It's great to see you today. You may be seated. What a wonderful day to be alive and to serve the Lord. We're just so thankful, aren't you?
Hey, let me just say Christmas Eve is coming quicker than we want, but we have three services on Christmas Eve day, Sunday. We have our regular Sunday morning, 9 and 11, and we have a Christmas Eve candlelight service, which is totally different. It's totally different. So we look forward to those. It's going to be a wonderful, wonderful, great time. Our kids from the Learning Center and from the church next door will be in here, and they always do such an amazing job, don't they?
So invite people. Come early. Get ready. We'll have standing room only, but we have lots of chairs in the back that we can put up. We'll make room for you. And if you're a VIP, we may move you to the stage. You can sit up there. It's going to be a great evening. You're going to hear a testimony about true life changes, and it's going to just blow your mind when you hear this testimony. We're looking forward to that.
Well, if you have your Bible, and I'd like to say welcome to those of you that are online. I was watching a few minutes ago, and I see my buddy Gary from Charlotte is watching today, and Scott, a couple of my motorcycle riding buddies with a Kyle Petty ride. And we're glad you guys are watching today. I weep with you today that Don is no longer with us, but he probably is saying hello to Jeff.
So if you have your Bible today, let's hold it up. If you have it on your iPhone, your iPad, whatever, you're going to say this together today.
This is my Bible. It is the word of God. It is life to me. Today, I receive the word. I confess my mind is alert. I am obedient. I will never be the same again in Jesus' name. Amen.
Amen. Father, we thank you today for your presence. Man, we just sense you in this house right now. And Lord, as we look into your word, I say that I need your anointing today, Holy Spirit, because without you, it's just words. But with you, with your anointing, you can take the words and you can put them deep into our heart. For it says that your word divides in our heart those things that are not of you and those things that are of you.
Forgive us, Lord, for letting the world interpret our life towards you. But help us today to be focused on you as we end out this series on what was I thinking in your name, Jesus. Amen.
Well, we've been in this series for about five weeks now, and I hope something has changed for the good in your life. And anybody feel any change? God speak to you during this series? Raise your hand. So, yeah. All right. Three or four. So I'll work harder next series. So we'll do better.
All right. So we'll end it out today. And next week, we'll start with a Christmas series. And I believe it'll be great. But one of the things that we said about what was I thinking is that I am today a reflection of what I was thinking. So if I look in the mirror today and I see where I am and what I am, it's a reflection of what I was thinking and how I related to what I was thinking about.
Actually, Proverbs 23:7 says, "For as he thinks in his heart, so is he." To explain that a little bit more, let me ask you to watch this true video. Watch this.
Wow. What was I thinking? Here's what George Bernard said: "Progress is impossible without change, and those who can't change their minds can't change anything."
Wow. Remember, our memory verse was Romans 12:2 from the NIV. Let's see if you can remember it today. Are you ready?
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you'll be able to test and approve what God's will is, his good, pleasing, and perfect will.
This morning, I'd like to look at that translation from the New Living Translation. It says this. Read it with me out loud.
Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.
Look at your neighbor and say, "It's important to think right."
Because you see, my thoughts, if they're godly thoughts and from the scripture, should draw me closer to Jesus. And the goal of being transformed is to be transformed like Jesus. Not to be like from a caterpillar to a butterfly or whatever else that happens. But we want to become like Jesus, like Jesus.
And two reasons that it's important to change the way we think. First of all, because my thoughts literally control my life. We saw that in the video. We think how impossible would that be? But that's the power of what we're saying to ourselves.
The verse again is Proverbs 4:23 that says, "Be careful how you think. Your life is shaped by your thoughts."
If as a kid, you were told you're worthless, you're no good, you don't matter, you're ugly, you're uncoordinated. In fact, if I was as ugly as you, I wouldn't even show my face. Now, those all may be lies. But if you accept those lies as a fact, then they begin to shape your life. Everything you do is filtered through those words.
