a reminder of the urgency of the hour. We are living in uncertain times and none of us are promised tomorrow. Now is the time to get close to God, make things right, and answer His call. Don’t go backward. Press on. Keep running the race. Keep praying. Keep trusting. Keep serving.
No matter what burdens you carry, whether in your family, your home, or your own heart, there is still a cause. God has a purpose for your life, and one day it will all be worth it when we see Him face to face.
If God is speaking to your heart, don’t wait. Respond while you can.
A message from Lamentations 3, Pastor Tommy Boring explores the compassion of the prophet Jeremiah and the importance of allowing what we see and hear to affect our hearts for the glory of God. Jeremiah witnessed the destruction of Jerusalem, the suffering of his people, and the consequences of sin and rebellion, yet he never lost his tenderness, compassion, or burden for souls.
Drawing from Lamentations 3:51, “Mine eye affecteth mine heart,” Pastor Tommy challenges believers not to become hardened or indifferent to the hurting world around them. Jeremiah saw starvation, captivity, broken homes, and suffering, and instead of turning away, he wept before God. Though he preached faithfully for decades with little visible response, he continued to stand in the gap for the people because his heart was moved by what he saw and heard.
This sermon emphasizes that what enters through the eyes and ears should lead believers to prayer, compassion, and action. Pastor Tommy shares moving examples of people witnessing tragedy, broken families, addiction, and suffering, only to realize afterward that God was calling them to pray and care more deeply. The message warns against protecting the heart to the point of becoming cold toward the needs of others.
The compassion of Christ is woven throughout the message. Jesus wept over Jerusalem. Jesus wept at Lazarus’ tomb. Jesus showed mercy to the hurting, healed the broken, and even prayed for forgiveness for those crucifying Him. Pastor Tommy reminds the church that if we truly follow Christ, our hearts should be affected by the pain, struggles, and lost condition of humanity.
The sermon also points to the comforting voice of God in times of affliction. Jeremiah cried out from the “low dungeon,” and God answered him with the words, “Fear not.” Pastor Tommy encourages listeners that when every other voice brings fear, confusion, and discouragement, the voice of God still brings peace, courage, hope, and rescue.
This message is a call for believers to care again, pray again, and engage with the needs around them instead of ignoring them. Souls are worth crying over. Hurting people are worth loving. The church has a responsibility to reflect the compassion of Jesus Christ to a broken world.
“The Impact of Seeing and Hearing” is both a challenge and an encouragement to let God soften the heart, deepen compassion, and move believers into prayer and action for those in need.
A message from Deuteronomy 26 and Nehemiah 8, Pastor Tommy Boring explores the true meaning and essence of worship according to the Word of God. Worship is not based on personal preference, emotion, or outward appearance. True worship is centered entirely on Jesus Christ and flows from a heart that remembers where God brought us from and what He has done for us.
Pastor Tommy explains that God Himself defines worship. Singing, shouting, lifting hands, and outward actions alone are not worship without the presence and moving of the Holy Ghost. Real worship comes from a humbled heart that recognizes the greatness of God, the mercy of salvation, and the deliverance from the bondage of sin.
Drawing from Deuteronomy 26, the message highlights God’s command for Israel to bring the first fruits before Him and remember their past. They were to recall being strangers, afflicted in Egypt, and rescued by the mighty hand of God. In the same way, believers today should never forget the pit God brought them out of, the bondage He broke, and the grace that saved their souls.
Pastor Tommy emphasizes that worship is deeply connected to remembrance. Remembering our past without Christ and remembering the moment Jesus rescued us should stir gratitude, humility, and praise. If we ever lose the wonder of being saved from hell, something is wrong spiritually. Christ is worthy of worship simply because of who He is and what He has already done.
Using Nehemiah 8 as an example, this sermon also focuses on the importance of reverence for the Word of God. When Ezra opened the book, the people stood in honor, lifted their hands, bowed their heads, and worshipped with humility. The Bible remains central to worship because it reveals Christ, convicts hearts, and brings life to the believer.
Pastor Tommy challenges believers to come to the house of God with an “audience of One” mindset. Worship is not about impressing people or depending on feelings. God deserves praise whether circumstances are good or bad. Worshipping in difficult seasons honors God and invites the presence of the Holy Spirit.
This message is a call to bow the heart before God, remove distractions that take Christ’s place, and once again make Jesus the center of worship. Everything we have came from Him, everything we need is found in Him, and everything we are belongs to Him.
Jesus Christ is the reason we worship.
In this powerful message from Ephesians 1:18-23, Pastor Tommy Boring explores the exceeding greatness of God’s power and challenges believers to truly understand who God is. From creation itself to the resurrection of Jesus Christ, this sermon points to a God whose power has no limits, no rival, and no equal.
Pastor Tommy reminds us that God simply spoke light into existence, formed man from the dust, parted the Red Sea, held the sun still for Joshua, calmed raging storms, and raised the dead. The same God who performed miracles throughout scripture is still all-powerful today. If God has all power in heaven and earth, why do we struggle to pray boldly and trust Him fully?
This message centers on Paul’s words about the “exceeding greatness of His power to usward who believe.” Pastor Tommy emphasizes that God’s power is not distant or theoretical. It is directed toward believers. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the greatest demonstration of that power. Death could not hold Him, the grave could not keep Him, and today Christ sits at the right hand of the Father far above all principality, power, and dominion.
Through personal testimony and scripture, Pastor Tommy encourages listeners to stop bringing God down to human limitations. There has never been a problem too hard for God. The struggle is not whether God has the power, but whether we truly believe Him and trust His will. A greater understanding of God’s power changes the way we pray, worship, and live.
Referencing Romans 8, this sermon also highlights the assurance believers have in Christ. If God is for us, who can be against us? Nothing can separate us from the love of God. No trial, fear, devil, government, sickness, or circumstance is greater than the God we serve.
Pastor Tommy calls the church back to awe, faith, and confidence in prayer. He reminds believers that the Holy Spirit of the all-powerful God lives within them, and that God is still able to help, heal, save, strengthen, and carry His people through every circumstance.
If you need encouragement to trust God more deeply and pray with greater faith, this message will point your heart back to the unmatched power of Almighty God.
In this powerful and deeply personal message, Elder Ronnie Blair shares the life-changing truth of God’s hope and redemption through the story of the prodigal son in Luke 15. Drawing from his own testimony, he reflects on seasons of struggle, conviction, and the overwhelming grace that led him back to the Father’s house.
This sermon reminds us that no matter how far we wander, God’s love never fails. Just like the prodigal son, there comes a moment when we “come to ourselves” and realize our need for the Father. Elder Ronnie emphasizes that valleys, hardships, and broken places are often where God shapes us and prepares us for restoration. Even in life’s darkest moments, God is still on the throne, still calling, and still ready to receive anyone who will return.
With heartfelt sincerity, he speaks about the drawing power of the Holy Spirit, reminding listeners that salvation is not something man can manufacture. It is God who calls, convicts, and restores. Through personal stories and biblical truth, he highlights the urgency of responding when God speaks, warning against delaying or remaining at a guilty distance from Him.
The message also points to the incredible love of the Father, who is always watching, always waiting, and ready to run toward those who come home. There is no need to clean yourself up first. God welcomes you as you are, forgives completely, and restores fully. His grace covers the past, His Spirit transforms the present, and His promise secures the future.
Elder Ronnie challenges believers to pursue holiness, guard their hearts and minds, and live lives surrendered to Christ. He reminds us that true peace and assurance come only through a genuine relationship with Jesus, not through outward religion or human effort.
Whether you feel far from God, burdened by past mistakes, or simply in need of renewal, this message is a clear call to return, repent, and receive the mercy and redemption only Christ can give.
Come home. The Father is waiting.
In this passionate and Spirit-filled message, Brother Bobby Whitehead magnifies the Word of God as the source of light, power, and truth in a dark and troubled world. From John 1:1, he reminds us that the Word was with God in the beginning and is God, revealing that Jesus Christ Himself is the living Word that brings life and salvation.
Using the picture of a lighthouse on a dangerous shore, Brother Bobby explains how God’s Word shines into darkness, guiding lost souls to safety. Just as a lighthouse warns and directs ships, the Bible provides direction, clarity, and hope to those searching for truth. It is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path, offering guidance for every step of life.
The message emphasizes that the Word is not only light, but also power. Through scriptures like Jeremiah 23:29, the Word is described as a fire and a hammer, able to break hardened hearts and burn away sin. Before salvation, the heart can become cold and resistant, but when the Word is preached and received, it begins to soften, convict, and transform. Pride is broken, and truth takes root.
Brother Bobby shares how the Word of God works deeply in the soul, often revealing things no one else knows. It challenges, corrects, and calls people to repentance. The gospel, as stated in Romans 1:16, is the power of God unto salvation. It is through hearing and receiving the Word that a person is saved and brought into new life.
The sermon also highlights the truth and reliability of God’s Word. It is unchanging, unfailing, and eternal. Heaven and earth may pass away, but His Word will stand forever. Every promise God has made will come to pass. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the ultimate proof that His Word is true and powerful.
Brother Bobby warns that we are living in times similar to Sodom and Gomorrah, where many reject truth and choose the world instead. Yet the message of salvation still stands. Just as Noah preached for years, the call to repentance continues today, even if many ignore it.
He also reminds listeners that the Word of God is our defense against the enemy. When the devil attacks the mind, it is the truth of Scripture that pushes back darkness. Just as Jesus used the Word to resist temptation, believers must rely on it daily for strength and victory.
Through personal testimony, Brother Bobby shares how the Word broke through his own pride, revealing his lost condition and leading him to salvation. What once seemed distant became real when God spoke directly to his heart. That same Word is still alive and working today.
At its core, this message is a call to receive and trust the Word of God. It is not just words on a page. It is living, powerful, and life-changing. It brings light to darkness, power to the powerless, and truth to a world filled with confusion.
If you are searching, struggling, or unsure, the answer is found in the Word. Accept Jesus Christ, the living Word, and find life, hope, and truth that will never fail.
In this moving and faith-filled message, Pastor Tommy Boring draws from Colossians 3:3 to reveal the powerful truth of what it means to be “hid with Christ in God.” Though the verse may seem contradictory, it speaks of a spiritual reality. The old man is dead, and through salvation, we are made alive in Christ. Our true life is now hidden, protected, and secured in Him.
Pastor Tommy emphasizes that being hidden in Christ is not something earned. It is a gift. When a person is saved, they are brought into the family of God and placed in a position the enemy cannot touch apart from God’s will. In that place, there is strength, peace, and protection that goes beyond anything this world can offer.
Using the powerful example of Moses, the message illustrates what it means to be hidden by God. As a child, Moses was hidden by his parents to protect him from destruction. Later, God continued to hide him, first in Pharaoh’s house, then in the wilderness, preparing him for a greater purpose. This becomes a picture of what believers are called to do for others, especially their children.
A central theme of the sermon is the responsibility to “hide” others in Christ through prayer. While we cannot control the choices of those we love or shield them from every hardship, we can take them to God daily. Parents, grandparents, and the church are called to stand in the gap, praying for protection, salvation, and guidance. Just as Moses was placed in a basket and committed to God’s care, we are to entrust those we love into His hands.
Pastor Tommy reminds us that physical protection has limits, but spiritual covering through prayer is powerful and effective. Even when children grow older or drift away, the call remains the same. Do not stop praying. Do not stop believing. Keep placing them before God, trusting Him to work in ways we cannot see.
The message also highlights the role of the church in this calling. There are many, both young and old, who cannot “hide themselves” spiritually. They are vulnerable, lost, or searching. The church has the privilege and responsibility to lift them up in prayer, love them, and point them to Christ until they come to know Him personally.
Pastor Tommy shares heartfelt testimony of seeing lives begin to change because someone faithfully prayed. Children who had never been in church are now hearing the Word of God and experiencing His presence. This is the result of persistent, believing prayer. What we cannot do, God can.
At its core, this sermon is about dependence on God and the assurance of His protection. Those who are in Christ are truly secure. When God looks at His children, He sees them through His Son. That is the safest place to be.
This message is both a comfort and a challenge. Be thankful if someone has prayed for you and helped “hide” you in Christ. Then take up that same responsibility for others. Keep praying. Keep trusting. Keep hiding them in Him until the day they come to know the Father for themselves.
Genesis 49:10-12* The passage discusses Jacob/Israel gathering his twelve sons to give them blessings. * The scepter shall not depart from Judah, meaning the kingship will never leave Judah. * This is a picture of the birth of the kingdom to come. * “Until Shiloh come” refers to the Messiah, Jesus Christ. * “And unto him shall the gathering of the people be”
Exodus 12* Over 430 years of coming out of Egypt, with 400 years under hard bondage. * The people cried out to the Lord, and He heard their cry. * After coming out of Egypt, they complained to Moses that they were led out to die. * Moses went up on the mountain to receive the Ten Commandments, written on tablets of stone by God’s own hand. + The commandments include “Thou shalt not kill” and “Thou shalt not steal.” + Also, “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy” and “Honor your father and your mother.” * The people could not bear the weight of the commandments. * Brother Cody emphasizes that “I can’t” and “you can’t,” but “He can.” * Brother Cody expresses gratitude for God’s faithfulness and love.
Paul’s Credentials* Paul gave his credentials, including being circumcised on the eighth day and being of the stock of Benjamin. * Paul counted all of his credentials as loss for the excellency of the Lord Jesus Christ, considering them as belonging in the “dump pile.”
Suffering and Persecution* All who live godly shall suffer persecution. * If you live for God, a fight is coming, and the world will hate you.
The House of God* Men have turned the house of God into a den of thieves. * They walk around as representatives of God in long robes, seeking the admonition of men and standing on street corners to show off their religiosity. * Brother Cody notes that this tendency is in everyone.
Deceiving Oneself* If any man thinks himself to be something when he is nothing, he has already deceived himself. * Brother Cody admits to deceiving himself in the past but notes that God was faithful and walked far out of the maze.
The Valley vs. The Mountain* An old preacher said he’d rather spend his time in the valley. * Brother Cody initially preferred being on the mountain with the Lord. * Growing occurs in the valley, through repeated experiences. * Something must die before something can come up.
400 Years of Silence* There was about 400 years of silence before John the Baptist began to preach in the wilderness. * John preached repentance, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. * When Jesus stepped into the river Jordan and was baptized, God opened the heavens, and the Holy Ghost came down. * Brother Cody believes the law was fulfilled at this moment, not at Calvary. * The law was the schoolmaster that brought us to Christ. * The law teaches that you are a sinner and that the rights of God are on your hands, which you cannot carry.
Temptation in the Wilderness* Jesus went into the wilderness and was tempted for 40 days. * Afterward, He began to preach, pointing to God and performing miracles to show that the power of God had not diminished.
Law of the Willer vs. Law of the Giver* In the fulfillment of God’s law, people are on the mountain with God. * Brother Cody encourages listeners not to be concerned with what the world is doing, as the Bible says it will happen. * Brother Cody battles with his flesh and relies on Psalm 73 until he understands.
Blessed Are They* Blessed are they that hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled. * When sin was revived, Paul died, revealing that he was dead in his trespasses and sins. * He was alienated and an enemy of God, with the wrath of God abiding on his head. * Only Jesus Christ could get him out of that state.
Damascus Road* Paul was persecuting the church, thinking he was doing God’s will. * God met him on the road to Damascus and said, “Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?” * It is hard to kick against the pricks, a reference to the person of the law.
Thorns* When transgression took place and they were cast out of the garden, thorns came up out of the ground, and they were under a curse. * If a man strives for mastery, he does not prevail unless he does it lawfully.
Enoch and Noah* Enoch walked with God and was not, for God took him. * Noah found grace in the eyes of God and also walked with God. * To walk with God, it must be done the correct way.
Grace* Grace came to where Brother Cody was, revealing by the law of God that he had trespassed against the Lord and broken His commands. * Brother Cody emphasizes that he doesn’t want to go to heaven if just anything and everything is let in. * It is by grace through faith, but not Brother Cody’s faith, but what He has given in measure. * It increases every time Brother Cody denies himself, takes up his cross, and bothers after Him. * Faith increases when one sees that He is faithful.
Victory Ground* Brother Cody stands on the victory ground, nose to nose with the devil, and sees pieces of art, every one of them is Jesus Christ.
Armor of God* Brother Cody references the armor of God, including the helmet of salvation and the breastplate of righteousness. * David said, “Restore unto me the joy of my salvation.” * Brother Cody’s righteousness is filthy rags; it is not his work of righteousness but the precious blood of the Lamb. * Feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, in hope of eternal life, which God cannot lie about. * God brought peace between Brother Cody and his maker, reconciliation. * Brother Cody urges true believers to be reconciled unto God.
Invitation* Brother Cody says that if he is lifted up, he will draw all men unto himself. * He is still drawing and saving today, calling men to preach and serve Him.
Delight in the Law* David said, “I delight in thy law.” * The law is precious, and Brother Cody is no longer under a curse because he spent a fee and that was written in his heart. * He has been made free by the perfect law of liberty, by the law of faith. * His performance in keeping the law is not what is getting him there, but God is ahead of him to keep it.
Advocate* If any man sins, he has an advocate with the Father. * Brother Cody believes in preaching the truth, not tickling ears. * It is not because of grandma and grandpa or what church you go to that you get into heaven. * It is God’s doing, God’s drawing.
Lord, Lord* On that day, many will come saying, “Lord, Lord.” * They will plead, “Did we not pray? Did we not go to church? Did we not hand out pamphlets?” * But that will not be enough. * You must be born again and get His Spirit. * He puts His Spirit in you and helps you to walk godly.
Shiloh* The Savior of Judah shall not depart, nor the lawgiver from between His feet, until Shiloh comes.
Riding into the City* When Jesus came into the city, He was riding on an ass and a colt. * Brother Cody notes that the colt is shorter than the ass, meaning the choice part of the true vine is under His feet. * You can come under His feet and acknowledge that He is Lord today.
Salvation* A salvation act is getting to walk with Him, talk with Him, and know Him. * Every day, Brother Cody gets to see Him come where he is and see how faithful He is to pick him up. * Brother Cody will cast every crown at His feet, acknowledging that He has done it all.
God’s Perspective* God is not a man that He should lie; He does not see as man sees; He looks at the heart. * Everything God has been ministering to Brother Cody has been said on the phone while driving and in prayer. * God is not concerned about your performance but will perform it through you. * When you get born again, you will know Him.
The King of Sinners* On this side, Brother Cody has to face a dirty, rocked, low-down, no-good sinner that loves sin, the king of sinners. * Yet, He wore my crown. * Brother Cody should have been the one crucified, beaten, mocked, and crucified. * He was beaten so badly that His visage was marred more than any man’s, unrecognizable. * The only one who never knew sin, without spot or blemish, prayed for Brother Cody and you on that cross.
Thieves on the Cross* Both thieves railed at Him, but one had a changed heart. * God ponders the heart of man. * Brother Cody can fool others, but he cannot hide from God. * There is no profit in being fake.
Knowing Him* To know Him is for Him to reveal what you really are. * You do not know yourself like you think you do. * The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. * That is why He puts His Spirit in your heart. * You must be honest with yourself; it is just you and Him. * He sent His Son to die for a bunch that did not deserve it. * He who knew no sin was made to be sin. * Death could not hold Him; now He has eternal life.
Walking Miracle* Brother Cody is a walking miracle. * Do not neglect so great salvation. * God has been good to Brother Cody. * He needs God because he knows what he is capable of. * He has drunk in the ditches his whole life. * If you can just reach a finger out there and grab a hold, you will find that He never will leave you nor forsake you. * Perception is not right; God is doing exactly what it takes for you to get where you need to be.
Job* When God said Job was perfect, He was talking to the dead. * God was thinking about His own mother. * We are going to be made like Him; we are going to be changed. * David said, “I will behold his face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake in his likeness.”
Abundance of God* His teeth are white with milk so we can get in on the abundance of God. * There are valleys on the mountain that become a place where Brother Cody knows he is fixing to draw near to God. * He is fixing to learn more about who He is and find out that He is faithful and loves him to the uttermost. * When he fell, he has been justified. * A just man falls seven times and gets back up.
Elijah* When Elijah sent his servant to see if there was rain, the servant came back and said there was nothing. * Elijah said, “Go again.” * When you think that there is nothing, just go again. * There will be a little cloud pop up, and here comes the abundance of rain.
Psalms 51* Elder Roger feels unable to preach God’s word without God and the Holy Spirit. + Asks for prayers. + The message comes from a Monday night men’s meeting and has been contemplated for a couple of weeks. + Brother Tommy was expected to preach on it Sunday but didn’t directly address it. * Elder Roger is focusing on Psalms 51, emphasizing that the interpretation is personal and divinely inspired.
Have Mercy Upon Me, O God* Elder Roger believes asking for God’s mercy should be a daily practice. + Acknowledges personal shortcomings and the need for divine mercy, regardless of perceived goodness. + This sentiment should be shared by all born-again Christians. * Asks God to reveal shortcomings and iniquities. * Expresses gratitude to the Lord. * Churches today don’t want people to think badly about them.
Wash Me Thoroughly From My Iniquities* Recalls own baptism shortly after being saved. + Baptism is not essential for salvation but is a desired act of cleansing before God. + Believes in full immersion baptism, symbolizing complete cleansing under the blood of Jesus Christ. * Acknowledges personal sinfulness post-baptism. + Only Jesus was without sin. + Emphasizes the availability of forgiveness through God. * Cleansing is internal, transforming the soul. + God replaces the “old stony heart” with a pure one. + Internal change is more important than outward appearances or religious displays. + Example: One can dress well and attend church regularly, but the internal state matters most. * Asks for daily cleansing to avoid carrying “filthy stuff” in the heart. + One should strive to be as clean as on the day of salvation. + Allowing God to cleanse enables one to walk with Christ and have Jesus in their heart.
Restore Unto Me My Joy* Christians should exhibit joy due to their salvation and eternal life with God. + Contrasts this with the sad demeanor sometimes seen in those claiming to be born again. * Being washed in the blood of Jesus Christ is something to be proud of. * Encourages those who have lost their joy to ask God to restore it. + God is just and righteous to do so. * Elder Roger values the joy of salvation more than any amount of money. * Finds joy and comfort in knowing that heaven awaits. * Something changed internally upon salvation. * The comforter didn’t leave us. * If lost, one should be worried. * Jesus loves everyone and they need to come to him to ask him to save them.
Renew a Right Spirit Within Me* Expresses concern that some churchgoers, even in sister churches, may not truly understand the Spirit of God. + Fear that the true Spirit of God would scare them. * God speaks to everyone, not just preachers. + Encourages taking time for one-on-one connection with God. + Examples: Go to the basement, swing outside, walk. + Listen to what God and the Holy Spirit have to say. * Laments the decline in people’s willingness to listen to God. * Recalls stories of past revivals with large crowds inside and outside the church. + Salvation of people is not old-fashioned. + Attributes such revivals to the Holy Spirit working through the prayers of church members. * Questions when the last time a lost person was seen in the church. + If lost people come through the doors of the church, God will do the rest. * Emphasizes the importance of attracting lost people to the church. + God can save people anywhere, but the church is a good place to experience love. + The church should show love to lost individuals who may walk through the doors. + Otherwise, they might turn around and walk back out.
Invitation* Believes an invitation should be given every time the church doors are open. * Offers to pray with anyone in need, while acknowledging personal limitations in helping others. * Refers to Psalm 23.
Proverbs 4:20-23 – Keeping Your Heart* Focus on Proverbs 4:20-23. + Verse 20: “My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings.” + Verse 23: “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.”
The Enemy’s Attack* The enemy is after every heart, saved or lost. + Yielding to the enemy leads to destruction of oneself and family. + The enemy will tear down everything you love and leave you with nothing.
Personal Responsibility* There is a responsibility to keep our heart. + Not keeping oneself, but guarding the heart from the enemy’s attacks. + Need help from the Holy Spirit, the Word of God, and the church. + This does not relieve the personal responsibility to pray and keep your heart according to the Word of God. + Letting your guard down allows the enemy to ruin your testimony and steal your joy and peace.
Importance of Heeding God’s Word* Pay attention to God’s word to avoid a high price from the enemy. * Focus on and remind yourself of the adversary. + The adversary seeks to devour and can tear up your home, family, and work. + This happens when we open our heart and don’t keep it with all diligence.
Personal Responsibility and Holiness* Importance of personal responsibility in serving God, walking right, and living right. + God has called everyone to righteousness and holiness. + The only way to please God is to do what He says.
The Heart as the Source of Issues* Every issue comes from the heart. + Mark 7:21-23: Out of the heart of men proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. + All these evil things come from within and defile the man. * The heart is capable of both good and evil. + Luke 6:45: A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil things. * The heart needs attention and care. + People are often more careful about their flesh and mind than their heart. + When something not of God is in your heart, it will manifest one day.
The Example of David* David’s failure as an example of not guarding the heart. + David saw Bathsheba and lusted after her because his heart had not been guarded. + He should have been with his men in battle, but he was idle in the king’s castle. + If you’re going to guard your heart, you better be where you’re supposed to be. + If you’re in a place you ain’t supposed to be, you need to get out of there. * David didn’t wake up wanting to commit adultery, but he didn’t keep his heart. + If he had kept his heart, he would have been with his people and not in a position where the enemy could tilt his heart. * The suffering David endured after his sin wasn’t worth it. + If your heart is leaning toward something, make sure you’re keeping it with all diligence. + Introspectively look and see where you’re at with God. * Every evil thing starts in the heart. + Giving attention to the flesh leads to being in a mess like David. + It took a year for David’s heart to get right with God after Nathan’s message. * David’s actions after getting Bathsheba pregnant. + Calling on Joab to send Uriah home. + Writing a letter for Uriah to carry, which was his death warrant. * David thought he had fooled God, but Nathan revealed his sin. + God spared David’s life but took the life of the child. + The sword would never depart from David’s house. * David recognized the problem started in his heart. + Psalms 51:10: “Create within me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” + He fell to the snare of the enemy because something was hidden and neglected in his heart. * God restored David, but it cost him his son’s life and Uriah’s life. * David showed up at the temple, but still fell.
Diligence and Focus on the Heart* Keep your heart with all diligence. + Diligence means being focused and having all your attention pointing to it. + Focusing on the flesh will lead to a road that will cost you dearly. * Prayer is essential for keeping your heart. + Commitment to prayer, getting serious with God, and opening yourself before Him. + Let the Holy Spirit look in you. + David asked God to search him and see if there was any wicked way in him. + If you’re not praying, you’re leaving the door wide open for the devil. + God helps every time you pray, either strengthening you, blessing you, or giving you what you need. * Make time for prayer. + You don’t have time not to pray. + Our ancestors had a commitment to prayer. * The Word of God is full of truth and stands against the lies of the world. + Hide the Word in your heart that you might not sin against God. + Give attention to the Word of God. * The Word of God shines into our heart. * Need to get focused on our heart and honest before God. + Ask God to cleanse and purge your heart. * The Word of God, prayer, and the Holy Spirit of God work together to fortify, restore, protect, and keep your heart.
Three Key Actions for the Heart* Love God with all your heart (Deuteronomy 6). + Love Him more than the world, your husband, your wife, or your children. * Seek God with all your heart (Psalm 119:2). + Blessed is the man that keepeth his commandments, and seeketh the Lord with all of his heart. * Trust in the Lord with all your heart (Proverbs 3). * Loving, seeking, and trusting God with all your heart provides help.
Consequences of Neglecting the Heart* If they had kept their focus on their heart, they wouldn’t have failed. * David would have gone back and done things differently if he could. + He would have gotten out of the castle and back to where he was supposed to be. * Need help to protect our heart from the world, its wickedness, deception, and lies. * There is too much at stake to fall. * Issues of life, good or bad, come from the heart. * Romans 10:10: With the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. + God saved the invisible part, the soul. + We ought to do our part. * Need the Holy Spirit, the Word of God, and prayer every day to build fortification around us. * When the heart falls, the flesh quickly falls. * God is a God of second chances. * Confess your sin, and He is faithful and just to forgive you and cleanse you of all unrighteousness. * Each person has a responsibility to keep their heart and an opportunity every day to love God, seek God, and trust God. * If you don’t keep your heart with all diligence, the enemy will exploit that weakness. * Take this message into your heart and remind yourself every day to ask for God’s help to focus on your heart.
Final Encouragement* Every person is important and precious in the eyes of God. * God has given us prayer, His Word, and the Holy Spirit to help us. * The Holy Spirit will help you when you look over the fence or off the terrace like David did. * The enemy wants to destroy you, your family, and every opportunity of salvation they might get by making you fall. * Do what David did: go back to God. * David begged God for seven days to spare the child. * David knew he had lost his heart and prayed for forgiveness. * When the child died, David got up, cleaned up, ate, and went to the house of God and worshiped. * David began to focus on his heart again that day. * There are issues of the heart that will get you. * Do everything you can to guard your heart. * If you need to pray, come pray. * If you haven’t prayed about your heart in a while, get started. * Give up whatever you have to in your life to get back to focusing on your heart.
Introduction: In Spite of the Devil, I’m Here* Pastor Tommy acknowledges the presence of an adversary, the devil, who hates and seeks to destroy. + The devil is described as a liar and the father of lies, who comes to steal, kill, and destroy. * Despite the devil’s efforts, Pastor Tommy is present, emphasizing that the devil’s attempts to stop Jesus failed. * The devil is given too much power when allowed into one’s heart and mind, enabling him to destroy, kill, and steal. + It is argued that individuals have the power to deny the devil access to their hearts, minds, and lives, citing the scripture that “greater is he that’s in you than he that’s in the world.” * Pastor Tommy expresses hatred and contempt for the devil and sin, having witnessed their destructive impact on lives. + Examples include ruining lives, causing people to sacrifice peace and joy for things of little eternal value. * Despite personal tendencies and weaknesses, Pastor Tommy affirms that getting right with God provides power over the devil.
The Devil’s Attempts from the Beginning* From the creation of Adam and Eve, the devil has tried to thwart God’s plans. + God created Adam and Eve in perfection and instructed them not to eat from a specific tree, warning of death as a consequence. + The devil, in the form of a serpent, tempted Eve, leading to their disobedience. * The devil continues to try to tear lives apart, leading people down a path of misery. * Pastor Tommy gives God all the credit for keeping him safe and trusting God to lead him home. * Keeping one’s eyes on Jesus provides power over the devil, who must filter his actions through God.
Jesus Defeated the Devil at the Cross* There is no need to live to feed the devil, as Jesus defeated him at the cross, holding the keys of death and hell. * Adam and Eve’s fall resulted in a sinful nature inherited by all humans, leading to death. * Jesus provided a remedy for sin through his death on the cross, offering a way to go free. * God made a way for Adam and Eve, sacrificing a lamb to clothe them after their eyes were opened to their sin. * God cast them out of the garden to prevent them from partaking of the tree of life, which represents salvation through Jesus.
God is Greater Than the Devil* If the devil could have destroyed Adam and Eve or God’s creation, he would have, but he couldn’t. * God is greater than the devil, who is a created being, not a god, and will ultimately be destroyed by God. * God told the serpent that “her seed shall bruise your head,” indicating a future defeat of the devil. * Pastor Tommy expresses anger towards the devil and a desire for others to see they don’t have to live under his influence. * God has never lost a battle and remains in charge, despite the presence of sin and wickedness in the world. * God prophesied throughout the Old Testament about sending a savior with power over the devil, coming through Abraham’s seed. + Isaiah 7:14 prophesied that a virgin would conceive and bring forth a son named Immanuel. * God has never been defeated and has all power.
God Told the Devil How He Would Bring the Savior* God revealed that the Savior would be born of a virgin, conceived through the Holy Spirit, as the God-man Emmanuel. * The devil tried to kill out the people of God, knowing the Messiah would come through them, from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, down to David. * God told the devil how he would bring the Savior, and the devil couldn’t stop it. * God also told the devil when and where the Savior would be born, in Bethlehem, during a time of great desolation. * The devil didn’t even know when Jesus was born. + The three wise men asked Herod, “Where is he that is born King of the Jews?” + The devil relies on what he can see, hear, and what other devils tell him, but he doesn’t know everything. * People should resist the devil and let God help them.
The Birth of Jesus Despite the Devil* The devil didn’t know where Jesus was, and Herod asked the wise men to find him and report back. * The devil didn’t hear the angel’s announcement to the shepherds about the birth of a savior in Bethlehem. * Jesus was born in the quiet of a Bethlehem night, with only him, his mother, and Joseph present. * The devil is a liar and a cheat who steals what belongs to people through Christ, and they shouldn’t give him that power. * Herod sent his men out too late, about two years after Jesus’ birth, to kill the children in an attempt to eliminate Jesus. * God warned Joseph in a dream to take the young child and his mother to Egypt, and they left without trouble. * The devil didn’t even know Jesus walked into his own house in Egypt.
The Devil’s Power is Limited* The devil doesn’t have all power and is a created being. * The only time Pastor Tommy wrestles with the devil is when he resists him. * The devil is an angelic being who would destroy if he could, but Jesus prays for believers. * Herod’s strategy was to hope he killed Jesus among the infants, but the devil was present on Jordan’s bank when John the Baptist preached. * The devil didn’t know John was the forerunner of Christ or that Jesus was the Lamb of God. * John baptized Jesus, and the Holy Spirit descended like a dove, with God declaring, “I’m here, I’m here, I’m here,” to the devil. * They started trying to kill Jesus from that day, but they couldn’t.
Greater is He That’s in Me* Pastor Tommy affirms that his God has never lost a battle and won’t start with him. * Greater is he that’s in me than he that’s in the world. * Every time Pastor Tommy prays for help, God is there, and the devil has no answer for him. * Resisting the devil causes him to flee, and drawing near to God results in God drawing near. * The best way to resist the devil is through one’s flesh, which is the root of sin, including lust of the eye, pride of life, and lust of the flesh. * God created humans with the ability to decide, and creating the devil, knowing he would turn, allows for the knowledge of good. * God created the devil without all power or the ability to create himself again. * The devil rebelled in his heart against God and was cast out with a third of the angels, wreaking havoc on earth. * The devil is limited in what he can do and must be let in.
Calvary and the Resurrection* For 28 years, the devil may have thought he had killed Jesus through Herod’s actions. * For three and a third years, the devil tried to get rid of Jesus, leading to Calvary. * The devil thought he had Jesus when he was being scourged and crucified, but he didn’t realize that this was the very thing that would save humanity. * The devil was nervous when Jesus willingly laid down his life, not knowing that his crucifixion was part of God’s plan. * On the third day, when the angel rolled away the stone, the devil realized Jesus was gone and he didn’t have that power. * Jesus appeared to Mary in the garden, and the devil didn’t even know it. * Jesus met with his disciples and appeared to 500 people after his resurrection. * The devil realized he couldn’t prevent what had already happened or stop Jesus from returning.
The Devil’s Current Strategy* The devil’s primary goal today is to stop believers, targeting them from the moment they are saved. * Despite the devil’s efforts, believers are still here because he has nothing on God. * If believers quit messing around with the devil and his ways and give themselves to Christ, walking in the spirit, he has no choice. * Pastor Tommy has found refuge in prayer, scripture, and fellowship with other believers, where the devil cannot go. * God fills his house with his spirit, providing relief and driving the devil away. * The devil only has the power that is given to him. * Through Christ, believers can do all things, and none of those given to Jesus will be lost. * The devil’s attacks make believers stronger, and he should give up. * The devil is trying to stop the church and will use every angle to make believers give up. * People need to bow before the king of glory and let him transform their lives.
The Word of God* The importance of the Bible. + Without it, knowledge would be limited. + It sets people free and offers a new life.
Matthew 28:1-6* Mary Magdalene and the other Mary visit the sepulcher. * A great earthquake occurs. * An angel descends, rolls back the stone, and sits on it. + The angel’s appearance: countenance like lightning, raiment white as snow. + The keepers shake with fear and become as dead men. * The angel tells the women not to fear. + He knows they seek Jesus, who was crucified. + Jesus is not there; He has risen as He said. + The angel instructs them to tell the disciples that Jesus is risen and will go before them into Galilee.
The Empty Tomb* The ladies were seeking Jesus. * Their responsibility was to take care of the body after it was delivered to the tomb. * Jesus gave up his life; it was not taken from him. + Isaiah’s prophecy: Jesus bore the iniquity of us all. + God put the iniquity of all mankind on Jesus. + Jesus bore the embarrassment, humiliation, rebellion, and unlovingness of sin. * Jesus died for future sins. + Every sin He died for was future for those born after that day. * God accepted the blood of Christ as atonement for sin. * Galatians 4: God sent His Son to redeem those under the law so we might receive the adoption of sons. + Having Jesus in one’s heart because He died for our sins.
Joseph of Arimathea* Joseph of Arimathea, a rich man and counselor, was secretly a disciple of Christ. * Being a disciple of Christ secretly for fear of the world. + Being afraid of ridicule or standing out for one’s faith. * Joseph went to Pilate to ask for Jesus’ body. + It was approaching evening, and they needed to take the body off the cross before sundown. + Pilate marveled that Jesus was already dead. + The legs of the others were broken to hasten their death, but Jesus was already dead. + To be sure, they pierced Jesus in the side, and blood and water came out. + Every drop of Jesus’ blood was for sin so that people could go free. * Joseph went back to the cross to take the body off. * Joseph was not alone; Nicodemus showed up. + Nicodemus, who had previously come to Jesus at night, now revealed his belief. + Nicodemus brought about a hundred-pound weight of ointments and spices. * Joseph and Nicodemus prepared Jesus’ body and wrapped it. * They carried the body to a new tomb that Joseph had hewn out. + No corpse had ever been in this tomb.
The Burial and the Guard* Jesus was dead. + The penalty for sin is death. + Adam was told he would surely die if he ate the forbidden fruit. + Jesus Christ became the propitiation for all our sins. * Mary Magdalene and the other Mary followed them as they carried Jesus’ body to the tomb. * They stooped down to enter the tomb. + Humbling oneself before God leads to seeing the light and finding life. * They laid Jesus in the tomb and rolled a great stone at the door. * Mary and Mary Magdalene witnessed exactly where Jesus was laid and the stone being rolled over the door. * The Pharisees and Sadducees were nervous and went to Pilate. + They reminded Pilate that Jesus had said He would rise again in three days. + The Pharisees, unlike the disciples, seemed to believe Jesus’ prophecy. + They feared the disciples would steal the body and claim Jesus had risen. * Pilate instructed them to make the tomb as secure as possible. + They sealed the stone with Herod’s seal.
The Visit to the Sepulchre* Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the sepulcher at the end of the Sabbath. * They wondered who would move the stone. + Doubt and unbelief can keep people from seeing the empty tomb. * The world needs to know the truth: Jesus is not dead anymore. * At the very moment one begins to seek Jesus, He has already sought them. * The tomb was sealed and had a rock in front of the door. * Divine help intervenes when it is needed most. * Unbelief leads to torment. + Hell is full of the wicked, agnostic, and atheist. + They could not get past the stone. * No one finds God on their own; divine help is needed. * If there were another way to heaven, God would not have sent His Son to be crucified. * Divine intervention moves the rock of earthly intellect and human understanding, giving faith. * Never having been to Jerusalem or seen the tomb. + It doesn’t matter if one has seen the tomb; what matters is that Jesus is alive in one’s heart.
He is Risen* The people of God are too quiet about the truth. * The life-giving force for believers is the three words: “He is risen.” * The ladies wondered who would move the stone. * The Holy Ghost convinces people that they are lost and need a Savior. * It is expedient that Jesus went away so the Comforter could come. + The Comforter, the Spirit, will guide and lead in all truth and righteousness. * If one is not saved through the power of the Holy Spirit, they are not saved. * There is only one way to heaven: through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. * Being born in the Spirit is essential; religion, church membership, and baptism alone do not save. * When the Holy Spirit speaks to the heart and invites one to come to Him, that is the moment to bow one’s heart. * Jesus gives eternal life, and believers shall never perish. * The angels helped the ladies. * The guards were hired to keep watch over the tomb. * The stone was not holding Jesus in; He came out on His own. * The stone was rolled back so that others could see the empty tomb. * What is behind the stone of unbelief? + It covers the heart and separates one from the truth of Jesus Christ. * The ground began to shake. * When one gets born again, earthly experiences fade away. * Divine intervention takes place, and one’s attention is solely on God. * God moves the stone, and unbelief drifts away. * The angel of the Lord descended and rolled back the stone. * The keepers fell as dead men. * Everything that would keep the ladies from knowing the truth about Jesus Christ had been dealt with. * When Jesus comes to someone, everything else melts away. * The stone had to move. * Even the disciples didn’t believe at first because they still had a stone in the way. * The Holy Ghost will show up and move the stone so one can see the truth. * The truth is that Jesus died for our sins, shed His blood, and is alive. * The stone was moved by the angel, and the keepers were no longer a problem.
The Truth* The only thing needed was the truth. * Salvation requires divine intervention; one cannot be saved apart from the Holy Spirit. * No one seeks after God on their own. * The Holy Spirit moves in one’s life. * Each person is given a measure of faith, just enough. * The greatest gift is when God moves the stone and gets rid of the keepers. * The ladies heard that Jesus was not there. * The three words “He is risen” changed their lives. * The greatest news is that He is risen. * Someone has to help with the stone of unbelief. * When the Holy Ghost shows up, one starts paying better attention. * When the heart listens instead of the ears, it’s getting close. * When one hears Him speak and say, “I’ve come for you. I want to save you,” one will know in their heart that He is alive. * He is alive forevermore. * The angel said, “I know who you’re looking for. You’re looking for Jesus. He’s not here.” * He is risen. * The primary difference between all other religions and Christianity is that our Savior is alive. * In Revelation, Jesus says, “I am he that was alive and was dead, and am alive forevermore.” * The reason to believe is that He now lives within. * One needs their own experience to know that He is alive. * All that is needed is for some things to be moved out of the way. * What better day to be born again than Easter morning? * Surrender to Christ and believe.
Gratitude and Testimony* Expressing gratitude for the opportunity to preach and fellowship. + Feeling blessed and thankful for health and strength. + Mentioning struggles and expenses, but trusting in the Lord’s timing. * Reading from 1 Samuel 12, emphasizing fearing and serving the Lord. + Verses 18-24 are highlighted, focusing on avoiding wickedness and serving in truth. + Specific verses mentioned: - 1 Samuel 12:18-24 - Psalms 145:17-20 * Sharing a message about great things God has done. + Referencing Mark 5:15, 19, about a man possessed who was healed and told to share God’s compassion. + Connecting personal experiences to the scripture, emphasizing God’s love for sinners.
Easter and God’s Love* Focusing on the true meaning of Easter: the crucifixion and resurrection, not just “rabbits and eggs.” * Highlighting Romans 5:8, emphasizing God’s love while we were sinners. * Referencing Jeremiah 31:3, speaking of God’s everlasting love. * Defining spiritual love versus “puppy love,” emphasizing Christ’s love in the heart. * Mentioning 1 John 4:8 and 4:19, stating “God is love” and we love Him because He first loved us. * Reflecting on personal experiences and acknowledging being saved and thankful.
Repentance and Salvation* Expressing gratitude for being called to repentance. + Recalling an experience at an old-fashioned altar. + Sharing a story about a man running from the Lord who eventually surrendered at the altar. * Referencing John 6:37, emphasizing that those given by the Father will come to Jesus and not be cast out. * Acknowledging past “mean” behavior and expressing gratitude for God changing his life. * Highlighting John 6:44, stating that no one can come to Jesus unless drawn by the Father. * Sharing a story about praying with a man for several nights who felt turned over to a reprobate mind. * Warning against being hard-hearted and rejecting the word of God. * Referencing 1 John 1:9, emphasizing confession of sins and forgiveness. * Mentioning Ephesians 1:7, highlighting redemption through Christ’s blood and forgiveness of sins. * Acknowledging personal imperfections and looking forward to a glorified body. * Expressing confidence in his calling to preach, despite occasional self-doubt. * Emphasizing the need to live for God and trust in His grace for every need.
Trusting God and Overcoming* Sharing a testimony about a son’s recovery, attributing it to God’s blessing. * Referencing Luke 13:5, warning that without repentance, one will perish. * Sharing a story about a girl who shared a problem and later received bad news, emphasizing the need for prayer. * Highlighting Matthew 11:28, inviting all to come to Jesus for rest. * Emphasizing the importance of daily prayer and seeking forgiveness. * Reflecting on past sins and the devil’s attempts to drag one down. * Emphasizing the need to stay close to God for victory.
Salvation by Grace* Emphasizing salvation through grace by faith, not by works. + Referencing Ephesians 2:8-9 to support this point. + Stating there is nothing to boast about. * Sharing an experience at the hospital where someone acknowledged his work for God. * Sharing a personal health experience and attributing healing to God. * Highlighting Romans 10:9, emphasizing confession and belief for salvation. * Stating there is no place to hide from God, referencing Jeremiah and Revelation 6:16. * Emphasizing the need to wake up and realize God’s love and protection. * Referencing Romans 4:21, emphasizing being fully persuaded that God can perform what He has promised. * Mentioning praying for various individuals, including Branson and a neighbor named Custer. * Acknowledging God’s mercy in daily life. * Sharing a story about a brother on a breathing machine in the hospital. * Referencing Acts 17:28, stating that in Him we live, move, and have our being. * Highlighting Psalm 150:6, stating that everything that has breath should praise the Lord. * Sharing an anecdote about a preacher making a humorous point about breathing.
Eternal Life and Readiness* Expressing anticipation for eternal life with the Lord. * Referencing Philippians 1:21, stating that to live is Christ and to die is gain. * Sharing the story of Lazarus and emphasizing God’s perfect timing. * Referencing 1 Samuel 1:24, sharing the story of Hannah and emphasizing that God supplies our needs. * Expressing being sheltered in the arms of God. * Emphasizing the need for God’s mercy and love. * Highlighting the soon return of Christ for the saints. * Sharing an experience at a wedding and anticipating the marriage supper of the Lamb. * Emphasizing the endless ages with God in heaven. * Warning about the dangers on the highway and the need to be ready for Christ’s return. * Referencing Revelation 19:7, emphasizing the marriage of the Lamb and the bride arrayed in fine linen.
Judgment and Salvation* Emphasizing the coming judgment and the need to be saved. * Sharing a story about being called “too wild” and emphasizing the need to wake up to the end times. * Expressing joy in being saved and praising God. * Highlighting 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, describing the Lord’s descent from heaven and the catching up of believers. * Emphasizing God’s purpose in gathering together. * Acknowledging personal limitations and expressing gratitude for salvation. * Emphasizing the suddenness of Christ’s return. * Extending an invitation to come to the altar for prayer and thanksgiving. * Expressing love for the pastor and the church. * Encouraging love and prayer for one another. * Sharing a story about a boy who lost his leg but is now doing well, and another who had a health scare that woke him up. * Emphasizing the need to be on our knees and seek God’s help. * Acknowledging the bad shape of the world and the need for a friend in Jesus. * Encouraging everyone to get closer to God and listen to Him. * Expressing a desire to help others and sharing an example of offering help to a lady. * Expressing confidence in the fellow preachers and their willingness to help. * Encouraging those present to thank God for their families and blessings. * Acknowledging that life is not perfect but emphasizing God’s help. * Praying for God to speak to hearts and inviting people to come forward.
The Story of the Woman with the Issue of Blood* The story from Mark 5 is about a woman who had been dealing with an issue of blood for twelve years. + She had spent all her money on physicians, but instead of getting better, she grew worse. + She was considered unclean due to the blood issue and was not allowed to be among the public.
The Woman’s Faith* The woman heard that Jesus was coming and decided to do something about her situation. + She believed that if she could just touch Jesus’ clothes, she would be made whole. + Her faith was so great that she believed she would be healed, and her only question was whether she could get to Jesus. * Pastor Tommy contrasts the woman’s great faith with the struggles they sometimes have with faith. + Pastor Tommy expresses a desire to have the kind of faith that the woman had. + Pastor Tommy wants to trust God for who He is and what He has said He will do.
Overcoming Obstacles* The woman faced obstacles in getting to Jesus, including her weakness and the large crowd. + She pressed through the crowd and touched the hem of Jesus’ garment. + Pastor Tommy believes she likely ended up on her knees to reach the hem of the garment. * Pastor Tommy emphasizes that a good way to get to Jesus is on one’s knees, humbling oneself before God. + Pastor Tommy believes that when faith calls on the faithfulness of God, Jesus will be close.
The Healing and its Significance* The instant the woman touched the hem of Jesus’ garment, she was immediately healed. + She felt it in her body and was filled with excitement and hope. + Jesus felt virtue go out of him and asked who touched his clothes. * Pastor Tommy emphasizes that when faith intersects with the faithfulness of Christ, a miracle occurs. + Pastor Tommy believes that this miracle is something that one could not do themselves and only God could do. + Pastor Tommy wants their faith to touch God and receive virtue in return. * Pastor Tommy asks if one has really prayed and believed if their faith is not intersecting with God’s faithfulness.
The Result of Faith* The woman, knowing she was found out, fell down before Jesus and told him the whole truth. + Jesus said to her, “Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.” + She not only got healed but also received peace. * Pastor Tommy believes that when she gets to heaven, the woman will say that the issue of blood never bothered her again. + Pastor Tommy emphasizes that Jesus makes people whole, not just better. + Pastor Tommy believes that there are people who need the healer that makes them whole.
Invitation to Seek Healing and Peace* Pastor Tommy invites those who need prayer to trust in God and believe that He is present and moving. + Pastor Tommy encourages people to step out on faith and believe God for what they need. + Pastor Tommy believes that some have waited too long and allowed a small wound to become infected. * Pastor Tommy wants to touch Jesus and be made whole every time, so that they can have a peace that passes all understanding and share it with others. + Pastor Tommy believes that one may have to press through pride and oneself to get to Jesus. + Pastor Tommy assures that if one gets to Jesus, He will make them whole and fix what is wrong with them.
Initial Feelings and Unworthiness* Nervous about speaking. * Feels unworthy of the opportunity to speak. * Asks for prayers to calm nerves and for the Lord to have His way. * Requests prayers for his wife to return to the will and house of God. + Recalls a past experience at Mountain View Baptist Church where he made mistakes while preaching.
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 2:1-2* Paul did not come with excellency of speech or wisdom. * Paul determined to know nothing except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
Prayer* Asks God to take over his body and use him as a servant. * Prays for God to speak to hearts and save those who don’t know Him. * Thanks God for the opportunity to proclaim His Word. * Expresses gratitude for Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross.
Observations and Reflections* A door slamming shut at work prompted thoughts about God’s work. + A strong wind pushed a large rock out of the way to slam the door. * Burning brush at night led to reflections on life’s fleeting nature. + Life is like a vapor, here today and gone tomorrow. + Embers blowing in every direction.
The Importance of Knowing Christ* Paul focused on knowing only Christ crucified. * Wants to be wise enough to win souls for Christ. * Doesn’t want to see lives wasted, ending in hell.
Noah’s Ark* Noah built the ark as God instructed. * Noah proclaimed God’s coming judgment and love while building the ark for 120 years. * Noah told people about Jesus and the love of God. * Noah warned of God’s wrath and the need for safety in the ark. * “Pitching” the ark within and without symbolizes the blood of Jesus Christ. + Pitch is the same as the blood that Jesus Christ shed. * Believes Noah was telling people about Jesus. * Whosoever will may enter the ark and be saved.
Abraham and Isaac* God told Abraham to sacrifice his only son on a mountain. * Abraham prepared wood and traveled with Isaac and a servant to the designated place. * Abraham got up early and prepared everything. * Abraham told his servants that he and Isaac would worship and return. * Abraham had faith that God could raise Isaac from the dead. * Isaac questioned the absence of a lamb for sacrifice. * Abraham said the Lord would provide a sacrifice. * The mountain was on the same ridge as Mount Calvary. * The blood shed on Calvary is still effective today. * Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission for sin. * Abraham looked around and saw a ram caught by its horns. + It had to be caught by the horns to be without blemish. * The ram was Abraham’s perfect sacrifice due to his obedience.
Jesus as the Perfect Sacrifice* Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, willingly sacrificed Himself. * Jesus looked through time and chose to go because of God’s love and man’s wickedness. * Jesus offered Himself as a perfect, spotless sacrifice. * Jesus willingly laid down His life. * Jesus came to take away the sins of the world for those who believe.
Offering Oneself to God* Wants to lay down his body and offer everything to God. * Believes in having faith to trust in God. * Sharing Jesus is an honorable act. * The gospel provides life and salvation. * Jesus regained what was lost in the Garden of Eden. * Jesus walked the corridors of hell for us. * Accepting Jesus into our hearts is all that is required. * The work of salvation is finished; it’s up to individuals to accept it.
Impact of Wise Women* Miss Ruth Atkins and Miss Bernice Millsaps mentored him early in his ministry. * Miss Ruth shared scriptures about being wise enough to win souls. * Miss Bernice was 94 and Miss Ruth was 92. * They invited him to quilt with them at Coralville Center. * He initially sneered at the invitation but later accepted. * He brought his mother along, surprising the women. * The women were ready to sow the word of God.
The Ark and God’s Provision* The ark represents a seed with life inside. * God shut the door of the ark. * God gave mankind seven days to enter the ark. * God provided a way through Jesus Christ. * The mountain where Abraham was to sacrifice Isaac was on the same ridge as Mount Calvary.
The Nail on the Tree* Isaiah speaks of a nail hung upon a tree. * The key to salvation was hung there for everyone, even the worst sinners. * The key was hung in a sure place because of God’s love.
Personal Testimony and Challenges* Works with people daily and sees himself in them. * Uses Greg Watson’s visit to his wife as an illustration. * Sees the lost as a challenge. * Was backslidden in his teenage years, turning to alcohol and other vices. * Three preachers persistently shared the love of God with him. + They would come up every night and tell him about the love of God. * He initially hated their persistence but knew they were telling the truth. * Their faithfulness and prayers eventually led him back to God. * A preacher told him to repent or his wife would be lost. * He repented and begged God back into his heart. * God called him to preach the gospel while he was hunting. * He resisted for six years until God saved his house. * Doesn’t want anyone to end up screaming from hell because they didn’t know the truth. * You can judge a tree by the fruit it bears.
The Importance of Faithfulness and Love* We need to be like Moses, standing in the gap. * We need to be faithful to God. * Love is the motivation behind discipline and correction. * God’s faithfulness, justice, and grace are special. * It’s not a waste to love the way Christ loved.
Salvation and the Gift of God* The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). * Hell was created for Satan and his angels. * The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ. * Salvation is simple. * Life is near, even at the last. * God can cleanse the mind of sin and set captives free. * Confessing with your tongue leads to salvation. * The law cannot save you; only Jesus Christ can. * Salvation is as simple as Peter stepping onto the water by faith. * The scriptures are written simply enough for a child to understand. * Trust in Him, believe in Him, and invite Him into your heart. * God has no respect for a person or age. * He knocks on the door and asks to be let in.
Closing Remarks* If he didn’t already have Jesus in his heart, he would run to the altar. * Encourages listeners to renew their relationship with God. * If you don’t know Him, this morning would be a good morning. * If you have a burden for the lost, God will bless you.
Praise and Gratitude* All praise, honor, and glory given to God. * Acknowledging dependence on God for everything. + Example: “Without God, I couldn’t do nothing.”
Dealing with Worldly Cares* Not worrying about the cares of the world. + Example: “I ain’t worried about the cares of this world… I ain’t going to take it with me and you ain’t going to take it with you.”
Message Focus: Commitment to God* The message focuses on committing to God without excuses. * The devil tries to create excuses to avoid church and reading the Bible.
Story of Mike: A Committed Church Member* Mike, a church member, passed away last Wednesday. * He suffered from chronic pain in his feet, legs, and back. + Initially came to church hunched over. + Played the guitar and loved talking about the Lord. * His condition worsened, making it impossible to stand. + Needed help with cleaning and bathing. * Despite the pain, Mike never complained. + He would say, “Oh, God,” but never complained. * Even in severe pain, he talked about the Lord and praised God. + His complexion changed, and he would say, “Praise God.” * He expressed a desire to attend church despite his condition. + Asked for prayers to get well enough to go to church. * Visited him the day before he died; he was unresponsive. + Showed a slight flinch when prayed for, indicating awareness. * Mike’s commitment was inspiring. + He would come to church in a wheelchair, praising God.
Personal Reflection on Commitment* Tired of making excuses. * Acknowledges working long hours and feeling tired. * Preachers need to stay up, study, visit, and preach. + Doing it out of love and without begrudging it.
Value of Faith* Faith is the most valuable thing, besides family. + Wife, grandkids, and sons. * The world means nothing compared to God. + Not caring about worldly threats. - Example: “I don’t care if they send a bomb over here tonight. I know where I’m going.”
Personal Improvement* Acknowledges having room for personal improvement. * The message hit hard and prompted self-reflection.
Luke 14:16-24: The Parable of the Great Supper* A man gave a great supper and invited many. * Those invited made excuses for not coming. + Bought a piece of ground and needed to see it. + Bought five yoke of oxen and needed to prove them. + Married a wife and therefore could not come. * The master, angry, instructed his servant to bring in the poor, maimed, halt, and blind. + These were the outcasts. * There was still room, so the servant was told to compel others to come in. * Those who were initially invited will not taste the supper. * The scripture is interpreted as an offer of salvation being rejected due to excuses.
Excuses and Neglecting Salvation* People make excuses for not coming to church. + Example: “Good weather sets the lines in your face and they’ll come up with every excuse in the world.” * Need to quit making excuses and just do. * Falling asleep while reading the Bible is an excuse. * The devil stirs up excuses. + Telling you, “it’s alright,” but it is not. * Wanting to be committed to God, not the world.
Trusting in God’s Provision* Not worrying about losing a job. + God will provide. * God will supply needs. * Worrying about tomorrow is pointless. + Tomorrow may not come.
Examples of Excuses in the Bible* Moses made excuses, saying he couldn’t talk plainly. + God provided Aaron to help him. * People worry about worldly things instead of Jesus’ return.
Personal Salvation Experience* Knowing what happened the night of salvation. * Conviction by the Holy Spirit. * Had excuses for four years before going to church. * Didn’t understand the preaching initially because the heart wasn’t convicted. * When convicted, got scared, and it became real. * Excuses stopped. * Believes that neglecting the final chance would have been a mistake. * People neglect salvation by pushing it aside.
Attitude of Christians* Some Christians look miserable and sad. + They have the greatest thing, salvation, but are unhappy. * Need to be committed to God. * Stop foolishness and separate from the world. * God doesn’t care about worldly possessions. * He cares if the blood has been applied and if one has a contrite spirit. * God is ready to save those with a contrite spirit.
Personal Transformation* Transformed from disliking people and self to loving God. * Raised by a hard mother, but she got it right before she died. + Committed to getting right with God. * Took 38 years to commit to God due to liking worldly things. * These men in the scripture came up with excuses for not getting salvation. * God was offering a spiritual meal to save their souls. * Jesus died for the soul, which will live in heaven or hell.
Sharing Faith* A man at work asked about coming to church. * The man was a “ghostbuster” and didn’t believe in a God who allows children to get hurt. * Explained the curse on the world and free will. * Evil targets the vulnerable, like baby animals. * Some sick children will be healed, and those who aren’t will be in glory. * All could be in glory if they opened their hearts. * People don’t want to commit because they think they have to quit certain things. * Didn’t quit anything, just changed the way of doing things. * Gained a new church family.
Family and Commitment* Always longed for a family. * Son got saved and committed to God in November. * Granddaughter committed to God two weeks before him. * Another granddaughter wants to get baptized but isn’t ready yet. + She is afraid of dying and going to hell. * God knows her heart and will call her when it’s time. * Grown people are not committed to God. * If not committed, one will die and go to hell.
Personal Struggles and Commitment* Tired of the devil coming at me. * Struggles with road rage. * Sees people distracted while driving and worries. * Acknowledges having issues. * The devil never bothered me until I got saved. * The calling to preach made it worse. * Need to get more committed and remove excuses. * Ask God what to do instead of telling Him what He has done. * God is looking for good men and women to harvest the fields. * When committed, God will put you where He wants you. * Ask the Lord how to start and He will show you. * Made the decision to get committed to God when saved. * Failed, come short, slacked, and slung.
Overcoming Weakness* Tiredness prevents reading the Bible. * Keeps scripture in mind all day. * Ponders on it and gets back into the Word. * Excuses of being tired and weak. * This is going to stop. * Made up mind to live for the Lord and improve commitment. * Pointing at self, not others. * Everyone can do a little better. * Not worried about the world or its pain. * When told to go home from work, doesn’t argue. * Has something else to do. * Agrees with Valerie about the chaos in the world. * Praying for the “ghostbuster” at work to open his heart to God. * Was stubborn for four years, turning God away. * Convicted one last time and believes turning away then would have been final. * Told God she wouldn’t turn away again if allowed to come back. * Tired of excuses and the devil’s interference. * These men neglected salvation due to excuses. * This is serious; there is healing and evil. * Until committed, one will be miserable. * Those who were bidden but didn’t come will not taste the supper. * They neglected salvation. * People neglect salvation every day in church. * God knows when one does wrong. * Repents when failing and coming short of God’s glory. * If hard-hearted, one would forget about it due to lack of commitment. * Wrongdoing bothers until repentance. * Not trying to get others to come, but doing what God says. * Going to get on the altar and make sure things are right with God. * Room for improvement and wants to improve for God, not for show. * Willing to stand for God, even if the world is burning down. * Needs God’s help and will ask for it.
Jeremiah’s Prophecy and Zedekiah’s Dilemma* The sermon focuses on Jeremiah chapter 37, highlighting Jeremiah’s role as a prophet and King Zedekiah’s struggle to heed God’s word. * Jeremiah was appointed by God to deliver the truth, even when it was unpopular. + He had to remain in Jerusalem and witness its destruction. + He felt compelled to continue preaching despite facing opposition. * Zedekiah reigned during a time of siege by the King of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar. + Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem with 200,000 men. + Zedekiah and his people did not listen to Jeremiah’s warnings.
Zedekiah’s Wavering Faith* Zedekiah sought Jeremiah’s prayers but struggled to accept God’s message. + He asked Jeremiah to pray for them. + Jeremiah told him God’s judgment was inevitable. * Zedekiah hoped for deliverance from Egypt, but Jeremiah warned against relying on them. + Other prophets were saying Babylon would be gone in two years. + Jeremiah insisted that God’s word would prevail. * Zedekiah secretly consulted Jeremiah, asking if there was any word from the Lord. + Jeremiah confirmed that there was a word. + The message was that Zedekiah would be delivered into the hands of the King of Babylon.
The Unchanging Word of God* The sermon emphasizes the consistency and trustworthiness of God’s word. + Examples from the Bible illustrate that God does not change his mind. - Adam was warned about eating from the forbidden tree. - God promised Abraham that he would be the father of many nations. - Abraham was asked to sacrifice his only son, Isaac. + The word of God is the power of God unto salvation. + It is the truth that remains constant.
Moses and the Exodus* The story of Moses is used to further illustrate the unwavering nature of God’s word. + Moses was instructed to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. + Despite Pharaoh’s resistance, God remained committed to delivering his people. + The Passover lamb and the blood on the doorposts symbolized salvation. * The word of God trumps human opinions and stands firm. + It is forever settled in heaven. + People are accustomed to being told what they want to hear.
David, Gideon, and the Power of Obedience* Examples from the lives of David and Gideon demonstrate the power of obedience to God’s word. + David faced Goliath because God told him to. + Gideon defeated the Midianites with a small army because God instructed him. + Gideon initially had too big of an army, so God reduced it to 300 men. + The army broke pitchers, held up lights, blew trumpets, and cried, “The sword of the Lord and of Gideon.” + The enemy soldiers killed each other. * Jeremiah stood alone in proclaiming God’s message. + Other prophets offered a more comforting but false narrative. + Zedekiah sought a different message from Jeremiah, hoping God had changed his mind.
Zedekiah’s Final Choice and Its Consequences* Jeremiah warned Zedekiah that surrendering to the King of Babylon was the only way to save himself and the city. + God always offers an opportunity for repentance. + Despising God’s word leads to inevitable consequences. * Zedekiah feared the Jews more than God and refused to surrender. + He was afraid of being seen as a coward. + The Babylonian army broke through the gates and captured Zedekiah. * Zedekiah was forced to watch his sons being murdered before his eyes. + His wives were also killed. + He was then blinded and taken to Babylon, where he died.
The Relevance of God’s Word Today* The sermon concludes by emphasizing the importance of adhering to God’s word in the present day. + The world is becoming increasingly intolerant of biblical truth. + The word of God remains the ultimate authority. + It offers promises of salvation and blessings for those who obey. * The unchanging nature of God’s word provides a foundation for future generations. + It will remain true even after everyone in the congregation is gone. + Zedekiah sought something new, but the word of God is the best and most enduring truth. * Pastor Tommy commits to continuing to preach the word of God. + It has the power to save and transform lives. + An invitation is extended for those who need to confess their sins and seek forgiveness.
Context of the Passage* Jesus fed the 5,000 with a small amount of fish and loaves, a miracle of great magnitude. + The disciples were then instructed to get into a boat and go to the other side. + Jesus constrained them, meaning he told them very clearly to go. + Jesus dismissed the multitudes and went to the mountain to pray. + Later in the night, Jesus walked on the water towards the disciples. + It was the fourth watch, the darkest period before dawn.
The Last Watch* The last watch is the three-hour period in the last 12 hours of darkness, just before sunrise. + It’s often the coldest and darkest time. * The people of God are under attack, and the enemy is trying to hinder them. + It is important to learn from the faithful men in the Bible who followed God’s instructions.
Lesson 1: Trouble is Universal* Everyone faces trouble, fights, and unexpected hardships. + The disciples were doing what the Lord had told them to do, yet they faced a contrary wind. * If you are in the will of God and your heart is right with Him, you can have peace even when the winds are blowing. + There is a wind for the sinner, the unrepentant, and the rebellious, which should lead them to repentance. * The wind isn’t always chastening; sometimes it’s meant to grow you. + Being right with God allows you to discern the purpose of the wind. * When the wind blows, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re in sin. + It’s important to search yourself and ask if there’s something in your life that shouldn’t be there. * The wind can strengthen other people of God, like how it stretches a tree’s bark, allowing it to grow. * There is value in living in the will of God, especially when the wind starts blowing. + Being right with God allows you to remove sin from the equation and focus on staying the course. * Just because God tells you to do something doesn’t mean there won’t be a wind or contrary forces.
Lesson 2: Keep Rowing* The ship was in the midst of the sea, tossed by waves, with a contrary wind. * God uses different things to bring people to a place where they trust Him and grow. * The disciples were toiling and rowing, doing their best to get to the other side. * Even when you can’t see the light of day and the wind feels like it’s pushing you backwards, keep going. + Don’t give up rowing; keep doing what you know to do. * It’s darkest before the sun begins to shine, but if you’re faithful to God, He will send the light. * Even when it feels like you’re spinning your wheels and not making progress, stay right with God. + Give it all you’ve got and don’t give up. * The devil wants you to quit, but you need God in your wheel. * The disciples were in the will of God, doing what Jesus told them to do. * When the wind blows and you don’t know what to do, just keep rowing. * They had started out right with the Lord and were still in obedience to Him in a troublesome spot. * When it gets tough, don’t stop rowing; keep going. * Even if you don’t know if your steps are in vain, keep putting one foot in front of the other and trust Him. + God has never failed or abandoned those who trust in Him.
Lesson 3: Jesus is Close* In the last watch, when it seems like you’re hindered by everything, Jesus is close. * Even though they couldn’t see Him, they got a glimpse of Him walking on the water. * When they saw Him, they didn’t recognize Him and thought He was a spirit, crying out in fear. * Jesus called out to them, saying, “Be not afraid; it is I.” * In the last darkest hour, when you feel like quitting, that’s when Jesus is closest. * Even when it doesn’t feel like He’s near, He has never left nor forsaken you. * Whether the wind is blowing or not, Jesus is near. * When they needed Him the most, that’s when He was the nearest. * They had done all they could do and were still trying when they saw the spirit coming across the water. * Jesus said, “Don’t be afraid; it is I.”
Additional Insights* Jesus isn’t bothered by the wind like we are. * He wasn’t hindered by the fact that He didn’t have a boat. * Nothing can hinder the Lord from getting to your boat, not the storm, waves, wind, or absence of another boat. * He will always be there when you need Him. * Jesus can hear you in the wind; it doesn’t distract Him or keep Him from hearing your whisper. * He said, “Be of good cheer; it is I.” * When you’ve done all you can do and your strength is gone, His voice will speak to you. * He’s fixing to say, “Be of good cheer; I’m fixing to calm this for you.” * Whether you go to Him or He comes to you, the result is the same: He gets in your boat, and everything gets well. * Be glad to be saved and thank God for a shepherd who will never leave or forsake you.
Introduction* The sermon focuses on the story of the rich man and Lazarus from Luke 16:19-31. * The message emphasizes what the rich man seemingly did not know, and how that applies to listeners today. * The core idea is that many people live as if they don’t know certain truths about God, death, and eternity, even though they do.
It Seems Like He Didn’t Know That Riches Won’t Do* The rich man was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. + He had worldly wealth beyond comprehension. + He put his trust in something that ultimately failed him. * Riches are of no value when it comes to death and the afterlife. + Death is not concerned with bank accounts or tax brackets. * If worldly possessions are prioritized over God, they will be of no use in the end. + It’s better to live humbly and be right with God than to have worldly riches and miss out on heaven. * The story is not a parable but a true account, as Lazarus’ name is mentioned. + God knows the names of those who are His.
It Seems Like He Didn’t Recognize That He Was His Brother’s Keeper* The rich man failed to recognize his responsibility to help those in need. + Cain asked, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” after killing Abel. + 1 John 3 warns against shutting up compassion when seeing a need and being able to help. * Regardless of one’s own spiritual state, helping those in need is a responsibility. + Good neighbors help each other in times of need. * The rich man passed Lazarus at his gate every day and could have offered him something. + He could have given him bread or water. * Everything one has is a blessing from God and can be used to minister to others. + Trust God to provide so you can help others.
It Seems Like He Didn’t Know That the Beggar Knew Who Jesus Was* The rich man didn’t realize that Lazarus, despite his condition, knew God. + Lazarus was full of sores and desired to be fed with crumbs from the rich man’s table. + The dogs came and licked his sores. * One’s worldly condition does not determine their relationship with God. + It’s not about appearances but what’s in the heart. * Lazarus was closer to God than the rich man. + Jesus knew Lazarus’ name. * Being born again and transformed by the power of God is what matters. + Church membership and good deeds alone are not enough. * The closest to God may be those who have nothing in this world. + Many people trust in their riches, thinking it will sustain them.
It Seems Like He Didn’t Realize That Death Was Close* The rich man didn’t seem to understand the brevity of life. + Life is like a vapor, here one minute and gone the next. + Life is like a flower that blooms, wilts, and fades away. * No one is promised another tomorrow. + The world lives as if they don’t know death is on their trail. * The rich man had no concept of the fragility of life. + Every breath is borrowed. * People live as if they will have another chance to repent and do something for God. + The way one lives reveals the state of their heart. * If people truly knew that today could be their last, they would live differently. + They would love better, forgive, help, and give more. + Most importantly, they would ensure they are ready to go to heaven. * The time to make peace with God is now. + Today is the day of salvation.
It Seems Like He Didn’t Realize There Was a Hell* The rich man died and was buried, and in hell, he lifted up his eyes in torment. + He didn’t seem to know he was going to die or that he was going to hell. * The Holy Ghost reveals the reality of hell. + This knowledge should break one’s heart and lead them to call on Christ. * The rich man did nothing in his life to prepare to escape hell. + Going to church and being good to family is not enough. * Anyone who truly knows hell is real would not go there on purpose. + It’s irrational to live for worldly pleasures while ignoring the possibility of eternal torment. * At nine years old, the reality of hell was revealed, leading to fear, weeping, and a turning to Christ.
It Seems Like He Didn’t Remember or Realize That in Hell Was a Great Number of Torments* In hell, the rich man could see Lazarus in Abraham’s bosom. + There is a great gulf fixed between heaven and hell. + Those in hell can see what’s happening in heaven, but not vice versa. * The rich man asked Abraham to send Lazarus to dip his finger in water and cool his tongue. + One drop of water would be like paradise in hell. + Abraham refused. * Abraham told the rich man to remember that in his lifetime, he received good things, and Lazarus received evil things. + Those in hell will remember what they knew in life. * The watchman cries out to warn people so they may know the truth. + People will be reminded of what they really do know. * Many people know the truth but turn a deaf ear and a blind eye to it. + They will not have an excuse when they stand before God. * The rich man knew that hell was forever. + What matters is being ready to leave this world and having things fixed up for eternity. * The rich man pleaded for his five brothers, asking that Lazarus be sent to warn them. + He didn’t want them to come to that awful place. * Abraham said that his brothers had Moses and the prophets. + They had the same opportunity to escape hell that he did. * The rich man asked for someone to be sent from the dead, thinking they would believe. + If the Word of God can’t save them, neither will a resurrected person. + It’s not that they seem to not know; they know.
Conclusion* It may seem like people don’t know that life is short and that hell awaits those who die without God. * The truth is, they do know, and that knowledge makes them accountable. * There will be people in hell who will remember the messages they heard, all saying, “You knew.” * There is a need to do something about what you know. * The Holy Ghost can reveal truths that one will never forget. * Trust in Christ to escape hell and have one’s name written in His book.
Introduction: Jonah’s Disobedience* The message is not just for the regular attendees but for anyone who will hear it. + Example: Brother Mickey Roddy mentioned family members in two different states listening to the service online. * The message serves as a reminder and a warning, urging listeners to get right with God. * The sermon’s title is “Down to Joppa.” * Understanding the geography is crucial to understanding Jonah’s situation. + Jonah lived in Gethsemane, near Jerusalem and the temple. * Jonah decided to leave the presence of the Lord, which is a terrifying prospect. * Pastor Tommy emphasizes the importance of God’s presence and the fear of being without it. * Pastor Tommy acknowledges personal struggles to stay right with God.
Jonah’s Decision to Flee* Deciding to walk away from the presence of the Lord is the worst decision one can make. * The presence of the Lord is constant and provides guidance. * Jonah lived close to Jerusalem, near the Mediterranean Sea. * Nineveh was about 500-550 miles northeast of Jerusalem, a three-day journey (60 miles) within the city. * Jonah chose to flee to Joppa (about 50 miles away) to get a boat instead of going to Nineveh. * The devil can convince people to flee from God’s presence.
The Consequences of Leaving God’s Presence* Leaving the presence of the Lord opens one’s life to negative experiences. * It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of a living God. * There will be times when one must decide to stand for God, even if it’s difficult. * One can never truly get away from God. * When standing with God, His presence guides forward. * Fleeing from God involves leaving behind the church, God’s people, and family. * The devil can interrupt one’s whole life after turning away from God. * Many people have gone down to Joppa and found it empty and sinful. * Even on a boat, one cannot escape God’s presence.
Jonah’s Motivation and the Inevitability of God’s Presence* Jonah didn’t like Nineveh or the Assyrians and thought they would be spared if he preached to them. * Turning against God’s will requires prayer and introspection. * God wants people to stay in His presence. * Joppa was a short journey away, but Jonah’s decision led him to go further down. * Jonah paid for a boat to Tarshish, 2,500 miles away in Spain, thinking he could escape God’s commission. * Turning one’s back on God leads to a downward path with no remedy or mercy. * It’s important to stay in the presence of the Lord.
The Downward Spiral and the Storm* Pastor Tommy knows people who have left the presence of the Lord and sought other solutions. * Flesh is inclined to run from God. * Leaving God leads to paying the price to ride the devil’s boat. * Jonah went down into the boat, trying to hide, but God knows everyone’s direction. * The Lord sent a great wind and tempest, exposing those who leave His presence to life’s storms without comfort. * The presence of the Lord is worth more than anything. * Even in storms, Jesus can calm them.
Spiritual Sleep and Divine Intervention* Many people are spiritually asleep, trying to forget God and their past fellowship. * Storms will wake them up. * Jonah fell asleep, but the men on the boat cast lots to find the cause of the storm, and the lot fell on Jonah. * King David’s story is referenced as an example of straying from God’s presence and facing consequences. + David stayed home instead of going to battle. + He committed adultery with Bathsheba and had her husband killed. + The prophet Nathan confronted David with a story, revealing his sin. * One cannot escape the presence of the Lord, who will open their eyes.
Jonah’s Confession and the Whale* Jonah confessed that he was the reason for the storm. * Honesty about sins is crucial. * Jonah suggested being thrown overboard to stop the storm, hoping to escape God. * God can take away the hope of death. * Turning back to where one left God is necessary for improvement. * God prepared a great fish (whale) to swallow Jonah. * There is always a lower point than one imagines. * In the house of God, there is firm footing.
The Depths of Despair and the Cry for Help* Jonah went to the bottom of the mountains, feeling trapped in the belly of hell. * Jesus believed the story of Jonah. * Jonah cried out from the belly of hell due to his affliction. * It all started when he walked away from the presence of the Lord. * People walk away from God for far less. * One doesn’t know how far down it is when they leave God’s presence. * Jonah thought he would be in the fish’s belly forever. * Tears of affliction and sorrow will come when one goes away from God.
Turning Back to God* Jonah realized God wasn’t giving up on him and would keep him alive in the whale’s belly as long as he was rebellious. * He decided to look toward God’s holy temple. * God began to move in Jonah’s life when Jonah began to seek God again. * One can be in church and still run from the presence of the Lord. * There is a father for the child of God. * Lost people come to church and then go back to their old ways because they never got changed. * How can someone who has experienced the presence of God decide to run from that? * The flesh is more powerful than one thinks. * Jonah was in a bad spot when he began to look up. * Then he was brought up. * His prayer went up. * He got prayed up. * One needs to do business with God to get back on the right track. * Turn around, look up, pray up, get ready, and start calling on God. * He’ll start lifting you out of where you’re at. * Jonah got prayed up in the belly of the whale.
Repentance and Restoration* Jonah was willing to sacrifice, finally willing to do what God said. * The worst thing one can do is turn their back on God. * One’s life will crash and end in a nasty mess. * God never let Jonah out until he got right. * One won’t get out from under the hand of God until they get right if they are His. * Jonah got spit up. * Jonah was spit out near Jerusalem, back where he started. * Jonah still had the same journey to Nineveh that he had when he left. * He was just many days behind.
Final Exhortations and Conclusion* Do not turn your back on the presence of the Lord. * It will cost you more, and you will regret it. * One doesn’t have to go that way. * Jonah hit the ground running and had to go 500 miles. * Jonah preached, and the people repented. * God had mercy on him and spared that great city. * The message is for those who are going down to Joppa. * They need to recognize that they have to get out of there and get back to God. * They cannot continue on this downward path away from the presence. * The book of Jonah is a sad story, but it doesn’t have to be your story. * All may have a Jonah-like experience. * One may end up in a spot that they can’t get out of. * They will have to reckon with God in the end. * Get right with God tonight. * Let God teach what’s He. * Get right with Him and quit going down that wrong and downward path. * Flee to Him. * Obey God. * He’ll make all the difference in your life.
Opening Remarks and Introduction* The Holy Spirit is moving and filling those present. + Many attendees shared testimonies. + Expressing gratitude for the morning’s events. * Reference to Matthew 8:23-27, the story of Jesus calming the storm. + Invitation to be saved, emphasizing the Holy Spirit’s presence and potential impact.
Going to the Other Side* Jesus told the disciples, “let us go to the other side.” * God is working in ways we may not understand. + Personal testimony of faith since 1976, trusting in God’s promises. * Jesus was going to the other side to free a man possessed by many devils. + Everything the Lord does is on purpose. + The Lord showed up with a purpose.
Entering the Ship* The story in Matthew is a real event with spiritual significance. + The Word of God will help, even if it’s bitter at first. * Personal testimony about when Christ entered Pastor Tommy’s life. + Giving up ownership and control to Jesus as captain. + Jesus found Pastor Tommy when he was destitute and lost. * Encouragement that nothing can repel the King of Glory from loving you. + The Lamb of God wants to come aboard, regardless of the state of the “ship.”
The Lordship of Christ* To have Christ in your ship, you must give Him the right to run it. + He is Lord and Master, not just a friend or co-pilot. * Trusting God even when His plans are unclear. + Reminder that He is in control and will bring you to the other side.
The Tempest* Having Jesus in your boat doesn’t mean you won’t face rough waters. + The boat may rock and fill with water, but it will float if Jesus is in it. * Personal anecdote about forgetting to put the plug in a boat. * Feeling in jeopardy and not knowing which way to turn. + Assurance that if He’s in the ship, it will keep floating. * Don’t let the storm surprise you. + There will be winds and news that you can’t control. * There is only one that can save you. + If he’s in the boat, you’re saved.
The Storms of Life* There will be times of sweetness and ease, but also times of hardship. + God allows winds to rock the boat to keep us awake and ready for His return. * Hard times and experiences are a part of the journey. + Assurance that He will stay in the boat with you, and it won’t go down.
Jesus Asleep* There are times when we wonder if He is asleep or has left the boat. * Good news: He sleeps no more since the resurrection. + He is always awake and able to calm the storm. * Reference to Elijah teasing the prophets of Baal, whose god was asleep. * In despair, we may think He doesn’t care. + One of the disciples asked, “Master, do you not care that we perish?” * At some point, we realize we need the Master’s help. + Reference to the song “Somebody Woke Up the Master.” * Access to the throne of grace to obtain mercy and find grace.
Call on the Master* Personal testimony of calling on the Master in times of trouble. + The boat was riddled, but it stayed afloat. * The course is set, and it will make it to the other side. * Even in dark places, He is there and sees everything. + Reference to John’s message that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.
Asking for Help* Spiritually, waking up the Master is equivalent to asking for assistance. + We have not because we ask not. * It’s better to call on Him when your ankles are wet than when your knees are. + Eventually, you may have to bow and admit you need help. * The disciples woke Him up, explaining their situation in a few words. + “Lord, save us, we perish.”
Why Are You Fearful?* Jesus’ first response was, “Why are you so fearful?” + He then answered their question, pointing to their lack of faith. * Our problem is not letting Him and the miracles of God be greater than our circumstances. + We give more credit to what we see and taste than to the God of glory. * He has never lied, and His promises never fail. + “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” + “Those that believe in him will never perish.”
Peace, Be Still* Jesus stepped up and said, “Peace, be still.” + Both the wind and the waves obeyed Him, and there was a great calm. * What is a greater miracle: calming the storm or keeping a full boat afloat? + Reference to the story of the man with palsy being lowered through the ceiling. + Jesus forgave his sins and then healed him, demonstrating His power. * Often, we don’t recognize the miracles occurring during our storms. * Even if the boat is full, you are going to the other side.
He is in the Ship* Jesus was asleep because He knew they were going to make it. + Some expect a calm, but God helps even when it’s not calm. * The best part is that even when you think you’re sinking, you’re still floating. + You’re not going down because He is in the ship. * If He’s not in your ship, you’re going down. * As a pastor, Pastor Tommy can assure you that you’re not going down if Jesus is in the ship.
All Things Work Together for Good* Romans 8:28: “All things work together for good to them that love God.” + If God is for us, who can be against us? * It wasn’t the calm that got them to the other side, but the word of Jesus. + The circumstances were irrelevant. * The promise of God will sustain you in spite of your faith. + It wasn’t their faith that would have drowned them, but their fear. * Whether it’s calm or the boat is full, His word doesn’t change. + You will go to the other side just like He promised.
Closing Remarks* There are days when faith won’t cut it, but we’re still here because He’s in the boat. * Learning to like the storms because that’s when the greater miracles occur. * The question is not if you’re going to make it, but if He’s in your boat. * If He’s not in your boat, you have a real problem: you’re without remedy, savior, or hope. * You must be born again for the promises to take place. * Invitation to let Him in.
Reflection on Preaching and Unworthiness* Feeling unworthy to preach, considering the great men who have preached before. + Feeling like “the least of the least.” * Finding strength in God’s presence and help. + Acknowledging dependence on God, stating, “It has to be God in it or nothing good will come out of it.” * Requesting prayers due to feeling unwell and facing spiritual opposition. + Experiencing difficulties in studying due to various distractions. + Finding peace through God’s assurance: “I’ve got you. We can do this.” * Focusing on magnifying God through testimony. + Sharing personal testimony as a way to magnify God. + Experiencing blessings from God for this approach.
Testimony of Past Struggles and Salvation* Having a tough life and experiencing bad things. * Being raised in church with a preacher father, but still making wrong choices. + Acknowledging that upbringing doesn’t guarantee salvation. + Recognizing personal responsibility for choices. * Experiencing a difficult breakup 25 years ago and seeking to fill a void. + Turning to drugs and alcohol, which provided temporary relief but worsened problems. * Facing dangerous situations and engaging in harmful behaviors. + Having guns pulled, being stabbed, and experiencing jail time. + Acknowledging having done “about every bad thing you can do.” * Experiencing a turning point about a year ago when God intervened. + Overdosing on drugs and being revived multiple times. + Feeling death approaching and hearing a voice offering a choice between God and goodbye. + Promising to live for God if given another chance. * Waking up in the hospital without withdrawal symptoms or cravings. + Experiencing no withdrawal symptoms from heroin addiction. + Having no desire to return to a former lifestyle. * Being called to preach and share testimony. + Seeking to share testimony in jail to prevent others from making similar mistakes. * Expressing gratitude for God’s unwavering hold and protection. + Believing that God maintains a “hedge of protection” even when one strays.
Scripture Reading and Prayer* Reading Proverbs 3:5-9 about trusting in the Lord, acknowledging Him, and honoring Him with substance. + “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thy own understanding.” + “In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” + “Honor the Lord with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of thine increase.” * Offering a prayer for guidance and help in delivering God’s message. + Feeling inadequate but acknowledging that “little is much when you’re in it, God.” + Asking God to remove self and use Brother Dan to help others avoid a destructive path. + Praying for God to anoint Brother Dan and use the message for His purpose.
God’s Plan and Protection* Reflecting on God’s goodness and protection even during times of sin. + Recognizing God’s “shield of protection” during past sinful behavior. + Believing God knew Brother Dan would return and live for Him. * Emphasizing God’s plan for everyone and His ability to redirect those who stray. + Referencing James 4:8: “Draw near to God and He’ll draw near to you. Submit yourselves to God and resist the devil and he’ll flee.” * Highlighting the need for faith, trust, and reliance on God. + Asserting that God is the answer to every problem, including drug addiction. + Sharing personal experience as proof of God’s power to overcome addiction. * Expressing gratitude for prayers offered during times of living in the world. + Acknowledging the impact of prayers from family and others. * Recognizing the importance of serving God fully and consistently. + Feeling convicted about not always giving 100% to serving God. + Emphasizing the need to serve God not only for oneself but also for loved ones and co-workers. * Highlighting the importance of living a consistent Christian life. + Recognizing that one may be the only “Bible” some people read.
Promises of God and Personal Reliance* Reading Psalm 91 about dwelling in God’s secret place and finding refuge. + “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” + “I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in Him will I trust.” * Trusting in God more and experiencing positive changes. + Noting that things work out when relying on God, unlike when living for the devil. * Describing the deceptive nature of worldly temptations. + Drugs initially seem good but ultimately lead to destruction. * Emphasizing that God sees the whole picture and desires what is best. + Recognizing that God’s plan may differ from personal desires but is ultimately better. * Acknowledging God’s deliverance from the snare of the fowler. + Expressing gratitude for being delivered from the devil’s grip. + Realizing that personal stubbornness and the devil’s influence contributed to past struggles. * Taking responsibility for past choices and acknowledging the importance of staying near God. + Stating, “God didn’t put me there. I put myself there.” * Highlighting the importance of being a doer of the word, not just a hearer. + Referencing Hebrews on the importance of acting on what is heard.
Overcoming Temptation and Sin* Recognizing the tendency to be mentally absent during church services. + Acknowledging the struggle with the “old flesh” that resists participation. * Finding prayer as an escape route from temptation. + Believing that God provides a way out of temptation. * Understanding that sin separates us from God. + Referencing Isaiah 59:1-2 about iniquities separating us from God. * Emphasizing the importance of repentance and forgiveness. + Recognizing that living in sin leads to missed blessings. * Expressing gratitude for the Holy Spirit’s guidance and conviction. + Appreciating the conscience that helps in making good decisions. * Finding protection under God’s wings and truth as a shield. + “He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.”
Letting God Work and the Assurance of Salvation* Recognizing that we often hinder God’s work due to worldly desires. + Prioritizing work over church and making excuses to avoid serving God. * Highlighting God’s care, guidance, and protection. + Acknowledging God’s role in making crooked places straight. * Sharing personal experiences of God’s faithfulness and protection. + Recalling near-death experiences where God intervened. * Emphasizing the importance of prayer and righteous living for the salvation of loved ones. + Recognizing the power of prayer and its impact on daily life. * Understanding that trials grow faith. + Comparing trials to working out muscles at the gym. * Expressing gratitude for God’s sacrifice and the promise of heaven. + Knowing that God created heaven for everyone, even sinners. * Reiterating that God will do anything for our betterment if we trust and believe. * Encouraging everyone to have the assurance of salvation. + Inviting those without assurance to seek guidance. * Expressing hope that something said will be helpful. + Acknowledging the message may be scattered but trusting God’s word will accomplish its purpose. * Offering encouragement to those struggling with addiction or having loved ones who are. + Believing that the same God who delivered Brother Dan can deliver others. * Urging the church to focus on serving God and living righteously. + Emphasizing the importance of speaking boldly about God.
