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Now I want you to pay attention. It wasn't anything in Israel wasn't their military size.
Last week we talked about Asa and we saw Asa become the king of Judah and remember this is in the timeframes of The twelve tribes of Israel and their solidity of a nation have been diffused. They are now Separated the ten northern tribes and the two southern tribes are in a civil war one with another they have successive kings and Asa is the great grandson of Solomon and he is on the throne and we saw last week Asa Really showing great faith if you look in chapter 14, it says that as They Ethiopians were coming to attack, you know.
Those bloodthirsty Ethiopians as they're coming to attack in verse 11 It says. And Asa cried to the Lord his God Oh Lord, there is none like you to help between the mighty and the weak. Help us Oh Lord our God for we rely on you and in your name We have come against this multitude.
Oh Lord. You are God. Let not man prevail Against you and I love in that verse He referred to himself and the people of Israel three times and referred to God ten times He and his mind that they lined up for battle.
It's not like they had you know, one of those modern-day Christian faiths where they're like hiding in the closet going. Oh God help me. They went out and faced their demons they went out and faced the reality of the threat they lined up and they said Okay, God, we're here God you deliver us and if you choose not to deliver us We're gonna die right here.
And if you choose to deliver us, we're gonna make them die over there. But either way they had faith and did what was right. Have you ever had in your Christian life? Have you ever had that high moment.
Okay, that's probably the wrong usage of the word in this church. Thank you very much. Have you ever had that spiritual high moment? You remember maybe for some of you? It's when you first got saved, you know, did you did it?
Are y 'all here today?
Okay.
That place where you felt the weight lifted off your chest now some of you maybe didn't feel that and that's okay. That mean you're not saved but you had that spiritual maybe you went to a youth camp or maybe you went to a prayer retreat or a Sermon struck your heart and you were on that spiritual high.
That's where Israel is now and let us look from Asa's leadership. How God's people responded turn with me to chapter 15? Chapter 15 and we're going to look at the power of grace power of grace and commitment.
The power of grace in Failings and failures. I'm sorry falls and failures and then the power of grace in Scar tissue. First of all, let's look at number one. The Ethiopians have run off and they have left countless Miles of money everywhere and the Israelites are just sitting there shoveling it up putting it in a pickup truck, you know.
Anachronistic, but they're just they're taking that money man. They come back in Jerusalem and they are the bees knees man. They whooped a bigger force. Judah is secure and Asa and God's people capitalized on that win.
That wasn't enough to see God's deliverance and step back. They wanted to get right with God in every aspect of your life. So look at chapter 15 verses 10 through 14. I want you to show you what a church should look like.
We say that again. I want to show you what a church should look like. Verse 10 says they were gathered together at Jerusalem in the third month of the 15 year of the reign of Asa. Some of you history nerds.
You can look at that's some cool stuff to study. Unfortunately, I don't have time right now and they sacrificed the Lord on that day from the spoil that they had brought 700 mother-in-laws and 7 ,000 sheep.
I'm sorry oxen same thing. And they entered into a covenant to seek the Lord The God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul and that who had never not Seek the Lord the God of Israel should be put to death where the young and old Man or woman can worship God on a deer stand.
Just like I can worship God in a church building.
No.
You can't. No, I feel a connection. No redneck white trash. That's not what you're feeling. You're feeling an emotional. You're feeling in nostalgia. You're feeling a lot of other things because here's the key thing missing in your worship is you are not together with God's people.
Hebrews tells us do not forsake the assembling of ourselves together guys. I I'm gonna be honest with you. I Need you people to worship God better. I just do. Maybe I'm a lame pastor maybe you know, there are greater Joel Steen can do it better than me, but I Need my people guys here.
They gathered together to Celebrate the victory of God in their life. Now you sit there and go. Well, yeah, they just won a war. We don't have to do that. That's probably why you're a loser this morning.
Because hey, you don't see the victories that God already gave you. Watch this if you can do this in this room. God gave you the will to do that. God gave you breath this morning. Yeah, whatever. Yeah, that ungratefulness is probably why your life is so miserable today.
