Today, okay, the Lord put like a vision in my head, a stitch together, if you've ever
seen those videos that kind of like are appended one onto the other, a stitched together vision
of three instances which I was watching.
Two of them were young people, one of them was a mixed crowd of adults and young people
play tug of war.
Now you've seen this, the big fat rope that's like about this big around and it's about
40 feet long and it's got the little ribbons and they pull with all their might and you
try to kind of match the sides.
And the truth is when you start to watch it, you really don't know who's going to win.
I mean, look at both sides and they're pretty evenly matched.
And I figured as I was watching these things in my mind's eye in preparation for the sermon
that the Lord was showing me that there are three factors essentially in who wins the
average game of tug of war.
Now obviously weight is a factor and so everybody wants the big guys and if you look at a team
and it weighs 500 or a thousand pounds more than the other team, then you would thoroughly
expect that team to win.
Then muscle, strength, just downright strength is a big factor.
So if you look at this team and say, well, like this team over here is definitely more
muscular, stronger, could pull or push or lift more than this team over here, then you
would expect this team over here to win.
But it was the third factor that God was really pointing out to me because as I was seeing
those kind of visions or remembering what those instances, in every case as the tug
of war game went on, people's feet were slipping on the ground.
One of those cases that I remember specifically, some of the young adults who are in this room
were there and we were at an annual meeting for Northwest Hobbap Association and they
basically were having a tug of war contest and all of our young adults and teenagers
went in there and a few of our adults and RJ went in there and like that and they formed
a team and they were competing in the tug of war contest.
But it occurred that several of our young people were wearing what you might call the
wrong shoes.
And so for example, Ricky, who's very strong and heavy and you really would expect them
to do really super well, his shoes were slipping on the grass pretty bad and so he really could
not bring to bear the strength that he possesses or the weight that he has.
At the same time, in all three of those cases, you could see people, they're doing everything
they can to clench down on that rope and their hands are slipping and the guy in the back
is wrapping the rope around him as he's the anchor and trying to make 100% sure he's
not going to lose it and so on.
And so what I realized that God was showing me as I was drilling down on those three instances,
two of which were, one of which was at Seneca Lake with the youth group and the other one
was Camp Buchanan and that one was at the annual meeting, is that God was showing me that it's
really about the grip.
Now a man who can bench press 300 pounds probably is going to out pull a lady who can bench
press 80 every day of the week.
But if he can't grip the rope, that's not so.
If you put lard or if he's holding, his end is slippery in some way, he might be able
to bench press 300 pounds but he can't pull with his strength cuts, he's slipping or if
his shoes are slipping on the ground, that kind of thing.
So this sermon today then, which I think God pointed me to, is unique in a way.
In fact, if you've been sitting under my teaching for the last 20 years, you'll realize I've
never preached a sermon structured like this ever before, unless you maybe missed one somewhere
and it happened to be.
So I want you to bear in mind then that God is calling us in the keynote of God to get
a grip.
So there is a word in the New Testament that means to take a good hold on something or
to take a good grip.
And you don't really care what the word is and probably nobody does in the Greek but
I'm going to say it just because I like the sound of it.
It's eulob ace.
And so three instances of this particular word that means to get a good grip occur and
I'm going to break them down for you.
We're not going to go there and read them, I'm just going to tell you the story real
quick but we are going to read from scripture before we're through.
So the first one is the story of a man named Simeon.
Simeon was like a prophet.
He was serving in the temple of the Lord when Jesus was a baby and Mary and Joseph bring
Jesus to the temple and Simeon comes in.
Now God had promised Simeon that he would see the Messiah, the consolation of Israel,
the one who would save all people from their sins before he died and he comes in and he
blesses the baby and speaks to Mary and Joseph and so on.
The story is in Luke chapter 2 and in verse 25 Simeon is called a devout man.
Wouldn't you like to be called a devout man?
Now in proper English or simple English to be devout means that you're focused on or
all in for your faith or for something else.
For example if you're a devout watcher of football you make time in your schedule, you
set everything apart, etc. and you think football is really worth a lot.
So Christians would want this word devout to be applied to us that is there and that
word is eulobes.
That's the word.
It means to take a grip well or to take something well, to have a firm hold on it.
So Simeon's only qualification, the only thing that makes him eulobes or devout is that he
was looking for the consolation of Israel.
The text says he was looking for the consolation of Israel.
So you could say he was devout because he was still looking or because he was specifically
looking for the consolation of Israel.
He was looking for the right thing.
So looking for the consolation of Israel then is what makes him devout.
Now go to Acts chapter 2 verse 5 and Acts chapter 2 verse 5 is the beginning of the
scene of Pentecost.
It's when the Holy Spirit is going to be poured out and from that moment on God's Holy Spirit
takes up residence in everybody that gets saved.
Everybody that believes in Jesus Christ as Lord means he tells you what to do when you
do it and Savior means he paid the price for your sins.
