The Unlocked Door
by Kevin Allen
February 26, 2023 · Centerpointe Apostolic Church (Murfreesboro, TN)
Kind: sermon
Scripture: 1 Peter 2:9, Isaiah 5:13, John 10:10, 2 Corinthians 2:11, Romans 5:19, 2 Corinthians 11:3, 1 Timothy 2:14, Matthew 24:24, Psalms 97:1-2, James 1:13-15, 1 Samuel 15, 1 Samuel 15:19-20, 1 Samuel 15:22-23, Genesis 4:6-7, 2 Peter 2:19, Titus 2:11-12, Romans 11:22, John 14:15, Luke 17:5-10

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

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And the Bible says in First Peter 2 and 9 that you are a chosen generation, you are a royal priesthood, a holy nation, his own special people. You can proclaim the Praises of him, because he has called you out of Darkness into His Marvelous Light. Think about that. He didn't leave us in darkness. He didn't leave us in the mess. But he said, "I'll bring you out of that. I have something for you. You belong to me." Amen. Amen. Thank you for worshiping today. You make your way back to your seats.

I want to preach to us for just a few minutes about the unlocked door. The unlocked door. As God continues to move in our day and age, not only here in our local church, but it continues to move across our nation. It's very exciting times to be in. What an honor that we get to be a part of, of this movement, that God is doing in this day. You know, he allowed you and I to be here. He allows us to see it. He allows us to be a part of what he's doing, to have a relationship with him.

What a tremendous service we had last Sunday, as God came into this place. And, and we, we went to the word of God, and seen how that we must be born again. Not only do we hear the word of God, but we've seen it acted out, as five people were field with a wonderful gift of the Holy Ghost last Sunday. Five people were buried in baptism in the name of Jesus, in that baptismal tank, last Sunday. But it's going on, as today we start our service, two more getting baptized. I want you to know, this is enormous, what God is expecting. But I want to get past it just happened on Sundays and Wednesdays. I want it to be on Mondays and Tuesdays. And what I'm expecting now is, if we'll continue to grab a hold of this Revelation that you and I have this truth, is there, as God is drawing men and women all around the nation, that you and I will open up and be sensitive and receptive, that God's placing people in your life for you to talk to. And what I'm looking forward is the day that I get a phone call and says, "Pastor, I was doing a bible study on the coffee break, and, and I want to bring somebody by the church to be baptized in Jesus' name." "Yes, come by." "Tuesday night, I was at the grocery store, and in the parking lot I began to talk and pray with somebody. Can we come to —" "Yes, you can." I'm looking for us to be a seven day week Church. You don't have to be in this room to get the Holy Ghost. You don't have to be in this room for God to do a miracle in your life. You don't have to be in this room. Pastor doesn't have to be the one praying the prayers. You can do that. I want to wake the church up, and tell you: today is the greatest opportunity we've had in our generation. Wake up, and be the church.

Relationships are important. Relationships with Jesus is so important. It's the best thing that could ever happen to somebody. But I feel today in my spirit, I got to tell you that there's, there's, there's a big difference between receiving the Plan of Salvation, and having a relationship with God. We got to be careful that we don't mishandle and fumble the football right now — for lack of a better way to say that — but we don't stub our Toe with this tremendous opportunity we have. Because the world is driven by experience. I don't want to just have an experience with God. I want a relationship with God. You can experience a lot of stuff. I'm not against experiencing things. But I don't want just an experience with God. I want a life-changing relationship with God. I want to know whether it's a t-shirt, or, or some kind of certificate, to say, "Hey, I did that one time." I want an everyday, every moment, every hour relationship with God. Because I need that. And the truth is, you need it too. It's important that you learn how to develop a relationship with God, and you do that early on. What Jesus did at Calvary, we've been filled with his Spirit, translated from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of Light. We've got to be sure that we don't just say, "I've had that experience," but that I'm living the life God has for me to live.

That's why we go to Great Links here. And I've built on the, on the foundation of men who went before me, who stood in this Pulpit, who dug this church out of nothing. They built on a Bedrock understanding that you were going to be taught the principles in the word of God. It's not just so that I create something to make you feel good, and make you have a little handle to hang on every now and then. But it was about building a life, about building a life, about having something that you lived out every day. It's important. You have to have knowledge of God. Not an experience with God, but knowledge of God's. What's going to get you from here over to where we need to go, knowledge of him.