Look at the second thing they worship God together. They sought him together and through. Together they offered a sacrifice.
Oh.
Lord.
Here right now for some of our visitors. I had a lady right on the pastor's things. Pastor. Could you dial down the sarcasm because it might scare some? Visitors off if that scares the visitors off. They ain't the right material for this church.
Oh my gosh, okay right now.
For.
$49 .95. You will get a CD of my best sermons a man. You right now give that money and God will give you a sweat cloth. Do you know people actually pay money to get a dude's nasty old sweat rag? And you know where that ain't his cuz that boy has so much makeup.
He ain't sweated in 35 years, you know and nasty. But the other side of that token is this yes. There are idiot preachers out there who are looking to get rich. But the other side is that is not an excuse for you to hoard what God has given you to yourself.
You see you're selfish you're self-centered. You say well pastor. I can't afford to give no. Let me tell you what the problem is. You don't know how to manage your money properly. Right, and you will still have that problem for the rest of your life.
Oh if I make $2 more. Oh if you make $80 more a week. Everything's gonna be okay. How about this? How about you stop relying on paper with dead white dudes faces on it and you start relying on the God who has gold as?
Asphalt in heaven. Maybe you need to readjust your mind of thinking and have faith. Well pastor. How do I have faith you give back to God, but we'll get to more of that in a second like verse 12. Here's where some of us are failing.
Okay, I Want to do what's right and I want to do this, but I don't want to give up my porn. You know what? I mean? I don't want to give up my porn. I don't want to give up that codependent girlfriend.
I don't want to give up that whiskey. I hear drunk say it all the time. I want to be in that place where I can drink and get buzzed without becoming an alcoholic.
Yeah, yeah.
You know what your problem is you have no labem Shalath. Yeah, you know what that means in Hebrew. That's what the word here. They sought him completely or with the whole heart of peace the whole heart.
You see when God becomes Lord of your life and this is why so many people are gonna be in hell. They want to surrender their Sunday mornings and their moral problems to God, but they don't want to surrender the rest of their life.
Lordship is Everything you can't be Lord over 50 that just don't even make sense, right? Guys, they surrendered it completely. Look at the next thing and they did it together. Look at the next thing.
They did verse 13. Where's my chairman of the Deacons? Where's the wheelchair man? He's in the kit where our Deacon should be. That's right. I'm say we make a new bylaw for our church. If you miss more than one Sunday a month We should shoot you.
Maybe that's probably a little drastic, right? That's probably a little drastic. Okay. Maybe if you don't tithe every week We should make you sit and listen to Jake pastor Jeremiah and Tim Nichols for like six hours I will shoot myself, right?
Holy Mary Jake rolls up pastor. I have one thing and he always holds his finger like this. I have one thing. I'm like, okay, brother Jake, what is it four and a half hours later? I am now totally educated on the landings of every major DD I did a operation in the history of man.
Oh my Mary here. It says if someone doesn't follow through with the covenant, let us put him to death. That's not very what would Jesus do right? I mean that's a little harsh, isn't it?
Well, yeah.
It is for that time. You see in that time that nation was so small and had enemies surrounding it and God said as it is in the beginning It will be it last time and that's exactly how Israel is now, but I don't want to like confuse any keyboard warriors.
But anyways.
We're surrounded man, if we ain't all on the same page We're having to pull our weight in your weight. And so you're dead weight and since you're dead weight. We're just gonna eliminate you. I Love. I know this doesn't translate like, you know.
It's so unfair. Like let's say a guy who broke into this country illegally I don't know like killed a little girl who was jogging on a trail and then now we get to spend the rest of his Life paying for his three meals a day in a cot.
I'm sorry. I mean, I Don't like that. I vote. No, I say let's see. Let me quote somebody Oh, yeah, if any man kills another man with malice drag him from my altar and put him to the sword. Let's say who was that that was Nietzsche, yeah, that's right.
Oh, no, that was God. That was God. Some of you dope-smoking hippies need to grow up. Guys, there is grace in Commitment are you here this morning and you didn't feel like you and God are this far apart.
