United We Stand - Part 5
by Kevin Allen
August 22, 2021 · Centerpointe Apostolic Church (Murfreesboro, TN)
Kind: sermon
Scripture: Psalms 133:1, Romans 3:10, Matthew 24, Psalms 23:1, Psalms 18, 1 Corinthians 6:20, John 6:44, Matthew 13:44, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Acts 20:28, Philippians 1:6, Psalms 1:1-3, Hebrews 13:6, Psalms 37:5, Proverbs 3:5-6, John 10:2-5, John 10:9, John 10:14, Deuteronomy 6:4-5, Daniel 3:17-18, Job 13:15, Isaiah 26:3, Job 13:13, Job 13:15, Genesis 22:5, Matthew 7, Hebrews 12:1, Acts 23:11, 2 Timothy 4:6, Hebrews 13:5, Philippians 4:22, Psalms 23:1-6

Source: https://acts238.life/repository/sermons/kevin-allen--united-we-stand-part-5
Published by Acts 2:38 Life from the sermon transcript on that page.
Free to copy and share with attribution.

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If you make your way to your seats, we're going to go to Psalms 133. We've been in a series this entire month on Sundays I've called United We Stand, talking about the importance of being unified together. Psalms 133 and 1 says: Behold, how good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity. And it's from that that we've based this series. And we've been talking about the importance of not only being unified together in what we believe, but also moving forward in what we call non-negotiable Apostolic truths. So the reason I felt this is because the wind's blowing and things are being shaken. You may be seated. We're facing a lot of stuff in our world today. And things are lining up for what I know to be the end. And because of that, I felt God burdening me to make sure I came back, and we reviewed over the things that are important.

See, I need you, and you need me. We're better together. And I can only become all that God wants me to be when I'm helping you become all that God wants you to be. So we need each other. I spent that whole first Sunday talking about how important it is that we're unified on this front. And then I talked about on the second Sunday the revelation and understanding of the mighty God in Christ, that there is one God, in his name is Jesus. And that is a non-negotiable Apostolic truth that you can build your life on. The wind is blowing. Things are being shaken. Everything that will be shook is being, has been shaken around us. And I came back with that, an important truth. And then last Sunday I preached about a, another non-negotiable. And that was the lifelong process of sanctification, that we are to be the salt and light. We are to manifest God's glory, and we are to reflect it in our world today. And my reason for doing that is, is we're living in a world that has taken basic essential value of Christian modesty and holiness, and outright rejected it. And I don't know, I don't know why, when the word of God so well lays out the life that he wants us to live. Then Wednesday night I added an extra message on Wednesday night. And I talked about the new birth experience and the plan of salvation that is there. Because guys, we're living in the final days. For decades now, churches have taught more about how to live in the world, and how to live in the world's final days. And as a result, many Christians are clueless about what's happening. They're clueless about why it's happening, and what they should do about it. And I fear that the lack of sound biblical and prophetic teaching has left God's people unguarded, unprepared for living in the final days.

And this is what I mean by that. A growing number of people who go to church and attend church believe that people are basically good. So when someone commits an evil act, difficult circumstances or bad environment is blamed. In other words, personal responsibility has been removed. It was just circumstantial, is why they did it. And that's why many pastors and leaders pursue social action and awareness, because they're simply trying to make the world better. The world's not going to get better. That's a fool's errand. If you think the world's going to get better, then you have not read the word of God. No, we're heading headlong into the final days. They have a wrong premise, because they're looking in the wrong place. The word of God teaches that there are none righteous, no not one, according to Romans 3, chapter 3 verse number 10. That's what the word of God says, that none of us are righteous. Scripture also tells us that in the final days will be just like the days of Noah. That's what Jesus said in Matthew 24. If you don't know what that's about, I encourage you to go back and read the days of Noah, because men's thoughts were continually on evil. That's where we are. The world is getting worse, and will continue to do so, until Jesus reigns. That's exactly why the work of the church is saving souls, not saving the world. The work of the church is saving souls, not saving this
 lost world. It's saving souls. We need to share the love and mercy of Jesus Christ urgently. But we cannot do that without talking about sin. Many people in church no longer acknowledge or even understand the holiness of God. Much like Noah pointed people to the ark, we are to point people to Jesus, so that they can be rescued from God's wrath, which will be poured out. The wrath that his holiness demands. But if a church doesn't talk about sin, there's no need to mention God's holy nature. So people look to explain away the evil in the world, and to deal with its consequences. No wonder we're seeing such a rise in anxiety and depression and dependency on everything, just to keep going. Suicide rates climb. The American church seems to be satisfied with teaching coping techniques, rather than giving clear biblical instruction and direction.

I know some of you may think, man, Pastor Kevin, you come out of the gate, it's been really hard. It's an urgency in my spirit, that for somehow, for some reason, somehow, some way, even those amongst the Apostolic ranks have viewed church as optional. And that any other thing they desire to do, it's easy for them to walk away. The mere fact that their kids have to ask him, are we going to church today, is a big indication of a problem in the home. Your kids should be surprised if you don't go to church. They shouldn't come down saying, are we going to go to church today? If they're doing that, I'm sorry, mom and dad, you got a problem in your house. You have shown them that other things are more important than being in the house of God. And you have bought into the culture of today. And you pacify yourself by knowing just enough word to be dangerous. Be on guard is the command from Jesus. Hearts today are way down. Maybe if that's because Christians in general are not on guard or alert of the times. Instead, they have learned how to live in Babylon. They've embraced it. I'm sorry, the word of God says we are to be strangers and pilgrims. But some of you have made a home here. My heart hurts. I believe we're living in the final days. This encourages me to be prepared. Because I know what the world is spinning, and I know the conclusion that's coming. I can live with urgency instead of anxiety. I can live with urgency instead of anxiety. The calming presence of his Holy Spirit guards my heart and my mind, while directing me to the truth that is in the scriptures. And it is from that standpoint that I have preached this series this month. That we have to stand united on these truths.

