Look At Me! (Pastor Jeff Shipley)

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Now I want you to pay attention. It wasn't anything in Israel. It wasn't their military size.
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It wasn't the type of people. We're going to be in Acts chapter 3 and 4 today.
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Acts chapter 3 and 4. And we're going to be talking about contrasting. Contrasting.
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Tuesday night, as I once again labored in the minds of ministry that Coach Hannah inflicts upon me.
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She's a slave driver, isn't she? I mean, just a slave driver. If you look at all the pastors today,
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Pastor Josiah, Pastor Jeremiah, they all got raspberries, black eyes, and scratches because Coach Hannah throws them in there to get beat up by these thugs that we trained
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Tuesday night. Amen. Tuesday night, I had the privilege of getting beat up by some of them.
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I'm an old man. I think there's a law against elder abuse or something. These guys just keep picking on me.
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As these boys were sitting there, I was telling them, focus on the things that matter.
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Focus on the things that matter. And I told them, and it was funny,
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I said, you know how you boys, now you gotta remember, these 25, 30 guys, all little thuggy boys, and I said, you know how when you stand in the mirror, you know, guys, you brush your teeth, or you're doing whatever, and you're standing in the mirror, and you're flexing out, you know?
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And they all were like, and I was like, what are you laughing at, man?
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People have been doing that ever since they were married. Girls do the same thing. They just do stuff like this, and this, and you know, this.
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Back in the 80s, they used to use a can of Aussie hairspray and a pick. You ex -gen know what
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I'm talking about. But there's a contrast between a man and a woman.
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How they act, how they work, how they see themselves, how they see the world. That contrast is there.
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And this morning, I want to ask you, not by gender, or something stupid like nationality, because how many races of people are there?
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There's only one, guys, the human race. But all these other things that divide us, the stupid politics, and all this other garbage.
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I want you to compare and contrast your life with the
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Word of God for a second. Just for a second. And that's what we're going to look at today.
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What is the contrast between God's people and the world?
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Look, I'm going to look at a contrast of every day. If you read with me in Acts 2, we went over this last week.
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And I think it bears importance to read it again, starting in verse 46. Pentecost had just happened.
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And it says that 3 ,000 were saved and all that. And it says, and day by day,
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Acts 2, verse 46, Hunter. Acts 2, verse 46.
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And day by day, attending in the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with gladness and generous heart, praising
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God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day.
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Guys, I have not left this church property before 7 p .m.,
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five out of the seven nights a week. Mike Burkett was talking about, my God, I live up here.
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Yeah. We got 27 ministries going on, staffed by the people. It's like,
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I was telling my wife, we just go home to sleep, shovel some food in our mouths, and we just come back.
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It's like, I want to build like a, that sounds too weird. I was about to say a commune or a bed.
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That's too weird. But it seems like I live up here. It's like every day
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I'm in this joint. And we need more help. Guys, for those of you that are
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Sunday morning only, and you like have achieved goodness because you actually attend church every week, let me invite you.
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Come on up on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, because there's something going on here all the time.
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And we need help. Christians attended the temple daily.
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And then they did something weird. They hung out with each other when they wasn't home.
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It's like you can't get enough of each other. Chapter 3 verse 2. Contrast with this.
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And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the beautiful gate, to ask alms of those entering the temple.
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Now, I put on your little sheet a model of what it looked like in Jesus' time. And then I also put a picture of what it looks like today.
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Back in the 1500s, this Muslim guy bricked it all up.
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But that is actually the gate we're talking about. That is the beautiful gate or the eastern gate.
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This guy, and we know he was about 40 years old from Acts chapter 4. Every day, every day, people would carry him and lay him at the gate, the door of the temple complex, so that he could beg for money so that he could eat.
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Every single day. I think about this. And you know, Jesus was at this temple a bunch.
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Jesus passed by this guy dozens and dozens and dozens of times.
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Why? Well, it was for a time such as this. But that's another sermon for another time.
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So he's sitting there begging. And I want you to notice a couple of things. He was there lame from birth.
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He wasn't skateboarding down. By the way, you kids and these skateboards, man, y 'all drive me crazy.
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Not that, like, I care that you do it. It just scares me to watch you. Man, that grandpa juice in me,
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I'm like, ooh! Because you're, like, grabbing the board and running down a rail. And some of y 'all land like this on the rail.
