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 00:00:13,320 --> 00:00:19,520 God is good, isn't he? If you discourage, read the back 6 00:00:19,520 --> 00:00:24,400 of the book. If you worry about what's going 7 00:00:24,400 --> 00:00:26,280 on in the world, read the back of the book. 8 00:00:28,000 --> 00:00:30,960 Read what happens in the end, because in the end we win. 9 00:00:32,520 --> 00:00:35,760 And when you understand that in the end we win, you can make it. 10 00:00:37,760 --> 00:00:38,920 I was going to preach this morning. 11 00:00:38,920 --> 00:00:40,520 If you can take it, you can make it. 12 00:00:42,760 --> 00:00:44,440 That's a good. That's a good thought, isn't it? 13 00:00:45,280 --> 00:00:47,320 If you can take it, you can make it. 14 00:00:48,360 --> 00:00:50,480 But good to be in the House of the Lord today. 15 00:00:50,480 --> 00:00:52,560 Good to be in God's presence, good to be with you. 16 00:00:52,560 --> 00:00:57,600 Always a delight to to come into to be in service with you was 17 00:00:57,640 --> 00:01:01,640 was here just few weeks ago. Glad to be back again and good 18 00:01:01,640 --> 00:01:05,440 to see you and thank God for his presence. 19 00:01:05,440 --> 00:01:08,560 Thank God for this beautiful singing this morning that leads 20 00:01:08,560 --> 00:01:10,760 us into the presence of the Lord. 21 00:01:10,760 --> 00:01:15,920 We have a friend in Jesus today and we can make it and we can 22 00:01:15,920 --> 00:01:19,520 overcome no matter what's what's come our way and what we're 23 00:01:19,520 --> 00:01:21,240 facing and what we're going through. 24 00:01:22,040 --> 00:01:24,800 Heard about an elderly man, He was feeling his age. 25 00:01:24,800 --> 00:01:29,880 Anybody ever feel your age? And he's complaining about it 26 00:01:29,880 --> 00:01:31,160 now? Me, I'm not going to ask you if 27 00:01:31,160 --> 00:01:34,280 you complain about it, he said. I sure have gotten old. 28 00:01:34,280 --> 00:01:38,400 I've had two bypass surgeries, so I had a hip replacement, 2 29 00:01:38,400 --> 00:01:42,640 new knee surgeries, I fought prostate cancer, diabetes, I'm 30 00:01:42,640 --> 00:01:46,400 half blind, can't hear anything quieter than a jet engine take 31 00:01:46,400 --> 00:01:49,760 off, he said I'd take 40 different medications that make 32 00:01:49,760 --> 00:01:54,120 me dizzy, winded, subject to blackouts I have bouts with. 33 00:01:54,120 --> 00:01:57,080 Dementia I have. Poor circulation, can barely 34 00:01:57,080 --> 00:02:01,040 feel my hands and feet anymore. I can't remember if I'm 85 or 35 00:02:01,040 --> 00:02:04,360 95. I've lost almost all my friends 36 00:02:04,360 --> 00:02:07,320 and my teeth, but thank God I got my driver's license. 37 00:02:10,560 --> 00:02:12,280 See. See some of you laughing because 38 00:02:12,280 --> 00:02:14,320 you're that's a little too familiar. 39 00:02:18,400 --> 00:02:28,800 Well, I have crossed a threshold in my life that I'm not too 40 00:02:28,800 --> 00:02:33,520 happy about. Just celebrated a 60th birthday 41 00:02:34,240 --> 00:02:38,360 and I know I only look 40. I know it. 42 00:02:38,440 --> 00:02:40,240 I know it. You're you're amazed. 43 00:02:40,240 --> 00:02:44,600 You just Yeah, I saw your draws jaws drop and you just this 44 00:02:44,600 --> 00:02:46,680 What? Yeah, that's that's how I feel 45 00:02:46,680 --> 00:02:50,320 about it. But I'm still not as old as my 46 00:02:50,320 --> 00:03:00,240 wife. So is there a greyhound around 47 00:03:00,240 --> 00:03:08,800 here somewhere? Well, I have found out that it's 48 00:03:08,800 --> 00:03:13,080 it's a good to have birthdays and I'm glad to be able to 49 00:03:13,080 --> 00:03:17,200 celebrate them and thank God for his blessings have been blessed, 50 00:03:17,800 --> 00:03:21,520 our lives have been blessed and thank God for his favor and 51 00:03:21,560 --> 00:03:24,200 grace is mercy and love upon our lives. 52 00:03:24,200 --> 00:03:26,360 Amen. If you have your Bibles, you 53 00:03:26,360 --> 00:03:29,080 want to turn with me. I'm going to read just one verse 54 00:03:29,080 --> 00:03:35,040 of Scripture from Hebrews chapter 2 felt very compelled 55 00:03:35,040 --> 00:03:39,320 and directed to share this thought with you this morning. 56 00:03:48,680 --> 00:03:54,320 Hebrews 2 verse one says reading from the new living translation 57 00:03:54,320 --> 00:03:59,040 says, so we must listen very carefully to the truth we have 58 00:03:59,040 --> 00:04:04,000 heard or we may drift away from it. 59 00:04:05,880 --> 00:04:09,160 The writer saying and he's talking about the word of God. 60 00:04:09,800 --> 00:04:13,080 We have to listen very carefully. 