1 00:00:01,120 --> 00:00:03,400 Welcome to the Cross Power Church podcast. 2 00:00:03,720 --> 00:00:06,800 You're listening to a service from our church in Campbell, TX. 3 00:00:07,200 --> 00:00:10,480 We pray this message strengthens your faith and points you to the 4 00:00:10,480 --> 00:00:12,840 cross. Now let's join the service. 5 00:00:13,720 --> 00:00:15,720 Boy, you can feel them old songs, can't you? 6 00:00:17,560 --> 00:00:19,840 Them old songs were rolled under the anointing. 7 00:00:22,240 --> 00:00:25,240 I like the new ones too, man. I can't, I can't get away from 8 00:00:25,240 --> 00:00:28,400 the old ones. There's one thing I can get away 9 00:00:28,400 --> 00:00:30,080 from is the right pair of glasses. 10 00:00:32,200 --> 00:00:41,280 They seem to avoid me. Have your Bibles tonight going 11 00:00:41,280 --> 00:00:44,080 to be in Exodus chapter 19? You're going to be in several 12 00:00:44,080 --> 00:00:48,840 places here. I mean, he's glad to be here 13 00:00:48,840 --> 00:00:59,640 tonight. Exodus chapter 19 Let's stand 14 00:00:59,640 --> 00:01:03,760 the reading of the word. This is a it's a very good word 15 00:01:03,760 --> 00:01:08,240 right here it finds the children of Israel wandering around a 16 00:01:08,240 --> 00:01:09,880 desert. God had just brought him out of 17 00:01:09,880 --> 00:01:12,600 bondage. He had just parted a Red Sea. 18 00:01:12,600 --> 00:01:16,240 Can you imagine God seeing God part the Red Sea through the 19 00:01:16,240 --> 00:01:19,440 staff of Moses? And it was once said somebody 20 00:01:19,440 --> 00:01:22,720 had had researched that. I've shared this before, but 21 00:01:23,040 --> 00:01:26,520 they said at that time of the year, the water was only so many 22 00:01:26,640 --> 00:01:29,280 inches at that part of the Red Sea where they cross. 23 00:01:29,280 --> 00:01:32,400 Some historian and he was telling some preacher that he 24 00:01:32,400 --> 00:01:34,080 said, so the miracle wasn't really that big. 25 00:01:34,080 --> 00:01:36,040 He said, Oh no, it's way bigger than what you think. 26 00:01:36,040 --> 00:01:39,280 If it was only three inches of water, he said, or whatever they 27 00:01:39,280 --> 00:01:42,760 were saying, 2 foot of water. He said God did even a bigger 28 00:01:42,760 --> 00:01:45,800 miracle than I thought. He drowned the whole army of 29 00:01:45,800 --> 00:01:50,560 Egypt in three foot of water. What? 30 00:01:50,560 --> 00:01:51,920 What? People try to prove the word 31 00:01:51,920 --> 00:01:53,200 wrong. It really proves it right, 32 00:01:53,200 --> 00:01:56,160 doesn't it? But this finds Israel there. 33 00:01:56,800 --> 00:01:59,400 It finds them at a place having to obey God. 34 00:01:59,400 --> 00:02:03,000 Maybe you're there tonight. We must obey God, but after we 35 00:02:03,000 --> 00:02:05,480 obey God, we need to leave the consequences. 36 00:02:05,480 --> 00:02:08,800 Say it with me up to Him, Amen. It's up to him. 37 00:02:08,800 --> 00:02:12,720 When I obey, it takes it off of me and it puts it on God, right? 38 00:02:12,960 --> 00:02:14,520 There's still things I have to do. 39 00:02:14,520 --> 00:02:18,080 But in Exodus 19 and verse one, it says in the third month after 40 00:02:18,080 --> 00:02:22,280 the children of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on the 41 00:02:22,280 --> 00:02:25,040 same day they came to the wilderness of Sinai. 42 00:02:25,240 --> 00:02:27,880 So they came out of Egypt, the place that they were eating and 43 00:02:28,040 --> 00:02:30,600 taken care of, but yet they were in slavery. 44 00:02:30,840 --> 00:02:34,760 But yet life finds them in the wilderness of Sinai, for they 45 00:02:34,760 --> 00:02:38,200 had departed from Refidem and had came to the wilderness of 46 00:02:38,200 --> 00:02:39,960 Sinai and camped in the wilderness. 47 00:02:39,960 --> 00:02:42,560 So Israel camped there before the mountain. 48 00:02:43,080 --> 00:02:45,080 And Moses, Can you imagine being Moses? 49 00:02:45,080 --> 00:02:48,320 You're leading these people and you really have no instruction 50 00:02:48,320 --> 00:02:50,680 except to get up and get them out of Egypt. 51 00:02:50,680 --> 00:02:53,880 But how are you going to lead a bunch of wine and Israelites 52 00:02:53,880 --> 00:02:57,680 that had rather died back there in bondage than they had to live 53 00:02:57,680 --> 00:03:00,200 in freedom? I like a lot of Christians. 54 00:03:00,200 --> 00:03:02,960 I know they, they think about the place they come from and 55 00:03:03,080 --> 00:03:05,800 they're serving God. They love God, they know who God 56 00:03:05,800 --> 00:03:07,960 is. But really deep down they still 57 00:03:07,960 --> 00:03:10,920 like some of Egypt. The Egypt has not got out of 58 00:03:10,920 --> 00:03:12,160 them. Can I get a witness? 59 00:03:12,840 --> 00:03:16,440 And Moses went up to God to receive some instruction and you 60 00:03:16,440 --> 00:03:21,520 can turn the radio on 2025 and almost 6000 probably. 61 00:03:21,520 --> 00:03:25,480 Plus years later and they're still talking about today. 62 00:03:25,480 --> 00:03:29,240 I heard it this morning on the 10 instructions that God give 63 00:03:29,240 --> 00:03:32,240 Moses this day. They're still talking about 64 00:03:32,240 --> 00:03:34,760 whether we should put him in a school, whether we should take 65 00:03:34,760 --> 00:03:37,080 him out of a school. I heard one guy and I turned him 66 00:03:37,080 --> 00:03:39,040 off. He's supposed to be educated and 67 00:03:39,040 --> 00:03:41,440 talking and preaching and talking about truth. 68 00:03:41,440 --> 00:03:45,760 But yet he said we got lots of bigger problems in our school 69 00:03:45,760 --> 00:03:49,240 and our academic system than whether the 10 commandments are 70 00:03:49,240 --> 00:03:51,880 on the wall. More like an education, more 71 00:03:51,880 --> 00:03:53,920 like them. Lord, I said, never place 72 00:03:53,920 --> 00:03:56,480 education above the commandments of God. 73 00:03:56,480 --> 00:03:59,840 And education is a great thing, but without a Bible it's still 74 00:03:59,840 --> 00:04:03,440 nothing, right? And Moses went up to God and the 75 00:04:03,440 --> 00:04:06,280 Lord, and he called to him from the mountain, saying, Thus you 76 00:04:06,280 --> 00:04:10,120 shall say to the House of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel, 77 00:04:10,120 --> 00:04:12,080 what do you want me to tell them you've seen? 78 00:04:12,080 --> 00:04:14,840 He said, Tell them, you have seen what I did to the 79 00:04:14,840 --> 00:04:18,959 Egyptians, and how I bore you up on eagle's wings and brought you 80 00:04:18,959 --> 00:04:21,560 to myself. Verse 5 Get this now. 81 00:04:21,560 --> 00:04:27,880 Therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice, big key, if you 82 00:04:27,880 --> 00:04:32,080 will obey my voice and keep my covenant, then you shall be a 83 00:04:32,080 --> 00:04:35,720 special treasure to me above all the people. 84 00:04:36,560 --> 00:04:41,000 For all the earth is mine, and you shall be to me a Kingdom of 85 00:04:41,000 --> 00:04:45,240 priest and a holy nation. These are the words which you 86 00:04:45,240 --> 00:04:47,600 shall speak to the children of Israel. 87 00:04:47,600 --> 00:04:49,280 And you can go home and read the rest of it. 88 00:04:49,280 --> 00:04:52,680 But it leads back and Moses give instructions for receiving it to 89 00:04:52,680 --> 00:04:55,040 the people weren't supposed to get so close to the mountain or 90 00:04:55,040 --> 00:04:58,160 they would drop dead. But shortly after this, the next 91 00:04:58,160 --> 00:05:00,640 chapter, Moses receives the 10 commandments. 92 00:05:00,640 --> 00:05:04,000 So that I want to preach to you tonight along about this, that 93 00:05:04,280 --> 00:05:08,040 he says to keep my voice, obey my voice and keep my covenant. 94 00:05:08,640 --> 00:05:12,040 Then you shall be a special treasure to me above all the 95 00:05:12,040 --> 00:05:14,560 people, for all the earth is mine. 96 00:05:14,880 --> 00:05:16,240 Father, we thank you for your word. 97 00:05:16,240 --> 00:05:18,760 We thank you that those words that you spoke to the children 98 00:05:18,760 --> 00:05:21,440 of Israel still ring true to us today. 