You Are The One

Today we're going to try to talk in the vein of family. We'll see if it works out or we just let God take control, cuz he's the one who needs to be in control anyway. So if you'll turn in your Bibles to First Kings chapter 22, when I start reading this you're going to say it has nothing to do with family. So First Kings CH 22 verse 1 says, now three years passed without war between Syria and Israel. Maybe that is somebody's family. But then it came to pass in the third year that Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went down to visit the king of Israel. And the king of Israel said to his servants, do you know that ramoth in Gilead is ours, but we hesitate to take it out of the hand of the king king of Syria? So he said to Jehoshaphat, will you go with me to fight at ramoth Gilead? Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses. Also Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, please inquire for the word of the Lord today. Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about 400 men, and said to them, shall I go against ramoth Gilead to fight or shall I refrain? So they said, go up, for the Lord will deliver it into the hand of the king. And Jehoshaphat said, is there not still a prophet of the Lord here that we may inquire of him? Yes. So the king of Israel said to Jehosaphat, there is still one man, m I the son of imlac, by whom we may inquire of the Lord, but I hate him — strong verbiage, got smacked in the mouth for saying that when I was a kid — because he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. And Jehoshaphat said, let not the king say such things.

It's titled this today: you are the one. You are the one. Yes, when we delve into this we must understand who it is we're dealing with in our scriptural context today. We're talking about the king of Israel, King Ahab, who he really was. He served for 21 years as king, and the most wicked King to reign in Israel up to that point. First Kings 16:30 spells it out, says, and Ahab the son of omai did evil in the sight of the Lord above all that were before him. That's not what you want on your resume. Ahab instituted worship to ba. He was married to Jezebel, which speaks toward the evilness, the wickedness in his life. He was a man that did not like being told what to do. And if we're honest, a lot of us are in that at some point: just, I don't want to be told what to do, I know I'm, I like what I'm doing. And he rather wanted to hear what made him happy and pleased his own flesh.

We read into First Kings 21 — you can go read for yourself the story how Ahab went to naboth because he wanted his Vineyard. It was convenient and close to his house, and so he wanted this Vineyard that naboth had. He wanted to take and turn it into a vegetable garden. He offered to trade another Vineyard or to pay money, but the answer was no. Nebal said no, I'm not going to sell it, it's not for sale, it was an inheritance from my father. We got to be careful what we allow someone to take from us when it's an inheritance, something that our father, our heavenly father, places things in our life that we better hold firm to. Naboth was holding on to what was passed down to him from his father. Long story short, they falsely accuse naboth and ended up stoning him to death and just taking the vineyard from him. First Kings 21 and 25 says, but there was none like unto Ahab which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the Lord, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up. We could talk about that relationship and that marriage, and that's a whole another chapter that we won't delve into necessarily today.

But we get back to our context of our scripture reading. Jehoshaphat, he's talking with King Ahab and tells him, hey, why don't you inquire of the Lord? So he calls 400 prophets. But if you look in the scripture, he called 400 prophets, but didn't say it was God God's prophets. And they're saying, hey, won't you just go, you'll overcome, you'll be victorious, you're going to win. They were on the payroll of Ahab, and they were paid to tell him what he wanted to hear, because they knew what took place when you didn't say what he wanted to hear. But there was a prophet, he was not willing to appease the man, but he was in tune and willing to listen and to speak what God was wanting to say.

There's a purpose for each of Our Lives. There's a purpose and a plan that God has placed upon each person under the sound of my voice today. There's a purpose for your life. There's God's plan that he desires to fulfill. There's a calling for each of us that's far more valuable than any appeasement of any man or any agenda that it's worth World tries to force on us. Yes, be careful who you're serving and who you're pleasing. Yes, in this world, if you choose personal satisfaction over God's direction for your life, you're settling to make the flesh comfortable, to serve the Flesh, and you're serving the wrong God. The opinions of this world cannot overpower what thus saith the word of God. We must align our life, our families, our values, and in accordance to what thus saith the word of God. Now more than ever before, we've got to be the church. I know that is a sign that's out in the foyer, but it's more than a sign. It must become a lifestyle that we pursue every single day of our life, to be the church, to be what God has called me to be, to fulfill the destiny that God's placed in my life, even when it's uncomfortable, even when it's unpopular. We must be the church in word and indeed. Our actions, our attitudes must align with the word of God. Yes, we must preach the truth. There's a lot of preaching going on that's not truth, but we've got to preach the truth. We're not here to bash others or to beat them down with the Bible, but we got to do it in love. Speak the truth in love. We must do it without fear or favor. We can't change what we believe or what the Bible says about this or that because of influences or certain friendships or certain people hearing what we say. We can't water down the truth to get more people in the seat. We can't water down this truth to make people feel comfortable doing what they're doing when it's contrary to the word of God.