61 00:04:13,320 --> 00:04:16,120 To the truth. I mean, I know there's a lot of 62 00:04:16,120 --> 00:04:20,120 lies out there today. There's a lot of misconceptions 63 00:04:20,120 --> 00:04:26,480 and mistrone theories and and philosophies, he said. 64 00:04:26,480 --> 00:04:34,160 We must listen very carefully to the truth we've heard, or we may 65 00:04:34,160 --> 00:04:38,200 drift away from it. I want to talk to you this 66 00:04:38,200 --> 00:04:41,320 morning about the dangers of drifting. 67 00:04:42,720 --> 00:04:49,480 The dangers of drifting. April 14th, 1912, Maiden voyage 68 00:04:49,480 --> 00:04:52,760 of the world's greatest ship, the Titanic. 69 00:04:52,760 --> 00:04:55,960 Speed through the icy waters of the North Atlantic. 70 00:04:56,320 --> 00:04:59,320 And if I could get a little monitor on this to help me, it 71 00:04:59,320 --> 00:05:06,360 was a floating palace, 882 feet long, 92 feet wide, 46,000 tons 72 00:05:06,360 --> 00:05:10,720 of steel, powered by the most and the latest technology of the 73 00:05:10,720 --> 00:05:15,720 day, crewed by experts and praised as unsinkable. 74 00:05:16,600 --> 00:05:20,080 The pride of the Seas. The marvel of engineering. 75 00:05:20,400 --> 00:05:23,840 The largest moving object. Humans had ever created. 76 00:05:24,360 --> 00:05:28,480 But none of that mattered because it ignored the warnings 77 00:05:29,280 --> 00:05:33,560 history records that the Titanic had received by radio. 78 00:05:33,560 --> 00:05:39,120 Message 7. Warnings 7. 79 00:05:39,120 --> 00:05:42,240 Different. Warnings some came from other 80 00:05:42,240 --> 00:05:44,360 ships that had. Been in the area that had 81 00:05:44,360 --> 00:05:47,440 already. Crossed the same path others. 82 00:05:47,440 --> 00:05:49,840 Came. From, from signals and. 83 00:05:49,840 --> 00:05:53,120 Radio warnings that there were icebergs that night. 84 00:05:53,520 --> 00:05:57,880 Not one. Not 2, not 3. 85 00:05:58,560 --> 00:06:04,200 Seven different warnings. They didn't pay attention. 86 00:06:04,920 --> 00:06:07,000 They didn't heed. They didn't slow down. 87 00:06:07,160 --> 00:06:09,160 They didn't change course. They. 88 00:06:09,160 --> 00:06:12,200 Didn't take the warnings seriously. 89 00:06:12,920 --> 00:06:18,200 Why they thought they? Were too big, they thought. 90 00:06:18,200 --> 00:06:20,120 They were too strong, they thought. 91 00:06:20,120 --> 00:06:22,400 They were too secure. They thought they were, too. 92 00:06:22,400 --> 00:06:24,320 Advanced. They thought they were, too. 93 00:06:24,320 --> 00:06:29,320 Big to fail, but hear me. Pride makes you deaf. 94 00:06:31,040 --> 00:06:35,360 Arrogance makes you blind. Overconfidence. 95 00:06:35,360 --> 00:06:39,760 Makes you stubborn and. The ship that couldn't sink 96 00:06:40,040 --> 00:06:42,960 sank. In less than 3 hours because. 97 00:06:42,960 --> 00:06:46,440 Someone failed to heed the. Warnings. 98 00:06:46,640 --> 00:06:50,320 You know where I'm going the. Danger wasn't the iceberg. 99 00:06:50,680 --> 00:06:53,080 It was their attitude. They weren't. 100 00:06:53,080 --> 00:06:54,920 Destroyed by what? They hit. 101 00:06:55,080 --> 00:06:58,400 They were. Destroyed by what they ignored. 102 00:06:59,560 --> 00:07:03,000 They didn't perish because they lacked information. 103 00:07:03,600 --> 00:07:07,080 They perished because they lacked attention. 104 00:07:07,200 --> 00:07:11,560 They didn't pay attention, the writer says. 105 00:07:11,920 --> 00:07:18,280 Pay careful attention to the truth, lest you drift away. 106 00:07:18,280 --> 00:07:20,800 From it. They didn't go down because 107 00:07:20,800 --> 00:07:23,280 there was a storm. They went down because of their 108 00:07:23,280 --> 00:07:29,400 failure to heed the warnings. You know the Bible's a wonderful 109 00:07:29,400 --> 00:07:35,160 book full of beautiful stories and the romance of. 110 00:07:35,160 --> 00:07:39,200 Redemption and and miraculous moments and. 111 00:07:39,440 --> 00:07:42,000 Life giving. Lessons and all. 112 00:07:42,000 --> 00:07:46,680 Kinds of spiritual truths and wisdom that is giving to. 113 00:07:46,680 --> 00:07:48,880 Us and A. Wellspring of knowledge and a 114 00:07:48,880 --> 00:07:53,120 repository of wisdom we have in the Word of God. 115 00:07:53,560 --> 00:07:58,080 But within its pages it we see faith that moves mountains, and 116 00:07:58,080 --> 00:08:02,440 grace that saves sinners, and mercy that restores lives and 117 00:08:02,440 --> 00:08:07,280 promises that give hope. But the same Bible that inspires 118 00:08:07,280 --> 00:08:13,920 us is the same Bible that warns us, the same Bible that that we 119 00:08:13,920 --> 00:08:15,840 read. And we, we, we can enjoy the, 120 00:08:15,960 --> 00:08:19,160 the stories that gives to us. But these warnings that are 121 00:08:19,160 --> 00:08:23,320 given, they're not to scare us. They're to prepare us and to 122 00:08:23,320 --> 00:08:28,400 inform us and to spare us. God warns us because he loves. 