Good morning. Good morning. Good morning.
It's good to see you all here this morning. So glad you have chosen to be in the house of the Lord. So excited about what I believe God is going to do in our midst today. And I, with Andrew, welcome you and encourage you to not be a participant that sits on the sideline, but to be involved in what God is doing throughout the church, but also today inside of the services.
We want to go to the Lord together in prayer today, and as we do that, I want to open up the door for you. I want to open the altar and ask a couple of our prayer partners to come and join me. And as they're making their way here, I'm going to ask Reverend Jim Walls. Jim, would you come and lead us in prayer this morning from the North Carolina Conference? We're going to let him cross conference bounds today, and he's going to lead us in prayer today.
And as our prayer partners are stationed here, let me share just one quick word with you. Jesus is at the tomb of Lazarus, and you know the story. Lazarus has been dead, and he's laying in the tomb, and Mary and Martha are dealing with their brother being dead. And Jesus is deeply moved, and he says, "Take away the stone." And Martha says something interesting. She says, "But Lord." In other words, she's going to give him more information than he already has. How many times do we try to do that? We're always trying to give God more information than we think he already has. How many of you know God already knows? All right? And nothing you're going to encounter is taking him by surprise.
And I love the way that Jesus looks at him, and he says, "Here's what I want you to do. I want you to roll the stone away." Now, the King James really is really cool the way it says it. The King James says, "But Lord, he stinketh." The dude's got an odor by now. He's been dead for four days. Now, if you don't understand Jewish culture, he's actually breaking a spiritual bondage. There, when you look into it in depth, the Jews believed that the spirit hovered over the body for three days. And if he wasn't dead longer than that, they wouldn't have believed he was really, really dead. So what he's doing is proving the fact that Jesus has power over death.
And then he told him this. He said, "Listen to this right here." And this is where I want to encourage you. He said, "Did I not tell you that if you believe you will see the glory of God?" So I want to challenge you today to believe. Look at your neighbor and tell him, "Just believe, just believe, just believe." And here's the promise: You will see the glory of God. How many of you want to see the glory of God in the house today? Can we get a good shout? Amen. Right there. You want to see the glory of God in the house today, then just believe.
How do I believe? I want to encourage you to take a step of faith. Bring whatever need you have to this altar today and know that God is able to do exceedingly and abundantly more than you could ever think or imagine. Jim, would you lead us in prayer this morning?
They tried to convict him of different things. And that's... He wasn't a robber like you think I'm talking about. He was the one that of the souls of men and women and brought them back to life. Hallelujah. And you might be one of those. That was robbed far like I am. I can't praise him enough for the life he gave me. I was dead but now I'm alive. I was blind but now I see. I was lame but now I can walk. Hallelujah. Glory to God. He's a grave robber.
And if you're here today and you're dead and you don't know Christ, today's a good day to give your life to the King of kings and the Lord of lords. We bless you today, Lord. We praise your holy name. You are the King of kings and the Lord of lords. You're the giver of life. Hallelujah. And the sustainer of life. You are the one who makes eternal life possible for every human being that would bow their knee before you and confess that you truly are. Hallelujah. The King of heaven and earth.
Oh, we bless you, Lord. We welcome you in this house. Holy Spirit, we sense your moving even right now. Hallelujah. So Lord, do what you want to do, Father. Oh, Holy Spirit, have liberty in this house now. Hallelujah. Touch us from the crowns of our head to the soles of our feet.
For that one that may be in this house or watching us online today that is dead, but yet something is going on inside of their spirit that they're having trouble understanding. Holy Spirit, let them know that you're nudging them, that you're loving them, that you're working with them even right now to bring life. Hallelujah. Be the grave robber today, Lord. Rob that which was dead and make it alive. Hallelujah.
Be like the father of the prodigal son. Let them know that they're welcome home. Hallelujah. Prepare a robe for them and have a ring ready. Hallelujah. As they make their way to you today, Lord. Hallelujah.
Father, as we make this transition now into your word, I pray that it would be a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. I pray that it would do the work that you have promised. It would not go out and return unto you void. So I believe that things will be accomplished by your word today.
Lord, I also ask, through the power of the Spirit that you have given us and the authority of the name of Jesus, that every foul spirit that has tried to enter into this house would be rebuked in the name of Jesus. I declare freedom in this house. I declare liberty for every captive. Hallelujah.
Lord, may your word, may your word, may your word forever change us. And we'll be quick to make sure you and you alone get all praise, glory, and honor. We ask it in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen and amen.
Can we bless the Lord one more time before we're seated? Come on, give him a good shout of praise. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Glory.
I don't know who let that... I think somebody told y'all we were going to have church today. I'm glad they did that. Amen. And I'm really glad that you come prepared to have church and not wanting someone to do church for you, but you want to be part of what church is and what it's doing. God bless you. Thank you for that.
Today I want to go to part two in our sermon series on "Choose Wisely." We're talking about heaven and hell for the next couple of weeks. And we've got some things that are coming up that we'll have to work into the midst of this series today. If I were to entitle today's message, it would simply be "Hell's Highway." I talked a little bit about that last week, but today I want to talk a little bit more about the highway itself and talk about hell's highway.
