Trouble In The Rubble
by Kevin Allen
June 12, 2022 · Centerpointe Apostolic Church (Murfreesboro, TN)
Kind: sermon
Scripture: 1 Kings 16:30-34, Judges 3:13, Joshua 6, 1 Kings 16:34, Joshua 6:26, Hebrews 11:30, Joshua 6:18, Joshua 7:21

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

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Heard a story about the little boy who returned home from his first Sunday school class, and while he was going over, the mom began to ask him a few questions. And he said, yeah, you know, this happened, that happened. He said, well, I bet your teacher — did you like your teacher? He said, yeah, I guess she must be Jesus's grandma, because all she talked about was Jesus.

First Kings chapter 16. I've got to do a little bit of history today. I'm going to take off a little bit slower, um, and then we'll we'll get the get the message up in the air. But I feel it's important in tying some things together. First Kings chapter 16, beginning verse number 30, says: In Ahab the son of Omri did evil on the side of the Lord above all that were before him. And it came to pass, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nabat, that he took the wife Jezebel, the daughter of Elphaba, king of Zidonians, who went and served Baal and worshiped him. And he reared up an altar for Baal in the house of Bell, which he had built in Samaria. And they have made a grove. And Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him. In his days Hail the Bethlight built Jericho, and laid the foundation thereof with Abram his firstborn, and set up the gates there with his youngest son, according to the word of the Lord which He spake by Joshua the son of None.

Now to arrive at our destiny today, and where I feel like the Lord has for us, um, it's important that I give you some history, so that you better understand the significance of the city of Jericho. Our texts tell us, tells you and I, that High Eel was there, sent and commissioned to re-build Jericho. But we must understand exactly what it means to rebuild Jericho. We must not think of it as a city that had been utterly destroyed, decimated, and wiped away, because that wasn't the case. It was not in complete ruin. We know from other places in the Scripture that the city was inhabited again. We know this because the Bible tells us in Judges chapter 3, verse 13, that Eglon enlisted the Amorites and the Amalekites as allies, and they went out and defeated Israel, taking possession of Jericho, the city of palms. So from that point forward there had been work done in the city. So it wasn't a rebuilding, and I'm painting a word picture in your mind. I want you to to get this, because sometimes when we think about being rebuilt, we think of something that's utterly destroyed and they're having to redo buildings and roads and all these things that go into building the city. That was not the case here. The purpose for his building plan was not to make Jericho suitable for human habitation. What was he trying to do? Well, the city was an open city. It was a city without walls, a city without gates. It was not fortified. And what Hail was trying to do was to make Jericho a fortress again, like it had been in the height of its glory days before Joshua and the children of Israel marched around. If you're not familiar with that story, Joshua chapter 6, the children of Israel, after have wandered around the desert for 40 years, are going to finally get to their promise that God had given them. They had been disobedient. Their disobedience caused them to wander around until the generation of unbelief died off. But one of the first places they conquered, and going into their promised land, was Jericho. And it was a mighty city, big, big tall walls. And God, uh, did a great victory there for them.

Now back to the story we have presently. You probably noticed that Hail introduces the story about King Ahab. And if you've been around church for a while, you realize that King Ahab was not a good king. Matter of fact, the very Scripture I read to you said that he did more than all the other kings before him to provoke the anger of God. So this is a guy, he's not good. Look at your neighbor, say right now, he's a bad dude. He was a bad guy. Yeah, he he didn't even try to be good. He didn't even try to behave. He didn't even try to even be remotely moral in anything he did. He did whatever he wanted to do. But a Hail is there, and he's been commissioned by King Ahab to rebuild the walls of Jericho. But why? Why did King Ahab want to do this? What was his goal? What is the purpose? What are you trying to accomplish by doing this, King Ab? Well, it's good for you and I to note that Jericho was a very strategic city of opportunity, where it was positioned on a map. And you can look at this later, or if you happen to have your analog copy of Scriptures, you could probably thumb to the back maps there and look at it for yourself. And you can see that Jericho was positioned right there in the middle. And it was, it was a gateway city. It was, it was how you could cross over. It was a part of the King's Highway. It was part of the trade routes that came through. It was also a part of the division between the the differing kingdoms that were there. There was a lot of significance that went along with Jericho, and and Ahab knew this. He knew it was a, it was a possible security threat for what he's trying to do in securing and strengthening his kingdom. And he knew that he needed to fortify Jericho. And Ahab decided he's going to do this, and he's going to rebuild. And because he doesn't want a threat of any enemy coming in. But the problem for Ahab was that God had already made up His mind and spoke about how He felt concerning Jericho.