Promotions that come our way, weigh out the cost, because promotions cannot be taken at the cost of compromise to our moral values and the truth of the word of God that speaks into our life. We're called to be separate. We're called To Worship the one true God, to be filled with his Spirit residing inside of us. We're tongue talking, and we're not going to back down. We're not going to sideline. We're not going to look for another way, because there is no other way than his way, his word, his truth, that should orchestrate our life every single day. Yes, my great-grandmother had a saying: you got to talk right and you got to spit white. And there was a lot involved in while she said that. But we cannot back down. We cannot apologize for what comes across this pull pit, because it is truth and it aligns with the word of God. Anything contrary to the word of God, yes, I have a problem with. But the Bible supports and stands on its own, amen, and it also instructs and teaches us how we should walk and how we should stand and how we should live our life. Hallelujah. We can love and speak as kindly as possible, but the most loving and compassionate thing that we can ever do is to share this truth with all the people that we know. Every person we come in contact with should know, hey, God loves you and he died on a cross for you. He shed his blood to cover your sins and to pay the price that you could never pay. But there's obligations that come with that relationship. There's commitments that come with it that aren't convenient, that aren't always easy. We must speak the truth from God's word, and yes, it's for everyone. We don't get to pick and choose: yeah, you're good enough, w't you come in, God can work through you and use you, and you can come on in because you've got this or that in your life. It's for whosoever will. The doors are open to all to come boldly before his throne of mercy and Grace, regardless what is in your past, regardless how many May judge you on their own. Who is it that you're serving? Their judgment should not change what you do and how you serve almighty God, because they didn't die for you. They didn't shed blood to cover your sins.

We must have a discernment in our spirit. Yes, we cannot take what the masses are saying and not measure it against the word of God. So many get all caught up in the hype and the excitement and the exuberance, just like last night downtown Nashville: they're throwing stuff in the river. I'm like, don't y'all realize that's a lot of money, that's a fine, and to redo it? And but that's in the sports world, that's okay, that's acceptable. You know, that's the big thing, we won, and it's been a long time, so let's just tear the place down. But if God were to come in and say, hey, I'm the Victor, I'm going to tear some things down in your life, you're like, no God, I built this, this is — no. If you want to win, we're going to move some things out. We're going to change some things up. We're going to redirect some things in your life so that you can be victorious from here forward. We're going to remove those distractions. We're going to eliminate those Temptations so that you can truly live an overcoming life. Well, we've got to hear the voice of God, listen and stop when that Holy Ghost Inside of us begins to rise up against what is being said as this is the truth and this is normal and this must be accepted and this must be tolerated. I'm sorry, if it's not here it's not tolerated. If it's not here it's not acceptable.

First Kings 22 and8, we read basically paraphrasing: one man, one man, one person stood out. One man: I hate him because of what he says. Basically he was saying, I don't like him because he speaks truth every time. And you're going to R into those situations in your life where people give you the ultimatum, where you can either follow and agree with what I say, or you've got to do something different. Don't compromise for friendships. Don't compromise for relationships that are contrary to what the voice of God is speaking for your life. When we start thinking that we're always right — I have all the answers, you have to listen to what I have to say, and you have to accept that as the truth — we begin to reflect the attitude and the actions of Ahab. The wickedness that was spelled out in him is reflected inside of us when we take on that mentality of, I'm not even going to listen to what you have to say, because I've got it figured out and I'm comfortable where I'm at. None of us have arrived. None of us are perfect. We've all got room for improvement and growth. And as hard as it is to accept, there's things that need to change in all of our Lives. We will justify our sinful nature a thousand different ways to satisfy our own flesh. Isn't it amazing how you can justify something that if somebody else was doing it, you would give them that puppy dog look like, why in the world were you doing that? But we'll justify all different angles on why I should do this, and why I should continue to do that, and why I shouldn't have to do that. No matter what robe you put on it, no matter what title you label it with, or even how you make it to appear holy in your life, if it's sin it's wrong. If it's sin it's unacceptable. If it's not drawing you near to God and to hearing the voice of God in your life, you need to put it aside. You need to lay it down and seek a place of repentance before God, when the voice of God begins to speak in your life and you're quick to disregard it simply because it's just not convenient, it's not what I want to hear, I don't like what God is trying to speak into my life, so I'm just going to disregard that and discredit what he's saying until I hear something that's more pleasing to me.

