An Excellent Life - Part 4
by Kevin Allen
August 27, 2023 · Centerpointe Apostolic Church (Murfreesboro, TN)
Kind: sermon
Scripture: Malachi 3:13-15, Psalms 1:1-6, Psalms 73, Psalms 73:3-8, Psalms 73:13, Proverbs 14:12, Malachi 4:1, Malachi 4:2-3

Source: https://acts238.life/repository/sermons/kevin-allen--an-excellent-life-part-4
Published by Acts 2:38 Life from the sermon transcript on that page.
Free to copy and share with attribution.

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man, whether we're going to be wrapping up a series I started at the beginning of this month, talking about living an excellent life. I believe that God calls each and every one of us to live an excellent life. Now, it's easy to get sidetracked, and it's easy to get distracted. We're all guilty of it. Every one of us have been guilty, one time one another, being a little distracted or a little caught off guard sometimes because maybe we wasn't paying full attention.

But what I've been doing is going to the Book of Malachi — the last book in the Old Testament — and I've been showing you how this Prophet, as he was being moved on by God's spirit, begins to — to recall back and bring back to remembrance how things ought to be. That very first Sunday, I talked about how that we should not bring blemished lambs — we should not bring blemished worship into the house of God; that we should show up with the attitude of the psalmist that said, "I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord." That when I enter into his courts, I'm going to have praise in my heart, praise in my mouth, praising my mind, because he is worthy. He is a good god. He is an excellent God, and I want to bring my best.

And then we talked about how that sometimes we unintentionally can treat our relationships with less than what we should; that he is a God who believes in having a covenant with you and I, and that we should take that covenant seriously, because God keeps his covenants. He keeps his promises. He's — he's a promise-keeping, covenant keeping God. Are you thankful for that? I'm thankful that he keeps his word. I may not always keep my word. You may not keep your word. But he always keeps his word. I can build my life on that.

Then I talked about last Sunday how that — that if we're going to give our best for God, that also includes our wallet. When God sanctified you, he sanctified your wallet too. Now, it's important to bring the first fruits into the house of God; that we say, "God, I — I'm gonna — I'm gonna — I'm gonna give first to you, before I do anything else in my life. I want to give first to you." And then God will take that — and it's the one place in the scripture where God basically, in — in modern language, says, "I dare you to try me in this. Try me in this, and see if I want to open up the windows of heaven." And that was last Sunday.

And today, as we — we bring this to close, I want to continue and try to wrap up living this excellent life. Now, imagine with me for just a minute. I know this — this may stretch your — your mind just a little bit, but it's — just go with me for — for about two minutes, as I lay this story out here at the beginning. That if I would have pulled into the parking lot just before church time today — which would not have been the case, because normally I get here a little bit before 5 a.m. And I know you don't — it's okay. Some of us are committed. I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding. If I pulled in right before church, and — and as I pulled in, there was a couple of hundred of you just out in the front of the church, out there, and you had — you had picket signs up, you know, and you were kind of marching around, and there was some — some chanting going on. And as I pulled in and took my parking spot over here, and I got out of the car, and I walked around just to see, "Hey, what's going on?" And as I pulled in the parking lot, I — I could hear you — hear you making these statements. It's like: "You can't count on God." "That if you — if you put your faith and trust in him, you're going to come in last." Or — or — "Or God is someone who always neglects his kids." Or, "Following God doesn't pan out and pay." And imagine if — if Pastor would have pulled up, and that would have been you guys that have been out there protesting, and been out there picketing, and that would have been your rally cry, is that — that living for God really doesn't benefit you at all.

Now, can you imagine how that would really bother me? How that would upset me? How I would be like, "What are you guys doing? Like, you're here. You're here at the church doing this. Like, what's going on? How have I failed you? And can you even begin to tell me how it is that God has failed you?" And why you may think that I'm stretching to get that example — I want to show you in the Book of Malachi that there was a group of people who claimed to be God-fearing people, but they gathered around one day, and they came up with some pretty terrible words. Malachi chapter 3. I'm going to read you from the New Living Translation today, because I believe it puts it in our language that we can grab our — or just grasp our minds around. So listen to this, Malachi 3, verse 13: "You have said terrible things about me, says the Lord. But you say, What do you mean? What have we said against you? You have said, What's the use of serving God? What have we gained by obeying his commands, or by trying to show the Lord of Heaven's armies that we are sorry for our sins?" Listen to this, verse 15: "From now on we will call the Arrogant blessed, for those who do evil get rich, and those who dare God to punish them suffer no harm." Number you. But that seems a little harsh, doesn't it? Seems like the picture I was painting of — of — of what was taking place outside the church: that people are saying, "It just doesn't work, trying to live for God." In fact, it's quite the opposite: that the harder you try to not live for God, the more blessed life that you have. This — this is what's going on, is, as Malachi's writing these words, he's trying to bring out the point of: God's not happy. As we're here reading this book — what I've been trying to show all of us is that Malachi is trying to bring us back to the standard of excellent living that God desires in our life, both spiritually, relationally, financially, and yes, morally. We are to live excellent lives.