I promise you it's not God who moved. Okay, and I promise you he is no further away than the first step of repentance. Man he will come a-rushing someone. I went and hugged someone the other day, please.
Nobody hugged me this morning. I'm feeling a little yucky, but I think it was Mike Burkett or somebody I saw him and I just got so excited to see him and I just went Mikey and I ran and I went to hug him and it was like you know, I didn't mean to you know, but I loved him and It just almost knocked him over and I can't help it.
I see my people and it's just like every Sunday. I come in here. It's like Christmas, you know. It's like look at all the babies. It's so cool. You know, do you feel that way? I'm gonna tell you why you don't because you and God are this far apart.
And you know what you take that first step of repentance and you really truly repent. It'll feel like me. That one sounded heretical it'll be like God tackling you in love next thing. What's the difference between falls and failures?
How many of y 'all are failures in here? You lesser Christians, I'm so glad that with my ordination papers. I got a dispensation of perfection. Well guys, can I ask you maybe for a minute to let's look at some colloquialisms and Maybe change the lexicon of the church.
To see if you're in here this morning and you want to do what God wants you to do. I'm sorry I can't call you a failure. I can say that you have fallen. But I can't say that you're a failure when we train fighters over here.
You know the guy I'm looking for it ain't the guy that can do the jump spinning wheel tornado kick because. You're just gonna get your butt candid to you in the ring doing that stuff. But you know who the guy I'm looking for the guy that gets hit in his face.
Whose knees do this right here you coaches know what I'm talking about? And this is what he does after that. That's the guy I want on my team. That's the guy because although he falters. Although he may fall.
He is never gonna let his place be with those losers who look for an excuse to quit. He wants to win. Do you know there are people out there that do just enough to say that they tried when they never had the intention of trying?
To win anyways, oh. Those guys drive me up the wall, and I'm not talking about just in the gym. I'm talking about in life. Dear Jesus save me, so I won't go to hell amen you sit over there. I'm gonna go live the rest of my life the way I want.
Mmm. No, I don't think so. I don't think so I Gave my life to Jesus. I'm good to go. Yeah, but did you? But did you? Guys, I want you to come to a place that if you are Falling you'd quit getting in that failure mentality.
Look at verses 1 through 6 now. This is ASA. ASA is like it says you know oh my gosh ASA followed the Lord his God all the days of his life. He was a stud. He wore suits and ties didn't have tattoos. He was white with blonde hair and blue eyes and a 10-inch part.
He was a Republican and of course was a fan of the University of Tennessee. He was perfect in every way. Let's see how long that goes verse our chapter 16 now remember they just had a chart service in The 36 year of the reign of Asa Basha king of Israel went up against Judah and built Ramah.
That he might permit no one to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah. Remember I told you the Civil War happened, so this is what bashes a brilliant move strategically. Go talk to Jake if you want to hear about it in excess, but it's a brilliant move.
It's he went in basher came up, and he took this city. Which was the main. I mean I didn't took it he built this city which was on the main thoroughfare from the east to Jerusalem. And he didn't stop the thoroughfare right because you ain't getting rich killing all the merchants.
Here's what he did and this is what it says in the Hebrew Basher walks up to the merchants who goes yo my name is Vinnie you want to come through here. You got to pay a tax. You know what I mean. You got to pay a little tax.
We built this road from here to here, and so if you want to cross it you got to pay a tax. We'll go around. Yeah, well. You might not want to do that. You will fall off a building with an ice pick stuck in your back 32 times.
Accidents happen you know what I mean, and it was brilliant. Strategically what he did is instead of attacking Jerusalem and losing men he attacked the Treasury and hit them financially.
Beautiful. Here's what Asa did. Now watch verse 2. Then Asa took silver and gold from the treasures of the house of the Lord and The king's house and sent them to behide king of Syria who lived in Damascus.
If you turn your little Paper over this wonderful map that I drew oh. You can't maybe see it too gooder, but right here this blue part in the middle. That's Israel. This kind of pinkish red part right here.