I feel strongly that God has given me a word to wrap up, an anchor so to speak. Another non-negotiable of our Apostolic doctrine. And it goes like this: we have to move from a place of Jesus being our Savior, to where he becomes Lord of our life. Too many people only know him as Savior. And him being your Savior is entrance into the kingdom. But it's not going further for where he wants you to be. You have to get him off the cross. You have to get him out of the tomb. Because he's no longer there. Ladies and gentlemen, he's on a throne. That's where he sits. And his desire is to sit on the throne of your life. But you have to allow him to do that. You have to get up and give him permission: Today, be Lord of my life.

To help me in making this crystal clear for all of us, are going to take us to one of the most quoted verses in all of scripture. Psalms 23 and 1. David says: The Lord is my shepherd. The Lord is my shepherd. When I begin to think about individuals in the Bible, I believe that David is one of the few people in all of scriptures who could walk into a service today and have some understanding of what we do. I believe that he would come in, and he would be a part of our worship service. And he would worship, and he would praise, because he could understand what we do. I don't think the prophet Isaiah would walk in and have a
 clue what's going on. I don't think Moses would know, because there's no bush burning around here. He couldn't figure it out. But I think David could come into our service. He could show up, and he could be a part of what's going on. His, his life story fascinates me in the scriptures. I'm always drawn to him, to understand how this flawed man became so revered and respected by God. How that David has lived on in scripture as a man after God's own heart. Considering what he has done in his life, the mistakes that he's made. How that it was David's throne that was going to be established forever. What is it about him that makes him so much different from everybody else? When you and I both know, look at his life story. And it gives me hope. Because if God considers him to be that way, then maybe there's hope for me. Because I know I'm broken. I know I'm flawed. I know I'm a human being who needs help. So one of the things I believe about him is, David shows us in his word and understanding. To me, when I look at the first part of that verse I read there, David said, David is establishing a precedent that the rest of that psalm hangs on, when he says: The Lord is my shepherd. I love when I read through the scriptures, where we see the Bible uses the definite article when it talks about God. Oftentimes what we see there is, it's referred to as, that he is the Lord. Or he is the great I Am. Or he is the everlasting Father. He is the Prince of Peace. Or he is the Rose of Sharon. Or he is the Lily of the valley. Or he is the bright and morning star. But when I read through the Psalms, especially David's Psalms, I see him using a different definite article when he was referring to God. Yes, he calls him the Lord, because he know he is the one true God. But he also says that he is my shepherd. Psalms 18 is a great one to give an example, where David goes through and, and he, he declares him to be the Lord. And then he says he's my God, over and over again. He's the Lord, and he's my God. Because there's, there's something different about when I establish it. He's not just God. He's my God. He is my Lord, that I have a personal relationship with him. Regardless of what goes on in your life, he is my God. He belongs to me, and I am his. And this is what I sense and what I pick up when I read in Psalms 23, when David declares from the beginning. In fact, the rest of that psalm only makes sense when you understand that he says he's my shepherd. And this is what my shepherd does for me. He was declaring that he is my Lord. In fact, I think it's safe to say, and I'm going to show you here with scriptures, that when you look at God and you declare him to be your Lord of your life, you are declaring that he's going to be the shepherd of your life. Because Jesus himself declared who he was.

You and I, we have been bought with a price. First Corinthians 6 and 20 says: For you were bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God. We have been purchased. We did not just decide one day to be a Christian. No. Now you, you have been a part of that process. But John 6 44 says: No man can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. There was something drawing you. And it was that drawing that caused you to make a decision to go towards God. But his Spirit drew you. You're not here alone. You're here because you were being drawn. You're here because you are something worth purchasing. Matthew 13 and 44: Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field. Which a man found and hid. And for the joy over it, goes and sells all that he has, and buys the field. This parable relates to how Jesus sees you. You were the treasurer worth buying. You were the treasurer that he was
 willing to sell. You were the treasurer that he was willing to leave heaven, robe himself in flesh, and come to this earth. And, and sacrificed himself to pay the senate of sin, the penalty of sin. He was the lamb that was slain from the foundation of the world. Have you ever stopped long enough to think about what your relationship means to God? Not what it means to you, but what your relationship means to him. That he was willing to go to those links to pay that price, to, to, to pay for you. Do you understand that when he leaned over in the garden, and he was forming man out of the dust of the earth, when he reached over to breathe life into that, he knew in the moment he did that, that that lump of clay would come to life, and it would have the ability to reject him? Do you understand the magnitude of what he was doing in that moment? That there would come a time when you would outright reject everything that I'm trying to do for you. You will turn your back. You will sin against me. And it will cost me leaving heaven to come down and die on a cross, to save this thing. But he loved you enough to do that.

I don't know about you, but ladies and gentlemen, sometimes I struggle with that knowledge. A struggle with that knowledge, that he would love me that much. It boggles my mind, that he so desired a relationship with me, that he thought I was worth all of that. How do I compute that? The real cost of creation was just that: Jesus would have to pay the price for our sins. Second Corinthians 5 21: For he made him that knew no sin to be sinned for us. The only sinless man that ever walked was Jesus. He was perfect. And that's hard for me to understand, perfection. Because I know me. And I know most of you. And we're not perfect. We're far from it. But my Jesus, my sweet Jesus, he came to be sin. When Jesus cried out on the cross: Why, how's that forsaken me? It was not the weight of man that caused in the crowd. It was the sin. I've heard it said he came to carry our sins. But that's not what the scripture says. The scripture says he became sin. He became sin. So that you and I would have the ability to live an overcoming life. Every ugly thing that mankind had ever done, or ever would do, was nailed to that cross. No wonder he cried out. No wonder the heavens were darkened out, so that only heaven and hell could understand what was going on. Because it was too awful for man to even see and witness, and see what took place. The only way sin could be dealt with was by a perfect sacrifice being made.

