1 00:00:03,320 --> 00:00:07,440 Just seeing what God's doing in our church is exciting, and many 2 00:00:07,440 --> 00:00:10,560 of you are part of that. You're here on Saturdays when we 3 00:00:10,560 --> 00:00:14,560 are doing the outreach and you see people come in and maybe 4 00:00:14,560 --> 00:00:19,200 some of you even have a direct, direct impact on the people who 5 00:00:19,200 --> 00:00:20,840 are coming in, and I think you ought to be. 6 00:00:20,840 --> 00:00:23,360 Now, obviously, I say this all the time, our goal is not just 7 00:00:23,360 --> 00:00:25,440 to get people to church. Our goal is to get people to 8 00:00:25,440 --> 00:00:29,760 Christ and many times coming to church is a help with that, but 9 00:00:30,640 --> 00:00:34,320 it's the word of God that's going to to breakthrough that 10 00:00:34,320 --> 00:00:37,800 hard ground for those who need to be saved and those who need 11 00:00:37,800 --> 00:00:40,160 to have their lives changed if they already are saved. 12 00:00:40,160 --> 00:00:42,480 It's it's the Holy Spirit that has to do that work. 13 00:00:42,480 --> 00:00:45,520 And but he uses us. He uses us to do it. 14 00:00:45,880 --> 00:00:49,160 And just seeing what God's doing is is exciting. 15 00:00:50,240 --> 00:00:53,880 Brother Steve accepted Christ as his Savior last week and that's 16 00:00:53,880 --> 00:00:55,800 an exciting thing. Brother Jim and Miss Sue are 17 00:00:55,800 --> 00:00:58,040 going to join the church after the service today. 18 00:00:58,040 --> 00:01:01,440 And just seeing things that God's doing is, is moving us all 19 00:01:01,440 --> 00:01:04,720 in that direction. That is, is just continuing to 20 00:01:04,720 --> 00:01:06,560 build his church. And it's his church. 21 00:01:06,760 --> 00:01:08,640 It's it's him that has to do the work. 22 00:01:09,080 --> 00:01:12,400 And obviously he uses us. It's exciting when he does that, 23 00:01:13,040 --> 00:01:15,960 but it's God that does it. And I'm preaching this message 24 00:01:15,960 --> 00:01:19,160 this morning because we're going into the holiday season and 25 00:01:19,160 --> 00:01:22,560 things tend to get busy during the holiday season time. 26 00:01:22,560 --> 00:01:24,960 And you know, the the work year is coming to an end. 27 00:01:24,960 --> 00:01:28,080 And so you have a lot of a lot of things that you're doing at 28 00:01:28,080 --> 00:01:30,000 work to try to wrap all those things up. 29 00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:32,400 Lots of holiday shopping and traveling and a lot of other 30 00:01:32,400 --> 00:01:35,520 things that that really just threaten to eat up our time. 31 00:01:35,520 --> 00:01:38,800 And here's what the Bible says in Second Timothy Chapter 1 and 32 00:01:38,800 --> 00:01:42,800 verse #3 Paul is obviously writing this to Timothy. 33 00:01:43,080 --> 00:01:46,520 And he said, I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with 34 00:01:46,520 --> 00:01:49,480 pure conscience, that without ceasing, I have remembrance of 35 00:01:49,480 --> 00:01:52,800 thee in my prayers night and day, greatly desiring to see 36 00:01:52,800 --> 00:01:56,000 thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with 37 00:01:56,000 --> 00:01:59,760 joy when I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in 38 00:01:59,760 --> 00:02:03,040 thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois and thy mother 39 00:02:03,040 --> 00:02:05,320 Eunice. And I'm persuaded that in thee 40 00:02:05,480 --> 00:02:10,639 also, wherefore I put thee in remembrance, that thou stir up 41 00:02:10,639 --> 00:02:13,840 the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my 42 00:02:13,840 --> 00:02:16,120 hands. For God hath not given us the 43 00:02:16,120 --> 00:02:21,960 spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. 44 00:02:22,280 --> 00:02:24,560 I think one of the things that we have to constantly remind 45 00:02:24,560 --> 00:02:27,000 ourselves about in our Christian life is that there's a great 46 00:02:27,000 --> 00:02:30,880 danger in allowing the things of God in our lives to grow cold. 47 00:02:31,240 --> 00:02:34,720 I think that's why Paul, even to Timothy, Timothy of this, this, 48 00:02:34,720 --> 00:02:37,720 this young preacher, this this young man who had so much 49 00:02:37,720 --> 00:02:39,680 potential and who had so much promise. 50 00:02:39,680 --> 00:02:41,840 And I don't, I don't think Timothy was a teenager. 51 00:02:41,840 --> 00:02:45,240 I think he was probably at the very earliest in his early 20s, 52 00:02:45,240 --> 00:02:48,080 maybe even into his 30s by this point is a young man that's 53 00:02:48,240 --> 00:02:52,080 moving into ministry and doing a lot of things in God's service. 54 00:02:52,080 --> 00:02:55,800 And even even to Timothy, Paul had to say, I'm putting you in 55 00:02:55,800 --> 00:02:58,200 remembrance. I'm reminding you about the fact 56 00:02:58,200 --> 00:03:02,120 that you need to stir up the gift which is in the by the 57 00:03:02,120 --> 00:03:05,440 putting on of my hands. I Timothy had served Paul served 58 00:03:05,440 --> 00:03:07,920 with Paul for many years and had served Paul for many years. 59 00:03:07,920 --> 00:03:10,280 He was in an he was an experienced preacher. 60 00:03:10,640 --> 00:03:13,360 He had helped plant churches. He had, he had instructed 61 00:03:13,360 --> 00:03:16,360 preachers, but he still needed to be put in remembrance of the 62 00:03:16,360 --> 00:03:20,480 very basic things because it's very easy for us to move away 63 00:03:20,480 --> 00:03:23,360 from those things many times. And if Timothy needed to be 64 00:03:23,360 --> 00:03:27,440 reminded, I think we need to be reminded also how often and how 65 00:03:27,440 --> 00:03:32,200 easily we forget the importance of guarding and cultivating our 66 00:03:32,200 --> 00:03:35,520 spiritual lives in the spiritual things in our lives, the things 67 00:03:35,520 --> 00:03:38,920 that are the most important. And there are times in our lives 68 00:03:38,920 --> 00:03:42,280 when it becomes necessary for us to stir up the embers, so to 69 00:03:42,280 --> 00:03:46,000 speak to, to blow on the coals and get that fire hot again. 70 00:03:46,720 --> 00:03:49,040 And just by way of understanding, I, I, I think it, 71 00:03:49,320 --> 00:03:51,880 it has to be made perfectly clear that this is a message for 72 00:03:51,880 --> 00:03:55,920 those who are already saved. You cannot stir up something 73 00:03:55,920 --> 00:03:58,760 that is completely dead. If a fire is dead, you can't 74 00:03:58,760 --> 00:04:01,440 just go blow on or you can't just go take a piece of wood and 75 00:04:01,440 --> 00:04:03,760 blow on and expect that a fire is going to come out of it 76 00:04:04,000 --> 00:04:05,760 because it's dead. And that's what the Bible says. 77 00:04:05,760 --> 00:04:08,480 For those who don't know Jesus Christ as their savior, they are 78 00:04:08,480 --> 00:04:11,440 spiritually dead. There is nothing that can that 79 00:04:11,440 --> 00:04:15,360 can make something alive if there's not life there already. 80 00:04:15,520 --> 00:04:17,800 Those who have come to know Jesus Christ as their Savior 81 00:04:17,800 --> 00:04:19,880 have that life. They have that everlasting life 82 00:04:19,880 --> 00:04:23,000 that only comes from God. But sometimes in our Christian 83 00:04:23,000 --> 00:04:25,720 lives, we allow that fire to die down. 84 00:04:25,720 --> 00:04:30,560 We allow those the, the, the the the, the fire to grow cold. 85 00:04:30,800 --> 00:04:33,040 And the Bible makes very plain the fact that those who are 86 00:04:33,040 --> 00:04:34,760 unsaved are still dead in their sins. 87 00:04:34,760 --> 00:04:38,080 But those who are saved, We can see a pattern many times that 88 00:04:38,080 --> 00:04:41,000 happens in our lives where, you know, we get right with the Lord 89 00:04:41,000 --> 00:04:43,720 and we get excited about serving him and, and that's a great 90 00:04:43,720 --> 00:04:46,280 place to be. But over time, small things 91 00:04:46,280 --> 00:04:50,040 happen that come in and, and that, that keep us from having 92 00:04:50,040 --> 00:04:53,320 that fervent relationship that God wants to have with us. 93 00:04:53,320 --> 00:04:57,120 And we allow those small things to creep in, little attitudes, 94 00:04:57,120 --> 00:05:00,960 small disappointments, maybe even many times unnoticed 95 00:05:01,040 --> 00:05:03,560 habits. And many times, almost without 96 00:05:03,560 --> 00:05:06,520 even realizing it, we allow that bitterness to form. 97 00:05:07,280 --> 00:05:09,760 And often the things that we get better about and the things that 98 00:05:09,760 --> 00:05:13,760 cause us to lose our fervency are things that in the grand 99 00:05:13,760 --> 00:05:16,880 scheme of things are really not that big of a deal at all, other 100 00:05:16,880 --> 00:05:19,000 than the fact that it's pulling us away from God. 101 00:05:19,480 --> 00:05:21,600 But, but, but if you were actually to sit down and look at 102 00:05:21,600 --> 00:05:23,880 that thing that's pulling you away from the Lord and you, 103 00:05:24,240 --> 00:05:26,560 you'd have to say that it's not really that big of a deal that 104 00:05:26,560 --> 00:05:29,720 I've allowed to come in here and get in between my relationship 105 00:05:30,040 --> 00:05:33,320 with God. So the question this morning is 106 00:05:33,600 --> 00:05:37,520 very simple but serious. What causes us to grow cold in 107 00:05:37,520 --> 00:05:40,880 our Christian life? What causes us to grow cold in 108 00:05:40,880 --> 00:05:42,560 our Christian life? That's the question that I want 109 00:05:42,560 --> 00:05:45,320 to answer this morning. The title of the message is Stir 110 00:05:45,320 --> 00:05:47,480 up the gift. Stir up the gift. 111 00:05:47,480 --> 00:05:48,680 And I want to answer that question. 