That's Judah. Well if you look up north and east you'll see the kingdom of Syria. So here's what Asa did. So they attacked him. Economically. So Asa went down to the church took out every dime. The church had sent it to Syria and say this.
You.
We have a treaty now. I'm gonna pay you money. I'm gonna hire mercenaries. You attack the north of Israel so they got to come deal with you, and then I'll come up from the south. That's a smart plan. Except notice the contrast.
Notice the contrast from last week. You see. He went out to take care of it himself. He didn't send his soldiers out. He led his soldiers into battle. Men husbands. He led his soldiers into battle. My wife nags me.
My wife's this. My wife's that. My wife's a brat. Well, it's probably because you ain't leading punk so grow up and be a man, okay? So he let him out. Now what he does is he writes a check? He writes a check.
Huh, but he robbed God. He took what didn't belong to him. It wasn't out of the Kings Treasury. I want you to make that distinction. Listen up. He didn't take it out of the National Treasury. He took it from the church the temple.
And that takes some guts right by the way.
I.
Still don't have a two-wheel drive truck. Hence you know I mean I could do so much more work for the Lord if I had my own helicopter. You know what I'm saying? Thank you. God wait a minute. It's a vision God said.
All right, anyways. Thought what happened? And I want you to know that that was a fall on Aisha's part that was that was a fall on Aisha's part now. Why do we fall? I'm gonna tell you why we fall when we get success.
How many of you got a report back from the doctor with a little Spot on the the x-ray. Or you know you got a bump here at the tomb. Oh, you know and man you get that long eye from the doctor. What are you doing?
You sound like 27 Pentecostals on a Saturday Night Revival? You're calling pastor Christian up man, he's bringing a fire hose of oil over just spraying it out. Your problem. I will sit through all the pastor Jeff sermons if you just get me out of this.
Maybe for some of you. It's you see the blue lights. Oh Man, there's a pucker factor there that some of y 'all. I always laughed at my wife. She's like we're not doing anything wrong. I just Chuckle and laugh and pat her head.
You don't have to be at least in my day, right? But that's another story for another time.
Pigs, but.
They sit there and they have a little victory and they get Apathetic then God will shake you up a little bit. You'll hear a sermon or something will happen in your life. Here's my favorite. My marriage is in trouble.
Let's get back in the church. No, how about get back to Christ because this place can't fix anything. I'm just a fat bald, dude, just like you. That's in I the same Spirit of God seen you the same spirit of God to me.
I ain't got no magic. Right, you need to get back humble before God, but in our falls we get apathetic. Then we start robbing now. I am gonna chat about this for a minute. He took the Treasury out of God's temple.
I'm gonna read y 'all write this down in the abundant amount of room that I gave you. Malachi chapter 3 verse 7 and 9. One of the beautiful things that I love about cruising and talking to other Christians in the world or other faiths in the world is I get to see the trends that spark and every oh man every 3040 years somebody gets up and goes nobody's doing it, right?
I'm gonna fix it. We're gonna be Torah observant or we're gonna do this or one and Pentecostal for 2 ,000 years the church has been wrong. But I and only I from South Mississippi can fix this disaster called the kingdom of God and I just reached this in my brain going wow, man.
That is arrogant. But here's one of those teaching they teach now tithing is not a command of God in the New Testament.
And.
They're right. They're right. It's not I know some of you old Baptist and some of you people in the Treasury are like going pastor. Shut up. Well, no, I can't because I can't always preach just what I want.
I got to preach the whole gospel. Nowhere in the New Testament does it say to tithe now? Let me help you understand why? Bubba. Hey a little gorilla if you ever watch little Emmett. It's you won't ever unsee it if you see it watch my grandson.
He walks like this. He looks like Clyde from one of the Clint Eastwood movies. He he walks like I want to give him a banana and a swinging tire man, but he's just like, oh food, right. So cute Scott. I Look at him and I see this awesome Potential and I look at my son Jeremiah and I watched Jeremiah raise him.
