Sunday Morning Worship Service
by Nathan Whitley
First Apostolic Church of Knoxville (Knoxville, TN)
Kind: sermon
Scripture: Acts 28:1-10, Genesis 3:15, Jeremiah 23:29

Source: https://acts238.life/repository/sermons/nathan-whitley--sunday-morning-worship-service-36
Published by Acts 2:38 Life from the sermon transcript on that page.
Free to copy and share with attribution.

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Get your Bibles. Just remain standing your Bibles or your devices and go with me to Acts chapter number 28. Acts chapter number 28. A tremendous week this week. We hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving time with your friends and family, those who went to National Youth Convention. What a tremendous time we had. Great services, great worship, great preaching. We heard. Thank you to all those who made that possible. All of our chaperones and leaders. Thank you so much. We honor all of our pastoral staff, our bishop, and all the saints of God. >> >> Today, Acts chapter number 28, we're going to begin reading at verse number one. Acts 28, the last chapter of Acts, beginning at verse number one. And when they were escaped, then they knew that the island was called Malita or Malta. And the barbarous people showed us no little kindness, for they kindled a fire and received us everyone because of the present rain and because of the cold. And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, they came a viper, someone say viper, a viper out of the heat and fastened on his hand. And when the barbarians saw the venomous beast hang on his hand, they said among themselves, "No doubt this man is a murderer whom though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance or justice suffereth not to live." They shook off, Paul shook off the beast into the fire and felt no harm. Now look what how they they changed their tune, didn't they? How be it, they looked when they should have when he should have swollen or fallen down dead suddenly. But after they had looked a great while and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds and said that, "Well, he's a god." In the same quarters were possessions of the chief man of the island, whose name was Pablus, who received us and lodged us three days courteously. When it came to pass that the father of Pablus lay sick of a fever and of a bloody flux, to whom Paul entered in and prayed, and laid his hands, the hand that the viper was attached to, laid his hands on him and healed him. So when this was done, others also which had diseases on the island came and were healed and also honored us with many honors. And when we departed, they laided with us sever such things as were necessary. The viper came out, fastened on Paul's hand. Then he shook it off into the fire. I want to preach this morning. Shake it off. Shake it off. I don't know what you walked in here with today, but I think somebody's going to shake it off into the fire today. Won't you lift up your hands? Won't you lift up your heart? Father, in the name of Jesus, Lord, we thank you for your word. It's a lamp unto our feet and a light into our path. We thank you for your spirit that's here and been ministering from the very first moment. But Lord, again, touch me, this jar of clay today, and help me to communicate the word of God with clarity and anointing today. In Jesus' name we pray. And everyone said, "Amen." Now clap your hands unto the Lord and give him a shout. Somebody lift up your voice and give him a shout of praise. Look at somebody and tell them, "Shake it off. Shake it off." You can be seated. Before the Paul Before the Apostle Paul ever preached the gospel, he did everything in his might to destroy it. He was born a Hebrew of Hebrews, circumcised on the eighth day of the tribe of Benjamin, a Pharisee trained under the great Gile. He was brilliant and he was disciplined. He was zealous and he was uncompromising. In Paul's mind, he wasn't cruel. He was righteous. He didn't believe that he was fighting against God. He believed with all of his heart that he was defending God and his law. So Saul of Tarsus became the chief hunter of Christians. He stormed into houses, dragging off men and women to prison, causing them to blaspheme. He threatened murder and prison to the disciples. And when the blood of Steven, the first martyr, soaked the ground outside Jerusalem, Saul stood there giving hearty approval, watching over the garments of the executioners. Everything changed though while Paul was on his way to Damascus to continue his persecution against the church. A light brighter than the sun knocked him flat. A voice thundered from heaven. Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? One question from the risen Lord shattered this Paul, this great figure forever. Three days later, he rose from the dust. Blind, broken, and yet reborn. The persecutor became the preacher. The enemy became the apostle to the Gentiles. But conversion is one thing. Trust is another. Paul's dramatic encounter with Jesus didn't automatically erase the churches or the disciples memory. The disciples in Jerusalem were terrified of him. They said, "Isn't this the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem? Didn't he come here to arrest us?" And so, they kept their distance from Paul. They whispered and they waited for the trap to spring. Even after that, suspicion lingered for years. Some Christians never fully accepted him. Others kept one eye on the exit whenever he entered the room. Decades later, Paul would still write with pain, "I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle because I persecuted the church." Here's the reality. Salvation is instantaneous. Acceptance is often gradual. Forgiveness is perfect, but memory can be stubborn. When God redeems somebody with a notorious past, the church sometimes struggles to keep pace with heaven's verdict. And we've all seen God do some tremendous work in a person's life. And maybe we often hold our breath hoping they just just stick with it. Even Jesus told the parable of the seed in the ground. He said, "The swer sws the word and these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. when they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts. Likewise, the ones sown on the stony ground who when they hear the word immediately receive it with gladness, but they have no root in themselves and so endure only for a time afterward when tribulation or persecution arises for the word's sake. Immediately they stumble. Now these are the ones sown among thorns. They are the ones who hear the word and the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires of other things entering in choke the word and and it becomes unfruitful. But here's where we pray. We pray that God would do this that the seed sown on good ground, those who hear the word accept it and bear fruit, some 30fold, some 60, and some 100. We all want everybody to be on good ground, but we know threearters of those might not make it. And so we hold our breath when Jesus does something in someone's life. We hope they make it. We just hope they they stick with it. Ashley and I had a friend of ours, a pastor tell us one time, those who jump the highest are usually the ones that fall the hardest. It happens in every church. You see somebody's life changed. you see somebody's uh life turned around or upside down inside and out and they're and they're on fire, they're zealous, but we just we just hope you stick with it. We don't want the thorns. We don't want the stony ground. We don't want the wayside to come and take away what God has done in them. And that's the church, right? That's the church in the New Testament. When they see Paul, the persecutor, now all of a sudden, just a few verses later, become a preacher. They're skeptical. They're they're doubtful. Maybe maybe he's not really changed. Maybe this is all a setup. Maybe this is just a fad. But you know who stood up with Paul? His name was Barnabas. And his name means sons of encouragement. You see, everybody needs an encourager every once in a while. There are always going to be skeptics. There's always going to be doubters. But you know what somebody needs? They need a little bit of encouragement. You know what we need more of in the church? We need more encouragers and less discouragers. Oh, come on, somebody. We need somebody to say, you know what? If he can do it for me, he can do it for you. And come on. It's going to be hard some days and it's going to be better other days, but if you just stay with it, you're going to be all right. I'm in I've been in this for 10, 15, 20, 50 years. And if he's done it for me, he can do it for you. Just stay with it. >> While other people are doubting, Barnabas said, "Oh, no. I believe in what Jesus has done in Paul. But listen, no words, no sermons could convince the doubters that Paul had truly changed. Listen, I was in my hometown just three months ago and I've been doing this for 20 years now. And there are people who today, this year, go, you're still doing this. Yeah, here I am. Can you believe it? And I I just kind of I KIND OF SHRUG IT OFF. OR MAYBE I SHOULD TAKE MY OWN ADVICE TODAY. I just shake it off BECAUSE THERE'S ALWAYS GOING TO be somebody like, "Ah, they're not going to make it." BUT IF YOU JUST STAY FAITHFUL, THE ONE WHO IS ALWAYS FAITHFUL will keep you. Come on, somebody. They may not believe it. You know, you may not be able to convince them with your words, but if you can just keep living for him, IF YOU CAN JUST TAKE ONE STEP and another step, can you do it for one day and then do it for two days? And maybe, COME ON, SOMEBODY. WE CAN LOOK BACK AND see what Jesus has done over a lifetime. >> Woo, we don't believe what you're saying. But listen, 30 years of Paul writing letters to the church, planting churches all over the Mediterranean and Europe, and it finally hits him. And he even says, "I'm the least of these. I'm not the greatest of these. I'm I know what I've been. I've been a blasphemer, a persecutor, a violent man." WHAT HOW PAUL STAYED successful I believe is that he always remembered where Jesus brought him from. >> You will always continue in the faith if