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And I'm like, well, there goes your family lineage. It's crazy to watch it. Crazy.
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And you break bones. But that's your own stupid fault, you know? I mean, back in the 80s, we used to ride little 50 mini bikes off ramps and did stuff the real way.
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Y 'all riding little boards with wheels on them. But this guy was lame from birth.
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It wasn't no fault of his own. Let me tell you something. Everyone in this room was born lame spiritually.
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Every single one of us. You were born in sin. Your soul, the trichotomy of God that reflects the triune nature of God, mind, body, and spirit, you were born with your spirit dead.
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By the grace of God, He regenerated it and made it alive so that you could accept the faith that He had given you and experience the grace that He gave you.
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This man laid there. Lame. Absolutely lame. And there's a contrast between that degenerative state and the state that God's people should be in.
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But we'll get to that in a second. I also want to contrast the arena in which he was in.
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Because I still see this today. I still see this today. Churches build ever grander campuses.
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Ever grander buildings. We've got to have the latest, greatest. We've got to have bigger, better, faster.
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We've got to look more wealthy so people will understand that God is blessing us.
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God's blessing for me is allowing me to be part of somebody's life who was forever changed by the grace of God.
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When I stand before God, those that are going to be the biggest blessing are not the wealth or the riches the church had on earth, but the descendants of their discipleship that God brings with Him on that day.
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Are you actually going to be pastors out there standing before God and say,
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Why had 10 ,000 people show up every Sunday to hear me preach? And those same 10 ,000 people are the same they were last year, next year, and the year after.
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This lame, broken man laid at the feet of one of the most beautiful gates.
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History tells us, Josephus and others tell us, that it was bronzed. And it was facing the east.
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So every morning, that sunrise, that light hit that bronze. And it was beautiful.
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It was just so well done. And then here's the scum of the culture, of the society, broken and laying there.
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People just walked by him on the way to church. We'll talk about more of that in a second as well.
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There's a contrast between those two things. And there should be a contrast between the church and the world.
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Read with me verse 3. It says this, Seeing Peter and John about to go in the temple, he asked to receive alms.
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And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, Look at us.
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And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. Verse 6,
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But Peter said, I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you.
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In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.
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And he took him by the right hand and raised him up. And immediately his feet and ankles were made strong.
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And leaping, he stood and began to walk and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising
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God. And all of the people saw him walking and praising God and recognized him as the one who sat at the beautiful gate of the temple asking for alms.
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And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to them.
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There should be a contrast between them and us. And let me explain what
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I mean by them and us. Because it's the only real distinction in the human people.
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It's the only distinction. It's not Republicans and Democrats or University of Tennessee, blessed be their name, and all the other teams that don't matter.
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It's not between white and black. You people have got to quit listening to the lies of this world.
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You've got to. It's not between all of those distinctions. The only one that lasts forever is the people of God and those damned to hell forever.
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That is the us and them that's going to last. That is the only thing in distinction. And that distinction should not be on the day of judgment.
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There should be a distinction with us today here in this world. It says, seeing
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Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. You know why? He had a problem that he thought money could fix.
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We have chosen to stay on this corner. For those of you who don't know, we were actually offered millions of dollars by CVS Pharmacy to sell.
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And then we could go to where the white people were on Houston Levee because God needs another.
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There's only 12 churches in three miles. So you know God called.
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No. We decided to stay right here. And with that comes challenges. Pastor Josiah and the other people that work here can tell you we've bounced more people off this church property than we ever did out of a strip club.
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You know what I'm saying? I mean, this place gets rough. It does. We've had crazy folk up in here.
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Some of them we've made deacons, but we've had other folks. It's crazy.
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It ain't comfortable. It ain't posh. I don't want to be nowhere else.
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I want to be on this corner. Because, see, there are people out there that think money's going to fix the problem, but we have something that they don't know that they really need.
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You see, money don't fix problems, guys. It just don't. And as you grow in life,
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I know at 20 -something you're saying, well, no, but it helps. I understand what you're saying. Hey, me and Miss Gwen ate rice and zucchini quesadillas because we didn't have nothing else.
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My kids will tell you there were times where Mama was like, it's pancakes for dinner again.
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We got more now. My wife and I were sitting laughing about this. We were in Paris, France this last summer.
