You ready to see Jesus? Hallelujah, hallelujah.
If you have your Bibles, turn with me to the
book of Proverbs, chapter 29. Most of you may
know this by heart. Man, what a wonderful presence
of the Lord in here today. Amen. There y 'all
are. Good morning. I get so central focused,
I forget to lift up my head. I need to lift up
mine eyes into the balcony where the offering
comes from. These folks up there, hallelujah.
Y 'all don't forget them. Turn around and wave
at them. They're up there. Tell them good morning.
Amen. Proverbs 29, 18 reads thusly. Where there
is no vision, the people perish. But he that
keepeth the law happy is he. Going back in time.
1999. The word of the Lord was the appointed
time for vision. The appointed time for vision.
It's very apropos for today, I think, as well.
We need clarity. We need focus. We need renewed
vision, refreshed vision. This thought just came
to me. Our eyesight spiritually sometimes becomes
clouded over with spiritual cataracts. How many
in here has experienced cataract surgery removal?
Raise your hand. Yeah, you see better when that
cloud was gone? We're going to pray that that
film moves today for all of us spiritually so
that we can see clearly what the Lord is desiring
of his people. Amen? For this last day and time
in which we're living. Whether it's the last
day and time for all of humanity, we're still
living in our last day and time. Our days will
run out. Amen? So truly we are living in the
last days and the last times. I want to preach
to you on that thought, the appointed time for
vision. If you'll pray with me, I'll pray for
you, and we'll pray together, and we'll ask God
to have his way. I'm weakened this morning by
what I feel behind this podium. I feel the presence
of the Lord, and I can't hardly catch my breath,
and I'm in better shape than I've been, so I
know it's not that. So I know it's the Lord.
I feel the quickening power of the Spirit of
God this morning. Father, we love you. We thank
you so much for your goodness and your mercy.
Beautiful congregation that's assembled together
today. Thank you so much, Lord, for drawing the
hearts of your people and continuing to draw
the hearts of the lost and the hurting and the
lonely and those who are in need. Continue, Lord,
to draw them to this sanctuary. At Hope Well,
from where the well of joy, the joy of our salvation,
we draw the hope that we have for now and our
future. Bless the household of faith in Christ's
name. The church said, Amen. You can be seated.
Hallelujah. I think it would be very apparent
that we're living in a time and an age where
the church is... Losing its identity. The true
focal, the true, you almost want to say with
the real church, please stand up. There's so
many things going on from the realm of religiosity
today. Forget that other stuff that's out there.
Let's just talk about the church. There's some
crazy stuff going on. in the church world today.
I saw a little thing the other day for one pastor
came in on a zip line. I thought, huh, that's
interesting. Just right down, he just zipped
right down to the floor. I thought, huh, maybe
that's what you got to do to get him. He had
a whole bunch of folk. I don't know if he had
a church, but he had a whole bunch of folk. I
said that, didn't I? I'm working on a church.
I'm entertaining enough just being myself without
a goofy zip line. Amen. That's probably why a
good third of you is here today to see what he's
going to say today. But there is an identity
crisis. Let's just call it in our nation. The
church is in crisis. There is a need for the
authentic church of the living God to again emerge
and stand up. To be accountable for what the
Lord has called us to be and do. If we're not
very careful, there is a danger of permitting
the attitude of the world to creep on in and
just totally... Well, it's not going to totally
overtake because Jesus done said, on this rock
I'll build my church and the gates of hell shall
not prevail against it. So there you go. There
is the danger out there that we are slipping
into the world's identity for what they would
love for the church to be. And the reason being
is that we'd be comfortable, they'd be comfortable
sitting in the presence of all of the rest of
us. And you've got preachers who don't want to
make people uncomfortable. Amen. They endeavor
not to offend. They don't want to offend anyone.
Well, Jesus came to offend. He came with a sword
in one hand. He came with a fan to build up the
fire in the other. Amen. And to set at odds.
