Welcome to the Cross Power Church podcast.
You're listening to a service from our church in Campbell, TX.
We pray this message strengthens your faith and points you to the
cross. Now let's join the service.
Sitting there thinking about all the the background music in that
and the way they do it, you know, and that the guy that's
playing all the all and all of her songs is he wasn't at the
studio. His name is Milo.
During, during, I think is how you say it during.
And he did all the Eagles stuff. I mean, listen to the Eagles.
He did all the Eagles stuff. A lot of your mainstream he
played with, I'm pretty sure he played with the Eagles, but I
know he did all their backup stuff, but they send that stuff
to him. He's maybe in a motel room at
his house and he puts all the stuff together and they send it
back. But I had this thought that
there's a scripture that talks about that, what the enemy meant
for evil. And I begin to think of all the
songs he probably played backup on that wasn't godly.
And you know, now he now he's playing for a lot of these Main
Street and gospel groups and stuff.
And you know what the we we're going to see that one of these
days. What they what, what the enemy
meant for evil. God turns it into good.
I thought about it. We're hearing about our circuit
rider brother, what he give his life to the Lord.
How just a month ago when Ben came to a meeting, they was at
Thursday night and they got got hit on his bike and and lost his
life, but he gained life. You know what the enemy meant
for Eva? God saved him just in time.
Isn't that isn't that awesome to know he lost come to know the
Lord a month ago and then the Lord took him home and that's
wow what the enemy means for Eva.
I might just preach on that. Amen.
Now I'm not going to preach on. I got something else here, but
good to be in the House of the Lord tonight, Wednesday night.
It's a little different atmosphere in here.
I don't use a Sunday morning. People bringing it with them.
Or are we losing it on Wednesday?
I don't know, huh. Spirit tear.
I'm going to preach to you some things tonight that I just been
on my heart. And I think it's very important
and I think it's lacking in the body of Christ and there's some
things it's kind of kind of confusing to me as well, but
we're going to share it tonight. Amen.
Let's stand one more time. Go to the Lord in prayer.
I I titled this tonight here say with me here and recognize very
important in your Christian walk very important because I dare
say there's a lot of Christians. The majority do not hear from
God. They say they don't.
I hear people say it all the time.
God doesn't speak to me. People that are his children.
The truth is God speaks. They don't hear, right?
And when we hear, we don't recognize the voice of God.
And I want to explain some of this tonight.
The Father, we come to you tonight.
We pray that we would hear your voice in our life.
We pray that we would recognize your voice in our life.
And then we would act upon the uptions of the Holy Spirit that
comes upon us in our life that leads us toward the cross of
Calvary. Father, we pray tonight that you
give us ears that hear a heart to receive that would fall upon
good ground. That's in your son's name.
We ask and pray Amen. Being John chapter 10 verse 10
is talking about the Good Shepherd.
It's very familiar verses of Scripture, but out you can be
seated. I'm going to read a little bit
here, but in John chapter 10 and verse one Jesus talking, he
said, verily I say unto you, he who enters not by the door into
the sheepfold way, the same is a thief and a robber.
I'm reading out of the King James tonight.
If y'all want to change, it doesn't matter.
It's close enough. But there's a few things in here
that I that I do like out of the King James.
But see this proclaims to us that there is a door.
There is an entrance into everlasting life and despite
what is being taught today, there's only one door.
Say that with me there's only one door.
There's only one way that leads to eternal life.
This is probably one of the greatest teachings and most
simple teachings that Jesus taught on and yet they still
didn't understand it because they he was explaining who he
was and what he came to do. In verse 2, it says, but he who
enters in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
See Jesus is alone. The shepherd he had to enter
into the door of the blood covenant before we could even
think about getting near the door, right?
And it says to him, the Porter opens, it opens, it means that
the law of the doorkeeper. This was immediately it admitted
Jesus. Why?
Because he was, He had made, He had perfected the law, something
that man could never do. God had realized man cannot keep
the laws that I put up on this earth.
There's no way. There's no how.
But Jesus had came in the form of a man, and he had kept every
law, and he was perfect in the eyes of God.
So he says I am the perfect shepherd.
And it says the sheep to him. I'm going to back up and read
that again to him. The Porter opens, the door opens
and the sheep hear his voice. The sheep hear his voice.