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We're sitting there and we're eating a steak and my wife and I looked at each other and just started laughing. Because we can remember a time where we were living in a trailer where the pipes were frozen, where she was washing the dishes in the bathtub, and I had to literally wait until everybody else ate so that I could eat because we didn't know if we had enough.
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It's amazing what God can do. Yeah, money is that, but it's just a tool, guys.
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Man, the thing that actually changed my life was not like getting another job.
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It was leading my family in the submission of God's Word. And the success that I now have is because of nothing more than the grace of Almighty God and obedience to His Word.
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Do you understand that? That's what them don't understand. If I could just get this, we have people come here all the time, can you get me a hotel room for the night?
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Nope. My grandmother died in Louisiana, and I got to have gas money to get to the funeral.
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Yeah, well, you were here last weekend with your mama who died, and it was in Mississippi, man. You got to spread out family and everybody dropping dead, man.
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You need to back up away from me. But I will give you this. We'll feed you, and we'll share the
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Word of God with you because that's what's going to change your life. And that's what Peter said.
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That's the contrast. Now I want you to notice also something about this dude.
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And you will see it in lost people. There are lost people that are happy to be lost, and they don't care.
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But read very carefully this verse. It says, and he was expecting, verse 5, he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them.
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Some of you here this morning are just here because it's Sunday morning. But there are a few people in this room who need a real touch from a real
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God. You don't need stupid religion or idiotic pastors or more denominational squabbles or any of that religious garbage.
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You need something from God in your life. And if you come with an expectant heart, you see that word expectant means a faith waiting to receive.
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If you have an expectant heart and you put your trust in God, not a building, not a preacher, not a sermon, but in Jesus Christ our
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Lord, I promise you, you will leave here different than you walked in. And if some of you in here say,
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Pastor, I've done it. I'm just burnt out. My God is the God of restoration. He will restore and meet your needs right where you're at.
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I want you to contrast yourself with Peter and John for a second. It says
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Peter was still going to the temple. Now understand how weird this is.
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Peter and John were going to the Jewish temple as Christians.
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Now some of you might not get that contrast. And I don't have time to go into it all now.
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But these are the same cats who said crucify Jesus Christ.
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These are the same guys that brought up charges. These were the same guys not more than 10 days ago who were hunting down Peter, James, and John to kill them.
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Because they were saying Jesus Christ was risen from the dead. They said like Vinny and Guido out to put ice picks in them.
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Here go Peter and John up in the temple. They had a little swagger about them now.
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Because now they weren't just fishermen. They were children of God who were empowered by the
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Holy Spirit. And the things of this world just don't matter as much anymore including your own life.
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Where are you contrasting with that? Where are you contrasting with that? They're still going to church.
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And here's something. They looked for opportunities.
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Look at this. Peter directed his gaze on him. It's funny. When my wife and I are out inevitably someone will come up to me and say hey man you got some money.
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I flat out said this is what I tell them because I won't lie. I've got none for you. I'll just tell them that because I don't want to lie.
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I'm not trying to be mean but I'm not going to lie to you. Sorry man. I'm not going to give you $10 for some mad dog no more.
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Ain't no ripple for you out of me. Okay? Some of y 'all are smiling. Stay away from that mad dog 22.
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He'll kill you boy. The grape stuff. Oh my God. I'll just say man
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I ain't got it for you. I ain't got it. I ain't got it. But you know what
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I'm looking for? I'm looking for the ones. I ask them where you are with Jesus? And the ones that go oh yeah
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I'm a Christian. I'm good to go. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Man dude the Jägermeister is all up on you. Let me tell you about a group
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I got on Thursday night. You can go. I'm not interested in that. Later.
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But when they have an expectant gaze when they're looking I'm looking for them.
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And you'll know them the Lord will lead you to them. But you got to be actually looking for them. Christian let me just ask you a question.
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Are you tired? Witten can
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I be honest with you for a second? I hate low energy people. Maybe hate's a strong word.
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Maybe hate's a strong word. You get on my nerves. You just get on my nerves.
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How you doing today? Oh I'm tired. Irish you've never been that tired.
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Why are you called the
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Holy Spirit of God? You ain't got no fun. I don't know what to do.
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Oh my God I can't watch the news. The world's falling apart. Oh it's going to be okay. God trumps you over.
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Like a chicken with your head cut out just running around. We should be doing.