Amen. To set at odds father against mother and
the whole ordeal. When he declares you've got
to love God more than your mom and daddy. You've
got to love God more than your children. You've
got to love God more than your grandchildren.
You've got to love him more than your great -grandchildren.
So there is an odd that has already been set
in place. And it is there because there can be
no other. No other love that is more supreme
than the love you have for God. Amen. He's number
one or he's nothing. And in this society in which
we're living in, if we're not very careful, that
let live and get along and to go along and to
get along will creep into the church and compromise
sets in and we're just all in one happy basket
waiting to go to hell in it. But I believe there
is a separation, and it's an appointed time,
and we are in that time for a renewed and a refreshed
vision of what the church ought to be, amen,
who we are declared to be and what we are proclaimed
to be to a lost and dying world. It has been
said in the past that a vision without a task
is but a dream, and a vision with a task is the
hope of the world. We understand that if we don't
have a task to this vision, then it is only dream
world. A task without a vision is drudgery. But
when you've got a task with a vision attached
to it, with a revelation, with a declaration
from God on it, and you've got a hold of that,
then that is going to be a pleasurable time as
we are endeavoring to do what God has called
us to do. And when we move into that, we've got
to think about this nation. We've got to think
about our surroundings. And back in the early
90s, the number had dropped from 49 % to 37 %
of adults attending services weekly. Do you know
what the new numbers are? It's 20 % to 25 % of
adults that attend church weekly. In a decade
and a half, the decline is shown throughout.
Amen. And I'm talking about in -service, in -house
worship. I know there's a lot of folks sitting
at home this morning, thumbing their way through,
scrolling their way through a comment here and
there, watching. half a song here listening to
a quarter of a sermon there they're watching
those things but that that is not that my book
look that in my book that don't count why because
I've tried to do that and it didn't count for
me amen and I'm like Paul I think I'm as spiritual
and more spiritual than some or a few of you
anyway and it wasn't working for me it wasn't
for you I hope I am. I'm your pastor. I'm trying
to be. You know what I'm saying? I'm trying to
be. One of the laws, 21 irrefutable laws of,
oh, what's his name? Maxwell. One of those was
the law of the lid, right? Thank you, Brother
Milt. I couldn't spit him out. But the law is
sticking out there. It's the law of the lid.
You know, people cannot come to where you are.
At best, they can get to one level below you,
right? You can't get them up beside you. There's
not enough room on the ladder. The rumble break
and we all go down. So you can only get people
so far. So I've got to keep striving to come
on up and get to a new plane and a new place
in God. Why? So that I can bring you up a little
bit higher. Amen? And so when we begin to endeavor
to think about the decline of the church in America,
I'm not talking about the world, but just here
in America, we are now the leading nation receiving
missionaries. In this same decade and a half,
we were second. Now we are the most received
missionary nation. in the world. They're sending
missionaries to the good old U .S. of A. We're
sending them out left and right, but people are
coming. I think it was estimated somewhere around
32 ,000 missionaries a year come to the United
States, and the second largest country received
20 ,000. So not only are we seeing and beginning
to look and know that there is a desperate need
for revival in America, but God is stirring the
hearts of people around the world. who received
a missionary from the good old U .S. of A. and
received the gospel message that was proclaimed.
But now God is stirring their hearts and saying,
get over there and proclaim. Get over there and
declare the glorious good news of the Christ.
Amen. So when we begin to think about all those
things, we begin to ask ourselves some questions.
Who are we really? If we are in an appointed
time for some clarity, for revelation from God,
We need it now. We need some clarity now. We
need some more refreshing. We need a reminder
of who we are. We need to be reminded that we
are the church of the living God. We are the
ecclesia, those who were in darkness and now
have been called out into his marvelous light.
We need to be reminded, as Paul told the Corinthians,
some of you were adulterers, some fornicators,
some this, some that, some idolaters. And he
said, such were some of you, but you've been
called out of that darkness into his glory. Glorious
light. Let me remind you the reason you have
to be separate from the world is because you've
been called out of that darkness and the glorious
illuminating light of Christ's love now resides
in you. Hallelujah. And so we cannot be the world.