Isaiah the prophet said in chapter 5, verse 13: "Therefore my people have gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge." They don't have a relationship with me. They've seen me do some stuff, and they've discounted the importance of having daily engagement with me. And because of that, they were LED off in the Captivity. They had everything they needed. I would have done everything to protect them, and keep them where they needed to be. But they walked away, for a lack of knowledge. Don't let that be said of you. Don't let that be said of us, that we were held captive because we didn't know.

There's a door of our soul that is undetected by many, but wildly known in the realm of the supernatural things that go on. We're not often mindful of — I'm here to tell you today, I'm going to give you some knowledge: Satan is restricted to The Realm of Darkness, unless we leave him access to our lives. Leaving the door unlocked gives him an opportunity that will result in Theft, destruction, bondage, and death. Jesus Christ addressed this in John chapter 10, verse number 10, when he simply said, "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and destroy. But I've come that you can have life, and that you may have it more abundantly." But you have to engage the relationship, to live the Abundant Life. If you were a thief, you would go to Great Lengths to let your victim be in the dark, and never know when it was you were going to come in. You wouldn't, you wouldn't do that, because you knew the ignorance would cost them a high price, if they were unaware of what was going on.

We shouldn't be ignorant concerning our enemy, our adversary. We should be very aware, because the word of God is full of information about what he does, and how he approaches us. Let us not be ignorant. We need knowledge, so that we can let her withstand. II Corinthians 2, 11: "Unless Satan should take advantage of us, we are not ignorant of his devices." We can't just stick her head in the sand. I'm glad you've been filled with the spirit. If you haven't been filled with the spirit, today is your day. But those who have been filled with this Spirit — you got to start living the life. You got to start living the life. You need knowledge of the word of God, and how you implied in your life. It's not just, did you feel good when the presence of God is around? But every day, every moment of every day, you're aligning yourself up for what God has for you. If you're going to be an overcomer, if you want that Abundant Life, you've got to have knowledge. It's important.

How does the door become unlocked? Maybe you're thinking that I'm going to tell you it happens through Disobedience and Rebellion to God's Authority and his commands. There are two kinds of Disobedience. We see it in the scriptures. You see it from the very beginning in Genesis, when Humanity was being created, and God was unfolding the story there for us, in Adam and Eve. We've seen that Romans talks about in, in chapter 5, verse number 19: "That's for by one men's Disobedience, many were made Sinners. So also by one man's obedience, many were made righteous." Rebellious started — there's, there, there's, there — there is an understanding that's necessary for you and I to have: that there are some things that happen to me, and there's some things that happen because I did it myself. When I look at what was going on in the garden, when I look at how he was in, the enemy came in, and then the enemy, as he begin to, to try to work on Eve, he began to distort some things in her mind. He began to take the very words that God was speaking, and he just rearranged the order, just enough to cause her to have a moment of hesitation in her life. You got to be very careful.

Second Corinthians — again, Paul writing, talking about this scenario, how it unfolded back in Genesis — says, "But I Fearless, somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted by the Simplicity that is in Christ." See, she was — she was deceived. That led to Disobedience. Adam willingly went in. There's two types of Disobedience: being deceived, and willingly being disobedient. First Timothy 2, 14: "And Adam was not deceived, but the woman began to see Phil, and transgression." Matthew 24, and 24, 24: "For false Christ and false prophets will rise, and show great signs and wonders, and deceive, if possible, even the elect." Jesus warning that you got to have knowledge, ladies and gentlemen, because there's going to be a lot of people that'll approach you. There's going to be a lot of people that are going to approach you using scripture. There's going to be a lot of people that are going to approach you in the name of Jesus Christ. That's why it's important that you have knowledge yourself. Don't just take everything at face value. Don't just take it because I said it. You yourself get the word of God out, and you fact check me. You make sure I'm telling you that what's true, and what's right. I'm telling you, eternity is too big a deal for you just to take somebody at their word. You need to go to the word, and make sure it lines up with what's going on. That I'm not just coming at you with an opinion, but I'm coming at you with thus saith the word of God.