Now, before I tell you how Malachi responds to the crowd, let's just be honest for just a minute, okay? Because I believe the house of God is a great place to be honest. Has there ever been a moment — now, think with me. I'm not going to ask you to raise your hands. I'm not going to ask you to physically acknowledge this question at all. I just want you to think with me for just a minute. Has there ever been a moment in your life at all where you've maybe had that thought: "Is it really benefiting me?" Has there ever been a moment in your life when you thought about what you were committing yourself to, and the things that you were separating yourself from — and as you looked around your environment, as you looked around the world you were living in, and you — and you ask yourself maybe a similar question like Malachi is pending about this situation — you ever thought, "Why does it even matter? It seems like everybody else seems to get away and live whatever life they want, and yet they seemingly are still blessed. Why does it matter that I continue to do what I do?" And thank you for honest — we probably, in all, one way or another, to — to some degree or another, have maybe — maybe — maybe just given that thought just a moment in our mind. We're human beings, all of us wrapped in flesh, and sometimes we have an interesting way of determining and deciding inside ourselves what is and what is not fair — what we feel like is fair, and what — we feel like is not fair, based off of how we feel and what we observe in our life.

When I was growing up, there was a term that I still think gets used today, but maybe — maybe it doesn't quite have the intensity that it did in my day. Now, I was born in the mid 70s, spend my elementary years in the — in the 80s, high school in the late 80s, early 90s, and graduated. So this term — it had a real negative connotation with it. No one ever wanted to have this term placed upon them. No — no real person that thought about it — no one ever wanted to be called a nerd. Nobody wanted to be a nerd. Now, a nerd — that actually, if you study — I know sometimes I like finding word origins — first time that we have any record of the word nerd being used was in a Dr. Seuss illustration, 1950, and Dr. Seuss: "As if I ran the zoo, and then just to show them, I'll sail to — to Catrue, and bring back a Cutch and a Prep and a Poo, and a Nurkal and a Nerd, and a Seersucker too." I don't know about you, but I wouldn't want to be any of those things. None of those things are like, "Hey, I like that word. I want that applied to my life."

But I remember being in junior high and talking about people that were nerds. "You want to be — you want to be a nerd?" Nerds were wide-eyed do-gooders who followed every rule and regulation of the T, and they expected to be rewarded for their — for their — for their good merits and — and deeds. They — they wanted to earn badges, and they were eager to display. The nerds were the kind of people: at the speed limit 65, they do 62, just in case there's a stiff tailwind that gets behind them. They're the kind of people that, when they have 11 items, they won't get in the 10 items or less line, and they'll proudly stand waiting, with a little bit of moral superiority, as they look down their nose at everybody else. You know what I'm talking about: nerds. Now, some of you are like, "Well, wait a minute, Pastor Kevin, I'm kind of identifying where you are, huh?" There'll be an altar call in a minute, and you can confess.

My growing up years, I would have done anything to not be called a nerd. In fact, I would go to great lengths to prove my — my — my — my — my lack of nerdiness: breaking the rules, and making sure that no one ever thought that I was going to be obedient, because I didn't want to be called a nerd. In fact, I remember doing these things. But at 19 years old, I accepted a call of God that he had had on my life, and I started reading the scriptures, and spending time praying and meditating, and asking God what did he truly desire my life. And begin to read things like Psalms 1, that said: "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the council of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor setteth in the seed of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law that he dedicate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the — by the river's water, that bringeth forth its fruit in this season. His leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. The ungodly are not so, but they are like chaff for the Wind Drive with the way. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand for the Judgment, nor the sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish."