We may be in it, but we cannot be of it. Hallelujah.
We must be that separate people called out. Who
are we? We are those in whom he has placed the
hope of humanity. If Christ lives in you and
the hope of glory resides in you, then you have
the good news message for a lost and dying world,
for a hopeless people filled with pain and hurting
and separation, anxiety, separation from God,
not just people, but the separation anxiety that
people go through being separated from God. But
you and I who have been aligned, you and I who
have been brought, into his marvelous grace.
Have the good news and the answer for God's separation
anxiety. It's Christ. Who are we? It's time that
the church again walk in the proposed and intended
purpose for who we are. When you think about
the church, Church is about principles, standards,
and values. And what are principles and standards
and values? Qualities considered inherently worthwhile
or desirable. I think the principles of the faith
are worthwhile. I think a life emulating Christ
in this dark world is valuable. Amen. Because
there's so many people living without hope and
longing for some type of help. The root word
for value is valor, which means strength. Values
are sources of strength because they give people
the power to take action. Values are deep. They
are emotional. And often they are difficult to
change. It is very important for the world around
us to know who we are. And the way they know
who we are is by how we live. live among them.
My Lord, I've heard people say, well, you know,
that's just the way I am. I've always been that
way. I was born like that and I'm scratching
my head thinking, well, then you've not had the
same experience I had at an altar because old
things pass away. Behold, all things become new.
If your attitude stinks as bad as it did before,
you claim to have found Christ, you hadn't got
a good hold on him and he definitely hadn't took
you to the fountain that flows from his veins
because once you are submerged and purged by
his precious blood. You come up a brand new somebody.
You've got a different attitude. You've got a
smile. It's not rotten. It doesn't stink. And
it's not mean. If it is all of those three, I
want to pray with you this morning that the grace
of God is able to renew and refresh you. It's
important for the world to know who we are. It's
important for the world to know that the task
that we have been given is important. We have
been mandated to go into the world. Amen? We
have been. We cannot all, as I just talked about,
the missionaries receiving and going. We can't
all go around the world, and God doesn't call
us all to go around the world. But what he does
call us to is to evangelize in the world in which
we exist. Go ye into all the world. Actually
means as you are going throughout the world.
What are we doing? We're preaching the gospel.
What are we doing? Next week we're baptizing
13, 14, 15, whoever knows how many wants to be
baptized as an example and following in the footsteps
of Jesus Christ. Amen. That we are no longer
the same. That we are different. And the world,
it is a testimony. I'm preaching my little baptism
sermonette right now before next week. It is
a testimony to a lost and dying world. world
that we are changed and that we are different.
But we can't tell them who we are unless we know
ourselves. Unless you know that you are a born
-again, blood -bought child of God. It is important.
I told you a couple weeks ago my least favorite
seasons of the year. Now let me tell you my favorite
season of the year. We're in it. We are in it
all the way through October. From now through
October to about the second week of November,
it is my favorite six, eight weeks of the year.
I just love this time of year. And I think it
has a lot to do with the atmospheric change.
Can you feel the crisp in the air? Amen. I just
love that change. And I've always been a change
agent. That's just who I am. I love to see things
change. Don't like the furniture stay in the
same spot. Some of you carpets got a hole in
it because it hadn't been moved. You got worn
places on your hardwood because sit down and
scoot it and you scoot it back. Same spot. I
like to change things up. I'm trying to figure
out what I'm going to do around here to keep
you off your rocker. How'd you like that? Get
ready. Changes are coming. I love change. Why?
Because it keeps us ready for anything. It keeps
you ready for anything. You better be ready for
anything because there's a day coming when a
trumpet's going to sound and there's a radical
change coming into your life. And if you can't
handle a little wall color, carpet, and furniture
moving around in God's house, you sure are going
to have a problem when he tries to transform
you wholly and take you to be with himself. I'm
just trying to get you heaven ready. Amen. And
the world needs to understand and know that we,
We are changed. Change agents, amen, because
of the mandate that we've been given. Not only
the mandate, but who we are. We have the message
that's incorporated with it. What do we tell?