And I also want to tell you just right up front that God is working. Look at your neighbor and tell them, "God's working."
Anybody been on a road trip lately and you've been down the interstate and those God-awful looking orange barrels are everywhere? Anybody know what I'm talking about? There's blockades everywhere. And in those orange barrels, that means delays. That means inconveniences. It means you might not get where you thought you were going on time. And so those barrels represent blockades to us.
I was going through a small development a few days ago. Had the trailer behind me, and I missed where they had a speed bump there. And me and speed bumps don't get along real well. I usually look at them as ramps to jump. It's in me from a kid. But unfortunately, that 2500 HD Duramax and trailer didn't see it the way I did. And we hit it a little harder than I want, and it became a blockade.
And so today I just want to tell you about four things. This is not exhaustive by any stretch of the imagination, but I want to talk about four blockades that God has put on the highway to hell.
Perhaps when I talk about the highway to hell, let me just... Right before I do that, let me just give you the key point. Because this is the same key point from last week, and this will be throughout our series. And I want this to really permeate inside of you. You know from time to time I'll have a key point that will work all the way through our series. But here's where I want to bring you to today: What you believe about eternity determines how you will live today.
So what you believe about eternity is going to fashion and shape and form you, not only at the moment, but it's going to set you into motion about how you're going to believe, how you're going to live. And so it's important that we address some of these topics that Jesus did. And so I just find myself in need of touching on some of those.
When I look at the sermon title "Hell's Highway" or "Highway to Hell," naturally if you're like me and you grew up in the 70s and 80s and 60s, come on, somebody help me now. It's getting worse. Glory to God. But I'm just telling you, if you grew up and you hear that term "Highway to Hell," you automatically start thinking about 1979 and ACDC. For those of you that are a little bit older, you don't know what I'm talking about. For you electricians, we're not talking about current today; we're talking about a rock band.
And the title of the song that they had, "Highway to Hell," was actually a title. The song was depicting the lifestyle of living on the road and going from concert hall to concert hall and all the things that were being encompassed inside of that. The problem with it though, the lyrics, though they were talking about that, we that didn't understand the background of it, we were singing along. And we were singing some of the most ungodly lyrics with that song. And we were pronouncing things over our life we didn't even realize we were pronouncing over our life. Because there's the power of life and death that's in the tongue. Amen.
And so with that, we find that we were saying some things that we didn't realize we were saying. We weren't talking about going from concert to concert hall like the song was written. We were talking about actually our life and the way we were living.
Listen to some of these lyrics that would help you understand that. It says, "Going down. Party time. My friends are going to be there too." And when you think about hell, they may be there, but it's not going to be a party going on down there.
So let me just remind you of that. And I've got to stay with my notes because I've got a lot for you today. He says, "No stop signs." That's what I'm going to tell you right now. What he thought were no stop signs. I want to introduce you to some stop signs today because God's putting blockades in your life right now. If you're headed to hell, God's not going to let you get there easily because he loves you too much. Amen.
He goes on with these lyrics: "No stop signs. Speed limit. Nobody is going to slow me down. Hey Satan, paying my dues. I'm on my way to the promised land. I'm on the highway to hell. Don't stop me. I'm on a highway to hell. And I'm going down all the way. I'm on a highway to hell."
Now you may not have sung that, but that was very popular in my day. And I'm looking at some of you knuckleheads, and I see you nodding. I know what you were singing back in those days as well.
So where are we today? What are we believing today? We've had some junk poured into us. Amen. That we need to debunk. And so I turned to the church world, and as I was studying this week, I came across some data that alarmed me. And to be honest with you, it upset me and made me kind of mad. And I hope you know I don't want to be mad. As long as you anger but sin not. And I got a little frustrated.
And the reason I got frustrated was I got frustrated at pastors. And y'all forgive me for just a moment, but I'm going to tell you why. Pew did a research, and it was actually done through a Christian website kind of thing, and George Barna led the research. And it said in this research, through Christian Post, it revealed... Now I want you to listen to me. This is coming up real good right here. This isn't an indictment against us, you, the church, us that filled the pulpit.
The survey was done in 2022, so this is not like something that's old and antiquated and out of date. This is a recent survey that we're looking at, actually September of 2022. Here's what it attacks us at. It says that one third, one third, that's 33%. One out of every three evangelical... Yeah, evangelical. Whoever said it, thank you. American senior pastors, evangelical American senior pastors, believe good people can earn their way to heaven.
Come on, that ought to make us mad right there. That's what's filling our pulpits in America. One third of pastors are preaching a message of just be good. Sounds like grandma, something she said a long time ago. Just do the best you can, honey, and everything's going to work out, and it'll all be okay in the end. But I got news for you. If your good was good enough, Christ came for no reason at all. But your good is not good enough. That's why we needed a savior.
The message goes on from what we learned out of the survey. It also revealed that the same preachers, over 30% of them, would not affirm that salvation is based upon an individual confessing their sins and accepting Jesus Christ as their personal savior and lord. This is evangelical church America. Are you hearing me?