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And yeah there are times we get tired. But quit as a Christian showing the world defeat all the time.
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If you're a child of God and you're constantly in stress and defeat where are the victories
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God said to have? Now you say well pastor I've got a hard life. You don't.
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It's like when I hear people say stupid stuff like systematic racism and all this other garbage.
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It's you people like. It's lie. Well this world's not fair.
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Welcome Skippy. And I'm sorry your mommy and daddy didn't prepare you enough for the world.
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I'm sorry. But toughen up buttercup. Don't get worse from here.
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And church people the world is looking for victory. The word of God tells us we are more than overcomers.
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What's it say we are? More than. More than.
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Why are you tired all the time? Maybe get a little bit more sleep.
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I don't know. I get about six hours a night. That's it.
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I get about six hours a night. I'm good to go and I'm fat and old.
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Come on. You know what it really is?
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It is a mask and a camouflage for the defeated spirit because you are plugged into the world more than you are plugged into God.
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And when you plug into the world and you eat their slop you're feeding the worldly flesh of you rather than feeding the spirit of God in you.
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You really are. You really, really are. Oh, you don't understand pastor. Okay, keep up with your excuses.
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Keep up with your excuses and continue to live the way you're living. Or, who was it pastor
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Jeremiah that said, Nietzsche that said the joy of the Lord is your strength?
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Charles Darwin. That's who it was. The joy of the Lord is my strength.
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I'm going to church. I'm tired. Man, grow up. You men.
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I'm tired from coming home from work. I don't want to play with the kids. What?
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Dummy. You go to work to get a check. Your job starts when you walk through the door. Your wife and children are your job.
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Everything else is just a paycheck. That's what you're supposed to be. If you come home, man, you need to walk by your wife and you need to just flex and watch her swoon.
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My hoppin' home. Right? You need to walk through the door and your kids are like, daddy, daddy and you start suplexing them.
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Yeah. Daddy, ho. I'm just so tired.
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Yeah, Nancy's. Grow up. Look what he says to him.
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Look. Look what Peter and John say. Look at us.
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You know why people don't invite other people to church? You know the number one reason I've found over the last 30 years?
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It's because you've told so many jokes at the water fountain and you've sent so many dirty emails forward to them you don't want to be seen as a hypocrite.
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So instead of repenting, you're just going to live that double life of being one way at work and one way on Sunday morning.
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Then you're going to come to my office one day and go, my children are rebellion. They're not in church anymore because they say it's full of hypocrites.
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And I'm going to go, you can change something today.
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You can start saying, look at me. Now I know in Christian religion for the last 200 years, we're not supposed to do that because that's prideful.
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Horse hockey. Horse hockey. Monkey muffins, as Colonel Potter said.
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Right? He said in 1 Corinthians 11, follow me for I'm following Christ.
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Can you do that? Contrast yourself for a second. I'm not asking you to be perfect.
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We know you're not. You're not a fat bald pastor. But you can try. Guys, get to a point in life where you pull your shoulders back, stick your chin up a little bit, and go, yeah,
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I'm not perfect, but I only have to lead with that. I want to tell you about Jesus. I want to live my life.
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And I know I have failed up until this point, but from here on forward, I want to tell you that I'm all about Jesus Christ.
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Look at me and the example I'm going to be. Husbands, fathers, tell your wife and your children today if you have failed and failed.
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Grandfathers, if you have missed out on it and your kids and your family, it doesn't matter.
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Take the spiritual authority that you have. Look at your family at this point, but I'm going to win all the way out.
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It might be the fourth quarter, but buddy, watch out. Give me the ball because I'm going to score. Can you do that?
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Can you do that? Well, pastor, I've tried. Yeah, Nancy, try again.
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And try again. But I've done this so many times. Great. Try one more time. Try one more time.
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Pastor, I've walked down this aisle and prayed so many times. Then it ain't enough. Walk again. Quit giving up and giving in.
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Be the man of God. Be the woman of God that God has called you to be. Look at what he says.
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He says, I ain't got no silver. I ain't got no gold. This is redneck
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Peter speaking. I ain't got no silver. I ain't got no gold. I ain't got no, but I not cap you fresh cap the tea or any of that other garbage.
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Peter didn't mince no words here. He is, I ain't got no money, but what I do have, I'm going to give to you.