So I need to change my mind because my thoughts control my mind and because my mind is a battleground for sin. It's where I win or lose the battle in life. All temptation happens between my ears. It starts with my mind. What I'm hearing, what I'm listening to, what I'm seeing, it starts there.
Paul said in Romans 7:22-23, "I love to do God's will so far as my new nature is concerned. But isn't there always the big butt hanging around somewhere?"
One of these days, I'm going to teach that all the butts of the Bible, the big butts. I should say the big butts. Sorry, I drifted.
He says, "As far as my new nature is concerned, but there's something else deep within me in my mind that is at war." Notice all these war terms with my mind and wins the fight. He makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me in my mind.
I want to be God's willing servant, but instead I find myself enslaved to sin. And sometimes that's a conscious battle or sometimes it has become an unconscious battle because we don't spend time with the word. We don't spend time confessing the word.
Here's what I know. You need to remember this. Whatever gets your attention gets you. And whatever you flirt with, you will fall for.
Whatever gets your attention gets you. Whatever you flirt with, you will fall for.
Paul said it like this in Romans 8:6: "If your sinful nature controls your mind, there is death." And by the way, what is death? It's the opposite of living, right?
But if the Holy Spirit controls your mind, there is life and peace. So I need to change my mind. But the problem is it's not that easy.
But there are three daily choices that will help me to change my mind. Three daily choices.
Number one, I must feed my mind with truth. Say that. I must feed my mind with truth.
Some of you are nutritionists. Some of you are experts in the area of nutrition and what we eat. And you've taught us over and over what you eat will eventually show up in your life, right?
So are you eating good things? Are you eating bad things? Maybe you're not starting your day in the right way. So we want to get the right mixture of all the nutritional things that we need.
But if we spend all of our time getting bad food into us, then it begins to control our body. And the same thing is with the word, this word of God.
You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free, Jesus said in John 8:31. And in Matthew 4:4, Jesus said, "People don't live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God."
Now, I want to help you with that, to feed your mind daily with the truth. One of the ways we do that is with a YouVersion Bible study plan. And we've got another one. And here it is this week that we're going to use.
I think we do. All right, if we don't, then here's how you'll do that. You can go to our website and you can scroll down to the YouVersions and you can pull up this week's and you can lock on to that. It will be an awesome one for you to use.
Number two, I must free my mind from destructive thoughts. Your mind needs to be liberated, delivered, and released.
I mean, we have good intentions, right? I'm going to change this. I'm going to change that. I'm going to do this. But it never happens. Why? Because we have three enemies that are battling in our mind.
Now, it'd be great if I could stand up here today and say, you know what? All you need to do is feed your mind with the truth, get the word in you, and you don't have to do anything else. But it's not that.
But I have to live out what I study in the word. But to do that, then I have to battle in my mind. And some of you are battling that right now as you're sitting here. You're battling thoughts that are taking you in a different direction.
So I have three enemies. The first enemy is me, my old nature. I've met my old nature, and it's me. When I get born again, my spirit is redeemed. But my soul, my mind, my thoughts, my emotions, all must come under the rule of God.
Paul said it like this in Romans 7:23: "I see in my body a principle at war." What he's saying here is there's a battle for your brain. There's a battle for your brain.
I see in my body a principle at war with the law of my mind taking me captive to the law of sin that dwells within me. In other words, he says, I struggle on the inside. I know what's true, but my old nature keeps pulling me to the old paths because that's more comfortable. I'm more aware of that. I've done that for so long.
You ever find yourself in a self-defeating behavior? Maybe you justify it like this in your mind. You don't say it out loud. I know this isn't good for me, but...
How many times have we gone to the kitchen and seen the doughnut bag there? And we've already had six, and we think in our mind, I know this isn't good for me, but... And then that butt steps on the scale the next day.
My old nature is not my friend. Who I was before I became a believer is not my friend. Paul said it like this: "Those that are dominated by their sinful nature think about sinful things. Those that are controlled by the Spirit think about things that please the Spirit."