99 00:05:21,720 --> 00:05:24,400 We thank you for your love and your mercy and your grace to 100 00:05:24,400 --> 00:05:27,640 preach your word one more time. I pray that we get in our ears 101 00:05:27,640 --> 00:05:30,680 and enter into our heart and just change us tonight about the 102 00:05:30,680 --> 00:05:33,720 way we think about obedience to you and that we would just leave 103 00:05:33,720 --> 00:05:37,120 the consequences of what you're calling us to do or the place 104 00:05:37,120 --> 00:05:41,000 you're calling us to leave from or to go to and just do what you 105 00:05:41,000 --> 00:05:43,000 what your voice is telling us to do. 106 00:05:43,520 --> 00:05:46,360 We we ask for the anointing to preach this word once again in 107 00:05:46,400 --> 00:05:51,560 Jesus name, Amen. What a great promise for 108 00:05:51,560 --> 00:05:54,880 obedience. We just read great discipline 109 00:05:55,320 --> 00:05:58,920 and we have great promises if we obey God, and there's great 110 00:05:58,920 --> 00:06:02,840 discipline and chastisement that come our way for not obedient 111 00:06:02,840 --> 00:06:05,640 obeying God, right? But obedience can be 112 00:06:05,640 --> 00:06:07,800 challenging. It doesn't matter what age you 113 00:06:07,800 --> 00:06:11,600 are in your spiritual walk. It can be in your spiritual walk 114 00:06:11,600 --> 00:06:13,880 of faith. It can be challenging, but 115 00:06:13,880 --> 00:06:17,200 without believing in what you cannot see, that's kind of 116 00:06:17,200 --> 00:06:19,920 backward saying that how do you believe in something you can't 117 00:06:19,920 --> 00:06:21,840 see? That's what he's called us to 118 00:06:21,840 --> 00:06:23,280 do. It's through faith. 119 00:06:23,760 --> 00:06:27,880 It's impossible to please God if we cannot believe for what we 120 00:06:27,880 --> 00:06:31,200 cannot see, because faith is what pleases God. 121 00:06:31,200 --> 00:06:35,240 He is a faith God, right? And but most believe more of 122 00:06:35,240 --> 00:06:38,560 what they do see than what they can't see, and that's natural. 123 00:06:38,920 --> 00:06:41,480 But serving God is not natural. Can I get that? 124 00:06:41,760 --> 00:06:43,760 It's not anything natural about it. 125 00:06:43,760 --> 00:06:47,640 He created us with a hole within our heart, within our soul that 126 00:06:47,800 --> 00:06:50,760 longs to be filled. And until we fill it with Him, 127 00:06:50,920 --> 00:06:53,680 we will not be able to see those things in the spiritual. 128 00:06:54,840 --> 00:06:58,040 But many believe that, believe in what they can see. 129 00:06:58,040 --> 00:07:01,120 But we have to move on before the miracle happens. 130 00:07:01,240 --> 00:07:03,920 We have to see it. We have to see it before we 131 00:07:03,920 --> 00:07:06,960 believe it. We must receive it by faith to 132 00:07:06,960 --> 00:07:09,560 see it in the flesh, right? Can I say that again? 133 00:07:09,560 --> 00:07:13,360 We must receive it by faith to see it in the flesh. 134 00:07:13,360 --> 00:07:16,320 That's how God works. Because what say it with me? 135 00:07:16,440 --> 00:07:18,440 He is a faith God. I'm going to cover a few 136 00:07:18,440 --> 00:07:20,680 scriptures here in Deuteronomy 11. 137 00:07:20,680 --> 00:07:24,240 I'm going to read in 26, 28, I'm going to cover all these. 138 00:07:24,240 --> 00:07:27,200 I want to just cover about 8 scriptures here pretty fast. 139 00:07:27,720 --> 00:07:30,960 But he says, behold, I set before you in Deuteronomy 11/26 140 00:07:30,960 --> 00:07:33,960 through 28. He says, behold, I set before 141 00:07:33,960 --> 00:07:36,840 you today. You know, everybody wants to 142 00:07:36,840 --> 00:07:39,040 wait till tomorrow, whatever it is. 143 00:07:39,040 --> 00:07:42,680 We like many like to put it all, especially when it comes to the 144 00:07:42,680 --> 00:07:45,320 things of God. But he said, I set before you 145 00:07:45,320 --> 00:07:50,080 today a blessing and a curse. There's two things set before us 146 00:07:50,240 --> 00:07:53,360 every day as we get out of the bed and we strap our clothes on 147 00:07:53,360 --> 00:07:58,320 and put our boots or shoes on. It's a blessing or a curse. 148 00:07:58,760 --> 00:08:01,880 They're set before us. The blessing if you obey the 149 00:08:01,880 --> 00:08:05,600 commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, 150 00:08:06,040 --> 00:08:09,160 and the curse if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord 151 00:08:09,160 --> 00:08:12,640 your God, but turn aside from the way which I command you 152 00:08:12,640 --> 00:08:17,080 today to go after other gods. Boy, that's a huge realm, isn't 153 00:08:17,080 --> 00:08:19,120 it? What gods do we chase in America 154 00:08:19,120 --> 00:08:22,960 today? Many and I like what he says 155 00:08:22,960 --> 00:08:26,440 here in this last deal. He says to go after other gods, 156 00:08:26,680 --> 00:08:29,680 which you have not known. See, we know the true God that 157 00:08:29,680 --> 00:08:32,960 gives us a beating heart, that gives us air in our lungs, that 158 00:08:33,080 --> 00:08:35,400 makes the blood plump through our body, Amen. 159 00:08:35,400 --> 00:08:37,360 That gives us the power to get wealth. 160 00:08:37,360 --> 00:08:40,159 We know that God. Why do we go after other gods? 161 00:08:40,159 --> 00:08:41,600 Is that what he's asking us here? 162 00:08:41,840 --> 00:08:47,400 We go to First Samuel 15 and 22. It says so, Samuel said, has the 163 00:08:47,400 --> 00:08:51,600 Lord as a great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices? 164 00:08:52,320 --> 00:08:56,480 That's what he had a great a great delight in, in the in the 165 00:08:56,640 --> 00:09:00,400 under the law. But he also says as in obeying 166 00:09:00,400 --> 00:09:03,680 the voice of the Lord, does he have great That's a question 167 00:09:03,680 --> 00:09:06,800 there. Behold, to obey is better than a 168 00:09:06,800 --> 00:09:10,400 sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of Rams. 169 00:09:10,880 --> 00:09:12,440 There's a lot riding on our obedience. 170 00:09:12,440 --> 00:09:16,360 Isaiah 48 and 18, it says, oh, that you had heeded my 171 00:09:16,360 --> 00:09:19,920 commandments. Then your peace would have been 172 00:09:19,920 --> 00:09:22,640 like a river. You ever watch the river flow? 173 00:09:22,640 --> 00:09:25,520 How peaceful it is. Why does Isaiah say that? 174 00:09:25,520 --> 00:09:27,680 Because we hadn't obeyed the commandments of God. 175 00:09:27,680 --> 00:09:31,000 So we don't have this peace like a river that we sing about, and 176 00:09:31,000 --> 00:09:33,680 your righteousness like the waves of the sea. 177 00:09:34,040 --> 00:09:36,600 See our righteousness and our peace run hand in hand. 178 00:09:37,160 --> 00:09:41,920 But this is what I command them saying here it is again, Obey my 179 00:09:41,920 --> 00:09:45,960 voice and I will be your God. Obey my voice and I will be your 180 00:09:45,960 --> 00:09:50,200 God, and you shall be my people. And walk in all the ways that I 181 00:09:50,200 --> 00:09:53,640 have commanded you, that it may be well with you. 182 00:09:54,360 --> 00:09:59,040 John 14 and 15 under the New Covenant of Grace and John 14 183 00:09:59,040 --> 00:10:03,560 and verse 15, he says if you love me, keep my commandments. 184 00:10:04,160 --> 00:10:06,600 My question is, if we're not keeping the commandments, do we 185 00:10:06,600 --> 00:10:08,600 love it? You can flip it right around, 186 00:10:08,600 --> 00:10:10,960 right? You have to answer that if you 187 00:10:10,960 --> 00:10:15,760 love me, keep my commandments. He who, he who has my 188 00:10:15,760 --> 00:10:18,960 commandments and keeps them, it is He who loves me. 189 00:10:18,960 --> 00:10:22,680 So he answers that question. And he who loves me will be 190 00:10:22,680 --> 00:10:26,520 loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest. 191 00:10:26,520 --> 00:10:29,080 See, that's a cool thing about obeying, obeying God. 192 00:10:29,080 --> 00:10:32,440 When you obey God, he's about to manifest himself to you. 193 00:10:32,440 --> 00:10:34,680 He's about to make himself real to you. 194 00:10:34,680 --> 00:10:37,080 Right. In Acts 5 and 9, Peter it says, 195 00:10:37,080 --> 00:10:41,320 but Peter and the other apostles answered and said while they was 196 00:10:41,320 --> 00:10:44,200 preaching, when they didn't want him to preach something, He said 197 00:10:44,360 --> 00:10:47,280 we ought to obey God rather than man. 198 00:10:47,280 --> 00:10:49,960 Man, I have to do this so many times in my ministry. 199 00:10:50,120 --> 00:10:52,800 Instead of preaching what man wants to hear, I got to obey 200 00:10:52,800 --> 00:10:54,920 God, Amen. When you're witnessing, you got 201 00:10:54,920 --> 00:10:56,800 to obey God. When you're leading somebody to 202 00:10:56,800 --> 00:10:59,720 Christ, we ought to obey God rather than man. 203 00:11:00,200 --> 00:11:04,920 First John 2-3 and six that says, now by this we know that 204 00:11:04,920 --> 00:11:07,560 we know him if we keep his commandments. 