112 00:05:48,680 --> 00:05:51,320 What what are the things that cause us to grow cold? 113 00:05:51,480 --> 00:05:53,120 Well, there's a lot of things that we can look at. 114 00:05:53,120 --> 00:05:55,560 I'm going to look at four of them this morning and hopefully 115 00:05:55,560 --> 00:05:58,240 it'll be a help to you. Pray and ask God to do something 116 00:05:58,240 --> 00:06:01,160 in your heart as I pray and ask for his blessing on the message. 117 00:06:01,160 --> 00:06:03,280 Father, again, we thank you so much for your goodness to us. 118 00:06:03,280 --> 00:06:05,640 We do thank you for bringing us all here together this morning. 119 00:06:05,880 --> 00:06:08,480 And God, there is no there's there's no accident that we're 120 00:06:08,480 --> 00:06:10,200 all here. You brought every one of us here 121 00:06:10,200 --> 00:06:12,400 for a reason. God, whether we come here all 122 00:06:12,400 --> 00:06:16,320 the time or whether we're just visiting or whether we just here 123 00:06:16,320 --> 00:06:17,600 and there when we have the opportunity. 124 00:06:17,600 --> 00:06:20,360 God, you've got everybody here for this message at this time, 125 00:06:21,040 --> 00:06:23,480 and you knew what you laid on my heart to preach, and you know 126 00:06:23,480 --> 00:06:25,760 who you wanted to be here, God. So I pray that you'd speak to 127 00:06:25,760 --> 00:06:28,920 some hearts this morning, especially those who may have 128 00:06:29,200 --> 00:06:32,400 have have cooled in their relationship with you. 129 00:06:33,080 --> 00:06:37,200 God made every single one of us, myself included, may we evaluate 130 00:06:37,200 --> 00:06:40,240 our lives this morning and see where we are in our relationship 131 00:06:40,240 --> 00:06:43,040 with you and where we can make improvements where we can get 132 00:06:43,040 --> 00:06:44,760 closer to you. I pray that you'd give us the 133 00:06:44,760 --> 00:06:48,040 courage to do that this morning. God, I pray that you'd help us 134 00:06:48,040 --> 00:06:49,680 to get something from your word today. 135 00:06:50,080 --> 00:06:52,920 Thank you for all that you do for us in Jesus name, Amen. 136 00:06:53,760 --> 00:06:57,040 The first thing that I see that happens so often in our 137 00:06:57,040 --> 00:07:01,160 Christian lives that causes us to grow cold is willful sin. 138 00:07:01,680 --> 00:07:05,360 Willful sin that would seem obvious, but nothing quenches 139 00:07:05,360 --> 00:07:09,400 the fire of God in our hearts like knowingly walking in 140 00:07:09,400 --> 00:07:13,080 disobedience. Willful sin distances us from 141 00:07:13,080 --> 00:07:16,680 the presence of God it it deadens our spiritual fervency. 142 00:07:16,680 --> 00:07:20,240 It's the dead ends our spiritual sensitivity and I say that it 143 00:07:20,240 --> 00:07:22,920 would seem obvious because how can you expect to have God's 144 00:07:22,920 --> 00:07:26,960 power in your life when you're willfully partaking in sin. 145 00:07:26,960 --> 00:07:30,080 But the truth is that many Christians are involved in sin 146 00:07:30,080 --> 00:07:32,760 that they know is sin and they're making excuses for that 147 00:07:32,760 --> 00:07:36,320 sin to try to give them a reason why they should be allowed to 148 00:07:36,320 --> 00:07:38,560 continue living their lives that the way that they're living. 149 00:07:38,560 --> 00:07:41,120 And they justify why they've allowed to do what they're 150 00:07:41,120 --> 00:07:43,400 doing. Someone who has a a problem with 151 00:07:43,400 --> 00:07:47,800 anger can justify that anger by talking about all the stress 152 00:07:47,800 --> 00:07:50,000 that they're under or all the, you know, the lack of sleep 153 00:07:50,000 --> 00:07:51,880 because of work or whatever it happens to be. 154 00:07:51,880 --> 00:07:55,560 Somebody who is watching pornography can justify it by 155 00:07:55,560 --> 00:07:57,320 reasoning that it's not an addiction. 156 00:07:57,320 --> 00:07:59,920 It's just something that I that I do from time to time. 157 00:07:59,920 --> 00:08:02,560 I'm not addicted to it. And I always ask God to forgive 158 00:08:02,560 --> 00:08:05,480 me when, but when I'm done looking at all those things that 159 00:08:05,480 --> 00:08:07,640 I shouldn't look at, or I'm watching these movies that I 160 00:08:07,640 --> 00:08:10,400 shouldn't watch or looking at these videos or whatever happens 161 00:08:10,400 --> 00:08:12,440 to be on YouTube, It's, it's not an addiction. 162 00:08:12,440 --> 00:08:14,560 So it's OK. As long as I still have a handle 163 00:08:14,560 --> 00:08:15,480 on it. I'm all right. 164 00:08:15,880 --> 00:08:19,120 And we excuse that sin. Somebody who has a problem with 165 00:08:19,280 --> 00:08:23,320 bitterness or unforgiveness can, can justify it by blaming the 166 00:08:23,320 --> 00:08:25,960 other person who they think is the cause for their bitterness 167 00:08:25,960 --> 00:08:28,920 or their unforgiveness. And we, we're so good as 168 00:08:28,920 --> 00:08:32,200 Christians, really just as humans with coming up with 169 00:08:32,200 --> 00:08:37,960 reasons why my sin is OK. No sin is OK in God's eyes. 170 00:08:38,720 --> 00:08:43,200 No, no tiny little white lie, as we call it, is OK in God's eyes. 171 00:08:43,200 --> 00:08:45,960 No little bit of losing your temper, no little bit of 172 00:08:45,960 --> 00:08:49,840 bitterness, no little bit of of things that are inappropriate. 173 00:08:50,080 --> 00:08:52,280 None of those things are OK in God's eyes. 174 00:08:52,280 --> 00:08:55,520 We should not be looking for excuses for any of those things. 175 00:08:55,920 --> 00:08:57,720 We should be looking for ways to get it out. 176 00:08:57,960 --> 00:09:00,640 We should be asking for God's help to get it out, not looking 177 00:09:00,640 --> 00:09:02,080 for ways that we can keep it there. 178 00:09:02,080 --> 00:09:05,880 And that's why I say willful sin many times is what keeps us from 179 00:09:05,880 --> 00:09:08,520 living for the Lord the way that we should and the way that we 180 00:09:08,520 --> 00:09:11,440 can. I read a story in a newspaper. 181 00:09:11,440 --> 00:09:14,480 Diana Valencia was arrested in Texas on drug charges and this 182 00:09:14,680 --> 00:09:18,880 goes back to September of 2008. The newspaper said there was 183 00:09:18,880 --> 00:09:20,240 little doubt regarding her guilt. 184 00:09:20,240 --> 00:09:23,520 Anyone caught with two kilos of cocaine is going to have 185 00:09:23,520 --> 00:09:26,800 difficulty explaining that away as an innocent mistake. 186 00:09:27,200 --> 00:09:30,080 However, she came up with a novel attempt at getting off. 187 00:09:30,080 --> 00:09:33,560 She and her sister decided to bribe the judge who would be 188 00:09:33,560 --> 00:09:35,760 hearing her case to make sure she got off. 189 00:09:35,760 --> 00:09:38,440 And the plan might have worked since the judge was willing to 190 00:09:38,440 --> 00:09:42,520 take the money. Except the FBI got involved and 191 00:09:42,520 --> 00:09:45,960 they set up this lady's sister. They've been suspicious of this 192 00:09:45,960 --> 00:09:48,920 judge for some time, but they set this lady's sister up with 193 00:09:48,920 --> 00:09:51,800 some wires and sent her in to have some conversations with 194 00:09:51,800 --> 00:09:54,200 this judge. And five conversations later, 195 00:09:54,200 --> 00:09:57,800 when they had finally decided on a price that they would pay this 196 00:09:57,800 --> 00:10:01,000 judge to let the sister off, they had everything they needed 197 00:10:01,000 --> 00:10:04,280 against this judge. And the FBI came in and arrested 198 00:10:04,280 --> 00:10:08,520 him and the woman who is trafficking that cocaine. 199 00:10:08,880 --> 00:10:11,120 But a lot of people seem to have the same mindset. 