What is the greatest commandment? You've got
to love the Lord your God with all your heart,
your soul, your mind, and all your being, and
then you love everybody else as much as you love
yourself. Come on, somebody. I know you love
yourself. Let's start loving others as much as
we love ourselves, amen. That's who we are. We
are the change agents and the agent in which
we change. with is the love of Jesus Christ you
don't have to implement the change you just have
to relay the message of love that come on somebody
we need a revival of the love of God and the
love of Jesus Christ when we think about revival
in the Pentecostal ranks we think about power
don't we when we think about revival we think
about how many devils we can cast out We think
about revival. We think about how much oil we
can slather on and see somebody healed. But let
me tell you, all that is secondary to the revival
of the lost, unregenerated soul of humanity.
That's what revival we need, a revival of love.
And let me tell you, when you get a revival of
love flowing, the power of God will show up.
All devils will run. Demons will tremble. Sickness
will be healed. You still good? Some of you may
be struggling to love yourself, let alone somebody
else. I better move right on. Right on. Who are
we? Matthew 5. Good thing there's only three
little points to this. This was, like I said,
a decade and a half ago. Matthew 5, 13 says you
are the salt of the earth. Verse 14 says you
are the light of the world. But there's a danger
of the salt losing its savor. Bland salt is about
as good as a cold cup of coffee. Now, I know
there's some of you in here drinking your iced
coffee. That's not coffee. That's flavored milk
in ice. Coffee's hot. Coffee's hot. God don't
even like cold coffee or cold people. He don't
like it lukewarm either. He said, I'll spew that
right out. I mean, take it from the word. Drink
hot coffee. He said, I'd rather you be hot or
cold. I just want you hot. He just said, you
fence straddlers are worse than the whole bunch.
He said, I can deal with you if you're cold.
Right? I love you when you're hot, but if you're
right in the middle, I can't do a whole lot with
you. Because, see, when you're in the middle,
you think you're good. We think we're good. And
if we lose our savor, all we are is a crystal
floating around. That's how savorless salt is.
You can put it in there, but it has no flavor.
It's like this salt substitute. How many of you
have had to get on with some of that? You blood
pressure people. Your salt substitute. It's not
salt. So don't call it a salt substitute. Because
it ain't salt. I can tell you right now, stevia
is not sugar. Ask me how I know. Three tablespoons
of that don't do a whole lot. And for us fat
people, that's all they let you put in your stuff.
Three tablespoons. It's not sugar. Sugar is sugar.
Right? It's like, how many of you, like myself,
kind of grew up a little on the poorer side?
When we had pancakes, you didn't get Aunt Jemima.
Syrup with the butter in it. That's not what
we got. How many of you know what K -Rose syrup
is? Yeah. And see, we didn't have a microwave.
You had to try to spoon it out of that bottle
in a pan to get it thin enough to pour on your
pancake. That's not Aunt Jemima. It's K -Rose.
It's more like molasses than syrup. You're the
salt of the earth. Don't lose your flavor. Because
you and I are what spice this thing up. We make
it good. You're the light of the world. Do not
hide your light under a bushel. It's the city
that's set on the hill that illuminates the lost
and the dying and the darkness. That's you and
I. Don't retreat. Do not compromise who you are
for a lost and dying world. Yeah, folks are not
going to be happy with you. And the further this
thing goes, the less happy they're going to be.
The more, well, I don't want people to hate me.
They're not hating you. They're hating the Christ
that's in you. Because you can't help but let
him out. And it is contrary to who and what they
are. But we got to know who we are. Salt, we
are light. Romans 8, 17 says you are heirs of
God. Join heirs with Christ. And 1 Thessalonians
5, 5 says that we are children of light. And
1 Peter 2 and 5, you are lively stones which
build up a spiritual house. In verse 9, he says
that we are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood,
a holy nation, and a peculiar. It seems as though
that peculiar is all we want to take a hold of.