Colossians 2:18-19 and the Danger of Being Beguiled* The message focuses on Colossians 2:18-19, warning against being beguiled and losing one’s reward. + Colossians 2:18-19: “Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshiping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, and not holding the head from which all the body, by joints and bands having nourishment, ministered and knit together, increases with the increase of God.” * Being beguiled is likened to Eve being deceived by the serpent in Genesis. + The serpent beguiled Eve, leading to consequences. * The reward at stake is salvation. + Matthew 10:22: Enduring to the end is necessary for salvation. - “And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.” * Endurance is crucial, like in an Enduro motorcycle race, requiring persistence to reach the destination. + Enduring means continuing to do what one should, even when facing opposition. + Example: Continuing to profess Jesus even when facing opposition. * The Colossian church faced various theories about God and worship, including Gnosticism. + Gnostics believed Jesus was not truly a man but a spirit. * Many churches today are not focused on the blood of Jesus, salvation, sanctification, or separation from the world. + Instead, they seek worldly things. * If there is no discernible difference between the behavior of the world and that of church members, something is wrong. + Those walking with God should hate what they once loved and love what they once hated, with Jesus being central.
Revelation 2 and the Church of Ephesus* Revelation 2:1-7 is referenced, focusing on God’s potential “awe” (displeasure) against the church. + Revelation 2:1-7: Addresses the church in Ephesus, acknowledging their works, labor, and patience, but noting they have forsaken their first love. * The church in Ephesus is commended for not tolerating evil and for exposing false apostles as liars. + Many who start strong in faith eventually fade away, leaving behind only the faithful members who were already committed. + Example: Some television ministries and churches initially appear to have revivals but later prove to be superficial. * It’s important to make the Bible personal, as if God is speaking directly to the individual. + This involves recognizing God’s word, mind, and character and assessing whether one is aligned with them. * Works alone are not enough; faith with works is essential. + Being “washed in the blood” makes one a “first draft pick” and puts them on the front line. * Being on God’s team requires prioritizing His business and what He considers important. + It’s not comfortable when the world hates you for your faith. * One must endure and be found faithful, not compromising with worldly influences. + Attending church should be a purposeful act of seeking heavenly manna to sustain the soul. * Heavenly food (God’s word) clears the mind and encourages one to persevere in prayer, even when the world is discouraging. * Jesus cleansed the temple, driving out the money changers and declaring it a house of prayer. + He then healed and ministered in the temple, and children praised Him. * Those who didn’t leave or get run out questioned Jesus about the children’s praise, but He did not answer, acknowledging their praise. * Revelation warns to “let him that hath an ear hear what the spirit saith unto the churches.” + Overcoming leads to eating from the tree of life in paradise. * One must surrender to God as their master and not be beguiled by the world. * The remedy for losing one’s first love is to repent and return to it. + If one has not been born again, these concepts may be a mystery. * Born-again believers need to return to their initial zeal and get right with God. + Remembering one’s former state helps one appreciate the transformation God has made.
The Example of Eli and His Sons* The story of Eli and his sons in 1 Samuel 4 is used as a cautionary tale. + Eli was beguiled and profited from his position, while his sons were ungodly. * God will intervene if people do not address unrighteousness. + Eli’s sons took the Ark of the Covenant into battle, thinking it would solve their problems, but they were defeated and died. * Relying on religious rituals or leaders without personal righteousness is futile. + One must personally repent and get right with God. * The news of the defeat and the death of his sons led to Eli’s death. * Eli’s daughter-in-law named her son Ichabod, meaning “the glory has departed.” + It’s a dire situation when God’s glory departs from someone. * One needs to rekindle the fire of their initial salvation experience. + David prayed, “Restore to me the joy of my salvation.”
Genesis 6:11-17 and Noah’s Ark* The earth was corrupt and filled with violence. + God saw the corruption of all flesh. + God told Noah the end of all flesh had come. + God would destroy them with the earth. + Noah was instructed to build an ark of gopher wood, with rooms, and to pitch it within and without. + God would bring a flood to destroy all flesh with the breath of life. + God would establish a covenant with Noah, his sons, wife, and sons’ wives to enter the ark.
Jesus Christ and Salvation* Before the foundation of the earth, Jesus was with God. + John 1:1 states the Word was God and with God. + The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, referring to Jesus Christ. * Man was created perfect in God’s image but became corrupt through sin in the Garden of Eden. + Adam and Eve were tempted by the serpent, leading to sin entering the world. + Everyone needs to be saved. * Many people build their “ark” on worldly things, which provide temporary happiness but will ultimately fail. + Build hopes on eternal things. * Nehemiah’s story is an example of opposition when building for God. + Sandalot mocked Nehemiah and those building. + Like Nehemiah, Christians face mockery for their faith. * Noah’s Ark as a Metaphor for Salvation + People likely mocked Noah for building an ark, as they had never seen rain. + Similarly, people mock those who worship God. + God established a covenant with Noah. + Noah preached to get on the ark before the flood came. + The door of the ark is open now for those who are not saved. + Accept the extended hand of mercy to enter the “ark.” * Revelation speaks of the river of life and abundant life in heaven. + John saw the new Jerusalem coming down from heaven. * Old Testament covenants required animal sacrifices, which were imperfect. + God sought one worthy to come to earth and found Jesus. + John wept because no one was found worthy to open the seals, but a lamb (Jesus) was found worthy. + Jesus ministered to the world, but his own people did not receive him. * The door to salvation is open now, but there will come a time when it is too late. + Like Noah preaching before the flood, Christians must share the gospel. * A fire drill experience served as an analogy. + People are looking for a sign to be saved, but when the trumpet sounds, it will be too late. + During the fire drill, people were running everywhere, similar to what will happen when the Lord returns. + You can’t find grace from family. + Put hope and trust in Jesus Christ. * Jesus willingly gave his life on the cross for salvation. + He could have come off the cross but chose to give his blood. + He was placed in a borrowed tomb, signifying his temporary stay. + He rose on the third day and appeared in the flesh. * The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the only hope. + Without it, preaching would be in vain. + Jesus is alive and interceding for us. * Testimony of salvation as a 15-year-old boy. + Growing up Methodist, the gospel wasn’t heard in the same way as in the Baptist church. + Being dunked in the river doesn’t save you, only the blood of Jesus Christ does. + The Lord knew the heart and saved the lost soul. * The passing of Alvin Davis, a mentor, led to seeking salvation. + Alvin Davis was a hero and taught Sunday school for 40 years. + It doesn’t matter if you can read the Bible front to back, you must be saved by the blood of Jesus Christ. + His sudden death was a shock. * Crying out to God at Alvin’s grave. + Prayed to God for an hour and a half. + The Lord saved his soul at the graveyard. + All that was needed was to ask the Lord into the heart. + If your heart is far from Him, He won’t hear you. + If your heart’s intent is to get right with the Lord, He will hear you. * Prayed at the altar for any sin to be taken away. + Didn’t want to be a hindrance to anyone. + Being saved by Alvin’s grave is something that will be carried for the rest of life. + It wasn’t the rock or the grave that saved, but God coming into the heart. * Noah preached about the coming flood, warning people to get on the ark or perish. + The next flood will be with fire, not water. + The fiery furnace example. - Those who threw others into the furnace were slain by the heat. - Faith was strong enough to walk into the furnace, knowing God would take care of them. * Judgment and Choice + The fiery furnace is where God will throw his enemies. + God doesn’t send you to hell; it’s your own choice. + The devil tempts, but it’s your own will that decides. * The ark (Jesus) has come, and the door is still open. + The Lord stands at the door and knocks. + There is no hope in anything in this world except Jesus Christ. + If you are lost, get saved before it’s too late. + Nothing in this life gives hope and joy like Jesus Christ. * The covenant with Noah is the covenant through Jesus Christ, who came to be the sacrifice for our sins. + Praying for those who are lost to be saved before it’s everlasting too late.
Privilege of Being in God’s House* Gratitude for the freedom and presence of the Spirit of God. + Many people would love to be in a place where the spirit of God is free. + It is a privilege to be in God’s house.
Romans Chapter 4* Reading of Romans 4:17-25 and verse 16. * Focus on faith and grace. + It is of faith that it might be by grace. + The promise might be sure to all the seed. + Not to that only which is of the law, but also which is of the faith of Abraham.
Abraham: Father of Many Nations* Abraham as the father of many nations, not just Israel. + God told Abraham, “I’m going to make you a father of many nations.” + All are children of Abraham through faith, not the law. * Abraham pleased God through belief, not law-keeping. + The law had yet to be given. + Abraham came because he believed God.
Abraham’s Faith* God’s promise to Abraham to make him a father of many nations. + Sarah was barren. + Abraham didn’t have any children. * Abraham believed God despite his age (100 years old) and Sarah’s age (90 years old). + Abraham believed God. + It was imputed to him for righteousness. * Righteousness imputed to Abraham because of belief, not personal righteousness or worthiness. + Not because Abraham was righteous. + Not because Abraham deserved righteousness. + Not because he was worthy of righteousness. + But because he believed God.
Importance of Faith* Without faith, it is impossible to please God. + God puts such a value on faith. + When any soul will simply believe God in spite of all the circumstances, in spite of all the situations. * God imputes righteousness to those who believe. + Righteousness of Christ imputed at the moment of faith. + We believed.
Hope in a Hopeless World* Hope is very important. * The world has lost hope, even the lost. + Wickedness abounds and it’s getting worse. * Political changes have not brought righteousness. + A lot of people thought when Trump got in office that somehow this country would turn around and get righteous. + We’re no closer to God than we were two years ago. * Evidence of lack of revival: no abandonment of sin, no church filling. + If things were really getting right, brother, we’d see it in the church. + It ain’t here. + It’s growing more wicked every day. * Encouragement to keep hope. + Don’t let anything steal your hope. * Advice to avoid negative influences: turn off TV and radio, open the Bible. + Turn your TV off. + Turn your radio off. + And open up your Bible. + Stop the influences of the devil.
Hope as a Necessity* Hope is absolutely necessary for the people of God. * Despair and worry heard in voices of men at a gathering. + There were some of them that were sharing before church, and some of them shared even after we had started. + I could hear the despair in their voice. + I could hear the worry and the concern. * Concern is valid, but must be balanced with hope in God. + Without a vision, you’ll perish. + We cannot as the people of God in good faith talk about it without still having hope in God. * Faith and hope are linked; faith precedes hope. + If you’ve got faith hope’s right behind you. + The more faith you have, the greater hope you’ll have as well. * 1 Corinthians 13: faith, hope, and charity (love). + Love is the greatest, but in good company with faith and hope. + Now abideth these three. + Faith, hope, and charity. + But the greatest of these is charity. * Need for hope in the church. + We need to have hope in our heart tonight. + We need to have a hope down in our soul. * With God, anything can happen. + When God’s involved, anything can happen. * Believe God and let hope save each day. + What we need to do is believe God and then let hope save us each and every day.
Hope as Verb and Noun* Hope is both an action (verb) and a thing (noun). + Hope is both a verb and a noun. + It is both an action and a thing. * Like faith and love, hope is a real thing. + Faith is an action, but faith is also a thing. + Love is an action, but it is also a noun. + It is a thing. * Appreciation for people with hope who haven’t given up on God. + I love to meet people that have got hope. + I like to meet people that ain’t give up on God. + They’ve not laid down on God. + They’ve not quit believing in God. * Hope leads to expecting God to move in unexpected ways. + God’s going to do something that they ain’t expecting, that God’s going to move in a way they’ve never seen, that God’s going to come in and help them in a way that they can’t even understand or foresee. * Hope should follow faith. + If you’ve got faith, you ought to have some hope with you. + Hope ought to follow your faith. * Many Christians seem to lack hope. + I see a lot of people that ain’t got much hope. + I talk to Christian people, good Christian people. + And when you talk to them, it seems like they don’t give up. + They just throw it in the towel. * Losing belief in God leads to hopelessness. + When they quit believing in God, they quit believing God can do something. * Focus on the present and the work to be done. + I’m still breathing. + I’ve still got a day ahead of me if God wakes me up and the sun shines again. + We’ve got work to do. * Need for hope to avoid emotional and spiritual backsliding. + You’ll get so far down the ditch that you’ll end up backslidden emotionally and spiritually. + You’ll get to the place where you sell out on faith and you sit down on God and suddenly, amen, everything that is wrong begins to come your way. * Reaping hard things from sowing bad things. + You’ll begin to reap hard things because you’ve sown bad things. * Even without understanding God’s plan, hope is essential. + Even though we cannot see what God is doing, we do not know what moment in time, what dispensation we’re in. + What I can tell you is that we still need hope today. * Abraham believed against hope. + Abraham, who against hope, believed in hope. * Hope is part of faith. + Hope’s part of our faith. + These three abideth, faith, hope, and love. + But the greatest of these is hope.
Believing Against Hope* Abraham believed against hope (Romans 4:18). + Every earthly argument or sense was not supporting what God was telling Abraham. + Everything that God told Abraham, the worldly argument, the worldly sense, the worldly rationality, The worldly experience would tell Abraham that’s not going to happen. * Worldly rationality says it’s impossible, but God can do anything. + It cannot be. + It is impossible. + There’s no need to believe in that because that is not reality. + It is not something that can occur. * Believing God despite circumstances allows hope to flourish. + When everything says it cannot be. + It still can be.
Believing in God* Believing in hope means believing in God (verse 17). + Before him whom he believed even God. * Believing in God overrides worldly rationale and human experience. + If you’re believing in God today, all bets are off as far as the world’s rationale. + All bets are off is on human experience. * God can change situations even when doctors say nothing can be done. + You may have been to a thousand doctors and every one of them tell you, Nope, there is nothing that can be done. + But brother, when you put it in God’s hands, it can change. * Question of who to believe: doctors, lawyers, personal experience, or God. + Do you believe the doctors? + Do you believe the lawyer? + Do you believe that person? + Do you believe your experience, your own rationale, your own common sense? * God can do anything, including wondrous miracles. + All of those things are nothing to my God. + Because God can do anything. * God acts when humans cannot. + God did it because you couldn’t do it. + God did it because nobody else could do it. + God did it to show you He could do it. * Believing in God despite terrible circumstances. + There are circumstances in my life that are terrible, and I have no idea how this is going to turn out. * Anything is possible with prayer and belief. + If you’ll keep praying and you’ll keep believing, friend, anything is possible. * God’s timing differs from human timing; patience is needed. + God’s timing ain’t your timing. + So just be patient. * Human solutions to God problems don’t work. + His wife said, I’ve come up with a human solution to a God problem. + What you need is not a human solution, but you need the God solution. * Trusting God with all your heart leads to directed steps. + If I trust in Him with all my heart and lean not to my own understanding but in all my ways acknowledge Him that He will direct my steps. * God fixes what humans cannot. + You’re liable to find out He fixes what can’t be fixed by humans.
God’s Abilities* Believing in God who is able to do all things. + Abraham believed in any help because he was believing, number one, in God who is able to do all things. * Believing in God who can quicken the dead. + He was believing that God was able to quicken the dead. + This God had power to raise someone up from the dead. * Believing in God who calls things that are not as though they were. + When God talks about something that has not happened, he’s speaking to it as if it will happen because he will make it happen. + God will speak it as if it has already happened.
Need for More Faith* Need for more faith. + I need more faith. + I need to believe God for more than what I’m believing. * Trusting God for things that are impossible for humans. + When you trust God and believe Him for things that you can’t fix, you can’t do. * Daily choice to believe God or the world. + Every day when you get up, you’re going to have to make a choice. + Am I going to believe God today or am I going to believe the world? * Believing God leads to the birth of hope. + If you believe God, friend, hope is born again right in your soul.
Abraham’s Strength in Faith* Abraham was not weak in faith. + Abraham was strong in the faith. * Abraham believed God when asked to sacrifice Isaac. + Take your only son Isaac up there and offer him up as a sacrifice unto me. * Abraham believed God would provide a sacrifice. + God will provide himself a lamb for the sacrifice. * Abraham believed God could raise Isaac from the dead. + He believed in his heart that if God allowed him to take that boy, that he’d raise him from the dead.
Overcoming Weakness in Faith* Problem of weakness in faith. + I think that’s part of our problem today. * Faith can move mountains (Matthew 21:21). + If we had faith we’d say to the mountain be you moved and cast into the sea and it would be. * Abraham’s example of not considering his own body as dead. + Being not weak in the faith, he considered not his own body, now need. * Not letting the mind dictate faith. + Abraham did not let his mind dictate what God was saying, whether it be possible or impossible. * Not staggering at the promise of God through unbelief. + He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strong in the faith, giving glory to God. * Being fully persuaded that God could perform what He promised. + Being fully persuaded what he had promised, he was also able to perform.
Value of Hope* Faith, hope, and charity (love) are all important. + These three things abide. + Faith, hope, and charity. + The greatest of these is charity. * Need for hope. + You need a lot of hope, by the way. * Wake up with enough faith to produce hope for the day. + You need to wake up in the morning with enough faith to produce more hope so that you have hope to do you all day long. * Losing hope leads to stopping. + The minute you run out of hope, the minute you sit down. + The minute you quit working for God, the minute we quit living for God and serving God and reading and studying and seeking God, when you lose hope, you just stop. * Hope is essential for survival, like for prisoners of war. + The main thing that those prisoners of war in Vietnam needed, the main thing they needed was hope that they’d get out. * Hope can lift one out of pits, depression, and hurt. + It’ll lift you up out of that pit that you’re in, that depression that you’re in, that hurt that you’re feeling. * Hope is powerful and can save. + Hope will save you. + It’s that powerful.
Hope from the Scriptures* Hope comes from the Scriptures (Romans 15:4). + Whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning. + That we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. * Faith comes from hearing the Word of God. + Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. * Increased faith leads to bold hope. + As your faith is increased, brother, hope becomes bold within yourself. * Need for hope at all times, not just in church. + You don’t need it on Wednesday and Sunday. + You need hope on Thursday morning. + You need some good hope on Friday morning. * The world should see hope in Christians. + Reckon why they’d ever ask you about Christ if when they see or hear you, all they see is somebody that has no hope. * The lost are the most hopeless. + If there’s anybody hopeless, It’s the lost. * Without hope in Christ, life is miserable (1 Corinthians 15:19). + If I had hope in this life only in Christ, I’d be of all men most miserable.
God of Hope* The Word of God gives hope and sustains belief. + The Word of God was meant to give us hope because it gives us faith. + Hope keeps serving and fighting and helping and it’ll sustain you. * God is the God of hope (Romans 15:13). + Now the God of hope, fill you with all joy and peace and believing. * Prayer for God to fill with joy, peace, and belief. + I pray that He fill you with all joy and peace and believing. * Abounding in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost. + That ye may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost.
Supercharged Hope* The Holy Ghost supercharges hope. + The Holy Ghost then gets into hope. + It gets supercharged at that point. * Hope begins to do unexpected things. + Suddenly hope begins to do things you didn’t know hope could do. * The power of the Holy Ghost brings action. + When you get the power of the Holy Ghost into something, you better get out of its way. + Because it’s fixing to do something. * Hopelessness leads to despair. + So many people have got their head down, which infers to me they’ve lost hope, which means they’re not believing God. * Christians should never be hopeless. + You’re never hopeless. * Simple faith in Christ produces supercharged hope. + That simple faith in Christ produces a supercharged hope that has power to lift you up out of depression, lift you up out of the pit, lift you up out of that hard place. * God can do what no one else can do. + God can do what no one else can do.
Hope as an Anchor* Hebrews 6:18-19: hope as a strong consolation. + By two immutable things in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation. * Lay hold upon the hope set before us. + Who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us. * Hope is both an action and a thing. + Hope is both a verb and a noun. + Hope is an action and a thing. * Hope is the answer and a supercharged power. + Out there in front of you is hope. + Out there in front of you is the answer, the hope that you need. + You’ll experience hope as a thing. + A supercharged. + Holy Spirit-filled thing. + A power unlike anything else on the earth. * Hope changes perspective. + Give somebody real hope. + Their perspective changes on every circumstance. * Loss of hope leads to despair and suicide. + If you take their hope away, you know what they do these days? + They try to kill themselves. * Need to exercise faith to increase hope. + You better keep working on hope. * Hope will rescue and save. + Hope’s going to rescue you. + Hope’s going to save you. * Hope as an anchor of the soul (Hebrews 6:19). + Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul. * Hope leads to Christ’s presence. + Hope will lead you into His presence. * Need to be at the feet of the One who can do all things. + The one thing you need, more than anything else, is to be at the feet of the One who can do all things. * Hope takes one to Christ. + Your hope took you there. * Hopelessness leads to quitting. + You take a person that’s hopeless and you know what they want to do? + They want to quit. * Hope leads to seeking Jesus. + Somebody that’s filled with hope is going to find themselves at the feet of Jesus one more time. * Hope is supercharged by the Holy Ghost. + Hope is supercharged of the Holy Ghost. * Hope is brought by the Scriptures. + It is brought to us by the Scriptures. * Hope is a refuge and a sure anchor. + God has said it before us that we might lay hold upon it as a refuge. + It is a sure and steadfast anchor of our… * Hope leads into the presence of Christ. + It takes me into the presence of Christ.
Creation’s Groaning and Hope’s Saving Power* All creation groans (Romans 8:22). + We know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. * Everyone experiences problems. + Every one of you have got problems. * Choice to believe God and have hope or go farther down. + They can either believe God. + In that moment, they can either believe God and watch hope be born and supercharged powerfully enter into their life and lift them out of that circumstance or they will go farther down. * Saved by hope (Romans 8:24). + For we are saved by hope. * Hope saves like a life preserver. + Like a life preserver, when I’m going under it, Hope saves me. * Hope lifts one up when feeling overwhelmed. + When it feels like you’re just so far down that you ain’t going to come up again, and suddenly you feel like something grabbed a hold of you and just hit you right back down. + That was hope. * Hope replaces negative emotions with positive ones. + A smile replaced the frame. + And confidence the worry. + And boldness the fear. * Hope is always available in Christ. + In Christ, there is always hope. * Hope rescues and lifts up. + Hope, it didn’t rescue you. + It didn’t lift you up out of that where you said it didn’t pull you right back up to hope it saved you.
Waiting with Patience* Hope is born of faith. + Hope is born of faith. + When there is no faith, there is no hope. * More faith leads to more hope. + The more faith you have, the more hope is born. * Hope lifts above the world’s troubles. + Hope will save you. + Hope will lift you above the waves of this world and the wretchedness we live in and the groaning and the pain. * Hope is for things not seen (Romans 8:24-25). + Hope that is seen is not hope. + If we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it. * Patience is needed while waiting for God’s promise. + If we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it. * Hope sustains while waiting. + That hope will be what sustains you as you wait for it. * Hope is an anchor of the soul. + Hope will hold you. + As an anchor of the soul. * Hope leads closer to God. + That hope is taking you right into him. * Hope leads into the holiest of holies. + It’s walking you closer and closer to him. + Until it goes right inside, within the veil, behind the curtain, to the holies of holies. * God does what no one else can do. + God did something that nobody else could do. * Patience allows hope to work until God fulfills His promise. + With patience while hope did its work in sustaining and saving day after day moment after moment until finally God does what God said he’d do. * Once the promise is seen, there is no more need for hope. + Once you see it, you no longer have to hope for it no more. * Faith, hope, and charity (love) are essential. + Faith, hope, and charity. + These three. * Gratitude for hope. + Thank God for Hope. * Believing and carrying on despite uncertainty. + You just keep carrying on. + And you keep believing. + Hope it keeps up. * God’s plan is good. + What a good plan He came up with, honey. * Use faith, hope, and love. + You’ve got them. + Use them. * Invitation to be filled with hope. + I’d like to see you leave here filled with hope. + Filled with hope. * Let God save and help. + Let him save you tonight. + Let him help you.
Assurance of Salvation* Many people assume they are saved, but lack a deep, confident assurance.
+ They cannot articulate a specific experience or transformation that confirms their salvation.
+ They rely on assumptions rather than a solid foundation of faith.
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The Pharisees believed they had eternal life because of their knowledge of scripture, but they did not recognize Jesus as the Son of God.
- They failed to see Christ in the Old Testament, which is full of references and pictures of Him.
- They knew the scriptures but did not believe in Jesus.
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It’s not enough to just think you are saved; you must know you are saved.
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Relying on feelings is unreliable because feelings can fluctuate.
- Assurance comes from God’s Word and His Spirit working together.
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Avoid trying to figure out salvation through your own thinking.
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Salvation is not achieved by accident; it requires being born again.
- God offers grace to everyone, teaching us to deny ungodliness and live righteously.
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Some Christians struggle with assurance, but there comes a day when the Holy Spirit and the Word of God confirm their salvation.
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The goal is to move from thinking you are saved to knowing you are saved.
- Personal experience: There was a period of wrestling with salvation, but eventually came to a place of knowing through the Word and the Spirit.
How to Know You Are Saved These points also reveal if you are not* saved. + The converse statements are present in the scriptures. + Don’t let your mind dictate truth; rely on simple faith and belief from the heart.
1. Walking in the Light (1 John 1:7)* If you are saved, you have come out of the darkness of the world and into the light of Christ.
+ When a light is turned on in a dark room, you know it.
+ There is an assurance that the darkness has been dispelled from your life.
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This is not about intellectual comprehension but about a transformational experience.
- It’s not about reasoning or understanding the English language.
- It’s about no longer living in darkness.
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Personal Testimony: Once lived in darkness, but no longer there.
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Something happened at salvation that changed everything.
- It’s not of this world; it’s of God.
2. Keeping His Commandments (1 John 2:3-4)* You know that you know Him if you keep His commandments.
+ If you claim to know Him but do not keep His commandments, you are a liar.
+ We often lie to ourselves, convincing ourselves that our sin doesn’t matter.
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Jesus summarized the commandments as:
- Love God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength.
- Love your neighbor as yourself.
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If you are born again, you will have a desire to keep God’s commandments.
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If you are not saved, you have no desire to please God.
- Even though we fail, there is an internal desire to do what God says.
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When lost, there was no desire to please God, but after salvation, there is a desire to obey Him.
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Rules from parents were for good, teaching right and wrong.
- Being born again submits you to the desire to do right.
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Those who deceive themselves about salvation are still trying to figure it out within themselves.
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If you are not born again, you won’t stick with it.
- Flesh is contrary to serving God, but something greater within makes you want to obey God.
3. Keeping His Word (1 John 2:5)* If you keep His word, the love of God is perfected in you.
+ You will want to do what He said to do.
+ You will want to keep all of His word, not just the “do’s and don’ts.”
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Psalm 119: Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto, to every word that cometh from him.
- Every word is beneficial.
- His Word is hidden in the heart so that you might not sin against God.
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Thinking about being saved is how you confuse yourself if you have not really been saved.
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People die every day thinking they are alright with God but have never been born again.
4. Loving Not the World (1 John 2:15-16)* If you love the world, the love of the Father is not in you.
+ James 4:4: If you are a friend of the world, you are an enemy to God.
+ The things of the world include the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.
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When you are saved, you no longer love the world; you love God.
- Nothing in the world truly satisfies your soul.
- Allegiance shifts from following the devil to following God.
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Salvation is an event, not a process.
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It happens right here, right now.
- Your name is written down, and you become a child of God.
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You cannot love the world and love the Father.
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You cannot have two masters.
- If you still love the world, the love of the Father is not in you.
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The reason for preaching is because you are not yet condemned.
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God has made a way through the death, resurrection, and shed blood of His Son.
- A transformation occurs within your life that changes you.
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2 Corinthians 5:17: If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature.
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Old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
- If you are born again, your love comes, and the love of the world dissipates.
5. Having the Holy Spirit (1 John 2:20)* You have an unction from the Holy One, and you know all things.
+ When you get saved, the Holy Spirit of God is given to you.
+ The Holy Ghost of God lives inside of you.
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The first four points are to the heart, but the mind can still get involved.
- You can think yourself into a righteous position, but God said you never could do that.
- Your righteousness is filthy rags in His eyes.
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Being indwelt by the Holy Ghost separates things.
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You cannot fight that.
- The Spirit of God bears witness within you.
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If you have the Holy Spirit, you know it.
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It’s like having a $100 bill in your pocket; you know you have it.
- If you get saved, you will know.
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The Holy Spirit of Christ dwells in you.
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You are born of the Spirit.
- The power to beget you was the Spirit.
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The Holy Spirit purges, cleanses, and seals you.
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That’s why you cannot be untamed or lost tomorrow.
- The Holy Spirit did the work; you could not do it yourself.
6. Not Practicing Sin (1 John 3:9)* Whosoever is born of God does not commit sin, for His seed remaineth in him.
+ This does not mean you never sin, but that you do not practice sin.
+ You do not live in sin.
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Those born of God do not live in sin.
- They may sin and find forgiveness through repentance.
- But they do not practice it.
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If you are still practicing your old sins, you are probably not born again.
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He takes away the desire to do the things of this world and gives you a new desire.
- What you once loved, you now hate; what you once hated, you now love.
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Romans 8:9: If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His.
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You do not wake up thinking about partying.
- If that has not left you, you have never been changed.
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There is something on the inside that is greater than the world.
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You can overcome the lust of the world, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.
7. Loving the Brethren (1 John 3:14, 4:7)* You know that you have passed from death unto life because you love the brethren.
+ If you hate your brother, you are in darkness even until now.
+ The old song: “It makes me love everybody.”
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We know that we have passed from death unto life because we keep on loving.
- Even those who are unlovable.
- Love is of God, and everyone that loveth is born of God and knoweth God.
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If the Holy Spirit of God is not dealing with you, you cannot be saved.
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It is not a thinking thing; it is an order thing.
- The Holy Spirit of God rests in your soul.
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The Holy Spirit captures you and explains that you are against God, a sinner, and going to hell.
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You believe Him.
- You know you are wrong.
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If the Holy Spirit of God has said to you that you are lost, in doubt, and want to stay eternally, you are going to be saved.
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The process starts with knowing that you are lost and asking Him to save you.
- In that same instant, you can know that you are saved.
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Search the scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life, but they testify of me.
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If you search the scriptures and do not see Christ, you are not saved.
- Stay with us if you are not right with God.
God Likes to Be Outnumbered* The message focuses on the idea that God often chooses to work when the odds are stacked against His people, so that when victory comes, it is clear that it was His doing, not their own.
Gideon’s Army* God told Gideon he had too many men (32,000) to fight the Midianites, lest Israel take credit for the victory. + God instructed Gideon to allow those who were fearful to leave, resulting in 22,000 departing, leaving 10,000. + God further reduced the number by having them drink water from a river, selecting only the 300 who lapped the water like dogs. + The 300 were equipped with trumpets and pitchers with torches inside. + They surrounded the Midianite camp and, at a signal, broke the pitchers, revealed the torches, blew the trumpets, and shouted, “The sword of the Lord and of Gideon!” + God caused the Midianites to turn on each other, and they were defeated.
Pride and God’s Glory* God likes to be outnumbered because when He wins the battle, He doesn’t want people taking credit for it. + Pride can lead people to believe they are capable and strong on their own. + God ensures that when victory comes, it is clear that it was His doing, leading to proper worship and praise.
Examples of God Being Outnumbered Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: + Nebuchadnezzar built a statue and commanded everyone to worship it. + Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to bow. + Nebuchadnezzar threw them into a fiery furnace. + The king saw four figures in the furnace, the fourth resembling the Son of God. + They emerged unharmed, demonstrating God’s presence and protection. * Noah: + Eight souls (Noah, his wife, his sons, and their wives) worked on the ark for 120 years. + They were against an entire race of people. + God sent the flood, and only those on the ark survived. * Moses: + Moses confronted Pharaoh, demanding the release of the Israelites. + He faced the entire Egyptian army. + He led the Israelites to the Red Sea, where God parted the waters, allowing them to cross safely and drowning the pursuing Egyptian army. * Jonathan: + Jonathan and his armor bearer went to fight the Philistines. + Jonathan told his armor bearer that there is no restraint to God to save whether by few or many. + They climbed a cliff and attacked a Philistine outpost, killing 20 men. * Samson: + The Israelites bound Samson with new cords and handed him over to the Philistines. + Samson broke free and killed 1,000 Philistines with the jawbone of an ass. * David: + David, a young shepherd, volunteered to fight Goliath. + He went into the valley with five stones and a slingshot. + He struck Goliath with a stone, killing him, and then cut off his head with Goliath’s own sword. * Hezekiah: + Sennacherib and the Assyrian army threatened Jerusalem. + Hezekiah prayed to God, laying Sennacherib’s threatening letter before Him. + God sent an angel who killed 186,000 Assyrian soldiers in one night. * Asa:* + Zerah the Ethiopian came against Asa with an army of a million men and 300 chariots. + Asa prayed to God for help, acknowledging that it is nothing for God to help, whether with many or with those who have no power. + God smote the Ethiopians, and they fled.
Romans 8:31-39* If God is for us, who can be against us? * Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? + Shall tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, or sword? * In all these things, we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us. * Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. + Neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature.
Application* Encouragement to have faith and trust in God, regardless of the circumstances. * Even when feeling outnumbered, outmanned, or outgunned, God is always greater and can deliver. * The importance of recognizing God’s hand in victories and giving Him the glory. * The reminder that God is always with His people and will fight their battles.
Introduction* Expressing gratitude and acknowledging a shift in the intended message. + Originally planned to preach from scriptures. + Felt divinely led to share a personal experience and message.
Overcoming Paralysis Through Faith* Sharing a personal experience of paralysis and recovery. + Paralyzed from the neck down for nine months. + Doctors predicted permanent paralysis. + Experienced divine intervention and regained mobility. - Able to walk and use arms again. * God’s Purpose in Suffering + God communicated a purpose during paralysis: to preach. + Emphasizing that God has a purpose regardless of physical condition. - Whether on a bike, in a wheelchair, or on the phone. + Importance of obedience to God’s will. - Striving for perfection and following God’s guidance.
The Nature of Faith and Trust Acknowledging the universality of worry and doubt. + Everyone experiences worry at some point. + Worry leads to doubting faith. + People often try to handle problems independently. * Defining faith and trust from a pocket Bible dictionary. + Faith: Belief and confidence in the testimony of another, especially God’s promise of salvation and eternal life through Jesus. - Highlighting the importance of trust. + Trust*: Putting confidence in a person or thing; God’s name and words are worthy of trust. - Emphasizing total confidence in God. * Relying on God’s Understanding + Admonition to not lean on one’s own understanding. + Personal admission of making mistakes when relying on self. + Decision to follow God’s guidance without looking back. - Overcoming shyness and discomfort with public speaking. * God’s Purpose for Everyone + God has a purpose for every individual. + Challenging the notion that all roles in the church are filled. - There is always work to be done for God. - Suggesting that a lack of need indicates the Lord’s return.
Hebrews 11:6 and the Importance of Faith* Reading and emphasizing Hebrews 11:6. + “Without faith it is impossible to please him.” + Belief in God and His ability to do all things. * Faith and Overcoming Obstacles + Faith can move mountains with God’s help. + Necessity of work and effort alongside faith. - Using the analogy of digging with a shovel. + God wants people to work and trust in Him.
The Story of Doubting Thomas* Paraphrasing and reading from Matthew 20:24 about Doubting Thomas. + Thomas’s disbelief in Jesus’s resurrection without physical proof. + Thomas wanted to see the nail prints and touch Jesus’ side. * Personal Testimony of Faith Without Seeing + Never seen Jesus face-to-face but has heard His voice. + Belief in the Bible’s promise of seeing Jesus one day. + Knowing Jesus before meeting Him physically. * Experiencing Christ’s Call + Describing the unique experience of hearing Christ’s voice. + Recalling the moment of conviction before turning life over to God. + Hearing “Tony!” while driving and immediately stopping to pray. + Transformation and commitment to following God. * The Better Life with God + Life is better with God, despite not being perfect. + Earth is not our permanent home; heaven is the ultimate destination.
Heaven and Hell* Addressing the reality of hell, which many preachers avoid. * Critique of churches focused on superficial aspects. + Latte bars and donut shops instead of spiritual depth. * Holding the Original Promise + Christ holds the key to the gates of heaven. * The Uncertainty of Life and the Need to Be Ready + The day of birth is also the day one could die. + The Bible instructs to always be ready. + Need to be ready always. * Avoiding Complacency + Worrying about forgetting to thank God for blessings. + The importance of praying without ceasing. + Starting the day with gratitude to God. + Thankfulness for blessings and answered prayers. * Faith as Essential + None of the above is good without faith.
Hebrews 20:13 and the Desire for a Heavenly Country* Reading from Hebrews 20:13 about dying in faith and seeking a better country. + Confessing to being strangers and pilgrims on earth. + Desiring a heavenly country prepared by God. * Belief in Heaven + Asking if the audience believes God has prepared a place in heaven. + Maintaining faith and trust in God to reach that place. * The Choice Between Heaven and Hell + It is not God’s intention for anyone to stay on earth permanently. + The choice between dying and going to hell or dying and living forever. + The soul will lift up after the body is gone. + Scripture says, absent from the body, present in the Lord. * Readiness for Home + Expressing readiness to go home to heaven. + Looking forward to seeing Jesus, family, and friends. * Meeting Jesus + Jesus will come to get believers and lead them across the river. + Envisioning this to overcome life’s turmoil. + Envisioning seeing Jesus helps with burdens and trials.
Paul’s Thorn and God’s Grace* Paul’s prayer to remove a thorn in his side. + The nature of the thorn is unknown, possibly cancer. + God’s response: “My grace is sufficient.” * The Power of Grace and Faith + Seeking grace and keeping trust in God. + The devil cannot overcome those with faith and grace. * The Devil’s Attacks + The devil attacks those who step up and do something for God. + Experiencing increased challenges after answering God’s call. * Maintaining Composure Through Faith + Letting go of anger and trusting God to handle situations. + God will take care of and get us through any situation. * Repentance + Striving daily and acknowledging imperfections. + God provided repentance at Calvary. + The need for daily repentance. * Avoiding Frustration + Avoiding frustration, especially while driving. + Letting others pass and trusting in God’s protection. + Life is going by fast enough.
Final Thoughts and Admonitions* Pray with faith. * Seek Him daily. * Be obedient to what God reveals to your own heart. + Not what God reveals to others. + Focusing on personal obedience avoids being a busybody. * Mind Your Business + Avoid being in everyone else’s business. + Checking on sick or needy brothers and sisters is different. + Judging others is being too busy. + Focus on personal problems and self-improvement. * Expect His Reward * Trust God for peace, direction, healing, provisions, and understanding. + Always according to His will and timing. * Don’t Forget Him * Leave it with God. * Don’t try to take care of God. * Trust, don’t just perform rituals or works. * God is pleased by genuine faith and a surrendered heart. * Everyone needs to get out of here talking to the Lord. + Not just the preacher. * Testimony + Every child of God has a testimony. + Sharing testimonies can touch the world. + Those who have been saved have a testimony. * God’s Grace + Saved by God’s amazing grace, undeservedly. + Name written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. + A merciful God who saves by grace. * Feeling God’s Presence + The great feeling of feeling God’s loving arms. + Being lifted up in prayer. * The Power of Faith + A mustard seed can spread and grow. + Faith will get stronger and mightier. * God’s Presence in the Church + God is here to meet needs. + Contrast between churches with a cold feeling and those filled with the Spirit. + The importance of letting God run a mince between all of us. * Spirit-Filled Churches + Spirit-filled churches allow people to shout and express joy. + Avoiding long-windedness and focusing on God’s presence. + Being on God’s side, not one’s own. + Taking as much time as God wants. + Needing more people to get that way for more blessings and joy. * Praising God + It’s impossible to please God. + Wondering if we’re pleasing Him.
Seeking God and His Guidance* The importance of seeking God with one’s whole heart and soul. + When out in the world, there was no seeking of God. + After giving life to God, seeking Him became a priority. + God came seeking when lost, now seeking Him for guidance. * Encouragement to seek God, ask for help, and get closer to Him. + People wandering in the wilderness need only seek God for help. + Seek God expecting an answer and guidance. + Avoid being half-hearted in seeking God.
Listening for God’s Answer* The need to listen for God’s answer after asking for help. + God’s answer may not be what one wants to hear. + Obey the Word of God and do what He wants you to do. * Personal experiences of God speaking. + God speaks in different ways, sometimes strongly, sometimes as a whisper. + God has never failed to answer prayers, though timing is on His time. + Faith that prayers for salvation for others will be answered. * Humbling oneself before God in prayer. + Praying at the altar for lost people, the church, and the pastor. + God hears prayers and will heal.
God’s Unwavering Presence and the Comforter* God will never leave nor forsake. + Acknowledging times of leaving God, but the sweetness of returning. + God is present when one can’t go any further without Him. * God’s welcome upon returning to Him. + After being away from faith, God restored faith and welcomed back. + God puts His arm around and welcomes back with love. * The promise of the Comforter (Holy Ghost). + Jesus sent a Comforter. + The importance of the Holy Ghost in life and ministry. + Fear that the true Holy Spirit would scare some people.
Altar Call and Invitation to Prayer* Offering an altar call for those in need of prayer. + The altar is not just for the lost, but for the saved as well. + If there is a need, talk it over with God. * Any place can be a place to talk to God. + Home, car, truck, tractor, or lawn mower. + The altar is a good place to come and talk to God. + Invitation to come forward and pray.
Desire for Prayers and Direction* Expressing a struggle to discern the Lord’s direction. + Acknowledging uncertainty about the current path. + Trusting in the Lord’s plan despite a lack of understanding. * Requesting prayers for the morning service. + Hoping for worship and spiritual awakening. + Seeking guidance for those who are lost or not living right.
Numbers 11:1-2 – Complaining and Moses’ Prayer* Reading from Numbers 11:1-2 about the people’s complaints and God’s anger. + Focusing on Moses’ intercession and the power of prayer. + Highlighting the quenching of the fire through Moses’ prayer. * Acknowledging dependence on the Lord’s help, power, and spirit. + Trusting in God’s goodness and mercy for guidance. + Seeking exaltation of God’s words and help for every soul.
The Power of Prayer* Emphasizing the power of prayer for salvation. + Highlighting the need for sinners to cry out to God. * Sharing a personal experience of feeling the Holy Spirit’s presence. + Mentioning the calling out of number 16 and feeling the Lord’s confirmation. + Expressing the importance of knowing that the Lord hears prayers. * Reflecting on people who need prayer. + Mentioning Valerie’s prayer requests for Joseph’s salvation. + Sharing Brother Bobby Whitehead’s testimony of praying for his son for 15 years. - The son was saved and talked about the Lord during a trip to Kentucky. * Encouraging persistence in prayer. + Highlighting that answers may not come immediately. + Referencing praying for little Audrey for years before she got saved.
Exodus 32 – Moses’ Intercession* Referring to Exodus 32:8-14 about Moses interceding for the people after they worshipped a golden calf. + God wanted to destroy them but Moses pleaded with God not to. + Moses reminded God of His promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Israel. + The Lord repented of the evil He thought to do. * Questioning how often God’s people pray for the lost. + Highlighting the power of the church. + Asking how burdened the church is for the lost. * Urging listeners to call out the names of their family members in prayer. + Emphasizing the need for brokenhearted prayer. + Reminding listeners that some people may die and end up in hell.
The Importance of Prayer in Everyday Life* Acknowledging personal guilt in getting busy and letting life get in the way. + Stating that family’s salvation is the greatest need. * Sharing Brother Bill’s testimony of praying for Paulette for 13-15 years before she was saved. * Encouraging continued prayer for young people and the church. + Highlighting the need to pray for those who are lost and may be playing games. * Emphasizing prayer as a great tool and a powerful weapon. + Highlighting the ability to pray anytime, anywhere. + Acknowledging that prayers may not always be answered as desired.
Examples of Prayer in Scripture* Sharing the story of Hezekiah in 2 Kings 19. + Hezekiah received a threatening letter and spread it out before the Lord in prayer. + Hezekiah asked God for help. * Acknowledging times of doing everything possible and then surrendering to God. * Referencing Abraham’s intercession for Sodom. + Abraham pleaded with God to spare Sodom if there were righteous people. + God destroyed Sodom because they couldn’t find five righteous people. * Emphasizing that praying for something does not always guarantee getting it. * Reiterating the importance of acknowledging and thanking God when He answers prayers.
The Battle Against the Enemy* Highlighting the importance of acknowledging when God hears prayers. * Emphasizing the need to return to a place of prayer. * Acknowledging the battle against the enemy. + The enemy tries to deceive, divide, and create conflict in the church. + The enemy knows there are people who need to be saved or rededicate their lives. * Acknowledging personal struggles with being consumed by the world. * Highlighting the importance of others praying for those who are lost. + Sharing a personal testimony of being lost and headed to hell. + Expressing gratitude for those who interceded and encouraged a relationship with God.
Repaying the Favor and Praying for Others* Questioning whether the favor of being prayed for is being repaid. * Urging listeners to ask God for their families and those among them. * Asking God to visit and reveal Himself to children and those being revived. * Acknowledging personal shortcomings in realizing those who are lost and dying. * Recognizing the need to improve in praying for others. * Challenging the excuse of being too busy. * Emphasizing the importance of making time for prayer. + Believing that dedication and sacrifice in prayer will lead to a closer relationship with God and the salvation of others. * Reiterating the church’s purpose. + The church is not just here to sit idly by. + It is the church’s job to ensure people hear the word and know there is a place to escape from.
Standing in the Gap and Making Intercession* Emphasizing the job of bowing in prayer for family and the church. + Highlighting that it is not just the pastor’s job, but everyone’s responsibility. * Referencing the Roman soldier in Matthew 8:5. + The soldier beseeched Jesus to heal his servant. + The soldier had to ask for help. * Emphasizing the need to stand in the gap and make up the hedge. + Ensuring people know there are others praying for them. + Caring enough to spend time in prayer. * Highlighting the encouragement of receiving a message saying someone is praying for you. * Emphasizing the job of praying for both the lost and the saved. * Sharing the story of the poor friend who needed help. + Highlighting the effort and determination to get their friend to Jesus. + Knowing that Jesus is able to fix the problem.
The Power of the Church in Prayer* Expressing the belief that God is able to save others because He saved Elder Dustin. * Emphasizing the need to help others get to Jesus. * Acknowledging personal guilt in not encouraging and reaching out to others enough. * Highlighting the need for help for everyone. * Emphasizing that sometimes only the Holy Spirit can move and speak. * Reiterating the importance of doing everything possible to get people to Jesus. * Referencing Acts 12:5 about the church praying without ceasing for Peter. + Peter was freed from prison. * Emphasizing the need for the church to pray for the chains holding souls captive to be broken. * Highlighting that only Jesus can save. * Emphasizing the need to pray for every lost soul encountered.
Personal Testimony and Burden for the Lost* Sharing a personal testimony of God’s miracle in Shana’s life. * Reflecting on God’s miracle in Elder Dustin’s life. + God changed Elder Dustin’s life instantly. * Listing examples of people God has done miracles for. * Expressing the belief that God can do it for anyone. * Asking the Lord to burden the heart with the lost. + Acknowledging the problem of not having time to be burdened. + Asking God to put a burden on them where they can’t escape it. * Acknowledging that this is not popular or familiar. * Highlighting the need for willingness and sacrifice. * Understanding that serving God is not always convenient. * Acknowledging the busyness of life with kids. * Emphasizing that children should not come before God.
Raising a Godly Generation* Expressing thankfulness that children are understanding the importance of God. * Highlighting the need for children to know that they are not more important than God. * Emphasizing the importance of being present for children. * Recognizing that children will be the ones standing in the future. * Highlighting the job of raising young people who know the power of God. * Emphasizing the need to pray for God to raise up a generation. * Sharing a story about praying for kids to be missionaries. + Acknowledging the difficulty of allowing a child to go to a foreign country. + Emphasizing the need to not stand in God’s way. * Recognizing that these things are not popular. * Emphasizing that the world needs Jesus. * Highlighting the need to pray for God to raise up people. * Emphasizing the need for laborers to be sent into the harvest.
Personal Conviction and Call to Action* Sharing an observation about Tillman bringing young boys to the revival. + Highlighting Tillman’s effort to bring his friends to Jesus. + Acknowledging that Elder Dustin has not brought anyone all week. * Admitting to not inviting anyone to the revival. * Asking for prayer for Elder Dustin’s sisters. * Asking the Lord to break them and get them to a place where they mean what they say. * Expressing a desire to see families get things right. * Emphasizing that people won’t come unless they are asked. * Reiterating that the church made intercession for Peter. * Emphasizing the job of the church to pray and do their best to get people to church. * Acknowledging that they don’t get sayings because they don’t even ask for them.
James 5 – Prayer and Healing* Acknowledging not having the scripture studied out. * Reading from James 5:13-20 about prayer and healing. + Encouraging prayer for those who are afflicted, merry, or sick. + Emphasizing the power of the prayer of faith. + Encouraging confession of faults and praying for one another. + Highlighting the effectiveness of fervent prayer. * Defining “effectual fervent prayer” as active and continuous prayer. * Emphasizing the need to keep praying until God tells them not to. * Sharing Brother Robbie’s testimony of turning a family member over to the Lord. * Highlighting that sometimes people get so far down the rabbit hole that only God can help them. * Sharing the story of Elias praying for rain. * Emphasizing the importance of prayer as the body of Christ. * Highlighting the need for an active prayer life.
Luke 22 – Praying for Faith* Referencing Luke 22 about Jesus praying for Simon Peter. + Jesus prayed that Peter’s faith would not fail. * Asking the Lord to stand on their behalf and pray for them. * Acknowledging personal problems and the need for prayer. * Emphasizing that they have not because they ask not. * Reflecting on Paul on the Damascus Road. + Paul fell to his face. + Emphasizing the need to fall to their face and ask God for help. * Acknowledging that they cannot tell others what to say. * Sharing that all they remember saying was, “Lord, I’m sorry.” * Believing that God heard them and saved them. * Suggesting that some may be like Paul preaching to King Agrippa. + King Agrippa was almost convinced. + Wishing that everyone would be converted.
Personal Testimony and Call to Salvation* Suggesting that some may be sitting there knowing they are lost. * Sharing a personal testimony of sitting for a month after Sammy got saved. + Being scared of what everyone would think. + Running from God. * Highlighting that hell became real during that time. * Sharing a vivid memory of waking up with numb hands and feeling like they were about to die. * Receiving a call from Sam inviting them to his baptism. * Sharing the story of a little woman asking everyone if they knew how it felt to be saved. * Acknowledging that they didn’t say a word because they weren’t going to lie. * Sharing that they came back the next Sunday because of Samuel’s baptism. * Sharing that they found themselves on the altar and told God they were sorry. * Sharing that they felt a peace and joy they had never felt before. * Emphasizing that it took movement and action. * Believing that if they hadn’t moved, they wouldn’t be where they are today. * Believing they would have been in hell. * Acknowledging that they never thought they were a bad person. * Sharing that they liked to get together and have a little fun.
The Negative Influence and the Need for Positive Impact* Reflecting on their past actions and the people they involved. * Sharing a story of a young man they influenced negatively. + The young man was raised in church and had never done anything wrong. + Elder Dustin introduced him to drinking and drugs. + The young man became addicted and lost everything. * Acknowledging the negative influence they had on people. * Emphasizing the need to make up for that. * Highlighting the need to have a positive impact on people. * Emphasizing the need to do whatever it takes to ensure people get to Christ. * Acknowledging that they cannot save anyone. * Emphasizing that it will take brokenness and the Holy Spirit drawing them. * Believing that God wants to save and help people. * Emphasizing the need to call out to Him. * Acknowledging that asking doesn’t guarantee getting. * Promising that if they are lost and call upon Him, He will save them.
Faith and Commitment* The importance of making a firm choice for God, despite distractions. + Personal reflection on faith and the need for growth. - During Melissa’s singing, a deep admiration for her faith was felt. - On Friday night, while handing out cards asking about personal areas for improvement in 2026, faith was identified as a key area to work on. - The exercise involved writing down God’s promises and hearing Him speak through the process. - The goal is to grow in faith, depending on God and His Word. * The urgency of spiritual growth and dedication. + Time is running out, and there’s a need to improve and lift up Christ. + Prayers have been offered for weeks for God to speak to the people. + A challenge was given on New Year’s Eve to be faithful.
The Sermon on the Mount: No Middle Ground* Focus on Matthew 7:13-14, emphasizing the straight gate and narrow way versus the wide gate and broad way. * The core message is that there is no middle ground with Christ. + The sermon challenges the idea of living in between right and wrong. + Critique of creating a God that accepts compromise and partial devotion. + Religion can become a middle ground, a way to feel satisfied without true closeness to God. * The need for daily choices to serve God fully. + Personal commitment, like Joshua’s, to serve the Lord. + The importance of exercising faith and commitment in daily life. + Either for or against God, gathering or scattering. * God’s unchanging holiness and expectations. + God expects holiness, and there’s a way of repentance and forgiveness. + Believers should live differently from the world, set apart and identified by righteous living.
Two Gates: Narrow vs. Broad* Emphasis on the two paths: the narrow, straight gate and the wide gate leading to destruction. + No other options or ways to live are acceptable. + One is either for Christ or against Him, with no middle ground. * Examples illustrating the lack of middle ground: + Hot or cold: Lukewarmness is rejected. - Revelation reference: God will spew lukewarm believers out of His mouth. - Many Christians live in a comfortable middle ground, avoiding challenges. + In or out, right or wrong, love of God or love of the world. + Carrying one’s cross or not, yes or no, bitter or sweet. + Saved or lost: No partial or in-progress salvation. * The importance of choosing the narrow way. + The broad way is filled with people who think they are going to heaven but lack true salvation. + The Spirit of God calls for adherence to the narrow way and straight path. + Preaching a straight way is necessary to lead people to salvation. + Simply carrying a Bible, joining a church, or being baptized is insufficient without being born again.
Two Trees: Good vs. Corrupt* Beware of false prophets in sheep’s clothing, identifiable by their fruits. * The illustration of two types of trees: good trees bearing good fruit and corrupt trees bearing evil fruit. + No middle ground: a tree is either corrupt or good, not partially one or the other. * The importance of honesty in self-assessment. + If there was a middle ground, people would create their own paths and churches. + The challenge to decide to live fully for Christ and repent of sins. + God hasn’t changed and doesn’t compromise on holiness. * Identifying trees by their fruit. + Good trees should bear good fruit, though the quantity and edibility may vary. + Corrupt trees may produce fruit that looks appealing but is harmful. - Example of inedible fruit found while hunting, which looked delicious but was avoided by animals. * The source of good fruit: being grafted into Jesus, the true vine. + Bearing fruit is a result of being connected to Jesus. + Jesus wants believers to be either cold or hot, not lukewarm. + Being warm (lukewarm) is comfortable but spiritually dangerous. * The need to step out and determine one’s true standing with God. + Either for or against Him, gathering or scattering. + God wants 100% devotion, or perhaps one doesn’t know Him at all. + The danger of creating an environment where people think it’s alright to do what they want. + God is holy and requires holiness. * Honesty about one’s spiritual condition. + It’s better to admit being lost than to falsely believe one is saved. + There is hope in acknowledging one’s need for a Savior. + Being born again leads to a straight, narrow path and the production of good fruit.
Goodness and the Rich Young Ruler* According to Jesus, there is nothing good but the Father. * The story of the rich young ruler who claimed to have kept all the commandments since his youth. + Jesus identified that the man’s wealth was his real God. + The man was in middle ground, thinking he had it all figured out. * Jesus’s challenge to sell all possessions and follow Him. + The man walked away sorrowful because he couldn’t give up his middle ground. + He couldn’t believe that God is holy and expects holiness. + He couldn’t believe that he could live right through the Holy Spirit’s help. * The necessity of the Holy Ghost to stay on course. + There is no middle ground; any such place is fictitious and meaningless to God.
Professions of Faith: Real vs. False* Not everyone who says “Lord, Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven. + Only those who do the will of the Father will enter. * Two different professions: one real and one false. + A real profession is based on complete surrender to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. + A false profession involves doing great works but being unknown by God. - “Depart from me, for I never knew you.” * The danger of creating a comfortable, middle-ground world that allows one to live as they please. + This place is a figment of one’s imagination, denying the Spirit of God and His Word. * The judgment of God will reveal the truth. + Claiming to have gone to church, read the Bible, and prayed is insufficient. + “Depart from me, you workers of iniquity, for I did not know you.” * The world is on middle ground, but honesty is essential. + It’s better to admit being an unbeliever, as that ground can be plowed by God. + Living in the middle means one doesn’t truly care. * Many claim to be saved but have never been born again. + It’s better to be honest about being lost, as the Holy Spirit can help. + Living in the middle pleases no one: not the church, the preacher, or God.
Two Foundations: Rock vs. Sand* Two foundations: one built on solid rock (Jesus Christ) and one built on sand. + The solid rock foundation is forever settled in heaven and stands firm. * The consequences of building on sand. + When storms come, the foundation will be exposed. + Building salvation on anything other than Jesus Christ is building on sand. - Examples: “I’m building my salvation on the Baptist faith,” or “I’m a good Catholic.” * The challenge to know for sure which foundation one is on as 2026 begins. + If on solid rock, step up and give all for God. + If on sand, acknowledge being lost and let the Holy Spirit put you on the solid foundation. * The fate of those on sand: great will be the fall. * The invitation to come to Him and be placed on the solid foundation.
Scribes and Pharisees Seeking a Sign* The scribes and Pharisees asked Jesus for a sign to prove who He was. + Their intent was not to confirm faith but to find something to condemn Him for. + They wanted to tempt or trap Him.
The Nature of Seeking Signs* Seeking signs is human nature. + Examples: Gideon sought confirmation from God, and God honored his request. - Gideon asked for a wet fleece with dry ground, then a dry fleece with wet ground. * If the motivation is to increase faith, God will provide a sign. + Signs can be tokens or indications to obey, pay attention, or learn. * Some seek signs not to believe but to avoid dealing with something in their hearts.
Abundance of Existing Signs* Many signs had already been given in the preceding 11 chapters of Matthew. + Jesus had already done much to prove He was God. * If the motivation is disbelief, no additional signs will be given. * The desire should be to know Christ and be saved.
Evil and Adulterous Generation* Jesus called them an evil and adulterous generation for seeking a sign. + These were the same people who would crucify Christ. * They wanted something new, but there is nothing new in the Word of God. + The Word of God is a sign for all. * Seeking a sign to justify disbelief is an evil and adulterous thought pattern.
Signs They Rejected The preaching of John the Baptist: + John preached repentance and the coming Messiah. + He identified Jesus as the Lamb of God. + They went to hear John but did not receive the sign. * Testimonies of those healed by Christ: + The blind man testified that he was healed by Jesus, regardless of whether Jesus was a sinner. + Testimonies of God’s people are a sign to the world. * The Word of Christ Himself:* + God spoke to the heart, revealing Himself. + The greatest sign is when the Holy Ghost speaks to the heart. + Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount and taught in the temple. + Refusing to hear Jesus means one will never be saved.
Evil and Adulterous Hearts* Seeking something different indicates evil in the heart. * Looking for something other than what God has given is adulterous. + It means wanting a different God or something else entirely.
The Sign of Jonah* The only sign to be given would be the sign of Jonah. + Jonah went into the belly of death and was delivered. + Jesus would go into the heart of the earth, die for sins, and rise again. * The resurrection is the greatest sign. * The discomfort of the scribes and Pharisees can be imagined when they learned of the empty tomb. + The guards reported an angel descending, rolling back the stone, and their falling like dead men.
Proofs of Christ’s Resurrection* Many people have made a profession of faith and testify that Jesus is alive. * Mary recognized Jesus when He spoke her name in the garden. * Jesus is on the throne of glory.
Signs in Matthew’s Gospel The leper: + Jesus healed a leper, cleansing him from his disease. * The centurion’s servant: + Jesus healed the centurion’s servant sick with palsy. + The centurion demonstrated great faith. * The crippled man: + Four men lowered a crippled man through the roof to reach Jesus. + Jesus forgave his sins and healed him, telling him to take up his bed and walk. + The scribes and Pharisees murmured because they didn’t believe Jesus had the power to forgive sins. * The blind man: + Jesus healed a blind man, which was unprecedented. * The woman with the issue of blood: + She touched the hem of Jesus’ garment and was immediately healed. + Jesus stopped and asked who touched Him, revealing the miracle to the crowd. * Jairus’ daughter:* + Jesus raised Jairus’ daughter from the dead. + He told them she was only sleeping, but they laughed at Him.
Conviction and Belief* These signs should lead to conviction and belief. * Seeing these miracles should cause one to question why they don’t believe. * Personal experience of being born again is a sign. * God is not hiding what He has done. * If the reason for seeking a sign is to confirm doubt, no more will be given. * Everything already given is sufficient.
The Importance of the Word and Spirit* The only signs needed are from the Word of God and the Spirit of God. * What matters is the Word of God and the Holy Ghost. * The question is whether one wants to believe.
Creation as a Sign* Creation itself is a sign of God’s eternal power and Godhead. + Romans 1:20 states that these things are clearly seen from the creation of the world. * People are without excuse because they have this sign.
The Rainbow as a Sign* The rainbow is a sign of God’s covenant not to flood the earth again. + Genesis 9 establishes the rainbow as a token of this covenant. * It serves as a reminder of God’s promise.
Conclusion* The problem is not the lack of signs but the lack of belief in the signs already given. * Signs include preaching, testimonies, and the Word of God. * Faith comes by hearing the Word of God. * The only thing needed to be saved is to believe. * The invitation is to run to Jesus and respond to the signs that have been given.
The Anticipation of Christ’s Birth* Angels anticipated the day of Jesus’s birth. + They had seen Him at the right hand of the Father. + They had worshipped Him. + Now He had left heaven’s throne and become something they didn’t understand yet. * For nine months, the angels waited while Jesus was 100% man from the embryonic stage until Mary birthed him. * The angels knew when Joseph led Mary to Bethlehem, the home of his lineage, that it was close to the time of Jesus’s birth. * The angels waited on the rims of glory as the Lamb of God was to be born. * Gabriel announced to the shepherds, “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.” * The angels flooded the heavenly poison, shouting, “He’s not in that womb no more. He’s not awaiting anymore. He’s here. He’s here. Our Lord is once more here.”
The Fullness of Time* Galatians 4:4-5 explains what Christmas is all about. * God had a time in His calendar for His Son to be born of a virgin and come as a savior to the world. * Many people before that time knew He was coming. + Adam and Eve were told that by his heel he would bruise Satan’s head. + Abraham was told that of his seed all the nations of the earth would be blessed. + Isaac and Jacob received that covenant promise. * The time had not occurred when Jacob would birth 12 children and from him would become the nation of Israel. * The book of Hebrews says that they died in faith, believing that it would come. * Moses understood about a coming Christ, but Jesus didn’t come during his time. * From the foundation of the world, God had ordained a time that His Son would come and take care of the sin of this world. * David knew and sung about the cross that would come. * Isaiah spoke of Emmanuel coming, God with us, born of a virgin. + Isaiah 53 wrote about the Savior who would suffer greatly and bear the sins of mankind. * After 400 years of God’s silence, an angel came to Mary in Nazareth. + She was chosen to conceive of the Holy Ghost.
Mary and Joseph’s Roles* Mary was perplexed about the angel’s words, asking how she could conceive without knowing a man. * In a dream, the angel Gabriel spoke to Joseph, telling him not to fear taking Mary as his wife because the child conceived in her was of the Holy Ghost. * Joseph took Mary as his betrothed wife and kept her until the child was born.
Simeon’s Revelation* Simeon, a devout priest, was revealed by the Holy Ghost that he would not die until he had seen the Lord’s Christ. * On the eighth day after Jesus’s birth, Simeon saw Jesus and knew that the fullness of time had come. * Simeon snatched the baby from Mary and said, “Now let me depart in peace for mine eyes have seen the salvation of Israel.”
Personal Salvation* The reason Jesus came was so that there would be a time for each individual. * Before the foundation of the world, God knew who would believe. * There was a day in 1976 when God declared it would be a personal time of salvation. * There wasn’t any way to pay the penalty except some flesh stand in your half, in your behalf. * Jesus is the fullness of God in the flesh and the only savior of the world. * The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth. * Jesus Christ was the one answer for the sin that mankind owned. * Jesus had to become flesh and be made under the law, keeping every part of God’s holy law in the flesh. * The imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ was given while he took on all sinful flesh. * As a nine-year-old boy, Pastor Tommy found out that there was a Savior that died for his sin. * When Pastor Tommy called upon Jesus to save him, He redeemed him. * All heaven’s angels rejoice over one sinner that repents. * When someone receives Christ, the angels remember Bethlehem and shout again. * Pastor Tommy remembers the day he got saved and felt like all of heaven had filled his soul. * Paul never had to get saved again. * The angels are still rejoicing over sinners who repent unto God. * Jesus was made under the law to redeem those who were under the law. * Through Jesus, people receive the adoption of sons. * Because the Holy Spirit has been imparted into hearts, people can cry, “Father.”
The Significance of Jesus’s Birth* Life begins at conception. * Jesus was alive from the very instant he was conceived in Mary’s womb. * John’s Gospel didn’t record Jesus’s birth but said He was in the beginning. * The Word was made flesh when Gabriel spoke to Mary and the Holy Ghost came upon her. * Thousands of years since Adam had gone by. * There was a day that God looked over at Jesus and said, “It’s time.” * Nine months later, Joseph held that holy child.
The Second Coming* There is another time coming when Jesus will return. * No man knows the time, not even Jesus, only the Father. * At any minute, He could look at the Son again and say, “It’s time.” * Those trusting in Christ who are asleep in the grave will resurrect. * Those who are alive and remain shall be changed in the moment in the twinkling of an eye. * All will be called up. * Pastor Tommy is anticipating the time when He’s going to gather us home. * It’s important to have a time when your name got wrote in the Lamb’s Book of Life. * If you don’t have that time, you need to prepare because another time is coming. * You can get prepared to know Him today. * If you don’t have a time, call on Him today. * If He’s calling you, today’s the day. * This is the day He must write your name down. * This is the day the angels want to shout throughout heaven, “One more is come.”
The Importance and Power of God’s Word* The Word of God is essential and powerful. + Begotten by the Word. + Reconciles us. + Jesus is the good Word. + The Bible can save souls, get people out of trouble, and change their thinking and actions. - If it doesn’t change you, your salvation should be questioned.
Matthew 11:2-6 – John’s Question* John, in prison, questions if Jesus is the Messiah. + Sends disciples to ask Jesus, “Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?” * Everything that happened in Jesus’s ministry got people’s attention. + Brought them to a place where they wanted to find out more. + Many were in trouble and needed help. + God was able to supply that help like no one else. * The message of Jesus is still being broadcast throughout the world. + Information travels quickly today. + The Word of God is still being proclaimed.
Surrendering to God’s Will* People often try to control everything, preventing God from demonstrating His love and power. * It’s necessary to surrender to God’s will. + God accomplishes good in those who yield to His Spirit. + The most important thing is to see souls saved.
Testimony and Faith* Sharing testimonies releases the power of God. + The Hebrew word for testimony means “to tell what God has done.” + Sharing what God has done releases the same power that was present in the original event. + God can move again as He did in the beginning. * Never give up on sharing what God has done in your life. * God came to save the lost.
John’s Example* John’s life got worse, but he will rejoice in heaven for fulfilling his purpose. + Preparing the way of the Lord. * We should weigh our lives to determine if our actions bring glory to God or are just for personal satisfaction. + The world can lead in many directions that don’t glorify God. + Children of God should focus on seeing others come to Christ.
The Active Word of God* The Word of God is alive and active. + Hebrews 4:12. * Not a genie in a bottle, but the Word of Faith, God Almighty. * John had doubts, even though he knew Jesus from the womb. + It’s okay to question and wonder. * John’s beheading may seem like a loss, but it was a godly life. + He stepped aside and said, “Not my will, but thy will.” * John had the testimony from the beginning: “I must decrease, and he must increase.” + He lived it out.
The Power and Reach of God’s Word* The Word of God is real, powerful, and accomplishes its task. + It hits the target. + Defeats the enemy. + Impacts the hearts of men. * Nothing can interfere with the Word of God. * Preaching in jail shares the message that “who the Son sets free is free indeed.” + God loves those with life sentences. * Have mercy on all people, as God has had mercy on you. * God can turn anyone back to Him if they call on His name.
God Hears and Reveals* God always hears prayers and complaints. * Worldly desires can become enslaving. + God questions the motivations behind accumulating things. * John’s life was about God’s business. * John called out a man for his sin and was imprisoned. * People will do anything to stay in their sin. * Only Jesus can fix oneself.
Jesus’s Response to John* Jesus told John’s disciples to “go and show John again.” + Show him the miracles and works being done. + The blind receive sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the dead are raised, and the poor have the gospel preached. * It’s still Jesus, and nothing has changed. * The gospel is that Christ came, was crucified, buried, and rose again. * The greatest event is to be arrested by the Holy Ghost and cry out for Jesus.
The Great Commission* Five principles based on loving God and loving your neighbor. + Worship: Love the Lord with all your heart. - Born-again people worship God freely. - Question your salvation if you can’t worship God. + Ministry: Love your neighbor as yourself. - Everyone is called to be a minister in some way. + Evangelism: Go make disciples. - Share your testimony. + Fellowship: Baptize men in His name. - Become part of the body of Christ. + Discipleship: Teaching the Word of God. - Tell of God’s exploits.
Ephatha – Open* Ephatha means “open” in Arabic. * Pray that God opens the hearts of the lost to receive the Word. * Looking for an eternal house in heaven, whose builder and maker is God.
Colossians Chapter 1 Study: The Preeminence of Christ and Reconciliation Introduction* + Encouragement to study Colossians chapter 1, focusing on the preeminence of Christ and the power of God. + Acknowledging personal feelings of inadequacy but emphasizing trust in God’s power to feed His sheep. + God uses “foolishness of preaching” to save believers. + Reference to Colossians 1:18-22 as the text for the message. - “And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.” - “For it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell;” - “And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.” - “And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled” - “In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreprovable in his sight” + Prayer for God’s help and for the truth to find its place in hearts.
The Inward Man vs. The Outward Man Concept of Inner and Outer Self + Most people don’t understand the concept of the inward and outward man. + There is an unseen man on the inside. + God looks at the heart (inward man), not just the outward appearance. - Example: Samuel anointing a new king for Israel. * Salvation of the Inward Man + God saves the inward man, not the outward man (which returns to dust). + The inward man must be reconciled to God. * The Second Death* + If one is only born once (physically), there are two deaths in the future. + It’s dangerous to be unreconciled to God, even momentarily. + If you die without being born again, your soul is unprepared to meet God. + Eternity is the most important subject to consider. + Need to call on God before it’s too late.
God’s Work of Reconciliation and Cleansing Miraculous Work of Salvation + Personal testimony of being saved in 1976. + Salvation is a miraculous, irreversible work that provides eternal life. + Promise of never perishing. * Ephesians 1:3-4, 7 + Blessed with spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. + Chosen in Him before the foundation of the world to be holy and without blame. + Redemption through His blood and forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace. * Colossians 1:22 + Presented holy, unblameable, and unreprovable in His sight through the body of His flesh through death. * Reconciliation Through Christ’s Blood + God reconciled us through the blood of Jesus Christ. + Jesus paid for and cleansed us of all sin (past, present, and future). + God paid the penalty for our sin debt before we ever could. + Calvary’s cross provided forgiveness for all future sins. + Promise of being presented to the Father as holy, unblameable, and unreprovable. * Purity of the Bride of Christ + The bride of Christ (the church) has been made pure. + God chose us before the foundation of the world and made a way for all sins to be paid for on the cross. + We are made holy, unblameable, and unreprovable through Jesus’ sacrifice. * Ephesians 1:4 Confirmation + We should be holy and without blame before Him in love. * Eternal Security* + Once born again, one is forever taken care of and will never be lost again. + God’s plan at Calvary satisfied the justice of God for the penalty of man’s sin. + God recognizes the work of His Son in us, making us holy, unblameable, and unreprovable. + We are the sons of God because of the blood shed for our souls. + We go to heaven because of what Jesus did, not what we’ve done.
Addressing the Misconception of License to Sin Addressing the Misconception + Addressing the idea that being forever clean gives a license to sin. + Apostle Paul’s response in Romans: “How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” + Born-again individuals cannot live in sin. + A new creature inside loves what was once hated and hates what was once loved. + If truly born again, something bigger on the inside will chastise and bring one home. * Isaiah 1:18 + Though sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. + Jesus Christ’s sacrifice makes us white and clean in the blood of the Lamb. + Everything we’ve ever done falls under the blood of Jesus Christ. * Desire to Live Righteously + Desire to live the way God wants us to live, not alienated from God or the church. + Wanting to live without sin in our hearts. * Payment for All Sin + At salvation, all sins (past, present, and future) were paid for with Jesus’ blood. + God accepted that payment and purged us of sin. * Sealed to the Day of Redemption + God sealed what He made white, pure, holy, unblameable, and unreprovable with the power of His Holy Spirit. + Sins are gone and under the blood of Jesus Christ. * Importance of Repentance and Fellowship + Fellowship with God depends on willingness to repent daily. + Repentance restores fellowship with God. + Even if death occurs without a moment to repent, one dies clean, holy, unblameable, and unreprovable because the blood paid for all sin. + Everything needed to make us perfect in Christ has been done. * Freedom from Fear* + Freedom from living in fear over salvation. + Belief in Jesus’ words: “I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish.” + This statement is valid only if all sins were paid for, not just in part. + Made holy, unblameable, and unreprovable and sealed to the day of redemption.
Holiness and Righteousness Imputed Through Christ Being Holy as God is Holy + The only way to be holy is through Christ. * Romans 4:22-25 + Righteousness was imputed to Abraham because of his faith. + This was written for us also, to whom it shall be imputed if we believe on Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. + Jesus was delivered for our offenses and raised again for our justification. * Presented as Holy + Jesus will present us to God the Father as holy. + Holy means righteous, all right, not wrong. + Focus on the inward man, not the outward man. * Righteousness of Christ Imputed + The righteousness of Jesus Christ, not our own, is imputed to us when we turn our hearts over to Christ. + It was laid to our account and placed in our hearts, sealed until the day of redemption. * Assurance of Salvation + Not worrying about sin because, according to the Word of God, sins are gone. + Sins are under the blood and gone forever. * Living as Holy in Heart + Desire to live as holy in the flesh as we are in the heart. + God doesn’t halfway forgive sin; He forgives all sin. + We are clean and white in the eyes of God. * God’s Justice Satisfied + The blood of Jesus Christ satisfied God’s justice. + We are presented holy, unblameable, and unreprovable in His sight. + This is only possible if He deals with our sin, which He did. * Eternal Payment for Sin* + Jesus forever paid our sin debt, and we are saved forevermore. + If He didn’t preserve us in that white, holy condition, we wouldn’t have a chance of getting into heaven. + Every hope is anchored in the blood of the Lamb. + Saved because of what Jesus did, the propitiation for all our sin.
Unblameable and Unreprovable: A Miraculous Work Unblameable and Unreprovable + Holy, unblameable, and unreprovable are the same concept. + A person who cannot be blamed cannot be reproved. + Reproving in the flesh helps us walk according to what’s in the heart. + Cannot reprove what’s inside the soul; it’s either right with God or not. + God had to do something miraculous to make our souls unblameable. * Superiority of New Covenant + We have something Job didn’t have. + Job had great faith, but the blood of Jesus Christ had not yet been shed. + Jesus rose from the dead, gathered up that blood, and presented it to God the Father as payment for our sins. + Everyone who bows in the name of Jesus Christ can be born again and have their sins washed away. * Perfection Through Christ + Cannot be saved again because you can’t make perfect water. + Cannot go to heaven if you aren’t perfect. * Hebrews 9:11-12 + Christ came as a high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle. + He entered the holy place once with His own blood, having obtained eternal redemption for us. + He made us perfect on the inside. * John 1:29 + John the Baptist saw Jesus coming and said, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” + Jesus died for sins we’ve yet to commit. + Salvation wouldn’t be worth anything if it only covered past sins. + He died for the sin of the whole world. * God’s Perspective* + God will present us to the Father as holy, unblameable, and unreprovable. + If God says we are unblameable and unreprovable in His sight, we should rejoice. + No boasting or works are involved; we have no means of getting to God except through the finished work of Jesus Christ.
Cleansing from All Sin and the New Birth 1 John 1:7 + If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanses us from all sin. + Cleansing from all sin is not about turning over a new leaf. * Worthlessness of Self-Righteousness + Salvation is not about what we do or will do. + Kicking habits or stopping addictions doesn’t merit favor with God. + Our righteousness is nothing but filthy rags. + The flesh will return to dust, but something inside us was forever made holy and unblameable. * Necessity of New Birth + Either Jesus’ blood was sufficient for all our sins, or we need to live in constant fear. + God knew saving the flesh was impossible because its nature is sinful. + Jesus told Nicodemus we must be born again. + We are new creatures in Christ because we are born again in the Spirit of God. * Two Births, One Death + Born once, die twice (physical death and lake of fire). + Born twice, die once (only physical death). * Boasting in the Lamb of God + Boasting about the Lamb of God who shed His blood for our souls. + Because we’ve been born again, we get to go to heaven, holy, unblameable, and unreprovable. * Romans 3:24 + Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. + Justified means there is no condemnation, sin, or culpability. * Devil’s Accusations* + The devil tries to blame, accuse, and reprove us. + We end up at the altar where we bow our knee to Him, and the Holy Ghost of God purges us of sin. + We have been made clean in the sight of God. + We have something to be grateful for; God made a way. + We can’t mess this up.
Eternal Security and the Gift of Salvation No Need for Retuning + No need to get “tuned up” on the inside man again. + There is no “black” (sin) inside; it’s all in the nature of the flesh. + That which He bought, purged, cleansed, and sealed to the day of redemption must be perfect and holy. + Jesus’ promises of eternal life and never perishing would mean nothing if our sins weren’t gone forever. * Justification Through Grace + Being justified just as if we’d never sinned, freely by His grace through the redemption in Christ Jesus. + God set forth Jesus to be a propitiation through faith in His blood. * Assurance of Salvation + The gift we got will never be in question. + Hope that others have experienced the same and will get there. + If you die tonight and have been born again, He will present you unto God holy, unblameable, and unreprovable. + He did the work once, immediately, for all, and then sealed it. * Salvation by Grace, Not Works + We get to go to heaven not because of anything we’ve done that was good. + No message preached or good deed done will get us into heaven. + For the same reason good works won’t get us in, bad works cannot keep us out. * Purged and Sealed + He purged our sin, looked into the inward man, and identified all the dark past and future sins. + The blood has paid for all sin, and it was cleansed and made white that day. + He sealed it until the day He redeems us. * Day of Redemption + The day of redemption is when this old body expires. + To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. + The Holy Spirit will no longer need to be sealed on us; we will be with Him. * Doctrinal Belief* + This is doctrinal to our faith and what we believe. + Sometimes we don’t remind ourselves of what great gift God has given us.
Illustration of the Slave Girl and the Auction Block Story of the Slave Girl + A young slave girl was being sold on the auction block, stripped from her family. + She grew hateful toward all those bidding for her. + One man bid a price far above what anyone else could pay and bought her. + He tore up her papers and said, “You’re free.” + She went after him and said she would serve him for the rest of her life. + He bought her so he could set her free. * Application to Salvation + We serve God because we are debtors to Him. + We will never be able to repay Him for what He did for us that day as a child. + After millions of years, we will still be thanking Him for saving our souls. * God’s Perspective* + When we see our regret, God sees the cross. + When we see our sin debt, God sees the price paid in full by His only begotten Son. + When we see our multitude of sins, God sees the blood of the spotless Lamb. + When we say, “O wretched man that I am,” God says we are righteous because of Jesus Christ and what has been imputed into our hearts.
Living a Life Worthy of Salvation Sons of God + Whether we act like it or not, if we’ve been born again, the blood of Jesus Christ has made us sons of God. + We ought to act like it and live every day of our lives 100% sold out and surrendered to the will of Jesus Christ. + He’s worthy of no less than that. * Assurance of Salvation + If you’ve been born again, you’re going to heaven. + He’s going to present you unto the Father, holy, unblameable, and unreprovable. + You don’t deserve to go, but He made you worthy. + That’s worth living for; whatever He says to do, we ought to do it. + There aren’t enough devils in hell to keep us out of it if we’ve been born again. * Ephesians 2:8 + For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God. + The only thing you can do with a gift is receive it. * Invitation to Receive the Gift + God made a way for you to be saved tonight. + Religion won’t get you there; you must know Jesus Christ as your Savior. + If you know Him in the free pardon of sin, who has done a work in you and made you holy, unblameable, and imputed the righteousness of the perfect one, then you can raise your hand and say thank you. + Come forward if you don’t know Him tonight and receive this gift. * Gratitude for Salvation* + Thank God for the blood of Jesus Christ. + We have a lot to be grateful for. + We can fall on our knees every day and shout hallelujah; He’s made us clean through the blood of the Lamb.
Tears and Preaching* Personal anecdote about crying and preaching + Preacher Billy Kelly: “I’m too big to care what you think about me crying.” + Tears as an immediate result of the Holy Spirit + Tears, snot, etc. as an excuse
John 14:11* Philip’s request: “Show us the Father, and it sufficeth us.” * Jesus’ response: “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father.” * “I am in the Father, and the Father in me.” * “The words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.” * “Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake.”
Jesus Christ: The God-Man* 100% God and 100% man * Mathematicians would say this is an impossibility * People do not believe that Jesus is God * Pharisees upset when Jesus equated himself to God * Reason for wanting to kill Jesus: He said he was the Son of God * Old Testament scriptures: indication of a Son of God? + Spirit mentioned often + Son of God references: prophecies about the Messiah, Emmanuel (God with us) * Problem of the human heart: believing that Jesus Christ is God * The Holy Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit + Hard for the human mind to grasp + Three are one and one are three + Analogy: cherry pie with crust and filling * God chose to reveal himself in three persons * One no greater than the other, one no less than the other * Importance of believing Jesus is God: + Must bow to Christ to get to God + One mediator between God and man: Jesus Christ + Must be born again + Reconciled unto the Father through the mediator (Jesus)
The Only Begotten Son of God* People take great liberties with the word of God * Translations changed: “only begotten Son” to “unique one,” “only son,” or something else * If Jesus is the only son, what are we? + 1 John: “Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we have been called the sons of God.” + Born-again believers are grafted in and adopted into the family of God + Adopted in, not begotten in + God’s only begotten son is Jesus Christ * Trust must go into Christ * Plan of God from the beginning: + Recognized the way to present salvation to a sinner + Had to send his only begotten son + God had to become one of us for the supreme sacrifice + Jesus had to take on flesh + Jesus had to become what only Mary could be: a son conceived of the Holy Ghost * Relevance of the birth of Jesus Christ: + Virgin conceived of the Holy Ghost + Not just another man born into the world + The God-man was born * Apart from Christ, you can’t be saved * Must believe in Jesus and that he was virgin born * Otherwise, he couldn’t have been God’s Son or the spotless Lamb * God sent His Son, who became flesh and was God in the flesh
Believe for the Very Works’ Sake* Jesus’ words in John 14: “Believe me for the very works’ sake.” + Raised the dead + Gave sight to the blind + Caused the deaf to speak and hear * These works can only be done by the power of God * Question to Philip: How long will you stand on the outside of simply believing in Jesus Christ? * Challenge: If you truly believe in Jesus Christ, why don’t you trust him, serve him, surrender to him, and seek salvation? * Jesus wasn’t just a good man, he was the God-man * Many believe Jesus was a prophet * They believe that Jesus existed * He was a good man, a prophet, but more than that * If Jesus is not the God-man to you, you’ll miss who he really was * He was the only begotten Son of God
Matthew 1:23* Quoting Isaiah 7:14 * “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is God with us.” * Somebody needs to believe in Jesus because of who He is * If he had been like you or me, he would not have been spotless, perfect, and acceptable unto God the Father * There had to be a body for the sacrifice * God searched heaven, earth, and under the earth, and there was none worthy * Jesus prayed in the garden: “Father, if it be any other way, let it pass from me. Nevertheless, thy will be done.” * No other way to save us but to send His own Son * In order to be sacrificed, there had to be a body born of man * God made a way for a virgin to bear his son * Jesus has always existed; he did not begin in Bethlehem * God had to make a way for his son to become flesh in order for him to become a sacrifice * Jesus could suffer in your place, die in your place, and offer up his blood unto God as the eternal atonement and sacrifice for sin * Either God sent his son to die for you, or Jesus was a fake * Either Jesus was a liar, or he is the Lord * Jesus was either a liar or he is the king of glory today * God’s plan from the beginning was to make his son one of us, except without sin
Wise Men and the Birth of Jesus* Matthew 23: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is God with us.” * Wise men came from afar, traveled a great distance, and bowed before the young child * Kings from the Orient presented gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh * They saw a star and concluded that a king had been born * They weren’t coming to find an earthly king * They went to Herod and asked, “Where is he that is born king of the Jews?” * God made a way for mankind to be saved through Jesus Christ * The only means of salvation still is Jesus Christ
John 1:14* Matthew begins with the genealogy and birth of Jesus Christ * Luke tells much about the birth of Jesus Christ * John introduces him this way: “And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” * “In the beginning was God, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God.” * The Word refers to Jesus Christ himself * Jesus is the word of God, the bread of life, the sustenance * Jesus was the manna and the water that kept the children of Israel alive * God recognized that Jesus had to be born * John concluded that the Word was made flesh * No man was involved in the birth of Jesus Christ * Mary asked, “How can this be, since I know not a man?” * The angel Gabriel explained: “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee; therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” * Thank God for the son given that day to become the sacrifice for my soul * God-man born in the lowliest of conditions * All John knew to say was, “The Word was made flesh.” * Relevancy of who Jesus really is * He’s the God of it * John said the word he said it was made flesh he said and he dwelt among us he was trying to put this down he said we beheld his glory beheld his glory he said yes We beheld His glory as of the only begotten Son of God. * Salvation is 100% dependent upon His Son * God made no other way of salvation but through His Son * Everything that we have concerning Jesus is of necessity
John 10:28* Jesus said, “And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” * No man or priest can give you eternal life * The only way to get saved is through Jesus * Jesus Christ is the giver of life * “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father but by me.” * He is the God-man, the King of glory incarnate * “My Father, which is greater than I, which gave them to me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.” * “I and my Father are one.” * Eternal life that Jesus gives is able to keep you to everlasting * Jesus made a clear statement concerning his position in God * This declaration fired up the Pharisees to the point they wanted to stone him * Jesus is God today * He’s the God-man, sent to become our sacrifice
1 John 5:7* The Holy Ghost moving through the Apostle John to clarify the position of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost * “For there are three that bear record in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost; and these three are one.” * The record needs to make the difference for you * Jesus said, “I and the Father are one.” * John concludes that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are one * If Jesus was just a man, he couldn’t save you * God had to send his son because there was no other way to be saved * We celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ because God sent his son * He was born of the virgin, having conceived of the Holy Spirit of God * What was born that day was God in the flesh, the second part of Godhead, the God of man * You’re believing in God, not just another man * The only way to get reconciled with God is to believe in Jesus Christ, His Son
Distinctions in the God-Man* On his mother’s side, he’s the Son of Man * On his father’s side, he’s the Son of God * On his mother’s side, his name is Jesus * On his father’s side, his name is Emmanuel, God with us * On his mother’s side, he was a carpenter * On his father’s side, he’s the creator of all heaven and earth * On his mother’s side, he was born in a manger * On his father’s side, he’s sitting on a throne today * On his mother’s side, he was visited by shepherds and worshiped by wise men * On his father’s side, he’s worshipped by the entire host of heaven * On his mother’s side, he had no place to lay his head * On his father’s side, he has a throne that’s sitting beside the holy and sovereign Lord of all * On his mother’s side, they pierced him in his side and nailed him to his hands, and he bled out and died for us * On his father’s side, he lives forever and still bears the scars of the man * Jesus is the only mediator between God and man * On his mother’s side, he had no keys to anything of his own * On his father’s side, he has the keys of hell and death * On his mother’s side, he had a birth date and a death date * On his father’s side, he’s Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last * “I am he that liveth and was dead and am alive forevermore.” * On his mother’s side, he was baptized of John in the waters of the Jordan River * On his father’s side, he baptizes all the believers with the Holy Spirit * On his mother’s side, he was the healer of men * On his father’s side, he’s the healer of our soul * On his mother’s side, he calmed the raging sea * On his father’s side, he created the sea itself * On his mother’s side, he thirsted on the cross * On his father’s side, he’s the fountain of living water for all that will believe him * On his mother’s side, he was falsely condemned by the high priest * On his father’s side, he sits as my high priest and ever makes intercession for me * On his mother’s side, he shed his own blood for our sins * On his father’s side, he took all that blood back and carried it up unto the Father as the payment for my sin * On his mother’s side, he died on the cross * On his father’s side, he had power to raise from the dead * On his mother’s side, he was judged and condemned by sinful men * On his father’s side, he is a judge and will judge rightly in that day
Invitation* “No man can come to the Father but by me.” * God made a way for you to be saved * All He’s asking you today is to come, trust Him, believe in yourself, confess your sin, and call upon the one that can forgive you of it * Jesus Christ will do the very thing that he died to do for you today * We can make this your birthday spiritually if you’ll trust Christ and believe him * Consider in your heart today where you’re going to spend eternity * If you’re not ready right now, read * If you know right now that Jesus is not your Savior and you have never bowed to Christ, then you need to come, obey God, believe Him, trust Him, and call upon Him * If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his * You cannot claim to be going to heaven today unless you have the Holy Spirit living in you, that Jesus Christ is your Lord, that you have made Him your Savior * You’ve received Christ as your own and you know that God is your Father today * These three are one * You cannot separate them but to distinguish the power of their work in all of our lives
Confession and Prayer* Confess faults to one another and pray for one another for healing. * The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous person has great power. * Elijah was a man with similar passions, prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain for three and a half years. * He prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.
