EEEE 2 practise
Stretch 3
fresh
backpack
I'm gonna be a fool
The man that you are
The one from home
The man that you are
That's the way I really am
And I see you in me
You know I don't care about
You can't just do what I do
The man that you are
In the mountains
The mountains and right there in the road
The rest is on for everyone
For everyone to come to the cross
I will never be found to see open arms for you and me
For everyone to come to the cross
The rest is on for everyone
For everyone to come to the cross
The rest is on for everyone
For everyone to come to the cross
Whoa, whoa
Everyone come to the cross
Whoa, whoa
The rest is on for everyone
For everyone to come to the cross
Whoa, whoa
Everyone come to the cross
Whoa, whoa
Praise God, just a couple of announcements this morning.
Number one on the agenda that's coming up fast is at four o'clock today here at the
church grounds.
We had planned on going to Maumee Bay, but unfortunately Maumee Bay is under a water
warning out there so the kids and folks who have health insurance and stuff like that
would not be able to swim.
So we will be here.
We will be here at four o'clock today and for a few hours at least having fellowships
and just kind of spending some time together.
I know that we're doing some water games for the kids and using them people and myself
because I want to play water games.
So we're here.
Anybody wants to play water games?
Yes, we're going to have some adult games that are not wet.
I saw people bringing a couple of corn holes.
You have that kind of thing if you want to come and you bring it, whatever that's great.
There is a kind of a potluck thing so if you want to bring some food to share you can
do that.
We've got sandwiches as the main course and then we've got some desserts.
Miss Chris has a kind of a list that she's been keeping so we've got that.
But if you have a sick of it, you can bring it to the church grounds.
So we're going to be here at four o'clock today.
We're going to be here at four o'clock today.
So on the surface, this song sounds kind of depressing.
These are the words of Ryan Clark, the singer or demon hunter, about the meaning behind the song.
It can be easy to put people on a pedestal of unrealistic expectations.
We often forget that every single one of us, no matter how seemingly perfect on the outside, is a broken individual.
I've made it a point to be transparent about this in my own life through my lyrics.
I never want to give the impression that I have it all figured out or that every struggle lies behind me.
It can be very freeing to understand that everyone at some point will fail.
They will fail God, they will fail themselves, they will fail you.
Understanding grace and forgiveness is the only way to spare yourself the disappointment of giving the position.
I really like the one line, lost in the shadow of an endless grace.
Sometimes when people are walking around their Christian life with the grace of God covering them in every aspect of their life,
they can seem to be better than what they are, perfect, or whatever you want to call it.
You've got to remember that that all comes from God, not from an individual.
Remember that when somebody is covered by the grace of God, that is God's doing, not them.
It really helps that if somebody does something or says something to you that hurts you or caught you off guard or whatever,
to remember that, hey, this person is just as screwed up as I am.
It doesn't matter what they do or say. We all need God's grace.
Amen. That was a good word, brother. Thank you so much.
Alright, we've got time for one more. Anybody else?
I was watching Tom and Jared, my nephew's one.
There was this episode where Tom gets his letter of advance and he says he's won a billion dollars for it in Merritton.
But the stipulation is he loses all of it if he hurts any creature.
He says, even amounts.
And Jerry also read the letter. He knew about it.
He's lived on top of it, he's followed his money, he's lived in the high life.
Jerry's pestering him into knowing what Jerry does all the time.
Every time Tom's about to smack him, Jerry shows him the contract.
You're going to lose your money.
They go back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.
But eventually it gets to the point where Tom's about to smack Jerry, Jerry shows him the contract,
and Tom grips it up and then Jerry shows Jerry a gradual piece of paper that says, even amounts.
And Tom shoves it down his throat.
And then he chases Jerry, Jerry, Jerry.
And that's kind of an interesting way of thinking I like to.
The nice things are nice, but they're not as nice as you think.
There's something else that's going to make you want to make the most of it.
The things that are worth it are not the things you want to make.
Yeah, and then you lose it all.
I see what you're saying.
Live for eternity, not for enjoyment now.
Good stuff.
You got something quick?
Yeah.
I had a big old spiel, sorry.
But I do it this way, and as people know, to be transparent.
I do so much brokenness, lost suffering, that no one can understand.
Probably the worst 12 years of this life I've ever had.
And they won't understand why it is, and they'll talk to me, and it's like, it is.
When I was talking to my daughter, she feels the same way.
She feels like she's blessed so much.
She's so blessed.
She's able to find Jesus at such an early age.
She's going to church, and she's going to thank her dad.
I just see all those blessings.
And I started to understand that the blessings isn't what makes her feel safe, comforted.
It's when I sure got with her.
The thing is, when I was talking to her, I said, we're going to go for a walk.
We're going to get hot, and it's going to get sweaty, and it's going to stink.
We've got to drink water.
I said, drink water.
These bodies are broken.
And I just started thinking about it.
I was like, but here's the thing.
We're all broken.
But God didn't have to be broken.
God could have stayed on the throne.
God could have stayed where he was at.
But equality of God wasn't enough for him.
This is Philippians chapter 2.
He looked at himself and said, no, this is not the way I am.
I don't consider myself being God by looking good, but actually being righteous, being good, so I become a servant to all.
I become a living sacrifice to anyone who comes to me to come back to what I gave them.
And so when I go through suffering and we all is here, I'm reminded that one thing that God never suffered.
God chose to become a sufferer.
They even call him a suffering servant, because every servant suffers here today.
But not constantly suffer.
The reason he didn't say he was suffering is because he didn't just suffer, but he became sufferer.
God for the first time said, I'm going to taste death.
I'm going to taste pain, temptation.
I'm going to taste everything that the world has.
But I'll never turn my back on God.
But God the Father turned his back on him so he could die.
So that anyone could come to him, he rose again.
And like my brother said, a victorious relationship with God.
But the victories of God is not in us.
And the victories that happen is because of him.
And that's what we can all remember, is that when you suffer, there's only one that truly suffers with us.
Alright, so we're going to play together at this time, transition to tithes and offerings, a little more worship, and then into the Word.
And ask Alicia, Alicia would you pray for us this time as we move forward?
Let's pray with her.
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for this day.
Thank you for bringing us all here through our struggles, through our ailments, through our sicknesses.
You with all of us, you with our finances and our health and our families.
And help us to do everything that we do for you and remind us why we do it.
And do the same.
Alright, so at this time we're going to do something a little bit different.
So if you are comfortable and able to do so, would you stand with us this morning?
If you are young or young at heart and would like to do some motions, take to the aisles.
I've got all this nice space up front so I need some young people.
You need about this much space.
So make sure you're not going to kick somebody, spread yourself out a little.
You've got long arms, you've got long legs, don't put it in a kicking space, okay?
Alright, we've got some words up there.
We're going to start real slow so you can get some motions with us.
And then we're going to see if we can do it a little faster.
Are we ready?