205 00:11:07,760 --> 00:11:09,960 You see people running around acting crazy. 206 00:11:10,040 --> 00:11:12,640 They don't know God, right? Because they're they don't know 207 00:11:12,640 --> 00:11:16,640 his commandments. He who says I know him and does 208 00:11:16,640 --> 00:11:19,240 not keep his command. Boy, this y'all ready for this? 209 00:11:20,040 --> 00:11:24,520 I didn't say it, the Bible did. He who he who says I know him 210 00:11:24,760 --> 00:11:27,640 and does not keep his commandments is a liar. 211 00:11:27,920 --> 00:11:30,160 And the truth is not in him who said that? 212 00:11:31,600 --> 00:11:38,440 Jesus, He who says he abides in him, ought himself also to walk. 213 00:11:38,960 --> 00:11:42,560 Oh that's good, isn't it? Just as Jesus walked, so if you 214 00:11:42,560 --> 00:11:46,240 walk in my ways to keep my statues and my commandments as 215 00:11:46,240 --> 00:11:50,280 your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days. 216 00:11:50,760 --> 00:11:54,120 Psalm y'all stay with me so I get some people said I need to 217 00:11:54,120 --> 00:11:55,920 read more scripture. We need to have Bible so I'm 218 00:11:55,920 --> 00:11:57,040 reading your scripture. Amen. 219 00:11:58,440 --> 00:12:01,240 No nobody said that. Y'all believe what you want to. 220 00:12:01,480 --> 00:12:07,240 They did say it. Psalms 143 and 10 teach me to do 221 00:12:07,240 --> 00:12:10,080 your will. We don't know the will of God, 222 00:12:10,520 --> 00:12:14,960 but as He teaches us, teach me to do your will, for you are my 223 00:12:14,960 --> 00:12:17,000 God. Your Spirit is good. 224 00:12:17,240 --> 00:12:20,080 Lead me in the land of uprightness. 225 00:12:20,280 --> 00:12:25,800 Deuteronomy 5132 and 33 And Moses called all Israel, and he 226 00:12:25,800 --> 00:12:29,440 said to them, Hear, O Israel, the statues, the judgments which 227 00:12:29,440 --> 00:12:32,680 I speak in your hearing today, that you may learn them and be 228 00:12:32,680 --> 00:12:35,920 careful to observe them. Therefore you shall be careful 229 00:12:35,920 --> 00:12:38,800 to do as the Lord your God commanded you to do. 230 00:12:38,800 --> 00:12:41,440 There it is, obey, obey. And again it's all in the Bible. 231 00:12:42,320 --> 00:12:45,840 Obeying again, you shall not turn the side to the right hand 232 00:12:45,840 --> 00:12:48,840 or the left. You shall walk in all the ways 233 00:12:48,840 --> 00:12:51,880 which the Lord your God has commanded you, that you may 234 00:12:51,880 --> 00:12:55,880 live, and then it may be well with you, and that you may 235 00:12:55,880 --> 00:13:00,720 prolong your days in the lands which you possess bond. 236 00:13:00,720 --> 00:13:03,760 Servants obey in all the things, your masters according to the 237 00:13:03,760 --> 00:13:07,440 flesh, not with eye service as men pleasers, but in sincerity 238 00:13:07,440 --> 00:13:11,520 of heart fearing God. I don't think this one's on 239 00:13:11,520 --> 00:13:12,800 there, but I'm going to read it anyway. 240 00:13:12,800 --> 00:13:18,280 Colossians 322 and 24 And it says, and whatever you do, do it 241 00:13:18,280 --> 00:13:22,920 heartily as to the Lord and not to men. 242 00:13:23,720 --> 00:13:25,200 You know, we could, I could preach on that boy. 243 00:13:25,200 --> 00:13:27,960 I want to preach on that. We have a job. 244 00:13:27,960 --> 00:13:30,680 We do it heartily. And when God sees we do that job 245 00:13:30,680 --> 00:13:33,040 and we're thankful for that job, He'll give you a better one. 246 00:13:33,160 --> 00:13:35,520 But until you're proud of what God's already given you and 247 00:13:35,520 --> 00:13:38,080 learn to operate that way, He's probably not going to elevate 248 00:13:38,080 --> 00:13:42,480 you anywhere else. Knowing that from the Lord you 249 00:13:42,480 --> 00:13:47,280 will receive the reward of inheritance, for you serve the 250 00:13:47,280 --> 00:13:51,200 Lord and the Christ. I can read all many scriptures 251 00:13:51,200 --> 00:13:54,280 about obedience in the Bible because as much as many don't 252 00:13:54,280 --> 00:13:58,560 like to hear it, it's in there. Great promises for obedience, 253 00:13:58,760 --> 00:14:03,600 great discipline and chastisement for not obeying 254 00:14:03,600 --> 00:14:05,760 God. So see obedience, what it really 255 00:14:05,760 --> 00:14:07,720 does. You know, a lot of people, they 256 00:14:07,720 --> 00:14:09,280 think it's something they got to do. 257 00:14:10,000 --> 00:14:11,960 I got to be a Christian, so I got to obey God. 258 00:14:13,960 --> 00:14:16,760 It's just what we do, right? Many people don't realize that 259 00:14:16,760 --> 00:14:19,440 obedience is really what it's doing. 260 00:14:19,440 --> 00:14:23,200 It sets a framework around our lives that forms a hedge of 261 00:14:23,200 --> 00:14:28,400 protection from the enemy. Can I say that again, I should 262 00:14:28,400 --> 00:14:30,240 want to obey God. I should. 263 00:14:30,240 --> 00:14:33,760 If I'm born again and I know Jesus died on a cross for me, 264 00:14:33,840 --> 00:14:36,880 there should be something implanted within inside of me 265 00:14:36,960 --> 00:14:40,960 that the Holy Spirit put there that I say I want to obey God. 266 00:14:40,960 --> 00:14:42,160 It's not. I have to. 267 00:14:42,280 --> 00:14:43,840 It's not, you know, well, I got to go to church. 268 00:14:43,840 --> 00:14:45,720 I got to do that. I got to read my Bible. 269 00:14:45,720 --> 00:14:50,880 No, it's an obedience sets the framework around our lives that 270 00:14:50,880 --> 00:14:56,000 forms a hedge of protection. So when we think about it like 271 00:14:56,000 --> 00:15:00,040 that, will obeying God cost me more than disobeying him? 272 00:15:01,040 --> 00:15:02,680 Depends on how you look at it, right? 273 00:15:03,400 --> 00:15:06,240 If you if you if you like the things of the world and you're 274 00:15:06,240 --> 00:15:08,840 hanging on to the things of the world and you think giving up 275 00:15:08,840 --> 00:15:11,400 those old things and those old habits are costing you, then 276 00:15:11,600 --> 00:15:13,400 you're probably going to answer that question. 277 00:15:13,480 --> 00:15:17,200 Will obeying God cost me more than disobeying him? 278 00:15:17,200 --> 00:15:20,480 Some people would say yes. I would have to say, how would 279 00:15:20,480 --> 00:15:23,800 you answer that question? Will obeying God cost me more 280 00:15:24,000 --> 00:15:27,280 than disobeying him? In this world, Probably. 281 00:15:27,920 --> 00:15:32,280 But in the afterlife, in the forever and eternity, it will. 282 00:15:32,280 --> 00:15:36,240 It will be added to you in good measure, pressed down, shaken 283 00:15:36,240 --> 00:15:39,720 together and running over. Will obeying God cost me more 284 00:15:39,880 --> 00:15:43,080 than disobeying him? It'll cost you some friends. 285 00:15:43,480 --> 00:15:45,520 I found out they weren't friends anyway, right? 286 00:15:47,560 --> 00:15:52,240 It'll cost you a lot of things, but God will replace them. 287 00:15:53,640 --> 00:15:55,840 The next question I want to answer tonight is, can I 288 00:15:55,840 --> 00:16:01,520 experience greater happiness by committing this sin than I would 289 00:16:01,520 --> 00:16:05,080 by obeying God? Sin is the here and now. 290 00:16:05,280 --> 00:16:07,720 Sin looks good, it feels good, it tastes good, right? 291 00:16:08,240 --> 00:16:12,360 Sin appeals to the flesh because the devil is a flesh devil. 292 00:16:12,920 --> 00:16:16,040 He appeals to the flesh. The devil is not a faith devil. 293 00:16:16,040 --> 00:16:18,480 He couldn't look through the portals of time when he was 294 00:16:18,480 --> 00:16:22,120 leading choral worship in heaven and see that one day he could 295 00:16:22,120 --> 00:16:24,280 have been in heaven, that the whole plan could have been 296 00:16:24,280 --> 00:16:27,280 avoided. But no, he was a flesh devil. 297 00:16:27,400 --> 00:16:29,720 He lived in the flesh, and he is not changed. 298 00:16:29,720 --> 00:16:32,400 So when we look at this word, obedience, it's very 299 00:16:32,400 --> 00:16:36,840 challenging, especially when we feel tempted to believe that we 300 00:16:36,840 --> 00:16:42,720 stand to lose more through our obedience right than what we 301 00:16:42,720 --> 00:16:45,200 might gain. But obeying God is essential 302 00:16:45,200 --> 00:16:46,720 because you're putting out the framework. 