Verses 7-9, First Kings 22: and Jehoshaphat said, there is there not here a prophet of the Lord besides, that we might inquire of him? Jehoshaphat was saying, hey, this doesn't seem right. We got 400 guys and they're all agreeing. That can't be real. You can't get Five Guys to agree on where to go eat or what car is the best. Here we got 400 guys that are agreeing, yeah, it's all going to — we're all in agreement. Verse eight: and the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, there is yet one man, mcka the son of imla, by whom we may inquire of the Lord. I'm coming to tell you, may be isolated, you may be all alone, but when they want to hear from God they know who to reach out to. When they need prayer they know who to say, hey, can you pray for me, because I know there's something different in your life. Yeah, I may not be following what you're doing. I may not agree in my own life with what you do, but I know there's power in what you do. Yeah, so they sought him out. You may never be popular with people around you that want to constantly hear the Happy sayings that make their ears soothed, those individuals that just want to check the box, satisfy their fleshly appetite, but not accept the voice of God and his instruction in their life. But When Storms Come, and turmoil comes, and sickness and disease hits their family or their body, they come running: I need a voice from God, I need your prayers, I need you to pray, can you get your church to pray? And we're going to do it. We've got to keep loving. We got to keep reaching. We got to keep striving to do and to be the voice, the hands, the feet of God to these individuals. But be careful if we start to surround ourselves with pretty prophets, Prosperity preachers, popular preachers spewing just what I want to hear and not the truth that will set you free. You got to find you a preacher that will speak truth regardless what everyone else may be saying. You better have a pastor in your life that will point you to heaven while dragging you down a road from hell, right? A pastor that spend sleepless nights wrestling with the message that God has instructed him to give, knowing the backlash that will follow right after the message is given. You better embrace the shepherd that is guarding your soul, the one that God placed over you, because he understands truth must Prevail regardless of the hurts that may come, because it is not cozy, it's not comfortable, it's not feel-good message, but it is what thus saith the Lord for the time at hand.

Mcka said in First Kings 22 and4: as the Lord liveth, what the Lord saith unto me, that will I speak. God's looking for those who will be the man, who will be the woman, who will be that family that stands regardless what everybody else around you is doing. We're going to stand for truth. We're going to stand for God. We're going to be holy as he's called us to be holy. We're going to be separate as he's called us to be separate. And we're going to share the truth according to what the word of God says every single day. We can't seek affirmation of this world and the In Crowd and the influencers in our society and just say what it is they want to hear. Ahab cannot be the one we seek approval from. Come on, well he in charge, he's in control, so he's the one we got to — know our homes must be founded on Truth, founded on the word of God, founded on the principles that are found in the word of God.

So I asked the question: who is the ruler in your home? Who's the ruler in your family? He it Hollywood, is it athletes, politician, misss, Hobbies, self? If any of those have replaced God in your home, find a place of prayer. Find a place of repentance. Find a place to be man enough, woman enough, Godly enough to say, hey, we're going to redirect who's the center of the home. Right, God must be the center of all that is in our homes. God must be the voice that Rings clear in our home. When there's questions, let's go to the word of God and see what the word of God says. When there's conflict, let the word of God speak. Let the voice of God speak into that situation. Love must abound in our home. In a day and age where love has been corrupted and redefined and miscommunicated and abused, we can go and find the true definition, the FR true meaning, the true example of love when we find Our Place back to the word of God. We will find a place of love for each other, a love for truth, love for the church.