So my question to you today is where are your thoughts taking you? Where are your thoughts? Are they all about sinful things? Things that you see, things you've been told, things you desire, you know that's not the scripture?
Or is your mind going on the way of the Holy Spirit and thinking about good things? So my old nature is an enemy.
My second enemy is Satan. Satan wants to control your mind. He sends ideas. I call them this: he drops thought bombs into my mind.
Anybody ever had a thought bomb? Many of you are having one right now. And what that is, I mean, even like in prayer. Have you ever been praying? I mean, just really seriously about praying. And all of a sudden the devil drops a thought bomb into you.
Now he can't read your mind. The way that he knows he's affected you is by what comes out of your mouth. See, that's why it's so important that we confess what God says about us.
And so the enemy will drop a thought bomb. And I'm praying seriously, and I'm thinking, where did that thing come from? Where did that thought come from? It came from a thought bomb delivered by the enemy.
You wake up in the morning, and when you wake up, Satan begins dropping those little thought bombs into your mind. What does he say? You're not going to have a good day today. Life is going to really be bad. Have you seen the news? Nobody's going to like you today. In fact, I wouldn't even get out of bed and show my face.
John 8:44 says, "Satan is a liar and he is the father of all lies." Read it with me. There is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language.
Well, that scripture is not up there, so let me read it again. John 8:44: "Satan is a liar and the father of all lies. There is no truth in him. When he speaks, he speaks his native language." His native language is lies.
Listen to this this morning. If you get up in the morning and you don't meet the devil face on, it must mean that you're going in the same direction.
I'll say it again. If you get up in the morning and you don't meet the devil face on, it means you're going in the same direction.
Satan has a plan to thwart your mind and mine. But now in January, we're going to do something that's going to help us. We're going to do 21 days of fasting and prayer. January 8th through the 28th, we're going to do a time of fasting and prayer. You're going to hear more about that. You can go to our website. You can find information.
People say, what kind of fast are we going to do? It's whatever the Lord leads you to. Most of us are going to do a 21-day fast. And it's simply that some of us are going to do a Daniel fast. You read on the thing. You know how to do that.
Maybe you'll start it off with just water only or juice only at the very beginning. But on our website, we have all kinds of ways that you can join us in the 21-day fast. Check and make sure you're healthy. Make sure you can do it with your doctor if you have any. And on our website, there's lots of helps there for you.
So three enemies. First is myself, my old nature. Second of all is Satan. And the third enemy is the world's value system.
And we don't think much about this, but we just sort of accept it because that's what the politicians talk about. That's how they want to decide the laws. That's how movie stars, that's how all the people that are influencers try to influence you.
They don't try to influence you by what the word says. They try to influence you by feelings. Go with your feelings. Whatever you feel is okay. It's all right. Right?
Have you heard that? What's right for you may not be right for me, but it's all right. Everybody chooses on their own.
So we watch as the world's value system begins to do this, as Paul said in Romans 12:2. Don't let the world squeeze you into its mold. But let God remold your minds from within so that you may prove in practice what the plan of God is for you.
Let me ask you this question. What is it in your life that you used to believe was totally wrong? But now you've just sort of accepted that, well, maybe it wasn't that wrong after all.
Tim talked about this a few weeks ago about the guardrails in our life. The guardrails keep us from going over the edge. But you know what happens is that as I'm talking and as we're looking and moving in the world, the enemy, the enemies, began to move the guardrails.
And instead of far away from the edge, what they do is they keep moving the guardrails. And if we're not careful, we keep moving the guardrails because that's what the world's value system is.
That's what they say on TV. And if you have anything different, then they laugh at you and they make fun of you. But listen, there's a scheme of the enemy to keep moving the guardrails till we get to the time that we just fall, fall off the edge, fall down, because we kept pushing against the guardrail.