But I want us to get a little more holy with
our peculiar. Amen. I want us to stand up and
walk a little more dignified in this royal priesthood
in which we've been adopted into. Why? Because
the royal blood from Emmanuel's veins flows through
you and I. Because we have been regenerated.
That's who you are. we understand who we are,
then we will fully understand what time it is.
I know the doomsday clock is around a minute,
just a little over a minute toward midnight,
meaning that the world's going to destroy itself.
Got Rocket Man over there increasing his nuclear
arsenal, or so they say. We've got minions of
the enemy around the world poised. I don't know
how you don't have enough sense to see that it
destroys everybody. I don't know how. I can't
figure that out. I can't understand why peace
wouldn't reign supreme when we have millennia
of history behind us. And to see all that does
is destroys mankind. I know why. S -I -N. That's
why. People say, I can't believe God allowed
all this stuff to go on. God doesn't allow it.
He's permitted you and I free choice. Free will.
And he has dated a time in history when he will
put a stop to it. And it's coming. And it's close
to that hour. It's time that each local church,
each individual begin to unveil the revelation
of Christ in them. Release the anointing that's
placed in them by the wonderful engifting of
the Holy Ghost. We need to know that the church
in America has to discover again afresh and new
the urgency of the hour in which we are living.
It is growing closer to midnight. We are growing
closer to the sound. of the alarm of the trump
of God and the shout of the archangel. And the
people who are lost without him do not understand
how urgent that it is that they accept the Christ
and bow their knee and surrender their heart
and life. Because I'm telling you right now,
they don't want, you don't want, and I don't
want what is to come after the fact. When God
unleashes right now, they say, why does God allow
there's one day coming that he will not? And
the time is approaching when the wrath of God
is going to be released upon the face of the
earth. God! God! Are you hearing me? If you want
God to intervene, he's going to. But it's going
to be different than you want. It's going to
be different than you desire. Because when he
unleashes his wrath upon humanity who have rejected
him, rejected his son and crucified him, and
now rejecting his marvelous grace. Oh, Lord,
wrath is coming. Woe unto them who give suck
in that day. What does that mean? Those who are
living and they have young babies. Oh, woe unto
them. Then there's trouble coming. There's hardship.
When they run to the mountain and their hearts
fail because of fear. Because why? The heavens
are trembling. Things are falling out of the
sky. The earth is quaking and shaking. And the
wrath of God is released. It's getting close
to that hour. You know, we preachers used to
preach about the wrath of God. I used to hear
that as a child, and I think that's part of the
reason I still have fear and tremble at who God
is. It's a terrible thing to fall into the hands
of a just God. Oh, if he's so just, then what?
Sin. He can't tolerate it. He can't coexist with
it. He refuses to coincide with it. He's holy.
And he will allow nothing to contaminate his
holiness. The effort for animal sacrifice, blood
without the shedding of blood, there is no remission,
no forgiveness, no cleansing. Well, let me try
ten simple rules, many of which are directed
straight toward me. It's about me, God. I created
you. Ten little rules and blood to cover your
sin. That ten quickly turned to what, 600 and
something? Then he sends his son, one. That last
man, Adam. For the redemption of the first man,
Adam. And the time is approaching for him to
send him again. What time is it? It's time that
we release what's been given us. 2 Corinthians
6 and 2 says, I have heard thee in a time accepted.
And in the day of salvation have I secured thee.