Because I begin to read these things, and begin to realize that maybe it does pay to be a nerd. Maybe it's beneficial if I'm actually obedient to what the word of God says in my life. As I begin to try to live these things out, and — and make the applications in my life, make the changes in the areas where I knew I was lacking, or I knew I was less than, I began to see that God's hand was upon my life, and his favor was there. That even though it seemed to fight my very flesh, but if I would learn to yield to what the spirit was wanting me to do, there was — there was benefits that came along the way. What I realized was: the more obedient I became, the closer I felt to him. There was something about making this application in my life.

But then, as I lived this thing called life — and the longer I lived, the more questions I had that come along with the subject matter — I started to wonder: if following God completely would bring his promises in great favor and bless in my life, then why are there so many people out here living — and living an immoral life, doing the wrong, going directly in the opposite way that God's wanting them to do — but yet they seem to have blessing and favor in their life? And I questioned what was going on. Why are so many unmoral people succeeding, or at least appearing to be?

There's a Gruen my years: I began to see that there were business people who — who lied on their books, and lied to their competitors, who over promised, who under delivered — yet they seem to be profitable year after year. How is this possible? A new husbands that cheated on their wives, and wives that cheated on their husbands — but yet it seemed like everything was good, and they had perfect kids, and everything in life to see me put together. How is this possible? What's going on? It didn't appear to me like they were paying for their misbehavior. And it began to confuse me, and began to question: "What's going on, God? How is this possible? When I read what I'm supposed to do, and I'm trying my best to live this life, but there's times it feels like I'm the one struggling, and everybody else is doing anything they want to do — they seem to appear to just have life easy." And I know I can't be the only one who's had these kind of thoughts living for God. Like, "God, how is it — here we go again — and God, how is it fair? How is it fair? Because it just seems like I'm having to give up so much to get so little." I know, because there's a lot of us that struggle with this.

It was one day that I was reading Psalm 73. And again, I'm gonna read it to you today from the New Living. And just listen to these words, as the psalmist says, verse number three: "For our Envy the Proud, when I saw them prosper despite their wickedness. They seem to live such painless lives. Their bodies are so healthy and strong. They don't have troubles like other people. They're not plagued with problems like everyone else. They wear pride like jeweled necklace, and clothe themselves with cruelty. These fat cats have everything their hearts could ever wish for. They scoff and speak only evil, and in their pride they seek to crush others." And he goes on for several more verses. And then we get to verse number 13. It says: "Did I keep my heart pure for nothing? That I keep myself innocent for no reason?" It doesn't seem to pay. It seems like what I have thought was supposed to be the right thing to do — yet I look around me, and those who pay no attention to you, God — those who — who, matter of fact, seem to call you out — yet they seem to have blessed lives. "God, is at all for not? Is it all for nothing?" This began to bother the psalmist so much that he says, later on in Psalm 7 3, that he tried to think about this, and it became worrisome to he, until finally he went into the sanctuary of God. Oh, there was something about coming into the presence of God, that all of a sudden give him clarity in his mind, and in — his spirit, it was there in the presence of God that he was revealed two principles to him. And it's these two principles I want to wrap this series up on: how we can live an excellent life. There's the principle of the Slippery Rock, and there's the principle of the Final Destination. And it's these two things I want to spend just the next couple of minutes today wrapping this up.

First of all, there's a — there's the principle of the Slippery Rock. I remember several years ago — before Chastity and I had our daughters — who we went with another couple in the church, when we went up to Fall Creek Falls. You're already laughing; you know what the story I said. We get up there, and — and it was — I do remember it was the fall time of year. It was a little cooler outside — not — not completely cold, but it was cooler. I remember I had on a kind of a — a checkered shirt, button-up shirt. And for whatever reason that day, I was wearing khaki pants. I never wear khaki pants, unless it's mandated that I wear khaki pants. But for whatever reason that day, I got up and put khaki pants on. As we go to Fall Creek Falls, we were there in some of the shallows. We were looking at the leaves, and we were just — there was four of us, and we were having a little picnic. And for whatever reason, we decided we were gonna go over to the creek and just kind of dip our toes in the water. Now, if you've been up there, even in the summertime when it's hot, the water's pretty cool. But this fall afternoon, I remember, you know, going — I kind of rolled my khaki pants up just a little bit. And I remember, you know, holding my shoes, set them over. I kind of walk out in the water just a little bit, and it was shallow. It was a shallow spot there. I remember walking out. I was going across. I was kind of stepping on these little moss covered rocks, you know. I remember thinking, man, that's — you know, trying to make my way through there. And you guys know where this is going, don't you? So I get out there, and you know me, being me — I didn't stay by the water's edge. No, I weighed on out there a little further, get on out in the middle. So I turned around to my wife and company, and I say, "You guys be careful. These rocks are slick of snot." I remember saying those exact words. Look, it's not — I didn't know more than get snot out of my mouth, flew — pride comes before fall. In my superior way of thinking — me going to warn the rest — I fell. Because here's a life principle: if you stand on a slippery rock long enough, you will fall. You may — may make it for a little while. You may be able to grip it for a little while. But that's the principle of the Slippery Rock.