I've got the joy down in my heart, deep, deep down in my heart.
Spell it, J-O-Y, down in my heart.
Deep, deep down in my heart.
Where'd it come from? Jesus put it there.
And nothing can destroy it, destroy it, destroy it.
I've got the joy down in my heart, deep, deep down in my heart.
Alright, we're going to go a little faster. Are we ready?
I've got the joy down in my heart, deep, deep down in my heart.
Spell it, J-O-Y, down in my heart.
Deep, deep down in my heart.
Where'd it come from? Jesus put it there.
And nothing can destroy it, destroy it, destroy it.
I've got the joy down in my heart, deep, deep down in my heart.
Okay, one more time, really fast. Ready?
I've got the joy down in my heart, deep, deep down in my heart.
Spell it, J-O-Y, down in my heart.
Deep, deep down in my heart.
Where'd it come from? Jesus put it there.
And nothing can destroy it, destroy it, destroy it.
I've got the joy down in my heart, deep, deep down in my heart.
Alright, good job.
I can't spell it right.
My body can't spell it.
Probably a horrible body speller.
I spell joy, J-Y-O-3.
My song.
Even though I fall through the valley of the shadow of death, your perfect love is passing out there.
And even when I'm caught in the middle of the storms of the night, I won't turn back, I know you're one here.
And I will fear no evil, for I've got it with me.
And if my God is with me, whom then shall I fear?
Oh no, you never let go, through the storm and through the storm.
Oh no, you never let go, in every high and every low.
Oh no, you never let go, oh no, you never let go of me.
I've been waiting, waiting, waiting for the heart that goes on.
I'm coming to be your dog, your bear.
There'll be a day when you'll show up, but until that day comes,
you'll be the one you'll be on the other. And I will fear no evil, for I've got it with me.
And if my God is with me, whom then shall I fear?
Oh no, you never let go, through the storm and through the storm.
Oh no, you never let go, in every high and every low.
Oh no, you never let go, oh no, you never let go of me.
There'll be a day when you'll show up, but until that day comes,
you'll be the one you'll be on the other. And I will fear no evil,
till I will praise you.
And I can see a light, that is coming, for the hearts that go on.
There'll be an end to each trouble, but until that day comes,
till I will praise you.
Oh no, you never let go, through the storm and through the storm.
Oh no, you never let go, in every high and every low.
Oh no, you never let go, oh no, you never let go of me.
Oh no, you never let go, through the storm and through the storm.
Oh no, you never let go, in every high and every low.
Oh no, you never let go, oh no, you never let go of me.
I just want to say something really quick. I'd love to watch you go by it over there,
raising her hands, praising God.
Amen.
And arms raised, clapping.
I keep finding voices in my mind that say I'm not enough.
Every single line that tells me I will never measure up.
Am I more than just the sum of every high and every low?
Remind me once again just who I am because I need to know.
You say I am lost when I can't feel a thing.
You say I am strong when I think I am weak.
You say I am well when I am functional.
And when I know you're all, oh you say I am yours.
And I believe, oh I believe, what you say of me.
I believe the only thing that matters now is everything you think of me.
In you I find my worth, in you I find my heavy.
You say I am lost when I can't feel a thing.
You say I am strong when I think I am weak.
You say I am well when I am functional.
And when I know you're all, oh you say I am yours.
And I believe, oh I believe, what you say of me.
Oh I believe, take me all I have and now I'm breathing at your feet.
You'll have everything you've got, you'll have every little thing.
You say I am lost when I can't feel a thing.
You say I am strong when I think I am weak.
You say I am well when I am functional.
And when I know you're all, oh you say I am yours.
And I believe, oh I believe, what you say of me.
I believe, oh I believe, yes I believe, what you say of me.
I believe.
We've been working through the book of Deuteronomy
and we're in chapter 4 for the third week in a row.
We've got to get moving.
We've got a long way to go to get through this book.
But that being said, we'll get there when the Lord wants us to get there.
So there was a man, you don't know him, but his brother was slain.
Then he heard a week later that the man who killed his brother had been arrested.
So he took off the time from work and he went to court.
He wanted to hear every last bit of the trial of the man who had killed his brother.
At the end of the trial, the jury rendered a verdict.
They said that the man who had killed his brother was not guilty.
I ask you this question.
What logic must the jury have used to determine the man as not guilty?
He had killed his brother.
He had taken his life.
He knew it for a fact.
Could it be, at least under our system of judgment,
that the murder was, or the death of the man was in self-defense?
They could use a plea of self-defense and say that I only killed him
because that was the only thing I could do to survive.
Could he have argued that it was under mental duress
and the heat of the moment that he had temporarily gone insane?
And that's why the man was found innocent.
Under our system of justice, he might be found innocent
because in the moment he had been temporarily insane.
The text that we're going to look at today addresses these issues for the Israelites.
And remember that all the book of Deuteronomy is a recap.
So it's already happened.
So he's recounting the history of the Israelites coming into the Promised Land.
And he's going to talk to them about how it might be that men might be found innocent
of the death of another person that they have indeed killed.
And what should be done with men like that.
So grab your Bibles if you would.
A little hoot, holler, amen as we go to Deuteronomy chapter 4 verse 41.
This is God's Word.
Whatever I get right or wrong from here on out, God's Word is infallible
and it may speak to your heart and help you be changed if that is indeed your desire.
And if you know Jesus, you know that's the goal for us,
that we move a little bit forward each day.
It says in verse 41,
Then Moses sat apart three cities across the Jordan to the east, that a manslayer might flee there,
who unintentionally slew his neighbor without having enmity toward him in time past.
And by fleeing to one of these cities, he might live.
So basically, there are these cities across the Jordan.
This is the area where it's not technically the Promised Land,
but they took it on the way in and it's been kind of lumped in and included.
And he marks off these three cities and we're going to talk about where they are in a moment.
But the bottom line is this verse says, verse 41, and then into verse 42,
says that these cities would be marked out for someone to flee there who had taken the life of another man,
but specifically had not done it with enmity toward that man.
In other words, they didn't have anger in their heart, they didn't hate the man,
they didn't plan this necessarily, but it happened.
It says who unintentionally slew his neighbor without having any enmity toward him in time past.
So we call that first degree murder in the United States of America.
You plan to murder them. It's aggravated, it's intentional.
And any other death of another, that person could flee toward those cities
and they could stay there safely, if you will, and live.
And verse 43 says, Bezer in the wilderness on the plateau for the Rubinites,
and Ramoth in Gilead for the Gadites, and Golan in Bashan for the Manassites.
So he laid out these three cities with the intention that they might go there and not.
Now I want you to think about who the Israelites were in this day.
He's recounting a history, but who were they in the day that these cities were originally laid out?
They had become soldiers one and all.
There was not a man amongst Israelite that didn't own one or more swords,
one or more shields, one or more suits of armor.
There was not a man amongst Israel who did not know how to swing a sword to kill
or thrust a spear to kill.
