1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:03,080 Crossing family I am so. Excited to tell you. 2 00:00:03,360 --> 00:00:06,480 That we are bringing one of our favorite communicators back. 3 00:00:06,720 --> 00:00:10,280 That's right, Josh Howard. Is coming back to preach to us 4 00:00:10,280 --> 00:00:12,000 again. He helped us on the very 5 00:00:12,000 --> 00:00:14,680 beginning of our First Corinthian series, and he's back 6 00:00:14,680 --> 00:00:17,920 to deliver another impactful. Word I love. 7 00:00:17,920 --> 00:00:20,760 How he has been leveraging his life to help disciples, make 8 00:00:20,760 --> 00:00:23,320 disciples make disciples, not just across the. 9 00:00:23,320 --> 00:00:25,320 World. But he's also helped us as a 10 00:00:25,320 --> 00:00:27,920 church do a better job. Of reaching those that we love 11 00:00:28,200 --> 00:00:30,720 in our region. He, like us, wants to make 12 00:00:30,720 --> 00:00:33,400 wherever he is, playing to the hardest place on planet earth to 13 00:00:33,400 --> 00:00:35,720 get to hell from. And I cannot wait for the word 14 00:00:35,720 --> 00:00:37,360 that he is going to bring us this weekend. 15 00:00:37,520 --> 00:00:40,160 So would you give another incredible crossing? 16 00:00:40,160 --> 00:00:43,160 Welcome to our preacher this weekend, Josh Howard. 17 00:00:46,360 --> 00:00:49,280 It is. It is a privilege and an honor 18 00:00:49,280 --> 00:00:52,440 to be back with you. Honestly, it's, it's only been 8 19 00:00:52,440 --> 00:00:55,440 weeks since I was here last and it, it feels like it was just 20 00:00:55,440 --> 00:00:58,920 last week. I'm, I'm so excited to be with 21 00:00:58,920 --> 00:01:00,560 you guys. Clayton. 22 00:01:00,560 --> 00:01:03,120 Thank you, buddy, for those incredibly kind words. 23 00:01:03,120 --> 00:01:07,000 Love you, bro, as always. I mean, you guys have just an 24 00:01:07,000 --> 00:01:09,000 incredible man leading the charge here. 25 00:01:09,000 --> 00:01:11,360 Amen. Yeah, go ahead, go ahead. 26 00:01:11,960 --> 00:01:18,000 All right, God is moving, man, the, the stories that I keep 27 00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:22,200 hearing from this church are just unbelievable to see what 28 00:01:22,200 --> 00:01:25,800 God is doing in this place through each and every one of 29 00:01:25,800 --> 00:01:29,280 you reaching people far from God, bringing them to Jesus, 30 00:01:29,400 --> 00:01:32,480 starting discovery Bible studies with friends and neighbors and 31 00:01:32,480 --> 00:01:36,400 coworkers. Man, God is moving in Quincy, IL 32 00:01:36,400 --> 00:01:39,040 and it is getting attention all across the all across the 33 00:01:39,040 --> 00:01:41,960 country right now. And so it's incredible to see. 34 00:01:41,960 --> 00:01:44,760 And so it is again, an honor and a privilege to be here with you 35 00:01:44,840 --> 00:01:47,360 guys. My wife Lashi, since her love 36 00:01:47,360 --> 00:01:51,600 and greetings, there is a quick thing that I'd love to ask your 37 00:01:51,600 --> 00:01:56,440 prayers about my wife's brother's father-in-law. 38 00:01:56,800 --> 00:02:00,400 OK, So I know that's like I'm on grandpa kind of stuff, OK. 39 00:02:00,400 --> 00:02:04,080 But my wife's brother's father-in-law was just arrested 40 00:02:04,080 --> 00:02:09,320 in India last week. He was basically the, the 41 00:02:09,320 --> 00:02:13,200 government has been coming hard against the work that we've been 42 00:02:13,200 --> 00:02:16,040 doing in South Asia. And he didn't even know that his 43 00:02:16,040 --> 00:02:18,000 name was on any list. He didn't even know that there 44 00:02:18,000 --> 00:02:20,760 was going to be an issue. And police came literally while 45 00:02:20,760 --> 00:02:25,280 he was at the mall in plain clothes and took him away and 46 00:02:25,280 --> 00:02:27,520 arrested him. They've kept him for the last 47 00:02:27,520 --> 00:02:31,240 week and we are praying for a miraculous intervention. 48 00:02:31,600 --> 00:02:33,040 And so if you could please pray for us. 49 00:02:33,040 --> 00:02:37,680 His name is Vijay. Vijay, if you guys could pray 50 00:02:37,680 --> 00:02:41,200 for that because there is tremendous persecution breaking 51 00:02:41,200 --> 00:02:44,240 out all over India right now, and we really would love your 52 00:02:44,240 --> 00:02:46,680 prayers. But here's the good news, OK? 53 00:02:47,000 --> 00:02:48,840 And before I get into the message, I want to share with 54 00:02:48,840 --> 00:02:52,520 you an update on what God has done in the last three months 55 00:02:52,880 --> 00:02:55,400 through ordinary everyday people in India. 56 00:02:55,400 --> 00:02:59,680 So although persecution is increasing, I want you to hear 57 00:02:59,680 --> 00:03:03,760 what our church planners and disciple makers have seen happen 58 00:03:03,760 --> 00:03:05,560 through their boldness and courage. 59 00:03:05,840 --> 00:03:07,800 Literally just in the last three months. 60 00:03:08,000 --> 00:03:11,120 We're talking right July, August and September. 61 00:03:11,320 --> 00:03:14,080 This is what the Lord has done. Listen to this. 62 00:03:14,360 --> 00:03:20,880 We have seen in the last three months 19,585 people come to 63 00:03:20,880 --> 00:03:23,080 Jesus for the first time in their lives. 64 00:03:23,080 --> 00:03:29,880 Isn't that amazing? Like God is moving in crazy 65 00:03:29,880 --> 00:03:35,600 amazing ways. Not only that, but we saw 2892 66 00:03:35,800 --> 00:03:39,440 new house churches started just in those three months. 67 00:03:39,800 --> 00:03:41,840 Amen. Isn't that incredible? 68 00:03:42,760 --> 00:03:46,160 And so guys, we, even though persecution is being rampant, 69 00:03:46,440 --> 00:03:49,960 God is breathing His spirit across the world right now, and 70 00:03:49,960 --> 00:03:52,800 we are seeing just God do unbelievable, amazing things. 71 00:03:52,800 --> 00:03:56,000 So please continue to pray with us that God would continue to 72 00:03:56,000 --> 00:03:59,200 move in spite of the challenges and difficulties. 73 00:03:59,320 --> 00:04:01,760 Amen. All right, guys, listen, let's 74 00:04:01,760 --> 00:04:03,240 pray. And we're going to jump right 75 00:04:03,240 --> 00:04:05,360 into First Corinthians chapter 10. 76 00:04:05,360 --> 00:04:07,840 So if you've got a Bible, that's where we're going to be. 77 00:04:07,840 --> 00:04:10,960 Please open up there. I, I don't know if you all 78 00:04:10,960 --> 00:04:15,440 remember the line that I'd love you to say, Hey, come on, 79 00:04:15,440 --> 00:04:17,160 somebody. Thank you, man. 80 00:04:17,160 --> 00:04:18,959 You guys are so good. You guys are so. 81 00:04:19,120 --> 00:04:22,400 So if there's anything you like, I'd love to hear a come on, 82 00:04:22,400 --> 00:04:25,200 somebody. OK, at any time, shout it out. 83 00:04:25,320 --> 00:04:27,760 If I don't hear any of the whole message, I'll get the hint. 84 00:04:27,920 --> 00:04:30,560 OK, I'll get the idea. All right, let's pray, guys, and 85 00:04:30,560 --> 00:04:32,560 we'll jump right in together. OK, let's pray. 86 00:04:35,560 --> 00:04:42,160 Oh, Jesus, you were so good, You were so beautiful. 