I often hear people say, how close can I get to this sin and not commit that sin? So I'm dating, is it all right for me to just pet a little bit? Is it all right for us to dry hump a little bit?
Listen, if you have kids in here, that's why we have kids church. This is an adult church. So if you get upset, then you need to take your kids next door, okay? But we have to get real. That's the world we're living in. That's the things that our kids deal with.
And we keep saying, well, you know, it's all right. First base is all right. Then it's second base is all right. Then it's third base is all right. Then who cares? Just go ahead. Follow your feelings.
So what is it? I want to just share a couple of things. I don't have time to go into all of them because I know the Holy Spirit's already spoken to some of you in your mind.
But what I'm praying is the church that when I share these things today, that we have a heart of compassion about these, but we have a backbone of steel when it comes to the truth of God's word.
I don't mean a lack of respect in presenting these points today, but I just want to say up front that I love you. I love you for who you are. But I also don't want to hurt you. But greater than that, I don't want to hurt God and the truth of his word.
So I feel for you today. If you're struggling with any of these things that we'll talk about today, I really do. My heart is not hard-hearted, but I know it's not easy.
Sometimes we tell people, you know, you ever tried this? Tell somebody, you know, like Maggie's left-handed. All right, Maggie, you cannot be left-handed anymore. You got to be right-handed. You used to do that, right? Struggle with a kid.
So I'm standing up here and I'm not telling you correctly to say, you know what, if you're struggling, if you're struggling in the area of any of these things I'm talking about, I'm not just saying, well, just quit it.
You know, plaster scriptures up everywhere and push people and say you can't do that, you can't be that. But I'm just simply saying that when we look at an honest look at where we are today in society, we have moved the guardrails so far, but we wonder what's coming next.
What's the next thing that we used to think that was evil but now is good? For instance, society says this to us and you've heard it.
Well, I know that the Bible and church may be all right for you, but everyone has a right to determine right and wrong for themselves, right? That's culture. That's culture.
Would you agree with me then that there are people in our society that do things that they see nothing wrong with, but we know that it's wrong?
What about a pedophile? He doesn't see anything wrong with engaging in sexual physical activities with children. What about the man that has intercourse with a two-year-old girl? He sees nothing wrong with the act, even though the rest of society says that's wrong.
But according to your interpretation, doesn't he have a right to determine what is right for himself? Do you see where this can lead? By holding to that philosophy, then any person could just simply determine their own value system.
But there's only one value system, and that's the value system that's found in this book. The sad thing is, it says in Judges, in that day, everyone did what was right in their own eyes because they had no king.
Here's another one that society has kept moving the bounds. You mean you still believe in no sex before marriage? Well, nobody believes that anymore. You just shack up with whoever you want to shack up with because it's easier, it's more convenient, and you can just put it in the back of your mind, I'm sure God understands because I really love this person.
Well, if you love that person, they should put a ring on it. Or you should put a ring on it, right? God has designed sex in the boundaries of the marriage covenant. Scripture teaches that's the only God kind of honoring sex.
So let me ask you this. If you're not married and you're living with somebody and you're having sex with them, has that made your life better? Has it made your partner better or more complicated?
He'll say, well, we're just checking out everything, you know. Check out the horse before I buy the horse or the cow or whatever you want to say. It's real in here today, okay? Let's get real.
They say, well, that way we can see if we're compatible for marriage. Divorce is in the high 60s percent right now, even among Christians. And it's even higher in people who live together and then get married.
Because they have complicated God's system. Here's what the scripture says in 1 Corinthians: "Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body. But he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body."
In a way, we say all sin is the same. And we know that in our mind. But let me ask you, is the sin of lying the same as the sin of killing somebody? Does it have the same results? And I would say no.
So when we look at this, Paul says that there are sins that you commit against your own body. When you have sex with somebody who is not your spouse, that you have not had a biblical covenant with, you have received part of their DNA into your life.