you never forget where he brought you from. If you remember where he brought you from, you know that he can take me anywhere. But as soon as we start believing that we've saved ourselves and we deserved grace and we deserved mercy, we are in trouble. We got to remember where he brought us from. >> But our memories can be so so scary. They can be they can haunt us. Our memories can haunt us. And so while we get to the end of Acts, we see Paul on his way to Rome to defend himself before Caesar. And so Acts 28 opens at the ragged end of a two-w weekek storm. Paul was on his way to Rome and 276 souls had clung to a battered ship driven helplessly across the Adriatic Sea. For 14 nights, the sun and stars disappeared. Hope was abandoned. The ship finally splintered off on a reef and every person on board reached land only by swimming or floating on pieces of wreckage. That will preach right there. Some on boards and some on broken pieces. It doesn't matter how you get there as long as you get there. Some might swim and some might float there. Some might drift there. You might be on broken pieces. You might have come in there looking ragged and say, "I don't know how I got here." But as long as you get to the other SIDE OF YOUR STORM, IT DOESN'T MATTER. YOU LISTEN, YOU MIGHT NOT DANCE YOUR WAY THERE. YOU MAY crawl your way there. BUT AS LONG AS I get to where I need Oh, come on, somebody. I feel my help helping me now. I'm coming in on broken boards and I'm coming in on pieces and I'm COMING IN BROKEN AND SHIPWRECK, BUT I'M STILL HERE. >> They washed up. They washed up cold, hungry, half drowned and utterly spent. The island was called Malta or some translations call it Molita smack in the middle or the center of the Mediterranean. It was a busy harbor famous for purple dye, ship repair, and sweet honey. Some linguists say the name comes from the Phoenician word for refuge or haven. But Malta had a reputation. When storms had done their worst, Malta was where battered sailors lived to tell the stories. Even though Luke calls them barbarians, that is not meant to denigrate them. It's simply non-Greek speakers. They were pagan to the core, worshiping Roman gods and trusting fate and justice or retribution. Yet when these shivering strangers crawled onto the beach, the islanders showed what Luke calls no little kindness, uncommon kindness, they kindled a massive fire and welcomed everyone. No questions, no suspicion, just warmth and food. And here's Paul, the prisoner, soaked and shivering like the rest of them. He didn't stand off. He was right next to them, next to the fire. And the great apostle picked up a pile of brushwood and laid it on the flames. And as the bundle of sticks hit the flames, the heat did exactly what heat always does. It drove something out of hiding. A viper shot from the pile and fastened to Paul's hand immediately. Now Luke the physician is careful with his language here. He uses a clinical word. He calls it a viper, an e ekinda in Greek. If I'm not saying that correctly, incorrectly, please forgive me because the detail matters. He was a physician and he writes like a physician. He notices symptoms, timing, and cause. He has no interest in guesswork or legends. And here is the viper. The same word that John the Baptist used when he called the Pharisees, "You brood of vipers." It was a venomous reptile known for sudden aggressive strikes and a bite that was deadly. The species scholars associate with the ancient Malta is the horned viper. These snakes are masters of camouflage, curling motionless among rocks and brush and crucially among the dry wood. When a fire suddenly warms clud cold coldblooded vipers, instinct drives them out fast and they strike at the moving thing they sense. And so this is what Luke says as he put the bundle of sticks on the fire. Here comes the viper and snatched on to Paul's hand. And here's what Ply the Elder wrote a few years after these events. He describes the bite bringing rapid swelling, discoloration, violent pain, fever, convulsions, and death, often within hours. Other writers say if anyone had experienced that type of bite and venom, they would die almost immediately. And so all of these men, the barbarians, the natives of Malta, THEY SEE PAUL THE APOSTLE, PUT THOSE fi those sticks into the fire. And here comes the horned viper attaching to his hand. And this is what they think. He survived the sea, but just but justice caught up with him. He's got what he deserved. The sea didn't get him and he thought he escaped. But retribution always happens. Justice always happens. They were wrong about the moment. But they weren't mistaken about his past because Paul was a murderer. Paul was a persecutor. PAUL HELD THE coach of those who stoned Stephen. Yes, he was all of those things, but they were wrong about the outcome. You see, JUST THEY THOUGHT JUSTICE was coming. They thought he was getting what he deserved. NO MATTER HOW FAR YOU'VE RAN, NO MATTER HOW MUCH YOU'VE GONE THROUGH, WHEN you're least expecting it, your past is going to catch up with you. >> He's getting what he