And he calls his own sheep by name.
Isn't that awesome? And he leads them out.
If we follow Him, He will lead us out to to great pastures and,
and and make our way right and in verse.
Four, it says that when he puts forth his own sheep, he goes
before them. How can he lead us?
Because he's going before. Us right he has planned
everything and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice and
a. Stranger they will not follow,
but they will flee from him, referring to the thieves and
robbers and the false prophets, for they know not the voice of
strangers. The Parable.
Spoke Jesus unto them, but they understood not that the things
that were which He spoke unto Him, they couldn't understand
that. I fear today there's a lot of
people that still don't understand it.
And I want to look at some things he said here, you know,
as Jesus is the one true shepherd.
You know, pastors, I often heard them referred to as shepherds.
And you know, we we. Seem like most of the time
we're. Pulling and trying to pull
people in the right direction. But I like what it says here.
They know his voice, and his sheep follow him, and to a
stranger's voice they will not. Follow.
But as a shepherd or as a pastor, you know, I'm not the
Good Shepherd. There's only one that's Jesus
Christ. We know that.
But my job as a pastor is, is I feel like more to keep sheep on
their feet, to keep people standing up, because this world
will knock you down, right? It would walk.
Knock you down and walk over you, but I'm tired of sheep that
lay down and don't get up. We have to learn to stay on our
feet. Hey, man, we have to learn to do
this. And the number one way that
we're seeing sheep get knocked down, we're seeing sheep and
God's children, that's who He's referring to here, not following
the Good Shepherd because they are following another voice.
Let's go to Matthew Chapter 7 and verse 15.
Jesus warned of this, and right there we just read it that he
said it. And he puts forth his own sheep.
He goes before them. The sheep follow him, for they
know his voice. And a stranger will they not
follow, but they will flee from him.
You know, when we look at the body of Christ today, it seems
that almost every Christian I know seems to be looking for
another way. If we could just grasp that when
we come into this life, did anybody bring anything with
them? You look back, say, man, the day
I was born, I had that thing. It was mine and I brought it
into this world. Anybody, maybe somebody give you
something, but you did not arrive with anything but a mess,
right? Many people leave with a mess,
but we brought nothing into this world.
Scripture says that we will take nothing out of this world, but
yet we spend our life while up on this earth trying to acquire
and be busy and accumulate things that will not be going
with us right. And many times I said that to
say this, I believe that's why we don't hear.
That's why we don't recognize because we're focused too much
on the here and now and not the Yonder Amen to where we're going
to spend eternity. But yet I see Christians every
day, every month, every year, the same old thing.
They they come to church and yet they're looking for another way.
I'm going to give you a heavy Revi tonight.
There's no other way. There's one way the way the
truth and the life. And the problem is, is we're so
caught up in this life that for many Christians that are not
hearing the voice of God that are not following.
If you don't hear how you're going to follow right, if you
can't hear him, you can't follow him.
But that's what Jesus was telling him here.
I'm the way, the truth and the life.
I'm the Good Shepherd. I'm going to put you in a good
pasture. I'm going to give you good
things and the good you know, I I'm the I'm the lion of the
tribe of Judah, but I'm going to become the lamb.
I'm a shepherd right now for this three and I had this 33
years that I'm here, but I'm soon going to become a lamb that
will be led to slaughter. Amen.
And then I'm going to return another roaring lion.
That's what he was telling them. But yet people are always
looking and it seems that they hear these, they all this is a
new way to serve God. Run from that.
There's no new way to serve God. They meant read your Bible, pray
and see God and hear the voice of God.
There's a lot of people that read.
There's a lot of people that pray, but there's not a lot of
people that here right here. There's not a lot of people that
here, but in Matthew 7 of 15, Jesus explained this.
He said beware of false prophets.
The church is full of false prophets today.
Can I say that again? It is full of false prophets
today which come to you. They don't come as a false
prophet. They come just as Jesus did and
they they came, they come as a shepherd, but they're in sheep's
clothing. But he said inwardly they're
raving wolves. Beware of false prophets, he
said. And in verse 16 he says, How
will you know? Them.
He says you shall know that it's never changed.
Amen. Why were the people following
Jesus? Why was why was the multitude
seeking after Jesus? Why were they following Him?