And so every person you have sex with, you receive part of their DNA in their life. And before you become a Christian, I mean, you're so full of a lot of other people's DNA because it's a sin against your own body.
I can't explain that. When we get to heaven, we'll understand it. But I'm telling you, sins against your body, adultery, fornication, homosexuality, other perversions, are against your own body and their way.
But when you come to the Lord Jesus Christ, he can redeem you, but yet there's still lingering thoughts and lingering feelings that you have.
Here's another one that society says: Choose your own gender. Some of you have teenagers and kids because it's a new fad. I don't think that I really should be a boy. I don't really think I should be a girl. I think you've messed up in this, and so I should be different.
Up to the 1950s, sex gender was always male and female. But then with the birth of gender theory in the 60s and 70s, the idea of gender became more pliable and elastic.
Even in trying to defend and define gender theory has become quite difficult. So today, there's a lot of genders. There's genderqueer, nonbinary, pangender, which means all genders, polygender, which means many, agender, none, demiboy, demigirl, which means partial, lunagender, which is a fluid gender identity changing with the cycle of the lunar cycle.
And there's quantum gender, obviously many genders simultaneously, and I could go on and on and on. And I don't say that to be humorous. I state that, do you understand what happens when we begin to move the guardrails of God?
In the very beginning, we've got to go back to the beginning, because even Jesus said in the beginning it was like this, and that's how you should carry it forth.
People say, well, Jesus didn't say this, he didn't say that, but if it wasn't changed and you bring it through the cross, it's still for today. So he said this is how it was.
And so let's look at Genesis chapter 1, verses 26 and 27. And you see what happens when we get out of biblical order. Everything in our life can become turmoil.
And people say, well, why is this happening? Why is this and why is that? I've been praying. And counsel will say to you, because you're not in biblical order.
When you get in biblical order, then you're living according to pleasing God in that. Then God said, "Let us make man in our image." Isn't that interesting? "Make man in our image after our likeness."
And then he says, "Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the heavens, over the livestock, over the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."
So God created man in his own image. In the image of God, he created him male and female. I'm sorry. I'm just looking at how God did it.
In the image of God, he created him. So if you're male or female, biologically born with the plumbing of a male or a female, that's God's intention. Purposely be fruitful and multiply, he says to them.
You can only be fruitful and multiply. You can only multiply, last time I thought, if you've got the right plumbing that works.
Now, I know society keeps moving the barriers. I heard the other day of a man that's getting a uterus so that he can have a baby. What's next? What's next?
Male here in this passage is the Hebrew word "zakar," which means a biological male. Female here is a biological female. I'm sorry.
I know there are people that feel different ways, and I wish I could say it's okay to just go by your feelings. But I know that's not true. That's not true.
Even the biblical definition of marriage has been changed. It's outdated. God sees marriage as a divine institution between one biologically born man and one biologically born woman.
I have to say that because we're living in a world in which people say, well, I'm in transition. I'm no longer a man. I'm no longer a woman. I'm changing that to how I feel, how I perceive.
But here's my heartbreak. People that say things like that are deceived because that's not how... And I have compassion for you. If you struggle heterosexually with somebody, opposite sex that you're not married to and you're having sex with, I have compassion for you.
I empathize with you. I have the same struggles in my mind with lust that I have to keep under control with my thoughts.
And I also... And that's hard for some of you because you just want to complain about people. But I also have a heart for people who have a desire for somewhat of the same sex.
I don't understand that, but I have compassion for that because I know it's the same deception as would happen in my mind if I yielded to my emotions.
So people say today it's all right. We can have same-sex sexual relationships and same-sex marriage. Follow that thought.
If we reject God's definition of marriage because every biblical passage talks about a biologically born male and a biologically born female, marriage is a creation of God.
Two thousand years later, Jesus comes along and says it's not changed. It's still the same. Male and female shall become one flesh.
So it's the place that we've had to put in our bylaws and constitution what we really think about biblical marriage. Because if we don't, then we could be sued because of discrimination.