Acts 20 28: Therefore take heed to yourself, and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God, which he purchased with his own blood. Ladies and gentlemen, he risked everything to purchase us. Therefore we are his. And that's a truth that you have to settle inside, and get your mind around. That he has not bought you and, and to let you fail. He hasn't brought you this far for you to slip out of his hand. Do you think about the price he paid, in the lengths he went to, to have salvation available for you? What makes you think that there's going to be anything you're going to come against, that he's not going to be willing to fight with you, alongside you, to bring you through on the other side? He's already paid too high a price to let you fall down. He'll always be right where you are. He'll meet you. He's paid that kind of price. He's probably a high price, much too high, to give up.

Philippians 1 and 6: Being confident in this very thing. Being confident in this very thing. Paul says, I'm confident in this. What's he confident in? Him, that he who has begun a good work on you will complete it. Somebody needs to hang on to that verse. Somebody needs to write it down right there. That you can have confidence that God started
 something in you, he'll see it through. He'll finish it. It doesn't matter the mistakes you've made. It doesn't matter the failures. If you're willing to get up one more time, he's willing to partner with you one more time. He's willing to see you through this thing. Stop making the mistakes. Turn from the sin in your life. Put your feet on a solid rock and a foundation based upon his word. And I promise you this: you'll get through this life. He's paid too much to drop you now.

Paul was confident that God could see him through no matter what. He was confident, because he was Lord of his life. I'm here to ask you, ladies and gentlemen, to make you think. I need you to process this in your own mind. Is he Lord of all of your life? See, Lord of all. The nominal churches talk about that. He needs to be Lord of all. But they don't mean it. They don't mean it. And the reason I say they don't mean it is because they don't back it up with scripture. Don't back it up with truth. For him to be Lord of your life, he has to be Lord of all, or he's not Lord at all. It's not optional. It's not pick and choose. It's not, I'm going to allow him to be Lord in my finances, but not Lord of my calendar. I'm not, I'm going to allow him to be the Lord of the inside, but, but not the outside. No. He's either Lord of all, or he's not Lord Adolf. He's not going to take part. He's not going to take a peace. He didn't give a part or a peace on the cross. He gave all. And he purchased you all. Everything, locked, stock and barrel. And that's what his desire is, is to be Lord of all of your life. He is the Lord. He is the great I Am. He is the everlasting Father. And, and, and I could go on and on. But it, it doesn't matter whether you even understand this. It doesn't negate who he is. Whether you comprehend it, it doesn't take it away. But we need to move in our relationship. And David said that he is mine. David made it personal. Ladies and gentlemen, it's not just enough to acknowledge all that he is. But you have to embrace it. You have to embrace it. You have to accept it, that it is for my life. Your relationship with God must become personal. And from that relationship comes confidence in your everyday life.

Last week when I talked about it, I don't have time to go through all that. And I know it was a lot in one message. But the process of sanctification, and it's, and it's still alive and well today. Nobody preaches about it anymore. Nobody talks about it anymore. It doesn't mean it's any less true. But nobody's going down that road. But the process of sanctification is to get you to the point to where he is Lord of every area of your life. And if you don't understand that word sanctification, I encourage you to go back to the website, go back to the app, and listen to last Sunday's message, and let me walk you through the scriptures and the process of sanctification. Because it is a must. It is a must. It is a non-negotiable for this life. But that process of sanctification will get you to the point to where we are today. For, for there to be the ability for him to be Lord of your life.

Psalms 1 verse number 1 says: Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the sea, the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord. And in his law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bring forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall never wither, shall not wither. And whoever he does shall prosper. The blessings of God, right? That's a popular subject in our world today. Everyone wants to talk about the blessings of God. The blessings of God. The blessings God. The problem with that is, we think about blessings of God with human intellect. We consider the
 blessing of God, when I go over to the gas station, and while I'm getting my Mountain Dew in my Moon Pie, I get a scratch ticket, and I scratch it off, and God gives me five thousand dollars. The favor of God is on me. God has blessed me today. And when that is our understanding of the blessing of God, then you are treating him no different than Santa Claus. Santa Claus didn't die on a cross for me. No. And we think that when things are going our way, that God's hand is on us, and his blessings are in my life. Are you okay? This is what we think. That it's working out. Things are going my way. That I have God's hand, his divine favors, on my life. That's what blessing is. Because things are going. And the moment things are not going away: I don't know why God's against me. I don't know why God's not answering my prayer. I don't know why God's not showing up. The blessings of God are not in my life. You cannot view it that way. You can't view it on a day by day basis, whether or not the blessing of God is in your life. In fact, you have to live it for a while, so that you can look back over time and say, man, God's hand has been on my life. It's not looking at it over a couple of days. It's looking at over a few years. It's looking at over where I am now versus where I was 10 years ago. I've lived in long enough at this point in my life, they're 45 years old, to tell you this: God has been good to this boy. He has been good to me. I see where I was, and now I know where I am. And though there are some ups and downs in my life, God has blessed me time and time and time again. You have to look at it not one day at a time, but what has God done over time, to understand the blessings in my life.