deserves. But here's what Paul does. Paul doesn't flinch. Paul doesn't moan. Paul doesn't get upset. Paul doesn't fall down. This is what Paul does. Shake it off into the fire. But here they are waiting. Waiting for the fever to hit. Waiting for the swelling to come. Here they are WAITING FOR HIM TO FALL down and and die. He's going to get what he deserves. He's going to get what he's got coming to him. You can't outrun what you've done. You're going to get what you deserve. The Bible never treats serpents as neutral wildlife. From Genesis to Revelation, it all carries significance. In Eden, the serpent is the mouthpiece of the curse. In the Psalms, the venom of asps is under their lips. Isaiah pictures vipers and adders as images of judgment and danger. John the Baptist says those Pharisees were a brood of vipers. So when Luke the physician calls this thing a viper, all of the readers of the New Testament and Acts would know exactly what he is saying here, that this is not just a pretty narrative here. There's something happening here. that this serpent has attached its hand to Paul. And here the serpent is finally GETTING BACK. HE'S FINALLY GETTING PAUL BACK. HIS past has caught up with him. There's no outrunning what you've done, Paul. You're going to GET WHAT YOU DESERVE. BUT PAUL DIDN'T DIE. PAUL DIDN'T GET A FEVER. PAUL DIDN'T SWELL UP. PAUL DIDN'T HAVE A WOUND. HE SHOOK THAT THING OFF IN THE FIRE. AND I'VE COME TO TELL SOMEBODY HERE TODAY, IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT YOU DID IN YOUR PAST. IT DIDN'T MATTER WHAT YOU DID 10 YEARS AGO OR 20 YEARS AGO. I'VE COME TO TELL SOMEBODY TODAY, YOU NEED TO SHAKE THAT MEMORY OFF. YOU NEED TO SHAKE THAT ACCUSATION OFF IN THE FIRE. >> There's always going to BE THOSE WHO SAY YOU'LL GET WHAT YOU DESERVE. THEY'LL NEVER OUTRUN THEIR PAST. I'VE COME TO TELL YOU TODAY, YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO SHAKE THAT THING OFF TODAY. YOU'RE going to have TO SHAKE THAT. THERE'S ALWAYS GOING TO BE HATERS. THERE'S ALWAYS GOING TO BE DOUBTERS. BUT YOU'VE GOT TO LEARN HOW TO. IT MIGHT BE YOU. IT MIGHT BE YOUR MEMORY. IT MIGHT BE YOUR SPIRIT. IT MIGHT BE THE DEVIL IN YOUR EAR TELLING YOU YOU'RE NOT GOING TO MAKE IT. YOU'RE GONNA FAIL. YOU'RE GONNA FALL. THE JUDGMENT'S COMING YOUR WAY. YOU'LL NEVER OUTRUN IT. BUT YOU NEED TO TELL THE DEVIL TODAY. YOU NEED TO TELL THAT OLD SERPENT TODAY. I'VE COME TO SHAKE YOU OFF TODAY IN THE FIRE OF GRACE AND MERCY AND GOD'S POWER. I WISH SOMEBODY WOULD GIVE him some praise. Just waiting for him to fall. Just waiting for him to This is just a fad. This is this is luck or karma's coming. We don't believe in karma, but it can get into our mindset. You reap what you sow. Correct. But I don't get what I deserve because that's called mercy. >> When the devil starts telling you one of you, one of these days you're going to reap what you sow. You need to tell him there was blood shown at Calvary and I'm reaping the blessings of what God did for me. He took my judgment. He took my sin. He took my pain. And he took my past. Come on. When the DEVIL ATTACHES ITSELF TO YOUR HAND, YOU NEED TO DRAG IT ALL THE WAY TO CALVARY AND SAY, "THIS IS WHAT I'M REAPING TODAY. I'M REAPING THE BLESSINGS OF SALVATION IN JESUS CHRIST." COME ON, SOMEBODY. YOU DON'T HAVE TO OUTRUN YOUR PAST. WHY? BECAUSE YOUR PAST IS COVERED IN THE BLOOD. IF YOU'VE REPENTED OF THAT THING, IF YOU'VE ASKED FOR FORGIVENESS OF THAT THING, IT'S UNDER THE BLOOD. >> The Bible calls him the accuser of the brethren. Just waiting for you to fail. Just waiting for you to fall. Just waiting. You might think that yourself. You might think, "One of these days my past is going to catch up with me." You might think that retribution is coming. You've escaped the storm, but there's a viper ready to latch on to your blessed life and infect you with his poison. But the serpent meant the same outcome as it did at Calvary. Defeat. It was defeated at Calvary. Every believer knows this feeling. Everybody has experienced this. And if you haven't, God bless you. I'm so glad that you haven't. But there's a lot in this room who have. You repented years ago. You love Jesus with all your heart. And you've seen him change you in a thousand ways. But sometimes out of nowhere, there's a viper that strikes again and says, "After what I've done, can God really use me?" Shame all of a sudden starts whispering in your ear. If they ever found out what I really used to be. The venom isn't isn't physical, but it brings emotional and spiritual damage. It brings hopelessness instead of swelling. It brings fear instead of fever. It brings regret that saps strength and steals joy. I've come to tell somebody today, it's not the will of God for your life to BE CONSTANTLY HAUNTED by your past. I've come to tell somebody, if you haven't repented, if you haven't been baptized, if you haven't been received the Holy Ghost, you can become a new creation and all things are passed away. Come on. HE WILL REMOVE THEM AS FAR AS the east is FROM THE WEST. BUT YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO HAVE FAITH THAT