1 Kings 18:41* Elijah told Ahab to eat and drink, for there was a sound of abundance of rain. * Ahab went to eat and drink, and Elijah went to the top of Carmel. * Elijah cast himself down on the earth and put his face between his knees. * He told his servant to look toward the sea. + The servant looked and said there was nothing. + Elijah told him to go again seven times. + At the seventh time, the servant said there was a small cloud like a man’s hand rising out of the sea. + Elijah told the servant to tell Ahab to prepare his chariot and go down, so the rain would not stop him. * The heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. * Ahab rode and went to Jezreel.
Faith Under Attack* The apostle James believed a man could pray like a lion. * Faith is under attack in these last days. * The devil is trying to cause people to give up their cross. * James believed that if people got right with God and each other, they could pray prayers that would have great effect. * Looking for God to do something that will turn things upside down.
Conditions for Effective Prayer* Being right with God: + Getting righteous. + Turning loose from sin. + Letting go of the things of this world. * Being right with one another: + Forgiving one another. + Praying for one another. * When in line with God, prayer can accomplish work. * Introspection through the Holy Spirit and the Word of God should move one to pray and seek God.
Effectual Fervent Prayer* Effectual fervent prayer is for those who have sought God and one another, and are in line with both. * They don’t have sin or trespasses, and have gotten clean with God and man. * There is a place in prayer that becomes effectual fervent. * The word “effectual” is one word in the original Greek, “energeo.” + It is used 18 times in the King James Version. + 12 of those times, it is translated as “work.” * The King James translators identified the word by context. * Need to be reminded that effectual fervent prayer is work. * Need to pray better. * God can strip away the blinders and show what one can’t see. * Need to open hearts and become earnest before God, and see prayers make a difference. * The choir needs reminded that there is more to God than what we think. * We get complacent, pray little prayers, check off lists, and think God is satisfied. * Until God has looked into the depths of the soul, and one becomes submissive and surrenders to the will of God and yields to the Holy Ghost, one is not praying yet.
Energeo: Energized Prayer* The Greek word for effectual is “energeo,” from which we get the English words “energy” or “energize.” * Engage in energized prayer, built of hard work. * Of the 18 times “energeo” is used in the King James Version, 12 times it is translated as “work” (75%). * Prayer is not a side deal or something to play around with. * Prayer should change you, make you humble and weak before God, make you want to carry a heavier load, love people more, and help sinners get saved and prodigals come home. * The basic premise behind “energeo” is hard, passionate work. * The flesh is contrary to prayer and will never enjoy it. * Tell the flesh it doesn’t matter and focus on getting right with God. * Prayer should be hard, passionate work. * If we added up the minutes spent in prayer this week, would we be impressed? * How many have really gotten into the place where hard, passionate prayer comes from us?
Elijah: An Example of Effectual Fervent Prayer* Elijah got to see extraordinary things within hours of each other. * Don’t give up praying. * Get to the hard work, passionate prayer that God is listening for. * Consider it a worthy occupation to be a prayer warrior. * Make sure to identify and define correctly what kind of prayer we’re trying to pray. * Not just “Now I lay me down to sleep” prayer, but more like Peter’s prayer when he was drowning: “Lord, save me.” * Be willing to do the hard work prayer, not just any prayer, but a prayer that reaches the portals of God. * Hard work prayer is not very enticing to many. * On days when you don’t feel like it, put your flesh behind you and try. * Hard work prayer gets into the throne room of God. * Jesus Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane understood hard work praying. + His sweat became great drops of blood. + He asked if there was any other way, but ultimately submitted to the Father’s will. * Years ago, people would pray in barns during the day, giving up their time and flesh. * Romans 12:1: Present your bodies as a living sacrifice to God, which is your reasonable service. * Need hard work prayer. * James gave liberty to pray personally.
Elijah’s Humanity and Obedience* James said Elijah was a righteous man, but also a man subject to like passions as we are. * Elijah went through everything we’re going through and experienced the same temptations. * He made a choice to stand for God and do the hard work of praying and staying honest before God. * God blessed him for it. * God had sustained Elijah for three and a half years. * God gave Elijah liberty, and he stepped out of hiding. * Elijah lived in Zarephath, Jezebel’s hometown, while she had the whole army hunting for him. * Elijah told Obadiah to tell Ahab that he wanted to talk to him. * Ahab blamed the drought on Elijah. * Elijah told Ahab to gather all the people of Israel, the prophets of Baal, and the prophets of the groves to Mount Carmel. * They had a contest to see whose God would answer by fire. * God answered Elijah’s simple prayer with fire, consuming the sacrifice, the dust, the stones, and the water in the trenches. * God answered by fire with a simple prayer. * Elijah was obedient to God. * If we’re going to see the power of God through hard work prayer, we’re going to have to be obedient servants. * We need to be willing to do what God tells us to do, when he tells us to do it, and how he tells us to do it. * Line up when we pray and say, “God, I prayed it. Now here I am. Send me. Use me for this work.” * When you pray hard, you’ll find out there’s work for you in it. * It’s not all on God; we have to be obedient. * The problems they had were Jezebel and the adulterous hearts of the people. * They had 850 false prophets corrupting the minds of the people. * God dealt with it, and Elijah was obedient.
Deliberate Faith and Diligence* Elijah was deliberate. * After one of the prophets was slain, Elijah told Ahab to get out of there because he heard the sound of abundance of rain. * The fire had fallen, and people got right with God. * Need some fire first to burn up the chaff and purge the dross from our souls. * Need the power of God to come in. * Won’t have revival until fire has come in through our soul and hard work praying has made us shine like new before God. * The rain is the extra, what produces the fruits, but you won’t have rain until you’ve got fire. * In Africa, they burn the old, dead grass to allow new growth to come after the rain. * There was nothing growing through that messed up, useless grass that had no fire to it. * Need some fire, even though it’s not comfortable. * All 850 prophets had to be dealt with. * Elijah went to the bottom of Carmel to be obedient to God. * When he finished what God had assigned him, he told Ahab to leave. * Elijah went back up the mountain because he believed. * The same place that Elijah called fire down was where he went back to call for rain. * There’s some consistency about where we choose to pray. * Deliberately make a place to hard work pray. * Hard work prayer becomes a part of our daily life. * Elijah was tired after killing 850 people, but he went back up the mountain with faith. * He told Ahab he heard rain, even though he didn’t physically hear it. * He believed God because the fire had fallen. * Elijah was diligent. * He fell on his knees, put his face between his knees, and cried out to God. * Between verses 42 and 43, there was some serious praying. * The first time Elijah looked up, his servant was just standing there. * Elijah told him to go look out over the ocean and tell him what he saw. * The servant said he didn’t see anything. * Been in hard work praying and not seeing anything. * God knows when we’re frustrated, down, and the devil’s after us. * Get serious about praying and talking with God Almighty. * Hard work praying. * The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. * This was the hard work part of the prayer. * The first time he prayed, there was nothing. * Weary of praying for certain things because you can’t see anything. * When you think your prayer didn’t do any good, go back. * Try again. * Pray harder. * Keep working at it. * Dig in. * Do the hard work praying. * Believe God for it. * If it’s as a grain of a mustard seed, if we just believe that he can do all things. * Go back seven times. * Each time, be doing what you’ve got to do, and that’s hard work prayer. * Elijah put his face between his knees again and cried out to God. * God sent the rain. * Hard work praying is about not giving up, not giving in, and not believing the lies of the devil. * God can do anything, and hard work prayer gets to his ears. * It shocked the little fellow when he went that seven times. * It wasn’t his faith that Elijah was dependent on, but that hard work praying and Elijah’s own faith in God. * The servant came back and said he saw something about the size of a man’s hand rising up out of the sea. * Elijah said that’s all he needed to know. * God started to move.
Personal Testimony* Stripped naked in prayer this morning. * Needed a word from God. * Justin told a story about a man who had preached and evangelized for all of his life and then got called to be a pastor. * He packed everything into his worn-out van and headed to the new pastorate. * The transmission went out at the top of a hill, and he coasted to a car dealership at the bottom. * Within two hours, men had unpacked his belongings and packed them into a new van that was just like the old one, but eight years newer. * God said, “This is my church. I’ll fix it just like a car. Don’t you doubt it.” * Asked God to speak to me. * Quit worrying about this. * It ain’t your church. * It’s mine. * Them ain’t your children, they’re mine. * I’ll fix it. * Needed to hear it again. * Elijah told the servant to tell Ahab to get off the mountain because it was fixing to rain. * The clouds rolled in, the sky turned black, and it rained.
Commitment to Prayer* We ain’t where we’re supposed to be prayer-wise. * There’s another gear to prayer building. * You’ve got to be stripped clean of the fire. * Hard work praying will set in. * It’ll come from your soul like a fountain. * Your guts will pour out of you and lay at his feet. * You’ll feel it. * We can get closer to God with some hard praying. * It’s going to take a commitment. * You won’t accidentally get to this place. * You’re going to have to really want it. * When you get low, that’s when your heart gets nearest to it. * It feels like ain’t nothing happening. * It feels like it ain’t gonna happen. * It’s the best time to pray. * Allow God to step in and strip aside everything that’s keeping your heart from bursting open with all your care, worry, fear, and requests. * Commit to hard work prayer. * Effectual, fervent prayer. * If Elijah could do it, James said, you can too. * If Elijah seen the results of the fire and the rain, God is not a respecter of persons. * He’ll bless you just like he blessed Elijah. * Both fire and rain. * Before we do anything else tonight, I want us to pray. * If you ain’t got nobody else to pray for, please pray for me. * Time’s running out on us. * Our people ain’t saved. * I want to get it right. * I can’t do it. * I ain’t got the power. * I’m of little strength and little ability. * I need God to help me. * We need help tonight. * We need revival. * We need to see the fruit of rain. * That all has to come from God.
Introduction* The message focuses on the throne of God, its significance, and its relevance to individuals. * The goal is to understand who God is and recognize the need to come to Him. * There are three aspects of the throne: the throne of God, the throne of glory, and the throne of grace.
The Throne of God* John the Revelator’s vision: + Exiled on the island of Patmos. + In the Spirit on the Lord’s Day. + Saw a throne set in heaven with one sitting on it. * The throne as a focal point: + The focal point of everything in the glory world. + The earth is God’s footstool. * Description of the one on the throne: + Impossible to fully describe or draw. + Described using gemstones to depict its exquisite beauty. * God’s sovereignty: + God is in control of everything, all the time. + He is sovereign, omniscient, omnipresent, and almighty. + He rules from the throne as the king of all creation. * Rainbow around the throne: + Reminds of the covenant with Noah, promising never to flood the earth again. + A reminder of God’s promises. * Four and twenty elders: + Represent the redeemed people of God from every kindred, tongue, and nation. + They are around the throne. * Out of the throne: + Proceeded lightnings, thunderings, and voices. + A clear crystal river flows from the throne, representing the peace and grace of God. * God’s eternal reign: + God will never leave or be dethroned from His eternal throne. + The throne is the center of heaven, with all focus on God.
The Throne of Glory* Shared with believers: + Experiencing God’s glory when lifting up Jesus Christ. + Experiencing God’s glory and power. * The throne of God and the Lamb: + A pure river of water of life proceeds from the throne of God and of the Lamb. + God and the Lamb rule together.
The Throne of Grace* Hebrews 4:16: + Come boldly to the throne of grace to obtain mercy and find grace in time of need. * Access to the throne: + The veil has been rent, and the door has been opened. + Glimpses of the throne room are available now in the spirit. + Experiencing the power, mercy, and grace of His throne through prayer. * God’s help: + God wants to help those with a broken heart and a contrite spirit.
Judgment and the Throne* The fate of the lost: + Those who reject Jesus Christ will bow before the great white throne of God in judgment. + The dead will stand before God, and the books will be opened. + Those whose names are not in the book of life will be cast into the lake of fire. * The throne’s representation: + Represents God’s authority and power. + Everyone will see the throne at some point. * The call to salvation: + Accept Jesus to escape the great white throne judgment. + Jesus is the door to the throne of God. * Bowing in worship: + Bowing now in repentance and acceptance leads to being ushered into the place where His throne is forever. + Worshiping God with a number that no man can number.
The World’s Hopelessness and the Need for Comfort* Many people, especially young individuals, feel hopeless and see no reason to live, leading to tragic events like suicide. + Example: A recent suicide of a freshman in the community. * The enemy (evil forces) plays on these feelings, suggesting that ending life is the only solution. * The world is full of darkness, and people are oppressed by evil forces. * Divine help is necessary to combat these forces, as individuals cannot fight them alone. * Many seek comfort in worldly things like relationships, alcohol, or drugs, which only provide temporary relief.
God as the God of All Comfort* God is the God of all comfort, offering peace and hope that surpasses worldly solutions. * Experiencing God’s comfort involves a transformation, where darkness is replaced by the light of Jesus Christ. * Even in the midst of suffering and pain, believers have access to God’s comfort. * Pastor Tommy emphasizes the importance of recognizing God as the source of comfort. * The Apostle Paul attributed all comfort to God, even amidst his own tribulations. + Paul’s hardships: stonings, beatings, hunger, and cold. * Pastor Tommy shares a personal testimony of finding comfort in God at a young age. + At nine years old, feeling lost and scared, Pastor Tommy turned to God and found salvation and comfort.
The Nature of Comfort* Comfort is both a noun (something received) and a verb (something actively done). * God’s comfort empowers, encourages, strengthens, aids, and helps. * It is not just a passive experience but an active working of God in one’s life. * True comfort comes from God, not from the things of this world.
God’s Comfort in Tribulation* God comforts in all tribulations, and there is nothing that He cannot help with. * He offers peace and hope, even in the face of loss and sorrow. * The Apostle Paul’s life demonstrates that tribulations can lead to patience, experience, and hope. * The comfort of God can step into dark and bleak situations, offering deliverance. * Worldly solutions only numb the senses, while God offers real and lasting comfort.
Means of Receiving God’s Comfort Jesus Christ: + Jesus is the conduit of God’s comfort. + The story of the woman who touched the hem of Jesus’ garment illustrates how faith in Jesus can bring healing and comfort. - The woman had spent all her money on doctors and was desperate for healing. - She believed that if she could just touch Jesus’ garment, she would be healed. - Jesus acknowledged her faith and declared her whole. + The story of the blind man who cried out to Jesus for mercy demonstrates the importance of persistence in seeking God’s help. - The blind man kept calling on Jesus despite others telling him to be quiet. - Jesus heard his cry and healed him, telling him that his faith had made him whole. * The Holy Spirit: + Jesus promised not to leave His disciples comfortless but to send the Comforter, who is the Holy Spirit. + The Holy Spirit guides believers into all truth and brings to remembrance the teachings of Jesus. + The Holy Spirit indwells believers and provides constant comfort. + Even when feeling down or discouraged, believers should remember that the Holy Spirit is within them, offering comfort. + Acts 9:31 mentions that the Holy Spirit comforted the churches. * The Scriptures: + The Bible is a source of comfort, offering hope and encouragement through its teachings. + Isaiah 41:10 is cited as an example of a comforting scripture. - “Fear thou not, for I am with thee; be not dismayed, for I am thy God. I will strengthen thee, yea, I will help thee; I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.” + Pastor Tommy shares a personal experience of receiving comfort from Isaiah 41:10 during a difficult time. - While feeling discouraged in a hotel room, Pastor Tommy prayed for help. - Pastor Tommy received a text message with Isaiah 41:10, which brought immediate comfort and reassurance. * The People of God:* + Believers can comfort one another through their presence, words, and actions. + The example of people gathering to comfort Mary and Martha after the death of Lazarus is given. + Simply being in the house of God and among fellow believers can provide comfort.
Conclusion* The message concludes with an invitation to seek comfort in Jesus Christ. * True comfort is found in Christ, not in the things of this world. * Rejecting Christ means missing out on the comfort and hope that He offers. * Pastor Tommy encourages listeners to call on the Lord and experience His saving and comforting power.
Opening Remarks* The purpose of gathering is to worship God, not to focus on Elder Roger or songs. * Expresses being 70 years old, soon to be 71, and aware of having more past than future. + There is no fear of death because of knowing what awaits after life. * The message has been on Elder Roger’s heart, waiting for divine guidance on when to share it. + Decided to speak after being asked by Brother Tommy and seeking God’s direction. * Relying on the Lord and aiming to convey what God has laid on their heart.
Scripture Reading and Prayer* Reading from Isaiah 41. + Specific verses mentioned: Isaiah 41:10, 41:13, 2 Timothy 1:7 * Prayer for divine help in delivering the message. + Asking God to step aside and allow God’s will to be done.
Overcoming Fear Through Faith* Reiterates not fearing what is coming because of faith in God. * God loves people enough to help them through difficulties. * Criticizes Christians who worry excessively. + Example: People walking around with their heads down and wringing their hands. * If you have God in your heart, don’t worry about what’s going to happen. * Reference to the story of the three men in the fiery furnace. + God brought them out unharmed. * Reference to the Israelites crossing the Red Sea. + God opened the sea to save them from the pursuing army. * God will not let you perish and loves you enough to save your soul.
God’s Unfailing Support* Emphasizes the phrase “Fear not” from Isaiah 41:13. * Personal testimony of experiencing God’s support through difficult times. + God was holding my hand. * God lifts people up when they are down and out. + God can take you up out of the marty clay. * Just call upon his holy name. * God will not let his children down. * Personal belief in God’s love and sacrifice. + God sent his only begotten son to die for his old boy.
Serving God and Rejecting Fear* Many people don’t want to call on God anymore. * God wants people to serve him and have access to all available blessings. + God has a storehouse of blessings. * Reference to 2 Timothy 1:7: “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” * Acknowledges not having a great natural mind but knowing that God loves them. + That’s the most important thing in my life at this time, that God loves me and he watches over me.
Sound Mind Through God* God gives a sound mind to know right from wrong. * A sound mind helps recognize when one is acting against God’s will. * When God changes your heart, he gives you a sound mind to know what you’re doing good or doing wrong. * That’s our mission.
Appreciation and Introduction* Gratitude for songs, testimonies, and prayer requests. * Expresses contentment and appreciation for being in God’s house. * Acknowledges the presence and importance of the Holy Spirit. * Reference to Acts 2:1-4 about the day of Pentecost. + All were in one accord in one place. + Sound from heaven like a rushing, mighty wind. + Cloven tongues like fire appeared. + All were filled with the Holy Ghost and spoke in other tongues.
Worship and the Holy Spirit* People worship differently, and that’s okay. * Anticipation of uninhibited worship in heaven. * Appreciation for times when the “wind blows” in church (the Holy Spirit is present). + There are times for stillness for the seed to fall. * Desire for the Holy Ghost in the church. + If the Holy Ghost wasn’t present, would seek it elsewhere. * If one doesn’t feel the Spirit, there may be something wrong in their heart. + Not the fault of others or external factors. * God is not a respecter of persons; He blesses all equally. * If you want the Holy Ghost, He will give you all you want of Him. * If one doesn’t like the Holy Spirit, this church may not be a good fit. * The Holy Ghost needs to lead in everything done in the church.
The Pastor’s Perspective* The more people filled with the Holy Ghost, the better for the pastor. * Contrast between preaching to an unresponsive crowd and a Spirit-filled congregation. + Signs of a Spirit-filled congregation: raised hands, tears, smiles, recognition of God’s presence. * God is the answer, and the question is when. * God administers through the Holy Ghost. * The Holy Ghost dwells within, not just visits. + The Holy Ghost stays until the job is done, taking believers to the end. * Belief that one couldn’t make it without the Holy Spirit’s help.
Old Testament Examples of the Holy Spirit (Wind) The Word of God is discerned by the Spirit. + The Holy Spirit helps people get what they need from the Word. * Exodus 14:21 – Deliverance at the Red Sea + Moses stretched out his hand, and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind. + The wind blew all night, dividing the waters. + The Holy Ghost has been a deliverer. + The Holy Ghost is a wind that will deliver the people of God all the time. + The Holy Ghost is always working, whether one is conscious of it or not. + The Holy Ghost frustrates the devil. + Reference to Job, whose hedge was removed, but his life was protected. + The Holy Spirit’s deliverance is still moving today. * Numbers 11:31 – Sustenance in the Wilderness + The children of Israel murmured and were hungry. + God sent a wind that brought quails from the sea. + The quails fell around the camp, two cubits high (three feet deep). + The Holy Ghost brings what is needed to make it another day. + The wind of sustenance feeds the soul. + The Holy Ghost moves to make sinners uncomfortable and saints rejoice. + God used the Spirit to gather billions of quail. + The wind brought sustenance when it was needed most. + Reference to Ezekiel, where the Lord asked if dry bones could live. - The bones came together, but they were still dead until the wind blew into them. * 2 Samuel 5 – Assurance + David sought God before going into battle. + David asked if he should go up against the enemy and if God would deliver them. + God loves zeal but also gives assurance. + God told David to wait for a sign: the sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry trees. + The wind will start blowing, and you’ll know it’s time to go. + The wind gives assurance. + The unction is needed to preach. - Without the unction, it’s just teaching. + The Holy Ghost won’t bear witness to anything untrue or false. + The Holy Ghost will bear witness if your heart is for God. * Jonah 1:4 – Repentance* + Jonah ran from God because he didn’t want to preach to the people of Nineveh. + You can’t run from God; the Holy Ghost is everywhere. + The Lord sent a great wind into the sea, causing a mighty tempest. + The wind of God can break, stop, or wake one up. + The wind of God blows to bring repentance. + God can use the Holy Ghost to bring you to a place of repentance.
New Testament Promise and Provision of the Holy Spirit (Wind) John 16:7 – Promise of the Comforter + It is expedient that Jesus go away so the Comforter (Holy Ghost) can come. + The Comforter is the Holy Ghost. + Jesus had bound Himself to an earthly body and couldn’t be everywhere. + The Holy Ghost isn’t bound to anything. + Jesus promised to send the wind of God (the Holy Spirit). * Acts 1:4-5 – Promise of Baptism with the Holy Ghost + Jesus commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem but to wait for the promise of the Father. + John baptized with water, but they would be baptized with the Holy Ghost. + The Holy Ghost will lead and guide in all truth and righteousness. * Acts 2:1 – Provision of the Holy Spirit + On the day of Pentecost, they were all with one accord in one place. + Suddenly, there came a sound from heaven as a rushing mighty wind. + It filled all the house where they were sitting. + The Spirit of God still does that today. + When people are walking with God, the wind will blow in their lives. + All that Jesus was trying to tell them became clear when the wind started blowing. * John 3:7 – Born of the Spirit* + Jesus told Nicodemus that he must be born again. + The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh and whither it goeth. + So is everyone that is born of the Spirit. + That which is born of the flesh is flesh; Jesus was talking about being born again in the spirit. + The Holy Ghost had to blow over and be partaking in your salvation. + God is saving your spirit, not your flesh. + The Holy Spirit has blown in the lives of His children from the time He left them until now. + The wind is still moving as long as the people of God are on planet Earth.
Discernment of Spirits* There are strange winds blowing today that are not of God. * These winds are false and imitate the Spirit of God. * They are a form of godliness but deny the power thereof. * Try the spirits to see of what sort they are. * Not every spirit that blows in your life is of God. * People are getting caught up in smoke, mirrors, darkness, and strobe lights. * These things appeal to the flesh and stimulate the emotions but are not of God. * If it ain’t of God, you ain’t getting born again. * Be sure every spirit you face is Him. * Gratitude for the rushing mighty wind that blew into the hearts of those men and forever changed them. * The wind leads or stops them, making them go to the left or right because He knows.
Invitation and Closing* Invitation for those who need the Lord to come forward. * If you haven’t felt the wind of God in a while, get right with Him. * Repent of your sin, turn from it, yield yourself to God, and trust Him. * He will forgive you of your sin and purge you of all unrighteousness. * He will forgive you if you confess it. * The wind of the Holy Spirit will start blowing in your life again.
The Story of the Rich Man and Lazarus* The rich man lived luxuriously. * Lazarus, a beggar, was full of sores and longed for scraps from the rich man’s table. * Lazarus died and was carried by angels to Abraham’s bosom (paradise). * The rich man died and was buried, and in hell, he was in torment. * The rich man saw Abraham and Lazarus and asked for mercy, requesting Lazarus to bring him water. * Abraham reminded him that he had received good things in his lifetime, while Lazarus had suffered. * A great gulf was fixed between them, making it impossible to cross over. * The rich man asked Abraham to send Lazarus to his father’s house to warn his five brothers. * Abraham said they have Moses and the prophets and should listen to them. * The rich man argued that if someone rose from the dead, they would repent. * Abraham concluded that if they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.
The Significance of the Story* The story provides an eyewitness account of what happens to an unbeliever after death (before Christ’s death and resurrection). * Lazarus went to Abraham’s paradise, which Jesus later emptied when he opened the way to heaven. * The focus is on the rich man’s fate and the reality of hell. * If someone could return from hell, they would be the best evangelist.
The Importance of Preaching About Hell* The word of God should inspire zeal to tell others they do not have to go to hell. * It’s important to be soul winners and convey the message of heaven and hell. * Dying without Christ means rejecting Christ and going to hell. * Jesus came to provide a way to avoid hell. * It is not pleasurable to declare that lost people go to hell, but it is the truth. * Hell was created for the devil and his angels, but those not born again will go there. * The world and many churches have stopped preaching about hell. * Jesus preached more about hell than heaven because he wanted to keep people out of it.
The Need for Saved Individuals to Understand Hell* Some saved people do not act saved because they have not considered what they were saved from. * A vision of hell should inspire gratitude for salvation. * Excitement about not going to hell should be maintained.
Hell is Real* Hell is not a figment of imagination but the words of Jesus Christ. * Jesus cannot lie, and he said the rich man went to hell. * There cannot be a heaven without a hell. * Many people do not believe in the concept of an afterlife. * People often think they are good enough to go to heaven based on self-righteousness. * The Bible concludes that all are under sin, but can be made dead to sin through Jesus’ resurrection.
The Confusion of the Rich Man* The rich man thought someone returning from the dead would cause belief and repentance. * There is plenty of good preaching available, but people do not want to escape hell’s flames. * People need to believe Jesus Christ, who cannot lie. * It is wrong to tell someone to go to hell. * The Holy Ghost convinces people of the reality of hell, not just preachers. + Example: At nine years old, the Holy Ghost convinced Pastor Tommy that hell was real, leading to fear and repentance. * People are leaving the world daily and going to a place they do not believe exists. * It is not God’s will that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
The Reality of Hell* One can sit smugly in self-righteousness, but there is a hell. * If one is undone without God and not born again, hell will be their eternal home. * God calls people to tell the truth about hell so others might hear, believe, and avoid it. * Living hell on earth is not comparable to the reality of hell.
Hell is Immediate* There is no purgatory or holding place after death. * The idea of a waiting place is a lie from the devil. * When you die, there is no encouragement in scripture to want to die without Christ. * Hell is real and immediate; there is no waiting period. * A story about a man who believed one does not know where they are going until they are dead is shared as an example of heresy. * Confidence in what God did on the day of salvation is essential. * When the rich man died and was buried, he immediately lifted up his eyes in hell. * God has a blind marked for each person, and when they reach it, they will die. * Everyone who has died without Christ for the past six thousand years has gone to a place of torment. * The Holy Ghost must get to people, or they will go to hell.
Hell is Torment* In hell, the rich man lifted up his eyes, being in torments. * The torments of hell are beyond comprehension. * God sends people to hell if their name is not in the Book of Life. * God has done everything possible to keep people out of hell, including sacrificing his son. * If one goes to hell, it is not God’s fault. * The rich man spoke of the fire in hell. * There are no gaps in the flames of hell, meaning no relief. * One should not play around with eternity’s truths as if they are in charge. * God will not change his mind if someone dies without Jesus Christ. * The death of Jesus Christ will be honored, and no one having rejected Christ will escape hell.
Graphic Descriptions of Hell* If a hand offends, cut it off to avoid going to hell with both hands. * It is better to enter heaven maimed than to go to hell with both feet. * Hell is a place where the worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched. * The fire of hell will never go out; there is an endless supply to keep it going. * The worm that does not die refers to the conscious remembrance of a man. * There will be constant regret for having rejected Christ as Savior. * There will be no relief from the torment.
Hell is Unchangeable* There is a great gulf fixed, making it impossible to escape. * The only change is being pulled out of hell for a moment to be judged before going to the lake of fire. * The only chance to escape hell is today, right now. * It is foolish to assume there will be another chance.
A Message Out of Hell* The rich man wanted his brothers to be warned about hell. * The message is to tell them it is real, immediate, torturous, and unchangeable. * Preachers are called to preach about hell to save people from it. * The rich man’s brothers have the chance to get to heaven through Moses and the prophets (the Bible). * The world will not know about the Word of God unless someone tells them. * Some may learn new things about hell, but it is from the pages of the Bible. * The question is not whether one will die, but whether they will go to heaven. * Believing in Jesus Christ as Savior is the only way to be certain of going to heaven.
Invitation* If the Holy Ghost has visited one’s soul, they know they are lost and heading to hell. * One should pray, “Lord, save me. I believe in you. Repent of my sins. Save me. I’m lost. Save me.” * When fear sets in and the reality of hell is understood, one must trust Christ. * Bow your heart to him and ask him to save you. * Do not worry about what others think; people in hell wish they had not cared and had bowed in need of Christ. * One needs to be saved today if they are lost. * No one can come to the Father unless they are drawn. * Bow in need of Christ and be saved.
Trusting God’s Plan* Trust in God’s plan, even if it seems different or unconventional. + The world already perceives Christians as different.
2 Timothy 4:1-8* Focus on 2 Timothy 4:1-8. + “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine.” + A time will come when people will not endure sound doctrine, but will seek teachers who cater to their desires. + Turn away from the truth and embrace fables. + Be watchful, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, and fulfill your ministry. + Elder Dustin is ready to be offered, the time of departure is at hand. + Elder Dustin has fought a good fight, finished the course, and kept the faith. + A crown of righteousness awaits, not only for Elder Dustin but for all who love His appearing.
Personal Reflections and Struggles* Elder Dustin keeps a notebook by the bed to record thoughts from the Lord. + Once lost a message by not writing it down immediately. * Elder Dustin wants strength to fight harder and do more for God. * It’s easy to quit, walk away, and follow the world’s path. * Pastors and preachers are charged to preach the word, but lay members also have a responsibility to preach the word and be instant in and out of season. * Elder Dustin needs help and feels surrounded by the enemy. + The enemy tempts Elder Dustin to quit and return to a life before Christ. + Contemplated returning to the world because it seems easier. * If truly saved, something inside won’t let you quit for life. * The more the flesh is crucified, the easier it is to do what Christ wants. + The more disobedient, the easier it becomes to do what one wants. * Elder Dustin recalled announcing the call to preach and being on fire for God. + The enemy questioned the call, suggesting to be a teacher instead. + Elder Dustin listened to the enemy and sat down for over a year. + Attended church but wasn’t doing what God asked. + Attending services is meaningless without obedience. * Brother Danny Greger told Elder Dustin that coming to the altar every Sunday wouldn’t help until Elder Dustin accepted God’s calling. + Elder Dustin knew all along that God was asking to stand and preach. * Elder Dustin initially didn’t struggle with the call to preach but later listened to the enemy. + The enemy suggested stopping after getting what was wanted. + God doesn’t make mistakes when calling someone to preach. * It was easy to walk away and listen to the enemy, questioning the call due to a questionable past. + Elder Dustin was miserable while sitting down, despite attending church. * The enemy tempted Elder Dustin to quit, suggesting calling Brian and Tommy to cancel commitments. + Elder Dustin understands the enemy’s tactics and started praying for strength. * Elder Dustin doesn’t want out of the battle but wants strength to stand and do more for Christ. * Elder Dustin wants to be concerned about people hearing about Jesus Christ, not personal struggles. * Many have “tucked tail” and gone home, needing others not to give up. * Brother Greg’s testimony of walking away from the Lord and feeling conviction upon seeing godly people was mentioned. + People need to see the preacher and feel conviction from the Holy Ghost. * Elder Dustin isn’t advocating beating people over the head to drag them to church. + Things will start happening, and God will get attention. + If truly saved, people will return. * The enemy will try to make even those who are faithful quit. * An older saint said the “hot steamy breath of the enemy” will be on the doorknob when entering heaven. + The enemy won’t give up, even if you sing, attend church, or preach. + The enemy will keep coming harder. * Without strength, reading the Word, prayer, and fellowship, one will walk away. * James 4:17: “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” + Unwillingness to do what God asks is sin. + Repentance and making things right with God are necessary. + Serving God one’s own way doesn’t work. * 1 Corinthians 9 discusses running a race to obtain a prize. + Run to obtain an incorruptible crown. + Keep the body under subjection to avoid being a castaway after preaching to others. * Elder Dustin doesn’t want to boast but wants to run the race with Christ at the head. * Elder Dustin is tired of being in dark places but understands God’s purpose. + Even saving one soul is worth it. * Elder Dustin asks for help with complaining and strength to endure whatever comes. + If death comes, then going home to heaven. * Elder Dustin wants to be transparent and honest about struggles. * Experiencing God’s Spirit provides enough strength to get through to the next time. * These things are not found when quitting or listening to the enemy. * God is faithful and knows exactly what He’s doing when one pushes in during hard times. * Christians with the most bruises are those God can use the most. + They’ve been through battles and have had to pick themselves up. + They stand holding the blood-stained banner of Jesus, knowing He won’t fail them. * If everything was rainbows and unicorns, there would be no need for God. + When things are good, one prays less. + When bad things happen, one constantly asks for God’s help. * God’s desire is for us to strengthen ourselves and grow stronger. * Things that hinder us: laziness, pride, arrogance. + The flesh loves these things. + The enemy knows how to use these things against us. * The enemy doesn’t fight fair and knows our disadvantages. * This body is always in combat, with no days off. + The body can cause problems and prevent serving God. + The flesh can agree with the enemy’s temptations. * The body must be kept battered, bruised, and under subjection every day. * It’s easy to run back to the world when someone makes you mad or hurts your feelings. * It’s hard to reconcile with one another in brotherly love, as agreed upon when joining the church. * Elder Dustin shared an experience of a coworker being mad for no reason. + The Lord told Elder Dustin to reconcile, but Elder Dustin initially resisted. + Elder Dustin eventually apologized, even though not at fault. + The relationship was restored. * Unwillingness to make things right could hurt the church’s witness. * Elder Dustin wants strength to fight and be in whatever battle God has. * Elder Dustin wants to lay aside every weight and hindrance from running the race. * Things may have to be laid down that we don’t want to lay down. * Elder Dustin loves football but has stopped watching it because it interferes with his walk with God. + It causes anger and conflict. + It was detrimental to Elder Dustin’s walk with the Lord. + Elder Dustin still checks highlights and scores. * The enemy can use even small things to take us away from God. * If something takes you away from God, you need to let it go. * Elder Dustin was reminded of a song from a youth retreat: + “Shine a light on every corner of your life until the pride and lust and lies are out in the open. Then read the word and put to test the things you’ve heard until your heart and soul are stirred and rocked.” * Things allowed on the stage of life clutter the area and make it harder to worship. * We need to clear those things out and expose ourselves as God knows us. * God knows our faults and failures and still loves us and wants us to serve Him. * Elder Dustin doesn’t want to be someone who “did run well” but wants to keep running well. * Elder Dustin doesn’t want his or others’ kids to look back and say he used to be on fire but isn’t anymore. * All it takes is the enemy saying one thing to get our feelings hurt, and we’ll run back to the world. * Picking up the Bible on weekdays is important to come back from the enemy’s attacks. * Ephesians 6:10-11: “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” * To fight, one must suit up and get ready for battle every day. * It must be a choice, not something taken a day off from. * The enemy knows when the armor is on and where there are weak spots. * God said, “Put it on, and I’ll fight the fight.” * Elder Dustin wants to be like Paul, ready to be offered and depart. * Elder Dustin wants to fight a good fight, keep the faith, and finish the course. * Elder Dustin wants to be found faithful and hear those words. * Elder Dustin wants crowns to throw at God’s feet. * Elder Dustin has seen others’ fights and knows they want to fight a good fight. * Keep coming back, even when it’s hard. * God knows when we hurt and don’t feel like being there but loves us anyway. * God has reeled Elder Dustin back in and flooded his soul with His Spirit, even when Elder Dustin’s mind was elsewhere. * God deserves our very best, even if it’s not very good sometimes. * Those who exercise and run marathons don’t get results overnight; they put in the work. * It’s the same with walking with God: work, pray, fast, read the Bible. * If we only live for Him on Sunday, we won’t be very strong. * We expect God to bless us, but we haven’t prepared all week long. * Think of what God would do if we came in prepared, sold out, and ready to worship. * That sinner or backslider may get right, but often we need to get right first. * Elder Dustin wants to fight a good fight and not outstay God’s welcome. * The enemy says it would be easier to go back to the easy life when lost. * The Holy Ghost says, “But you’d still be lost and headed for hell.” * Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord knows how to deliver them out of them all. * God knows what we need, when we need it, and how we need it. * Elder Dustin is trying to be honest and means what he’s saying. * God knows the intent of our hearts. * Keep standing, pushing, and doing because He has something for us to do. * Elder Dustin is praying for revival, especially at New Providence Primitive Baptist Church. * Elder Dustin wants to see nationwide revival but is praying for it to happen right here. * Elder Dustin wants this place to be on fire for God. * The Holy Ghost moves during Sunday school hour. * We can’t be content just because it’s here this Sunday; it may not be next Sunday. * Elder Dustin wants it to be something that’s here on Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday. * Elder Dustin wants to come back and hear about what God has done. * This is the place where Elder Dustin gets help and is strengthened. * Elder Dustin wants to be the one who can stand and do the same for others. * We’re in a battle like never before, with things going on all around us. * It’s not a surprise to God that all these things are going on in churches and schools. * When we do fight, He’s always had someone willing to stand and do the work. * Isaiah said, “Here I am, Lord. Send me.” * Help me to fight the good fight, not to lay it down, not to get weary. * Help me to keep coming back when I lose strength. * God will supply the need. * Brother Tom was asked to come on. * He said, “I fought a good fight, finished the course, and I’ve kept the faith.” * Brother was preaching about Stephen.
Introduction* Appreciation for Brother David for managing the video. * Gratitude for the Wednesday night message and how it spoke to Pastor Tommy on Thursday evening. * Prayer request for the message to touch hearts. * Acknowledging that some may assume everyone is ready, but God knows each person’s soul. * Personal testimony of getting saved unexpectedly. * Encouragement to obey God and trust Him as Lord and Savior. * Reminder of the inevitability of death and the importance of being ready to meet God. * Reference to Brother Bobby’s scripture reading.
Mark 5:1-6* Reading of Mark 5:1-6, the story of Legion. + “They came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes.” + “And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit.” + “Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains.” + “Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him.” + “And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones.” + “But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him.” * Prayer for the word to bring conviction and faith to unbelievers. * Appreciation for the personal aspect of the brother’s Wednesday sermon. * The Holy Spirit touched Pastor Tommy’s heart concerning the tombs.
Are You Dwelling in the Tombs?* Question posed: “Are you dwelling in the tombs?” * Even saved individuals can have a propensity to return to the tombs (dead stuff, dark places). * There is no peace, comfort, or fellowship in the tombs. * The world is lost in dark places. * A tomb is a place without light. * Born-again individuals have received the light of Jesus Christ and should not dwell among the tombs. * Tombs are full of people bound with fetters and chains, unable to free themselves. * True freedom comes through being born again.
Three Things About the Tombs No Light + Tombs are dark, signaling that they are not a place for God’s people. + Jesus crossed the sea specifically for Legion. + Personal testimony of Jesus showing up for Pastor Tommy and saving him. * No Life + The world is full of dead places. + Before salvation, individuals are dead in their sins and trespasses. + The tombs will give up their dead (those who are dead to Christ). + Salvation is necessary to escape the tomb. * No Warmth* + Analogy of an old cave near Big Cully: turning off the flashlight reveals a coldness that sinks into the skin. + Spiritual places can be cold to God, lacking light and life. + The tombs of this world are real, and one can get stuck in them.
Coming Out of the Tombs* Legion saw Jesus coming. * The Holy Ghost can do what humans cannot. * One must see Jesus coming and admit to being in the tomb, unable to break free from bondage. * God can save individuals today, just as He saved Legion and Pastor Tommy. * When the Holy Ghost comes, it is unmistakable. * To be saved, one must turn from sin, darkness, deadness, and coldness. * Legion came out of the tomb. * Giving up worldly things is worth it when compared to what God gives. * One can drink from God’s fountain, which is superior to anything in the tombs.
Legion’s Transformation* Legion went to meet God. * The devils possessing him were named Legion, inhabiting 2,000 swine. * The devils feared Christ and knew who He was. * Legion fell before Jesus. * Legion’s dwelling place was among the tombs, a choice to live in darkness. * People of God have light and life, which can make those in darkness uncomfortable. * People live in darkness because their deeds are evil, and light exposes their evilness. * Lost people often avoid church because the light exposes their evil. * Believers are the light of Christ wherever they go.
Life in the Tombs* Legion was always in the mountains and tombs, living among corpses and foul odors. * Analogy of whitewashed sepulchers: clean on the outside but full of dead men’s bones inside. * Legion was in misery and torment, cutting himself with stones. * Lost people may put on a facade of happiness, but their souls are not well if they are not right with God. * There is a propensity to navigate toward the tombs of this world, where there is no life or warmth. * Jesus can change that. * Legion was a patchwork of scars from self-mutilation.
Salvation and Transformation* Pastor Tommy came out of the tombs and into the light. * Jesus cast out the devils from Legion, who then sat clothed and in his right mind at the feet of Jesus. * People of God do not return to the tombs. * The things once loved are now hated. * If one still loves the things of the tombs, they have not been born again. * Legion likely hated the light and ventured out of the tombs at night. * Pastor Tommy remembers crying out and seeing his sin, depravity, and lostness, recognizing the tombs as his home. * God heard and saved him. * If one has been born again, their love for the tombs will end.
Victory Over Death and the Tomb* Reference to 1 Corinthians 15:55: “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” * Jesus defeated death and the tomb through His death and resurrection. * The tomb is a place absent of the light, life, and warmth of God. * Some may be cold and indifferent toward God, submerged in the darkness of the tombs. * The devil seeks to keep out the light that will expose souls to truth and rescue them. * A day is coming when darkness will consume all unbelievers. * The tomb is a burial place, a grave, a sepulcher, referred to as Hades or hell. * If one’s confidence is not in Christ, they may still be in the tomb. * If Jesus has come to the shore of one’s tomb, He intends to set them free. * The darkness experienced now is but a shadow of the darkness to come for unbelievers. * Legion was freed from the darkness of the tomb. * Jesus told Legion to go back to his city and tell them what He had done for him. * When one gets out of the tombs, they tell others that they were once lost but now are found.
Call to Action* Invitation to those who know they are not in the light of Jesus Christ to repent and be saved. * Come out from among the tombs and be saved today. * The things once loved are now hated, and the things once hated are now loved. * Examine yourselves. * Warning to those who die without God that they will perish in an awful place. * Come out of those places, come out of the tomb.
Closing Remarks* There is a difference when one comes into the light of Christ and is saved. * One will not dwell in the same place as before. * The message serves as a warning and offers the good news of the gospel. * It is not God’s will that any perish.
Humble Heart & Gratitude* Expressing honor and gratitude for the opportunity to serve the Lord. * Acknowledging a “big old humble heart” and constant thoughts of people and Jesus. * Expressing gratitude for being saved, recognizing it as an undeserved act of grace. + Saved at 38, felt lost before salvation.
Mark Chapter 5 & Personal Connection* Reading from Mark chapter 5, focusing on Legion. * Brother Tommy asked to speak Tuesday morning. * Prayed about the message, feeling a connection to Legion. * Recognizing a past behavior mirroring Legion’s self-harm. + Cutting self with razor blades as a teenager (17-18 years old). + Devil trying to “kill, steal, and destroy.”
Encounters with Evil* Recounting three experiences of feeling strangled while asleep. + First at 18 at dad’s place, felt someone on chest, could not breathe. - Saying “Jesus” three times stopped it. + Second time at home before being called to preach. - Again, saying “Jesus” three times stopped it. + Third time, saw a black demon sitting on chest, choking. - Demon described as black with scaly skin and large black wings. - Not scared this time, realized the demon was trying to prevent future ministry.
Devil’s Tactics & Vulnerable Targets* The devil targets the vulnerable, like babies or weak church members. * The devil seeks easy prey, those easily swayed or killed spiritually. * The devil uses the weakest link in the church to cause division. * Awareness is crucial to resist the devil’s influence. * Personal vulnerability to returning to self-harm (“cutting arms”) if yielding to the devil.
Close Calls & Divine Intervention* Recounting incidents where divine intervention prevented potential disasters. + Drag racing incident where a truck stopped unexpectedly. + Driving through a field in a 73 Dodge Charger at night and narrowly avoiding a tree. - Realizing the danger but still not listening to God.
Fighting the Devil with Scripture* Cannot fight the devil spiritually. * Emphasizing the need to use scripture against the devil, as Jesus did. * Devils bow down to Jesus.
Legion’s Story & Personal Reflection* Relating to Legion’s torment and self-harm. * Remembering cutting self and apologizing to the Lord. * Acknowledging God’s repeated rescue from dangerous situations. + Driving a mixer truck on a mountain, fearing it wouldn’t make it. + Praying for help and reaching safe ground.
The Power of Jesus & Transformation* Legion recognized Jesus and worshipped him. * The devil knows who Jesus is. * Jesus cast out the demons from Legion into swine. + Two thousand swine ran into the sea. * Legion, now in his right mind, wanted to follow Jesus. * Jesus instructed him to share his story with his community.
Living a Transformed Life* Expressing a commitment to staying “in the boat” with Jesus. * Refusing to tolerate sinful behavior in personal space (“my house”). * Avoiding involvement with friends engaged in harmful activities (drinking, drugging). * Recognizing the heavy price paid for salvation. * Repenting from sins and not letting them accumulate. * Prioritizing God’s will over worldly desires.
The Preciousness of Ministry* Expressing gratitude for the opportunity to preach God’s word. * Desiring to continue preaching about salvation and the promise of eternal life. * Acknowledging God’s goodness and the transformative power of salvation. * Quitting bad habits and starting a life for Jesus.
Family & Faith* Family members talking behind back about going to church all the time. * Celebrating family members getting saved, including son and granddaughter. * Prayers are heard by God.
The Danger of Turning Away* The worst thing is knowing the righteousness of God and walking away from it. * Sharing the story of mother’s 42-year backslide due to disobedience. * Describing a difficult childhood marked by tension and fear. * Sleeping in church yards for safety. * Mom got it right after 42 years.
The Devil’s Strategy* The devil cannot physically harm, but can influence thoughts leading to self-destruction. * Relating personal experience of cutting self due to anger and feeling lost. * Ignoring father’s warnings to get right with God. * The devil was trying to kill Legion.
Salvation & Humility* Remembering begging and pleading for salvation. * Believing salvation occurred upon deciding to go to the altar due to a broken and humble heart. * God has blessed ever since. * Staying in the boat with Jesus. * The devil just wants to torment.
Recognizing the Devil’s Influence* Recognizing the devil’s attempts to aggravate and frustrate. * Two cars broke down at the same time. * Salvation provides awareness and resistance to the devil’s tactics. * The devil uses various means to torment and destroy (drinking, smoking, etc.). * Backsliding leads to greater distance from God.
Personal Reflections & Warnings* Remembering cutting arms and realizing the devil had control. * Hurting mother by actions and causing her to cry. * God was holding one day this will be mine. * God saved from turning over a 65 Dodge. * The Holy Spirit warns against sinful actions. * Need to be aware of the devil’s tactics. * The devil is out to get kids, grandkids, and children. * The devil never bothered until saved. * The devil turned up the heat when called to preach. * Staying in the boat with Jesus.
The Greatest of All* The greatest of all is the one that hung on the cross. + Christ could have done anything he wanted. + John said he could have called 12 legions of angels. + He loved you and me.
Luke 15:11* A certain man had two sons. * The younger son asked for his inheritance. * The father divided his living between them. * The younger son gathered his goods and journeyed to a far country. * He wasted his substance with riotous living. * He spent all he had. * A mighty famine arose in the land. * He began to be in want. * He joined himself to a citizen of that country. * He sent him into the fields to feed swine. * He would have filled his belly with the husks that the swine ate. * No man gave to him. * He came to himself and said: + How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare. + I perish with hunger. + I will arise and go to my father. + I will say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee. + I am no more worthy to be called thy son. + Make me as one of thy hired servants. * He arose and came to his father. * When he was yet a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion. + It wasn’t judgment or condemnation. * He ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. * The son said, Father, I have sinned against heaven and in thy sight and am no more worthy to be called thy son. * The father said to his servants: + Bring forth the best robe and put it on him. + Put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet. + Bring hither the fatted calf, kill it, and let us eat and be merry. + For this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found. * They began to be merry.
Be Reconciled to God* Need to get right with God. + Inference that you ain’t right. + People don’t like to hear that. * Fellowship with God was broken in the Garden of Eden. * The only thing that reconciled man back to God was the blood of Jesus Christ. * Christ died for my sin. + God made a way for me to be right. * The day I got born again, the Holy Ghost of God imputed the righteousness of Christ to me. + I stand here today right with God. + The blood of Jesus Christ has taken my sin dead. + My sins have been cast into a sea of forgetfulness. * Believe in the name of Jesus Christ, the one who died for your sins and rose again. + In believing Him, you can be saved today. + You can be made right with God. * The young man woke up one day and decided he didn’t need his father. + He didn’t need his brothers. + He didn’t need father’s house. + He didn’t need the father’s help. + He made up his mind to require his inheritance. + He was tired of his father’s rules and ways. * The father has rules. + He won’t let me drink, do dope, listen to bad music, or watch pornography. + He loves me too much. + He knows what a detriment it is to my life. + He knows that when I go down that road, there ain’t nothing but pain and suffering and hard things to be born. * There’s more do’s in that book than there are don’ts. + If you’ll focus on the do’s, you won’t have time for the don’ts. * This young man was the child of the Father, so I’m not questioning his birthright. + Even when he was out there strung out on dope or alcohol or women, whatever else it was that was his particular vice that caused him to waste everything. + The devil took everything he had. + There he was without anything when the famine hit. * To be right with God: + Be in a place where I’m doing what God has called me to do. + If you ain’t doing what God called you to do, you’re wrong. + You’re living wrong. + You’re not right with God. + You won’t be right with God until you line up and do what God has told you to do. * Quit comparing ourselves to an earthly standard and get right with the Holy God today. + That will make a difference in you. + You want to see your life changed? + You want to see your life transformed? + You want to see your world took upside down for the better? + You want to see God do things that you didn’t think He could do? + You’re going to have to recognize where you’re at today. * You have never been right with God based upon any earthly thing. + To be right with God, you’ve got to be in line with what is heavenly, what is divine, what is sovereignly given to you and I. * If you want to live like the devil, and if you want to run and do everything the devil tells, yeah, you’re going to find what God says to be a crowd. + It’ll be a press against what your heart wants. + If you’ll get right with God, your desires will change. + Suddenly you’re going to want the things of the Father, not the world. * You can’t confess unto God what you ain’t willing to admit to yourself. + You can put on your mask, your church clothes, and your church face. + You can come into the house of God, shake the preacher’s hand, and tell him howdy, and everything’s all right. + There’s one in heaven that knows the truth in you. + He knows what’s behind the mask you’re wearing. + He knows what’s behind the heart you’ve got. + He wants to help you today. * God ain’t been nothing but good for me. + He’s delivered me hundreds of times over. + God ain’t never been nothing but wonderful in my life. + Everything that I gave up when I got saved, I didn’t need it. + I got something better in return. * There ain’t nobody in this room more honest than me when it comes to knowing who’s the problem. + Your worst enemy is the ones you brush his teeth every day. + You need to get him under control. + You need to get her under subjection. + You need to bring that flesh nature rather unto the hand of an almighty God and let him do something for you. + You can die to the flesh every day. + That’s what the Bible calls us to do. * You’ll fool me every time. + I know the Spirit. + I know when the spirit of God bears witness with it. + The spirit of God won’t bear witness with wrong. * If you ain’t got a hunger and a thirst and you’re born again sold for the Spirit of God’s movement and power in your life, then you need to get right with God. + You’re not right with God. * You can’t be in the hog pen and not stink. + The world has got a smell. + I don’t care what you try to wash it off with in this world, you’re going to need help getting stink off you. + You’re still in the hog pen. * You might be right with your friends. + You might be right with your warped brain. + You need to get that under control. + You need to get it washed and regenerated under the power of that holy book every day and pray and pray. * I’ve already identified the enemy and he is me. + My biggest problem and it ain’t you. + It ain’t this world. + It ain’t the devil. + It’s the sin nature that dwells in my flesh. + If you leave me five minutes to myself without the influence of the Holy Ghost, the Word of God and the people of God, I’ll fall. * Turning over a new leaf or making your flesh better, that ain’t going to work. + Until you get right with God, you’re still wrong today. * I cannot judge the content of your heart because there is one alone that knows what you think. + He knows what you’ve done, what you’ve thought, what you’ve said, and you will stand in judgment before him and he alone can judge accurately. * You shall know a tree by the fruit that it bears. + I can be a fruit inspector. + If your fruit is of the world today, you better check your salvation. + It may not be real. * When I say you ain’t right with God, I’m not saying it in a condescending way. + It’s a problem with all of us. + Every day, out of every week, out of every year, you will be working on that one thing. + How do I get right with God. * Every born-again believer in the house this morning since the day you got saved, how many of you had to repent since then? + Daily, all the time. + This flesh I live in is the sorriest most hideous worthless thing has ever been. + We all got this problem. + Every one of us have got a need for Christ and apart from Christ he ain’t right because of that. + We’re going to have to get to the truth and recognize that we’re wrong. + We’re wrong. + We’re not right. + We’re wrong. * When he ran out of money, God got involved. + When you run out of your will and your ability to satisfy your own lust and pleasure, God’s fixing to step in. + As long as your heart’s in it and you’re after this world and you can satisfy it, God’s going to let you do you. * You can get yourself in a spot spiritually where you try to excommunicate your heart from God. + It ain’t possible to get out of the hand of God as a born-again believer. + You can lose fellowship with the Holy One. + You can lose communion with the Holy Ghost. + The Word of God can get to you where it don’t mean anything anymore. + You can get butt slid on God just like that. * The Apostle Peter went from here to here in a matter of a minute. + Lord, if it’s you, bid me come to you. + Jesus said, come. + He jumped out of that boat and he started walking on that water. + Waves started hitting him and he’s still walking on the water. + The storm started all around him. + Suddenly he took his eyes off Jesus. + He started to sink like a rock. + His head went under. + His hand just still above the water as he was crying, save me, going under. + That big old hand he grabbed me and lifted him up out there. * Peter had a split second to get honest in his heart. + He had a split second to recognize that he’s going to die if he didn’t call on God. * The prodigal son had got himself in a place where he couldn’t fund his activities anymore. + He couldn’t even get a decent job. + Somebody hired him out and put him out there in the field with them pigs. + As a Jew, you couldn’t eat them. + They were unclean. * People strung out on dope will wake up tomorrow trying to figure out how I can steal enough to get enough cash to get in this shape one more time. * This old boy, at some point in that hog pen, had a moment of clarity. + That is a divine appointment. + When you have a moment of clarity, especially for the addict, when you have a moment when your mind is not 100% consumed by that drug, you better pay attention to what you’re hearing. + In that moment, it may be the words of life or death for you. * He came to himself. + He recognized that something was wrong with the way he was living compared to what he knew in his heart was still there. + I’m not right with God. * You’ll never confess to God what you haven’t admitted to yourself. + You ain’t going to repent to God something you ain’t admitted to yourself was wrong. + As long as you keep thinking it’s right, as long as you keep thinking there ain’t nothing to it, as long as you keep thinking God condones sin in any way which he never has and never will, you’re going to keep in a position where you cannot be right with God. * He wasn’t right in the hog pen. + He just came to truth in the hog pen. * As a born-again believer, you ain’t getting saved again. + He only does that business one time. * God had orchestrated a famine to bring him to a place where he is starving to death. + You mess with him, he’ll do that for you. + He loves you. + He don’t intend for you to stay in that mess in that hog pen. * Journey back to right. * He came to the knowledge of truth suddenly. + It all come flooding back into his mind. + He started remembering some things. + He started remembering his father’s house. + He started remembering his father’s servants. + He started remembering some of them folks that were loyal and faithful to his father and they had everything they needed. + Suddenly that truth just began to pour over his soul as he came to that point of decision. * If I decide to be saved right now, will that make me saved? + No more than it made him right. + You ain’t wrong against me. + You’re wrong against the Father. + You’ve got to make reconciliation with Him. * That awareness is not salvation. + There is a godly sorrow that worketh to repentance. + There is also a worldly sorrow that worketh unto death. + That worldly sorrow is saying, I’m sorry I got called. + I’m sorry that I did those things and the consequences I got in return. + That ain’t repentance. + You’re repenting to yourself. + Judas repented to himself and then went and hung himself. + He never was saved. + He never was a believer. + He was the son of perdition and he died lost without God and went to hell. * You got to be right with the Father. + In all of my years experience I have found him to be 100% faithful. + There has never been a bill that he didn’t help me get paid. * God is not the government. + He will not bail you out. + Be not the oh no man because the borrower is slave to the lender. * For somebody that’s just trying to make it, you got a need, he’s got an answer. * God called me to tithe when I didn’t make no money. + He didn’t wait until I got a few raises. + He didn’t wait until I got another vehicle. + He didn’t wait until I had a different house payment. + God called me to tithe when I couldn’t even hardly make the ends meet. + I was out there in the gravel and I was saying God was telling me you need to give your tithe. + I kept telling God I ain’t got enough to give if I give if I give even 1% I wouldn’t be able to pay this we wouldn’t have groceries we can’t pay the light bill I was making four dollars now God said nothing else he doesn’t said what he’s gonna say he said you’re gonna give this and he hushed and it was me trying to convince him he had made a mistake for the next 20 or 30 minutes I cried not prayed and I said God at this we’re gonna start I finally gave up and I said God I’m gonna give my tithe. + If we go hungry, sink or swim, I’m going to do what you told me to do. + If I don’t eat, if we don’t pay a bill. + From now on, you’re to give 10% of everything I bring home. + We can’t do that. + We don’t have it. + It ain’t there. + I’ll tell you when it is there. + When it comes in, it’s in full. + You give the 10 then, and we’ll figure out the 90 later. + We’ll starve. + Never missed a meal, never missed a pain, got a raise within a few weeks, covered what he told me to do. * You need to get right with your father. * He was thinking about bread. + A place to sleep that wasn’t under the stars. * If I can just get back to my father’s house, if I can just convince him to hire me. + Any person in my father’s house is hungry. * It’s going to start by you admitting you’re wrong. + You’re going to have to come to yourself at some point and say, you know what, Preacher, I can’t do this. + I’ve been trying to do it, but it ain’t working. + I ain’t got what you got. * He got born again. + He admitted to himself. + He recognized that he was the one that was wrong. + He got lost just like that. + He recognized at that moment that his errors were not necessarily against the people, but they were against the Father. * The only way I got to go back home I done messed this up so far that there ain’t no fix for it but he said I’m going home anyhow. * Through the death of Charlie Kirk, there was a bunch of people all over this world, especially in America, that said, you know what, I’m going back to church. * Hopefully somebody will open up that book tell you the truth about yourself and get you to the place where you can look up and say God it’s been me all along I’m wrong I’m wrong and I can’t fix it I need you to save me. * He got out of the pen with the hawks. + He didn’t run to the Motel 6 and get a shower. + He headed to the house. + He headed back home. * The whole time he was gone, the father was watching. + The father was waiting. * About the time that young man, he come crawling up that hill, wore out, starving to death. + Maybe emaciated. + When he come up over that hill, he was hoping somehow that his father wouldn’t condemn him for all he’d done and show mercy. + His father was a trot to him. + Had seen him top of that hill. + Here he come. + Father on the way. + He still didn’t know what was going to happen. + His father could have been running to condemn him, lock him up, put him in jail, have him put to death. + His father was running to him. * He said, Father, he said, I’ve sinned against you and I’ve sinned against him. + Oh, forgive me. * The father grabbed him. + Snatched him. + He started giving orders. + Somebody get him a new robe. + This and that. + Somebody get him some new clothes. + Kill the padded calf. + Where’s that other ring? + Somebody put some shoes on his naked feet. + My son that was lost is found again. * He got right with the father. + He just got right when he realized his role and he went home. + The journey wasn’t getting right. + The journey wasn’t where he got right. + He’s on his way. * You keep coming. + Maybe today’s that day. + You just admitted to yourself. + I’ve been the problem all along. + It’s me that has offended God. + It’s me that has transgressed against His holy will and word. * In compassion, the father ran and he threw his arms around him and he kissed him. + He was so glad that he’d come home. * You’re going to have to get right with God. + Not these people. + That will come afterwards, by the way. + If you’ve done wrong to anybody in here, you’ll go to them and say you’re sorry. + When you get right with God, it makes you want to be right with everybody else. * We know that we have passed from death unto life because we love the brethren. + You can’t help it you’re just going to love everybody. + You’ve been loved that way. * Time’s running out for you. + You can die in the pen. + You can die in the hog pen. + You better quit hanging around there. * If you’ve got a moment of clarity this morning and the Holy Ghost has brought to you that point of truth where you’re capable right now of making a simple choice, you better make that choice and head to the Father and get right with Him. + He’ll help you.
Eli Hatcher’s Funeral* Reflection on preaching at the funeral of Eli Hatcher, an eight-year-old boy. + The feeling of everyone expecting an answer to “why.” + Acknowledging the inability to explain certain things, like why young people die or why bad things happen to good people. + Sustaining belief anchored in the blood of Jesus. + Reliance on the grace of God and the Holy Spirit.
Scripture References* Mark 2:1 – Jesus in Capernaum, news spreading that he was in the house. * Mark 9:33 – Jesus in Capernaum asking what the disciples were arguing about in the house. * Mark 10:10 – Disciples asking Jesus about a matter in the house. * Mark 14:3 – Jesus in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper. * 2 Chronicles 5:14 – Priests unable to minister because the glory of the Lord filled the house of God.
The Glory of God in the House* Desire for God’s glory. * Moses’ experience on the mountain, wanting to see God’s glory. + God allowed Moses to see a portion of His glory. + Moses’ face glowed, making it difficult for others to look at him. * Comfort in God’s promise to meet where two or three are gathered. * The need for God’s glory to change lives and save people. * Solomon’s dedication to building an elaborate temple for God’s presence.
Solomon’s Preparation for God’s Glory Assembling + People came together, making an effort to be present. + COVID-19 pandemic and church closures. - Closing the church for five months was a mistake. - Trusting God in the midst of uncertainty. + Importance of physical presence in the church. - Online streaming is beneficial for those unable to attend. - Those who are part of the church should prioritize being there in person. + Experiencing God in person. - God is an “in-person kind of God.” - Nothing better than being in God’s house. + Looking forward to the Holy Ghost’s presence. + Talented singers and musicians in the congregation. + The importance of God’s presence over talent alone. + Need for more of God, not more of the world. + References to Jesus going into houses in the book of Mark. + Woman with the issue of blood. - When people gather and seek God, He will show up. + Encouragement to attend services despite scheduling difficulties. + Praying for those who listen online to be convicted and drawn to the church. + Nehemiah and Ezra gathering people in the street, resulting in God’s presence. + God showing up in the midst of a “ragtag” group. + Promise of God being in the midst when people gather. * Sacrificing/Repenting + King Solomon and the congregation sacrificed sheep and oxen. + The need for repentance before God’s glory can manifest. + Acknowledging and repenting of sins. + Living in sin alienates individuals from God’s presence. + Sacrifice of a broken heart and a contrite spirit. + Sacrificing sheep and oxen. - The number of sacrifices was so great it couldn’t be counted. + Sinful nature of people. - Need for help to maintain fellowship with God. + People choosing to live in sin and avoid the church. - Feeling singled out by God when the glory falls. + Encouragement to return to church and then get right with God. + The Holy Ghost doesn’t play favorites or mess around with sin. + Being present is not enough; sacrifice is necessary. + Compromise with sin drains the power of churches. + Turning and repenting is the only response to sin. + Desire to see people get right with God during worship. + Strategic surgery to remove things that hinder fellowship with God. * Placing the Promises of God in the Rightful Place + The priests brought in the Ark of the Covenant. - The Ark contained the tables of stone (Word of God). + After repentance, the promises of God should be honored. + The Word of God should be the highest priority. + The reason God calls men is so there could be no boasting. + Exalting the Word of God. + The Word of God is above all. - It trumps opinions and stands firm. + Making Jesus greater than anyone else. * Worship* + Trumpeters and singers making one sound to praise and thank the Lord. + Lifting up voices with instruments and praising the Lord. + The house was filled with a cloud. + Worship is vital. + Worship is praising the Lord and thanking Him. + Raising hands and expressing agreement during preaching. + Repentance leads to worship. + Using talents to make a joyful noise unto the Lord. + Worship is praising the Lord and thanking Him. + Worship is not limited to skilled singers. + Everyone has the privilege to worship. + Worship is a key component to seeing God’s glory fill the house. + The priests were pushed out by the cloud.
Conclusion* The need for God’s glory in the church. * Being present, getting right with God, and becoming holy. * Desire to see people get right with God, exalt Christ, and worship Him. * The glory of the Lord filling the house of God. * The glory got so big those that would stand to minister just got out of the way. * The need for a greater magnitude of glory. * Meeting the conditions for experiencing God’s glory. * God is worthy of praise.
Jezebel Spirit and the State of the Church* Brother Tillman reflects on reading about Jezebel in 2 Kings 9:33 while dove hunting.
+ The passage describes Jezebel’s death, where only her skull, feet, and palms remained after being thrown down and trampled.
+ Brother Tillman connects this to the idea that **Jezebel’s thoughts, deeds, and walk were evil**.
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Preachers and Sinful Living
- There is concern about preachers whose “deeds and faults and their walk is so evil” yet they still preach in churches.
- These preachers proclaim Jesus but live sinful lives.
- There is concern about preachers allowing others with sinful lifestyles to preach.
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The Presence of Satan in the Church
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If Satan isn’t fighting in a church, the church is “dead.”
- Satan fights hardest where there’s something of value he wants to destroy.
- The church needs to pray about the “Jezebels” within and ask God to reveal them.
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Changing Jezebels and the Power of God
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It’s impossible to change “Jezebels” without God’s help.
- Salvation and witnessing are only possible through God’s power.
- Reference to 2 Corinthians, discussing Paul’s perspective on earthly achievements versus actions for God.
- Paul believed that earthly achievements are meaningless compared to serving God.
- Being ridiculed for faith is an honor.
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Paul’s Transformation and New Life in Christ
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Paul’s life changed on the Damascus Road.
- 2 Corinthians 5:17: “Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things are passed away, and all things are become new.”
- If someone claims to be saved but continues living the same sinful life, they haven’t truly received Jesus.
- Salvation results in a changed life, leaving behind old habits and sins.
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The Deacon’s Loss and the Deceptive Nature of Satan
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A deacon called, weeping, because his 19-year-old grandson died in an accident.
- The grandson had expressed feeling lost and struggled to commit to Jesus.
- Brother Tillman emphasizes that good deeds alone won’t lead to salvation.
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Alcohol and Satan’s Pretty Lies
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Alcohol is “raging” in Grand County, leading to negative consequences like drunk driving and death.
- Satan presents alcohol as appealing, but hides the resulting pain and destruction.
- Satan paints a pretty lie, while Jesus offers the painful truth.
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Wicked Times and the Hope in Jesus Christ
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The world is in a “wicked, woke” state.
- Cites examples of violence and persecution against Christians.
- Man shot for standing up for Jesus Christ.
- Woman stabbed to death in Charlotte, North Carolina.
- The only hope is Jesus Christ, not worldly solutions like drugs or alcohol.
- The missing “puzzle piece” in life is Jesus Christ.
- Psalms 118: It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man.
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Rejection of “New” Preaching and Compromise
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A preacher criticized Brother Tillman’s “old” preaching style.
- The preacher claimed the Bible is outdated and that music leads people to the Lord.
- The preacher said people with addictions feel uncomfortable in church, so he meets them at bars to drink wine with them.
- Brother Tillman strongly disagrees, stating that God is not found in bars or at the bottom of a bottle.
- If people truly want Jesus, they will find Him in church and at the altar.
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Evil Deeds, Thoughts, and Walk
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Some preachers’ “deeds is evil, their thoughts is evil, and their walk is evil.”
- Brother Tillman expresses disgust at this behavior.
- Compares it to dogs eating their own vomit, referencing a biblical concept of returning to sin.
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The Cleansing Power of Christ and a New Life
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Relates washing pigs in FFA to Christians who return to their old sins after being cleansed.
- If someone keeps returning to the same sins, they haven’t truly received Jesus.
- Salvation means becoming a new creature, with old things passing away.
- This includes old thoughts, language, and lifestyle.
- Christians must “crucify ourselves” and “die daily” to sin.
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The Prodigal Son and the Value of a Changed Life
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Paul didn’t return to his old life after his conversion.
- The prodigal son wasted his inheritance and ended up in a desperate situation.
- He realized he had it better with his father and returned.
- Brother Tillman questions why Christians return to their old, sinful lifestyles.
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Personal Transformation and Changed Behavior
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Brother Tillman used to live a life of drinking, partying, and listening to “filthy music.”
- He thought it was “cool” but realized it led to heartbreak.
- After salvation, his vocabulary changed, and he abandoned cuss words.
- His thoughts and desires shifted to living for Jesus.
- His “walk” changed, signifying a new way of life.
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The Openness of Sin and the Rejection of Jesus Christ
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People openly express their sinful lifestyles without shame.
- They promote things like Buddhism, homosexuality, and abortion.
- They mock and ridicule Christians.
- Reference to a preacher, Cody Zorn, who encountered a woman on St. Patrick’s Day who said they were going to make hell a party.
- 1 Corinthians 1:18: “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.”
- Christians may be called fools, but those who receive Jesus will eventually embrace the same “foolish” life.
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The Inability to Change Jezebels Without God
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“You ain’t going to change them, church.”
- Without God’s love and power, efforts to change others are futile.
Witnessing and Righteous Living The Importance of Personal Holiness in Witnessing*
+ Before trying to reach others, one must remove sin from their own life.
+ Get the “Jezebel spirit” out of your life.
+ Be a role model and a “Bible” that others can read through your actions.
+ Brother Tillman’s father said that he was the only Bible some kids in his high school would ever read.
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The Atheist’s Observation and the Hypocrisy of Some Christians
- An atheist pointed out the hypocrisy of professing Christians whose lives didn’t reflect their faith.
- He cited examples of a “Christian” boy and an FCA advisor living ungodly lives.
- There are more wicked people in church than outside in the world.
- They are not being preached the truth.
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The Importance of Love and Truth in Preaching
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Preaching should be done out of love, not hatred.
- Brother Tillman is grateful for those who preached the Word of God to him when he was lost.
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Three Key Points: Mind, Deeds, and Walk
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Mind: If your mind longs for the world, Satan has control.
- This refers to lusting after worldly things, not just fleeting thoughts.
- Deeds: People are thinking bad thoughts and doing awful things.
- Walk: How you live your life.
- You can’t live for God some days and for Satan others.
- You must be “all in and all out.”
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Choosing Whom to Serve
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If you straddle the fence, Satan owns you.
- Choose this day whom you will serve.
- Where will you spend eternity?
- Where is your heart longing for?
- If your heart isn’t set on God, you have a problem.
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Stephen’s Martyrdom and Forgiveness
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Stephen, the first martyr, looked up to heaven and saw Jesus standing as he was being stoned.
- Brother Tillman believes Jesus was clapping for him.
- Stephen asked God not to hold the sin against his attackers.
- Are you the type to throw stones back when ridiculed?
- Lay down the stones and let God handle them.
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Saul’s Conversion and the Power of a Seed
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Saul (later Paul) was present at Stephen’s stoning.
- Stephen’s words planted a seed in Saul’s life, leading to his conversion.
- Jesus was “knocking on Saul’s heart.”
- Paul became a great author, preacher, and teacher.
- If Saul can change, anyone can.
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The Importance of Jesus in Helping Others
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Don’t give up on people, even those who seem too far gone.
- Reference to a man possessed by demons who couldn’t be tamed until he met Jesus.
- You can’t help anyone without Jesus in your life.
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Planting Seeds and Letting God Grow
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Like planting a garden, we can only plant the seed of the Gospel.
- It is up to Jesus Christ to grow it.
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Deeds and Actions
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What are you doing with your hands?
- Are you doing deeds for the devil?
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The Urgency of Sharing the Gospel
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If you see your neighbor’s house on fire, you wouldn’t just roll over and ignore it.
- You would rush to help them.
- Are you that type of person who is going out banging on their door saying hurry up your house is on fire you’re going to burn to death what kind of person are you tonight what kind of person are you are you going to let them know we all know somebody that’s lost tonight but are you that type of are you that mean are you that cruel knowing that somebody’s going to hell and you can sit there and pull your covers over your head and go sound asleep of a night knowing there’s somebody lost.
- Are you telling them about Jesus Christ?
- Brother Tillman doesn’t want the blood of the lost on his hands.
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The State of Preachers and the Importance of Prayer
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Some preachers are only interested in money.
- They will face judgment if they don’t get right with Jesus.
- The wickedness is so rampant that even dogs wouldn’t eat it.
- The only hope is to pray for them.
- Political leaders can’t change the world without God’s help.
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Speaking Out Against Sin and Judging Righteously
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We need to speak up against issues like abortion, homosexuality, and drug/alcohol abuse.
- Some churches are compromising with the world.
- Example of a church with the slogan “Beer, God, Fellowship.”
- The reason for the current state of the world is that Christians have quit praying and witnessing.
- We need to tell people they are wrong, but with love.
- “Judge not, lest ye be judged” is often misquoted.
- John 7:24: Judge righteously.
- We can judge righteously by the Bible.
- We are “fruit inspectors,” judging by the fruit people bear.
- Bananas don’t grow on apple trees.
- If you’re partying on Saturday night and singing in the choir on Sunday, something is wrong.
- Before participating in any church ministry, your life should be right with God.
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Judging Righteously and Addressing Sin
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If two people are arguing and one is committing adultery while the other is an alcoholic, you must address both sins.
- Before condemning others, examine your own life.
- Be righteous before telling someone they are living in sin.
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A Call to Men to Be Men of God
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Speaks to the men of the church, young and old.
- Young men are getting drunk and going to clubs, then acting like everything is okay in church.
- Some preachers are posting videos of themselves drinking alcohol.
- Men need to “gird up our loins” and confront those who are leading people astray.
- They are “bad shepherds” and “wolves in sheep’s clothing.”
- Bad things may be happening to get your attention and punish you for your sinful life.
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A Challenge to Live a Godly Life
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Instead of getting drunk, surround yourself with friends who lead you closer to the Lord.
- Go hunting with men who love the Lord and pray.
- A man of God denies the lust of his flesh and lays down worldly desires.
- A boy or child will try things “once or twice” and end up in trouble.
- Stop acting like a child and become a man.
- Surround yourself with people who love the Lord.
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The Longing of the Heart and the Example of Pharaoh
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Where is your heart longing to be?
- Think about Pharaoh, who repeatedly promised to let the people go “tomorrow” but never did.
- Don’t bank on tomorrow; it may never come.
- Pharaoh ran out of chances, and his firstborn son died.
- When your “dice is out,” God is done playing games.
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The Consequences of Rejecting God
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Case, a young man who had been saved but started to return to his old life, died in an ATV accident.
- God will get your attention one way or another, even if it means taking the life of someone you love.
- Don’t be prideful; lay down your pride.
- Everyone in hell is there because of pride.
- Everyone in heaven is there because they laid down pride.
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The Importance of Thoughts, Deeds, and Walk
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What are you listening to when you leave the church?
- Throw out worldly music and listen to gospel music.
- Don’t go to concerts where people worship the performer.
- Come out from among them and be separate.
- People are trying to be like the world instead of like Jesus.
- Be more like Him and less like us.
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The Desire to Be Close to God
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When shaking hands with someone, you should feel the Holy Ghost.
- Brother Tillman wants to be better than Paul or Moses, meaning he wants to be closer to God than they were.
- Decrease yourself so that God can increase in your life.
- He wants people to say that he loves God.
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The Uselessness of Earthly Achievements
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Earthly achievements are “crap” compared to what we do for Jesus.
- God doesn’t care about your possessions.
- The only thing He cares about is what you do for Him.
- Gold will be so useless in heaven that we will walk all over it.
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The Importance of Spiritual Discernment and Prayer
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It’s better to be quiet than to say something wrong, and sometimes it’s better to speak up.
- Ask God to take control of you and give you spiritual discernment.
- Many people are misled because they lack spiritual discernment.
- When is the last time you prayed for spiritual discernment?
- Don’t let your knees quit getting bent or your hands quit getting raised.
- Don’t let your tears dry up.
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The Power of God and the Love of Jesus
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When something as big as God gets into something as small as you, you have to move.
- Testify, shout, raise your hand, and pray.
- We only seem to cry over worldly things like dead dogs or lost loved ones.
- Read about the blood of Jesus Christ and all that He went through.
- Jesus came to earth, and His own people rejected and killed Him.
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The Story of Barabbas and the Sacrifice of Jesus
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Imagine Barabbas sitting in jail, wondering if he would die.
- Jesus took Barabbas’ place.
- Imagine standing in court, guilty, with Jesus Christ as your judge and your friends as your jury.
- Jesus stands up and says, “I’ve taken his place.”
- That’s how much love He has for you.
- When is the last time you truly thanked Him for what He has done for you?
- Lift your hands and say, “God, thank you.”
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A Plea for Prayer and Salvation
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These lost people are dying on their way to hell.
- Pray for the lost sinners in the world.
- Pray for Brother Tillman’s friend and family who are lost.
- Bring your family, spouse, siblings, friends, and children to God.
- Say, “God, I give them to you tonight.”
Dread and Hope* A personal reflection on mortality and faith. + Expresses a fear of losing his wife of 40 years. + Hopes to be taken first, acknowledging her strength. + Affirms conviction in God’s unchanging nature and goodness. + Finds specialization in God during times of heartbreak. + Believes God helps during times of tears, heartbreak, compassion, concern, worry, or fear.
Psalms 106:1* Focus on praising and thanking God for His goodness and enduring mercy. + “Praise ye the Lord. Oh, give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy endureth forever.” * A prayer for God to bless the word, songs, and testimonies shared. + Asks for guidance and for God to speak to hearts. + Requests that the message be food for souls, salve for wounds, and a fix for what is broken. + Prays for the lost to find repentance and recognize God as their Lord. + Trusts God to do what is needed in the hearts of those present.
God’s Unchanging Goodness* God’s goodness is a constant reminder in the Word. + Even when circumstances seem bad, God remains good. + God knows exactly what is needed. * Comfort in knowing God is faithful and unchanging. + God is good to sinners, saints, those who trust Him, and even those who don’t. + God’s goodness is irrespective of who you are. * Salvation through being born again is necessary to enter heaven. * God reigns on the just and the unjust. * Gratitude for being safe in God’s hand and within the shepherd’s view. + Even when wandering, God remains a good shepherd who saves, feeds, protects, and guides.
Remembering God’s Goodness* Times of uncertainty and not knowing what to do. + Finding God to still be good, regardless of circumstances. * The importance of remembering what God has done. * Reflection on being lost and the gratitude for no longer being in that state. + Regardless of past struggles, being able to thank God for the present state. * God’s goodness is not just a little, but “real good.” * A comment made in jest about the righteous being made fat, referencing scripture. * God’s constant presence and unchanging nature. + God will be there when no one else is. * Thankfulness for not being raised in a Buddhist home or worshipping statues. * Crying out to God for help in desperate times.
Praising God and His Mercy* Praising the Lord is a personal responsibility. + “Praise ye the Lord… Oh, give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy endureth forever.” * Gratitude that God’s mercy has no expiration date. * Acknowledging personal struggles and discouragement. + Battling the devil’s lies and finding reassurance in God’s Word. * Thanking God for His faithfulness in every step. + God’s goodness during times of financial hardship, uncertainty, sickness, and seeking salvation.
Good Family and Salvation* Gratitude for a good family. * Thankfulness for being raised in church. + Saved at a young age. * Testimony of Tracy, who believes God saved her from addiction. + Recognizing tendencies towards addiction in her family. + God did something she couldn’t do, organizing and creating something out of nothing. * God is the author and finisher of faith. + The first and the last, the beginning and the end, and good through it all. * Having a good extended family. + Rodney’s testimony of finding joy and a great big family after being brought back into the fold. + The support and love received from the church family during surgery.
Good Life and God’s Faithfulness* Gladness for a good family in God and love for the church. * God’s goodness in every circumstance. + Faithfulness through sorrow, repentance, and all situations. * Recommending God to others. * God lifting from a horrible pit and setting feet on solid rock. * Acknowledging troubles and God’s role in them. * Growth through struggles. + Like trees being stretched by the wind, hard things produce the greatest light.
Good Book (The Bible)* Thanking God for His Word. * An anecdote about forgetting the Bible and the importance of keeping the “sword” in hand. * The Bible can bring one to their knees and break their heart. + It also reveals God’s enduring mercy and grace. * God’s love even when living in sin or not following Him. * Encouragement to read the Bible. + The importance of investing in this “real good book.” * The Bible is life, bread, sustenance, a lamp, and a light. * Hiding God’s word in one’s heart to avoid sinning against Him. * Jesus came in the volume of the book. * If only one book could be kept, it would be the Bible. + It has rescued countless times. * The Bible speaks to the soul and lifts from dark places. * Psalms 119:9: “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to thy word.” * If unsure how to study, just start reading. + The Holy Ghost will bear witness. * Even if one gets nothing out of it one day, the next day, two words can be impactful. * The Bible is alive, powerful, quick, and sharper than any two-edged sword.
Sharing God’s Goodness with Others* Wanting to share the good God with those stuck in addiction and sin. * Gladness for Larry’s return and thanking God for it. * God is not just a little good, but “real good” right now. * God has done more than can be imagined. * Wondering how one can get stuck in a place where they don’t praise and worship God.
Good Spirit (The Holy Spirit)* Thanking God for His Spirit. * Considering the Holy Spirit a friend. * It is expedient that Jesus went away to send the comforter. * Needing comfort and the Holy Spirit’s help. * The Holy Ghost has been a constant companion for nearly 50 years. * Until the Holy Spirit comes, one is not happy. * Loving when the Holy Spirit shows up and moves among believers. * The Holy Spirit manifests in ways that bless everyone. * The Holy Spirit has done things that no one else knew about. * Sealed to the day of redemption by the Holy Ghost. * The Holy Spirit abides and lives within. * Having a good friend in the third part of the Godhead. * When crippled, a good crutch (the Holy Spirit) is handy. * The Holy Ghost has never failed. * It is a shame to quench or offend the Holy Spirit. + He is a person, not an “it.” * One can quench Him when He starts to move and work. * One can offend Him. * If the Spirit is beginning to move, grab hold of it and let Him have His way. * Praying for the Holy Spirit to pray for when one doesn’t know what to do. + The Holy Spirit makes intercession and utters groanings that cannot be uttered.
Good Shepherd* Having a real good shepherd. * Sheep are dumb and need shepherding. * Brad Hedrick’s story of the sheep stuck in the corner. + The Holy Spirit saying, “Turn around and look up.” * Without the Spirit, one would be lost. * Psalms 23: The Lord is my shepherd. * Goodness and mercy shall follow because of a good shepherd. * Everything from verse 1 to 6 says He’s real good. * The good shepherd leads beside still waters and makes one lie down in green pastures.
Good Future* Serving God even if there was no heaven. * Having found the way. * Abraham never made this world his home. + He was looking for a city whose builder and maker was God. + He was a sojourner and pilgrim. * A real good future is ahead. * Living in a time when everyone worked with is younger. * The future has nothing to do with this earth. + This place is simply a place to get ready for a better land. * A longing in the heart for that better land. * Witnessing grace and peace in Mary, who had received a terminal diagnosis. + She had a real good future because she wasn’t concerned about what was left here. * Perspective changes when realizing the future is not about what is gone through here. * By faith, one can see the better land afar. * Everything is about that place and the man in it. * Live for Him so others know there’s nothing like what’s coming. * Isaiah said, “The half has not yet been told.” * The Holy Spirit has revealed more. * Revelations of gates of pearl, streets of gold, and foundations of precious jewels. * A land where there’s no need for a sun, where God shall wipe away all tears, and there’s no more death, dying, sorrow, heartache, or sin. * There’s no reason to put tent stakes down too far because life is short. * This world doesn’t offer much hope.
Conclusion* Praise ye the Lord. Oh, give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good. * There are days when a real good God is needed. * Pour out everything to Him. * Everything put in His hands is in a good place. * God has always been real good. * Praising Him. * Multiple times in the Psalms, the same message is written. * Throughout the ages, there have been glimpses of God’s people figuring out that He’s real good. * A real good God deserves real good praise and worship all the time
Story of Cow Pile and Flies* Sitting on a tractor, waiting for Ronnie with hay. * Observed flies getting sustenance from a cow pile. + Led to reflection on God’s greatness and self insignificance. + God can do without us, but we cannot do without Him. * The tendency to think and act small, despite God’s greatness.
Mark 8:31-38* Jesus teaches about his suffering, rejection, death, and resurrection. * Peter rebukes Jesus, but Jesus rebukes Peter, calling him Satan. + Peter is focused on human perspectives, not God’s. * Following Jesus requires self-denial, taking up one’s cross. * Saving one’s life leads to losing it, but losing it for Jesus’ sake saves it. * The worthlessness of gaining the whole world but losing one’s soul. * What can a man give in exchange for his soul?
The Value of a Human Soul* The value of something is determined by what the buyer is willing to pay. + Example: A cow may be valued at $3,000 by the seller, but its true value is what someone will pay. * Examining the value of a human soul through Jesus’ words. * Two perspectives: + God’s valuation of a soul. + Personal valuation of a soul.
God’s Valuation of the Soul* Overwhelmed by the price God paid for the soul. * God values the human soul above everything else. * God created man from the dust and breathed life into him, making him a living soul. + Humans are unique from animals, as only humans have souls. + Animals have life but no eternal soul. * Belief that the soul has infinite value based on what God has paid. * Difficulty in explaining something spiritual/eternal with a finite mind.
Consequences of Sin* God warned Adam and Eve about the consequences of eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil: death. * 100% of people born into this world will die. * The flesh will die, but the soul will live on eternally. * God was willing to pay a price for the soul that no one else could pay. * After Adam and Eve sinned, they hid from God. + Like people today, who run from God when they sin. * God had to kill an animal to provide coverings for Adam and Eve. + Symbolic of the value of a soul.
Desensitization to the Value of Human Life* Disturbed by society’s desensitization to the value of human life. * The most innocent (unborn babies) should have the greatest protection. * Society’s inability to ponder the essence of life and its inception. * Something is wrong when people don’t value human life.
Cain and Abel* God accepted Abel’s offering but not Cain’s. * Cain slew Abel, the first murder in the Bible. * God knew what happened and confronted Cain. * Cain’s response: “Am I my brother’s keeper?” * God heard the voice of Abel’s blood crying out.
The Wickedness of the Heart* Terrible things happen because people are wicked. * Every imagination of the heart is continually evil. * Without the influence of the Holy Spirit, anyone is capable of terrible acts. * The sin nature remains in the flesh.
Old Testament Offerings* Throughout the Old Testament, offerings were given to cover sin. * Millions of animals were slain as blood was shed. * These offerings covered sin but did not remove it. * God removed sin with the blood of His only begotten Son.
The Tree of Life* After Adam and Eve sinned, God put them out of the garden to prevent them from eating from the tree of life and living forever. * Jesus Christ is the tree of life. * The solution (Jesus) was present before the problem (sin) occurred. * God highly values the soul, which will live forever.
The Birth of Jesus* Angels announced the birth of Jesus to shepherds. * The multitude of heavenly hosts praised God. * From the foundations of the world, God determined that Jesus would give His life as the sin-debt of man. * Jesus would become a man and give His life as the perfect, sinless Lamb of God.
The Ultimate Price* There is no greater value than Jesus Christ, His life, death, and resurrection. * God established the value of the soul by sending His Son to suffer. * Would not give one of his own sons, but God gave His only Son. * God demonstrated His love by sending Christ to die for sinners (Romans 5). * Everything is about Jesus Christ. * Without the cross, shed blood, and resurrected body of Jesus Christ, all are lost.
The Simplicity of the Gospel* The gospel is not about religion, theologies, or doctrines. * Only God can get you to heaven. * God established the value of the soul to be infinitely higher than anyone else. * Jesus Christ took on the flesh of man to become the sacrifice for human souls.
The Angels’ Understanding* The angels understood the value of a human soul. * They knew that the one in Mary’s womb was the eternal Son of God. * God gave His Son because human souls were worth more to Him than even His own Son.
Personal Testimony* Everything shared is proven fact, not conjecture. * Jesus Christ has already paid the price. * God gave everything when Jesus came into the world. * God saw the value of the soul to be greater than anything else, so He sent His Son. * Bought with a price.
