Sunday Evening Worship Service | Pastor Anthony “Not For Sale”

if you have your Bibles tonight we're going to look at an Old Testament scripture in a New Testament scripture but we'll kind of hang out in the old for just a little bit First Corinthians 15 58 and also First Kings 21 1-7 we'll start in the New Testament first it states therefore my beloved brethren be ye steadfast unmovable always abounding in the work of the Lord for as much as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord First Kings 21 will begin reading at verse 1 and it came to pass after these things that naboth the jezraelite had a Vineyard which was in just real hard by the palace right by the Palace of Ahab king of Samaria and Ahab spake unto naboth saying give me thy Vineyard that I may have it for a garden of herbs because it is near unto my house and I will give thee for it a better Vineyard than it or if it seemed good to you I will give thee worth of it in money I'll pay you a fair wage I'll pay you above market value for it and they both said to Ahab the Lord forbidded me that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee and Ahab came into his house heavy displeased and I would add a mixture of emotions frustrated angry because of the word which naboth the jezraelite had spoken to him for he had said I will not give Thee the inheritance of thy fathers and he laid down on his bed and turned away his face and would eat no bread but Jezebel his wife came to him and said unto him why is thy spirit so sad that thou eat us no bread and he said unto her because I spake unto nabeth the jezraelite and said unto him give me thy Vineyard for money or if it pleased thee I'll give you an even better Vineyard and he responded and he answered I will not give thee my Vineyard I want to speak to you for a few moments tonight on the subject simply put as not for sale not for sale right where you're sitting if we could pray over this word at this time mighty God we thank you tonight for you the tremendous move of your spirit that we've already experienced Lord we thank you for the transformation that is taking place on this Sunday the hearts and lives that your word is going to sink deep down into and minister to that we put it into application Lord if someone need healing in their body tonight we ask with Apostolic Authority in your name Jesus for your power to be released Lord we ask if someone hasn't been baptized in your name that conviction would leave a pinprick to their heart as on the day of Pentecost so that they may see their need to take on Your Name Lord we thank you and we praise you in Jesus name we pray not for sale and I ask you the question in this day in 2022 what isn't for sale Market thinking so permeates our lives that we barely notice it anymore a leading philosopher sums up the hidden costs of a price tag Society by Michael Sando our few are not pleased with your prison cell accommodations in Santa Ana California for only ninety dollars a night and some other cities non-violent offenders can pay for a clean quiet jail cell without any non-paying prisoners to disturb them if you would like access to the carpool lane and it's just you driving so low for only eight dollars in Minneapolis San Diego Houston Seattle and other cities are adopting this to ease traffic to ease traffic congestion if you're a solo driver for just eight dollars you can pay to drive in the carpool lanes maybe you don't like waiting in the long lines when you need to speak to your doctor or have to go through the phone operating system and hit all the different Keys only to speak to someone else that says they're going to call you back for fifteen hundred dollars a year a growing number of concierge doctors offer cell phone access and same-day appointments for patients willing to pay annual fees ranging from fifteen hundred dollars to twenty five thousand dollars the right to emit a metric ton of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere well for only ten dollars and fifty cents the European Union runs a carbon dioxide emissions Market that enables companies to buy and sell the right to pollute to you can pollute if the price is right one mother to pay for her son's education there is space that is being sold on your forehead no apocalyptic speculation to this for commercial advertising a mother in Utah who needed money for her son's education was paid ten thousand dollars by an online casino to install a permanent tattoo across her forehead and there's an addendum as well temporary tattoos ads earn less of course if you'd like to serve as a human guinea pig and a drug safety trial for a pharmaceutical company seventy five hundred dollars the pay can be higher or lower depending on the risk or maybe you're a lobbyist in Capitol Hill and you don't want to stand in line to attend a congressional hearing you guessed it lobbyists can pay companies or individuals 15 to 25 dollars an hour just to stand in line and there are even stand in line companies that promote their services everything is for sale we live in a time where everything can truly be bought in soda I asked to your attention to look at this following news report for example connect with that going on 30th birthday welcome to the 30 Club all right it just seems like yesterday we were all together at the no strings attached concert right I've got a favorite personality and I want them to send me a birthday greeting I do it