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Christians, let me tell you something. You do have something to give.
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What are you doing in this place? What are you here for? People have told me,
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Pastor, please stop saying stuff like this because it drives people away. I don't know if that's the right strategy.
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See, I'm not worried about driving people away or getting people to come here. I don't focus on that crap.
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What I do is focus on refining the ones God does bring here. So let me help you with something.
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You do have something to give. Pastor, I can't preach, okay? Pastor, Pastor, I don't have a testimony.
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I don't have this. See, you're doing it again. You're looking at your flesh trying to find strength in your flesh when
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Peter says, look at me and now look at Christ. You do have something to give.
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In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.
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You know what Peter had? He had Jesus, but he had faith in the name of Jesus.
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He sat there, reached down, and took him by the hand. And you know this guy had a whole lot of probably hygiene.
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You know what I'm saying? He was probably one of them difficult people to work with. I love difficult people.
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We got so many of them around here. Oh my God. You know those people that are socially awkward?
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Them are my people. You know? They just are. I don't care. You know? They're those ones that you know, you'll sit there and go and Mrs.
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Johns passed away. Ah! And they laugh at the wrong time. You know? They don't get jokes.
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My wife. She's the biggest nerd in the world. You know? We specialize.
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We take the ones no one else wants. And we're going to grab you by the hand. You see, becoming a member here doesn't mean you show up on Sunday, sit your butt in a chair and go home.
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It means we expect you to work, to sacrifice, to bleed. You go to work.
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That's the contrast between us and them. Let me finish this last point up. We good?
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Alright. Go to chapter 4.
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I'll close with this. Go to chapter 4. Peter done preached again.
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Ain't fitting to preach again. We contrast with what we should be every day. There's a contrast between us and them.
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Quit being a wuss. Man up and be the child of God God's called you to be. But there's another contrast.
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Okay? Big one. In the authority. What authority are you following?
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What authority are you following? In the spiritual realm, here's the number one authority most people follow.
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Self. I tell these young men all the time. You want to be a man? Quit doing the things you want to do first.
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Do the things you have to do. Then the things you want to do. Right? I tell these young men.
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You want to honor her? Quit sleeping with her. Well brother, that's hard. Pastor, I can't.
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Then you ain't ready to have that little girl's hand. Sacrifice. You don't understand.
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Dude! When I was 15. Okay? They're all lumpy and bumpy in the right places.
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And when God made sex, He was in a good mood. I get it. But it's not what I want to do that matters.
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It's what God has called me to do. Ephesians says to present them without spot or blemish on that day.
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Well pastor, it's just how we show love. You can't be that dumb.
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There's an authority that we have to answer to. And it ain't self. It's God. Saying my gut tells me this.
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Or ladies, let me pick on you for a second. Well in my heart, I feel.
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Your heart has no nervous system. Okay? Your heart does not feel anything.
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Well pastor, you know what I mean. No, I don't. Turn the view off. Stop reading harlequin romances.
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Get into the word of God. And quit running your life according to your feelings. That's your problem.
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Is you're using your feelings as a compass for life. That's why you're on guy number four.
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You're going to end up in a trailer in Millington with three kids and divorced two times. Okay? Tell me
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I'm lying. And it's going to be everybody else's fault but yours. Your parents didn't raise you right.
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You were abused. Why is it every chick that ever breaks up with a guy was emotionally abused?
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Could it be possibly that you crazy? Could it be?
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Could it be that you're relying on the flesh and the acceptance in life rather than relying on the word of God and because you don't rely on the word of God you're so codependent and need the affirmation of a male you keep searching the rotten apples at the bottom of the barrel instead of waiting on God to bring you who you need to be.
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Or maybe I'm just on crack and don't know what I'm talking about. Chapter four.
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Verse one. And as they were speaking to the people now everybody's freaking out because like lame dude is walking.
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The priest and the captain of the temples and the Sadducees came upon them. Here come the religious people. We got to package it and sell it.
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Greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming Jesus the resurrection from the dead.
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And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day for it was already evening.
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But many of those who had heard the word believed and the number of men came to be about 5 ,000 people.
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Folks, they had revival, son. But on the next day. Verse five. On the next day the rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander.
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By the way, those are all time stamps. For you intellectual guys that sit at computers and talk about how the
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Bible's not real. Look those up, crackhead. Because we actually have Roman documents when some of these guys were actually put into office that match perfectly with the word of God.