I watch Ayesha raise him and it's hilarious. But my son and daughter-in-law are so lame. God, they're such horrible parents. Do you know Ayesha still cooks and cleans around the house? What is the use of having children if you are not going to put them into slave labor?
Right, you know what I'm saying? It's like Emmett you can walk go cut the grass. Well, y 'all live in an apartment come cut popsies grass, right? I'm old. Now that's ridiculous, right? Because of the infancy of that individual giving them something greater than would be stupid.
But you give examples of it. Let's pick up your toys. Can we do that? Let's pick up your toys by the time they're 16. Jeremiah ain't gonna be saying let's pick up the toy clean up clean up. I guarantee it if eminent clean in his room.
You're gonna hear something like and he's gonna go and that's right. I you sure you remember. I mean Emmett you remember that. Yeah, he hits her. I'm killing him. Tithing listen to me kids tithing is the Childish lowest common denominator, oh.
Well, I gave 10 What would he do? I beat up. I beat up Jameson in a sparring match. Whoa. It don't make sense Guys, it says right here Malachi 3 7 through 9 from the days of your fathers. You have turned aside from my statues and have not kept them return to me and I will return to you.
Let me say that again return to me. Causality effect. I will return to you.
But.
Says the Lord our host you say how shall we return? Will a man rob God yet? You are robbing me, but you say hell if we robbed you God responds in your tithes and Contribute Contributions, how do you say that?
Yeah, that thing you are cursed with a curse for you are robbing me the whole notion. All right. Well pastor, that's Old Testament. Okay, skippy. 1st Corinthians chapter 16. 1st Corinthians chapter 16 verses 1 through 4.
Watch this now concerning the collection of the Saints as I have directed the churches of Galatia. So people say well that was only that one church. Now we're talking about an entire national region. So that you are to do the same thing on the first day of the week to our observant dorks on the first day of the we should worship on the Sabbath on the Day of the week and for those y 'all that went to Bartley public school system. That is Sunday Sunday.
On the first day of the week each of you is to put something aside and store it up as he may prosper. So that there will be no collecting when I come and when I arrive. Now watch this I will send those whom you accredit by letter to carry your gift to Jerusalem if it seems Advisable that I should go also they will accompany me.
Huh?
Wow.
So every Sunday. People set stuff aside. Wait a minute. Not 10 But as they prospered as they prospered. You cops you schoolteachers you making the cash money. You know what I'm saying you making that cash money.
Maybe you make a stop and you have you know. Probable cause you know what I'm saying? No, don't do that, but but as you prosper, that's the level. Wait a minute. That's the standard. Don't say nothing about no 10
It talks about as you prosper. I remember one of our church members told me weeping years ago. We can't give we can't give and the next week they pulled up in a car. They paid for in cash brand new and I didn't say anything because that's between them and God it ain't between me.
I don't care. I ain't got nothing to do with that. I'm just telling you you might want to quit poking the bear and then whining that your ends ain't coming together in meeting. You hear what I'm saying?
Guys, you need to give that is a falling that some Christians do. Procrastination men. Can I say that to you again? Procrastination men guys, you know when you're apathetic and you procrastinate that's when Pornography and all that stuff will sneak in in the studies that I've done with folks.
The boredom is what breeds failures.
Guys.
They sat there and God's calling them to repentance and They didn't do it guys. Remember that compromise on your standards today Will lead to your defeat. Tomorrow you're buying it last thing and I'm I'm done.
So pastor. Those are some Fallings. What about failure? Well read with me starting in verse 7. Here's where you fail. At that time Hannah the seer that's a prophet of God. Came to Asa king of Judah and said to him.
Because you relied on the king of Sarah Syria and did not rely on the Lord your God the army of the king of Syria has escaped you. Not the Ethiopians and Libyans a huge army with many chariots and horsemen yet because you relied on the Lord He gave them into your hand now.
Listen this verse listen to this verse. It's so beautiful for the eyes of the Lord turn run to and throw throughout the whole earth to give strong support to those whose Heart is blameless towards him.