123 00:08:28,400 --> 00:08:32,240 Us he. Cautions us because he cares for 124 00:08:32,240 --> 00:08:35,200 us. He alerts us because He wants 125 00:08:35,200 --> 00:08:38,880 our walk to be in alignment with His will. 126 00:08:39,559 --> 00:08:43,280 So the word that I heard in my spirit coming for today was this 127 00:08:43,280 --> 00:08:47,680 in Hebrews 21 is the word drift. That word drift just jumped out 128 00:08:47,680 --> 00:08:52,120 at me and, and, and I felt the spirit say that, that we need to 129 00:08:53,280 --> 00:08:59,360 sound the alarm, that if we're not careful, we will drift. 130 00:09:00,200 --> 00:09:04,320 Now there's there's different meanings and different 131 00:09:04,320 --> 00:09:08,840 applications to the word drift. It was first of all used as a 132 00:09:08,840 --> 00:09:12,120 nautical term. You know what it means for a 133 00:09:12,120 --> 00:09:17,320 boat to drift if it's unanchored and it it begins the the current 134 00:09:17,320 --> 00:09:19,200 underneath and the tide or whatever. 135 00:09:19,200 --> 00:09:23,760 The situation. Or gentle winds or can cause the 136 00:09:23,760 --> 00:09:29,560 boat to float away from from its intended desired location and it 137 00:09:29,720 --> 00:09:31,600 begins to drift. It's a nautical. 138 00:09:31,600 --> 00:09:34,920 Term. But it's also an aerodynamic 139 00:09:34,920 --> 00:09:38,880 term or aeronautical term, meaning pushed off course by a 140 00:09:38,880 --> 00:09:41,840 cross wind. A cross wind can push a plane 141 00:09:41,840 --> 00:09:46,120 off of it's a intended or desired location if it's not 142 00:09:46,200 --> 00:09:49,680 corrected. But it's also a Motorsports. 143 00:09:49,680 --> 00:09:54,120 Term. TikTok, Facebook reels, YouTube 144 00:09:54,120 --> 00:09:57,840 videos. I, I, I, I see a bunch they come 145 00:09:57,840 --> 00:10:02,600 across cross my reels all the time of of of sports cars or 146 00:10:02,720 --> 00:10:06,840 driving enthusiasts who have who have learned the skill of 147 00:10:06,840 --> 00:10:13,160 drifting now now it's usually spoiled rich kids who's who 148 00:10:13,160 --> 00:10:15,160 don't. Have to pay for anything that 149 00:10:15,160 --> 00:10:19,120 get these fancy. Cars that they're messing up and 150 00:10:19,120 --> 00:10:23,520 some it's some it's it's part of a new racing sport of actually 151 00:10:23,680 --> 00:10:27,600 drifting and using skill. I remember drifting before I 152 00:10:27,600 --> 00:10:31,960 even. Had a license taking the car. 153 00:10:31,960 --> 00:10:34,880 Or the truck down a dirt Rd. when I wasn't supposed to and 154 00:10:34,880 --> 00:10:38,800 going around a dirt Rd. corner fast enough and pulling the 155 00:10:38,800 --> 00:10:41,760 handbrake and sliding around the corner. 156 00:10:41,760 --> 00:10:44,760 That's drifting. That's drifting. 157 00:10:44,760 --> 00:10:48,080 That's fun. Do it in a do it in a go Kart or 158 00:10:48,080 --> 00:10:52,160 whatever that that was drifting. But now it's a sport and, and 159 00:10:52,160 --> 00:10:57,080 and and there's all kinds but it, it's losing, losing traction 160 00:10:57,080 --> 00:11:02,360 and losing control on purpose. Well, there's a biblical 161 00:11:02,360 --> 00:11:06,080 definition of drifting and the biblical definition is a 162 00:11:06,080 --> 00:11:08,760 warning. It's a spiritual warning to pay 163 00:11:08,760 --> 00:11:13,840 attention that we don't drift because to drift it's subtle, 164 00:11:14,200 --> 00:11:18,840 it's slow, it's unnoticed. Jesus warned about it when his 165 00:11:18,840 --> 00:11:23,040 disciples asked in Matthew 24, when Jesus on the Mount of 166 00:11:23,040 --> 00:11:27,280 Olives and he, they begin to ask the question, what are the signs 167 00:11:27,360 --> 00:11:30,240 of your coming? When shall the end be? 168 00:11:30,400 --> 00:11:35,240 And Jesus began to give 7 distinct warnings. 169 00:11:35,320 --> 00:11:37,320 I don't have time. You could you could lay the 170 00:11:37,320 --> 00:11:41,280 seven warnings that were given to the Titanic on top of Matthew 171 00:11:41,280 --> 00:11:43,520 24. And he began to give them 172 00:11:43,520 --> 00:11:46,680 warnings about deception. He began to give them warnings 173 00:11:46,680 --> 00:11:49,360 about destruction. He began to give them warnings 174 00:11:49,640 --> 00:11:53,560 about increased iniquity. Lawlessness shall abound. 175 00:11:53,800 --> 00:11:56,520 But this is what he said in Matthew 24, verse 12. 176 00:11:56,840 --> 00:12:02,080 He says as sin becomes rampant, as lawless, this increases, As 177 00:12:02,080 --> 00:12:08,320 iniquity abounds, so shall the love of many begin to wax. 178 00:12:08,320 --> 00:12:10,760 That's an old, old King James word. 179 00:12:10,760 --> 00:12:15,080 Wax a cold or or begin to grow cold. 180 00:12:15,320 --> 00:12:18,560 That is really the definition of drifting. 181 00:12:18,800 --> 00:12:24,560 It is a slow, gradual becoming cold moving off center. 