But we stand firm that we believe, and it's hard in this world. But follow this. What's next? Since 2014, the travel agency in Kyoto, Japan has been offering same-self-marriage packages for women.
Self-marriage, sologamy is becoming a trend in Europe and Asia, especially among women. In June 22, Kamashabindu, an Indian woman, married herself. Following an elaborate ritual of Hindu wedding traditions, she identifies herself as bisexual.
And her reason for marrying herself was she always wanted to be the bride, but not the wife. Deception.
In 2009, Wilhelma Morgan-Colligan of North Island married her Yorkshire terrier. It's illegal to marry animals in the United Kingdom, so she had a spiritual wedding, but she has a marriage certificate hanging on the wall to her little dog.
There are more cases around the world I looked at this week. One woman who married her cats, and I'm sure she's going to hell. For those of you who don't know me, I don't like cats. They're of the devil.
I better go on, Tim. There are many cases around the world, including a woman who married her cats and a man who married his horse.
Paul faced the church in Corinth that was facing the same things that we're facing in society. And in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, he gives not an exhaustive list. This is not an exhaustive list of things that are wrong.
But what typically was going on in Corinth and in the Corinthian church, Paul is writing. There's been sexual permissiveness similar to our own. And it became so mainstream that when the Christians would stand up against it, they would be persecuted and some of them killed.
They would simply say, that's old-fashioned, that's not for real, that's not for now. Look at this, what Paul says, 1 Corinthians 6:9-11.
Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither the sexually immoral, that's all sorts of sexual sin, people who shack up with one another, who have sex before marriage.
Nor idolaters, that's anything you put before God, nor adulterers, that's those who are married and engaging in sex outside of the covenant relationship.
Nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor those habitually drunk, nor verbal abusers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
Many people interpret this to say, yeah, but the kingdom of God here means in this life now. But not when you look at this in context.
The very next thing Paul says, "Such were some of you." He's alluding to the fact that you used to do that. You used to have sexual perversion. You used to have an unrighteous life. You used to be a homosexual. You used to be a thief. You used to be constantly drunk.
But he said, you don't do that anymore. So what he's saying as he ends that verse, you can't be a Christian and live in a lifestyle that's unrighteous.
Now the difference of that is if a person struggles with a sexual sin and they keep failing and asking God to forgive them because they want to get their life on the right track. That's one thing.
He says you're struggling with it, but you're still on the right track. But when you get to the place that you say, oh, heck, it's all right. I'll do whatever I want. I'll shack up with whoever I want. Nobody's going to tell me what's wrong.
He said you can come to church all you want to after that, but you will not inherit the kingdom of God. Same thing with the lifestyle. Gender changes today. Homosexuality. The same thing.
And then it goes on to people who lie and put all those together. But it deals with those sexual sins that damage the body at the beginning.
But you now are washed. You are sanctified. You're justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ in the Spirit of God.
If a person actively, perpetually, and unrepentantly lives a lifestyle as Paul talks about here, they definitely will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Many of you have seen this before. It's called the Trojan Horse. The Greeks tried to come against Troy, the Trojans. But they were a well-walled city. They had more weapons than the Greeks had.
And the Greeks tried for ten years in Greek mythology, ten years, to pull down and to take over Troy. Nothing worked. So they came up with a scheme that they built this horse's head because the Trojans thought that horses were spiritual.
And so they came up to the gates of Troy and they said, we give up. We want to give you a token of our, that we're sorry and we'll give you this horse.
And they waved goodbye and they headed towards their ships. It didn't go all the way. So the Trojans pulled the horse into their sanctuary and they began to drink, laugh, have a good time.
And at the height of their drunkenness, the Greeks broke out of the wooden horse and they overcame Troy, tore it down. Couldn't tear it down from the outside, but to get in the inside, they pulled it down.
Please hear my heart today. It's the same principle with us. You are an invincible foe. The same spirit that raised Christ from the dead is alive in you.