You have done foolish in this and from now on you will have wars. So he got called out. That's not where he failed is getting busted. That's Tesla. He wasn't Busted and that's where the failure was watch.
Listen to me. Watch how he responds now. We're gonna have an invitation in a second some of you while you've been sitting there. Not me. I'm an idiot. But the words that have been spoken from God's Word has done this.
Yeah, boy, that's you. I'm talking to. Yeah, that applies to you. You can suppress that. Leave this place and not do anything to change it and you will have failed today. We get that you fell. Welcome to the Christian life.
What are you gonna do without falling? Watch what Asa does?
Hmm.
Verse 10. Then Asa was angry. You know how many people I've confronted over. That's between me and God ain't nobody better, but me and God.
Me and God.
That's not what the Bible says. If any brother be found in fault you which are spiritual restore such one in a spirit of meekness. Considering yourself. Let's say boss will be tempted confess your faults one to another.
That you may be you can quote man's stupidity. I have to follow God's Word and so do all of us in this room. You as a man or woman of God in his house. Do not have the comfort and the ability to disengage.
From holding people that you say you love to account. You spend so much time enabling people to live in their sin by never confronting because you don't want to lose a friend. How much of a friend are you?
It's comfort so precious that your life becomes of no matter in that cheap. Or are you gonna stand and in a loving manner try to correct the brother. And when you correct them if they get angry right away.
They're guilty a hundred percent of the time. Now you say how do you know that? Many decades of experience. Many decades of experience. I promise you and you think wow you've corrected that many people.
I'm talking about me. I'm talking about me. People have come and said pastor you ought not to do that. Who exactly are you again if I want your opinion? I'll slap you in the teeth pull a string, and then I'll move your mouth like a puppet.
Yeah, I Did. Well I practice it. You know my wife never mind, but They will become angry. Look. Here's what you come failure. Asa was angry with the seer and put him in stocks in prison for he was enraged With him because of this.
Now watch what happens with your anger and unrepentant heart. And Asa Inflicted cruelties upon some of the people at the same time. You know what's rough about being leadership. Husband father you know you know it's rough.
Is sometimes the people under you got to pick up some of the tab for you standing strong?
You know.
It's just part of and. Here's what stinks if your wife and family is not fully convinced of your calling or if they're not fully Invested in you taking that leadership role. Here's what's gonna happen.
You're gonna catch it from this way, and then you're gonna catch it from this way going home. Oh my gosh. It stinks now. My wife has only been crazy one or two times in my marriage, right? And I've just gave her a bottle of Benadryl shoved her in the closet latched it, and she she worked.
She worked it out. She worked it out. But one of the things I've enjoyed with being married to my wife. I was like hey, we're moving to Wyoming. Let's go. Well, okay, I'm gonna go get some u-haul boxes.
Yeah, we're back. Hey, baby. We're moving to Georgia. Okie-dokie. Not worrying about friends now worrying about why not worrying about what are we gonna do? Just okay. Let's go. I remember I had a guy blow his brains out in Nashville at my church in Nashville.
And I mean his eyeballs were on the ground and so I called the Deacons up one by one. Hey, man, I want to get that cleaned up for his family comes over well I'm busy today. I'm writing a Bible study. I'm preparing a Sunday school lesson.
Call my wife. Hey, baby. I need some help.
There three o 'clock in the morning cleaning up dudes brains.
It's easy or to stand ladies. It's easier to stand ladies. Oh by the way for you new age people yes God man woman. Children understand. All right, so it's easier to stand as a leader if you guys get behind him.
Well pastor my husband's stupid. I know all men are they're idiots. We are dumb as a load of bricks, but that's why God made fat bald pastors bring them on over. We'll straighten them out for you. Okay.
All right. Here's failures. Here's failures. You get angry you refuse to repent and you take it out on everybody else. Mmm, look at this. Look at this and ASA a Cruelty spawn something else. All right.
I Just hold on. I'm getting a little nauseous again. All right. Pastor I have fallen. Pastor I am being a failure pastor. What am I doing wrong? No, no, I would have said lesser pastor. I Love her so much.