And in my — in my life — I'm 47 years old — it's only been the last about 20 years, and I can honestly say that I've turned the corner and understanding this Slippery Rock principle. Living a while, you see that those who seemingly are getting away with things are not really getting away with things. As I've heard the great prophet Jason Huckabee say: "Time is a tattletale." Give it enough time, the true — the truth gets revealed. And some of those folks in my early walk with God — and as I was starting my ministry, even some of those that were in the ministry with me, who — who I was realizing was — was taking shortcuts, and not always doing the things they were supposed to do — yet they seem to always have an open door to minister, and they seem to always be effective in what was going on, and it seemed like God was using them in these mighty ways. And I'm in the background, looking around, saying, "God, I'm trying my best to do this, but they're not doing that, and yet you're using them. And it seems like they're being effective, and all this is going on." And I'm in the struggle with this out of myself. I remember one time specifically God speaking to me, that — that when I was asking that question — "God, why are you allowing them to be used?" — he said, "I use Balaam's riding partner one time too." For those of you who don't know, Baylor's riding partner was a donkey. The biblical word is a little more harsh. I remember getting up from prayer feeling a little bit better that day.

See, here's — here's what I know: God's purpose is always going to be done. But I'm talking about a life lived in an excellent way. It's impossible to live an excellent life and stand on slippery rocks. You can't build a life on that. Oh, you may get one or two okay, but it's not something that you can sustain. People that I know that have lived those ways, and lived apart from God's commands — that they seemingly, over time, got exposed, one after another. Many — many losing what seemed to be like everything. In my mind, all the stuff that I thought was important went away. Because God's principles are true. Slippery rocks are not something you can build a life on. Stay away from those moss-covered stepping stones. Return back to what you know that is right. Get back to a moral high ground, and say, "God, no more cutting the corners in my life — not in any area."

Many of you — and this is what's the — the sad truth about this is: so many of you know the exact areas in your life where you're cutting corners right now. You know the areas where you're not living the way you're supposed to be living. The areas where you're coming up a little bit short. Nobody else may know about it. You may be living in such a way that you're keeping it all secret. But you know the areas where you're selling yourself short. More importantly, God knows the areas where you're selling yourself short. He knows the places where you're standing on the slippery rocks. And I'm trying to be a call out today to the church, to tell you: even if it appears like nothing's ever going to happen to you, you can only stand on a slippery rock so long. Eventually the current will change. Eventually they'll come a strong wind. Eventually there'll be something that will topple you over. And because you're not built on something that is sure and never changes, you will fall over, my friend.

Far too many people I know, who I've spent time with over my years of ministry — as I begin to ask them, "How did you get here?" — most of them said, "I don't know how it got this far. I could never have imagined I would have let myself go this far." That's what usually happens, is it's just one little piece at a time — one little — one little stone at a time — and it ends up all falling apart. Well, where are you cutting corners in your life? Where are you being less than where you're supposed to be? For some of you, it's probably financially. For some of you, it's relationally. For some of you, it's sexually. For some of you, it's pride, or — or the stuff at work. For some of you, you're working too much; you're hiding in work. For some of you, it's addictions — it's alcohol, it's drugs. Whatever it is — whatever it is — some of you is viewing stuff on — on the online, you know you're not supposed to be viewing, and you think you got under control. You don't have it under control. I don't care how well you think you're keeping it hit; at some point it will cause you to fall. You cannot build a life on a slippery rock.

When you're walking on the slippery stones — the wise man wrote about this twice in the Book of Proverbs. Proverbs 14 12: "There's a way that seems right to man, but end is the way of death." You know, when you're on the slippery slones, you know it. You know it — You know where you are today. I think, "Pastor Kevin, you're being a little harsh." I am. I'm sticking here for a minute, because I feel in my spirit some of you are not taking this serious enough. This thing that you've been dealing with for years — for years, for years, for years. You've been dealing with this for years. You've kept it secret for years. You've told yourself, "I can control it," for years. You've lived a lie. It's a slippery stone. I promise you, it's going to take you down. And when it does, it always costs you more than you ever imagined it would cost you. What slippery stone are you standing on today? A slippery stone have you made peace with, and you're just okay? I promise you, it's going to cost you, and it's a high price to pay.