87 00:04:44,840 --> 00:04:47,320 And we have a chance right now to open your word and hear your 88 00:04:47,320 --> 00:04:50,800 voice. And so, Jesus, we ask that you 89 00:04:50,800 --> 00:04:54,160 would move in power. We asked, Holy Spirit, that you 90 00:04:54,160 --> 00:04:56,920 would come and that you would be in our midst and that you would 91 00:04:56,920 --> 00:05:02,680 speak to us. Lord, help us to hear your voice 92 00:05:02,680 --> 00:05:05,360 clearly. We desperately need you. 93 00:05:05,360 --> 00:05:07,280 We need to hear from you more than anything. 94 00:05:07,600 --> 00:05:10,600 We need to touch from you. We need to hear your voice, and 95 00:05:10,600 --> 00:05:14,040 no other voice will do. We need to hear you and straight 96 00:05:14,040 --> 00:05:16,960 from your mouth, Father. And so we ask that you would be 97 00:05:16,960 --> 00:05:19,560 the one on stage, that you would be the one preaching, and that 98 00:05:19,560 --> 00:05:23,520 you would be the one that opens our hearts and touches our 99 00:05:23,520 --> 00:05:25,680 hearts. And so Jesus, we ask that you 100 00:05:25,680 --> 00:05:28,600 would move in power tonight and that you'd be here in our midst. 101 00:05:29,080 --> 00:05:31,600 We pray this in Jesus name, Amen. 102 00:05:32,000 --> 00:05:36,560 Amen. All right, First Corinthians 103 00:05:36,560 --> 00:05:39,040 chapter 10. Open up there with me now. 104 00:05:42,440 --> 00:05:43,680 Now here's what we're going to do. 105 00:05:44,760 --> 00:05:46,760 We are going to start at the very end of the chapter. 106 00:05:46,760 --> 00:05:50,120 I'm going to read one verse, but then we're going to back up and 107 00:05:50,120 --> 00:05:51,680 go through. And the reason why I'm reading 108 00:05:51,680 --> 00:05:55,600 this verse up front is because this is kind of going to be the 109 00:05:55,600 --> 00:05:59,240 culmination of the message. And we're going to keep going 110 00:05:59,240 --> 00:06:02,720 back and forth between this decision that we've got to make 111 00:06:02,720 --> 00:06:05,560 tonight. And so I, I want to lay my cards 112 00:06:05,560 --> 00:06:08,640 out on the table very quickly and say there's going to be a 113 00:06:08,640 --> 00:06:11,920 choice that the Holy Spirit is going to nudge you to make 114 00:06:11,920 --> 00:06:14,160 tonight. And you're going to need to 115 00:06:14,160 --> 00:06:19,080 choose between two paths or between two cups or two tables. 116 00:06:19,560 --> 00:06:23,840 And so I want you to just kind of get yourself ready for that 117 00:06:23,840 --> 00:06:27,040 tonight as we read this verse. Like I said, it's at the very 118 00:06:27,040 --> 00:06:29,720 end of the section that we're going to talk about tonight, and 119 00:06:29,720 --> 00:06:32,960 it's in verse 21. And so I want you to read with 120 00:06:32,960 --> 00:06:36,640 me First Corinthians 10/21. This is what Paul says. 121 00:06:37,280 --> 00:06:42,120 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too. 122 00:06:43,240 --> 00:06:48,520 You cannot have parts in both the Lord's table and the table 123 00:06:48,520 --> 00:06:53,200 of demons. So there are two cups and two 124 00:06:53,200 --> 00:06:55,960 tables, and you're going to need to make a choice. 125 00:06:56,120 --> 00:06:58,520 Now listen, I'm going to be really clear up front, guys. 126 00:06:58,520 --> 00:07:00,800 I know what you're thinking. When we read that verse, you're 127 00:07:00,800 --> 00:07:03,320 like, well, of course I'm not going to drink the cup of 128 00:07:03,320 --> 00:07:04,480 demons. That's crazy. 129 00:07:04,640 --> 00:07:07,640 And I'm not going to sit at the table with demons either. 130 00:07:07,760 --> 00:07:09,560 Like who in the world would even do that? 131 00:07:09,840 --> 00:07:11,400 And who's going to make that choice? 132 00:07:11,920 --> 00:07:14,360 But what we're going to see through the very beginning of 133 00:07:14,360 --> 00:07:18,960 the chapter is that demons are crafty, they're scheming, they 134 00:07:18,960 --> 00:07:22,320 lie. And pretty soon you drink from 135 00:07:22,320 --> 00:07:25,880 cups that you don't even realize they're being handed to you by 136 00:07:25,880 --> 00:07:27,040 the enemy. OK? 137 00:07:27,040 --> 00:07:30,280 Are you with me here? And so it's not that a demon is 138 00:07:30,280 --> 00:07:34,200 going to come in his full form like Halloween and hands you a 139 00:07:34,200 --> 00:07:37,400 cup and be like, please drink like it's never going to be like 140 00:07:37,400 --> 00:07:40,320 that. It will be a a case in a moment 141 00:07:40,320 --> 00:07:43,400 in your life where you don't even understand that you're 142 00:07:43,400 --> 00:07:47,520 drinking from a poisoned cup. You won't understand that you're 143 00:07:47,520 --> 00:07:51,560 drinking from a table that is going to lead to your 144 00:07:51,560 --> 00:07:53,760 destruction. And so that's what we're going 145 00:07:53,760 --> 00:07:57,880 to talk about leading into this. OK, now at the beginning here, 146 00:07:57,880 --> 00:07:59,440 here's what I want to do. Chuck, can you hand me that 147 00:07:59,440 --> 00:08:02,040 really quick? What we're going to see in the 148 00:08:02,040 --> 00:08:06,680 first few verses of this is that they keep going back. 149 00:08:06,680 --> 00:08:11,520 Paul continues to keep going back to the Israelites in the 150 00:08:11,520 --> 00:08:14,600 Old Testament, and we are going to learn from their example 151 00:08:14,600 --> 00:08:16,880 tonight. And So what we need to look at 152 00:08:16,880 --> 00:08:22,280 first is the cup of the past in order to understand what we may 153 00:08:22,280 --> 00:08:25,560 face today and what the enemy may do in our lives so that we 154 00:08:25,560 --> 00:08:28,680 can choose the right way. But in order to set this up, I 155 00:08:28,680 --> 00:08:31,760 want to tell you one of the stories from Moses in the Old 156 00:08:31,760 --> 00:08:35,360 Testament to lead us into the first part of 1st Corinthians 157 00:08:35,360 --> 00:08:36,440 10. You with me on that. 158 00:08:37,679 --> 00:08:38,840 Hey, come on. Thank you. 159 00:08:39,559 --> 00:08:42,480 You have no idea how good my heart does it just it just warms 160 00:08:42,480 --> 00:08:44,280 me inside. OK, here we go. 161 00:08:44,640 --> 00:08:47,120 This is what happened. Moses, right? 162 00:08:47,200 --> 00:08:50,280 He's leading the Israelites out of Egypt and they are 163 00:08:50,280 --> 00:08:54,080 experiencing miracle after miracle after miracle. 164 00:08:54,240 --> 00:08:57,960 I mean, we are talking crazy, amazing things like the Red Sea 165 00:08:57,960 --> 00:09:01,200 parting. Prior to that, 10 plagues fell 166 00:09:01,200 --> 00:09:05,440 on Egypt in order to encourage Pharaoh to let God's people go. 167 00:09:06,440 --> 00:09:09,600 And then they go through the waters of the Red Sea and then 168 00:09:09,600 --> 00:09:12,280 every day, and we're going to see Paul mention all these 169 00:09:12,280 --> 00:09:15,240 things. They are being led by a cloud 170 00:09:15,240 --> 00:09:17,960 during the day and a pillar of fire at night. 