So in Acts chapter 2 this is what's happening.
They are speaking tongues.
They are talking in languages that they do not know.
The people who are gathered in Jerusalem for the festival are called devout.
They are called eulobes.
That they have taken a grip, a good grip on something.
They have come to Jerusalem to worship God and they are there and they begin to hear
them speaking in their own tongues even though they are from all over the world.
Their only qualification for being devout is they ask the question what does this mean?
They say what does this mean?
We come from all over the world.
We can't even talk to each other.
We don't share the same language except maybe if we all try to talk in Koine Greek which
was like a merchant tongue.
And so they say we can't even understand each other hardly but they are speaking and we
can all hear them even though we can't understand each other because we all speak different
languages and they said what does this mean?
Then in Acts chapter 8 verse 2 in chapter 8 of Acts Stephen is stoned.
He tells the story of how now the Jewish people have stoned their own Messiah.
How they have killed Jesus who was the son of God, God of the flesh.
And he is stoned there and this is where Paul is standing by at this time called Saul.
He is standing by and he is holding the cloaks of those who are stoning Stephen.
And it says a great persecution breaks out on the land.
But at that time there were some devout, you laveis, there were some men who came and took
Stephen's body and they buried him and their only qualifications for being called devout
here are that they buried him and they lamented Stephen.
Now notice that they lamented Stephen while this huge persecution was breaking out.
So as Christian men or women we ask ourselves what do we need to do to be called devout
and from these standards, from these examples what we need to do is ask the right questions.
What's your calling?
What is God giving you to do?
What am I supposed to do?
And then if you get the answer live it out and if you don't keep asking.
That's basically it.
What are we supposed to do?
What are we supposed to be in this lifetime?
And if a person continually asks that question and lives it out, the answer if they get an
answer or lives out the question if they're stuck there, then they could be called devout
based on these examples.
What is God like?
How do we glorify God?
How do we take a good grip on these questions and their answers so that God can apply our
weight and our strength to the task that God has given us?
Because you can be the strongest person in the room but not able to lift because you
don't have a grip.
You can be the smartest person in the room but not able to figure out the problem because
you don't have a grip.
So the question is how do we get a grip?
And in fact the scripture is calling us to get a grip.
Three easy points.
The first one is don't get stuck on the wrong question.
So I was watching a show on TV and on this show they were asking questions of God.
The show is called An Interview with God.
It's available on Netflix.
If you like it, if you think you would like it, I would definitely recommend it.
It's rated PG.
There's no violence, no nudity, no bad language, no nothing like that.
And it's about a reporter who's struggling in his faith.
He is a Christian man by his own profession.
He gets a chance to interview God.
I recommend it.
In that story there's a moment in time in which God says you're asking me all the wrong
questions.
And this is the problem.
People ask the question, what is the meaning of life?
Or how do I live happy?
If you get stuck in the wrong questions you have a problem.
In the Bible we're going to read from Romans chapter 10.
Can somebody say amen?
Amen.
Alright.
Amen.
Thank you Jesus.
It's not my word, it's God's word.
And so we're going to read from Romans chapter 10.
And Paul is talking to the church at Rome and he is explaining this piece, what I'm
talking to you about, not getting stuck on the wrong question.
And then he even goes on to talk about kind of what we should do instead.
So Romans 10 beginning in verse 1 says this, brethren, my heart's desire and my prayer
to God for them is for their salvation.
He's talking about the Jewish people who had not accepted Jesus.
He really wanted to see them get saved and he was one himself.
Verse 2, for I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God but not in accordance
with knowledge.
In other words, they had a passion to follow God.
They loved God, wanted to do what God wanted to do, but they couldn't get a grip.
They couldn't do it.
They never got traction.
They were never doing it.
So much so that they would kill Jesus when he came.
Verse 3, for not knowing about God's righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did
not subject themselves to the righteousness of God.
In other words, they didn't do it the way God wanted it done.
Verse 4, for Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
You no longer have to become righteous by following the rules is what he's saying.
For Moses writes that the man who practices the righteousness which is based on law shall
live by that righteousness.
In other words, you will succeed, live, go to heaven based on how perfectly follow the
law if you're following the law to become righteous, which by the way, you will fail,
which means you will not go to heaven.
That's what Romans 3.23 reminds us because we all fail.
We all make mistakes.
We all have sin.
So he's saying that would be the way.
Moses tells us if you follow the law, follow it perfectly, you'll get righteousness that
way and you'll live by that righteousness.
Verse 6 says, but the righteousness based on faith speaks thus, do not say in your heart
who will ascend into heaven.
That is to bring Christ down.
See, there is a question and he's saying don't do that.
Don't get stuck on the question who will ascend into heaven.
Seven, or who will descend into the abyss?
That is to bring Christ up from the dead.
Don't get stuck on that question.
What does it say?