They had to fight their way in, and they would fight their way to take control of the entire promised land.
They all knew what it was to kill, how it was to kill,
and when they killed somebody, they all knew that when that person was dying,
when they were dead, they knew that they had struck them in an important place,
or they had struck them in a not so important place.
And obviously, back there with the way medicine was, you could be struck in a not so important place and still die.
Your leg had to be chopped off because of gangrene or whatever,
and then you've got one leg for life, or they don't get it in time,
and the poison still spreads to your heart, you still die, and so on.
They had many weapons.
They were essentially all fighters, and they were used to standing up for what was right.
They knew that as a people, they had been called to deliver a verdict of judgment
on the people who were located in a promised land,
people who burned their firstborn children in the fire,
people who went to the temple to have sex with prostitutes to make it rain.
They knew that the people there were in false worship, not worshiping God,
but all these other false gods, and that they had delved into all these wicked behaviors,
and that God had now passed judgment on them.
So they felt that they were God's instruments of justice
in wiping out the people that were currently living in the promised land or chasing them out.
Under that circumstance, there were bound to be unintentional deaths.
Everybody's got a sword, right?
Everybody knows how to kill.
There were bound to be unintentional deaths when they settled in the promised land,
and Moses was stating what to do about those unintentional deaths.
Now, obviously, the unintentional deaths can mean more than just killing somebody,
and we'll come back and take a look at that before we're through,
but the bottom line is he knew it was going to happen,
and he had made some rules as led by God for how to handle it when it did happen.
So let's look at the actual event of Moses assigning these cities that took place.
So you're going to go to the left into the book of Numbers,
if you're following along in your Bible.
Book of Numbers, and we're going to look at chapter 35.
So you're not going to go very far to the left,
so we're only in four chapters into Deuteronomy,
and you're going to go back four chapters, and then the book right before that is Numbers,
and the chapter right before that is 36, and the one before that is 35.
So these are events not very far behind in our Bible,
even though they're some years behind in the life of Moses.
Numbers 35.
Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
Speak to the sons of Israel, and say to them,
When you cross the Jordan into the land of Cain,
and then you shall select for yourselves cities to be cities of refuge.
So, in other words, God's telling Moses, not just these cities in this side.
Remember, Moses doesn't eventually get to cross the Jordan,
but he's getting a command from God after setting up the ones on the right side of the Jordan,
or what we'd call the east side of the Jordan.
He's going to tell Joshua and the leaders of the Israelites to set them up in the whole other part, too.
So now we see there's going to be cities of refuge where people can flee to all throughout the promised land,
because there are going to be unintentional deaths.
He says, When you cross the Jordan into the land of Cain,
and then you shall select for yourselves cities to be your cities of refuge,
that the manslayer who has killed any person unintentionally may flee there.
And the cities shall be to you as a refuge from the avenger,
so that the manslayer may not die until he stands before the congregation for trial.
In other words, it's going to give him a fair trial to determine whether or not he has unintentionally killed the person.
And if he flees to the city, he can be sure of getting that trial.
If he stays at home, he's probably going to get slain by the manslayer.
It says, Then the cities which you are to give shall be your six cities of refuge.
You shall give three cities across the Jordan and three cities in the land of Canaan.
They are to be cities of refuge.
These six cities, I'll try to say that again, it's not that easy.
These six cities shall be for refuge for the sons of Israel and for the alien and for the sojourner among them.
Now notice that says they're going to apply these laws to strangers, non-Jews, Gentiles, people that live amongst them.
So there will be people that live amongst them, whether they be their servants or travelers or merchants or whatever.
They're going to apply these laws to those people equally, the same they do to Jewish people.
They're going to get a fair trial if they have possibly unintentionally slain someone.
It continues, That anyone who kills a person unintentionally may flee there, meaning to those cities of refuge.
But if he struck him down with an iron object so that he died, he is a murderer.
The murderer shall surely be put to death.
So what we see is if this person drew his sword or had a weapon, a dagger, sword, whatever, and he went and attacked that person,
he's the attacker, and he killed him with an iron sword, then, bless you, then he's surely going to be put to death.
So it's a pretty obvious standard what the murderer is.
You went after him with a weapon and killed him, that's murder.
No way out of it.
And you're going to be put to death.
Seventeen.
And if he struck him down with a stone in his hand by which he may die, and as a result he died, he is a murderer.
The murderer shall surely be put to death.
So if he went after him with a stone, so I can't use my sword, that's definitely a killing.
I'm just going to beat him with a stone, right?
But if I hit him with a stone that might kill him, and it does, so I went after him,
and I hit him with a stone that might kill him, and it does, now I'm a murderer and I should be put to death.
Or if he struck him with a wooden object in the hand by which he might die, so I hit him with a club, for example,
then he might die, and as a result he died, he is a murderer.
The murderer shall surely be put to death.
Now these are all incidents incited by the person in question.
We know this guy killed somebody, did he do it intentionally?
Well, if you hit him with a steel weapon, hot iron weapon that could kill him,
and he killed him, he hunted him down, went after him with a weapon,
that's murder.
If you hit him with a stick or a club that could kill him,
if you hit him with a switch, that's different.
If you hit him with a stick or a club that could kill him,
and it killed him that's it, it's not unintentional.
If you hit him with a stone, even it might be, look at that stone, baseball sized stone,
and hit him with it that could kill somebody, and I knew it could kill somebody,
so now that's not unintentional, that's murder, that person deserves to die.
to die. 19. The blood avenger himself shall put the murderer to death. He shall put him
to death when he meets him. So as soon as he comes upon that guy knowing that he did
it, he can put him to death. In the street, in the bar, at his house. Doesn't matter.
So he comes upon him and he can put him to death because he knows that that's, that he
killed him. He went after him with his sword, he went after him with his stick, he went
after him with his stone. We know that so he can put him to death. Remember these were
all guys who thought of themselves as dealing justice. Alright. And then he can put him
to death. He fled to the city, to the city of refuge. Now he gets a fair trial. At the
end of the fair trial, we determine, yep, he went after him with his sword and he died.
That's murder. Right? So now the avenger comes, puts him to death. It's pretty simple. It's
not very complex at all, is it? And if he pushed him, alright, so now he didn't use
any weapons at all. So then if he pushed him, of hatred. Or if he threw something at him
lying in wait and as a result he died. Or if he struck him down with his hand in enmity.
Now we're talking about motivation. So pushing somebody is not normally going to kill him.