Hebrews 13 6: So we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper. I will not fear. What can man do to me? We have to be careful about understanding when things work in my life. The blessing of God are not just momentary. They're the results of a long-standing favor of God in my life. I love the anointing preaching here today. I feel God's anointing on me. And then those who have ministered and been operated on in ministry, you know when that anointing comes, all right? It feels good. But we've got to be careful with that. Especially those Apple stocks. Man, we mess it up. We'll have some jack-legged fly by night getting a pulpit, and the anointing again on him. And man, he'll preach the house down. And next thing you know, man, everybody in there and their brothers got him booked up for revival over here. He said: Man, man, he preached the word. He's got anointed. He's anointed. Now don't get me wrong. The anointing breaks the yoke of bondage. But here's the deal, all right. Balaam's donkey was anointed. God used a donkey to speak. He used a rooster to make an altar call. But, but I'm going to tell you right now, honey, that donkey and that rooster ain't going to be in heaven. They were there for a moment to serve a purpose. Because God's will will always be done. And since nobody else is willing to speak in that moment, he turned that donkey's head around and used it. So don't get all puffed up just because there's an anointing resting on you. And there's been too many people got in trouble, because somebody was anointed. And then the next thing that came out of their mouth that wasn't anointed, they took it as gospel truth. You better get in the book and understand what the word says. And if, even if an anointed man says something to contrary to the word of God, you better hold up just a minute. I don't care how anointed it is. We have to be careful. Because the anointing is for function. But the blessings of God are the long-standing favor in our life. When we have been faithful, and we have made God our shepherd, then we can say he's my
 helper. What do I have to fear? What do I have to fear? What could, what do I feel, what man's going to do to me? My God's been with me. I can go back in my life. I got a track record that shows that God has stood with me through the ups and downs of life. I don't have to have man beside me. My God goes with me. The sad truth of this: far too many appstocks do not have a shepherd experience in their life.

Psalms 37 and 5: Commit your way to the Lord. Trust also in him. Trust also in him. Look at your neighbor and say, trust in him. And he shall bring it to pass. Two points that David makes in this one verse: commit your ways, and trust in him. Commit your ways, and you trust in him. Now that's interesting. That word right there, that Hebrew word for trust, and this verse is talking about an absence of fear. So many interpreters never get to this point, the point of complete trust. They have not allowed sanctification to take them to this place, which leads them to struggle with the reality of allowing God to be their shepherd, to trust him. Because trust is paramount. You must get to the place where we trust in the Lord. Trust him to be the Lord of our lives. The Solomon instructed us this in Proverbs chapter 3: Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understandings. And always acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy past. How does that happen? Trust. Trust where? With all your heart. Not part, but with all. Trust comes from an understanding that I don't know how to do everything. It's comprehending that truth and allowing it to settle in my life. I don't know it all. Therefore I must have a shepherd in my life to guide me.

And then Jesus went on and declared this in John chapter 10: But he who enters in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens. And the sheep hear his voice. And he calls his own sheep by name, and leads them out. And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them. And the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. Let me tell you right now, ladies and gentlemen: you know, the voice of God is right here. There's the voice of God. If you've never heard it, then read it. It's right there. There's the voice of God. You want to be familiar with it? Go here. Go right here. That way, when something moves on you, if it goes contrary to this, you know it was bad pizza. It wasn't God moving on you. Because he's never going to contradict his forever settled word. That's why it's important you're putting this in you every day. Now I know, I'll bring it up here every time I'm in this pulpit. I'll wave it around on purpose. Because you got to have the word of God in your heart. You've got to have it in your heart. David said: Your word have I hid in my heart, so I won't sin against you. And it's your word that I open up, that's a lamp to my feet, that guides me so that I can see in the dark places. And I don't wonder of course. How do you do it? Word of God. He says: My sheep know my voice. My sheep know my word. Then Jesus goes on in verse nine and says: I am the door. And if anyone enters by me, he will be saved. And we'll go in and out and find pasture. Because that's what sheep want. They want pasture. Not pastor. Pasture. Because that's where we get fed. Ladies and gentlemen, it's all in him. It's all in him. The mighty God is Jesus. And it's all in him. Our God, for whom we've waited. Hey, they sing those old songs. There's a lot of meaning in there. Because it's all in him. This is what Jesus was saying in John chapter 10, as it's all in him. He goes on to verse 14: I am the good shepherd. And I know my sheep. And I am known by my own. He desires to be your shepherd, to be the Lord of your life. And
 we have to get this right. To truly be sheep, you must trust the shepherd. Say that, Allah, only trust. That's what sheep do. They trust. They don't question what the shepherd's doing. They don't argue amongst themselves: I think he's going the wrong way. Wherever the shepherd goes, they just follow in behind him. Wherever he leads, he's willing to go. And what sanctification does for you and I is, it gets us to the point where I can trust God no matter where he leads me. If he leads me to a pasture of good and plenty, where blessings are in my life, I like it. And I'm there. And I eat, and I grow, and I have those moments. But when he leads me to a pasture of loss and uncertainty, I still trust that the shepherd knows what's best for me. I don't refuse to follow after him. Because if I don't have a shepherd, I wander around lost all by myself. I intend to trust my shepherd wherever he leads me to go. That's when he becomes my shepherd.