200 00:10:11,400 --> 00:10:13,840 Now, we may not go to a judge and try to bribe him. 201 00:10:13,840 --> 00:10:15,480 Hopefully you're not doing things that will make you have 202 00:10:15,480 --> 00:10:17,600 to go in front of a judge. But we're not. 203 00:10:17,680 --> 00:10:19,880 We're not bribing people. But a lot of times we try to 204 00:10:19,880 --> 00:10:21,760 bribe God. We say God. 205 00:10:21,760 --> 00:10:26,200 Well, if you don't, if I can get through this without getting 206 00:10:26,200 --> 00:10:28,080 caught, then I'll do this for you. 207 00:10:28,880 --> 00:10:31,600 And God, if you could just excuse this over here because I 208 00:10:31,600 --> 00:10:34,440 know that's not something that I should be doing, but just excuse 209 00:10:34,440 --> 00:10:36,200 this. I'll do this for you on the 210 00:10:36,200 --> 00:10:38,160 other side. And we try to make a deal with 211 00:10:38,160 --> 00:10:40,080 God. We try to bribe God into 212 00:10:40,200 --> 00:10:43,840 allowing him to, to let us continue living in that sin. 213 00:10:43,840 --> 00:10:46,600 And a lot of people think that they can joy sin and find some 214 00:10:46,600 --> 00:10:50,040 means of, of avoiding the consequences. 1 old preacher 215 00:10:50,040 --> 00:10:53,000 said they sow wild oats and then they pray for crop failure. 216 00:10:53,640 --> 00:10:54,600 That's not the way that it works. 217 00:10:54,600 --> 00:10:58,120 No matter what devices we come up with, God is a sure and He is 218 00:10:58,120 --> 00:11:00,800 a certain judge, and we cannot bargain with him. 219 00:11:00,800 --> 00:11:04,120 We cannot bribe him. His hatred of sin parallels His 220 00:11:04,120 --> 00:11:07,120 perfect holiness. He does not turn away from sin. 221 00:11:07,920 --> 00:11:11,280 And you can be sure that your sin will find you out. 222 00:11:12,320 --> 00:11:14,800 But in the meantime, it's going to keep you from being what God 223 00:11:14,800 --> 00:11:16,240 wants you to be in your Christian life. 224 00:11:17,520 --> 00:11:20,000 Turn over to Jeremiah chapter 3. Keep your finger there in Second 225 00:11:20,000 --> 00:11:21,360 Timothy. We're going to come back to it. 226 00:11:21,360 --> 00:11:26,920 But Israel's backsliding and Jeremiah's day was, was rooted 227 00:11:26,920 --> 00:11:29,640 in these deliberate choices to turn away. 228 00:11:29,960 --> 00:11:32,280 And of course, we see that happening so many times. 229 00:11:32,280 --> 00:11:34,880 You start in the book of Genesis and you read through and you 230 00:11:34,880 --> 00:11:37,920 just see that that at every turn Israel turned away from God and 231 00:11:37,920 --> 00:11:40,520 they rebelled against him. And God had to punish them and 232 00:11:40,520 --> 00:11:42,440 brought them back. And they lived for him for a 233 00:11:42,440 --> 00:11:43,680 short time. And the next thing you know, 234 00:11:43,680 --> 00:11:45,440 they're turning and doing their own thing again. 235 00:11:45,440 --> 00:11:48,080 And God warned him and warned him and warned him and warned 236 00:11:48,080 --> 00:11:49,800 him. You better follow me. 237 00:11:50,200 --> 00:11:52,400 You better live for me. Or if things aren't going to go 238 00:11:52,400 --> 00:11:54,640 so well for you, but listen, you follow me. 239 00:11:54,640 --> 00:11:56,840 Here's all the good things that will happen. 240 00:11:57,160 --> 00:11:59,160 And it never failed. They always turned away after 241 00:11:59,160 --> 00:12:03,120 these other gods willfully. Nobody forced them to do it. 242 00:12:03,120 --> 00:12:06,560 They, they made the decisions to turn away from God and to turn 243 00:12:06,560 --> 00:12:09,520 into those idols. But Israel did exactly what many 244 00:12:09,520 --> 00:12:11,600 of us do. They justified their backsliding 245 00:12:11,600 --> 00:12:14,440 to themselves. They had a valid reason why they 246 00:12:14,440 --> 00:12:17,360 were moving away from God. Jeremiah chapter 3 and verse #11 247 00:12:18,320 --> 00:12:20,280 Obviously Jeremiah is writing this. 248 00:12:20,280 --> 00:12:23,560 And he said, And the Lord said unto me, The backsliding Israel 249 00:12:23,560 --> 00:12:27,280 hath justified herself more than treacherous Judah. 250 00:12:27,880 --> 00:12:31,160 Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, 251 00:12:31,480 --> 00:12:35,160 Return thou backsliding Israel, sayeth the Lord. 252 00:12:35,560 --> 00:12:38,640 And I will not 'cause mine anger to fall upon you, for I am 253 00:12:38,640 --> 00:12:42,280 merciful, sayeth the Lord, and I will not keep anger forever. 254 00:12:42,920 --> 00:12:47,240 Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou has transgressed 255 00:12:47,240 --> 00:12:50,760 against the Lord thy God, and has scattered thy ways to the 256 00:12:50,760 --> 00:12:52,800 strangers under every green tree. 257 00:12:52,800 --> 00:12:56,320 And ye have not obeyed my voice, sayeth the Lord. 258 00:12:56,800 --> 00:13:00,640 What a wonderful God we serve. God is there waiting to give 259 00:13:00,640 --> 00:13:03,000 them a second chance. Come back to me. 260 00:13:03,320 --> 00:13:05,720 Just come back to me. You're back slidden. 261 00:13:06,760 --> 00:13:10,080 You're away from me, but come back, I'll accept you. 262 00:13:10,440 --> 00:13:13,920 When we choose sin, we choose coldness. 263 00:13:14,120 --> 00:13:17,920 But when we return, God is ready to restore that warmth. 264 00:13:17,920 --> 00:13:19,720 God is ready to restore that fellowship. 265 00:13:19,720 --> 00:13:22,440 What a wonderful God we serve. But you notice that there was a 266 00:13:22,440 --> 00:13:25,840 prerequisite. There's a prerequisite. 267 00:13:26,680 --> 00:13:30,280 God said that they had to acknowledge that known sin. 268 00:13:30,680 --> 00:13:34,520 Look what he says there in verse #13 I'm merciful. 269 00:13:35,480 --> 00:13:37,120 My anger is not going to fall upon you. 270 00:13:37,360 --> 00:13:42,840 I'm ready to accept you back. But only acknowledge thine 271 00:13:42,840 --> 00:13:46,480 iniquity that thou has transgressed against the Lord 272 00:13:46,480 --> 00:13:49,640 thy God and has scattered thy ways to the strangers under 273 00:13:49,640 --> 00:13:54,040 every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the 274 00:13:54,040 --> 00:13:56,320 Lord. That's what he's waiting for. 275 00:13:56,560 --> 00:13:59,920 Acknowledge it. Come to the point where you say, 276 00:14:00,040 --> 00:14:05,040 I am living in sin and I need to change that God will be there 277 00:14:05,040 --> 00:14:07,240 waiting for you when you're ready to make that change. 278 00:14:07,840 --> 00:14:10,280 But he's not going to do it because you say, well, I want to 279 00:14:10,280 --> 00:14:12,480 be a better person. Yeah. 280 00:14:12,560 --> 00:14:14,840 I, I mean, it's OK what I'm doing. 281 00:14:14,840 --> 00:14:17,680 It's, it's not all the time. It's, it's, you know, it's not, 282 00:14:17,680 --> 00:14:21,000 it's not, it's not every day that I go do whatever sin that 283 00:14:21,000 --> 00:14:22,400 is. Not every day that I lose my 284 00:14:22,400 --> 00:14:23,880 temper. It's not every day that I have 285 00:14:23,880 --> 00:14:27,400 lost or whatever it happens to be, and we still continue to 286 00:14:27,400 --> 00:14:30,560 make excuses for those sins. That is not an acknowledgement 287 00:14:30,560 --> 00:14:34,720 of my sin before God. And there is no restoration of 288 00:14:34,720 --> 00:14:37,240 that fellowship. There's no restoration of that 289 00:14:37,240 --> 00:14:41,120 relationship with God until I acknowledge that sin before him. 290 00:14:43,080 --> 00:14:45,760 Maybe you've never heard the name Edwin Cooper, but he was 291 00:14:45,760 --> 00:14:51,080 very famous across America. He came from a family of circus 292 00:14:51,080 --> 00:14:55,000 clowns, and he began performing for audiences when he was nine 293 00:14:55,000 --> 00:14:58,840 years old. And after a stint with the 294 00:14:58,840 --> 00:15:01,680 Barnum and Bailey Circus, he became a fixture on television 295 00:15:01,680 --> 00:15:06,640 in the 1950s as Bozo the Clown. Maybe you remember Bozo the 296 00:15:06,640 --> 00:15:10,160 Clown, but one of the things that he used to tell, as he 297 00:15:10,160 --> 00:15:13,640 called them his buddies and partners every week get checked 298 00:15:13,640 --> 00:15:17,560 for cancer. Get checked for cancer and he 299 00:15:17,560 --> 00:15:19,880 was so busy working that he neglected to follow his own 300 00:15:19,880 --> 00:15:22,600 advice and by the time the cancer was discovered in his own 301 00:15:22,600 --> 00:15:25,080 body, there was nothing that any of the doctors can do about it. 302 00:15:25,520 --> 00:15:30,200 And he died at 41 years of age from that cancer that he had 303 00:15:30,200 --> 00:15:35,920 warned everybody else about. Sin is far more deadly than the 304 00:15:35,920 --> 00:15:38,440 most aggressive and fast growing cancer. 305 00:15:39,400 --> 00:15:42,960 Sin kills and destroys everything it touches. 306 00:15:42,960 --> 00:15:47,560 From the fall of Adam and Eve in the garden until now, Sin does 307 00:15:47,560 --> 00:15:51,120 not take any prisoners. That's the that's the purpose 308 00:15:51,120 --> 00:15:53,240 behind everything that Satan does. 309 00:15:53,240 --> 00:15:57,520 In fact, Jesus said the thief cometh not but for to kill for 310 00:15:57,520 --> 00:16:01,360 to steal and to kill and to destroy in John chapter 10. 