Now listen to me. I'm not talking about every church. That's not what I'm saying. I'm not saying go out and throw us all under the bus. I'm just saying there's not a clear message coming from the pulpit. And because there's not, we're in the mess we're in.
So today I'm going to be real clear with you about some things, and I'm going to just tell you like it is. I hope you realize I'm going to tell you the same thing I told you last week. I'm mad but not at you. Look at your neighbor and tell him he loves you. I really do. But I am mad today. I'm mad at Satan, and I'm sick and tired of his lies and his deceptions that he has put out over the house of God that we believe anything we want to believe and believe we can get to heaven any way we choose and that we can live any way we want to live.
And I'm going to debunk all of those myths to you today. There is a way that seemeth right unto man, but in the end thereof leads to destruction. So look at your neighbor and tell him with a nice good smile. Husband, if your wife is sitting beside you, look the other way and tell them. Here's what I want you to tell them. And I say this, I'm not trying to complain, but I'm trying to get a point across. Tell them you ain't smart as you think you are.
Why am I doing that? I want to get your attention. Larry, look the other way. Larry, you can't win. You don't say a word. You can't tell Sheryl and you can't tell Dinky. Larry, look forwards or backwards. Amen. Love you, buddy. Here's why I did that. I'm trying to get your attention. I'm not trying to say you're not smart or anything like that. I'm just working hard today to grab you where we need to grab you to realize that you may have been taught some things that are not accurate.
We need to know the truth because it's only the truth that's going to set us free. Amen. I need to stick with my notes because I've got a long way to go. So let me work through this, if you don't mind.
Lastly, what was also revealed was those who responded in such fashion, these pastors that I'm talking about, confessed in the survey that they had no consistent spiritual behavioral patterns of Bible reading, prayer, worship, and confession. You hear what I said? Pastors had no... These 33% of them had no daily regiment of the word.
How many of you ate three meals yesterday? How many of you ate at least two meals yesterday? Come on. How many of you ate at least one meal yesterday? How many of you know that without eating you will die? How many of you know without the word of God you're going to die spiritually? Amen.
And so I'm just telling you, you've got pastors standing in the pulpit that are not allowing the word of God to permeate their life. And because it's not, it's attacking every church. I'm not... Don't look at me and think I'm saying we're the only pumpkin on the vine. We're not. We're not. But I'm just going to tell you, we're not going to compromise either. I'm not going to cower down to what the world wants. Amen. We will stand true on the word of God.
Now, all of that, let me just tell you this. God's not taking this lying down. All of this that's unfolding, he's not been surprised by it. But because of his mercy and grace, God has put some proverbial roadblocks on this highway to hell. And I want to talk to you about those this morning.
In 2 Peter, go with me to 2 Peter. 2 Peter chapter 2. And it's there in chapter 2, in verses... Or sorry, chapter 3. 2 Peter chapter 3, verses 8 and 9. And I want to read these to you real quick this morning, and then I want to lay a few things out.
Verse 8: "Do not forget this one thing, dear friends." In other words, this would be like him saying, "Listen up, listen up, listen up. I got something to tell you. Do not forget this one thing, dear friends. With the Lord, a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day."
Now verse 9 is keenly important. "The Lord is not slow." Look at your neighbor and tell him, "God's a good time keeper." We'll understand this more as we go. He said, "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promises, as some understand slowness. Instead, listen to me, he is patient with you." Somebody ought to say amen right there. Boy, I could spend all morning telling you about how patient God's been with me. Amen.
I could. I don't need to digress today. I'm just telling you, he didn't give up on me. Amen. He is patient. He is patient. Amen. And here's why: Not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone... Look at your neighbor and say, "That's you. That's you. That's you." But everyone come to repentance. This is the heart of God that no one perish.
I told you last week, and I'm going to just get you to help me one more time this morning, and I'm going to just tell you the same thing I told you last week. You don't have to go to hell. No one has to go to hell. So help me, help me, help me. Look at your neighbor and tell him, "You don't have to go to hell." God's patient, and he's working on you right now.
Last week we saw that there is a hell and what an awful place it is. We saw that hell is a place of extreme and unceasing suffering. That is a place of anguish because of tormenting, both of physical and the mind, of memories, and of unceasing remorse and or regret. We saw that it is a place of everlasting shame and contempt. And hell eats away. Hell has a devouring spirit. Hell eats away. It comes but to kill, steal, and destroy.
That helps you understand that Satan likes to devour. When an individual ends up in Hades, in hell, it is a devouring spirit about him, and he is always working to consume or to eat away. And so it is a place where hell eats away at the individual for eternity. And we saw that hell is a world utterly without end, without hope.
And watch this, let me tell you something. Once you get there, once you get there, your destiny is unchangeable. There is no getting out of hell, regardless of what any of your other friends may have told you from any other belief system. Listen to me, and listen to me real clear. There is no such thing as purgatory. There is no such thing as anyone being able to buy your way or pay your way out of hell. There is no such thing as you are going there to be convicted of sin so that you can be redeemed. No. Where the tree falls in the forest, that is where it is going to lay.