Behold, now is the accepted time. Behold, now
is the day of salvation. Paul to the Romans in
13, 12. The night is far spent. The day is at
hand. Let us therefore cast off. I want you to
hear this. Let us therefore. He's writing to
the Roman believers. Let us therefore cast off
the works of darkness. And let us put on the
armor of light. Hallelujah. Can I tell you there's
a radiant force fielded around you which is Christ's
glory that illuminates within you. Let us cast
off every work and deed and action of darkness
and let us put on that wonderful glorious armor
of light. Let Jesus shine through. The urgency
of the hour and humanity is lost. We've grown
at ease in Zion. And the only way we can grow
at ease is that we grow comfortable. We grow
comfortable. And the only way to get comfortable
is compromise. That's the only way. When we understand
the urgency of the hour and the time in which
we're living, we know that the hour's growing
short. What time is it? The second part of that
1 Peter 2, 5 says, Offer up spiritual sacrifices
accepted to God by Christ Jesus. The second part
of verse 9, after that royal priesthood, royal
nation, and peculiar people, declares you should
show forth the praises of him who hath called
you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
It is time for the sleeping giant, which is the
church, which is the bride of Christ, to arise
from our compromising slumber. It's a time, again,
that we understand the urgency of the hour. Do
you not understand that if we are not careful,
the very elect, will be deceived. Do you not
understand? You can't just live in a compromised
state, but you have to stay prayed up. You have
to stay read up. You have to stay churched up.
You've got to keep your mind made up. Amen? You
cannot compromise because there's a time and
a deception that will be unleashed across the
earth that the people whom you thought had it
together didn't really have it together, and
they accept the deception and the lie of the
enemy. Pastor, you're scaring me. Good. I hope
I am. Because it's time we get scared. It's time
we become reverent. Amen? Not just fear and trembling,
but the fear of God, the revere of who God is,
and the revere of God's word. We need to reclaim
that again in the church. When you can zip line
in. Super Bowl Sundays, act like an idiot and
let somebody kick a Bible like a ball through
a goal post. Where's the urgency when a goofy
preacher can swing in on a wrecking ball and
thousands cheer? Not this preacher. I had to
give up a long time ago looking toward there
are preachers who preach truth that do have great
crowds. Amen? They still preach the uncompromised
truth, and they have large crowds, but they're
by far fewer. Gave up a long time ago. I know
the method of my delivery and the intensity of
it. I thought, Lord. I don't know that 1 ,500
or 2 ,000 are going to rush in on every Sunday
to get a good dose of live right or go to hell.
So I'll take the couple hundred of you that's
interested in going to heaven. Amen? I'm going.
I done made up my mind. I stay prayed up. I stay
blood washed up every single day. Are you hearing
me? Oh, you've got to do that every day. I don't
know about you, but I do. Yes, I want to start
the day under the blood. I want to end the day
under the blood. And sometimes at lunch, I've
got to take a good blood shower. Why, pastor?
Because you don't know how near the time is.
No man knoweth the day nor the hour when the
Son of Man cometh. But he's coming and he shall
appear in the clouds of glory. When the trump
sounds and the angels shout. When God gives the
directive, I want to be ready. It's time we wake
up. Lastly, somebody say amen. We've got to understand
whose church this is. Amen. Who we are, what
time it is, and then whose church this is. It's
not yours. It is not mine. There are no nail
prints in my palms. I've got a little poison
note on the back of my hand. There's no nail
prints. There's no spear scar showing on my side.
I've got a few scars from my teenage adolescent
years preempting before things were right to
pop a pimple. Got a few of them. Where you at?
You know what I'm talking about. If it ain't
ready, you can squeeze all you want to. Pastor,
how did we get here? I don't know, but here we
are. I'm going to try to preach my way out of
it. I think. Needless to say, I carry a few scars,
but it's not from Calvary. I've encountered a
few sheep with fangs along the way. Hello? I've
got a few scars, but I give a few too. It's his
church. This is his church. And we simply do
our best to steward the church. To be good stewards.
of the ministry that we've been mandated to do.
Oh, well, we built this thing. Well, you may
have put your hands on it, but he provided for
it. As a matter of fact, this building is not
the church. You, me, us, we're the church. When
the horn sounds, This carpet ain't going and
it's a good thing because I wouldn't let the
Lord have it. One failure in seven years and
you're standing on it. The carpet. I hate it.