See, it's important for all of us to learn to listen to what God has to say, and learn the importance of being obedient to His word. The Bible is an intolerant book. You heard me correctly. The Bible is an intolerant book. We live in a world of tolerance. I'm going to say that better. We live in a world of intolerant tolerance. So many things are being pushed, and so many things that we should just accept. And and I'm not here to rail against culture in this moment, but I I need to establish something from the get-go. God is a God of love, but He's also a God of order. He's a God of love, but He's also a God of obedience. He's a God of love, and He's also a God of wisdom and understanding that defies human logic. Now I say that because the Bible's an intolerant book, and God has spoken His mind, and He has settled His word long ago. He will not be mocked. His word is forever settled. It is forever true. It is the one thing in life that you can build your life upon. It is a sure foundation. When you have trouble in your life, you can run to His word, and it will help establish a sure foundation. It is the thing that you can believe in when everything else has gone crazy. The Word of God is still there. Now the deal with the Word of God is this, and you've heard me say this before: it doesn't need me to defend it. This word has been here long before I was even a thought, long before my parents were a thought, and
My grandparents would thought. It is forever settled and established. But this fallen world we're living in wants to go and try to say that things are negotiable, or up for debate, or if it doesn't feel good then possibly it's not true for the moment. No, the Word of God is true. Let God be true, and every man a liar. The Word of God is true. And what we see here is Ahab and High Eel, they were, they were, they were up against God's spoken word. And and and sometimes, you know, they want to rebuild the walls there in Jericho. But something happens when a family tries to do something that goes contrary to the Word of God.

First Kings chapter 16, reading to you from the New Leaving Translation for just a little bit of today's language, it says: It was during his reign, the High Heel, a man from Bethel, rebuilt Jericho. And when it laid its foundation, it cost him the life of his oldest son. And when he completed it, except the gates, it cost him the life of his youngest son. All of this according to the message from the Lord concerning Jericho, spoken by Joshua the son of Nun. Well, what exactly is going on here? What is this? What is this that Joshua spoke about, that that we see High Ill and King Ahab going up against? What, what was being said in that moment? Well, let's go back to Joshua chapter 6, to the original battle there, and let's see if we can get a better understanding of what is going on. And it says this, because Joshua, who pronounces this divine curse about Jericho's walls that have fallen down, he says in verse 26: And Joshua adjourned them at that time, saying, Cursed be the man before the Lord that riseth up and buildeth the city Jericho. He shall lay the foundation thereof in his firstborn, and in his youngest son shall he set up the gates thereof.

Imagine this, because those words were spoken some 500 years before the verses I just read to you in First Kings. Almost 500 years have passed, yet the Word of God is still true. To put this in perspective, we're fixing to celebrate the 246th year of of the United States of America. We haven't even made the halfway mark to 500. That's how long this is. But when God's word has been spoke, it is settled, and it will stand true. Just because it hasn't come to pass yet doesn't mean that it's not going to come to pass. And what you're seeing right here in this moment — and I hope I can unpack this a little bit better in just a minute — is the fact that God's word was already settled about this issue, regardless of what the king wanted to do, regardless of how much time had passed, regardless of who it was that was doing the action. The word, the ground had already been cursed. And whoever tried to do it, it was going to cost them something.