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Wow. Verse seven. And when they had set them in their midst they inquired by what power or what name did you do this?
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Then Peter, scared for his life and feeling some sort of way.
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Then Peter filled with the what? Said to them. Well Skippy, I'm going to tell you exactly what it is.
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Rulers of the people and elders. If we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man by what means this man has been healed.
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Well let it be known to all of you and everybody else around this junk that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth whom you crucified whom
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God raised by Him this man is standing before you all.
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Ow. Authority.
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You will bang. I remember a time in my life when if someone told me to do something
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I refused to do it. Like if it's something even I wanted to do or I needed to do if they told me to do it
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I would actually look at them and go I wish you hadn't said that now I'm not going to do it. I remember
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I used to wear suits and ties here one day and a lady kept on going Oh you look so cute. You know a little old hag sitting on the back row.
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Oh you look so wonderful. You look so wonderful. I'm like I ain't your monkey. You ain't grinding an organ. I ain't here to please you.
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In fact you know what? Anymore. Because one time I didn't wear it and she was like oh I'm so disappointed.
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I haven't worn one since. Yeah. Guys. We are supposed to be rebels.
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Do you realize that? I'm passing through. The problem is we're rebelling some of us against the real authority in this world.
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You see I'm going to tell you a secret. There ain't no kids in here is there? Well this is always
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PG -13 so Guys. Man. Some of y 'all just went What's he going to say?
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I love that. I love that. That's so funny. It feels good to be bad.
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It does. It does. Here's the problem. You're being bad against the wrong thing.
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Peter sat there and it says that the world is going to be greatly annoyed.
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Watch what they did. They were annoyed. Annoyed. Do you know annoyed people? Don't you get annoyed by people who get annoyed all the time?
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Do you ever know someone that's just offended at everything? Offended at everything.
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I remember a little couple. This was several years ago. They came to visit our church. Dude walked in had nice slacks and a little polo shirt you know and he was all you know she had on a nice dress you know and the kids had little shorts that were the mom actually ironed the kid's shorts.
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Mom if you're ironing your six year old boy's shorts you might be too tired. But anyways ironing his shorts you know little duck head looking things and they walked in I was like oh hey how are y 'all doing?
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It's so good to be here. God bless you. They sat right back there. Right where Nate and Charlotte are.
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I started preaching he got up halfway to the sermon they all left.
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And I'm going to tell you why. This is what I said. I said if you are in a church looking for a children's ministry for your children looking for a men's ministry for you looking for a women's ministry for your wife you don't belong here.
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You don't. I know I shouldn't say it. Exactly.
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You see some of y 'all still don't get the juxtaposition of that. Because you're so enraptured in religion.
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I'm not here for a children's ministry. I'm here to work in the children's ministry. I don't need men's group that will serve me.
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I need something to serve. You see you are rebelling against God.
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You think coming to church has to do about worshiping God. Really? That was your 15 minutes of worship for the week?
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Crackhead! You need to be worshiping every minute of every day. First Thessalonians seeking.
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Quit at the buffet who pulls the chair up and starts eating.
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My brother and I actually did that at a Chinese buffet one time. It was hilarious. But anyways, another story. That's what people think about authority in church.
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They want to just be fed. Fed. Fed. Fed. And the church in America has gotten so fat and so selfish we will walk past a world who desperately needs us to speak for their justice, to speak for their needs, to help them in times of need and walk past them and try to find another church member.
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I ain't worried about finding no more church members. I'm worried about building the ones I got so when you walk out the door hell shakes and the devil goes oh crap, here they come.
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That's what I want to do. That's what Peter and John wanted to do. But the religious people were annoyed because they weren't in line with what they thought they should be doing.
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Y 'all know church people like that? Oh my God. They annoy me. Here's what they do.
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They try to take control. Do you know someone who's just like a control freak? I have some that work for me.
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I'm not going to say any names but Char and Rebecca can tell you who I'm talking about. When you start moving for God people are going to want to control you.
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And here's the number one thing. People will be jealous of where you are or not understand where you're going and don't want the change in your relationship or in your life because it will directly affect them.
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In other words, they're more interested in ruling the ruins of your life than they are celebrating the growth in Christ.