God’s Proven Value* God has already proven what the soul is worth to Him by paying the price. * He established the ticket price 2,000 years ago. * Jesus was nailed to the cross, beaten, and bled out. * He cried out, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” * This was the greatest price that could have been paid for mankind. * God forever established the value of the human soul that day on Calvary’s hill when Jesus Christ died. * 2 Corinthians 5: Be ye reconciled to God, for He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. * Not debating, but declaring what He paid.
The Uniqueness of God’s Offering* Not trying to convince anyone that this is a better market. * Not only did He pay the price that nobody could pay, but there wasn’t even anybody else bidding. * The song: “You ask me why I’m happy? Well, I’ll just tell you why, because my sins are gone.” * Sometimes we sit here like knots on a log, knowing all along what He paid for us. * Saw the Jim Perry Jackson auctions on vacation. + The prices paid for the cars were amazing. + Father owns it all.
God’s Creation* When God surveyed all of His creation, He said that souls were worth more than all of it. * The only way this would work is for the Son to go. * Crazy Christians love Christmas and Easter because they tell about the price that was paid for the soul. * Jesus had to be born of flesh to die of flesh as an offering for sin. * It had to be God’s Son because the value of it had to satisfy God’s unquenchable requirement for justice over sin.
Personal Conversion* In 1976, as a nine-year-old, was saved in the back of the church. * The Holy Ghost opened up the heart and showed that he was a sinner and needed to be saved. * Without Christ, one is without God. * Without God, the human soul is in jeopardy of the claims of hell. * God made a way to escape that place. * It is not His will that any man should perish, but that all should come to repentance. * God wants to save you from that destiny you’re headed for and the pits of that torment. * You’re going to go there if you live without Christ. * You’ve got to be born again.
The Real Question: What’s It Worth to You?* The price of the human soul has been established because God paid it. * Therefore, we know the value of the human soul now. * It’s worth Christ because that’s what God paid for it. * The real question is not necessarily what God paid for the soul. * The real question comes down to: Will you think it’s worth it? * At nine years old, there was nothing in the way. * Every year you miss, every year you go on, it becomes harder and more difficult. * There used to be at some point a whole lot of stuff in your way to God. * At nine years old, there was nothing in the way. * Had a Hot Wheel that night. * Wasn’t hooked on dope, or alcohol, or pornography. * Just a kid. * The Holy Ghost worked on him enough to get him up. * Walked around there, slid in about the fifth pitch where his mother was, held on to that bench. * She looked down and said, “What’s the matter with you?” * Said, “I’m lost and I need to be saved.” * She just got out of the way and said, “I can’t lift it” and pointed to the Lord. * Got saved right about there. * It took five minutes. * That’s the difference between a child who ain’t got nothing in the way and a dog who took on a dog for the booze. * It took the same Christ to save me as it did anybody else. * It took just as much to save my soul as it did yours.
Gaining the World, Losing the Soul* What would it profit a man if he gained the entire world but lost his soul? * Comparing the greatest earthly value to what God paid for you. * What’s going to happen if you die without Christ? * Do you have a value of yourself? * Pile everything in this world that has any kind of value into one gigantic pile. * Let’s say you could have it all. * Let’s say you even had a guarantee of living some 75 years with it all. * What did that profit you the instant you breathed your last breath and your soul was in hell?
The Rich Man in Hell* The rich man died and in hell, he lifted up his eyes, being in torment. * He cried out to Abraham and prayed for some relief. * There’s no relief in hell. * That same rich man is still there. * He wished he was dead, but he can’t die. * He’s immortal. * His soul went somewhere. * There are two places your soul can go: heaven or hell. * Hell’s real. * Got saved that night because knew where was headed. * It wasn’t heaven. * That’s why got saved. * The rich man went to hell, crying, screaming, calling for Abraham. * He said, “Lazarus, just let him put a drop on my tongue.” * Abraham said, “There’s a great gulf fixed between you and me.” * The price was given, but you didn’t accept it. * You’re going to hell. * It won’t be because God didn’t try. * He paid the price to save you, but you’re going to have to accept it.
The Futility of Chasing Material Things* People chase after material things and do everything but God so they can get more of it. * You know what they’ll bury me with? * It won’t be no higher for me where I’m headed. * I’m going to be walking on the streets of gold. * Chasing material things is a waste of time. * If that’s getting in between you and God, what’s that going to profit you on the day you leave here? * What’s that going to profit you when you face God? * There was a day that when I weighed in the balances, like God was a kid. * Hope every young one gets saved. * They wouldn’t have had my way. * They’d very little of my way. * It didn’t take nothing. * Was out of there, and got saved that night because He came for me.
Losing Your Life to Save It* In the first verse, He said, “What would it profit a man if he gained the whole world?” * He lost his soul. * There ain’t nothing worth losing the soul. * What God thought was great about you paid the ultimate price that you have to make Christ his first. * Remember the verse read first? * He said, “Whosoever will lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it.” * Are you willing to lose it today? * All I’m asking is to weigh in the balance. * Everything you do, everything that you know is wrong, but you don’t want to get… * All I’m asking you to do is think about what’s going on. * The question that Jesus asked is what did that profit teach? * Because right here you are, and you don’t have me, and you’re in hell, and you can’t get out. Ever.
The Exchange for the Soul* What would a man give in exchange for his soul’s life? * What would you give in that moment to have one more chance, one more second on this earth, one more opportunity to say yes to Christ? * What would you give what God gave you? * What would you give up to get Christ? * Give it all. * Whoever will lose his life will save him. * If a sinner wants to keep it, they’re going to lose it. * In the end, nothing matters but Jesus. * I gave it all up for you. * As a matter of fact, you have to. * Whatever you think you’ve got, it ain’t worth nothing. * In light of eternity, where are you going to spend it? * That ain’t worth nothing. * I trade with God. * Wouldn’t risk not one more second. * Would come to Him.
Scripture Reading and Prayer* The thought for the message is the inheritance of a blessing. * Read 1 Peter 3:8-9. + Verse 8: “Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous.” + Verse 9: “Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.” * Prayer for guidance and blessings.
Unity in Worship* Emphasis on being of one mind. + The word “all” in the Bible means everyone. * Critique of division based on church names or personal beliefs. + Importance of coming together to worship God Almighty. + Worship should transcend church names and focus on Jesus Christ. * Call to self-examination for those who struggle to worship with others. + The Bible calls for unity. * Warning against attending church for superficial reasons. + Coming to worship God, not to be seen or to observe others. * The Holy Spirit descends when worship is directed towards God. + Need to stand for God in all aspects of life. * Critique of those who seek attention without substance. + Need to worship the King of Kings who saved souls.
The Call to Salvation* Salvation is a personal calling from God. + Not initiated by others. + Involved conviction and a realization of the consequences of sin. * Critique of superficial conversions. + True salvation involves a complete transformation. + Putting away old habits and being cleansed. * Personal testimony of transformation after salvation. + Old desires were replaced with blessings. + Urging those who are struggling with sin to seek genuine repentance. * God knows all, even hidden sins. + Cannot hide from God.
Inheriting Blessings* Questioning why some may not feel blessed. + Possible hidden sins hindering blessings. * Personal experience of immediate blessings after genuine repentance. + Blessings diminished when trying to hide something. * Call to search hearts for hidden sins. + Acknowledging personal need for daily self-examination. * God knows we will sin and fall short. + Jesus is our advocate. + God wants to bless his children. + Need to come to Him for cleansing.
Living a Godly Life* God loves us and wants to bless us. * Personal testimony of God’s continued blessings. + Not based on position or status. + Based on knowing who to turn to for guidance. * Desire to align actions and words with God’s will. * Gratitude for Jesus’ sacrifice. * God sees all and knows our hearts and minds. * Need to walk and talk in a way that pleases God.
Prayer and Humility* God’s ears are open to our prayers. * Urging those with burdens to come to the altar. + No shame in seeking prayer and forgiveness. * God is waiting to hear from us. * It is a blessing to be able to talk to God. * God listens to everyone, regardless of status. * Never hold a political office. * Assurance that God hears prayers of repentance. * Willingness to talk to God is all that is required.
Closing Remarks* Invitation to come to the altar for prayer. * Urging to receive God’s blessings. * Reflecting on the initial feelings of salvation. + Questioning if those blessings are still felt. * Call to search hearts and identify any hindrances to blessings. * God is merciful and wants us to return to Him. * Invitation to come back to God in repentance and prayer. * Questioning if attendees are receiving the blessings they received when they were saved.
Leviticus 1:9
Ephesians 5:2
If the offerings from the Old Testaments God could smell, could He not smell ours as well? He should smell the sweetness of Christ and not the elements of this world.
Coffee has a distinct smell. Some don’t like the smell of coffee while others don’t. Have you ever walked into a house that’s making cookies? What about the smell of bacon frying somewhere in a building?
Once you’ve smelled something you can’t un-smell it. One can’t walk into a room and say they refuse to smell the cookies baking. Everything that Jesus Christ has done, God honors Him and there is no sweeter fragrance to God.
Thinking of people that we know in our lives we sometimes think of the way they smelt. Maybe it was a perfume or a cologne they wore. When we smell it later it brings that person back to our memory. No matter where a Christian goes we ought to release the fragrance of Christ.
When we as Christian’s go into the world, our fragrance goes out to those that believe and do not believe in Christ. God still smells Christ in the Christian. Aren’t you glad God doesn’t measure our success on how many people were saved under us?
We do not have the power to permeate everything, everywhere. God is the only one that can do that. If you worked in a bakery 8 hours a day, when you went home your family could tell where you’ve been all day. You couldn’t help it because that smell just permeates your hair, clothes, and skin. Think about a person who walks by when you can tell what kind of detergent and softener one uses. Your nose is simply doing what it was made to do, smell. No matter where you go the people should know you’ve been in the presence of God and smell Christ on and in you. The lost person does not like the smell of Christ because it smells like death. The lost will hate you and hate to be around you if they smell Christ on you.
00:00 . . . . . . Heavens Highway 00:29 . . . . . . Do You Know How It Feels?04:11 . . . . . . Until The Day God Calls Me Home07:31 . . . . . . Won’t Have To Worry Anymore12:01 . . . . . . This Old House Of Mine16:58 . . . . . . My Name Is In That Record Book20:27 . . . . . . My Home Is Just Around The Bend23:59 . . . . . . Thank You Lord, For Your Blessings On Me27:35 . . . . . . I’ll Never Walk In The Valley Again32:22 . . . . . . I Can’t Make It Lord, Without You40:36 . . . . . . Help Is On The Way46:19 . . . . . . Come Morning50:16 . . . . . . I’m Ready To Go Home
We all have to work in order to eat, so we have jobs. Don’t let your job take over your Spiritual walk. When we attend a church service we should pay attention to the man delivering the message. There is usually something in the message for you that has been there for some time in our lives.
Time with God is more precious than gold. If you don’t have God then you don’t have anything. You could have all the gold in the world and still have nothing. Don’t ever let God go. We all have to work in order to eat, so we have jobs. Don’t let your job take over your Spiritual walk. When we attend a church service we should pay attention to the man delivering the message. There is usually something in the message for you that has been there for some time in our lives.
Time with God is more precious than gold. If you don’t have God then you don’t have anything. You could have all the gold in the world and still have nothing. Don’t ever let God go.
One will always be a slave. The question is, who is your master?
There are differences between the evil master and the God master.
Matthew 22:10
If you are saved then you’ve been purchased by God through Christ. You will no longer be the devil’s.
John 13
God is your master and He is also your Lord if you’ve been saved. There is nothing wrong with this and it makes one happy.
A saved individual is proud to be a servant, a slave to Jesus Christ.
1 Cor 23
God, our master, has things He has told us to do and things that He’s told us not to do.
Hindered and helped. God is always helping while the devil always hinders.
Give and take. The devil wants to destroy while God gives life.
Burdens are heavy or light. The devil’s burdens are heavy while God’s burdens are light.
Liar and truth. The devil doesn’t do anything but lie while God can’t lie.
Why do we look in other places for relief when Jesus is there waiting. Even if you’ve never experienced the grief or sorrow of life, you will soon be there at some point. Mark this scripture when your grief comes.
Have you ever been troubled to the point that you can’t sleep? We’ve often been there. God can hear when we cry and He understands our tears. He understands it all even though we don’t. He’s never left because He cares for us. No one is exempt from the troubles of this life. Just because you’ve been saved doesn’t mean that your troubles have been removed. What it does mean is that you have someone to help you through them when they come. The enemy of God wants to stop God’s love from flowing but God is stronger.
When you wake, Jesus should be the first thing you think of. God is always speaking but we should want Him to make us hear Him. It’s always about His love and kindness. For a scared sheep, the best thing it can hear is its loving shepherd.
Ask God to make you know the way you should walk, the path of where to walk, and what to do. God is a lamp to our feet, a light to our path. How often have you faced a problem and admitted you didn’t know what to do? We should be lifting our souls to God not because our flesh wants gratification but because our soul yearns for Him.
Ask God to hide you from the enemy so that you can grow and get closer to God. Ask God to show you, and teach you how to do His will. God has shown us His will but we usually are ignorant of how to do it.
Request from God the power to do His will. If it was all about you then you would already have the power to do His will. How many times has your soul been in trouble and God steps on the scene and restores it. The Spirit is life and when He comes He resurrects the dead.
The key to the formula above is faith. Faith unlocks God and when you pray, your simple requests are being heard and He will help you.
1 Cor 10:13
Jesus went a little further. Most people once they hit a brick wall give up. Don’t give up just because you can’t see the way. God will not fail you, keep going. Stop worrying about the finish line and focus on the current. There will be times when your friends, family, or loved ones will not be there for you, keep going and press a little further.
Jesus bowed a little lower. When the weight of this world begins to press you down, bow down lower to God. Sell out to God and bow a little lower.
Jesus prayed a little harder. There are several occasions that we read in the Bible when Jesus prayed. Luke 22:44; clearly tells us how hard He prayed. Daniel 6:10; Daniel knew if he continued to pray his life was in great danger, but that didn’t stop him from praying to God. In fact, he opened his window and prayed harder.
Have you set a limit on how far you’ll go for God? If so, He will test it.
James 1; there is a requirement for Christians to live holy before God and they do not have a license to sin. Sin will tear your walls down quicker than anything else in this world. The enemy wants to deceive the Christian. 1 John; 2 Cor 6:17; Romans 12:2; we should not love the world or the things in the world. Never compromise with the world. Once you allow it into your life one time then it will quickly grow and become comfortable with the enemy.
Nehemiah 2:17
One must identify what the problem is before it can be fixed. The problem is not the things around us but us. A Christian should not be ashamed of God. We should allow God to make changes in our lives.
Nehemiah 4:2
The trash must be removed. If it’s not of God, it’s trash and should be eliminated. There is no room for trash in a Christian’s life.
Nehemiah 4:6
The wall must be maintained. The mind will line up with God once the heart is right with God. There is an enemy that hates Christians and he will do anything he can to destroy them. You need to allow God to fortify your wall to protect you against the enemy.
Nehemiah 4:7-9
Defense. Once the enemy sees that the Christian is leaning more on God with their life in order with God, it’ll make the enemy angry. The resistance will be strong against Christians from the enemy. The enemy will attack. A Christian will and must defend God and the work they’ve done. Normal people defend themselves if someone is trying to take their belongings. Christians have everything they need to defend their spiritual home.
Nehemiah 6:15
One can’t stop, or give up. God can do anything if one comments on the work for Him. There is nothing wrong with working to keep God first and foremost.
Nehemiah 8:1
If it’s not important to the Christian then they will not do the work. Nehemiah saw and recognized the need for God. A lost person can’t see it at all. A Christian knows and should always strive to be with God. A Christian walk is dependent upon the spirit walls and gates of their lives. A Christian’s mind will not be clear until they are in line with God. Until then, they will always be looking over their shoulder just battling it out with the enemy.
Nehemiah 8:5-6
Your worship will be in one with God once the prior steps are taken.
Nehemiah 8:9
Repentance gets real.
Nehemiah 8:12
True joy and peace will return.
God doesn’t love like we do. We love based on whether we receive love. If someone wrongs us we don’t love them back. God loves regardless of whether He is loved or not.
God is always there and is always ready to bless. Our ungratefulness in our hearts keeps God from blessing us. There is no way for a person to write down all of the grateful things that God has done for them. Even if there was nothing else to thank God for just to know you’re saved is enough. God made a way to go to Heaven.
Jesus came to earth and walked a sinless life while He walked on this earth. He lived through all of the temptations of a human just like us. He lived with a target on His head just to make way for those who believed in Him would be saved. He suffered while in the hands of the soldiers, bled, and died on the cross for our sins. The ultimate sacrifice.
Do you feel the Holy Spirit of God?
Did you know that God does not need you? The world doesn’t need you. Once a person dies they will be forgotten shortly thereafter. God didn’t need us at the beginning of time and He doesn’t need us now. We are the debtor in this relationship with Him. He invited us to be a part of His family.
God knows what you can give and why you can give it. Why should we worship God? Stop making excuses on what you can or can’t do for God. I can’t sing, I can’t witness, I can’t pray, I can’t teach, etc. Stop comparing yourself to others and lying to yourself. The devil wants you to sit and do nothing for God. The little widow woman went to the temple. She could have simply sat at home and not gone that day. She was the poorest among the rest but she pushed the embarrassment aside and pushed her way through the crowd. Those surrounding her were made rich by people like her. Those people gave much into the offering yet God was not pleased with their offerings. However, this little lady gave all she had, 2 mites. Once the sound of those mites hit the plate Jesus knew that it was worth more than all of the others. God received her giving and refused the others simply because she gave by heart and not by boasting. You could give all you have to give and God refuse it if it’s not given with a heart of God.
One of the simplest giving is failing not to assemble yourselves, and attending your church. However, you can attend and not give to God and just show up to be seen by others. The easy part is thanking God for what He’s given to us.
00:02 – I Love to Tell Redemption Stories06:52 – Lord, You’ve Been Mighty Good to Me, What Can I Do For You?09:30 – God’s Great Reunion Day14:30 – I Don’t Know Any Better21:31 – A Few Steps From Home26:26 – Everything I Need30:28 – He Never Fails Me33:24 – The Same God39:09 – I Thank You42:57 – A Whisper Away
God is speaking now. He spoke then and He is speaking now and in the future. The Bible is full of God speaking and once it’s closed it doesn’t stop Him from speaking. Does He speak in your life? Is His voice clear or is it muffled by the sins of the world?
God’s ear can still hear. The reason one can’t hear His voice is because of the things of this world and sin are the earplugs. God is speaking to every person. We read that in the beginning, it was His voice that created everything. We also know that He spoke to Adam and Eve, and even though they sinned and ran to hide from God, He still wanted to speak to them. We may live in error yet God still speaks to us just as He did to Adam and Eve. God hasn’t changed since Genesis, He still wants to communicate with us all.
We need to take care of what we are building. Always watching what we are building. We can waste it or use it for God’s glory.
We only have a few days to do His work. When we think back on our past it might be many years but it feels like only yesterday. Our days are very short. Once the day is gone so is the opportunity to build.
Church is not the foundation, it’s the equipping of the saints. The world destroys but the church helps and should equip Christians.
Jesus Christ died for our sins and was resurrected. This is what we build upon.
Wood, hay, and stubble
These things might be good but will burn up and mean nothing in the end.
Good works don’t need to outweigh the bad.
Judgment is coming. Every deed, good or bad will be judged at death. We’ll give an account of the life we lived and if we lived it for Him or something else. Not everything we’ve done is gold, silver, and precious stones. God will hand out rewards, what will yours be? Will it be enough to hand back to Him in thanksgiving?
We are to have the love of God in our hearts and love one another as Christ loves us. It takes the Holy Spirit to love each other as Christ loves us. We need to love like God loves. Love the unlovely. Christ died for those who hated Him. Every person needs to hear the gospel.
80% of the world needs Jesus, they are lost. People need to hear the gospel, what are you doing?
What are you building with your life?
A shack, sinful, meaningless things that will burn up?
A castle, working for the Lord, witnessing to others, living our life for His namesake?
In this reading, David is requesting God to judge him. Are you as faithful as you say you are? Do you have the effort to seek after God? We should all be about the Father’s business. We should be obedient to God to just do as He asks us instead of questioning Him.
Sometimes, we think about what we do that causes other things to change. We can all go through the motions but if they are not about God then it’s all in vain. Some walk around and beat their chest to brag about the things they’ve done. Pride goes before a fall. What good does it do to sow to the flesh? Those who sow to the flesh will reap corruption. Everything we do should be all for the glory of God whether it’s in the church house or out in the world. God doesn’t care that you might have a nice house or a fancy car. It’s okay to have money but don’t put it before God. Everything we are, inside and out, is all because of Christ.
Do you attend church because you’re expected to? When was the last time you sold out to Christ? Want peace? Get ahold of God. We oftentimes turn to the world to take the pain away or look for peace. Which goal are you running toward?
Just because your life might come to a screeching halt doesn’t mean the world stops with you. You can’t be profitable for being a pew warmer. The life that you live is where you preach your own funeral. What you do in your life matters. Your flesh is never satisfied and must be kept in check with God. It desires more and more. Money, the flesh can never have enough of it. Money is not evil, the love or lust of it is the problem.
Where is your hope? Does your hope come from above, Jesus? If you want love, Jesus is a love that can’t be compared. His love never ends and never wavers. The world does offer some happiness, but it can’t compare to God’s happiness. The world’s happiness doesn’t last and is fleeting. God’s happiness never fails, never leaves, and is forevermore.
Isaiah 46:9
The Christian serves a living God.
Jude 25
He watches over us all the time. God hears our cries. He pulled us out of the pit of Hell. He placed us on a solid rock that will never break or bust. He sealed our souls til the day of redemption to never be lost again.
John 15:4; People can put on a good Christian show but it’s just a show and once the trials come they whither, die, and leave.
Galatians 2:20; If you’re saved you should be thanking God that gets you through your life.
Ephesians 4:30; salvation is sealed
John 10:20
He’s our shepherd.
Psalm 23:1-6; we must be steadfast and stick with God our shepherd.
John 10:14; God knows who you are.
Savior
Matthew 25:35; His promise.
Acts 1:11; He’s coming back.
1 Corinthians 15:51; a better day is coming where we will be changed into a glorified body.
He’s my friend
He’s a friend that sticks closer than a brother. He guides us through the hard times of life. He loves us throughout times of disparity.
Jeremiah 31:6
Isaiah 41:10
Romans 8:26
John 15:5
Verse 1
The crossing requires that the earthly tabernacle be resolved. One will die once God calls you out of here. You will either die naturally or at the end of time when God calls it to an end. Down here we live in a fleshly house. This house requires a lot of maintenance to keep it up. Yet at some point, the house will fall, and die. If you’re saved you’ll receive a new house not touched by man that will never require maintenance and will live forever in Heaven.
Verse 2
It is not wrong to look forward to death. You will not leave here until God is ready for you. We all have a day of crossing and not a person knows when that is. The flesh will try to live as long as it can but the internal soul longs to be with God.
Verse 3
If you’re saved then you are clothed in Christ, not naked.
Verse 4
Our flesh doesn’t want to die but the saved doesn’t worry or groan about it. Christians long to be at home with God and their Savior. Death is nothing but a door and there is nothing to fear about it. There is nothing about the grave that should be feared because we came from it and the flesh will return back to it. The soul will not be in that deep dark place but in Heaven with its maker. Our flesh is mortal and it must die but the soul if saved will be swallowed up by Jesus Christ.
Verse 5
Two things in this verse prove
God worked it out and there is nothing anyone can do anything about it. God promised that the grave would have no victory and death would have no sting. God will also keep it. The other point is the third part of the Godhead, the Holy Spirit. At salvation, He comes on the scene and sticks closer than a brother and will never leave. If you purchase a vehicle you’ll likely have a loan, that vehicle isn’t yours until it’s paid in full. Your salvation is a great debt that was paid in full and Christ will come to take what He purchased at some point.
Verse 6
Redemption has not yet occurred but it will. As long as you are alive you are just waiting. Don’t worry, God will not forget you.
Verse 7-8
Faith has everything to do with it. If you do not believe in what He has said then it will not help you.
Verse 9
We labor and work for God because He’s coming. Our lives should want to please God every day.
Verse 10
We all have a day that we will all stand before God. We the saved will be judged by Him. The lost will not be judged but cast into Hell. While the saved doesn’t worry about death we should worry about the judgement. Judgment will take place on what we the saved did whether it was good or bad things while we were in the flesh. Will He say, well done to you?
You’ve got gods in your life. Call on them. Will they respond?
We all chase after all kinds of worldly things. Those things have no power at all yet we just love to have them in our lives. Many people put their faith in the dollar yet that dollar isn’t worth anything and will do nothing at your death. Other countries actually make statues and idols. We usually don’t because we worship people and otherworldly things. The first three commandments ensure we don’t get wrapped up in the world.
Genesis 1; God said…..
From the beginning of time and before, God said. Nothing else has ever spoken, yet God spoke. God spoke to Adam. God spoke to Abraham. God spoke to Moses. God spoke to Noah. Over and over we read that God spoke to His people, some wouldn’t obey Him yet others would and God worked through them. God sent His son to be the ultimate sacrifice for everyone’s sins. God wasn’t quiet about His son. God spoke out to the shepherds. He spoke out in a booming voice when He declared He was well pleased in His son. God continues to speak to people today. He speaks out through His word, the Bible. It’s alive and powerful! God continues to call out men to preach His word through the foolishness of preaching.
You must know this God. He is the only one that can save you. He is the only one that can judge you. He is the only one that can destroy both flesh and soul. He is the only one that can cast one into Hell. You must know Him. He must be your salvation if you want to live. No other god can save you.
Christian people at times don’t like to be uncomfortable by God so they don’t repent. We would be a lot better off if we would just ask God to clean our hearts and remove the sin that we’ve allowed to enter. We should all want to go back to when we first got saved and cleaned. There are no big or little sins. We have Christians who will stand up and thank God yet are full of sin and refuse to ask for forgiveness. It’s no one else’s business what sin or sins you have and need to get worked out. As long as you remain here on earth you will be in the flesh and that flesh is sinful.
Do you want to see things happen in the church yet you don’t want to clean up the sin. Why would you want God to bless you over your sin?
At the time of your death, you will answer for the things that you should’ve done and the things that you did. You will say amen to the truth. If you are not clean and refuse to be cleaned people are watching you, you’re leading them. You will answer to God for those people that you led to Hell.
Once saved, you’re given the armor to protect us from the evil one. Just as a child, we must help them to get dressed. God does the same for us at times, He helps us get ready for the battle. Romans 13:14, Galatians 3:27You received everything you ever needed to stand for Christ, He gives them.Christ – Protection – TruthClothed upon truth.Breastplate – RighteousnessIt protects the vital organs, the heart, lungs, etc. Our body parts do what they do because they were divinely orchestrated. We don’t even know how they work. 2 Corinthians 5:21, The devil can’t get to your soul because he can’t get through the righteousness.Feet – Gospel of PeaceIf the feet are not prepared for the battle then they can’t fight. The feet once protected can go anywhere. The world is full of rock, gravel, thorns, and thistles. Be prepared by the Gospel. As long as your feet are uncovered you will not be ready for the battle.Shield – FaithThe devil has many that do his evil work. A shield is something you must typically hold. The shield is movable and can be placed anywhere. Many days our faith waivers. It’s sometimes up and at other times down. Nothing can get through the shield of faith.Helmet – SalvationA helmet is something that if not worn can’t help you. It’s like wearing a seatbelt. The purpose of the helmet is to keep the devil out of your mind. The helmet was given at the time of your salvation. Salvation protects your mind, Psalm 28:7; 27:1. If your mind is clear then you’re able to function correctly. Have you ever had a night that you laid down and couldn’t get your mind to shut off because of worry? Call out to God to help get the helmet on.Sword – SpiritIf you’ve been saved then you’re given the Spirit. The Spirit is the sword. You’re using the Spirit’s sword. This Spirit is the Word of God, the Bible. There is nothing that can stand against the Word of God.Once armored up the only thing that’s not covered is your back. The enemy is NOT other people, it’s spiritual evils. The armor itself is NOT physical but spiritual. The spiritual armor is to help protect us from the spiritual evils of the devil.
We at times get into a rut of just going through the motions. We’d rather fill our lives full of the worldly things that it offers than be with God. At the time of our death, we will say amen to our own sins. You may attend church each time a service is made and never make a move to Christ. Your church attendance will not amount to anything at the time of your death if you’re not saved or never moved for Christ. Church membership and religion will never save a person. You must be born again.Philippians 2:12, you must know that you know that you’ve been saved. Work out your own salvation with God. Ask Him if you’ve been saved. You can fool anyone and you can also fool yourself. Matthew 7:13-14, Proverbs 14:12, church membership seems right but if that’s all you’ve got, you’ll get nowhere. Just because you’ve cried doesn’t mean you’ve been changed. Are you who you said you are? If there is nothing inside of you telling you that you’ve done something wrong, then you’ll need to question your salvation. There is no purgatory, no one will be able to pray you out of Hell after your death. There are only two places, Heaven and Hell. You are either saved or lost. If you’re saved, then Heaven will be your life for eternity at your death. However, if you’re lost then at your death you will live in Hell for eternity. At your death, nothing will matter or make a difference in your eternity. Your family, pride, riches, or life will not affect your eternity after death.
The world is hungry for truth. People might know the holidays of Christmas and Easter but not see the background and reasoning behind them. All kinds of people will come out to say they’ve been told certain things from God and what we need to figure out is if God didn’t say it, then it’s not true. God’s word doesn’t change. The truth will always be the truth. The battle today is not political, it’s a battle between good and evil. They are lost in both parties and saved. Yet, the struggle is against good and bad.
Isaiah 56:10-12
Paul made clear that there were dogs amongst them that would cause a Christian to stumble. We must beware of the dogs, the evil workers. We may not have them amongst the church itself but they are out there in the world trying their best to lead one astray. Some leaders in churches teach that all one must do is repeat a prayer to get into Heaven. These people want you to follow what they want you to do. The enemy wants to take down as many as it can.
Isaiah was the first to refer to them as dogs. Ever had a dog or know of one that never barked? Beware of the person who doesn’t warn another of the danger of sin. Are you barking, warning your loved ones of the impending danger of Hell? Beware of the preacher that will not preach on sin. Jesus warned and warned His children to wake up from their slumber.
People in Noah’s time went around telling others that Noah was a crazy man. Scoffers have gone around for years making fun of Jesus’ return. When Jesus was on the cross they scoffed Him about His return and who He was. Beware, better safe than sorry, Jesus is coming back. Your time has an ending. You better be ready to meet Him.
Your life is on record. If they looked at your life and said that all the Christians must die, would they come for you? Does your life live for Christ to the point that others can see it and know beyond a doubt that you are one? Would they come knocking on your door?
00:00 – Powers Family
00:19 – Do You Know How It Feels?
04:27 – There’s a Record Book
08:04 – Safe Thus Far
13:55 – Look for Me at Jesus’ Feet
22:36 – I Love Jesus
26:20 – He’s Still On Time
32:46 – You Don’t Have Burdens To Carry No More
37:36 – Welcome Home
46:03 – I Pressed Through the Crowd
We have but only one high priest. We do not have a man that we go to to get to our high priest. Some religions require a man to be a mediator to go to God for their congregant’s sins. This action is sinful because a man can’t mediate or clean another of their sins. Jesus Christ is everyone’s mediator and can’t be ruled by the rules of this world. When Christ died He removed the veil that separated man from God. He had the power to lay His life down but He also was able to raise His life back.
Jesus; a name above every name. If you pray in His name, it would be so. A name that should be used in great revelation. A name that should never be used in vain. Everyone person knows the name of Jesus. Every sinner knows the name of Jesus. Every demon knows the name of Jesus.
The son of God. Not only did God name His son, He sent His son for the greatest sacrifice ever given. A payment for the sins of those who would believe in His son.
Jesus, not just a man. He was anointed and appointed. At the sound of His voice things obey. The storms stop, the blind can see, the lame walk, the diseased are cleansed, the sins are washed and forgotten, etc.
If you’ve been born again, Jesus is your high priest. He understands your infirmities. He understands when you have cancer, doesn’t have answers, are mourning, depressed, etc.
He’s without sin. He experienced all of the threats and temptations of the devil yet He remained sinless. He bore the sins of all, yet He remained sinless. An ultimate sacrifice that remained sinless, perfect in the eyes of God. He took His blood to His Father and offered it as the sinless offering of our sin. Luke 4:16
Church attendance will never account for righteousness. We look at all of the sins and think we don’t do them which would then make us more righteous. None of us have anything apart from God. If you’ve been saved, God didn’t save your flesh. Your flesh is and will always be sinful.
God knows your heart and your thoughts. Maybe you looked at someone and judged them and thought you were better than that person. We have no right to compare our lives with others to think we are better than others. Faith and believing are what please God, not righteousness.
Comparing your life with another is the wrong comparison. Sin is sin regardless of where you are. There are no big or little sins.
Those that owe more, a sinner, a lost person, owe a lot, their life. But this morning we will speak to those who are saved, those who owe “less” than the lost. The unbelief is what will keep one out of Heaven, not sin. One sin versus 500 sins means nothing. When one gets saved they have nothing to give, they are in a debt that nothing material could ever pay. Jesus paid it all to the fullest. Those who are saved never deserve it. The minute you think you’re better than another because you think God loves you more and has blessed you over another, you’ve been badly mistaken.
The sins that are in a person’s life can’t be paid for by ourselves. We have nothing to pay for them. We all have a debt that we all owe God and we have no money or nothing that will spend. There is a day coming when you will die. It makes no difference how much money you have, you will not take it with you. What you have right now means nothing when you die.
Are you inconsistent? Why don’t you get involved? Why don’t you come to Sunday School? Why don’t you come on Sunday night? Why don’t you give to your church? Why don’t you give to your pastor?
God pays all the bills in our life. He pays for the light in the day? He pays for the nightlight during the night. He pays for our water and other utilities.
Humble Impression
Our pride gets our way. Jeremiah 9:23-24; worship, singing, Psalm 38:5; why not sing in your private time? God knows when you’re going through the motions. God doesn’t like a fake. Isaiah 1:10-18; if your heart is not right with God then He will not hear from you. Zechariah 7:3-7; are you doing life for yourself or for God? Are you just going through the motions? Isaiah 48:17-18; God wants us to worship Him because it’s the best thing for us.
Healthy Impression
God wants your obedience not because He is a control freak. God has feelings, don’t hurt them. Your spouse knows when you’re not into them anymore. Malachi 1:8-11, 13; 2:17; we get weary with God yet He also gets weary with us. We get tired of Him and we don’t appreciate Him. When was the last time you read your bible and got something good out of it? He doesn’t float our boat. When was the last time you approached God with the WOW? Isaiah 43:24-26; when was the last time you gave your wife some flowers or chocolates? When was the last time you gave God some “flowers or chocolates”? When was the last time you gave something sweet to God? Mary didn’t intend to take any of her oil back because she broke the container it was in. God didn’t ask her to do this, she did it because she loved Him.
Helpful Impression
Do you enjoy God? Psalm 16:8, 11; we’ve made Him legalistic and religious. We have our own religiosity. God must be your banana split, your vacation home, etc. If you really love God then you’ll enjoy Him. Loving God with all of your heart, mind, soul, and strength will straighten out your life. Try doing this the next time you want to do something without God.
Habitual Impression
We like to brag about our life. We brag about the fish we caught. We brag about our grand-kids. When was the last time you bragged about God? For those that are saved, God wrote your name down at the beginning of time. How He knew you before your mother knew your name is beyond comprehension. God is all-knowing. A lost person’s best day can’t compare to a saved person’s worst day. A lost person’s worst day can’t compare to their life in Hell.
The world looks at Christians as fools. Christians should run towards the storms of the devil not away from them. If you had to choose between death or admitting to being a Christian which would you choose? If someone held a gun to your head and said denounce God or die, what would you do? Where do you stand with God?
All the people in Hell are there because of pride. Their pride kept them from being saved.
The ones that don’t attend church on a Sunday night or Wednesday service are the ones that don’t love God like the ones that are there. If those that don’t attend knew what Jesus did for them they wouldn’t even think about skipping out on Him. Those who skip out on Jesus can say they love Him but in their heart, their love for Him isn’t there.
We each have a part to do when it comes to our spiritual lives. Our pastor can pray for us every second of the day but it’s up to each individual person to change. In the Old Testament, before Christ was born, the people depended on the priest to cleanse the sins of the people. After Christ was born and died the separation between God and man was removed. We no longer depend on a person to speak to God on our behalf.
We are all vessels that contain either good or bad things. If we walk around with our vessels filled with trash, the trash keeps us from being close to God. One can go to their pastor and speak to them about their trash but the pastor can’t do anything about your trash. They can certainly pray for you but it’s up to you to speak to God about your trash. Repentance to God is what it takes to clean up the trash in our vessel.
If you’re a Christian and walk around with your head dropped and only talk about doom and gloom, don’t expect anyone to want what you have. Why would they want to be depressed? If you can’t smile in God’s house then you certainly ain’t doing it out in the world.
There is no shame in having lice. The shame is not getting rid of them. Being in sin is part of being a human. Knowing you’re sinning and doing nothing about it is the problem.
Solomon knew that the houses could be built and the people could inhabit them but he also knew that without God it would all be a waste. Christians can do the work but without God, we can do nothing but waste time.
Look around at the situation of the world. Evil is all around and it’s right in everyone’s faces. It’s getting worse and worse with each passing day. This doesn’t mean that we as Christians should just lay down and give up. We should rather get on our knees and faces and plea to God for His help.
James 4:6-10
If you humble yourself then there will be grace for you. He’ll give you a heart to cleanse your hands and heart if you seek Him.
2 Timothy 2:25-26
The humility will bring meekness. It’s God that brings a person to repentance. God still wants to give repentance to our people.
Lamentations 3:22-23
Strictly by the mercy of God are we still here today. God had every right to allow the evil to overtake us all. If God wasn’t willing to help us then He wouldn’t have put up with the ungodly actions of the Christian. The lost person has no blame, but the Christian is to be blamed. When was the last time you stayed in your prayer closet until you received an answer?
Romans 13:11-12; 14
It’s time, it’s time. It’s past time. We have very little time left.
1 John 1:9
Some of the Christians are not going deep enough to get it dealt with. Our problem is not the world but ourselves. Until we get ourselves out of the way then when something happens it’s all about what we did.
Fasting & Prayer
Nehemiah 1:4
Does it bother you to tears of the condition of our country? Family, neighbor, church, country, etc. If you can’t weep over the lost condition of their souls, you should deal with the condition of your hardened soul. Without a vision, the people will perish.
Daniel 9:2-5
Matthew 6:16
Esther 4:14-16
Stand and take it for Christ.
pray4tn.us
https://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/113/Bill/HJR0803.pdf
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 803
By Fritts
A RESOLUTION to seek God’s hand of mercy healing on Tennessee.
WHEREAS, our State and Nation suffer from violence committed upon our citizens by our citizens; and
WHEREAS, our State and Nation suffer from violence committed upon our citizens by non-citizens; and
WHEREAS, acts of violent crime in our schools are unacceptable; and
WHEREAS, human trafficking is an unacceptable and violent evil in our State, enslaving lives and violating the core values of our Creator-endowed rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; and
WHEREAS, drug addiction overwhelms our families, our government finances, our workforce productivity, as well as our healthcare and our law enforcement resources; and
WHEREAS, deadly fentanyl flows uncontrollably across our southern U.S. border resulting in the deaths of Tennesseans; and
WHEREAS, Driving Under the Influence, drunk driving, results in great pain and injury for Tennessee families; and
WHEREAS, we have approximately 9,000 children in need of foster care, indicating a brokenness in many Tennessee homes; and
WHEREAS, evidence of corruption in our federal government stands to impact every Tennessean; and
WHEREAS, our National and State Founders trusted in the omnipotent hand of Providence to guide and bless our land; and
WHEREAS, over decades, these leaders called our people to seek out the Creator’s favor by issuing proclamations like the one from John Adams on April 15, 1799:
[This day] be observed throughout the United States of America as a day of solemn humiliation, fasting, and prayer; that the citizens on that day abstain, as far as may be, from their secular occupation, and devote the time to the sacred duties of religion, in public and in private; that they call to mind our numerous offenses against the most high God, confess them before Him with the sincerest penitence, implore his pardoning mercy, through the Great Mediator and Redeemer, for our past transgressions, and that through the grace of His Holy Spirit, we may be disposed and enabled to yield a more suitable obedience to his righteous requisitions in time to come; that He would interpose to arrest the progress of that impiety and licentiousness in principle and practice so offensive to Himself and so ruinous to mankind; that He would make us deeply sensible that “righteousness exalteth a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.” [Proverbs 14:34]; and
WHEREAS, we hold that our Founders correctly acknowledged Truth in their words; and
WHEREAS, we hold that “Except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.” (Psalm 127:1); now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE, THE SENATE CONCURRING, that the period of July 1, 2024, through July 31, 2024, be recognized as a time of prayer and fasting in Tennessee.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that we recognize that God, as Creator and King of all Glory, has both the authority to judge and to bless nations or states.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that we, as public servants in the Tennessee General Assembly, seek God’s Mercy upon our land and beseech Him to not withdraw His Hand of blessing from us.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that we recognize our sins and shortcomings before Him and humbly ask His Forgiveness.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that we ask the Lord Jesus to heal our land and remove the violence, human-trafficking, addiction, and corruption.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that we ask that the Holy Spirit fill our halls of government, our classrooms, our places of business, our churches, and our homes with peace, love, and joy.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that we call upon all those who are physically able and spiritually inclined to do so to join in a thirty-day season of prayer and intermittent fasting as we begin a new fiscal year as a means of seeking God’s blessing and humbling ourselves to receive His Grace and Mercy, transforming ourselves, our communities, our State, and our Nation.
Once you’ve been saved, you gain so many good things. These things can’t be numbered. Once you think you’ve got something good, it just gets better.
On the other side, once saved you lose many things. Hell no longer has a hold on you.
The relationship you didn’t have and couldn’t earn is given to you at the time of salvation. The door and bridge to everlasting life is Jesus Christ. A lot of people don’t want to acknowledge that most of their problems are brought on because of not being Christ’s. A lost person tries to look for peace in the worldly things of life but it’s like trying to hold sand in your hands.
On the Titanic, they valued everything including the people. At the time of boarding, men dressed as women just to get on it because they wanted to be on this highly sought-after ship. In the end, what did it gain them?
Lies are what’s destroying the church today. People lie and say they love God yet there is no proof. Love your neighbor as yourself. People can’t even do this simplest of the commandments. You can lie to anyone and everyone but God. He knows the truth no matter how hard you try to hide it.
The world has a saying, you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours. This isn’t biblical and just shows the selfishness and evil of the world.
Acts 5; A lie that was told about selling property. Why did he lie? Self-edification.
How many times have you prayed and done what you wanted? God never answered you yet you did something anyway. If He didn’t answer you then the answer is No. You take it upon yourself because of selfishness.
In the Bible, we read that there is a time for everything under the sun.
Your challenge is, where are you with the Lord? For every person who’s been lost and then saved, God came to them while in their sin and invited them to be cleaned.
One problem with the church (Christian) is that they slip. They allow the things of this world to come into their lives and they slip and forget about God. Not one person can’t go through a single day without the evil of this world affecting them somehow. One might think they are as close as they can be to Jesus Christ. This isn’t true because there isn’t a single person who couldn’t get closer than they are. Once you get saved then it’s like you’re walking on cloud nine. But just as soon as you stand up, the evil starts its job of trying to pull you away from God. Many people work and work hard doing things they think are for God. Yet, if they are doing it for themselves or just to be doing it they’ve tricked themselves and God will not honor it, no matter how hard they’ve worked.
God is so good. He’s blessed us with a roof, a dry place to sleep, gentle protection, abundant food, etc. God made a promise that He would always provide. We have never earned what God has done for us. Some don’t have a roof or food and most of the time it’s because they’ve left God and they made a choice to continue in that path. The prodigal son left his father, the person who gave him everything and went out to live his own life. Soon enough he remembered what he left and went back to his father. Stop telling yourself that the world has something to offer better than your Father has for you.
When was the last time you experienced God in a big way? Have you forgotten God? Did you leave Him in your prayer closet? If you’ve forgotten what He’s done for you then how can your neighbor see them?
Hebrews 12:5; Have you forgotten His instruction?
When you do something wrong against God and He chastises you, why do you pout about it? If He didn’t chastise you then it means He doesn’t love you or you’re not one of His. If you don’t believe in spanking your children then you need to read your bible more. God is constantly trying to remind you to stay on the straight and narrow path. Jude 1; there is a right way to go!
Have you fallen from your first love? One can’t fall from salvation, but one can backslide. A couple in love that used to sit next to each other in the truck traveling down the road got married. They continued to sit this way for some time until one day the woman asked the man why they moved apart and if they still loved each other. The man looked at his wife and told her, he wasn’t the one that moved. In your Christian life, God hasn’t moved, He’s still the driver. He’s never moved but we slipped and slid all over the place through our life. What did you choose yesterday in your life? Was your heart next to Jesus? Did you walk into church with a smile just to trick your neighbors?
Have you forgotten you’ve been saved, purged of your sins?
Ephesians 2:11-13
Some of us got what we got and little dap will do you. Are you looking? Do you even care? Have you forgotten what He brought you from? Take your spiritual temperature. Are you hot or cold?
Revelation 1:17-18
Being rich in this world is a relative term. Having a dollar here is considered rich in a third-world country. If you think for one minute that anything in this world makes you rich according to God then you’re badly mistaken.
If you’re chasing the things of this world then you’re after something that God doesn’t approve of. He doesn’t take second place to anyone or anything. God isn’t interested in the things of this world and what you may have. Bank accounts, a large house, multiple cars, a nice car, or other earthly possessions. God doesn’t care about those things.
What worth is the love of God? What worth is your soul and its being saved from Hell?
God knows what you need and what your problems are before you come to Him. If you had cancer and a man stood in front of you with the cure, would you take it or want it? Of course, you would want that cure for that disease. Jesus stands before you and offers the escape from going to Hell, why won’t you want that?
Just because a person has something in this world doesn’t mean that God has blessed them. We live in a wicked world and it’s full of it. Riches are keeping people from looking towards God. A child has nothing to their name and likely hasn’t done many bad things or the experiences of the world. They are more likely to be saved and trust in Jesus than an adult because they don’t battle with the world like an adult.
The things of this world will only bring happiness for just a little while. That nice new care will get old quick. That large-screen TV will soon be smaller than the one you had. That $100 you have is nice at first but you’ll need another $100 soon enough. All of these things bring happiness at first but become old and boring in the end.
Do you think your wealth impresses God? He used the things that we consider priceless as standard building materials. Streets are so pure of gold that they look like glass, gates of solid pearl, etc. God owns all of these things and if you trust in them over Him then you’ll miss Heaven altogether. Put your trust in the creator and not the creation.
Can rich people be saved?
Zacchaeus was a tax collector and gave his money away after seeking Jesus.
Joseph of Arimathea gave his tomb for Jesus to lay. Only used one time and not for the owner.
Nicodemus put his money where his heart was.
A small lad had a few fish and some bread for his lunch. Jesus wanted his lunch. Are you willing to give everything you have to Jesus?
The world wants everyone to think that all roads lead to God. Some think that any godly thing they do leads to God. None of this is true. There is only one way to God and that’s through Jesus Christ. God will not accept a counterfeit. You might be able to fool the preacher but you’ll never fool God. Either you’ve been bought by the blood or you’re a thief and a robber. A world full of people is going the wrong way and traveling the wide path.
One must make up their mind on which road they want to travel. There are only 2 paths, the right one and the wrong one.
Hebrews 11:7;
- Noah
He could see the promises afar off. He was getting some information from God that the people would perish unless they got on the boat. God will come to each person and you’ll have a choice to make. Either you’ll listen and believe or you’ll turn Him away. - Abraham
God told him some things and he had already decided that he was going to follow God. He didn’t question God but simply followed Him. Which road are you on? Have you been living the foul way? God wants to put you on the right road and set you free. - Moses
God told Moses to do some things too. What he was told was a difficult task and took a long time to complete but he followed God. God told him the reward of his journey. They all had to sell out to God to accept this reward. What promise are you looking for?
How strong is your faith? These men had a strong faith as if what was actually happening to them was what God had told them. They believed as if the things had already happened. What’s holding you back from doing God’s work?
Have you been on the wide road too long? Are you satisfied with your travel?
Not only did they see it from afar and believe with faith that it had already happened, but they also embraced it. They accepted it as truth. They also confessed that they were only pilgrims and strangers to this world. We too should confess that we are just sinners and accept His glory. There are no “half-saved” Christians. You’re either fully saved or fully lost. There is no grey area.
We look in the mirror and tell the one looking back that everything is alright. We lie to ourselves all the time. David was a man blessed by God. Yet David became idle with God and slipped into sin. We then read about his life and its intimacy between him, God, and his downfall. Don’t ever think that his life could never happen in your life. All it takes is one time of becoming lax on God and you’ll fall into the devil’s trap.If you’ve been born again and done something sinful then you’ll feel the dirtiness in your soul. The dirty, nastiness that sin brings should bring forth the desire to be clean again. Repentance to God is the only way to be clean again. The world’s heart is so dirty that it’s scaled up and can’t be penetrated. Only God can break through the scales or dirt of the world’s sinful desires. God knows how to correct His children. Only in love does He chastise His children. Being in sin means you’ve traded your gladness for sadness. In David’s life, he once wrote praises to God but quickly began his regret his sin. If one continues to live in sin one will forfeit the gladness of God. Repent if you’re living in sadness.It feels good to feel good. Your sin is ever before God if you have it. It stands between you and God. It will take away the cleanliness, the joy, and the contact with God. It brings shame to ourselves. We play the game of, as long as no one knows about the sin we are okay with it. However, once someone knows about it, we feel shameful. One doesn’t have to live that way. Once you repent to God and He forgives you, did you know that other believers forgive too, and love you just the same? It’s important to God that we live right and be clean. God is not shocked by our stumbling, yet is saddened when we choose to sin and not ask for forgiveness from Him. He wants to make you clean. One can ask a backslider why and what you’ll usually hear is that it’s someone else’s fault.When a saved person decides to live in sin they will soon feel alone and unwanted. God never leaves them but will pull Himself away because He doesn’t like the sin. God never forsakes His children. The devil wants you to give up and makes you feel alone and unloved. It’s hard to live around a backslider. They have a wrong spirit in them and they have an unloved feeling. Joy is instantly gone once a person lives in sin. Joy can possibly be found in small things but they are always fleeting, never long standing. Just knowing you’re saved produces a joy that out-ways everything. Turn from your sin. Repent of your sin. When you do this, God will pick you up, clean you up, and set you back on the straight and narrow path. One doesn’t have to live apart from God.
If Jesus needed to pray, wouldn’t it seem more important for us to pray? He has given us the greatest treasure ever and that is to pray. All we must do is humble ourselves and He would hear us when we speak to Him.
If prayer isn’t changing you then why pray? We all need to get to the place where we pray without ceasing. If your prayers are only one-way, you praying yet no one is calling back, then you’re missing the mark.
When should you pray?
We don’t yield to our neighbors and tell them about Christ. We don’t attend church yet when we do we are just there and not engaged. God has proven His love for us over and over again. Just to know that if we’ve been saved we are going to be with Him at the end of our life, is enough love.
- When you don’t feel like praying, pray.
- When you’re mad at God, pray.
- When you’re distressed, pray.
- When you feel like God is 1000 miles away, pray.
- What will you do when they outlaw prayer? Pray!
- When your enemy is larger than you, pray.
- When your heart is broken or seems too broken, pray.
- When your life is in danger, pray. This is easy because we are selfish.
- When you feel like God has deceived you, pray.
- When your enemy has you surrounded, pray.
The preacher’s job is to warn the lost of their impending doom if they don’t get saved.
The word of God shouldn’t be sugarcoated. Sin is sin and it should be said as such. God gives us our needs, not our wants. Just because you do something doesn’t mean you’ll get something. Many churches are out there preaching a false teaching that if you name it you can claim it. That’s false teaching straight from the devil himself.
People want as much of the world as they can get. Making as much money as you can stand means nothing at your death. A billionaire will die just the same as a poor person. The only thing that makes a difference is salvation. The world can never satisfy the heart and people are trying to fill it with as much of the world as they can.
Being backslid on God will cause great grief. Your life will be hard a difficult until you repent of your backslid way. If you die being backslid then you will meet God with sin and He will deal with it. The warning is to get your life straightened out with God before He has to straighten out.
You need to know who you’re talking to. God will not tell you not to read your bible. God is not going to tell us that it’s okay to skip church. The devil wants you to be worried about a lot of things. The wars, rumors of wars, our government, the lack of our government, these worries are from the devil. If you’re saved then you have nothing to worry about. A saved person might have to go through some tribulations but they win and have help through it all. Don’t let the devil keep you from getting to an altar. If God calls you, answer Him.
God created Hell just as He created the earth. He didn’t create it for us. He created it for Satin and his angels. If you die lost you will enter into Hell as an unwelcome intruder. You will not be “partying it up” in Hell. The people in Hell pray harder than anyone because they want to die and can’t. They want out but there is no exit. They forever are burning but never burn up.
Annual communion and foot washing services held at New Providence Primitive Baptist Church, in June 2024.
Communion/Foot Washing
The Bread
The Wine
Foot-Washing
Brother Zach WillisThe FulfillmentLuke 24:2The most important part about Jesus is that He rose again. If He didn’t raise from the dead then He would have been just another dead person. One can only partake of the communion if they’ve been saved. If a person is lost and partakes they won’t receive the blessing and it will only be nasty tasting bread and wine. A saved person is blessed with the understanding of the cost it paid, the remembrance of it, and the fulfillment Jesus made.One must be right with God before they partake of the communion. A clean, forgiven heart should be made with God.Brother Roger BestGod’s Got ThisPsalm 24:1-5We the saved should be lifting our heads high because we are a saved people. When the end comes, God wins. We are on the winning team so we should be the happiest bunch of people around. We still have time to work the fields for salvation. God hasn’t called it the end yet. Everyone knows at least one person that’s lost and we should be begging them to seek God. Now’s the time to get serious about getting our lost people saved.
Why do we forget things that seem so important? We are not above forgetting things. Some things are not worth remembering while others are very important. We should never forget what God has done for us.
Some of us have forgotten the great things that God has done for us. The miracles that He has done we’ve let slip by, forgetting them. Only God was able to perform such things. How do you remember things? Post-it Notes, calendars, reminders on your phone, etc. Even though we have all of these great things we still forget.
He’s Alive!
We should be reminded that Jesus is alive and not dead. He can hear us and knows our thoughts. Even though He came to Earth and died for our sins, He didn’t stay dead. He lives inside of our hearts and He is the reason why we press on.
He’s perfected and sanctified us
His body was broken and His blood was sacrificed. If you’ve been born again then you’ve been sanctified and perfected through Him. Each person has their own testimony and that work is real and brings a longing and hope for Heaven. We have a reason to rejoice. Romans 6; 2 Corinthians 5
His promises
We have a book full of promises that have all come true. Not a single thing will guide us astray. We can carry this book around anywhere we want whether physically or within our hearts. It’s been placed within our hearts. The Holy Ghost confirms the Word as true within our hearts.
Sins are gone
Being saved means our sins are gone, purged, and forever put away. Many days will come and the enemy will try his best to trip us up. Be reminded that his time is limited and he can only take us so far. We will never be in control of him.
Jesus’ sacrifice is final
His sacrifice is the only way to salvation. His sacrifice was final.
Hebrews 10:19-25
The world wants the church to die. They don’t want the church to stop singing, worshipping God, speaking of Jesus, etc. This might be the last time that we are allowed to worship together in one mind and one accord.
David had every right to lay it all down, however he stood up and praised God anyway. We as humans like to be held in the depression of everything that is going wrong. Don’t we operate on our own schedules? We have all the time in the world to do the worldly things but when it comes to God we just don’t have the time for Him. We ought to be encouraged by what God has done for us. Yet we sit back and don’t want to move for Him.
The churches that maintain sound doctrine are showing a great decline in their church attendance. The world doesn’t want to hear sound doctrine, it doesn’t feel good. The scripture is plain when it says that people will not want sound doctrine in the end times.
If someone isn’t right with God it hurts the church body. If you’re one of them that has a problem, get right with God so the church can move. Don’t be discouraged, be lifted up! God is the same today just the same as He was yesterday. He left the 99 to find the one. If one would put that in a money perspective that is a lot to leave behind just to go after one dollar.
The devil wants you to believe that God hasn’t done anything for you. He wants you to think that no one cares for you. Stop and think back to what God has truly done for you. The devil is a liar and the father of them. Stop being burdened down by the things that don’t have anything to do with God.
A note to the graduates, life is hard. There are a lot of things in an adult life that just don’t make sense.
To the young adults graduating, to the church, and also to Christ you are representatives. You are an ambassador to Christ and it goes beyond your education, friends, or spouse. Several folks have been raised in the church with sound doctrine and it will support them throughout their life. As a child, it will go with them through their life as well.
As a high school graduate, your college education will most likely include a time when they will try to influence you that there is a better way. There might be a lot of things that man has tried to create that look very appealing. Don’t drink the “Kool-aid”! The flesh wants what it thinks is good. The devil has lied about bigger and better things since the beginning of time. Stick to what you know is true and good. In the last days, there will be people who will turn away from God and turn towards fleshly desires. They will have a form of godliness but will not know God. The devil wants you to fail. He is always throwing his darts at you to bring you down. Keep your guard up at all times.
The world is out to take God down and everyone that is for Him. We should always be exercising Godliness. If you sow to the flesh you will reap the whirlwind of the world. If you sow to God’s glory then you will reap His blessings and glory. This is a good exercise to sow for God. When you exercise your faith in God then you will always have a spotter. Not only will you have other Godly friends but you’ll have God that will never leave you no matter the time. Being Godly means you must work towards it all the time. It’s not a switch that you just turn on whenever you want to be Godly. It’s an exercise that must be done at all times. If you’re exercising Godliness others will see it. If they see a wavering life they will not ask for your help because they can’t trust you. However, if you live a life of Christ then they will see your unwavering devotion and will want to know how you do it.
The devil wants people to think they’re alone. He wants you to think that no one cares. If you’ve been born again then you will NEVER be alone. It matters how you live! As a Christian, we are all in it together and you are not alone. Don’t ever think you are above being deceived. Many Christians have laid down their cross because of the lies of the devil. Don’t ever lose faith! As a Christian, you know of many other Christians that you can always reach out to for help if you ever need it. Don’t let the devil slip you up, turn to Christ.
Generally speaking, an 18-year-old follows their flesh. They go into drugs, dress, conversation, promiscuous behavior, etc. They will follow into the life of the world. They do this because of their youthful way of thinking. You will reap what you sow. If you live this lifestyle then you will have scars to show for it. It’s a deadly lifestyle and will lead to death and Hell if you’re not saved.
Word & Conversation. The things you’ve been taught. There are things about God that most don’t know. Be an example of those things. Also, your speech can betray you if you’re not careful.
Love & Spirit. Agape love, if you don’t love Christ then it makes it hard to love those that seem unlovable.
Faith. Simply believe in God. You won’t be able to see Him at times but anchor yourself in Him.
Purity. There is no substitute for a Godly life. Sexually, you need to stay pure. It matters what goes into your mouth and comes out of it. You can’t live the way you want to and it does not matter. That’s one of the biggest lies from the devil.
Ephesians 2:8; What you have down here in this world doesn’t compare to what was given to a lost person when they receive salvation.
John 10:9; Being fed by God can’t compare to the food on earth.
Acts 4:12, Romans 3:23, 25, 24; A saved person doesn’t deserve anything. A home, cars, parents, or food on the table; none of these things compare to the salvation that one receives. The blessings that God gives are great and wonderful but they can’t compare to His forgiveness and salvation.
We often times talk about grace and mercy but it’s the faith in them that’s just as important. The faith is what brings the grace and mercy.
Lukewarm water or indecisive, indifferent. Hot water is good to soak and bathe in, to get clean. Cold water is refreshing and cooling. Lukewarm water is not good and is oftentimes stagnant and full of pollutants.
As Christians, we should strive to not be lukewarm. We should never be lukewarm for Christ. We should always be working, obeying God, and doing what He says. We don’t have all the time in the world to get ready to work. The time is now! If the people don’t serve God when the church doors are open then how are you going to do it when the doors are closed? If you love God then you will be praying for revival and when it comes then you’ll be there to support it. Whatever God has called you to do then you better be doing it to the best of your abilities. God isn’t going to put you in a place where He knows you’re going to fail. You might struggle a little but in the end, the reward is greater.
Most live in a life that thinks that God owes us anything and everything we want. The Bible is clear that we deserve nothing and we are all wretched and poor.
God wants us to place Him as number one in our lives. If we put anything in front of Him then we’ve got the cart before the horse. Whatever we place before God will let us down and steer us in the wrong direction. If God is first then He will lead and He knows where and what to do.
A lukewarm church just lets things happen regardless if the sin. In other words, it doesn’t care about the people that are dying and going to Hell. A church’s focus should be to please God and not others. It’ll wear out a person if they are constantly stepping around and over sin. It’s much easier to confront it, and deal with it according to God than to step over it.
It’s not a surprise that one of the most discussed topics is how to parent. Thousands of books have been written, yet we already have a book.
As a mother, do you think you are a good mother based on your abilities? How about how much you can provide? Are you good at nurturing? These things are good and welcoming but they are not the most important to children. When it comes to raising children it takes parents. The father should not excuse themselves from raising their children as they often do. It’s not just the mother’s responsibility. Ephesians 5:20-21, it’s made clear that it takes both to submit to each other.
Children should also obey their parents. It’s not about an opinion that what one feels is right but what God says is right. Honoring your parents is a commandment that should always be kept. This means that children should be raised properly according to God. A child brought up without God will be disrespectful to authority for the rest of their life. If they will not obey you as a parent then how will they obey God? The future of the world is how we raise our children today. If a parent doesn’t raise a child in a Godly path then the future will be Godless.
Nurture = discipline
We’ve tried to change the definition of nurture. As a mother, you should love your child enough to nurture them. A child needs help from their mother to show them the correct way to go. People try to make up their own way.
Admonition = warning
A Godly mother should not be afraid to warn their child that there are two paths, one of destruction and the other of life. There are consequences to sin regardless of what you think. Just as soon as a child begins to know the difference between right and wrong you should jump at teaching. You should teach them that there are consequences to bad choices. Every child has the opportunity to do good and likewise evil. Some people think that they should just let the school system teach them right from wrong. However, it’s not the school’s responsibility but the parents.
Consistency
It’s not about stature, education, thought, or feelings. Being consistent and unwavering in how one lives.
The way one lives on Monday should be the same as how one lives on Sunday. A commitment to live constantly to do God’s work and obey Him. The laws of God should be obeyed regardless of the day of the week.
Church attendance is taught by the parents who bring their children to church no matter what.
Praying in front of your children is important and it shows who your God is. Praying over each meal shows consistency.
Your speech also teaches your children where your heart is. Out of the mouth comes from the heart. The manner of speech on Monday should be the same as it is in church on Sunday. One can say they love Jesus all day long but if they live like the devil then their deeds out way their words.
Correcting should always be consistent. Proverbs 13:24; if you as a parent withhold correction then you hate your child. If you don’t teach your child that their sibling’s orange in the plate is not theirs then they will learn to steal. Proverbs 29:15; Hebrews 12:5-6; Hebrews 12:11; correction and reproof are required of a parent to their children. God is the perfect example of a Heavenly Father and He knows what we need and when we need it. If He is the perfect example then we ought to follow His example.
Loving consistently should be a given. God’s love for us is unconditional. Ours should be no different than His. If you love someone then you will do whatever it takes to help them to do the right thing and go the right way.
A sower spread some seed and some of it fell upon the wayside. Once it had been placed the birds came and ate it. Some seeds landed into the stony ground and it couldn’t take a good root and it quickly died out. Other seeds fell in the weeds and it was choked out. Then some seeds fell amongst good, fertile ground. It began to grow and take root and flourished.
Christians today receive the word and some fall amongst the wayside, stony ground, and thorns. When one looks into a mirror they are judgmental yet once away from it they forget the judgment of themselves. They are not reminded. A Christian doesn’t forget.
How many have gone into the world and said, we had a good service last night. When the person asks what the pastor preached on we couldn’t remember. The preacher works hard and studies the message yet we come into the church with our ground unworked and not ready to receive the seed of God. We are not to care about the things of this world and allow things to get to us. Yet we allow them to choke us out of a blessing from God.
God knows everything including how many hairs are on (or off) your head. He knows what you’re doing and what you not doing.
Get ready for church. Get prayed up. Get repented up.
There will be a time when people will turn their ears away from sound doctrine and look for false doctrine. All around us today people claim to have a form of godliness yet deny Jesus Christ. If you’ve been saved then it will never leave you but, you can turn your back on it. In this reading, we see a child that left his first love. He requested from his father his inheritance as if he was dead. What a disrespect it is to look to your earthly father and demand your inheritance as if he was already dead.
For the saved.
An even worse disrespectful act is to turn their back on God, the one that gave you life and can take your life. Rebelling against God never turns out good. Look around today and you quickly see that there isn’t a true God-fearing church that is full in attendance. This is because the people have left their first love. Church attendance does not declare salvation. But if you’ve been saved you’ll want to attend a church, there is a drawing.
A saved person knows better because they know what God saved them from. Some people can take a dollar and turn it into 2, then take 2 and turn it into 4, etc. In a spiritual sense, we are given talents, through God’s blessing we can take those talents and turn them into a bunch more. If we stop God from working thinking we can do it on our own without Him, we can take those talents and waste them and lose them.
Chastisement is a proof of love. If chastisement isn’t made then the person doing wrong will never learn from right or wrong. God is in full control and He can do whatever He wants whenever he wants. Since He’s all-knowing He knows what chastisement is needed to keep us on track for the present and future.
In this reading, the famine was going on around the son who ran off. The famine was not happening at the father’s house. There is a difference between chastisement and punishment. Punishment is made for deeds done wrong. Chastisement is made out of love to turn from the wrong deeds. If you are not chastised by God then you are NOT one of God’s children.
Once you’ve been chastised then you should repent. Repentance is a turning away from wrongdoing. How many people went to bed last night remembering they wanted to attend a church service this morning, yet didn’t attend? One can remember but if they do not turn, and repent, then they are still in sin.
Once true repentance is made, then forgiveness is made.
For the unsaved.
They are already on their way to Hell.
Dwell means to settle, or to wed as in marriage. Many think that if they get married and it doesn’t work then they can just get out of it, a trial run if you will. It doesn’t work this way with God. Once you’re His then you’re His forever more.
The secret place. Being saved means that your relationship is in secret. No one knows the relationship between Him and you. His secret place is bountiful and full of His grace and love. The only way to get there is to go through Christ. The world is driving people mad because they think they can’t escape the chaos.
Abide means to stay permanently. We start by dwelling and then move into abiding. It’s like a drop of water in the ocean. The drop is part of the ocean and the ocean is part of the drop. One can’t separate the two once put together. 2 Corinthians 5, once one is Born Again then they are made a new creature.
The secret place is a protective place. The things of the world might come against you just as a storm blows through but His secret place is a place of protection. Under the roof of God! The perfect example of grace. God doesn’t make one come in out of the storm. We have a choice whether to stay in the storm or seek shelter under His wings.
A fortress, a walled area of protection. We may have to live in it or work around it, but we don’t have to be a part of it. He protects us while we go out into the world.
Habitation means a dwelling place. For people, our habitation is our home, where we live. For a saved person our habitation is the Lord. He bids us to come into His protection because He wants to help and keep us.
There is only one way to get to God, Jesus Christ. He is the only one with the key to God’s secret place.
Regardless of anything that is going on in your life, God is good.
The miracles that Jesus performed are an example of His deity and compassion.
Compassion & purpose
John 4; is the story about the woman at the well that Jesus met. Jesus made it on purpose to visit the well during a time when no one else would be there except this woman. Everyone else had already visited the well early in the morning when it was cool in the day.
John 5; a pool of water that once a year it was troubled by an angel and whomever stepped in it would be made whole. Jesus met a man there who had waited for 38 years to be healed. All He asked the man was do you want to be made whole, healed? Imagine this man waiting for 38 years and each time someone cut in front of him. We get upset when someone jumps in front of us at the grocery store one time.
John 9; the people asked Jesus who sinned and if it was his parents. The problem was that it wasn’t his parents that sinned and caused the man to be blind but it was Adam and Eve, the first sin.
The woman at the well, the man at the pool, the multitude that was hungry, the blind man, all who were sinners that Jesus healed or helped. Why did He do these things? Because to prove who He was and His compassion.
Why do we need to suffer? Because we need to. Laid up in the bed with a hurt back, sick with the flu, etc. If you have no needs then you will not appreciate the compassion of God. God is not our idea of good but His idea of good.
John 11 is a perfect example of purpose and compassion. We are not hurting for no reason. We are not sick for no reason. We don’t struggle with depression, anxiety, emotions, or anything else for no reason. The purpose for us we don’t know but God’s purpose is for Him to get glory. His compassion is perfect and so is His purpose.
His purpose seems at times to be imperfect. Job is a man that we often look up to and think we can’t be like him. What is the purpose of Job’s life? Job is not a chess piece in God’s life. What is the devil’s purpose in Job’s life? The devil’s purpose was to trick him. The devil doesn’t care about those that are already his, he wants to turn the ones that want to work for God away from God.
Most want to give an excuse instead of owning up to it. At the time of your death, there will be no more excuses. If you chose to be lost then at your death you will say amen to your own condemnation.Thousands and thousands of witnesses to Jesus’ miracles that He performed. They were all done publicly for people to believe. If done in secret then no one would have known. There is no excuse for not knowing who Jesus Christ is. One can certainly tell another they were never told about Jesus but that would be a lie. Romans 1:19-20. Thankfully, there are still churches out there today that still believe and preach that Jesus Christ is still alive. You know that Jesus Christ is the son of God. What is it that holds you back from being saved? You pass multiple churches on your way to work each day and God speaks to you each time. The many crosses are placed along the side of the road as a memorial but that cross brings to memory the one that was sacrificed on it. His crucifixion was a public display. The tomb is still there and people still visit it, and it’s still empty just like it was on the 3rd and appointed day after His death. People are sitting next to you that are there because Jesus Christ is real.
Why do you follow God? You can’t see Him. You can’t feel Him.
Jesus began His journey way before He came to Earth as a child. Throughout the entire Bible, even though the naysayers say it contradicts itself, it does not. In a saved person’s life, there are so many miracles that have taken place that no man could ever do. A lost person gets their information from man and man is evil and doesn’t want God in their lives. The lost say about the Christian is that they are narrow-minded, yet the Bible states that narrow is the gate to Heaven and wide is the gate to Hell. When trouble comes, who do you call on? A lost person has no one to turn to in their time of trouble. A born-again Christian has God to turn to any time, anywhere and He is always there.
One thing that is true is death. One can not defeat death. We were all alive and we will all die at our appointed time. At death, we will be judged. There is no confusion about what God said, no person can get to God but through Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the only way to God.
God is looking for people to take His Word out and into the world of the lost and tell them what He’s done for them. A Christian has a story and more than likely many stories of what God has done for them. Tell the lost your stories of God’s blessings. Every person has someone that follows them or looks up to them. What are you showing or teaching the person who follows you?
The first offering of man was when Cain and Abel gave their sacrifices. Abel gave his first, his best as a sacrifice while Cain gave to God uncaringly.
Noah made a burnt offering unto God selecting the best from the ark after the flood.
Abram made a burnt offering to God of a little lamb.
God told Abraham to take his only son and offer him up as an offering to Himself. Abraham knew God wouldn’t fail and never wavered his trust in God for this test of faith.
Isaiah 53:2-3; God gave His best for our sin. His lamb was sincere, honest, and meek. We turned our faces away from Him because of our shame.
Isaiah 53:4-5; God’s lamb was a suffering sacrifice. There has never been a true day of peace since sin came into the world. When God’s lamb was sacrificed He suffered it all of us. They didn’t force the lamb to do something it didn’t want to do, the lamb laid down willingly. The only way for us to be saved and forgiven of our sins, God’s lamb had to be sacrificed.
Isaiah 53:6-7; God’s lamb never opened its mouth during its sacrifice. All the lamb had to do was whisper and thousands of angels could have come to protect Him. All of the people who saw Him humiliated Him, spit on him, mocked him, and cursed him. While the entire time He never said a word. Once upon the cross at His sacrifice, he then asked His Father to forgive the people. He then gave up His life.
Isaiah 53:8-9; God’s lamb was a sinless lamb. All of the sacrifices up until this point were all animals. There was a difference between the animals and God’s lamb. All of the animals didn’t ask to be sacrificed and didn’t want to die. Yet, God’s lamb requested to be the ultimate sacrifice. He was a perfect, spotless lamb.
Isaiah 53:10; God’s lamb was a slain lamb.
Isaiah 53:11-12; A saving lamb. In order to be the saving lamb He had to be all of the other lambs first.
The eagle is a great animal. The eagle can lift other animals much heavier than they are. An eagle doesn’t always soar and fly all the time. They go through a molting period where they light and others feed and care for them.
A backslid Christian must be loved back into the flock. One doesn’t beat them down further, they help them back up. When the eagle is in its molting period some of them die. The eagles that are helping will fly over them and scream for them to get up, drop food to them, they encourage the depressed eagles to get out of their time of sorrow. Once they get out of this hole they resharpen their talons and they will not return to that depression.
Lift each other up. Help out the brother or sister who’s going through a slump. Feed them the meat of God through encouragement and much prayer.
If you’ve sat under a preacher then you’ve likely heard that God will appear to you at least one time. He has warned everyone that you will appear before Him at your death and give an account for everything you did and didn’t do. If you are a child of God then He has given you mercy but if you are lost you lack His mercy. If you do not listen to God and His invitation then once you die you will open your eyes to Hell. We all have mercy right now, but at the final trumpet call, you will not have time to get saved. It will all take place in the twinkling of an eye. God is worthy of everything that we can give Him. He has done so much for us that even if we tried to thank Him today it wouldn’t be enough at our death. The things that you have and own down here on Earth don’t mean anything to God. God allows us to have certain things but if they take place over God then they become a problem.
Paul was a great man of God but even though he was great he still struggled with his flaws. He stated that he had to die out daily, kill the sins, and repent to God the sins that try to take one over. We should also strive daily to repent. Those who are of an older age and eventually surrender to God’s invitation, always say they should have done it sooner. There is nothing like the love of God and the love that He has for His children. He never leaves, forgets, or stops loving.
If you’re lost and don’t know Jesus Christ as your personal savior, then you have no hope. You can try to bargain with God all you want but Hell will be your home at your death for eternity.
We as Christians are to keep the fire burning. Since the beginning of sin, there was a mandatory death, a sacrifice offering for the sin. Before Jesus came, the sacrifices and offerings were an atonement, a covering of the sins. When Jesus came and died he paid the penalty for our sins that we couldn’t pay.
Who is responsible for keeping the fire going? Revelation 1:6; 1 Peter 2; the saved are the chosen generation and to keep the fire burning in the house of God. It must start with you. If you’ve lived like Hell all week long and expect the fire to burn only on a Sunday morning, you’ve been badly mistaken. There is something about a fire that just brings out the people. The light, warmth, and the calming of a fire are welcoming. If Jesus Christ isn’t exalted then the fire will not burn. According to Jewish custom, they kept the fire burning for 800 years. God knows the difference between a strange fire (not His) and a Holy fire (His). The Word of God is not made to make you feel comfortable.
Is there enough fire in the church to save people? It’s every saved person’s responsibility to keep the fire going. Cutting the wood, bringing in the wood, stoking the fire, etc. If you’re not working and doing your Christian duty then you’re relying on someone else to do it for you. Shame on you! God has done everything for you to save you from entering into Hell. If all you’re looking for is a religion, don’t come here. Religion will lead you straight into Hell.
One mind and one accord. What do you think would happen if everyone in the house of God came into it with one mind and one accord? We all have a responsibility to keep the fire burning. One person can’t do it all! We have babies in the church that once God speaks to their hearts they will get saved. It’s the church’s responsibility to keep the fire burning so that God can be welcomed.
Jesus Christ is our High Priest and He tends the fire within the soul. He requires each person to tend to their own fire. If you’re disobedient to God it doesn’t mean that your fire goes out. God wants the fire to spread so He continues to chastise. The internal fire will never go out. It might grow dim but the amber will never go out.
How do you keep the fire burning?
Fire needs air and oxygen. How do you get more air to the fire? It’s not about the air but the things that are smothering it. You take a heavy enough blanket and throw it on a fire and it’ll smother it out. Sin is like a heavy blanket and it will smother out your fire. It doesn’t matter what it is or what you call it or what the world says it is. If the Word of God says it’s sin, then it’s sin.
Fire needs fuel, 1 Timothy 4; we often times neglect to add fuel to the fire. Get the bad stuff off your fire, the ashes, the sin. Then place some fuel to the fire. The Bible says wood so they had to cut it, chop it, and split it. It took work to get the fuel for the fire. Readying your Bible daily, studying your Bible daily, praying to God daily, and attending church regularly are all things that are fuel to your fire.
Fire needs attention. Don’t take your eyes off the fire. The rate at which a fire burns often deceives us. Have you ever known someone that burnt out? Don’t throw all of your fuel on the fire all at one time. Someone who has lived by a fire cooking and keeping their house warm knows you can’t throw all of their fuel on the fire at once. Pay attention to your fire and don’t neglect the fire. If one never cleans the ash (sin) off or adds the fuel then the fire will start to go out. Give your fire some attention.
The same word can mean different things. One example is the word, fish. This word can be used as a verb or a noun. To understand the word one must understand the context.
In John 3:16 we see the word, world. We know that God did not send His son to save the world because we know that the world will be destroyed. The word refers to humankind, persons. In John 3:19 the word world means the same thing, mankind. He didn’t die on a cross to save planet Earth, the trees, or nature. For God so loved mankind, He gave His only Son.
The Trap
1 John 2:15 we see the same word, world. This word means the wicked, worldly. The things of this world, are sinful, and the things that keep pulling people away from God. Love not the sinful (world[ly]) things. Matthew 5 says to love the enemies therefore we are not to hate them. Bless them not curse them. Love them and not hate them. Care for their soul. Love the sinner and not the sin. Each and every person is a sinner and He loves each and every person. He hates and despises the sin. Reproving a person means one loves another. A lost person loves the things that are in the world, the sin of the Earth. The problem is not the nature we live in, it’s the human race. Adam and Eve sinned first by disobeying and rebelling against God, it wasn’t the fruit or the tree. The blame can’t be placed on anything other than Adam and Eve. If you love the world today then you’ve been caught in the trap. Until one understands 1 John 2:15 then one will not understand John 3:16.
The first thing a person thinks that to be saved they must give up _______, fill in the blank. That “thing” is a sin and they think they must remove it before they can be saved. This is not true because we can’t save ourselves. God saves and He cleans house kicking out the “things” that need to be removed.
The Lust
1 John 2:16; the lust of the sin (world). God will never tempt you with a sin. He will never tempt you with beer or a naked woman. There is a war going on in a saved person’s life. There is an outward man and an inner man. The inner man is the saved person’s soul, holy. The outward man is the flesh that is sinful and lusts after sins. Lust is built into a person. Anything that is not of faith is a sin. Have you given yourself to God completely? When was the last time you attended a church service? When was the last time you read your bible or studied it? When was the last time you repented of your sins? When was the last time you hated someone?
A lost person doesn’t understand an inner and outer man. A Christian understands this and is at war with the person in their mirror. The inner man drags the outward man to church because the outward man doesn’t want to go. The flesh has desires. The eyes have lusts. Then there is pride that everyone has and must be dealt with because it’s a hurtful, wicked thing.
Life
1 John 2:17; humankind will die, all of us. 1 Corinthians 15, when a Christian dies the flesh (outward man) is left behind and the soul (inner man) goes to Heaven. The dead will rise first (those that are already dead). Some people are missing, some are ashes in urns or scattered, and there are also some in the ocean. All of those people’s souls will be brought back alive. If they were saved then they will be in Heaven. However, if one is lost then they will also live forever but they will NOT be entering into Heaven but into Hell. They will beg to die but they will never die, they will be tormented in Hell for eternity.
You might think that you don’t have the smarts or knowledge that others may have but once you’re born again, you’ve been granted access to the “wise men training program”. This program is 10 times better than the world could ever teach you. One must understand what is 10 times better.
Let’s compare some worldly things. A four-wheeled vehicle is better than a 2 wheeled one when you’re trying to get out of a mud hole.
West coast beach is brown, rough unclear water where the sand is grey and brown too. If you’ve ever been to the Gulf of Mexico you’ll find out the sand is powder soft and white. The water is clear and blue. It’s 10 times better.
The first time you see your soon-to-be wife or husband oftentimes it’s a known you’ll be married. Your spouse is 10 times better than any other.
Your home church is 10 times better than any other church out there.
Jesus Christ, multiple books have been written about this man and the things He has done, and not a single book has exhausted what He’s done.
When you first meet Jesus He is 10 times better than anything else out there.
A Commitment
Daniel 1:8; they refused to defile themselves with the world’s meat and drink. Many saints of God have gone home and if they were a part of your life they were 10 times better than any doctor or medicine you’ll ever know. When something flips your world upside down the first thing you do is run to others, social media. A good saint of God is someone you could run to because they will point you back to God to find out what to do.
Will God say you were 10 times better or will He say you were lazy on Him. Romans 12:1-2; half-hearted will not ever equal 10 times better. It’s not a “lil-dab will do ya” relationship.
Grace
Daniel 1:9; God did something that no one else could do. He placed them in the favor of the prince. In order to be 10 times better than this world we will need a little grace. 10 times better is not just for the world but for other “Christians”. Many so-called Christians run around doing things they ought not to do. You might say you’re seeking after God’s grace but somehow you run out of it on Sunday and Wednesday nights. Chores: at a young age children often have chores to do at home. If the child asks for help and they seem invested in their chores the parent will usually help them out. However, if the child never does their chores they find themselves in a rough situation.
A Test – Faith
Daniel 1:10-12; in that time period God had given a commandment that certain meats could not be eaten due to them being unclean. Daniel told the king to test them. Going through a test is where faith blooms. Daniel was committed before he had to make a choice. Daniel knew that if he stood with God He would bring him out of the test 10 times better.
A judgment is coming to everyone but to the believer, a God will judge what was done and not done. Will God tell you, a believer, “Well done my good and faithful servant”? Are you, just saved? Not doing for God? Just sitting in a building every now and then? Never reading and studying His word.
Luke 5:27-28The first step to salvation was to accept Christ’s invitation to follow Him. One can’t ask yourself.Isaiah 53:4-10The reason why Christ can call one to salvation.Mark 1:17 Ezekiel 47:2-3It’s a process in order to swim. Being a strong Christian is a process that takes time to be stronger and stronger in the Lord. God wants to build you up. Mark 6We read about the abundance of fish and bread after Jesus blessed it. He can do this for you too. In order for God to do this the small boy had to give up his lunch. Just the same as this small child, we have to give up something in order for God to work in our life. Philippians 4:19God does what He does because of what and who He is, not for who you are. Jesus Christ does because He is who He is. He always over pays.Psalm 37:3-7God knows the desires of your heart and He cares.Psalm 23:6Unworthy of His love. Unworthy of His sacrifice. Unworthy of His grace. Unworthy of His blessings. Once you’ve been saved then you will dwell with God forever!Matthew 8:14-15Working for the Lord pays off.
All the while Moses took the people out into the wilderness with each hard thing that came against them their reply was, “Let’s go back”. Going out into the wilderness was not Moses’ idea, but God’s. The people of God got upset with Moses but it wasn’t Moses that decided it. God got upset at the people because of their disobedience and lack of thankfulness. God continued to bless them even though. There are things in our future where we may trip up and at times fall, but that shouldn’t stop your commitment to God.
If you’ve been saved do you really want to go back to the time that you were lost? No!
If you’re going to go forward with God you must be born again. A lot of people are sitting on church pews and they’ve never been saved. One can’t keep something that they never had. A hog once cleaned will go back to the mud because it’s still a pig.
A saved person can try to live a lost person’s life but the comfort of it will never be there.
A foolish person builds their house on the sand so that when the storms of life come their house will fall. A wise man builds their house on solid rock and when their storms of life come their house will stand firm because of its firm foundation.
It’s not in God’s plan that you ever go back to being lost once you are saved. He is always there regardless of the situation.
When God called Moses, Moses cut some ties. He was brought up in a great home with Pharaoh but he cut those ties to obey and follow God. He made his mind up that he would rather follow God than live in Egypt in a king’s home. The same to a saved person. God called the Christian out to be different than the world and that requires cutting some ties. It costs a little at times to be a Christian.
Moses saw his enemies die. Do you think it ever crossed his mind that he would rather go back to Egypt? As a Christian we know how the story ends, the enemy dies. Why in the world would you want to go back?
To be victorious one must be first born again. One also must know that they are an over-comer. Being a Christian means that you get hooked up to a body of like-minded individuals who will love and help you.
Four points that are enemies that contain multiple enemies within them. These enemies have ALL been defeated by God if you’re a born-again believer.
The World
John 16:33; 1 John 4:4, The world is against God. Everything about it is against God. These enemies hate everything about Jesus Christ. However, God is over the world and if He lives in you then you have overcome the world.
Romans 8:35-37, tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, or sword. The harder these things are the deeper a Christian digs into God. We are more than a conquerors.
Romans 8:38-39, nothing can separate a Christian from Jesus Christ. NOTHING!
The Wicked One
1 John 2:12-14, the first thing about Satan is that he is not God or a god. He is a created being and therefore he is not omnipresent. Yes, he does have minions yet they too are not omnipresent. Just because he is much lower than God he is not to be forgotten about. He is out to steal, kill, and destroy. Through the strength of God our redeemer, we are over-comers of Satan and his minions.
Sin
Romans 7:23-25, As a Christian, God washed away your sin however, He did not take away your sinful nature. The outward man is the sinful nature and the flesh will not inherit Heaven. As for Christians, we will be given a new body, a Heavenly body that will inherit Heaven.
Romans 12:20-21, the application. This is like having bullets in your gun. One can carry a gun but without bullets it’s useless. An offensive ability against the enemy.
Death
1 Corinthians 15:52-57, people can defeat drinking, drugs, and sex, but one they will never defeat is death. The day one is born death is on their heels. As a Christian, death will be swallowed up in victory.
As Christians, we should be living as a victor and not as a defeated individual.
We are all born a sinner. The doing will not get one into Heaven, it’s the believing.
Why did Jesus come to Earth?
Jesus was a Spirit and came to Earth as a human, flesh. He had a purpose.
Mark 15:29-31
Jesus Christ did not come into the world to save Himself but to save us.
John 3:16-17; Matthew 18:11; Mark 2:17
The purpose of Jesus Christ coming to Earth is to save us from the torments of Hell. We the church do not charge for salvation. Jesus has not hidden the requirements of salvation.
2 Peter 3:9
Churches that have removed their mourner’s bench are scary. A dedicated place to repent before God. It’s a piece of furniture that welcomes those that are broken to be healed.
Repent means that a person has done something wrong and they know it. It is saying you are sorry and asking for forgiveness. Repentance is required by everyone. You will either repent before you die or at the feet of God.
Acts 17:29-30
God winked during the time before Jesus Christ was born. However, He requires all to repent before Jesus Christ to be saved from spending eternity in Hell. A saved person needs repentance every day.
People will not repent on their own. We try to wrestle our way out of it because it’s uncomfortable.
One must be brought to repentance. 2 Corinthians 7:9-10; one doesn’t have to go through a list of sins to know what is right and wrong. Everyone is born with a moral compass and a choice to follow it. A Godly matter is a preacher standing up and preaching to you in love. Another Godly matter is a person who comes to you and tells you in love that you are living or doing something wrong. This should bring sorrow that you’ve sinned against God.
Why do people live on the line of waiting on God to snap His fingers before they repent? It doesn’t have to be this way. Take care of the sins every day before God. As a child of God do you know what it’s like to be broken?
Romans 2:4
At times, it takes the Word of God to grab you up and show that you’ve sinned. Other times, it only takes the sweet goodness of God to break one. Just speaking of the wonders of mercy can break stubbornness into repentance. God isn’t looking for the doings but the condition.
Psalm 51:16-17
If you come to repent and arrive unbroken then you’ll miss the forgiveness. The only condition that God accepts for His forgiveness is broken.
Romans 5:8; 1 Timothy; James 4:8
Witness, record witness, witness of God, witness in himself the record, and the record. The world is looking for truth and they will never lay their earthly eyes on it.
Verse 6. Jesus Christ is the Son of God. John was a witness to Jesus’ work. He was also a witness to Jesus’ death. There is proof, a record of Jesus Christ. There is a greater witness of Jesus Christ and that is God Himself. When Jesus died on the cross the earth shook and the sky went dark. God turned His back upon the sin that Jesus took upon Himself in order to save who would be saved. A name above all names, Jesus Christ. He is our lamb.
Verse 7. The Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost all three bear a record in Heaven. There are earthly records down here on earth, deeds, birth/death/marriage certificates, and even a church record when one joins a church. But none of these records mean anything in Heaven. We take a lot of stock in the earthly records. These records could be destroyed down here and cause a lot of grief. However, when one is saved there is a record of your name written in Heaven that will never be destroyed, forgotten, or lost.