through Cameo is that right go to cameo.com we have over 10 000 different athletes actors celebrities on the platform you pick who you want you say whatever you want them to say seven days or later or less they'll send you a personalized video how much average video is 42 average is 42 bucks yep so for 42 dollars if you're tired of the standard Facebook notification of happy birthday oh I'm so glad they thought of me even though it comes up as a notification all they have to do is just click yes or no whether they want to greet you you can pay a celebrity you can pay an athlete depending on their celeb status of course they can wish you Happy Birthday they can give you the greatest greeting of course if you do it within a seven day time period everything in this world seemingly is for sale the ancient story of naboth and Ahab and naboth's Vineyard provides an appropriate backdrop for our current ERA the story is also the tell of one Ahab feeling that anything can be purchased if the price is right while we have the Paradox and on the opposite in naboth regardless of the offer there are some things that are not for sale neighbors unwavering Devotion to God's word represents a conviction which is something he believes so strongly that he would not under any circumstance even death abandon it naboth's steadfastness was due to a conviction a decision that had already been made a decision that wasn't entertained in the moment a decision that had no price tag on it nothing could move him from it the great leadership author John Maxwell stated ethics cannot be categorized in our lives there can't be different sets of ethics for the atmosphere or the arena of life we find ourselves in people try to use one set of ethics for their professional life another for their spiritual life and still yet another at home within their family this will get you into trouble he says ethics is ethics or ethics are ethics if we desire to be ethical we live by one standard across the board in other words there's no such thing as business ethics on its own I remember too particular instances as Pastor McCool this morning as he integrated into his sermon he began to give thanks to Bishop and sister McCool and of course we could never give them enough thanks and you think of the initial stories and the founding of the church and all of these things but I had the uh privilege and intimate relationship to be their grandson and I I remember a particular instance and it didn't as Pastor McCool told you this morning it wasn't in a prayer room it wasn't in a service where people were up rejoicing and shouting and and all of those things that we might characterize them as but I remember I was about 13 years old and my grandmother took me shopping and we got a few pair of pants and we got home and as she always does she went through the receipt and making sure that all everything was accounted for and we got home and there was a pair of pants that we did not pay for somehow on the transactions and then the trying on at the department store and then uh and all the hustle and bustles something didn't get ring rung up ringed up I can't even remember which uh word that is but obviously she called immediately and she talked to the clerk and the clerk said thank you so much for calling this to our attention and I believe she said but you know what don't worry about it we we've got it taken care of you just go ahead and keep those and of course that was no response for my grandmother so she drove out there I believe that the next morning as soon as they opened just to make sure that the proper transaction had gone into place and I remember her stating you know maybe that is true or maybe there's a boss I I know the right thing regardless of what someone says is that I make the purchase for this product I remember I was in college and brother Jason Lambert may not remember this but we went to an away football game Tennessee football and we went to the University of South Carolina and we drove up onto that campus and you know when you go to away game I think it's probably appropriate just throw your trash out the window or you know whatever whatever anything else you want to do but we're talking about ethics we're talking about ethics but in all seriousness we came to a parking lot and it was ten dollars to pay and there was no one out front and of course I'm like just drive in there pull up throw the E-brake on turn your your will as far to the right these are tricks you learn when you when when you have to park in tight spaces and turn your wheel just as far as you can and that way if they have to tell you they'd have to put you into another car or something like that and but he said no no no gentlemen no gentlemen we were kind of making light of it he said we need to pay somebody is depending on this somebody has uh set this up as a form of Commerce and the right thing to do in this situation again we're not talking about shouting around the Altar and jumping up and down and and running circles but I'm talking about ethics he said the right thing to do in this situation is pay the proper amount and track down who's in charge of this lot and pay for this or you know it's first of all it's the right thing to do or you're able to come back after the game and there's a boot on your car or the car is gone to begin with but we're talking about ethics we're talking about convictions we're talking about decisions the that