182 00:12:24,720 --> 00:12:27,640 It's slow, it's subtle, growing cold. 183 00:12:27,760 --> 00:12:31,480 It's the Greek word sukko, which means it's like what you do in 184 00:12:31,480 --> 00:12:35,120 the morning when you got a hot cup of coffee and you go to sip 185 00:12:35,120 --> 00:12:38,920 it and you blow on it. You put a cool breeze upon your 186 00:12:38,920 --> 00:12:42,240 coffee to take a sip of it. Or you blow your, your, your 187 00:12:42,240 --> 00:12:46,200 spoon or with your with your hot chicken noodle soup or, or your 188 00:12:46,200 --> 00:12:49,640 hot chocolate or hot tea or whatever it is that you've got, 189 00:12:49,640 --> 00:12:53,080 or a hot bite of lasagna that just came out of the oven. 190 00:12:53,280 --> 00:12:58,280 You blow on it to cool it down. That's what growing cold means, 191 00:12:58,400 --> 00:13:01,800 that Jesus said. We know that this is a sign of 192 00:13:01,800 --> 00:13:04,560 the last day. It's a warning of the last day 193 00:13:04,560 --> 00:13:14,320 because many will grow cold and many are growing cold and they 194 00:13:14,320 --> 00:13:15,400 don't even. Realize it. 195 00:13:17,080 --> 00:13:19,360 They're not heeding the warning signs. 196 00:13:19,720 --> 00:13:20,840 They're not heating. They don't. 197 00:13:20,920 --> 00:13:25,120 They don't understand. Nobody just wakes up and say I'm 198 00:13:25,360 --> 00:13:28,280 quitting God. They don't. 199 00:13:28,280 --> 00:13:30,000 They don't just wake up 1 morning. 200 00:13:30,000 --> 00:13:33,880 Nobody rolls out of bed one morning and just says I'm 201 00:13:33,880 --> 00:13:36,560 getting the divorce or we're getting the divorce. 202 00:13:36,960 --> 00:13:41,240 Nobody just gets up 1 morning and becomes an alcoholic, or 203 00:13:41,240 --> 00:13:45,280 becomes an addict, or destroys their integrity, or loses their 204 00:13:45,280 --> 00:13:49,240 faith or abandons their calling. People don't leap into 205 00:13:49,240 --> 00:13:53,960 destruction, they drift. Into it, people. 206 00:13:53,960 --> 00:13:55,840 Drift. Into divorce. 207 00:13:56,440 --> 00:14:00,840 People drift into addiction. People drift into losing their 208 00:14:00,840 --> 00:14:03,960 integrity. People drift into walking away, 209 00:14:04,160 --> 00:14:07,280 people drift into abandoning their calling. 210 00:14:07,360 --> 00:14:10,640 It's little decisions, it's little compromises. 211 00:14:10,760 --> 00:14:13,880 It's little neglect here and a little neglect there. 212 00:14:13,920 --> 00:14:16,480 You want to know what a good definition of drifting is? 213 00:14:16,560 --> 00:14:23,040 It's doing nothing. It's simply doing nothing. 214 00:14:23,800 --> 00:14:25,400 Nothing. Neglect. 215 00:14:25,760 --> 00:14:28,000 You Neglect prayer. You're drifting. 216 00:14:28,360 --> 00:14:30,720 You neglect worship. You're drifting. 217 00:14:30,800 --> 00:14:32,560 What are you doing? You're doing nothing. 218 00:14:33,120 --> 00:14:36,600 You're doing nothing. You neglect church, you'll 219 00:14:36,600 --> 00:14:39,440 drift. You neglect fellowship, You'll 220 00:14:39,640 --> 00:14:40,640 you'll drift. What are you doing? 221 00:14:40,760 --> 00:14:42,520 Nothing. You're doing nothing. 222 00:14:42,520 --> 00:14:46,200 No spiritual disciplines. You're doing nothing. 223 00:14:46,360 --> 00:14:48,400 People don't leap in. They drift. 224 00:14:48,600 --> 00:14:50,480 They don't fall in a day. You. 225 00:14:50,480 --> 00:14:54,480 Fall by degrees. You don't break in a moment, you 226 00:14:54,480 --> 00:14:57,920 break over time. You don't collapse in an hour, 227 00:14:57,960 --> 00:15:03,040 you collapse through neglect. You drift inch by inch, mile by 228 00:15:03,040 --> 00:15:06,320 mile. You see what if a plane, if a 229 00:15:06,320 --> 00:15:15,720 plane starts off course by 1° over a couple 100 miles, 1° off 230 00:15:15,720 --> 00:15:19,880 course could put them hundreds of miles off course. 231 00:15:20,520 --> 00:15:26,320 It happened in 1983 to A to the Seoul, Korea plane flight 007 232 00:15:26,320 --> 00:15:31,320 that left Anchorage, AK going to Seoul Korea Korean Airlines and 233 00:15:31,320 --> 00:15:36,400 by some navigational error, computer error, the the plane 234 00:15:36,440 --> 00:15:43,840 was 1° off, but as it traveled out of Anchorage mile after mile 235 00:15:43,840 --> 00:15:49,560 after mile, that 1° put them into Soviet airspace 236 00:15:49,560 --> 00:15:52,600 accidentally. And they shot it. 237 00:15:52,600 --> 00:15:56,000 Down and killed 293. People, I remember it. 238 00:15:58,920 --> 00:16:08,920 One degree, 1° off 1° unchecked 1° without, without correcting, 239 00:16:08,920 --> 00:16:13,720 without correcting course we by inch, mile by mile until 240 00:16:13,720 --> 00:16:17,080 suddenly we're in enemy territory and we're wondering 241 00:16:17,200 --> 00:16:20,160 how do we get here? How did our marriage get here? 242 00:16:20,480 --> 00:16:23,280 How did, how did, how did we get here in our life? 243 00:16:23,280 --> 00:16:25,360 How did how did we get here spiritually? 