Foreign — the enemy did that. He came in. He began to distort. He began to twist what God had said. And he was doing it and just a Sly enough way, that it made Eve hesitate for just a minute. He made God out to be a taker, instead of a giver. And God appeared like maybe he was unjust, or withholding something that she needed. He perverted the foundation of God's character, in order to turn Eve away from God's Authority in her life. That's why it is that this world has such an issue with authority. Have you noticed it in our day and age? Everybody's bucking against Authority. Nothing needs to be absolute anymore. Nothing needs — everything's in flux. Everything's open to your own interpretation, and how it is, and how it makes you feel. And, and, and I'm telling you that it goes all the way back to the very beginning. That's been the enemies, that, uh, one of his tactics, is to come into your life, and make you question why Authority says you can or can't do something. That you should be a law unto yourself. This is, this is how he comes at you. That's why you must have knowledge of the word of God in your life. And you need to settle some things down deep inside of you, so that when some — comes in, something comes into you, and it counteracts, or goes against God's word, he rises up inside, and says, "No, that's not how it's supposed to be. I know what you're saying, and I hear the case you're making, and maybe my flesh is even agreeing with you. But I'm going back to the knowledge I have settled down inside of me, and the word of God says that I can't be falling just after my hardest deceptive. It's wicked. I can't even know it. And I can't base it off of my feelings, because my feelings have missed send me time and time again. But this I know: the word is forever settled. It doesn't change. It's there. I can build my life on it. I can't build my life on government. I can't build my life on country. I can't even build my life on family. But I can build my life on the word of God. It has stood the test of time."

Satan is busy, but God's busy too. Satan is busy, but God's busy too. We got to tap in, and have knowledge, so that we don't miss out on what he wants us to do, in these last days of the Kingdom. Psalms 97 and 1 says, "The Lord is King. The Lord is King. The Lord is King. Let the Earth Rejoice. Let the father's consolations be glad. Dark clouds surround him. Righteousness and Justice are the foundations of his throne." Righteousness and Justice are the foundations. And guess what — who, who's going to go against the foundation? It's always going to be the enemy that's going to come at you, after righteousness, and what is right, and what is true. Because he knows that's the very thing that the Lord is sitting on, on his throne. So if he can get you to question righteousness and Justice inside of you, he's trying to chip away at the foundation of the very Throne that God's trying to set on in your life. That's why you have to have knowledge. Because knowledge of what he's doing will cause you to say him to me, "You have no right to come into my mind. The word of God is settled there. It's inside of me. I'm going to counteract what you're doing, and I'm not going to allow the Lord to not have a throne in my life."

Oh, we are in a fight, ladies and gentlemen. We are in a war. We are in a war. I'm not talking about what we're fighting in Social, uh, aspects, and what we're fighting in our culture right now. That stuff's been going on since the beginning of time. As Solomon said, there's nothing new Under the Sun. I know things are just debased, and, and things are corrupt, and, and things are, or, or have lost morality out there. And we're struggling a little bit, because, because if, if you've lived north of 25 years, you know the, the country you're living in is different than 25 years ago. And a lot of us are having a struggle right now. We're having a little bit of an identity crisis as a nation, like, what's going on? That's because we're, we're in a post-christian world right now. The judeo-christian values are being ripped out and thrown out the window. And if you want to see where we're headed, just look at Europe. That's where we're headed. They threw it all out a long time ago. We've been hanging on to it, but it's eroding, and it's going away.

But I'm not worried. I'm not scared. I'm not going to hide in the corner. I'm not going to sit and suck my thumb, and thank God, my Lord, what's going on? I'm here to tell you, it's the finest hour to be committed to God. Because even though everything is shaken, is shaken, the word of God said that it's going to happen. It's going to be shaken. But I'm going to tell you what doesn't change: God doesn't change. He hasn't changed his mind. It hasn't changed his law. He hasn't changed his word. It's there. Stay committed to it. It'll get you to where you need to go.