But once you begin to move the guardrails, the enemy can't beat you from the outside. So he gets into your thoughts and he deceives you.
So three things. I need to feed my mind constantly on truth, not garbage. I need to free my mind from destructive thoughts. And thirdly, I must focus my mind on right things.
Look at your neighbor and say, "Focus." Focus on right things.
Second Timothy 2:8, would you read this with me? Is this there on the Sky Bible? Read it out loud.
Keep your mind on Jesus Christ. Think about who you're becoming like. We do the thing right. What would Jesus do? What would Jesus think?
See, if I keep my mind on him, Hebrews 12 says this: Think about Jesus' example. He held on. Are you having a hard time holding on?
He held on while wicked people were doing evil things to him. So do not get tired and stop trying. When you feel like you're ready to give up, there's no help, there's nothing you can do. Just think about Jesus.
Not only think about Jesus, but think about eternity. Colossians 3:2 says, "Let heaven fill your thoughts."
I mean, if I have Jesus on my mind and heavenly thoughts filling my mind, don't think that things down here on earth... Look, you hear people say, you're so heavenly minded, you're no earthly good. That is a lie.
I've never met anybody so heavenly minded they weren't earthly good. Because if you're heavenly minded, you don't only think about God and love yourself, but you love your neighbor as yourself, right?
Colossians 3:2, let heaven fill your thoughts. Do not think only about things down here on the earth. King James says, set your minds on things above, not on things on the earth.
Let heaven fill your thoughts. The Roman emperor Charlemagne knew that when he was going to die, he said to his people, I want you to entomb me in my tomb, sitting on my throne, sitting upright.
Put my crown on my head, put my scepter in my hand, drape a royal cape around my shoulders, and put this open book placed on my lap.
Nearly 200 years later, that was Emperor Othello, and he read that. And he said, I wonder if they did that, if they really did what he said.
So he had somebody, some of his people, to open up the tomb of Charlemagne. Sure enough, his skeleton was there in the chair. The crown had fallen off because of the deterioration of his flesh.
The scepter had fallen to the ground. But in his lap, the book was the Bible. And he had a skeleton finger on this scripture, Matthew 6:26: "What good will it do for a man if he gains the whole world, yet he forfeits his soul?"
That's all I got. That's all I got today. Where's my heart? We don't point fingers. We don't yell at people that are deceived. We don't try to prove them that you're right and they're wrong.
We just simply point to the Word. But do you see how slippery the slope gets? It gets so slippery that we have to, as elders, sit down and say, where can we let a person serve that's living in sin?
Because we want a person to belong before they believe. We want this to be a safe place. Do you hear my heart? This should be a safe place where people that are struggling with sin feel like they can come.
We don't judge anybody. We teach the Word because eternity is a long time. And is it really worth it what you think how you should live compared to what God's Word says for eternity?
I want to pray for those of us that are believers, first of all, today. Made in His image, the greatest gift that He ever gave us is the gift of our brains, our intellect.
We realize it's the greatest asset and it's the greatest battleground. Let me pray for you as a believer. And maybe you can just say amen quietly or pray this to yourself.
God, help me to put in practice what I've heard today. Help me to make the choices that I need to make daily. I want to feed my mind on your truth all the time.
I want to free my mind from destructive thoughts. Make them obedient to Christ. Not to let my mind run wild. Help me to be wise when these temptations and desires come that lead to disobedience.
Today, God, I make up my mind to obey your Word no matter what it costs. Help me to think about others. Help me to think about eternity that my life could be transformed in your name.
As your head is bowed and you continue to pray today, I want to pray for those of you that maybe you know today that your lifestyle, according to the scripture we just read, not my thoughts but the scripture, and you're saying if I continue on this way, living this unrighteous, unright life, I'm only bringing destruction to my own self.
I need help. That's why God realized how the world would get. He realized where we're going and He sent His only Son, Jesus, who lived a sinless life, who never tried to move the guardrails, lived a sinless life.