But he's not coming after the carpet. The seats,
the podium, the lights, the screens. He's not
coming after that. He's got a great big temple
up there, about 1 ,500 by 15. We're going in
that church. We won't have to go in the breaker
room and flip on the stage light. Because the
light's going to be sitting on the throne. Boy,
that just went all up my spine right there. Old
songwriter said, we'll need no light in that
city. For Jesus will be there. Amen? He's coming
after you and I. He's coming after you. See,
there's so many. There's so many churches dominated
by personalities of ownership. And there's a
rude awakening coming for people one of these
days. Power players in church, I don't flow that
way. Never have, never will. Never have, never
will. He's the head of the church. We're the
bride. And a true shepherd happens to be the
neck that kind of helps navigate the body to
keep up with the head. Trying to stay in line,
trying to stay in the pathway, right? This is
his church. And when we understand that, we become
more enriched by his grace. Stand with me, I'm
going to close. Too many are driven by that grandma
syndrome. Too many controlled by a few. They
actually have no idea or concept of what the
church is in the world. Because they solely see
themselves. D .L. Moody said, if God be your
father, make your plans large. It's time that
we begin to believe that every local church needs
to pull down vision barriers. We've not arrived.
We're just now getting healthy so that we can
engage again in the battle. Hallelujah. Amen.
And we have to pull down. You and I, the church,
there's barriers that we have to pull down. The
first one is this barrier of a negative connotation.
We cannot be pessimists. Right? The world is
negative. Secondly, we must pull down the barrier
of a maintenance mindset. That's the challenge
that I'm facing right now for us here at Hopewell.
I guess because we're breathing, getting over
such a large hump, Brother George, Brother John.
Just kind of catching our breath. But while we're...
catching our breath in reprieve. We've managed
to get, what, four church buildings up around
the world? Four and one in process. In the meantime.
We've got to pull down a maintenance mindset.
We just can't maintain. That's what happened
to the monks in the years and days of monasteries.
They just went in and kept among themselves,
prayed, studied, wouldn't talk to each other
for years at a time. That's not me. I'd never
make a good monk. Why the world around them needed
to know the hope that was within them. That's
what time it is. That's the urgency of the hour.
And that's who this is. It's His church. Pulling
down maintenance barriers. Thirdly, we have to
pull down the barrier of conflict. There's too
much. The church is engaging itself with conflict
more than the spiritual battle that's going on
around us. You'll never hear me. I've never made
it a practice. to preach against other denominations.
Never made it a practice to do that. The reason
being is I don't know who the Lord's going to
save. I don't. It's His church. If they preach
Jesus, born of a virgin, Crucified on Calvary.
Raised again on the third day. The way, the truth,
and the life to the Father. Who are we? To get
caught up in the other. There are some damnable
doctrines out there. Don't get me wrong. There
are. But it's His church. My responsibility is
to preach to you the truth the best I can. And
the understanding and the revelation that the
Lord gives me. He'll take care of the rest. So
I don't. I'll tell you to be careful. I'll tell
you to get in the word. And if it aligns with
the word, you're going to be fine. If it don't,
get yourself somewhere else. Fair enough? But
he's the judge. We have to understand that we
have to take down the barriers of conflict. And
finally. The barrier of unbelief. If God is God,
then all things are possible to those who believe.
Why, Pastor? How? Because nothing is impossible
for the Lord. Nothing. This is His church. Thus
the reason when the Lord asks for an answer from
his disciples, who do men say I am? You know
the story. Elijah, Elias, Jeremiah is one of
the other prophets. Who do you say that I am?
Thou art the Christ, Peter says, the Son of the
living God. To that confession, blessed art thou,
Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood has not revealed
this unto you, but my Father which is in heaven.
And upon this... Not Petros, Peter, which is
a fragment of the rock. Christ, the chief and
the head cornerstone. That rock, upon it, the
church will be established. The church will be
built. We're bought with the precious price,
his blood. Far exceeding that of rubies or pearl.