Ladies and gentlemen, it is time for you and I to be mindful about the Word of God, because I'm afraid we're trying to rebuild some walls that we should not be built again. There's some things going on, and I feel like there's a little bit of compromise going on in some areas for, for the consensus of peace. And I'm afraid, if we're not careful, we'll find ourselves drifting over into places that that are cursed, in areas that we should never be salvaging. In against, I'm here to preach this message today, that there is trouble in the rubble. There is trouble in the rubble.

The question I'm here to ask today: why did Joshua pronounce a curse on anyone who might dare to rebuild this city? That seems kind of odd to me. Maybe you never do this, but but quite often when I'm reading through Scriptures, and I run across something that causes my curiosity to peak a little bit, I begin to ask questions like, why? Why that? It was just a city they needed to conquer. It was just part of them getting into the promise. But but why cursed? The land was — was there something more there than I'm realizing on the surface? And to answer this is that God was speaking through the fallen stones and broken down walls of Jericho. There was a message that was being proclaimed, not just for that moment, but for all that would come pile later. And see, what had taken place there at Jericho, that ruined city, is a statement about the strength and the might and the power of God. The fallen walls of Jericho proclaimed that the Lord's greatest victory over the Canaanite kings took place right here. He's a God who can take care of His people.

And for some here today, God has brought down walls in your lives, and broken strongholds that were one time mighty fortresses that held you at bay inside of your life. But He has brought those things down, and they stand as a testimony to the might and the power of God, the delivering and saving power of our Lord Jesus Christ. And many here today can look back over their lives and see piles of rubble and stones where God has brought down those things, things that held you back: captive, addictions, and bad relationships, and brokenness, and hurt, and pain. And when you look back, you see those things, but what you see is victory through that, that once at one time was a prison cell, at one time that was something that held you back, at one time that was something that you identified with. But God stepped into your life one day and said, you are My child, and I'm here to break down those walls that are holding you back. And God did a mighty work of deliverance in your life.

But you better be careful about going back and sifting through the rubble. Those stones are to be a reminder of what God has delivered you from. Israel and Joshua could not take credit for destroying Jericho. The only thing they could take credit for is being obedient when God asked them to do something. But it was God who had done the work. All Israel did was march around the city carrying their ark and blowing their horns. We we know from the biblical record that Israel did not use any siege machines. No, no catapults were there. They they didn't use any any chariots. They didn't launch any missiles or throw any grenades. Israel, I didn't have any of that. But the walls fell down, and the city was destroyed, and the defenders were killed, only by the might and the power and the strength of God. Because there are times when God can only do things that God can only do. You have done everything you know how to do, and you're up against stuff you can't face. And some of you exact know exactly what I'm talking about today. God has done a big work in your life, and you still at times walk by and see that pile of rubble. Let it be a reminder, not of what you lost, but what you've gained. Don't let the enemy trick you back into thinking you gave up more than you should have given up. No ma'am, no sir. If God brought those walls down, those walls needed to come down in your life. And you don't need to go back sifting through the rubble to see if there's anything of value you may have left there. No, if God took it down, you don't need it. The ruins, the once mighty walls, testify to the fact that God is still in control. God has not lost, and He has power. There's a rich message contained for us today.
In Jericho's fallen wall. Jericho's heap of rubble speaks of a curse and a blessing, of judgment and grace, of punishment of the law and the treasure of His gospel. Jericho's rubble speaks of judgment and punishment first. When God came in and He shook the very foundation of those walls, the Canaanites, they had no idea what was going on, but they were being punished for their sins that were too numerous and too grievous for even to be listed in the Scripture. We just talked about that. They were just an immoral people that were there, and God had had all He could have of them. But I find it interesting that He didn't try to use the might of the army in this moment. Instead, He did things that seem to go so counter cultural, because that's what God usually does, is He goes against the grain. He didn't, He didn't tell Joshua, I want you to put on all the armor that you have, because they didn't have any armor. He didn't say, I want you to saddle up all the horses you got and hook up the chariots to show your might and your strength, because they didn't have any horses and no chariots. All He told him to do is, I want you just to listen to Me and be obedient to My word. And I want you to gather the people together, and I want you just to march quietly around the city. How humiliating it must have been as it began to march around the walled city that was there. I can only imagine in my mind, as the enemy is standing up on the walls looking over what's going on, they had to start poking fun at them and making light of how little they had. Look, they don't even have any spears. They don't even have any swords. What, what's going on right here? How, this is laughable. What is this? What is this? What is it people gonna do to us? And for, for six days they marched around, and they didn't say a word. On the seventh day they march around the wall seven times. Nothing's going on. To me, I can see the height of ridicule in this moment. But they were doing the best thing they could have done. They were being obedient to God's word. Because when the time came, the signal went out, the cry came out of their voice, and when they did, the walls fell down.