And the enemy tries to get you to disobey God's word. He wants you to go against it. He wants you to submit to him. See, Adam and Eve unlock the door. They gave him access into their life, and he became their new master by enslaving God's creation. The enemy enthroned himself in their life. They didn't have a right to be there. He — the enemy — didn't have a right to be there. Adam and Eve unlocked the door. He couldn't, because he wouldn't have asked permission. But he was working from the very beginning to try to counteract the thing that God had said in motion. And he knew: the only way I can get in, because as long as they stay committed to his word, I can't go against the word of God. Do you hear me? The enemy can't go against the word of God. He can't counteract it. He can't do anything to stop it. His, his word will, will accomplish what he set it out to do. But he knew, "If I can get them to doubt the word, I can unlock the door. If I can get them to pause for a minute. If I can get them to question, is it true? If I can get them to think, is this still valid? Is it relevant? Is it for today? If I can get them to step back for just a minute, they will unknowingly unlock a door that'll give me access to them." He doesn't have a right. He doesn't have a right. He can't just barge in. But he can watch you unlock the door. Did I tell you he's a thief? He's going to come in. He's going to be sneaky.

Some of you have done the exact same thing in your lives, and you're wondering why it seems it's so hard for you to overcome some things that have entrapped you. It's because you've left the door unlocked through disobedience. I know you're gonna get quiet. It's okay. Lord me warned me early in prayer today, that it was going to be a little hard message, and when I got to the meat of what was going on. Because nobody likes being told they've been disobedient. If I'm here to tell you — you got to settle some stuff in your heart, that there's nothing good outside of God's will, or you're going to end up being deceived.

James said this in chapter 1, verse number 13, reading from the new living. It says: "And remember, when you were being tempted, do not say, 'God is tempting me.' God is never attempted to do wrong, and he will never tempt anyone else. Temptation comes from our own desires, which entices and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And When sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death." Disobedience throws the door open, and allows the devil to have access. But obedience keep the door locked, and he can't come in. So he can argue with it. And you can get mad about it. And you can frustrate you, and say, "This is legalistic, and this is old fogium. The Bible is not relevant in the day we're in." And there's a lot of stuff in flux. I'm telling you, as long as that's the attitude you have, you got the door wide open for the enemy to run rampant inside your mind, inside your life, inside your family, to have his way with you. And you can sit, and cry, and you can do all this stuff over in the corner, and you can pray in Jesus' name. But I'm going to tell you right: if you're not going to be obedient to Jesus's words, if you're not going to line yourself up with it, he has access to bombard you day and night. But if you'll learn how to bring yourself into obedience, you can lock the door, and you can shut it, and the enemy doesn't have a right to get in there, where you're at.

A deceived person sees themself as doing what is right and best, when actually they're living in Rebellion. We see this in the word of God, in first Samuel chapter 15. Saw the king is being questioned by his motives and actions. And he, he turns, and says, "I've been obedient to the command of God." God told Saul, "I want you to go in, and I want you to utterly Wipe Out the amalekites. Don't leave anything breathing. Anything: man, woman, child, animal. Nothing lives, because of how they treated God's people. Nothing is to live." But Saul gets caught up in his own successes. Saul gets caught up — and in Saul's mind, he is being obedient, because he has killed most of the stuff. He had taken care of most of the command. But he decided to leave the king alive, and brought him back as a prized trophy. He decided to allow the people to keep the spoils, because he wanted to be a king that was loved and favored. But that was not what God told him to do. God said, "Wipe it all out." That we can argue with why he had to wipe it all out. We can say it seems like God was being a little unfair, and maybe God wasn't, wasn't thinking through his, his process completely. I'm here to tell you, God always has everything thought out. God is never surprised. God has never taken like, "Oh, I didn't see that happening." He always knows full well what was going on. And God knew that if they left the amalekites alive, they were going to constantly be a thorn in their flesh. They had already proven that they would kill him, given the chance. And God says, "I want you to go wipe them out." But Saul didn't. He didn't.

God despises the things that are done by those who serve the Lord in their own way. This is especially true of those who repeatedly disobey. Their hearts become darkened by reasoning in themself. First Samuel 15, 19: "Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? Why did you swoop down on the spoil, and do evil in the sight of the Lord? And Saul said to Samuel, 'But I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me, and brought back a gag, the king of amalek. And I have utterly destroyed —'" He's already admitted he didn't do wrong, or that he did wrong. God said, "Wipe it all out. I have done the mission, and I brought back the king." No, you didn't, because the king shouldn't be living. But in Saul's mind, he had already reasoned why it was okay. He didn't go back and seek God. He didn't go back even to the man of God and say, "Let me clarify, making sure I understand what it is you're asking me to do." But in his own mind, he reasoned, "This is a good decision."