The word is near you in your mouth and in your heart.
That is the word of faith, which we are preaching.
So in other words, he says, get a grip on that which we are preaching to you.
That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, which means he tells you what to
do and you do it and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you shall
be saved.
Verse 10, for with the heart man believes resulting in righteousness and with the mouth
he confesses resulting in salvation.
For the scripture says, whoever believes in him will not be disappointed.
For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek.
For the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call upon him.
For whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved.
Now because this is true, listen to it, because this is true, the woman who was running from
the tsunami and could have ran to the mosque or could have ran to the Christian church
and the Christian church was on the low ground and everyone was, even people didn't believe
in Allah were running to the mosque because it was on the high ground and potentially
the only hope of being saved from the tsunami which was flooding the land 20 feet high.
When God told her and she said, I know Allah will not save me and she said, I believe the
Christian God might.
So she prayed not believing in God, she said, God if you're real, save me and I'll serve
you for the rest of my life.
Now what kind of knowledge did she have about God?
What kind of knowledge, what faith did she have?
How much did she learn?
How much Bible had she read?
Next to nothing.
How much weight did she have?
Very little.
How much strength did she have?
Very little, but just enough to know she didn't want to die from the flood.
She reached out to God and said, God if you'll save me I'll serve you for the rest of my
life.
And God said back to her, run to the Christian church building.
So she ran to the Christian church building which was on the low ground which when the
tsunami hit did not flood and she survived and has spent the 20 years after that, 15
years after that, whatever it's been, serving God for the rest of her life because the Christian
God says, you don't need big weight or big strength or big brains to figure this out.
You just need to get a grip.
Don't get stuck in the wrong questions, but listen to what God is saying and then put
whatever it is you know of God into practice.
Now don't hear me saying that you can just then go, oh okay fine I know this one little
bit I believe in Jesus so now I don't need to worship God, I don't need to serve God,
I don't need to go to church, I don't need to do all of these things.
That is a falsehood.
That is wrong.
When you let the truth of God take up residence in you, you get a grip and here's the blessing,
you get more strength and more weight every day in the kingdom of God.
That's how it actually works.
Paul is saying don't get stuck on the wrong questions, get a grip on the answer, but notice
it's get a grip on the answer even when it's hard.
So here's our second point, get a grip on the answer.
You get a grip on the answer because you will be saved and then you can be the bearer of
the good news.
So we get a grip on the answer.
I submit to you, if you were asking the question, who may ascend to heaven?
The answer is me, you.
We may ascend to heaven.
How?
Jesus Christ.
Get a grip on the answer.
And then knowing that answer, we can go and share it, but getting a grip on the answer,
we become bearers of that good news even when it's hard.
Devout men get a grip and live accordingly.
Remember those men who buried Stephen?
They had exactly one qualification that made them devout.
One qualification that the Bible would say that they had gotten a grip on the truth of
God and it was that they went and buried Stephen.
Anybody could have done that.
And that they lamented him.
Anybody could have done that.
So what was it?
It was that they buried Stephen and lamented him while the temple servants were going around
and getting anybody who showed any signs whatsoever of being a Christian and persecuting them
many times unto death, taking their lands, throwing them in jail, rocking up their children,
selling their children in the slavery.
They were doing all of these things to Christians and at that time these men came and got Stephen's
body and they buried it and they lamented him, which is a very clear sign that they
cared about him, which is a very clear sign they might be Christians, which could have
gotten them taken out.
So while the persecution was going on, they became bearers of what they knew to be true.
They let their strength and their grip affect the life around them.
They took Stephen, they buried him and they lamented him.
This brings us already to our conclusion, but we're not done.
By any means, the conclusion is devastating if you're not a follower of Jesus in earnest
and potentially life giving for you.
And if you are a follower of Jesus, the conclusion is how to get a grip.
There are two other words that are translated, could potentially be translated devout in
the New Testament.
And the King James translates all of them as devout and they are in a way devout, but
in a way they're not.
And NASB translates three of the occurrences not as devout, but as God fearing.
And I'll explain that in a minute.
So first of all, these two other words, they don't mean to take hold of something, to get
a good grip.
They mean either properly revering something, to revere something is to love and fear it,
so it's properly revering something or just revering something.
That's what the two other words mean.
So you see the difference, right?
You can revere God, I love God and I fear God, but I don't got a grip.
There are people living in their houses that don't go to church, don't serve, don't give,
don't work in the kingdom, don't do anything for God.
And they will say, I love God, I know I'm going to have one when I die because I love
God and He loves me back and at least half of that is true.
God does love everybody, but whether or not you love Him back, if you love Him, you'll
follow His commands.
That's what it says.
And so there's a question about this person who says they love God, but if they love God
and fear God, you'd think they would get rolling, right?
You'd think, well, if I don't do something here with what I know to be true, that could
be a problem.
So these two words are properly revering, like revering in a good way or just revering.