And so I want to make it very clear today that this is a serious moment. You need to understand the gravity by which the heaviness that is coming at us today. Now, the passages of scripture that I just read declare again that nobody has to go to hell. Not the will of God that not one single man, not one single woman, not one single child should go to that awful place.
So God has done and is doing today everything within his power to keep men and women out of hell. If any man or woman in this house or watching us online today goes to hell, listen to me, it will be because of your own choice. You are going to be held responsible for your choices. This is not something that you can look back and say, "But my mama told me." You are not going to be able to blame it on grandma. I love my grandma, and I love my mama, but I am going to be honest with you. I am not going to heaven because of my mama. I am going to heaven because of the truth that is found in the living word of God.
I am going to heaven in the name of Jesus. So make it very clear today, very clear. It will be because of our own choices. It is not God's intention or desire that you should go to hell. New age reformist, Calvinist, boy, I am throwing the gauntlet down today. I am not holding much back. I am just being honest with you. I am coming at you today with truth that you were not created to go to hell. That was not why God created you.
So to go to hell, you are going to have to go through some roadblocks. And I want to share those roadblocks with you. God has filled this road to hell full of obstacles to prevent men and women from going their own way. And again, I am just going to tell you, I am living proof of that. No man or woman in this audience, none, or watching online can go to hell without encountering obstacles that God has put in place because of his infinite love.
He has put in the way of you going there some things that you are going to have to deal with. You can deliberately climb over those obstacles that God has put in place. But I am going to tell you something, you are going to have to drag through his grace and mercy and his love to get there because he is not going to let you go easily.
But let me tell you something, let me tell you something, because there is a balance to everything. Micah Nail, he is going to give us our choice. Love is not love without choice. Are you hearing me today? Love is not love. Why didn't he just create us all as robots? Because robots do not have the ability to love. And God wants you to love him because he loves you.
Stay with me this morning. These obstacles, number one, the first obstacle is the written word of God. I want to talk to you about the Bible for just a moment. You are very far in the path of sin without finding that the Bible is in your way. The Bible is one of the greatest hindrances to sin in the world. With its warnings and with its invitations, with its descriptions of the character and the consequences of sin, with its representations of the beauty and the reward of righteousness, with its wonderful pictures of God and God's love, the Bible is a great obstacle to man's continuance in sin.
It is a part, an important part of God's blockage, his blockade on the road to hell. Because his word is written, listen to me, that you shall know that he hides nothing from us in this context. He has made it very clear that Jesus said, "You shall know the way." Thomas said, "Lord, where are you going? We don't know the way." Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the light."
So there's nothing hidden in the directional pathway. You know the way to heaven, and the word of God is filled with truth for you. Well, how do you know? Because these things are written that you may know. You don't have to wonder. God has given us his word, and his word is true, and his promises are still yea and amen to every promise he has ever made.
So why is it that so many are against or push against the Bible? Why is it that it can only be taken into the school as a historical document and not as the infallible word of God? Because the Bible makes a sinner very uncomfortable. Because the Bible reveals what is right and what is wrong, what is life and what is death, what is darkness and what is light.
The Bible is very clear in what it does. And I'm going to shorten some of this up. I'm watching the clock. I'm already in trouble. But I'm going to shorten some of this up because I believe you're getting it real quick, and I feel the Holy Spirit working right now to help us with this.
But I want you to understand inside of all of this that when we understand the truth of the matter is the word of God becomes a mirror to the individual. And when you look in it, James says that we look into the word of God intently and then we forget what it says. In other words, it's like looking in the mirror and forgetting what you look like. And you walk away knowing that you're wretched and a sinner and that you need a savior.
But you discount it all and say, "Nah, I don't agree with that. I must be okay like I am." The word of God does not say that. It says that we must look intently into the word. And let me tell you something, we do real good in America reading the Bible. But what we don't do is we don't stop and let the Bible read us. That is the difference between an individual that is doing it in a casual approach and those that want to find the nuggets of the truth of the living word.
When you look at it intently, I feel like I need to help you one more time. Look at your neighbor and just look at him again and say, "He's not mad." I know I'm preaching like I'm mad today, but I don't want anybody in this house to go to hell. I don't want anybody under the sound of my voice to miss out on heaven. And there are too many in the church that are deceived.
You say, "Well, not in our church." What makes us different? Well, good thing I'm not an evangelist. You wouldn't invite me back next week. Be nice. Romans 6 and 23 says the wages of sin is death. You know what we're real good at? Mike and Elle, we're real good stopping right there. We're going to tell the whole world, "You see, and you're going to die." But that's not the end of the verse.
Listen to the rest of it. "For the wages of sin is death. But..." Somebody say "but." "But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." So if anybody has scared you with Romans 6 and 23 or 3, then I want you to understand today that the end of the story is that though you have sinned and though you've come short of the glory of God, that doesn't have to be the end of your story.