I'm speaking to somebody in the Holy Ghost right now, that you're reasoning away why you don't have to do some of the things that have been taught to you in your life. And you're standing in direct Disobedience to what God has commanded of you, and asked of you to do. You're no different than this man right here. Look at what he's doing. "But the people took the plunder. He's the sheep and The Oxen, the best things which have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice to the Lord your God." Notice it: "your God." Isn't he my God? Now it's your God. Where are you at, Saul? You're already revealing, by your own admission, that you don't have a right relationship with God. 22: "So Samuel said, 'Has the Lord as great delight and burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice.'" You can't buy your way out of this. It ain't about you putting a big offering in there. Yeah, no, no, no, no. "Obedience is better than sacrifice, and the Heathen and the fat of ranch, before Rebellion is as the sin of Witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you from being King."

I know this is, this is a very sobering message I'm preaching today. But I feel like in my spirit, I'm having to wake some people up, to understand: you — you — if you're not living in obedient life, you're leaving a door unlocked. And the enemy sees the unlocked door, and he will come in after you. Greater effort does not indicate obedience. Saul's sacrifice — it wasn't about that. It wasn't about what he's doing. He was supposed to have listened to what God asked him to do, and been obedient to God's command in his life.

This same thing is also this on display again in, in Genesis there, when we, when we read about Cain and Abel. Two boys that are going to bring in sacrifice. They're bringing in worship to God. Things that, that on the surface seem like everything's okay. But, but Cain's sacrifice was not what God desired. It wasn't what God wanted. And all of a sudden, Cain gets upset. But we see this interaction. Pay attention to what the word of God says to us today. There's an interaction between Cain and God. Cain is Mad. God addresses it, in verse number six of chapter four, Genesis: "Why are you so angry? The Lord asked Cain. Why do you look so dejected? You will be accepted if you do what is right." Cain, why are you mad? I didn't want that. I didn't want what you brought. Look, your brother — you may be jealous, but your brother was obedient. Your brother — listen, your brother did what was right. Don't be angry about it. You too will be received, if you will go back and do what is right. "But if you refuse — listen, if you refuse to do what's right — then watch out, because sin is crouching." Where, where's sin crouching? He's waiting on you to unlock the door, Cain. He's sitting there. He's close by. He's paying attention. He's watching your actions. He's watching your motives. He's always paying attention. And he's listening for that deadbolt to open up. And the moment it opens up, he's going to get you. Why? Through disobedience. It sets just outside the door, waiting for you to unlock, so that he can come in. Cain did not obey. He left the door unlocked. And before he knew it, he was killing his brother. Wasn't an accident. It happened because the enemy marched in through an unlocked door, and began to put doubt inside his mind. Begin to whisper things: "Your brother's always going to be viewed as better than you." And before you know it, he kills his own brother. Let that settle in for just a minute. It wasn't that he didn't know. God warned him. "Why are you so angry? Why is this upsetting you? If you'll just do the right thing, you'll be received. But if you don't, Cain, if you don't, sins crouching, listening to the door, and waited on you to unlock it."

Our decisions and actions, ladies and gentlemen, they speak for us. Our Disobedience communicates to those around us, and what we know, and what we think. And we oftentimes, what we're saying is, we know more than God knows. See, getting into spiritual discussions with those who are spiritually equal, or inferior, never lead to positive outcomes, when you're discussing God's law. Because the enemy has a way of sneaking up, and coming in there. That's why I — I'm gonna be honest with you, and I've said this a lot, you know, I don't understand why people engage each other in debates on social media. Nobody's ever going to win that. A bunch of keyboard vigilantes. I mean, you're like a little mouse, all squeaky in public. You get behind the keyboard — harder, driver, driver, I'll tell you when my barber — you ain't telling nobody nothing. You're looking at the screen. And the enemy is watching you unlock a door, and he just keeps to get you to destroy yourself, and others around you. He has a way of sneaking up, and interjection thoughts into the discussion, and causing you to doubt the very thing that you should covet and desire the most. That's what he did to Eve.

Remember what it was said by the man of God, in first Samuel 15: "Rebellion is as the sin of Witchcraft." Literally, Rebellion is witchcraft. Go back and do a word study on that. Just pull it up. It, the literal translation is: rebellion is witchcraft. Stubbornness is idolatry. You know how he feels about idols. Do you know what the word of God says about eyeballs and idols? And when you're stubborn, it's as if you have an idol in your life. Peter said in second Peter 2, 19: "They promise freedom, but they themselves are slaves of sin and Corruption. For you are a slave to whatever controls you." And the enemy knows that. And he's waiting on you to unlock the door, so he can come in and take control. But obedience helps you keep the door locked.

Would you have ever thought that you would have done some of the things that you've done in your life, after you've received the Holy Ghost? The things that you have done, the stumbles that you've made, in the Falls that happen, and living with the stuff that's there, and the failures in such a big way. The reason you stumbled and failed is because you unlocked the door, through Disobedience, through your lack of being committed to God and his commands. This is why the first commandment, according to the Devil Army — and what he tries to get you is, is to, to, to do, "To thy own self be true." I've seen this. "Be true to yourself," uh, sets up, and comes into people's lives, and it gets into their thoughts, and it gets into their actions. And they even see it slip into the back door of the church. And I see it sitting on the church pew, here in these seats, in this auditorium today. "To thy own self be true" — it speaks to you, telling you that you can decide for yourself what you want to apply, and you can ignore what you want to ignore. That you know best. That there are parts of the word of God that you hang on to, and you covet, and you, and you're, you know, over there, and you're using your prayers. But there are other — there are other passages in other verses you simply never visit, because to do so, it means you would have to acknowledge that it's there, and that you should be living it. This leaves unlocked doors for Disobedience, and misunderstandings, and hurt feelings, and, and, and that no one cares. Which leads to isolation, which is exactly where the enemy wants you to be. All by yourself. "Nobody loves me. Nobody cares. Nobody ever checks on me. Nobody does anything. Nothing's working out." And then when something comes into your life, and it's not the way you want it to be — it could be a sickness, it could be a disappointment, it could be a broken relationship, it could be finances that are not there, it could be a diagnosis from the doctor — and because you have been disobedient, because you've left the door unlocked, all of a sudden you just think, "Nobody cares. Nobody's checked on me. I haven't got one phone call, one text message. Everybody's looking at me. Nobody understands. They're being mean." And you, all you do is keep getting pushed over into the corner. And the enemy — you know what he's doing? He's, he's driving. He'll drive you right over in the corner, because he wants to run you right off a cliff.

I've seen people literally go for being so involved, committed to God, making a difference for the kingdom, in, in high level positions of ministry — just a few short months later, isolated over in a corner, me reaching out, "What's going on? How did you get there? What did you tell me?" And come to realize that they was, there was areas in their life that they left the door unlocked. And what they did, the enemy came right on in. And when he got in there, he didn't just stay in the corner, but he'd done his due diligence of working through, and walking through every area, and every thought, and every aspect. And before he was done, he had convinced them that nobody in the church loved them at all, and that God himself had given up on them. Everything he tells you is a lie. Everything he tells you is alive. And we will sit in here, and we'll say, "I know that." But yet somehow, we end up listening to what he has to say, and thinking about it. That's why you can't afford to unlock the door.

Maybe you don't like it. May — there are some things in the word of God, and being transparent, that I don't — know, my flesh fights me on it too. But I've seen too many times the consequences of unlocking the door. So I just went back and said, "God, I may not fully comprehend it, but I don't want to open the door, because I don't want to invite that stuff into my life." So if, if I have to choose to do some things in my life that maybe I can't fully wrap my head around it, as long as I've kept the door locked, I'll be happy inside. Because I know that you will allow me the power and the ability to keep the door locked. And as long as the door locked, his voice stays on the outside.