Apostolic struggle with this. Let me explain. Deuteronomy 6 4 and 5. Oh, we get cranked up. Somebody want to shout right there, just by saying Deuteronomy 6. One God. Hero Israel, the Lord our God is. That was weak. Hero Israel, the Lord our God is. Five says, you skip over it. It's there. It goes fast. You'll miss it. Five says: You shall. Notice it did not say, ye shall serve. Oh, this is where it gets sticky. This is where some people miss the most important thing. The commandment was: Hero is the Lord of God is one. Followed by: You shall love. Not, you shall serve. Because if it's only about serving, I'll get tired of that. You all okay? I don't get over here a lot. Y'all doing all right? You shall love. Because when it's all about serving: I'm just gonna serve the Lord. I'm gonna serve the Lord with gladness. When you try to serve the Lord with gladness, you got to work up a little gladness. Because there's sometimes you serve, and it's not so glad. Too many Apostolics have only had a serve relationship with God, and they're missing the love. They put everything in the servant God. Well, they master it all. They know the fundamental doctrine. They know the Apostolic foundations. They understand the lifestyle convictions. And it's all important, ladies and gentlemen. That is all. There are non-negotiables. We've been going through that all month. They're non-negotiables. But they do it with a servant's mind. They serve. That's why those kind of people who are only about serving, they keep score. They watch what's going on. And when somebody else isn't living up, they're ready to call them out: Hey, hey, hey, they ain't living right. Why they're doing it? Because they're keeping tally. Because they don't like doing what they're doing. And they feel like they're having an undue, unfair amount. They're having to keep up with it. Somebody else isn't doing it. So they start keeping tally. They start keeping score. They keep check marks. Some of you ought to be feeling a little hellfire looking on your feet right now, because you keep score. I don't know what you're keeping score for. I don't know who you're going to turn it into. What are you going to do with that list? Well God, I was watching the other day, and you know Jane and Joe and Elrod. What are you doing with that? What are you doing with it? What are you doing with it? Why are you keeping up on what they're doing? Why? What good is it doing you? It's just keeping you cranked up. It's keeping you missing out on what God's trying to. I'm trying to take you somewhere today. I'm trying to tell you about something that's going to prevent you from getting where you want to go. For someone who have, who has spent a lifetime of serving, but somehow missed the love aspect of it. At some point you got to make your mind up. Regardless of what anybody else around me is doing, I'm doing this because I love my God. He is my shepherd. He is the Lord of my life. There's more than just serving God. Trust transcends serving. Trust is a matter of the heart, not a mind thing
. Trust does not demand guarantees. For so many, when God calls us to trust him, we want to bargain. We want to guarantee. We want to, we want to fleece God. We want to, we, we, we, we, we know that when we're going out, out of our way, that then the truth is this: there are a lot of things that you're going to do in the service to God down here, that you're never going to see paid out in this life. I'm going to tell you right now, that's some pretty good preaching, even if it is me. There's a whole lot of stuff you're going to do down here, that you may never get a slap on the back. You may never get an acknowledgement that you've ever done it. It's never going to pay off down here. But is that what you're looking for? Is a pat on the back from man? Are you looking for a payoff down here? Because if that's what you're looking for, I promise you this, this is the truth: you will be disappointed. And if that's what you're going for, you're going to be frustrated. You're going to be disappointed. You're going to be depressed. Because man will disappoint you. People are pitiful. And guess what? We're all people. Brother Ronnie Mullins write a great little book about, people are pitiful. And we're all people. There are a lot of things you want to see. To me, this is the best way I know to relate this thing, to get your head around this. It's like the, the, the, are y'all okay? I'm taking my time. It's like the Good Samaritan. Like he, he, he shows up. The old boys had to stew beat out of him. And he, nobody, everybody else passes by. The priest goes by. Everybody's going by. But the Good Samaritan, he goes over there. He picks him up. He takes him to the innkeeper. And he presents him to the innkeeper. And he says: Look, here's, here's the deal. I need you. I got to keep going. But I need to take care of them. Here I'm going to give you some funds to take care of what goes on. I think this is going to happen. But there's a chance. There's a chance this might not cover it. But when I come back, I'll make it right. See, you, you're doing some stuff down here. And we got, we have the Holy Ghost, all right. How many got the Holy Ghost? Whoo. It's in you, right? And then the word of God says that's the earnest. That's the down payment. It's the earnest of our inheritance. I talked about that on Wednesday night. That's the earnest. Man, how good is it going to be when we get there? Come on. I can't even tell you how good the Holy Ghost is now. I mean, I sound like an idiot trying to describe it. It's just good. But that's the earnest of the inheritance. And see, we get to serve, serving without the love. And then we're like: Man, I've been, I've been, I've been shelling out a lot. I'm, you know, I've been paying out. And my pockets is in. And he's saying: But when I return, when I return, I'll settle it up. So why are you worried about what man is trying to do, when you have a God who says, I'll take care of you? Is he worth his word? If he says he's going to take care of it, then what are you worried about? Sheep don't look for guarantees. They follow their shepherd wherever he leads.

You think about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Or Shadrach and Benny, for the VeggieTale generation. Right? Nebuchadnezzar says: You're going to bow. You're going to battle. They're going to blow them trumpets again. You boys going to bow now? This here's, there's a difference when you have a shepherd in your life. Because this is what they said in Daniel chapter 3 verse 17: If that is the case, our God in whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace. He'll deliver us from your hand. My God can spit and put that fire out. That's Kevin's version. If I was riding in, I can just see him. Shadrach and Benny, my God spit, put your fire out. But that's not where you see the shepherd. You
 see the commitment in the next verse. Verse 18: But if not. This is when someone has committed to him being Lord. But if he does, he can. He can. But if he doesn't, then know this: I'm still not going to bow. Because he's my Lord. And if he chooses not to save me right now, it's okay. He's still worth my life. Sheep don't look for guarantees. They just follow the shepherd.