Ephesians 2:1; we have to die out to self before we can be saved. At the point of salvation, God writes your name down and it’s eternal. Romans 8:18; salvation bears witness with others that are saved. The Holy Spirit of God will not lead or deceive you. The devil wants you to be deceived and will try to confuse you. Romans 6, 2 Corinthians 5:17; a new creature is created at the time of salvation. If there has never been a change then you’ve not been born again. The Holy Spirit of God is not confused if you’ve been saved or not. Luke 2:20; a record written in Heaven.
When your name is written in Heaven there is a witness of angels. These angels rejoice when one is saved. Just the same in a court of law there are also witnesses when an important document is signed to make it legal.
How do you know that you’ve been saved?
1 John 5:13; 1 John 3:14; 1 John 2:3-5; 1 John 5:12, and the list goes on and on within the Holy Scriptures.
There are things in this world that declare God. Things that we experience in our lives that are clearly only a God thing. We ALL will be held accountable for things at our death. There is a God and we ALL will stand before Him and give an account of our lives lived. All that we have done, good or evil, will be judged.
There are people who don’t understand why people would go to church on a Sunday or Wednesday. It’s our responsibility as a saved person to help them understand whom we serve and why we attend to honor the one who saved us. The Gospel has power in itself. It doesn’t need us to soften it or harden it. It abides in a saved person and it’s our responsibility to share it with others.
In this reading, we see a man with leprosy. His little maid was excited to hear about Jesus coming through because she knew He could heal him of this great disease. If you are a lost person then you are like this man with leprosy, sick and in need of a cure. The saved should be excited to share the Healer with the lost people so they can be healed. The lost must want to be healed of their sickness before they’ll want the cure. The church attendance problem is due to the fact that the congregants don’t think they are sick.
There isn’t a single person who is not a sinner. A person is born into sin whether they want to or not. This is part of the original sin and curse of Adam and Eve. There was a certain man named Bartimaeus and he was born blind. Every day they would bring him out and lead him to where people passed him in order for him to gain donations. There was one day that Jesus walked by and he cried out to Jesus for His touch of healing. His cries stopped Jesus in His tracks. If you’re sick and tired of being sick and tired, cry out to Jesus.
Most don’t intend to lay down on God but just a little sin will cause great harm. Naomi just thought she was just living in a place for a very short time. What she found out was that that little stay turned into a destructive, sinful life for her family. The Prodigal Son did the same thing. He left his protection and wanted to do what he wanted to do. Once there he lost everything. Satan is out to steal and destroy and he will make you think you’re doing alright until he’s destroyed everything you once had.
In today’s reading, we have no idea who the maid was. She wasn’t named. An unnamed maid told the Naaman and an unnamed messenger also told Naaman. Naomi was in the same place. An unnamed person told Naomi that there was no longer a drought to go back home. Both Naomi & Naaman just needed someone to be obedient and tell them some good news.
Nathaniel wasn’t looking for anything just sulking in his depression, and here came Phillip running to find his friend. The best friend you will ever have is the one who will point out your sin and then tell you how to get it taken care of. Phillip told him the good news of Jesus, their savior. All that one has to do is just say, “Come and see”. A simple invitation to salvation.
When the servants went out to invite the people to the master’s great feast, the people invited all came back with some type of excuse as to why they couldn’t come. When the servants went back to inform the master, he told them to go back out and invite all of the invalids, so they did as they were told. Once the servants went back out and invited the invalids, they all accepted the invitation and came. The master then stated, that there was still room for more. This story is about Jesus telling his children, the saved, to go out and invite the lost. Compelling them to come into the great feast to fill his great hall. Not all will accept the invitation but we are still to invite them anyway.
Jesus didn’t tell us to save them. He just told us to invite them.
We can look around and see all of the things that God has created and we should give Him praise for all of those things. The things that He has done should be praised. How many times have you prayed and asked God for something but never thanked Him for saving you from Hell? We oftentimes just throw our demands at Him. We should be praising Him instead of demanding. Plain and simple, praise and thanksgiving. Just trying to think about how good God has been to us is incomprehensible. God said He would show us ALL His goodness. Not just some or a little bit, but ALL. Why do we not see the ALL that God wants to give us? It’s because we hold back on God and try to hide things from Him. He knows all things so why we try to hide our sin is because we are ashamed. Stop being ashamed and carrying it around, and take it to God.
God gave His only son for us. That one thing alone is enough to glorify His name for the rest of our lives. Could you give your son up for someone else?
How many times today have you given Him praise? It doesn’t take long to say thank you. Just a few minutes of your day.
Lazarus was dead. He had been dead for three days. We all agree that the dead can not hear anything, they are dead. Yet, Jesus spoke his name, he heard and became alive.
A woman with a great health issue where she was bleeding. She simply touched Jesus’s robe and Jesus made her whole.
People sleep during the church service physically and mentally. What will it take for them to awake from their slumber? The voice of Jesus.
A group of fishermen heard Jesus tell them to come be with Him. They stopped and abandoned their nets and boats just to follow Him.
Multiple accounts of demon-possessed people that when the demons heard the voice of Jesus, they fled.
There is no confusion in the voice of Jesus. His children know His name. We as a church must respond to Jesus. Things happen when Jesus speaks. How do you explain the voice of Jesus if you’ve been saved? When your creator speaks your name, isn’t odd that you don’t have to wonder who it was? When Satan whispers in your ear the first thing that happens is confusion.
If the demons respond instantly with Jesus’ voice how long will it take for His children to respond? Don’t we operate on the “if we want to” attitude? Jesus wants a commitment yet we don’t respond. Everyone wants to be a Christian but they don’t want to respond to Jesus. People attend church on a Sunday morning but they won’t return back for the Sunday or Wednesday night services. If you’ve heard His voice and responded to be saved, why are you still struggling with simply attending church?
As a child, we start off on milk. We get a bottle of milk and we grow. As we get older we get something other than milk because we need more substance. We can tell a baby to hush but they don’t because they don’t understand. Once they get older it’s expected from them to understand or they receive the consequences. God operates the same way. At the time of salvation, we read and learn the scripture as being on milk. We should be growing and graduating to teaching others and knowing the scripture without having to have a Bible handy. The battle against the devil is quickly approaching and we must gain strength through more than just milk.
You will make a choice when God speaks. Not making a choice is a choice. You will either commit to God’s calling or deny it.
00:00 . . . . . . Fishers of Men00:02 . . . . . . No Longer An Orphan07:09 . . . . . . Treasures10:29 . . . . . . I’ve Not Forgotten13:38 . . . . . . Made Me This Way19:25 . . . . . . Never Begged for Bread29:09 . . . . . . One Prayer at a Time32:59 . . . . . . Jesus Loves Me
When you get to the end of the road did you ever think where it would take you? Have you ever been to the end of your rope? If you’re saved then you have someone that’s waiting at the end of your road or rope. There isn’t a single person who’s never been at the end of their road in great despair. God will be there. God has said He would never leave you or forsake you. Often times He’s carried us to the end and we didn’t even realize it. In every circumstance of our lives, He will never leave us. Often time it’s not because someone saved sinned that caused their trouble, it’s because they are alive. There isn’t a single person out there that doesn’t suffer. It’s the saved that doesn’t suffer alone. For the saved, you won’t get to the end of the road and wonder where God is at. He will always be there waiting with His arms stretched out. Hang on till the end and let go into the arms of Jesus when you get to the end of your road. Daniel was at the end of his road when he was thrown into the lion’s den. God wasn’t surprised by this and had a plan before it ever took place. God was already in the den of lions. Paul was doing what God told him to do, so he set out in a boat when a horrible storm took place. Paul had done everything he could do to survive, at the end of his road, then God showed up. He was there all along. Lazarus was dead. His family was at the end of their roads. Jesus was there and was there right on time. They thought He was late but little did they know. They thought all hope was lost but Jesus, at the end of their road, raised Lazarus from the dead. God is never late.Jeremiah 20:7; Jeremiah had got to such a point that he thought God had deceived him. Don’t say you would never do this because we are all human. The people were counting down to the time that Jeremiah would be done, ended. Jeremiah quit because he thought God wasn’t there for him. The devil wants this for everyone, he tries to destroy. But, what happened with Jeremiah was that when he came to the end of his road there was a fire in his bones that he could bear. He found that God was at the end of his road.Elijah was told to go to a certain lady and she was going to help him. This lady had nothing and was living through a great drought. Thinking about her, she awoke one day and thought, this is it. She had no more food or water to feed her and her son. She knew this. She came to the end of her road and decided to die. All hope was lost so she thought. Elijah then came on the scene. She did as she was told by Elijah because she knew he was a man of God. She did what God said and gave him a little water and her last piece of bread. Only God was going to get the credit for this miracle because no one else could help this lady. Elijah told her to not be afraid and to go ahead and make some bread for him, herself, and her son. She minded him, did what God had said, and continued to eat and drink until the drought was over. God was there at the end of her road so He could get the credit.A woman with an issue of blood who had spent everything she had and never got better but worse. She then heard about Jesus passing through her town. She was at the end of her road. She knew that if she could just touch his robe she would be healed. Jesus knew right away when his robe brushed this woman’s hand. She was instantly healed! God was there at the end of her road.
Salvation isn’t based upon the things that you’ve got or done. When a person is young they often think about “why me?”. As one gets older we begin to think differently.
When one is lost and God speaks to you, up until that point you have no idea what righteousness is or what true love is. God doesn’t save based on deserving it but based upon His goodness. Once a person is saved then they obtain a hope for eternal life in Heaven. God’s love and His love alone is what keeps you and stops everything from taking salvation away. That split second that God knocks on your heart’s door is the moment you feel true love.
A rich man wanted to know how to be saved and said he had done everything as he was supposed to do. However, Jesus told him to sell everything he had and give it to the poor. The rich man couldn’t do it. The basis of the story was that one must die out to their flesh, the earthly sin in order to be saved.
There isn’t a single person alive who is perfect and holy. Everyone falls short in their sins every second. The Bible even says that if a person is sinless then they are a liar. Jesus was holy and perfect and could have at any moment taken out the soldiers and anyone else who came against Him. Just the same as Jesus told the disciples when they pointed out that people should be wiped out. Jesus told them no, and pointed out their sin of malice and hatred. We do the same as the disciples when we think that God should wipe out the government and start over because we don’t agree with them or what they do. We should be praying for them and asking God to do what He needs to do because He’s already got a plan. He isn’t surprised by anything that takes place that certainly surprises us.
Romans 2:11; the encouragement is to do good works. Others see these works and if we do them for God then they will see God in those works.
One can certainly fool another person and make them think you’re saved. You can go through all of the “godly” motions and proclaim you’re saved. However, God knows the truth and that is all that matters in the end. You can’t fool God.
Two commandments God gave us, love God with all your heart and love your neighbor as you love yourself. One can say they love God but when it comes to the neighbor, we might have an issue. Check yourself. If this is you then you might not have God in your heart, saved like you think you are. Ask God to inspect your soul.
God is good to everyone. We are to love everyone regardless. God loves the lost and the saved. Don’t be confused, God loves the person but He does NOT love sin, in fact, He hates sin. There are things that God does for everyone. He causes the sun to rise and it shines on the lost just the same as the saved. He doesn’t charge for it.
Air: The air must be a perfect composition for us to use. Every person that woke up this morning is breathing His air and He doesn’t charge for it. One would give anything they had if God said you’d have to start buying it. When we as animals breathe we use the oxygen and then exhale carbon dioxide that the plants then use to breathe. How many times have you thanked God for the free air He provides you?
Water: Did you know that under our feet today there are the cleanest waters? Did you know that God made the water? Our body requires water to remain alive. He has always brought the water back even though we may go through a short-term drought. The lost person has the same amount of water as the saved person. Have you thanked God for the water He provided you?
Real estate: The planets are in the same position they’ve been in since God placed them there. He gave us ground to walk on. People love to sell it and trade it because of its value. Did you know that you might purchase a plot of land but it’s not even yours? God owns that land and when you die it will go to someone else. The sun is placed in a perfect location to give us heat yet keep us all alive. When was the last time you thanked God for the sun? Churches properties, when was the last time you paid an admission to enter the church property? God owns it, it’s all His and He doesn’t charge for it. The church is open for any and all to enter.
Think about how hard it would be if there was no gravity. Without it, it would make it nearly impossible to live. The moon and sun are in a perfect location to allow the high and low tides of the oceans.
Seeds: Without seeds, we would die. One can store a seed in a freezer for years and then pull it out, plant, water, and let the sun do its thing and it’ll grow. The seed is FREE! Sure we could eat the meat of animals but what do they need to live, seeds. When have you thanked God for the simple seed?
There are now some things that are not free that God gives but anyone can have them. Here are just a few.
Forgiveness of Sin: The price that was paid at Calvary for the remission of sins was priceless. One must believe in Jesus Christ or one will never have the forgiveness of sin. The price that Jesus paid was His life. The price that we pay is that we must die out to our fleshly body. John 3:16 explains to all that He loved each person and that if anyone believes in Jesus and denies themselves they will be gifted eternal life.
Holy Spirit: The price that one must pay to allow the Holy Spirit to move into one’s life is subjected. One must die out daily to oneself to live for God. Only some get to experience the remission of sin. There is a price to be saved or He would just be throwing out salvation just because. He will save one but one MUST believe in Jesus Christ.
Galatians 5: The fruits of the spirit that comes from the Holy Ghost are given in full at the point of salvation. He is all of the fruits of the spirit but not everyone has them. If a person is not saved then they lack these fruits.
Heaven: A perfect place at the time of death but only if the price of salvation is paid. Heaven isn’t a free access pass to enter in. The requirement to enter Heaven is being saved by Jesus Christ.
All the things that allow one to live here on earth are all free and given freely. However, to live forever in Heaven a price had to be paid and we must pay it as well. God made everything and they are all free however, the sacrifice that He sent has a great cost. One problem we as humans have is that we can’t even thank Him for the free things He gives us every second. There is a cost to having Jesus and one must work for it. One of those prices is to lose the human aspects of life. Godly family, peace, joy, and unconditional love, are all things that are given by God to His saved children that He gives freely. However, the cost to have these things must be paid and that payment is letting go of the earthly person.
Too many churches are preaching that salvation is free, no strings attached. That is not a true statement and is completely unbiblical. Just saying you’re saved, repeating a prayer, going through a lesson with a minister, having a preacher/priest forgive you, having your name on a church roll, or having someone in your lineage that was saved will NOT grant you salvation or access into Heaven. You must surrender your all to Christ.
The difference between a hypocrite and a pretender is that a hypocrite has an evil motive. Judas Iscariot* Called by Christ just like the other eleven disciples. He ordained them all. * He saw the miracles that Jesus performed. He was able to see things that we’ve never seen. * He heard every message that Jesus preached. He heard the King of Glory, the Lamb of God preach. * He heard every invitation that Jesus gave to those around him. * He was in every crowd that surrounded Jesus. * He didn’t understand what Jesus was doing and why. * He carried on his pretending until he kissed Jesus on the cheek
A Pretender* Christ called and they went to an altar and thought they were saved. They go through the motions of a saved person but they lack the forgiveness of their sins. * They see the same thing that a Christian sees yet they are unmoved by them. * Many hear the Word of God today yet they are unmoved. * They reject Christ at every invitation they hear. * They like to be surrounded by the movement of Jesus, and the attention it might bring. * Do not understand Christ and the motivations He has. * Will continue pretending until they die and end up in front of God Himself.
We don’t always know who is a pretender. We often times assume they are okay and are saved because of what we witness. No one knows other than God Himself if a person is saved or pretending. They sit among us and we have no idea.1 John 5:13; A lot of people think they are saved yet we have some ways to tell.1 John 1:6-7; walk in darkness instead of light, love the flesh more than God.1 John 1:8-10; say they are sinless.1 John 2:3; does not keep God’s Word.1 John 2:9; says they are in the light yet hate another person.1 John 2:15; they love the world more than God.1 John 2:22; denies Jesus.Not one pretender will be in Heaven. In fact, the Bible is clear that there will be people who tell God that they did many things in His name yet God never knew them. They were not saved and were just going through the motions.
00:57 . . . . . . Thank God For The Waves05:13 . . . . . . When I Lay My Isaac Down08:16 . . . . . . We’ve Been Through Storms Before11:47 . . . . . . God Saves Old Sinners15:16 . . . . . . He Is Risen19:13 . . . . . . The Only Fire I’ll Ever Feel Is Burning In My Heart22:06 . . . . . . But For The Blood25:10 . . . . . . Pastor Tommy Boring34:54 . . . . . . It’s Amazing What A Prayer Can Do
One might be able to help someone but are they willing? How many times in your life when you didn’t know which way was up?
Willing to Heal
Prayer doesn’t mean a lot if we didn’t believe that we would not get help. When we pray we should be praying that His will be done. In Matthew 8:2-3; we read of a leper that wanted to be healed and Jesus was willing. Jesus still heals the sick to this day. Jesus is not only able but He’s willing.
Willing to Help
The physical is not the only healing that we go through. Inside our bodies, we have a soul and before we were saved we were lost. Jesus diagnosed the sin sickness and only Him is able to heal that sickness. Did you know that a doctor can’t heal you from everything? A doctor can only do so much but in the end, Jesus is the only healer that can truly heal beyond what a doctor is able to do. If you die lost you will not blame anyone but yourself for your eternity in Hell. The biggest lie the devil ever told anyone is that Jesus will not help you. Jesus went to the cross willingly for your sins just so you could be saved. If you die lost you will say amen to your own condemnation.
Willing to Save
One must first be lost in order to be saved. When Jesus comes to you and shows you that you’re lost then you’ve reached the age of accountability. It is at that point you have a choice to make. Romans 10:13, anyone that calls upon the Lord shall be saved.
Death is coming. The day that you were born, death was hot on your trail. For those who are saved, death just means you will awake in God’s presence. For the lost person it will go the opposite way and when their eyes are opened they will be in Hell. Hell was not created for us but for the devil and his demons. However, if you are not saved then you are not one of God’s children. You will be in Hell with the devil and his angels.
Noah had faith and obeyed God but he obeyed Him looking to the cross. Abraham was told by God to sacrifice his only son and he obeyed God. Abraham’s faith was tested and God stopped him from killing his son. We are all tested. If you’re not walking with Him then you’re liable to fail the test. How many of you prayed today? In the story of Noah, think about it, only 8 souls were saved from the entire earth. Only 8! We should be like Noah, laboring for God right now. Always be ready in and out of season to give someone the gospel. Every single saved person is called by God to “preach” the gospel to the lost. If your goal is just to enter into Heaven then you’ve missed it. We as saved children of God should want others to go to Heaven too. What if you walked into Heaven with no one under your belt that you help lead to be saved?Surrender it all to God. Get closer to God. Walk with Him daily, every second.
A name that is above every name. Every tongue will declare He is Lord.
Matthew 10:22; because of His name, anyone that follows Him will be hated.
John 1:12; once one believes in His name then we become one of His.
John 3:18; not believing in His name condemns a person.
In biblical times a person’s name actually had a meaning behind it. They would sometimes go days and weeks before finding a name for their child.
John 14:14; Romans 10:13; Matthew 18:20; Psalm 103:;1there is an importance to His name.
Exodus 3:13-14; I Am the Truth, Way, and Life, The very one that spoke peace unto the soul of a lost to become saved.
Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:22; Emmanuel, God with us, above all names.
Isaiah 9:6; Wonderful, The miracle to mankind
Isaiah 9:6; Counselor, The mediator between God and man.
Isaiah 9:6; The Mighty God, The everlasting Father, and The Prince of Peace
Luke 1:32; Son of the Highest
Luke 2:11; Christ the Lord
Revelation 19:11; Faithful and True
Revelation 19:13; Word of God
Revelation 19:15-16; King of kings and Lord of lords
Revelation 21:6; Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End
973 times another name is mentioned in the New Testament. Everybody knew Him as Jesus. JESUS
While He walked on earth His name was, Jesus. The name means savior. He shall save the people from their sins.
Matthew 27:1, 17, 20, 22, 26-31, 37, 46, 50-54
Matthew 28:5-6
Being justified by faith is not by works but, by believing in Christ that He paid your sin debt for you to be saved. God has given us several gifts through His justification, salvation. Peace With GodTo make one with God again. Currently, people look to all kinds of medicines to keep them at peace with either themselves or others. They numb themselves against the conflicts of their surroundings. The world is searching for peace. John 14:27. If you live in the world then your search is always for some type of peace. When one lives lost the search goes out to worldly peace like drugs, sex, money, alcohol, and many more things. They are all short-lived and lead to destruction. Access To GodOne can’t get peace without Grace. God welcomes all into His Holy place. There was a time when we all looked from the outside in. We tried reading the bible, talking to the preacher, talking to others who are saved, going through the motions, and yet we still lack salvation. Once God invites one in and one accepts His invitation then full access is given. In our world, we have restricted access to places. These places will only allow certain people into their places. Businesses often give access to their employees to their buildings. Without the key-cards to the businesses, one can’t enter. A saved person has been given access to the very throne room to God. There is only one way to get to God and that is through His son, Jesus Christ. Hope In ChristIf our hope in Christ was only in this world then we would be miserable. Sometimes we take our eyes off of God and then we have moments without peace and thus feel as if we’ve lost access to God. One of the grandest things that was given was peace and hope at the time of Christ’s birth. If you don’t have Christ, born again, then you don’t have hope. If you put your faith in church, church attendance, reading a bible, working for a church, going to seminary school, etc then you’ll end up in Hell at the time of your death. Trouble is all around us and we experience it all the time. However, we should be of good cheer because God has overcome the world.
Jesus healed many people during His time on earth. He also performed miracles, like turning the water into wine. We also know that He raised people from the dead several times. The deaf, dumb, and lame were all made whole and healed by Jesus. So many times Jesus performed these miracles. We don’t see these miracles like this anymore but we see them in other ways. Jesus is the miracle worker. Jesus is the healer of today. During a fishing trip, they were not catching anything and they had tried all night long. Jesus showed up and told them to cast their nets and they pulled up so many fish that they had to have help from other boats.
If you love Jesus you should be feeding His sheep. When was the last time you told someone about Jesus? John 20:24-29; we didn’t get to see the miracles that Jesus performed. We who believe now are blessed because we believe in Jesus whom we have yet to see.
What A Day / Giving Praises To The King of CalvaryThe Veil Came Down and Grace Came ThruI’m Glad I’m SavedOh, What A Savior Is MineI’m Going Home To Be With JesusThe Blood Has Not ChangedNever Begged For BreadThere Is Strength In The LordJust a Few ThingsPeace Like a River
We all have the opportunity to grow in faith regardless of one’s smarts or knowledge. Everyone has faith, the question is what is your faith in. Often times we have faith that our vehicle will start when we need it to. In order to have something it had to be given first.
The very second that one accepts God’s invitation to salvation they are justified. Justified by faith. It doesn’t cost anything of worldly worth, however, it’s priceless spiritually. When Christ died on the cross He didn’t save everyone. He only saves those that whosoever would believe in Him. Being saved is an event that occurs that once it happens it is forever recorded and never erased. Sin separates a person from God. At salvation, the Holy Spirit comes in to dwell and pushes all of the bad out. You either have the Holy Spirit that dwells inside your soul or the devil, sin.
One can’t keep themselves saved. One can go through all of the “salvation” motions but if God doesn’t dwell in the soul then one can’t truly be saved. Did you know there are murders in Heaven? They are there due to a change that took place called salvation that removed the sinful label.
There was a search that was made everywhere in the heavens and earth and only one person was found that could pay the sin debt of a person. Jesus Christ was the only one found worthy of such a sacrifice.
Only Once
One can only be saved one time. Salvation can’t be lost, it’s sealed until the day God comes to redeem it. One has to purchase something in order to redeem something. Our flesh is not perfect and it never will be. While we live in this flesh we will struggle with the sin it has. Constant work of cleaning off the flesh of its sin until we die. At death, the flesh will go back to the earth while the soul will go back to its creator. The creator, God will either see the soul as being justified, saved, or not. A justified soul will enter into Heaven and a lost soul will be cast into Hell.
The devil is out to kill, steal, and destroy. There isn’t anything more important than a person’s soul. The devil hates a Christian. He hates the very ground they walk on. If you think you can’t pray like someone else then you need to pray more. Pray without ceasing. What a privilege it is to tell someone about Jesus. When God invites one to be saved it’s just between them and God. No one will answer the call other than that person at that time.
We must all be honest with ourselves. Our flesh is sinful and must be put under subjection under God. When you attend church do you attend because of an obligation? If you’ve attended because of an obligation then you’ve turned His house into something other than a house of prayer. You’ve stolen from God, a thief. We should be coming to God’s house ready to pray, rid ourselves of sins, praise, and worship. We shouldn’t come waiting on someone else’s praise or worship. We rob from God when we come to church unwilling to be ready to worship Him. Stop depending on the elderly to uphold the church service. Stop depending on another member to uphold the service. Ask God to use you for what He wants to happen. We should have to be begged to come to an altar. We should be begged to work for God. The altar should be used at all times. Be respectful in God’s house. Using God’s house as a shortcut, missing Sunday School and the Wednesday night service and only attending Sunday service. Some think that Sunday morning is enough. Yet, we blame all of our troubles on other things instead of looking into ourselves.
Grace has been beaten up and put down because people think they can be saved and live like the devil. Grace isn’t a ticket just to get into Heaven. Stop abusing God’s grace to do what you want.
00:00 . . . . . . Heavens Highway00:38 . . . . . . My Hope Is In The Blood04:29 . . . . . . Thank You Lord, For Your Blessings On Me08:11 . . . . . . I Claim The Blood12:19 . . . . . . Do You Know How It Feels?15:22 . . . . . . I’ll Never Walk In The Valley Again19:58 . . . . . . Chilly Waters23:45 . . . . . . Won’t Have To Worry Anymore27:52 . . . . . . My Home Is Just Around The Bend31:49 . . . . . . I Hold A Clear Title35:11 . . . . . . This Old House Of Mine38:55 . . . . . . What A Day That Will Be42:39 . . . . . . I Can’t Make It Lord, Without You47:17 . . . . . . Didn’t He Shine?52:33 . . . . . . In A Deep Dark Grave56:12 . . . . . . When Jesus Passed By
The reason God is able is because He is strong. Ability is only as good as how able one is. God is able to do anything because there is nothing too hard for God.
Jesus is able…
…to heal the sick.
The four Gospels are full of what Jesus did. He came into the world as the great physician and He is still doing. There was a certain blind man who lay beside a road. Bartimaeus was blind and asked Jesus to have mercy on him. He called out to his Lord Jesus and asked Him to heal him of his blindness.
A paralytic had a few friends who heard Jesus was in town. They hauled him to the house, tore the roof off, and lowered him down to Jesus. Jesus saved him and his friends and then healed him.
…to raise the dead.
It’s one thing to be sick but it’s another if you’re dead. Jesus was headed to Jarious’s daughter and got caught up with a woman who needed to be healed of her blood. The daughter died yet that didn’t stop Jesus. He walked in and told her to live again.
A widow woman who just lost her son. Jesus saw them carrying his coffin. He laid His hand on it and told the son to live again.
Jesus had a friend, Lazarus. Jesus waited until he had died and lay there for three days until Jesus went to see him. Jesus is life and therefore He is in control of it. He told His friend to come forward and he walked out of his tomb.
There is a day coming for all of us who die before Jesus’ return. Jesus will raise His children from the dead to be forever with Him.
…forgive of sins.
A woman was caught in the very act of adultery. He knelt down and wrote on the ground, condemning those around them. He then saved her of her sins.
Another woman was at a well and she was living in fornication. Her reputation was horrible so she went in the heat of the day to avoid others that knew her. Jesus met her and had a conversation with her and then saved her.
Murders, child molesters, pedophiles, etc. All of these things we think are the worst sins but we that are saved were just as bad as those before we were saved.
A father had a son who was possessed by multiple demons. The father took his son to Jesus’ disciples and they couldn’t do it. The father then took him to Jesus. Jesus simply cast the demons out. Legend was another that was possessed by many demons. Jesus came over to the island where he was and the demons knew and recognized Jesus coming. Jesus simply told them to leave him and they did.
…to save to the uttermost.
The greatest miracle that has ever happened is the salvation of a soul. Not only does Jesus save the soul, He saves them so they can never be unsaved. Jesus saved a bunch of smelly fishermen to preach and establish the church. Jesus even saved a thief while they were dying on the cross. There are no limits to His salvation. Jesus calls out to whosoever, anyone to be saved.
John 21:25, there are so many things that Jesus has done that it could never be exhausted.
Abraham had a hard choice to make with his son. He did exactly what he knew he had to do, sacrifice his only son. God told Abraham what to do and he obeyed. He bound his son, bound just so he would run away. Once Abraham had gone through the torment of climbing the mountain, all the while knowing he was going to sacrifice his son. He prepared the offering including his son. Once he had gone to the point of no return, God sent an angel to stop him. If you’re in a tough spot, a ram will be provided. God provided a ram for Abraham and Isaac. When you’re going through a battle a “ram” will be provided. That ram is your way of escape. The way out, your escape is always there. Once the “ram” is provided we must be thankful. The “ram” is Christ, He is the way of escape. He’s always there and He’s there for you.
There are many out there today that have never heard God speak yet they claim they know Him. God must invite you to be one of His children. God does not want anyone to perish in the pits of Hell. However, unless one accepts Him they will be forever in Hell at the time of their death. It doesn’t matter if you are 100 years old, once you become humble before God then you are willing to accept Him. There isn’t a substitute for Jesus Christ. The gospel of Christ comes to the ignorant and unlearned. This is because the wise and prudent people can’t see that they need Christ. Did you know that God doesn’t need you? If you think that God needs you in order to fulfill something or do something, you’re badly mistaken. The glory in Christ is not what you know, it’s who you know.
The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are one, and equal. God is in control of all things. No one knows God but Christ, yet if Christ has revealed Himself to you then you through Christ know God. Many churches do the invitations asking you to just raise your hand, fill out a card, be baptized, repeat a prayer, etc. These things are not of God unless God is inviting. We can’t make a decision to follow something that we do not know. John 6:44; no one can go to God (be saved) unless God is drawing them, inviting them. Titus 2:11; the Word of God is going out to everyone and if one becomes humble and as a child then God will invite. If you’re lost you can go through all of the motions of a saved person, emotions, cry, pray, apologize, volunteer your time, never lie, give to the poor, etc., and still go to Hell. God must invite and you must accept His invitation.
God says to those who are over burdened by what’s next after death, those who worry about dying to come to Him. Those who are under conviction are tormented because they know they will die without Christ.
God will be glorified in one way or another. God is worthy of everything that we can give Him. A Christian should be giving Him glory all the time. If the only thing you can say is thanks for your salvation then you need to reevaluate your walk with God. He is worthy of everything we can give Him praise for. He never promised us another day. Each day we wake, we should be praising Him. Each minute of the day that we are alive we should be praising God. Our problem is that we are too high-minded, and proud. In this reading, we see that Herod left God out of it. Matthew 5:6; let the world know what God has done for you. This lifts God’s name up through praises. Do you want to see the lost come into the church? Do you want to see the church full? Start praising God no matter what and give Him all the glory He deserves. Something that we’ve heard over and over again and that’s that Jesus is coming back. This is a promise that He has given and He’s never broken a promise. No one knows when that time will be. If we knew a time then how much more serious would we be then? Since we don’t know the time, we should be much more serious about getting our lost people to Jesus. Each one of us will be judged on what we did and did not do. During this time, we should be serious about getting the lost in and if we don’t we will answer for being lazy on God.
John 14:3; all you’ve got to do is pray, and ask God in Jesus’ name. Have you sacrificed your time to talk to God today?
1 Chronicles 6:20; the price that was paid for our souls should make us want to give God all of the praise that we can give, freely.
00:00:00 . . . . . . Welcome 00:00:25 . . . . . . Prayer 00:01:45 . . . . . . My Lord Will Carry Me 00:05:54 . . . . . . Singing Of Love Divine 00:10:30 . . . . . . I Want To Know More About My Lord 00:16:15 . . . . . . He Abides 00:21:22 . . . . . . I’ve Never Been Sorry 00:25:58 . . . . . . “Well Done, My Child” 00:31:06 . . . . . . I’m In A New World 00:34:55 . . . . . . Prayer 00:36:00 . . . . . . As Small As I Am 00:40:31 . . . . . . I Claim The Blood 00:44:30 . . . . . . Just Any Day Now 00:48:39 . . . . . . It Is Well 00:54:18 . . . . . . He Wrote My Name 00:58:41 . . . . . . Palms Of Victory 01:02:35 . . . . . . Amazing Grace 01:07:53 . . . . . . Pastor Tommy Boring 01:38:35 . . . . . . Nothing But The Blood 01:42:35 . . . . . . Closing 01:44:55 . . . . . . Dismissal Prayer
God has a heart for the children. Before the age of accountability, God takes care of them. One soul is not more important than the other. In this reading, we see that there was a great multitude of people who brought their children to Jesus. There is no mention of needing healing, just to be prayed for. We as adults seem to forget that God loves children. When a child is born into this world God loves them just as much as another child that is born. Those who are born and brought up in a church setting are blessed. Schools are full of children there needs to be teachers that need to tell them that God loves them.
The last message was about how we as adults should have a heart as a child. Humble, caring, loving, and dependent upon God. But, there is something about children that we shouldn’t miss. There is a thought that children have more time, yet we also think that they are just children and they do not know. We see in this reading that Jesus told His disciples to leave the children alone and allow them to come. Jesus told them to let them come to Him. It matters to Christ where the children are.
Matthew 18:3-5; We have a responsibility as adults to receive children. Don’t discount the truth that when they come to an adult they are seeing Christ because that’s all they know. We should not push them away but love them.
Matthew 18:6; We need to make certain we do not offend them. God isn’t negotiating this topic. Offenses are going to happen but to a child, it’s a very bad thing to do.
Cussing, pornography, drinking, and the sins of the devil are the opposite of what God says is offensive to the children. God is the only one that can declare judgment. We should be shining the beacon of Christ into their world at all times. Think of this, if you only took a child to church once a month is that not neglecting the child? If you only fed a child only once a month they would lock you up. There is no difference between feeding them Christ and feeding them food.
Matthew 18:10; Don’t despise the children. Do not put the children down but lift them up. A parent has a responsibility to do what God tells them to do.
The world has nothing to offer but sin. If we draw close to God then He will draw close to us. We need to stop looking toward ourselves and more towards God. Nothing can separate the love of God from us. Shadrach, Meshack, and Abednego made a choice that they would rather die with God than live without Him.
Adam and Eve had just one thing they couldn’t do. It took Satan one time to lie to her to cause her to go against that one single thing. That’s the way the devil works. He doesn’t come out and tell you the consequences, he tells you what you want to hear.
There might come a time when the church doors could be forced to be closed. Will you continue to worship God? If it becomes against the law to worship God will you disobey the law to continue to worship Him?
Coming up in a few weeks we will celebrate a holiday of thanksgiving. We don’t have to wait until that day to give thanks to God. When was the last time you really thanked God for the things He has done and not done in your life?
You must make a decision whether you will follow God or not. It’s one of the other and you can’t be in the middle. Make your mind up to God. Take a stand for God.
Visitation
Don’t Let The Battle Steal Your Praise
Everybody Will Be Happy/Shouting on the Hills of Glory/I’ll Shout And Shine (Medley)
I Can’t Give Up
Stand On My Faith
He Didn’t Have to Do it, But He Did
He Will Deliver Me
I’ll Have To Run
How Beautiful Heaven Must Be
A Glorified Body (I’ll Have A New Body Some Day)
All over this world, we have a problem because of a heart problem. The pride that exists in the heart causes one to refuse they need help, a savior. A time when people are driven by self-pride. Whatever benefits the self is what people want. How many times do we allow pride to get in the way? A title wasn’t given, the pat on the back was forgotten, a word of praise was neglected, and we then got bitter because we thought we deserved better. It doesn’t matter how holy you think you are, when the pride of the flesh begins whispering you begin to listen. Our focus should not be on the one we see in the mirror but on those around us. It’s not about you, your neighbor, how good you are, or how good another is, but solely about Jesus Christ.
God loves the little children. Heaven is full of little children. All of those children that were aborted, we maybe don’t know them but God has them all. Our hearts should be tender and we should be very tender towards the little children.
To go to Heaven, you MUST be converted. A lot of people go through the motions of trying to be a Christian but they’ve never been saved. To be converted means to be Born Again. To be Born Again you must humble yourself as a little child.
A child as long as it’s got its mother and sustenance is happy. They don’t know grudges. They can play with just about anything and anyone. We as adults should be more like children.
We should desire the sincere milk of the Word of God. Children can’t communicate when they are babies but they crave and let you know when they need to be fed. There should be something in you that makes you hunger to be fed by God. People don’t go to church because they don’t desire the Word of God.
Matthew 6:31; We don’t control tomorrow. Stop worrying about the things that God has already promised. Has God ever failed you? God has always provided for His children and He’s not stopping now. He cares for us more than we care for ourselves. A child doesn’t worry about food, shelter, or clothes, they don’t even think about it. Why do we?
1 Corinthians 15:20; we let go of those things that are hurtful and harmful. Like a child, they don’t hold grudges. Once saved we become a new creature. We should no longer hold grudges, etc.
Have you been saved?
Is there an inner working towards God?
Galatians 4:2; Little children can be teachable. Adults already know everything and no longer accept being taught. Children are full of questions and are always hungry for knowledge. A Christian should also be teachable by God’s instruction. Parents that correct their children, that child still loves its parents. If you’re a Christian then you’ve experienced the chastening of God. He loves and He can’t stand the thought of not helping when we are in the wrong.
Children are low in stature and low in body. Children know they can’t do things without help at times. God wants us to be lower than Him because we should be humble. We should be as a child asking for help, asking God for all things. Children trust even though they have no idea when or where. Trust in Jesus because He knows all things and will never forsake.
Romans 10:8
We forget the things that God has done for us. We need to remember where He brought us from. He can remind us.
Can you remember a time when the Lord called your name into salvation? Psalm 40:1
Psalm 40:2; don’t forget where He brought you from. The misery of the pit of death.
Luke 23:42; wasn’t it a shouting time when you were saved?
Psalm 51:5; we all have to come through the blood of Jesus Christ.
2 Corinthians 6:17; one can’t straddle the fence between God & Satan. One can’t love the world and God too, it’s one or the other.
Remember why Jesus died.
Hebrews 9:22; He died on the cross so we could be saved. Through the blood of Jesus, we are washed and cleansed of our sins.
Philippians 2:8; we can do nothing without God.
Remember how much He loves you.
John 3:16; He gave us the best. He had every right to turn His back on us but He sent His only son to save us.
Remember what He’s done for you.
Mark 5:15; God can take anyone and change their lives for the better.
Philippians 4:13; we can do all things through Christ.
Philippians 4:19;
Ephesians 2:8; saved us through faith
Matthew 6:8; God knows before we ask.
1 Corinthians 15:58;
Everything we have is from God. The breath, the air, the water, etc. all things are from God.
Remember where you would be without God.
Philippians 1:11; God gives us the fruits of the Spirit.
Ecclesiastes 6:12; at the time of death your eyes will open to either Heaven or Hell.
Luke 12:20; a judgment day at the time of death. What “riches” will you offer?
Luke 16:28; spread the good news of God.
Did you know that God always sends the solution before the battle is sent? Before the first sin was committed there was a savior.
The Similarities:
A law
The 10 Commandments is a law that is given unto a person’s own following can’t be fulfilled. It’s sure death. We can’t keep the law. Esther had a law against her that meant death to her and her kind.
An enemy
Esther’s enemy was the one that spoke out against her, the one that went to destroy her out of spite. We too have an enemy that seeks to destroy us and we can’t get away from him. Kill, steal, and destroy is what the enemy wants. Regardless of the world, we have a savior that’s in full control.
A king
Esther had a king and her enemy wasn’t counting on him to save her. Fear is the one thing that keeps us from standing against the enemy. We too have a king that is in full control and is for us.
The Differences:
Proud and imperious man – Fear
Esther was afraid because the law sealed her fate. Her fear was the very worst that could happen to her. We are to come to God boldly to ask Him anything. Jesus said to come unto Him all who are heavy laden. If we pray with a contrite spirit God will hear from us. Esther didn’t have that. We also have a promise from God, Esther didn’t have that either. God wants us to ask him.
Promises
How many times have you been in the presence of God, the joy, where He says He’s glad you came to Him? Esther needed to see the welcome from the king. She had to wait for the golden scepter before she could come to the king. She had to be invited each time. We do not have to deal with being welcomed in each time. The scepter of Grace was extended to us at Calvary’s Cross and from that point on we can come boldly at any time to God. God’s grace welcomes us to come at any time.
Alone
Esther was alone when she went to the king, we do not. Romans 8:26; we are never alone! 2 precious friends, the Holy Spirit that speaks for us when we don’t know what to pray for, and Romans 8:34; Jesus Christ is also there making intersession for us. We are the child of the king.
God did not change the 10 commandments. No, in fact just as the king and Esther, God made a new law. Yes, the original law is real and should be followed but the new law supersedes it. Without Christ, there is a law that will condemn you to Hell. Yet, there is a new law that if you accept Christ then you will live forever in Heaven.
We can look back into our past and see those people we knew that were tough, men and women. They were tough because of the times they lived in. Their surroundings at times made them tough. If the A/C went out in a hot summer the church would be called off likely. Just a few years ago the church didn’t have an A/C and those people came anyway. They made a way to get through all kinds of things.
Three components to being tough, spirit, physical, and mind. It’s time in the Christian church that quit making excuses to not work for God. There will always be some type of hindrance or battle that will come against a person. In order to work through those things we must be prepared for them in advance. One must make their mind up in advance. 2 Timothy 4; there will be times that you will be knocked down, your body will tell you no, but you must persevere. Don’t give up! Some of us allow every little thing to cause us not to go to church. Our hands are meant to work for God. There are things that we might be going through that God allows and will not remove. There is a reason for that thing. Your body will call time out before you will. The devil loves to attack the body to cause your mind to give up. Revivals nowadays barely last 2-3 days anymore. Just a few years ago, revivals used to last a month or more. Have you ever wondered why they don’t last long? It’s because people are lazy, the devil tells the body to tell the mind that one can’t handle it.
Make a sacrifice and come to church on Sunday morning. After Sunday morning make another sacrifice and attend Sunday evening service. Wednesday service is just as important as the Sunday morning service. If one continues to make the sacrifice of attending each service then they will begin to get tougher and stronger in God.
Don’t slack on the body. Physical strength. It takes physical strength to get the work done for God. However, your mind is the most important because there are multiple places where the devil can enter the mind. Our eyes, nose, ears, mouth, etc. Most rely solely on the preacher to feed their minds of God. They have no daily working of their minds on their own to strengthen their minds with God. Your mind must be tough or you will not be tough at all. Your mind will take you down before you know it. Your mind will cause you to do things that you never thought you would do. When one flips on Fox News and feeds their minds of what they want one to know then they are being fed something not of God. Flip open the Word of God and let God feed your mind. Let your mind be in God and not the world. You will not be able to stand against the devil if your mind is not strengthened unto God. The devil can’t make you unsaved if you’re saved. However, he can make you unaffected by God.
Whatever happened to the saying, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.”?
Our spiritual strength is also important for it to be tough. We must allow and believe God in what He wants in our lives. Instead of making excuses to not work for God, start doing for God and not self. Physical toughness requires repetition. Every muscle you have must be worked in order to be strong or to continue to keep working. Our Christian life must be worked in order to be strong in God. Are you accustomed to working a full shift for God? Continue to exercise your body, mind, and spirit in God. What a man thinks, that’s what he will do.
Start with the heart and once your heart gets right the mind will follow. When your mind gets right then your flesh will follow.
The church age we live in church attenders have gotten lazy. We sit back on God and will not move. We have larger homes than we’ve ever had, bass boats, and nice cars yet we don’t do anything for God. The building will not get a person to move.
If the pastor is on vacation then half the church is on vacation. The pastor is not the one that you should be serving. Church members will amen preachers but when God says to do something they stop, and refuse to do what He says.
Dedicated church members are just as guilty as the lay member that doesn’t do anything for the church. Church members do not follow God enough to show the lost how it’s done. If someone asks you how church went and you state, good. Is that encouraging? We should be excited to attend church, worship God, and give Him the praise that He so deserves.
We do not attend church and expect it to be a funeral home in a state of depression. We ought to come expecting an exciting service. We get excited over the sports. We dedicate our lives to our children and their sports then we wonder what happened when our children don’t want to attend church when they get older.
There are people out in the world today who are more excited about rocks than church services. We are living on the very near edge of a church that we don’t know how to call out to God. We should be clinging to the elders of God and asking them how they did it. We live in a place now where if one gets excited over Jesus another person might get offended.
When you pray to God do you have your mind made up on how you want the outcome to be? When God does it His way you then get upset that it wasn’t the way you wanted it. We should be humble before God and just be willing and do what He says.
It’s time to stop sitting!
It’s time to get up and start working.
How long has it been since you’ve asked God to feel His presence? 5 minutes of prayer and thinking you’ve done all you’ve done doesn’t cut it.
Turn and go the other way. Whichever direction you are headed in, turn and go the other way. If you are content with sin then you will not show care towards other sinners.
When one gets saved, God begins to speak and work on the sins. The sins must be worked on and dealt with. Joab’s sin had to be dealt with. Joab repented too late. The ones who have died and gone to Hell are trying to repent as we speak. Yet their repentance is too late.
True repentance. The prodigal son wanted what was due to him from his father. He then went out and partied it all away. He had a great time. Then he ran out of money and then the fun ran stopped. After living in the sin that he created he finally came to himself. He made a choice to go back home and repent. He went back home and repented to which his father accepted it and honored it.
We must repent to see our people saved and also repent. What will it take for the people to repent? Our gasoline could dry up. That would cause a huge problem, yet the saved have hope.
False repentance. Pharaoh repented but it was fake. Just as soon as he “repented” he was met with great tribulations. There are many people who go to the altar to repent but take their sins back with them when they leave the altar. Some go to the altar because they don’t want to go to Hell. They act in reaction and feelings and yet there is no change. Some preachers will tell you to do certain things and one will be saved. If God isn’t inviting then you can’t be saved regardless of your actions.
Just think about those who live out in California if they knew the Spirit that’s in our little church. If our faith here could be known throughout the world, not just in our community. It will take us to come together in one mind, and one accord. God hasn’t changed. He’s the same today as He was back then in Biblical times. What’s holding us back? God is willing to work if we would just let Him.
How many times did you get into your prayer closet and pray for your lost people? Paul prayed to God about the church without ceasing. We should be doing just the same. If there was ever a time, today is it.
The war that is going on in Israel right now. Don’t think for a second that it couldn’t happen here. If anything like that happened here you better believe that people would be calling out to God then. Why not call out to Him now?
Maybe you’ve heard multiple times that Jesus is coming. You better mark it down, He is coming back. If we look around today we know that the end times are just right around the corner. The things that are to take place prior to His return are taking place right now.
The Holy Spirit is available to everyone. God had a plan for Sampson. God had a plan for Jonah. The Old Testament is important because before Jesus was born, and sent, there was God. The New Testament shows us Jesus and the Holy Spirit.The prosperity gospel is a lie. If you think all of the good things you do will gain you better things, you’re badly mistaken. Christians are called to do a job, it’s already on purpose. Many men in the Bible we read about them doing work for God had a job to do, called a job. If you’re still going to your pastor asking them what the Bible says about something then you need to be ready and study your Bible more.There is a degree of suffering when you live for God. You first need to pray without ceasing. You need to understand what God wants you to do. Each person has a different way they commune with God. The results of God’s plan are not the same for each person. When God tells you His plan you can’t compare your plan with someone else’s. If you’re doing what you think is the plan and everything you touch just seems to fall apart, it might not be God’s plan you’re following. Again, pray. The life of Job negates the prosperity gospel entirely. Job did everything and gave everything to God. Even though he did these things and sacrificed greatly he went through great turmoil. Once Job broke and told God to just kill him, his friends then began to judge him and blamed him for doing something wrong.
The time that we are living in is running closer to God’s return. We’ve heard it and heard it but the time is now. Luke 9:23; there is nothing in the way of you dying out daily. We don’t do enough for God. A Christian is nothing but a sinner saved by grace. We are nothing.
Stop taking off the Christian coat. When it’s cold or raining we like to put a coat on but when it begins to get hot, we remove it. Don’t wear Jesus just when you need Him. Keep Jesus on at all times.
Revelations 3:15-19; today is the day of repentance. If you think you try to clean up your act then that’s the problem. You can’t clean up your sins, God must do that. Some don’t have the yearning for the Word of God. Some sit during a preaching and think it’s not for them and ignore it. In each and every service there is something for everyone. It may not be for the moment but it was sent for a purpose. Your repentance is not a 360 and return to your sin, it’s a 180 where you repent and walk away from it not to return.
Hebrews 10:25; the day is coming, right around the corner. Jesus will call His people home very soon. Until that time we are to continue to come together, fellowship, worship, and love each other. When we get tired and low we search out things to bring us energy. We know where the fridge is that has that source of energy. There are some church members who don’t know where the source of energy is. They couldn’t even tell you how to get that energy. Sitting in church have you just thought about getting out of church? What your plans are after church, eating, playing, sleeping, etc. What a shame that your heart, mind, and soul aren’t on God. Lift up God, lift up the name of Jesus. Your rest will come later.
The day is approaching. It’s not time to lay down and rest, it’s time to get up and work.
The power of God is not just for the preachers but from the front to the back of the church house. In 2 Timothy 3:1-5 God isn’t talking about the world, He’s talking about the church.
One thing it’s going to take to fight against the devil is the power of God. Do you want really want it? Now the church is not without power. Often times we say we are powerless against certain things. When we come into unity there is a power. The world’s Christianity is a cultural church.
- The method has power.
Revelation 3:16, a church done wrong makes Him want to spew us from His mouth. As long as the method that God has given to us is followed it’ll work. How many times have you been beaten down by the world and come sit down in the church? Come in singing, come in praying, come in praising, and come in preaching. Whether you like the preacher or not, if he’s preaching God’s Word then you better agree with it. Engage with the preacher. Engage with the preached word. It pleases God to be engaged with Him. If you miss the message from God then it’s not the preacher’s fault or the service’s fault, it’s yours. 1 Corinthians 1:18, Romans 1:16, Romans 10:17, Romans 10:14; grown men have been broken to weeping when the Gospel has been shared with them. It has power! 1 John 1:9
- The message has power.
The message God sends to us has great power. It’s not up to us to convict a person it’s the message of the Gospel. We are all guilty of judging others. We all judge others for their sins. It’s our job as Christians to get the lost to Jesus, not the Primitive Baptist church, not another doctrine, but to Jesus.
- The manuscript has power.
The King James Version is the closest version we have to the original scrolls. The Bible is the Word of God. Do you believe this? 49% of surveyed Christians said they do not believe that the Bible is not the Word of God. The world will teach you that the Bible is not God’s Word. The Old Testament is just as relevant as the newspaper is for today. Some people have been taught that it’s not important and people believe this. Matthew 4; when Jesus was tempted by Satan, He didn’t preach a message but quoted the scripture.
- Our Master has ALL power.
All power has been given to Jesus. Some people serve a church or a denomination, and some even serve a cell phone. Jesus stated He has the power to lay His life down and to lift it back up. He has power over death! No one has ever lived like Jesus for 33 and a half years and sinless the entire time. The Jews didn’t kill Jesus. The cross, scourging, or even the loss of blood didn’t kill Him. Jesus died when HE said He was going to die. No one died like Jesus died. No one was raised from the dead like Jesus was. No one is coming back like Jesus is coming back, 1 Corinthians 15:51-58. Many people believe in false gods dying and waking up in a devil’s Hell.
We as a Christian have no right to fear anything!
A place with no suffering, pain, sickness, or sadness. We as saved Christians will receive a glorified body. Do you know where Heaven is? No one does but we know the way. The ONLY way to get to Heaven is through Jesus. Thinking about the blind man. He was blind since he was born. The first thing he saw was Jesus. The thief on the cross asked Jesus to remember him when He died and Jesus told the thief he had found the way to Heaven. In another instance, we know a story of a man who lay at a beautiful gate begging for help, food, and money. He was able to find the way to Heaven where he would no longer beg and everything he ever wanted.
Jesus stands at your soul’s door and knocks and all we have to do is open it and invite Him in. The only way to Heaven is Jesus.
Are you going to Heaven where we will walk on streets of gold? People are killing people for gold and in heaven we will walk on it.
What makes Heaven, Heaven, and Hell, Hell? Jesus. Heaven is the presence of Jesus and Hell is the absence of Jesus.
The devil is real. The greatest deception is that he tells the world that he isn’t real. He is trying his dead leaves best to tear the church apart from the inside out. We as a church need to wake up and realize what we are fighting. It’s not against the flesh, it’s a spiritual warfare.
Roe versus Wade was overturned and the church rejoiced. But did you see what happened right after that? The homosexuals began their stand and to begin their marches. When the devil gets knocked down in one way then he will rise up in another area.
The devil is working hard to try and shut the preachers up. We are at war with an unseen advisory that is spiritual. We are to stand yet have of us are not standing. God gives us everything we need in order to stand. We should be prayerful and stand.
We are to pray and pray always fervently and earnestly to God. Often times we leave out the righteousness of it all. We are all guilty of leaving out righteousness. Some call themselves Christians yet they have no result of being such. There are also some who are Christians but they’ve left out the fervent, earnest, and righteousness of the powerful prayer to God.
Church members used to plan their days and weeks according to the church services. We now have it backward. Most plan their church services around their life activities. If it’s not convenient for the member to attend church then they simply don’t go.
The adversary is strong and he has teeth. He’s mad and he’s out to destroy because he knows he’s going to lose and go to Hell. He will come after you and strike at your weakest areas of your life. Fear is the absence of faith.
Stop acting like the church and BE the church. Stand and pray. Pray in the Spirit. It’s the only way we can fight spiritual warfare.
We as Christians are not doing everything we can to see the lost saved. If say you are then you lie. You are sitting in the way of the sinner. We as the body of believers need to plan our time around God. We all have lost in our families. There are lost that sit in church meetings each time the doors are open.
Joshua 1:8; day in and day out you should be meditating on the Lord. Prayer to God and ask Him how to be righteous and Holy. When He shows you then you need to act on it. The reason the church is falling is because they are not acting on it. Many people go to church and attend it but they are not real Christians. They allow the devil to come into their minds and cause discord. Parents allowing their children to be whatever sex they choose doesn’t make sense and it goes against God.
Get rooted in the Word of God. Be like a tree planted by the water. A tree that is planted near water is fulfilled, grounded, fed, strong, and rooted. The water is a regular supply of the tree’s needed nutrients. It also is a place of rest that provides shade and protection. A tree that is rooted near water is strong and can withstand the storms that come.
Lift up the churches in prayer. Help each other in their needs. Seek out the old paths through the scripture and live it. Be like the tree planted near water and get rooted in the Word of God. Don’t wait for the one time a year for the Association Meetings to love on each other and offer help. There are 360 days in the year that one can reach out and pray, help, love, and care for each other.
Are you doing everything you can for God? A tree should consistently bear fruit. If you are not bearing fruit for God then you need to reevaluate your walk with God. Abraham was told by God to go and Abraham didn’t bat an eye to it. Noah was also told by God to build an ark when it had never rained before. He never asked why, he just obeyed and did. Moses was told by God and he told God he couldn’t speak well. God equipped him with the tools to do His work and he did it. Ananias was told by God to go to Paul, the man who was killing God’s people. He questioned just to make sure He was talking about the killer of Jews. So he obeyed and went to Paul and without him doing that we wouldn’t have Paul in the scripture. Anna walked after God and loved God and she then wanted a child. Once God gave her what she requested she kept her word to God. Esther became queen and saved the Jewish people. Ruth and Naomi also lived their life and obeyed God. Mary, the mother of Jesus. She didn’t think anything about giving birth to Jesus. She thought she and Joseph would be married and have their own life and children of their own. God had other plans from her and she was obedient to God’s will.
God has us to walk a life to create a road that oftentimes is made for others to walk behind us. The men of the household are to seek after God and lead their family to God. It’s time to take a stand with God for God.
Those who are preachers.
First, you must understand what preaching is. It’s a God-called thing. No one or church can call a man to preach. It’s delivering a message from God that the church needs to hear but it’s also a message to the lost. God doesn’t call the enabled but He enables the called. There is a burden that comes with being a preacher that no one can understand but another preacher. A preacher must preach nothing but the Word of God nothing more and nothing less. Many doctrines are out there that tell you that all a person can do is be a good person and you’ll be in Heaven. Other doctrines claim that Jesus was just a man who came and was born into this world and that gives others the ability to do the same things He did. These doctrines are not of the Word of God and are leading people straight into Hell. The Word of God is also sharper than a two-edged sword. It’s offensive and if it’s delivered correctly can hurt the toes. Another thing about a preacher is that he’s not perfect. Sound doctrine. In a world where it’s more prevalent than at any other time. People don’t like the truth.
Doesn’t it take two to Tango? We are to work together as one. Not only does the preacher have to preach but the members must be listening and doing. It’s not a one-way street. Don’t quench the Spirit. We hear this a lot when it comes to singing and doing things in the church. But what about going to the altar, praying for another, or giving an amen to the preacher when he gives the Word of God.
Sin is sin and the same sins they committed back in biblical times are the same sins committed today. We know that Hell enlarges itself every day. Why is this? People think they don’t need God in their lives.
Psalm 32:138-139
When the preacher gets up to preach ask yourself this. When you are sitting in Sunday School and the teacher is teaching, ask yourself this.
Peter came to Jesus and asked Him how many times someone should forgive another and Jesus told him over and over again. If you have an ought against someone then you can’t love God. God shows us mercy and He shows us grace. Without grace and mercy then we would all be lost. People don’t use the altar much and it’s possible that it’s because they are afraid of what others will think or say. Jesus paid our sin debt at His crucifixion and His blood covers all of our sins. If you’re saved then you owe Him everything for that. You don’t have the love of God in you if you have an ought against someone. God will not dwell with you if you have an ought. The only way to deal with the ought is to ask for forgiveness from both God and the person you have an ought with. Our churches are hurting. Some only have a few members, three to four maybe in attendance. Do you think God saved you to just sit on a pew? He saved your soul and you don’t want to work for Him? That’s the least that you could do for Him. Empty pews that used to be filled with members that loved God. Just a few years back during our association meetings we would have to bring out chairs to help provide seats for our fellow churches. Now, we have many empty pews. Some churches are not even represented.
All of us are crippled, in need. We are all like sheep and have gone astray. We are all crippled without Christ. The world is crippled. Society is crippled, by pornography, homosexuality, abortions, hatred towards others, anger, resentment, and bitterness. Only love can help us today. Television and movies show us what the world thinks true love is, yet they get it wrong.
A spouse who’s cared for the other during a time in need. A parent that loved through “tough love”. Love is not getting what we deserve. We do not deserve anything.
Love can hurt or scare when it’s broken. Christ’s love can never be broken or forsaken. The world will tell you it will love you as love as you do something for it in return. This isn’t true love.
Christs love is unending, never shaken. Ephesians 1:4-5; the truth will stand when the world is on fire. The world is going to disappear in a puff of smoke, fire, and brimstone. Peter 10:10;
Here on Earth, we are always preparing for war but, in Heaven, they are preparing for a wedding. Jesus has gone to Heaven to prepare a place for His children with many mansions.
Jesus’ love never fails. Even to those who hate Him and curse Him. He still loves beyond that. Do you long today for that type of love? Do you need peace, joy, or strength?
Without communion services, we have 3 days of services. Jesus’ death began with three days. Yes, He was mutilated during the scourging of His body. The crucifixion of Christ was different than the others they had done. Surely others would fight for their life but Jesus laid His life down without a fight or struggle. The third day is the important part and that’s the resurrection. There is a fourth day.The Bible talks about a day. That day when it comes will happen in the twinkling of an eye. Without warning, in an instant. Jesus didn’t come as a man to condemn the world. The Bible warns us and teaches us how to live but we do what humans do and think we know better. How many times did you go against your parent’s guidance and learn you should have listened and obeyed? Jesus came as a sacrifice to give us a way to be saved. He left this world to plead the Christian’s case to His Father, God. There is coming a day when God will tell His son Jesus that He is done intervening. He will tell Him to go get His children. Jesus is coming.Suddenly He will come and there will be a separation of the sheep and goats, the saved and the lost. Family will be separated, and spouses, grandparents, parents, friends, and children will be left behind. The corruptible flesh of the Christian’s body will be left behind and they will be changed into a body of no corruption. The grace that God gives will be instantly pulled away. The ones that will be left behind will suffer. The Gospel of Christ is available to everyone and it’s free. One can do everything to each dot and title that a person tells them to do to be saved and still die lost. One can memorize the sinner’s prayer and still die lost. How can one be saved? First, conviction must happen which is Jesus inviting you to be saved ultimately telling you that you’re lost. You then must accept His invitation and admit that you’re a sinner and need to be saved. There is room in the Book of Life for your name.
In this reading, we see Jesus speak about a man who was basically left for dead in a ditch. Several people passed him up without stopping to check on him. The very first person that went by him was a preacher, a man of God. He never batted an eye at the man. The one that you would expect to stop never stopped.
In our lives, we should be hitting the brakes more often. The enemy wants us to be too busy and too concerned about the things of this world. We go out of our way to avoid helping another. We, Christians, should be part of the solution. There will always be the poor, needy, or someone that needs help. Every one of us has a responsibility but some of us have a higher responsibility.
One can’t depend on the preacher to help. One must make sacrifices to help another person in need. In this story, we have already seen the preacher just walk by without helping, but let’s look at the church members. The next person we see is the example of a church member. He not only walked by, he stopped, judged, and never helped.
The next person was an enemy of the man in the ditch. He stopped, got in the ditch, and helped the man out and on his way.
This message is not about the enemy that helped, but about the first two, the Christian. God expects His children to help in opportunities that we come upon. When we see someone hurting we should be the first ones to stop and help. God never told us that it was optional to love another person. He told us to love others as we love ourselves. Real love is sacrifice and a willingness to let go of ourselves.
Why do we make up the rules for helping another? We refuse to talk to a drunk until they sober up. We refuse to go visit a lost person because they may cuss us. We know all along we must stop and offer Jesus as help yet we refuse to stop and help. The expectation was that the preacher would have stopped yet we also see the church member not help. It took an enemy of the man to help him out. We are all busy and we all are expected to not only love God but to love our neighbors. Nothing should get in our way to love another. If you don’t help your neighbor and say you love God then you’re a liar.
There is no place that we can be that God is not there. God is everywhere all the time. This is a fact that is hard for the human mind to understand. This means you can’t just leave God somewhere on purpose or by accident.
In verse 8 before rockets or airplanes were created that could carry a person into the air, he knew God was there.
Spiritually, have you ever thought or said you felt your life was a living Hell? The lowest point is what you thought you were going through. There is nothing that compares to Hell on this earth. When you are at your lowest point in life, God is still there. He never leaves or forsakes. Being backslid on God, He is still there. When you were living like Hell, disgraced His name, He was still there.
It rains on the just and the unjust just the same. God knows what you need and when you need them. His blessings are pouring out regardless of where your love is for Him. If you think that you can go beyond God’s love and that He will let go of you, you’re badly mistaken if you’ve been saved. God doesn’t depart from His sheep. When it gets hard He doesn’t detach from you and say, you’re on your own.
In verse 9 he speaks of the East and West. No matter how far to the east you go away from the west, God is still there. Jonah was a backslid preacher and God stuck with him even in the belly of the fish, Jonah’s Hell. The very fact that He is with us means He can hear us. There isn’t a single person that is above the thought of suicidal thoughts. The devil can easily sow the seeds of un-care and before you realize it, your thoughts are on suicide. With Jonah, God had already prepared the great fish. Once Jonah hit the water the fish swallowed him and down they went. God then told that fish to take Jonah to Ninnava. Just as Jonah, God is directing your path back home. You might have to go through “Hell” to get there, but you’re headed back home. God knew that Jonah was going to do His work.
In verse 11 he stated that even when it’s dark, God can still see and is still there. In our lives, it might get dark where we can not see. God can see, and He’s still there. God is not affected by the brightness or the lack of. The dark things will come whether we are the reason for them or not. Regardless of the fault, God is there, always.
God only chastises His children. A lost person isn’t chastised by God because they are not His. A saved person struggles against the flesh because it’s sinful. There are a lot of people that say they are a Christian but spend some time with them and you’ll find out they don’t live as a saved person. Hell is a horrible place to be. A fire that never goes out and never stops burning. Torments that never stop. The worst part of Hell is that God is not there.
Romans 9:10-13
God had chosen before they were born the purpose of God would be fulfilled. You must be born again. It doesn’t matter about a person’s lineage or whether your father was a preacher. One must be lost before they are saved. Salvation is the most important decision that you will ever make. Even though Esau was blessed by God, He never corrected him. Jacob was blessed but God chastened him. Jacob wrestled with God so much that he walked with a limp for the rest of his life. We contribute the blessings of God as His approval. The world is full of fake religions today, do your part and God will bless you. A lot of people think that if they have something to show then they are approved of God. The blessing from God is not the same as His love. His blessings are not His signs of His approval.
What is holiness?
Is it the ability to know the scripture inside and out? No. Holiness is the condition of your heart, who you are when no one is watching. Your walk with the Lord in the dark. Many people attend a church and act like it on Sunday. How is their walk on Monday or Tuesday? What are the desires of your heart? Are you still in love with the world? Are you willing to lay it all down for God? Luke 14 Jesus said that if anyone doesn’t come to Him with more love than their family then they couldn’t be His disciple.
1 Peter 1:13-20; thank God for grace! Grace is not to be taken lightly. 13: Sober; 14: Obedient; 15: Lust after the world; 16: Be holy.
Death is permanent. You have two places to go to after death, Heaven or Hell. How many people believe they will live forever, and never die?
Adam and Eve sinned in the garden. A lot of blame is placed on Eve but Adam ate of the tree too. We would have done the same thing. After they were disobedient against God they tried to hide their sin. Just like today, people still try to hide their sins. In front of God, we are all naked. He knows our sins regardless of how we try to hide them.
My Father’s LoveBecause He Loved MeThat’s Just His WayThe Same GodI’d Rather Have JesusHe Never Fails MeI Don’t Know Any Better Than JesusA Few Steps From HomeA Whisper AwayIt’s Alright, It’s OkayI Thank YouGrave Clothes
My Father’s LoveBecause He Loved MeThat’s Just His WayThe Same GodI’d Rather Have JesusHe Never Fails MeI Don’t Know Any Better Than JesusA Few Steps From HomeA Whisper AwayIt’s Alright, It’s OkayI Thank YouGrave Clothes
You never want to get so large, big that others can’t see the cross. When you think of the Glory of Christ what do you think of? When one thinks of the Roman crucifixions there’s nothing glorious about them.
Shame
John 1:14, 2:11, 11:4; publicly condemned and rejected by His own people. Stripped and were not thankful for their healing. Have we all not been rejected at some point? Hung publicly between two thieves, naked. Matthew 27:39-40; mocking. Matthew 27:36, they just sat and watched. Matthew 27:46-47, they mocked His prayer. Matthew 27:48-49, they gave Him vinegar instead of water.
Suffering
The idea was that they didn’t want the person to just die, they wanted them to suffer. The scourging, the whipping was so intense that his muscles and bones were exposed. Whipped beyond recognition. Spikes nailed through the most painful part of the body. The loss of blood, thirst, hunger, flesh, etc. We, our sins, crucified Jesus Christ. He suffered for YOU and yet you can’t attend church on Wednesday night?
Sacrifice
God gave His only son. God didn’t get a bargain, He gave Himself. When selling a car would you purchase a $10,000 car for $20,000? God gave it all for you. Who’s the biggest sinner you know? God turned His back on His only son. Could you punish an innocent person? How could God punish His only Son all the while knowing He was innocent? Because He loves us.
John 7:39, 12:21-24, 13:31, 17:4-5
There was glory in the shame, suffering, and shame but you must be a believer to see and know. A lost person doesn’t see it or understand, they can’t. Isaiah 63:1-2
You never want to get so large, big that others can’t see the cross. When you think of the Glory of Christ what do you think of? When one thinks of the Roman crucifixions there’s nothing glorious about them.
Shame
John 1:14, 2:11, 11:4; publicly condemned and rejected by His own people. Stripped and were not thankful for their healing. Have we all not been rejected at some point? Hung publicly between two thieves, naked. Matthew 27:39-40; mocking. Matthew 27:36, they just sat and watched. Matthew 27:46-47, they mocked His prayer. Matthew 27:48-49, they gave Him vinegar instead of water.
Suffering
The idea was that they didn’t want the person to just die, they wanted them to suffer. The scourging, the whipping was so intense that his muscles and bones were exposed. Whipped beyond recognition. Spikes nailed through the most painful part of the body. The loss of blood, thirst, hunger, flesh, etc. We, our sins, crucified Jesus Christ. He suffered for YOU and yet you can’t attend church on Wednesday night?
Sacrifice
God gave His only son. God didn’t get a bargain, He gave Himself. When selling a car would you purchase a $10,000 car for $20,000? God gave it all for you. Who’s the biggest sinner you know? God turned His back on His only son. Could you punish an innocent person? How could God punish His only Son all the while knowing He was innocent? Because He loves us.
John 7:39, 12:21-24, 13:31, 17:4-5
There was glory in the shame, suffering, and shame but you must be a believer to see and know. A lost person doesn’t see it or understand, they can’t. Isaiah 63:1-2
We will all stand in front of God one day and give an account of our life. Matthew 25 tells us a parable of a man who was given a talent and his fear kicked in. His fear took over and he hid it because he didn’t want to lose it.
There is something greater than the fear that comes into our life. Over 500 times the term or word fear is mentioned in the Bible. Fear is something that will come into our lives at some point.
Spirit in the lowercase form. Something that can change your mind or feeling, is a spirit. The spirit of fear does not come from God. If something doesn’t come from God then it comes from the devil. In our world the common control is fear. They murdered 6 million Jews during the Holocaust. Can you imagine if 6 million Jews stood against it? The devil wants you to respond with fear. How you control fear, believe in God, don’t doubt Him. Jesus Christ over 40 times said to not be afraid.
Gifts are something we are not usually supposed to ask for. In the Bible, there are many gifts that God has given us and we didn’t even ask for them. In the case of fear, God gave us three things to stamp out fear.
Power
The Greek word is dudymos, English – dynamite. When dynamite is lit it’ll blow a hole in just about everything. When we allow God to come into our lives our faith is fueled and God gives us the power to overcome fear. God gave His power to every Christian, not just to a few. God is always the victor. The Word of God has power and if we let it into our hearts then it’ll give us power through it. Just as dynamite, one must respect it because of its power. God’s power must also be respected.
Love
When one usually thinks of love one thinks of a passive tense. Perfect love casts out all fear. Love, agape. We love God because He first loved us. There are times when you are given courage but most times there is a perfect love that is given to love the enemy, not hate. Christians have more for them than against them. Perfect love casts out all fear.
Sound Mind
Discipline that is self-control. When fear has control over us it’s often only in our mind. We think this, that, and the other. If we allow God to take control then He will take over and get things into control. This gift has nothing to do with how smart you may or may not be. Tell the fear what God said about you.
Ever since we were saved we’ve been opening up these gifts. They just don’t stop! The best thing about your life was that you received a little bit of discipline. Without that discipline we would do whatever we wanted that would cause a lot of problems.
If the enemy can make you fear then you’ll stop doing what God says to do.
Anything that this world has to offer can’t get you into Heaven. The only thing that will get you into Heaven is Jesus Christ. Everyone has blood that flows through their body but it is corrupt. It’s not clean blood. There was only one that had clean blood that is incorruptible. Many will start out well in the beginning but it’s how you end that matters. We are not saved by corruptible things. We shouldn’t allow the small things in our lives to tear us down. We shouldn’t compromise with the devil and his small tricks. Society will tell you to just go along with it and it’ll be fine.2 Chronicles 14America isn’t calling out to God for help. They think they can do it all themselves with money and control. We should get into a place where we should call upon God for help. We are in trouble. We have people that live around us that are lost and if they don’t get saved they will forever be lost. No person will enter into Heaven because of their religion. We are not safe just because we want to ignore the enemy. We should be sober and vigilant. The enemy will destroy your testimony. Never stop proclaiming in whom you believe. Never stop giving God praise for the many blessings and grace that He gives. Don’t forget where you started from when you were saved. Don’t think that when you sin it doesn’t hurt anyone but yourself. The saved has a responsibility to live with the Lord and walk in the Lord. If you choose to live otherwise then He will also refuse you. Asa was doing really good because he was walking and seeking God up until he turned his back on God. He took it upon himself to run the show and fell hard with wars for the rest of his life. In order to see victory you must stay with God. He is a jealous God and He will not share Himself with another god.Asa turned wicked because he was jealous. He put the man of God in jail and began to oppress his people. America was doing well in the beginning because they knew where to put their faith. If you are not going for God then you’re going with the devil. It’s one or the other.
We should be honest enough to drop our pride and allow God to deal with our sins. This will require some searching. We like to lie about our soul and whether we are good or not. We were born this way and therefore we struggle with the truth. If you’re not trying to line up with the Word of God then you’ve created your own gospel to follow. You could have been raised at the feet of Billy Graham but if you’re lost you will die like everyone else and lift your eye in Hell.
The problem is that we are not willing to allow God to search us out. The stubborn part is that He already knows us but we refuse to deal with it and be honest with it.
Psalm 139:1-6
You must have a vision of God, a knowing of Him.
- David starts it out by stating that God already knows, watches, and searches us. He is searching us at all times. He doesn’t take a time off. There is never a place, time, or thought that He doesn’t know about us.
- God knows when we sit & stand. Something that seems so mundane or irrelevant, He knows. In order for God to properly judge He must know it all, all-knowing. God also knows your thoughts from afar. He’s the only one who knows our thoughts. We think we know ourselves yet can be wrong, He knows. Have you ever chased a rabbit in your thoughts and not know why you did? He knows why.
- God knows in full our ways of walking and living. Not only does He know our walking but He knows our rest. This means He knows if we are active in our Spiritual walk and work, or if we have laid down on Him. He knows our doing and He cares how we do. He also knows when we rest and why. He also knows our ways, 24/7.
- He knows the words that are on the tip of our tongue. Those words that we don’t say but think it. This is like putting this statement into the bucket of thoughts. We may not have spoken it but He knows what it was and why it was going to be spoken.
- Beset, in-camped around or surrounded. God is in front, behind, on top, and below, He is all around us. Job’s life was surrounded by a hedge around him. We are in the Father’s hand and no one can pluck us out of it. God has surrounded us with His protection and love.
- David acknowledged that He knew God knew him, cared for him, and protected him. He knew and yet couldn’t comprehend it all.
Psalm 139:23-24
It’s one thing to know that God loves and knows our life but it’s another to ask Him, invite Him to search, and remove what doesn’t belong in it. We all need to be honest with God.
In our lives we have a lot of storms we could talk about. A lady in the Bible had a storm in her life. For 12 years she had a health issue with her blood. She did everything she could think of to take care of her problem. One day she heard that Jesus was passing through her area and she made her way there, weak and feeble. She simply touched the hem of his garment and was instantly healed.
We have many storms, spiritually and physically.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had a storm blowing their way. Just as the woman, they made their mind up that regardless of their situation they would not worship a false god. The fire was so hot that it killed the men that put them in it. They fell into the flames and just walked around. No hair was singed, no longer bound, no smoke smell, and were walking around worshiping God.
Down in the valley is where our faith gets its exercise. The disciples with Jesus in the boat while a storm blew in. The storm was so strong that the water was about to sink the it. All the while, Jesus slept. The disciples thought He didn’t care so they went to Him. Jesus awoke and told the storm to stop, and it stopped. Jesus is always there.
There are storms for the lost just the same but the lost have no help in their time of need. They have no one to call upon other than people and those people are not always there like Jesus is.
The world hates Jesus and His church. They will persecute the church. How will you handle it? God’s grace is sufficient and He will never forsake.
How do you know that you’re saved? If your answer has anything to do with “I”, you’ve missed it. “I” will take you to Hell. The wonder of salvation. God chose you, we are the pre-elect. God knew you before anyone else knew you. On your way to church how ... [Read more...]
The post The Wonder Of It All first appeared on NPPBC.
We do not know what each of us is going through but God does. There are things we go through in life when we want answers. We all have friends and those friends mean a lot to us, but they don’t understand what each of us is going through at all times. Those friends care but they don’t it all. God is the only one that knows what we are going through and what we need to get through it. At times we can feel that no one cares. The enemy comes and pushes us down. God knows when this happens and there is hope in Him. The devil will have you believe that no one cares. He is so wicked and he’ll cause us to go down a road of depression, but God and His word have never failed. The world doesn’t want you to believe that God loves you and cares for you. The world will tell you to look to yourself and to others. We let ourselves down and so do others. God will never let you down and He loves you more than anything in this world. One can make a thousand excuses, finances, spouse, family, employment, bills, etc. The enemy is bringing in these excuses trying to get you to dwell on the depression. The enemy wants to keep you in the news media to keep you depressed to think there is nothing to live for. God loves you and cares for your soul. Remember the importance of humility. Get absent of your pride. You need God with every breath you take. He will lift you up out of the worries of this life. Isaiah 53:3-5; does He care for you? It was your fault that He was crucified and yet He cares for you. He took our place and took the punishment that we couldn’t take. Everything that He did at Calvary He did for us. He cares for your soul, He cares for you! It’s by grace through faith that one is saved. It’s not that you’ve earned salvation. Have you ever turned your back on Jesus? There’s not a single person that can say they’ve never done this. We’ve all been that “Prodigal Son”. There are some that think they’ve done too much for God to love them. John 3:16; the most quoted verse from the bible yet we don’t believe what we know. Isaiah 53:10; because He loves you and cares for our soul. He did all of these things just so we could go free. He gave Himself a ransom for our souls. Because He loved you. You can’t bargain with God. Titus 2:11; this is the only thing that everyone has. On the cross Jesus asked His father, God, to forgive us because we had no idea what we were doing. Philippians 2:6-8; the devil lies to everyone and tells us that no one cares for us. Jesus made Himself a servant to care for us. The devil is trying his dead-level best to siphon all of the joy out of our lives every day. We’ve read and know the story of Jesus in a boat with His disciples. A great storm blew in and Jesus just slept through it. The disciples began to worry and get upset because they thought that Jesus didn’t care about them about to perish in the storm. Jesus was right there and yet they thought He didn’t care. In another place, it was asked how much God loves us compared to a bird. God provides for the birds without thought. Yet He loves us MORE than the lowly bird. We are to put God first and as long as we do that then He will provide. We all worry about stuff, we think our faith is in jeopardy and at times we just are not going to make it. He’s proven that He loves us and it’s time to take the enemy's lies to Him. Be honest, and admit that you’ve been carrying those things around that are not meant to be carried. Lay them upon Jesus and let Him take them from you.
Six fruits of faith. In the first two parts, we covered 4 of the six fruits of faith, commitment, resolve, hope, and courage. Obedience We often think of obedience as something that is made to do. Real obedience is a product of faith. Moses believed God and since he believed Him so much he obeyed Him. If someone doesn’t believe in God then they will not obey Him. We need this fruit of faith in our churches today. If God says it, do it. If Noah didn’t believe in God then he would have never built the ark. There is no absence of God in this world. One can find God everywhere now. Abraham and Ruth wanted a child. God told Abraham that he would have a child. He believed God but Ruth laughed at what God said. Ruth didn’t believe in God. Throughout the scripture there are mandates, things we are to do and not do. We struggle with the smallest of things that we are to do. It’s not a foreign concept that you’ll reap what you sow. God isn’t in Heaven cracking His whip. His love is beyond compare. God told Saul to go into the city and destroy everything. Saul didn’t obey God and kept what he thought were the good things. Once Saul was caught he began to backtrack and blame other things and people. 1 Samuel 15; we all have an opportunity to obey God. Confidence We don’t know where they actually crossed the Red Sea. There are many speculations about its exact location but what we do know is that there was a wall of water on one side and a wall of water on the other. They crossed through these walls of water on dry ground and not muddy. When they got to the other side God closed the walls of water and killed the soldiers that were quickly approaching. 2 Timothy 1; if you don’t have faith then you can’t have confidence. Abraham didn’t have hope yet he had confidence. Romans 4; he believed that he was able to perform, this is confidence. God has made promises to us that we have a hard time believing in that he actually made good on them. Genesis 22; Abraham after being told to sacrifice his promised son woke up early. Most of us would want to procrastinate as long as possible. When they had got to the top of the mountain his son asked Abraham where the sacrifice was at. Abraham with confidence replied that God would provide it. The Christian needs great confidence today. A result of faith is victory. One of the victories a Christian has is through faith they are saved and at the time of death, Heaven is the victory. The heart of a victory is God. There is nothing in your life that God can’t handle, but we must believe. 1 John 5:4; victory over the world is through our faith.
Six fruits of faith. In the first part, we covered 2 of the six fruits of faith, commitment, and resolve. Hope is born. Faith is the product of being changed by God and it produces hope. If one is not saved then they have no idea what this is. One can’t have hope without faith. A falsely accused prisoner may have hope in their heart that they may get out. While a guilty prisoner will not have that hope because they are guilty. A person that believes in evolution then they have no hope because they do not believe in God. It was by pure accident that we are here today. No hope. God gives us hope. Standing at a graveside knowing that the person that died had no testimony of ever being saved. We know that they likely had no hope in God and are likely in Hell. The hope in a person's salvation hasn’t played out 100% because we are not dead. At death, a Christian’s hope will be made full. Hebrews 11:1; the lost of this world need to be saved in order to obtain this hope. There may be obstacles in your life but God can remove those things in order for you to do His will. Currently, suicide is at an all-time high because the world has convinced people that there is no hope because God has been removed. A Christian has hope in the afterlife but those are things we can’t see. Looking at our current world most will say that there is no hope. If one doesn’t believe in God then they will believe there is no hope in our current situation. Think about the countries of the Bible that clearly show no hope of being saved. Time and time again the people or a single person would pray to God to have mercy on them and God heard from them. We look at people in our own lives and think there is no hope for them. What you’re saying is that you don’t believe in God that has all the control and love they need. Moses had hope in God. He looked at the treasures that were in store for him from the Pharaoh yet he chose to have hope in God and not the worldly treasures. The woman with the issue of blood. She had run out of hope. Her hope was in the money and the doctors and she had run out of both. She was hopeless and she had nothing to live for. It wasn’t until she heard about Jesus that her hope began to change. She first had to believe that she could be healed, she then had to work towards it. Zacchaeus was an outcast, no one liked him. Then one day he heard that Jesus was passing through. Hope is a powerful thing and it only takes a little bit. He ran out and up a tree just so he could see Jesus. His hope in Jesus made him whole. Courage A plague that is in our churches today is the lack of courage. The more you hear and read the true Word of God preached the more courage you will have. Young David was just a typical Shepard boy of the time. He had heard about a giant that made fun of his God. He had courage in God through the two tests of the lion and the bear. He didn’t have a gun like we would today. he grabbed the lion by the beard and slain him. He believed in God so much that he was willing to put his own life on the line for Him. Saul tried to help him by giving him armor but David didn’t have faith in them. He took what he knew and slew that giant in God's name. One can’t find courage in a box. The devil will want you to think that you can’t do anything. But God produces courage that the devil can’t touch. Often times we are more scared of the battle than we are the enemy.
There are six fruits of faith we will try to cover. Commitment Commitment is necessary to be saved. When God pulls one out of the sinful life one should turn to Him to commit to Him. 2 Timothy 1:12; we see Paul’s faith and also his faith that God is committed to keep him. Our faith is what helps us make choices toward God. Commitment is missing in the church today. Church members can’t commit to God enough to attend church. When the devil comes whispering in your ear to tell you to lay out of church, just tell him you’re going anyway. A lot of the problem with commitment is that they’ve never been saved. Many churches today are not preaching the true Word of God on salvation and sin. They preach a watered-down religion so they gain church attendance but not Heaven attendance. Think about your breakfast with a little egg and some bacon. The chicken is involved but the pig is committed. The chicken did just a little work but the pig gave it all. What is one committing to when it comes to God. Is one committing to being a missionary, song leader, or preacher? No. God is just asking for a commitment unto Him to be forever grateful and work for Him. Resolve Resolve to do the will of God. A steadfast hunger for God. Moses made a choice to be committed to God. This then brought on a resolve to do whatever God wanted Him to do. He knew it wasn’t going to be easy but made that choice anyway. Just as us, once we wake up make a commitment to God and resolve in your heart to not let the devil take control. Hebrews 11:7; Noah, by faith, moved with fear. Noah moved with resolve each morning. His belief in God caused him to do what God told him to do. How many times have you heard that Jesus is coming soon? You’ve heard the warning yet you don’t have the fear of going to Hell.
Why do we think we have enough faith? Think about Moses and what he endured. God called Moses to go and ask for his people to be set free. Yet Moses trusted in someone invisible. When we believe in God we can see Him through faith. Moses was able to endure the load that he was given. God didn’t have to be a physical object for Moses to see Him. By faith, we can see God. Moses talked to God as a friend to a friend. God is someone that sticks closer than a brother. Hebrews 10:39; just because one can’t see God physically with their eyes doesn’t mean He doesn’t exist. Moses was allowed to see God but only His hinder-parts as He walked by and while Moses was in a cleft of a rock. This changed Moses to the point that when he came back down from the mountain, no one was able to look upon him. Faith is the glasses that allow us to view God. Hebrews 10:40; evidence proves something. The world needs a little evidence of God. What is this evidence? Faith! There isn’t a single person that can worship God without His Spirit. A lost person can’t worship something they don’t have. Living down here some things can’t be explained. People that have been healed of cancer when the doctors did nothing to aid in their healing. Faith produces assurances: Romans 1:20; assures of His existence. The things that He has created are clearly seen. There is enough earthly evidence to prove there is a God. But the world needs the Spiritual proof, not the physical proof. Hebrews 11:6, Romans 8:28; 8:37-39; assures us of His providence. It’s by faith that we know He is real. We that are saved have a testimony of His proof of His providence in our life. Ephesians 1:13-14; assures us of His presence. When something is present then we have a sense they are there. How do you know when God is near? The Spirit of God bares witness.
As a Christian, we should be a reflection of Christ. So what does it mean, to God be the glory? What really matters? Do what ... [Read more...]
The post To God Be The Glory first appeared on NPPBC.
The three men Shadrach, Meshack, and Abednego had made up their minds before they got there whom they were going to serve. They were all warned and instructed what they were to do and if they didn’t do it what the conciseness was going to be. The question came, is it true? Is it true that you are sold out to God? Is it true that you are a Christian and will not bow to another god? We’ve come to a time in our society when one must make a choice if one will follow the masses. Does your life show great confidence in God? Is it true that you will not drink, curse, or do the things that the world says are okay? The world should be able to look at a Christian and see the difference between them (the lost) and a Christian. A Christian usually makes a lot of claims that the world says can’t happen. A flood happened that swallowed the world in water. A great fish that was prepared for a man that was told to do God’s work and refused then was spit up on dry land. A virgin that gave birth to a man child that was the Child of God. These three men were given another chance to make up their minds about whom they would serve. The world does the same. It tries its best to give you chance after chance to bow before it. They didn’t need any more time because they’d already made up their mind about whom they would serve. They went as far as to tell the king that their God had the power to deliver them from the fire BUT even if He doesn’t then that was alright with them. Their lives were on the line. For us today it might be your job, or it could be your friends or family. The day is coming when the Christian faith will be tested and challenged and you need to know right now if it’s true in whom you believe. God never promised that a Christian wouldn’t be put through a fire or battle, but He did say He would be there when they go through it. Has God ever failed you? Is it true that God is always with you? It’s not because you are special, it’s because HE is special. What was the outcome of the three men and the truth that they stood on? First, they were not killed by the flames of the fire but protected. Not even a hair on them was singed. Their clothes didn’t even smell like smoke. Second, the king was convinced and then believed. God became true to the king and it took three men to stand true for God.
Faith is what keeps a Christian going. It’s when you think you can’t go any further and then a strong gust of Spirit blows through to push you on. Faith takes the impossible, possible. Hebrews 11:1; it’s faith in God that helps you take the next step. Hebrews 10:19-23; the devil make try to make you think that God doesn’t care about you but your faith should step in and cause the devil to tuck his tail and run. Hope that comes from God is the evidence that He gives us. The hope that blesses you is when you know beyond knowing that God is true. The prayers that we know He will answer is the hope because we know He will answer. Charity is the greatest of all three. There will come a time when we will lay our flesh down. We won’t need hope or faith anymore cause charity will take its place. How many times have you judged someone and thought there was no hope for them? God doesn’t look at what we look at because His love is beyond all understanding. How many serial killers or murders do you know? Do you know you walk beside one every day? Satan is so good at what he does he will have your mind off of Christ at the smallest thing. Commitment is a thing of the past it seems. From marriages to church attendance, people can’t commit. Some people are hard to love, yet God loved us when we were unlovable. It only takes a little faith in Christ. Then your hope will begin to grow. If you keep going then the charity begins to flow and you won’t be able to stop it.