311 00:16:01,600 --> 00:16:05,040 But because of, because of the the evil nature that Satan has, 312 00:16:05,040 --> 00:16:08,880 his hatred of everything that's good, the devil brings 313 00:16:08,880 --> 00:16:11,080 destruction to everything within his reach. 314 00:16:11,280 --> 00:16:16,240 And you are no exception. The devil is trying to destroy 315 00:16:16,240 --> 00:16:19,920 your life, and when you're living in willful sin, you are 316 00:16:19,920 --> 00:16:24,560 allowing him to do it. How do you expect God to to hear 317 00:16:24,560 --> 00:16:27,240 your prayers when you have iniquity in your heart? 318 00:16:27,240 --> 00:16:29,360 That's what the Bible says. If I regard iniquity in my 319 00:16:29,360 --> 00:16:31,080 heart, the Lord will not hear me. 320 00:16:31,960 --> 00:16:36,400 You're asking God for His help. The only prayer that God can 321 00:16:36,400 --> 00:16:40,840 hear from somebody who is in sin is a prayer for forgiveness. 322 00:16:41,360 --> 00:16:44,720 Then you can ask him for his help, but until you're right 323 00:16:44,720 --> 00:16:46,720 with God, he cannot hear your prayers. 324 00:16:47,320 --> 00:16:51,400 We'll not make it the subject of jokes that we tell or that we 325 00:16:51,400 --> 00:16:53,200 hear. Sin is a is nothing. 326 00:16:53,240 --> 00:16:55,960 There's nothing amusing or humorous about sin. 327 00:16:55,960 --> 00:16:58,520 We're not going to allow ourselves to be tempted to get a 328 00:16:58,520 --> 00:17:01,560 little closer to the line to see if we're still safe. 329 00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:05,000 You ought to do everything you can to stay as far away from sin 330 00:17:05,200 --> 00:17:08,760 as you can. God hates sin with a holy and a 331 00:17:08,760 --> 00:17:11,240 righteous fury, and we should as well. 332 00:17:11,240 --> 00:17:16,200 Turn over to Psalm 139. See, when we find ourselves 333 00:17:16,359 --> 00:17:20,200 amused by sin, it's time for us to focus on the cross. 334 00:17:20,359 --> 00:17:24,560 When we find ourselves not abhorring that sin, when we find 335 00:17:24,560 --> 00:17:28,119 ourselves excusing that sin, we're in a very bad spot. 336 00:17:29,480 --> 00:17:31,680 We need to find our way back to the cross. 337 00:17:32,000 --> 00:17:36,720 When you see the price that was paid for your sin, it ought to 338 00:17:36,720 --> 00:17:38,680 remind us that it's not anything to laugh at. 339 00:17:38,680 --> 00:17:42,640 It's not anything to to just not take seriously. 340 00:17:43,600 --> 00:17:48,280 Our goal should be that we could say with David in Psalm 139 and 341 00:17:48,280 --> 00:17:53,520 verse 23. Search me O God, and know my 342 00:17:53,520 --> 00:17:59,800 heart, try me and know my thoughts and see if there be any 343 00:17:59,800 --> 00:18:05,520 wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting. 344 00:18:06,280 --> 00:18:09,240 You cannot honestly pray that prayer with known sin in your 345 00:18:09,240 --> 00:18:13,160 life is if you're praying that prayer and you know you have sin 346 00:18:13,160 --> 00:18:15,320 number one, you're not going to pray it because you know God's 347 00:18:15,320 --> 00:18:18,640 going to find something there. There's no point in begging God 348 00:18:18,640 --> 00:18:21,000 to show you what you already know is there. 349 00:18:22,160 --> 00:18:26,440 Get the sin out of your life. God cannot and will not use your 350 00:18:26,440 --> 00:18:28,600 life if you have sin in your life. 351 00:18:28,600 --> 00:18:32,280 And what a waste of a life to go through the entirety of your 352 00:18:32,280 --> 00:18:36,400 life with willful sin that that renders your life completely 353 00:18:36,400 --> 00:18:41,280 useless to God. You can play all the games you 354 00:18:41,280 --> 00:18:43,240 want to. You can pretend to be a good 355 00:18:43,240 --> 00:18:46,160 Christian all you want to. But if you have sin in your life 356 00:18:46,160 --> 00:18:51,440 that you know is there, that you are not willing to get out, God 357 00:18:51,440 --> 00:18:56,240 is not using you. God cannot use and will not use 358 00:18:56,320 --> 00:18:59,240 a dirty vessel. And he makes it very clear all 359 00:18:59,240 --> 00:19:03,520 the way throughout the Bible. And then that that makes you 360 00:19:03,520 --> 00:19:07,160 step back and think, how long have I been living in this sin 361 00:19:08,240 --> 00:19:10,120 or I've been really useless in God's service. 362 00:19:11,200 --> 00:19:14,920 Oh, God might use you sometimes in spite of yourself, but he's 363 00:19:14,920 --> 00:19:17,280 not really going to use you the way that he could. 364 00:19:17,720 --> 00:19:22,160 You wonder why you, you go out knocking on doors and, and, and, 365 00:19:22,160 --> 00:19:25,120 and, and, you know, doing the Bibles on Saturday and you 366 00:19:25,120 --> 00:19:28,480 wonder why you just can't get anybody to listen to what you 367 00:19:28,480 --> 00:19:30,560 have to say and, and lead them to Christ. 368 00:19:31,480 --> 00:19:33,960 Maybe it's because God's not using you at all. 369 00:19:34,720 --> 00:19:37,760 You're doing the things that Christians do, you're going 370 00:19:37,760 --> 00:19:40,560 through the motions the way that Christians go through motions, 371 00:19:41,040 --> 00:19:45,840 but you have no power because you can't have God's power in 372 00:19:45,840 --> 00:19:51,080 your life with willful sin. And I would venture to say that 373 00:19:51,400 --> 00:19:55,440 a huge majority of Christians in churches all across this country 374 00:19:55,440 --> 00:19:59,120 and even all the way across the world, a huge majority of them 375 00:19:59,560 --> 00:20:02,320 are Christians who are living with sin in their lives that 376 00:20:02,320 --> 00:20:06,160 they know is there, that they're just not willing to get right 377 00:20:06,160 --> 00:20:10,800 with God. And what a waste of a life to go 378 00:20:10,800 --> 00:20:17,200 through your entire life holding on to that thing that you just 379 00:20:17,480 --> 00:20:21,760 can't let go of. One of these days, you're going 380 00:20:21,760 --> 00:20:27,040 to stand before God, and God's going to put all the things on 381 00:20:27,040 --> 00:20:29,480 one side that you could have accomplished for him. 382 00:20:29,920 --> 00:20:32,000 And I believe God's going to show us everything that He 383 00:20:32,000 --> 00:20:35,720 wanted us to accomplish. And then on the other side, he's 384 00:20:35,720 --> 00:20:40,280 going to put that sin that you just couldn't get over, that sin 385 00:20:40,280 --> 00:20:44,360 that you just wouldn't let go of and see how they compare. 386 00:20:46,320 --> 00:20:48,520 Most Christians are going to have to hang their heads in 387 00:20:48,520 --> 00:20:55,000 shame and say, I gave up all, I gave up all of that for this. 388 00:20:56,800 --> 00:21:00,600 It's not worth it. But most Christians live their 389 00:21:00,600 --> 00:21:06,560 lives here instead of here. We live in defeat instead of 390 00:21:06,560 --> 00:21:13,800 victory because of willful sin. Not always, but many times. 391 00:21:13,800 --> 00:21:16,960 It's willful sin that leads to the second reason we grow cold 392 00:21:16,960 --> 00:21:20,200 in our Christian lives, and that is neglect. 393 00:21:21,200 --> 00:21:24,760 Neglect. Willful sin often causes that 394 00:21:24,760 --> 00:21:27,880 neglect in our lives. But sometimes it isn't rebellion 395 00:21:28,120 --> 00:21:30,600 that cools our hearts. It's just neglect. 396 00:21:30,600 --> 00:21:33,240 We neglect prayer, we neglect the word of God. 397 00:21:33,240 --> 00:21:36,600 We neglect church worship, fellowship. 398 00:21:36,600 --> 00:21:39,920 We neglect the gift that God has put in US. 399 00:21:40,080 --> 00:21:43,400 Willful sin will push us away from those things. 400 00:21:43,400 --> 00:21:48,320 But sometimes we just get cold. We allow the fire to die in our 401 00:21:48,320 --> 00:21:50,560 hearts. I've mentioned this and most of 402 00:21:50,560 --> 00:21:52,800 you probably know this, but I heat my house with wood and I 403 00:21:52,800 --> 00:21:55,480 can see this very easily. But many of you have started a 404 00:21:55,480 --> 00:21:58,560 fire either in your house or outside, you know, in a camp or 405 00:21:58,560 --> 00:22:01,120 whatever else. And what happens when you don't 406 00:22:01,120 --> 00:22:05,400 tend to the fire? It dies, right? 407 00:22:05,400 --> 00:22:09,000 It just, it fizzles out. And in much the same way, when 408 00:22:09,000 --> 00:22:12,040 we leave the fire under unattended in our spiritual 409 00:22:12,040 --> 00:22:16,280 lives, it dies. Our spiritual fervency fades 410 00:22:16,440 --> 00:22:19,760 when we don't maintain our walk with God. 411 00:22:20,320 --> 00:22:23,840 You don't have to fight to kill a fire many times, especially if 412 00:22:23,840 --> 00:22:26,120 it's just a fire in a fire pit or something. 