Does anybody here ever, is anybody, let's just say, church is a great place to be honest. Is there anybody here that actually questions God's ability? Do you, do you question, guys? I think everybody here is like, I, I'm good. I know God. He, he's God. He created everything. He's got, he can do that. Where we, where we struggle is, we don't know if he's always going to do it for me. All right, you with me? But you know, everybody's like: Can God do it? Yes. Is he going to do it for you? I don't know. No, no. And for some, faith is based on what God will do, not what God can do. When the truth is this: faith has nothing to do with God. Faith has everything to do with me. Regardless of what God does. I'm going to say that again for you note takers. Faith has nothing to do with God. Faith has everything to do with me. Regardless of what God does. Shadrach and Benny, they trusted regardless of what God did. Job, after all of his loss, man, what a tough deal that is. You can't read Job, you can't read that and not be like, man, that is tough. Now we know the end of the book. Guess what? Job didn't. Job didn't. He was living it. He was just living this out. And this, and then, and after all was lost, being confronted with his so-called friends, you see this in Job 13-15. He says simply this: Though he slayed me, yet well I trust him. Even if he kills me. Even if he takes it all the way. And he's already took everything away but my life. But even if he kills me, I'm still going to trust him. He is my shepherd.

This world is not our home. Or is it? Some of you have struggled being pilgrims and strangers. I said that's a few minutes ago. Isaiah 26 and 3: You will keep him at perfect peace, whose mind has stayed on you, because he trusts. If he's Lord of your life, you reach a point where you trust the shepherd is going to do what's best for me. Even if I don't think it's best. I trust that he's doing what's best for me. The Hebrew word there for state can also be the same word as set, SCT. It's like when concrete, you know, it sets up and it becomes hard. When, when, when whose mind has stayed. Whose mind is, is set. Who, who has decided, I'm going to trust. Because trust brings peace, and trust prevents bitterness. See, we go through things that others look in and wonder what in the world have they done. Don't act like you ain't done it. Like, man, they better get their act right. God is just raining down on them right now, not in a good way. Then sometimes we, when we're going through stuff, we struggle thinking, what are they thinking about me? Because we know we've been doing okay. I think about this. When I think about this story, I think about, I think about Joseph. I think about the story of, of Benjamin. And when he, when Joseph is there, we know his story. He gets, he gets sold into slavery. But he ends up rising up. And he's, he's up. He's right. He's, he's second in command. Everything's going good. His brothers appeared before him. And then they, his brothers are sitting there. And he says: Look, I need you to go back and bring your youngest brother here. Because Benjamin was just a little kid when he left. He hadn't seen him. So Benjamin shows up. And they have the dinner at Joseph's house. And everybody's sitting there. And everybody has a, everybody has a servant waiting on them. Everybody has a plate of food. But they look down the end of the table. And there said it's Benjamin down there. And he's got three
 servants, and he's got three plates of deliciousness all around him. And they're like: Hey, what's up with that? That's Benjamin getting so much. Looking at the blessing, asking the question. But Benjamin's blessing in that moment had absolutely nothing to do with Benjamin. Because Joseph was testing his brothers. Because just a few verses later, all of a sudden, Joseph's golden cups and Benjamin sack. And Benjamin's being hauled off to prison. Benjamin hadn't done a thing. He got drug into it. Had nothing going on. Ladies and gentlemen, you're going to go through some things that don't have anything to do with you. You can believe it if you want to. But there are circumstances oftentimes we go through, and, and you have nothing to do with it. God is using you to get to somebody else. Some of our biggest struggles is wondering what others are thinking about us while we're going through things. Bad things happen to good people. That's just life, ladies and gentlemen. It doesn't negate God's goodness. It does not take away from his lordship. That's why you need to settle the issue that he is Lord of my life.

If I go back to Job, his friends are convinced that it's Job's fault. They're looking at him and said: Joe, we never heard anybody go through something like this. You had to have sinned. You had to have sin in your life. Because God is raining down judgment on you. That's why this is going on. And Job's going, and Joe's about to pull his hair out of his head: And I haven't done a thing. If I've been joking, I'm like, go back and read the first few views of verses of chapter one. I was perfect and upright. There ain't nobody like me. I probably had that page toy out, walking around showing people. But he said in verse 13: Hold your peace with me, and let me speak. Then come on me what may. This is the man who's established who's Lord of his life. That I'll say my peace, and whatever comes, just let it come. I'm still going to trust. Because it was two verses later in 15 that he makes that statement: Though he slayed me, yet well I trust him. The only way you get to that point is by being able to trust your shepherd.

Abraham is confronted by God. It says: I want you to take Isaac, your son, your only son. I want you to go sacrifice him to me. We struggle with that in our day and age, because we don't sacrifice our kids that way. We sacrifice our kids sometimes, but not that way. That's another lesson. I want you to take your son, your only son. I can't, like, my head hurts trying to think about this. I don't have a son. To have three daughters. And I can't imagine God's saying, I want you to take your daughter. I know Wesley, you can't think about taking little [name redacted] now. You, you probably in the teenagers with [name redacted], you've had a moment or two. You're like: I'll drag him out right now, God. You just say the word. Take your son, your only son. If God were just about rules and regulations, Abraham would have struggled with this. Listen to me, don't miss this truth here. He would have struggled, if it would just have been a God of rules and regulation. If it's just been about serving, it'd have been tough. But instead we get some insight. Because Genesis 22-5, and Abram said to his young man, they've unloaded the donkeys, the beast of bird, and I got everything. He's got the wood on his back. He's got the fire in his hand. He's got the knife in his hand. And he says this: Stay here with the donkey. The lad and I go yonder to worship. He didn't say, we go yonder in sacrifice. He didn't say that, Doug Elkins. He said, we go yonder and worship. And then watch the rest of us say, read it: And we will come back to you. Now in my mind, because he had established the lordship issue in his life, Abraham said: I'm either going to bring him back holding him in my arms, he's going to be dead, or we're going to walk back. But either way, we're going there to worship. Because this wasn't about a sacrifice
. See, see, far too many people are living in the mode of sacrifice. It's never about sacrifice. It's worship. I go to worship. He says, we're going to come back, and maybe carry a dead boy. He may be walking. But we go to worship. That's trust. Have you ever been able to move in your relationship with God, from sacrifice to worship? That what I do, my life commitment, how I'm dedicated to God, it's not a sacrifice. I'm not having to give up stuff. I'm not having to give up things for my lifestyle conviction. But it's worship. What I do, what he has done for me, what he did a long time ago to pay the price for me. He bought me. He purchased me. And me living a holy, separated, dedicated life, it's not a sacrifice for me. It's me being able to worship my God, for what he has already done for me. It's worship. And you can only get to that point when he is truly the shepherd of your life. When he is Lord of all. It's not cumbersome. It's not burdensome. It's not legalistic. It's worship. There's a difference in serving God and trusting God.