244 00:16:25,520 --> 00:16:29,720 Inch by inch, little by little. But you see, God sends warnings 245 00:16:29,880 --> 00:16:32,600 through his Word, through his Spirit, through the preaching of 246 00:16:32,600 --> 00:16:35,480 the Word, through friends, through people. 247 00:16:35,760 --> 00:16:39,240 But if we don't heed them, we drift into destruction. 248 00:16:39,520 --> 00:16:41,880 We drift into the enemy territory. 249 00:16:42,240 --> 00:16:45,800 And just like a ship that refuses or an airplane that 250 00:16:45,800 --> 00:16:49,880 doesn't change direction, we find ourselves drifting away, 251 00:16:50,080 --> 00:16:56,760 unanchored, slowly, allowing the tide of the world to pull us, to 252 00:16:56,760 --> 00:17:01,720 pull us away, to cool us down. You see, a drifting heart 253 00:17:01,720 --> 00:17:06,440 becomes distant. A drifting heart becomes 254 00:17:06,440 --> 00:17:09,760 deceived. A drifting heart becomes 255 00:17:09,760 --> 00:17:12,520 distracted. A drifting heart becomes 256 00:17:12,720 --> 00:17:16,040 disobedient and deadened and divided and eventually 257 00:17:16,040 --> 00:17:20,000 destroyed. Drifting is the slow death of 258 00:17:20,000 --> 00:17:29,840 devotion in the soul. You know, the Bible doesn't show 259 00:17:29,840 --> 00:17:34,240 us, doesn't just show us people who stood strong. 260 00:17:35,440 --> 00:17:43,160 The Bible shows us people who slid slowly away, people who 261 00:17:43,160 --> 00:17:48,600 wandered quietly, who drifted gradually, not overnight, not 262 00:17:48,600 --> 00:17:55,400 intentionally, not loudly, but slowly, silently, subtly, by 263 00:17:55,400 --> 00:17:58,720 small degrees, little compromises and casual. 264 00:17:58,720 --> 00:18:01,080 Decisions. Think about Samson. 265 00:18:01,640 --> 00:18:03,920 He drifted until he couldn't feel God. 266 00:18:04,880 --> 00:18:08,200 David drifted until he couldn't hear God. 267 00:18:08,680 --> 00:18:12,040 Solomon drifted until he didn't obey God. 268 00:18:12,480 --> 00:18:15,560 Lot drifted until he didn't. He didn't. 269 00:18:15,560 --> 00:18:19,400 Fear God. We talk about Demas who drifted 270 00:18:19,400 --> 00:18:24,000 and didn't didn't follow God at all and Peter who drifted and he 271 00:18:24,000 --> 00:18:27,520 didn't stand. Ephesus, the church that drifted 272 00:18:27,640 --> 00:18:31,080 that didn't love God and soul that drifted until he didn't 273 00:18:31,080 --> 00:18:33,600 want God. And Jonah that drifted until he 274 00:18:33,600 --> 00:18:35,600 didn't go where God wanted him to go. 275 00:18:36,520 --> 00:18:40,000 The Bible doesn't just tell us of all those that were strong 276 00:18:40,000 --> 00:18:42,800 and stood in faith and obeyed everything. 277 00:18:42,800 --> 00:18:46,400 No, the Bible lets us know that there are those who drifted. 278 00:18:47,600 --> 00:18:49,720 I think about, I think about Judas. 279 00:18:50,160 --> 00:18:55,000 I think about somebody who walked with Jesus, talked with 280 00:18:55,000 --> 00:19:01,600 him, stood side by side with him, saw the miracles that he 281 00:19:01,600 --> 00:19:08,000 did, physically, physically slept in the same room and, and 282 00:19:08,000 --> 00:19:12,160 and lounged at the same table and and and and talked and 283 00:19:12,160 --> 00:19:16,880 laughed together, the same one. But yet he drifted. 284 00:19:17,840 --> 00:19:22,720 You see, you can be close and still drift if you don't guard 285 00:19:22,720 --> 00:19:24,800 yourself. If we don't guard. 286 00:19:25,000 --> 00:19:29,160 But the gospel is good news because the drift is reversible. 287 00:19:30,080 --> 00:19:34,600 Coldness is curable. There is a cure for the common 288 00:19:34,600 --> 00:19:38,760 cold of Christianity. Christians can become cold. 289 00:19:39,240 --> 00:19:40,880 Jesus said. This is what he said to the 290 00:19:40,880 --> 00:19:44,480 church in Revelation too. He said, I wish that you were 291 00:19:44,600 --> 00:19:50,320 either cold or hot, but I despise you if you're lukewarm. 292 00:19:50,880 --> 00:19:53,960 I despise you if you're pretending like you're good. 293 00:19:54,280 --> 00:19:57,120 I despise you if you're pretending like everything. 294 00:19:57,120 --> 00:20:00,160 You got it all together. And but he said, I worried that 295 00:20:00,160 --> 00:20:04,520 you were either cold or hot because if you're cold, I can 296 00:20:04,520 --> 00:20:08,080 get you back on fire. If you're cold, I can get you 297 00:20:08,080 --> 00:20:12,400 turned around if you're cold. I got the cure for the common 298 00:20:12,400 --> 00:20:16,280 cold and the Holy Spirit has got a fire that he. 299 00:20:16,400 --> 00:20:21,080 We can relight in our souls that can cure us of the coldness of 300 00:20:21,080 --> 00:20:24,760 our heart. Distance is bridgeable. 