Right? But it's clear that he did that out of anger, out of hatred or enmity. He really
did not like that person. Or he lay in wait and he threw a rock at him or threw something
like a piece of wood at him. What does it matter? He threw something at him. Obviously
he did that out of anger toward that person or hatred toward that person. It says, and
as a result he died. The one who struck him shall surely be put to death. So now we're
judging the motivations. That's why we need a trial. Right? It's not obvious. It's not
as, oh, you went after him with a sword, a spear or a stone that could kill somebody
and he killed him. So now it's obvious. It's not obvious. He pushed him. He didn't necessarily
mean to kill him. But he did it with anger in his heart. He really hated him. So now
that's murder and he's going to be killed for it. The blood avenger shall put the murderer
to death when he meets him. But verse 22, if he pushed him suddenly without enmity,
in other words, he didn't have it in his heart that he hated the man. He just pushed him.
It was a heated moment or whatever. Or he threw something at him without lying in wait.
So we're, we're messing around and, and I throw a rock at the person. I think I'm being
funny or we're taught, we're arguing. We're having a disagreement. I'm not lying away
from you. I'm having a disagreement and I throw a rock at you because I think, you know,
I'm going to get your attention or whatever. I didn't think it was going to kill you. But
then it said 23 says, or with any deadly object of stone and without seeing it dropped on
him so that he died while he was not his enemy nor seeking his injury. In other words, I
really didn't mean to hurt him. And the trial is judging that. Then the congregation shall
judge between the slayer and the blood avenger according to these ordinance ordinances. In
other words, based on these rules right here, the congregation, the trial, the people were
judging him, which is where we get this whole concept in America of a trial of your peers,
right? Going to pull Jewish men out. They're going to look at them and they're going to
say, no, this applies or this applies, right? They're making a decision and they're going
to judge. Should this person be allowed to live or should the blood avenger be allowed
to take vengeance? Now 25 says, and the congregation shall deliver the manslayer from the hand
of the blood avenger and the congregation shall restore him to his city of refuge to
which he fled and he shall live in it until the death of the high priest who was anointed
with the holy oil. So now you got this guy, he unintentionally killed somebody or that's
his claim. He flees to the city of refuge. He's called to a trial. They judge. Yes, he
unintentionally killed him. He didn't mean to do it. He's allowed to go back home, right?
With his family. No, he's allowed to go back to the city of refuge so he can stay away
from all of his family. He's not allowed to be with his kids or his wife unless they move
there, right? But he can't go back to his aunts and his uncles, can't go back to his
ancestral home or whatever until the high priest who's been anointed with oil dies.
Think about the symbolism of that right there. Until the high priest faces death, the guy
who's been anointed with oil, until he faces death, the man who unintentionally killed
somebody, he did kill somebody but he didn't do it in murder or hatred or with a weapon
on and down, things like that, all that we just read, right? He is not allowed to go
home until the high priest dies. Okay? 26. But if the manslayer shall at any time go
beyond the border of the city of refuge to which he may flee. So he went there. He's
not allowed to go back there. He's allowed to live out his life there until the high
priest dies. But if he leaves the city of refuge, so he leaves where he's been put by
God by the commands of Moses, right? Then it says, and the blood avenger finds him outside
the border of his city of refuge. So the guy who could take his life if he was not determined
as innocent, if that guy finds him outside the city of refuge and the blood avenger kills
the manslayer, he shall not be guilty of blood. So in other words, if the guy who could have
killed him if it was murder finds him outside the city of refuge, he can kill him and that's
not murder. That's fair vengeance. That's within the law. He shall not be guilty of
blood because he should, the man who slew unintentionally, should have remained in his
city of refuge until the death of the high priest. But after the death of the high priest,
after the high priest face death, the manslayer shall return to the land of his possession.
He gets to go back home and take his family lands like he had before. And you follow?
Okay. Now, there's a few things I want you to see in there and then you're already sensing,
I think if you're paying attention, a positive, powerful conclusion that is in this, these
texts, all right? The first thing I want you to see in there is that God without a doubt
despises murder. God hates murder. God does not want to see people who are created in
the image of God, even though they be imperfect, even though they be sinners, even though they
be flawed or be a drunkard or whatever, it doesn't matter. No matter what their ailments
are, God does not want to see people killed vindictively with anger, with enmity. That's
a problem. Murder is killing someone with intent. You did it on purpose and you, and
realize that that person who was killed was made in the image of God. Just as the killer,
who should never want to kill, was made in the image of God, so too the one who is being
killed was created in the image of God. When a person murders another person, they are
destroying everything that that person ever could be. Future tense. You say, well that
person deserves to die because they did whatever, but you don't know what they're going to
be like in 10 years, 20 years, 40 years. Modern psychology, people don't change. They are
just the way they are. That's not what the Bible says, right? In Christ, people change
completely and God knows that. And God is patient that all men might come to repentance.
He desires that people, even people who are murderers, even people who are sinners, whatever,
that they would come to repentance. However, if you would kill someone, destroy everything
that they are, if you would seek them out and intentionally kill them, then you are
robbing God and mankind of all of their future deeds. Everything that they would ever do,
every person that they would ever love, serve, give, care about, stand up, speak out, stand
for truth, anything good that they might ever do, and anything bad that they might ever
do, has been stolen from mankind, the earth, from God. Worse, it's easy to do it. You say,
well I'm going to take that person, I like that person, they stole my money, or maybe
they cheated on so and so, or they hurt so and so, so I'm going to take my sword and
I'm going to go run them through. Done. They are worthless. I have judged them as worthless.
They are no good anymore, and then based on that, now who is no good? Well, whether or
not the person who was run through was no good, that's irrelevant. Did you hear anything
in there about the person other than the blood avenger who killed somebody who murdered somebody?
We heard that. But other than that, unintentional means you didn't go after them with a weapon
of any kind. You didn't push them, meaning to cause them harm or to possibly death. You
didn't come after them with a stone that could possibly kill somebody. You didn't have
enmity in your heart before. You didn't hate them, have anger toward them. It's all about
what's going on in the person who's being judged as intentionally a murderer or unintentionally.
It has nothing to do with what that other person, they could have cheated at cards.
They could have stole his wife. Right? That's all covered under another text, but the bottom
line is, he's saying, you just don't get to go after people because those people, as bad
as they might be, they are made in the image of God. Yes, they're marred, but so are you.
Yes, they're wicked and evil at times, but so are you. But now, here's the exception.
The exception is when that person has intentionally done it to somebody else. It shows you how
much God despises murder. If you can find in your heart enmity toward another person,
you can really look at them and say, man, that person, I hate them. Or man, I'm so angry
with them. And be careful because there's a thin line between being angry at a person
and angry at a person's deeds. And we slip across that line before we ever realize it.
We think about how much we hate what they do and just in a blink of an eye, you're thinking
about you hate them. I'm angry at them because of what they did. So often, we can't even
sort it. Somebody's acting angry at a person, but really what they're angry, they think
they're angry at what the person did, but the line is so thin. Jesus said in the New
Testament, when you're angry at a brother, you have murdered them already. That's how
thin the line is. It's a very thin line. God despises murder. You just can't do it. Do
not live your life as a person who hates other people. Don't do it. Because God despises
it. And if Jesus says you are guilty of murder, then based on this text, and thank God we
don't live under this system, if you went around angry and you were angry at your brother,
you'd be subject to blood vengeance. That's what Jesus was saying. You're a murderer.