He died on the cross for your sins and my sins. What He calls a sin is a sin. What we justify as, well, that's how I'm living right now. That's the world.
Then right now, the Holy Spirit is convicting you. Not my words, the Holy Spirit. And He's saying to you, Jesus is knocking on your heart's door. The doorknob is on the inside. I can't force you.
The doorknob is on the inside. I can't force you. I can't make you. But His Holy Spirit is drawing you today to come to Him.
You say, well, after I come to Him, then how am I going to handle the sin in my life, this thing I'm dealing with? You won't be doing it by yourself. And you won't be doing it faking.
See, a lot of people fake. They can fake worship. They can fake raising their hands. They can fake a lot of words. But you can't fake the Holy Spirit's conviction that's touching your heart right now.
And you know you need change. And Jesus wants to help you make that change. So is this church praise today?
If you're sitting here and you say, Terry, I need to change. And I'm willing to change with God's help. And I want that change today. Would you raise your hand and make eye contact with me? Because I want to lead you in a prayer today.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you in the back. Others today. Thank you. Thank you.
Look at me just a minute. I can lead you in the prayer. But you have to surrender the heart. And when you do, your life will change today.
Wow, isn't that great? A purpose to live. An eternity with Jesus. Or are you going to say today, no, I'm not going to change?
I plan on living an eternity separated from God in hell. You say, oh, I'm not planning on that. But you see, you're not sure what another day may bring forth.
But you see, you're not sure what another day may bring forth. So I want to lead us in prayer today. And would you pray this prayer with me?
With those who raised their hand today.
Father God, thank you for sending your son Jesus to die for my sins. I confess I'm a sinner and I need a savior. I've been moving the guardrails and living by my feelings.
But today I commit to your truth as best as I know how. I want to serve you all the days of my life. Fill me with your spirit in Jesus' name.
Now listen to what's very critical. Those of you who raised your hand, what's so very, very critical. You know, you wouldn't have a newborn child born and just say, good luck.
You know, you wouldn't have a newborn child born and just say, good luck. So at First Step here and First Step here, we got some very compassionate people that want to give you some resources that will help you on this journey.
So in a minute we're going to stand and we're going to receive our tithe and offering to go into worship in a song. But don't scurry out of here. Go to the first step. Go to the first step. Get the materials that are there.
And our prayer team will be down front to even pray with you. If you say, I made that decision today. I want to pray.
Well, our ushers are coming. We're getting ready to receive our tithe and offering. And you drop your connection into there.
You know, the scripture talks about that we've been given so that in turn we could return. Let's just hold the buckets for a second. That we could give to others.
You're not a container if you're a Christian. In other words, he doesn't just fill you with stuff, fill you up with stuff, fill you up. But you're a conduit.
So what he gives you, you can give out to others. And so today we do that with our tithe and our offering. Let's pray.
Father, I pray and I thank you for those that are giving right now in the name of Jesus. I pray, Lord, your blessings upon them in your name.
You may go ahead and pass the buckets and drop in your connection card. Let me share with you.
Be sure to use that connection card to invite people. Watch me just for a second as you're placing your offering in there.
Let me tell you how wonderful people are at the Father's house that have a heart always to think about others and give.
On the Sunday that we talk about the families, 68 families that are homeless in the school next door and then another 12 families or more in the next school.
We had two different individuals who stepped up to the plate very quietly without any fanfare and said between the two of them, we want to give $73,000 to help the families that don't have a home.
That's you. That's the Father's house that has a heart like these gifts. I looked at the checks that were given to me and I began to cry. What a heart.
How could somebody even think about that? And each person that I talked to said, God spoke to my heart and I wanted to do something.
So we're moving those funds into a place here with our Lake County school system that helps families in those three schools that are homeless, that has a need.
That's because of you. That's because of people that are obedient. Let's worship in this song this morning.
on Dec 10, 2023