And according to the sermon I preached yesterday at the funeral, you can have a "but God" moment right now because "but God" gave us the gift of eternal life through his son Jesus Christ. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. John 6 and 37 says, "He that comes to me, I will in no wise cast out." All you got to do is come to Jesus. Amen. Have a come to Jesus moment. And when you come to him, let me tell you something, he will in no wise reject you.
"Come, let us reason together." I don't even know what to say when I get there, Lord. Let me tell you something, all you got to do is come, and he'll help carry the conversation with you. He loves you that much.
Second obstacle, I need to hurry through a little bit, but not only is it the written word of God, but the second obstacle is in your pathway is the spoken word of God. The spoken word of God. What do I mean by that? The sermons and the preaching that you've been under.
Let me tell you something, this day and age, now we take sermons and preaching, "Okay, I could take it or leave it." But I want you to understand that God works through the preaching of the word. God works through this foolishness that we call preaching to do things that are supernatural in the ears. Thousands and thousands and hundreds of thousands of men and women have been turned back from seeing to God by the sermons that they have heard.
Some people in these days again think it's a waste of time. But a true sermon preached in the power and the anointing of the Holy Ghost is one of the mightiest powers of God and for his righteousness to be displayed. In the same survey I quoted earlier, 34% of professing evangelicals... I got it right. I'm not going to say it's a waste of time. Somebody say amen for that, boy. Senior pastors don't believe that the Holy Spirit is a real person. Are you hearing me?
Nor do they believe in moral absolute truth as spoken by in the infallible word of the living God. Let me tell you something, God cannot lie, and his word is true. And when I preach his word, you're not standing on truth I gave you. You're standing on the truth of the word of God that simply came through me under the anointing of the Holy Ghost, the anointing and the unction of the Holy Ghost.
And so when you deal with that, you got to deal... Don't get mad at Pastor Mark. Amen. I got enough folks already mad at me and stay that way. But I can tell you this, there's no need to get mad at me for preaching the word. This is a roadblock.
Listen to me, young man. Listen to me, young lady. Listen to me, husband, wife. This is a roadblock that God is putting in your life today to try and keep you from going to hell because he loves you that much. He's going to make you uncomfortable. He will make you miserable in the house of God, and that's a good thing.
I wish I had time to tell you a few stories, but today I don't have time for that. No wonder America, by and large, and again, not all, look at your neighbor and say, "Not all." Again, I'm not indicting all churches. But no wonder we have churches across America that are dying like crazy. No wonder there's so many empty baptismal pools, and no wonder that there's empty altars.
A sermon is nothing more than a bunch of words when presented without the person and power of the Holy Ghost working and pulling and convicting and tugging at the hearts of men and women, and truth is being proclaimed. In other words, without the Holy Spirit, this is nothing in the world but a good little talk.
In fact, it came sweeping across America, and I don't know if you've run into these kinds of circles, but Kenny now, you go to churches, and they don't have sermons. They just say, "Come and let's have a little talk together." Well, I'm going to be honest with you. I didn't come here to talk to you. I came so that you could have a little talk with Jesus. Amen. You don't need to talk to me. You need to talk to him. Amen. And I'm trying to get you to him today.
But let's just come have a little talk. Yeah, how's that working for you? That's why it's imperative for saints to pray for the lost in the house while the pastor's preaching. Be it sinner or saint, the word of God is still working in the hearts of men and women today.
Hebrews 4 and 12 behind me: "For the word of God is alive and active, sharper than any double-edged sword. It penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joint and marrow. It judges the thoughts and the attitudes of the heart." In other words, the word of God is reading you right now, and it's piercing into your life.
And those things that you're feeling uncomfortable about right now, good, because God's getting us. This roadblock is something that you're going to have to deal with. John 1 and 1: "In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God."
Watch this journey. Matthew 4 and 4: "But Jesus answered, 'It is written.'" It comes from the mouth of God. I say that humbly and carefully, but this is what I am doing right now. I am being a mouthpiece for God. Amen. By preaching his word.
Sermons bring people to God. They're stumbling blocks. But I'm going to tell you this, they're stumbling blocks to keep you out of hell. John 17 and 17: "Sanctify them in the truth. Your word is truth." When sermons are filled with the word of God, they work to penetrate the couch, and the sword of truth begins doing its surgical procedure, exposing and eradicating sin at its very core.
Listen, we don't need any more to pretty and neat and sweet little homilies to tickle our ears and promote our agendas used for some political or power gain or make us feel good in our sin. We need unadulterated, spirit-infused, Holy Ghost meetings and preachings that will cause sinners in which they're living and cause them to take the first exit they can find to get off of that road and to find another straight and pathway to God.
Just tickle my ears and tell me what I want to hear and let me feel good about myself? No. I'd rather upset you today. I'd rather make you mad today. I'd rather confront you with sin in the name of Jesus and then spend eternity in heaven with you rejoicing because of the goodness of God.
I'm not as young as I used to be, and I don't have as much patience with this as I used to have. Time's getting close. Days are drawing shorter. And whether you believe God's coming back or not, he is. And I don't know if the band's up there getting the trumpet all polished up and ready, but I don't know. But I wouldn't be surprised at any moment that a trumpet blast sound. Amen.