should already be made in our mind for ethics to have staying power they must be birthed from personal convictions in fact the strongest ethics come out of generosity my ethics must revolve around giving myself away they must revolve around Justice they must revolve around the desire of justice for all they must resolve revolve around Excellence they must resolve around setting a standard that is above average they must resolve around revolve around service about adding value to other people's lives and lastly they must revolve around convictions that firm inward Compass John Maxwell said if my ethics are not born out of my convictions they may shift and change with the tide of the culture or what is convenient for me in a particular situation when I form my ethics out of spiritual convictions they are unchanging and I have a standard that is transcendent beyond my personal preferences my beyond my personal Comforts in that moment so what are convictions a conviction is a strong belief that so governs your decision that you are willing to pay the ultimate price for it which is to die for it history is full of leaders who change the world because of their convictions convictions are that strong inward compass and ethics are a result from this they show us our true north and they go on Vivid display when we're under pressure some have said humans are like like tea their true colors show up when the hot water is added many people never develop convictions because they might make them appear narrow and intolerant convictions are stronger than ideas convictions are stronger than feelings and they might be listed this way an idea a thought or concept which is usually attractive because it's mine usually or an opinion something I feel emotionally about in this particular season but it could change as my emotions change a belief even stronger a strong in clinic inclination not only tied to emotions but but based on thoughtful reflection a commitment to a desire to embrace a belief or principle based on my emotions mind and will that I'm determined to hold on to and lastly a conviction a strong belief that so governs your decisions that you're willing to die for it and we when convictions come into our life we decide on a truth Source from which we will live and we have chosen to follow scripture as our source to drive these convictions from we choose to apply that truth source to our daily life a truth Source only works if we do if it is only a theoretical concept and not a purposeful practice and purposeful application then there's no power in that word to guide us and our identity will become secure and we will like the person we've become if we will Embrace those convictions and it will help our self-esteem it will help our overall well-being and we must be secure in who we are and embrace the identity that the convictions come from the word of God many attractive prices are offered by those who encourage us to loosen our grip on The Inheritance God has given a decision in a moment of Temptation an enticing offer can cause us to sell the blessings of God that are truly Priceless blessings as we go out through the New Testament blessings that are not specifically designed for me but blessings God has entrusted me with that I use that are meant to be kept and cultivated for a generation to come whether it be from the perspective of Tolerance popularity acceptance Prestige pleasure all of these and others offers are subtly made from the example of men like naboth we must take the courage to stand firm in the midst of the constant bidding that takes place or for our inheritance the word covenant the word covet has evolved to have almost exclusively evil connotations to us and the actual meaning of it is desire Ahab in our story in our narrative desired his neighbor's property but there are things that are right and proper for us to covet after spiritual gifts and and the things from above if we Aspire for the things from the Heavenly realm Colossians tells us set your affection on things above not on things of Earth then we can properly and truly align the difference between right and wrong the difference between what God has entrusted me with and what is temporary in this world though in a position of power Ahab was weak he could not have been totally devoid of a conscious for we read that he at one time had humbled himself when he heard the pronouncement of Elijah the Lord responded to his humble attitude at this time by delaying the judgments declared by Elijah and Ahab could have at this point devoted himself to upholding righteousness but instead continue to devote himself to first off Desiring the wrong things which would lead him down a life contradictory to God's principles First Kings 21 25 tells us but there was soon like unto Ahab which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the Lord whose Jezebel his wife stirred up who the voices in his life kept those Notions stirred I have yielded himself to the wrong desires by making a decision to sell out to wickedness it it wasn't just uh a one-time offer but it was an incremental digression he placed himself in a position to be persuaded even Beyond his normal Tendencies by his Wicked wife decisions he knew were wrong and this isn't he's not necessarily the topic of our study for this sermon but noted nonetheless his decisions were initially probably an Ardent no from King Ahab but the decision wasn't already made