413 00:22:26,240 --> 00:22:28,840 Just stop tending to it and it'll smolder and eventually it 414 00:22:28,840 --> 00:22:31,320 will die. That's why it's important to be 415 00:22:31,320 --> 00:22:34,160 faithful to church and to the preaching of God's Word. 416 00:22:34,320 --> 00:22:37,320 You shouldn't be looking for every excuse to miss church. 417 00:22:38,040 --> 00:22:40,600 There's nothing wrong with taking a vacation, but your 418 00:22:40,600 --> 00:22:43,920 vacation shouldn't be from Saturday night to Monday morning 419 00:22:44,480 --> 00:22:47,520 the following week. Ah, perfect. 420 00:22:47,520 --> 00:22:50,640 I was able to miss 2 Sundays. I didn't have to be in church. 421 00:22:51,120 --> 00:22:53,320 I left on Saturday. I got back on Monday. 422 00:22:53,400 --> 00:22:55,040 Well pastor, you just don't understand. 423 00:22:55,040 --> 00:22:58,840 I have work on Friday and I have to be back at work on Monday. 424 00:22:59,560 --> 00:23:03,280 So you're telling me and your kids and everybody else that 425 00:23:03,280 --> 00:23:05,600 work is far more important than being in church? 426 00:23:07,200 --> 00:23:09,720 You won't miss a day of work, but you have no problem letting 427 00:23:09,720 --> 00:23:13,360 God get the raw end of the deal and skipping being in His house. 428 00:23:14,160 --> 00:23:16,240 Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. 429 00:23:16,240 --> 00:23:20,080 What do you think that means? That means be in God's house. 430 00:23:20,080 --> 00:23:23,360 When you have the opportunity to be in God's house, you should be 431 00:23:23,360 --> 00:23:27,760 looking for excuses to miss everything else and be in 432 00:23:27,760 --> 00:23:30,120 church. That's why it's important to 433 00:23:30,120 --> 00:23:34,400 study the Bible and read sound teaching materials in your 434 00:23:34,400 --> 00:23:36,000 studying. Even if you don't learn 435 00:23:36,000 --> 00:23:39,760 something new every single day in your daily Bible study or 436 00:23:39,760 --> 00:23:43,000 maybe from a particular sermon. Not every sermon is going to 437 00:23:43,000 --> 00:23:44,760 convict you. Not every sermon is going to 438 00:23:44,760 --> 00:23:47,080 teach you something that you don't already know, but it's 439 00:23:47,080 --> 00:23:49,360 going to remind you of the things that you do know. 440 00:23:49,520 --> 00:23:52,720 And many times we need those reminders because of neglect 441 00:23:52,880 --> 00:23:55,680 that moves in and just allows us to grow cold. 442 00:23:55,800 --> 00:23:58,880 If you're not stocking the fire, it's going to die. 443 00:23:59,840 --> 00:24:04,240 It's going to fizzle out. The gift, as Paul says, has to 444 00:24:04,240 --> 00:24:06,720 be stirred up. Go back to Second Timothy 445 00:24:06,720 --> 00:24:09,000 chapter 1 and look at that phrase again. 446 00:24:09,000 --> 00:24:13,000 He says, Wherefore I put thee in remembrance, that thou stir up 447 00:24:13,000 --> 00:24:17,120 the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on in my 448 00:24:17,120 --> 00:24:23,440 hands, that that word stirred up literally means blowing up coals 449 00:24:23,440 --> 00:24:27,920 into a flame. Spiritual gifts have to be kept 450 00:24:27,920 --> 00:24:31,680 fired up. God's given you abilities. 451 00:24:31,680 --> 00:24:34,000 God's given you things that you can do. 452 00:24:34,000 --> 00:24:36,600 He's given U.S. jobs. He's given us a task to do. 453 00:24:36,600 --> 00:24:39,920 Every one of us has a responsibility to to be a part 454 00:24:39,920 --> 00:24:42,000 of the Great Commission if we're saved. 455 00:24:42,000 --> 00:24:44,240 Those are things that God has given us to do. 456 00:24:44,240 --> 00:24:48,080 And what we find here in Second Timothy chapter 1 is the command 457 00:24:48,080 --> 00:24:51,800 to stir up the gift. That's a description of of 458 00:24:51,800 --> 00:24:56,600 continual, continual revival through the zealous pursuit of 459 00:24:56,600 --> 00:25:00,680 what you've been called to do. That verb stir up is in the 460 00:25:00,680 --> 00:25:03,840 present tense, and it means that it's a continuous action. 461 00:25:03,960 --> 00:25:06,000 It's something that we have to constantly do. 462 00:25:06,200 --> 00:25:10,920 I put thee in remembrance to stir up the gift that God's put 463 00:25:10,920 --> 00:25:12,160 in you. The stirring up of your 464 00:25:12,160 --> 00:25:15,040 spiritual gifts is not something that can be done once and then 465 00:25:15,040 --> 00:25:18,080 just let go for the rest of your life or not just something that 466 00:25:18,080 --> 00:25:19,560 needs to be done once in a while. 467 00:25:19,560 --> 00:25:21,880 It's something that needs to be done continually. 468 00:25:22,240 --> 00:25:26,240 If a spiritual gift is not being stirred up, it's growing cold. 469 00:25:26,760 --> 00:25:29,840 If your spiritual life is not being stirred up, it's growing 470 00:25:29,840 --> 00:25:32,600 cold. The second law of 471 00:25:32,600 --> 00:25:35,720 thermodynamics. Stated simply, it's a very 472 00:25:35,720 --> 00:25:39,080 complex definition of what the second law of thermodynamics is. 473 00:25:39,080 --> 00:25:42,440 But stated simply, it's that systems naturally move toward a 474 00:25:42,440 --> 00:25:45,640 state of greater, of greater disorder or messiness. 475 00:25:45,760 --> 00:25:49,600 It's the law of entropy that things tend to disorder, which 476 00:25:49,600 --> 00:25:53,720 is why when you spin a top, if you don't keep spinning it, or 477 00:25:53,720 --> 00:25:55,560 if you don't keep doing something that's going to keep 478 00:25:55,560 --> 00:25:58,080 it spinning, eventually it's going to stop spinning. 479 00:25:58,840 --> 00:26:02,440 If you don't keep up your house, eventually the spiders are going 480 00:26:02,440 --> 00:26:04,080 to take over. It's going to be nothing but 481 00:26:04,080 --> 00:26:05,680 dust and spider webs. Why is that? 482 00:26:05,680 --> 00:26:10,280 Because things tend to disorder. Things tend to to messiness. 483 00:26:10,280 --> 00:26:12,440 That's just the law of thermodynamics. 484 00:26:12,440 --> 00:26:15,280 Things run out of steam, they fizzle after a while. 485 00:26:16,200 --> 00:26:19,600 And I think this law operates in a spiritual sphere as well as in 486 00:26:19,600 --> 00:26:20,960 the physical. You leave it alone. 487 00:26:20,960 --> 00:26:23,560 A cup of coffee is going to get cool and then it's going to get 488 00:26:23,560 --> 00:26:25,240 cold. You leave it alone. 489 00:26:25,240 --> 00:26:28,600 A fire is going to smolder and then it's going to die. 490 00:26:30,080 --> 00:26:34,920 Spiritual lives that are left alone do the exact same thing. 491 00:26:36,160 --> 00:26:40,800 If you are not actively stirring up your spiritual life, it's 492 00:26:40,800 --> 00:26:44,320 going to get cool and then it's going to get cold and eventually 493 00:26:44,320 --> 00:26:46,360 it's going to die. That's one. 494 00:26:46,360 --> 00:26:49,120 That's one reason why every church is only one generation 495 00:26:49,120 --> 00:26:53,520 away from apostasy. When that stirring stops, the 496 00:26:53,520 --> 00:26:57,480 slide toward apostasy begins. You are either going forward in 497 00:26:57,480 --> 00:26:59,440 your Christian life or you are going backward. 498 00:26:59,720 --> 00:27:02,360 There is no, I'm just sitting here in this spot. 499 00:27:02,360 --> 00:27:04,280 You're either going forward or you're going backward. 500 00:27:05,120 --> 00:27:08,080 And neglect always causes us to go backwards. 501 00:27:09,360 --> 00:27:11,680 Exodus chapter 34. For the sake of time, I'm not 502 00:27:11,680 --> 00:27:13,000 going to have you turn over there. 503 00:27:13,720 --> 00:27:17,960 But we read the account of Moses spending the time with God on 504 00:27:17,960 --> 00:27:22,000 the top of the mountain. And when Moses spent that 505 00:27:22,000 --> 00:27:25,200 extensive and that, that, that special time with the Lord face 506 00:27:25,200 --> 00:27:27,920 to face, the Bible says that as he came down from the mountain, 507 00:27:28,080 --> 00:27:32,840 his face shone with the reflection of the Shekinah glory 508 00:27:32,840 --> 00:27:35,400 of God. And Moses didn't really even 509 00:27:35,400 --> 00:27:38,560 notice it, but the people did. And when it came down, they 510 00:27:38,560 --> 00:27:41,320 said, Moses, your face is so bright we can't even look at it. 511 00:27:41,320 --> 00:27:43,280 Cover your face while you're talking to us. 512 00:27:44,360 --> 00:27:46,600 It says every time that Moses went in to talk to God, he 513 00:27:46,600 --> 00:27:48,120 uncovered his face and he talked to God. 514 00:27:48,120 --> 00:27:50,800 But when he came back out, he had to cover his face because 515 00:27:50,800 --> 00:27:56,080 the glory of God was shining so brightly in his face, shown so 516 00:27:56,080 --> 00:27:58,400 much that the people couldn't even look at him. 517 00:27:59,760 --> 00:28:02,280 Next to my wood stove, I have a poker. 