Christians walk around with a frown on their face. God gave David a bear and a lion to kill. Then He provided a giant for him to kill. He had great joy during those times and even spoke about it at times. Then there came a time when David tarried. He basically sat down on God and stopped working for Him. All of a sudden, a beautiful woman was sent his way by the devil. David fell for the devil’s plan and laid with Bathsheba, she became pregnant and had his child. Now, David began to look around at others and judge them instead of himself. The sins in our lives are caused mostly by the lust of the flesh. The scripture is clear about sin and how to handle it. If your eye offends you pluck it out, hand offend you, cut it off, etc. It’s not talking about mutilation but about how serious sin is. If your eyes cause you to lust at something, remove the sin so you don’t look at it. David then went as far as to get Bathsheba’s husband drunk to try and cover up his own sin. Forgiveness Psalm 51:1-12 We read how God parted the Red Sea and the children of Israel walked across the dry ground. The joy that they must have had that God had saved them. However, there was still sin in their camp. David repented in this prayer and made things right with God. How is your joy with your salvation?
It doesn’t take much leaven to make a difference. For most, it only takes a tablespoon of leaven to 1 cup of flour. Once it’s in the flour it’s hidden but you can see the effect of it. Sin is an abomination to God. We are all sinners in the flesh. If you’ve been saved then the soul has been saved but the flesh is still sinful. At death, the flesh will go back to the earth but the soul will meet God. If you’ve been saved then God will welcome you in because He cleaned your soul of sin. If you’re lost at the time of your death, then your soul will go straight into Hell. It Starts Small People usually don’t know when you sin. This is because it’s in your thoughts or your inner thinking. Those little things are usually not paid attention to. It doesn’t take much leaven to make a big difference. How many of you are harboring those small sins? You got a problem with someone but never deal with it. It doesn’t matter how big or small a sin is it will still wreck a life. Our opinion whether a certain sin is worse than another doesn’t work with God. He’s the only one that knows ALL of what is thought. The famous last words of anyone is, “I’ve got this.”. You don’t have anything under control because you can’t control anything. Don’t mess around with leaven. Once you drop the leaven into the flour it blends in and you can’t take it out. It would be a miracle for you to get it all out of the flour. Just in the life of a human. One can’t remove the sin in their life. It took a miracle of God to remove the sin. It Has An Effect Regardless of the size of sin it still has an effect. You can tell everyone you know how sin free you think you are, you’re lying to yourself and them. We are all born a sinner. The little babies that are born and die will all be with God in Heaven. This is because Jesus died on the cross. You may not see the effect of the leaven right away but it’s coming. Sin always has an effect and you can’t stop that consequence. It also can’t be controlled. It doesn’t affect a part but the whole. Remember, God knows everything. He knows if you are trying to hide sin. God doesn’t compare your life to another. He compares your life with His word. If you’re lost, then you’re lost. One can’t fuss at a blind man for stumping their toe. However, if you’ve been born again then you know better. Adam and Eve had the problem of ridding their sin. Nothing has changed since that time. Calling the preacher or the priest to confess the sin doesn’t work. Those people can’t do anything about your sin or anyone else's for that matter. There is only one person that can deal with the sin. Jesus Christ is the only one that can get the leaven out of your life. One must repent with a broken heart and a contrite spirit to Jesus Christ.
Exodus 12:19 The first is to get sin out of your house. If you leave it in your house then you are tempted with it. Exodus 13:7 The second thing is that it shouldn’t be on your person. Don’t carry the sin around, don’t be a part of it. If money is your problem, then get it off of you. If your phone gets you into trouble, get it off your person. Exodus 12:19 The third, is don’t consume it. The largest problem is between your heart and your head. Get it out of yourself. Let God deal with your mind and your heart. 1 Thessalonians 5:22 Satan knows what you have a problem with. He will come to you and tempt you with those things that you have a sinful problem with. Don’t play around with the devil.
The wages of sin are death.
Both of these men came to Christ to be saved. Similarities They were both men of authority. Their authority was not able to save them. Your stature in life doesn’t mean a thing to God. They also both came to Jesus in a hurry. We’ve heard it before, run to Jesus. But just running to Jesus doesn’t save you. They both knelt before Jesus. After they ran to Jesus they fell at His feet. Kneeling before Jesus doesn’t save a person. They both had a question about what they needed to do to be saved. Just because one asks the question also doesn’t mean you’re saved. Differences Their nationalities were different. Jesus doesn’t care about this. One was a Jew which would have meant he knew of Jesus. The other was a Gentile and knew nothing about Jesus. In your life, you may have attended church and been raised in it, but this doesn’t mean that you are saved. Churches are filled up today with a bunch of false teaching. Ephesians 2:14-16; Jesus made it level at the cross. One knew the law the other didn’t. The Jew knew what the commandments said and how to honor them while the jailer had no clue. In the end, the jailer was saved. The commandments will not save you. Many people know a lot about the Bible but they’ve never been saved. There are plenty of bible scholars and preachers in Hell simply because they were not saved. Their riches or possessions. The ruler had a lot of money and had a lot of possessions. The jailer was a simple man just making ends meet. People are lustful and if they have a dollar they want to spend it. A child is more likely to be saved than an adult for one reason and that’s because they have nothing to give up. Rich people have a hard time giving up their possessions. The ruler had his trust in his riches. The jailer was about to kill himself because he had nothing else to live for. People think they can’t get saved today because they can’t give up what they are holding onto. Their hearts were also different. One had a lustful, hard heart they had a god of riches. He wasn’t saved because he thought he already had all he needed and didn’t need Jesus. The other had a willing heart and was saved. He was saved because he found something that he couldn’t live without. Matthew 16:24-26; salvation is very exclusive.
What is the greatest commandment? Love the Lord with all your heart. Strength, Mind, Soul, and Heart Love the Lord with all of your strength. If you’re a Christian then you should be attending your church. How does a lost person know you’re a Christian, perfect example is simply attending church. Working, helping out, the physical strength. What about your financial strength? Many have a lot more money than what they give. One can’t out-give God. Colossians 3:23; God didn’t say to love Him with a lot of your strength. Revelation 3:8; Do you love God with all of your strength? Do you attend church regularly? Do you help when it’s needed? Love God with all your mind. Are your thoughts pure? Do you think and meditate on scripture and God? How is your prayer life? What kind of music do you listen to? What does your mind feed on daily? How’s your internet activity? What do you talk about? Psalm 139:23-24;17 Love God with all your soul. Colossians 3:1-3; What are your motives? Some Christians feel uncomfortable at church but they feel comfortable at the race track or holding a beer while playing corn hole. Do you hang with the wrong crowd? Love God with all your heart. How is your heart? The pastor has his opening scripture because he is trying to break through the hardness of our hearts. Do you love God with any portion of your heart? Do you love the Lord? How do you know you love the Lord? 1 Cor 2:9; 8:3; 16:22; If you don’t love the Lord then you’re not saved. Do you love the Lord? If you don’t love the Lord then nothing matters. You’re serving, your thoughts are okay, and you’re not running with women or men but you don’t love God. If you don’t serve God, your mind isn’t there, your soul is out with other women or men but your heart is with God.
God has always been able to speak. Have you ever heard His voice? In our lifetime there will be people that will come into our lives where their voice comforts us. Their voice is just something that means a lot to us. But, when the voice of God is heard you’ll know it. Has Power Genesis Chapter 1. The creation of everything that we know and see was made with just His voice. In Revelation 22 we also see His voice to come that will destroy everything we know. The voice of power is God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, one can’t separate the three. God’s voice split the Red Sea down to dry ground. When the disciples were in a boat a strong storm began to brew. Jesus stepped out on the bow of the boat and simply told the storm to be still. God told Moses to strike a rock for water and there was water. The story of Jonah is a miracle in itself. God prepared a fish for Jonah to live in for 3 days. Whales don’t eat people yet here this fish is just waiting on Jonah beside this boat. Then 3 days later God told this fish to go up to the shore and spit him back up. Another time Jesus told Peter to throw a hook in, no bait, and the first fish that he was to catch he was to open the fish’s mouth and take the coin to pay tribute. Far fetched? You bet! God doesn’t care about how we think that our prayers are just so far-fetched. Another time they are fishing in a boat, and Jesus asked them if they had caught anything. They answered they had fished all night and caught nothing. Jesus told them to cast their net on the other side of the boat. They did and almost swallowed the boat they caught so many fish. Has Direction When God speaks there is direction in His voice. It’s sure and you’ll know which way to go. Moses and the burning bush. The bush spoke (God), and told Moses to tell Pharaoh to let His people go. Purpose and direction he spoke. God spoke to Joshua and told Him that he had sin in his camp. Purpose and direction. With Elisha God sent a strong wind that was destructive yet God wasn’t in it. God spoke to Elisha to go back into the cave and His still, small voice spoke to him. Salvation, If you’re saved then you’ve heard the voice of God. He comes to each one of us differently but it’s His voice that convicts. He told you how to be saved at that time. Has Peace John 14:7; He left us His peace. Mark 1:49; to the creation He gave peace. Legend, and man with no peace, Jesus gave him peace. Mark 5; the woman with an issue of blood was given peace and was also healed. Ever had a day where it’s just going crazy and the voice of God just gives you a peace that’s unexplainable? Luke 24:32, the scripture is His voice. The scripture should be honored and lifted up. Is Triumph 1 Thes 16; this time when He speaks everything that we have ever known will change in the twinkling of an eye. Rev 21:23; Throughout the entire bible, His voice has shown its power, direction, purpose, peace, and triumph.
Psalm 23:1-4; The sheep don’t worry about their life. They have a Shepard that leads them and cares for them. The Shepard has everything they need. There are some that like to live the way they want to, rebellious because they don’t want a Shepard to lead them. These are usually in some sort of problem all the time. Exodus 13:17; If you’ve been saved then you’ve been led out of sin. The devil is out to kill, steal, and destroy you. In verse 17 you’ll read that Pharaoh let them go. When you were saved God dealt with the one you once served and he let you go because he can’t hold you. God dealt with Pharaoh’s heart until he gave up. Have you been led out of sin's bondage? Go also led them around/away from a battle. God will not lead you into something that you are not prepared for. God will always make a way of escape in your life when He leads you into it. God will not put you into a place where you are tempted by evil. Some people will blame God for the places that they are in yet they are there because they chose to not obey God. God knows what you can handle and what you can’t and He will not lead you into a place that you can’t handle. Verse 18; God didn’t lead them into a place that they couldn’t handle but He did lead them into a wilderness. The wilderness was the long way around. There are times when we just want it done, quickly. God will lead us into a wilderness because we might need to learn something or to protect us. The devil once entertained will whisper into your ear and tell you that God has no idea what He’s doing. Just as the children of Israel did, we oftentimes begin to complain of God’s leading thinking He has no clue what He’s doing. Verse 21; God led them by something. They knew exactly where to go. There was never a time that they were not protected and guided. God always has His eye on your enemy and He will protect you. The devil has to obey God, He always has and He always will. We know what was leading, who was leading, and when they were led. Not a single second has gone by where God isn’t there. Verse 22; in this verse, we see that God will never stop leading. In verse 21 we see the what and who. In verse 22 we see that they never stopped being led. Three days later after the Red Sea, they were thirsty and God led them to water. They complained about the water and God showed them a tree to make it sweet. The first lesson to be learned is that everything comes from God. Next, they were hungry. God led them and brought them manna and quail. They then began to complain about the food. Every day for 40 years God provided manna the equivalent of 300 train box cars full every day and 600 on Fridays. There are people in this world that are running and following after the things of this world and can’t find peace in them. They never will find peace in the world. The devil doesn’t want you to trust or believe in God. Proverbs 3:5-6 Who are you following? Who’s leading you?
We sit in a church where people are rebellious and stubborn to God. If you belong to God then you can’t continue to live that way. One must ask themselves if they live that way if they’ve truly been saved. When one commits to going to a particular college they made a promise to go to that school. We are blessed with young kids and they are using the altar. Where are the adults? Why are the adults not hitting the altar? The children are watching the adults. That’s what they do. The adults teach by example. If the adults are stubborn and rebellious against God then the kids will also act the same. If you have children you should be teaching them to chase after God. Women, you have a prayer meeting every Monday, take your daughters to the meeting. Men, likewise, you have a prayer meeting every Monday, and take your sons to the prayer meetings. The altars are dry because the adults are dry. God has promised His believers everything but we act like we have nothing. Lazy, stubborn, selfish, and rebellious. Do you enjoy worshipping God? Then why are you not doing it? Why are not attending church? We, adults, teach by example. The youth are longing for a relationship, most are looking for something. If we as Christian adults do not teach them then the world will. We’ve been actively praying for a revival for several months, why hasn’t it happened? Because the adults have better things to do, worshipping a different god. Parents, you should be making your children go to church. Why? Because we ought to want them to love God. Parents, you will answer for not showing, leading, and making your children go to church. The church today is not striving for its relationship with God. How many services have you been in where the preacher has asked for someone to come to the altar and no one came during the altar call? Shame on the believers for not using the altar. We ALL have something that we need God to take care of. It’s not about you, it’s about God. Nowhere in the bible does it say it’s about you or me.
Ask God to plow your ground in your life. Your garden needs to be plowed, worked up, good dirt then the plants and roots are easier to grow. Just in our lives, we have hard ground. We need to ask God to plow our hard hearts, our fallow grounds. We ought to live as Christ lived and work towards sinlessness. Our churches should be asking God to break up the fallow ground within the body. The world has nice and shiny objects that pull our eyes away from God. Those weeds need to be turned under so they can’t grow, and can’t take root. Only God knows what ground needs worked, so ask Him to work them. Desire to be as close as you can be to God. Allow God to break up the hard ground in your life. Your flesh doesn’t want God to work in its life. The Spirit is stronger and always wants God to work.
The lost don’t attend church. They just don’t walk in because they are bored in the world. This means we as Christians are to take God to them. This requires us to get dirty in the work of God. At times we might have to get into the ditch with someone to help them. We must remove our pride and help others.
What are you sowing? The church of Christ, what are you sowing? What happens if you’re just sitting on God. Just as a garden does, if it’s neglected then the weeds will begin to take over. It’s constant work to keep the weeds out. If daily you go out and remove the weeds then it’s not as hard to maintain. However, if you only go out once a week to weed the garden then you’ll have more weeds to remove. Just as in our lives, if daily we weed out the sins in our lives then it’s not as hard to handle. But if we only repent once a week or once a month then it takes us longer to get into contact with God. It’s not convenient to deal with our sins. We are prideful, we think we’ve got our lives all under control. Stop hiding the sin under the rug. God already knows it’s there.
The privilege of prayer is an important thing. Prayer should be given at all times, pray without ceasing. We all have an advocate with God. Luke 18:1.James 4:5-14, God is a healing God. He makes a difference. James 5:16; effectual fervent prayer. We have time for everything else yet we don’t have time for prayer. Love one another, help one another. Mark 12:30; love God with everything you’ve got. We should be loving our neighbors as we love ourselves. John 13:34, again we should love one another as Christ loves us. Matthew 5:44, no matter how you are treated by someone you should always love them and pray for them. Take the Lord’s Supper, 1 Corinthians 11:23-30; we should take it and think about what Christ has done for us. We often eat our meals and never think about the struggle and work that went into it. We don’t even thank God for the meal that He provided for us.Study the Word of God; we should be studying to show ourselves approved. Come to the House of God; it’s important at to attend church with other like minded believers. Hebrews 10:29, we should be coming together for worship. Nehemiah 13:11, people have no desire or heart for attending church. There is going to come a day when their excuses will be no more in front of God. Live right; one of the greatest commandments for our daily lives. 2 Corinthians 6:16, One can’t straddle the fence. You can’t serve the devil and God at the same time. Matthew 5:16,Serve God, people make time to worship their sports but can’t make time to worship God. Brother Zach WillisEzekiel 47:1-9Living Bread, Wine, and BreadWater on the right side, Jesus sits on the right side of the Father.The blood runs over everything.Matthew 27:51; In 3-4 it’s about getting fixed, repentance. We will wash feet on Sunday night.John 7:31, we will place our feet in the living water on Sunday night.In verse 9 it speaks of the many fish which is talking about be better fishers of men. Matthew 4:19, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Christ was made sin so we could be righteous in front of God. We need to get our hearts right before we partake of the flesh & blood of Christ. You will have many opportunities to get right before you are offered the bread and wine. Don’t touch the bread or the wine if you have an unclean heart. The water that’s used to wash each others feet is living water. Don’t partake of the foot washing if your heart is unclean.Make sure you are clean of your sins.
If you’re saved then you are a child of God. Being a child of God comes with some really good perks. One of them is that the devil can’t touch you. When the devil comes around all one has to do is call on Jesus to get rid of him. Another perk is that He always loves us. We are coming up on a very important time for our church, communion services. This coming weekend is very important. If you want to be beyond blessed then get the sin out of your life. There isn’t a single one of us that is better than the next. We are all in the same boat, sinners saved by grace. The best thing to do is every day just ask for forgiveness of your sins regardless if you think you’ve sinned or not.
There are churches that don’t have a clue what the Holy Spirit is. They say they do but if He actually came into the church it would scare them to death.
In your life, you might have someone that you think is great. Knowledgeable, dependable, loving, caring, etc. But there will come a time when they will die. Having God in your life is better than anyone you can look up to or go to in your life. God won’t let you down. He won’t steer you in the wrong direction. He always loves you. He is always there night or day.
Are you ready to meet God? Church member, are you ready for this weekend? Ask God if you’re prepared and get things settled.
Brother Dustin Parks
Isaiah 6:1-5
It’s easy to cast the woes on others but when you start applying them to yourself it becomes real. We are coming into something Holy this weekend. It’s not the preacher’s job to judge you. The preacher has the same task as we all do and that is to compare yourself to God. We ALL come up short compared to God. We are often around lost people and have a tendency to judge them yet we are just as horrible when we judge ourselves and compared ourselves to God.
As you move forward through the rest of this week ask God to show you what you need to work on or deal with in your life. We can see things happen if we ask and obey.
Pastor Tommy Boring
1 Corinthians 11
2 Corinthians 5:20
Once you’ve been found out about your sin one tends to cover it up by trying to justify it. We often time try to justify many things but our justification is wrong compared to God.
One doesn’t have to be taught how to be stubborn or rebellious. It’s because we are all human and the flesh is both stubborn and rebellious.
Being rebellious against God.
Witchcraft, when you think of the demonic world it’s everywhere. When you rebel against God then you open up the doors and windows to the evil. Reveling against God, not doing what He told you then you have decided to play with the devil and his angels. Saul was told by God to destroy all living things yet Saul brought the best back to sacrifice. Obviously, that’s NOT what God told Saul to do. Good intentions, yet rebellious against God.
Eve rebelled against God by not obeying God. We think it was the serpent’s fault but back up a little. The serpent was around, in the tree. She was around the tree which meant she was playing with the thought of taking the fruit way before the serpent tricked her.
Being stubborn against God.
One can plug their ears and heart to God saying no to Him and refusing to do. Your stubbornness is like idolatry. You fail to line up with God and make a decision to worship yourself. If you pick and choose from the bible what you want to abbey then you’re serving yourself.
Rebellion leads to sin. When Lucifer was removed from Heaven he was lifted up by himself. A man that thinks he stands will surely fall. We all stand a chance of becoming stubborn and rebellious against God. Everyone listening, and watching is in danger of these. One can’t compromise or negotiate with God. God’s word is the final word.
When Saul decided to be rebellious against God he not only caused destruction to himself but to the others around him for his evil decision. In church, if the pastor or preacher is not preaching or teaching the Word of God then remove them. The unfortunate thing is that most don’t read their bible and therefore don’t know what the truth is. They go right along with the man preaching thinking that if it sounds good then it must be right.
When we think of the two, rebellious and stubbornness, rebellious seems a lot worse. Yet, stubbornness is usually something we all have a problem with. Most don’t have a problem with worshiping another god like Buddha, etc. Our problem is the one that looks in the mirror back at us. When we hear the preached word and the conviction comes to our heart we oftentimes push it back to tell ourselves we are okay. When someone is cornered with the truth they begin to cover it with lies. Saul when confronted, blamed the people for taking the animals. Anything that you are hiding is probably something that needs to be removed.
Not only do we need to pray but we also need to do. So, not only do we need to Pray Until Something Happens but we also need to Press Until Something Happens. Many churches out there have a wonderful concert before the service with many people that have great talents. Then a person gets up and feeds to flock a message that’s just a feel-good message. One can get an emotional feel-good from the music but if that feel-good didn’t come from the Spirit of God then it’s just a human reaction.
Did you know that God is waiting on us to do some work? We ought to be doing the work that He’s called us to do. What are you doing?
John 9; doing the work of the Father. Jesus was always doing something for His Father. No matter where He went He was working for God.
1 Corinthians 15:58; we all have work to do. Work will NOT get anyone into Heaven.
John 17; God gave Jesus work to do and He finished it on the cross.
Abraham did the work that God called him to do. When God told him to take his son Izaak up to the mountain and offer him up as a sacrifice, Abraham did the work. Izaak laid himself down on the altar without a word as his father drew his knife. Right before Abraham went down with the knife his hand was stopped. Abraham did something that others couldn’t do but he did the work.
Personal
A woman had an issue with her blood. Yet she heard about Jesus and Him being in her town. She made her mind up that all she had to do was to touch the hem of Jesus’ garment so she could be made whole. She pressed herself through the crowd even though she was so weak and feeble. She had an obstacle to overcome but she pressed through it. Just like her, keep pressing until you get to Jesus.
Zacchaeus was a person that everyone despised. He was of a very short stature. He spotted a sycamore tree and climbed it just to see Jesus. He pressed himself up that tree just to see Him.
There is a personal part that you must overcome in order to press toward Jesus. That might mean you will have to get rid of something in your life that you might enjoy. Whatever that is it won’t mean anything at the time of your death. Your flesh won’t want to let it go.
Somebody else
A crippled man that couldn’t get around. He had several friends that cared deeply for their friend. They heard that Jesus was in town so the man’s friends carried him to Jesus. They got to the house where Jesus was and it was too crowded to get into Him. So they carried him to the rooftop and dug, pried, pulled, and tore the roof off. They then lowered their friend down through the hole they made to Jesus. This man’s friends pressed until they got their friend to Jesus. Many of us would have given up once we saw the crowd. They could have waited until the crowd cleared. Jesus stood and spoke all while the roof pieces fell all around Him. He didn’t stop or stop them until the man was lowered in front of Jesus. The end result was that the man was healed and the friends left blessed as well.
We can’t be just a hearer. We must do just as much as we hear. Do you know what you need to do? Maybe you need to be doing the first step, pray until something happens. Once you pray then God will tell you what to do. Then you need to press until something happens.
You need to have prayer all the time not just when you attend church. The first obstacle to overcome is to push the flesh away. Are you righteous? There needs to be a working in your soul that constantly pushes you to confess your sins unto God. There are some obstacles that we must overcome in order to pray.
As mentioned before the flesh must be put under subjection in order to pray. We must be humble before God. The flesh doesn’t like to be humble.
Mark 11; we must have faith. If you’re praying for rain you should go ahead and take your umbrella. We often times pray little prayers because we have little faith. God is a big God, therefore, pray big prayers.
James 4: stay focused. God gives you bread, clothing, and shelter. We should be looking to God for the things that are not for our flesh’s sake. Don’t pray for the lusts of the flesh. If every day was like Christmas then you would quickly grow tired of the gifts.
Luke 18; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18: pray without stopping. Always in prayer.
Places of victory. In our life, we have places that we remember that brings back a thought of victory. Mount Carmel was a victory place for Elijah. We all need a place of victory. If you don’t have one, get one.
How do you pray? You should be sincere and humble yourself before God. Start your prayer with thanksgiving. His list of blessings and how good He is is ongoing. Once He is lifted up then you will be humbled down. Pray alone. The key to a prayer closet is that you are focused and alone with God. Corporate prayer is great and there is a need for it, but if you are not praying alone then you’re missing a key element to pray. Since your flesh doesn’t want to be humbled you will find that you’ll want to give up. Don’t! Sometimes when you pray you’ll find that it’s like a one-way communication. Don’t stop! Don’t give up!
How many prayers have you given and He answer? It’s not a duty but a privilege to pray.
It doesn’t hurt to have a partner to help pray.
The key to the message is to pray until something happens. P.U.S.H.; Pray Until Something Happens. Stay with it!
Luke 18:1-8
The unjust judge is our Father. However, He is everything of the opposite of this judge. Remind yourself who you are praying to. The judge and the widow had no relationship. If you’ve been saved then you have a huge relationship with God. Everything you need your Father will see to. In this parable, we hear that even though the judge didn’t know the widow he still granted her requests. How much more does God love you?! Unlike us, the widow was all alone. We have many people helping and praying with us and for us. God has told us to ask Him. Knock and He would open the door. Seek and He will show you.
We live in a time when there is a church on every corner. When you ask a person if they are a Christian they will answer yes. Some churches are all about the money, the numbers, and bragging rights.
Elijah asked God for it not to rain. He was ready to battle for God. Take notice of this. We ought not to be concerned about what the world wants us to feel. Stand for God, stand strong! Even back in biblical times, the laborers were few. In today’s time, it seems worse because everyone claims it yet no one stands. Elisha got afraid at one point yet God was on his side. Just the same in our lives, if we stand for God we might get afraid but God is right there with us.
Genesis 6:8; Noah and the ark. The ark wasn’t built in a day. 120 years Noah worked on the ark. All the while he told the people, he warned them of the destruction that was coming. The instructions were from God. He didn’t order an ark kit that had instructions with it. He obeyed God and did it exactly as God told him.
How long have you prayed for something in particular and it hasn’t been answered yet? Have you thought maybe you haven’t been as sincere as you should be to God? The labor is great at times, it’s not going to be easy all the time. Obedience is often hard. When God tells you to do something, do it. When He tells you to move, move. When He tells you to stand, stand. When He tells you to speak, speak. When He tells you to shut up, shut up. If you care for those people in your life like you say you do then why are you not wearing out your knees at an altar for their souls?
Acts 13:21-22; David labored for God even the big hard things. 40 days Goliath raised his voice against them. David stood up and volunteered in God’s name, and it took a small stone to kill this giant. He didn’t just say it, he did it.
Jeremiah 1:4-5; Did you know that Jeremiah sat down on God? He thought the battle got too hard for God. How many times have you tried to quit on God? We should be laboring for our loved ones just as Jesus labored for us.
Daniel 6:4; can/will you be found faithful? If they tell you that you can’t pray anymore will you stand and pray regardless? Daniel labored and then labored more once he was told to stop praying. Do you just stop praying, and laboring when the opposition comes your way? What gets in the way of God? Maybe you’re tired? Well you’ve worked all day, you must be tired. How many times has the devil come in and asked you during a church service when the last time was that you ate? Just trying to get your mind off of God!
Matthew 11:11; it cost him his life when he stood up against the sin. A sinner doesn’t like to be told they are a sinner. A lost person doesn’t want someone to point out the faults. It’s uncomfortable. A lost person thinks that they need those sinful things because they think it brings them joy. That joy is so short-lived. Being saved means that when you are having the best time, you don’t wake up with a hangover the next day. Once saved you’ll look back and see those things you once thought were great were actually a nightmare.
John 4:35-36; you do what God is bidding you to do and God will bless in that.
One must simply surrender unto God if one wants to live a winning life. You have to yield unto God. He has a better plan. God can take the lemons of life and turn them into lemonade. You might be thinking you’ve got it all under control. Yet we oftentimes make a much larger mess of things because we don’t know the future. There are choices we make and then there are consequences to them. Hopefully, you realize that bad things can happen because of someone else’s choices.
Peter made a real mess of things right up to the crucifixion of Christ. He denied Him three times. A woman that was just about to be stoned to death for the choices that she had made. She was guilty. The woman at the well had five husbands and the one she was living with wasn’t even her husband. Guilty. The woman with an issue of blood. Zacchaeus, blind Bartimaeus, to each and every one of these people, God had a better plan.
Grief. We all go through it. There is nothing wrong with grief until it starts to control you. Misery and mourning are also other things that can control you if you let them. Husbands and wives all have a choice to make to stay with each other. One choice can take one from the other. The sins of the world, the addictions can take you down a road where you’ll feel like there is no way out.
The problem with most is that we don’t want God to help us. God has a better plan. When God tells you what to do, you better listen and do. To experience the good stuff that comes from God one must surrender and submit. We all have tough choices to make. They are only tough when we decide to make the decision and leave God out of it.
How many times have you looked at a person and thought they’d be the right person for the job? Once they begin with the job it was a bad thought to think it would work. God is the only one that knows if a person can do the job or not because He knows the future and the person’s capability.
The good things in life do not revolve around money. This is not a prosperity message. This is a message of second chances. God knows better and has the perfect plan for your life. If you want a better life with God then there will be obstacles. However, the only one that knows how to avoid them is God Himself. Through obedience and trust in God, those obstacles won’t be there.
Do you want to know what your purpose is? Read your Bible. God may not tell you everything but He will show you the path to take for your journey. Just as God told Samuel what to do, then told him He had picked a different king, He didn’t tell you who. If Samuel was to know God would have told him. Samuel, we, are not the planner, God is. What we don’t like is not knowing. When we try to take over God’s planning it makes us angry. We don’t know better. Samuel kept picking what he thought because he was looking at the outside. God knows the inside better than we know the outside of someone. God is always planning and it is always right and it is always good. All things work for the good of those that obey and let God.
At times you will have to stand and wait for God’s plan to unfold. We wait patiently on God. Be patient. We live in a culture of instant gratification so this might come as a struggle to some.
The Bible mentions a person we should take note of, yet when it mentions one several times we should pay attention. Joseph of Arimathaea is mentioned several times in the Bible. He was memorialized just as the woman that broke the alabaster box.
His response.
He was a secret disciple. There are many out there today that hide behind their fear. They are saved yet do not serve Jesus Christ. This man Joseph was afraid to step out to do what God called him to do. Yet, while he was unwilling to stand before stood up at the crucifixion. It changed his life to witness the crucifixion. Just as many today the death of Christ changed their lives. A Roman Centurion was also standing at the feet of Jesus while He hung on the cross. When God turned His back to Jesus and He died the Roman Centurion spoke out and stated that this man WAS the Son of God. Joseph’s response caused us to see his faith. At the cross, all of the disciples fled out of fear except for John. Joseph also stayed there and was changed. His response was that he would step forward and boldly crave Jesus’ body for burial.
His faith went from a secret to a sure faith.
Just as Zacchaeus he had to climb up a tree to grow his faith. Joseph had to see, and witness the death of Christ to grow his faith. He knew that there was something about this man named Jesus but once he witnessed it it affected his faith. Think about your own salvation. What you didn’t believe before changed in a split second to a belief that you can not deny. What was your response to the cross? What is your response to Jesus Christ? Is your faith a climbing up faith just to climb down?
His resolve.
Not one disciple was memorialized for the burial of Jesus Christ except for Joseph. There ought to be encouragement for us through his faith. How many times have you tucked your tail in front of Jesus? There are people that won’t even attend church. Joseph did all of that for a dead savior. He did all of that while Jesus was dead. He didn’t know that Jesus was going to rise again. None of them understood what Jesus had told them that He would rise again. We can’t even do it for a living savior.
The cost he was willing to pay was extraordinary. Just going in front of Pilot and begging for the body of their “enemy” was great but he lost all social standings. He was willing to give up everything he had worked for, for a dead savior. What once brought him great wealth he gave up willingly. What keeps you from Jesus Christ?
Not only did he lose his social status and his job, but he also purchased a lot of expensive items. He couldn’t have done this in a split second. He didn’t have time to do this overnight. He purchased fine linen just for the burial. Not only was Joseph involved but Nicodemus was there to help. How many times does it feel that you’re alone with Jesus? Nicodemus showed up with a hundred pounds of ointments. Just the two of them were there to take Jesus from the cross. Can you imagine the blood that covered them as they removed Jesus’ body? They were invested from head to toe.
His reward.
After Jesus rose from the dead He walked on the earth for 40 days. Think about this. Jesus didn’t tell Joseph to do any of the things he chose to do for Jesus. Do you think Jesus was thankful? Even if Jesus didn’t thank Joseph for what he did for Jesus, think about Joseph’s death. When Joseph opened his eyes in Heaven at his death He would be in the presence of Jesus Christ. He would shake hands with his savior.
00:00 . . . . . . The Kincaid Family
01:00 . . . . . . He Has A Plan For Me
03:29 . . . . . . My Jesus
08:27 . . . . . . He Never Left Me
19:39 . . . . . . Voice Of My Savior
22:55 . . . . . . Just Inside the Gate
30:07 . . . . . . House Of Gold
34:15 . . . . . . One Day I Will
41:04 . . . . . . I Believe
45:25 . . . . . . When I Wake Up
51:06 . . . . . . Help Me
The church prayed for Peter. They took on a burden for him. Isn’t it great to know that the church of today still has burdens for the ones they love? There are people sitting amongst us today that we have continuously prayed for. Prayers for our loved ones are not just for the lost or backslid. These people usually don’t pray for themselves. A backslid knows they are not living right so they don’t like the conviction. The lost don’t know they need the love of Christ. We often underestimate the power of prayer. God wants us to call out for our loved ones to Him. It’s hard to walk a Christian life just because we are not of this world. We need to get serious about our prayer life. We all have someone in our life whether they are family or friends that are lost and if they die will lift their eyes in Hell. Call out to God on their behalf. If we are not concerned about them then why should they be concerned? They need us to call out for them. God is the only one that knows what it will take for a person to either be saved or come back home. We should be giving everything we have to God for the lost and backslid of our lives. The time is now! God could call His people home at any second. According to the scripture, there is nothing left to happen to usher Him in.It takes all of us to work and do our part as one body. When one member is down it hurts the rest of the body. Lift that member up in prayer so they can help the body. Your attendance is crucial for the body to grow and be serious. You should be in attendance at the church services, in the prayer meetings, in the revivals, at singings, etc. These things grow the body and make it stronger. With each absence you create against the church body you will become weaker and weaker in Spirit. Your weakness hinders the body in its growth because its members are hurting. 1 John 5:13-16; we have the right and the ability to confront a person with LOVE. James 5:16; a persistent prayer God will hear. Keep praying, don’t stop. When you pray you must believe. Matthew 5:18-19; God can do ANYTHING!
There are a lot of things that our minds will cast away declaring things are too far gone. In this scripture, we see that Jesus was thought to be late. Jesus was right on time because He was late on purpose. He wanted to make sure Lazarus was declared dead and really dead. When the world tells you that it’s too late just tell them about your God.
A woman at a well was met by Jesus. Her life she thought was too far gone for Jesus. Yet He showed her a different way.
Another time there were some men with leprosy. Everyone else had written them off but Jesus came on the scene. He told one of them to go down to the river and wash and so he did. He was made as new as baby skin.
Legend, a man that was possessed by many demons. There were so many devils that they were cast into 2000 pigs. The town he lived in had tried to rid themselves of this man. He had tried to rid himself of his life. Jesus told His disciples to get into the boat because they were going to visit this man named Legend. While the devils trembled at the site of Jesus, Jesus cast them into the swine where they all ran off a cliff and died. When the witnesses saw what had happened they ran back into the city and told them. When the city returned Legend was sitting with Jesus, clothes, and in his right mind.
A woman caught in the very act of adultery was brought to Jesus. She was guilty and was to be stoned to death. She was too far gone for the law of the land. Jesus then told them that whoever was without sin was to throw the first stone. Jesus knew just what to do for this woman.
Don’t sit and think that you’re the Lone Ranger living out your life that you feel is too far gone. It’s not too late for Jesus to fix your situation.
38 years a man laid by a pool just wanting to be healed. Jesus came to him and asked him if he wanted to be healed. He told him to stand up and take his bed and walk so, he did.
In our own life, Robert Gibson. He did some things in his life that caused him to be placed in prison. A man that would come all the time and tell him that Jesus loved him. Everyone had written him off yet once Jesus came into his life, he was released. He’s now out preaching about God’s salvation.
What do you need from God? Have you categorized your life as too far gone? Have you stuck a friend, neighbor, or family member as too far gone?
00:00:00 . . . . . . Michael & Delilah00:04:35 . . . . . . Everything I Need00:16:11 . . . . . . Oh, Happy Day00:33:29 . . . . . . Joy On Earth00:38:12 . . . . . . He Could Love00:42:29 . . . . . . I’ll Give You The Praise00:47:26 . . . . . . This Is The Day00:54:03 . . . . . . A Place For Us00:58:32 . . . . . . One Touch01:03:53 . . . . . . Didn’t It Rain
00:00:00 . . . . . . Welcome 00:01:10 . . . . . . Prayer 00:02:35 . . . . . . Land Where Living Waters Flow 00:05:48 . . . . . . I Never Shall Forget the Day 00:09:44 . . . . . . The Dearest Friend I Ever Had 00:14:27 . . . . . . I Know My Name Is There 00:18:42 . . . . . . The Son Hath Made Me Free 00:24:10 . . . . . . When I See The Blood 00:29:12 . . . . . . Brethren, We Have Met to Worship 00:33:34 . . . . . . Amazing Grace 00:38:07 . . . . . . I’ll Fly Away 00:41:01 . . . . . . I’m In a New World 00:44:19 . . . . . . Looking For a City 00:49:12 . . . . . . Victory In Jesus 00:56:37 . . . . . . Do You Know How It Feels? 00:59:47 . . . . . . As Small As I Am 01:02:55 . . . . . . On the Right Side of the Great I Am 01:06:41 . . . . . . Just a Carpenter 01:10:47 . . . . . . The Lighthouse 01:14:51 . . . . . . It’s Under the Blood 01:19:05 . . . . . . Somebody Touched Me 01:25:06 . . . . . . Pastor Tommy Boring; “The Testimony of John Chapter 9” 02:04:06 . . . . . . He Took Your Place 02:07:01 . . . . . . One More Time 02:09:38 . . . . . . When He Sees Me 02:14:54 . . . . . . I Still Believe 02:18:51 . . . . . . Lord, You’re the Best Thing That’s Ever Happened To Me 02:22:01 . . . . . . If You Want To Let Jesus Come In 02:27:33 . . . . . . Lord, Don’t Leave Me Here 02:29:12 . . . . . . A House of Gold 02:39:40 . . . . . . If We Never Meet Again
Our life’s journey can take us on a weary trip at times. We all take a journey like this. At times, people think that they should take a break from church if they become weary. This is the worst thing one can do because once you’re away from God, the devil will begin to attack. People try to save themselves but this is a doomed thought.
The Physical
God fed the children of Israel every morning. For 40 years God gave them food and on the day before the sabbath, He gave them twice the amount to take them through the Sabbath. Sampson was watered by God after he slew the Philistines. Water came from the jawbone of a donkey to sustain him. Ruth was gleaning in a field and the men before her were purposely dropping wheat for her. God was dropping handfuls of purpose for her. God takes care of His own. Ruth found so much she could hardly drag it home. Elijah was told by God to go to a brook and wait. Birds would bring him food to eat while he obeyed and sat by the brook. For 3 and half years he sat by the brook until it finally dried up. God provided Elijah food and water the entire time then God told him to find a particular widow woman. Elijah found her and she was poor and was planning to eat what she had and she and her son were going to die. She obeyed Elijah and baked him a little cake. God then blessed the widow woman by not having her oil and meal ever end.
If God takes pride in feeding us physically then how much more does He take pride in the spiritual?
The Spiritual
Matthew 4:4; a statement that declares we don’t need physical food as much as we need spiritual food. When a person gets spiritually weary the flesh tells us to just sit down and not go to church. When you’re spiritually weary you’re not reading your bible and you’re not praying. Elijah never missed a meal and yet even though he got cross with God, God still provided. When you get down spiritually, stop and take a nap, and rest. Not one time do you need to take a break from God, church, prayer, or your bible. Elijah told God to take his life because he was so spiritually weary. He fell asleep and was awakened by an angel and was told to eat.
Matthew 5:6; hungering for the spiritual. God can heal you physically. A lot of time the physical ailments are spiritually brought on. If one can get their spiritual life straightened out then their physical life would get better. When you need spiritual food from God don’t excuse yourself from His table. If you’re not receiving the meat from God then what sustains you?
The Dangers of Lodging in the Wilderness
https://youtu.be/gmKm9IO0u9I
Evangelist Bobby Thompson
Most people care about what other people think about them. Our thoughts usually drive a person and influence us. The simple answer to the title is yes. God does care about what you think. Do you care about what God thinks about you? God already knows what you’re thinking. We should not think about ourselves as higher than others. God is not asking you to do supernatural things. We should be thinking about God every second of the day. When you go around a family you’ll often hear that you act just like another family member. Just the same, others should be looking at you and saying you act just like Jesus. When you leave the church tonight you’ll think about God for a little while but you’ll soon forget about Him.
There are people out there that are evil people that don’t think God loves them because of the things they do. This is a lie straight from the devil. Phil 4:8-9; one must subject themselves to learn, receive, hear, and see.
Sober: means being in the right mind, not influenced by an outside source. In order to think soberly one must be sober.
Being true: is the opposite of false. Jesus said He is the truth. Truth is genuine and fair.
Honest: means fair a decent.
Just: means it’s straight and righteous.
Pure: mean it’s not defiled or contaminated. One can’t take something that looks like sugar and make a cake.
Lovely: means pleasing or agreeable. When you love someone you don’t love them for what they’ve done but because it’s simply what one does for someone you care for.
Good report: means having integrity.
Virtue: means being of a high moral standard.
2 Cor 3:5; when life begins to unfold in front of you, the bad stuff begins, where do you go from there? Do you begin to dwell on the negative? Do you worry about what you can’t control?
Psalm 44:11
Prov 4:33
1 Chr 28:9; you must serve God with a willing mind. Do you really want to do what God wants you to do? Many people say they do but they really don’t. Most worry that God will call them into a third-world country. God is just looking for a willing soul to do the above-mentioned items.
If you’re just removing something you would use another term to simply cast out, but purge is to simply remove completely. Purging means that you force something in behind it to replace it with something else. Being saved means that the sin was removed and the Holy Spirit moved in to replace it.
2 Corinthians 5, 1 Corinthians 3, This body today is a temple and it will house something. Before one is saved it houses the sin, the flesh. However, after salvation takes place the sin is removed, the old man leaves and God moves in. A new desire is placed inside the temple. The old habits are removed and new habits are made new. The religions in this world have been cleaned in their minds only. They claim to be saved yet their life does not reflect it. The religious have never been purged or saved.
Adam & Eve’s eyes were opened once they disobeyed God. They tried their best to hide their sin from God. They tried to purge themselves of sin. Nothing can be hidden from God because He knows and sees it all. You must be converted in order to be saved. The flesh wants something to occupy it. Old habits are hard to break. When the old man dies the habits die with it. People that think they are saved try to live like a Christian but without a purge, they are unable to. It’s common nature to try to fix things. People try to make resolutions each year to be better people.
Matthew 12:43-45
A person can get relief by confessing their problem but all they’ve done is swept it under the rug. However, just because one has “cleaned their house” doesn’t mean that they’ve been saved. If one believes that all they need is to have a clear conscious to be okay with God, this is a lie. Being saved, or purged means that the old self is removed and replaced by God. This means that nothing else be live there but God. If one is saved they can’t be possessed by an unclean spirit.
If there has not been a change in you then you’ve not been saved. It’s simple, you can clean a “house” all you want to, and you can garnish/decorate it all you want to. If it’s not been saved it’s just a cleaned and decorated “house”. It doesn’t mean that God moved in, or saved.
Salivation means that there are no gaps between God and the flesh/sin. The sin/flesh gets pushed out and immediately the Holy Spirit replaces it. There is no room for both sin & God to live in the new house.
God does the purging, not us: Hebrews 1:3. When God purges He removes everything and anything that get’s in His way. Have you been purged? If you’ve ever tried to clean yourself up and then you start to attend a church you’ll quickly find out that you can’t do it. You can clean up your act but when the devil comes back he’ll bring many demons with him. You will be worse off than you were before. The worse is yet to come.
How can you be purged? It’s all Jesus! Hebrews 9:14; the blood of Christ purges sin. Proverbs 16:6; the blood of Christ is not a covering of sin, it doesn’t hide the sin, it purges the sin. The mercy of God is full and Jesus said that He was the truth. It’s simple, you don’t need a 12-step program, you just need Jesus.
Have you been purged?
Seems like everyone you talk to about their soul they’ll reply, they’re alright. That statement means they think they’ve got it all figured out on how to get to Heaven and don’t worry about me. Hell is full of people that have made the statement, I’m alright. They thought they had it all worked out with the man upstairs. God doesn’t live upstairs and never has. These people can come up with every excuse they can that they don’t need to attend church. Alright, will send you straight to Hell. Just because you know the 10 Commandments doesn’t mean you’re headed into Heaven. When you die where are you going? People are dying every second and going straight into Hell. Paul thought he was alright until God came to him and revealed Himself to him.
There isn’t a perfect Christian. If you’re looking for someone to compare yourself to then you’ll quickly find out that you might be alright. You’re looking at the wrong comparison. Look to the word of God for your comparison.
Do you have a lot of money or make a lot of tithes to help others? Having money or helping folks doesn’t make it alright. Your money or work will not get you a “ticket” into Heaven. These things will send you straight into Hell.
The pretenders of this world think they’re alright. Anyone can pretend they are someone else, yet it’s just pretending. We can lie to ourselves and convince ourselves into anything. You’re not alright if you’ve not been Born Again. You need to be terrified of the fact that if you die lost you will open your eyes to Hell. Eternity in Hell. We can’t even imagine how nightmarish it is in Hell.
Are you a good person? If you answered yes then you’re a liar. There is no one good especially good enough to enter into Heaven. Warning after warning we read to not go into Hell. The rich man died and immediately he opened his eyes in Hell. No relief, forever. The rich man told Abraham to warn his brothers and Abraham responded that they’d been warned yet they still won’t believe it. Jesus Himself came back from death yet people won’t believe.
“Alright” people don’t get saved, they die lost. Why is this? Because they think they are alright. People that don’t think they are sick won’t go to the doctor. Sin is a sickness, everyone is sick because they are all sinners. Everyone must go to the “doctor”. When you compare yourself to others you’re just looking for who is good and who is bad. God doesn’t judge this way. His judgment is His word.
Repeating a prayer, being a church member, getting baptized, or kneeling at an altar doesn’t save a person. These things are just actions and have nothing to do with getting to Heaven. The 10 Commandments. You say you know them and obey them all. This is covered with another story told in the Bible. Not one person has ever kept all 10 Commandments.
When a person tells you they are alright then they are saying that the Word of God is a lie. There’s not a single person alive that is alright even a saved person. The flesh will never be alright. The flesh is sinful and will always be sinful. If a person is really saved and they make the statement they’re alright, then there is a day of chastening coming to them. God will not allow a saved person to continue to live in sin knowingly.
Most churches have a membership double or even triple compared to their regular attendance. Why is that? Because they have a lot of alright members on the church roll. How many times have you heard when someone dies that they were a good person and in a better place? If they were not saved, they are not alright. One doesn’t go to Heaven to be with mamaw or a family member. Heaven’s purpose is not a family reunion or a place to rest. God doesn’t make deals.
Are you alright?
Heaven is going to be a place that’s happy. No more heartache, sorrow, or sin. The presence of God is the highlight will be. The lost will not and can not rejoice. Until one is born again you simply can’t rejoice. Not many people enjoy sad days. Bad things happen all the time and without our control. God doesn’t change even though the things around us are always moving and changing. What will it take for you to be happy? There are a few things that make us happy in the Lord. If you’re lost then come on in and be born again. Psalm 103:2-5
1 Peter 1:2; Do you really know the benefits of God? They can’t be all told. If you’re born again then you are one of the elect. Being one of the elect is the first benefit of God. Being an elect means that you are in his hand and no one can pluck you out of it. We live in a time when the saved need to lift their head up and smile a bit. The saved walk around like their dog just died. Get a grasp on the benefits of God, your Father, and turn that frown upside down. Stop acting like an orphan! Go greatly rejoicing every day!
Sanctified & justified. The scripture says just a sprinkling of the blood of Christ sealed our souls. If all it takes is a sprinkle of His blood, that’s some powerful blood. The devil remembers your sins and loves to bring them back up, yet God no longer sees them.
1 Peter 1:3;
P. Praise
R. Repent
A. Ask
Y. Yield
If you start your prayer with praises to the Father then you’ve started it off on a good foot. Jesus told the disciples when they realized they could heal people do not rejoice in those things but rejoice in Jesus Christ. The more you look at God the bigger and bigger He gets and the smaller you get. You will automatically begin to say sorry once you begin to see how big God is.
Merciful. Not only is God defined as love but also mercy. We need His mercy every day. We as flesh love to hide our sins, sweeping them under the rug to hide them. God hates sin, He despises it. Yet we as flesh sin. With God having mercy, He is long-suffering through Grace. If He wasn’t merciful we would be in such a bad spot. His mercies are abundant.
Begotten. This reference is being called born again because God begot us again, born again. God gives life and He can take it away. If you’re saved then God created you, born the first time, then once saved you are born again into a spiritual being. Once this takes place then you have hope in something through faith. If you’ve been born again then you have believed in something that can’t physically be seen, yet you had faith and hope. Lottery tickets. If one has ever purchased one then they have dead hope. They have hope in getting money, something that’s dead. Having hope in God is a living hope because God is alive and not dead.
Resurrection of Jesus Christ. We the saved, get our hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The saved serves a living savior. If He could rise from the dead by Himself, then He doesn’t have a problem that He can’t fix.
1 Peter 1:4
Inheritance. Before you were saved you had no inheritance. Being lost means that once you die lost you will suffer great loss and gain great misery. Nothing good will be gained by being in Hell. Being saved you’ve heard about a place called, Heaven. It’s a place that’s incorruptible. No rust, no moths, and no thieves to steal anything that’s placed there. It’s a place that is never defiled. It’s also a place that will never fade away. The inheritance of Heaven is reserved for the saved.
1 Peter 1:5
Kept. We that are saved are all kept by the power of God. We can’t keep ourselves no matter how strong we are. Salvation means you are saved from Hell yet until you are in Heaven you are constantly working on it. Once you get to Heaven then your salvation is completed.
1 Peter 1:6-7
Rejoice! Rejoice!
1 Peter 1:8-9
Whom having not seen, ye love, in whom though now ye see Him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.
Each one of us within a church that work has a “stick to it” mindset. There is a need in this world today for patient continuance in well-doing.
Hebrews 1:11
Now if you do not have patience then you will miss out in this race of life. Jesus is worth servicing every day of the week. All the time He is worth serving. In order to make a difference in this world requires patience and continuance. Without patience, you will give up on continuing. Don’t give up. Don’t let up. Keep pushing forward with Jesus.
James 5:7
If you’ve got a seed sown you must baby it. Water it, make sure the birds don’t get it, and keep the weeds away. Have you ever been tired and the devil tell you that? That’s what it is, the devil. The Holy Spirit will give you the strength to keep going and He will also give you rest. Do you need a finish line? When you take your last breath in this life, that is your finish line. We are of the flesh and we battle with it daily.
Galatians 6:9
Do you believe this? Make up your mind to give all you’ve got for God. The weary part is the flesh yet there is strength in the Lord.
2 Thessalonians 3:13
Do you believe this? There is something very important in well-doing and not giving up. Don’t give in to the world.
1 Peter 2:15
Have you ever asked what God’s will is for you? It matters what you do. Keep your Christian light shining because others see it. When you give your best He takes it and turns it into something greater. We live in a day where there is some foolishness going on. The wicked ideologies of this world are getting worse and worse. How do we live amongst it? Continuing patiently with God. We can’t fix the world’s problems yet God moves us around to do His will but, what happens when you lay down on Him?
If all it takes to knock you off your horse then the devil will provide it. He is all about keeping you away from God. He takes pride in knocking the Christian down. Make up your mind that you’re going to work for God no matter what! Be encouraged!
If you’re looking around and missing some workers in the field, don’t be discouraged. Have you looked around and in hurt and disgust wonder why they left? Have you looked around and begun to pray for them for God to help them? We could all use their help in this battle. If you’re not careful you will write them off because you can’t trust them. It’s not biblical to write off someone that has fallen in the ditch. In fact, we are to get in the ditch with them and try to help them out.
Romans 2:6
You only know what you see. You don’t know their heart.
Romans 2:7
Those that are patiently continuing in well-doing are seeking glory. Have you ever been in the presence of the Holy Ghost where you didn’t know what you were supposed to do? Just a power beyond understanding. They are also seeking the honor of God. When you don’t know what else to do, stand. We also seek immortality, living forever. Ultimately it’s the reward of Heaven.
1 Corinthians 3:13-15
The judgment of the saved. It matters how you live if you’re saved. At the judgment, if it’s not of God the works you did while alive on earth, you will suffer loss. Don’t give up, don’t lie down, and keep working for God!
Some tornados struck recently and the news said they only had 2 minutes to get to safety. God will come back again and it will be less than a second, in the twinkling of an eye. You only have the moment in which He invites you to make your choice, Heaven or Hell.Think of a spreadsheet of comparison. The devil on one side, God on the other. At the bottom of each column is an eternity. The devil’s side is Hell while God’s side is Heaven. The devil doesn’t want you to reach your full potential with God. Don’t deny the fact that you don’t go through trials that the devil is full of. The devil doesn’t want you to Be with God or grow with Him. He wants to keep you down in the dumps. He doesn’t want you to worship God, he wants you to stay silent. The devil doesn’t want you to feel what God can give you. Once you get saved the devil will try to convince you that you aren’t. He’ll make you doubt your salvation. Have you ever been done wrong by someone and had a hard time getting over it? It doesn’t matter what someone thinks or says about you. The devil will make you think that it’s important. No one can praise God enough for what He has done for us. We could praise Him every day but it still wouldn’t be enough. The devil doesn’t want you to be in praise to God. The devil doesn’t want you to walk with God. The more you walk with God the closer you will get to Him. The devil doesn’t want you to be close to God. The devil doesn’t want you to be able to say that you are a Godly man or woman. Can you answer that with a yes? Are you a child of God? Can you answer it with a yes? It’s the most important question in your entire life. No matter how many times we read what Heaven will be like we can’t fathom the reality of it. We can’t comprehend it because we’ve never seen it or been there. Just the thought of being in a place with God Himself is pure joy. Hell is the complete opposite of Heaven. First and foremost it lacks God and peace. The preachers preach as they do because they love you, they don’t want you to go to Hell. If God is speaking to you then you know already that you’re lost. You know it because He’s told you. If you have to ask, how do you know, then you know already.
One can’t say that they haven’t heard the warning this week during the revival. The warning has gone out every single night. Those that have warned will not have the blood of those on their hands of those that they have been warned. Have you been hurt, has the church ever hurt you? Have you built a wall around yourself to protect yourself from the hurt? When God decides to break your wall down, He will expose Himself to you one way or another. You might be sitting here right now placing block after block of sin around you. You might think there is no way no one could knock your wall down. You’ve heard that Hell is your destiny if you’ve never been saved. You’ve heard this, this week. Does it make you uncomfortable to hear that Hell is where you will be when you die? You need to check your salvation. Have you refused God? It’s not the preacher that you can blame for making you feel uncomfortable.
At times, God will break a wall down in our lives. We will not leave it alone and start picking up the pieces and start building it back. Once you start dabbling in sin you will begin to grow in it. It’s not hard to ask God to take the wall down, but we make it hard. We listen to the devil whisper in our ears to tell us NOT to ask for help. There are things in our lives that we will come against and will not be able to overcome them. We need the help that only God can give. Satan will not help you in fact he wants to see you dead. God wants you to live and have life more abundant.
Hell was not created for you. If Hell doesn’t scare you then you need to see what you’re missing out on. Heaven, the reward for salvation. You will not be able to enjoy Heaven if you die lost.
Revelation 21:1-4
These first four verses just deal with the physical piece of our human life. Are you a worrier? We will worry no more in Heaven. Have you ever had sorrow? Have you ever had someone dear to you die? The sorrow we experience in our flesh will be taken completely away. In this world, there is no hope. The celebrities of this world might have some things that we may never have or dream of. Yet if they are lost those things are all false hopes. They will all be left behind at their deaths.
Revelation 21:5-8
Even though God is telling us how good it will be in Heaven He also is telling us how horrible Hell will be.
Revelation 21:9-22
Notice there is a wall around Heaven and this wall is unpenetrable by sin. Heaven is made with everything that we as humans think of as precious jewels, gold, and silver. Our feet will walk on gold so pure as it is to glass.
Revelation 21:23-27
There will be no sun or moon because God is the light that hides all shadows. In order to walk on the streets and be with God you must be saved. Your name MUST be written in the Lamb’s book of life. The Lamb is Jesus.
Revelation 22:1-3
If we are saved and live down here on earth there are times that we feel as if we are in His pretense. This doesn’t compare to what it will be like in Heaven when we will live right beside Him, breast to breast.
Revelation 22:4-5
When we, the saved, get to Heaven we will be with the one that gave us access to Heaven. We will forever be with Him in Heaven!
If you are burdened down, depressed, sad, or just plain down and out, God will help and lift you up. If you’re lost, you’re down with no help. Only if you are saved will you have help from someone that knows what you truly need because He knows your future. Come to God and ask for help.Doctors. A lot of people don’t like to go to a doctor. God is the great physician, He created you so He knows what might be wrong with you. Are you worried about your finances? God is the best banker you could ask for. He’ll hand you a loan that you don’t have to pay back. He writes checks that never bounce.God will draw closer to you than anyone else you know. In your family, you might have some that if you called on them they might show up if they are not busy. The same goes for a best friend. It’s not that they may not want to, just that they may not be able to. God on the other hand is always there and is never too busy for your needs.Keep on praying, don’t give up, keep on praying. Why do people not want to come to church? Simply put, they don’t want to. Several hundred fliers were prayed over and passed out throughout the valley about the revival. The people know and they will be accountable for their decision. Satan doesn’t want you to have comfort from God. God only wants someone to love Him. This is the least we could do for what He has done for us. Satan also wants someone to serve him however, he can’t offer you what God can.There is one thing that every single person is going to do. It doesn’t matter whether you’re lost or saved, you will be judged by God Himself.1 Peter 5:6No matter how hard you try, you will let down someone, and the same goes for others. We are all humans and we all forget. God never forgets. God is always there.
Thinking about the picture of the last supper. We think about them all gathered together even though not all of them are a part of Jesus. Even though Judas was a disciple and walked amongst them and Jesus, he wasn’t a part of Jesus. In our churches, we have the same thing going on. We have members that attend and at times attend regularly, yet they are not a part of Jesus.
The world will make you popular. It will bring your name to the top and put your name in lights. You can win awards and money for the things that you do in the world. Those things will not get you into Heaven.
People that attend church often times put on a good front to their peers. A person under conviction will often try to hide their troubles. They know they are in the wrong and don’t want anyone to know it. If you’re lost then you are a tare amongst the wheat. You’re not a part of Jesus but can act just like a saved person. To the naked eye, wheat looks the same as a tare. It’s hard to tell them apart. God knows the difference between the two and will separate the two.
God knows your condition right now. You don’t have to worry about getting things fixed up before you turn your life over to Him. He will fix it. He will take those things from you. He will cleanse you. God corrects, leads, and loves. But, in order for Him to do these things you must be one of His children through salvation. We need workers in the field for God. Not just the singers, teachers, and deacons.
God wants to save you!
God will supply your every need but you must let Him. You can try to turn over a new leaf but if you really want it to change you must let God have it. Will you be in Heaven? You can’t get there because you’re a good person. You must be invited and accept the invitation from God. Emotion makes us do things. Feelings make us do things too. Emotions or feelings are not what keeps you saved. You got to know that you know, that you know that you’ve been saved. Satan will tell you that you’re saved and you’re doing alright but you need to make sure that you’ve been born again.
Maybe you are struggling with what the devil tells you that no one cares for you. Maybe he’s telling you that you should end your life. Satan would love to have you end your life. Did you know Jesus loves you? God loves you. God sent His only son for you as a sacrifice in order for you to be with Him in Heaven. God has made a way for you, a path of goodness. You may get have a struggle from time to time but God is right there, right beside you carrying you through the struggle. He Loves You. At the end of your life, you won’t have to worry about your death because once you close your eyes to this world you will open them to Heaven and God.
Satan has people standing behind the pulpit telling people that their life is okay. Those people will tell you that all you have to do is live a good life and you’ll be okay. Those people that Satan has used are deceivers and are doing nothing but misleading the lost into Hell.
If you have to ask yourself if you’re saved, make sure by praying. Ask God and He will show you. Stop putting a show on and be changed. You don’t have to be a person dragging through drugs, a murderer, a fornicator, or have done some horrible things to be lost. Being lost just means you’ve not been saved. What kind of bad stuff has a 9-year-old child done? Not much, but if God invites them to be saved, they are lost.
So if you keep living amongst the taxes what is going to happen when you die. Contrary to what some religions will teach you, once you die, you’re dead. You will then go to Hell, not a waiting place, not a place where the living can help get you somewhere else. Once you die lost there will be no relief for you, forever. Revelations 14:15, He is coming for the church but He is also coming for the lost. Every single person will give an account for what they did or didn’t do. While you are still breathing, alive, you still have an opportunity. If you know that God is inviting you and you would rather take your chances, it’s the worse decision you will ever make.
People worry that they’ll have to get rid of the things of this world when they come to God. God doesn’t want those things. You can keep those things cause He doesn’t want them. People actually have fear of losing those things. Unless those things get in the way of serving God you shouldn’t fear those things. You should never put anything above God. Drugs or alcohol, yes, you should give those things up. However, you shouldn’t fear those things because once you come to God He will take those sinful things away. All we must do is to come to Him humbled and He will help us. He loves us.
Matthew 9:2
Why do Christians walk around unhappy, with a frown on their face and their heads hung low? Christians should be the happiest people around. No matter what the devil wants to do He can never take Jesus out of the heart of a Christian. Now a lost person can certainly love, but until they are saved they don’t know the love of God. A love that is unconditional that causes one to love people that shouldn’t be lovable.
It’s time for the churches to come together as one. We serve one God. The Bible doesn’t say that the Primitive Baptists are to only love Primitive Baptists or Methodists to love Methodists. If the church spends more time talking about giving money than they do trying to get the lost saved, they are going in the wrong direction. If the Spirit of God is NOT in a church, then it’s not a church, it’s a place to just meet.
It shouldn’t matter what it takes we should get people to Jesus. We should have that desire. Your loved ones and neighbors will die lost and will spend eternity in Hell. If you don’t do what God has told you to do then their blood will be on your hands. You can’t blame anyone else but yourself if you don’t invite them to salvation.
Matthew 14:27
A Christian doesn’t have to fear because God is on their side and will never leave them. There are many Christians that have taken off their armor and this allows the devil to rob them. The other Christians that are suited up with their armor need to help those others back into the fold.
Matthew 17:17
Many Christians have laid their faith down. You know God doesn’t care what you look like. You can be dressed in the nicest most expensive clothes but He doesn’t look at that. God cast the demon out of the boy and He can do the same today. God hasn’t changed since the beginning of time. The father of the boy had heard enough about Jesus to know all he had to do is to get his son to Him and He would remove the demon. We have heard the same just in this revival. It’s up to us to get our lost to Jesus.
God always takes care of everything we need but a lot of times we think we don’t have enough. Do you realize that the things you have down here will not go with you when you leave this life? When you’re lost you will search out everything to stick into the void, the emptiness of God. The world will offer and promise you everything. It’ll tell you that you need the fanciest car, nicest house, best relationships, alcohol, drugs, sex, etc. Those things are nothing and will lead you to death into an eternity in Hell. If you’re in a relationship with Satan you will not need a program to stop the drugs or things that keep you numb.
The flesh doesn’t want God. It despises God and tries its best to stay away from Him. Satan will tell you pretty much anything and everything to keep you with him. Conviction of being lost. There is nothing that will mask it no matter what you try to do to cover it. When God calls your name, and invites you to be saved, you better heed His call, right then, right now.
When you’re saved God will never leave you. He is always there. He’s there at 3am in the middle of the night when no one else is around. When no one else wants to talk to you, He’s there to listen. With your children, you love them therefore you chastise them when they do wrong. Why do you do this? Because you love them and want them to do right and not be spoiled. God does the same to us when we disobey. He loves us more than our parents and He will chastise us when we disobey Him.
There is a deadline for the invitation. When God calls, you must answer. He calls and you have one choice, no decision is a choice and it’s the answer for Hell. You will know when He will no longer invite you to salvation.
When Jesus steps out on the clouds and you’re still here, it’ll be too late for you. You will not only cry out for the rocks to hide you, but you will live forever in the pits of Hell. You will forever burn and be tortured every second of your life for eternity.
When you’re saved you will struggle just like the next person. God never promised you a perfect life once you’re saved. However, what He did promise, He would never leave you. So when your struggles come Jesus is there to help you through the struggle to make things right. If you’re lost, you have nothing to help you, nothing to carry you through the pains and struggles.
If you’ve not been saved then you will enter into Hell as an intruder. He was not created you for. it was created for Satan and his angels, demons. God will not have pity on you just because you tithed, had your name on the church roll, was a deacon, song leader, or even a preacher. God will only accept His son Jesus’ blood as a payment for your sins. Without the blood being applied to your soul, salvation, you will enter straight into Hell.
We all put limits on God, it’s natural because we can’t comprehend God’s power. Put on the full armor of God. If you’ve been born again God we never leave you. God didn’t leave you all alone once He saved you. God gave you an armor that you can wear that the devil can’t penetrate. Don’t we all get big-headed and proud of ourselves at times and think we don’t need God’s help?
What’s going on up in Washington and in the school systems is wicked because the people are wicked. There may be some saved people in the systems but there may not be. Simply put, if they were following God’s word then none of the wicked stuff would be allowed. If you’re saved, pray for them. Pray for the backslidden and the lost,. God is going to call this thing over very soon. The time is so close because everything that’s in the Word of God has been fulfilled. God is just waiting, giving us grace for the lost to be saved. Keep on praying, don’t give up.
Done all to stand. Are you doing your all? Have you done your all in the past 3 weeks or so for this revival? You might be the only person that could be for someone’s salvation. God will not send you to the battlefield alone. He will either provide someone to go with you or He will be with you. When you’re not doing God’s work it opens up a spot for the devil to start throwing his darts. If you’re saved, you have work to do for God. Is this not reasonable for Him to ask you to do? God loves you and He cares for you. How do we know? Because He sent His only begotten son to earth to live as we live yet He sinned not. His son was sent as the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. God didn’t have to do this but He did it for us to show His love. Jesus was beaten, flogged, tortured, mocked, humiliated, and even forsaken by His father. This was all done for our sins all the while it never had to happen this way because God could have stopped it at any time.
Of all the saved persons in the world, how many would have enough knowledge of the Bible to go and speak with someone lost? God will not fail you. God will provide for you. God will give you rest. God will give you strength. God will be with you. God loves you.
Just because we have fliers, and names of whom is bringing the word doesn’t mean revival will happen. The church is asleep because they are sitting back and not doing what God has told them to do. The church must be willing to do the things that the world doesn’t like. Go out and knock on people’s doors, invite people to church. People won’t attend church anymore on Sunday nights or Wednesday evenings. If you’re saved and it doesn’t bother you that the people are going to Hell, then you need to check yourself.
Just because the world appears to be going down doesn’t mean we should be worried. We should be uplifted to know it’s part of the plan. It should give us hope that we can still go out and share Jesus. For revival to break loose one has to get ready for it. It’s a one-on-one relationship between you and God. We MUST do something about Satan running rapid in our families and loved ones. 100 years it took Noah to build the boat. No one was concerned until the first drop of rain fell. But it was too late at that point to be saved.
The time is now to wake up. At any moment the grave could burst open and the saved meet them in the air. There will be people you know that will be left behind. Wake Up! The church should be in full submission to God. No matter if the revival last for one day, 3 days, a week, two weeks, a month, or even a year or two, give God everything you’ve got. Are you content in your walk with God? If so, you’re in great sin because He has said NOT to be. We, the saved, must be willing to put forth the effort for God. If you are laying it down to serve the world then you are standing against God. As Isaiah said, here I am Lord, send me. Be like Isaiah and be willing and open to work for God.
Stop playing church and dive in head first for God. The world is going to Hell all around us. It doesn’t take going to church 10 times before you can get saved. It only takes one time to be convicted and come broken to God. The more you work for God the better you’ll feel because you’ll be closer to Him. He didn’t save you just to sit on a pew and not work for Him.
You can’t be a “part-time doer”. If it goes against God then you need to remove it. Not just temporarily, full time. We live in a time when people don’t want to be told they are doing wrong. People get offended when the man of God calls out a person’s sins. According to the Word of God, this is exactly what is supposed to be done. Many preachers/pastors will have to answer for not having a Godly backbone and standing up for God. There is a reason why God called you to be a preacher, singer, song leader, prayer warrior, teacher, etc. Do what He’s called you to do with everything you’ve got.
Are you willing to give God everything you’ve got? If the saved will humble themselves, pray, and seek God’s face, then He will hear from Heaven and forgive sins and heal the land. It’s not the sinner’s fault that the world is headed toward Hell. It’s the saved person’s fault because they were asleep on God.
The church is supposed to be a hospital. You have to take the bandage off for the doctor to fix it. Are you hugging your self-pity? If you’re always looking for something to “butter your toast” then you’re going to be disappointed. We no longer live in the Garden of Eden. What will it take to get you out of the cave?
The devil’s intentions
One can’t change their spouse but one can change themselves One can’t change others. In verse 9 we see Elijah went to the cave on purpose to lodge there. Elijah did a lot of good things with God but it took just one woman, the devil to know I him back down. He then got depressed.
The Lord’s questions
When you’re down and depressed we seem to forget how to pray with reverence. When you get down you’ll often get mad so you’ll pray with anger. Some people study the word of God and they still don’t have a clue who God is and how He works. He saves & blesses people that we don’t think deserve it. Do you think America is His pet? God asked Elijah why he was in the cave, He knew but wanted Elijah to answer Him. God had already proved Himself to Elijah. Elijah smarted off and told God that he was the only one God had left.
God has so much patience for us, and so much love. If you keep looking at Christians then you’ll get down and depressed. Keep your eyes on God. God told Elijah to come out of the cave and used different elements to get him outside. Once he was outside God asked him the same question as before in a still small voice. So, Elijah repeats the same thing again.
Instead of God arguing with him about it He just tells him what to do. God has to straighten out the nasty attitude first. God then tells him he wasn’t alone and to go do His work.
God takes care of the results.
What you can do you should do.
If you stay in your cave then God can’t use you. You’re not a failure. You must fail once in a while. What you define as a failure God doesn’t.
There are hard things that come to us at times. We all experience it regardless. It rains on the just, just as the unjust. God never said it would be easy just because you’re saved, but what He did say is that He would never leave you or forsake you.
In verse 2 we begin to see a story about a centurion. He loved his servant and spent a lot of money on all kinds of doctors and anything else he could possibly help him. No matter the amount of money, his servant was about to die. He had a problem that he couldn’t fix.
Later we read about a widow woman that had an only son. He was sick and died. She didn’t have much to her name.
Then we read about John the Baptist. John saw Jesus coming from afar and knew right away that it was Jesus. He felt that he wasn’t worthy to take off Jesus’ shoes. He ended up in prison for no fault of his own. He knew that death was coming quickly and he begin to have doubts. The devil comes in and begins to throw his fiery darts of lies to get you to begin to doubt God. He just loves to tear down the children of God. John was in a tough spot and you’ve been there too. The enemy will beat you down to where you’ll begin to wonder if you’re saved.
A woman that was a rough sinner that everyone knew about. She was in the business of being a harlot. Maybe you’ve been there too in your job where you knew you would have to stand and felt like there was no hope of getting out.
In all of these cases, every one of them felt as if there was no hope. The centurion just about gave up hope. Then Jesus came on the scene. If you’re a child of God and you start to get down, look around because Jesus will be by your side. Just as John said, he felt that he wasn’t worthy of Jesus. The centurion’s faith is what caused Jesus to heal his servant. The widow had first lost her husband, then she lost her only son. On her way to bury her son weeping behind the casket, Jesus saw her. She never asked Jesus for help but He just came up from beside her and laid His hands on the coffin. They all stopped as Jesus spoke and told him to rise. Jesus never broke a sweat and her son just raised up out of the casket. John the Baptist had given everything that he had for Jesus. Yet he ended up in jail just as we get at times in a spiritual jail. John didn’t ask Jesus to get him out of jail. He didn’t dwell on the situation he was in because it didn’t bother him. He just wanted to make sure that it was God’s will for him to be in jail. John just wanted to be sure that he was following the right thing. Once he got his answer he received great peace. The harlot had to forget the things she had done and had to praise Him in public. In front of the men that she had been with she had to thank God. She walked in while every one of them watched her. She kept her eyes on Jesus and she began to wash Jesus’ feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. She had also brought some ointment, great expensive ointment, and anointed his feet with no intent of any of it being wasted or taken back to her home.
We’ve been praying for a revival for a while to come to us. We need to be doing God’s work and inviting people to come into the house of God. It doesn’t take a lot of people to work for God. These men heard the noise that Jesus was going to be there. They wanted to see Jesus and they knew Jesus could heal their friend. When they got to the house they saw that there was no way they could go into the house the normal way. That didn’t stop them. They climbed to the top of the house and tore the roof off to lower him down to Jesus. This wasn’t an easy task to create a hole in the roof. They also had to raise their friend up to the roof in order to lower him back down through the hole they made. Are we willing to do some work for Jesus?
We are getting close to the end of time.
In the fifth verse, we read that Jesus saw the faith of the man’s friends and by their faith, Jesus healed the man of his sins. It was his friend’s faith, not his that saved him. Are you willing to have enough faith for your fellow men and women? God didn’t save us for us to just sit on our sits and do nothing. He saved us to bring in others to be saved. Where do you stand? Where is your faith?
We do a lot for our community but we could be doing a whole lot more. We have no excuses to invite, or love someone. We live in a time that communication is the easiest it’s ever been. You can call, text, instant message, video message, the list just goes on and on. It wasn’t that long ago when these things were not everywhere. But, people knew the power of God and respected it. They heard God somehow, some way. We can’t save them but we can invite them.
No one will be able to stand against God. When one gets saved some things are given and then some things are taken away. The wrath of God is happening all around us each second. We might not be able to see it but it’s happening.
God gave us a few things that no one can take away. An eternal peace. You gained the precious, righteous blood of Christ. Gained Heaven.
A few things that were taken away from you once you’re saved. You’ll never stand before God and hear Him say to depart from Him because He doesn’t know you. You’ll never hear the screams of Hell. You’ll never feel the burning fire of Hell. The people of this world can try to control your life and your money but they can’t control God. You might die of starvation tomorrow but if you’ve been saved then you’re a winner.
The wrath of God is coming. It doesn’t matter where you live or in what country, His wrath will find you.
The post Gain Over Loss first appeared on NPPBC.
Many people died on a cross at the Roman’s hands. It was common for them to make a mixture of cheap wine and myrrh. It was basic anesthesia to help aid the suffering. When they offered it up to Jesus, He refused it. When allowed to help end His suffering He refused it to take upon the fullness of our sins. He took our suffering and death. Only Christ could do this. Any part of the suffering that we should have and should be our penalty, Jesus took it. We should be grateful for the love of Jesus.
Jesus knew He was going to suffer before He was born into this world. 1 Peter 1:2-4
He knew what He was going to have to do and yet you turn Him away. He knew before He was born that a cross would be His end. No comfort, just a suffering end. Did He really know? Yes.
Isaiah wrote about Jesus some 750 years before Jesus was born. Isaiah 53:4, there was a carrying of grief that Jesus bore. Our flesh grieves over things down here that we shouldn’t grieve over. Yet Jesus had such grief that His sweat became great drops of blood while He prayed for us. Just the sheer fact that He was sweating this much is more than we’ve ever experienced. The sorrow He had was more than we have ever experienced.
Isaiah 53:7; when they came to get Jesus He would have to stand before some kings. Not one time did He say anything. When they blindfolded Him and punched Him, they wanted to know who did it. Even though He knew, He opened not His mouth. At any moment He could have whispered anything and stopped all of His sufferings.
Isaiah 53:5; bruised by the hitting and beating of the hypocrites. The leather straps with pieces of bone He was whipped with. With each strike, those bone fragments would tear into His skin and rip the flesh from His muscles and bones. His flesh hung from His body as torn rags. Yet He never opened His mouth and took every bit of the punishment.
Isaiah 53:6; on the cross they humiliated Him. There weren’t many there at the cross that was for Him. His mother was there, and John was there. More than likely some watched from afar keeping their distance. This that looked at Him hanging on that cross they were looking at the one that created everything. Yet they shook their heads and mocked Him. Jesus would then tell His father to forgive them because they didn’t know what they were doing. He didn’t die on the cross to save Himself. He went through ALL of it for you and me.
What will you do with the crucified Christ? Jesus has the power to lay His body down and also lift it up again. There isn’t a person that can just make themselves die. Just because you want to or try to doesn’t mean you will. Jesus laid His life down. Jesus’ flesh was dead and was placed into a borrowed tomb. Borrowed because Jesus didn’t need it. The Romans thought they had won by getting rid of Jesus. It was early in the morning by custom they were to anoint His body again. But what they discovered was a missing body from the tomb. Jesus rose from the dead And forever lives. He did all of this for us because He loves us so much. It was ALL for you.
The post The Suffering of Our Savior first appeared on NPPBC.
We are no different than Adam, Eve, or even David. We are all sinful and we try to justify it. We try to tell ourselves it’s not as bad as others’ sins. Daily in the garden, God would walk and talk with Adam and Eve. Yet there come a day that they disobeyed and rebelled against God. We all need to be honest about our sins with God. How did David come to his realization that he was a sinner and it wasn’t someone else’s fault? It’s the same with us, conviction. It doesn’t matter who you are, your sins will find you out. Only God is able to bring a person to such a level that they must repent of their sins. David being convicted guilty of his sins not only killed an innocent man had also caused a child to be killed as well. Their blood was on his hands because of his lack of repentance. How do we see a revival, we must repent.
What will bring a person to finally repent?
There are people that are saved but are backslid. What will it take for these people to repent? What will it take for those that are not backslid but living with sin in their lives to repent?
Mark 11:24
We have a lot of people whose names are on our book records, 257 to be exact. Some may have never moved their membership and are attending another church. There are others that maybe just weren’t saved, to begin with, and are lost. Then there are those that are saved but are backslid against God and the church. Our heart’s desire should be to see those missing people get their hearts right, repent and come home. We should strive to see those that are lost, and saved. We ought to pray for God to do whatever it takes to bring those to repentance. Pray for the conviction of God to lite upon those that are in need of repentance. God doesn’t save those that don’t want to be saved. God doesn’t make a backslid person go home when they don’t want to. The prodigal son ran out of his desires and when God told him to go home, he went home. When a person’s bed gets too hard and the sheets too short, then they will start to seek answers. Their souls are worth more saved than lost.
When one sins they sin against Heaven. Why is this so bad? Because of who is in Heaven, God, Jesus Christ. God the Father created all living things, the Earth, the Heavens, you, etc. Jesus Christ, the one that came to Earth as a man only to be sacrificed for our sins. The Holy Spirit of God that dwells inside us also lives not only inside us but in Heaven. When we sin we grieve the Holy Spirit. Our hearts should break when we sin.
In the story of the prodigal son, his repentance began when he came to his senses and began to turn to go back home. When one makes their first turn towards repentance, God sees it. Once one makes up their mind and begins to head towards repentance, God sees that obedience. In the story of the prodigal son, the father was already fixing the problem before the son said he was sorry. God does the same thing because He sees obedience and He also knows the heart.
The post What Will It Take? first appeared on NPPBC.
Being alone with God is a beautiful thing. God does not sit idle. He is always ready and willing. There aren’t enough devils in Hell to defeat God. Which side are you on? God doesn’t follow you around trying to figure out which side you are on. He doesn’t serve you, you are to serve Him.
Jesus Christ can not be described in His fullness completely.
Captain, sar, or commander. God is the commander of everything. Everything on this earth and everything in the heavens. We should line up with the captain because only He knows where we are going. Which side are YOU on? God doesn’t pick sides, WE are to choose a side. God is big!
God is the prince. He is high and lifted up. The prince of glory has come to set us free. He is able to do according to His good will and purpose. Our opinion or feelings don’t mean anything. God is sovereign. Our minds have a hard time comprehending how holy God truly is.
What’s a proper response to the captain? One MUST give up on their own life and give it to the captain. The captain is the only one that knows the way to Heaven.
The Messiah. The only person that would be born of a virgin whose rule would be forever. The one that would be sacrificed for our sins. The one that would die but resurrect on the third appointed day. The only one that is head of the church is the captain and the captain is Jesus Christ. There isn’t a deacon, preacher, or pastor that is the head of the church.
How often do you lose sleep worrying about what will happen next? You haven’t a clue what the day holds. The captain knows it all not because He is following you but because He has set your path. If you’re saved then you have trusted in God that He holds you in the palm of His hand. He hasn’t lost a single one and not a single thing will ever pluck you out of His hand. Satan on the other hand is running here and there trying his best to confuse, kill, and destroy everyone. If you trust God with your salvation and your life, then you should trust Him with the outcome of this world. He directs your path and your steps.
The first step to being one with the captain is to get rid of the world in your life. We have a terrible concept of whom we serve. We run to God crying saying don’t you know we are about to die. Even the disciples had no idea. In a boat out in a storm in the middle of the sea, the disciples began to panic. They thought they were going to die and woke up Jesus. Jesus declared they had little faith because He told them that they were all going to the other side. We are just the same. In our life, we hit all kinds of storms, and stumps, and take on water, so we begin to panic and call on God thinking He isn’t watching. The majority of the world does NOT know Jesus Christ. They will tell you they do but they lack a personal relationship. We can say we know the president of the United States, but you’ve never met him.
Can God do wrong? No. Is He all-powerful? Yes. Would you ever rebuke the Lord? You say you would never do that but day in and day out you try to captain your own boat, rebuking your captain. In this day and time, we can start to see the world going into great chaos. Closer and closer we are running to the end of time, the return of Christ. We see this happening weekly, daily. You need to know whose side you’re on. God is not on your side. The problem is not God’s power but the lack of us believing in it.
The post The Captain first appeared on NPPBC.
In the Old Testament, we know that God dwelled in structures, tents, temples, tabernacles, mountains, etc. However, after Christ came and gave His life we now have God living within the Christian.
One can be saved anywhere God invites them however most are saved within a church house. If you’re saved in a church then it will certainly hold a special place within your heart.
A lovely place
We have a lovely place to meet in. We have people that take great care of the building. However, the point is, it’s a place of love. It means something to walk into the church house and know there is love there and feel it. Every sabbath Jesus was to be found in a temple. He didn’t have to go to a temple to find His father, but He went anyway. He was setting an example for us to follow. Many people are trying to find a religion. When they walk into the church house they should feel love.
A longed-for place
The people within the church house; the love that they have should create a longing to be at the church house. Have you ever been away from the church house and had a feeling that you can’t wait to be in church? There is a special place to be with the other saints of God. Do you long for it? Does it bother you to lay down the world and attend the church?
Found a home
A sparrow is basically worthless to the world’s currency. The world casts out people all day yet God says the sparrow has a house. If He cares for the sparrow and provides for them, how much more does He love you? Did you know that the house of God doesn’t care about your past? The people of God are all equal sinners in the sight of God. The swallow is a migratory bird. It spends the majority of its life in the wind. It’s very rare to find a swallow sitting and not flying. Yet, it has a nest, a place of rest. For the ones that are on the run, God created a place of rest and a place of protection for them. The best place to have your children is in the house of God, at the altar. The ball fields, video games, TVs, movies, friends, etc., are not places to find peace.
A lively place
The house of God is made up of a bunch of lively foundational stones. There should be life in the members. It should bother you when it’s too quiet. Lively stones should have the “can’t help its”. We should have something to be alive about.
A lifting place
Your strength should be increased each time you assemble in the house of God. Our strength wavers from day to day but we have a restoring place throughout the week. We should be gathering strength by praying and studying our bible however, the strength is really abundantly given by attending the house of God. We eat because we are hungry but also because we are weak and need strength. People have said that they can worship just as well from their couch as in the house of God. That statement is unbiblical and against God’s Word. The mandate set for us is that we are not to fail to assemble ourselves together.
A listening place
Did you know that God listens to His people? When people come together to pray we know that He is listening. He is also looking. A Christian is the chosen, the elect, the ones that will live forever, marked and sealed. He watches us and sees us when we don’t worship, don’t raise our hands, don’t go to the altar and pray, don’t open our bible, don’t sing, etc.
One day in the house of God is better than a thousand ________ (fill in the blank). One doesn’t have to stick out in the crowd to be loved by God in His house. The Assembly of God is biblical and we should never forsake that. It should be something that you love and your heart longs for.
A place of light and learning
The man that preaches is bringing the lamp and the lamp is a light unto our feet.
A place of trust
We learn to lean on God and it’s taught within His house. God often times uses other saints to tell their story of what God has done for them and it helps you to trust more in Him. You can’t get that at home. The video recordings are great but you’re missing the testimonies, the shouting, the singing, and the fellowship.
We as saints must protect God’s house. If God isn’t in charge then we are headed to the ditch.
We look at others and we judge, it’s just what we do. We only see in part. We are all living in enemy territory. We only see in part. We can’t see the angels and demons fighting around us. Homosexuals are only about 3% of the population but the media would have you believe it’s much, much larger. Be encouraged in Christ. Stop letting the world dictate what you believe. The world is wrong. Satan has come to steal, kill, and destroy. He wants the Christians to keep their mouths shut. Who do you fear more, man or God? We are supposed to be supporting the weak and those that can’t speak for themselves, yet we bow down to the WOKE agenda. The media is trying to shut down the Christian voice. The government is trying to neutralize the church body. There is no family without a husband and a wife, male & female. Your behavior matters. If you love Jesus you will stand and make it known. The world wants you to have a religion but without Jesus Christ.
One can’t please God without a change. One can go through all the motions yet miss Heaven. One can go to church and cry about what we witness in the world and cry out to Jesus for help. All the while going back out into the world and living just as unholy as the next.
Thousands of preachers were living and preaching in Germany at the time of Hitler. Hitler had a new agenda and one of them was to remove religion. He then began to remove the Jews and destroy the churches. At this very time, America is destroying Christianity one church at a time. The anti-Christian movement is all around us and they are pushing it out faster and faster. The government we have currently are trying to destroy our children. At one time the people of America stood their ground against the government when it overstepped its boundaries. The Christian is to use the Bible to know what’s right and wrong. It’s our compass to point us to the true north, Jesus Christ.
If your life is going easy with no issues then you’re not in the battle, you’ve laid it down. We can’t see the battle around us but what we do know is that there is a battle going on. The devil is trying his best to destroy the world. If you’re just attending church and getting those Holy Ghost goosebumps and walking out and not working, you’re missing the mark. God doesn’t like that and you’ll answer for it. We all have work to do and it’s not just to feel good.
Jesus Christ is the commander and chief. He has never lost a battle. Don’t sit back and miss your opportunity. We don’t and can’t tell God what to do. We don’t command God, He commands us. Sin is the problem. Sin is what separates one from God. Sin is what’s destroying our nation. Sin is what will take one straight into Hell.
John 8:44
The devil is a liar and always will be.
Have you lost your first love? God loved you before you know Him. He is your first love. Are you living in a way that others can’t see God through you? Are you saved?
Don’t lose heart. Have you not stood up for God? Bring it to God.
00:44 . . . . . Somebody Touched Me04:00 . . . . . So Much To Thank Him For08:00 . . . . . I Know How I Made It16:53 . . . . . On The Other Side20:19 . . . . . The Blood is Still There24:06 . . . . . Aaron’s Testimony38:30 . . . . . Sinner Saved By Grace43:24 . . . . . When They Ring The Bells of Heaven45:52 . . . . . Child Of The King48:57 . . . . . What A Day That Will Be56:56 . . . . . Thank You Lord, For You’re Blessings On Me
God doesn’t call everyone to the same field. He doesn’t call everyone to be preachers. We as Christians must be ready and willing to work for God.
A hedge. Have you ever seen a hedge? A hedge blocks off something or surrounds something. A hedge that has a gap in it is no longer secure. God is looking for Christians to stand in the gap. Will He find someone to stand in the gap at New Providence? We have the privilege to be in mourning with the brethren. If you are willing and obedient then we will eat really well. Do you know of anyone that’s in need? The devil can’t do anything with prayer. He can’t get through it or around it.
We have some in our own church that has laid their cross down. The rest of us present within the church should be willing and able to pray for those that are in great need. If you see someone down in the ditch, get in the ditch with them and help them get out of it.
Examples of Heavenly people. Jesus is one that has stood in the gap for everyone that accepts His salvation. The Holy Spirit once one is saved, comes into their soul and sets up an abode.
God didn’t ask for a number to stand. He just someone to do it. God doesn’t look for the qualified. He tells us not to worry about how much money we have, He’s just looking for someone willing. If you have someone in your life that has forsaken the assembly of the church, backslid on God, stand in their gap. Get into your prayer closet and call out to God on their behalf. God didn’t save you to do it alone. He didn’t save you and set you out by yourself. If you’re saved then you are amongst many.
The post Are You Willing? first appeared on NPPBC.
Jesus being a man was hungry. He saw the leaves of a fig tree from afar off yet the tree was barren.
God is looking for something other than just leaves. The leaves are just the outward appearance of a person. It doesn’t matter if you can act like a Christian or talk like one. Have you ever been to an apple tree and just eaten the leaves? Many people today will gather under a building called a church and go through the motions of a typical Christian. But are they only leaves blowing in the wind?
There isn’t a place in the scripture that instructs a Christian what to wear. Some religions put a lot of effort into outward appearances. One can’t wear makeup, must have their hair trimmed, beards cut, and wear certain clothing. These are just outward appearances and have no bearing of salvation. A Christian should dress modestly and their speech should be clean.