There's going to come a day, ladies and gentlemen, when God's going to require you to do some things that don't make sense. It doesn't make sense what, what, what road He's asking you to walk down, when it seems like you should be doing something quite different from, from, from what He's asking you to do. But I'm here to say that God's way is always the best way. Jericho's ruins testify the fact that God is still about a right and a wrong, that He still stands for truth, regardless of what the culture of the day intends to do. There's going to come a day, ladies and gentlemen, and sin is going to be judged. And let us not be low to sleep, or become so comfortable in this dispensation of grace, that we forget the fact that He's still a God that judges. I know it's a quiet message. Isn't a popular message. But please stick with me. There's a punishment because of the curse of sin.

The fallen walls present another message as well, that these piles of rubble proclaimed that the promised land was now ready to be entered. What had been told to them for quite some time now was being fulfilled in front of them through their obedience. The fallen rubble proclaimed that the city was now open, and they can march through. It was God who did the work, not them. Not through military might, not through strategy or power or weapons or tactical cunning, but only through faith did God do a work. Hebrews 11 and 30 says this: By faith the walls of Jericho fell. By faith the walls of Jericho fell. I, I would say this way: by faith in obedience, the walls of Jericho fell. No wonder God didn't want Jericho to be rebuilt. No wonder there was a curse over that rebuilt city. There was too much significance in what God had done and what God had set in motion. There had been a great victory, and, and the sin had been dealt with in that moment. But they were also given their open door into the promised land that was there for them. And God said, I don't want anybody to rebuild these walls. I took them down. Man didn't take them down. Man's power didn't take them down. Man's might didn't take them down. Man's wisdom didn't do this. But God said, I did that. You were obedient, and I took care of the problem in your life.

For somebody in this room, God has already done a work in your life, but for some reason you're feeling the urge to go back through the rubble one more time. See, there is something going on in that rubble. There's something there you need to stay away from, something you, you need to not, not get involved in. As most of you know in that story, before they go in, there was some final directions given in Joshua chapter six. And one of the last things God said to him before the walls came coming down is, I want you to go into that city, and I want you to kill every living thing. Don't leave anything alive then it's in that city. And all the spoil that is in there, you leave it alone. None of that belongs to you. I don't want you to touch anything that when you go in, because God always has something in life that's separated unto Him and belongs just to Him. It's not for you and I to, to ask the question why. It's for you and I to simply be obedient to what God has asked.

And we, we know, if you've read the story, that Aiken was so eat up when he went in there, that he was bothered by the things that he was seeing, in, in, in God's saying, by all means abstain from the accursed thing. Joshua chapter 6, verse 18: I didn't give them this verse. And, and by all means abstain from the accursed, unless you become a curse when you take the accursed thing and make it a camp, and the Israel accursed, because it's trouble. That's what God said. I'm going to, I'm going to give you a victory, and you're going to march through there, and you're going to take care of everything that is there. But I don't want you to touch any of it. And I sure don't want you to take it with you. It's a curse if you take it with you. You take the curse with you. Aiken didn't listen. And all of a sudden he, they listen to his words. I'm going, I'm going to pull this over here. We go to chapter 7, the words of Akin: When I saw among the spoils a beautiful Babylonian garment, 200 shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold weighing 50 shekels, I coveted them and took them, and they are hidden in the earth.