IF HE FORGAVE ME, HE'S GOING TO keep me as well. >> Here's the issue. Some of us don't shake it off. We hold on to it. We end up nursing that memory. We rehearse the failures. We cradle the shame. And that's when the venom begins to work. But Paul didn't ignore the snake bite. He didn't pretend it was harmless. He refused to let it stay attached to his hand. Grace doesn't deny your history. But grace cancels its authority. >> Just because you can't forget it doesn't mean he hasn't forgiven it. Sometimes we're going to have to sanctify our memories and understand that if he has forgiven me, HE'S ALSO FORGOTTEN IT. I MAY NOT FORGET IT, BUT I'M GOING TO CONSECRATE MY MEMORY. I'M GOING TO CONSECRATE MY I CAN'T CHANGE YOUR MIND ABOUT MY LIFE, BUT WHAT I CAN DO IS SHAKE SOME THINGS OFF IN THE FIRE. I CAN SHAKE SOME THINGS OFF. Come on. The haters ARE GOING TO HATE, BUT YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO LEARN HOW TO SHAKE IT OFF. YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO LEARN HOW TO PRAISE IT OFF, WORSHIP IT OFF, PRAY IT OFF. COME ON, SOMEBODY. THERE'S SOME THINGS YOU'RE JUST GOING TO HAVE TO SHAKE IT OFF. Are they going to make it? Just waiting. He just shakes it off and goes on his way back to warming his hands, eating a piece of bread, drinking some water. He's He's going to die. There's no way this guy's going to make it. He's he's he he's definitely going to die. He's not going to make it. They just kept they just kept beholding him. Kept watching him. Just kept waiting, counting it down. Can you believe it? He's still standing there. When's the fever going to hit? You know, when it happened when it happened to Charles a few years ago, he died immediately. What's happened to this guy? You know, I I was, you know, you know, I had a cousin who got bit by a viper. Oh, you did? Yeah. You wouldn't believe it. He wouldn't mean his arm got all big and he died. I mean, he just Anytime now. Come on. We got to We got to post this on Instagram. When he falls down, it's going to get so many views. Come on, cut your cameras out. Come on. Any any moment he's going to he's going to get a fever. And come on. And he's just standing there warming his hands. There are always going to be people waiting for your demise. But you know what you need to do is shake IT OFF IN THE FIRE AND GO OFF ON YOUR WAY AND SAY, "YOU MIGHT BE WAITING FOR ME TO FALL." BUT I'M TELLING YOU, I'VE COME TO TELL EVERYBODY, I'M RISEN WITH CHRIST. I'M ALIVE IN CHRIST. YOU MIGHT THINK I WAS DEAD, BUT I'M STILL ALIVE. COME ON. IT'S NOT OVER. IF YOU'RE STILL BREATHING, IF YOU'RE STILL WORSHIPING, IF YOU'RE STILL HERE, IT'S NOT OVER. Somebody needs to shake off some HOPELESSNESS TODAY. SOMEBODY NEEDS TO SHAKE OFF SOME FEAR TODAY. Somebody needs to shake OFF SOME SHAKE OFF SOME SHAME TODAY. SHAKE OFF EVERYTHING THAT'S TRYING TO STEAL YOUR JOY. How do we get victory? It does not come from our own selves. It is not going to come from our own selves. Paul understood. He knew the promise that if they take up any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them. That is not, listen to me, that is not license for us to go looking for snakes, >> looking for vipers. Jesus said, "You are not to tempt the Lord your God." This is a snakefree zone. If you ever see somebody in this place walking in here with a bo with box with snakes, this bald dude is going to be in his car on his way home. This is a serpent. Come on, somebody. WE'RE PENTECOSTAL, BUT WE'RE NOT CRAZY. WE'RE NOT WE'RE NOT STUPID. WE'RE NOT TEMPTING THE LORD. I'M TELLING YOU, IF SOMETHING HAPPENS by accident, WE'RE GOING TO SHAKE IT OFF. IF FEAR COMES INTO YOUR HOME, SHAKE IT OFF. IF WORRY COMES INTO YOUR HOME, I'M NOT GOING TO GO LOOKING FOR A DEVIL. I'M TELLING YOU, I'VE COME TO SHAKE SOME STUFF OFF TODAY. And when he doesn't fall down dead, they said, "He must be a god." He wasn't a god, but he knew who the one true God was. Now, one of the one of the symptoms of that viper bite was a fever. You don't fall down dead if a fever hits. Just wait. Just waiting. Well, when he didn't, they go, "Well, I wonder if he can help somebody who does have a fever. I If that didn't kill him, I wonder if he can help them. You think what you've gone through is just about you. You think your family being torn apart is just about you. You think that cancer diagnosis is just about you. You think that overcoming addiction was just about you. I've come TO TELL SOMEBODY, THERE'S SOMEBODY SOMEWHERE WITH A FEVER WHO NEEDS YOU TO WALK IN AND SAY, "LISTEN, I'M NOT DEAD. HE DID SOMETHING FOR ME. NOW, LET ME TELL YOU WHAT he can do for you. You're a living, WALKING, BREATHING TESTIMONY OF GOD'S. You don't KNOW WHAT SOMEBODY NEEDS TO HEAR FROM YOU TODAY. WELL, I'M NOT THE PREACHER. THAT'S ALL RIGHT. YOU'RE an epistle to be read of all men. You're a living, walking testimony. AND YOU NEED TO WALK INTO SOME PLACES AND SAY, "I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE GOING THROUGH. AND IF HE CAN HEAL ME, HE CAN HEAL YOU. WHY DON'T YOU LIFT UP YOUR HANDS RIGHT NOW? Come on. If he can heal me of cancer, he