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That's what these guys did. Now you got to remember. Dude, for 40 years had been lame is going,
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I can't skip anymore. I never could skip. But I can frolic.
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He's like, I can walk again. I don't know what he was doing but he was probably asking for a bagel saying
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I can walk again, right? They saw what they're concerned about is they're not getting the glory for the miracle
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God did. And so they arrest Peter and John like he was healed by Jesus but they don't want to touch him.
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Watch this verse 13. If you don't believe me, read verse 13. Read what they said. Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John they perceived that they were uneducated common men.
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They were astonished and recognized they had been with Jesus. You know how many people over the years have told me,
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Pastor, you need to get some more polish. And I do. And I've tried. Listen, next month
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I will be here 20 years. Okay? I have been polished a bunch in the last 20 years.
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I'm a freaking gemstone over here now. You know? You should have seen me 30 years ago.
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I remember the first time I ever spoke I gave my testimony at a church over here in Nutbush and like 20, 30 people got saved and I was like fired up, man.
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I walked out the door, pulled out a Marlboro red. One of the deacons, little Southern Baptist dude was holding the door.
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He's like, good job, son. And I was like, MF, that was awesome. I was just, I didn't know.
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I didn't know. I didn't know. I don't think
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God's very interested in polish. You know what I think he's interested in? Obedience.
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I think, and once again, I couldn't be wrong, but I think for 6 ,000 years of recorded human history in the word of God, God took shepherd boys and turned them into kings.
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He took lepers and turned them into preachers. He took the worst of the worst that society said won't amount to anything and turned them into servants of the
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Most High God. I think God specialized it and here's why. Not because those people are more deserving, because it brings more glory to His name.
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Right? They were common men. Watch this.
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They were arrogant, but now watch Peter and John. Verse 8.
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Now remember, they in jail. They are on trial. They have the smartest people and all the lawyers and everybody against them.
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They got a lame man who's walking as evidence. There ain't no way they're getting out of this.
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Then Peter, what's he again? Filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them,
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Rulers and peoples and evidence, do you really want me to explain today a good deed done to a crippled man? Be this healed. Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
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Now let me tell you why that name stuck in their craw. That would be me like saying the greatest pastor in the world is from Nutbush.
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That's what Nazareth was. Nutbush. It wasn't even as high as Nutbush. It was more like Millington.
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I don't know. What's worse than Nutbush? I don't know. Frazier like two steps ahead.
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Jesus Christ of Nazareth. In fact, if you remember back when Jesus was calling his disciples, one of them was talking to his brother and say, come and see this
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Jesus of Nazareth dude. He said, ain't nothing good come out of Nazareth. You need to come on and check this dude out.
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Guys, let me tell you something. Your pedigree, your education, and all of that other garbage don't mean jack when you're plugged in to the reality and the authority of Jesus Christ our
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Lord. You're worried about what you would say? Don't worry about it because if you're filled with the Holy Ghost, he will give you the words to speak.
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Look at this right here. Can anything go?
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I've already done that. He found in Jesus Christ of Nazareth and then verse 12 and I'll close.
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Peter sums it up with verse 12 and he says this, and there is salvation in no one else for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.
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Here's usually the part where people get mad. Hunter, you can come do whatever you're going to do.
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Hey guys, let's just love. Let's just love.
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That's all we have to do in life. It's just love. Well, yes and no.
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All roads lead to heaven. Your truth is your truth. My truth is my truth.
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Here's the problem with that, Skippy, is it goes against the living word of God.
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There is an exclusivity of the name Jesus Christ. You're never going to get to heaven through a
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Baptist church or any other church. You're never going to get to heaven through Adrian Rogers or Pastor Jeff or anyone else.
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You're never going to get to heaven by being moral. Listen, some of y 'all, I know you're ready to go, but this is the part you really need to focus in on.
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Some of you are still thinking because I'm a good person, I'm going to heaven.
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You are going to split the gates of hell wide open because your good works don't mean jack crap to the holiness of God.
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Well, I'm basically a good person. No, you're a totally depraved, sinful, selfish human being.
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Listen to me. Listen to me. There is nothing you have that can earn you heaven.
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Nothing. Well, I'm a member of this church. Don't mean jack crap. Don't mean nothing.
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I'm begging you, please. If you want a change in your life today,
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I can offer you nothing except this. Jesus Christ of Nazareth can change your life today.