You're angry at them. You're a murderer. So then somebody would have the right to come
and kill you. Well, the truth is, because of our sin and the way we behave to other
people and the way we behave in our lives, somebody does have the right to come and kill
us. God despises murder. Secondly, notice that God is more concerned with men's heart
than with apparent outcomes. Now, if I lost my brother to some guy who hit him with a
rock, I'm going to be pretty angry at that guy. I'm going to struggle in my emotions
with anger toward the person who killed my brother. Now, I have to repent of that and
I have to say, no, I'm not going to do that. Or otherwise, that anger is going to get control
of me and I might go and do something I shouldn't do. And then I might have a high price to
pay. What's the domino effect of that? If the blood avenger comes and kills somebody
and that person unintentionally kills somebody and says, now that was illegitimate, then
you kill the blood avenger. Who kills the blood avenger? Well, the blood avenger does.
Now the brother of the guy who just got killed said, no, that was illegitimate. And next
thing you know, you've got a brawl on the street. Everybody's drawing their swords.
And they're all soldiers. And they all have weapons. And they're all capable of killing
somebody and they know exactly how to do it. Very similar to what we're facing in the world
today, except we're talking about a different kind of weapons, aren't we? God is more concerned
with going on what's in a man's heart than with apparent outcomes. On the passage that
we just read about murder, a murderer would be put to death because he is a murderer and
that's justice. If murderers continue to live, they will likely murder again because they
have already been at the moment of hating God's image. They have usurped God's authority
over life and death and they've done it intentionally. Once you have learned to have anger in your
heart towards somebody else or to hate somebody or to murder somebody, once you think, man,
I'll kill that guy, even though you may never have done it. Once you've done that, you've
crossed a line from which it's hard to come back. Be careful about thinking about how
bad other people are because that will drag you across that line. And we're already there
if we're not careful because yes, they've hurt us. Yes, there's problems, et cetera.
We're living in a world full of messy stuff and even creation. But do we go out and go,
I hate that tree? So a tree drops a branch on your car and crushes it. Do you then go
get a chainsaw, cut down the tree and burn every last little bit of it because you hate
it so much? You might, but if you are, then I submit to you that you've got anger management
issues, right? You've got a struggle because the tree didn't do nothing. It just did what
trees do. But it's a groaning creation. What if a tornado comes and knocks down your house?
Are you then going to be out shooting the wind, burning the wind, stabbing the wind
with a knife? Are you going to hunt it to the ends of the earth and try to defeat the
wind? No. Tragedy happens all the time. People do things that they should not do. That happens.
But usurping God's authority to become judge, jury and executioner and destroy this person
who's creating the... That's not acceptable. That's why Jesus led us to be a people of
forgiveness. Forgive them. The truth is all societies cannot work if murderers are left
unpunished because they will go on victimizing good people and enjoying the benefits of society
while other good people live in fear. That's the thing we've got going on in the world.
We've got people that are out there and they're teaching things and they're attacking people
and they're very crafty at it and whatever. If you say something that's right, somebody
else will come against you and they'll attack you and they're very crafty at it. They'll
destroy you. I'll never forget during COVID there was a pastor down south in a church,
I think it was in Louisiana, and they decided that they were not going to stop having church
as we were led to do. We didn't stop having church either. And that church blew up and
it grew and a lot of people were coming because no other churches were open. And they said,
no, we're not going to stop worshiping God. And they didn't have a bunch of huge COVID
outbreak and a bunch of people die. But the pastor was leading that church, was attacked.
He was attacked on social media. He was attacked at his home. He was attacked everywhere. In
fact, eventually they threw him in jail because he supposedly tried to run somebody over with
a church van. They were driving in the parking lot. He was driving five mile an hour, just
edging forward very slowly, trying to get into his parking spot. And the people in the
parking lot would not get out of the way of him so he could park the church van. And one
guy supposedly got bumped. At which point in time the sheriff of the county immediately
came and arrested him and threw him in jail because he was trying to kill somebody with
a church van. We live in a world where people will try to get their way. And if you try
to stand up for what's right and do what's right, you will become a target. My suggestion
to you is that if you want to start do what's right and risk becoming a target, first learn
to forgive. First learn to not fight back. First learn to take those punches and stand
up and be strong despite the fact that others are doing wrong. You do what's right. Right?
Now if you become the blood avenger, you better darn well make sure that you have been authorized
by God to be a blood avenger. And there's no blood avenger in our day. Not you, not
me, not in this room. Because there's grace. Because somewhere down the road, murderers
get saved. Jeffrey Dahmer who ate people because he thought people were something to be eaten,
gave his life to Christ in his last week on earth. Now I'm not one to judge. I don't know
if he came to Christ's life. He was later put, I guess he died by a lethal injection.
I don't remember. He was murdered in prison. Nice. So I don't know if he got saved or not.
It's irrelevant. But he had the right. He could have come to Jesus Christ and been saved
despite the fact that he ruined so many people's lives. Our weapon is the gospel. We do not
fight flesh and blood. We're not blood avengers. Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord. Do not
take vengeance for yourself, saith the Lord. The bottom line is we must learn to forgive
and not do that. And with that then, because people are going to forgive you when you do
wrong, you're not licensed to victimize other people. Because when you start getting good
at victimizing other people, you've crossed a line from which you cannot come back. And
there is a blood avenger. It isn't a human being. But there is someone. And we'll get
to that in a minute. The third point to notice in here then is that people want to make righteousness
out to be complicated. But notice how easily it is. The intent was determined by the list
of small commands written right there. We could very easily decide, we just went by
the words the way it was written, whether or not the person who did it intentionally
murdered somebody or not and should be put to death, or whether they should be allowed
to live in the city of refuge as long as the high priest was still alive. They had a very
simple set of rules. In the United States of America right now, when a law goes to Congress,
it's usually about 500 pages deep and nobody's even read it. You're like, I don't want to
believe that's true. Look it up. Nobody can read 500 pages in the 10 days that they're
given order. By the time it goes through committee, things are changed. Now they have whole staffs
that read parts of it and they get briefed on it and the idea is for everybody to know
what's in there. We're trying to know what's in there. We're trying to do a good job, know
what we're voting on, not voting on, things like that. But the bottom line is 500 pages.