171 00:09:17,960 --> 00:09:20,400 Could you imagine? And then not only that, they 172 00:09:20,400 --> 00:09:21,760 didn't have food out in the desert. 173 00:09:21,960 --> 00:09:27,840 God is raining down bread from heaven, OK, Which probably had 174 00:09:27,840 --> 00:09:33,880 to be Olive Garden breadsticks, OK, but but they're raining down 175 00:09:33,880 --> 00:09:37,120 bread from heaven, and that's what they're eating every day, 176 00:09:37,120 --> 00:09:38,800 and they got sick of it. I don't know about you. 177 00:09:38,800 --> 00:09:40,600 I wouldn't get sick of the Olive Garden breadsticks. 178 00:09:40,600 --> 00:09:41,520 I don't know. I don't know. 179 00:09:41,760 --> 00:09:43,000 But they were getting sick of it. 180 00:09:43,000 --> 00:09:45,960 But then they rained down quail when they started complaining 181 00:09:45,960 --> 00:09:49,200 about the bread, and God gave them birds to eat. 182 00:09:49,400 --> 00:09:52,200 And so God is literally feeding them with his own hand. 183 00:09:52,360 --> 00:09:54,680 They're going through miracle after miracle. 184 00:09:54,920 --> 00:09:58,320 Then they get to a mountain where Moses goes up to meet with 185 00:09:58,320 --> 00:10:00,080 God. After they've seen all these 186 00:10:00,080 --> 00:10:04,080 miracles, God gives him the 10 commandments written with his 187 00:10:04,080 --> 00:10:07,120 own hand. And Moses come down, comes down 188 00:10:07,240 --> 00:10:09,640 with these 10 commandments with his staff in his hand. 189 00:10:10,040 --> 00:10:14,160 And all of a sudden he sees that he's only been gone for 40 days. 190 00:10:14,360 --> 00:10:17,680 And the Israelites have already built a golden calf that they 191 00:10:17,680 --> 00:10:21,000 are worshipping instead of God who brought them out of Egypt. 192 00:10:21,760 --> 00:10:25,760 Crazy people, right? Like schizophrenia, split 193 00:10:25,760 --> 00:10:29,200 personality, like who are these people and what is happening? 194 00:10:29,720 --> 00:10:34,480 Now, I know none of you are like this, but what we're going to 195 00:10:34,480 --> 00:10:38,400 see is that Paul makes direct correlation between the 196 00:10:38,400 --> 00:10:41,800 craziness that that sounds when we say it out loud, and how 197 00:10:41,800 --> 00:10:45,720 often we go between the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons 198 00:10:45,720 --> 00:10:49,880 every single day of our lives. And how schizophrenic our lives 199 00:10:49,880 --> 00:10:52,720 begin to look as we go back and forth like that. 200 00:10:53,280 --> 00:10:56,640 And this is what happens. Moses comes down the mountain, 201 00:10:56,920 --> 00:10:59,800 he sees what happens and he gets incredibly upset. 202 00:11:00,000 --> 00:11:03,160 He breaks the tablets and he goes out to the front of the 203 00:11:03,160 --> 00:11:05,160 camp. And this is what I picture him 204 00:11:05,160 --> 00:11:07,200 doing. He takes his staff, the same 205 00:11:07,200 --> 00:11:11,280 staff that God used to part the Red Sea to, to draw water out of 206 00:11:11,280 --> 00:11:13,120 the rock. Again, Paul's going to mention 207 00:11:13,120 --> 00:11:15,840 all of these things and he stands at the front of the camp 208 00:11:15,840 --> 00:11:19,160 and this is what I picture. I picture him putting his his 209 00:11:19,160 --> 00:11:28,520 staff in the ground and drawing a line like this slowly, with a 210 00:11:28,520 --> 00:11:31,760 little bit of anger, frustration, and then he calls 211 00:11:31,760 --> 00:11:33,600 out this phrase and this is what he says. 212 00:11:34,880 --> 00:11:38,200 May those who are on the Lord's side come to me. 213 00:11:39,080 --> 00:11:41,560 What's Moses saying? There has been a line drawn in 214 00:11:41,560 --> 00:11:45,120 the sand, and you need to make a decision today whom you're going 215 00:11:45,120 --> 00:11:47,040 to serve. And if you're on the Lord's 216 00:11:47,040 --> 00:11:49,040 side, you need to come to me. If you want to stay with the 217 00:11:49,040 --> 00:11:53,480 idols and the demons and all the the cups that you're talking 218 00:11:53,480 --> 00:11:57,040 about drinking, if you want to keep going back to Egypt, then 219 00:11:57,040 --> 00:11:59,960 you need to stay on that side. But if you're willing to go all 220 00:11:59,960 --> 00:12:03,280 in and be consecrated to the Lord the way he's called you to, 221 00:12:03,440 --> 00:12:06,880 then you need to come to me. And the Bible says that many of 222 00:12:06,880 --> 00:12:11,320 them, especially the Levites, came to Moses and crossed the 223 00:12:11,320 --> 00:12:13,560 line. Now, why am I telling you this 224 00:12:13,560 --> 00:12:15,040 story at the beginning of the message? 225 00:12:15,720 --> 00:12:19,040 It's because tonight, friends, just like Moses, when we look at 226 00:12:19,040 --> 00:12:23,080 their example, God is going to be drawing a line in the sand 227 00:12:23,080 --> 00:12:26,720 tonight where we need to. We need to decide what side of 228 00:12:26,720 --> 00:12:30,240 the fence we're going to be on. Because I heard an old preacher 229 00:12:30,240 --> 00:12:32,600 once that said, listen, if you're going to sit on the 230 00:12:32,600 --> 00:12:35,320 fence, the the fence belongs to the enemy. 231 00:12:35,520 --> 00:12:37,640 And so you've already made a decision if you're trying to be 232 00:12:37,640 --> 00:12:41,440 in the middle or as the old farmers used to say, you can't 233 00:12:41,440 --> 00:12:44,360 have your feet in two boats because they will split and 234 00:12:44,360 --> 00:12:47,720 you'll fall in the water, right? And so tonight we're going to be 235 00:12:47,720 --> 00:12:52,040 making a decision and he is going to be putting his staff in 236 00:12:52,040 --> 00:12:55,520 the ground, drawing a line. And you and I are going to be 237 00:12:55,520 --> 00:12:59,040 asked what cup we're going to drink from, what side of the 238 00:12:59,040 --> 00:13:02,560 line we're going to stand on and what table we're going to sit 239 00:13:02,560 --> 00:13:04,840 at. And we need to be prepared to 240 00:13:04,840 --> 00:13:06,600 answer that question. You with me. 241 00:13:08,000 --> 00:13:09,720 Hey, come on, come on, somebody. There you go. 242 00:13:10,160 --> 00:13:14,080 First Corinthians chapter 10. Let's start at the top and we'll 243 00:13:14,080 --> 00:13:20,280 go through it. Verse one, for I do not want you 244 00:13:20,280 --> 00:13:23,280 to be ignorant of the fat brothers and sisters that our 245 00:13:23,280 --> 00:13:25,840 ancestors remember. I've just told you the story. 246 00:13:26,040 --> 00:13:29,400 Our ancestors were all under the cloud and they all pass through 247 00:13:29,400 --> 00:13:31,560 the sea. He's reminding them of the 248 00:13:31,560 --> 00:13:34,160 miracles that the Israelites encountered. 249 00:13:35,560 --> 00:13:37,280 They were all baptized. Verse 2. 250 00:13:37,280 --> 00:13:40,720 They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the 251 00:13:40,720 --> 00:13:43,240 sea. They all ate the same spiritual 252 00:13:43,240 --> 00:13:45,680 food. Remember, God fed them with 253 00:13:45,680 --> 00:13:49,000 spiritual food. They drank from the spiritual 254 00:13:49,000 --> 00:13:52,120 rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. 