He went through, instead of being obedient, listening that God's already done a work. Don't pay attention those things. If you're going to look at that rubble, if you're going to look at that, just know and trust that's a victory God worked out for you. That was an obstacle that was standing between where you were and where God wanted you to be. That was a very thing that was keeping you from the promise that He told you about. But don't
Touch any of the stuff that's in the rubble, because what's in the rubble is cursed. And I'm afraid that there are some individuals who are compromising, and they're going back, and they're beginning to sift through the rubble and say, I don't know that God's really concerned with this or with that, or it's really important whether I do this or do that. I'm telling you, if God brought that stuff down, it was not intended for you to go back and start digging it up again. Ahead was trying to rebuild something that God didn't want to rebuilt. He didn't want that stuff going through again, because he, he knew that He had already laid out His plan and purpose for His people. And the curse went out. Joshua gave the curse. And I feel, feel strong, and he was led by God in that moment, to proclaim that nobody goes back. If anybody tries to rebuild this, it's going to cost you. It's going to cost you dearly.

I don't know about you, but these things have always bothered me. I don't understand why sometimes God, God does the things He does in the way that He does the things He does. So I was trying to study this out. And for, for, for any of the teachers and preachers in the room, I don't know, this has always been one of those passages of Scripture that just kind of gets — there's a few of them in the Bible that are this way — things where I'm always like, God, that almost seems unfair. Anybody besides me ever, they ever thought about that? There's just a few instances in the Scripture, and you read it, and you're like, God, it almost just seems unfair. Why? It's been over 500 years. Why? What if they just build the wealth? People are living in the city. It's not like they're rebuilding it from scratch. They're just trying to put the wall up to make it, to make it safe, to make it better. What's going on here? And as I began to study this out, God began to reveal a few things to me, and began to show me some stuff. I began to dig into some of the footnotes that were in the bottom of the pages here. There, there were two kingdoms at war in the world. There's the kingdom of Jesus Christ, and there's the kingdom of this world. And I'm here to ask today, what kingdom are you trying to be a part of? Because you're either in one camp or the other. You're not half in one camp and half in the other. You're either in the one, or you're in the other. And I'm wondering, where are you at today? Which kingdom are you trying to be a part of? There are those in the kingdom who, who are living by faith. And there are those in the kingdom who have enjoyed the dispensation of grace, but have not fully committed themselves. And there are some who have been committed, but they're all of a sudden backing up.

Please understand me. Listen to me. Listen to me, students, okay? For some of you, God has already done a work in your life. He's already brought some walls down in your life. He's already delivered you for some things. Some of you know exactly what I'm talking about. And if He has brought those walls down, don't rebuild them. Whatever you do, don't turn back to those things that God has already done in your life. There's more at stake than you realize. There's more there. If God has done the work, then you let God do that work, and you go on to the promise that's on the other side of that. Don't go back to the battlefield. Keep going forward into the promised land. Keep pushing into the great things that He has for you. He has vineyards you didn't plant, houses you didn't build. He has stuff for you that you can't even imagine. There's so much great things lying ahead from you. Don't get bogged down with the junk of this world. And don't let the outside influence tell you to go back and shift to the rubble. Don't do it. There's too much at stake for it.