There was one reason he he proclaimed to be the Messiah,
but they didn't believe his words.
They didn't believe he was who he said he was.
But yet they could not deny the fruit that he was dropping that
was falling off of him, right, Because people are being saved,
they're being healed. They were being changed.
And as he come, as they come to him one way, they left another,
right, So they could not deny the fruits.
And whether you spend the rest of your life in this church or
another church, I challenge you. You shall know them by their.
Fruits. But yet we have we have all
these people. You know, I, I really got a lot
of this back when, when when Olsteen put put Oprah Winfrey on
his stage on his platform, the biggest platform to preach the
gospel. And you put a woman up there or
man, it doesn't matter. He's put both that claims that
there's many ways to God. There's many ways to God.
I've heard her say it. But yet why would he need that?
But see, you will know them by their fruits.
He goes on to say, does men gather grapes or thorns or figs
from thistles? Pretty simple, isn't it?
You can go out there to that locust tree as it begins to
bloom here in a few weeks, as they will.
And you reach up there to pick some fruit off of that locust
tree. And I got news for you.
You're probably going to grab a thorn.
A locust tree ain't never bared an apple and it never will
because it's it's not in his DNA to do so.
See it's possible for false doctrines and things that and
false prophets, they can bring forth some good fruit, but is it
godly fruit? You know most things today, most
of so many preachers and messages you hear it's about
prospering in this world and this world is not going to last.
So that is a false doctrine. Amen.
So as we read on here. Says, You shall know them by
your fruits. The men gather grapes from
thorns, and figs from thistles. Verse 17 Even so, every good
tree, he turns it around right here brings forth good fruit,
but a corrupt tree brings forth. Evil fruit.
Pretty simple. A good tree cannot bring forth.
I like that right there. A good tree cannot bring forth.
Evil fruit. Why?
Why can a good tree not bring forth evil fruit?
We see, we see people that are good, that have been in the
church, maybe taught a class, even preachers today that
they're they, they were a good tree, but yet they begin to
bring forth some bad things in their life, right?
They were. Up here and could preach
eloquent and and say the right words, but yet their private
life was much different. Right.
We're in it and it is being exposed.
They they're pulling these people out.
These pastors and these false prophets, they're being pulled
out day by day almost. You can hear of it every time
you turn the news on, it seems. Why?
So what? Why did Jesus say?
Even so, every good tree. Let's read that again.
Even so, every good tree brings forth good.
Fruit. But a corrupt tree brings forth
evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth
evil fruit. Why?
It wasn't a good tree right because it but you know,
sometimes I think that it what maybe was a good tree, but it
quit hearing it quit recognizing right you can be a good
Christian, but do you and and go to church all the time and still
never hear from God right and things in your life can become
bad. We know that he said neither can
a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit and in verse 19 he brings
it all all home. He says every tree that brings
not forth good fruit is home down and cast into fire.
Talking about the judgment that will ultimately come.
You can go read about it and in Romans 1 and 18, but he said
wherefore by their fruits you shall know them.
Hello. I think when people go to church
they really don't look for the fruit, not of the pastor even.
They look for a good message. A good message don't mean I bear
good fruit though I know all the big words, it doesn't mean that
I'm bearing good fruit in my everyday life.
Hey man, check it out. Know the scriptures, Know who
you're hearing. From but he he he says that that
the Kingdom of heaven and salvation.
There's only one entrance. You can't enter by any other
way. And the sheep recognize his
voice. So we read in John 16 and 13, he
says. How be it?
When he, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into
all truth and all knowledge. How are you going to be guided
if you don't hear? Because it's a spirit, you're
not going to see it, right? He says.
It's going to come and it's going to guide you, but yet
we're still looking with the eyes to be guided, right?
Doesn't work that way. We got to start hearing right.
We got to start hearing how be it when the spirit of truth
comes and then the King James says is come.
He will guide you into all truth.
That means he's here to guide us not some truth, but all truth
see there's only one shepherd, but today there there's
estimate. You know that I read this today
and just got in my in my spirit, the way that that Jesus said
this, because when we look today and I look this up by the study
of global Christianity, there is 45 to 47,000.
Can I say that again, 45,000 to 47,000 Christian denominations
in the world. But Jesus said there's one way.