518 00:28:02,960 --> 00:28:05,640 Most of you that if you have a fireplace, you probably have one 519 00:28:05,640 --> 00:28:08,040 of those as well. Just something to move the wood 520 00:28:08,040 --> 00:28:10,080 around. And I can take that poker and I 521 00:28:10,080 --> 00:28:12,160 can poke around in the fire and it might get hot. 522 00:28:12,160 --> 00:28:14,080 You don't really want to touch it as soon as you pull it out of 523 00:28:14,080 --> 00:28:16,840 the fire, but it's just a poker. It's not going to get so hot 524 00:28:16,840 --> 00:28:19,160 that it can't cool down in just a matter of seconds when you 525 00:28:19,160 --> 00:28:21,720 pull it out. But if I take that poker when 526 00:28:21,720 --> 00:28:25,520 the fire is roaring and hot and I stick that thing in the flame 527 00:28:25,520 --> 00:28:29,960 and I just leave it there, if I leave you there for a couple 528 00:28:29,960 --> 00:28:31,120 minutes, I'm going to pull that thing out. 529 00:28:31,120 --> 00:28:34,920 It is going to be glowing red. What's the difference? 530 00:28:35,760 --> 00:28:39,400 When you spend enough time in the presence of God, presence of 531 00:28:39,400 --> 00:28:42,040 God gets into you. That's what happens with that 532 00:28:42,040 --> 00:28:43,640 poker. If I'm just poking around in 533 00:28:43,640 --> 00:28:46,120 there, it might get a little bit of fire on it, but there's no 534 00:28:46,120 --> 00:28:49,320 fire in it. I leave that poker in the fire, 535 00:28:50,200 --> 00:28:51,760 it's going to get the fire in it. 536 00:28:52,240 --> 00:28:54,920 That's what causes it to glow burning red. 537 00:28:56,320 --> 00:28:59,120 And that's exactly what we must do in our spiritual lives. 538 00:28:59,600 --> 00:29:02,240 The presence of God needs to be in us. 539 00:29:02,240 --> 00:29:04,760 Not only are you there in the presence of God, but the 540 00:29:04,760 --> 00:29:08,800 presence of God gets into you when you spend time with Him the 541 00:29:08,800 --> 00:29:10,480 way that you should. Turn over to 2nd Corinthians 542 00:29:10,480 --> 00:29:14,400 chapter 3. See, because this is not just 543 00:29:14,400 --> 00:29:16,840 true in the Old Testament. We saw it in the Old Testament. 544 00:29:16,840 --> 00:29:20,360 Moses obviously had the the brightness of the glory of God 545 00:29:20,360 --> 00:29:23,120 in his face. But Paul said if it was glorious 546 00:29:23,120 --> 00:29:26,440 when God gave Moses the Old Testament 10 commandments, then 547 00:29:26,440 --> 00:29:30,360 how? How is the Spirit not even more 548 00:29:30,360 --> 00:29:32,760 glorious? Second Corinthians chapter 3 and 549 00:29:32,760 --> 00:29:37,720 verse #9 But if the ministration of death, written and engraving 550 00:29:37,720 --> 00:29:41,120 in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not 551 00:29:41,120 --> 00:29:44,000 steadfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his 552 00:29:44,000 --> 00:29:47,840 countenance, which glory was to be done away, how shall not the 553 00:29:47,840 --> 00:29:50,200 ministration of the Spirit be rather glorious? 554 00:29:50,640 --> 00:29:53,960 For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more 555 00:29:53,960 --> 00:29:57,480 death, the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory. 556 00:29:57,720 --> 00:30:01,040 For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this 557 00:30:01,040 --> 00:30:03,080 respect by reason of the glory that exceleth. 558 00:30:03,440 --> 00:30:07,240 For if that which is done away was glorious, much more that 559 00:30:07,240 --> 00:30:10,480 which remaineth is glorious. You think about that. 560 00:30:10,480 --> 00:30:12,960 I said, I know it's a lot of a lot of words in their 561 00:30:12,960 --> 00:30:15,120 administration and condemnation and all of those things. 562 00:30:15,120 --> 00:30:17,120 What what Paul is saying here is this. 563 00:30:18,120 --> 00:30:21,240 If Moses just by being on the top of that mountain and writing 564 00:30:21,240 --> 00:30:24,640 things down on a 2 tables of stone that were going to pass 565 00:30:24,640 --> 00:30:26,640 away. If that was so glorious that the 566 00:30:26,640 --> 00:30:31,760 face of Moses shown, how much more should it be with us who 567 00:30:31,760 --> 00:30:34,880 actually meet with the Holy Spirit and have the Holy Spirit 568 00:30:34,880 --> 00:30:38,200 living inside of us and can meet with God face to face The same 569 00:30:38,200 --> 00:30:40,640 way? If you thought that was 570 00:30:40,640 --> 00:30:43,960 glorious, how much more glorious it should be for us in this New 571 00:30:43,960 --> 00:30:49,480 Testament era who can meet with God and have the the reflection 572 00:30:49,480 --> 00:30:54,360 of His glory in our face? Man, what an amazing thing that 573 00:30:54,360 --> 00:30:56,280 ought to be. When you spend time with God, 574 00:30:56,280 --> 00:30:59,200 it's not going to fall void. You're going to start looking 575 00:30:59,200 --> 00:31:02,520 like Him. You'll start to reflect Him more 576 00:31:02,760 --> 00:31:05,320 in your daily life. Oh, that we would never let the 577 00:31:05,320 --> 00:31:08,640 work of God die in us because of neglect. 578 00:31:10,040 --> 00:31:13,280 What causes us to grow cold in our Christian life will willful 579 00:31:13,280 --> 00:31:17,520 sin certainly will do that. Neglect will do that, but #3 580 00:31:18,040 --> 00:31:20,800 others turn over to Hebrews chapter 12. 581 00:31:21,160 --> 00:31:24,040 Others cause us to grow cold in our Christian life. 582 00:31:25,160 --> 00:31:29,400 If we're honest, people can affect our spiritual temperature 583 00:31:29,400 --> 00:31:31,240 much more than we wish they would. 584 00:31:32,400 --> 00:31:36,280 Somebody offends us, somebody disappoints us, somebody fails 585 00:31:36,280 --> 00:31:40,800 us, somebody criticizes us. If we're truly dead to self, 586 00:31:41,360 --> 00:31:44,880 whether we talked about last week, then those things should 587 00:31:44,880 --> 00:31:50,040 not be able to affect us. But if we're not careful, their 588 00:31:50,040 --> 00:31:52,600 actions start to shape our attitudes, their actions start 589 00:31:52,600 --> 00:31:56,280 to shape who we become, and they quench our zeal. 590 00:31:57,320 --> 00:32:03,120 Here's what I found. People are human, and people are 591 00:32:03,120 --> 00:32:07,080 going to let you down. People are going to disappoint 592 00:32:07,080 --> 00:32:08,840 you. People are going to do things 593 00:32:08,840 --> 00:32:11,800 that you don't like because that's what people do. 594 00:32:13,280 --> 00:32:16,120 Most of you have no idea how much disappointment, how much 595 00:32:16,120 --> 00:32:19,920 discouragement, how many times a pastor gets let down by people 596 00:32:19,920 --> 00:32:22,680 that he wanted nothing but the best for in their spiritual 597 00:32:22,680 --> 00:32:25,640 lives. If anyone understands the effect 598 00:32:25,640 --> 00:32:29,040 that other people can have on a person, it is a pastor. 599 00:32:29,240 --> 00:32:32,560 But I want you to see this in Hebrews chapter 12 and verse #14 600 00:32:33,160 --> 00:32:37,440 Follow peace with all men, and holiness without which no man 601 00:32:37,440 --> 00:32:41,280 shall see the Lord. Looking diligently, lest any man 602 00:32:41,280 --> 00:32:46,280 fail of the grace of God, lest any root of bitterness springing 603 00:32:46,280 --> 00:32:50,560 up, trouble you, and thereby many be defiled. 604 00:32:52,560 --> 00:32:56,960 The writer of Hebrews warns us that a root of bitterness can 605 00:32:56,960 --> 00:33:01,480 spring up and defile us. And he says that many are 606 00:33:01,480 --> 00:33:06,560 defiled by that bitterness. See, that's one of those things 607 00:33:06,560 --> 00:33:09,960 that most of the time you can't see it on the outside. 608 00:33:11,920 --> 00:33:15,960 I can look at your faces and you can smile back at me and you can 609 00:33:15,960 --> 00:33:18,840 look so good. And inside you can have that 610 00:33:18,840 --> 00:33:22,280 root of bitterness in there that you're mad at me for preaching 611 00:33:22,280 --> 00:33:24,880 something that I preached, or mad at this person next to you 612 00:33:24,880 --> 00:33:28,240 for something that they said to you, or mad at this person for 613 00:33:28,240 --> 00:33:30,080 whatever else. And that root of bitterness is 614 00:33:30,080 --> 00:33:34,080 just in there, and it's keeping you from being what you can be 615 00:33:34,080 --> 00:33:38,880 for God. Bitterness, we allow so much of 616 00:33:38,880 --> 00:33:41,400 that bitterness starts small, but it spreads very quickly. 