Get off the slippery stones. Go back to where you know you need to be. Returned back to him. Return back to his ways. Return back to his kingdom. Return back to his work. Take God's hand. Walk towards a moral excellent way, with his help and his power. Keep his hand on your hand. Keep your life clean. Don't wreck your life. Don't wreck your life. It's not worth it.

But there's also the Final Destination principle. In the Final Destination principle that I want to talk about, there's — the danger is not your secret misbehavior. With the slippery stones, that's different — I've talked about that already. The greatest danger is not that your secret misbehavior is going to be exposed and everybody's going to know what you did. No. The biggest danger is not that you go through a scandal, or embarrassment of bankruptcy, or even — even prison, for something wrong. The biggest danger is that you'll get away with your secret misbehavior, that no one else knows about, and you'll fool everybody, including yourself, and you'll take that secret sin all the way to the grave. Listen to me, please. Listen to these sobering words for the next couple of minutes. Don't keep your secrets so long that it becomes too late, because it's too late when you draw your last breath, if you haven't dealt with the secret.

The last chapter of Malachi is only four chapters, short little book, the last book there before there's — there's — there's all these years of silence and no open prophecy, all before the Messiah appears, right before the Gospels get in there. We have Malachi one last time crying out: "Don't be half-hearted in your worship. Don't be half committed in your relationships. Be sure you're committed with your finances." And he wraps up here, verse number one of chapter four, and says: "The Lord of Heaven's Army says: The day of judgment is coming." Listen to this: "Burning like a furnace. On that day, the arrogant and the wicked will be burned up like straw. They will be consumed, roots, branches, and all."

Nobody talks about the Rapture anymore. Nobody talks about the day of judgment anymore. Have you notice that, in Christianity? Nobody speaks about that. Everybody's like, "We don't like that stuff. This Preacher Man, preach me good. Let me feel happy about myself. Let me — let me feel all right. Let me just — let me just — let us leave this place, a little smile on my face." I would rather preach you the truth, as to put a smile on your face. I'd rather you leave this place knowing that I — I told you: you can't build a life on a slippery rock. You got to do something. You can't live with that secret. Even if nobody knows the secret of you, be careful what you do. There is a day of reckoning coming, on this final day, where a holy God settles all moral accounts. And you won't fool God, and you can't slip past him. He has seen every secret activity. He knows every thought. He knows your life's work. The Bible says there's coming today a final day, when all of us will stand and giving account of our choices before an absolutely holy God.

And Malachi's writing here, in his little book, in the way the Old Testament ends. And to me, it's a fascinating metaphor of his day, but it still — it still applies. Still applicable here in our moment, in our day: the same metaphor. He says — and he uses the metaphor of a brilliant bright son. This — this son — in the Middle Eastern time, there was mostly desert area climates that were over there, a lot like this past week in Tennessee, you know, where you feel like you're an oven all the time. He's using that and says there's a day coming. He — he, he's very creative, and he says: for those of you who lead immoral lives — and — and that's all of us, at one point or another — and those of you who made moral mistakes — and that's all of us, at one time or another — and if you ever put your faith in your trust in Jesus Christ, if you've asked him to forgive you, and if you've been born again, if you've been filled with his Spirit, ever since speaking in tongues — when you stand before God on that final day, what will happen is like what happens in militia son. It's going to be a beautiful thing, all right. That's there.

But if you have refused this — I'm gonna get — I'm gonna get to the goodness a minute — but if you refuse this, he says you're going to be burnt up. Be burnt up. See me, like some of y'all's front yards right now, some of your garden patches right now — we've neglected the water — it's going to be burnt all up. It gets reduced. It gets scorched. It gets eradicated. It's harsh metaphor. It's a reality. Malachi says: for those of you who've made moral mistakes and you haven't trusted God, on that final day, he has the final word. On that final day, he has the final word.

So what are you doing? What choices are you making? Why are you setting on those things? Why are you keeping the secret secret? He'll say to you then: "You want a distance from me. Throughout your whole life, you didn't want me to be a part of your life. You don't want to invite me into your moral choices. You don't give me permission to speak in your life. So, because you wanted to be apart from me, I'm going to let you be apart from me for all eternity."

To you and I — you and I — you can't fully comprehend this, okay? You can — this — this grace dispensation that we live in, whether you've wanted to acknowledge the presence of God — the presence of God is always around us. It's whether or not you tune into it or tap into it, but it's there. But — but hell is separation from that presence. I don't care how bad a day you've had; you've never had a day like that. You've never experienced that. You've never went through that. You may have went through a lot. You may have went through stuff that I can't even imagine. You may have faced stuff and abuse and circumstances that I can't get my mind around. But I promise you: you've never experienced a day without his presence, whether you tuned into it or not. You have never experienced that kind of day. But that's what happens. Malachi's talking about it. It's going to be — going to be burned up.

New Testament says, at one point, that when people realize that they've made a bad choices, they wind up in the horrible eternity. They'll be filled with regret. The Old Testament statement, though, is the weeping and gnashing of teeth. Do you know what that is? You ever done something so dumb, then when you do it, you're like — is that — is that just me? Have you ever — ever been there? You ever just — you ever done something, as soon as you did it, it was — you're like, "What — is that — that's just like — ah, the regret. Oh, I can't believe it. Ah." That's the way it describes it. "Oh, I can't believe I kept it hid that long. Oh, I can't believe I let that addiction have its grip on me. Oh, I can't believe I kept it in the closet — "Oh, I can't believe I could have just confessed. I could have just turned away. I could be spending eternity with him. But oh, I didn't. And now I have the rest of eternity to just gnash my teeth."

I'm reaching for somebody today. I'm reaching for somebody today. You've been building on those slippery rocks. You're standing on a slippery rock. You're keeping something secret, and you think you've got it under control. You think nobody knows about it. You think nobody cares. I'm here to tell you: it's gonna get you. It's going — "What are you waiting for? You're not guaranteed the next breath. You're not guaranteed the next minute." "Pastor Kevin, you're preaching hard. You're kind of scaring me." I'm supposed to be scaring you. I'm supposed to be waking you up. I'm trying to sober you in this moment, to realize you can't let that thing go on. It's going to destroy you. Why would you spend eternity — could have been with him.

I gave in to me — Malachi also says — listen to me here — before it gets so bad, you think there's no hope. Listen to me. There's — there's another metaphor of the sun. It's a really creative one too, because it says in verse number two, this: "But for you who fear my name, the son of righteousness will rise with healing in his wings." Listen — listen to this imagery, okay. Listen to this image. In fact, do me a favor: just, if you're okay, if you're comfortable with this — everybody just close your eyes for a minute. I want to read this. Let's — listen to me. Let's close your eyes, and just imagine these words. Let paint the picture in your mind, okay: "And when you go free, leaping with joy, like calves that led out to pasture. On that day when I act, you will tread upon the wicked as if there were dust under your feet," says the Lord of Heaven's Army.

Now, while you got your eyes closed — just keep them close to us in a second — just imagine that little calf. The King James says: it's a stall fed, that's in there. It's been — it's been nursing. But all of a sudden — all of a sudden, the stall door is open, and it goes out in the green pasture. He gets to experience the sun on its body for the first time. He gets to see the blue sky for the first time. And it's just prancing around. It's just enjoying the moment that is there. That's what he uses as the example of what happens — is, the life will live: there's going to come a day when, if you've lived right, you get to frolic and play, and be in the presence of God. Open your eyes.

What choice are you making in your life, to live in such a way that self-focused and self-centered and selfish, and to stay — stay bound with the choices that — that you feel like are your coping mechanisms? You hear me? I feel this in the Holy Ghost. Some of you are coping with stuff, and you're using things to cope with life that are not good for you. They're slippery rocks. You can try to justify it any way you want. As I've said before: the word of God is not black and white, say that there are some things that you're not supposed to do — "Thou shalt not do this." But the apostles of writing and said other sins — there's some of these things that you're flirting with that are other sins. He didn't — he didn't know how to write — as I said before, he didn't know how to write, "You shouldn't smoke crack cocaine." He didn't — he didn't — he didn't know how to write, "Did you — you shouldn't do this, or shouldn't do that," because those things were not a part of that world at that time.