303 00:16:46,720 --> 00:16:49,720 You're building something that the enemy can't tear down. 304 00:16:50,280 --> 00:16:54,280 Obedience is building a hedge of protection around us from evil. 305 00:16:54,880 --> 00:16:58,200 It builds faith in us. When we choose to obey God, when 306 00:16:58,200 --> 00:17:02,880 we choose the way of wisdom, He, he promises a blessing for 307 00:17:02,880 --> 00:17:08,040 obedience that far outweighs the other consequences. 308 00:17:08,040 --> 00:17:12,079 Are y'all getting this tonight? We must obey God, say it with me 309 00:17:12,079 --> 00:17:15,960 and leave the consequences to him, whatever it may be. 310 00:17:16,240 --> 00:17:20,800 Anybody ever had to do that Anybody ever had to do that cost 311 00:17:20,800 --> 00:17:23,480 you a lot. I did it in rodeo business. 312 00:17:23,480 --> 00:17:27,319 I prayed for sponsorships. There was not many then it was 313 00:17:27,319 --> 00:17:29,720 it was on your own daughter. They didn't have the the shirts 314 00:17:29,720 --> 00:17:33,600 all over then and and guess guess what, The guess what I got 315 00:17:33,600 --> 00:17:35,800 when I started praying. The first one was tobacco 316 00:17:35,800 --> 00:17:42,840 products, a huge deal, but guess what, I battled with tobacco and 317 00:17:42,840 --> 00:17:45,560 I done quit it and I was delivered from it. 318 00:17:45,600 --> 00:17:48,040 But yet they going to give me thousands just to put it on my 319 00:17:48,040 --> 00:17:50,680 shirt. You know, I boy, it come up real 320 00:17:50,680 --> 00:17:52,280 fast. I said I don't I don't do that 321 00:17:52,280 --> 00:17:54,560 anymore, but I what does it hurt? 322 00:17:54,920 --> 00:17:57,080 The devil's whispering because it was my conviction. 323 00:17:57,080 --> 00:17:59,640 It was something God had dealt with me about right. 324 00:17:59,800 --> 00:18:01,720 And then the next deal, like it was curse. 325 00:18:02,920 --> 00:18:05,800 I didn't drink. But, you know, at a young 326 00:18:05,800 --> 00:18:08,240 Christian, I was 22 years old, they was throwing these things 327 00:18:08,240 --> 00:18:10,000 out. It would have been real easy. 328 00:18:10,160 --> 00:18:12,520 Believe me, it would have been real easy. 329 00:18:12,800 --> 00:18:16,400 But see, anybody you've been in that situation, maybe it wasn't 330 00:18:16,400 --> 00:18:19,160 a deal like that, but maybe it was about just being a little, a 331 00:18:19,160 --> 00:18:21,160 little, a little this will this hurt? 332 00:18:22,000 --> 00:18:24,360 You know, I had, I had a lady the other day asked me that. 333 00:18:24,360 --> 00:18:26,960 She said if you tell a little bitty lie, but you're going to 334 00:18:26,960 --> 00:18:29,040 receive something out of it, it's not going to hurt anybody, 335 00:18:29,040 --> 00:18:31,480 was it? Will God forgive me that I said, 336 00:18:31,480 --> 00:18:34,200 yeah, I said he'll forgive you of it. 337 00:18:34,200 --> 00:18:37,920 But how do you feel now? Why are you asking me if 338 00:18:37,920 --> 00:18:40,400 anything was wrong? I counsel this lady summon. 339 00:18:40,520 --> 00:18:42,800 That's why you asking me if anything's wrong with it, 340 00:18:43,600 --> 00:18:46,200 because if it wasn't, you wouldn't be asking me, right? 341 00:18:46,960 --> 00:18:49,440 So that's the Holy Spirit. And that's a good thing He's 342 00:18:49,440 --> 00:18:51,920 pulling at you. But see, it's at the point that 343 00:18:51,920 --> 00:18:55,440 he become on somebody that he begins to pull that you have to 344 00:18:55,440 --> 00:18:58,440 obey. And if you don't obey, you 345 00:18:58,440 --> 00:19:00,480 suffer the consequences of it, right? 346 00:19:00,680 --> 00:19:04,240 But we've all laid down things that and had those decisions to 347 00:19:04,240 --> 00:19:06,320 make. But remember this when in the 348 00:19:06,320 --> 00:19:10,160 valley of decision and the adversary says give in when the 349 00:19:10,160 --> 00:19:12,480 devil's in your ear, it ain't going to hurt nobody but me. 350 00:19:12,560 --> 00:19:16,800 He loves to do that right? But Satan, he always has another 351 00:19:16,800 --> 00:19:20,400 goal in mind. God commands us to do what to 352 00:19:20,400 --> 00:19:23,560 obey right. But as we grow in our walk with 353 00:19:23,560 --> 00:19:28,040 the Lord, obedience becomes the cornerstone of our fellowship 354 00:19:28,480 --> 00:19:31,600 with God, right? Anybody wonder why you can't 355 00:19:31,600 --> 00:19:32,840 hear God? I can't pray. 356 00:19:33,120 --> 00:19:35,120 I can't feel God. Start obeying. 357 00:19:35,720 --> 00:19:38,920 When you start obeying God, He will meet you at the point of 358 00:19:38,920 --> 00:19:40,920 your knee. He will meet you at your hour of 359 00:19:40,920 --> 00:19:42,760 prayer. But until you do it, quit 360 00:19:42,760 --> 00:19:45,920 disobeying God. It causes a little friction in 361 00:19:45,920 --> 00:19:49,000 the communication, right? How many is ever? 362 00:19:49,000 --> 00:19:52,880 Y'all know this true, But as we grow on our walk, obedience 363 00:19:52,880 --> 00:19:56,160 becomes the cornerstone of what our fellowship with God. 364 00:19:56,400 --> 00:20:00,560 If we obey him, what happens? He pulls us a little bit closer, 365 00:20:00,560 --> 00:20:02,800 right? Always pulled Landry a little 366 00:20:02,800 --> 00:20:06,560 bit closer and that kicked my son because she was obeying, 367 00:20:06,560 --> 00:20:08,520 right? She was doing the things. 368 00:20:08,920 --> 00:20:11,320 But yet those that ain't obeying, they don't get quite 369 00:20:11,320 --> 00:20:12,880 the treasure. My son said, well you did this 370 00:20:12,880 --> 00:20:15,560 for later. I said Landry obeying, you ain't 371 00:20:15,560 --> 00:20:17,080 obeying. So why would I want to help you 372 00:20:17,080 --> 00:20:20,240 right now? Right, you think God feels like 373 00:20:20,240 --> 00:20:23,320 that. I mean he's our father, but then 374 00:20:23,320 --> 00:20:26,880 how he loves us all the same. Keep this obese, keep disobeyed. 375 00:20:27,400 --> 00:20:28,480 That's somebody one time tomorrow. 376 00:20:28,600 --> 00:20:31,040 It's just easy for a kid that you know, peer pressure. 377 00:20:31,200 --> 00:20:34,840 It's it's just always easy for you to to not do what we did. 378 00:20:34,840 --> 00:20:39,200 I said, how's it any easier? The difference is, is I spend 379 00:20:39,200 --> 00:20:42,320 time in prayer. The difference is I spend time 380 00:20:42,440 --> 00:20:45,360 trying to please God instead of trying to find ways to not 381 00:20:45,360 --> 00:20:47,880 please Him because I want the communication. 382 00:20:47,880 --> 00:20:49,680 Amen. When I pray, I want Him to be 383 00:20:49,680 --> 00:20:53,160 near. If we obey Him, He pulls us 384 00:20:53,160 --> 00:20:55,440 closer. But there's something else. 385 00:20:55,440 --> 00:20:59,040 When He pulls us closer, I think He teaches us more about His 386 00:20:59,040 --> 00:21:01,440 love. I think He teaches us more about 387 00:21:01,440 --> 00:21:02,640 His ways. Amen. 388 00:21:02,800 --> 00:21:05,840 Because I know when I'm mad just to zip it and hold my tongue, 389 00:21:06,200 --> 00:21:09,560 the next one knows to just go off cursing somebody. 390 00:21:09,680 --> 00:21:11,680 But I know the consequence of that, right? 391 00:21:11,800 --> 00:21:14,640 Because I've been there. So there's a difference. 392 00:21:14,800 --> 00:21:16,920 If we obey Him, He pulls us closer. 393 00:21:17,560 --> 00:21:21,640 This disobedience sends a message to the Lord declaring 394 00:21:21,800 --> 00:21:26,040 that we know better than He does right when we disobey God when 395 00:21:26,040 --> 00:21:31,360 we know that that He did. Let me back up. 396 00:21:31,360 --> 00:21:35,160 Disobedience sends a message to the Lord declaring that He knows 397 00:21:35,720 --> 00:21:39,160 that we know better than He does about our lives and our 398 00:21:39,160 --> 00:21:41,520 circumstances. And how foolish is that? 399 00:21:41,920 --> 00:21:44,960 Because he can see a head. He can see a head. 400 00:21:45,280 --> 00:21:49,760 He commands us to obey because he knows the devastation that 401 00:21:49,760 --> 00:21:54,040 disobedience brings. And maybe your mind's sitting 402 00:21:54,040 --> 00:21:55,960 there now. Well, how do I, how do I hear 403 00:21:55,960 --> 00:21:57,320 the voice? How to obey? 404 00:21:58,120 --> 00:22:01,080 You know what, go read the six to the, the, the next chapter 405 00:22:01,080 --> 00:22:04,160 there in Exodus 20, the 10 commandments. 