The determination of whether or not a person is guilty of murder was not 500 pages. It
was just two paragraphs, barely three paragraphs. You can determine very simply whether or not
someone is attacking someone by looking at what they're doing. And that's what they would
decide in a court. But let's make it as complicated as we possibly can be because we want the
people to get away with whatever they possibly can. Or should we just keep it simple? Righteousness
is simple. The intent of a person is pretty easily determined when you're talking about
murder. It's not so easily determined when you're talking about the way they're manipulating
things behind the scenes, gossip and slander and so on. However, righteousness is still
right. Let me say it simply. When someone talks, not a husband and wife pair, but outside
the husband and wife relationship, when someone talks about what happened when you were not
there, that is gossip. Understand? You say, no, that's witnessing. No, it's gossip. When
you talk about what Jesus did when you were not there, that's witnessing. Now, if they
talk about what happened when you were not there and they don't tell the exact truth,
that's bearing false witness. Exactly what's disallowed in the Ten Commandments. If they
talk about what's happened when they were not there and you form an opinion based on
what they told you happened when you were not there, then that is the sin of gossip
fully enacted. Well, I saw so and so say and I saw so and so say back to them and now I'm
thinking about that and I'm thinking about what so and so said back to them and I'm thinking,
well, that person was not very nice. So now I form an opinion in my head that that person
can be not very nice at times. Not always. I've seen them be nice too, but at times they
can be not very nice. Now, I formed an opinion. That means the person who gossiped to me,
I took their gossip, I acted on it, I formed an opinion, now we have a sin. That is unrighteousness.
Not playing games with it. When you talk about what happened when you were not there with
the intent to form an opinion and the person that you talk to, that's gossip. The Bible
says it's sin. If what you say is expressly negative about that person, that's slander.
Even if it's true. I come to Brother Tim and I say, Brother Tim, you know, Josh and I were
talking the other day and this happened and Josh did that and I'm really upset with your
son right now because of what he did. That's slander. I slandered Josh. You know, you just
said what happened. You just told the story, right? I got no business telling the story.
Brother Tim wasn't there. How does he need to know that? Right? Now, if my wife and I
talk about it, we are in the Bible one person, so you need to talk to somebody about something
I haven't talked to. But be careful because when you talk to your wife or you talk to
your husband, they may form an opinion and you need to make sure that they get the right
picture and be honest and truthful about what happened. So you're not creating in them a
negative feeling that then goes on and they do something that they shouldn't do. But you
can talk about it with your spouse but nobody else. If they weren't there, they don't need
to know. Now you talk about what the sermon was about, talk about what the word says,
talk about what Jesus is doing. Those are all acceptable topics. But all this talk about
why so and so did what they did, you don't even know. What they actually did, you don't
know. It's all gossip and we're doing it as if it were acceptable. And I'm just giving
you one small example of how we have muddied the waters about what's righteous and what's
not. But God sees righteousness as very clear and very simple. So I'm going to say to you,
just make this your life slogan if nothing else. Don't blur the line. Don't question
yourself. When the Bible says don't do it, just don't do it. When the Bible says do it,
just do it. That's it. No more discussions. Don't go to somebody and ask their opinion
on it. Don't form a committee. Don't think about it. Don't pray about it and say, oh
God, well you know, I would start witnessing if only you would tell me definitively with
a roll of thunder and a peel of lightning and blind me for three days like you did Paul,
then I would start telling people about Jesus too. Don't do that. God already told you in
His word very clearly that you need to talk to people about Jesus. Stop blurring the line.
Righteousness is righteousness. Anything else is sin and unrighteousness. And there is a
blood avenger. Also, notice that if you know what you are doing is wrong and you do it
anyway, then that is wickedness. These guys who are determined as murderers and subject
to the blood avenger, they were all being subject to the blood avenger because they
had decided essentially whether they did it out of the anger that was in their heart or
whatever to take a weapon or a stick or a rock or a push or throw something or whatever
and kill somebody. They had decided to do it. Even if they hadn't literally decided
to kill them, but really just decided that they hated them and were angry at them, that's
enough because the action was precipitated in hate and anger and they threw the rock
and now the person is dead. That's murder. No blurring the line. Okay? So notice that
there is a difference then between somebody who did it intentionally and somebody who
did it unintentionally. Right? Okay, we are moving into the conclusion. I want to talk
to you about sins of ignorance. There is a question as to whether or not sins that you
do without intending to sin are different from sins that you do knowing that it's sin.
And the answer is yes. Simply put, let's hear from Jesus. We've got two short passages of
scripture left. One is in Luke 12. So if you are reading along in your Bible, I encourage
you to do that. Luke 12, just two verses. Jesus is going to speak on this very same
subject, Luke 12. And it's verse 47 and verse 48. And it says this, and that slave who knew
his master's will and did not get ready or act in accordance with his will shall receive
many lashes. But the one who did not know it and committed deeds worthy of flogging
will receive but few. Now obviously the slave here that we are talking about is not traditional
slavery. We are talking about a servant subject to his master to which we are subject to our
Lord Jesus Christ. So we can go back and reword the passages the same way Jesus meant them
which is to say, and that servant of Christ who knows Christ's will and does not get ready
to act in accordance with Christ's will shall receive many lashes. But the one who did not
know it and committed deeds worthy of flogging will receive but few. Jesus was being very
clear and it says, and from everyone who has been given much shall much be required. And
to whom they entrusted much of him they will also ask all the more. You, if you have accepted
Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, have been made nothing less than a child of God. You
have been freed from sinful behavior. You have overcome the former you and become a
new you when you were born again. And if you have received all of that then much can be
expected of you. What much might be expected? That if you know the will of the Lord you
will do the will of the Lord. It's that simply put. To know the will of the Lord and not
do the will of the Lord is to despise the will of the Lord. It is to dishonor the one
who went to the cross and died for you. It is to dishonor the one who created DNA and
every living thing and stars in the sky and shall we go on. He does not deserve to be
dishonored. He deserves to be respected. Don't blur the line. You say, oh but God gave me
all this, God made me the way I am, all that kind of thing. You're just blurring the line.
To him who much is given from him much is expected. Jesus said so. So if you know the
will of the Lord you're expected to do it. Now if you do something that's wrong, not
knowing that it's against the will of the Lord, then you'll not be punished. That's
what it said, right? No, that's not what it said. We just read it. We read it twice in
fact. It didn't say that. It said you'll be punished with fewer lashes. That's what
it says. Sins of ignorance are treated differently than sins of knowing that you're sinning.
In fact, the Bible describes sins of ignorance this way. It calls that iniquity or simply
sin. The Bible describes sins when you know you're sinning and calls that wickedness.
Many places the Bible says that God essentially hates wickedness and God will discipline wickedness.