That's what they are.
The first three instances, I'm going to explain to you basically, all right?
So the first man was Cornelius.
Cornelius was called a devout man.
Now it literally says right in the text in Acts 10-2 that he was called a devout man
because he feared God, he gave a lot, a lot of money, property, everything.
So he feared God and he gave a lot and he prayed to God continually.
And for that he was called a devout man.
Now a little bit later in that same chapter, there is a soldier who serves Cornelius and
he is called a devout man.
Now there is only one qualification that this man is given that he was called devout.
And it was that he was always there.
He was always there.
He was always following around Cornelius, able to be used, willing to do whatever.
We have a thing in the kingdom of God where people say, I'll do whatever is needed.
And then you call on them and they're busy.
Or maybe they're not.
They actually do step up and they'll do whatever is needed.
You can be considered devout based on that one verse if you'll just literally, not just
figure it out, like say I'll do whatever is needed, but you'll actually do whatever is
needed.
And you say I'll do whatever is needed and they say, will you scrub the grout in the
bathroom with a toothbrush, it's going to take about five hours.
You're like, yep, I said I'll do whatever is needed, I'll do it.
Will you clean the toilets, make sure that's all done?
Yeah, I'll do it.
I said I'll do it.
Will you pick up all of this garbage?
It's going to take about 10, 12 hours, clean up the whole neighborhood and garbage.
Yep, I'll do it.
I said I'll do anything.
I'll do it.
And the list just goes on and on.
But people say I'll do whatever.
Will they actually do whatever?
Well, according to this guy, this guy was called devout because he was always there.
Not a devout because he was a follower of God necessarily, because he was always there
with Cornelius doing whatever was needed.
Paul called Ananias.
So Paul, blinded on the road, goes into town and this guy Ananias comes to save him.
Now way later in chapter 22, Paul is giving the summary of the story and he says that
Ananias was devout by the standard of the law.
Now all three occurrences here are the word that means devout in a good way or God fearing.
So revering.
These three men are given the title of devout as if they were properly revering.
So what I'm saying is, that was Acts 22, 11 to 13 by the way, what I'm saying is that
this measure of devoutness, God fearing, properly revering is always measured by faith based
works.
Do you believe and what does your belief lead you to do about it?
That's the question.
Now there are three other instances.
Alright, I'm going to give you the basic summaries of them.
Now these ones are just revering, not revering like in a good way necessarily, that little
piece that makes it good revering or correct revering is left off.
It's just revering.
Those three I just mentioned to you, they were all also translated devout.
Now we've got this one is not translated devout in the NASB, it's translated God fearing every
time and here they are.
The first one is in Acts 13, 50.
Obviously Paul is preaching and it says that the others came in, the Jews came in and stirred
up the devout and it put an end to the preaching of the gospel.
Do you hear me?
Paul was preaching the truth that the Gentiles could be saved, telling the truth about Jesus,
the people he saved and God fearers, people who said they believed in God, said that they
loved God, rose up and stopped him, stopped the people.
So here are God fearers if you will, devout people who get stirred up and they stand in
the way of kingdom progress.
Acts 17, 1-4, here it is again.
Now this is getting into Athens and Paul is preaching and there were those there who believed
in God, they feared God, they supposedly revered but there were very few in number.
But there were those there who had a lot of questions as well.
And so the God fearers were divided.
He preached the gospel, some of them said yeah, let's hear this.
What are you talking about here?
I want to know what this is about, this sounds like it might be right.
And some of them said we want nothing to do with this and they mocked him.
So the God fearers were divided, the gospel was delivered, there were those who said they
loved and feared God and they were divided.
Some stood for the gospel and some stood against it.
Then in Acts 17, 16-32 we see the God fearers divided again.
Now this is where he's actually at the Areopagus and he's telling the story and he tells the
story and he talks about how devoted they are, how fearful and reverent they are.
And then some of them go, oh wow, this is truth, this is something we really need to
drill down on.
And some of them go, what is this fool talking about, resurrection.
And so the gospel is delivered and they're divided.
So the crux of the problem here is found clearly displayed in the words of that first described
devout man that I mentioned.
What was his name?
The first one today that I mentioned.
Say it again.
Close.
Simeon, right?
It's Simeon, the prophet.
So somebody got a grip, right?
What I'm saying is in Luke chapter 2, Simeon is described as devout, I already told you
that, but listen to what Simeon then says as a devout man to Mary and Joseph and I'm
going to go there and read verses 33 to 35.
So this is the occasion of Jesus' dedication.
So we're in Luke chapter 2 and it's 33 to 35 and it says, and his father and mother
were amazed at the things that were being said about him.
So Mary and Joseph were amazed at what was being said about Joseph, 34.
And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother, behold, this child is appointed
for the fall and rise of many in Israel and for a sign to be opposed and a sword will
pierce even your own soul to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.