up of in his mind he would entertain them he would sit with them and he would continually allow a sinful voice in his life just to incrementally chip away on his conscience and he eventually he would become desensitized to the atrocities that he would commit Ahab who doubtless had many Vineyards some Superior to those that naboth had and who had plenty of money could have bought many Vineyards which were for sale but wouldn't you know he would want the one by the man of naboth who would be right there in his court naboth was the opposite of all Ahab represented naboth was a man who had based his existence on firm principles and convictions founded by the law of God and when we make strong commitments many of the difficult decisions of Life suddenly become oh so very easy there's no need to talk about them there's no need to entertain them there's no need to weigh the potential pros and cons there's no need to even discuss the potential gray area oh if this is applicable to this day as it was and here but the decision has already been made by a previous commitment to a principle nabalt's response to ahab's offer was made on the principle of God's word and naboth uttered these words to King Ahab the Lord forbidded me that I should give the inheritance of my father's unto thee he said King Ahab anything that you could offer me there are no quantity of Vineyards there's no Prime real estate there's no amount of money riches or fame that you could offer me that I would take for the land that God has given me for the land that God has given my ancestors that have been passed down from generation to generation and King Ahab this land is not for sale for convictions to have any value they must be based on unchanging principles naboff had such a conviction he didn't have to weigh the pros and cons of ahab's offer from a financial standpoint for he was aware of the teaching of God's word on the subject and he answered his question based on that levitical law and that levitical prophecy the land shall not be sold forever for the land is mine for years strangers and sojourners with me and God God said I'm going to give you a land I'm going to give you an inheritance but you will have to be responsible for it and you will have to be accountable for it this was naboff's god-given gift ahab's offer asked neighbor to forsake his Birthright his own inheritance from God for the mere sake of a whim for the king who could purchase seemingly anything he wanted Ahab made a good offer he regards any property including naboth's Vineyard as a tradable commodity available to be purchased from buying or selling he does not intend to cheat or even muscle naboth but offers naboth good value and trade which goes to show us that just because an investment may meet the criteria of a successful change in this world doesn't mean it is in alignment with our ultimate goal and that is reaching our Heavenly home because we're not only called for me me me and what I'm getting right now but there are others that we have been entrusted blessings and resource with that we are called to win that we are called to preach this word to that we are called to reach this world with and also another generation that we are entrusted to encamp and keep a Vineyard fresh for him I've been in the office at time or in conversations with people who make life-changing decisions not inherently sinful not inherently wrong but decisions that will forever alter the outcome for their soul for their Family Soul big decisions and some people come to you in a very humble and contrite heart not that I could give you any advice on you should do this or you should do that but you should seek wise and godly counsel and you should pray about it but I've had instances where people will come to you make have these big decisions and they tell you what you're going to do and you're just like you is there a church there you know do you hear yourself have you have you written this down have you have you talked to someone who may have experienced this before have you sought a multitude of counsel as the Book of Proverbs tells us or you know the easiest example of uh of of of getting this job opportunity or or or or this level of success and you know the the paycheck looks great and and everything's great but it's it's going to cost me my church attendance it's going to cost me being away from my wife it's going to cost me being away from my family it's going to cost me all of these things and just because it might meet the criteria of a successful Exchange in this world doesn't mean it's in alignment with this God will require you to make a choice and as Pastor McCool talked about Wednesday night sometimes we romanticize the decisions uh in our life and we've all heard the guys get up and preach and about they gave up their collegiate career and playing in the NBA to preach the gospel and you're just like I don't know if you would have made it that far anyway but you know what on the flip side on the flip side maybe you do have the talent that it takes maybe maybe you do have the Acumen to make it to the top of the corporate ladder but what does it cost what's the cost of your aspiration what's the cost of your decision what is it that you are selling in exchange you are going to have to discriminate between one thing and another you're going to have to live a life with restraint and you will have to ask yourself with every decision that comes