What does that tell me a bunch of folks wrong, right?
If there were five, there's still 4 wrong.
If there were two, there's still one wrong.
Right, Because we're so divided and we preach.
There's so many different things going on in the boat.
We're messed up 47,000 ways to to to be a Christian and Jesus
said there's only one follow the shepherd.
Pretty astounding, isn't it? But when you.
Look that up and you'll find that that there's 40 can't name
them. You know, you're pretty well.
I know about all. There's no way to know what
they're making up because people are inventing ways.
Wolves and sheep's clothing have come in and you know the enemy.
When I was young, I always thought the Antichrist when he
come on the scene would be very recognizable.
And there's some things about him that.
Will, but we're. Already being prepped for it in
the church. Amen.
Because we've let so much junk in, when the Antichrist comes on
the scene, the stage is already set.
He takes over a people that's willing to believe anything.
I never thought it would be the church.
I never thought it would be the body of Christ.
But I'm seeing it more and more. One voice, 1 shepherd.
So this tells me that the majority is wrong.
You can back up a few scriptures in Matthew 713 and 14 Jesus said
straight is the way, narrow is the gate and few say that with
me. Few be there that entered in in
Matthew 721 and 20 he three he says not everyone that.
Cries Lord Lord, just because you're one of these
denominations that man made and God did not make, just because
you cry Lord Lord, don't mean you're going to enter into the
Kingdom of God. Right?
So that tells me I better be hearing a man.
I better be hearing from something more than elder,
bored, or Deacon. Bored or or even just the things
that come into my head. I need to know that it's God.
How about you? So I want to break this down to
some ways that we have to know. Two ways.
Write this down. The sheep hear the Good
Shepherd's voice. We just read that John 10, three
and four, the sheep hear the good Shepherd's voice.
If you're a Christian that says don't hear the hear God, you
better start hearing God, Amen, because you will be LED astray
if you're not hearing from God. The second thing is not only do
they hear, but they recognize that that voice belonging to the
Good Shepherd because you're going to hear a lot of voices.
Hello. You're going to hear a lot of
things that come in and creep into your mind and you have to
discern. So the keys here are hearing
from God and recognizing God and it takes a long time.
It don't just come overnight. Amen, Because you will.
Fail. You will mess up.
You will have good ideas that aren't God ideas.
I have learned that. But what does the voice of the
Holy Spirit sound like? I got to grab some water.
What does the voice? If you've ever heard the voice
of God, what does the voice of the Holy Spirit sound like?
It's a good question. He just said that when the
spirit of truth comes. He not just going to tell you a
little bit of things, He going to tell you all things, bring
you into all truth and all knowledge, right?
He's going to bring that to us. So let's look at this.
What does the voice of the Holy Spirit sound like and how do I
listen to him? It would be interesting to
record some Christians responding to that, wouldn't it?
I dare say some young Christians, new, new people in
Christ can hear better than old people sometimes, right?
Than those that have lived for God a long time.
Because we tend to quit listening.
Sometimes we tend to get at peace in Zion.
But see, we read A good illustration of this is in first
Kings chapter 19 verses 11 through 13.
Elijah. How many know who Elijah was?
He had called fire down from heaven.
He'd done all kinds of things. But Elijah.
Had recently just killed 400 prophets of baal, a false God, a
false God of a Pagan God, a God that the.
World is still worshipping today.
If you turn your TV on, it doesn't matter what it.
Is you're going to find, you're going to find things in it.
That is what the God of Baal worshipped.
It was infidelity. It was sexual sins, it was
things of that you can't. You can't turn on the radio or
television or you would just have to refrain totally from the
world reading any billboards, doing anything if you were going
to take the God of the bow that they worshipped here and do away
with it. And Elijah had just killed 400
prophets of Bow, and he had Queen Jezebel chasing him.
There's a Jezebel spirit I preached on that that's still
here today. Amen.
It's here today. And it's the same thing that
caused the Roman Empire to fall. It's the same thing that's
caused Babylonian to fall. It's the same thing that forced
the children of Israel and scattered them abroad.
And it's the same thing that will destroy America if we
continue. But Queen Jezebel, she had
threatened to kill him. Think about it.
Elijah had called fire down from heaven and burned their galters
down. He'd done all kinds of things.