The Paradox is this: people who live in Disobedience, they're deceived. They blame everything except themselves. They become blind. They only cure, ladies and gentlemen, for Rebellion, is obedience. See, here's the deal. You know, I, I reference this a lot, and for the sake of sounding like I'm a broken record — I want to preach you happy. That's what my flesh wants. I've been doing this long enough that I can halfway put together a thought, most times. And I could, I could preach you happy. I could preach you happy. I could preach, and feel good. I could. But then I have to live with myself, and that would be disobedient to what God has called me to do. Because he didn't call me to preach you're happy. He called me to preach the truth.

Okay, and here's the deal: I'm so thankful for God's grace. And Grace is, is a good happy message, isn't it? And I'm not going to ruin Grace for you, because the grace is a good happy message. But Grace is abused in Christianity. If there has been one word that has just been stretched, and, and, and, and misshapen, and misused, and abused, and, and, and in our world today, it is the word grace. And I don't understand it. I don't understand it, brother Johnson. Because Grace is, is black and white: What God Says Grace is. Titus addresses this, and in Titus 2, 11: "For the grace of God that brings salvation hath appeared unto all men." But you can't just stay there. You can't say in verse 11, because it's a continual conversation that goes into verse 12, that says Grace is a teacher. And what is it teaching you? "Denying ungodliness and worldly lust, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly." When, when do we do that? Now. So if I'm going to preach you Grace — and I will preach you Grace, I'll preach you all that Grace is — it's so, it's so good for you. I'm thankful, because it'll cover over a multitude of sins. And it'll pull you up out of that, that monkey admire you got yourself in. And it'll make you feel good when you go to an altar and ask for repentance. But it doesn't just leave you standing there in that moment. It wants to teach you something, that you have to be obedient. Because if you're not, the back door your life is just swinging wide open, which means the enemy can March in any time he wants to.

You see, people want to say, "Well, we're not past the law. We're living in a dispensation of Grace." Yes, we are. Thank God we are. I'm so thankful we live in this disposition, and I'm not back there. Because back there, before this, there was no opportunity to go into the throne room. Not for you and I. Not for you and I. I'm thankful for Calvary. I'm thankful that he said, "It is finished." I'm thankful that the veil is torn. I'm thankful that I can go boldly before him, and ask him himself. And I can get into his presence, and I can dance around, and we can experience God. I'm thankful for Grace. But Grace is a higher law than the law ever was, because Grace says, "You give it all." Grace points you to Calvary, and says, "That's the standard." We must be careful not to emphasize only one side of God's personality. Romans 11, 22 says, "Therefore consider the goodness and the severity of God." John 14 and 15: "If you love me, keep my Commandments." In other words, it's not that we prove we love God by keeping his Commandments. It's that falling in love with God automatically gives us the power to keep his Commandments.

When Jesus taught his disciples on increasing Faith, he emphasized obedience in little things — Luke Chapter 17. I'm getting ready to close them back. Music can come, because God is going to do something powerful here. But I'm going to show you something, and I dare say the vast majority of you have never picked up on in the conversation, what Jesus was trying to explain to his disciples here. I want you — if you have your own copy of scriptures, I want you to open up, and look at this. Is something you need to just come set it in your mind a little bit, and think on it. Luke 17, verse number five. I'm reading from the new living, so that we all can get the language today. "The apostles said to the Lord, 'Show us how to increase our faith.'" What was the question? What was the question? "We want our faith to be increased." That's a good question. Have you ever said in the defeat of Jesus — that's a great question to ask him. "Show us." And, and the Lord answered. Jesus said, "If you have faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, 'May you be uprooted and thrown in the sea,' and it would obey you." Keep listening. What was the question? It's about what? Faith. Verse 7: "When a servant comes in from plowing, or taking care of sheep, does his master say, 'Come in and eat with me'? No. He says, 'Prepare my meal. Put on your apron, and serve me while I eat. Then you can eat later.'" None — "and does the master think the servant for doing what he was told to do? Of course not." Why? Well, that's what you're supposed to be doing. Verse number 10: "In the same way, when you obey me, you should say, 'We are unworthy servants who have simply done hour.'" Say, I'm afraid the too many of you, the only time you find yourself even remotely trying to be obedient and compliant to what God wants, is when you feel like you're going to get a pat on the back, and someone's going to acknowledge that that's what you're doing. See, Jesus is explaining to the disciples here, when they ask, "Show us how to increase our faith," "Okay, I'll show you how to increase your faith. Do what I told you to do. And don't look for me to patch you on the back, and tell you a good job for doing what I told you to do. Because that's what you're supposed to do. Is what I told you to do." I know this isn't one of those fruitful messages. Perhaps people gonna be mad when you leave here today. But I'm going to deliver my heart, because my concern for you is that I get you to heaven. That's it. You don't have to like me. I hope you do. You don't have to like me. You got to love me. The word of God says that, so figure that one out. Obedience is the only way you keep the door locked.