I speak some moms and dads in this room. Please know my heart. And I say this, but I feel so strong. In prayer this morning, God was with me in such a special way yesterday afternoon as I was working on this. He just started unlocking my mind on some things. And what I feel is, there are some who have been raised in this, your multi-generational Apostolic Pentecostal. But for whatever reason, God has done a great work in your life and in your family, but you're starting to go back to those victories and dig through the rubble. You're starting to say, I don't understand why all of this is necessary. I understand we got to have some separation, but, but why is all of this separation necessary? Is all this stuff that is there — and I don't feel like I have to, to do all these things. And you're going to ease up in your mind. You're going to ease up. Because you know, the way your mom and dad raised you, there was a lot of stuff you didn't get to participate in. There was a lot of stuff that you, that you were excluded from. And there was, there were some times of ridicule and persecution that you went through in your schools. And, and you have made up in your mind that you're not going to do that to your kid, and you're not going to do that to your child. And all of a sudden you're going back over to the piles of rubble, and you're beginning to sift through and try to see if there's a Babylonian garment that is there, or there's a wedge of gold that is there. Then maybe it's covered up, and it's a shame for that stuff to be wasted. And what you've promised inside yourself is that your child is going to have a little easier apostolic life than you did. But I'm here to tell you, you're going to compromise. And when you compromise, you're going to sacrifice your children. It may not be extruded from your life. But there's a generation that's at stake, and God has proclaimed it in His word: The man who goes back and tries to build it will cost you your children.

Almost — see, Joshua had pronounced the curse upon anyone who dared silence the message of the stones that were in that rubble. As I was digging in the word and preparation, I discovered something. We don't know how the sons of High Eel died. They may have died as a curse, or Hail may have sacrificed him, because archaeological excavations have uncovered evidence of the practice in ancient biblical times called foundational sacrifice, in which children were buried, maybe even alive, in the foundations of buildings. 1634. An ancient Hebrew scribal tradition reads like this: He killed his oldest son when he laid its foundation, and he killed his youngest son when he set up its gates.

I know I grew up in a home where I was drugged to every church service, to every prayer meeting. There wasn't an option. If you got sick, we're gonna go to church. They'll pray for you. If you threw up, but now you feel better, let's go to church. I grew up in a home where, if one was sick, either mom or dad would stay, because the other parent took the other child and went. We didn't all have to stay home because one was sick. Hmm. I feel like I'm watching a generation who didn't have to be raised on the other side of the tracks, watching the most influential and wealthy apostolic generation that there has been
In modern times, buildings and edifices that our forefathers could have never dreamed of, who were standing with all this stuff that had been, that had been fought for, and God had brought out great victories, and they had paid such sacrificial prices to see those walls come down, for them to march into their promise. And I'm afraid there's a generation who didn't have to live through the wall fall down process, that for some reason has decided that it's a good idea to go back on an archaeological dig, because somebody told them that there's Babylonian garments buried over there, that there's some value in that rubble. And my pastor's heart is pleading with some moms and dads today, to tell you, maybe you didn't like everything you went through, but it's caused you to be here in this moment. There were things that your mom and dad committed themselves to that you didn't fully embrace, but it was because of their commitment you had half a chance to still be here today. But now you're being lackadaisical and your approach to God. And I'm here to tell you, your kids won't even show up. Is it worth it? Is it worth it? Now, is there a guarantee that you're going to have your kids 100 here? No. I wish I could guarantee you, because some of the best saints I know are sitting here today, and your kids are long gone. But I'm here to tell you, God loves them. He loves them more than you love them. And I'm still believing and praying with you. God's bringing them back. And we've seen backsliders this year come back, and God's done a restoration in their life, so I know He can do it. But I'm not talking about that yet. I'm talking about right now, in this room, where we are. I'm seeing some moms and dads do some things that I'm just not on board with. I'm, I'm worried about you going back to the rubble pile. There's trouble in that rubble. Don't go digging around, because you might find this or you might find that. What you might find is you lost your kids. It's not worth it.