He had. He had prophesied that it shall
not rain for X amount of days. And it did not rain.
But yet this mean woman. Husbands, feel your wife.
Amen. Fear your wife.
He fled to Mount Sinai, and he was hiding in a cave.
He wasn't just fearing Queen Jezebel.
She had lots of people working for her right?
But he was scared for his life. And the Lord said, He said.
Go forth, can you? Imagine Elijah, the great things
that he had done, yet he's hiding in a cave scared, and he
was needing to say it with me, hear from God, they're after me,
they're going to kill me. And the Lord said this, He said,
Go forth, and stand on the mountain before the Lord.
And behold, the Lord was passing by, and a great strong wind was
rending the mountains and breaking them into pieces, and
the rocks before the Lord. But the Lord was not in the
wind. He was not in the wind after the
wind and earthquake, but He was not in the earthquake and after
the earthquake of fire. But the Lord was not in the fire
after the fire, a second gentle blowing wind.
Oh, this must be God, he thought.
And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle,
and he went and stood at the entrance of The Cave, and behold
a voice. Came to him and it said in the
steel. Smallness, after all the smoke
and all the fire and all the rocks crumbling, he asked him
this question. I preached a great message on
this one time. What are you doing here?
You're a child of God. You called the fire down from
heaven. Elijah, you've done great
things. Now you're an old Christian
that's lost faith. Get up.
You're a prophet of God. What are you doing here?
God did not speak to Elijah in a powerful, dramatic way.
But yet we haven't called fire down from heaven.
We haven't killed 400 prophets of Obama.
Now let me take that back. We haven't killed 400 whatevers.
False doctrines, right? We haven't done that, but he had
killed the other side of his enemy.
But see, we think that those things are enemies, and they're
not our enemy at all. It's Satan working through
people, right? It's Satan working through the
right or the left. He's in both sides, right?
He actually is right in the middle and they don't even
realize it. But he had killed. 400 prophets
and yet God says, what are you doing here?
Why are you hiding? God didn't speak in a powerful,
dramatic way, but yet the Christian today is still waiting
for God to speak that way. I hear it all the time.
If God would just show me, I would do it.
No you wouldn't because you wouldn't be able to hear him.
You're looking in all the wrong places.
He used a strong wind. He used the earthquake in a fire
to demonstrate that he was still God Almighty.
But see, yet he spoke in a still gentle breeze and said, Elijah,
what are you doing here? See, in the same way that he got
Elijah's attention, the Lord may use a powerful dramatic thing in
our life. Can I get a witness?
He's used it many times to get our attention right, but
sometimes we still don't hear the voice of God.
We're in the middle of it. It's after everything settled
and we look back and we say, man, he, he was trying to tell
me that. Then I just didn't listen.
When He actually speaks to us, it will be with a tender, loving
inner voice. And to hear Him and to recognize
that sometimes we have to get rid of the distractions, get
alone in a quiet place, that we can feel His gracious words.
When the Holy Spirit speaks to us, most of the time it's an
inner thought. Almost like our own thoughts.
But then there's something that checks in your spirit said,
whoa, I didn't come up with that.
That has to be God. Your heart will recognize it.
It's the Holy Spirit speaking to you, and we must understand it.
So how do we do that? I think back, you know I.
When I was little, my mom would always call my middle name to
try to get my When Lance wouldn't work, she'd say Lance
Neil and I knew something. Was up a little bit, but I
still, I wouldn't really scare the mom.
She didn't whoop that hard, but I knew that she could tell
somebody. But I could be in a room full
acting like a Heather and it didn't matter what age didn't
matter. I was kind of like Swayze.
I stayed with my grandparents when my when my mom and my
biological dad had divorced, I was four years old.
I stayed with my grandparents and you couldn't get a spanking
there. One set you could, but I didn't
stay with that set. I like staying with the other
one. Kind of like Swayze.
She knows I ain't going to do nothing.
I mean, I can threaten, I can pick it up, I can put it in my
hand, I can stomp my face. She knows I ain't going to do
nothing. And that's sad.
It ain't right, but I can't help it.
I'm trying. But I think about my dad.
He didn't have to say my name. I could be in a building,
running wide open, doing whatever, and I could feel it.