255 00:13:52,320 --> 00:13:56,160 Paul is literally saying that Jesus in the Old Testament. 256 00:13:56,240 --> 00:14:00,120 Basically it was an image of Christ, the rock being poured 257 00:14:00,120 --> 00:14:02,080 out as living water for them to drink. 258 00:14:02,320 --> 00:14:04,840 So the rock that they were drinking of was an image of 259 00:14:04,840 --> 00:14:07,520 Jesus providing spiritual water for us. 260 00:14:08,680 --> 00:14:13,880 And then he says this nevertheless, verse 5, God was 261 00:14:13,880 --> 00:14:18,080 not pleased with most of them. Their bodies were scattered in 262 00:14:18,080 --> 00:14:20,520 the wilderness. Why is Paul saying this? 263 00:14:21,280 --> 00:14:24,960 He's reminding us that even though we have may, we may have 264 00:14:24,960 --> 00:14:27,520 had incredible encounters with the Lord, we may have been 265 00:14:27,520 --> 00:14:30,160 baptized, we may even have seen miracles. 266 00:14:30,280 --> 00:14:33,040 You may have been healed, your family may be may have been 267 00:14:33,040 --> 00:14:34,800 delivered. Your marriage could have been 268 00:14:34,800 --> 00:14:37,360 saved. You could have been had chains 269 00:14:37,360 --> 00:14:39,720 of addiction broken off, broken off of your life. 270 00:14:39,880 --> 00:14:43,640 There could have been many amazing encounters with God, and 271 00:14:43,640 --> 00:14:47,640 yet it is still possible for us to forget the miraculous and 272 00:14:47,640 --> 00:14:50,280 still choose the cup of demons every day of our lives. 273 00:14:51,920 --> 00:14:56,040 And Paul is trying to say here, that's actually really scary and 274 00:14:56,040 --> 00:14:59,960 we need to pay attention at the past to learn from their 275 00:14:59,960 --> 00:15:03,120 mistakes so that we don't make the same mistakes. 276 00:15:04,040 --> 00:15:07,400 And so then Paul starts going through what mistakes they made. 277 00:15:07,560 --> 00:15:11,720 Verse 6. Now these things occurred as 278 00:15:11,720 --> 00:15:14,800 examples. Remember, these are examples for 279 00:15:14,800 --> 00:15:17,760 you and I. They occurred as examples to 280 00:15:17,760 --> 00:15:22,240 keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. 281 00:15:22,760 --> 00:15:26,600 Verse 7. Do not be idolaters as some of 282 00:15:26,600 --> 00:15:29,640 them were. As it is written, the people sat 283 00:15:29,640 --> 00:15:32,920 down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry. 284 00:15:33,200 --> 00:15:36,560 So the first example he says here is idolatry. 285 00:15:37,240 --> 00:15:39,760 And I know what many of you are thinking like there's no way 286 00:15:39,760 --> 00:15:43,040 Josh, that we're going to be like bowing our knee to idols or 287 00:15:43,040 --> 00:15:46,560 anything like that, right? But guys, we need to understand 288 00:15:46,560 --> 00:15:51,120 that in our day and age in 2025, idols are usually in America, 289 00:15:51,280 --> 00:15:55,240 not, are not going to come in the form of little mini God or 290 00:15:55,240 --> 00:15:59,240 goddess statues or Buddha statues or whatever. 291 00:15:59,360 --> 00:16:02,960 They are going to come in the spiritual world where we are 292 00:16:02,960 --> 00:16:08,760 bowing our knee constantly to sex, money, power, applause, 293 00:16:08,840 --> 00:16:11,800 approval. The the things around us become 294 00:16:11,800 --> 00:16:15,800 idols in our lives where they get more affection than Jesus 295 00:16:15,800 --> 00:16:18,720 does out of our lives. Do do you get what I'm saying? 296 00:16:19,360 --> 00:16:22,400 And so let me give you a very simple definition of idolatry. 297 00:16:22,920 --> 00:16:25,800 It's anything that you love more than Jesus. 298 00:16:28,040 --> 00:16:31,280 Let me say that again. It's anything you love more than 299 00:16:31,280 --> 00:16:34,160 Christ. It is anything that you will bow 300 00:16:34,280 --> 00:16:39,000 the proverbial need to over the kingship and lordship of Jesus 301 00:16:39,000 --> 00:16:41,920 in your life, right? And so here's the question, 302 00:16:41,920 --> 00:16:45,200 friends. When everyone else around you is 303 00:16:45,200 --> 00:16:49,800 bowing their knee to the idols of the world, will you stand 304 00:16:49,800 --> 00:16:54,600 while everyone else is bowing? Remember the story of Shadrach, 305 00:16:54,600 --> 00:16:58,840 Meshach, and Abednego, right? They were three young men who 306 00:16:58,840 --> 00:17:02,400 were challenged by the King of their day to bow their knee to a 307 00:17:02,400 --> 00:17:05,880 giant idol. And when the entire nation bowed 308 00:17:05,880 --> 00:17:09,680 their knee, only three of them stood in defiance of the King. 309 00:17:09,760 --> 00:17:12,839 Why? Because they loved God more than 310 00:17:12,839 --> 00:17:17,440 anything else in their lives. Therefore, it created boldness, 311 00:17:17,599 --> 00:17:22,560 courage, and a direct heart to the Father because of their 312 00:17:22,680 --> 00:17:26,280 dedication to Him. And so friends, I know it's not 313 00:17:26,280 --> 00:17:29,360 easy to talk about tonight, but here's the question we've got to 314 00:17:29,360 --> 00:17:33,120 ask if Paul's asking us, hey, guys, remember where they fell 315 00:17:33,200 --> 00:17:36,600 so that you won't fall. The first example he uses is 316 00:17:36,600 --> 00:17:40,160 idolatry. And so we need to open up our 317 00:17:40,160 --> 00:17:45,080 hearts tonight and say in in all reality, man, what do I love? 318 00:17:46,240 --> 00:17:51,000 If I'm honest, what gets my time more than Jesus? 319 00:17:51,400 --> 00:17:53,920 What gets my attention more than Jesus? 320 00:17:54,080 --> 00:17:57,200 What gets my love and affection more than Jesus? 321 00:17:57,320 --> 00:18:01,400 What are the things in my life that are actually drawing more 322 00:18:01,400 --> 00:18:04,720 of my energy, more of my affection, and more of my 323 00:18:04,720 --> 00:18:10,200 worship than Jesus himself and man tonight we need to like 324 00:18:10,200 --> 00:18:12,400 Moses did. He is drawing a line in the 325 00:18:12,400 --> 00:18:14,720 sand. We need to break the idols the 326 00:18:14,720 --> 00:18:19,080 way that they did and bring our hearts back to King Jesus as the 327 00:18:19,080 --> 00:18:23,000 true Lord and Savior of everything because He's the only 328 00:18:23,000 --> 00:18:25,480 one worthy of sitting on the throne of our hearts. 329 00:18:25,640 --> 00:18:28,040 Amen. Hey, come on. 330 00:18:29,960 --> 00:18:33,320 Next verse He gives another example. 331 00:18:34,040 --> 00:18:37,840 Verse 8. We should not commit sexual 332 00:18:37,840 --> 00:18:44,240 immorality as some of them did. And in one day, 23,000 of them 333 00:18:44,240 --> 00:18:46,920 died. Do you realize that the 334 00:18:46,920 --> 00:18:51,560 Israelites who were let out of Egypt by God in Numbers chapter 335 00:18:51,560 --> 00:18:54,520 25, we don't have time to read the whole thing, but I just want 336 00:18:54,520 --> 00:18:56,800 you to read. I just want you to hear out loud 337 00:18:57,000 --> 00:19:00,480 the first couple of verses. These people were slaves in 338 00:19:00,480 --> 00:19:07,000 Egypt, guys, slaves in chains. And God miraculously broke the 339 00:19:07,000 --> 00:19:11,160 chains, set them free. And this is literally just a few 340 00:19:11,200 --> 00:19:13,800 years later. And this is what they're doing 341 00:19:14,000 --> 00:19:16,800 as thanks to God for freeing them from slavery. 