301 00:20:24,920 --> 00:20:28,880 Numbness is healable. Jesus didn't condemn Drifters, 302 00:20:30,080 --> 00:20:34,440 He welcomed them back. Oh the the the welcoming back of 303 00:20:34,440 --> 00:20:36,160 the prodigal. Come home. 304 00:20:36,160 --> 00:20:38,440 You're cold, but you can come home. 305 00:20:38,640 --> 00:20:42,480 The good news is, if you've drifted this morning, you can 306 00:20:42,480 --> 00:20:45,320 return. If you've gotten cold, you can 307 00:20:45,320 --> 00:20:48,280 be warmed. If you've lost the fire, it can 308 00:20:48,280 --> 00:20:51,640 be reignited. If you've wandered, you can come 309 00:20:51,640 --> 00:20:54,320 back. If you've fallen, you can get 310 00:20:54,320 --> 00:20:57,240 up. If you've drifted 1000 steps 311 00:20:57,240 --> 00:21:00,880 away. It only takes one to turn around 312 00:21:01,160 --> 00:21:06,360 and come back. Just one step can change the 313 00:21:06,360 --> 00:21:11,840 course. You can be 1° off. 314 00:21:12,360 --> 00:21:15,280 You might have been 1° off for the last six months. 315 00:21:15,560 --> 00:21:18,080 Maybe you've been 1° off all year. 316 00:21:18,240 --> 00:21:20,640 Maybe you've been 1° off for a while. 317 00:21:20,760 --> 00:21:23,520 But guess what? There is a course correction. 318 00:21:23,680 --> 00:21:26,760 You can change course. You can come back. 319 00:21:27,040 --> 00:21:33,280 You can turn back to the Father. You see a. 320 00:21:33,280 --> 00:21:38,000 Fireless believers a defeated. Believer, A fireless church is a 321 00:21:38,000 --> 00:21:42,040 powerless church because when the fire goes out. 322 00:21:43,480 --> 00:21:47,120 The enemy comes in. When the fire goes out, the 323 00:21:47,120 --> 00:21:50,040 wolves show up. When the fire goes out, the 324 00:21:50,040 --> 00:21:54,440 lions come in. True story. 325 00:21:54,440 --> 00:21:59,240 Family had gone to to Africa and they were touring and they 326 00:21:59,240 --> 00:22:02,120 wanted to go into. To to the reserve. 327 00:22:02,120 --> 00:22:03,600 And and. There there are some. 328 00:22:03,600 --> 00:22:07,040 Places in different parts of Africa where you can actually 329 00:22:07,040 --> 00:22:11,120 stay and spend the night in, in the jungle, in the reserve. 330 00:22:11,120 --> 00:22:14,520 And, and that they'll take you and you can, they'll drop you 331 00:22:14,520 --> 00:22:18,360 off and they'll give you instructions and say, you know, 332 00:22:18,360 --> 00:22:21,920 you can do this and do this. And but one thing that you have 333 00:22:21,920 --> 00:22:27,480 to do is that you have to make sure that you tend your fire. 334 00:22:28,280 --> 00:22:33,440 Don't let the fire go out before the, the, the, the warden leaves 335 00:22:33,440 --> 00:22:36,040 you or the whoever's dropped you off. 336 00:22:36,040 --> 00:22:39,720 They will tell you don't let the fire go out. 337 00:22:42,200 --> 00:22:45,280 But the cold night. Sets in the black. 338 00:22:45,280 --> 00:22:48,800 Sky, the stars, the sounds of the. 339 00:22:49,200 --> 00:22:52,640 Jungle can be mesmerizing. And this particular. 340 00:22:52,640 --> 00:22:56,360 Family they they were. Enjoying the sounds and the 341 00:22:56,360 --> 00:23:00,160 sights and the darkness and they got. 342 00:23:00,160 --> 00:23:04,000 Sleepy and. They forgot to. 343 00:23:04,000 --> 00:23:08,520 Add more wood to the fire before they fell asleep through the 344 00:23:08,520 --> 00:23:12,480 night. The fire went out and the lions 345 00:23:12,480 --> 00:23:15,200 came in. It's a tragic. 346 00:23:15,200 --> 00:23:22,960 Ending If the fire goes out, the enemy comes in, Peter said. 347 00:23:22,960 --> 00:23:24,640 The enemy like a roaring. Lion. 348 00:23:25,000 --> 00:23:29,280 Seeketh whom he may devour. You'll be devoured if your fire 349 00:23:29,280 --> 00:23:33,720 goes out, you're you're in predatory territory. 350 00:23:34,320 --> 00:23:38,960 You're praying for the enemy. When you drift, when you drift 351 00:23:38,960 --> 00:23:42,480 to sleep, when you drift off, when you drift away from the 352 00:23:42,480 --> 00:23:45,280 word, when you drift away from prayer, when you drift away from 353 00:23:45,280 --> 00:23:50,560 your relationship with the Lord. If the fire goes out, and often 354 00:23:50,560 --> 00:23:54,480 times the fire goes out slowly and then just go out all at 355 00:23:54,480 --> 00:23:57,920 once. It goes out slowly and when the 356 00:23:57,920 --> 00:24:02,360 fire goes out, it comes in. No matter what happens, no 357 00:24:02,360 --> 00:24:06,280 matter how tired you get, no matter how weary we get of this 358 00:24:06,280 --> 00:24:10,520 world and the stress of life and the the, the opposition that 359 00:24:10,520 --> 00:24:15,440 comes against us and all the forces of life that squeeze us 360 00:24:15,440 --> 00:24:18,560 and put pressure on us. And it comes from here and it 361 00:24:18,560 --> 00:24:21,800 comes from there and comes over here and comes there. 