And the father looks over at the son and he says, "Go get your bride and bring them up." And I'm just going to tell you, I've got my ticket, and I've got it punched, and I'm ready for the ride. Romans 10, 14 and 15: "How then can they call on the one that they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written, 'In the presence of those who bring the good news.'"
Trust me, I know what some of you are thinking and saying. I wish he'd shut up and sit down. I wrestle every week when I preach because I already know you preach too long. And according to statistics, I probably do. It's okay.
But you know, I just found in the book that this is the Lord's day. And that this day, this what we're doing right now, this should be what we're hungry for. This is sustenance. This is manna from heaven. Just, you know, just tickle my ears a little bit, preacher. Make me feel good. Oh no, listen, I didn't come here to entertain you. I didn't come here to tickle your ears. I didn't come here to promote your agenda. I didn't come here to win your approval or appease you in your sinfulness.
I'm here to serve up a platter of eternal food from the uncompromised, infallible word of life to a poor and wretched dying soul that needs manna from heaven. Sermons serve as medicine to a sin-sick person that's on life support. And I'm here to try and get you well.
With average church attendance in America today, listen to me, being three out of eight Sundays, you know what that means? That means I might not see some of you for five more weeks. You do the math. We'll be here and then we'll be gone and gone and gone and gone. And then we'll pop back in, but then we'll be gone and gone and gone and gone. And then we'll pop back in, and we'll be gone and gone and gone.
So I don't get the option. Listen to me, I'm just giving you some good food for thought today. I don't get the option of doing part one this week and part two next week because a vast majority won't be here next week. So when I come to the house to give you the word, I come to bring you a full course meal because God wants you to know the travesty of sin. He wants you to know the redemption of his son, and he wants you to know that you can experience it right now.
I can't tell you that without getting you here, and I'm not going to leave you hanging week to week because I don't know which week you're going to need to hear about this side of it. Woo, I'm glad next week's not pastor appreciation. Amen. Larry, you feeling alright today? I might need an escort getting out of here, bro. Amen. Almighty God, man.
Third piece I want to give you is the roadblock. So listen to me, look at me and love me a minute. My preaching is not a stumbling block. It's a roadblock to you. The roadblock is I'm trying to keep you from going to hell. That is my goal more than anything else.
Third stumbling block that God will put in the way is the active word of God. The active word of God. His work. Many as well as myself can attest to the fact that right in the midst of a night out on the town, come on, anybody remember that? I'm not giving it any glory, but back in the day where you were going to have your fun night out on the town with all your buddies and all your friends and all of that.
In the midst of it, all of a sudden it got real uncomfortable. And all of a sudden memories of the prayers of your mama or the prayers of your daddy or the prayers of your grandma or all of a sudden the memories of a Sunday school teacher or the memories of a church service would start to flood back into your life. And all of a sudden the party wasn't very comfortable anymore.
I want you to understand that's the power of the active word, the Holy Spirit that is messing you up and coming to throw a roadblock and a wrench in your plans. And he's trying to circumvent you from going down the highway to hell and to mess you up.
So Mike and Al, he'll wake you up in the midst of all of that. Do you know in the midst of your sinful life, God will keep working to upset what you're doing? The Holy Spirit is working in such a way that he does that. He is the convictor of sin. Notice I said that. He is the one who convicts of sin, not condemns you but convicts you. Amen.
And what I've said multiple times is he's working to convince you, not to condemn you and call you out, but to convince you and to bring you in. And he's doing things like reminding you of the goodness of God and the love of God and the people of God and the house of God. And he'll remind you and make you hungry and homesick for the things of God.
If you've ever been homesick, there's nothing... There's nothing. Hallelujah.
Well, let me say this. Christians are not immune to this problem either. Look at your neighbor and tell them, "Buckle up. Get your shoes up. Toes are going to get hurt." There are many Christians who have allowed sin to creep into their life, and they don't consider it to be sin because other Christians and or outside sources affirm their behavior.
Or they do understand it is sin but have no urgency to change it because the world affirms their behavior. And the affirmation of the world is comforting to their sense of self. And if they do understand it's sin and have not changed the behavior, then they have rejected the conviction of the Holy Spirit in their life.
In regards to this manner of sin, and hear me well, that is one of the most dangerous places you can ever be. Real conviction of sin is only produced by the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit that convicts man that Jesus died for our sins. It's the Holy Spirit who convinces the unbeliever that Jesus Christ is Savior and Lord and that sins are really forgiven for those who truly believe in Christ.
And it is the same Holy Spirit that convicts the saved of the ongoing work of sanctification in their life. That's a good place I'd love to camp out, but the clock is still moving. Let me give you the fourth obstacle that's in the road. Pastor Ron, if you'll come, I've about preached the word, the wind out of this house today.
There's the crucified word of God. So we've got the written word of God. Are you hearing me? We've got the spoken word of God. We've got the active word of God. And we've got the crucified word of God. That is a stumbling block for you today, not a stumbling block, but a roadblock for you today.