342 00:19:16,960 --> 00:19:20,080 Listen to this while Israel, This is Numbers 25. 343 00:19:20,080 --> 00:19:22,920 We don't have it up on the screen, but it's Numbers 25, 344 00:19:23,120 --> 00:19:25,240 verses 1 and 2. Just hear it out loud. 345 00:19:25,720 --> 00:19:30,280 While Israel was staying in shitham, the men began to 346 00:19:30,280 --> 00:19:33,720 indulge in sexual immorality with the Moabite women who 347 00:19:33,720 --> 00:19:37,160 invited them to the sacrifices to their gods. 348 00:19:39,360 --> 00:19:42,800 And the people ate the sacrificial meal and bowed 349 00:19:42,800 --> 00:19:48,760 before these gods. Guys, listen once again, it goes 350 00:19:48,760 --> 00:19:51,760 back to idolatry. It goes back to the affections 351 00:19:52,000 --> 00:19:56,440 of your heart. None of you in this room, I 352 00:19:56,440 --> 00:20:00,920 would probably venture to guess, is willing to bow your knee to 353 00:20:00,960 --> 00:20:03,760 an actual idol. I saw millions of people doing 354 00:20:03,760 --> 00:20:06,840 it in a place like India. We rarely see it in a place like 355 00:20:06,840 --> 00:20:09,960 America. But how many of us are bowing 356 00:20:09,960 --> 00:20:13,240 our knee to the sexy woman that we really want to give 357 00:20:13,240 --> 00:20:17,400 everything to, or the the really good looking guy that we really 358 00:20:17,400 --> 00:20:19,480 want to give our heart and our attention to? 359 00:20:19,720 --> 00:20:24,520 And so we will bow our knee at the bed of sexual immorality. 360 00:20:24,520 --> 00:20:27,200 Or we are. We will bow our knee at the 361 00:20:27,200 --> 00:20:30,280 click of a mouse or the. Swipe of our phone. 362 00:20:30,400 --> 00:20:34,080 We will bow our knee to the things of this world constantly 363 00:20:34,080 --> 00:20:37,800 and consistently that get our affection and our attention more 364 00:20:37,800 --> 00:20:40,800 than Jesus does. And rather than living with Him 365 00:20:40,800 --> 00:20:45,560 being Lord, we are enslaved to the addictions of the United 366 00:20:45,560 --> 00:20:53,040 States. It is idolatry, it's sexual 367 00:20:53,040 --> 00:20:55,680 immorality and he's trying to get our attention. 368 00:20:55,680 --> 00:21:00,440 Listen, you are given a chance to drink of the cup of freedom 369 00:21:00,760 --> 00:21:05,280 to drink of the cup of broken chains being shaken off of your 370 00:21:05,280 --> 00:21:07,960 life. The cup that Jesus offers is 371 00:21:07,960 --> 00:21:12,440 freedom and purity and and and and conviction and a guilt free 372 00:21:12,440 --> 00:21:15,400 life of forgiveness and grace and lordship. 373 00:21:15,600 --> 00:21:19,480 But instead of accepting that, we continually reach to a broken 374 00:21:19,480 --> 00:21:23,520 cistern that is poisoned, that will literally destroy our 375 00:21:23,520 --> 00:21:26,240 souls, but we keep reaching for it anyway. 376 00:21:26,960 --> 00:21:29,520 And Paul is saying, man, look at the example. 377 00:21:29,800 --> 00:21:33,800 He's drawing that line in the sand and saying, man, listen, it 378 00:21:33,800 --> 00:21:35,960 is time for us to look at the past, to look at what's 379 00:21:35,960 --> 00:21:39,040 happening and then get out of it right here, right now. 380 00:21:39,760 --> 00:21:42,440 Amen. And so some of you here, guys, 381 00:21:42,440 --> 00:21:45,200 listen, I am not here to preach at you at all. 382 00:21:46,240 --> 00:21:49,160 I'm not here to try to bring some sort of guilt or shame or 383 00:21:49,160 --> 00:21:53,200 condemnation on you. I'm literally here to offer a a 384 00:21:53,200 --> 00:21:57,600 cup of freedom and a cup of forgiveness and a cup of grace 385 00:21:57,800 --> 00:22:00,480 that has only been purchased by the blood of Jesus. 386 00:22:01,560 --> 00:22:03,560 This is the cup that caught his blood. 387 00:22:03,720 --> 00:22:05,880 It is the cup that he offered at the Lord's Supper. 388 00:22:06,080 --> 00:22:08,680 It is the cup that he continually offers to us every 389 00:22:08,680 --> 00:22:10,800 single day. That when we surrender our 390 00:22:10,800 --> 00:22:14,160 hearts before him, when we confess what we've done and we 391 00:22:14,160 --> 00:22:17,800 open our hearts to him, he offers offers us a cup that will 392 00:22:17,800 --> 00:22:21,120 never run dry, that will always be there with forgiveness and 393 00:22:21,120 --> 00:22:22,960 grace. And when the Bible literally 394 00:22:22,960 --> 00:22:27,760 says that when we repent of our sins, we will be set free, 395 00:22:27,840 --> 00:22:30,720 forgiven, and have a new heart placed inside of us. 396 00:22:32,080 --> 00:22:34,720 And so this is a cup of grace and forgiveness, man. 397 00:22:34,720 --> 00:22:37,920 This is a cup of freedom. This is a cup where chains of 398 00:22:37,920 --> 00:22:41,160 addiction are broken. This is a cup where marriages 399 00:22:41,240 --> 00:22:44,480 are satisfied and completely redeemed and set free. 400 00:22:44,480 --> 00:22:48,200 This is a cup where divorces are canceled and and and marriages 401 00:22:48,200 --> 00:22:50,480 are reconciled. This is a cup where lost 402 00:22:50,480 --> 00:22:53,840 children run home to their families because they have 403 00:22:53,840 --> 00:22:55,680 received the grace and mercy of the King. 404 00:23:00,880 --> 00:23:04,520 And so guys, quit going to the table that just leads to 405 00:23:04,520 --> 00:23:08,520 destruction and guilt and shame. Quit going on Saturday night to 406 00:23:08,520 --> 00:23:11,800 stuff that makes you feel like crap the next morning, and then 407 00:23:11,800 --> 00:23:14,520 you wake up wanting and wishing that you hadn't done it. 408 00:23:14,680 --> 00:23:16,880 Like go to the cup that will never run dry. 409 00:23:17,040 --> 00:23:19,200 Go to the water that always satisfies. 410 00:23:19,360 --> 00:23:25,360 Go to the rock of Jesus, for instance. 411 00:23:25,360 --> 00:23:28,800 This is so important because we are living in a world where 412 00:23:28,800 --> 00:23:32,080 depression is worse than it's ever been, suicidal rates are 413 00:23:32,080 --> 00:23:35,000 higher than they've ever been. Addiction is higher than it's 414 00:23:35,000 --> 00:23:37,520 ever been. And it's because we continue to 415 00:23:37,520 --> 00:23:40,760 take the cup of demons rather than the cup of our Lord. 416 00:23:40,960 --> 00:23:43,000 And it has been lied to us about. 417 00:23:43,120 --> 00:23:45,600 It has been. Man, there's so many promises in 418 00:23:45,600 --> 00:23:47,840 that cup. There's so many wonderful 419 00:23:47,840 --> 00:23:50,840 feelings in that cup. There's so many pleasurable 420 00:23:50,840 --> 00:23:54,360 experiences in that cup. But then once you drink it, it 421 00:23:54,360 --> 00:23:57,280 is an addiction to your soul that you can no longer do 422 00:23:57,280 --> 00:23:59,360 without. And then all of a sudden it 423 00:23:59,360 --> 00:24:02,920 destroys who you are, rips away your identity, and leaves you 424 00:24:02,920 --> 00:24:04,520 broken and crumbled at the bottom. 