Now, I grew up in a day, a half the time the door at my house wasn't locked. Some of you know those days. You remember that? Most of the time — I got a great mom and dad. Love them. They were great to me. They took care of my brother and I. But here's the deal. But my mom — we were out of school, with my mom, she, she — we had to go outside. Right, Brandon? She literally said, "No," slammed the door, and locked it. "Look at your time. I'm thirsty." "There's a garden hose." Yeah. "Supper will be when the lights go out. This thing was made. Go play. Go." So we were everywhere. I mean, we're miles away from the house on my little Huffy. Mom didn't care, because it's just a different world. Now, I can't see my kids outside, I'm a little nervous. Night comes in — last thing I do is they'll go around and check all the doors, and I set the alarm — and I know where the guns are at — and I go to bed. Because I'm not going to take a chance, in this crazy world we live in, that somebody may want to come in to what is most precious to me. I'm gonna tell you right now, you'd be banging on my door night — don't, don't come in uninvited, because I'm going to shoot you. And I'll pray for you after I shoot you, because I'm going to protect what's important to me.

If your relationship with him is the priority, then you need to figure out how to lock the door, so that the thief doesn't come to steal, and kill, and destroy. Why would you leave an unlocked door, if you don't want to be obedient to the scriptures? It's your choice. But disobedience is his — Rebellion is, is — that's witchcraft. It's idolatrous. And you're leaving the back door of your life wide open. Now, if you're willing to take that chance, it's on you. Because here's the deal: I have given you knowledge now. And with whom much is given, much is required. So you can't say I didn't tell you. I've told you. I'll help you. But here's the deal: I can't make you be obedient. I can't. I want you to be obedient. I want to help you. And if you're struggle over a couple things, I'll do my best to open up the word of God, and, and, and to show you the why behind things, if that's what you want. Because I would encourage that. If you're struggling with some stuff, then help me. Let me help you. Let me rightly divide the word, so that you can see why you do these things. But don't just willingly leave the door unlocked. And for some of you, you have. And I'm telling you, the why you struggle with so much in your life is because the enemy still has access to you. He still has access, because you have left the door unlocked.

I love you. Jesus — God, you are here right now, on this, in this room, and you are drawing people, in this moment we are in. I know, Lord, for some, it's, it's a brand new thing. And they, they're, they're listening to how I preach today, and they're trying to get their mind wrapped around what all it means to be obedient. They're brand new. They don't, they don't know all things. And I know that, God. I just pray you keep drawing them into a place where they can continue to further that relationship. God, that you would fill them with your spirit today, so that your spirit in them can guide them through all things. But there are also those in the room today who have a, an experience of you filling them with your, with your spirit. They are, they're living a life — in a lot of ways, it seems like everything is as it should be. But there are unlocked doors in their life. There are some things that they simply leave undone. And God, I pray today that your conviction would work on them, so that they could see the areas that they continue to need to bring themselves in to obedience. Lord, do a work in this place today, the work that only you can do. Jesus' name.

This altar is open, and I invite anyone who wants to come, to come. I can't force you. This is a decision that you make. And I pray that you would make the right choice. If you need to know him as Lord of your life, and you haven't settled that issue, I pray that you would come, and let us pray with you. That God will help you. That he will fill you with his spirit. That you can live in an abundance of life. For some — if you're still struggling with some things not being settled, that have been taught, that you have read, that you have heard someone preach, you've seen it in the scriptures, but yet maybe you haven't fully lived up to it — I invite you too to come, and allow God to work on you. It's, it's prayer time, church. This altar is open. They're going to sing. We're going to pray with those who've come.