I could see his face. I could see one eyebrow.
Got a little uneven. It got cocked a certain way and
he didn't have to say nothing. My night was ruined because I
knew when I got home. He liked to make you wait.
He thought the good things come to those who wait.
I heard from him it wasn't good when he was waiting on Dad.
But he didn't play. He didn't play with it, and I
knew it. But see, I would recognize my
dad. Why?
Because He didn't play when it come to doing what He said.
I got news for you today, God does not play.
I don't know where we got this mindset that God plays, but when
God is trying to get our attention, can I tell you God
does not play when it comes to getting you and out of heaven,
Amen. He does not play.
He will cause the earthquake, he will cause the fire, even if it
takes scars to prove that he gave his only begotten son so
that you and I come out and preach with me tonight could
have everlasting life. He does not play.
Salvation is is is free, but it's not cheap.
But why was it like this? Because I knew my dad wasn't
playing, you know, But I'll never forget if they, if they
and my dad at the end of his life, he, you know, he, he
would, he always was on me about working.
And doing these things and he he instilled some things in me that
I would have never gotten. He come to me when I was 13 and
he said, you're probably not going to like me till you're
about 20. He said, but I just made some
mistakes on my other kid and I'm not making it on you.
And that voice is echoed many times.
And I'll never forget right. Not too long before he went to
be with the Lord, he he hugged me right back here and he said,
he said all the things I've done.
Wrong. I did this right.
Why? Because he knew and he had
learned. But yet we play in life.
We play with our salvation. We play with the things that God
holds dear. Hey, man, we play with it many
times simply because we don't take the time to hear.
Simply when we do hear, we don't recognize.
How many read books here? I'm not a big book reader at
all, but I understand that people that are they, they can
read a book and not that it's a bit, I guess it's a big deal to
people that read a lot of books, but they read the literature on
these authors and they, they're familiar with the writing
styles. And if you read enough of these
books that you know, you can, somebody can hand them a book
and they'll read this book and they're like, you know, I know
who the author is without even reading who wrote it because
they understand the style and the familiarities that this
author writes. You understand what I'm saying
there, Because they recognize that's the way we should be with
God. That should we should understand
as we go to hearing it because there's some things write this
down. If you're trying to hear from
God and you're trying to recognize his voice, you got to
go to first John. You have to go to first John
Chapter 1. I like to call it John's test
because it's a test that we can take.
I'm going to sum it all up so I can close, but recognizing.
We hear the voice, but do we recognize it?
But do we? Recognize His voice is speaking
within us and go a step beyond that.
After listening to what we believe the Holy Spirit has said
before acting upon it, we should submit these things to a testing
process in first John he describes tests that can help us
hear the voice of God and know that what we have heard is of
God. See the Holy Spirit in inspired
John to write them and John one and five it says write these
things down If you want to summarize the voice of God will
always lead us toward the light you like that.
Not darkness. Light and darkness can't stay
together. One has to flee.
But yet, when we come to Christ, most Christians spend the first
six years of their Christian walk whining about the friends
they lost that are partying and doing all the things of the
world. Oh, I just lost.
I just. It's Waller.
You know what I'm talking about. Why?
Because you're being LED toward the light.
Now. Light and darkness cannot flee.
They just don't talk to me no more.
They act different when I come around.
Big deal. You're being LED toward the
light. The second thing, does it lead
us away from sin? I was laying in a in a camper
one night and this young man that had just came to the Lord
not too long before he he was still struggling with things
when he left the rodeo. He went out to the bars that
night and I was staying with another guy that was a cowboy
minister and we've been sharing the Lord there.
Will he come in we hours of the morning and the other guy asked
him, I'd done been picking on him that day.
So the other guy asked him, he says he said, where you been?
He said rodeo been over a long time.
He said, oh, I just went out and hung out at the club a little
while with him bar. He said, I feel like there's
somebody in there. I'm not going to lead to Jesus.
He said, well, if you're that interested in him, he said, why
don't you sit on the curb and catch him before they go in
there. I said, that's pretty good.
That's pretty good. Two ways to look at it.
But when you when you hear the voice of God, I will always lead
you toward light. John chapter 1 first John
chapter one. It will lead us away from say it
with me sin. I hear some preachers today
preaching in such a way that it's almost like they're okaying
sin. Can y'all say Amen right there.