425 00:24:06,320 --> 00:24:09,920 And here's the false narrative that will be preached to you. 426 00:24:10,920 --> 00:24:16,720 And here's the lie of Satan. Just like the cup of Jesus never 427 00:24:16,720 --> 00:24:20,520 runs dry, Satan will always have another lie to put in that cup 428 00:24:20,520 --> 00:24:24,720 for you to drink. Everything. 429 00:24:24,720 --> 00:24:29,600 He gives his counterfeit to what God promises and he's going to 430 00:24:29,600 --> 00:24:34,360 lie, cheat, and steal until he has destroyed every part of who 431 00:24:34,360 --> 00:24:38,120 you are and you no longer even feel like life is worth a living 432 00:24:38,120 --> 00:24:42,440 anymore. He uses the next example here 433 00:24:43,480 --> 00:24:46,840 verse 9. We should not test Christ as 434 00:24:46,840 --> 00:24:49,400 some of them did and were killed by snakes. 435 00:24:49,600 --> 00:24:52,640 And don't grumble as some of them did and were killed by the 436 00:24:52,640 --> 00:24:55,160 destroying Angel. Listen, this is what he's 437 00:24:55,160 --> 00:24:58,880 reminding us of is that over and over again, they would take the 438 00:24:58,880 --> 00:25:02,760 promises of God, say Gee, thanks God, and then grumble and 439 00:25:02,760 --> 00:25:06,720 complain about all the problems and issues they were having when 440 00:25:06,720 --> 00:25:09,680 in all reality, God was providing for them every single 441 00:25:09,680 --> 00:25:12,280 day. I want you to think about this 442 00:25:12,280 --> 00:25:14,560 guys. Do you know why he had a cloud 443 00:25:14,560 --> 00:25:16,200 over them in the day guiding them? 444 00:25:16,400 --> 00:25:19,120 It was not only just to guide them by cloud. 445 00:25:19,280 --> 00:25:22,920 It was always it was also to cover them from the harshness of 446 00:25:22,920 --> 00:25:26,720 the weather in the desert and give them shade and refreshing 447 00:25:27,480 --> 00:25:29,480 coolness of the day. Do you get what I'm saying? 448 00:25:29,880 --> 00:25:31,840 Like have you ever been out in the sun where it's just beating 449 00:25:31,840 --> 00:25:34,880 down on you and then a massive cloud covers it where man, 450 00:25:34,880 --> 00:25:38,160 there's there's like a breeze and it feels nice and cool every 451 00:25:38,160 --> 00:25:41,440 day in the desert. God was covering the sun to give 452 00:25:41,440 --> 00:25:45,440 them a, a, a sense of just coolness in the in the middle of 453 00:25:45,440 --> 00:25:47,600 the day. And then at night when it gets 454 00:25:47,600 --> 00:25:50,120 cold in the desert, if you've ever been out in a really hot 455 00:25:50,120 --> 00:25:52,680 place at night, the temperatures drop. 456 00:25:52,800 --> 00:25:54,800 He's guiding them by fire. Why? 457 00:25:55,000 --> 00:25:57,480 In order to warm their hearts and souls in the night. 458 00:25:57,600 --> 00:25:59,680 It's not just a guiding light, guys. 459 00:25:59,840 --> 00:26:02,040 It is to comfort them and warm their soul. 460 00:26:02,160 --> 00:26:06,240 We have a God that will give you cloud by day and fire by night. 461 00:26:06,320 --> 00:26:10,520 No matter how dark and and damp and difficult your soul is, He 462 00:26:10,520 --> 00:26:13,720 is willing to provide you refreshments and encouragement 463 00:26:13,920 --> 00:26:16,000 even in the midst of difficult circumstances. 464 00:26:18,600 --> 00:26:20,240 And this is what it says in verse 11. 465 00:26:21,200 --> 00:26:23,520 Actually, let me go back one verse. 466 00:26:23,520 --> 00:26:25,640 Actually, I don't have time. Let's let's go to verse 11. 467 00:26:27,040 --> 00:26:31,640 These things happen to them as examples and were written down 468 00:26:31,640 --> 00:26:39,320 as warnings for us. OK, It's a warning on whom the 469 00:26:39,320 --> 00:26:41,440 culmination of the ages has come. 470 00:26:41,960 --> 00:26:45,000 So if you think you're standing firm, listen to this warning 471 00:26:45,000 --> 00:26:47,200 from Paul. If you think you're doing great, 472 00:26:47,320 --> 00:26:49,840 if you think you're right in the middle of God's plan, if you 473 00:26:49,840 --> 00:26:53,080 think that you're never going to fall, take heed. 474 00:26:55,920 --> 00:27:02,120 Be careful that you don't fall. No temptation has overtaken you 475 00:27:02,120 --> 00:27:03,600 except what is common to mankind. 476 00:27:04,120 --> 00:27:07,200 But God is faithful and He'll not let you be tempted beyond 477 00:27:07,200 --> 00:27:11,200 what you can bear. Listen, this is a warning for 478 00:27:11,200 --> 00:27:14,400 each and every one of us. There are seasons of our life 479 00:27:14,840 --> 00:27:17,800 where we think that nothing is going to happen. 480 00:27:18,000 --> 00:27:19,760 No problem is going to come our way. 481 00:27:20,080 --> 00:27:22,760 No issue is going to happen. We're we're doing our quiet 482 00:27:22,760 --> 00:27:25,680 time, we're praying. And all of a sudden pride begins 483 00:27:25,680 --> 00:27:28,240 to seep in our soul. And we think, you know what, I 484 00:27:28,240 --> 00:27:30,960 can handle this. This temptation is no big deal. 485 00:27:31,200 --> 00:27:35,440 And so rather than really taking it seriously and going hard 486 00:27:35,440 --> 00:27:38,600 after the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, we begin to flirt with 487 00:27:38,600 --> 00:27:41,840 the cup of of the demons, thinking that it may satisfy or 488 00:27:41,840 --> 00:27:44,760 we may feel good for a moments and we think we can handle the 489 00:27:44,760 --> 00:27:48,240 temptation. And pretty soon it snags us and 490 00:27:48,240 --> 00:27:50,920 rips us back down into brokenness. 491 00:27:51,440 --> 00:27:53,160 This reminds me of my very first sermon. 492 00:27:53,160 --> 00:27:55,560 Guys, it was terrible. I was 13 years old. 493 00:27:55,840 --> 00:27:58,680 I literally had a big stick with a rat on the end of it. 494 00:27:59,120 --> 00:28:01,960 And I preached on 1st Corinthians 1013 and I had a big 495 00:28:01,960 --> 00:28:05,560 rat trap on stage and I said Satan will tempt to you and you 496 00:28:05,560 --> 00:28:07,000 he'll want you to get the cheese. 497 00:28:07,160 --> 00:28:09,920 And then bam. And this rat trap snapped. 498 00:28:10,120 --> 00:28:11,840 And that was literally my entire sermon. 499 00:28:11,880 --> 00:28:15,040 That was it. I was supposed to preach for 20 500 00:28:15,040 --> 00:28:17,360 minutes. I was done in like 3, maybe 501 00:28:17,360 --> 00:28:21,520 five. OK, And I was done, but the 502 00:28:21,520 --> 00:28:25,360 image is still true, right? It's like Satan is going to lie 503 00:28:25,360 --> 00:28:29,600 to you about what the Cup offers and he's going to give you just 504 00:28:29,600 --> 00:28:33,640 enough to think, I'm OK, I can handle this, it's not that big 505 00:28:33,640 --> 00:28:36,240 of a deal. And then he drags you in in 506 00:28:36,240 --> 00:28:39,240 order to compromise your heart and your soul. 507 00:28:40,400 --> 00:28:41,760 Will you throw me that shirt please? 