can heal you of cancer. IF HE CAN PUT MY FAMILY BACK TOGETHER, HE CAN PUT YOUR FAMILY BACK TOGETHER. >> Come on. IF YOU SURVIVE THE DIVORCE, YOU CAN GO WITH SOMEBODY AND LAY YOUR HANDS UPON THEM AND SAY, "YOU'RE GOING TO MAKE IT, TOO." AND WE'RE GOING TO MAKE IT TOGETHER. What doesn't kill you can make you an influence. Malta thought they were just helping some refuge, some refugees, some people who had fallen apart. That's all they thought. That's what we always do. They didn't know that they had an apostle walk onto their island. And he's not dead from the viper. Well, can you come lay your hands on my father-in-law? >> Uh, brother N, I can't lay hands on anybody because I'm not the preacher. These signs shall follow them that preach. >> That's not what it says. These signs shall follow them that pastor. >> These signs shall follow them that sing. >> That's not what Jesus. These signs shall follow them that believe. They shall lay their hands on the sick AND THEY SHALL RECOVER. YOU'VE GOT THE SAME HOLY GHOST THAT COME ON. ALL YOU'VE GOT TO DO IS WALK IN THERE AND SAY, "LISTEN, IF HE DID IT FOR ME, he can do IT FOR YOU." NOW LAY YOUR HANDS ON SOMEBODY AND IN THE NAME OF JESUS, RISE UP AND WALK. COME ON. IT TURNED INTO A REVIVAL ON MALTA. IT TURNED INTO A REVIVAL BECAUSE SOMEBODY learned how to shake it off. >> You got to learn how to shake it off. >> You're going to have to learn how to shake it off. Brother Nay, I don't know how to shake it off. I think I've been trying to shake it off and it keeps reattaching itself. Then the fire is not hot enough. >> Then the fire is not hot. He He He shook that thing off in the fire. He didn't shake it off in the cold. He shook it off where it would die. >> Can I Come on, music. Get ready. Almost done. Here's what you've got to do. You got to take the viper to Calvary. That's number one. Number one thing you got to do is take it to Calvary. Go back to Genesis 3 verse 15. The Lord spoke this prophecy. He said, "I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed." He is saying this to the serpent that deceived her. He, the seed of the woman, which would be Jesus Christ, shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel. When Jesus went to Calvary, when Jesus took on the sin of the world, hell poured all of the venom into him. But he was not crushed. He was only bruised. He crushed the head of the serpent. Not the tail that thrashes and makes noise, but the head where the poison is stored, where the fangs are rooted, where the lying mouth hisses hisses its accusations day and night before his throne. That head is shattered. So when you are accused, your memory accuses you or others may be accusing YOU OF YOUR PAST, HERE'S what you do. You drag that thing to Calvary and say, "Listen, in the name of Jesus, he is the serpent crusher. He crushed your head. He crushed the fangs. He crushed the venom. NOW GET OUT OF MY MIND. GET OUT of my spirit. Get out of MY HOME. GET OUT OF MY COME ON, SOMEBODY. You've got to take it to Calvary. IF HE CRUSHED THE SERPENT'S HEAD, HE NO LONGER HAS POWER. He crushed it. He crushed the guilt. He crushed the shame. He crushed the accusations. He crushed the regret. But here's how you shake it off. Number one, you shake it off with the fire of the word. Jeremiah 23:29, "Is not my word like fire?" The same mouth that spoke creation into being now speaks redemption into you through his word. When the serpent whispers, "You're still guilty. You're not forgiven. Justice is coming." Here's what you do. You open up your Bible and you say, "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgression from us. If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come." Every verse that you speak is a red hot coal flung at the serpent's lies. The word always burns away the venom. Hosea said this, "My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge." We are destroyed often times we don't have enough word. We're scrolling ourselves to death. Listen, I I I'm glad you're here today and I'm glad you're listening to this baldheaded preacher preach today, but this is not enough. You can sit there if you want to. This is not if if you are only at church and you're only in the word for one hour a week, don't be surprised when the viper won't shake off into the fire. You're not going to inspire it away. You're not going to motivate it away. >> You're going to have to shake it off into the fire of the word. You're going to have to get your brain and your mind into this book and into your heart so you can speak it. Every time the serpent attempted Jesus in the wilderness, he said, "It is written." The Lord spoke the word. Why? Because the word always combats the lies of the serpent. Number two, you shake it off by prayer. Prayer that pleads the blood and declares the victory. You need to tell the serpent what is already finished. You were crushed at the cross. Your head is broken. I belong to the seed of the woman and the Lord rebukes you. It's more than wishful thinking. It's judicial language. You are speaking the word. You are speaking the covenant contract. When