across life's negotiation table am I selling my inheritance and are there some things in our life that when they come across the negotiation table of life that should just immediately be pushed completely back with the response God forbidded me this not for sale because the longer we entertain them the longer our emotions and our flesh and our heart gets to have that conversation with them the longer you know we'll go find those people who are going to tell us what we want to hear the longer we can get ourself in that atmosphere we can just kind of chip away on our convictions we can chip away on what we know is right and all but it's and all of the sudden we can justify our decision that is absent of the morals of the word of God that is absent of the call of the word of God that is absent of the vineyard that we were supposed to keep kept cultivated for my family for a future generation and naboth said to Ahab the Lord forbidded me King Ahab naboth speaks only one time in this narrative when he speaks it is in order to refuse the proposal of King Ahab to trade another property for his Vineyard because his Vineyard is a place of convenience for the king his response is terse and to the point the Lord forbidded me that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee this Vineyard it's not for sale Let My Words if they be few let it be in refusal let it be in protest Let It Be An opposition to the demands of this world the issue is joined between the two very different Notions of property for naboth his property is inheritance the things in his life are a blessing they don't have a market value to them they're they're blessings from almighty God for Ahab the same property is just a mere possession without familial historical or sentimental linkage from his stance naboth has no option but to refuse the offer of the king he does not hesitate or blink in his refusal to the king for him the matter is unambiguous even if the king cannot fathom such refusal as The Story Goes Ahab the king who was recognized who that King Ahab if you do a character study on him aside from his wickedness he is a very well respected International leader he's recognized for being involved in international Affairs he has power among all of the other nations he has inestimable riches and he has Fame he construct fear in the ones that he wants to alter their decision he has Fortune to buy whatever he wants but he finds himself powerless before he peasant in his refusal we exist in many lands in many Vineyards in our day-to-day lives we have the vineyard that is our church The Vineyard that is the job that you work at the vineyard that is our family The Vineyard that is your calling in Christ and what God has called you to do and the cost of these Vineyards is the alleged opportunity that's provided to you there must be some things in our life that are not up for negotiation and they are not for sale there are some things in life that you should never have to call your pastor or your parents for and have a discussion about whether it's right or whether it's wrong there should be some things in life that you should not ever even entertain there there's no need to weigh the pros and cons it's an easy it's an easy decision there must be some things in our life that are not for sale nor should we even entertain the idea of making a transaction because you have been bought First Corinthians 6 20 says you are bought with a price therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit which are gods the song comes to mind and I was going to just read you the words but it wouldn't do it justice the great author songwriter preacher Pastor Denny Livingston I believe it was in 1994. pinned these words and the song is entitled the cross ain't for sale and I want you to listen to the lyrics of this song just for a moment and I want you to think about the things in your life that have been paid for by a previous generation and some things that have been prayed for by the almighty God [Music] love you foreign [Music] as he went to his knees [Music] and it is [Music] [Applause] [Applause] help you [Music] there's got to be some things in our life that are not for sale because he paid the ultimate price Pastor Livingston says tonight and he's in a fist fight with cancer and I know he's going to become the Victor but he posts every day about standing and looking at Mountain right in the face and every single day whatever the uncertainty may bring he says I'm going to give God praise and I am going to worship and the words he pinned are a reminder that we serve as Savior who purchased us and didn't trade it for a manner of convenience and my God we have every resource in the world and there's got to be some things that never utter out of our mouth that we begin to weigh the pros and the cons there shouldn't be a job that would come along and take me out of his house and take me out of his family there shouldn't be a new fat or involved doctrine that would take me out of the Apostles Doctrine on what I preach and teach and what we've been taught and what's been cultivated Through The Years there's not a relationship in my life that's not that's for sale there's my marriage is not for sale I took vows before almighty God and my marriage is not for self somebody needs to Proclaim that tonight somebody needs to ethics and morals are not for sale somebody needs to say right now my peace of mind is not for sale my joy