A roadblock. Every once in a while, I'll digress a little bit. I try to get my mind to kick out of gear because all I do is think of ministry 24/7. And every once in a while, it would be nice to be able to sleep a little bit. I actually did something that I haven't done in ages. Last Monday, y'all remember that was a holiday. Was that a holiday? Wasn't it last Monday?
I actually had a Zoom call that I was supposed to be on with two of the bishops in the IPHC. And don't tell them, y'all mute the camera real quick. But I stood that whole, I stood both of them up to be with my wife all day. Every once in a while, I'll digress, and I'll flip through and watch some reels. You ever watch reels of people that are having road rage? Y'all don't watch those, do you? Your face tells me you do.
And you'll see people in the orange cones or the orange barrel, and they've got to beat that tractor trailer. I mean, you know, if they can get in front of him before it goes from two lanes to one, they feel like they've won the Super Bowl. Don't look at me. You do too, Kenny. Confession in just a minute. Amen.
And the next thing you know, Bill Lloyd, they're flying around, and the cones are coming, and the trucks, he's just doing his thing. And next thing you know, they've cut in on the truck, hit the bumper, car goes flipping and rolling through the media. You see those signs that were there coming down the highway about five miles ago that said, "Right lane closed in five miles. Right lane closed in four miles. Right lane closed in three miles. Right lane closed. Right lane closed in fifteen hundred feet."
And it looks like every time that we see those signs, more people are getting in the right lane than in the left lane. And they're trying their best to get around. The roadblock's coming. It's right in front of us. And we don't even see it because we think we can beat it.
We've got it figured out. God's not going to send me to hell. No, in fact, I don't even know if I believe in it anymore. See, we fix, we make God into our image instead of realizing that he is the creator of all things and made us into his. So we just digress God down. And you know what? I don't believe I want to believe that passage of scripture. It doesn't work for me.
So we'll use the rest of it, but let's take that one out, and let's take these out. But I've got news for you. This word's going to remain complete with or without you. Every dot, every crossing of T and dotting of I will remain. And it's true what this tells me is that you can keep playing the game.
These roadblocks, this last roadblock is the cross of Calvary, the crucified word of God. He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was laid upon him. And by his stripes, we are healed.
You see, to go to hell, you're going to have to go through the Bible and reject it. You're going to have to turn away every sermon that you've ever heard. But be careful because every sermon you ever heard is going to be on automatic rewind and fast forward, and it's going to play over and over and over in your conscience when you go to hell.
Every word that you've ever read, every line that you've ever read, it's going to flash before your eyes constantly. And you're going to know of every opportunity that God has given you to get saved. You're going to remember every time that you were nudged by the Holy Spirit to make your way to an altar. But all of a sudden, pride kicked in, and you said, "No, I'm not going to go down there. They're going to think something's wrong with me."
Guess what? There's something wrong with all of us. We're all sinners in need of a savior. And we all needed an altar to bend our knee at to get saved. So you're not going through anything that no one else is going through. The Holy Spirit's doing is he's convincing you right now.
There's a roadblock ahead. Last roadblock that you're going to have to encounter is you're going to see the crucified savior. You're going to see the marks in his hands. You're going to see the marks in his hands on his feet. You're going to see the scars on his back where his skin was ripped off for you and for me.
And you're going to have to recall and see that over and over and over. I don't know how this is really going to work, and I'm not trying to scare you. I'm just trying to inform you today. But if what I told you last week is accurate, and we look at it in the context that Lazarus and the rich man, Lazarus wasn't looking at the rich man in hell where he was at, but the rich man could see Lazarus in the bosom of Abraham.
You know what that means? That means you're going to be able to see Jesus because Revelation 4 told us that he's going to be there. And you're going to see every time that he drew upon your heart and you rejected him and walked away. Hell's going to be an awful place. It's going to be an awful place. And God's not going to send you there. You're going to send yourself by what ticket you choose to buy.
So today, the choice is yours. I know what you're thinking. Preacher, I didn't come here to get beat up today. Preacher, I didn't come here for all that. I came here to hear a happy word. This is good news. I got news for you. All of the good news, not just a portion of the comfortable part, the whole of the good news. You're a sinner in need of a savior and that Jesus Christ died for your sins.
And you don't have to go to hell. This is the good news. But the flip side of that is without Christ, there is no heaven. That's the balanced approach of preaching.
So today, I wonder, what will you do with the roadblocks that have been set before you? There's the written word of God. Somebody just say number one for me. There's the spoken word of God. That's number two. There's the active word of God, the Holy Spirit. And there's the crucified word of God, Jesus Christ.
Every one of these roadblocks, and I could name about four more, but time won't allow. I wonder today, what will you do? What will you do when the warning signs flash, when the lanes start narrowing down, and eternity is coming quickly? What will...
And I'm going to tell you this. Don't you go ahead and stand. Convince you that you're getting out pretty quick. I want to tell you this, and listen to me real good. Don't get distracted right here. Don't get distracted right here. Don't get distracted right here. Don't get distracted right here.