362 00:24:21,960 --> 00:24:26,320 Life can wear you down, but no matter how weary you get, you 363 00:24:26,320 --> 00:24:27,880 got to tend the fire. Fire. 364 00:24:28,480 --> 00:24:34,720 You can't let the fire go out. The night grows long, the air 365 00:24:34,720 --> 00:24:39,440 grows cold, your eyes get heavy. Is he coming? 366 00:24:40,520 --> 00:24:44,520 Is he really coming? Is the Lord really coming? 367 00:24:44,520 --> 00:24:46,960 Is it? You know what? 368 00:24:46,960 --> 00:24:49,000 What? What if what we're hearing isn't 369 00:24:49,000 --> 00:24:51,280 true? The writer said. 370 00:24:51,440 --> 00:24:55,120 Pay careful attention to the truth. 371 00:24:56,480 --> 00:24:58,240 You've got to hold on to the truth. 372 00:24:58,640 --> 00:25:00,840 You got to hold on to the word of God. 373 00:25:01,000 --> 00:25:04,800 Heaven and earth is going to pass away, but Jesus said My 374 00:25:04,800 --> 00:25:09,560 word will never pass away. His word is true. 375 00:25:13,880 --> 00:25:17,160 Leviticus 13 The fire is ever to be burning upon the altar. 376 00:25:17,800 --> 00:25:22,280 The fire is never to go out. God lit the fire in the 377 00:25:22,280 --> 00:25:25,880 Tabernacle. The first fire was lit by God 378 00:25:25,880 --> 00:25:29,320 himself. God lights the fire, but we're 379 00:25:29,320 --> 00:25:33,440 responsible for tending it. God sets a fire down in your 380 00:25:33,440 --> 00:25:38,840 soul. He ignites you with joy and love 381 00:25:38,840 --> 00:25:41,120 and passion and devotion for Him. 382 00:25:41,280 --> 00:25:45,040 But then it's our responsibility to keep it tended. 383 00:25:45,960 --> 00:25:49,160 You got to tend to fire. It doesn't stay burning by 384 00:25:49,160 --> 00:25:51,080 itself. You got to add wood, you got to 385 00:25:51,240 --> 00:25:54,360 stir the ashes. You got to remove the old. 386 00:25:54,560 --> 00:25:57,840 You got to tend to it. That's what's happening too many 387 00:25:57,840 --> 00:25:59,640 today. That's why Minnies love is 388 00:25:59,640 --> 00:26:01,960 growing cold. It's because they're not tending 389 00:26:01,960 --> 00:26:04,120 the fire. They're not tending it. 390 00:26:04,120 --> 00:26:05,760 They're not watching over the fire. 391 00:26:05,840 --> 00:26:08,480 You've got to tend the fire. You can't let the fire go out, 392 00:26:08,640 --> 00:26:11,840 because when the fire goes out, the enemy comes in the pro and 393 00:26:11,840 --> 00:26:14,040 prayer dies. The enemy prowls. 394 00:26:14,240 --> 00:26:17,760 When the fire worship phase, temptation enters. 395 00:26:18,000 --> 00:26:21,840 When the fire of holiness cools, compromise creeps in. 396 00:26:22,080 --> 00:26:26,400 When the fire devotion dies, destruction begins. 397 00:26:27,280 --> 00:26:29,040 You don't have to be food for the lion. 398 00:26:32,280 --> 00:26:35,320 You don't have to be lions prey because. 399 00:26:35,320 --> 00:26:38,480 Greater is he that's. In us than he that's in the 400 00:26:38,480 --> 00:26:41,400 world, if you'll just tend the fire. 401 00:26:41,720 --> 00:26:43,200 That's what we're doing this morning. 402 00:26:43,360 --> 00:26:46,880 That's why we've come on on this first day of the week, and we've 403 00:26:46,880 --> 00:26:50,840 sung songs and we come into the sanctuary and we come to lift 404 00:26:50,840 --> 00:26:54,600 holy hands and we come to offer our lives and our bodies again 405 00:26:54,880 --> 00:26:58,720 as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God. 406 00:26:58,880 --> 00:27:01,280 We're tending the fire. But guess what? 407 00:27:01,720 --> 00:27:04,400 Tomorrow you got to tend the fire again. 408 00:27:04,960 --> 00:27:07,240 Tuesday you got to tend the fire. 409 00:27:07,360 --> 00:27:09,840 Wednesday you got to tend the fire. 410 00:27:09,960 --> 00:27:12,600 Thursday you still got to tend the fire. 411 00:27:12,800 --> 00:27:15,160 Friday you got to add wood to it. 412 00:27:15,400 --> 00:27:23,480 Saturday you got to add wood. We can't be one day, one month 413 00:27:23,480 --> 00:27:26,920 Christians. We can't just be Christians on 414 00:27:26,920 --> 00:27:33,360 Sunday only because if we are, we're cold, we're called, we've 415 00:27:33,360 --> 00:27:36,320 drifted. You've got you've got to be in a 416 00:27:36,320 --> 00:27:41,560 relationship with the Lord every day or we become pray for the 417 00:27:41,560 --> 00:27:44,600 enemy, the Holy Spirit sounding the alarm. 418 00:27:45,880 --> 00:27:49,960 Draw near. Tie your soul to the anchor of 419 00:27:49,960 --> 00:27:53,760 the word of God. Feed the fire, add wood for 420 00:27:54,520 --> 00:27:57,640 what? What if what if you're drifting? 