You are the church. In raising our children and
instructing them in their behavior, we each instruct.
Now, children, maybe you'll get a hold of this.
I hope you do. It took me a long time. It took
me to get to be an older man before I figured
it out. But I finally figured it out. I want
you to hear this before you get to as old as
I was to figure it out. The reason that your
behavior matters to your parents so that they
get upset when you act ignorant is because you
are a direct reflection of them. People in the
community don't know you yet, but they know them.
I had to figure that one out the hard way. Your
behavior is not a direct reflection only of yourself.
But if mine were an embarrassment to me, I was
sure to embarrass them later. That's the way
it is with the Lord. Child of God, church, we
are a direct reflection of Christ. Why do you
think he takes it so personal? When you act ignorant,
meaning unlearned, and you know that he is the
way, the truth, the life. And those principles
and values that he's laid out for us to live
by. You know and I know, we know when we don't
live up to them, don't we? You know how we know?
There's this little thing in here that goes ding,
ding, ding. It's called the Holy Spirit conviction.
Right here. Not up here, but in here. And we
know it. And we have just been an embarrassment
to him. I'd love to tell you I don't embarrass
him very much, but I do. Probably this morning
once or twice. He'll let me know later. Young
'uns, that's why it's so important how you behave.
They don't know your name, but they'll say, isn't
that Brian's boy? Isn't he the youth pastor over
there? He acting like that? Surely he knows better.
I bet his daddy don't know he's doing that. But
let me tell you what I found that I could not
escape. Is my mama always knew when I acted ignorant.
That stuff that you think you hide, uh -uh. When
you got a mama that's got a closet that she prays
in, and a son that would soon be called to do,
no, he tells on you, the Holy Ghost is a snitch.
He told mama everything I did in secret. And
he let me know. And he drew me. But that's so
we can get it as we're going out into the world.
It's not just about you anymore. It's about he
who lives in you. And it's his reputation at
stake. It's him. It's him that they say, well,
I thought. How many times have you had somebody
tell you, well, I thought so -and -so was a,
I thought they went to church. Going to church
isn't just it. But I thought they were this.
I thought they were that. We're all subject to
failure. We're all subject to mistakes. Right?
But we have to guard our heart that those mistakes
don't become habitual lifestyle. That they see
us repent and reverse. Because we're direct reflections.
What time is it? It's an appointed time for a
clear reality. A refreshing in our vision. Where
there is no vision, the people perish. Where
there is no revelation, no clarity from God.
No instruction from the Lord. No word now in
the moment. People perish. They cast off restraint.
What does that mean? They just run headlong into
all foolishness without... Without revere, without
regard, without moral compass. That's what that
means. We need reality. It's Christ in us. The
hope of glory. We are his. That's who we are.
That's who you are. So when you're out there.
Be the best image of Him that you can be. I know
we're going to make mistakes. Right? He's not
looking for us to be without mistake. He's looking
for us to be repentant. That's why the way is
made clear. If a man sin, he has an advocate
with the Father. Christ Jesus, the righteous.
And if we confess our sins, he's faithful and
just to cleanse us and to purify us. You get
it. And let's march forward. Let's keep going.
Because the time is drawing short. Jesus will
return. But more so than that, be aware that
you may usher to meet him before he returns.
What's that mean? We don't know the day or hour
when we're going to leave this earth. We don't
know when life's going to be over, so we have
to be prepared. Father, I love you today. Lord,
for any foolishness, I repent. But Lord, I don't
know any other way to try to clarify To our understanding
the simplicity but yet the urgency of our lifestyle
and the way we live in a lost and dying world.
So somehow I try to appeal to our humor so that
we understand the interjection of the seriousness
and the urgency of the hour. You're coming and
coming soon. May we be found ready. If you don't
know Christ as Lord and Savior, let me give you
this opportunity to come repent of your sin and
to accept Him as your Lord. We must repent. As
we close out this morning, if you need special
prayer, would you just raise your hand this morning
where you're at?