We're going to look at one more text and then I'll bring it all to a close. Matthew
11. So we're going back to the left in the New Testament, if you're following along,
which I encourage you to do. Matthew 11. We're going to read from verse 20 through 24. The
latter part of this, again, is Jesus speaking. Verse 20 says, then he and the he in this
story is Jesus and it's capitalized, depending on what version of the Bible you have, but
it's talking about Jesus. Then he began to reproach, that means he was confronting them
or talking firmly against them. He began to reproach the cities in which most of his miracles
were done. So Jesus began to say, oh, you're in trouble now. Watch what it says. He began
to reproach them because they did not repent, it says. Verse 21, woe to you, Corzine, woe
to you, Bethsaida. For if the miracles had occurred in Tyre and Sidon, which occurred
in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. So he's saying woe
to you, two cities. I did a lot of miracles there in you. And if the miracles that I did
there in you were seen over there in those cities, they would have repented a long time
ago. Verse 22 says, nevertheless, I say to you, it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and
Sidon in the day of judgment than for you. So how was it that Tyre and Sidon are getting
the more tolerable outcome? Because less of the miracles that Jesus did were done in those
cities. They saw less of his miraculous interventions than the other two cities did. So the other
two cities were in trouble, but Tyre and Sidon will be treated less badly, if you will, in
the day of judgment. Verse 23 says, and you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven,
will you? In other words, you will not be lifted up to heaven, will you? You shall descend
to Hades, or you could put hell there if you want. You shall descend to Hades, for if the
miracles had occurred in Sodom, remember Sodom? One of the cities that God rained fire down
from heaven and destroyed it where Lot was and he and his wife and family were taken
out and she looked back, turned to Phil, her soul, boom, gone, may well lay onto the dead
sea today, that Sodom? Well, back up, it says, you shall descend to Hades, for if the miracles
had occurred in Sodom, which occurred in you, it, that Sodom, would have remained to this
day. Nevertheless, I say to you that it shall be more tolerable, wait for it, for the land
of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you. Ouch! That hurts. They had seen the miracles
of Christ, Sodom didn't have that, but was so wicked that they had descended into such
wickedness that God wiped them off the face of the earth. God himself rained down fire,
wiped the city off the face of the earth, but it would be more tolerable for the people
of Sodom in the day of judgment than the city that God did not wipe off the face of the
earth that had seen the miracles of Jesus and not repented. I think you're beginning
to get the idea. The first set of verses that we just read shows Jesus explaining that sins
of ignorance will be treated less harshly. The second set is Jesus explaining that certain
cities will be handled very roughly by God because they saw Jesus' mighty works and did
not repent. When you know, you know, no more games. When you know, you know, no more games.
You know. So repent. Turn to God, turn away from your wicked ways. Live according to what
you know and realize that now you have seen the glory of God. Now that you know the glory
of God is a real thing, your sins, the things you do wrong, can less and less be called
sins of ignorance, which is why we can be expected to repent. It is why we can be expected
to walk in righteousness before the Lord. It is why we can be expected to be a pillar
of truth and stand up for what's right. You are now responsible to grow and be more and
more good every day. If you take up the tools of this world and do what you might have done
in ignorance and been punished lightly, now that you know, you will be judged as in wickedness.
You can no longer do what you once did in ignorance because you are no longer ignorant.
I said a couple of times during the sermon that we have a blood avenger. Remember that
the person who unintentionally killed someone then went to trial in a city of refuge and
was determined as innocent of murder, they didn't get to go home. Then you get to go
back to their ancestral home, to their family lands. In fact, if they were caught outside
the city of refuge at any time after that before the high priest faced death, they would
be subject to murder by the blood avenger who would not be found guilty for doing so.
The one who sins unintentionally and is found innocent and saying they sinned unintentionally,
they didn't know they were ignorant, can stay in the city of refuge but cannot go back to
where they sinned unintentionally. There is a blood avenger waiting for you right outside
the gate, right outside where God has put you. As you wander away from what God has
taught you, as you begin again to do things that you should not do, there is a blood avenger
waiting for you right outside. The Bible describes it, this path that we're on, this road that
Jesus said, I am the way, as a way of holiness. It is a way of righteousness. It is a way
of doing the right thing empowered by God, by his Holy Spirit. This is the painful truth
of the scriptures. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Now, if you have
accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, the great blessing is, it says, the wages
of that sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ as Son.
That eternal life granted to you through Jesus Christ as Son is a wake up moment. It's a
moment of being born again. It's a moment of now living for the Lord. Now, you cannot
go back and sin the sins of ignorance. No matter how good an argument the world makes,
you cannot live the way you used to live when you were in ignorance because now you are
no longer in ignorance. Someone has told you, you have believed, you have awakened, you
have been born again, Jesus said. And in so doing, you can no longer go back and act the
way you once did when you were in the world. You cannot do the things because if you do,
you are leaving the city of refuge that God has restored for you, that he's laid out for
you, that he's put there for you. You cannot leave the city of refuge and go back and subject
yourself to the avenger of blood because, don't kid yourself, he will eventually find
you. He is stalking like a roaring lion, looking for whom he may devour. Don't go stick your
head in his mouth. Stay where you belong. Now, if you leave the city of refuge and are
killed, does that mean you cannot go to heaven? If you leave the city of refuge and are punished
horribly by the blood avenger who is out there waiting, if you do not follow the Lord after
having been saved and you continue to live the way the world lives and live in the world
system and do not live for God, does that mean you cannot go to heaven? What it means
is you can no longer call it ignorance. You can no longer stop living the way the Lord
would have you to live and live in what you would call ignorance and say, well, I don't
thank God. No, you know what God wants now. If you are a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ,
you know what he wants. And the Word teaches. Are there gray areas where the Word does not
teach? Yes, there are. And if you want to indulge in those areas, I don't recommend it. Some
of them you can indulge in and the Word will not convict. And you can even claim that they
are sins of ignorance and say, well, I think I can live that way because the Bible doesn't
specifically say that I can't. But once God comes and tells you personally, you have a
personal encounter with the Lord that says you can no longer do that, then you have to
quit. Years ago, I was ministering with a man who had been an associate pastor for roughly
20 years in the church. And I sat with him and we talked. And he said, well, I must,
I got to share this with you. I got to tell you something that's really heavy on my heart.
I have to be open. I have to be honest. I have to tell you who I am. And I said, okay,
go ahead. I said, I'm scared now, but go ahead. And he said, you know, I smoke cigarettes.
And I said, yeah, I know that. And he said, you know, the Word does not say you can't
smoke cigarettes. And I said, yeah, I know that. The Word says there's no cigarettes
are not mentioned in the Bible. I said, I think it's bad for you. I think it's bad for
probably for your witness. But you know, you have to deal with that with the Lord. And
he said, well, I want to tell you that God has told me straight forward, personally,
straight up told me flat out, I can no longer smoke. And I said, really? I said, well, that's
awesome clarity then that should give you great strength to quit. I'm sure you've been
probably wanting to do it anyway. And your wife probably wants to quit whatever. And
he said, yeah, well, I also have to tell you that I don't intend to quit. And the room
got very silent. He said, so just to be clear, God has told me I have to quit. And I'm telling
you today, I'm not gonna. Now you tell me what I should say next based on today's sermon.
What I said was, if you continue to do that after the Lord has told you that you have
to stop, then that can be called nothing but wickedness. And in the end, you will lose
everything. You'll lose your life, you'll lose your family, you'll lose everything.