508 00:28:41,880 --> 00:28:43,560 I'm going to end with a quick story, guys. 509 00:28:47,080 --> 00:28:53,400 Listen in the 1980s there was a a bridge in Tampa FL. 510 00:28:54,160 --> 00:28:56,120 I forget what the bridge is called if anyone knows that you 511 00:28:56,120 --> 00:28:58,400 can yell it out. It's like the sun, sunshine 512 00:28:58,400 --> 00:29:02,280 something bridge. It's literally 5 miles long. 513 00:29:02,360 --> 00:29:06,400 OK, it is massive over the Bay and Tampa and there was a guy 514 00:29:06,400 --> 00:29:10,520 that woke up 1 morning and he loved to ride his motorcycle up 515 00:29:10,520 --> 00:29:13,920 to that bridge, get right in the middle of it and then just kind 516 00:29:13,920 --> 00:29:16,400 of get off of his bike, off on the shoulder and just look out 517 00:29:16,400 --> 00:29:18,480 over the water. It was the most peaceful place 518 00:29:18,480 --> 00:29:21,120 he could go. And so one morning he got up, he 519 00:29:21,120 --> 00:29:24,240 had a day off, he got on his motorcycle all by himself. 520 00:29:24,240 --> 00:29:27,560 His wife had other plans and he just wanted to go out there and 521 00:29:27,560 --> 00:29:29,680 enjoy the sunshine and look out over the water. 522 00:29:30,440 --> 00:29:33,160 So when he got there, he pulled off like he always does, got on 523 00:29:33,160 --> 00:29:36,440 the shoulder, stepped off of his bike and begin to look out over 524 00:29:36,440 --> 00:29:38,960 the water. His eyes began to go to the 525 00:29:38,960 --> 00:29:41,840 oncoming traffic, which was on the other side of the bridge. 526 00:29:42,000 --> 00:29:44,640 There's a there's a huge break in the middle of the bridge, so 527 00:29:44,640 --> 00:29:47,360 one side of the bridge goes this way, the other comes that way, 528 00:29:47,360 --> 00:29:49,160 but there's no way to get from one to the other. 529 00:29:49,960 --> 00:29:52,920 He sees the car coming and all of a sudden the car disappeared. 530 00:29:53,360 --> 00:29:56,000 It was gone. And he was like, what just 531 00:29:56,000 --> 00:29:57,600 happened? Like, is there a portal? 532 00:29:57,600 --> 00:30:00,000 Like what's going on? And so we ran over to the other 533 00:30:00,000 --> 00:30:03,480 side, got up on the ledge and looked over and there was a 534 00:30:03,480 --> 00:30:05,600 massive hole in the middle of the bridge. 535 00:30:05,600 --> 00:30:07,800 And the car literally went off into the water. 536 00:30:08,680 --> 00:30:12,160 What had happened was a massive barge had accidentally bumped 537 00:30:12,320 --> 00:30:16,360 the pillar of the of the bridge and it made an entirely huge 538 00:30:16,360 --> 00:30:19,200 hole that nobody could see when they were coming across it. 539 00:30:20,280 --> 00:30:23,040 And so we started jumping up and down screaming and nobody could 540 00:30:23,040 --> 00:30:25,880 hear him or see him. The the bridge was 5 miles long. 541 00:30:25,880 --> 00:30:28,240 He had no time to get on his bike and go all the way around 542 00:30:28,240 --> 00:30:30,440 to try to warn people. He didn't know what to do. 543 00:30:30,760 --> 00:30:32,680 Another car came and drove off the ledge. 544 00:30:32,840 --> 00:30:34,600 Another car came, drove off the ledge. 545 00:30:34,840 --> 00:30:37,040 He saw a massive semi truck coming. 546 00:30:37,440 --> 00:30:40,560 He ran to his bike and he always kept an extra shirt in case he 547 00:30:40,560 --> 00:30:43,480 got sweaty. And just so happened that day, 548 00:30:43,600 --> 00:30:47,400 he put a red shirt in his bag and he ran over to the edge of 549 00:30:47,400 --> 00:30:51,040 the of the of the of the bridge and started jumping up and down 550 00:30:51,040 --> 00:30:54,240 waving the shirt and basically saying listen, there is danger 551 00:30:54,240 --> 00:30:57,200 ahead, you need to stop as quickly as you can. 552 00:30:57,920 --> 00:31:01,440 And by God's grace, because the semi was sitting up quite a bit 553 00:31:01,440 --> 00:31:04,480 higher than the rest of the cars, he saw the guy with the 554 00:31:04,480 --> 00:31:08,440 shirt saw the hole in the ground, slammed on his brakes. 555 00:31:08,680 --> 00:31:13,000 The truck kind of came to a tee and and and slid to a stop 556 00:31:13,000 --> 00:31:17,080 literally blocking the whole Rd. so that no other car could come 557 00:31:17,080 --> 00:31:20,560 through. This guy by jumping up and down 558 00:31:20,560 --> 00:31:25,000 waving his shirts saved literally hundreds of lives. 559 00:31:25,200 --> 00:31:29,240 Right behind the semi was a school bus fully loaded with 560 00:31:29,240 --> 00:31:33,920 kids and they saved the school bus, saved the car, saved the 561 00:31:33,920 --> 00:31:35,640 bus. Like literally saved hundreds of 562 00:31:35,640 --> 00:31:38,240 people because this guy just so happened to be in the right 563 00:31:38,240 --> 00:31:40,800 place at the right time jumping up and down. 564 00:31:40,880 --> 00:31:43,240 Why at the end of the sermon am I telling you the story? 565 00:31:43,880 --> 00:31:48,520 Listen, if I can be anything for you today, it is going to be a 566 00:31:48,520 --> 00:31:52,280 man jumping up and down on the stage raising a red shirt 567 00:31:52,280 --> 00:31:55,080 saying, listen, the enemy is lying to you. 568 00:31:55,240 --> 00:31:56,920 You're going in the wrong direction. 569 00:31:57,040 --> 00:32:00,240 It's time to take the cup that Christ is offering so that it 570 00:32:00,240 --> 00:32:03,520 doesn't lead you to destruction that Satan hopes that you will 571 00:32:03,520 --> 00:32:06,400 have. We have got to be people. 572 00:32:06,400 --> 00:32:08,960 And listen, if you're already on the right path, dude, you got to 573 00:32:08,960 --> 00:32:12,320 pick up the red shirt and warn as many other people as possible 574 00:32:12,440 --> 00:32:14,400 so that we spend eternity with Jesus. 575 00:32:15,520 --> 00:32:20,760 Amen. And so today, hear me out very 576 00:32:20,760 --> 00:32:24,120 clearly, friends, you are being offered every moment of your 577 00:32:24,120 --> 00:32:27,960 life, every day of your life, two cups and two tables. 578 00:32:28,120 --> 00:32:31,280 And you need to decide today that the father is literally 579 00:32:31,280 --> 00:32:34,160 drawing that line in the sand with the staff. 580 00:32:34,160 --> 00:32:37,240 And he's asking you, are you going to be on my side? 581 00:32:37,400 --> 00:32:40,520 Are you going to accept the cup that I'm offering or you can 582 00:32:40,560 --> 00:32:43,040 going to continue to drink the cup of poison. 