She's so cute. I would just skip on but this is the most important part of the sermon. Y 'all bear with me if you got to go go go, but I Just I need y 'all to hear this part. What happens pastor when I am a failure.
What happens when I fall. Well when the pain comes. Seek God. When the conviction comes Seek God. Do not wait to be emotionally ready to fix a spiritual problem today. Quit worrying about what other people think.
If God is calling you he is calling to you and you alone. When I stand before God there ain't gonna be no Witten Baptist Church standing with me. I don't mean no deacons or committees or my wife or anybody else.
I'm gonna stand before God alone. There is nothing in this world so precious that you suppress the conviction of the Holy Spirit of God. For I warn you that conviction will lessen and lessen and lessen and lessen.
Till you are praying God. I want that conviction back because the only thing you felt the only thing you knew Was the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Because you were living in such rebellion. God will quit.
Annoying you one day and it is the most miserable place to be in the world.
Miz.
Rah.
Bull. Now if you're not really a Christian you ain't studying you like whatever. But man if you're a Christian. That's why I always like when I hear people say well I ain't been in church in about 15 years, and I really hadn't missed it.
You're on the way to hell. There's no way you are a child of God. There ain't no way Pastor that's judgmental. No, that's called accurate. You liberal idiot go read your Bible.
Watch this.
It says in verse 9 God is looking throughout the whole earth the whole earth. Do you ever feel like you escaped God?
You really like psyched God out with a you really think you that day on Sanders. No, man.
Here's the reality even though you don't feel is anybody feeling conviction right now about anything. Okay, a few of you the rest of you. Some of you are probably lying, but okay, that's cool. What are you gonna do with it?
God's looking all over you say, but my pastor my heart is not wholesome and righteous. If you're feeling the conviction of God and wanting to submit guess what? It's holy and righteous. You want to do and you're going to do it not next week not next month.
Right now the Bible says all heaven rejoices at the repentance. The repentance of one person. Where are you today? Some of you sitting back there. Playing on your phone stretching because you bored you the godless dope-smoking heathen that's pissing away your life that I'm talking to.
Yeah, you looking around like I ain't looking at you uh-huh guys. Regardless of age ministry position or status we can all fall 100 I've done it and I am the senior Pastor I am that means I'm just the biggest loser in here.
That's what I feel like sometimes. Second Corinthians our second Chronicles. Here's another reason we need to learn from our scars. Even though we mess up. There's still grace. The babies are watching.
The babies are watching you. Oh, they are. Trust me Second Chronicles you can write it down. Verses 31 and 32 thus Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah. He was this is Asa's Son he reigned 35 years old and began to reign Asa.
Yeah, and he reigned 25 more years in Jerusalem verse 32 he walked in the way of Asa his father and did not turn a side of it. Doing what is right in the sight of the Lord? You know where he learned that.
Well, of course from Adrian Rogers ministry in touch love. Oh. If I get my son to read this book or talk to this guy because he was on drugs. Or I'm gonna get him to talk to him because he was an alcoholic and I don't fix it all up.
I hate those phone calls. I literally hate those phone calls because here's what it means. I have not submitted to doing what God called me to do as a parent in my child's life screwed him all up and now I'm gonna base my hope and God reclaiming my son through your past addiction.
Do you see a problem with that strategy? Yeah, I mean, do you see it God and going whether this takes or not with you. I Failed I guess. And our forgiveness. Maybe this will do more than another speech from a pastor.
Or maybe I'm just an idiot and don't know what I'm talking about. Baby, I'll talk to your drug out kid. No problem. They're not going to like me. They won't they're not gonna. I don't trauma bond with people.
I don't. My husband beat me up and I've been on meth ever since. Okay. You want to get hit? Well, right? No one else in the whole world has a problem. But you let's trauma bond and in that connection somehow you'll find God you ain't gonna find God.
You're gonna find religion get codependent on me looking for me to solve you all your problems. We're only an eternal God can do it. I'm sorry. I'm just not that smart. I'm not that kind of a pastor. I'm kind of fat.