617 00:33:41,720 --> 00:33:46,120 And often the things that we let steal our joy are things that 618 00:33:46,120 --> 00:33:49,880 aren't worth losing our spiritual fervency over in the 619 00:33:49,880 --> 00:33:53,360 first place. Somebody has no filter and 620 00:33:53,360 --> 00:33:56,960 offends you or no spirituality and fails you is not worth your 621 00:33:56,960 --> 00:34:00,320 time anyway. And they're especially not worth 622 00:34:00,320 --> 00:34:02,520 your losing your spiritual fire over it. 623 00:34:04,400 --> 00:34:08,239 But so often we allow our spirituality grow cold because 624 00:34:08,239 --> 00:34:10,080 of others. I want you to see this. 625 00:34:10,080 --> 00:34:14,840 Lastly, what causes us to grow cold in our Christian life will 626 00:34:14,840 --> 00:34:16,360 certainly willful sin will do that. 627 00:34:16,360 --> 00:34:19,320 Neglect does that. Others will do that if we allow 628 00:34:19,320 --> 00:34:22,040 them. But #4 if you turn back over to 629 00:34:22,040 --> 00:34:25,040 Second Timothy chapter 1, I think it's pretty obvious that 630 00:34:25,040 --> 00:34:28,880 fear will cause us to grow cold in our Christian life. 631 00:34:29,600 --> 00:34:37,000 Back in our text, Paul reminds Timothy here, verse #7 For God 632 00:34:37,000 --> 00:34:41,679 hath not given us the spirit of fear out of power and of love 633 00:34:41,719 --> 00:34:44,040 and of a sound mind. Now, I don't know if Paul knew 634 00:34:44,040 --> 00:34:46,840 something about Timothy that he didn't really tell everybody 635 00:34:46,840 --> 00:34:50,360 about, but he says stir up the gift, which is in you. 636 00:34:51,400 --> 00:34:54,000 Timothy, I need to remind you, you got to stir up the gift. 637 00:34:54,239 --> 00:34:57,360 God's not God's not given us the spirit of fear. 638 00:34:57,400 --> 00:35:01,440 Timothy, He's given us the spirit of power and of love and 639 00:35:01,440 --> 00:35:03,920 of a sound mind. You can overcome that fear 640 00:35:04,640 --> 00:35:06,880 because of the power that you have through God, because of the 641 00:35:07,120 --> 00:35:09,720 the the love that you have through God, because of the 642 00:35:09,880 --> 00:35:11,800 sound mind that you have through God. 643 00:35:11,800 --> 00:35:14,640 Don't, don't be afraid of what other people are going to say 644 00:35:14,640 --> 00:35:16,320 about you. Don't be afraid of what other 645 00:35:16,320 --> 00:35:20,040 people are thinking. Fear will suffocate the flame 646 00:35:20,040 --> 00:35:21,920 inside of you. Fear of failure, fear of 647 00:35:21,920 --> 00:35:25,600 rejection, fear of inadequacy, fear of the unknown. 648 00:35:25,760 --> 00:35:28,200 Those are the things that keep us from stepping out in 649 00:35:28,200 --> 00:35:30,160 obedience and doing what God wants us to do. 650 00:35:31,320 --> 00:35:34,840 Oh, we use that as an excuse so often why I, I can't get up and 651 00:35:34,840 --> 00:35:36,880 sing in church. I'm just afraid of, of standing 652 00:35:36,880 --> 00:35:38,960 up in front of people. I can't teach a Sunday school 653 00:35:38,960 --> 00:35:41,040 class because I'm afraid to talk in front of people. 654 00:35:41,120 --> 00:35:42,560 I can't share the gospel with somebody. 655 00:35:42,560 --> 00:35:45,000 I'm afraid to, to, to have a conversation. 656 00:35:45,160 --> 00:35:47,720 But you have no problem talking to somebody about something you 657 00:35:47,720 --> 00:35:50,520 really enjoy talking about. Oh, you don't have any problem 658 00:35:50,520 --> 00:35:52,600 walking up to somebody in the store and striking up a 659 00:35:52,600 --> 00:35:55,000 conversation about anything. It's not that you're afraid of 660 00:35:55,000 --> 00:35:56,760 talking to people. It's that you're afraid of the 661 00:35:56,760 --> 00:36:00,600 gospel of Christ also. I am not ashamed of the gospel 662 00:36:00,600 --> 00:36:04,840 of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to 663 00:36:04,840 --> 00:36:07,320 everyone that believeth. It's not that you're afraid of 664 00:36:07,320 --> 00:36:09,320 talking to people, it's that you're afraid of giving them the 665 00:36:09,320 --> 00:36:11,520 gospel because you're afraid of what they're going to say. 666 00:36:12,520 --> 00:36:17,440 God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but a power and of love 667 00:36:17,440 --> 00:36:20,800 and of a sound mind. I heard about a man who's his 668 00:36:20,800 --> 00:36:24,320 farm was failing. His wife needed an operation. 669 00:36:24,600 --> 00:36:26,560 The mortgage on the on the farm was due. 670 00:36:26,560 --> 00:36:29,640 The payment on the tractor was due, tuition was due for his 671 00:36:29,760 --> 00:36:32,240 kids who were off at college. The bank wouldn't loan him any 672 00:36:32,240 --> 00:36:33,920 more money. And he was just an ordinary 673 00:36:33,920 --> 00:36:35,360 farmer. He didn't have, he didn't have 674 00:36:35,360 --> 00:36:39,480 money sitting around that he could just go dip into. 675 00:36:39,480 --> 00:36:42,120 And so he decided to do the only logical thing that he can think 676 00:36:42,120 --> 00:36:43,280 of. He was going to rob a bank. 677 00:36:44,560 --> 00:36:46,120 And so he tried to get up his courage. 678 00:36:46,120 --> 00:36:48,640 Now, remember, robbing banks was not his profession. 679 00:36:48,640 --> 00:36:52,400 He was just a farmer, so he was walking around the block trying 680 00:36:52,400 --> 00:36:55,400 to get up the courage to walk into that bank and actually rob 681 00:36:55,400 --> 00:36:56,880 it. He had everything planned out in 682 00:36:56,880 --> 00:36:58,360 his mind, exactly what he was going to do. 683 00:36:58,360 --> 00:37:01,400 In fact, he had a bag that he was carrying under his coat. 684 00:37:02,320 --> 00:37:04,080 He had a gun that he had with him as well. 685 00:37:04,280 --> 00:37:06,400 He was just going to walk in there and rob the bank and walk 686 00:37:06,400 --> 00:37:08,240 out, and that was the only time he was ever going to do it. 687 00:37:08,240 --> 00:37:10,640 He's not a bank robber. He's just in a tough spot. 688 00:37:11,680 --> 00:37:15,040 So he walked into that bank and finally got the courage to do 689 00:37:15,040 --> 00:37:16,200 it. But when he walked in, he got 690 00:37:16,200 --> 00:37:19,200 all confused because he was just scared to death because this is 691 00:37:19,200 --> 00:37:21,600 not what he normally did. And rather than giving the 692 00:37:21,600 --> 00:37:25,320 teller the bag to put the money in, he shoved the gun to the 693 00:37:25,320 --> 00:37:28,600 teller. Pastor the gun. 694 00:37:29,040 --> 00:37:31,480 He took the loose bag and he pointed at her and he said, 695 00:37:31,920 --> 00:37:33,840 don't stick with me. This is a mess up. 696 00:37:37,000 --> 00:37:41,600 Fear will do that to you. But the truth is, when we ought 697 00:37:41,600 --> 00:37:44,640 to succeed in our Christian lives, many of us fail for one 698 00:37:44,640 --> 00:37:48,040 reason or another because we've listened to the minister of 699 00:37:48,040 --> 00:37:52,760 fear, the devil, rather than listening to God, and that fear 700 00:37:52,760 --> 00:37:56,240 has paralyzed us. No matter how gifted we are, no 701 00:37:56,240 --> 00:37:59,480 matter, no matter how much we say we love God and we want to 702 00:37:59,480 --> 00:38:03,120 live for Him, we can become afraid of what God will call us 703 00:38:03,120 --> 00:38:05,360 to do in our lives if we completely surrender to Him. 704 00:38:06,000 --> 00:38:07,600 That's where most Christians get afraid. 705 00:38:08,680 --> 00:38:13,160 Well, if I, if I really get right with God and I really get 706 00:38:13,160 --> 00:38:16,440 my get my relationship with him back up to where it needs to be 707 00:38:16,440 --> 00:38:18,880 and I allow that, that fervency to come back in. 708 00:38:18,880 --> 00:38:22,640 And I, and I and I and I blow on those coals and get those embers 709 00:38:22,640 --> 00:38:25,400 burning hot again, and I really surrender to God. 710 00:38:25,400 --> 00:38:27,720 I just have no idea what he's going to call me to do. 711 00:38:27,720 --> 00:38:29,920 And I'm afraid of what God's going to call me to do. 712 00:38:31,000 --> 00:38:33,400 I'm convinced that many people don't surrender to sell out for 713 00:38:33,400 --> 00:38:36,840 Christ because they're afraid of what it will cost them. 714 00:38:37,080 --> 00:38:41,840 They love their comfortable life and they they're fine with their 715 00:38:41,840 --> 00:38:44,840 mediocre Christianity because it doesn't really cost them 716 00:38:44,840 --> 00:38:48,040 anything. I really get to the end of 717 00:38:48,040 --> 00:38:51,480 myself and give up all my sin I like to enjoy. 718 00:38:51,480 --> 00:38:53,640 And I really started getting God's word and I really 719 00:38:53,640 --> 00:38:55,400 developed that relationship with God. 720 00:38:55,400 --> 00:38:58,360 Then who knows what what he could ask me to give up and I 721 00:38:58,360 --> 00:39:02,720 just can't take that risk now. You would never say that out 722 00:39:02,720 --> 00:39:05,360 loud, but many Christians have that exact same mindset. 