406 00:22:04,160 --> 00:22:07,520 That's a good place to start. God's already said it and we 407 00:22:07,520 --> 00:22:09,960 can't master that. So it's a good place to start, 408 00:22:09,960 --> 00:22:11,520 right? How to obey God. 409 00:22:11,520 --> 00:22:13,080 I just don't know what God wants. 410 00:22:13,080 --> 00:22:15,440 This church over here said it's OK to drink a six pack. 411 00:22:15,560 --> 00:22:19,160 This one said you only have one. What did God say? 412 00:22:19,760 --> 00:22:22,040 It doesn't say. It doesn't say it in the 10 413 00:22:22,040 --> 00:22:23,920 commandments. We'll read the rest of the book. 414 00:22:24,280 --> 00:22:30,320 Amen. Satan, however, has another goal 415 00:22:30,320 --> 00:22:32,640 in mind. And it's just what I said to 416 00:22:32,640 --> 00:22:36,520 tempt believers to disobey. He tempts us to disobey. 417 00:22:37,160 --> 00:22:39,840 Did God really say that was the Can you believe That was the 418 00:22:39,840 --> 00:22:42,800 words. That was the fall of man, the 419 00:22:42,800 --> 00:22:45,040 enemy, the serpent. What did he say to Eve? 420 00:22:45,720 --> 00:22:50,160 He said he got her. He said, did God really say Eve 421 00:22:50,160 --> 00:22:52,040 would have preached him a message right there? 422 00:22:52,360 --> 00:22:55,400 He said, yes, God really said it, and God really meant it. 423 00:22:55,400 --> 00:22:57,800 And I rebuke you in the name of Jesus. 424 00:22:58,240 --> 00:23:00,240 Life would have been much different today. 425 00:23:01,560 --> 00:23:07,240 But see, he tempts believers to disobey and convinces us that 426 00:23:07,240 --> 00:23:11,120 God's promises can't be trusted, right? 427 00:23:11,520 --> 00:23:15,440 That's what he tries to do, and that we can enjoy life more 428 00:23:15,680 --> 00:23:18,640 through doing what appeals and feels good at the moment. 429 00:23:18,680 --> 00:23:21,640 The enemy is good at that. But remember this when you're in 430 00:23:21,640 --> 00:23:25,640 the valley of decision and the adversary says give in. 431 00:23:26,000 --> 00:23:29,200 Disobedience always has fierce repercussions. 432 00:23:29,880 --> 00:23:33,320 The feeling of guilt. That's one of the things that 433 00:23:33,320 --> 00:23:36,440 disobedience brings on. The feeling of guilt, the 434 00:23:36,440 --> 00:23:38,760 feeling of shame. Anybody ever been there? 435 00:23:38,760 --> 00:23:44,360 The feeling of worthlessness, broken lives, destroyed 436 00:23:44,360 --> 00:23:48,760 marriages, bitter disputes. Sin doesn't mean that God 437 00:23:48,760 --> 00:23:52,680 doesn't love you any less, but it certainly disrupts our 438 00:23:52,680 --> 00:23:59,760 fellowship and it can alienate us from the blessings of God. 439 00:24:00,200 --> 00:24:05,640 It makes us weak spiritually and unable to discern right from 440 00:24:05,640 --> 00:24:07,880 wrong many times. See, that's what happens when we 441 00:24:07,880 --> 00:24:10,720 keep going farther and farther into disobedience. 442 00:24:10,720 --> 00:24:13,840 Pretty soon you wake up with what was once a great nation 443 00:24:13,840 --> 00:24:17,560 under God, with liberty and justice for all, and we wake up 444 00:24:17,560 --> 00:24:21,160 and it's nothing but sin and uncontrollable things going on 445 00:24:21,160 --> 00:24:25,000 because somewhere along the lines we become unable to 446 00:24:25,000 --> 00:24:30,200 discern right from wrong. People say I really don't feel 447 00:24:30,480 --> 00:24:35,280 convicted and that that's where we're at today because God has 448 00:24:35,280 --> 00:24:38,520 turned so many over to reprobate minds because they never turn 449 00:24:38,520 --> 00:24:41,040 any attention to him. And what happens? 450 00:24:41,040 --> 00:24:45,040 We sink deeper and deeper into the grasp of sin and we become, 451 00:24:45,040 --> 00:24:49,000 it becomes harder and harder to get back right. 452 00:24:49,720 --> 00:24:52,080 This all sounds good, but how do we do it? 453 00:24:52,920 --> 00:24:55,120 I remember growing up in church, I'd get fired up. 454 00:24:55,120 --> 00:24:56,600 A lot of preachers leave you hanging, man. 455 00:24:56,600 --> 00:24:58,000 I want to do. How do I do it? 456 00:24:58,840 --> 00:25:00,400 I'm going to give you some ways tonight. 457 00:25:03,480 --> 00:25:09,640 The first thing we could do is trust God with our life and all. 458 00:25:09,640 --> 00:25:11,360 Can I say that? Will you say that word with me 459 00:25:11,640 --> 00:25:17,000 and all that concerns you? That's the key to obeying God. 460 00:25:17,200 --> 00:25:19,680 When we're holding something back from God, we're really not 461 00:25:19,680 --> 00:25:23,240 obeying God, right? We give God a little bit, but as 462 00:25:23,240 --> 00:25:27,520 we have begin to to follow these principles in our life, we begin 463 00:25:27,520 --> 00:25:30,680 to know that God can be fully trusted. 464 00:25:31,000 --> 00:25:34,200 There's no way to go wrong if we place our hope and trust in God. 465 00:25:34,400 --> 00:25:37,720 He created you, He loves you, He says, I'll never leave you, I'll 466 00:25:37,720 --> 00:25:40,800 never forsake you. Even when you were unreachable, 467 00:25:40,920 --> 00:25:42,120 guess what? He found you, Amen. 468 00:25:42,280 --> 00:25:44,880 And He brought you back. So you, whatever you're going 469 00:25:44,880 --> 00:25:48,920 through now, know that you can trust God with anything and all 470 00:25:48,920 --> 00:25:55,800 that pertains to your life #2 wait on the Lord for an answer 471 00:25:56,800 --> 00:25:58,760 to your problem or your situation. 472 00:25:59,720 --> 00:26:01,880 When in doubt, sometimes we have to wait. 473 00:26:01,880 --> 00:26:05,640 We have to refuse to remove ahead, to move ahead, unless we 474 00:26:05,640 --> 00:26:08,280 know that God is leading us in that direction. 475 00:26:08,280 --> 00:26:10,920 But when we hear that voice, when we hear that correction, 476 00:26:11,040 --> 00:26:14,880 when we hear what God has for us, then it's time to act, not 477 00:26:14,880 --> 00:26:15,800 to wait. Amen. 478 00:26:15,800 --> 00:26:18,840 Many get caught in the waiting. Wait up on the Lord and you'll 479 00:26:18,840 --> 00:26:21,280 renew your strength. But as your strengths being 480 00:26:21,280 --> 00:26:24,280 renewed daily, there's something that's building inside of you, 481 00:26:24,400 --> 00:26:27,920 not to stay where you're at and just be renewed, but to move out 482 00:26:27,920 --> 00:26:31,080 to new realms and new things that God has for you, right? 483 00:26:31,200 --> 00:26:33,200 There's a time to wait. There's a time to move. 484 00:26:34,480 --> 00:26:37,800 Third thing is meditate on God's word. 485 00:26:37,800 --> 00:26:39,200 I could preach right here a while. 486 00:26:39,920 --> 00:26:43,560 I could read all the scriptures and I can know the scriptures 487 00:26:43,760 --> 00:26:46,880 and I can quote the scriptures, but do I meditate on them? 488 00:26:47,600 --> 00:26:50,160 See, when you begin to meditate on them, you begin to apply them 489 00:26:50,160 --> 00:26:52,600 to your life. They begin to pass through your 490 00:26:52,600 --> 00:26:54,560 intellect and into your heart, Amen. 491 00:26:54,560 --> 00:26:57,280 I figured out a long time ago this Bible is not an 492 00:26:57,280 --> 00:27:00,320 intellectual thing. It's not how much you know, it's 493 00:27:00,320 --> 00:27:03,320 not how much scripture you can quote, but it's how much you 494 00:27:03,320 --> 00:27:06,760 walk by daily and how much you apply to your life and every 495 00:27:06,760 --> 00:27:08,080 situation. Then you can't. 496 00:27:08,120 --> 00:27:10,920 We have far too many people that's just read the book. 497 00:27:10,920 --> 00:27:13,600 Amen. When you saturate your mind, 498 00:27:13,600 --> 00:27:15,560 what is meditating? I saturate. 499 00:27:15,560 --> 00:27:17,640 I didn't just read it and it come out my mouth. 500 00:27:17,800 --> 00:27:21,680 Come on, help me preach tonight. But I read it and I meditated on 501 00:27:21,680 --> 00:27:24,760 and it saturated my mind. And then it moved from my mind 502 00:27:24,760 --> 00:27:26,920 down into my heart. And then when it got into my 503 00:27:26,920 --> 00:27:28,440 heart, I begin to talk different. 504 00:27:28,440 --> 00:27:30,800 I begin to walk different. I begin to realize that 505 00:27:30,800 --> 00:27:34,200 everything that I touch can become new and blessed. 