you open up this book and begin to pray, I'm almost done. Y'all are looking at me like I'm crazy right now. I said this a few Wednesday nights ago and there was a question asked. I said something about manifesting. Manifesting. This is a whole this is a vibe in our world today. I manifested my future. I manifested this. Anybody heard this? And I said it's called witchcraft. It is. Let me tell you the difference. Someone asked the question. What's the difference between speaking the word of God and speaking those things as though they weren't, as though they are, and manifesting? I said, here's the difference. One is coming from God's will and the other is coming from self-will. >> So, you can when people start saying, "I'm manifesting this my future. I'm manifesting. I want to be a millionaire. I'm manifesting this job, but I'm careful because there is a fine line between the true and the false. And if one is not supported by the word, y'all all right? >> You speak the word because his word is his will. He said if you ask anything in my name according to my not according to my will as soon as I start praying my will. What did Peter say? Peter said when Jesus said I'm about to be go and be to be betrayed and to be killed. Peter said not so Lord not so Lord. Not so Lord. Few verses before that he said you are the Christ the son of the living God. And Jesus said flesh and blood has not revealed this unto you but my father which is in heaven has revealed this unto you. and I say unto you that you are Peter and upon this rock I'll build my church. A few verses later, Peter says, I'm not letting you die. And this is what Jesus SAID. HE SAYS, GET behind me, Satan. >> So that shows you there is a fine line. >> There is a fine line between the right spirit and the wrong spirit. And when you start praying your will and declaring your will and start, I'm manifesting this and I'm doing this. I DECLARE IT. I'M DECLARING THIS. I'm telling you, brothers and sisters, you better be careful what spirit you're entertaining. But if you come over here into the word and start saying, "The word says he is my healer and the word says he is my deliverer and the word I lost you. I'm sorry. I'm going to shake that off." Come on. I wonder if somebody say, "YOU KNOW WHAT? I DON'T WANT MY will to be done. I want his will to be done. I'm going to pray his will. I'm going to PRAY HIS WORD BECAUSE WHEN I GET IN alignment with his will and his word, I CAN SHAKE OFF EVERY ACCUSATION. Stand with me. I'm sorry I lost you. I'm sorry. I'm not sorry. Actually, I'm tired of apologizing to people about my preaching. I'm not going to apologize for preaching no more. Either you like it or you don't like it. It's no it's it's of no consequence to me because this is his word and I'm preaching it. Not my will. I didn't call myself to this. Trust me, this is not what I wanted to do with my life. But you know what? When Jesus gets a hold of your life, you have to do his will. Woe is me. Paul said, if I preach not this gospel, he told Ezekiel, he said, don't be afraid of their faces. Don't be afraid of their heads. COME ON THERE. COME ON. YOU CAN'T BE AFRAID OF WHAT PEOPLE THINK. EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO SAY THUS SAYETH THE LORD AND LET the chips fall where they may and you can be upset ABOUT ME SAYING MANIFESTED AND ALL that and get up all in your BUSINESS ABOUT THAT, BUT I'M TELLING YOU it's witchcraft. You can believe he wants to. I lost you. It's all right. I'm not apologizing. One more place. How do I shake it off? You shake it off by the fire of consecration. You know why the the the the serpent's venom can get so infectious into our spirit, into our mind? We don't have any fire on the altar. We don't have any private devotion. The priest in the Old Testament kept adding wood to the altar every morning. Every step of obedience, every act of surrender, every choice to love when you feel like hating, that is fresh wood on fire. A life laid daily on the altar keeps the flames high and the serpents far away. Brother Nate, I just feel like it's going to get me. Just feel like retribution is coming. Just feel like I'm not going to make it. You need an altar. Take that memory back to the altar every day. Take that accusation. Devil get in your ear and say, "You're not you're not you're not forgiven. You're not a Christian." All these other people, they'll they leave good lives, but you you take that thing to the fire. I'm shaking it off. What if it comes back tomorrow? Get some wood. Go back to the altar. Get the fire hot and shake it off. But brother Nate, what if it comes back next year, get some wood, go back to the altar, and shake it off. Brother Nate, what if I just can't get it out of my brain? Get the word in your heart, in your mind, and in your mouth, and shake it off. But But come on now. And can I just say this? I'm going to do it to her. See your hand. Now, nobody came and did this for Paul. You better shake that thing off. Paul, brother Nate, will you pray for me? Of course I will pray for you. But have you prayed for yourself? Brother