A person can look the part and talk the part (have leaves). One can even attend church regularly and teach Sunday School. These things are good but are only actions or the outward appearance of a Christian. One can try to act or live like a Christian. The world can look at someone and make an assumption that they are a good person and possibly saved. These are only the leaves showing. Don’t be deceived! A hog is just a hog, once washed it will return back to wallowing in the mud. The leaves are not what’s important, it’s the fruit.
Jesus had an expectation to get a fig because of its leaves. When Jesus sees you does He expect to see fruit? A fruit tree doesn’t struggle to make fruit, it just happens. The fruit is proof of the type of tree it is. There have been some people that will go through the actions of being saved yet later they return back to their sinful lifestyle. They just had leaves, no fruit. Some people know God and have no problem with the doctrine that comes from the pulpit but they bear no fruit. They’ve never been saved.
A farmer that grew figs and had a tree that hadn’t produced any fruit in three years. He then told his helper to pull it up and throw it away into the fire. For three years the helper had tried to get the tree to produce fruit. The helper then told the farmer that he was going to pull back the dirt from around the tree to expose its roots to fertilize it. Your life isn’t but a vapor. Jesus is trying to get fertilize to your roots feeding you His word. If you, like the tree, do not accept the help then you will be cast into a fire. Leaves only are not what God is after. Your days are numbered. Leaves only will not get you into Heaven.
How do you know if you are bearing fruit? A sower spreading seed threw some amongst the rocks and the birds ate them. Some seeds were thrown and the weeds took them over. But some seeds were thrown onto good ground and they began to grow strong and grew much fruit. You will bear fruit.
The fruit of the Spirit. It’s from the Spirit and the only way to bear them is to be part of the Spirit.
Love! You will love one another whether you want to or not. It’s beyond what you can control. You can say you love God but if you can’t love your neighbor you’re not one of His. This is because when you’re saved you can’t help to love your neighbor.
Joy! Love is an action, a verb. Yet then we have Joy, a noun. Have you ever lived without joy? Being saved means you’ll have joy sprouting out everywhere. Joy comes when you should be down and out sad. We can’t produce joy in the bad times.
Peace! Stuff or relationships can’t give you peace. God will give you His peace and not a modified version of it. It just comes without working for it. You’ll have bushels and bushels of the fruits of the Spirit. God isn’t depending on you to grow the fruit because it’s what you’ll just do if you’ve been saved.
Long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, meekness, faith, and temperance, all these things are of God, not you.
Religions have been formed since the beginning of time where they tell their followers that it’s all about what you do. Your fruit production isn’t about you. God works on the tree for more fruit to grow.
We live in a culture where they try to tell you that you can produce these fruits. They will try smoke, lights, and tantalizing music to work feelings. Jesus stated that there would be lovers of self instead of God in the last days They’ll have itching ears of false teachings and not of God’s Word.
A lot of people brag about a lot of things. What they have and what they can do. We are all nothing without God. God’s been good to us all. Some people brag about their health and how good they think it is. But we are not promised another day. Plenty of perfectly healthy people have died from heart attacks or strokes.
Proverbs 25:14, Psalms 25:4
We can’t do anything without God. Ephesians 2:3, we are not perfect but God is. Romans 5:12, Adam & Eve had it made but they went against God. Their sins found them out. We are what we are because of the Grace of God. Proverbs 29:9
Goodness and evil ways. We can’t boast about them. People brag about how many drugs they can take and how much alcohol they can consume. James 3:5, money will not help you at death. James 4:16, people brag about how much money they have. We are building buildings after buildings.
Mark 7:17, Luke 18:19, God is the only one, no-fault, perfect in every way. He paid a debt that we could never pay.
Riches & wealth. Money will not do anyone any good. People worry about their stocks. People worry about their bills. Psalms 49:6. some people have a lot of money but they rob God by not tithing. Psalm 52:7, Don’t trust your money. Mark 10:23, plenty of people get angry and upset when someone dies and they don’t get a dime from the will. Revelation 3:17,
Ephesians 3:8, work for God. John 3:9 there is always something to do for God. We can pray if we can’t do anything else. God knows our works and if they are not of Him then they will burn up. John 24:15, Eph 6:7
We can’t boast that we will be alive tomorrow. Proverbs 7:21, Hebrews 9:27, 1 Samuel 20:3, Romans 6:23, Ecclesiastes 9:5, Philippians 4:21
Elias (Elijah) was just like us having good days and bad. There’s going to come a point in our lives no matter how strong we are in the Lord we will struggle. A low point in your life. Yet, while in that lowness in your walk, God knows where you’re at, always. Likewise, if we see someone down in the dumps of life we ought not to judge but pray for them to obtain strength through God.
God provided everything that Elijah needed. At the widow woman’s house, he needed bread and water and the widow gave him them. Her obedience to the man of God gave her meal and water that never ran out. Later we see that her son passed away and Elijah came back and raised him from the dead. Later we read that Elijah was to prove his god to the other gods. A pit was dug, water was filled in it as well as the wood was wet. Elijah’s God came down and consumed all of it proving that He is the only god.
He spent three years living near a brook where he dwelt with God. He had lived for God and done everything for Him. He was worn out and needed a break. God knew what he needed and sent an angel to him. Elijah just wanted to give up and for God to take him home. God knows what you need and when you need it. When the angel came down he brought water which is reminiscent of the Holy Spirit. When he awoke he had water by his head and a cake baking on the coals. Just as the widow woman had given him, God provided by remembrance. Elijah asked for death yet God gave him life.
Have you ever been in a place where you’re just worn completely out? When you can sleep knowing God’s got it, that’s some good sleep. The second time when the angel woke him, he did it with great care and tenderness. The angel had provided water and bread again and told him to eat and drink because he had a journey ahead. 40 days and nights Elijah journeyed just on the food that the angel had brought. In a cave, God took him where it was just him and God. God asked him what he heard or wanted. Elijah knew what God had done and had seen it yet his soul was in unrest. God sent wind, fire, and an earthquake but God wasn’t in any of it. Elijah was looking for God. Get your eyes off of the world and place them on God and He will show up in a big and mighty way.
If you were Elijah would you have boasted on social media about the fire that was brought down? We like to brag and get boastful because our flesh likes that pat on the back and the attention it brings.
Listen, seek God, listen and you will know it. Wrap up in His mantle, pray again, sing again, attend church again, and live in His spirit! God hasn’t given up on you so don’t give up on Him. Our children need to hear you sing, praise and pray to God when the times get hard. This will show them when their times get hard they know where they can go, straight to God. A well-worn path is easy to follow.
We as Christians are to be doing and working for God. Not to be slothful and just sit. We are to be going outside the walls of the church. It’s easy to work for God inside the church alongside other Christians. We should be testifying to the lost trying to compel them to be saved. We know it’s a better life to be saved because we’ve lived both sides, lost & saved.
God has a work for the Christian. He didn’t just save you to give you His peace, love, and grace. He isn’t going to bless you just because you’re saved. You must work. Work to be closer to God. Work to see others saved. Work to see the church grow. We can’t rely on other Christians, the pastor to grow the church and to help see others saved. A Christian does desire to see others prosper but it’s up to the individual whether you’ll prosper.
“I can’t work for God all the time.” This is a lie from the devil. We allow things of this world to move in on God’s time. When this happens it pushes us away from God. We must choose whether we want blessed or cursed. How do you want your day to go? When you wake do you choose the “poor pitiful me”, life? You’ve stepped in the way of God if you do this. Get prepared, grab your bible, pray up, and take your first step towards God.
There are different talents that God gives out and none are over the other, they are all level to God. The preacher isn’t higher in importance than the lay member. The song leaders or Sunday School teachers are just as important as the bell ringer.
Don’t let the devil steal your joy. If you want to testify to someone, do it. If you want to tell someone to have a blessed day, do it. Children, when they get into trouble oftentimes won’t like their parents for a while. But give them a few minutes and they’ll soon come back loving them. We are God’s children and we are just like children. We do things and get into trouble. When we are caught and punished we don’t like it. We roll around in our own self-pity, pouting because we got into trouble. But once we repent we realize that God truly loves us and that’s the reason He punishes us.
John 15:1-11; We can’t produce our own fruit. We have to be part of the vine in order to produce fruit. We must be bearing fruit but in order to do this we must be saved. If we are saved then the fruit should be growing and if not we should be making sure that we are part of the vine. No fruit means we are not of the vine therefore the branch is dead and will be burned.
If God has never come to you and told you that you are headed to Hell then you’ve never been lost or saved. Just because you want to be saved and have gone through the steps to show the world you are doesn’t mean you have been. If God has never invited you to be saved then you can’t be saved. You can’t do it yourself. God has to invite first then once you have accepted His invitation then you are saved.
Proverbs 13:4, Proverbs 18:9, Proverbs 28:19; Romans 12:11; Hebrews 6:12; Proverbs 6:6-8; You can’t be slow and expect God to be happy with you. Be about God’s business always.
We live in a society where people think they need more in order to be happy. They work hard to gather up things all the while at death they can’t take any of it with them. Parents are more likely to hand over their child to a stranger just to live their life the way they’d want to. Credit cards maxed out just to get the things of this world. If you’re working because of work to get things down here then you’ve missed it.
There are things in this world that we don’t need. God is there and will always be there. The riches of this world will pull you down into the pits of Hell. There is one thing to be reasonable about your future. God owns the cattle of a thousand hills. The birds don’t have to worry about their food because it’s provided by God. If He cares for the bird, then He surely cares for you.
God has never failed. If you think you just need a little more this is the flesh and the lust of it. Jesus is all one needs. Even if you wake up tomorrow and don’t have a dime to your name, you still have Jesus if you’ve been saved. The world will promise you the moon but it will bring great misery.
Many churches are in the entertainment business anymore. They sprinkle just a little bit of the Bible in their messages but in the end, they’ve missed the mark. Repent and be saved is what the Bible says. People don’t want to hear about repentance so these entertainment churches don’t preach it.
Go to any convenience store and it’s no longer convenient when you have to stand in a line waiting for some person to spend their last dollar on a lottery ticket. A Christian has already won the greatest lottery one could ever dream about. God is able to do anything to keep His children taken care of. Do you realize He could use a lost person to drop a load of groceries off on your doorstep? He has all control and can do all things.
God says to be content with your wage. If your place of work wants to give you a raise then praise the one that truly gave it and can take it away. God is the one that provided, not your employer. Are you willing to tell the world to just keep it?
We know the story of David and Goliath. David knew that it wasn’t his battle but God’s. In order to have the assistance of this world government they tell you that you must do as they’ve ordered. Saul told David he must put on his armor in order to win it. David did try it on because it made sense. How many product commercials do you see or hear now that produce fear in order to purchase their product? The Bible says to try the spirits to make sure which is right and wrong. David tried it all on and realized he couldn’t change who he was, he hadn’t proved it all. He went down and grabbed 5 smooth stones for the battle he was about to face. He had proven his sling and knew his God and what He was capable of.
Tell the world to keep it! Jesus stated that everything that God His father had given Him He had lost none. There is no other protector better than Jesus. The world says you need more power. The problem with giving more power is that it corrupts the human soul. We’ve seen it over and over where people have obtained more power only to be removed from this world empty-handed.
Daniel 5; read it. We see a prideful king taken down because of his pride. The king saw the writing on the wall by God and needed Daniel to explain it. They had to hunt for Daniel because Daniel wasn’t a part of the king’s life. The king tried to persuade Daniel and offered him a lot of stuff but Daniel didn’t want any of it.
Hebrews 13:5; God is telling us to be content.
Philippians 4:11; Be content.
1 Timothy 6:8; Be content.
Being born again isn’t something that someone talked one into doing. There are some verses in the bible that should stir our souls. There is a loving savior that loves the lost and wants them to be saved in order to be in Heaven with Him.
There are things in our lives that we will face that we are powerless against. Yet, when we are powerless, God has all the strength we need. There are some things that we are powerless against and God has the strength.
Being justified in front of God. Being lost means we have already been condemned unto death, Hell. There is nothing a lost person can do to be justified before God. Jesus Christ is the only one that has the strength to justify your lost soul before God. We can’t save ourselves. Being justified means “just if I’d” never sinned. When God looks down upon a saved person’s soul He sees the blood of Christ and not the sin.
Each and everyone person that is allowed into Heaven will get there the same way as the other person. There is no other way to get there than through Jesus Christ. One can read every gospel book written, sing every hymn written, and still have a lack of peace. The only way to have true peace is to be born again. There is but one way to have peace beyond any understanding.
How many times have you been somewhere and the door is locked? There is no way to get in unless someone lets you in. God allows you access to His grace by invitation only. Until He invites you in, you will not be able to enter in. His grace is forever and we are powerless to obtain it until He allows you in. People are trying to get you into this grace through the entertainment of the flesh but you will not know it until He invites you. “Amazing Grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me.” We are saved not by ourselves but through Jesus Christ Himself. His grace is what keeps you and saves you every day and the saved have access to it every second of the day. But while you’re lost you have no access to it and are powerless to it. Grace is unmerited. It doesn’t matter how good or bad you are. It’s something that’s given out by someone. By grace, through faith, you’re saved, powerless.
The one thing that the lost will never have unless they get saved is something to rejoice over. The rejoicing is not in the security of this world or a relationship with something but within hope. We are powerless to rejoice in hope. “I never shall forget the day”, while we were without strength Christ came for our soul. The saved rejoicing is in the hope of a greater tomorrow. The tomorrow of Heaven knowing we the saved will live forevermore with God in Heaven.
Powerless to glory in tribulation. When the hard stuff comes the lost are powerless to the glory of it. Yet, the saved have the most overwhelming privilege to glory in the hard stuff through Jesus Christ. Through the glory or the hard stuff we gain patience, and through patience, we gain experience, and through the experience, we gain hope.
The lost don’t love God because they don’t know Him. But when a lost person is saved, they know Him. To know Him means they have a love for Him. Our very flesh is contrary to God. The saved are not ashamed of the Gospel because we love God. The hope that makes us not ashamed of Him comes from Him loving us. We have no control over His love, we are powerless over His love. We are powerless against the Holy Spirit. It’s like the wind and blows where it wants to.
We are powerless to do these things and all the while God is powerful to do them all.
Romans 5:8Romans 8:321 Peter 3:18John 3:16-18
A man that was just trying to live his life according to God’s way. Joseph was loved by his father very much, so much so that he gave him a nice coat. His brothers became very jealous of Joseph and made a plan to get rid of him. They place him into a pit in the earth to hide him in order to sell him into slavery
Joseph was just doing what his father told him to do. He was being obedient. How many times have you been looked down on for serving God? People don’t like it when they know you’re serving Him. They want to put you off and place you into a pit. Satan is out to shut down God and His followers. Satan will do anything and everything in his power to stop you from working for God and doing His work.
God already knew that Joseph was going to be placed into a pit and sold. Yet, no matter what God continued to bless him. As in your life, as long as you’re doing God’s business He will continue to bless. Satan will tell you that you’re a hateful person and hate others just because you stand for and with God. Not too long ago there was a certain respect for the church, God, and Jesus. In the state that we live in now, there is no longer respect for God and His church.
A Christian must do their part. They can’t just sit down on God. Many people think they are doing right, they think they are in the right. However, just as the leaves that fall from a tree to the ground are blown around by a slight breeze, they are dead and have no fruit. There are many dead leaves just as many dead Christians or lost people thinking they are saved. The Word of God tells a Christian that they must attend church. Not only does the bible tell the Christian this but the Holy Spirit that lives inside them also demands God’s house.
If you’ve been born again and are obeying God then all things that come your way will be a blessing. They will be a blessing because they are coming through God’s hands first. All things will work together for good as long as working and obey God. Your life becomes miserable when you begin to turn your back on God. Don’t drift away but if you do, ask God to help you and show you what has happened.
Through the persecution of Joseph, he saved his people. Just like Joseph, another man was sold out to persecution. Jesus was sold for 30 pieces of silver, tortured, humiliated, and ultimately killed, sacrificed for everyone’s sins. Jesus saves anyone and everyone that would believe in Him.
The first thing you should be doing in your prayer life is speaking out, “Oh, Lord…” and asking for repentance. We are all sinners. All of us! One could wake up and the first thing you say is I’m clean and sin-free, yet it won’t take a second and you’ve sinned. One can’t hide sin from God. He knows all and sees all.
Why don’t people come to church? Do they not want a blessing from God? One can pray all they want but until they repent God will not hear from them. God loves His children and wants to bless them. His blessings will never run dry. Have you ever heard someone say that they had prayed and prayed and prayed for something yet they say they never received an answer? Maybe they should examine themselves to make sure they are clean, and repent of their sins. God will not hear from someone until they’ve asked to be cleaned of their sins.
If you’ve been saved, washed in His blood then you are one of His disciples. He wants you to go out and compel the lost to come in. All we have to do is get them in the door.
Where are you today? If God has told you to speak to someone, clean up, pray up and go.
1 John 1:6-7; The only thing that can help us is God Himself.
1 John 1:8-10; If you are telling yourself that you’re a good person and haven’t done anything bad, then you lie not only to yourself but to God. We have all done something bad and do it all the time. We are all sinners.
If you are praying, don’t give up. Keep praying. Push through. God will not lead you down a wrong path. He might lead you down a path that you might find questionable, but He will go with you. If God has told you to do something or visit with someone, He’s already working on the other end. Just obey!
There is someone in every service that is hindered by fear or doubt. The saved should be confident in some things. God has never changed and we should have great confidence in Him. For the child of God, there are good days and bad days but God is always with us. We live in a world that is controlled by fear. With every medium, today lies are spread quickly and abundantly. Whatever illness you want to place in the blank, one can die from it. The devil wants to keep you scared and afraid. Yet, until it’s your time until God calls your number you will still be here. God alone dictates when you leave this world. Our temperament has a lot to deal with our fear. Some are born and created to have a natural fear while others it doesn’t bother. How do you not have fear? Have confidence.
The world we live in is afraid of the darkness, not the lack of light but the devil. The things you can’t see or are unknown to you. The whispers that the devil puts in your ears.
The Lord is your Light.
If you’ve got light, then you’ve got it whipped. What is light, Jesus! The light that never goes out, is always there, the light to your path, and exposes the truth by running off the darkness. In Heaven, there is no sun because God is the only light. Being in a dark place. We as Christians should be careful with this saying. Being in a valley or walking thru the valley, sure. But God never leaves therefore you’re not ever in a dark place.
The Lord is your Salvation.
Deliverance, helper, prosperity, hope. People work hard to control everything in their own life. They lay up treasures to keep things calm and at ease. Not a single person knows what they really need in the future. Whatever rescue you need tomorrow God knows. There’s never been a time when God is not there to help you. Whatever they tell you on the news you can’t be confident in. Yet, whatever God tells you, you can have ALL confidence in. A Christian always has the greatest help.
The Lord is your Strength.
The strength of your life comes from God. His might has never wavered. Isaiah 41:10; when you don’t have strength, He’s got it!
The Lord is your Protector.
The devil or the enemies are not your problems. Have you ever had a big brother, someone that watched over you? What battle of your life do you think He wasn’t there? Nothing will touch you until it’s filtered through God’s hand first. The devil wanted to get to Job and had to ask for permission from God to get to him. God told him what he couldn’t do to him. God protected Job through it all.
Why do people not go to church? Because they don’t want to. Why is that? Because they lack confidence in God. Jesus said, they that hunger & thirst for Him, He will feed them. But you’ve got to have confidence in Him. One must seek after God. When you have confidence in God it will bring a skip in your step when you attend church. It thrills your heart to have confidence in God! David wanted to be in the house of God so he could behold the beauty of God. Has your heart seen Him? Have you beheld Him? Have you inquired of God? Have you asked Him your heart? Prayed? Don’t excuse yourself from prayer.
When you’re confident in God you’ll want to come to church to see Him and to pray to Him.
We are living our life in 2023 yet we fight the same adversary that was there in Genesis. Satan is the most faithful member of the church. We give the devil way too much credit. He is not omnipresent as God is. The devil needs people to do his job, minions.There are people in Hell because they ignored their opportunity to be saved. When one walks into a church there is an opportunity to grow in God. We are in the last days. Read your bible. We are in the last days. The devil is trying to steal joy. He is trying to destroy your body and life.Psalm 23; we have a shepherd. If you attend a church, the pastor is your shepherd. God is our ultimate shepherd. Many men are standing behind a pulpit preaching, teaching, and leading through false scripture. Shepherds lead sheep. Sheep are known as kind of dumb animals, they must have a shepherd. Goats are animals that will eat anything you through at them. Sheep do not like rough waters and will not go around them. They need still waters to ease their anxiety. The staff is used to keep danger away but it’s also used to pull the sheep into safety. The shepherd keeps us protected and cares for His flock by giving us a place of still water, using His staff to protect us.Psalm 23:5; the enemy to the child of God is the devil. The devil will let you attend and sing all you want but He doesn’t want you to mention the name of Jesus. There are many gods in this world but there is only one Jesus. There are many women in the world yet when a man marries a woman they become one. Marriage takes work. The closer you get to God the harder you must fight. The devil doesn’t want you to get close and he will try his best to keep you from growing in Christ. The devil has already removed the Ten Commandants from the schools. Prayer isn’t allowed anymore in schools. It’s this way because the Christians didn’t fight the devil away. Many people are in jail today because of stupid things. Many are not in there for murder or something horrible. It’s something dumb that the devil got them into and then they were caught in that sin. Don’t let something stupid that the devil wants you to do get you thrown down.The devil is the root of a problem. We are in the shape we are in today because of the devil. Before the devil, Adam and Eve had no care in the world, sin-free. Yet the devil came in and lied to them and they disobeyed God. From that point forward, sin was declared and people were cursed.Got a mountain in your life that you need to be removed? Yes, we can ask God to remove that mountain, that obstacle that’s a hindrance or a burden. Sometimes God wants us to do something about it too. Sometimes He is waiting for us to pick up a shovel and start digging at that mountain to show Him we mean business.The devil is defeated and has been. It’s already been declared and he knows that. This is the reason he is working overtime to destroy all he can. He knows that his time is limited and just like us, he doesn’t know when his time is over. The devil is watching and waiting for a foothold in your life to begin to take you down. Don’t let your guard down, stay aware! We all have a purpose in God’s church. When He calls you to do something, do it with all of your might and all of your heart.God prepares us a table to feast from and if you leave the table not full that is your fault, not His. That’s like going to a free all-you-can-eat buffet and leaving still hungry. God’s feast is never bad, it’s always free, and it’s always available. Come to His table and feast with Him.A Christian is not ignorant is the devils’ devices. The Bible is full of what the devil has done, successes and defeats. Those devices are limited and never change. We all face the same adversary. Nothing is too small or hard to God!
We can’t allow Satan to take over. We all should have someone in our lives that needs God. We shouldn’t stop praying for them. Keep praying. The revival we just had was not just Harmony’s revival but anyone’s, everyone’s. We must lean on God and continue to lean on Him.
14 days of revival and we meet at our regular service and are missing many. Don’t allow Satan to get the upper hand. Continue to pray! In your life, if you hide sin in it, God will not bless over it. You must repent and get rid of the sin. You can’t ask God for something if sin is in your camp. Before you can see the battle won you must repent, and remove the sin. Once repentance is made we can then begin to see God’s work. We all must be honest. It’s easy to ignore the sin against God. It doesn’t matter how big or little the sin is, God will NOT bless over it.
People are always watching your every move. They watch for you to stumble in your Christian walk. You will stumble because you’re human, but repentance should be made to not only God but to all of the ones that see or know your sin.
We must be willing to get uncomfortable for God. It’s easy to attend church but when God requires you to do something, that’s when it gets hard. God is with you all the time. He has the plan drawn up and just asks you to be the mouthpiece. If you don’t do your part, He will find someone else to do it. God sent His only son for everyone, including you, therefore He cares, and loves you.
Satan will tell you every single day that you can’t do what God asks. We should always be on high alert for what Satan is doing. This doesn’t mean to begin to watch/listen to the news because you can become to be consumed. Just walk out into the world and you’ll be attacked by the devil. He is a liar and always will be. Don’t eat what he is trying to feed you.
It only takes one second to be lost. Once Jesus reveals Himself to you for salvation, you’re lost. Don’t wait for another second to accept His invitation because if you die, Hell will be your eternity. When you are lost you will do things trying to find happiness. That happiness will be there but it’s limited. You will always be looking for your next happiness. Once you’re saved, you will never lose your happiness because that happiness lives inside you. Jesus is your happiness beyond happiness.
We must hold that line. People are telling our children that it’s okay to be who you want to be. Live how you want to be as long as it makes you happy. Choose your gender on what makes you happy. Satan is running around rampantly lying to everyone just because he hates, HATES God.
When Satan comes sniffing around your salvation and life, tell God about it. Let God run him off, but if you’ve got sin in your life then God will not honor that until repentance is made. All that God is asking us to do is to hold the line. Keep pushing towards the mark. It might seem like a small battle to you but you don’t know what kind of victory is about to happen. Don’t give up ground. Satan will tell you that your walk with God doesn’t matter. Study your bible, pray to God, repent always, etc.
Some people have a greater capacity to love. Mary of Bethany understood it. The other twelve disciples didn’t see it. We need “Marys” in the church. What’s more important, worship or work? Worship is more important because without it we can’t work. The other twelve basically bullied her thinking she just wasted money.
The power of present action.
Mary gives her roses to Jesus before He died. The worst Christian should be the one you see when you look in the mirror. The box was valued at $55,000 in today’s time. Where did she get this box? She lived with two other women because they didn’t have a lot of money. She’s the only woman in the Bible that anointed Jesus for His burial. Your biggest critics are the ones within the church, and other Christians. What are you waiting for to give Jesus your best? Did you give Him your best in 2022? Just make your mind up that you’ll give Him your best today!
Matthew 26:8-13; Mark 14:6-8; Mary gave what she could and Martha could cook. Not everyone has an alabaster box but we all have a gift. Do what you can for Jesus. Our problem is that we don’t do what we can. We often do things for others or the church but we don’t do anything for Jesus. If you get a chance to do something for Jesus, you better do it.
The priority of a priceless affection.
Mary didn’t keep any for herself. How much is Christ worth to you? How much? Is it possible to give Him too much? Repentance is not stopping smoking or drinking, it’s turning to Christ through sin. When do we do something just for Christ? Mary let her hair down because she forgot the towel. Back in that time, a woman’s hair was sacred. A woman was also lower than a man. She didn’t ask for permission to do what she did. How long do you think she went without washing her hair afterward?
The place for perpetual adoration.
2023 we are still talking about a woman named Mary and her breaking her box of ointment over Jesus’ feet. Christ is the alabaster box and He gave it all. The whole world is filled with Mary’s love because of the printing and repeating of her story. This oil she used stuck around because it was a sweet, strong smell. That perfume stuck around that evening, the next day, and up until later. May made herself poor but she made us rich because of her timeless example of love.
For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten son. The keyword is “so”. Remove the word “so” and it doesn’t mean as much. God could have sent an angel for our sins, but He didn’t. He sent to us, the dirty rotten sinner, His only son. Stop measuring what you do for Jesus. Mary didn’t measure the oil, she gave it all and didn’t intend to take any back with her because she broke the box that contained it.
Do you love Christ?
If you love Christ then you shouldn’t be begged to come to Wednesday night services.
We look at the word, propitiation and think it meant the bridge between something and the work that Jesus did. But this is incorrect. In this text, it means a mercy seat, Jesus Christ. A place where the atonement is made.In Exodus, we see the instructions for creating a temple. Christ truly is the place, not just the atonement. Hebrews 9:1-5Christ is the mercy seat. The mercy seat is within the Holiest of holies. It was behind a veil. Only the high priest was allowed behind the veil. Now, we don’t need a high priest because Jesus Christ ripped the veil into giving us the ability to go directly to Him.Before the high priest would go behind the veil, he would take the coal of fire and the incense and go through the veil sideways. He would never look at the mercy seat because he would be fearful of God. He would then pour the hot coals into the censor with the incense and it would begin to smoke. Now, we do not have to do that. If you’ve been born again then the fire of God lives inside of you. A broken heart and contrite spirit get thrown onto the fire of God and a sweet-smelling fragrance is released.Prayer doesn’t do or mean anything. Many people think this to the point that they don’t pray as they should. Don’t go to God and play games with Him. He slew two men because they brought God an unwanted sacrifice. Just like them, don’t bring God an unwanted sacrifice.The mercy seat resides in your heart. You take the mercy seat everywhere you go. In the temple, everything behind the veil represents Jesus.The priest would go through the veil sideways and go directly to create the smoke with the incense. He would then back, back out through the veil. Once outside he would take the blood sacrifice and go back in through the veil. He would then splash the blood up high, then seven times below all the way back out as he left.The Ark of the Covenant was made out of pure gold. Just like Jesus, He is pure and sinless. Jesus doesn’t have to continue bleeding for the sins of the people. He gave His blood once and for all. On top of the ark, there were two cherubim’s facing each other with their wings overshadowing the top of the ark. For Christians, Jesus is where they are. He goes wherever they are, with them. Jesus goes with you and meets you where you are.The purpose of the mercy seat created a place where God would meet them. It also covered some stuff that has your needs covered. The golden pot contained a daily provision of manna. The problem with manna is that it rotted within 24 hours. God sustained them one day at a time. The manna in the Ark never went bad.Aaron’s rod that budded was also in the ark. The “stick” was alive yet it was not planted or watered. Death, God’s got that covered. Being born again means you pass from death to life.What about our sins? The law was contained in the ark and that was the Ten Commandments. If the law wasn’t checked off and covered then you would have sin. You wouldn’t be able to get to the place where He is with sin.If Christ is the mercy seat then He covers all of those things. So if you go unto Jesus and ask for forgiveness, then He is faithful to forgive you because He covers the law, and He kept the law. This mercy seat can be visited every second instead of once a year. Why is it important that Jesus is the mercy seat? Because we need a place to take our burdens. A lot of people will pray to God, but they don’t pray to Jesus. A lot of people believe in God, yet they don’t believe in Jesus. There is only one way to God and that’s through Jesus. Jesus said that no one goes to the Father (God) unless they go through Jesus. One way!The post Propitiation is a Place first appeared on NPPBC.
Coming to the light of Jesus Christ is where we need to get to. One can’t know Him without knowing the Light. Jesus Christ is the light of the world. We live in a time where it’s dark due to the wickedness of the hearts of the people. Yet, Jesus’ light is still shining. Jesus wasn’t just another child that was born. He was also not just another child to be presented to God.
Can you remember the darkness in your life when the absence of God was in your life? Once saved the darkness had to flee and the light of Jesus came in. The light that never burns out. Shadows are formed by lights shining over something. The shadow is there because the light is present. Christians will walk through a shadow at death. The best that death can do at death is just cast a shadow.
There were some dark things that were going on. The world was dark at that time. God never spoke in a way that was recorded. God wasn’t moving prior to the time of Jesus’ birth and some time before, 400 years. The people just did as they felt they needed.
You could be going about your Christian business and get caught up in the doing and leave out the most important part, God. Zachariah was stricken dumb until his son was born. Zachariah and Elizabeth lived in a dark time until John was born. Elizabeth hid for 5 months when she became pregnant.
Mary lived in darkness. There are things in our lives where we live in darkness because we don’t know what’s going on. The darkness for Mary was she didn’t know how she was going to become pregnant without a man in her life. All she needed to know was how it was going to happen. Once the angel explained to her how it would take place she was then living in the light. Mary went to see Elizabeth once she became pregnant. John being a fetus in Elizabeth’s womb jumped with joy at the sound of Mary’s voice. Jesus wasn’t even born, yet His light passed through Mary and into Elizabeth into John.
Joseph had three choices. Take her to law because he didn’t want the baby and she would be stoned to death due to adultery. He could have divorced her privately. The third option was to just go with it and take her and the baby that wasn’t his as his own. An angel came to him while he slept and told him to take Mary and the baby as his own.
Shepherds were in the dark and they had visitors. An angel first came and then a multitude of angels appeared. The light that came with the angels would have been blinding.
The wise men were in the dark and didn’t know where to go. They hunted for Jesus. People today hunt for Jesus in all kinds of things, drugs, alcohol, sex, and just plain sinful acts. The light they were following, the star, began to move so they followed it. They followed it until it stopped over where Jesus was.
Luke 2:32;
The Gentiles
They were not allowed to be anywhere around where God was at. They were outcasts. The Jewish people were the only ones that had access to God. Simeon spoke out loud that Jesus was the light to lighten the Gentiles. If you are lost then you are alienated from God, yet there is light for you. Jesus is the light.
1 Peter 2
Every born-again believer is the chosen generation. We have been called out from amongst the lost, the darkness, and into the light.
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The only thing that has prepared your soul for an eternity in a presence of a holy God is the blood of Jesus. The sins that you have should be forgiven through repentance. However, the blood of Jesus cleans all sins. We can’t boast of having anything to do with the cleansing of the blood. Of all of the things that we need, the blood of Christ is at the top. Apart from the blood of Jesus Christ, there is no redemption for sin. The reason Jesus was born is so He could die. He is a gift from God. Too many live today as if there are many ways to Heaven. One could ask anyone if they are going to Heaven and they will respond with a sounding, Yes.
1 John 1:7
The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth: Meaning it is present and is actively working. The key, it is still at work. It’s a process that never stops. Past, present, and future. Without the blood of Christ, you will not get into Heaven. There is no evil, sin, or corruption in Heaven. The only way to be free of corruption is to have the blood of Jesus Christ applied to your soul.
Romans 10
How does one be born again? One must confess with their mouth and believe in Jesus Christ.
Be grateful for the blood of Jesus Christ. If it were not for the blood then we wouldn’t be here right now. Have you been cleansed of your sin debt? If not, then you’re not going to Heaven.
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If you are a Christian and are not living your life as a Christian and a lost person that you know or run with dies, you will answer for that. A Christian shouldn’t live their life as a lost person through the week and act like a saved person around other Christians. A Christian should live like a Christian at all times. What you think and how you make things right in your eyes don’t matter. If you think a certain word is not a curse word and continue to use it knowing that God doesn’t like it, then it’s wrong and goes against God. It doesn’t matter what you think. The Christians in your life may not see you live as a sinner or a hellish life. You can’t fool them but you’ll never fool God. He knows your life regardless of what others know.
Just the same, if you’re lost and go around telling people that you’re saved, this is just as wrong. You give a false witness of a Christian and just as a Christian will answer for the things that did, the lost will too. The lost will answer for the other lost and even the Christians that they led astray.
Being a hypocrite regardless of whether you’re lost or saved is a sin. It leads others astray and causes them to stumble. Those that you cause to stumble will be held against you at the time of your death.
Acts 26:28
If you’re a Christian and live your life as a sinner; how many people have you almost persuaded to be saved and that sinful way broke the persuasion? Being backslid causes your testimony to be destroyed and causes your light to dim to others. Don’t live your life thinking you’re okay when you’re not.
Repentance is the key to forgiveness. Weekly, daily, hourly, and every second, we should be asking for forgiveness. We all sin every second by thinking or by our actions. We should never repent and run back to the sin. We should repent and turn away from the sin and strive to not return back to the sin.
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We all have a house that we are trying to build. As a Christian, we should be building our house in Jesus Christ. A lost person builds their house in the world with worldly things. The difference between the two is that the Christians house is built on a firm foundation that will stand the test of time. The lost builds their house in the sands of the world that will pass away in the end, a total loss.
Satan will give you a house to keep you content in your life. Monday thru Saturday you can live like a hellion and then Sunday live like a Christian. A Christian can’t live this way for God lives in their lives and keeps them.
A lost person can try their very best to create their own foundation. You can give your very best to the world yet something will still be missing. Alcohol, drugs, sex, partying, fishing, hunting, etc can all be placed in that missing piece. These things all go away and the hole is still there. When you’re saved the hole is filled with Jesus. Those things of the world, God takes away and replaces them with Jesus. He is all you will ever need or want.
The foundation of salvation is the most precious object ever made. Jesus Christ was sent as the ultimate sacrifice. In the beginning, we looked to what we thought was the perfect sacrifice. Bulls, goats, sheep, birds, etc were all used as sacrifices yet the sin was still there. Those things couldn’t take the sins away forever. Those things were used often to try to cover the sins. When Jesus came and gave His life as a sacrifice for our sins, it was forever and perfect.
There will be a fire that will be sent that you will have to go through. This fire is to purify, to burn the things out of your life that is worldly. These things are things that you don’t need to be a part of. Yet, if you are saved you will still have a house of Christ that the fire can’t burn. Without salvation, your house will be burnt and destroyed and you’ll be left empty-handed.
In the children’s story of the three little pigs, we know the story of them. One pig built his house out of straw. When the wolf came he blew his house down. The next pig built his house out of sticks and stubble. When the wolf came he blew his house down. The third pig was smart and built his house out of bricks. When the wolf came there and blew, he couldn’t get his house to fall. Just in our own lives, the wolf is Satan and he huffs and puffs knocks, and blows. He wants your life destroyed. He’ll tell you not to listen to the songs of glory, the preaching, and the love of Christ. Don’t let the devil lie to you cause once you get saved you will want to be with other Christians, singing God’s songs of worship, loving the word of God, and wanting more of it all.
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Peter, a fisherman by trade. Peter, the man that cut off a soldier’s ear off. Peter, the man that rejoiced at being beaten for Christ’s namesake. This same man would speak of how precious Jesus is.
When something becomes precious it becomes your priority. Jesus spoke of a story that a man spent all he had for a pearl that he wanted greatly. Husbands often speak of their wives being precious to them.
The trial of our faith is precious. We often times see it as a burden. Yet, Peter compared the trial of our faith is more precious than gold. How can something so difficult be so precious? It produces praises and worship to God. Don’t underestimate what God is doing in your life.
The blood of Christ is precious. God didn’t use the value that the world sees and knows to pay for our sin debt. He used something that is precious to Him, His only son. Jesus Christ bled out on this earth giving His blood for the sins of sinners. What can wash away our sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
How precious Christ is.
Jesus is precious to God. He is the most precious thing there is. God boomed from Heaven and said that He was His son and He was well pleased. Just as soon as Mary was told that she would conceive Jesus, the devil was hot on His heels. Is He the most precious thing to you?
To the church the most precious thing is Jesus. The one thing that should never take place is putting the pastor on a pedestal. The man of God should not be more precious than Jesus. How many of you came into the church house with your spiritual sacrifice? Jesus is more precious than your job. Most of us can get up at 6am daily to get to our jobs on time yet we can’t attend church 3 times a week. If Jesus means more to you than anything, then why are you not worshiping Him? If you walked into our church wanting to hear Pastor Tommy Boring preach, then you’ve missed the mark. It’s not about the pastor, the singers, the building, or the fact that we’ve been established in the community for 90 years. It’s about Jesus Christ and nothing else. There is nothing greater than Jesus Christ.
To have Jesus high and lifted up. As one walks into our church the first focal point one sees is a large cross. Our focus should and is on Jesus Christ, high and lifted up. As a Christian one should have a testimony unto salvation. This testimony should declare Jesus as precious. One can’t fuss at a blind person because they can’t see a tree. Yet a Christian should hold Jesus as precious, high, and lifted up and should not have anything above Him.
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There is only one way that you can be saved and that is through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. This is the most important thing. In this reading, we see a man named Ornan. He gave everything, he gave it all. In our life isn’t it hard to give it all for God? We don’t trust God with our life. Yet, God controls everything and it’s ALL good, but we don’t trust Him. We should be willing to say to God to take it all, everything to live for Him. We shouldn’t have to repent to witness to someone. We shouldn’t have to ask God to forgive us before we come to church for worship. The church house is convenient. Is it convenient to witness to someone? Is it convenient to drive to a long-distance church just to pray? There are things more important to us than God. Most don’t even attend church on Sunday nights or Wednesday nights. Sunday morning service is all they need to live on throughout the week. How many minutes do you watch TV in any given week? Do you give God that long of your time? Your full attention like you do the TV? How much of your time do you give God? We’ve read of a little widow lady who during a drought she was asked to bake a cake for a visitor & herself. She gave all she had for the man. All the while knowing it was all she had for her and her son. Her obedience gained her unending flour and oil. Another lady gave all she had which was just two mites. No one told her to do this, yet she did it anyway. She was blessed beyond blessed for her obedience. We should be giving everything we have to our Savior. You alone have to make that choice to give it all. Another lady gave the most precious thing she had, an alabaster box that contained precious oils. The people around her got upset at the fact that they thought she wasted it. She did this because she wanted to give her all to her Lord. The very land that Ornan gave was then transformed into a temple that eventually became King Solomon’s. Are you giving God all of your “land”? What would have happened if Ornan refused to give his all? It all starts with self. Self has to make that choice to give it all to God.
There are spiritual battles going on around us all the time. Aren’t you glad you don’t know about or can’t see them? Jesus knew Peter would cut a man's ear off later that night, He also knew that he would deny him three times. We should be doing something that the devil wants to attack. The devil doesn’t care about those that don’t work for God. It’s only when you’re working for God that he will come after you. Satan wants to destroy your life because he is your enemy. As the scripture states, he wants to sift us as wheat. Satan desires to have you yet he can’t have you if you’ve been born again. The enemy has no power over God and His children. In this reading, Jesus tells Peter that Satan desires to sift him as wheat. In the very next verse, Jesus gave him the solution, the stopping of Satan’s power. Satan can desire all he wants to but he can’t have a Christian. Jesus told Peter that he prayed for him. This may seem simple but think about what this really means. When Jesus spoke, things happened. Jesus spoke and a dead man became alive. Hebrews 7:25; Jesus is able to save. Jesus prays and makes intercession for you. Always! Because He prayed for you there is nothing that you can’t have. Your Savior's checkbook will never bounce. Romans 8:34; Yet again we see that Jesus intercedes for us, always. He wants us to get this! Romans 8:27; Not only do we have Jesus praying for us but we also have the Holy Spirit praying for us. Where does the Holy Spirit live? He lives inside of us, with us, always. Not only do we know Jesus prays and the Holy Spirit prays but other Christians, the church prays for us. We’ve been given a commission from God to love one another and if you follow God then you will pray for one another. James 5:16. We also pray for ourselves. It might be our most said prayer, “Help me!”. Do you know what happens when you pray for yourself? Usually, God speaks back. You will never go down when you are praying. This means you should always be praying. If you are always praying then you shouldn’t turn your back on God. Your Christian life should always include praying. The Word of God, the Bible will never fail. This means what He said is true and will never fail. He plainly said He will never forsake you or leave you.
Sometimes we need something to get our attention. We often become prideful in ourselves. This is nothing we have to work on as it’s built into our nature. God knows how to get your attention. What will it take to get your attention? Jonah refused to do what God had told him to do. God gave Jonah many opportunities to change his mind and do what God had told him to do. Yet Jonah refused. Finally, God had a great fish to swallow him until Jonah agreed to simply do what God told him to do. It took a great fish for Jonah. He is the potter and we are just the clay. He is the creator and we are the creation. He has every right to do what He wants since He created us. We have no right to complain if He wants to change something we don’t like or understand. God wanted to get to Nebkenezers heart. There were three in his fold that refused to worship what the king, Nebekenzer created. The king threw them into the flame and then his eyes were opened to what he saw in the flame, God. In the scriptures, we read of many that refused God’s calling. God then required something of them because of their disobedience. Many times we see this throughout the Old Testament. What about the New Testament? Peter denied the Lord, not once but three times. He refused to believe that he would deny his Christ. Yet, he did it because Jesus knew he would. The rooster crowed 3 times and Peter knew right away he had messed up. Stop looking the other way when God is trying to grow you. If you need God to get your attention, He will! However, He shouldn’t have to do that. After saving our unworthy souls we are still weak to serve Him. Those that didn’t return back to church tonight have a field that is more important to them than God. God is not asking you to do something that you can’t do, but are uncomfortable to do. If he has to, He will burn your field. There is a day coming that He is going to get the attention of the entire world. At that point, it will be too late for many, many people. God WILL have their attention.
God is such a sovereign God. Yet, when He tells us to go we push back. The first two letters of the word Gospel are G-O. Matthew 23:23, the things that you should have done yet you didn’t do it. If you think you don’t cuss then you’re doing pretty good, yet what do you do?
Underestimating the weight of the command. How many times did God tell Adam and Eve to replenish the earth? Once. Did they do it? Yes, just look around. God didn’t leave it at just that thought. God told us to go out and witness. It’s not a gift but a command. We spend billions of dollars on pets. Millions of dollars on games. Billions of dollars on alcohol and drugs. How much do we spend on missions? When was the last time you witnessed to someone? We all struggle with witnessing to others. Undoing the worth of a soul. You must be a believer to understand what a soul is worth. Wouldn’t one hundred years be enough to spend in Hell for sin? That’s our thoughts but we are not God. We don’t know the filth that sin is, we don’t understand it. Think about a “child" that does something really bad and gets thrown into jail. We think they aren’t worth it. All while we fail to see the unworthiness that we also have. We are no better than they are because we are all sinners. The souls of everyone are just as much of value as yours. When you don’t witness to others you are saying their soul isn’t worth it. Undervaluing the value of the gospel. How often does a “door-knock” bring a person to salvation? It’s not very often that we see this happen so we begin to undervalue the gospel. Do you ever think we make God sick because of our lack of seriousness in His gospel? Undertaking a wrecked life. 1 Corinthians 15:34, whose fault is it if the people in our community haven’t heard the gospel? Wouldn’t you like to get to Heaven and have people come up to you to thank you for not giving up on them or for witnessing to the? On the other hand, what will you do when you get to Heaven and you see others being thanked and yet you have none? How about someone being sent to Hell for eternity and then turning around and asking you why you didn’t warn them?
John 14:6; the only way to get to Heaven is through Jesus Christ. You could be on every church roll in the world. You could be baptized one hundred times or by the greatest minister alive. No person will get to Heaven any other way other than through Jesus Christ. When you take your last breath you are no longer in control. You will need help to get to Heaven. The very instant you die you no longer know anything that you once knew. Once you die you will go somewhere and it is not in your control. Without Jesus, you will die and go straight into Hell. Religion has never got anyone into Heaven. Good parents, Godly parents will not get you into Heaven. Does God send people to Hell? God’s son took it upon Himself to come to earth and give Himself as the ultimate sacrifice for sin. If you turn your back on His son then He WILL turn His back on you. We read a story about Lazarus and his death. There was also another man that died but his name was never mentioned. The instant they died one opened his eyes in Heaven while the other opened his in Hell. Instantly! They didn’t go into a waiting area or purgatory. Purgatory is a man-made religion and isn’t a biblical place. So what help does one need to go to Heaven? You need all three, God, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. John 3:5-6, Jesus was very direct. The flesh is flesh and it will go back to the earth from which it came. When God calls an end to this world the ones that have died before us and lay in their grave or have been cremated will be joined with their soul in the air. You will need some help in doing this. John 3:15-1, Jesus was direct here as well to say one must believe in Christ. If you take Christ out and replace Him with anything else, it doesn’t work. Again, there is only one way into Heaven. There is no place where you will be partying it up with all your friends. The Bible is the “skin” to our help into Heaven. God is the scripture. 1 Peter 1:23, it is the living Word of God. How many of you have read it this week? Instructions on who to follow and who not to follow. How many brought your bible to church tonight? We also need each other. Sheep are not made to be alone. Sheep are helpless in life. They need help to survive. Not only did God give us His word as the Bible, but He also gave us a church. Sometimes the help we need is in the form of refuge, a place of safety or learning, support, forgiveness, comfort, etc. Hebrews 10:23-25, when you forsake the assembling together you are saying you don’t need anyone’s help and you can do it all on your own. The Wednesday night service is just as important as the Sunday morning service. Church attendance will not get one into Heaven but after you’re saved, it helps one to get to Heaven.
00:00 . . . . . . Welcome; Page 57 10:20 . . . . . . Elder Hoyle Taylor’s Introduction 18:26 . . . . . . Prayer 37:45 . . . . . . Elder George Taylor
27:14 . . . . . . Gene Self, KP & Meme Potter, & Mae Boring (Crowder); "Jesus is Coming Soon" 31:05 . . . . . . Gene Self, KP & Meme Potter, & Mae Boring (Crowder); "I Made a Vow"
49:14 . . . . . . List of Pastors by Year 1:02:41 . . . . . . Elder Hoyle Taylor 1:04:22 . . . . . . Elder Douglas Self 1:12:56 . . . . . . Elder Lewis Whitehead 1:27:58 . . . . . . Elder Hoyle Taylor 1:31:32 . . . . . . Pastor Tommy Boring 1:33:00 . . . . . . Elder Hoyle Taylor 1:36:48 . . . . . . Brother "Chick" Roddy 1:38:27 . . . . . . Gene Self, KP & Meme Potter, & Mae Boring (Crowder); "Reach Out and Touch the Lord (As He Walks By)" 1:41:42 . . . . . . Congregation "Jesus, Great Shepherd of the Sheep" 1:42:27 . . . . . . Elder Ben Hunt (prayer) 1:44:34 . . . . . . Pastor Tommy Boring 2:05:43 . . . . . . Closing Prayer
00:00 . . . . . Michael & Delilah 09:25 . . . . . Everything I Need 16:45 . . . . . I’ll Give You The Praise 31:50 . . . . . He Could Love 41:35 . . . . . Joy On Earth 45:55 . . . . . Oh, Happy Day 1:00:40 . . . . . Please Forgive Me 1:04:46 . . . . . Praise You In the Storm 1:10:26 . . . . . In Better Hands 1:14:58 . . . . . Be Not Weary 1:20:37 . . . . . One Touch 1:25:16 . . . . . You Are God
00:00 . . . . . Michael & Delilah 09:25 . . . . . Everything I Need 16:45 . . . . . I’ll Give You The Praise 31:50 . . . . . He Could Love 41:35 . . . . . Joy On Earth 45:55 . . . . . Oh, Happy Day 1:00:40 . . . . . Please Forgive Me 1:04:46 . . . . . Praise You In the Storm 1:10:26 . . . . . In Better Hands 1:14:58 . . . . . Be Not Weary 1:20:37 . . . . . One Touch 1:25:16 . . . . . You Are God
If you’ve been saved then you have a job to do. You should be in the world witnessing to the lost and telling them that Jesus loves them and want to save them. Just a few years back just a few people got together and forced God out of the schools. The Ten Commandments were taken out of the government offices. If there was ever a time that we God it’s now. The reason God was removed was due to Christians not standing for what they believed in. The reason it’s getting worse and worse is because God has been forced out. If you’ve been saved then you should have a testimony of what God has done and how He loves you. If you don’t, then you’ve either turned your back on Him, backslid, or you’ve never been saved. Either way, you should be seeking God for forgiveness. As a Christian, when you turn your back on God and then repent, He opens His arms and welcomes you back into the flock. As Christians, we should be going out into the community and asking the lost to come to Jesus. Are we doing that? Are you just sitting and not working? Is it not reasonable for Him to ask us to be His servant? He gave His only son for our sins, He gave ALL of His blood for our lives. All He asks of us is to invite others and live for Him. Could you give up one of your children for someone else’s life? If you do not have a testimony that God saved you, what are you waiting on? An altar is a place for repentance. There is no reason that the entire church should be full of testimonies of God's salvation. There is no shame at the altar.
If you’ve been saved then you have a job to do. You should be in the world witnessing to the lost and telling them that Jesus loves them and want to save them. Just a few years back just a few people got together and forced God out of the schools. The Ten Commandments were taken out of the government offices. If there was ever a time that we God it’s now. The reason God was removed was due to Christians not standing for what they believed in. The reason it’s getting worse and worse is because God has been forced out. If you’ve been saved then you should have a testimony of what God has done and how He loves you. If you don’t, then you’ve either turned your back on Him, backslid, or you’ve never been saved. Either way, you should be seeking God for forgiveness. As a Christian, when you turn your back on God and then repent, He opens His arms and welcomes you back into the flock. As Christians, we should be going out into the community and asking the lost to come to Jesus. Are we doing that? Are you just sitting and not working? Is it not reasonable for Him to ask us to be His servant? He gave His only son for our sins, He gave ALL of His blood for our lives. All He asks of us is to invite others and live for Him. Could you give up one of your children for someone else’s life? If you do not have a testimony that God saved you, what are you waiting on? An altar is a place for repentance. There is no reason that the entire church should be full of testimonies of God's salvation. There is no shame at the altar.
God has created a beautiful place that we live in. The land and the animals we live amongst. He created these things without toil. Take the time to look around and give wonder and awe to these things. Be careful though about what we give praise to. God created these things and these things should reflect Him. There are things we’ve witnessed in our lives that we’ve tried to remember by a photograph or a video. Yet these things were all created by God. The sun, as bright and as large as it is was created by God Himself. While we are amazed by these things God looks at these things lower than anyone of us. God will destroy His creation, all of it. He will burn it all up with fervent heat. He will however save humankind because He loves us. Humans did not evolve from a monkey but were created by Himself using His own breath. We should not worry about what we are to wear or eat. Has anyone ever seen a bird clear land, plant a seed, and then wait for it to grow just to eat? The birds do not wonder where their next meal is going to come from. If God cares for the birds why wouldn’t you think He would care for you? He’s done things for us as humans more than the birds. It’s not just a Christian that might worry about stuff but everyone alive. He put something in a human that He didn’t place in an animal. We are not the same as them. An animal does not have a living soul. God said that He was going to make humans like He was. We are more important than a bird. A bird doesn’t have a savior. Jesus didn’t come to earth for an animal but for the sinner, humans. God cares for all of His creation because He feeds them all. Think of a single bird and the number of seeds it will eat in a single day. Now think about how many birds there are on earth. Now think about how much they eat daily. Mountains of seeds they eat daily and yet God provides this for them daily. Amazing! Yet, God cares for you MORE than the birds. Look at the back of a turtle and you’ll see that its shell is different than the next. Look at ourselves and what makes us up. There isn’t a single person that is the same as the next. Even identical twins are different in their DNA. He created us uniquely and there is nothing like us. We are more important than the birds or the flowers. He knows how many hairs that are on our heads. Some heads are easier to count the hairs than others yet we give no care to the number of hairs. God knows the exact number even though we lose and gain hairs all day long. Some give no regard to Him for what He has done for you. You simply don’t care. He did for you because you are more important to Him than His own creation. What He did for you He will not overlook at your death. If you reject His life then you will forever be in Hell at your death. God created you with a different purpose. There are some religions out there that believe that when a person dies their soul will be moved to something else, a cow, dog, chicken, goat, etc. This is referred to as being reincarnated. This is not biblical and can’t be found at all in the scriptures. Jesus, Himself said that to be absent from this life is to be present with God. We already know that humans are more important than an animal.
God has created a beautiful place that we live in. The land and the animals we live amongst. He created these things without toil. Take the time to look around and give wonder and awe to these things. Be careful though about what we give praise to. God created these things and these things should reflect Him. There are things we’ve witnessed in our lives that we’ve tried to remember by a photograph or a video. Yet these things were all created by God. The sun, as bright and as large as it is was created by God Himself. While we are amazed by these things God looks at these things lower than anyone of us. God will destroy His creation, all of it. He will burn it all up with fervent heat. He will however save humankind because He loves us. Humans did not evolve from a monkey but were created by Himself using His own breath. We should not worry about what we are to wear or eat. Has anyone ever seen a bird clear land, plant a seed, and then wait for it to grow just to eat? The birds do not wonder where their next meal is going to come from. If God cares for the birds why wouldn’t you think He would care for you? He’s done things for us as humans more than the birds. It’s not just a Christian that might worry about stuff but everyone alive. He put something in a human that He didn’t place in an animal. We are not the same as them. An animal does not have a living soul. God said that He was going to make humans like He was. We are more important than a bird. A bird doesn’t have a savior. Jesus didn’t come to earth for an animal but for the sinner, humans. God cares for all of His creation because He feeds them all. Think of a single bird and the number of seeds it will eat in a single day. Now think about how many birds there are on earth. Now think about how much they eat daily. Mountains of seeds they eat daily and yet God provides this for them daily. Amazing! Yet, God cares for you MORE than the birds. Look at the back of a turtle and you’ll see that its shell is different than the next. Look at ourselves and what makes us up. There isn’t a single person that is the same as the next. Even identical twins are different in their DNA. He created us uniquely and there is nothing like us. We are more important than the birds or the flowers. He knows how many hairs that are on our heads. Some heads are easier to count the hairs than others yet we give no care to the number of hairs. God knows the exact number even though we lose and gain hairs all day long. Some give no regard to Him for what He has done for you. You simply don’t care. He did for you because you are more important to Him than His own creation. What He did for you He will not overlook at your death. If you reject His life then you will forever be in Hell at your death. God created you with a different purpose. There are some religions out there that believe that when a person dies their soul will be moved to something else, a cow, dog, chicken, goat, etc. This is referred to as being reincarnated. This is not biblical and can’t be found at all in the scriptures. Jesus, Himself said that to be absent from this life is to be present with God. We already know that humans are more important than an animal.
We need to be searched. We think we are good yet there is not one that’s good. The devil will do whatever he can to knock you out of a blessing. Search our hearts when we go into prayer. We get heartbroken. Do we have faith, do we really believe? We go through the motion of prayer but do we really get through to God? 1 Thessalonians 5:17, we should not cease to pray. Mathew 21:22, all things. Psalm 129:33, what are you thinking about right now? Psalm 34:18 Search our ways. Job 23:10, we have to go God’s way and not ours. We all go through the storms of life but search our ways. Proverbs 2:8, God preserves our way. Proverbs 16:7, please the Lord, not others or yourself. Isaiah 45:13, let God direct your way. 2 Peter 2:2, people don’t want to follow God anymore because they have their own ways. Search our thoughts of our mind. Isaiah 26:3, not many people talk about God because their minds are not own Him. Psalm 94:7, a lot of times we think we know it all and don’t need God. Luke 2:35, sometimes God has to chastise us in order to change our minds. 2 Peter 3:1, if we simply look back we can see when God had pulled us out of the mess we were in. Romans 8:5, mind the Spirit of God. Search our hearts and eyes. People are not worried about God coming back. People are more excited about the game, holidays, and other worldly things. Revelation 1:7, God is coming back and we should be looking, watching for His return. Acts 1:11, people don’t believe He’s coming back. They’ve heard it all their life. Luke 21:26, we haven’t seen anything yet but. If you think it’s bad now, just wait. Make sure you have the insurance plan that will take you to Heaven. Matthew 24:30. Search your heart about the invitation. Make sure you are saved. Don’t think, don’t wonder. Isaiah 55:6, Matthew 11:28-30, Jeremiah 6:16, don’t be deceived, don’t let the devil fool you. Today is the day of salvation because no one is promised tomorrow. Romans 10:13, just call upon God.
A solid biblical truth is for parents to give their children to God. Let God work in them in such a way that they find salvation. The best place for your children is in the middle of a church. One can’t get a child in front of God enough. Bring them no matter what. Is there hypocrisy in His house? If you think for one minute that people don’t know that if you live one way but claim another that they can’t see it, you’re wrong. They can clearly see this. Some will look to God Himself and tell Him they are doing alright. They will tell others they know God yet they have no clue. There are some men and women that claim they’ve been called by God to do His will and to bring the word. These people that have never been born again steal from people every day and bring the false teaching of the devil. Think of all the people that might be saved that give to these so-called preachers thinking they are doing good. This kind of hypocrisy happens every day. We live in a world that will pat you on the back and stab you in the chest at the same time. The world is full of hypocrites claiming to be Christian and yet have never been born again. We should be praying for our people, the children. Our government from the top to the bottom is corrupt. Now we know that there are people that work in these fields that have been born again. We also know that if and when they stand up for their faith they would be persecuted for their belief. Christians should be living as pure as they possibly can just as Jesus & God has said. If you’re a parent you have the responsibility to raise your children as a Godly people. God will judge your parenting. How does God deal with hypocrisy? In the Bible, we read of several people when God dealt with their hypocrisy. Their lives were required and required quickly. Hypocrisy is a dangerous thing to play around with. God is not to be mocked. God is not your spare tire. He is not to be played with. You say you’re a Christian. Do you speak like one? Do you dress like one? Do you act like one? God’s not fooled by hypocrisy, does He approve of your actions?
How many Christians are dead? Being born again doesn’t mean you’ve got it all figured out. We face a real devil every second every day. If Satan can get ahold of a Christian then he would destroy them and everything they have to do with. How many times have you struggled in your Christian life? God will never leave or forsake you. The devil likes to tell you the opposite and will bring to your mind to think that He has left you all alone. Christians need to stop being lukewarm and stop burying their head in the sand. A Christian that goes to church and sits and does nothing for God will soon find themselves becoming lukewarm. Before you know it, Satan will have the Christians pulled down to a point that they are dead, dried up as the bones we read about. Has Satan ever told you there is no hope? Has he ever tempted you to lay out of church? Has he ever told you that you are not worth it? There have been times that Satan has almost convinced the Christian to give up. Things in our walk will dim our light, causing it not to shine as bright as it should. The lost person is in the valley of dry bones. It takes the blood of Jesus to revive the dry bones of a lost person. One must be born again in order to go to Heaven. A Christian seems to live on a type of “belief system”. A Christian sometimes gets to a point where they think they have it all figured out. This means they want for nothing. They think they’ve got it all figured out, they don’t need God’s help or guidance. God does the impossible. He makes the impossible, possible. A lie from the devil is when one says God would never put more on you than you can handle. God never said that. He stated that He would be there when the hard things come in your life. Obedience is better than sacrifice. If God asks you to move, you better move. He WILL get His praise. Ezekiel 37:7-10 Is there hope for the lost to be saved? If you are dead then allow God to take control of your life. They who are dead are made alive by God. There is still hope in Jesus. He still has power! When was the last time you a Christian had a burden for the lost, your church, your pastor, the children, your spouse, etc? It’s time to stop being dead. It’s time to stand up for Christ.
God created everything we see. He placed Earth in such a place that life could be created to survive. The things we have in this world quickly fall away. The car that was once new becomes old and becomes rust. Even our own lives once new quickly fade away become old and then die. God never gets old. God never goes away. God is always there. If you’ve been saved you are placed on an unmovable rock that will never fail. The unsaved person lives on sand that moves all the time and is always unstable. A Christian’s hope is in God that is still in control. God is our keeper. He’s our shepherd that watches over us at all times. A drug addict never woke up and decided to be addicted to drugs. The devil comes at them slowly and redirects their path slowly and before they realize it they’ve gone into a state of addiction. God will keep you when you can’t keep yourself. He is your help in the trouble. God is always watching over you. The best security camera can’t capture everything at all times. There will come a time when that camera will fail for whatever reason. God on the other hand is the ultimate security regardless of the time of day or night. Persuaded Being persuaded means that you’ve gotten used to something always happening. One can be persuaded that their car will start because it’s started each time you wanted it to. Being persuaded in having food is because any time you needed it, it was there. Time and time again God has shown us that He loves us and He is still in control. We should be persuaded that He will never fail us no matter what. However, when we flip on the TV and watch just a little bit of the news we begin to worry that God has lost control. God knows we are human, He created us. We mess things up all the time because we think we can do it without God. Let go of the things that do not matter. That football game that you get all worked up about doesn’t matter whether your team wins or loses. We as Christians should be showing our family and friends what matters at all times.
There are things we can see yet there are things that we can’t see. We can see that God created the heavens and the earth. He created everything that we can see. We can’t see everything that we believe in. We can’t see salvation but we can see the effects of it. We are all given a measure of faith in order to believe in Jesus Christ and His power to save. If Christ is drawing, inviting you to salvation then you first must believe in Him. Noah never knew what rain was. Yet God told Noah to build an ark because He was going to bring much rain. Noah was doing the things that pleased God, he was the only one in that time that believed in God. Imagine the mocking that Noah received because of his belief in God and what he was doing. Abraham had no idea what he was doing or where he was going. Just like Abraham, we have no idea what God has in store for us. A saved person is seeking heavenly things, things we can not see, true faith, and belief. Worshiping God through the thick and thin of our life. We often take things for granted because we live in luxury. For the most part, we all have a vehicle to drive, nice clothes on our backs, a roof over our heads, food in abundance on our tables, etc. Yet take one of those things away and we begin to wonder if God cares for us. The times are getting worse as we live on. This is no surprise. People are turning their backs on God. Christians have turned soft and don’t share Christ as we should. Maybe God is telling you today to go and do something for Him. If that is the case, GO and DO! How often do we welcome trials and tribulations because we are wanting to follow God? Your family, spouse, children, etc. can’t always help you but God can, will, and is always there to do so. Sara was past childbearing age yet God wasn’t concerned about it. Just because you think you are too far gone. Maybe you’re an alcoholic, addict, abuser, etc. God still loves you and those things don’t worry Him when you ask Him to remove those things from your life. You’re not too far gone for God to pull you out of that pit. Just as Joseph on his death bed had faith in God that He would protect him at his time of death, we too should have that faith. Moses left all he had which was a king’s life of luxury to do God’s work. He had no idea where his next meal would come from. Are you willing to give up all you’ve worked for or saved up? If God told you to take all of your money and give it to a homeless person, would you do it? In this country, we currently do not face death for following Christ. There is coming a day a choice will have to be made. What will your choice be if it comes to your life? Will you choose God? God is able to keep you but you must be willing to stand. The Israelites came to something when they fled with Moses for a better life with God. They came to something where they thought they should just give up, a sea that they couldn’t pass. Yet, God came on the scene and parted their obstacles, the sea, so they could cross thru it on dry ground. How many times in our life do we see something that seems that we will not get thru? God is able and willing to get you thru it. The walls of Jericho didn’t fall the first time they walked around it. It didn’t fall because that’s not what God told them to do. When God tells you to do something you must do it in order to see the outcome. Often times we don’t want to work for it, we just expect God to just provide without work. That’s not what He said and that’s not how faith works. Whatever God tells you to do, do it with 100% work no matter what it takes.
Hebrews 10:23 Hebrews 13:6 Isaiah 43:2 Isaiah 41:10 Psalm 28:6-7 Deuteronomy 31:8
Whatever battle you are going thru the only way to get the victory is through faith. There is no victory without faith. There is nothing else one can do to obtain victory. If you are faithful, victory will be yours. One must have faith in Jesus Christ, and trust in Him. There is nothing you can do, nothing anyone else can do to get your victory. Placing your faith in something else other than Christ will not gain your victory. Don’t pray without believing it. Don’t let your prayer be in vain.
Jesus would come to earth and bear the emotional suffering. On the cross, He was humiliated and mocked. He was then alienated by His father, God. We will not have to bear such grief and sorrow as what Jesus went through. We will never know what it’s like to be Jesus, God’s son, and to be forsaken by God Himself. A sorrow we will never know. He bore the sorrow and grief of every person then and forever more. Jesus took the physical torture. After supper, and washing each other feet, he went into a garden and began to pray. He became in great agony due to the emotional suffering to come. He was in such agony that he began to bleed as he sweat. He was punched blindly in the face. They would then take Him to be scourged. A cat of nine tails, a whip with bone and nails tied to nine strips of leather. He would be whipped over and over on His back, on His chest, on His face. The beating would remove flesh, nerves, vessels, and muscles. All awhile He never opened His mouth. A robe would be placed on His torn body and then a crown made of thorns would be forced on his head. Mocking Him and forcing Him to carry His cross through the town. At the top of a hill, they drove nails through both hands and in His feet. They then dropped Him and His cross down into a deep hole while His body ripped open more. While on the cross He was forced to stretch up and support His broken body on a single nail just to breathe and get air. His body slowly dying. 2 Corinthians 5; Jesus had to bear the Spiritual suffering. No one could see the Spiritual suffering of Jesus. The iniquity of every person was laid upon Jesus Christ. He never sinned, knew no sin yet took all of our sins upon Himself. The reason God turned His back upon His son was that He could see no sin. He became sin for us. It would our fault that Jesus had to die. God so loved the world that He gave His only son for the ultimate sacrifice for all sins. The day you get saved God gives you something to carry. We are all to pick up our own cross to become His disciples. We have a hunger and thirst for righteousness. Bare your cross with all the joy you can muster up. The weight of the cross is not what it was because Jesus took most of the weight. We are also to bear one another's burdens, other's crosses.
Some Christians are not ready for the battle. In this story, we read that the Israelites were in a battle for 40 days. They would stop only when Goliath would step out. It would take one giant to make them afraid. God made us for this time. Elders in the church can look back to their times and see that their battles were different than today. We can blame it on the government, COVID, backslid Christians, etc. There used to be a time when stores were all closed on Sundays, the Lord’s day. Are you ready for the day for your life to be put on the battlefield? We must fight for what’s right. Are you going to do it or not? David’s brother thought he was crazy for going up against Goliath. David had to remind him about the bear and the lion that he had slain. Goliath was nothing compared to those beasts. They then wanted David to put on their protection, yet David told them that he hadn’t proven them. All the armor he needed was God’s protection. If God told you to stand up to something that you thought was a considerable undertaking, would you do it? God chose the Christian for a job. He knows what your purpose is. Listen and obey Him. When He says stand, stand. When he says go, go. Where is your faith when you look into the world, our own backyard? What do you do when it gets hard in the church house? Mumble and backbite against the brethren. No different than the Israelites did when they came to their first hard roadblock. Just as they, God provided them with the nutrients and water they needed to survive. Get ready to fight. If you’re not ready, you better be getting ready. A soldier not prepared to fight will surely be destroyed. David went to battle prepared to take down the enemy. Phil 4:13, God will always provide and will prepare you for battle.
A Christian should think back and see why they’ve made it this far. They will always see that it wasn’t them that got them where they are but Christ. Psalm 23 Thankful heart, an in awe heart, and a claiming heart. Caring, comforting, confidence, presence, power, providence. A Christian should be shouting because God is the good shepherd. Not a single question is in Psalm 23 but clearly a statement and could even be a declaration. Jesus knows where the green pastures are. These are areas of nourishment and water for the soul. Jesus IS the green pastures. How many times has God told you to not stop here even though it looked fine? He knows! It’s Jesus’ righteousness, not ours. He guides and keeps us on the right path, His path. The confidence in the shepherd. Once one is saved Jesus removes and cleans the sins and takes up an abode within the soul. Sheep are not smart, they do not have any defenses. They can’t run fast because they are awkward runners. Every day for a sheep is life and death. As a Christian, some things can destroy them. There are things that Christians can’t see that the devil likes to destroy. An example is depression to the point of death. A good shepherd will protect his flock from certain death. How much confidence do you have in Jesus? Worship can be done in silence but praise is something that is done aloud. There are times as a Christian when the enemy will come at us but if we are in fellowship with God then He will not allow the devil to touch us. A sheep will get parasites and the shepherd will pour oil on their heads to protect them. Just as a Christian God anoints our heads to protect us from the devil and not just our heads but our entire soul forever. There are only two places where you will live for eternity. Your choice is either Heaven or Hell and no other. A lost person will spend eternity in Hell. A saved person will spend eternity in Heaven. Is the Lord your shepherd? If so, all of these things are yours, promises that can’t be broken. A Christian will get down in this life at some point or another. But, a Christian should never get down and stay down.
1 Timothy 1:18; 1 Timothy 6:12; 2 Timothy 2:1-4 There is a war going on, a battle that is being fought. You are either helping or hurting the battle. Regardless of your position the battle goes on. There is an evil day approaching. An enemy that cares for nothing and takes no prisoners. We live flippantly as if there is nothing to care about or worry about. Ephesians 6:10 One God and only God. We have no hope without God. We can’t do it ourselves. Introduction to the evil one Ephesians 6:11 We must put God on. The devil cares nothing for you and wants to destroy you and everything around you. The enemy has set his sights on Christians and wants to take them all down any way he can. Ephesians 6:12 People (flesh) are not our problem. The political parties are not our problems. The problems are the things we can not see, the spiritual powers of the evil one. Introduction to the evil day Ephesians 6:13 The evil day. The enemy when he comes to your “house” and you’ve taken off the protection of God, you have exposed yourself to anything that the devil wants to give you. Don’t lay down on God. Don’t think for a moment that the devil isn’t after you or your loved ones. Don’t be surprised when the enemy emerges in your life if you laid down God's protection. Introduction to the equipment Ephesians 6:14-17 There is not anything that the devil can do in your life that God hasn’t protected you from. The key to the equipment is that you MUST put it on. It’s not God’s job to dress you. There’s not a middle ground between God and the devil. If you pick on then you’ve rejected the other. Most of our problem is that we want to pick what equipment we want to put on. Do you honestly think the devil doesn’t know what equipment you’ve decided not to put on? Introduction to the energy Ephesians 6:18 The energy and fuel to keep us going in the battle. Don’t underestimate that you pray in the Spirit. When you’re living in sin you’ve lost the fellowship between you and God. You can't pray in the Spirit because He does not honor over sin. Where is your Spirit? Are you right with God? How about your prayer life? Have you made a commitment to pray? God says to get into your prayer closet. This is because you are to separate yourself from the world, just you and Him. Not only are we to pray in the Spirit but we are to watch out for each other. We should care and fear for their lives if we see them begin to stray from God. When Jesus was in the garden and praying he told the disciples to watch and pray. When He returned, He found them asleep. He told them to wake up, watch and pray. We have a lot that is asleep Spiritually. While someone sleeps it’s impossible to see what’s going on around them. Adrenaline, fight or flight. When your eyes see a vehicle coming toward you, your adrenaline kicks in and causes you to react. Do you realize that when this happens it can cause you to do things that are normally impossible to do? Introduction to the warning Ephesians 6:19-20 If we see someone about to fall off a cliff what do we do? If danger is around we usually want to warn those that could be in that danger. Introduction to the encouragement Ephesians 6:21 We are not alone in this battle. We are not to be worried. No one can promise anyone another day. Stay the course, don’t give up no matter what. Throw in everything you’ve got to serve God.
Jesus knows it all. He’s not confused and nor will He ever be. He doesn’t look past those things that must be taken care of. He knows our reasons before we know them. There are a lot of people that have made an assumption that just because they’ve lived a good life, had a parent that was a good Christian, or attended a church without fail are going to get into Heaven. These people will miss Heaven if they’ve never been saved. Just because the preacher loves you doesn’t mean you’re going to Heaven. God has made a great supper and He’s been in the process of inviting people to join Him. Just because you want to go to the supper doesn’t mean you can because you must be invited first. God invites and if you turn down His invitation you can’t go later. You can’t do or know anything that will get you to the supper. Don’t give an excuse to not accept His invitation. The first man purchased some land without looking at it first. He had no time for God. Since he had already purchased it he owned it and could certainly look at his land at a later time. Do you have something that’s more important than meeting with God? The next man had purchased some oxen in order to work the land. If your work is beginning to take over God’s time then it’s getting in the way. Your job will mean nothing to God at your death. Get your priorities in order if your occupation is taking over God’s time. The final man just got married and stated he couldn’t go. Your earthly relationships should never get in the way of God. This man could have taken his wife to the supper too. Your family should be important but should take over God’s time. Think about your excuses, if you didn’t have those excuses would you still not have time for God? What if God removed those excuses, in this case, your family; children? In the end, the man that made the supper was mad that everyone invited had an excuse not to attend. If you think God is mad now you just wait till you're dead and you’ve excused yourself from His invitation. The servants in this parable are the Christians. We are responsible to go out and encourage others to accept God’s invitation.
Jesus prayed for you before you were even born. God is sovereign and all-knowing. Peter didn’t want to hear Jesus tell him he wasn’t ready to follow or go with Him. We don’t always know the plan of God. Don’t the world look for answers to their many questions? God knows your future and how your life is going to end. It’s not for us to know the details. John 14:4 Peter wanted to know where Jesus was going and if he could follow Him there. But Jesus told them that they do in fact know where He was going and how to get there. Down in verse 5, we see that Thomas was calling out Jesus and basically calling Him a liar. We don’t think that he was meaning in a vile way just in a way of a human being honest. Jesus then answered them. How many times have you admitted to God while you pray that you have no idea what to do? Usually, it’s because of ignorance and a lack of knowledge. The answer to every need is Jesus Christ. This might seem too simple but it’s the answer. We have no excuse to know the answer. We have the Word of God to be able to look back into history and see the answers. The men and women we read about in the Bible could only see their lifetime and therefore had an excuse to not know. Jesus is the answer. Jesus IS the way Jesus Christ is NOT a road map. Not everyone can read a road map. Some don’t even know the difference between north and south. Road maps are useless in this thing called life. All you need to know is if you are on The road. Straight is the road and it’s also narrow. When you travel by air there is some faith involved. You’re leaving everything to the aircraft and the pilot to get you to where you’re going safely. It took some knowledge to fly this craft yet we don’t need to know that stuff. Don’t we just trouble ourselves with those pointless questions? If you know Jesus Christ, then you know the way. Jesus IS the truth One could say they are the way but it’s something else to believe them, the truth, trust. Titus 1:2, God can not lie. His truth can set you free. What He says in the Bible and believing it is the truth. In math, 2 plus 2 will always equal 4. Simple math is always true and it never changes. Jesus IS the life How do you get past death? The one thing that not a single person has ever bypassed, is death. Jesus Christ is the source of life. In John 11 we see Jesus prove that He IS life and brings Lazarus back to life from the dead. The answer to all of your problems is Jesus. Who knows your future? Who will get you to Heaven? Proverbs 3:5-6
It doesn’t take a lot of effort to get lost. At the time that Adam and Eve sinned, they began to hide their sin and then themselves. Sin separated them from God. God found them and then sacrificed animals for their sins and cast them out of the garden. He loved them even though they had sinned against Him. God came looking for them, not the other way around. The only way to be with Christ is to get rid of your sin. Jesus came to us to offer His blood to cover and cleanse our souls of the sin that it holds. Once Jesus comes to us and asks us if we believe, once we accept Him for His cleansing and He saves us then we must not allow the sin to come back in. The sin that we allow to come back in alienates us from Him. It removes the joy that God gives us. We must get rid of sin. Its purpose is to alienate, kill, and destroy. There is no reward for following sin. Just because we are born again doesn’t mean we have a license to sin. Not only do we alienate ourselves from God once we sin but we also avoid other Christians. We do this because we know we ought not to live this way. The joy that our souls crave is removed from us once we begin to have sin in our backslidden lives. Our flesh is a deceiver and all it wants is selfish needs. There is a great cost in having or doing it your way and not God’s way. There is a responsibility to live the way God has instituted. We are to mind and obey Him and it’s for our own good. It brings the joy and happiness that only God can give. Sin is a horrible cancer and infection that if we do not do anything about it, it will consume you. One can’t sow something and expect something different to grow. How many days are wasted because we spend them for our flesh? Do not compromise with sin. It will steal a greater value while it’s present. We all live with regrets and those regrets are like scars. The scars don’t hurt but they remind us of the pain and the cost of suffering. Regrets are the scars and it’s dangerous to mess around with sin. It has no respect for persons and attacks anyone. The worst feeling is being lost and knowing it. In itself by definition that’s alienation. Being lost in the woods is something you wish you could be found yet you’re not able to do anything about it. Being lost without salvation is something tormenting because you know your life will be spent in Hell forever and you can’t do anything about it. You can only be saved when someone reaches out and helps you. Jesus offers His salvation to all the lost and it’s up to them if they’ll want to be saved.
We are human beings, not human doings. We do a lot of things and are identified by what we do. But what we are is not what we do. There are hard things that often happen but we are not to identify ourselves by those things. What I am and what I do ends at death. A pastor. Some look at them and determine that is who they are. Yet, a pastor could certainly lose their voice forever and the pastoring would end. A father, but that is not who they are but what they are. Fatherhood could certainly be rough if they lose what made them a father and some have determined that, that loss could make them something else. A husband just the same could end if their spouse would pass. Who I am is not dependent on what I am. A job might define who you are by the job or work that you do and they see you as that person, but that ends at the grave. Rejoice regardless of what you are. If you have never been born again then you don’t know who you are. The who doesn’t end at death. Who are you in Christ?
1 John 3:1; Son of God, one can’t take that away. Your father is all-powerful and the creator of everything. Your Savior, Jesus Christ is your brother. The one that washed all your sins away. John 10:28; An eternal being that will never perish and live forever. Romans 8:17; An heir to God. In order to have an inheritance of something, one must be family. In Christ. A raindrop that falls into a large pond becomes part of the pond where it can never be separated again. 2 Corinthians 5:17; A new creature. You are not what you were prior to being saved. John 10; A sheep of Christ. We follow after Christ and we come together with other Christians to graze and be fed by Christ. 1 Corinthians 1-9; Called of God. A calling that came to your heart that showed you that you were lost. You were set apart once you accepted Him as your savior. 1 Corinthians 1-12; We are called saints of God. You can’t help to be a saint of God once called one. One can pick your friends but not your family. John 15-16; The chosen. Did He not choose you that day when He brought to you everlasting life when He came looking for you? Colossians 2:13; Forgiven. We are those that Christ has taken all of our sins and cast them as far away as the east is from the west. The Who you are can not sin. The outward man can certainly sin but the inward man can not. Romans 8:1; Un-condemned. Pardoned of all of our sins therefore we are not condemned to a devil's Hell. Colossians 1:13-14; Redeemed. Ephesians 4:30; Sealed until the day of redemption Matthew 13; Pearl of Great price. He paid everything for you. 1 Corinthians 3:16; Temple of God that the Holy Spirit lives. 1 Corinthians 6; The washed, sanctified and justified. John 8:36; Free. When God made you free He made you free indeed. We are no longer bound. 1 John 5:4-5; Over-comers. Do you ever feel like you can’t make it? If you're saved then HE makes you able to overcome anything and everything.
What you are means nothing really without the who you are. If you are saved then that makes the what important. Being retired doesn’t mean you stop working for God. It actually gives you more time to spend with God. We all must be able to show Jesus through what we are.
We all have a title. The title you might have down here isn’t going to make a difference when you get in front of God. You might own a title to a boat, or car, or even own a nice home. None of these things will amount to a hill of beans in front of God. There are a lot of people that are going in the wrong direction. People fight and complain about a lot of stuff that doesn’t amount to anything. The only thing that will mean anything in front of God is if you’ve been saved, the blood applied. Once God rights your name He will never erase it. The things of this world are not the problem but they can be. If these things come before God then that is where the problem starts. What’s your title? Has your soul been touched and cleaned by Jesus Christ? If you’re not saved then Hell is your eternity at death, eternity. What’s your title? Jesus has titles. Alpha and Omega, King of Kings. On the cross, He bled out and gave that blood to sinners to cleanse them of their sins. His blood is the only thing He’s looking for.
00:00 . . . . . The Russell Family 00:31 . . . . . Farther Along 05:07 . . . . . Lord, You’re the Best Thing, That Ever Happened To Me 09:23 . . . . . When I’m Down 12:16 . . . . . He Is My Guide 14:33 . . . . . Amazing Grace 18:15 . . . . . He Is My Guide 21:42 . . . . . I Just Came To Talk With You Lord 24:02 . . . . . In That Place Forever More 28:04 . . . . . There Is a Resting Place 32:41 . . . . . The Old Story 37:04 . . . . . I Thirst 40:30 . . . . . Poem 44:14 . . . . . God Is So Good
Put off, Put on, and Let Put Off There are things that we as Christians need to put off. As long as you are in the flesh there are going to be problems. We have the ability and responsibility to put off those things and it’s of great importance to do. Colossians 3:5-9 covers all of the things that we need to put off, and kill them out of the flesh. Just because we live in the flesh gives us no excuse to do the things of the flesh. How many of you would still get upset with people and lose your temper? Have you let something slip from your tongue that shouldn’t have? One day we will put off the flesh for good but until that day comes, we will and must put off the fleshly desires that it wants. Put On It’s important that the world sees the right thing. How many of us have put on the robe of righteousness? If you’ve questions if you’ve ever put on that robe then you need to seek after Christ. We are called to be different than the world. Colossians 3:10-11 begins what we as Christians need to put on. As Christians, we should be clothed properly. It’s not about the physical clothing because as a Christian you should know what’s proper and not. The new man must be put on all the time. Reading and studying renew the knowledge of the new man. Take time in your life, daily to read and study the Word of God. If you’ve been born again does it still bother you to live in the old way? It should! The bride of Christ is beautiful. It’s the pearl of great price that has been purchased and is priceless. The bride of Christ does not wear rags. Many men that have pastored our church, and fed the flock throughout the years wore the robe of Christ's righteousness. The world can look at them and see that they were different. At work or school, you might have to wear a uniform that they require. The uniform they require tells them and shows the world that you are a part of that organization. Have you put on Christ? Bowels of Mercies It’s easier to look down on someone than to show them mercy. A child of God can look at anyone and say that if it were not for the grace of God you could be a _(Insert sin here)_. Instead of judging someone put on the mercy of God. We do not fuel God’s love, He does and we must show it to others. Kindness The spotless bride of Christ is kind. When someone attends or knows someone from NPPBC they should say they didn’t judge and were so kind. Don’t you like to be around people that are kind to you? Wasn’t He kind of Christ to come your way one day and knock on your heart’s door? Humbleness of Mind As the bride of Christ, we haven’t done anything deserving of God’s love. We ought to recognize that He has done everything for us all while being undeserving of all of it. Christ Himself was humble to not speak a word and go through the torture of our sins while He was innocent of ALL of them. Meekness Meekness is NOT weakness. In order to be weak one must have been strong. We are not strong by ourselves. Christ is what makes us strong. Do you realize that Christ could have called 12 legends of angels to stop His crucifixion? Christ said that when someone “smacks” you that you are to offer your other cheek to them. Meekness. How many dead people that stood up for their rights died still them? When you fight back no one sees the meekness of God. Long-suffering If meekness is round 1 then long-suffering is round 2. How many times are you to forgive someone? Long-suffering to those that persecute you for His name's sake. How many times have you been at odds with your spouse, friend, or neighbor? They keep up with doing something you were at odds with and then all of a sudden you feel like you’ve had enough. Forbearing Bearing is the root of this word. Carrying something that is heavy. Bear one another's burdens. Not giving up on others when they should have been given up on. Forgiving Not only are you to forbear but we are to let it go. If you have a quarrel with someone, forgive them.
When the rapture takes place there will be planes crashing, trains crashing, cars crashing, and people running to the mountains for the rocks to hide them. We should be steadfast and ready for the Lord to come. Prayer Many people are like a yo-yo just up and down with living for God. We should be on our knees in prayer to keep us steadfast in Christ. We all have family that are lost and should be praying for them to be saved. Matthew 6:6; a lot of times we don’t come humbly, James 5:16; we should be praying and uplifting each other. Luke 18:1; we give up too quickly. Matthew 21:20; all things that we ask in God He is faithful to answer. We need to be unmovable regardless. Acts 6:4; Matthew 5:44; even though a person might lie about you, you should pray for them and love them anyhow. 2 Chronicles 7:14; the devil is taking over but if we look towards God and believe in Him. Be faithful unto God Many times people use God as a spare tire. They get out of church and when something bad happens they want help from God. 1 Corinthians 4:2; we need the word of God. Proverbs 20:6; brag on God and not yourself. John 15:5; without God we are nothing. Matthew 25:21; once a Christian gets to Heaven and the book of Life is opened it will show that it wasn’t anything we did to get there, but Christ Himself through salvation. Nehemiah 7:2; stand up for the truth. Psalm 21:23; be thankful for the preachers that preach the Word. Back them up and pray for them daily. James 1:6; if you get your feelings hurt do you run out of church? Don’t worship the building or the people but Christ. Some don’t like it when you sing or preach too long. They just aren’t happy about a lot of things. We should be happy with the worship of God. 2 Thessalonians 3:3; have faith in God and nothing else. 2 Timothy 4:2; the preacher should know the Word of God and preach it in truth, we too should know it. Psalm 119:120; Psalm 119:160; Matthew 24:35; the Word of God is steadfast and unmovable and we should be standing on it. Philippians; Don’t give up, don’t let go, we don’t have time. Luke 21:28; we are living in the last days and people don’t seem to care. Luke 19:13; how many are glad to see the Lord and looking for Him? Romans 12:1; are you pressing on and giving your life and body to Christ? Luke 9:62; keep working for the Lord. The end is coming soon Matthew 4:27; people live as if there is no end to their life. Mark 13:29; God is coming. Romans 13:11; be ready for God’s return. Revelation 1:3; the time is coming to an end.
We can’t just take a day off from living in the Spirit. In such a dark world we should be a bright light. Don’t let your light grow dim. We have no excuse to say that our flesh took over and allowed us to sin. Why is it important? If you’re a Christian then you have risen with Christ. Have you risen with Christ? Are you saved? You will not get the rest of the message if you’ve not been saved because they are not fleshly duties but Spiritual. Most say can gladly check off the first box yet we often times have a hard time with lusting after things in this world. Your motivation should be that you’ve died out to the things of this world and have been born again in the Spiritual. Don’t let the flesh control your life because you should be dead to it. Everything with Christ is yes and amen. With have every reason to do our Spiritual duty every day. A Christian is saved by Christ, dead to the flesh, and will return to Christ. Put off, put on, and let some things Put Off Colossians 3:5; mortify some things or make it dead. Those things in your flesh that are taking hold of you are trying to control you. It’s a constant working that you will continue to mortify them. The first are lusts of the flesh, sexual. The problem in our culture is sexual and mostly goes against God in every way. We are sexual human beings and Satan knows this and he will try everything he can to cause you to fall. Fornication, sex outside of marriage, sexual perversions. Uncleanness, Lewd and unhealthy, pornography. Inordinate affection, vile desires. Evil concupiscence, evil sexual lust. Covetousness, idolatry, the love of the world. There is a bunch of stuff in our lives that is certainly not sin but we have turned it into a sin. Just a few years ago, who would have ever thought that a phone would be something that we couldn’t do without? Do you spend more time in front of a TV than you do with your bible? There is a judgment coming that everyone will experience regardless of their salvation. The saved will have their own judgment on what they did and didn’t do for and against God. Colossians 3:8-9; not only should we kill off the sexual desires, but we should also put off some other sins. Anger that involves sinning. Anger that you’ve taken to God where you wanted to pinch someone’s head off and requested God do the same? God will turn that around real quick to show you that you're in the same boat as they are. Wrath, which is a step above anger. When you put your hands on someone, doing something you can’t take back. Letting your mouth run off. Malice, the intent of hate, to do evil. Blasphemy, speaking evil. Filthy communication, uncontrollable tongue, vulgar mouth. There is no place for filthy language in the mouth of a Christian. You might never say them but you’ve thought of them. Lying to one another. Our flesh is often times wanting to stretch the truth. How many times do we think after we’ve said something, why did I just say that? It’s easy to ask for these things to be removed. Simply humble yourself to God and ask Him to remove, put off all of those things that are not of Him. It’s just one big movement so you don’t have to deal with each one individually.