The third thing is it leads us to seek forgiveness and
cleansing of sins we have committed doesn't lead us away
from it. You know, that's a, that's a,
that's the enemy's greatest trick is to get somebody.
To pray the sinner's prayer, get baptized and then get in the
church. And then all of a sudden they go
out here and do something stupid and then he pours some
condemnation upon them because they don't know the word enough
to know that it's already been forgiven.
A man I just got to line back up.
Keep walking and pretty soon I'm going to be LED.
Away from those things and they're going to be replaced
with better things. What are we on four or five?
The voice of God will always this is in chapter 2, verse
three and five. It will always align you with
God's commandments. I get so tired of hearing
Christians say well, I've read that it's in there, but God
don't play. There's no, but it's your butt
that's in the way. Align with God's commandments.
The next thing it will encourage us to respond as Jesus would.
Well, that's hard. That's really hard.
It will. Lead.
Us the next thing away from hating toward loving other
people. I've had several people in my
life the last few weeks that I even quoted this to my wife
today. I said we got to overcome evil
with good. That's the hardest thing to do.
Is it not hard for you? It's hard to do when especially
when you've helped somebody out and you went far beyond anything
could ever imagine and give and give and give and, and, and they
do, they still respond to you with evil.
It's hard to overcome evil with good.
But you know, there's a verse in the Bible that says when you do
that, you really want to get them.
It says you reap burning coals over their head when you return,
when you return good for evil. God help us with that.
Amen lead us from hating toward loving other people right.
We were talking about that the other day one of our brothers.
It was stirring thing at a circuit router and you know, I I
just stood up pressing God. What do you want me to do?
So I want you to love him what you do in a way to love him but
correct him and you know, I've had a couple come to me and say,
man, that was a good way to do it.
God did it. Hey, man, I just loved him and
it made him like what I was telling him and love that he was
wrong, right. And God did it.
And then I hear God's taking care of it now, right?
He'll lead us away from hating. But it's easy to, you know, to
it's easy. We see this today, especially
the election times, man, I heard an old preacher the other day
preaching. He said, I'm tired of the whole
why he was on Sunday morning live and he was old guy.
He didn't care. No more getting like me.
He said. I'm so tired.
Of hearing our president and all of them up there, he said.
I ain't heard nobody up there but two people not curse.
And he said they're all dropping F bombs but they all Christian,
they all love Jesus, but they don't control their ways.
Well, he was getting on them. It will encourage us to know God
better. Encourage us to know God better.
There's no other way. See, went back to the story of
my dad. Why did I know when the eyebrow
went up? Why did I know that?
I knew a weapon was coming, but I also knew that it was going to
Even after the weapons, I knew it was going to affect my
everyday life. Right.
How many I'd take the weapon. It was the you're not going
anywhere. That was the bad deal, wasn't
it? You're grounded.
He didn't drown much. That's what I like about that.
He just beat you half death and send you on your way.
There was no grounding. There wasn't no grounding, but
now we ground them for go over there for 10.
They, I mean, I said getting time out and it lasts for about
two seconds and then they're running all over doing the same
thing. But I knew it affected my
everyday life. But I also see I had a
relationship with my dad. I knew that he required.
Something and I knew if I didn't do what he required that there
was discipline going to happen, right.
But we live in a world you know. Do you think God gave his only
begotten Son so that he wouldn't discipline those that broke his
commandments and his? Rules a lot of the church
believes that but the Bible says those whom he.
Loves he chastens. He says that if we aren't
corrected then we are bastard Childs is what the Bible says.
That means we don't know our Father, right?
So He corrects those whom he loves, but it will encourage us
to know Him better. And it will always be the truth.
Never deny or diminish who Jesus is or what he's done.
But I challenge you and summarizing this whole message
tonight, he says that these things say that with me.
Let's go to first John two, First John chapter 2 and 26.
He says that these things I have said, I have written concerning
those who are trying to deceive you, those who might deceive us,
whether intentionally or unintentionally, include what
other people, their own desires, evil spirits, these things I
have written to you concerning those who try to turn you away.
See, the Holy Spirit will never conflict with any of John's
test. They will always lead us toward
the light. They will always.