Simeon said that when Jesus came, when Jesus became clear, when the truth was made evident,
when the gospel was delivered, it would divide the God-fearers.
It would divide those who could be called devout from those who actually were devout.
You follow?
You've got to get a grip.
If you're not in it yet, jump in right now and understand, you've got to get a grip.
The part of you that wants to fight for what's right, that gets mad when things don't go
the way you think they should, that part that wants to stand up and make things around you
better can chafe against Jesus as the sacrificial lamb.
Or you can get a grip on the real Jesus who was the lion of Judah and the lamb of God,
our Lord who was present at the creation and indeed nothing that was made was made unless
it was made through him, chose to take on the form of a suffering servant.
And when he desires it, so must we.
The part of you that aches and suffers now and yearns for redemption, oh, I can't stand
this anymore.
Oh, I just don't know why my life is this way.
Oh, I can't do it.
We yearn for redemption.
That part of us can chafe against the fact that Jesus, God in the flesh, begged God the
Father for another way and no other way was forthcoming.
Or you can get a grip on the fact that justice demands the payment of a price and there is
no remissions of sin without the spilling of blood.
Jesus died, indeed had to die to pay for sins.
You and I could not.
If you start paying for your sins, you will pay them for an eternity.
But Jesus paid for sins which he could do because he didn't have any sin.
And sin is that bad.
That little white lie that you told, that sin is that bad.
It doesn't just cover your butt.
It doesn't just get you where you're trying to get to or make you feel better, make somebody
else feel better or you don't cause a conflict between you and them or all of those other
things that a little white lie might try to accomplish.
What it actually does is it dismisses the God of the universe.
It says, I know God wants me to get a grip.
I know God wants me to be good.
I know God wants to take care of everything and be in charge.
I know he's on the throne.
But just this one time for the sake of convenience, I'm going to forget all of that and just tell
this lie.
Sin is that bad and salvation is that good that the God of the universe would take on
flesh and die on a cross because sin demands the payment of a price when it comes up against
justice.
You can chafe against the call of God to come apart from this world, to leave behind things
of this world that you like that connect with you in some way, that your eyes continually
veer off to, that your flesh wants, that fills you so you don't feel that attention deficit
disorder kicking in.
You can chafe against the call of God to come apart from this world and to instead walk
with him and for him, but you really need to get a grip on the fact that the here and
now really continues to exist for just one reason.
And that is so that people can grope around for him and finding him, realize that he was
not so far away ever.
And we can get a grip.
You can put it down.
You can put it away.
You can say no thank you.
You can walk away.
You can lock yourself in the closet while you pray.
You can get a grip.
You can do whatever is necessary.
But some so-called devout people will be offended by the same Jesus whose name became the name
under heaven given among men by which they must be saved.
They will instead be defiding, coming to the point of alleged God fearing and good works.
They will refuse to go any further.
Ask yourself, is that you?
They will latch onto a certain question or a certain excuse to not put all that they
are on the line.
I'm too busy.
I have too much work to do.
I'm unavailable.
Why should I have to do it?
Someone else will take care of it.
But what about this doctrine?
What about that verse?
What does it say there?
What does that exactly mean?
I'm still struggling with knock it off.
That's all an attempt to keep from actually getting a grip.
And no matter how heavy you are in the kingdom or how strong you are in the kingdom, if you
stay there and don't get a grip, you'll never be used for what God can use you for.
In failing to get a grip, they will destined themselves for the get away from me I never
knew you crowd instead of the well done good and faithful servant crowd.
Now in many cases all the while, they will be saying I'm definitely in the well done
good and faithful servant crowd because I spend my time considering the most important
things in life.
I give some of my time.
I give some of my money.
I give some of my sweat, blood and tears and they will say I'm going to make it in for
sure.
I'll be okay.
Jesus loves me and I'm devout.
But are you devout, revering?
Or are you devout, revering correctly?
Or are you devout, you've gotten a grip?
You understand.
Will you get a grip today?
That is the question.
Will you take Jesus exactly as he is?
Will you surrender to his will for your life?
A scene from the movie Bruce Almighty which I've watched a couple of times and you have
to be careful to either watch it edited for TV or just kind of really keep your guard
up because it's got quite a bit of vulgarity in it language wise.
But there's a scene where he's been acting as God for quite a while and eventually he
realizes he just can't do it.
He can't, he doesn't know how to do it.
He just, with all the power and all the knowledge that he has he still can't do it.
He's screwing up the world and he's walking down the street and he kneels down on the
road in the rain and I'm not going to get the words exactly but basically puts his hands
up and he says, okay God, I give up.
He says, I surrender to your will.
Your will be done.
And it starts to get light where he is and right after that, somebody knows the movie,
what happens?
He gets hit by a truck.
And then when he sees God, God says, you can't kneel down and pray in the rain on the street
on the expressway without getting hit by a truck.