Romans 5:3-5 Tribulation often brings good things to our lives. Just because something is hard doesn’t mean it’s from the devil. God has a better purpose for you than you could ever think. The hard things bring you closer to God, not away from Him. If you just follow God in your life He will bring you through anything. When the hard things come and it feels like things are just falling apart, look to God to bring you through it. You’ll never experience God fully until you experience the fire. With every tribulation, God recycles it to bring good out in your life. The fruits of the Spirit, there are some we like but others we dislike. Patience and long-suffering, are hard to swallow. Elisha had a great man of God for his mentor, Elijah. He learned through the hardships of life how to look to God for his help. Each time a hard thing comes into the life of a Christian it’s not by mistake or happenstance. They are brought on at just the right time in your life. The tribulation of life should not cause you to cower and become bitter towards God. Tribulation works patience and this is a great thing that we need to learn. God isn’t a genie in a bottle or a magic wand. Never leave God no matter the tribulation in your life. If the purpose of something that comes into your life causes you to fall, it’s not of God. God has a greater purpose that will cause you to climb, and grow with Him. Patience has its own workings. Each person is in their own stage of growth in God. No matter which stage of growth you’re in, make up your mind on whom you will serve and trust. There is not a single person that’s in control. Experience is something that comes with patience. Stick with God regardless. Elisha had experienced the mantle of Elijah several times because he had the patience to stay the course. You will not experience the miracle of God if you give up before the outcome. Experience produces something as well and that’s hope. The things that you go through that when the end of them comes you will know what to do with them. Most give up with patience because they can’t be steadfast and unmovable. They often miss the hope, then end at the tribulation. This type of hope will never disappoint. There are things in our lives that we hope for and they will often fail us. But through tribulation, patience, and experience the hope that comes from this will never disappoint. Make up your mind and decide to stick with it in your tribulations. Where’s your commitment to Christ?
We are all sinners. None of us are exempt from sin. How many of you have regrets about the sins that you’ve done? There are some things that you’ll do that are irreparable. There’s not an alcoholic, or drug addict that’s out there that thought that the first things they did would end as an addict. How many single, unwedded mothers decided to be that way, single and raising a child? How many couples want to get their marriage back? Adam and Eve, had everything they ever needed because God provided everything they needed. They didn’t need the fruit. Eve chose to sin that she would forever regret. A woman would have never had pain when giving birth until Eve sinned. A man would forever toil over the ground just to eat, just to live. Young people, in the next 5 years of your life you will make choices that will forever change your life. So how did this all get started? The first thing that happened is that Eve began to entertain ungodly council. There might be someone in your life that might want you to partake in something sinful but make it appear fun and enjoyable. A true friend would never want you to fall. The devil will never be your friend because he is a deceiver. Adam and Eve had it all but they lost it in just a moment of pleasure. How many loved ones do you have that have listened to ungodly council and are now living a life of drugs, sex, and alcohol? The price tags of these things can’t be changed. The next thing she did was be careless. The best thing to not sin is to stay away from sin. When you begin to entertain ungodly council then you’ll become careless with it. You’ll then begin to indulge in the sin that you originally thought you’d never partake in. Sin will kill you. Keep sin out of your house, keep it off your phones, one look and you’re snared. With Eve she wasn’t even supposed to be around the tree, yet she was right over there next to it. She then noticed how pretty it was and how the fruit looked fulfilling. Eve knew the rules that God had said and even quoted them to the devil. They were also cowards about their situation. Just as soon as she took the fruit that God told them not to take, she handed it over to her husband. Now he was there the entire time and he wasn’t blind to what was going on. Instead of standing up against the sin, he took of it too. After all of this, their eyes were opened and they begin to hide their sin. Instead of going to God for help, they wanted to hide. A lot of people when we get our hearts in the middle of sin like to avoid the church people, church house, and God. Due to this simple sin of not obeying God, they ruined it for the rest of us. This was a sin that affected the entire world for all generations to follow. They were in a mess that they couldn’t get out of. However……… there is HOPE! You know even though they sinned and went against God, He knew, and yet He still came. Not only did He come to them He came calling for them. God should have just left them to the devil yet He came to them to help them. Once the egg is broken, it’s broken. When the water flows under the bridge, it’s gone downstream. One can’t fix the broken egg or make the water flow back upstream. Yet God calls to make a way to fix the brokenness and to give you peace throughout your journey. On Adam and Eve’s worst day, God came calling. God was waiting on Adam to respond. Right now there is someone that God is calling for and He wants you to be honest with your sin. Be like Adam and stand up, step out from what you’re hiding behind, and tell God the truth, repent.
0:00 . . . . . I'll Take the Old Highway 5:46 . . . . . Let Me Tell You About Jesus 10:40 . . . . . I Had a Birth I Can’t Remember and One I Can’t Forget 12:47 . . . . . I Am the One 19:47 . . . . . Never Begged For Bread 24:01 . . . . . Pearl of Great Price 29:49 . . . . . I Have Not Forgotten 33:19 . . . . . The Treasures Money Can’t Buy 36:46 . . . . . I Have Been Blessed
Most lost people don’t want to go to church because they think they are just as good as the saved person. They think they don’t need God because they’re good. They have a self-righteousness about them that declares them just as good. Dependent on self There’s not a minute that goes by that God is not helping us to get through. We have nothing that God hasn’t given us. Instead of trusting in God, we trust in ourselves. When a decision is to be made we rely on ourselves to make it. When you depend on yourself then you’re literally praying with yourself. When you pray to yourself no one hears you. When you trust in yourself then you’ve put all faith in yourself to complete it all. Despise others The word despise means hate. Your heart will begin to hate others because you’ve declared what is right and wrong based on self-thinking. We live in a world full of hate but great love for ourselves. To look down your nose and think you are better than another is a sin and full of hatred. A lost person thinks that a Christian either hates them or affirms them. According to the Word of God, a Christian can’t do either one of them. What this means is that there is a huge gap in communication. Divide sin Making one sin worse that another sin. According to the Word of God, He doesn’t say that one sin is worse than another. In fact, He declares that having one sin will cause you to go to Hell. A six-year-old sinner that gets saved has just as much sin debt as a 70-year-old sinner that gets saved. Both would end up in Hell if either of them rejected Jesus Christ as their personal savior. God hates all sin yet loves the sinner. This is something that is hard to comprehend. Determine our own justice Setting their own bar comparing others to oneself. In Luke 18: 12 he declared that doing something made a higher mark with God. Thinking that you’ve done something of great value in God’s eyes. Being self-righteous is something that can happen in a quick second. The way to remove it is to humble yourself before God.
So what is it all about? First and foremost it’s about our Lord Jesus Christ. In this scripture, one can’t replace the word charity with the word love. Charity is a lot more than just love. When we give charity to someone charity is something that is given without having something given in return. The love of God is something that is eternal. We can’t do anything enough to pay God back for what love He has given and continues to give. The world will tell everyone that we are all okay. Just love each other and it’ll all be okay. People do things for themselves. We are prideful in nature and do things expecting something in return. Whether good or bad the return if directed towards self is sinful. We can sing these wonderful hymns all day long. We can sing loud and sing all day about Jesus but, if it isn’t in love and for Jesus then we’ve done it wrong. If you go out and knock on people's doors that’s great but if you do it because that’s what Christians are supposed to do, it’s wrong, it’s wasteful in the sight of God. There are people out there today that are great and wonderful people and can do great and wonderful things. But if the things are not done out of the love of Jesus then it’s of waste. Charity. We can wallow around in our own self-pity, doing sinful things, and all while we are doing them in what we think is secret. All awhile God knows it all and still offers charity. Charity is not just for God but for others too. Being angered over something regardless if you are in the right to be angered or not is not charity or love. It’ often leads to backbiting and hatred. The charity and love of God will never fail and it is sure to keep us. Do you realize that most of the things we do down here have no bearing on anything? Having a high membership in your church means nothing to God. God gave us charity when we were still sinners. Giving God love is something we all can agree on but it sure is thought to love someone when they don’t deserve it. Taking your life to prove yourself or make someone feel sorry is a lie from the devil. We are all going to mess up because we are all imperfect. We ought to love each other regardless. God loved us and therefore we should also love each other. It’s all about God and nothing else. When you do mess up and fall down, just stand up dust yourself off and keep going.
Before we would be saved we were all questionable characters. God didn’t come to condemn you but to save you. The problem is that no one thinks they need to be saved. Pride is something that everyone is born with. If you allow yourself to run wild then your pride will grow. Our pride tells us we are just as good as the next man. Or better yet, we compare ourselves to others and say we are better than them. Self-righteousness will and is killing everyone. Sinner and saints can be guilty of self-righteousness. If you’re not careful your pride will turn on you. Your spiritual righteousness will turn into self-righteousness. We all should be filled with righteousness; Matthew 5:6, Matthew 6:33, Act 10:35, Romans 10:10. We are supposed to live, dress, act, etc right. Do not become self-righteous. If this takes place you are just as wrong as the Pharisee. Often times Jesus wouldn’t answer them or would give them a question and walk away. This was usually due to them not really wanting an answer. Before we were saved we were all sinful and dying in our trespasses. How did we ever get to the place where we could look into the mirror and think we were good? We have no righteousness apart from Jesus Christ. Most can’t see the self-righteousness in others, but it’s possibly still there. If your righteousness is not based upon Jesus then it’s of dirty rags and sin in the eyes of God. We ought not to elevate ourselves higher than anyone else and especially God. There is no person better or worse than the next. We all need Jesus in everything we do. From the book of Job, God said that he, Job was righteous. Job 1:1, do you know anyone like this man? God and the devil talked about Job and God removed His hedge of protection from Job. God controlled Job’s life/death but the devil did everything else to him. The devil took his family, took his wealth, took his health, and yet Job still honored God. Job’s friends came to him and said he had done something wrong. Job then defended his righteousness. Pride kicked in and his self-righteousness came out because of their accusations. Job was correct about not sinning but what fueled his pride was his self-righteousness. Then back and forth they argue about himself and how good he was. The obvious is that he was right in what he was saying but he was only building up himself. In Job 31, he reached the height of his self-righteousness. He then wanted God to come down so he could tell Him how good he was. What makes you think what your Savior went through was good enough for you. We could get a simple cold and think we didn’t deserve it. Do you feel like you deserve Heaven? Simple question but do you honestly think this is because of all the great things you’ve done for the church. We ALL deserve Hell. There is not a single person that deserves to go to Heaven. There is none good, no not one. Job 32:1, in Job’s own eyes he was perfect. It was clear that Job was right in his own eyes. Yet there was a fourth friend in Job 32:2 who became upset with Job because he saw Job find justification in Job and not in God. Job was self-righteous and during this entire setting, God didn’t say a thing. Job went from the best God had to the best Job thought God had. Jesus Christ never opened His mouth when they falsely accused Him. Never! He knew He wasn’t guilty but He didn’t open His mouth. If someone said a false accusation against you, you’re likely to quit church and talk bad about them that said it. Job 38-42:6 God had to first deal with Job’s problem. All awhile Job never opened his mouth. Once God was done explaining where Job messed up, Job abhorred himself and repented. This is the last recorded record we know of Job. It was at this point that God was faithful and forgave him.
God wants us to experience Him. He wants to be changed by it. In the scripture Exodus 33:21; we see that God told Moses that there was a place by Him that He was going to place Moses. The best place you’ll ever be is beside God. Being born again is moving from where you currently are to next to God. The place next to God is a solid foundation. This place is Jesus. Not only is it a solid place but it’s also a safe place. The only part that God allowed Moses to see was just a sliver of Himself. This sliver completely changed Moses.
Jacob had to make a choice whether he was going to obey God or not. He had seen the vision and it scared him so he ran off. After many years God told him to go back. He went back and wrestled with the angel of God until God blessed him. It’s our choice whether we want a blessing or not. Go back to the place where you left God.
Naomi made a choice to go back home. Naomi was broken but she was going back home. She got to see God work in a miraculous way. Once she got back to God He blessed her.
The Prodigal found his way out in a sinful place. He left his first love. Yet he had to come to his senses and desired to go back home. Just as he could find no comfort in the hog pen. When you were born again you were beside Him. He had nothing better outside of his father's side. He chose to go back to be by his father's side. When his father saw him he ran to him, wrapped his arms around him, and told his servants to get his clothes a new ring, and to kill the fatted calf. They were going to celebrate his son's return! Don’t accept the counterfeit of the devil's goodness. The devil has nothing good to give and never will.
A man named Legend was posed by many demons. He lived in the places of the dead. There are people today that also live with the dead, the dead are those that are lost. When Jesus fixed this man's problem the people came to see him and there he was clothed in his right mind sitting beside Jesus. Legend didn’t want to leave Jesus’ side.
There was a man named Bartimaeus a blind beggar that heard Jesus was coming by. He didn’t care that the people told him to shut up from shouting at Jesus. Jesus told the people to bring him to Him. They took him to Jesus and Jesus then healed him. It was at that point that Bartimaeus didn’t want to leave Jesus’ side.
Apostle Paul was on a road to killing more Christians. Yet God stopped him in his tracks and wanted him to change him to be by His side. God told him to go to the street called Straight and seek a man. God sent a man to Paul to give him his sight. Not only that but He changed his name from Saul to Paul after his conversion. Paul was completed changed from worldly standards to a Godly standard.
A person can’t love the world and love God too. Just go back to the place by God. Wherever it was that you left Jesus, go back to Him. He’s there waiting on you with open arms waiting to bless you and feed you.
They say patience is a virtue. Patience is something that is learned from experience. The hope that we have is something we often had to wait for. There are times that we are spoilt and God answers our prayers immediately. If God answered all of our prayers exactly as we asked then God would become our genie in a bottle. We should be praying and praying without ceasing and praying always. If it were not for the hope and faith in Jesus Christ we all would have given up. We can not do anything without God. We do not have the smarts to get through this life without God. We do not need more of the world but more of God. God has never left us and He never will. In this scripture, David had been under great pressure and we see that he stated that he waited upon the Lord. Without God, he would have surely fainted. There are times that the waiting is the most difficult. Praying for a lost person's soul to be saved. We know this is something that God wants as well, but the waiting for salvation is great. If we are going to wait on anything we should be waiting on God. At this time, people can’t wait for anything. We’ve been trained by the changes of technology that we’ve been trained NOT to wait. People used to have to walk to church. They didn’t complain, in fact, they looked forward to it. Patience doesn’t come from a book it’s something that must be learned by life experiences. Some have been given a doctor prognosis that appeared grim but instead of giving up, you trusted in God. God can be trusted because His goodness never fails. So what happens when we wait on God? Let us look at Psalm 40:1; first a foremost when you wait patiently He will turn His ear to you and hear you. That MUST sustain you. It’s good to know that He heard you. There are times when you will be weak in faith. You will find yourself in the valley where doubt will begin to grow but understand that when you wait patiently on God He will hear your prayer. When you are patiently waiting the hardest thing to battle is whether God heard you or not. The truth is, He DID hear you. The problem is not God but the sins that separate you from Him. Psalm 40:2; When He hears your cry He can help you. He will rescue you, pulling you out of that horrible pit, and miry clay. Not only does He helps you out of the horrible situation and removes you from the mind games of the clay, but He will set your feet on a solid foundation. A foundation that doesn’t move around. The battle isn’t won when you get your answer, it’s when you know He heard your prayer. Psalm 40:3-5; There will be times when you will be unable to tell someone everything is alright. Be of good cheer, if you incline your heart to God then He will incline His ear to you and will lift you up and establish your feet. Not only will He pick you up but He will give you a new song of Hope. A Hope that others can and will see pointing them to trust in God as well.
0:00 . . . . . Psalms 51 4:07 . . . . . Do You Know? 10:53 . . . . . Let Go of the Dark 16:07 . . . . . How Great Thou Art 22:42 . . . . . Red Letters 26:20 . . . . . All My Hope 31:08 . . . . . This Blood 37:36 . . . . . Ain’t No Grave 43:44 . . . . . My Jesus
We can’t stop just because we get tired. To be in the Christian race one must be saved first and foremost. At times, the race can be hard. The Spartan race is one that is very demanding. Our Christian race is similar to this race because we carry tough things in our lives. In order to first be in a race, one must sign up. After that, the training begins. Much work must be done to be in a race to be in shape. Being a Christian is just the same. One must become a Christian. After that, a Christian’s training begins by reading the Word of God, praying, and fasting. If we eat the things of the world then we will begin to be full of the world and harder to train and be in the race. The reason a race is difficult is that it’s a battle. The flesh doesn’t like the race. It’s hard and difficult. But we must have discipline. One can’t just sit along the sideline and watch the others race. We must finish the race that has been set before us. There are others watching us whom we will give an answer. Anything that slows you down and keeps you from running the race needs to be removed. These things are obstacles in our path that will drag you down or cause you to stumble in your race. The race that you run with God is much more important than your race with the devil. Until your death happens you will be in your race. It’s your duty to run your race for Christ. If you run your race with all striving towards God, great will be your reward. Unlike worldly races where only one or three people are declared the winner, anyone and everyone that is a Christian running their race will be a winner. Run with all your might. Do everything that God asks you to do. God will never forsake you. He will not put more on you than you can bear. He is always there when you feel you just can’t keep going. The world can take everything from you but they can NEVER take Jesus from you.
Three times in the New Testament God would speak. Christ’s Baptism The first time would be when Christ was baptized. The trinity was shown at this time after Christ was baptized. The Spirit of God would come down as a dove and lite upon Him. Then a voice from Heaven, God would speak. He would tell them that Jesus was His beloved son and with whom He was well pleased. No other way to be saved than through the name of Jesus Christ. What compels you to serve Christ? Jesus’ Transfiguring When Jesus was walking along with the disciples He began to transfigure in front of them. This proved that He could have done this at any time instead of going to Calvary as He would do later. He didn’t have to go through the torments but chose to do so for the sake of our sins. God spoke to the disciples and told them that Jesus was His beloved Son which He was well pleased and He also told them to listen to Him. There is no other name but Jesus. All they wanted to do was to build a tabernacle in honor of Moses, Elias, and Jesus. There was no one to build for other than Jesus. There is none to be worshipped but Christ. Jesus Spoke God spoke out loud to Jesus. He didn’t have to speak out aloud but He did in this instance. He told Jesus that He had glorified His name and He will glorify it again. How Jesus suffered and came sin for us glorified His father, God. Jesus Christ's life was perfect and He glorified His God. Not only His life, but His death, and His resurrection. It was all about Jesus when He spoke. When God speaks aloud, it’s terrifying. Of all of the times when God spoke it was terrifying to hear. All we would need to hear is spoken by Christ. The Spirit of God speaks directly to us. The gentle, kindness of His voice to our soul when He speaks. He does it in a way that’s not booming or thundering. The message should always be the same, through Jesus Christ and He alone is the way to salvation.
Three points to see clearly. A foolish statement to say is to admit that anyone has it all figured out. We always have something to repent about. We live in the flesh and it’s a hard thing to do. We as humans are weak. The Spirit is strong but the flesh is weak. King David had ups and downs just as we do. Blessed is the man that…
…puts his trust in God.
God is good and God is great in every way. There must be an action on our part. It’s not by works but there should be a hunger in your soul to do something for God. The scripture says that we will know the saved by the fruit they bear. Sweet & bitter water can’t come from a single spring. It’s either good or bad. We should trust God in the good and the bad. We often say we trust Him but do we really? He will test and challenge you to try your trust in Him. God will take you through the dark places in order for you to trust in Him to bring you out of it. How many times in your life when something pops up that’s bad that you say to yourself that you’ll need to take care of this? We ought to ask God to handle it and not ourselves because we will mess it up and will have to take the long journey around it.
…fears the Lord.
The fear that is given to God is the fear that means a reverence to Him. In our society, we have removed God from just about everything. The reason that we have removed Him is that if we admit He’s real then we admit that we sin, if we admit we sin then we must admit we are wrong, and if we admit that we are wrong then we must change, and no one wants to change. Those that fear God will not lack any good thing. These good things are not materialistic things. God gives and He takes away. It doesn’t matter what you have down here on this Earth. We ought to gather where God feeds the flock. God also said that we should fail not to assemble ourselves together. If you fear God then you would want to clean up your life. One can say you fear God but in your actions, they often speak to the contrary. God has His own woodshed that He uses to chastise us. He will take you behind His woodshed not for others to see but because it’s a personal chastisement. There should be a reverence in your heart that causes you to say what God wants is what you want in order to be more like Him. WWJD, What Would Jesus Do, we should be looking at each and everything we do, say or think if it lines up with what God would do.
…seeks the Lord.
Do you actively seek God? When you wake up is your first thought to go to the Lord? There is nothing that He can’t do. There are so many things in this world to seek, distractions. None of these worldly things can bring ultimate joy that will last forever. Seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness will be added to you. God knows exactly what you need and when. Got a big job opportunity? Only God knows if you need it or not. He knows that if it’s going to lead you away from Him then He likely will not want you to have it. Trust that He knows what’s best for you.
Mary & Martha didn’t have true confidence in Jesus yet. We have some within the church that are just the same. They believe in Jesus but they still had some doubts. Jesus had to prove to those there that He was who He said He was, the son of God. We are to share what Christ has done for us. Jesus had to verbally say that God had sent Him so that those doubters would believe.
When Christ told Lazarus to come forth he was bound. Jesus had a plan and commanded him to come forth. He then commanded them to loose him of his grave close. Our lives are bound by sin and the world and when Jesus comes on the scene He commands the devil to loose us and let us be free. We must ask God for help to stop the devil from binding us. All we have to do is call upon the Lord. Don’t we all bind ourselves with doubt and fear? There is going to be a time when Jesus is going to come back. Our world is getting wickeder and wickeder every second of the day. As a Christian, we should be asking God to loose His spirit and bring in the lost to our churches. But what we end up doing is looking at a lost person oddly when they walk into the church.
A dress rehearsal of Lazarus was an example of Christ’s life. Lazarus was dead and in a cave with a stone placed at the entrance. Jesus also died and was placed in a tomb with a stone blocking the entrance. Both were called out of the tomb to live again. Unlike Jesus, Lazarus wasn’t mentioned again. Lazarus was only used as an example and proof to show who Jesus was and is. Lazarus was just a part of the testimony of those that witnessed his resurrection and who did it.
No matter how far away you get from God He will always take you back. One can’t serve the world and serve God too. You have to make a choice to whom you will serve. Living for God you will have the best of life. He is there to back you and help you all the way. No matter how far out you run away from God He will wait and look for you. He’s waiting for you to say that you’re unworthy of His grace. One can’t hide anything from God. You can try to hide your sins from God but they will be brought out into the light. God is there to restore your salvation and remove your sins. It’s lonely once you leave Christ. If you chose to leave God then you’ve left your first love, the one that loved you before you were born. The devil will whisper into your ear to tell you that it’s alright to do something small, just a simple sin. Before you know it, if you give into that small sin the next sin is sure to come. If you don’t repent of that sin it will surely take you further than you’ve ever wanted to go. But all you have to do is to fall on your knees and ask God to forgive you, go back home to the Father.
Annual communion and foot washing services held at New Providence Primitive Baptist Church, in June 2022. 0:00 . . . . . . The Bread 21:22 . . . . . . The Wine 39:18 . . . . . . Foot-Washing
0:00 . . . . . . Brother Bill Suttles 18:21 . . . . . . Brother Dustin Parks Luke 15: 11-19 Drop The Bucket While we grow we often times get tired of being told what to do. Whether we are young and think we know best or grown and get tired of being bossed around. In this scripture, we see a son that thought he knew better and asked for all of his inheritance from his father. The father did as his San requested and let him go. As a Christian, we at times do the same thing. We think we know best and wonder out into the wilderness of the world. We think we’ve got the world by the tail. You might think that it’s not that big of a deal or there is no way I could be like this. All it takes is a simple thought and you’re in the wilderness. We can get out there and think we are having the best time of our life yet what we don’t see is that we are starving ourselves to death. You might think that you can do whatever you want to do and still be one with God, but that’s the furthest thing from the truth. God knows your mind, thoughts, heart, and your actions so you can’t hide from Him. The world sees your life and actions and the way you live can and will destroy your testimony. Misery loves company. Once you become out of God’s will then misery will soon set in. Before long Satan will then make all the things in your life miserable. There is pleasure in sin but only for a season, for just a little while. With sin, you’ll find happiness but it will wear off, then you’re off to find something else to find pleasure in. At some point, you’ll be eaten alive by the sins in your life. God is faithful to forgive and give mercy, but only when we come to brokenness. All it takes is realizing you need God’s help and stop carrying your sins around. We’ve got to let go of everything and hold on to Christ.
0:00 . . . . . Brother Zach Willis Communion is not something that you can take lightly. It’s a serious commitment to God. The wine that is brought isn’t just something that was made to be drunk on. It’s the blood of Christ. The bread is the flesh of Christ and it’s not something to be filled with by eating. The bread is chewy just like one’s own flesh. The bread and wine are not just something to consume. We should all make sure we are ready, sinless in order to take the bread and wine. We should also help the brother and sister to be ready to partake. A communion is a sacred act that should be taken very seriously. The blood is what secured you and the bread is what He feeds you daily. The rejoicing of the communion comes afterward during the foot-washing service. Just as the communion, God has ordained the foot-washing. If you’re not ready to take part in these services, make sure you are before you take part. You will get four messages, and four services to get ready. If you’re a member of the church then you’re held accountable for your attendance of the communion. 24:36 . . . . . Brother Danny Gregory
Often, we look around and see some of the pews empty. There is no room to quit. Just because you’re not a preacher doesn’t mean you don’t have a job to do. You can’t just set it down just because you want to. When Christ saved you He didn’t just stop with the salvation but He directs your path. If He’s not directing your path then who is? Christ chose you, you didn’t choose Him. He came to you and chose you. In school and playing on the playground. Do you remember when you picked teams? Well, we were on the losing team all along, and yet He picked us to be on His winning team. When He saves you He changes you. Before you’re saved you’re like a hog eating the slop of the world and wallowing in the mud of destruction. But when He saves you He changes you into a sheep. A sheep as white as snow feeds you daily and protects you from Satan and His wolves. Sometimes it takes someone to show you you’re in the wrong. Sometimes someone else needs to help another person. If you sit down and quit on God then how can you help someone else? How do you show someone else that is in the wrong when you’re in the wrong too? If Christ saved you, you can’t sit down.
People today will talk about church and anything that it involves but the minute you mention Jesus the conversation changes. People don’t like to talk about Jesus because He convicts of their sins. In this scripture, we see some men that were bold for Christ and didn’t worry about what others thought or even would do to them. We often times cower when it comes to speaking to someone about Jesus Christ. At times we like to sugarcoat Christ. We are not bold for Christ and stand strong for Him. The churches today are full of people but those people are attending a church that is missing something. The buildings offer a great experience and entertainment. The biggest thing that these churches are missing is Jesus Christ. These churches do not preach sin, salvation, or Jesus Christ but preach being a good person. Satan doesn’t want you to speak about Jesus. He knows there is power in the name of Christ. He is going to try to keep you and others to keep you from speaking and teaching others of Jesus Christ. If you’re one of Christ’s then you should be boldly standing for Him. Look at your persecutions. If you’re not being persecuted then you likely are not standing boldly. Satan will attack those that are actively working boldly for Christ. The scripture is full of men and women that were persecuted for Christ’s sake because they were boldly standing for Christ. All these people had to do is to just stop preaching and teaching Jesus Christ. The people, Satan would have left them alone if they had just stopped. The only reason a saved person is here on this earth is to work for their Savior. Telling others about their Savior. Showing others the love of their Savior. When Paul and Silas were in jail it was at their worst times. When God open the doors of their jail cell they refused to leave. At that moment the jailer knew there was something about them and asked how to be saved. There might be something that you are going through simply because God is working on something that you don’t know about where someone needs to be saved. The persecution that Paul and Silas had gone through being jailed had an outcome in the jailer and his entire household being saved.
On Calvary’s hill, we see three men. Two of the men were guilty of their wrongdoings. It doesn’t matter which side the men were on just as it doesn’t matter which side you are on today. There are those that will come to salvation yet the rest will meet Hell at their death. There’s not one good, no not one. The question is, which one are you? The man that had hung there just as long as the other and heard what the other had said. He didn’t believe in Christ. Luke 2:39, If you are Christ. The keyword in this man's statement is “If”. He questioned if Christ was actually Christ. The cross of rejection starts with unbelief. Luke 23:40; Having no fear of God is another cross of rejection. The very reason people get saved is because of the lack of Jesus Christ. Do you fear God or not. Most will say they do yet your life will prove this. We live in a world where people do not fear God anymore. At one-time people respected God regardless of being saved or lost. Businesses were closed on Sundays, chores were not done on Sundays, etc. Our school systems teach our children that God doesn’t exist therefore there is no fear in God. Luke 23:41; Condemnation or judgment. If there is no accountability then one just lives how they want regardless of anyone or anything else. If you are saying there is no Heaven or Hell then you have no judgment or condemnation. Do you not fear the judgment of God? Most live how they want and say what they want because they don’t fear God therefore they don’t fear judgment. The cross of rejection says I don’t deserve Hell. I’m as good as the next person, I’m a good person. They mark their standard by viewing others around them. We are all sinners regardless of how good one is. Luke 23:41; Unwilling to say Christ is right, the sinless God. Luke 23:42; Not asking for salvation. Those that go to Hell never ask for salvation. The environment was the same and both men were both guilty of their sins. At the cross, it’s level ground and we are all the same and we all come to Christ the same way.
Our leader or captain of the Christian is as strong as they come. He is unequal. Once we understand who brings our strength then we can stand strong. It’s a weak attempt to try to estimate how strong God is. He created everything we see and can’t see today. The devil is quite the opposite of God and has no power. If we try to be strong in ourselves, we lie. We often think too small of God because of our human nature. Looking back thru the scriptures at the battles that took place we will see that not a single time did God lose. He came out a victor every single time. We often lose our battles because we do not see how strong God is. If we’ve been saved then He lives inside us and means we have all power. There are three things that we can look at as the warfare of a Christian.
Suit Up!
Ephesians 6:14-17; Put them on because they are all meant for you. He’s given you the equipment but it does no good if you’re not going to wear it. Every day wake up and put on the equipment. Will you put it on every day? As long as you are alive you will need to suit up.
Stand up!
Ephesians 6:13; After we put on the armor then we stand. Have you ever been in a place where you’ve done everything in your heart and yet find yourself just standing? It’s so simple yet we find it difficult not to just stand. Stand up, don’t give in, don’t step back, whatever you have to do, don’t let the devil move you. Stand firm! Sometimes the very act of standing places a target on yourself. Be strong in His might, suit up and stand.
Pray up!
Ephesians 6:18; We must pray. Day after day, hour after hour, pray without ceasing. Prayer is the key to seeing God work in our lives. Don’t just pray for yourselves, pray for those around you. We are in this battle together.
Are you ready for a great battle? The closer you get to God the more of a battle you will endure. If you’re dealing and battle with the flesh then that’s a discipline issue. In boot camp, the flesh is the first thing they deal with.
We are in this thing together and in everything we do, we must exalt Jesus. Just because the recent revival is over doesn’t mean we should stop growing or getting stronger. We can’t help others if we are as sick as they are. We should not be divided or separated by other things. Nehemiah 2 We’ve got a work to do. Magnify the Lord The more of us that begin to magnify the Lord the more of His presence will be with us. It’s the most important thing we can do. With a microscope, the object is magnified yet the object stays the same size. God is the same today, yesterday, and forevermore. The Bible itself will stay the same and yet we should examine it closely and in detail. As with a microscope, there is always a light source and the light of the Bible is God. When a person comes in the door of the church they should just hear about God from the preacher but the entire congregation. The body of Christ should assume the responsibility to magnify Jesus Christ. Who is Christ?
Lily of the Valley Rose of Sharon Bright and morning star Ark of salvation Ram in the thicket Fire by night and cloud by day Kinsmen redeemer Hands full of faith Good Shepard Rock Fortress The fourth man in the fire Great physician Merciful savior Sovereign judge First and last Alpha and Omega The beginning and the end The He that liveth, and was dead, and is alive forevermore, and has the keys of death and of Hell The Way The Truth The Life The light and in Him there is no darkness Savior Friend Elder brother Wonderful Counselor The mighty God The everlasting Father The prince of peace Son of God Only-begotten of the Father Blessed healer The anointed One The Faithful and True Sovereign Creator Spotless Lamb that taketh away the sin of the world The friend that sticks closer than a brother Lord of lords King of kings He is He that openeth and no man shutteth, and shutteth and no man open The amen Faithful True witness
When using a microscope one must focus the eyepiece to make the object clear. In studying His word we must focus on His word. This takes work. Examine the book. One can’t just shake the diamonds out of the book, you’ve got to dig for them. When you come into the house of God you should have been mining in His word during the week. This isn’t just reading chapters but studying them out. Not only do we need to examine the Lord but we also need to exalt Him. If He is lifted up He will draw all men unto Him. You mine the treasure you should want to share it. It doesn’t do anyone any good to stick it in your pocket and hide it. We should also experience Him. Stop eating off someone else's plate and get it for yourself. He’s got plenty to give so get yourself some of your own. Is He not good? It ought to be a feast of glory each time we come into the church house.
If you don’t have a longing for Christ then you need to take an inventory of your salvation. Once you begin to drop things of this world and make a commitment to God, you will being to grow closer to Him. Most of your living time is not spent for God. The very one a Christian will spend eternity with we chose to not be close to here on this earth. First a foremost you must be born again. Next, the devil will try to make anything come before God. Our flesh is a constant battle against the devil. Just as one travels away from home. Once you are away for an extended time you will begin to have a yearning to be back at home. Just the same with God. Your yearning for God can’t be produced by your works. In fact, the more you yearn for God the more you will want to work for Him. If you’ve attended a church because you think He will be pleased with you then you’ve gone for the wrong reason. You should attend because you want to be close to Him. When you are doing something for God you will go thru opposition. At times, you might find yourself in the wilderness but be not discouraged. The enemy is not your problem because the devil can’t touch you unless you let him. Secondly, the devil has already been judged and his eternity has been sealed. We should want such a thirst for God that nothing can keep us out of His presence. What are you thirsty for? The spiritual man must battle the flesh. How many times do you sit in front of a TV? Watching TV or being entertained is not a sin until it gets in front of God. Some of us have experienced God in our hearts and the excitement it brought. We should want to be in those Heavenly places and yearn for those times. We must crucify the flesh, and lay aside the weight of sin in order to have these experiences. Some look at it as I went to church Sunday morning so I’m good to go until next Sunday morning. Our bodies work with the way we eat, the more we eat the larger we get. The spiritual body works just the same. If you like a portion of food you will crave it and you will want it all the time. God should be no different. How many times when you get into the wilderness do you just roll over like a fish that’s thrown on the bank. The flesh has yearnings just the same as your soul. Get outside in the middle of the heat and do a little work and you’ll quickly find out that you’ll yearn for water. Fasting during prayers. Replacing something the flesh yearns for God. In general, life is good as long as things are going well. God is better than life itself. Where is your desire? If you’re lost then you have no idea what this desire is all about. You can’t know because that love is not in you. A Christian's responsibility is to praise God with our lips. Have you been holding out on God with your lips? In verse 4 David is making a commitment that while he’s alive he will continue to praise God. If you live in the world you will quickly fill up on what the world has to offer. You’ll find that your belly (soul) will get full of that stuff (sin). Then when you do come to God your appetite is low for Him. You’ve got to get rid of that junk of the world before you can fill up on Jesus. Have you just stopped and taken some time to just meditate on God?
Covid, the current administration, what our children go thru in the school system, none of these things have caught God off-guard. It’s easy in this day and time to get down in the dumps but rest assured that if you’re saved you’ve got someone that can help. We Christians will get down at times and the devil will come to beat you down even further. However, there is great news! We have the victory so don’t let the devil get you down! Sure it’s bad and getting worse but we can look in the word of God and already know it’ll get worse. Sure we know the school system is trying to corrupt our children. There are workplaces that are trying to do the same thing bringing in ungodly truth. This doesn’t surprise God at all in fact, if you’ve been saved and in one of these environments then He’s placed an insider in that place. There is a battle between good and evil and we know who will win this battle. If you’re not on God’s side then you’re on the Devil’s and you will lose. God has defeated the Devil but, we still have battles. There will be a day that you will get an opportunity you can lead someone to Jesus. Keep on praying for them and stand strong! It may feel like you’re losing but just stand strong and keep praying. There are times that it might feel like the weight of the world is all on top of you. Just hold on and keep on with God cause there’s a palace in your future. Keep preaching the Word, be instant in and out of season. It’s normal for a Christian to get down into the dumps but, they shouldn’t stay down. So what does a Christian do to get lifted back up? Pick up the Word of God and draw close to God.
April Ramsey 00:00 . . . . . . Come Behold The Wondrous Mystery 04:41 . . . . . . Alabaster Box 10:04 . . . . . . His Life For Mine 15:16 . . . . . . Brother Dewey Brown God is ready to judge the quick and the dead. There will be no mistrial with God. There will be no plea bargaining once you’ve died but, while you are living you can plea to God. God is ready to forgive. He doesn’t have to get ready because He is already ready. Heaven is just a whisper away. One can’t have salvation without the Holy Spirit. When He saves He also sanctifies. Being sanctified means you are set apart from the lost. God wants you to know Him. He’s a God that’s ready to save. Are you ready to be saved? Are you ready? 10 virgins were waiting for the bridegroom. 5 were ready while the other 5 were not. When the bridegroom came through the 5 that were ready went into the room and the door was shut. The 5 that were not ready were left outside. Are you ready? God is pleading. Don’t let the devil rob you from eternity. If you’re lost and die you will narrowly look upon the devil and realize that he deceived you. Then you will spend eternity with him in Hell. God is sending out His servants to bid those to be saved. God has done everything to give you access to Heaven. There’s not a new message on how to be saved. Not a single person can even begin to explain how beautiful Heaven is. God has got a Heaven and it’s ready for you. When the door is shut no man can open it. Right now you can plea bargain your salvation with the judge. In order to do this, you need a good lawyer. A worldly lawyer will not do. Jesus Christ is the only attorney that you need that the judge will hear from. Just because you want to be saved doesn’t mean you can be saved on your time. You can’t be your own lawyer.
Your religion will not save you. Your goodness will not save you. The Christian needs to praise God inside and outside the church house. It’s easy to praise Him in the church but outside it’s more difficult. In your family or workplace does anyone know that we are in a revival? It’s not about us but about getting people to Jesus for salvation. Our words need to be right in the church but also outside of it because our words reveal our hearts. What is it that keeps rolling out of your mouth? Anywhere you go are you teaching, preaching, and telling people about Jesus? T.H.I.N.K Is it True before it comes out of your mouth? You don’t need to be just close, it must be right. Is it Helpful? Is it Inspiring? Is it Necessary? Is it Kind? Colossians 4:5; we should walk in wisdom. Ask God for wisdom and He will give it. This isn’t a country club or a rest home. You don’t command God to do what you want Him to do. There is a problem in every pew. We all carry our own burdens. All we have to do is just give it all to Him. Stop worrying about yourself or others and begin to worry about how God sees you. Praise the Lord with everything you’ve got because it’s important to Him. To praise is to boast. Have you boasted on Jesus this week about the revival? Through the foolishness of preaching. There are a lot of people that will look at us and think we are foolish by the way we act. Your words will tell on you. Inside and outside of this building you are a witness. Whatever you do or say on a mountain with your buddies while hunting is a witness. There is no, what happens on the mountain stays on the mountain. All of your words must be right Your witness must be right. Your work must be right. If you’re saved then God has given you something to do, a talent, to work for Him. Ephesians 2:10, Philippians 1:6, we need to work until Jesus returns. John 9:4 Your worship needs to be right. It needs to be done in Spirit and in Truth. God created us all in strength and we should I’ve in our strengths and not our weaknesses. Desire, Sees others before themselves. Dedicated, makes some out of an opportunity. Determined, not going to quit. Disciplined, Fight for the goal. Crowd, Climb, and Clay. The crowd is those that just come because they have to. The climb is the work that must be done. The clay is self. Love, Grace, Mercy, and Hope
The Wolfe Family 00:00 . . . . . Calvary's The Reason Why 04:36 . . . . . Thank God I’m Free 07:18 . . . . . My Hope 12:02 . . . . . Brother Dewey Brown The exchange rate is whatever someone determines it to be. Sometimes you determine what the exchange rate is and then there are other times that God determines the exchange rate. The most important thing that a person has been given is their soul. Most persons are more concerned about their hair than their soul. Most don’t even think about their soul but there is an exchange rate for the soul. What is your soul worth? To another Christian someone else’s soul is important to them. God has set before all persons, life or death. Many are selling their souls for the worthless materials of this world. You determine what you will exchange your soul for. Many will exchange it for a good time. Is a ten-minute high worth an eternity in Hell? God has made a way out of Hell. There are people exchanging their souls over an emotion. They simply attend church for a feeling. One can cry tears and even weep but until you come to God in repentance then those tears are worthless. Many will die lost, the scripture states that wide is the way into Hell but that number doesn’t have to include you. Many people want to trade their soul for 10-pound bass. They might trade it for a buck deer. Some will spends hours or even days on the lake or hunting but can’t spend 5 minutes with God. Once you give your soul to God then nothing can take it from you. Nothing! Jesus Christ stated that once you’re saved then you remain in God’s hand and nothing can pluck you out of there. While you have breath, there is hope for you. The things of this world will fade away. A new vehicle surely becomes old. A new house quickly needs to be repaired. Salvation will never get old or need repairing. It will remain just as new as the minute it was given for eternity. Do you feel that you’re judged? Satan is the only thing or person that’s been judged. He’s been judged yet you’ve not been yet. Jesus Christ came to this world and concurred death, the devil just so you could be saved. Mark 8:37 What are you going to trade your soul for? When you stand in front of God you will not get to determine what the exchange rate will be for your soul. Elon Musk owns billions and billions of dollars yet he still doesn’t own the world. Even if he did own the entire world and was lost he would still die and live for eternity in Hell. He just as you can’t purchase your way into Heaven.
Gina Hall 00:00 . . . . . Give Me Jesus 03:00 . . . . . The Blood Will Never Lose Its Power 06:19 . . . . . Help My Unbelief 08:41 . . . . . Brother Dewey Brown We read story after story of men going through many miraculous things that only God could do. God hasn’t changed and He’s still doing miraculous things. There are a lot of people that want to go to Heaven but they are not ready to give God everything. Prayer can and will reach places that we can’t go, why, because with God nothing is impossible. Our problem is that we limit God. The lost people do not realize that they need the church, the saved. Don’t ever give up. Don’t ever give in. Don’t ever think your prayers are in vain. How to make macaroni grow. A lot of people put out gardens. When planting macaroni do you plant it with the curve up or down? Being loved is one thing but when you can feel the love from someone, that’s different. Have you ever wondered why your spouse loves you? With God all things are possible. Not just to be told you're loved to be able to feel that love. The devil will try anything to run you down and make you think you’re not needed, not loved. Abortion is wrong however we need to focus on that mother. God loves that mother and she is loved. That baby that, that mother is carrying is also loved by God. God will put all the pieces of the puzzle together so you can find Him. He has a purpose for your life, you are NOT a mistake. What do you have in your house that you’re holding onto? What do you have that you want delivered from?
Is there dirt in your well? Our wells should be clean. A lot of people in this day and time have city water. Water that’s treated and stored in large towers to supply the pressure. However, there are still those of us that have had a well dug for their source of water. City water has a taste to it often chlorinated and many dislike it. A well that’s dug if its source is good has no taste. Cities and communities were often built around a good water source, a well. The church building is likened to a well-house that is covered and protected to keep the water clean. Many gather in the building to drink from the well. We all have a part to play to keep the well clean. We also have a well within us and we must also keep it clean and not contaminate other wells. We have a responsibility to keep our wells clean and to make sure it’s producing clean water. We all have a responsibility to keep our church up. It’s not your church or the pastors but, OUR church. The church is the well in the community, the life-giving force. When the well dried up then the community had to move to another source. If you neglect your well then the enemy will come in and try to fill it in. The devil's greatest desire is to fill in the “wells” of the world. Many wells have been dried up and yet people still attend them thirsting for the living water. It’s a dangerous thing when our attendance becomes sporadic and we begin to break the covenant of the church. Some go week to week without drinking from their well. Those that are part of this church know where it’s at. They haven’t forgotten where it’s at. There are times when we neglect the upkeep of the well and dirt comes in. Just because there is dirt there doesn’t mean the well can’t be used. We must do the hard part and get the dirt out of our well. If someone’s well has been filled in then others with clean wells can offer their clean water. How many times have we heard the Spirit of God tell us to repent and yet we turn a deaf ear to Him? The devil doesn’t want you to clean out your well. He would rather you just sit back and leave it alone. If you just take the effort and ask God to help you to clean out your well, then He is faithful to help. How many people needed a drink from your well this week? Is your well clean? Were you able to give them a drink of clean water? How’s your well doing, is there dirt in it? It’s our personal responsibility to make sure our wells are clear and clean of the filth of this world. One can certainly take a drink from someone else’s well but this will not sustain you forever. We must have a clean well of our own to draw from.
A personal commitment, are you doing what you can? There are times when you hear the Word and it doesn’t move yet, there are times when we hear it and it moves us. If you ever get to a point and feel that you’re as close to God as you can get, then you’ve believed a lie. The Cost of Serving God Matthew 16:24-26; Romans 12:1-2; 2 Samuel 24:24 Currently, in this country we are free to worship anything however we want. There are some who once they wake know that there will be a cost when they chose to worship God. There’s not a person here that doesn’t have a responsibility to God. There should be a stirring in your soul for a willingness to do what you can for Christ. There are things in our lives that didn’t cost us anything. However, there are things that are of a great cost. One can live a life dedicated to a carrier, hobby, or life yet in the end it means nothing. The things in this world will lose all value at the end times. So you can say you’ve got problems, welcome to the human race! We all have problems, this is nothing new. What are the requirements for following God? We live in a country where we are all free to worship whomever and whatever we want. Someone had to pay a price for that freedom. Back in 1932, there were a few people that paid a price to build a church for people in our community could come together to worship God. Then, in 1968 they decided again to rebuild a larger, better building for believers to worship and the lost to be saved. These men and women when it was hard to give, gave what they could for the building of the churches. Most if not all of those people are gone now and were willing to be instruments of God for those they don’t even know. God is not going to call you to do something that you can’t do. This goes against His nature. Yet, there is a price tag for serving Christ. There is a great urgency for souls right now. We should be doing whatever it takes to have as many souls saved as we can. We say we need God, our people need God, and we are desperate for God, but are we really? Peter a fisherman by trade dropped his nets, forsaking it all just to follow Christ. Many, many men of the Bible gave it all including their lives to proclaim Christ. We need people that are willing to work for God. Have you short-changed Him? Are you just giving a little of your time to Him on Sunday morning? A woman that we don’t really know who she is. Many have different viewpoints of who she is but at the end who she is or was doesn’t matter. What she did was not required of her. She looked around and found something that she had of great value. She worshipped Christ by “washing” His feet with her tears something that no one else had done. If you have anything in your life that is more important than God, then it is a god to you. What is more important than Christ? Friendships, job, wife, husband, children, or possessions? If you value any of those things above God then He will not honor it. This woman didn’t care about anything or anyone there but her Christ. If you are waiting on Him to tell you what to give, you’ve missed the point. Do you honestly think that God needs you? He can and will do whatever, whenever, and however He wants to with or without you. He is God! She brought something that was very precious and of the greatest value to her. We are more worried about what we get or have than what we give away and it’s what we give that’s more important. Do you think God saved you by accident? You’re male, female, child, old, or young, do you think God can’t use you? He used a donkey! This woman gave her precious ointment and didn’t even know what she was doing other than doing something in honor. We don’t know what it’s going to be required of, that great price, but we must be willing to give it all. What you have to offer is purposeful. The ointment was purposeful but let's look at the box. It was made of alabaster which is soft enough to be carved and was frequently used to decorate pal...
God is all about opportunities. Throughout the Bible, we read story after story about men and women with problems in their lives. Problems that they couldn’t do anything about. But there came a man one day named Jesus and gave them their opportunity to be made whole. We too have an opportunity when Christ invites us. We all have problems in our lives that we can’t do anything about. When Jesus walks by you better take that opportunity to be made whole. One opportunity that’s only promised one time is salvation. If you pass up that opportunity then you’ll be refusing your chance to spend eternity in Heaven. John 5:25 If you take the opportunity to be saved then you will die you will see His face in Heaven. Don’t miss your opportunity. Romans 10:13 If you’re a Christian and let the devil ride your back, take the saddle off. He only has as much power over you as you let him have. If God tells you to raise your hand, take the opportunity to do it. If you told God you didn’t want Him in your house or life then what do you think is going to happen? The devil will come into your life and destroy everything.
00:00 . . . . . He Has A Plan For Me 02:54 . . . . . My Jesus 08:39 . . . . . He Never Left Me 18:25 . . . . . Voice Of My Savior 23:07 . . . . . The Man In The Middle 31:23 . . . . . He Could Love (What Was Left of Me) 35:43 . . . . . One Day I Will 39:59 . . . . . Traveling The Highway Home 43:25 . . . . . Help Me
How long have we all laid around in our own sins and sicknesses? How many times have you been in the pool but it wasn’t troubled? Will you be made whole? If you have something in your life, God knows it, if He asked if you wanted it removed would you accept it? The day one gets saved is a day that you will never forget. This man that laid by the pool had laid there for 38 years. Then the healer came by and ask if he wanted to be healed. He accepted the offering and was made whole. John 5:9 The world looked at this man after being healed and told him he didn’t do it right. It was the sabbath and works were not to be done. Yet Jesus healed this man regardless of the day. Do you realize that the world still to this day tries to hinder God's work? Sometimes a parent can hinder God's drawing work on their child. Have you forgotten that you’ve been made whole? The first thing this man did was go to the temple to honor his God. Many people today have forgotten what God has done for them and refuse to go to God’s house to honor Him. Salvation is not an excuse to sin. Teach your children the truth. There are some so-called churches that teach the children that if they signed a card to be saved they can then live their lives however they want and still go to Heaven. This is a lie straight from hell. The new-age churches will beat the church down that preaches and teaches the blood and the sin to people. These are things that are frowned upon in many churches.
2 Samuel 9:3-4; Has God not been good to us? How He loves us even though we don’t love Him. The sun rises every day, we keep breathing and yet we don’t deserve it. He fetched him David went after Mephibosheth and this shows us the kindness of God. God came to us while we had no right to Him. We don’t go to God to get saved but He comes to us and invites us. How would you even get to God if you’re lost? Experience Him There are some that’s never experienced the presence of God yet He’s always around. They attend a church with a powerful spirit and leave untouched. He knows your name God calls you by name and you know it. When He calls your name it will not be with your ear but your spirit you will hear it. You will know it. Fear not God doesn’t want you to be afraid however once you know you’re lost it should terrify you that you could enter Hell and live there forever. You are here, by divine providence for you to hear the word and love of God. A great inheritance We do not have an inheritance before we are saved. However, after salvation, our inheritance is changed to Heaven. Regardless of what you think your inheritance will be once you’ve been saved, it goes way beyond that. Adoption When you are saved, God doesn’t just appoint you to a position to serve, He adopts you as one of His own. Have you believed in Christ? Have you ever wondered, does it not get better than this? Children around us are overdosing on drugs and alcohol. How sad. Does it not get better than this? When He comes to you and calls your name, don’t reject His call. For those that are saved, have you ever thought about your inheritance? Think about your life, if your father had millions of dollars what you could inherit. If you’re saved, that million means nothing at the time of your death. Heaven, a place that’s made of precious jewels that the streets we will walk on are made of pure gold. One answer as to why he would call us one of His own, Grace. There is no value that one can place on Christ and what took place at Calvary. God gave His ONLY begotten son so that WHOSOEVER would believe in Him will be saved. David couldn’t fix his feet which made him a cripple forever. A cripple is what we are as long as we are here on this earth. A cripple is someone that relies on someone else’s mercy and help. Just like a cripple, we as a saved person is relying on God’s mercy and help therefore we are forever grateful. There is never a time that He’s never there. Always there, always helping, always giving help, and always showing mercy.
John was an eyewitness to the event. It was important that they did the simple thing of making an effort to go to the tomb of Christ. They took additional splices and ointments to the tomb of Christ according to their customs of the time. If an obligation brought you to church then thank God. They felt obligated to wake up early and make the journey to the tomb of Christ. It wasn’t an accident that they did these things because God had it all planned out way in advance. In verse 2 we see that they found the stone had been rolled away from His tomb. The obstacle was moved before they got there. Just as us attending church there are obstacles that try to keep you from attending. Think about the things that try to keep you out of the church, there are always numerous obstacles. In verse 3 we see that they entered inside the tomb. There is a difference between just looking in and going in. The world is full of so-called believers. They claim to be saved but they’ve never been changed by God. One can claim it all day long but you must be Born Again. The preacher could shake your hand all day long and tell you that your baptism and prayer got you saved but that would be a lie. Out of fear and doubt how many have turned their back on God? Standing on the outside looking in yet for whatever reason fear, shame, or doubt is keeping you from coming in. Some people are quick to jump yet can’t go all the way. They act excited to be invited to church yet can’t seem to follow through. John was one that was quick to run to the tomb, so fast in fact that he beat the others to the tomb. Yet, he stood outside of the tomb and refused to enter in. All he had to do was to take the next step and he was inside the tomb. How many people run or make it to church yet are just one step away from a breakthrough? When it comes to salvation, close will not do. Inside the tomb was the folded napkin that covered Christs' face, a clear indication that He was coming back. This message was on the inside of the tomb and they had to go inside the tomb to see this. Peter went inside and he saw this napkin. No one can be saved or go into the tomb for you. It’s a personal experience. Once Peter went in, John followed, saw, and believed. Standing on the outside he didn’t believe but once he stepped inside, he believed.
This reading is in the week before Christ’s crucifixion. The people loved Jesus so the others that were jealous of Him didn’t want those to come against them. They plotted against Him to take Him in the darkness of night. Christ was blameless, innocent yet they wanted Him to carry all blame. Jesus was in Simon the leper's house and a woman came with a great-priced ointment. She anointed Christ for His burial and the others criticized her for wasting such a high-priced oil. They felt they had better use of it but Jesus explained to them that she had anointed His body for His death.
01:01 . . . . . God's Love and Mercy 04:04 . . . . . Take My Hand, Precious Lord 07:15 . . . . . There Is Grace 12:04 . . . . . We Are Going To Meet Again 16:52 . . . . . I'm Getting Anxious 21:13 . . . . . I Am Going Home To Heaven 26:37 . . . . . Two Coats 36:01 . . . . . Jordan
Hypocrites. Someone that says they are one thing but are actually the opposite. A lost person can try all they want to produce the fruit of a saved person, but it will never work. A saved person can’t help to produce saved fruit because they’ve been grafted in. The importance of examining oneself to make sure you’re lost or saved.
Why do you say Lord, Lord yet refuse to be obedient to His word? You sing about Jesus’ love and how you love Him yet leave Him out. If it’s the Bible and it says to do it, do it. It doesn’t matter what you think about it. God said, do it.
A story of two men building their own house. One built their house on the unstable ground while the other chose stable ground. Just like these men, we are all building a house in our lives.
The next thing they were both going to experience is a storm. Just like them, we all have our own storms in our lives. No one is excluded by these storms in our lives.
The material which is used to build your house is important. One can pick items that can be consumed in a storm. Just as in our end time we will be judged by what we did, or built. Just because the material is easy to get doesn’t mean it’s of good quality. Satan is out trying to sell poor-quality material that we need to avoid.
The third thing is where they built their house. One of these men built their house on a rock, a firm foundation. Jesus Christ is the rock of our salvation and when the storms come we will be firmly planted. It’s not a question of IF the storms come but WHEN. We are all promised storms in our lives. As long as you are on the foundation of Christ then who can be against you? The other man built his house on earth or sand, it wasn’t a firm foundation. When the storms came the house was quickly destroyed. There was no holding power of the loose foundation. No matter how big or nice your house is when the storms of life come they will destroy you.
The scoffers will not deny that there was a man named Jesus. They will usually not deny the things that He did. What they do deny is the fact that He was God. Jesus was born of a virgin and was done so to die for our sins. The animal sacrifices could never remove the sins of the people. A pure, sinless human had to be sacrificed for the world’s sins. The word was made flesh and dwelt among us. Colossians 1:15-19
A Christian’s encouragement is that Christ was man and God.
The first thing is that a male baby was born to a woman. He wasn’t an angel but a human. We also know that He was born of a virgin woman and the only way this was possible was by God. This is a miraculous happening. When He was born angels declared His birth. Nowhere else in history do we see that angels declared another’s birth.
The next event was when this boy was about twelve years old. Being a boy he was doing something that boys do. He was with the doctors and the lawyers and teaching them.
At the age of about 30 years old, he came to John the Baptist and wanted to be baptized. John baptized Jesus as a man and the heavens opened up and a dove came down and lit on him. The heavens then boomed with a voice, God declaring that Jesus was His son.
Next, we see a man preaching in a packed house. Suddenly the roof was being ripped apart by several people and lowered a man down to this preacher. This preacher was a man. This preacher man touched the man that was lowered and God did the healing. He healed the man of his palsy and also saved him.
We also see a hungry person. Just as us when we don’t eat, we get hungry. Jesus was 100% man, yet He was also God. He walked to a fig tree expecting to eat from the tree. The tree wasn’t bearing any figs and he cursed the tree. Once they walked back by it from leaving the city the tree was withered and dead.
One evening he was in a boat and was tired. This man was exhausted just as we get. He laid his head upon a pillow and a great storm began to rage outside. The others came down and woke him up in fear. The man went outside and he spoke and the storm ceased.
This man walked everywhere he went. He came as a man and was bound to earth as a man. Unknown by others a little woman made her way to him in a large crowd and touched his garment. God came out of him and healed her.
He had great compassion for people like other people do. He saw that while preaching to hundreds of people they were hungry. He wanted to feed them but no one had enough food to feed this multitude. He took just a few fish and some bread, blessed it, and told everyone to eat. They then gathered the leftovers and had more than they started with.
This man did something offensive to another man by spitting on his eyes. The man with this God spit on him was a blind man.
He was an unselfish leader. He took a bunch of men up a mountain and began to transfigure in front of them. He changed and began to glow, shine and float in the air.
We also see him as a grieving person. He sat outside of a tomb and cried because his friend had died. He loved this friend and told them to remove the stone from his tomb. He then called his friend by name and his friend walked out of the tomb.
Everything that he did with his man’s flesh was something else, God. Everything that he experienced in the flesh we also have experienced.
A man being wiped at a post with a cat of nine tails. The flesh was ripped from his body. A crown of thorns was forced on his head puncturing his skull. A man that was forced to carry his cross to his death all while being spat on and scorned. A man that was nailed to a cross and his side punctured open. A man that hung between two thieves being sinless until his death. One thief mocked him while the other saw he was more than just a man. A man that died upon his cross was taken down and wrapped in his grave clothes and placed in a tomb that was borrowed. They buried the flesh, the man in that tomb. He was the God-man and he told them that he was raised again in three days.
The only way to take the sins of the world was for a person to do it. Therefore a human had to take the place of the sin to become the sacrifice. With Jesus, one can’t see where the man ends and God begins. Jesus prayed in such agony that his sweat became great drops of blood. This is a suffering man and yet we find that after he prayed this prayer that an angel came from Heaven and strengthened him. This man was named Emmanuel by God because He was, God with us.
John 14:27
A lot of people have in their minds, torments that quickly enter their hearts. They look to the things of the world to capture peace. These things may bring a piece of happiness but it’s just for a season and quickly fades. Then, they are off to find another worldly peace. People run around trying to create their own peace but, just like worldly peace it never sticks. Some think that being right with God revolves around what they do. We can’t make peace with God no matter what we do. God gives you His peace, not the other way around. A Remembering – Ephesians 2:11 One has to have a remembrance of a change. This remembrance brings forth the before and the after of this great event. God removed the separation between Jew and Gentile and made them one. They both will be saved the same way and not in a fleshly way but by invitation only. One can’t be saved just because they want to be. God must invite you first before you can accept His invitation. God is Peace – Ephesians 2:14-16 If you think that making peace with God is something we do, you’re mistaken. God is the creator of peace and we can’t make it. The blood of Christ cleared the way to God and paid the penalty that we couldn’t pay for sin. God is our peace. How can we in the flesh claim that we have MADE peace? It’s not yours to make peace. We must receive peace from the creator, God. Romans 10 shows us that God brings peace to us. We live in a time where churches are telling people that all you got to do to be saved is, repeat a prayer, be a good church member, send in your money, be a good person, etc. The problem with these things is that they are unbiblical and are a lie from the devil. These things are all about self and lead to Hell. You will not be saved just because you want to be because God must invite you. Before we are saved we have enmity with God. Jesus came and made the ultimate sacrifice creating the peace that He can give to remove the enmity. Preaching Peace – Ephesians 2:17-18 There came a day when Jesus came into this world not to condemn the world but to save the world. The angels made their announcement to the shepherds that night proclaiming that peace had come into the world. Once again, creating the peace that only He can give. If you do not have peace it’s because you don’t have Christ. Money will never purchase your peace. The instant God invites you to receive His peace you will have the greatest fear of dying and burning forever in a devil’s fire in Hell. Just as the fear comes in an instant, the peace that only He can provide can be yours if you accept His invitation. Peace for your soul, your mind, your heart, your life, your everything. His peace is beyond any understanding. If God is inviting you, trade your sin for His peace. Stop searching for peace that you will never find. Answer the call of God.
Just as in biblical times the Old Testament, we know that God gave the people warning and warning. God still does this today because He does not change. In the day of Noah, we know that He was told by God to prepare an ark, a large boat. God has also told us to build our boat. God told Noah exactly how to build it, how large, the contents, everything. God did us the same way. He didn’t just throw us out into the world and tell us, good luck. He gave us an instruction manual to follow from birth until death. In the carnal world we get more hungry the less we eat but in the Spiritual world we get hungrier the more we eat. God will always keep His promises but not your potential. God does not push you along your journey. Instead, He walks in front of you asking you to follow Him, leading you along. If you’ve been saved then there are things that come to you naturally. Reading your bible, attending church, loving your neighbor, etc. God tells us when we do things that contradict His way. You need to be like Noah was. If one of Noah’s neighbors came by can’t you see a conversation between them about what he was doing? Noah being on dry ground at the time, it had never rained before, and yet here he was building a boat. Noah explaining to them why he was doing it and them laughing at him. He warned and warned and all they had to do was to get on the boat.
Are you building your boat?
The majority of people will die lost heading straight to Hell. The scripture tells us that broad is the way to Hell and narrow is the path to Heaven. Those that have attended the Sunday evening service made a choice to attend because they have God first in their hearts instead of other things. The power of God is no different than in biblical times. If right now is the first time you’ve heard this within your heart, then it’s time to be saved.
Just because your parents are saved doesn’t mean that you are also. Just because your family is saved doesn’t mean you’re getting into Heaven. One get’s into Heaven because they made a choice to believe in Christ and answered His invitation. It’s not of one’s heritage or lineage.
One can’t be saved just because they want to be. You can’t simply turn over a new leaf. The flesh does not want to be saved. The flesh does not desire God, but the lust of the world.
One also can’t be saved just because a person said you were. A person’s words can’t save a person. The greatest of preachers can’t save a person. It is a personal belief.
The only way a person can be born again is when God knocks on your heart and invites you. God must convict you, showing you as a lost person, then invite you into His salvation. If you accept Him at that point and ask for forgiveness, He is sure to save your soul.
So, how were you saved?
Locust Ridge was with us for a special fundraiser for Mae Crowder.
2:30 . . . . . God Has Been So Good To Me
6:20 . . . . . I’m Glad I’m Saved
9:26 . . . . . What A Journey
13:23 . . . . . Going Home
20:46 . . . . . Never Have Begged For Bread
26:37 . . . . . Blessed Be The Name
31:53 . . . . . When He Sees Me
36:02 . . . . . The Garden Tomb
41:45 . . . . . White Robe
44:54 . . . . . There Is Strength In The Lord
58:38 . . . . . When The Veil Came Down And Grace Came Through
1:04:33 . . . . . No Longer An Orphan
One day Jesus will soon step out and call His children home. More and more folks are asleep on God. Think about that time when Jesus steps out and calls his children home. What a day that will be. Are you ready for that day or will you be found asleep? We are heading into a revival soon in April. We should be awake and be praying for the revival to revive those that are asleep. We all need to be revived but we must get prepared for a great revival. In most revivals, the preachers have to preach on getting right the first 2-3 nights. Why can’t we show up already ready for revival?
You know if you heart if you need to be closer to the Lord. You know that. One doesn’t need to wait on the altar call to make it right with the Lord. Once one is saved it’s their responsibility to stay clean and be one with the Lord. Do you need to be a little bit closer to God? Sunday after Sunday, service after service we sit and act like nothing is wrong. We lie to ourselves and we lie to our savior when we have sinned and don’t do anything about it. He already knows and so do you. Just get rid of it!
We are going to take a simple test. Answering the test is not the problem, it’s what you’re going to do about the results. There is no convincing to God that you are a good person and should be graded on a curve. One can’t say “I’m saved” without repentance. You can’t judge yourself based on another person. One person is just as a sinner as you are and you can’t judge yourself off another sinner. Judge yourself from the perfection of God. The Test
- Do you walk in the light?
- 1 John 1:5-6 – We live in a world that is full of darkness. God is nothing but light, pure light. One can’t walk in the darkness and then say they have fellowship with God. You will either be in darkness or light, you can’t be in both. It’s either pass or fail.
- 1 John 1:7 – You need to be born again if you are lost. Again, you can’t walk in the light if you’ve never been saved. Your life will prove if you walk in the light or darkness. It’s either pass or fail.
- Do you have sin?
- 1 John 1:8-9 – If you say you have no sin then you lie because we are all sinners. If you never repent of your sins then you lie to yourself, others, and God. If you confess your sins, God is faithful to forgive you. It’s either pass or fail.
- Have you sinned?
- 1 John 1:10 – There is a difference between having sin and sinning. Everyone that makes a statement of not sinning calls God a liar because He stated that you have. There is only one answer, Jesus. Jesus loved you enough that He gave Himself to be the sin sacrifice for our sins. It’s either pass or fail.
How do you pass the test?
Step 1. Accept His invitation of salvation. Step 2. Confess your sins to God. Step 3. Believe in Jesus Christ.
We have a friend in Jesus. A friend is someone that will watch your back and front. Jesus is our best of friends because he knows what’s in the front and what’s in the back before it’s ever there. One day we will end up in a grave, yet we will still have a friend. Peter saw his friend walking on the water and wanted to come to see him. He began to walk on the water and took his eyes off of his friend. Jesus simply bent down and picked him up from sinking into the water. Jesus’ arms are never too short to pick us up when we fall into our pits of life. Jesus doesn’t talk about you, he feeds you and loves you no matter what you’re going through. Jesus is a friend that can humble you. Jesus is a friend that loves you so much that He’s willing to chastise you. If you walk around sinning and are never chastised then you’re more than likely not His friend. Some people will attend church and act like their Jesus’ best friend, yet they don’t even know Him.
Our greatest battle is not against the devil but against our own flesh. Romans 8 The flesh can’t be saved or made holy. Just as soon as you wake up, your flesh begins its battle with our soul. The only thing that will give a person victory over the flesh is Jesus. We must equip ourselves for the battle that rages. The war can’t be fought on the same ground as the flesh. It must be won in prayer with Jesus. As long as Moses’ hands were up they won, but once they began to fall, they began to lose. Romans 7:18-25 Galatians 5:17 The flesh does the opposite of what the Spirit does. There is never a time when your flesh is not with you. Exodus 17:14 Once the battle is won against the flesh God will separate the flesh from the Spirit leaving no more remembrance of it. The saved will be free from the ball and chain of sin at death. The only way for a person to get into Heaven is that God changes it into a glorified body. Exodus 17:16 God will always fight for you (the saved). He will always fight against the flesh from generation to generation. He will never compromise with the flesh. He is always on the hill helping us fight this battle against the flesh. This also means that we will always be in battle against the flesh until the day of death occurs. The flesh will not stop and it will not give up. The only hope we have is God Himself helping us.
00:01 . . . . Stretch Forth Your Hand
03:32 . . . . He’s There For Me
07:43 . . . . Plus Nothing
11:20 . . . . Good Old Gospel Song
14:53 . . . . All You Have To Do Is Call
20:08 . . . . I Need The Lord
30:52 . . . . He’s Been There All The Time
God is so long-suffering and patient. If God wasn’t merciful, where would we be? When we read the scriptures about the children of Israel, we often point our fingers at them and say, how dare they. Just because we join together as one within a church service, there are those that sit with us that don’t have the Lord with them. Every one of us needs to be honest and admit that the ability to come into the house of God to worship is a privilege. We come into this privilege half-hearted and yet God still blesses us. Before they left they saw 10 miracles by God. Every morning they woke to see another miracle. At night they also see a miracle each day. Food was sent by God every day for 40 days. Then at the Red Sea, they witnessed another great miracle from God. Another miracle was the bitter water turned sweet, then water for everyone under palm trees. Then again, they thirst and God provided water from a rock. Yet, no matter how many times God showed them His love and mercy, they still doubted that He was there. God knew all along what was in their hearts. After all of this, there were still some that died unbelieving. Just like Moses, they were going to stone Jesus. They were going to stone them not because of the good they had done but because of their doubt and affliction. In this time it was a foreshadowing of Christ. There are some amongst us that want to say they believe yet their actions deny their belief. When you come into the church house to worship should it be a funeral or a “party”? A lot of baptists don’t like to “party” when it comes to worshipping God. There were times when God was upset and saddened by the children of Israel’s hearts. There are also times that He is saddened by our hearts. God is so good. We don’t deserve the air that we breathe. How many times have you questioned God as to why He hasn’t done something yet or if He’s even listened to you? God just walks on out ahead of you and smacks that rock to give you some water. God told Moses to go on out ahead of the problem and there will be a rock in the middle of the wilderness. What does the rock stand for? Jesus. Who saved the people, the rock, Jesus. Every time we come into the house of God we ought to come together to worship. God has made a promise to us that when two or three are gathered He would be there. That promise hasn’t changed, that rock hasn’t moved. Make your mind up before you get to church to worship. Get your heart right and prepare to worship before you come to church.
Thinking of our own flesh nature, we complain all the time. We oftentimes complain about the weather when we think we know what we need. The world will look like the answer for the things that we think we need but it’s not. These people had walked for 3 days and not one time thought about water. It wasn’t until they came to a corrupted pool of water that they remembered that they needed it. Have you ever been upset about how things were going in your life and thought they should be going better? The children of Israel began to get upset because they couldn’t drink this water. We oftentimes get upset because we think we need something that has no substance. The children of Israel actually wanted something they needed to survive, water. The answer is Jesus. When they began to murmur against Moses he took it to the one that could do something about it. He prayed to God about what was going on and God showed him a tree. This tree could be cut down and thrown into the Poole of water and it healed the water and made it drinkable. We also have a tree of healing. God was pointing to the foreshadowing of what was yet to come. Jesus Christ is the answer to every problem we have. You might be looking and trying to figure out the answer. We oftentimes do this because we think we either have to figure it out on our own or think we know more than God. They took Jesus and they scourged Him, beating Him beyond any recognition. They tied him to a whipping post, a tree while they did this. Then they brought to Him another tree. He carried this beam through the town to the top of the mountain. Once at the top He laid His broken body down on yet another tree. They then nailed Him to this tree and lifted Him up for everyone to see. Christ did this for you. People will get to the edge of the bitter water and yet they refuse to get the tree to make the water drinkable. Christ hung on this tree until about the 6th hour and then He proclaimed that “it is finished.” He proclaimed this because He fulfilled His duty and made a way of salvation using His body as a sacrifice. You don’t need to just know about Jesus but to receive Him. Some will see and hear but they will not accept and receive. The child had to be shown the tree first, then they had to use the tree. After this, they found 12 wells of water. What they didn’t know was that their greatest desire was just over the next hill. All one has to do is tell them about death, burial, and resurrection. If anyone can simply believe these then they can be saved.
We should be reminded that the Bible is not just a book. The Bible as we know it is Jesus. It’s not the words of Jesus or about Jesus, it IS Jesus. The Bible is the closet we will have here on this earth to Jesus. If you leave Jesus in the car all week long and then you grab it from your back seat for Sunday church, Jesus doesn’t mean much to you. We find ourselves a bit spoiled knowing that a Sunday school teacher studied and taught you the scripture. We are spoiled to think that a preacher would submit himself to God to feed you without you having to pick up Jesus through the week. We should be challenging whether we truly love Jesus or not if we never search for Him in the scriptures. John 1:1-2 Jesus and the Word are two in the same. As far back as you can go, think, or imagine, God was there. In Genesis we see that God created the earth and all things, God was before that. Over 6000 years ago before the beginning of time, the Word was there. God was there therefore Jesus was there also. One can’t separate the two, Jesus and the Word of God. Do you need Jesus? You say you do yet you never pick Him up during the week until Sunday. 1 John 5:7 Any time you say the Word you can say, Jesus. John 17:5 Jesus Himself stated He was with us before the world was formed. John 1:3 This is not just a book, it is alive, it is Jesus. Creation Psalm 33:6 – The Word explains what God did. In Genesis God spoke and everything was created. Isaiah 44:24 – The Word Jeremiah 51:15 – The creator of the word yet the Word itself framed the world. Colossians 1:15 – By Him, all things were created. Hebrews 1:17 – The Heavens are the work of His hands. Hebrews 11:3 – The world was framed by the Word of God. 1 John 1:1-2 – Jesus Christ is the word of life. John 1:4 John 14:6 – Jesus told us that He is the life. John 6:63 – The Word is the life. John 8:12 – Jesus told us that He is the light. Psalm 119:105 – The Word is the light. You would never leave someone in the back of your car for a week. If you wanted a relationship with someone you wouldn’t want to not talk to them. We meet every Sunday morning at 9:30am to study and to learn more about Jesus. If you’re excusing yourself from the learning of Jesus then do you really love Him? Revelation 19:15 – When Jesus comes back with a sword out of His mouth. Hebrews 4:12 – The Word is a sword. Which side are you on? Are you on the cut that is of the darkness or are you of the cut that is of the light? The sword will divide the very thoughts of your heart. Nothing has the power to discern your heart but the Bible. Why don’t you want to read it? Because it exposes the things that we are not comfortable with. The Bible is Jesus. The Bible should not be enshrined as an object of our faith. We should be respecting the Bible not worshipping it. Stop using it as an object. If it’s something you need when you’re in trouble, you’re using it for the wrong purpose.
There is a world that will tell you that you can’t be together due to sickness. However, the fellowship of the brethren is needed because we share in those things that are troubling. We attend church not because we have to be but because we want to be. There are many different stories in the bible that people were in bondage yet God always made a way of escape. He told men to go and to do something that many, including the one that God told, would think was crazy. God had them and led them to do what He wanted them to do. No matter what came against them, God was for them. In our time it’s just the same. How many times does God tell you to do something and you think it’s crazy? Then once you come to your senses and just do what He told you to do, He’ll lead, help, and protect you from the enemy.
There is too much that a person of God has to do to just lay it down. God will always go before you to clear the path. Have faith and follow God. Once the help comes the peace will follow and it’ll be a peace that surpasses all understandings. When you think there is no hope at all, just give it to God. Once you turn it over to Him the peace will come.
In the scripture, it clearly states not to worry about the evildoers. Don’t worry about anything, let God. We know that the world will become more and more wicked as it turns. Don’t worry about the wicked and turn your face upon the Lord for your peace during this time. The world says that God can’t be preached and His followers need to hush up. But God has other plans. He can’t be shut up. His word will continue to go out no matter if the church doors are closed or His followers are jailed into prisons. Daniel was told to stop praying to God. He didn’t stop, in-fact he prayed more and more loudly. They threw him in prison yet that still didn’t stop him. They then thought they’d just kill him so they threw him into a den of lions. The lion’s mouths were just by God and Daniel lived to preach God’s word. No one can snuff out God’s word.
Look at the world in which we live. Everyone is scared to death of just about anything yet we are not afraid of God. The God of everything controls everything that created everything. We ought to have a fear of God. Fear not of being scared but fear of reverence of knowing that He controls our very breath.
We find ourselves when we go through life we try to put our faith in our flesh. This oftentimes brings forth rough times because the flesh is faulty. We ought to have faith in Jesus. We ought to seek to please the Father. God is the beginning and the end. Noah had no idea what a boat was, he had never seen one. Noah moved by fear and faith and trusted God to build this thing called a boat. There is a lot of people trying to find all kinds of ways into Heaven. God is the only way just like the ark was the only way. Imagine during the time of Noah how he was mocked and laughed at because of his faith. It wasn’t until it began to rain that they knew they were wrong. We should be more like Noah and warn the people of their lost souls and how to have faith and be saved. When you’re in a church meeting and you hear a testimony, you will often hear, “but God…”. This works the faith in others and shows us that God is still in control. Think back to when God saved your soul. You had never seen God move before that moment. God can save the sinner, do the miracle, cure sickness, and cure the world but we have to have faith. The lost do not understand the saved. They can’t see, feel, speak, or experience the invisible God because they do not have faith in Him. If you need faith all you have to do is ask. You have not because you ask not.
There is a lot of people in the world that think that God will excuse their sin at death and He’ll let them into Heaven. God has made a way. In the Old Testaments, we see that God gave them a way in how to deal with their sins. In the New Testaments, we also see that God provided a way in how to deal with our sins. A lamb was to be set aside and it was to be without blemish. This lamb, if it passed as being pure would be sacrificed. The blood would be placed around the door and death would pass over them. This was the only way to protect the people within the house. No other way would protect the people from certain death. It’s very concerning that the people that choose to not come back to church stay away. The concern is their salvation and whether or not they’ve ever been saved. The word of God is very clear that we should NOT forsake worshipping together. God’s word doesn’t change. One might say, what about my health? No one knows their health but God and He should still be worshipped. God didn’t raise one up and save them for them to be a failure. Success is being Born Again. In Exodus, we see that the people were let free and they never went back to captivity unless they chose to. Exodus 12 There is but only one sacrifice to remove all sins from the world and that is believing in Jesus Christ unto salvation. Just as the lamb sacrifice protected the people within the house, Jesus’ blood protects all of those that are saved under His house. No other animal but a lamb could be used to protect them that day. Just as then, Jesus Christ took the place of that lamb and He is the only way to be saved.
Abram & Lot were both rich men yet their eyes looked in different directions. They both were blessed with things in their life that their lives together became a battle. They made a decision that they would separate and go in opposite directions of each other. Abram didn’t care in which direction he went yet Lot saw the good of the land of Sodom so he set out towards it. Abram and his wife were driven by his love of God, this is why he didn’t care in which direction he went cause he knew God would provide. Lot felt that it would be easy living by heading towards Sodom.
We just like Abram and Lot we make decisions in our lives based upon our current situation. It’s easier to stay at home than go to church. The next thing you know you’ve quit church altogether. Since the pandemic, we’ve not seen some people come back to church because it’s easier to sit at home.
Abram bargained with God, prayed with God to spare the people of Sodom. God was going to destroy this city completely but Abram prayed for God to have pity on some. God heard his prayer and spared Lot’s family by leading them out with angels. Lot made his choice to live in this sin yet God loved him so much that he sent angels in to let him live. Sin has a price, it has a hefty price. Lot went to his family and begged them to leave with him because God was going to destroy the city. They laughed and mocked him. Lot and his wife left the city and just as soon as they left God destroyed the city yet his wife didn’t obey God and looked back. She immediately became a pillar of salt, she was disobedient.
In the beginning, we see that Abram and Lot had anything and everything. We then see Lot lose it all including his family, all of it. Lot knew God and saw God’s work prior to losing it all yet he chose sin over God.
Be careful in who you put your trust in. Which way have you cast your eyes? Are you looking to God for your direction or have you looked into the world? If you’ve drawn yourself into your own lusts then it’s sin and sin brings death.
A lot of people in this world place their hope in something else besides the Lord. There are all kinds of anchors that a boat could use. Just as a basket is, is simply something that holds things. You can put just about anything you want in a basket. In life, we place things in our life’s basket and most of them are worthless things. They mean something to us physically but Spiritually they amount to nothing. We can place our jobs in our baskets. Our jobs and education amount to nothing at some point. Our jobs are temporary. Education is also temporary. You’ve got to place something in your basket that will keep you. God is only looking for one thing in your basket. At the time of death, God will look through your basket to see what you’ve gathered in life. Being rich, having health is not the things that should be placed in the basket.
The world is not getting worse yet it’s been the same since sin came into the world. Death is something that has always been here and it’s here because of sin. When death finds you, you better make sure that there is one thing in your basket. Jesus Christ should be in your basket. Do you have Him in your basket? Is He your anchor? Death doesn’t care about your age, social status, financial status, or even your love for others. Some live by feelings yet our feelings often lie to us. We should only live by faith and faith in Jesus Christ.
If our lives are on the ocean of life and are not anchored into something solid then we will be thrown from one end to the other. We often look at trying to anchor into something in this life. We anchor into our money, friends, alcohol, drugs, and things. These things are not solid and the anchor will never be stable. Being anchored into Jesus Christ is a solid anchor and He will never let you go.
Romans 8:24-25
Why does God love you? Because He doesn’t want you to perish in the flames of Hell.
The wage of sin is death. This will never change. If you do not have Jesus in your basket then you are without hope.
1 Peter
Is Jesus in your basket? You have two options in your life. You can either build your house (life) on the solid rock (Jesus Christ). When the storms of this world beat against your house it will stand strong because of its solid foundation. If you choose the second option and build your house on the sand, do it your way, find your own path, then your house will perish. You built your house on a foundation that’s not solid and when the storms come it will wash the foundation out from under your house.
God chose the foolishness of preaching. God always has someone to preach.
1 Corinthians 1:17
The wisdom of words is sinful. In the Garden of Eden, we see the devil come and bring enticing words. Many so-called preachers stand and also give enticing words and they have no meat for the Spirit. People that think the preaching of the cross is foolish will perish.
People made the foolishness of preaching for those that want to believe. Only one way to be saved and that’s to believe in Jesus Christ. There is no other way. Just because you are smart, have money, have a lot of personal belongings doesn’t get you to Heaven.
Jesus’ own people, the Jew’s rejected Him. Still to this day the Jewish people reject Jesus Christ. The preaching of God’s Word is for the Gentile people, us because we believe.
When you have things in your life that you can’t deal with, bring them to God and lay them at His feet. Don’t pick it back up, leave it there.
Don’t believe in the wisdom of the world. If you’re lost and hear the preaching of the cross it will come to you as foolishness until God knocks on your heart. Once you’re convicted of your sins and realize you’re lost the cross becomes significant. Once you believe and are saved the preaching of the cross becomes precious.
Egypt has always been a representative of sin. Egypt, when spoken about, had great bondage on its people just as sin has on one’s life. Moses was sent as a deliverer of a people out of this “sin”.
When God delivers it sometimes isn’t the way we thought it would have been. However, God is all-knowing and He knows what’s best for us.
God doesn’t always lead us out in the easiest way. In the scripture, we read that God lead them around the land of the Philistines. This wasn’t the easiest way out but God knew why they were to go this way. At times in our lives, we wonder why we have to go a certain way in our lives, and all while God knows why our paths go a certain way. God always has the plans for us.
In verses 19 and 20 we read that when God delivered them out of Egypt they were not going to return. Just in our lives when we are Born Again, the bondage of that sin, we are never to return to that place ever again. God throws our sins as far as the east is from the west, never to know them again. We should always move forward and never look back. Moving forward knowing the scripture we know the people often looked back and wished they were back in Egypt. This is just like we are at times that when God removes sin from our lives we want to go back to that sin and pick it back up again.
In verses 21 and 22 we see the pillar of fire and cloud. The only time we know of the pillar of fire changing course is when the Egyptian army came from behind them to try to destroy them. God moved it to protect them from the armies. At this point, God never pushes but leads you. This cloud for them had to be huge and of great size for the thousands of people to all be able to see them. For 40 years the large pillar of cloud leads them during the day. By night a pillar of fire just as large as the cloud at day. These people got to see these miraculous things that lead them from sin. In our lives, we have the one that baptized us with fire. The Word of God is like the cloud that leads us at all times.
We should be encouraging others in Christ to get closer to God. We need to be better than we’ve ever been. There is room for ME to get closer to God. We need to get up off of our seats Spiritually and admit that we should be getting better at getting closer to God. How many times do we pray for workers and yet we are unwilling to work? Should we not be the ones to go out and tell others the good news of the Savior? Commit yourselves to taking a step towards Christ. We often allow ourselves to squirm away from doing what we ought to be doing for God. Be encouraged that God hasn’t given up on us. Does anybody care that the doors are open on the church house? Does anybody care that we have church services on Sunday nights and Wednesdays? If you are a church member then you’ve made a covenant between the members and more importantly between God and yourself that you would fail not to assemble yourself. God hasn’t broken His covenant between you and Him and He continues to bless you no matter what.
When you stand before the judge of glory what are you going to say? If your priorities are all about yourself, what are you going to say to Him when He asks you why?
The only thing that you can present to God is the inner man, the soul that He purchased at the time of salvation. When He purchased the soul then He owns you and therefore your reasonable service is to yield yourself to your owner, God. There are things that we could be doing yet we don’t. We don’t do them because we don’t want to. If you’ve got a problem with doing something for Him, take it up with Him and not the pastor.
Have you adjusted your life to the world? God, Himself has a completely different view of the world. Is there anything in your life that you feel you have to do every day? You might say you must go to work. You’ll set your alarms and make sure that you’re there and ready to go each day for your employer. Yet, when it comes to the worship of God in His church house you’ll find any excuse to stay away from it.
Page 375 in our hymnals, “Have Thine Own Way, Lord”.
- “Mold me and make me, after Thy will, while I am waiting, Yielded and still.” In the garden when Christ prayed He yielded to His father and because the clay for God to do what he wanted. God has a will or a purpose for your life and He wants to take you and mold you into something that Christ get’s the glory.
- “Search me and try me, Master today! Whiter than snow, Lord, wash me just now, as in Thy presence humbly I bow.” Forgiveness for our sins.
- “Wounded and weary, help me I pray! Power, all power, surely is Thine! Touch me and heal me, Savior divine.” Healing during our very time of need.
- “Hold over my being absolute sway! Fill with Thy Spirit till all shall see Christ only, always, living in me.” What sways you today? Whatever wind the enemy blows through over our ship it often blows us off course. We should be asking God to have control over our lives so that the enemy can’t touch us.
1 Thes 5:17; Ephes 6:18; There is a need for constant prayer. As good Christian people we often check this off thinking we’ve got it and understand it. However, how many times do we go without praying? We should be constantly in prayer with God. A conversation between the Christian and God. We ought to want to hear from God.
Romans 12:12, God doesn’t want a one-way conversation and He doesn’t want a quick session of 5 minutes. Books about prayer, there are hundreds and thousands of them out there. However, Jesus told us how to pray and what to pray. We don’t need these extra prayers especially if they involve self and overlook Christ.
James 5
The real test is not about prayer but if we do it and do it correctly. We will never be where we need to be until we fully humble ourselves to prayer. There is public prayer and private prayer. Public prayer is the typical congregational prayer where we pray together for each other’s prayers. We do a lot of that and one can’t have too much of pray.
Praise
Matthew 6:9-10
The first thing to do in your prayer is to praise Him. One has to understand who it is that you’re praying to. A lot of times we go at praying with it focused on ourselves. We should start our prayer by praising God.
Repentance
Matthew 6:12
If you’re not willing to forgive your neighbor then how do you expect God to forgive you? Giving mercy where mercy isn’t deserved is one of the hardest things for a human to do. If there is going to be fellowship between you and God then you’ll need to ask for forgiveness. There should be a cry from the soul when sin occurs and a wanting to rid oneself of it.
Ask
Matthew 6:13
One doesn’t need to ask until they’ve honored God and repented of their sins. When we go into prayer we go to Him because He’s the only one that can do them. If someone else could do them we would certainly ask that person.
Yield
The proud will not have their prayers answered. This is because they don’t pray to God but for others to hear them. Effectual prayer is between you and God. It’s a two-way communication where He speaks to us and we are speaking to Him. There are things He wants us to do too. We should be saying yes to God and no to everything else. When He says for us to do something we should just do it. Prayer is not just about what you want but what He wants too.