506 00:27:35,200 --> 00:27:39,240 When temptation comes, you will know right from wrong and you 507 00:27:39,240 --> 00:27:42,400 can act accordingly when you've meditated on the Word of God. 508 00:27:44,000 --> 00:27:47,680 Fourth thing, if you're writing these down, I'm trying to slow 509 00:27:47,680 --> 00:27:51,120 down. Listen to the Holy Spirit 510 00:27:51,840 --> 00:27:56,640 because He speaks, because He speaks, because He speaks. 511 00:27:56,960 --> 00:28:01,320 When I was a Pew sitter, I tried to find the one thing that act 512 00:28:01,320 --> 00:28:04,480 that just got under my skin the most that the preacher preached 513 00:28:05,560 --> 00:28:07,280 and the thing that I disagreed with. 514 00:28:07,280 --> 00:28:10,360 I've never been taught that before, so I'm going to throw it 515 00:28:10,360 --> 00:28:12,680 out. I tried to take that thing. 516 00:28:12,800 --> 00:28:14,960 I've never heard it. Maybe there's something there 517 00:28:14,960 --> 00:28:18,200 and I just begin to chew on it. God, what do you want me to do 518 00:28:18,200 --> 00:28:19,880 with this? I hadn't heard it, but then I 519 00:28:19,880 --> 00:28:22,920 was searching and I will see if it's in the Bible, but far too 520 00:28:22,920 --> 00:28:25,880 many people, they just throw it out because they hadn't heard 521 00:28:25,880 --> 00:28:26,520 it. Hey man. 522 00:28:26,960 --> 00:28:29,920 Because they had never read it in the Bible because they lot 523 00:28:29,920 --> 00:28:33,600 don't read their Bible much. So maybe they never heard it. 524 00:28:33,840 --> 00:28:36,760 There's a lot in the Bible that I've never heard still. 525 00:28:37,400 --> 00:28:40,200 And when I hear it, I want to listen to it because it's the 526 00:28:40,200 --> 00:28:43,880 Holy Spirit speaking. God continues to speak to his 527 00:28:43,880 --> 00:28:46,840 people today. Go read the book of Exodus and 528 00:28:46,840 --> 00:28:50,160 what all God began to do for the children of Israel, man. 529 00:28:50,160 --> 00:28:52,480 And you know, we say, if I could just see that today. 530 00:28:52,480 --> 00:28:56,400 Well, we do see it in different forms and realms, but He speaks 531 00:28:56,400 --> 00:29:00,280 to us through His Word, the Holy Spirit, through the words of a 532 00:29:00,280 --> 00:29:03,960 pastor or trusted Christian. Yes, God still speaks. 533 00:29:04,600 --> 00:29:08,760 We must become sensitive to the Holy Spirit of God and seeking 534 00:29:08,760 --> 00:29:12,400 Him through His Word and listening and spending time with 535 00:29:12,400 --> 00:29:15,800 Him praying and studying the principles of the Scripture. 536 00:29:16,400 --> 00:29:22,600 Listen to the Holy Spirit #5 be willing to wait or walk away 537 00:29:22,600 --> 00:29:27,200 when the way before is unclear. That's a very important one if 538 00:29:27,200 --> 00:29:29,720 you desire to please God above all others. 539 00:29:30,440 --> 00:29:34,680 Obedience to God will require you to remain firm at all times. 540 00:29:35,320 --> 00:29:40,360 If you do not sense clear guidance in your situation, ask 541 00:29:40,360 --> 00:29:43,280 God to confirm it. God, show me a sign He will. 542 00:29:43,680 --> 00:29:46,120 God show me. Show me what I'm supposed to 543 00:29:46,120 --> 00:29:48,080 preach tonight. And I walk in and they're 544 00:29:48,080 --> 00:29:50,640 singing the very song that I had wrote down. 545 00:29:50,640 --> 00:29:54,400 Confirm with signs and wonders, give me guidance in my 546 00:29:54,400 --> 00:29:57,600 situation. Ask God to confirm it through 547 00:29:57,600 --> 00:30:01,040 his word or his will. He'll never contradict 548 00:30:01,040 --> 00:30:04,480 Scripture. I've had so many people before 549 00:30:04,480 --> 00:30:06,760 come to me. Well, God told me this and I 550 00:30:06,760 --> 00:30:08,920 would think, man, that, you know, that's that's really not 551 00:30:08,920 --> 00:30:12,120 even biblical and it's going against some things that the 552 00:30:12,120 --> 00:30:17,560 principles of God, things like this, you know, I know I got a 553 00:30:17,560 --> 00:30:21,480 wife, but I love her. I've heard those things. 554 00:30:22,360 --> 00:30:25,840 It's not scriptural. It contradicts His will for our 555 00:30:25,840 --> 00:30:29,480 life and always lines up perfectly with what the Bible 556 00:30:29,480 --> 00:30:31,920 says. That's when we don't want to do 557 00:30:31,920 --> 00:30:35,120 it sometimes. I know, I've read it, I know it 558 00:30:35,120 --> 00:30:40,320 says it, but I want to do this. Here's the sixth thing. 559 00:30:41,360 --> 00:30:43,960 You ready for this? Because a lot of Christians fail 560 00:30:43,960 --> 00:30:46,160 right here. When obeying God, leave the 561 00:30:46,160 --> 00:30:51,880 consequences up to Him. Be willing to endure conflict. 562 00:30:53,080 --> 00:30:54,880 A lot of Christians don't want conflict. 563 00:30:55,720 --> 00:30:59,840 We want the we want the smoke and gun lights and we want the 564 00:30:59,840 --> 00:31:03,600 dark, the darkness in the church where we can't see our neighbor 565 00:31:03,600 --> 00:31:06,320 worship. That's not really scriptural. 566 00:31:07,160 --> 00:31:09,120 Somebody asked me one time about that here. 567 00:31:09,120 --> 00:31:11,920 I said they'd never see it here because dark, lightness cannot 568 00:31:11,920 --> 00:31:17,040 stay together. What flees darkness? 569 00:31:17,560 --> 00:31:22,680 Very scriptural, right, but we're like that with conflict. 570 00:31:22,760 --> 00:31:27,920 When Israel entered the promised land at God's direction, it had 571 00:31:27,920 --> 00:31:30,080 to face a strong enemy opposition. 572 00:31:30,840 --> 00:31:35,120 See God rarely write this down. God rarely empties our lives of 573 00:31:35,120 --> 00:31:40,960 trouble and conflict. Like the lady that come to the 574 00:31:40,960 --> 00:31:44,840 church one time and she said, man, I not this church, but it 575 00:31:44,840 --> 00:31:47,320 was another church. She said I just don't I just 576 00:31:47,320 --> 00:31:50,240 don't feel love there. There's no love in that church, 577 00:31:51,640 --> 00:31:53,840 Pastor Asker said. Did you got love? 578 00:31:53,840 --> 00:31:56,680 I'm full of love, the lady said. He said, then why are you 579 00:31:56,680 --> 00:32:02,120 leaving the church if the church needs love because of conflict? 580 00:32:03,360 --> 00:32:06,360 Many Christians leave because of conflict. 581 00:32:07,280 --> 00:32:10,480 Many people don't come to church because of conflict. 582 00:32:11,000 --> 00:32:13,800 You've ever been driving to church with your spouse and had 583 00:32:13,800 --> 00:32:16,720 an argument turned around? Raise your hand. 584 00:32:16,720 --> 00:32:19,480 It's OK, I haven't. I couldn't turn around. 585 00:32:19,480 --> 00:32:21,600 I was preaching. I didn't say there hadn't been 586 00:32:21,600 --> 00:32:26,440 conflict, but I was preaching. I said get thee behind me Satan. 587 00:32:26,440 --> 00:32:31,240 I'm going to preach today. I wouldn't call him her Satan, 588 00:32:31,240 --> 00:32:32,800 but the conflict was Satan, right? 589 00:32:33,680 --> 00:32:35,640 Right. Y'all don't go tell her I called 590 00:32:35,640 --> 00:32:38,120 her Satan. I said get thee behind me, not 591 00:32:38,120 --> 00:32:39,640 her. But the conflict, right? 592 00:32:40,920 --> 00:32:43,640 The people you don't like in your life, it's not them, it's 593 00:32:43,640 --> 00:32:46,280 the enemy working through them to get to you. 594 00:32:47,840 --> 00:32:50,360 Just look at me, Chris. I know what you're up to, devil. 595 00:32:50,480 --> 00:32:53,440 You're just trying to make me see you in this, their face on 596 00:32:53,440 --> 00:32:54,960 you. And I'm not falling for you. 597 00:32:54,960 --> 00:32:57,480 You're stupid. I'm not going to enter into that 598 00:32:57,480 --> 00:33:01,440 conflict. But we have to be willing to 599 00:33:01,440 --> 00:33:03,800 enter conflict because God will rarely. 600 00:33:03,800 --> 00:33:06,720 We have a lot of Christians. They're looking for God to just 601 00:33:06,720 --> 00:33:10,320 empty their life of trouble. Oh, if I could just stand up 602 00:33:10,320 --> 00:33:12,880 there and preach, Pastor. Oh, no, you don't know the 603 00:33:12,880 --> 00:33:18,160 trouble that that causes. Hey man, Oh, if I was a 604 00:33:18,160 --> 00:33:20,680 preacher, I'll be OK. I'll trade you. 605 00:33:22,480 --> 00:33:25,160 God rarely empties our lives of troubles and conflict. 