421 00:27:59,120 --> 00:28:02,440 What if you've drifted? What if this morning the holy. 422 00:28:02,440 --> 00:28:07,080 Spirit is nudging you. And prompting you and. 423 00:28:07,760 --> 00:28:11,480 Speaking to you and say. Yeah, maybe I have drifted, 424 00:28:12,120 --> 00:28:15,160 Maybe I'll maybe my devotion isn't as passionate. 425 00:28:15,520 --> 00:28:18,160 As it should be. Maybe my service to the Lord, 426 00:28:18,160 --> 00:28:20,960 maybe my worship isn't. Maybe my prayer life. 427 00:28:20,960 --> 00:28:24,760 Maybe maybe my devotional time isn't what it ought to be. 428 00:28:26,640 --> 00:28:30,120 Just tend the fire. He's not here to. 429 00:28:30,120 --> 00:28:33,200 Condemn us. He's just here. 430 00:28:33,400 --> 00:28:36,960 He just, he just sent me from Fort Worth just to say tend the 431 00:28:36,960 --> 00:28:40,560 fire today. He loves us and us to send 432 00:28:40,560 --> 00:28:47,440 somebody with a warning to say, hey, check the course, check to 433 00:28:47,440 --> 00:28:51,080 make sure you're not drifting, check to make sure you're not 434 00:28:51,080 --> 00:28:52,240 off course. Today. 435 00:28:53,200 --> 00:28:55,840 Just tend the fire. Just lift your. 436 00:28:55,840 --> 00:29:00,000 Hands in his presence. Say, Lord, I love you, I want to 437 00:29:00,000 --> 00:29:03,840 draw near, James, 4 says. Draw near to God. 438 00:29:04,400 --> 00:29:10,600 And he'll draw near to you. Resist the devil and he'll flee. 439 00:29:12,120 --> 00:29:13,800 You see it? That's what it's all about. 440 00:29:14,440 --> 00:29:16,520 The The enemy wants you drifting. 441 00:29:17,480 --> 00:29:19,480 He can't. He can't destroy you. 442 00:29:20,720 --> 00:29:29,560 Did you know that the. Enemy can't destroy you, Jesus 443 00:29:29,560 --> 00:29:34,200 said. No man can take you out but what 444 00:29:34,200 --> 00:29:35,280 he can. Do is lie to you. 445 00:29:36,400 --> 00:29:41,000 What he can do is distract you. Distract you from the truth, 446 00:29:41,520 --> 00:29:45,240 Distract you from your identity, distract you from your calling, 447 00:29:45,520 --> 00:29:53,680 distract you from your passion. So resisting, resisting, kindle 448 00:29:53,680 --> 00:29:57,280 that fire. Let the fire burn in you today. 449 00:29:57,720 --> 00:30:00,240 Just get. Renewed in him today, renewed by 450 00:30:00,240 --> 00:30:02,880 the, Paul said. We're renewed by the renewing. 451 00:30:02,880 --> 00:30:06,360 Of our minds, the word of God. Just start. 452 00:30:06,360 --> 00:30:08,680 If you, if you haven't, you haven't been reading your Bible, 453 00:30:08,680 --> 00:30:10,920 just start. Just start. 454 00:30:10,920 --> 00:30:12,560 That's all you got to do. Just start. 455 00:30:13,240 --> 00:30:15,160 If you haven't been praying, just start. 456 00:30:16,040 --> 00:30:19,360 Just start. If you haven't been coming to 457 00:30:19,360 --> 00:30:23,000 church in a while, just start. Just start being regular. 458 00:30:23,120 --> 00:30:27,160 Just start being consistent. That's how you tend the fire. 459 00:30:28,160 --> 00:30:31,920 And it'll grow. And one log on, fire catches 460 00:30:31,920 --> 00:30:38,160 another one. One coal, 1 coal hot starts 461 00:30:38,160 --> 00:30:40,840 another one. You see, that's why we that's 462 00:30:40,840 --> 00:30:43,240 why we don't forsake the fellowship. 463 00:30:43,480 --> 00:30:46,760 That's why we don't forsake the assembling of ourselves 464 00:30:46,760 --> 00:30:50,400 together. Because one can start a fire in 465 00:30:50,400 --> 00:30:53,600 another. Your fire can ignite fire in 466 00:30:53,600 --> 00:30:58,520 somebody else. Your passion, your devotion can 467 00:30:58,520 --> 00:31:00,360 spark. That fire and somebody else. 468 00:31:00,360 --> 00:31:06,480 Let's stand together, please, Hallelujah. 469 00:31:07,920 --> 00:31:09,240 Before we do anything else. We're going to. 470 00:31:09,240 --> 00:31:10,440 We're going. To pray, We're going to pray. 471 00:31:10,440 --> 00:31:11,600 We're going to come to the altar. 472 00:31:11,600 --> 00:31:13,360 In just a moment, but before we do anything else, let's just 473 00:31:13,360 --> 00:31:15,280 lift up our. Hands and acknowledge His 474 00:31:15,280 --> 00:31:17,800 presence, Lord. We acknowledge your presence. 475 00:31:17,800 --> 00:31:20,840 We praise you right now. We honor you. 476 00:31:20,840 --> 00:31:22,600 Lord, we thank you for your goodness. 477 00:31:23,680 --> 00:31:26,120 Thanks for listening to the Cross Power Church podcast. 478 00:31:26,480 --> 00:31:30,080 May you know that true hope, peace, and salvation can only be 479 00:31:30,080 --> 00:31:33,480 found in Jesus. If you're near Campbell, TX, we 480 00:31:33,480 --> 00:31:35,640 would love for you to join us in person. 481 00:31:36,040 --> 00:31:39,200 You can find service times at crosspowerchurch.com.