There are things, there are times when there are deathbed conversions. I've led people to the Lord. I can tell you one of that happened when I was on staff here before of a man that was mean as a snake. If I were to tell you some names, you'd know them. Mean as a snake. And I was asked to go visit him in the hospital. I was warned, and he couldn't talk. He had not been responsive.
When I walked into the room, I felt the Holy Spirit take over. I walked over and grabbed his hand. It seemed lifeless, Diane. As I began to present the gospel to him, I could feel God doing something. He accepted Jesus Christ that day by squeezing my hand. He died the next day. I was really expecting to see him in heaven.
But I want to warn you, that's the rare occasion. Did I say that clear? That's the rare occasion. Jay, that's the rare occasion. Because more often than not, when a person gets to that place, many times their heart has grown so calloused from the roadblocks that they have rejected and trampled through that their hearts calloused, and that opportunity is not available.
You can push it too far. You can burn the bridge too many times and get to the place that there's no salvation left for you. What will you do when you encounter the road?
I believe God's thrown a roadblock out today for some folks, and they're ready. So I'm going to ask a couple of prayer partners to just make their way. A couple of you prayer partners, just come on. You're here today, young man. You might be mad at me right now, but let me just tell you, I love you anyway.
You might be wondering, "I wonder what he knows about me." I don't know too much of anything about anybody, but here's what I know. He didn't bring you here by accident today. You're on a divine appointment, a divine assignment by God. And this is a roadblock that he's throwing up. He loves you that much.
Let me just be real clear. What I want to do is get you to the cross because if I can get you to the cross and you can understand that you're a sinner and in need of a savior, and you're willing to repent of your sins, confess those to the Lord, turn from your wicked ways, accept Christ as your savior, this is what repentance is all about.
This is what going from death to life is all about. You're trading that which is destroyed, destructive for a life of love, joy, peace, patience, goodness. You're trading it, all of that for eternity in heaven. Don't push the roadblock too far because there's destruction.
The opportunity to preach your word today. I promise I'm not mad at anyone, and I'm motivated by the love that I find in you to warn people to not press their luck but to trust in you for their salvation.
So maybe you're here today. Your heads are bowed and your eyes are closed, and the Holy Spirit's been working with you through these four roadblocks, and you're ready to surrender your life to Jesus Christ fresh and anew.
Here's what first thing I'd like to ask you to do. Would you just give me a quick wave so I know how to pray for you, so I can sense what God's doing right now in your life? You're here today, young man, and today's your day. You want to surrender your life to Jesus. I see you. Thank you for being honest.
Are there others that would just be honest today? Today is your day. Today is your day, and you know it. The Holy Spirit's convincing you. You want to come and just lay it all on the altar. Give me just a quick wave so I know who I'm dealing with. Brave enough to say the roadblock, I see it. I know it's coming. Jesus Christ is your escape. He is your way, the truth, and the life.
Here's what I want to do. I'm going to just open the altar. If you'd like to bring some things to the Lord right now, if you'd like to surrender your life to Jesus, right now is your day. This is the day. Today is the day of salvation in the house of the Lord.
So as our worship team just begins to sing, would you be brave enough? Brave enough to step out and bring your life, surrender it to him in the name of Jesus. Hallelujah. Can you hear him calling you today? Are you carrying a weight that's too heavy? You've done everything you know to do, and it's not working. Can you hear him?
Here's the invitation. Will you come and find forgiveness of sin? He'll say, "Welcome home. Welcome home." It's a whole fresh new start. Come today. There's no reason to wait. You don't have to wait today. Today is your day. For he was born with precious blood of Jesus Christ.
Grab a hand. There's a person next to you. That's where he'll come with you. I promise you they will. If you're nervous, they'll walk with you. Come to the altar.
Father, I want to thank you for the power of your word today. I want to thank you for the mercies of God that are fresh in you every day. I want to thank you for your word, which is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. I want to thank you for the foolishness of the preaching of the gospel that enlightens us to the depth of your word.
I want to thank you for the person of the Holy Spirit who puts blockades up so that we will have to be reminded of the goodness of God that we truly are missing when we're awake. Lord, I want to thank you for Jesus. Thank you that your only begotten son gave to us for the payment of our sins. And through his blood, through his sacrifice, we can be made whole.
That we can go from death to life, from blind to see, from lame to walk, from dead to alive. So Lord, we thank you for caring that much for us that while we were yet dead in our sins, dead in our trespasses, you sent your only begotten son that whosoever would believe in him should not perish and be saved but have...
Father, if there be one here today that's leaving without knowing for sure that they're going to spend eternity in heaven with you, on one old line, I ask for extra grace right now that you would cover them until the appointed time, that you give them another opportunity. It's not guaranteed, but I'm asking.
Lord, may they realize trusting you with their eternal destiny. Father, can we bless the Lord in the house today? Can we thank him for the goodness of his word? Amen. God bless you. Have a great afternoon. Look forward to seeing you Wednesday night for the prayer walk. God bless you.
on Sep 08, 2024