There's nothing in here that says it's going to be easy. It's an intolerable book. But it does says, in this world you'll have trouble. It just says that they will hate you, but they hated Me first. Like, if you're trying to agree and get along with everybody, if you're trying to make it smooth sailing — nothing on your own. I try my best to do what I can for my, my girls are here. I love them. I, they have more than they deserve. They do. I'm thankful to do all those things. But there's just some things I will waver on. They can override me. I overrode my mom and dad. I'm not perfect. I've done things I'm just embarrassed and ashamed that I've done. There's nothing to brag about, nothing to be proud about. By the grace of God I'm here today. But no, I can't. Avery, Kaylee, I can't. Embry, I can't. There's just some things your mom and I, we won't back up on, because it's not worth it. We've come too far, and we're too close to go back and digging through the past and try to ask ourselves the question, is it really necessary? Is it this, or is it that, or is it this?

And I know there's been a lot happening in the past few weeks. And there's been some statements that have been made and circulating on social media about pastor and preachers saying some things that are not scriptural, not biblical based. I'm not here to tell you I'm going to come at you with a Bible. If you've been around here anytime, you know I'm coming at you with the Bible. I'm not coming at you with my opinion, because my opinion doesn't matter, and neither does yours. But the Word of God, staying in the Word of God. I'm not here to dig up some things about all that. But I'm going to tell you, there were some old paths that led up to some altars, where there was some supernatural experiences. And I'm afraid, if we keep going after something that's convenient and soothing to us, that's all we're gonna get, is something that's convenient and soothing to us. And when it all gets said and done, we're gonna miss out on what the whole thing was about. There's trouble in the rubble. There's trouble in there. You need to learn to celebrate those walls being down.

When Israel approached Jericho to take it at the beginning, God instructed Joshua in chapter six: Do not leave anything there, or do not leave, don't take anything that is there. You leave it all. But all of a sudden, 500 years later, somebody thinks it doesn't matter. It's just an old book. It's got some good stories in it. I think we need to rebuild them walls. Is that in this message today? It's not an old book. It's the living Word of God. There are principles in there that meet us right where we are every day, and meet us right where we are every day. And there are some things that are just not worth compromising over. I know the spirit of the day is, is compromise. I know the feeling is, there's so much turmoil and so much unrest. Can't we just find some common ground to meet another one? Not if common ground means I compromise. I'm sorry. There's so much out there pushing. They become so obstinate, and I'm not trying to be obstinate. I'm just trying to be firm in the word.

So as you stand with me today, I feel like it's a time to do a little reflecting on where we are. Have we, have we been so comfortable in the presence of God that we've let our guard down? And by doing so, some of the thoughts of the day have learned to creep into where we are. I'm gonna tell you, ladies and gentlemen, there's trouble in that rubble. It's not meant for you to dig in. It's meant for you to remember. It's meant for you to remember what God has done, that He is faithful, and that He keeps His word. I don't know where you are right now. I feel like I'm desperately reaching for somebody. Or if you pray with me: God, I love You. I thank You, Jesus, for the truth that is in Your word and Your presence that is in this room right now. But I pray that we would not allow a compromising attitude and the compromising mindset take us over and miss all that You have for us. God, there are victories that You have brought us through in our life, that we need to always remember Your goodness and Your faithfulness. But God, let us not go back digging through things we may have missed. For Lord, if You've taken those things from us, You knew we didn't need them anyway. God, I pray in this room for every hurt, every pain, every disappointment, every failure. I pray for a peace, Lord Jesus, just to flow in. Let us be comfortable making sure that we're doing the right thing, that we're standing on Your truth, that we're obedient to Your word. We're obedient to Your will and Your plan for our life. Draw us to a place where we can make a change. In the name of Jesus we pray.

As your eyes are still closed, this altar is open. Coming down the altar doesn't mean you're a sinner. Could be a sinner. It doesn't mean you're a sinner. Coming to the altar simply signifying that you need God to do something in your life. I pray, I pray you shore up yourself. Psalter's open. It's prayer time.