606 00:33:25,160 --> 00:33:31,320 If he did, what would happen? Our dependence would not be on 607 00:33:31,320 --> 00:33:33,360 Him. It would fade. 608 00:33:33,760 --> 00:33:36,440 He did it to the Apostle Paul that endured every kind of 609 00:33:36,440 --> 00:33:38,560 conflict. You know, I often think about 610 00:33:38,560 --> 00:33:41,160 the Apostle Paul. It looks like what all the, you 611 00:33:41,160 --> 00:33:43,800 know, just my thinking. All he did for the Kingdom, all 612 00:33:43,800 --> 00:33:46,520 he's doing for us today, it looked like God could have 613 00:33:46,520 --> 00:33:49,920 removed that thorn. All he had to do was speak the 614 00:33:49,920 --> 00:33:52,120 word. You know, I pray to God. 615 00:33:52,320 --> 00:33:54,440 God, all you got to do is speak the word. 616 00:33:54,640 --> 00:33:57,360 And this can happen in the life of this person. 617 00:33:58,120 --> 00:34:02,000 Why don't God do it? Because many times the conflict 618 00:34:02,000 --> 00:34:05,120 in the trial that we're going through is what's causing our 619 00:34:05,120 --> 00:34:08,440 dependence on him. It would take us away from him. 620 00:34:09,080 --> 00:34:14,239 He allows enough difficulty many times to keep us turning toward 621 00:34:14,239 --> 00:34:20,000 him because he knows the final outcome and the seventh thing 622 00:34:20,000 --> 00:34:23,520 tonight I'm going to close leave the consequences to God. 623 00:34:24,920 --> 00:34:28,480 I think we want to obey a lot of times, but then it begins in our 624 00:34:28,480 --> 00:34:32,560 head. Anybody ever felt the Lord 625 00:34:32,560 --> 00:34:36,199 calling you away from your job? I mean, you just miserable there 626 00:34:36,199 --> 00:34:39,159 just killing you and you just, you felt God calling you away 627 00:34:39,159 --> 00:34:41,719 from it, but and you knew God wanted you to leave. 628 00:34:41,719 --> 00:34:46,840 Anybody ever been there and stayed or left? 629 00:34:47,360 --> 00:34:50,320 I've left. I've left before. 630 00:34:50,520 --> 00:34:52,719 I'll never forget. I was I was working. 631 00:34:52,719 --> 00:34:55,120 I was leaving here at 3:00 in the morning to get the middle 632 00:34:55,120 --> 00:34:57,840 oath in working a shutdown. I was not, I had, I hadn't been 633 00:34:57,840 --> 00:35:00,080 winning on the rodeo circuit. So I come home and got a real 634 00:35:00,080 --> 00:35:04,360 job and all them old men at the coffee shop and told me I'd 635 00:35:04,360 --> 00:35:06,440 never make it in the rodeo world. 636 00:35:06,440 --> 00:35:08,960 I had to get a job. Older, wiser men. 637 00:35:08,960 --> 00:35:11,960 I wanted to prove them wrong. But I had to come home and get a 638 00:35:11,960 --> 00:35:13,840 job because I wasn't writing good enough for the professional 639 00:35:13,840 --> 00:35:16,880 level to make a living. So I was working in Midlothian 640 00:35:16,880 --> 00:35:19,280 at a steel mill, and it was a union. 641 00:35:19,760 --> 00:35:22,520 Maybe unions are good, but if you ain't in them, they don't 642 00:35:22,520 --> 00:35:25,440 like you, they don't want you there. 643 00:35:26,120 --> 00:35:29,920 I was working for a contractor and I did and then I was payout. 644 00:35:30,000 --> 00:35:33,120 You know down here I was making 5-6 dollars and four $5.00 an 645 00:35:33,120 --> 00:35:36,240 hour on a day job. Down here you get lucky, get 646 00:35:36,240 --> 00:35:38,280 home $40 a day. I know some of y'all can't 647 00:35:38,280 --> 00:35:41,480 imagine that young people, you give them a hundred, they want 648 00:35:41,480 --> 00:35:46,200 150 to show up, not do nothing. But I was getting $4.00 an hour, 649 00:35:47,280 --> 00:35:49,400 but I'm talking about leaving the consequences up to God. 650 00:35:49,400 --> 00:35:51,960 So when I went up there, they was going to pay us like 10. 651 00:35:51,960 --> 00:35:54,240 And man, I was like hungry. I said this will work. 652 00:35:54,240 --> 00:35:57,840 And I just got married and newlywed and man, I had rodeo. 653 00:35:57,840 --> 00:36:01,840 I went to 190 ninety something right at 100 rodeos traveled all 654 00:36:01,840 --> 00:36:05,280 across the United States that year and won $11,000. 655 00:36:05,920 --> 00:36:08,720 My entry fees was 20. I don't know how I did it. 656 00:36:08,720 --> 00:36:11,160 I was working on the side, but I wanted it. 657 00:36:11,560 --> 00:36:15,440 I wanted it, but I was working up there and man, them union 658 00:36:15,440 --> 00:36:18,680 guys, they were snarling at us every day and you know, I was in 659 00:36:18,680 --> 00:36:20,640 good shape and then I was wanting to punch some of them 660 00:36:20,640 --> 00:36:23,560 and it was just building. But this was the best job I ever 661 00:36:23,560 --> 00:36:24,920 had. And I go home, tell my wife and 662 00:36:24,920 --> 00:36:26,840 I quit this job. She's not going to be happy. 663 00:36:26,840 --> 00:36:29,600 All I've done spent rodeo in that year before I started 664 00:36:29,600 --> 00:36:32,560 riding good enough to win the pro level, you know, But 665 00:36:32,560 --> 00:36:34,440 everybody says, oh, it was easy for you had a buddy home. 666 00:36:34,440 --> 00:36:36,120 It was easy. I you don't know the price I 667 00:36:36,120 --> 00:36:38,360 paid. So they give me this job one 668 00:36:38,360 --> 00:36:40,000 day. Our job was we, we was doing 669 00:36:40,000 --> 00:36:42,400 some pretty cool stuff building and I was learning some stuff. 670 00:36:42,400 --> 00:36:45,720 But then there was always this thing called clean up that had 671 00:36:45,720 --> 00:36:48,040 to be done. And they were putting these big 672 00:36:48,040 --> 00:36:52,320 old water pumps down in a down in a hole, a concrete hole about 673 00:36:52,320 --> 00:36:54,880 as big as this. And they were taking cranes and 674 00:36:54,880 --> 00:36:57,240 dropping them down and we had to go in there. 675 00:36:57,240 --> 00:37:00,000 Them guys, there was no restroom, so they would just use 676 00:37:00,000 --> 00:37:03,120 a bathroom in the corner. They would just urinate in the 677 00:37:03,120 --> 00:37:05,040 corners of it and then trash everywhere. 678 00:37:05,040 --> 00:37:10,080 Well, they give me that job to clean that up that day and the 679 00:37:10,080 --> 00:37:12,400 guys up here driving the truck so I could drive them better 680 00:37:12,400 --> 00:37:14,440 than him, but I wasn't union. I couldn't do it. 681 00:37:14,840 --> 00:37:17,200 So man, I had this hard hat and there's something about hard 682 00:37:17,200 --> 00:37:18,560 hats and me ain't never got along. 683 00:37:18,560 --> 00:37:21,240 Even when I was in my drilling business, I I got about get run 684 00:37:21,240 --> 00:37:25,600 off jobs because I wouldn't wear them and I left the job one 685 00:37:25,600 --> 00:37:26,760 time. I told him I said it's paid 686 00:37:26,760 --> 00:37:28,720 really good When I was drilling, I said if I got to wear this, 687 00:37:28,720 --> 00:37:30,280 I'm going home. I said ain't nothing going to 688 00:37:30,280 --> 00:37:32,840 fall on my head out here. They made an exception for me 689 00:37:32,840 --> 00:37:33,880 because it was getting a lot done. 690 00:37:33,880 --> 00:37:37,760 But anyway, back to the other story. 691 00:37:38,400 --> 00:37:41,320 I was in this pit. I said, God, I'm like Joseph, 692 00:37:41,320 --> 00:37:44,160 I'm down here in this pit. Yeah, I mean, it was bad. 693 00:37:45,000 --> 00:37:46,800 And you know what? This thought come to my mind. 694 00:37:46,800 --> 00:37:50,440 I think God put it there. He said you ride way too good to 695 00:37:50,440 --> 00:37:53,320 be in this pit. I said, you know, I don't know 696 00:37:53,320 --> 00:37:54,960 where that come from, but I like it. 697 00:37:56,840 --> 00:37:59,400 But then I looked at the circumstance, right? 698 00:37:59,800 --> 00:38:00,640 Oh, really? You're right. 699 00:38:00,640 --> 00:38:02,600 Good. You spent 20 and 110 this year. 700 00:38:02,600 --> 00:38:06,080 You're good. But I walked up there and I told 701 00:38:06,080 --> 00:38:08,520 that guy said, look, He said you got to give two weeks. 702 00:38:08,520 --> 00:38:11,640 I said I ain't got two weeks. I said I'm giving you today, I'm 703 00:38:11,640 --> 00:38:17,480 going home and I left and I put the consequences up on God. 704 00:38:17,480 --> 00:38:19,000 God, I heard your voice back there. 