Nate. Brother Nate, can you go on a long fast with How long is long to lunch? Count me in. 45 minutes. I'll fast. You better You better shake this. There's some things I can't do for you. >> There's some things you're going to have to some things you're just going to have to do. Can we counsel today? Oh Jesus, we've been counseling about this thing for 10 years. When are you going to shake it off? >> There are some vipers you can't counsel you. I'm going to say it again. You didn't hear me. There are some vipers you can't counsel. I listen. Counseling is not my thing. Okay? I do it. It's not my thing. I'm not good at it. These ahead of me are wonderful at it. I am not good at it. You know why? I have very little empathy because this is what I want to do. Have you prayed about it? >> Have you fasted? >> Have you gotten in the word? But brother N now listen. I need you to listen. If you've not done those three things, there's nothing I can tell you behind a desk that's going to GET THIS THE VIPER OFF YOUR LIFE. >> There's some You're hearing me today? There's some things you're going to have to learn how to SHAKE IT OFF YOURSELF. LISTEN, I'M I'M for I'm not Please understand like counseling. He doesn't have any empathy. Oh my goodness. Oh my god. How about this? you grow up and learn to SHAKE IT OFF INTO THE FIRE AND GET SOME SPIRITUAL MUSCLE AND SAY, "I'M GOING TO PRAY. I'M GOING TO WORSHIP. I'M GOING TO GET IN THE WORD. I'M GOING TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS. AND NOBODY'S GOING TO HAVE TO SHAKE IT OFF FOR ME. ME AND THE DEVIL ARE GOING TO HAVE A ONE MORE. Come on, lift up your hands right now. Lift up your hands right now. Come on. Maybe you've walked in here with that accuser in your ear. Maybe you've walked in here with that accuser in your spirit. Maybe there's you're not you're you're not going to make it. You feel like you're not going to make it another way. I come and tell somebody, today's the day to shake it off. Today's the day to shake it off. Come on. I wonder if somebody's had enough of THE VIPER BEING ATTACHED TO YOUR HAND. I WONDER IF SOMEBODY'S had the you're tired of the viper attaching itself to your marriage and attaching itself to your TO YOUR FAMILY. I WONDER IF SOMEBODY SAYS, "TODAY, I'm going to shake this thing off into the fire. And if it comes back tomorrow, I'll shake it off again. If it comes back next WEEK, I'LL SHAKE IT OFF AGAIN. BUT I'M NOT GOING TO LET THIS thing stay attached to my life. I refuse to let the venom infect me." Come on. Would you lift up your hands? Lift up your heart. Come on. I want you to shake it off. Come on, shake it off. Come on, pray and say, "Listen, I am forgiven. I am a new creation. Old things have been passed away. I'm a new creation. I'm alive in Christ. The old man is buried. I left him in the baptism tank. I've left him there. He's buried. He's not getting back up. I can't change the past. I can't change what I did. But I am forgiven. I am cleansed. I am new." Come on. Would you lift up your voice? Our God is a deliverer. >> Oh yes. >> If I know one day our God is going to see us. >> Oh yes. If I know one day our God is a deliverer. >> Oh yes. He's a deliverer. >> And I know one day our God is going to see us. >> Come on. >> I'm going to shake this thing off. I'm shaking the guilt off. I'm shaking the shame off. I'm shaking the fear off. I'm shaking the accusations off. I'm shaking it off today. I'll pray my way. I'll word my way. I'll fast my way. I'm leaving that thing in the fire this week. I'm leaving that thing in the fire. I'm not letting it chase me home. I'm not letting that thing come with me. Today's the last day. Today is the last day. I'm shaking. I'm shaking it off. I'm shaking it off. Come on. Would you pray with somebody? Would you pray with somebody? >> Oh yes. >> He'll see us through. >> Never alone in the water. >> He'll see us through. >> Never alone in depression. >> He'll see us through. >> Never alone in addiction. He'll see us. He'll see us through. You'll see us through see >> and all of our anxiety see us. >> Every darkness I know Jesus >> see us through every circumstance. >> He'll see us see us through. >> He'll see us through. And if I know one day, our God is a deliverer. If I know one day, our God is going to see us through. If I know one day, our God is a deliverer. If I know one day, our God is going to see us through. >> >> If I know one thing, our God is a deliverer. If I know one thing, our God is going to see us. If I know one thing, our God is a deliverer. If I know one thing, our God is going to see us through. If I know one thing, our God is the deliverer. If I know one thing, our God is going to see us through. If I know one thing, our God is deliver. If I know one thing, God is going to see us. He'll see us through. Would you lift your hands and thank the Lord for word today? Lord, I thank you for your word to encourage and strengthen us this day. Lord, there's not anything that the enemy can place in our way that we can't shake off in you. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord.