The Bible Truth about the Gospel | Senior Pastor Kenneth Carpenter

If you have your Bibles and would turn with me to 2 Thessalonians chapter 1 and verse number 7. And while you're looking for 2 Thessalonians 1 and chapter 1 verse 7. Met a wonderful couple here last Wednesday night, brother and sister Gilbert. And uh it's so good. It's so good to have you all here with us. And I believe this is your third time to be to be with us. And and uh they said they kind of made a long wrong turn. I think they made a wrong turn and found the right church. And so we're so glad to have y'all with us. Thank God. 2 Thessalonians 1 and 7. And to you who are troubled, rest with us. When the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power. when he shall come to be glorified in his saints and to be admired in all them that believe because our testimony among you was believed in that day. I want to minister tonight and u my my thoughts are that we're going to compile these Bible lessons and put them in a book form. And um I want to continue on the Bible truth. The Bible truth about the gospel. The Bible truth about the gospel. Just once again, could we ask the Lord to touch our hearts tonight as we receive the word? Father, Lord, I ask once again that you would anoint my mind. You would anoint my heart. That I would feed your sheep tonight, Lord. that Lord I would feed them your word. I not only pray for myself tonight but Lord I also pray for the people that stand before me that they will desire and develop a hunger and a love for your word. Lord they will love Lord to hear your word and they will love to apply your word. Lord be with us for the next few moments as we gather our minds around your word. We'll give you praise in Jesus name we all pray. Amen and amen. you you may be seated tonight. Do you know when we begin to talk about the gospel, you you cannot talk about the gospel without using the word preaching. Preaching. Because in order for the gospel to be effective and to accomplish what God designed for it to be, it is it is preached. It is preached. The purpose of preaching, the purpose of preaching is for the sinner to see the error of their ways, their sinful lifestyle. That's the purpose of preaching. The purpose of preaching is that sinners would see the error of their way and would be able to see their their sinful their sinful lifestyle. As a matter of fact, as a matter of fact, um, you and I would have never known we were in sin had it not been for the preaching of the gospel. It was the preaching of the gospel that stung us. Notice I didn't say sav. Notice it was the preaching of the gospel that pricricked our heart. We had not been pricricked in our heart prior to that. But there was something about falling under the voice of the preaching of the preaching of the gospel. Now, when we we're going to talk about we're going to talk about the gospel and we're going to kind of go back a little bit about repentance because repentance repentance really has two parts to it. Everybody say two parts. Two parts to repentance. There's a negative part and there's a positive part. All right? There's a negative, there's a positive. The negative is your sins have to be identified and your sins have to be brought to life. That's the negative part. But the positive part about it is that we embrace a savior that is willing to forgive. That's the positive thing about the gospel. Let's look into this for a moment. Now, let me I was in prayer this morning and this little statement came to me and I was I was working on the notes here. I just typed it down. You know, everyone wants the gospel of love. Oh, they they they they want to hear about love. They want to be told that they're loved. They they they they want to feel welcome. They they want to feel wanted. They want to feel they want to feel that that warmth of love. And and the gospel has that. But you see, it is love that brings compassion. It is love that brings the compassion. You have compassion on people in their sinful state. You have compassion on people because they're in a situation that is that is headed to death. And so your your heart goes out to the center, right? Our hearts go out to the center. That's called compassion. But to have a gospel that only preaches love is like feeling sorry for someone who has a disease that you have the cure for, but you're not willing to tell them the truth. That's really not love. Because and I just jotted this down today. Love brings compassion. We want to be a loving church, don't we? We want to be We want to be a loving church. And and and you really are you really are a loving church. We want to be a loving church. But also, but not only do we want to be a loving church, but we want to be be a truthing church because if love brings compassion, truth brings correction. Love brings compassion and truth brings correction. You'll never know how to correct yourself until you hear the truth. John 17 said, "Thy word is truth, oh God." And Jesus said, "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." The truth shall make you free. So when you couple both love and truth together, you have the ingredients of the gospel. Matter of fact, Paul Paul was giving the truth to a group of people that he had had compassion on. He had loved them. He had loved them and taken the gospel to them and their lives had been transformed. They had been born again of the water and spirit and they had become the ecclesia. They had become the body of Christ in that local city. But that local church got to airing off of the pathway. And Paul came and he came with the truth. But he had to write to them because they were not receiving the truth. He said, "Have I become your enemy because I tell you the truth?" See, we don't become people's enemy loving them. They want to be loved. It's when we begin to tell the truth to them. That's where that's where they have to mix the two. They have to mix the two together. I believe that we can find this negative and positive in the gospel or in the message that John the Baptist preached and how Jesus preached. It wasn't until I did a study that I found that really John the Baptist way of preaching, Brother Hammond, was totally different in a lot of ways than how Jesus preached. And I'll show it to you. Here's John's preaching. Here's John's preaching. Luke 3 and3 and it came and he and he John and he came into into all the country about Jordan preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. John came preaching hot and heavy against sin. He came preaching against sin. He came illuminating people's lives about sin. Let's go on down a few verses and let's uh he he was preaching about sin. And you you know that's still a message that we need to preach today is about sin. Do you know that sin is still sin? Well, John is preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. Go down to verse seven. Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, oh generation of vipers, that's a snake, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come. Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, we have Abraham to our father. For I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. And now also the axe is laid into the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that bringeth forth that bringeth not forth good fruit is heed down and cast into the fire. Now watch what John does. John became so popular. John became such a popular preacher even though he was preaching against sin that people began to come to his baptism just to follow the crowd. All right. It was popular to be baptized by this man called John the Baptist. And here they came. And here they came to his baptism. See if it's not a little different. He said, "Hey, I got a question to ask you folks lining up. Who warned you?" Oh, no, no, let me let me back up. He said, "Oh, you generation of vipers, you bunch of snakes trying to crawl in here. Hey, you you you bunch of vipers. You Doesn't it sound like he had a Dale Carnegie class on how to win friends and influence people? Hey, you bunch of snakes. Who warns you to flee from the wrath that is to come? Why don't get in this water until you produce some fruits? Something has grown in your life that you have repented. And oh, don't you begin to say within yourself, don't you begin to lean back on your good old Jewish heritage and say that we're the children of Abraham. But I'm telling you, look at them nasty rocks over there. God can raise up children from them nasty rocks over there. He said the axe is laid to the root of the tree. and you don't bring forth good fruit, you're going to be hewed down and cast into the fire. Altra call. Now verse 10. And the people asked him, saying, "What shall we do then?" Man, you know what? They came in snakes, but them snakes got pricked in their heart. Sounds familiar, doesn't it? What shall we do then? They said, "Okay, John, you got our number, then tell us what shall we do?" He answered and saith unto them, "He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none, and he that hath meat, let him do likewise." He said, "Be compassionate. Get some compassion in your heart. You got two coats, give one to somebody else that doesn't have a coke. You got plenty of food, give to somebody else that has no food. So you need to have compassion in you. All right. Then came also, verse 12, then came also publicans to be baptized and said unto him, Master, what shall we do? Now, these publicans are the tax collectors. Now, let me tell you a little bit about a tax collector and tell you why they were hated uh by the Jewish people. Number one, they were Roman tax collectors. All right? And uh the Roman leadership found the best way to collect taxes among the Jewish people was to favor some Jewish men and give them the ability to charge. Okay, here's what Rome is expecting. Rome is wanting 10%. And I'm just throwing that figure out. Rome is wanting 10%. But you good Jewish person, you go ahead and put a fee, put a fee on top of that and and you can you can decide whatever fee you want to decide. You you can you can put 10 more sin if you want and you can keep everything above 10%. Now you see number one why a Jewish t tax collector would be hated. Number one, the Jews hated the Romans because they were under their domination and they would hate especially a turncoat traitor Benedict Arnold Jew that was collecting taxes. They were called publicans. The publicans came to John verse number 12 and they said master what shall we do? He said unto them, "Exact no more than that which is appointed you." In other words, be fair. Don't charge any more than you have to. Be be fair. Don't charge any more than you have to. Well, let's let's go on. Verse 14. And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, "And what shall we do?" And he said unto them, "Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely, and be content with your wages." Isn't that amazing? Here he says, he said, "Don't be violent." He says, "Don't don't don't accuse any man falsely. Be truthful." He said, "By the way, be content with what you're be content with what you're making." And now what I I want to draw a point is preaching against sin won't run people off. It'll actually run people in because really people are looking for a change today. And they're not finding it in some of these places that are user friendly and people friendly and and uh you know uh like the little restaurant jingle uh hold the pickles, hold the lettuce, special orders won't upset us. you know, you know, hold the doctrine, hold the lengthy sermon, hold anything about sin. We don't want to upset anybody. All right? I'm telling you, people are tired of that kind of preaching. They want to go somewhere that identifies their sin. They want to go somewhere to where the gospel is being preached. And so, John, that was um that was him. That's verse 14. Let's see. Um, he got on the snakes, he got on the publicans, and he got on the tax collectors, the the publicans, the tax collectors. He got on the soldiers. Matter of fact, they came to him, and uh I'm sorry, buckle up right now. John preached about sin in politics. you you know you know that's kind of a people oh well you don't don't get political don't don't don't preach don't don't don't don't talk Listen if sin is in the ghetto preach against sin if sin is in the White House or the Congress or the Senate preach against sin don't preach party. Preach against sin. Don't preach party, preach about righteousness. John did. Verse 18. Follow follow down all the way down chapter 3, Luke verse 18. And many other things in his exhortation preached he unto the people. In other words, I didn't even tell you everything he preached. There was many other things he got into. But Herod the titriarch that's a political leader very highpowered being reproved by him for Herodiius his brother Philip's wife and for all the evils which Herod had done added yet this above that he shut up John in prison. Guess what happened? Herod took his brother Philillip's wife. Whether he took her by force or he he took her by seduction, we don't know. But all we know is that Herod took his brother Philip's wife to be his wife. And guess what John did? He preached against it. He told Herod, "It's not right." You you you think that Herod might have brought John into his presence kind of like, "Hey, I'm Herod. You know, I'm the I'm the king here and everybody's just everybody's just waiting to have an appointment with me and you you you you man that's come out of the wilderness and you you're really popular and I'm I'm inviting you to the palace here and I want everybody to see you and I get a handshake. I'm inviting you here." Uh, wasn't he surprised when John walked in? Probably pointed that bony bony finger in his face. He said, 'I got one thing to say to you, Herod. What is that? It's not right for you to have your brother's wife. That's sin, Herod. You're you're you're you're in sin, Herod, to have your brother's wife. Guess what happened? Preaching against sin doesn't always get you promotion. Herod cast John into prison because he and really it wasn't Herod that had a problem with him. Now follow this for a moment. Kind of getting off my subject. I don't want to. The Bible will tell us that Herod really liked John. He really liked him. As a matter of fact, he really put him in prison because he was hepegged. All right. All right. Somebody said, "Well, it's all right to be hp pecked as long as you like the hen that's doing the pecking." Well, I I again, we don't refer to our wives as hens. All right. All right. You had to be here a few weeks to get that one. But if you didn't get it, when I go back to the back door tonight, say elaborate on that a little bit. All right. But he had John put in prison because Herodiius, that was the wife, was saying, "I hate John. I hate him. He's an embarrassment. He always reminds me of my sin. I'd feel uncomfortable around John. And he put him he put him down in the dungeon. But the Bible tells us that Herod would go many times down to the dungeon and hear John gladly. Isn't really that a lot of people have developed today in the 21st century. There is a part of them that want the word of God, but secretly. Secretly. because they've got a culture of Herodius in their life. They've got a culture of Herodius in their life that is saying, "I can't believe that. I can't believe you would submit yourself to that. I can't believe you would be involved. I can't I can't believe that you would be apostolic." Well, I I just go down there. I'm not apostolic. That's just where I go. I like their music. Can I tell you something? You will never be able to have John in your basement and Herodiius in your palace. Sooner or later, you're going to have to choose which you're going to stand with. You're either going to stand with John or you're going to stand with Herodiius. But you're not going to go through life having both. And brother, it came to an end. It came to an end on Herod's birthday. And this is how perverted they are. Herodiius had her daughter to do a dance before Herod and his men. Now, you have to know the culture of that time. What it was, this young teenage girl came and did. She stripped off naked in a dance in front of her stepfather and in front of the men of the kingdom. She came and she stripped her clothes off in front of them. And she so pleased Herod in this perverted dance. She so pleased Herod that Herod uttered something. He said, he said, "Just tell me what you want. I'll give you up to half of the kingdom. What in the world could I pay you for this dance? You have pleased my lust. You have pleased you have pleased the lust of all these men here. What could we pay you? I'll give it to you up to half of the kingdom." She said, "Wait a minute. Wait a minute, stepdad. She went in the next room and talked to Herodius and she said, 'Oh, mama. She said, Herod has wants to pay me for the dance. He wants to pay me for the dance. And he said that I could write out a check for half the kingdom. How much should I ask for, mama? And here came the strange request. You go back there and tell him that you want John the Baptist head cut off. Placed on a silver charger. Placed on a silver. And one tradition, one tradition says that when they cut John's head off that she also ordered for his tongue to be pulled out and to be nailed through the platter that was there. You ask your father to give me the head of John the Baptist. I'll never have to hear him preach again. I'll never have to be in a room where I'm uncomfortable again. I'll never have to ever think I'll have to hear that again. And she came back in. They're still reeling and rolling from the from the dance that was performed by the girl. They came back in and she said, "Oh, daughter, what is it that you've asked for?" And she said, "John the Baptist head on a charger." and his lustful smile turned into a horrifying frown. And he tried his best to get out of the oath, but he had made an oath. And he ordered the head of John the Baptist to be cut off. Cut off and brought on a charger and his tongue pulled out and nailed through. He ordered that to be brought. He ordered that to be given. And Herodiius took that head. She took that head. But here's what's interesting. Here's what's interesting. When Jesus Christ, brother Slack, when Jesus Christ was under trial by Pilate, he would speak to Pilate, he would converse with Pilate, Jesus would converse with Pilate. But Pilate knew that Herod was in town. And Herod for a long season had sought to have an audience with Jesus, but never could get the audience. The Bible said Herod had sought to see a miracle and now I'm in town and you have him arrested. Bring him into me. And Herod began to talk to Jesus. But the Bible said Jesus never answered him a word. He never spoke one word to Herod. What's the moral of the story? You can't kill the messenger and hear from the Messiah. It just doesn't work. We'll never hear well done, good and faithful servant from the Messiah if we've not said yes to the word of God. We can't put the word of God in a basement. We can't slide in here on Wednesday night and say, "Come on, preach to me." And then in the morning go to work and live and act like we don't know who Jesus is. You just can't live that way. It's got to be either Jesus or it's got to be Herodiius or it can't be it can't be both of them. Amen. Matter of fact, John wasn't only a hard preacher. John wasn't a hard preacher. Let's listen to the Apostle Paul as he speaks to the educated affluent Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 6 and verse number nine. Let's listen to him preach to the Corinthians. 1 Corinthians 6:9, "Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Be not deceived." Isn't there, isn't it amazing you put there? Let's not be deceived. Unrighteous people are not going to heaven. You're judging. No, no, no. I'm not judging. That's what's judging. I'm not judging them. The word is judging. Let me say it again. Unrighteous people will not inherit the kingdom of God. Be not deceived, neither fornicators, nor idolattors, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners shall inherit the kingdom of God. Go home and study that. Go home and study every word you should. And it should be preached. Every word in those two verses ought to be elaborated on in the house of God. We shouldn't be afraid to preach against fornication. Why? Fornication is sin. Any sexual act performed outside of the bonds of matrimony is fornication. It's sin. You won't inherit the kingdom of God. It is sin. We could elaborate on each one. idolattors, adulterers, epheminite, abuses, on and on, thieves, these, all that, all that. But I can't read verse 10 without reading verse 11. And such are some of you. And such are some of you. What? And such were. Is were past tense? Such were some of you. But you are washed, but you are sanctified. But you are justified in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and by the spirit of our God. Paul preached against sin. He preached against sin. Can I tell you the resurrected Jesus Christ preached against sin in the book of Revelation 21 verse number 6. It is the resurrected Jesus Christ who is speaking here. In verse six, he says this. And he said unto me, it is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is a thirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcomemeth shall inherit all things. I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the fearful, listen to the resurrected Jesus Christ. But the fearful and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and whorungers and sorcerers and idolattors and all liars shall have no reading that wrong. Might have their part. Come on, talk back to me now. Is it shall or might? Well, I got about half of you think it's think it's might. Is it shall or is it might? Shall. shall have their part in the lake which burnth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. Here we've got John the Baptist. Here we've got the Apostle Paul. Here we have the resurrected Jesus Christ. Let's go back to the Old Testament. Let's find the wisest man, Solomon, in Proverbs chapter 6, verse 16. Proverbs chapter 6 and verse 16. These six things doth the Lord hate. All right. He hates this. Yay. Seven are an abomination unto him. First, proud look. What is a proud look? A proud look is you think you're better than other people because of dot dot dot. You look down on other people because of dot dot dot. Nothing against education. Get all you can. Go to school. Get all the education you can. I preach it to the students here at the at the school. Get all the education. Get out of high school. Get right back into a college somewhere. Further your education. Further your education. Don't don't work for the man. Be the man. All right. I believe in all that. But don't get an education and find yourself looking down on uneducated people. That's not right. Say you're successful. Say you've made the right business deals. Say you turned $250,000 into $2.5 million. Say you're set for the rest of your life. say, "Everything you touch turns to gold." You know how to invest. You know how to move. And you're you're wealthy beyond means. Wonderful. Wonderful. Use your wealth to promote the kingdom of God. Use your wealth to promote the kingdom of God. But don't use your wealth to look down on other people. Think you're better than them because you got to punch a code in before you get into the gated community. Nothing wrong with living in a gated community and nothing wrong with having a code. Nothing wrong with nothing is wrong with materials. But buddy, when you begin to think that you're just a little bit better than other people because you drive this or you wear that or you have this, have I made myself clear you are wrong. Let's get into race. You're wrong to believe you're better because you're white. You're better than somebody black. That's wrong. It's wrong to stereotype people. Man, I'm just preaching and I guess I'm preaching against sin, right? But you're wrong to stereotype people. A white person is no better than a black person or a brown person or an Asian person. We're all come from the same parents. news break. We all came from the same set of parents. All right? And when we go to heaven, there's not a white church, a black church, a Hispanic church. I tell you the story about a white guy and a black guy that died, went to heaven. They were standing at the pearly gates waiting to go in. And the white guy and the black guy were arguing over is Jesus said to Suzanne, "Is Jesus white? Jesus black?" The white black man said he's black. White man said, "Man, he's white." About that time, Peter came up. He said, "Man, would you please tell my brother that Jesus is white?" He said, "No, would you please tell my brother Jesus is black?" And about that time, Peter said, "What? Why don't you just ask him?" Here comes Jesus right now. And Jesus come walking up and he said, "Amigos, can I tell you? You know better because you're black. You know better because you're white. And if you ever dare take the race you are and think you're better, more educated, got it more all together and all of that, it's not right. It's not right. You got to have the negative of sin. You got to preach against sin. You got to be a John the Baptist. You got to be an Apostle Paul. You've got to be a resurrected Jesus Christ. You have got to be a wise man. You've got to be a wise man. Solomon, he said, a proud proud look. Verse 17. A lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that deiseth wicked imagination, feet that be swift in running to mischief. Boy, we stop there and preach for a while. They thought some folks got trouble detectors on their head. They won't talk to you until they you got some trouble going on in your life and you you you know, things are not going good over here. things not going to go good over here. Then we want to be our our feet are swift to run to mischief. A false witness that speak of lies and he that seeth discord among the brethren. It's preaching against sin. All of this tonight we should take serious as Bible students, Bible believers, worshippers of Jesus Christ. We should take all these scriptures serious tonight to study them. To study them and most importantly to look at them and be honest. You know, the word of God is likened to a mirror. To look into the word and be honest with yourself. You know, we're real good at knowing the faults of our brothers. We're real good at knowing the faults of the people on the other aisle. But sometimes we're so deceived when it comes to ourselves. We're so we're so deceived. We can't see really the problems that we've got in our life. And we need to hold the word of God. We need to hold the word of God up as a mirror. Let me go on down. Preaching causes us to see ourselves in our sin and to see ourselves forgiven. Let me say that again. Preaching causes us to see ourselves in our sin, which causes repentance. But preaching also causes us to see ourselves forgiven, and it causes rejoicing. Same preaching, same word will cause you to ball your eyes out like a baby. The same word will put a knot in your belly and a big clump in your throat. And the same word has caused there to be claw marks on the back of some of these pews where conviction got on you. You're gripped. But the same word will cause you to realize, I am forgiven. I am set free from this. And it'll cause you to rejoice. Let me just briefly tonight tell you about a man by the name of David. Man that got too comfortable. got to trusting in his flesh, sent everybody off to battle. There alone on a rooftop he spied a woman washing herself. There from the rooftop he lusted after her. There from the rooftop he sent a servant down to her house. There from the rooftop he called for her. There in his chamber, David and Bashibba had a night of adultery. In the morning, he sent her home. There was no love. It was purely lust. He sent her home thinking that he would never hear from her again. But a few weeks later, she sends word. David, I am with child. I am with your child. My husband Uriah has been at battle. My husband will come home from battle and I'll be found out and I'll be stoned. David, you'll be revealed as the king who committed adultery. David swiftly went to work. Instead of finding ways of repentance, he searched for ways to cover up his sin. He orders Uriah to be brought home from the battlefield. Under the guise, under the deception, I'm a king wanting to know how the battle is going. That's why I chose you, Uriah. I just want to know how's the battle really. I know I've got a captain that I can report to, but I really want to know how the battle is going by a soldier. Would you tell me how the battle is going? And he told David what he knew. And David said, "Thank you so much." He says, "A matter of fact, take the next few days off. Go home. Enjoy your wife. Go on back to the battlefield." But David wasn't ready for what happened. Uriah was a man of conviction. Uriah was a man that saw the ark of God under a tent. He saw his fellow soldier sleeping on the ground. The next morning, David goes out and finds that Uriah never went home. Uriah slept on David's porch that night. When asked why this strange behavior, he said, "David, my brothers are laying out in an open field. How can I go home and have pleasure with my wife?" David said, "That's all right." He said, "I'm going to have a party tonight at the house. I want you to come to the party." And Uriah came to the party. No doubt David had ordered the servants to keep Uriah's wine cup topped off. Keep topping his wine cup off until Uriah was intoxicated. Surely in this frame of mind, Uriah will go home, be with his wife, it'll all be covered up. But Uriah once again refused to go home. David then turned to write a letter. He wrote a letter that Uriah was to be put in the front of the hottest battle. And there they were to retire back from him and Uriah would be smitten. Think of the think of the callous heart that David must have had. He wrote the letter. Sister Carpenter, folded it up, sealed it with wax, and handed it to Uriah. I mean, David, come on. Couldn't you had the decency to send somebody else? Couldn't you have at least had the decency? But no, you handed it to him. I can see Joab as he's sitting in a tent. Uriah comes and says, "My Lord Joab, David gives you a letter." And I see Joab as he opens up, breaks the wax, and he opens up. And I could see him looking up over the letter, looking at the letter, put Uriah in the front of the battle, retired from him, that he'd be smitten. And Uriah was smitten in battle. He didn't know that day he was put in the front of the battle. and he certainly didn't know when he turned around and saw they was fighting alone, overcome by the enemy, Uriah lost his life. News comes back to the palace that Uriah's died. Basheba weeps. We really don't know if she really knew that David had her husband murdered. We brother Eric said, "We really don't know if she had that information or if David kept it secret." Now Uriah's wife Basheba weeps and a few weeks later David calls for her. David marries her and everything seems to be covered up. He breathes a sigh of relief that he's got her in the palace. He can keep her in private. No one will know. We'll just announce a few months that a baby has been born. But the second chapter of Samuel verse 12 through well it's all the way down through 14. I won't read it for time's sake. David is living a life of sin covered up but God sent him a preacher. A preacher walks into David's palace and a preacher said, "David, I I need to tell you of something that's happened in the kingdom. What is it, preacher?" Well, there was a man in the kingdom that had one little U lamb. All he had was one little U lamb. And let me tell you about that one little lamb. That's all he had. That lamb had grown up with his children. that that one little lamb was so close. It was a household pet. As a matter of fact, this is how close this man was to that one lamb. That lamb slept in the bosom of that man. That one little lamb, brother Hammond, even drank water out of the same cup. That's how close that they were. But there was another man, a neighbor. He was wealthy. He had many lambs. He had many sheep. He had many. And in the night, a traveler came to him and was hungry. And that rich man in the darkness of the night went over and stole that poor man's little lamb, slit his throat, drained its blood, boiled the meat, served it to his stranger. David couldn't take anymore. David couldn't take anymore. Brother Couch, David, you know as well as I do, David was fond of sheep. David was a shepherd. He couldn't take anymore. The veins protruded in his neck. His face got red. His fist boiled up. He beat on the side of the throne. He said, "Preacher, the man that has done this shall surely die. The man that has done this will pay back four times over again the man that has done this. And boy, the preacher's going to rock his world when he says, "David, thou art the man. You are the man, David." Now, you think about how brave that preacher was. David could have ordered his head to be cut off. Do you do you realize that preachers get their heads cut off a lot? But they've got to be brave enough to preach the truth. They can't be in it for a popularity contest. They can't be in it for a good old buddy system. It can't be sin for you. I don't know you that well. A and it's sin for you, but I'm best buddies with you. And it's really No, no, no, no, no. None of that stuff. You're the man, David. And he just read his mail. He just told him, he said, "David, God has been so good to you. God has given you all of these things and God would have given you much more and you've done all this and and and and and and you've even had your killed and you have taken his wife to be your wife. But did I tell you preaching not only has a negative you are the man but it also has a positive side if we respond properly. Guess what come out of David's mouth? Don't you come in here and point your finger at me. Don't you know who I am. Don't you come in here and accuse me of this. Who do you think you are? Who do you You've got faults of yourself, preacher. Don't you come waltzing in here telling me how all to live. Oh, no, no, no, no, no. That kind of response. Justifying the way you live never gives you joy nor deliverance. Trying to justify how you live never brings any deliverance to you. It just buries you deeper and deeper. David said, everybody say, David said, I have sinned. What a response. You see, God not only wants to come to point out our sin, but God wants to give us the opportunity of repentance. I have rece I have sinned. I have sinned. But listen to God's response. And the preacher said, "And the Lord has put away thy sins. The Lord has forgiven you." Do you realize that if we will respond to the gospel that God will forgive us from our sins and God will make things new in our lives? God will deliver us. God will bless us. God will favor us. God will help us. You will live an unimaginable life. He will make of the right decisions in life if we'll only respond correctly. Oh, would you stand with me right now? Would you stand please with me right now? I have sinned and the Lord hath put away your sin. And then he went into the consequences. And I won't go into that, but he went into the consequences. But here's the part I want to bring about. Part of the consequences, Sister Wells, part of the consequences, the preacher said, the child that was conceived by Bashibba is going to die. Is going to die. David, you've repented. Here's the consequences. Live for God, David. Goodbye. What does David do? David goes into the temple. David goes into the house of God. He lays on the floor for seven days and seven nights. He asked God to touch the baby. He asked God to heal the baby. He asked God to move up on the baby. Seven days later, the baby dies. The servants are afraid to tell him. Look at how he mourn. Look at how he mourned when the baby was sick. How will he act when we tell him? And they're whispering, "How will he act when we tell him the baby's dead? David heard them whispering. He perceived that the child was dead. He asked a question. He said, "Uh, is the child dead?" He said, "The child's dead, David." David got up. It's in the scripture. David got up from the floor. David washed his face. David anointed himself with oil. David put on his garment. David went into the house of God. David went into the house of God and began to worship God. He got done worshiping God. He come home and he said, "I need something to eat." David's eating his meal, Brother Perry. And the servants couldn't hold back. They came to David and they said, "Hey, David, this doesn't make any sense, David. You mourn when the baby dies. You mourn at the death. You go into mourning when they're dead. But David, you mourn while the child was living. And now the child is dead. And you've washed and anointed and worshiped and you're eating. It's strange, David. And David said these words. He said, "Who know whether the Lord would change his mind and the baby would live?" Now, my point of that is once you're forgiven, have a positive view about your God. Have a positive view about your God. Can I tell you tonight, he's a good God. Can I plead with you tonight? He's a good God. He's a loving God. We all have sinned and we've all come short of the glory of God. We've all made mistakes before conversion and after conversion, but he's a good God. He's a good God. He's a wonderful God. He's a blessing God. He's a loving God. He's a favoring God. And then David said this, "The child, the child can never come back to me, but I will go to him." Can I tell you something? Whether not whether you have fallen, made a mistake. I've sinned. I knew it was wrong. I don't believe God will forgive me. Lie, lie, lie. God will forgive you. The Bible said, "If any man will come unto me, I will in no wise cast him away." Can I tell you tonight, listen to preaching, you apply it to your life, you repent over it. I don't I don't feel like it's wrong. You don't have to feel like like it's wrong. That's a problem with too many people today. They're trying to have the first book of feelings. I'm sorry. Your first book of feelings is not in the Bible. It's whether you feel like it or not. If the Bible says it, it's sin. That settles it. I need to keep breathing that into my mind and breathing that into my mind. breathing that into my mind and breathing that into my mind. He's a good God. I said, he's a good God. I'm going to put the service, honey. We're going to go to the back door, but I'm going to put the service in your hands. This service will last as long as you praise him. But if you know he's a good God and you know he's forgiven you and you know that now you can go to prayer and you can ask him for things and you know he's a good God, I want you to lift up your hands and your voices right now and I want you to give him praise in the house of the Lord. Hallelujah