God's voice will always lead us from sin.
They will always lead us to seek forgiveness and cleansing when
we have committed sin. They will align with God's
commandments. They will encourage us to
respond as Jesus would. They will lead us away from
hating toward loving other people.
They will encourage us to know God better.
We need these things. If you want to hear the voice of
God, these things have to be in your life.
If you want to hear from God, these things have to be present
in your life. They will never deny or diminish
who Jesus is or what he's done. And as much as I love the United
States of America and I believe it's the greatest country that
has ever been placed upon planet earth, I will always believe
that. But when I look at our Nation
Today, for the most part, we try to diminish who Jesus is as a
nation and what he's done. We get excited when people
mention Jesus because we know that at the mention of his name,
demons have to bow. We know that demons can flee and
people that can be healed. But, you know, if they don't
recognize and they don't hear the voice of God, they can't
lead us in the right direction. But I challenge you, in the
world you live in today, we must know how to hear the inner voice
of the Holy Spirit speaking to us.
We must know that. But you know, there's a lot of
people still saying, well, if God would just speak.
God cannot look upon us until we have a glorified body and just
speak. He didn't look up on.
Why did Jesus feel forsaken at the cross?
He felt forsaken because for a slight moment God had to turn
away because He's a holy God and He had to watch His Son become
sin for all mankind and He had to turn away.
He couldn't look upon it because He's a holy God, right?
And then he took Jesus. You know, people said, well, I'm
just waiting on God to speak. And they get real confused right
here because he's a triune God. He's God the Father, God the
Son, God the Holy Spirit. But Jesus said the Father has
already came. He's already died upon a cross,
and now he's already rose again. And because I'm going to sit at
the right hand of the Father, quit listening for the voice of
God. Listen for the voice of the Holy
Spirit, right? That's his job is to speak to
us. I understand he's a triune God
that, you know, a lot of people get confused.
I don't. I can't explain the Triune
Godhead. I can't explain how a mother,
how a mother loves us, cooks. For us and yet wipes our rear
end. But she's still mother, right?
But does all three. That's the easiest way I've ever
known how to explain it. He's God the Father, He's God
the Son, He's God the Holy Spirit.
You always know He's there, you always know He loves you, know
He died on the cross to forgive you of your sins, but yet you
feel His holy. Spirit upon this earth every day
yearning Learn to recognize his voice as we stand and go to
we'll close in prayer. How many want to hear?
How many want to hear 2? It's only three.
How many want to hear? Hey man, how many want to
recognize There's a whole nother part of this message you want me
to preach the rest of it? No, you don't.
You got to work in the morning. You know what?
The third party is here. Recognize.
React. React, React.
That means act like I'm saved. Sometimes I don't feel saved.
Do you? I feel like I'm in a mess.
I feel like I'm going through part of the tribulation here on
Earth sometimes, don't you? But yet I gotta act like I'm OK
because I am. Your feelings will catch up
later. They say, well, I can't act.
You're going to learn to what is What is being happy when you're
really sad? Is that acting or is it inner
peace? Some people can act that way.
I had a aunt she used to could cry when she wanted to cry and
laugh when she wanted to laugh. People recognize that about her.
She just start crying when she's talking to you if she's wanting
something. Anybody ever seen anybody like
that? Y'all just pin all this
Wednesday night stuff. Does anybody know anybody like
that in your life? They could just turn it on.
Tony Ray. I bet I know who it is.
I know more about y'all. Before she found the Lord, she
could turn it on, couldn't she? We ain't talking about her or
your wife. No, I'm going to get in trouble.
But you know, sometimes I've found that when I'm sad and I
begin to act happy, it's because of what I'm thinking.
It's because of what I'm hearing.
I'm hearing the voice of God saying it's going to be OK,
we're going to make it through. But see, the thing about it is
your head's bowed. If you hear and you recognize
and you react. I didn't get to preach on that.
You know what happens next. You develop relationship.
My beautiful wife, I can tell if
she's happy or sad without her saying a word because I've lived
with her 35 years, right? God's the same way.
Thanks for listening to the Cross Powered Church podcast.
May you know that true hope, peace, and salvation can only be
found in Jesus. If you're near Campbell, TX, we
would love for you to join us in person.
You can find service times at crosspowerchurch.com.