I've seen so many in this movement who have served God and resented every moment of it. I've seen them live for life. They lived the lifestyle conviction, resented every moment of it. They gave, because the word of God said they had to give. And they resented every penny they put in that plate. They presented it. You've heard that said before, Bishop. I don't know if his original hand, but he said: You know, God loves a cheerful giver, but he'll take money from Tywa too. His principle is still the same. It's not about the principle. It's about where you're at in the process. When you're so hung up on serving, that you've missed the point of him being Lord of your life. Because his lordship is him being my shepherd. I operate out of love.

I'm bringing this to a close. Musicians can get ready. Matthew 7. There's a lot of parables in Matthew 7. One for this moment, though, I think is important. Because he talks about two guys building houses. Now when I think about the two guys building houses, to me, they're in the same subdivision. That's how I look at it. Matthew 7. One builds this house upon the sand. One builds his house upon the rock. Sister Sue, this is, this is me. This is what I think. This is Kevin's commentary. Same subdivision. One guy just took the time to move everything out of the way, until he got down to something solid to build on. See, that's what sanctification does. Sanctification is, is not getting hung up in the junk of this world. Sanctification is not getting hung up in my desires. Sanctification's not getting hung up and what my flesh wants. Sanctification is me digging down, and getting that sandy stuff out of the way, until I get me a rock. And then I'm like: Okay, I can start here. I can start a Christmas here. Here's a truth, ladies and gentlemen. This is the truth. And everybody in this room is old enough to know this. Life brings storms. Some of you have just survived the storm. Some of you are in the middle of a storm. And some of you have storms on the horizon. That's usually the categories we're in. We just came out of one. We're in the middle of one. And we're fixing to have one. That's why you have to go back in, and you've got to move this stuff away, until you found the rock. And you build your life there. You establish who is Lord of your life.

Hebrews 12 1 says: Therefore we also, since we're surrounded by so great a cloud of witness, let us lay aside every weight and sin, which to so easily ensnare us. And let us run with endurance the race that set before us. That, that the weight I talked about, that last week's sanctification, it's getting rid of that clay. It's breaking it off, so I can have a weightier glory laid on me. If that doesn't make sense to you, go back and listen last Sunday. But in this instance, in this chapter, it's moving that sand out of the way, so I can build life. Judas and
 Paul both serve Jesus. They did. But Paul trusted. Paul was called to stand by and stand before Caesar. Acts 23 verse number 11. Just leave that there for just a second for me, Patrick. Here's the deal, okay. Before you get to here, Paul had went in. He was in the temple. He was preaching. He was doing his thing. He's such an interesting character, way more than I can describe in this moment. But to give you just a little bit of, a little bit of, of background on where this moment is: he's already been arrested. He's standing before. Now he's a Roman citizen. So they're getting ready. The base, this is what King James says: Let's just scourge him. Let's, let's whip him until he tells us why he's here. Because what was going on is, is the Jews are upset. But they're speaking in Hebrew to each other. And, and the guards are standing there. And they don't understand what's going on, because they're speaking language they don't understand. So this is the exact word in the scriptures: Let's put him in there. Let's beat the Torah out of him, until it tells us the reason why he's here. Taller, that's a good southern word. To which Paul then says: Is it right that you do this till Roman? Hang on, back up. They don't want to get in trouble, because Rome ruled the day. And if you were a Roman citizen, you had the ability to stand trial before proven guilty. You couldn't just, you couldn't buy them. You couldn't whip them. This is where, so Paul pulls this little trump card out, right. That's a little handy when having your back pocket, if you get into trouble. So he, he, he pulls that out. And then they said, so he did, he said he's going to appear before Caesar. Which was his right. So he's sitting there. He's waiting to be transferred. And this is the moment right here. Now the end, if you have a red letter Bible, these are red-lettered words. Because it says: But the following night the Lord stood by him and said, red letter words, Be of good cheer, Paul. For as you have testified for me in Jerusalem, so you must also say that with me. Must also bear witness it wrong.