is not for sale somebody needs to say right now my praise is not for sale if I've been camped out in the land of comfortable for just a little bit too long some people under the sound of my voice I know it's the Christmas season and it's a time that we sing about joy and just remain sanding musicians come I know it's a time it's festive but it can also be one of the most difficult times it can be a time where we've suffered loss it can be a time where we're invoked with memories of those that we love but the greatest Proclamation you can make to this world is to say even in the face of my suffering even in the face of my mourning even in the face of any hardship that will come my way I'm still going to give God praise I still have eternal hope that there is going to be a day when every tear is going to be wiped from the eye when I'm going to be gathered again with my loved ones oh it's not for sale this isn't for sale this church is not for sale this isn't some Market sensitive institution who's going to go with the cultural tides and preach whatever is popular no we're preaching the truth of God's word it's not for sale [Applause] somebody praise him right now somebody Proclaim that it's not for sale my joy is not for sale my peace of mind is not for sale my family is not for sale my faithfulness to his house is not for sale I'm not even going to negotiate with naboth did not sell there was never a question in his mind he governed his life by the word of God when the scripture addresses any issue we got to take it personally it's got to be as if God said it specifically to us because as he did temptation is going to come at us in many different forms and and many different vehicles but the decision is easy the decision is made clear if I already have a made-up mind we can look at scriptural precedent and know that Daniel refused to eat the king's meat and drink the King's Wine and the three Hebrew children who had all of the talent were offered the positions of society to elevate themselves but they said we will not bow we see God's people who refuse to to to to to partake in the pleasures of sin for a season but instead chose the Affliction of God's people the disciples who obeyed God rather than man we have to have the spirit of naboth because when we have the spirit of naboth and we have that conviction this world has zero power over us this world in this age has zero power over our thinking and our praise the church can only go forward as is made up of people like this who have a firm commitment to truth as did napoth to know that I got to keep preaching this thing I I can't water this down and and preach an ambiguous message you know just to fill up the pews and and Proclaim just how many we had at Sunday service I got to keep preaching then Peter said unto them repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost we preach the keys to the kingdom of heaven yes I believe in a heaven and I believe in a Hell and it's not my place to judge every single person but I got to keep preaching the keys and it's not just about you and I in this particular moment but there's a world that we're called to tell about these keys to there's a future generation coming on that there's got to be a Vineyard that's cultivated and kept up and progressed with Proverbs 23 23 says buy the truth and sell it not as I mentioned earlier nabal throughout this whole story makes one simple phrase the Lord God forbidded me it's not for sale do you know what naboth's name means it means words it means prophecy the guy whose name means words just set a few we might not ever have our Name Across the subscript or the going to be attending a conference our name might not ever be out on the the Billboards of this world but our labor is not in vain and let the words that exit my mouth let the actions of my heart even if they just be a few let it be to this world that it's not for sale Church it's not for sale this Doctrine it's not for sale my family my family it's not for sale my marriage is not for sale it's not too late it's not too late the promises of God are not for sale the visions that you showed me Lord they're not for sale I'm not going to allow doubt and skepticism to creep in and tell me that just because it didn't happen in this amount of time that it's not going to happen no it's not for sale my Miracle is still alive my hope is still alive could you lift up your hands right now and let's pray that prayer Mighty God you see the needs of every single person in this house Lord you know the different things that we're all tempted with and and different Avenues of life but Lord let us remember our baptism let us remember our purpose let us not have a spirit of covetousness let us not have a spirit where we Aspire for the wrong things let us know that we have a Vineyard that we have to keep cultivated let us know that our hope is not in this world but a world to come Lord somebody needs strength Comfort right now and peace of mind they're saying it's not for sale and we know that you're going to give the peace that passive understanding of Pastor McCool told us Wednesday night why don't we look around this place right now and find somebody that needs prayed for let's pray with one another there's a Collective Strength In This House brother with brother and sister with sister let's pray with each other right now and Proclaim in our prayer and Proclaim in our prayers that it's not for sale