But in that moment at which he was getting a grip, he said, okay, I surrender my will
for my life and I want to do instead what you want me to do.
Listen to me, I'm just telling you plainly, this is the very decision that Christians
make that gets them saved.
Which means if you came to the altar or you prayed in a coffee shop or somewhere, you
said, I'm accepting Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior and in that moment you didn't get
a grip, nothing actually happened.
You said words.
Even if you were very careful to make 100% sure that you were ready, even if you were
very careful to say, but when I do this, I'm going to be all in, I'm going to do it.
Or if at times you were all in and then not all in, whatever, all of that might be true.
Those people that Jesus said, get away from me, I never knew you before that, they claimed
that they had cast out demons and healed in the name of Jesus.
And Jesus did not correct them.
He didn't say, no you didn't.
Say, yeah you did it, but not in my name.
He didn't do that.
What he said was, get away from me, I never knew you.
They didn't get a grip.
We've got to get a grip.
This division, because this division is reality, you may have been here before.
You may have been in this moment in time and before, where you were thinking, I don't know,
have I, am I really, whatever.
As long as you're going, I don't know, have I really, whatever, listen, you probably have
it.
You may be revering, right?
I recognize I should, or you may be good revering, I'm going to act on what I know to be true,
but are you, get a grip.
Are you taking hold of that for which you were taken hold of, as Paul says in Philippians.
And that's what we're called to.
You must get a grip on the risen Savior and the ramifications of His saving grace, and
you must do it now.
Now here's the great blessing and the final thought.
When you get a grip on what this means, Jesus gets a grip on you.
Now that's important, because Jesus never quits, Jesus never loses, Jesus never runs
out of strength.
If there is anybody with weight in the kingdom of God, it's Jesus.
And God said, Jesus said that God had told him that no one would slip from His hand.
If Jesus has got you, you're in, and if He doesn't, you aren't.
It doesn't matter how firm your grip is.
I have known men who had theological degrees.
We won't know this side of heaven, but you know how many pastors and deacons, let me
clarify what that means, men who were recognized by others as called by God, ordained to be
pastors, men who were recognized by others as called by God to be deacons.
You know how many men who were pastors or deacons realized they hadn't gotten a grip?
Well, I don't know either, but I know many who have.
It's time to get a grip.
It's time to realize that the ramifications of what Jesus did can take all that you are,
all your weight and all your strength and put it into application in the kingdom of
God.
And you're like, I don't know, I'm not that smart.
It doesn't matter because the not that smart man, which if there was anybody in this room,
I don't agree, by the way, I think you're all pretty smart, but that being said, if
you say I'm not that smart, the not that smart man who gets a grip will pull harder and do
more than the very smart man who doesn't have a grip.
The very smart man who doesn't have a grip probably has an excuse why he's not even on
the rope because he doesn't want to pull.
He doesn't want to work.
He doesn't have to.
He'll be the guy on the sidelines going, come on, pull.
You got this.
And when he loses, he'll say, well, they should have pulled harder.
I told them what to do.
That's not getting a grip.
You can even tell others how to get a grip and they may get saved and get a grip and
actually start following Jesus while you yourself have no grip.
And the problem is if down the road, if Jesus doesn't have a grip on you and that happens
when you first get a grip on this truth, if Jesus doesn't have a grip on you, then somewhere
down the road, you will walk away.
I have seen men that I personally, before I even knew anything about this, would have
called devout.
Walk away.
Men who serve Jesus by their own profession, day in, day out.
Do you know Billy Grant probably heard that name?
He preached probably to more people than anybody in the world has ever preached, with the possible
exception of some folks who now have done a lot over the last 20 years over in Africa
and stuff and they get really big crowds and so they might be catching up to him.
But he preached to more societies and more people than anybody.
After all that was happening, Billy Graham's right hand man, the guy who traveled with
him, saw all those people getting saved, preached himself and supposedly led tens of thousands
of people to Christ himself.
He now to this day declares he is an atheist.
I get it.
It's a lot to say I want, but I'm willing to submit my wants.
I think I need, because listen, sometimes he may ask you to suffer, I think I need, but
I'm willing to submit my needs.
But it is exactly what the Gospel says, because what did Jesus do?
Did he want to die?
Did he want to go to the cross?
Did he want to be crucified?
Did he want to be whipped within an inch of his life?
This is the Gospel you're called to.
Is this day whom you will serve?
A risen Savior who can go through that and come out into eternity, born again, and you
can do the same?
Or a feel-good God that will make you feel good every time you go to church on Sunday
and you'll be like, yeah, doing my part.
And you might get to the point where you're tithing.
And get this, you might even get to the point where you cast a demon out of somebody in
the name of Jesus.
Or pray for somebody's healing, go like, I prayed for them and they were miraculously
healed.
Yay, me!
I'm following God.
I'm devout, because God is doing miracles for me, and in me, and around me, and by me.