705 00:38:19,000 --> 00:38:21,480 I heard you got a plan. And you know, at that time I 706 00:38:21,480 --> 00:38:24,480 wasn't ministering at rodeos. I was trying to find my way, you 707 00:38:24,480 --> 00:38:26,000 know. But it wasn't long after that I 708 00:38:26,000 --> 00:38:28,320 heard God heard that same voice that I'll make you one of the 709 00:38:28,320 --> 00:38:30,120 best if you'll do something for me. 710 00:38:30,360 --> 00:38:32,720 I spent a few years finding out that that was telling people 711 00:38:32,720 --> 00:38:35,640 about Jesus. And when I put Jesus in the mix, 712 00:38:35,640 --> 00:38:39,680 we took off 2 years later I was at the National Finals Rodeo. 713 00:38:40,480 --> 00:38:44,320 So we have to throw things out there and we have to speak them 714 00:38:44,320 --> 00:38:46,760 into existence. So I'm telling you tonight, 715 00:38:46,760 --> 00:38:50,320 wherever you're at and you hear that voice, we said, well, was 716 00:38:50,320 --> 00:38:52,560 that the voice of God? I believe it was. 717 00:38:53,040 --> 00:38:55,880 But when I looked at my circumstance and look crazy, 718 00:38:56,320 --> 00:38:58,640 right? And then I Fast forward that 719 00:38:58,640 --> 00:39:01,840 first year, that next year, boy at that was 1990. 720 00:39:01,840 --> 00:39:03,720 Well, 91 should have been a miracle year. 721 00:39:03,720 --> 00:39:06,040 God, you know, but it was very difficult. 722 00:39:06,040 --> 00:39:08,360 I got hurt and about the same result. 723 00:39:08,360 --> 00:39:13,360 I think I won 20 and spent 40 and then in 1992, I wasn't going 724 00:39:13,360 --> 00:39:18,040 to Denver, Co and my granddaddy's going on to be with 725 00:39:18,040 --> 00:39:19,880 the Lord with putting out. Hey, he's you're not going to 726 00:39:19,880 --> 00:39:20,920 Denver. I said, no, I ain't got the 727 00:39:20,920 --> 00:39:24,360 money and as the first rodeo of the year and he said, well, I'm 728 00:39:24,360 --> 00:39:26,240 going to give you 500. I want you to go and if you 729 00:39:26,240 --> 00:39:29,480 don't win it back, first time I'd ever took anything to go 730 00:39:29,480 --> 00:39:32,000 rodeo. And he said if you don't, if you 731 00:39:32,000 --> 00:39:34,720 don't win it back, you can work it when you get back. 732 00:39:34,720 --> 00:39:37,160 I said, OK, so I entered Odessa on the way. 733 00:39:37,160 --> 00:39:40,000 I went Odessa, I went to Denver, I went, I went in there, I went 734 00:39:40,000 --> 00:39:41,520 to Houston, I went in there, I went to Foy. 735 00:39:41,520 --> 00:39:43,640 Just boom, boom, boom. It just started happening. 736 00:39:44,320 --> 00:39:48,120 So I'm not saying anything about what I did, but I'm challenging 737 00:39:48,120 --> 00:39:51,760 you wherever you're at. When you hear the voice of God, 738 00:39:51,760 --> 00:39:56,640 it may not sound like it. It may look crazy if God's 739 00:39:56,640 --> 00:39:58,240 calling you to start a new business. 740 00:39:58,240 --> 00:39:59,320 What? I've been there too. 741 00:39:59,320 --> 00:40:03,240 Whatever it is, when you hear that voice, obey God. 742 00:40:04,000 --> 00:40:06,400 Don't look at the circumstances. If you look at the 743 00:40:06,400 --> 00:40:09,840 circumstances, you'll never do it right. 744 00:40:10,360 --> 00:40:13,440 You'll never do it, and the enemy will trap you in a shell 745 00:40:13,440 --> 00:40:15,640 and he will keep you there forever. 746 00:40:16,240 --> 00:40:20,160 Hey, when I heard the same voice, it was that same type of 747 00:40:20,160 --> 00:40:22,160 voice. Start a church. 748 00:40:22,760 --> 00:40:26,400 I said no. I ran for five years. 749 00:40:26,760 --> 00:40:29,040 I said I like preaching and smiling and leaving. 750 00:40:30,160 --> 00:40:32,920 I don't want to stay around and hear them talk about what I told 751 00:40:32,920 --> 00:40:38,000 them because I might tell them something they don't like. 752 00:40:39,640 --> 00:40:42,120 And I said start a church, God. I even got a building. 753 00:40:43,080 --> 00:40:46,040 I said I ain't got no singers. God give, I said. 754 00:40:46,040 --> 00:40:47,960 I told God. I said give me some singers and 755 00:40:47,960 --> 00:40:51,720 I'll start a church. And Candy invited Chrissy. 756 00:40:51,720 --> 00:40:54,280 She was doing her hair to our church that we were going to. 757 00:40:54,280 --> 00:40:57,200 And then she came and they said we'll try it for a little while. 758 00:40:57,800 --> 00:40:59,640 And then I said I was just kidding. 759 00:40:59,640 --> 00:41:03,800 God, I got the singers, but I still don't know about starting 760 00:41:03,800 --> 00:41:07,840 the church. But whatever God's calling you 761 00:41:07,840 --> 00:41:11,080 to do, I promise you're going to have conflict. 762 00:41:11,560 --> 00:41:13,720 I promise it's going to look like you can't do it. 763 00:41:13,880 --> 00:41:16,320 I promise there's going to be people in your ear that's never 764 00:41:16,320 --> 00:41:22,160 done anything telling that you can't right but obey God and 765 00:41:22,160 --> 00:41:24,160 leave all the consequences up to him. 766 00:41:24,880 --> 00:41:31,280 Why do we do this? Because verse 5 says as we stand 767 00:41:31,280 --> 00:41:34,680 tonight. Now therefore, if you will 768 00:41:34,680 --> 00:41:40,800 indeed obey my voice, but it's powerful. 769 00:41:42,280 --> 00:41:43,800 You know, I don't think there's anybody in here tonight. 770 00:41:43,800 --> 00:41:47,200 If you knew it was God that you wouldn't obey his voice. 771 00:41:48,640 --> 00:41:52,280 But see, it's hard to know it's God sometimes because we look 772 00:41:52,280 --> 00:41:57,680 with the fleshly eyes of what we can see, and God is able to 773 00:41:57,680 --> 00:42:00,640 provide anything we need if we obey. 774 00:42:01,160 --> 00:42:03,440 But he says you got to obey first. 775 00:42:05,000 --> 00:42:09,000 First, when we were meeting in the hallway of the barn, you 776 00:42:09,000 --> 00:42:11,120 know, this ain't that big a building to somebody. 777 00:42:11,120 --> 00:42:14,280 They talk about it being little, but to me it's big compared to 778 00:42:14,280 --> 00:42:16,920 that little hallway of the barn that we'd set the piano up in on 779 00:42:16,920 --> 00:42:18,600 Wednesday nights with a few of us. 780 00:42:18,600 --> 00:42:21,800 And Chrissy would play when we didn't have a building. 781 00:42:22,280 --> 00:42:24,720 We got kicked out of one building and we were looking 782 00:42:24,720 --> 00:42:30,360 right. But if you obey, if you will 783 00:42:30,360 --> 00:42:36,400 indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, my commandments, you 784 00:42:36,400 --> 00:42:40,520 should be a special treasure. Bow your head tonight and tell 785 00:42:40,520 --> 00:42:45,360 yourself, tell the enemy I'm a special treasure because I obey 786 00:42:45,360 --> 00:42:50,320 the voice of my God and I keep his commandments, and I'm above 787 00:42:50,320 --> 00:42:54,680 all the peoples of the earth because all the earth belongs. 788 00:42:55,680 --> 00:42:59,680 Can we say that all the earth belongs to my God? 789 00:43:00,720 --> 00:43:05,440 Hey man, even California belongs to God. 790 00:43:06,440 --> 00:43:10,800 It doesn't look like it, but it belongs to God. 791 00:43:11,560 --> 00:43:14,760 Even you're messed up life. I'm not going to try to get to 792 00:43:14,760 --> 00:43:16,280 preaching tonight. I was trying to stick to 793 00:43:16,280 --> 00:43:19,400 teaching, but even you're messed up life. 794 00:43:20,840 --> 00:43:22,920 How many have been there had a messed up life? 795 00:43:23,960 --> 00:43:27,120 Look at the hands. We had a messed up life, but it 796 00:43:27,120 --> 00:43:30,440 was still God's because He created you. 797 00:43:31,520 --> 00:43:34,680 He just had to discipline you till you heard His voice. 798 00:43:36,920 --> 00:43:38,840 But God sent me here for somebody tonight. 799 00:43:38,840 --> 00:43:41,480 God's calling you for something. Now, I'm not saying the 800 00:43:41,480 --> 00:43:44,920 ministry, maybe a career, I don't know what it is, but God's 801 00:43:44,920 --> 00:43:48,280 moving you maybe to start your own business, to step out in 802 00:43:48,280 --> 00:43:51,920 faith. But to do that, you got to leave 803 00:43:51,920 --> 00:43:56,640 your security blanket behind. Thanks for listening to the 804 00:43:56,640 --> 00:44:00,000 Cross Power Church podcast. May you know that true hope, 805 00:44:00,080 --> 00:44:03,040 peace, and salvation can only be found in Jesus. 806 00:44:03,680 --> 00:44:07,240 If you're near Campbell, TX, we would love for you to join us in 807 00:44:07,240 --> 00:44:09,720 person. You can find service times at 808 00:44:09,720 --> 00:44:11,320 crosspowerchurch.com.