583 00:32:43,160 --> 00:32:46,320 He's waving the red shirt and saying, listen, you're going the 584 00:32:46,320 --> 00:32:49,760 wrong way. You just need to turn around and 585 00:32:49,760 --> 00:32:52,640 come back to me. And here's the beautiful image 586 00:32:52,640 --> 00:32:55,520 of the gospel, friends. No matter how far you've run in 587 00:32:55,520 --> 00:32:59,360 the wrong direction, the moment you turn around, the Father is 588 00:32:59,360 --> 00:33:02,120 standing right there in front of you because he's been chasing 589 00:33:02,120 --> 00:33:06,000 you the entire time. And so it's time for us to turn 590 00:33:06,000 --> 00:33:08,480 around and give him all that we have. 591 00:33:08,800 --> 00:33:12,520 Pick up his cup, drink it with all you got every day, and let's 592 00:33:12,520 --> 00:33:16,640 give our lives back to the King of Kings and destroy the idols 593 00:33:16,840 --> 00:33:19,280 in our hearts. And so we're going to move to a 594 00:33:19,280 --> 00:33:28,880 time of decision now. What a good word. 595 00:33:29,120 --> 00:33:32,040 And so if you're in this room or you're watching online, I'm just 596 00:33:32,040 --> 00:33:33,280 going to ask you a couple questions. 597 00:33:33,280 --> 00:33:35,200 The first one is which cup are you drinking from? 598 00:33:36,120 --> 00:33:38,280 And if you're here today and you're drinking from the wrong 599 00:33:38,280 --> 00:33:43,080 cup, it's a good day to put it down and drink from the cup that 600 00:33:43,080 --> 00:33:47,760 will never run dry. And you can start that today. 601 00:33:48,440 --> 00:33:53,840 I got a phone call at about 11:00 today saying, hey, we go 602 00:33:53,840 --> 00:33:58,520 to the McComb campus. My grandpa is in the hospital. 603 00:33:58,760 --> 00:34:00,320 Would you please come meet with us? 604 00:34:00,320 --> 00:34:05,400 He's in ICU. And I just had a really tight 605 00:34:05,400 --> 00:34:08,760 window. And I was like, I'm going to, 606 00:34:08,760 --> 00:34:11,560 I'll be there. I show up the hoses and 607 00:34:11,560 --> 00:34:17,239 Everything Everywhere and I got a sense of why they wanted me 608 00:34:17,239 --> 00:34:21,239 there. Guy's 84 years old, doesn't have 609 00:34:21,239 --> 00:34:24,719 a lot of time left on the clock. This morning when he woke up, he 610 00:34:24,719 --> 00:34:27,960 was kind of motion of the family unplugged me. 611 00:34:28,760 --> 00:34:32,760 He wants to go, but you could tell that the family, they need 612 00:34:32,760 --> 00:34:37,719 some answers. And so I'm trying to figure out 613 00:34:37,719 --> 00:34:42,120 how I'm bold to be in that moment because. 614 00:34:42,440 --> 00:34:50,040 And so I asked the, you know, what's his favorite Bible verse 615 00:34:50,040 --> 00:34:52,800 to his wife of 40 some years? And she goes, I'm not sure. 616 00:34:53,800 --> 00:34:55,480 And I go, do you did you go to church? 617 00:34:55,520 --> 00:34:57,920 Well, my grandson wants me to come, wants us to come to 618 00:34:57,920 --> 00:35:03,440 church. So I realized that I'm, I'm 619 00:35:03,440 --> 00:35:06,080 sitting in a place where they don't know where grandpa's 620 00:35:06,080 --> 00:35:13,480 going. And I just talked as loud as I 621 00:35:13,480 --> 00:35:16,800 could without destroying the whole ICU with my voice. 622 00:35:16,800 --> 00:35:22,280 And I just said, hey there, I need you to know there's some 623 00:35:22,280 --> 00:35:25,880 things that I believe. I believe that God has really 624 00:35:25,880 --> 00:35:27,040 created you. He loves you. 625 00:35:27,200 --> 00:35:30,800 He cares for you so much so that he sent his son to die on the 626 00:35:30,800 --> 00:35:33,320 cross to pay sins for all the things that we've done wrong so 627 00:35:33,320 --> 00:35:36,760 that we, we could be made right. And I just got to know, do you 628 00:35:36,760 --> 00:35:41,200 believe in God? He gave a thumbs up and I said, 629 00:35:41,200 --> 00:35:44,000 do you believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for your sins 630 00:35:44,000 --> 00:35:45,640 and my sins? He gave a thumbs up. 631 00:35:46,520 --> 00:35:48,600 I go, do you believe that he is your Lord and Savior? 632 00:35:50,320 --> 00:35:53,600 He gave a thumbs up and I said, then you don't have anything to 633 00:35:53,600 --> 00:35:59,080 worry about. And if you're here today and you 634 00:35:59,080 --> 00:36:03,440 can't answer those questions the right way, don't leave here 635 00:36:03,440 --> 00:36:06,160 until you can. And in just a few moments, the 636 00:36:06,160 --> 00:36:08,520 people around you are going to stand and sing, and some of them 637 00:36:08,520 --> 00:36:10,000 are going to come to the steps and pray. 638 00:36:10,000 --> 00:36:13,040 And I want to encourage you if you're watching online, to say, 639 00:36:13,040 --> 00:36:15,080 hey, I need to talk to somebody in the chatter. 640 00:36:15,280 --> 00:36:17,240 Walk right over there underneath that screen next to the 641 00:36:17,240 --> 00:36:20,160 baptistry and start getting some of the questions answered that 642 00:36:20,160 --> 00:36:22,480 you need to answer. To the rest of you in the room, 643 00:36:23,840 --> 00:36:27,520 to those of you who call yourself a Christian, maybe it's 644 00:36:27,520 --> 00:36:29,120 time for us to be honest and go, you know what? 645 00:36:29,120 --> 00:36:32,960 We're drinking from two cups. We know the right cup, but we 646 00:36:32,960 --> 00:36:38,440 keep sipping on the wrong one. Maybe today in an act of 647 00:36:38,440 --> 00:36:41,960 repentance, you just come down, get down your knees and say God 648 00:36:42,360 --> 00:36:48,880 remove the desire for the bad cup, removing me the desire for 649 00:36:48,880 --> 00:36:53,680 the wrong cup. And I also want to say this, the 650 00:36:53,680 --> 00:36:58,760 guy, and if you're watching, I mean no shame by this, but the 651 00:36:58,760 --> 00:37:03,120 guy who's probably going to go to be with the Lord very soon on 652 00:37:03,120 --> 00:37:07,320 some level believes the gospel but did a really bad job of 653 00:37:07,320 --> 00:37:11,960 sharing it. He never gets the honor of 654 00:37:11,960 --> 00:37:14,360 telling somebody about what it means to have an intimate 655 00:37:14,360 --> 00:37:16,320 personal relationship with Jesus Christ. 656 00:37:16,840 --> 00:37:18,920 He's not going to get to do what you and I are going to get to 657 00:37:18,920 --> 00:37:20,320 do. God willing, when we wake up 658 00:37:20,320 --> 00:37:24,360 tomorrow, we get to carry the red shirt and walk into our 659 00:37:24,360 --> 00:37:26,320 workplace and walk into our home going. 660 00:37:26,320 --> 00:37:32,080 There is hope. There's a chance there's still 661 00:37:32,080 --> 00:37:36,160 time, and you and I need to have hearts that are ready to steward 662 00:37:36,160 --> 00:37:38,480 those moments well. Would you stand with me? 663 00:37:41,640 --> 00:37:46,360 Heavenly Father, change our affections through the power of 664 00:37:46,360 --> 00:37:50,120 Your Holy Spirit. Guide us and direct us into the 665 00:37:50,120 --> 00:37:56,680 things that are of you. Remove in us the desire for sin, 666 00:37:56,680 --> 00:38:02,640 for the taste of the flesh. Help us to be people that yearn 667 00:38:02,640 --> 00:38:05,680 for you, that desire you, that are devoted to you. 668 00:38:08,320 --> 00:38:15,640 God help us to go with purpose everywhere we go, recognizing 669 00:38:15,640 --> 00:38:17,920 that eternity hangs in the balance. 670 00:38:19,520 --> 00:38:23,520 God help us to drink from your cup and from your cup only in 671 00:38:23,520 --> 00:38:25,200 your name I pray. Amen.