God is using me.
And all the while, no grip.
Well, if you have no grip, then He's not holding you.
If you have no grip and He's not holding you, then eventually He'll slip.
I should say, eventually, you'll slip.
And when you slip, you'll lose that great battle of tug-of-war on the other side of
which is Satan, demons, and evil spirits, and the world system, and everything else,
and you'll be pulled across that line right into an eternal abyss.
In the meantime, you've got time.
You've got time to wrestle with questions.
You've got time to find answers.
But don't think you have forever.
You may have tomorrow.
You may not.
You've got time right now.
Will you get a grip?
Will you say, okay, Jesus, I'll take you just as you are.
I'll live for you just the best I possibly can.
I'll let my old life fall behind, and you show me the way ahead.
You be the way ahead.
That's what it means to follow Jesus.
We're going to have an invitation at this time, which means the praise team is going
to lead us in a song, and then we're going to decide.
You're going to decide.
And if you decide, you can honestly decide, look, I already got a grip.
I already knew this was the Jesus that I was following, but I had to do it.
And then I wanted to do it.
I needed to do it.
I had to do it.
If that's you, then you pray that others in this room will make that decision.
If on the other hand, you say, you know, like, I've been up and down.
I've been questioning.
I've been wondering.
What if I ask them?
What if that happens?
What if, what if, what if?
I'm not going to show up.
you can probably do some research, but people started thinking that the word
believe means to think something is true and that just isn't so. To believe
something is to let it affect you pretty much at every level, right? It becomes
almost subconscious or unconscious as you rely on that truth. Somebody tells you
something and you take it as the truth and don't even think about it and then a
few weeks later you make your decisions including that truth that they told you
that's so damaging about gossip for example or reminiscing over things and
you don't get the facts quite right or whatever is you can take that truth and
take it as part of who you are in your decision-making process and it can be
very damaging in the future. For example if you heard that somebody said
something and it just wasn't true then two weeks later you're operating on
to the fact that they said it and it wasn't even true. You might be expecting
them to be somewhere, expecting them to be a certain kind of person and they're
not, whatever, because you heard that they said it that's why gossip is so damaging.
One of the reasons to believe is to let it affect you in every way is to get a
grip. I didn't pick the song and she had already picked the song before the
message was completed and God does that. God is reaching to us all the time. If
you were dangling over a cliff about to fall 500 yards, literally anybody that
extended you a hand you would reach out and get a grip and God is extending your
hand. Will you reach out and get a grip? Take a hold on him. The woman who was
following Jesus, they were all walking to go heal a young girl or whatever and
she followed him and she said, I just touched the robe of Jesus, I was healed. And she did and she was.
She didn't even get a grip. She just reached out and just touched him for a moment and
Jesus said, who touched me? And the crowd of people said, who touched me? I felt power
going, something happened. And then she was able to share and she said, well I did
this all these years. I've been dealing with an issue of blood and now I know I'm
healed and praise God. And she got saved because she was just, it's just all over. It's a
get a grip theology. Read your Bible, study it, understand God wants you. In Acts 17
you grope around to find him. If you were searching for your keys in the dark and
you felt something that felt like your teeth, you'd grab it. He is the solution.
He is everything. And if you reach around and feel something that might save you,
something that might take you into eternity, something that might make you strong,
something that might gift you, something that might inhabit you with the Holy Spirit of
God, that might seal you forever, overcome every difficulty, even though you will
have to go through difficulty, but he'll be with you, why would you not grab on?
Why would you want to let others think you have grabbed on when you haven't? If
you're still groping, then let's be transparent. I'm still groping. I want to
get a grip. I'm going to get a grip. And when I get a grip, he's going to have a grip on me.
Believe and never be the same. Okay.
So one thing I want to thank God for is this is a gripping church. And I'm not
saying anybody doesn't want to, but you can reach out to any of us. I will reach
out to you. I want to grip you. I want to share things with you. Don't ever be afraid to
ask me how come they didn't talk to you. I want to share my testimony, but be very
quick. Everybody knows my story. They should know. It's a very heartbroken story.
They had a horrible story. It's not like I go home and I just woe is me. Just
heartbroken all my life. All I know is a lot of heartbreak. But God always being
good in people in my life and the love that I find in others. And you know, it's
always going to be there. And I just wanted to share something last night. And
once again, I also want to share testimony. It wasn't for people here for
three years. I've been here probably four. I get my ears mixed up. But if it wasn't
for people here, I wouldn't be gripping back on God again. And it really is not
just here, but there are gripping churches. And God is always, you know, giving
us gripping moments. It's always God. But this is a place where you can get your
grip back. I want to give people a chance to encourage you. You can do that. But
last night I was praying with Dan. And it doesn't have to be Dan. I'm just saying God
just sometimes lets me go call Dan. And I prayed with him in the downtown, the
library. And I just remember saying like, God wants me here. And just the things
that I thought that could not happen. I will never sit here and ever say it's
okay to get a divorce or separation. I'm just saying that this is something that
God is involved no matter what. You know, whether it's ignorance, mistakes, I don't
know. But it happened. And it was like, well I get to see my kids. Well I'd be
able to be the way that God wants me for my kids. And I continually just see God
involved in those moments. I was at the library of my daughter Naomi. And to you
it might mean nothing, but it meant a lot to me. And it already expands from today.