You can try to justify and reason every way that you do what you do. And look — you're — you're an adult, so she'll make your choice. But you're going to do so with this pastor telling you: it's a slippery rock. Yeah, maybe you're standing right now, but it's a — it's a slippery rock. There's going to come a day. And you can try to make your best case. You can try to say, "Well, God, you almost there." And then you — the word of God didn't say this, and didn't say that. And he's going to say, "Yeah, I know what my word said. It's my word."

And as I've told you many times before: don't take my word for it. You get in the word — the word — because you're not going to be judged by my words, and you're not going to be judged by your words, but you will be judged by the word. So what are you doing? What slippery rock are you standing on? What secret are you keeping hid, that's going to prevent you from the excellent life that God is calling you to live? Malachi says: you can be like that calf. You can be out there so happy. You can be so excited about all the things in there. You can live a life that you don't have to live with the regrets. Or you can hold on to the secrets. You can try to manage your life, and say, "That's all right. I got it worked out. I got it under control." I've heard so many people: "I got it on a capacitor. I got it under control." Just the fact that you keep telling yourself that lie lets me know you don't have it under control. You don't.

Let me tell you something: for whatever reason, in our broken minds of humanity, we think that we have to get better before we can come to God. What kind of foolish statement is that? You come to God, and then you get better. You don't get better, and then come to God. It's the same principle applies to the doctor. When you — when — when you're hurting and in pain, and something's not working right, you don't say, "Doc, I'm going to come in, but man, this side pain's got me. As soon as it stops hurting, I'm gonna come see you." What are you doing? That — it makes no sense. It doesn't even make any logical sense. Like, if you've ever needed to be in the house of God, it's at your lowest moment. It's when you're at your worst. Like, "Boy, I get a better frog going to the house of the — the ceiling of five." I've had people saying, "I walked in there — the house will fall down." Like, no. Well, I'd like to see it. Let's go see this. Come on, let's see if it falls down. I'll go in with you. It ain't gonna fall down.

Like, what you see is people who are standing on the slippery rocks, and they don't want to get off. They got that secret here, that's buried over there. I — I don't know what you're facing. Like, I don't — I don't know who I'm reaching for today. I don't know who. But somebody in this room — I was wrecked today. I was wrecked in my office. I was wrecked, pouring out my heart on the altar before God in my office this morning, because somebody is standing on a slippery rock. Somebody has a secret you need to deal with, and God's clamoring for — he's coming after you. He sent me to preach the very direct word today. Reach a hold of him. He is here.

So, I was studying this week — I felt this urgency about the message. It was a little higher than the rest of the ones I've preached in this series. I don't know what slippery rocks some of your own, but you got to get off of them. Here's the real deal, okay. This isn't — you know, I put it maybe in our — in our culture today — this isn't the pregame show, all right. This is the show. It's life. We're here. You don't get another life. You get this life. What are you doing? What are you doing with what's God's giving you? Well, how are you stewarding the life he's given you? I don't know what you're waiting for. I don't know what's holding you back. Look, I'm not going to say that you may not — have, in some ways, what could seem like a legitimate reason to hold back. I don't know. I don't know what you've experienced. I don't know what you went through. I don't know what hurts you've experienced. I don't know what pain you've been through. I — I don't know. I don't know what's been done to you. I don't know what's been said over you. I don't — but this is — this is what I do know: he loves you. If no other human in this world has ever loved you, God loves you. If they've treated you in — in ways they're not right, and labeled you, and told you you were worthless — I — it doesn't — doesn't matter what they've done, okay? Please hear me. Please know my heart. I'm not trying to dismiss the pain — right, trying to dismiss the hurt — but are you going to allow those things to keep you from what you can have in him?

I wish I had an answer for some things. I do. I think — I think people think pastors have all the answers. I think you just — you know, it's like Netflix used to be: I go out to the mailbox and open it up, and there's a DVD, and I stick it in my head, and I'm like, "Okay, I know what to preach this week." That would be great, by the way. That would be awesome. But he doesn't work that way. There — there are some things I don't have an answer for. All I know is: humanity's broken, okay? Humanity's broken. And — and — and guess what? The church is humanity, okay? It's not this building. This building is where the church meets. This is the church. "I don't go to church — there's a bunch of hypocrites." Yeah, where else would we be? Where else would we go? They don't have hypocrite hangouts. We're broken people. But we have a God who loves us. And what I love about it is: he takes broken things, and he makes them beautiful. And he says: "Bring me the ashes of your life. You bring me to hurt. You bring me the pain. You — you bring me the disappointments. You bring me the failures. You bring me those things. Bring them to me. Cast your cares on me. Bring them to me." And when we do, he makes beautiful things out of them.