If you continue and wicked, if you say to God, I hear you Lord, I know exactly what
you're telling me to do. But you shake your fist at God, and I raised my fist that day.
And I said, you shake your fist at God and say, I'm not gonna do what you tell me to
do despite the fact I know what I'm supposed to do. Then it will all turn out in wickedness.
And we cried together and we prayed together and he repented and he decided to quit. He
said, I don't know how I'm gonna do it. I don't know how I'm ever gonna do it. But he
decided to quit and he continued to serve the Lord until the day he died. And went on.
I believe in all my heart went to be with Jesus. I sat with a woman in her living room
who had betrayed my family. She had lied to us and she perpetrated a great act of wickedness
against us. And I said, God does not approve. God is against us. And I know. But I don't
care. She said, I had to do what I had to do. I needed and she told me what she needed.
I needed that and I needed to get it. And you weren't giving it. Nobody was giving
it to me. I needed it. And so I took it. I needed to do this. She said, I pray to God
every night and God's gonna forgive me and nothing is gonna happen from it. And I said,
well, that's not what the Bible says. Bible says, if you know what you're doing is wrong,
you just told me you did. And you did it anyway. That's wickedness. And God will not look
away. God will not back down and he will punish you. Less than three months later, that person
who I was sitting with was diagnosed with cancer and was on the verge of dying from
it. And our family ministered to them through what became the darkest hours of their life.
And they repented and turned back to the Lord and lived the entire remainder of their life
for Jesus and went to be with him. You decide. What the word is calling us to is nothing
less than don't blur the line. God says what he says. It's going to be very, very comfortable
in the coming days to change what the word of God says. It's being done all over the
world as we speak. There was a church in Columbus. It was down to six people attending. Six people.
They're about to close the doors. Beautiful, like $10 million building. Six people coming
to church. They hired a pastor. They had money in the bank. Hired a pastor. And they said,
and the pastor said, if you'll give me carte blanche, I can do anything I want. I can grow
your church to 100 in a year. And they said, fine. So the pastor said, well, we're going
to be the church for all people. And he posted everywhere that they would do homosexual weddings
in front of the church. That he would hear the vows of homosexuals and get married in
front of the church. In less than a year, the church grew to 100 people. That's what
he said would happen. A few years, church had 250 people. And you're like, well, that's
awesome. I want to be a part of a church that grows to 250 people in a couple of years.
I want to do that. We attended that church. My wife and I and a couple people went with
us. During the service, you know how many times the word was preached? We were there
for an hour and 15 minutes. You know how many times it was preached? None. You know how
many times a Bible verse was quoted? Once by a child. Wasn't a particularly convicting
Bible verse, but once. They had a speaker get up and basically read an essay. That church
is not following God. I'm not attacking that church and I'm not naming it because I would
never slander that church. That's not my place. That's up to the Lord. What I'm telling you
is if you engage in wickedness, which will get very comfortable in the coming days, as
it gets close to Jesus coming again, there's going to be a lot of people who want to hear
what they want to hear. And if you tell them what they want to hear, they'll love on you.
They'll take care of you. They'll give you everything you want while you're with them.
They'll come to your church. They'll serve in your ministries. It's going to get like
that. People are going to come after what they want to hear. And less and less people
are going to want to hear what this says. And I'm here to tell you today, God cares
about what His word says. Don't blur the line. Learn to forgive. Learn to stand up for what's
right. Learn not to make excuses for yourself and say, I didn't know. Because the truth
is you do know. We're going to have a hymn of invitation at this time. It's an opportunity
to ask yourself, what's the Lord saying to me today? I want you to think about your life.
What are you doing? You know God's saying you can't do that. I want you to repent. It
doesn't matter if you do it with me or publicly or whatever, or you can do that in your heart.
What are you doing? You know God's saying you can't do anymore. Don't blur the line.
Don't make excuses. Don't say, well, I'm doing that because an insert something that makes
you feel a little better about it. What are you doing? God says you can't do. And repent
back to the Lord and look to God today, to His Son Jesus Christ, and feel empowered.
What are you not doing that God says you have to do? Are you not spending time in the Bible?
Are you not praying? Are you not meditating on the Word? All of those things are commanded
in the scripture. They're all commanded. Are you not praising Him? Do you know how many
times praising God is commanded in scripture? Hundreds. If you know what it is that He wants
you to do and you don't do it, that's sin. Worse than that, according to what we've read,
that's wickedness. How'd you like it if you claimed the name of Jesus while you were alive,
then arrived at the day of judgment, and it's better for Sodom on that day than it is for
you? No way. I'm not willing for that. No way. I'm not into that. I don't want to get
there and see the people that were destroyed by the final fire of heaven from wickedness
that beat down doors to try to have sex with men hiding behind the doors. I don't want
to go to the day of judgment and it'd be better on that day for them than me. No way. Don't
go to the line. Just call it what it is. You know, no more games. Repent and turn to the
Lord and say, okay Lord, I want to do what you want me to do. I want to know what that
is, and in knowing what that is, I want to do it. Because you know what? It may only be
a few more days, or maybe a few more weeks, or maybe a few more years, or even decades,
or you may die of unnatural causes before Jesus comes again. But even if you do, you're
talking about 50 years at most, looking around this room and talking about Korea, maybe 100
years, right? But 60 years, 70 years, Arden, 80 years, whatever, I told you to live to
be 100, and if it was 100 years of doing what's right, you're going to be blessed, you're
going to be better off, you're going to feel good about it, you're going to be serving
God, you may be persecuted for righteousness, you may have people come against you, whatever,
but you're going to be strong, God's going to build you from the inside out, rather than
you're building yourself from the outside in, God's going to build you from the inside
out, and you'll still be standing. And on the day of judgment, you'll be better for
you than for somebody else who saw the amazing thing that God did who didn't follow Arden.
The Lord helps, but he's standing. Stand right in the trees, stand for what's right, serve,
and don't quit, and don't blur the line, stop blaming others, and be down to people.
We are, and these children, if they've accepted Jesus Christ before his age, we've not done
that, we've not gotten started, let's get born again, let's put it behind us, all old
things passed away. And if you have done that, then think about what's in your life that
you're not doing what you're supposed to do, and you're doing what you're not supposed
to do based on God saying, I'm going to repent today and come to the world. And then if you
have some decision made publicly, and you say, I'm turning from a certain sin, or I'm
going to do what God told me to do, and I'm going to do that, or I need to be baptized,
or I need to join the church, or I need to begin to get, or I need to start a new ministry,
or I know what God wants me to do in the community, or whatever, you need to make a decision,
and as you sin, you come forward and make that decision. That's how you seem to come
forward at this time of year, and then everybody else will stand and sing this final hymn,
but if you ever responded, then you just come forward, and you can share with your group.
There's only four, because this is the way you're all facing. All right? It's just a room.
You come and make that public. As we sing, we respond to what is in your heart.
I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back, no turning back.
No turning back.