But last night my daughter was downstairs. We were at the downtown, like the big one,
where I was upstairs, she was downstairs. I was like, I didn't get to see my daughter. I was hanging up with my kids.
And I was like, I need to go see her. And my ex, she was like, she's fine.
She's just down there hanging out with her cousin. I go, no, but I feel like I'm
supposed to go see her. Like, I've been saying hi to her. And you know, maybe she just
wants me to let her know I love her because I do. And I just like, you know what, I'm
gonna go down there. I just feel like I'm supposed to go down there. And that was, when I went
down there, it was, she was having a hard time trying to check out this book at
the library. She forgot her address. She just had a hard time. And she looked up
and she's like, dad, you're here. She's like, I was actually hoping somebody would
come down here and help me out with this. And I was gonna let her know. And she
knows we have this connection and it will never go away. That's God's grip. And
the connection that we have is that I can share God with her. I said, I felt like
I was, God told me to come down and see you. And she won't say it like me. But she
was like, yeah, I know. This is so cool. We kind of shared this moment where, like, God
was telling me to come down to see you because you needed me and it was perfect.
And because of that, and I did some of my sons too. I could share more, but you
guys want to hear some really cool stories of the testimonies I had. But because of
that, today, my daughter, you know, I didn't coerce her. I didn't move her to it.
She shared a scripture verse with me today in the text. And it was exactly a verse
that I shared something. I said, I can't wait to share back to you what God
sent to me through that. And I was like, that connection has still spurned off. The
Bible even says, and I think it is, to try, it's Hebrews, it's either three, four,
or five. But it says, spurn each other on to good works. And because I spurned her
on to good works, she spurned back. But spurned is like, you, like, you know,
like, spurn, like, you can do this pushing, like, just one, like embers, like, burning it up.
She burned it back to me, this verse. And she said, you're welcome. And it also
shows her that God is showing something to her as well. And the reason I shared
this, and I'll be real quick and right this moment, is that I'm not asking anybody to
do what I do. Just be who you are in Jesus. It don't matter if you, like, take notes
and do what I do. It was just that the connection was that God had a grip on us.
And the connection was that God has grip on everyone that's, like you said,
like, what the Word says. And it was for Jesus we couldn't grip if we wanted to.
But then we can grip on. Then we can continue on. And how bad it is, or how
ugly it is sometimes, and I know ugly now. And maybe I've known ugly all my life. I
don't really matter. Because even if I know ugly, that beautiful, awesome, holy
righteous God was in the middle of it all. And I am thankful for that every day.
So I just finished with this. It's GRIP ON. We have brothers and sisters, you know,
just reach out to them. Sometimes, you know, I'm just saying I will reach out. I
can't speak for everybody else. But I'm reaching out right now. And you talk to
someone, share, please come to me. I would love to talk to you and share with you a
way that you can get a grip on things, a way that you can think about things. But
you could talk to anybody here. I thank God for everybody here.
Listen to this list of songs that was chosen for today. Rain, all bow down, forever we
sing hallelujah, and hold arms and pray. Father in heaven, we praise you for being at
work in this service. Being at work in our body. Being at work in each one of us who
have yearned for this kind of relationship with you even before we knew
it was possible. And some of us remember very clearly, just not that long ago,
groping around in the dark, hoping for something, for someone. And some of us
accepted Christ decades ago. And we've been up and down maybe, or maybe there
might be somebody in the room says, you know, since I accepted Christ over 20 years ago,
I've been up the whole time. I've been gripping on and trying to do and trying
to let him reign, be who he is, and praise God. We have a diverse set of
people in amongst such a small group of us. And compared to the world's
Christians at large, we hope that there are millions. So Father, we are so
grateful that you take the time to act in us to work, to do these miracles. We do
ask you Lord to reign. We do ask to hold on to us. We do ask you to continue to
show us your grace and mercy. We ask you Lord to bless our time of baptism in the
Lord's Supper, which we have next coming around one after another. We're so
grateful for these things that teach us to remind us that you are doing today.
And we praise you for it in Jesus name, amen. Thank you very much. So they are
getting ready for baptizing. And so you've got to worship until we're ready.
The kids will be coming back in.
I am a power quickly fading, in today and on tomorrow.
The waves touch the ocean, the pain will end now. It's still you, you'll be me when I'm falling.
Lord you press me when I'm falling, and you pull me from the hell. I am yours.
Oh I'm mine.