Now I'm going to tell you something. If Jesus steps beside you and says you must, guess what? You must. You can resist. You can kick. You can fight. You can scream. And the reason I say this is because as this chapter unfolds, in the next chapters are going out. And you can read about it. Just go to Acts 24, Acts 25. He's in a shipwreck, right? I mean, they, and they in a humdinger of a storm. That, that, that, that, that boat falls apart. And there's like pieces everywhere. And they're, they're finding stuff flowing. Paul ain't worried. Why? Because Jesus done told him you go into Rome. They get there. They, they, they get to the island, Malida, I believe is the name of the island. And they're there. And they go, they're all freezing death. The first thing to do is get, they're going to build a fire. They're going to build them fire, because they're cold. You're being cold. I mean, like cold, like you're dead, that kind of cold. So that's where they are, right? Cold ocean water. They get around there. So Paul gets up there. He's cold. He gets up. He's just kind of warming his hand by the fire. And then it's in your Bible. It says out of the fire comes at what? Viper. Now here's the deal. He doesn't survive the boat wreck. And here he is. I'm sure that mother boy is sitting there warm by fire, and said: Man, he didn't come out of that boat wreck, and now he's gonna die by snake bite. Because there was no cure for a viper. Now some of you have been there, right? You, you come out of the worst storm of your life, and then a snake bite you. But what did, what did Paul do? Shook it off in the fire.

Some of you need to shake what the devil put on you back in the fire. Because God's already given you a word. Do I have to drill down there a little bit, or can you just receive
 what I just said? God's already given you a word. Just believe the word, and shake the devil's mess back in the fire. Because he's going to Rome. So he gets the wrong. He comes to the home of Caesar, to appear before him. Now he testifies of the thing, of the things of God there. Now if, if this was you and I writing the story, the way we'd write it was: He testified in Caesar. In that moment, man, God filled him with the Holy Ghost. He began to speak in tongues. He got him and baptized him. And Caesar. That's what we, if we were writing the story. But that's, that's not what happened. Caesar listened to him and said: You know what? Off with his head. I don't know about you, but that would be a little discouraging to me. But I felt like: God, you didn't brought me through a shipwreck. I didn't shook a snake off in the fire. I didn't went through all this stuff. And you told me I had to testify before you here. And I did. And now I'm doing, fixing, losing my head. But he trusted. He trusted, even when it didn't make sense. He trusted, even when it didn't play out the way he thought it was going to play out. He trusted. He trusted. He goes back to his cell and begins to pen his last few letters. He pins Second Timothy 4 6: For I am now ready to be. What did he say? I'm ready to be sacrificed? No. Because it wasn't a sacrifice. No. You see, he'd already established who was Lord of his life. He says: Now I'm ready. Whatever you want to do with me, my shepherd. Whatever you want to do with me, my Lord.

Bishop preached the message many years ago about Paul. I vividly remember him preaching this message, that talked about the fact that everybody they put around Paul, they couldn't leave him there but a few minutes, because he's converting everybody. He was literally, he just, everybody come around, he had him converted. And he talked about him running. Y'all remember that? I remember that when, when Bishop freaked out. He ran. He runs to the altar, and he grabs it. He's ready. He's ready to be offered. Because he trusts his Lord. Paul didn't serve any better than Judas did. He just trusted God more.

Paul writing, it's my opinion that Paul wrote, Hebrews 13 5: Let your conversation be without covetousness, and be content with such things as you have. For he has said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. This is a man who understood who his Lord was. He understood who his shepherd was. We follow and we trust God. And in the last days, ladies and gentlemen, persecution's coming. I've said it every Sunday I've been here this month in August. I've said it. It's coming. And I'm not, I'm not, I'm not, you know, coming, I'm a prophetic word. I'm just telling you, we're in the last days. Things are lining up against the church. The enemy is, is putting things and setting stuff in motion. It's coming. So you better have stuff settled in your life. There are some things that are just not up for debate. They're not, they're not negotiable. There's one God. There's one plan of salvation: death, burial, and resurrection. There's one. Sanctification has to be a part of your life. Sanctification will lead you to him being Lord.

Paul had a mandate. I'm ending. The singers come out. Paul, Paul had a mandate to stand before Caesar. He did. He witnessed. Caesar handed down death sentence. Caesar did not convert. And on the surface it would seem like it was a complete waste for Paul to do this. But in one of his last letters, he writes in Philippians chapter 4 verse 22: All the saints greet you, but especially those who are of Caesar's household. As he stood there, Sister Kennedy, and he gave his testimony before Caesar, in the corner there were maids, and there were servants, and there were gardeners, and there were cooks, and there was butlers. And what he could have thought was a complete waste, they heard. And in Caesar's household was birthed to church. Because he was willing to trust: Wherever you lead me, I will go. And for some of you, you need
 to settle the lordship issue in your life. Because he will take you places that seemingly make no sense. But what he is doing is, there are too many other people around watching what you're doing. That's why it's important we live this every day. It's because every day we live in the blessing of God. It's not about, him bless me. It's not a Santa Claus moment. It's me living what I know I'm supposed to live. Because he's Lord. Because he's my shepherd. Wherever he leads me, I will follow. And when he leads me into the pastures of prosperity and joy, I will eat there, and be satisfied and happy. When he leads me into the pastures of loss and uncertainty, I will eat, and I will be happy to be there, because my shepherd knows.

Will you stand with me? I quite possibly have preached as hard this month as I've ever preached, because of conviction that has been in my heart for this church, for us to be prepared in these last days, for what he has for us. Please don't spend your life simply serving God, when what we were asked to do was to love. Because if I love him, I understand that I let him become my shepherd. As David said: The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. I shall not. Others may look at my life and say it looks like it's a storm and a disaster. But my shepherd leads me besides still waters. My shepherd prepares a table in the presence of my enemy. Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. That is someone who has settled the lordship issue.

I don't know where you are today. I don't know what you're experiencing. I don't know your story. But I'm telling you, this is a non-negotiable. He must be Lord of your life. And if you can't with confidence say that, then I invite you down to this altar now. I invite you to settle some things today. I invite you to ask him to become Lord of all. This isn't something to play around with. This is serious business. So I invite everyone here to do a little self-examination, to make sure you are where you need to be, and that you have him where he needs to be. Settle the lordship issue. Will you come? It's prayer time, church.