723 00:39:06,920 --> 00:39:09,600 There are many people, some of who may be sitting in this 724 00:39:09,600 --> 00:39:13,520 congregation today, who could be greatly used of God if they 725 00:39:13,520 --> 00:39:15,440 weren't so afraid of selling out to Christ. 726 00:39:16,040 --> 00:39:22,040 But God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and 727 00:39:22,040 --> 00:39:25,600 of love and of a sound mind. You sell out to God, you're 728 00:39:25,600 --> 00:39:28,720 going to find out that the life He has to offer you is way 729 00:39:28,720 --> 00:39:32,000 better than the life you think you can create for yourself. 730 00:39:33,680 --> 00:39:37,320 He's given us power, love, sound mind, everything that we need to 731 00:39:37,320 --> 00:39:40,880 obey Him boldly, everything that we need to obey Him confidently, 732 00:39:40,880 --> 00:39:43,280 everything we need to do to go forward for Him. 733 00:39:44,120 --> 00:39:49,320 If we do sell out for Christ, most Christians will never get 734 00:39:49,320 --> 00:39:54,480 to that point because of fear. I'm afraid of what God's going 735 00:39:54,480 --> 00:39:59,960 to ask me to do. I'm afraid that God's going to 736 00:39:59,960 --> 00:40:03,360 make me go be a witness. I'm afraid that God's going to 737 00:40:03,360 --> 00:40:06,120 ask me to teach a Sunday school class. 738 00:40:06,120 --> 00:40:08,560 I'm afraid that God's going to ask me to lead a ministry. 739 00:40:08,560 --> 00:40:10,880 I'm afraid that God's going to call me to the mission field. 740 00:40:11,640 --> 00:40:13,680 I just. I can't take that risk. 741 00:40:13,680 --> 00:40:19,600 I love the life that I'm living. Too much fear keeps us from 742 00:40:19,600 --> 00:40:23,760 being what God wants us to be. I need to close, but how is your 743 00:40:23,760 --> 00:40:25,480 fire? Where are you at in your 744 00:40:25,480 --> 00:40:28,160 spiritual life? Are you using your gifts for the 745 00:40:28,160 --> 00:40:32,000 Lord, or have you allow allowed things in the way that have 746 00:40:32,000 --> 00:40:34,240 stifled your relationship with God? 747 00:40:35,680 --> 00:40:38,480 The fire may have died down, but the embers are still there. 748 00:40:39,200 --> 00:40:41,640 And I believe, especially in our church, that that's the way that 749 00:40:41,640 --> 00:40:45,280 it is for most of us. Your fire is not dead, you've 750 00:40:45,280 --> 00:40:50,200 just allowed it to die. The Lord's calling you just the 751 00:40:50,200 --> 00:40:54,280 same way that He inspired Paul to call Timothy to stir up the 752 00:40:54,280 --> 00:40:59,840 gift blow on the coals inflamed once again the the passion and 753 00:40:59,840 --> 00:41:03,320 the purpose and the spiritual fervency that maybe you used to 754 00:41:03,320 --> 00:41:05,560 have, or maybe you've never had it at all. 755 00:41:06,440 --> 00:41:10,800 It's time to let God do what He wants to do in your life. 756 00:41:11,280 --> 00:41:14,160 Are there sins that you need to confess and forsake? 757 00:41:14,160 --> 00:41:17,440 Willful sin is always going to keep you from being what God 758 00:41:17,440 --> 00:41:18,840 wants you to be. It's all. 759 00:41:18,840 --> 00:41:21,400 It's the quickest way to allow your spiritual life to grow 760 00:41:21,400 --> 00:41:24,360 cold. And The thing is, most of us are 761 00:41:24,360 --> 00:41:27,160 not sitting here saying, boy, I wonder if I have any sin in my 762 00:41:27,160 --> 00:41:30,760 life that I need to get rid of. Most people are saying that is a 763 00:41:30,760 --> 00:41:33,760 sin that I need to get rid of because you know what it is? 764 00:41:34,000 --> 00:41:37,800 That's willful sin. That's willful sin, that sin 765 00:41:37,800 --> 00:41:40,560 that you know is there that you're just not willing to get 766 00:41:40,560 --> 00:41:45,040 out of your life. And God can never use you with 767 00:41:45,040 --> 00:41:48,720 sin like that. He wants to, but he's waiting 768 00:41:48,720 --> 00:41:54,160 for you to acknowledge it. Only acknowledge, he says, only 769 00:41:54,160 --> 00:41:57,600 acknowledge your iniquity and I'll have mercy. 770 00:41:58,600 --> 00:42:01,080 I'll, I'll build that fire back up hot again. 771 00:42:02,160 --> 00:42:05,000 But you got to get the sin out. You got to acknowledge that you 772 00:42:05,000 --> 00:42:07,960 have a problem with it. You got to ask Him for help. 773 00:42:09,280 --> 00:42:12,800 What about neglect? Apathy maybe would be a better 774 00:42:12,800 --> 00:42:15,360 way to say it. Are there things you need to 775 00:42:15,360 --> 00:42:17,560 start doing again that you've been neglecting? 776 00:42:18,520 --> 00:42:22,760 What did God put on your heart about that as I preached this 777 00:42:22,760 --> 00:42:24,680 morning? That's something that you need 778 00:42:24,680 --> 00:42:28,960 to take care of, something that you need to deal with God on as 779 00:42:28,960 --> 00:42:31,320 He's dealing with you. What about some bitterness or 780 00:42:31,320 --> 00:42:36,960 some unforgiveness that you need to just let go, or some fears to 781 00:42:36,960 --> 00:42:39,000 surrender to God? There's a lot of things that we 782 00:42:39,000 --> 00:42:41,960 allow to hold us back in our relationship, things that we let 783 00:42:41,960 --> 00:42:47,200 in that cause us to grow cold. Today is the day to start to 784 00:42:47,200 --> 00:42:52,240 stir the embers again. Let God get in there and blow on 785 00:42:52,240 --> 00:42:56,600 those embers and you do what you need to do to get everything out 786 00:42:56,600 --> 00:42:59,120 of the way to allow God to blow on that fire. 787 00:42:59,640 --> 00:43:03,520 Allow him to get it hot the way that he wants it to be. 788 00:43:04,160 --> 00:43:06,360 God's ready to give you a fresh start. 789 00:43:06,360 --> 00:43:08,880 That's renewal. God wants to renew you. 790 00:43:09,400 --> 00:43:11,960 He's waiting for you to acknowledge the problem and stir 791 00:43:11,960 --> 00:43:17,760 up the gift. The question is, will you do it? 792 00:43:19,120 --> 00:43:21,880 Will you do it? Stir up the gift. 793 00:43:22,120 --> 00:43:23,800 We all need to be put in remembrance. 794 00:43:23,800 --> 00:43:28,320 Paul says stir up the gift. Let God get in there. 795 00:43:28,720 --> 00:43:31,480 Get that willful sin out. Get the neglect out. 796 00:43:31,640 --> 00:43:33,800 Don't worry about what others have to say about it. 797 00:43:34,400 --> 00:43:36,560 Don't worry about what others have done or said to you. 798 00:43:37,520 --> 00:43:42,760 Get rid of the fear and stir up the gift that God's put in you. 799 00:43:43,360 --> 00:43:45,800 Will you do it? Will you do it? 800 00:43:47,320 --> 00:43:48,800 Let's pray. Father, again, we thank you so 801 00:43:48,800 --> 00:43:52,640 much for your goodness to us. Thank you that you are willing 802 00:43:53,240 --> 00:43:57,080 to allow any of us to come back to you that have gotten away 803 00:43:58,040 --> 00:44:00,240 thankful. Thank you that you're willing to 804 00:44:01,360 --> 00:44:05,040 still use us even when we fail you in so many ways. 805 00:44:06,440 --> 00:44:10,840 God, I pray that where decisions need to be made this morning, I 806 00:44:10,840 --> 00:44:14,200 pray that they would. Only the Holy Spirit can do the 807 00:44:14,200 --> 00:44:16,880 work. You know every single person's 808 00:44:16,880 --> 00:44:20,160 heart in this room. You know where we've come up 809 00:44:20,160 --> 00:44:23,800 short and the chances are that every single one of us know 810 00:44:24,640 --> 00:44:26,160 where we've come up short as well. 811 00:44:27,080 --> 00:44:32,040 We need your help, God. I pray that you give the courage 812 00:44:33,440 --> 00:44:38,320 that we need to step out, make the changes in our lives so we 813 00:44:38,320 --> 00:44:41,960 can be what you want us to be. God, may we have a church full 814 00:44:41,960 --> 00:44:45,600 of people that are on fire for you, Not a church full of people 815 00:44:45,600 --> 00:44:47,320 that are apathetic toward the things of God. 816 00:44:47,320 --> 00:44:49,800 Not a church full of people who have allowed the fire to die and 817 00:44:49,800 --> 00:44:52,840 now it's just smoldering and they're barely hanging on. 818 00:44:54,080 --> 00:44:59,160 God, may you help us to stir up the gift that you've put in US. 819 00:45:00,160 --> 00:45:02,840 Thank you for all you do for us in Jesus name, Amen. 820 00:45:02,840 --> 00:45:04,920 If you would please stand at your seats with your heads bowed 821 00:45:04,920 --> 00:45:11,120 and your eyes closed. Only the Holy Spirit can do the 822 00:45:11,120 --> 00:45:13,240 work in your hearts. Only the Holy Spirit can bring 823 00:45:13,240 --> 00:45:15,680 that conviction and only you can respond to it. 824 00:45:16,560 --> 00:45:20,040 Will you do it this morning if God spoken to your heart as the 825 00:45:20,040 --> 00:45:22,400 panel plays? You come do business with God. 826 00:45:22,400 --> 00:45:24,640 Ask Him to help you. He wants to and He will. 827 00:45:25,520 --> 00:45:26,960 You come as the panel plays.