I don't know where you're at today. And I'm bringing this to a close. Musicians can come. I — I don't know everybody's story. I know some stories in this room. I don't know everybody's story. But I want you to know: there's a day coming. There's a day coming. Some of you, you're ready. See, here's how I know you're ready: you're ready when you are like the word of God, and you say, "Come quickly, Lord. Come quickly." Anybody — anybody got to come quickly prayer in their mouth? Yeah. Some of us are like, "God, I ain't got me anytime. I'm ready to go. I mean, I ain't gonna jump from a train or anything like that, because then I have to ask for forgiveness before I do my last breath, and that might get awkward. But Lord, you can come." Some of y'all are going to process that in a few minutes, and I'll get an email. No. When — when you're living the way you should be living, there's — there's this desire in you. This is: "God, come quickly, Lord. I'm — I'm tired. This is not my home. This is not where I'm meant to be. Lord, come quickly."

But here's where I end. This is — this is me ending the message right now. If that statement makes you nervous — why does it make you nervous? Why are you nervous about spending eternity with him? "Well, Pastor Kevin, you know, I want to get married first. Okay. I want to have kids first." Okay. I'm not saying those are bad things. Those — those could be good things too. Think fully: is that the real reason? Or is there a slippery rock there? Is there a secret sin? Is there something beyond those circumstances that are holding you back? Because I dare say, more often than not, there's something still left undone. That's where you get nervous, because you're like, "I just — I just don't know."

Now look, here's the deal: none of us are perfect, okay? None of us are perfect. And that especially is me. I'm not perfect. I have my faults. I have my failures. I get up every day, and I ask for forgiveness. And I try my best every day to be better than I was the day before. That's my goal. I want to be closer to him. But hey, I still got flesh on me. I still — I still get mad. Maybe you don't, but I do. I still — I still fall short. I still say things that maybe are not appropriate, and act in ways that are maybe not — are not the best. And — and as I pray, I think about those things, and I say: "God, please forgive me. Forgive me for what I said. Forgive me, however — hey, forgive me for getting mad, God, because I want to be sure I'm right. I don't want there to be anything between me and him."

I don't know where you are today. I don't know who I spoke to. I don't know who's needing this. I'm telling you: there's a day coming. And if you allow that secret to stay secret too long — that secret to go to the grave with you — once you're in the grave, you don't get to speak anymore. Once you draw your laughs, it's your last. I don't want you to wait then. I believe in a merciful God. I do. Again, there are some things I don't have the answer for. I'll just point you to the Bible. But I'll tell you right now: you have a choice in this moment. You have a choice. What you have — what I know for surety, what I am 100 confident in — is this moment, right now. You have this moment. Chances are, we're all going to make it home today. Chances are. But I can't guarantee you're going to make it home. I can't guarantee your safety. I wish I could. I wish you could say, "Everybody's gonna be home, everybody's gonna —" I can't guarantee. We don't know what the next minute holds. But we know where we are right now. You have this moment right now.

So, as I get ready to close this out — what are you going to do with what you have right now? If you're comfortable, would you — would you close your eyes, by your head? I'm going to say a prayer. "Holy God, I have been obedient to what I felt like your spirit was telling me to do today. I've delivered your word to your church. Now, God, I pray that you would do what you do best: you make broken things beautiful. God, I know there's brokenness in this room. I know that there are secrets in this room. I know that there's — there's individuals standing in slippery places. I know there are people who need salvation today. I know there are people who need relationships restored. I know there are healings and bodies that need to take place today. And I'm so thankful that you are here, because if you were here, all things are possible. So, Lord, I pray right now that we would have a confidence and a boldness, that if we move forward, Lord, you're going to meet us. And not only will you meet us, but you'll meet every need we have in our life. So God, I pray you draw. God, I pray you Paul. Gotta pray you move. God, I pray you heal. I pray you restore. I pray you break chains. I pray your — God, do that in the mighty name of Jesus."

This altars open, by you moving forward. It doesn't mean that you're — you're coming for any one thing. Nobody knows what you're coming up before. If you need a healing, if you need a restoration, if you need a confessing time to say whatever it is, I invite you to come. It's prayer time. It's time. It's time to do some evaluating where you are. If there's anything there, let God do a work inside of you. It's prayer time.