I'm bald and I didn't graduate high school. Why are you looking at me? I'm the last guy Josiah's got a master's degree. Dana has a doctorate. Jeremiah have you got your master's degree yet? He coaches football.
I mean.
Please listen to me. Trust in grace. Lead your children. And if you have failed them You truly have it failed unless you are dead. If you were hearing the words coming out of my mouth You have an opportunity to turn that falling into a victory.
How do you know all this pastor? Well, I actually read first. King says this. Now Asa Basically told the Prophet of God Whatever Whatever. Did he throw him in jail? Then you start smacking people around because he was having a bad day first.
Kings 15 12 to 15. But the high places were not taken away. In other words Asa did good at first. But then he let them build false idol temples all over the place. Now I want you to hear did I write this on your little paper for you?
Okay good never the less. Now watch this. Let's talk about grace. Never the less. The heart of Asa was holy true to the Lord all his days. Do what you are. Smoking. Preacher in jail because he had a conniption fit.
Robbed the temple. The heart of Asa was holy true to the Lord all his days. Let me teach you a little bit about grace. Let me teach you just a little bit about grace. Oh my gosh. Never mind. We don't have time to talk about grace and salvation.
Okay, okay. Yeah, I was going to anyways.
Um.
Listen listen listen, I promise I won't be long listen. Ephesians 1 says this.
But God.
Chose them in him for the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless. He robbed God he saw him good people in jail. You're true and perfect. Honey, you know what I'm saying? How does that make sense?
How's that make sense? Grace is not based upon What you do watch.
Good.
Or bad.
Always just think it's so intellectually redundant and stupid when people say well, you know, I've done bad things. Yes, we know you don't have you are a total depraved human being. God. You were so sinful while you were that age when that little sperm hit that little egg.
You were totally depraved from that moment. You didn't have to get born and go up for a few years before you became sinful when you out of the womb. You were a godless pig to begin with. Well, that's not true pastor.
You ain't have kids. Are you smoking crack? I've had five of them. They were almost self-centered selfish narcissistic little idiots in the whole world. I just started, you know, get them out of here except for my daughter.
She was perfect. Guys, God knows that you're already screwed up. That's where grace comes from. Watch this. It says holy and blameless. Aggy us it means Separated. Guess what you're being separated from.
Your sin. Watch this and blameless.
Yeah.
You're blameless. I don't know what let's say this. Let's say you're a teenage kid. You have a lot of insecurities. You're trying to be accepted. You want to escape some realities? You haven't dealt with so you take a hit from a THP pin, you know.
And you hardcore man end up in the ER cuz man you a hardcore, you know, I'm saying.
God done with you.
God done with you. You are gonna be nothing more than the firewood for hell. Yeah, this ain't Bellevue. You can actually speak.
You see before time began. Notice the time before time began.
God.
Chose you and God chose you to be holy and Blameless. Now, it doesn't say sinless it says Blameless. You know what? That means that means in the imputation understanding of salvation. The righteousness of a Christ my sinful nature was given to Jesus on the cross.
His watch his righteous nature filled the vacuum that Jesus died for me. Is that mean that beautiful? Hey, I want to get. I want to get a really cool hoodie thing that it's. I don't forget what they're called, but it looks really cool because I can picture myself being Aragon in it.
You know, it's you know. For whatever. I don't really know but I want to get it hunting. It's so warm and what's so cool is you can put a fire hose on the back of it and the water just sheets right off.
Oh, it's getting wet. But ain't nothing sticking it. Don't go through guys. I can be a Sinner and still be blameless because of the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Pastor why are you saying all this? Because instead of beating yourself up calling you a failure in a loser, how about let's try a different strategy.
How about come forward and say Jesus. I need help. Pastor my friends in church. I need help and if you're doing that you're no longer a failure. Well pastor. I don't feel it. I don't care about your feelings.
Actions define character actions define truth. If you try well pastor I've tried 8 ,000 times and I always fail. Join the party. Okay join go. Stop and let God change your life.