Hebrews 10 verse 21 says, and having an high priest over the house of God. It's in the house where the family resides. It's in the house where family issues are communicated and clarified, and the rules are established, and boundaries and guidelines are clarified. So find a house of God that can be a place that you know know the rules align with his word. Verse 22: let us draw near with a true heart and full Assurance of Faith, having our heart sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. We are cleansed, forgiven of our fleshly conscience. In this world we walk in, so many voices are speaking. Come on, and we take our fleshly ruler and we begin to try to measure: is that okay, is that right? And they begin to tell you, well, that doesn't matter, you can, you can do away with that, you don't have to go there, you don't have to have a commitment of daily prayer. And then suddenly you say, well God, I need you, but you don't even know how to measure up, because you've eliminated the crucial parts of your life that that he placed there for an intentional purpose for your life. And suddenly you stand: well, I don't even know where to start. All the pieces are gone. Everything's been broken. But I'm telling you, we serve an awesome God who will come and take the broken pieces. He will come and take the crumbled pieces. He will come and take those things that are even gone from your life, and he will replace it with a new heart, a new measuring stick. You can start again.

Well, let me, let me realign now that I've got all the pieces. I've got what measures correctly. I begin to measure against the word of God. This is how I got to walk. This is how I got to talk. This is how I got to pray. This is when I got to pray. This is how I got to find and seek the face of God on a daily basis, regardless what life's bringing against me. I'm going to go measure me up every morning: God, measure me against your word, god, measure me against your truth. God, all my past, let it be gone away, but God, I'm going to measure up to a new life in you. It doesn't matter what this world thinks of me. It doesn't matter what this world says about me. I'm going to align with the word of God. I'm going to find that place of prayer: God, if there's anything that needs to be changed in Me, God, let it align with your word in my life. We can walk measuring up to God's standard, not man's opinion, not man's suggestion, but according to the word of God. Because if you haven't figured out, man will change their opinion. The voices that are speaking will quickly change. The influencers will change in a moment's notice, and suddenly you're found again lost and spending: what do I listen to, what do I measure up to? The word of God doesn't change. The voice of God never changes.

We're washed in baptism. We no longer smell like or carry the sins that we associated with and identified ourselves by, but we're new, new creatures in Christ Jesus. Old things are washed away. Behold, All Things become new. Yeah, don't live in criticism of men around you. Don't allow yourself to walk through life crippled by sins and things that may have had you bound at one time, because God is a god of freedom and liberty, and he come to release you from those bondages and those captivities and those mindsets that want to hold you down, down, and keep you bound. But he wants to tell you that you can walk in newness of life in him, in Freedom, going from this moment forward.

It goes on and says, let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering — measuring up — for he is faithful that promised. Oh, the promises of God. The pro Promises of God. How many promises have we been given through our life, of family members, politicians, car salesman, shoe salesman, whatever: it'll do this, it'll last this long, it'll — but he doesn't waver. He's faithful. His promises are true. He goes on: and let us consider one another — well, that doesn't happen in society: just get out of my way and I'll walk over you — to provoke un love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the day approach, approaching, the day, the day. God's looking for a man, a woman, in the day, Hallelujah, that is faithful, right, that is measured up to his word, that has been obedient to his voice in their life. You say, well, when's that day, so I know to get everything lined up? We don't know, but I can tell you: he's coming back. He's coming back for a church that's ready, for an individual who has aligned themsel and been obedient to and disciplined their life to thus saith the word of God.

God's spirit must dictate the atmosphere in our individual lives and also in our families. Family is so important. I can't tell you and stress enough how important family is. You say, well, you don't understand, my family's broken. You're right, I don't understand. I grew up in a in a loving family, but I can also tell you, in a loving family there's still dysfunction, there's still tension, there's still conflict. You say, there's just no way, my family has rejected me. There's another family: the family of God. And shame on us if we don't Embrace those in the family of God, if we don't hold them up and encourage them and strengthen them and pray for them, because we are called to be Brothers and Sisters in Christ. And if we can't love those around us, how are we going to love a God we don't know and don't see? If we're to be the hands and feet, and we're to reflect him in our life, and we can't love those around us, shame on us. Find an altar if you can't forgive, because somebody's different or somebody had a bad day and offended you. I'm sorry, find an altar. Yes, scripture talks about Paul dying daily. Dead men don't get offended. So if you're getting offended quite often, you got something that's living that needs to die. I wasn't in there, that was free. But we've got to embrace each other as the family of God. As we honor the family and talk about the family, your, your physical family, embrace them. Society would love to destroy the family, but realize the value of family. But if you say it's too far gone, or I can't do that, I've come to tell you there's a family of God that will hold you up and embrace and love you, as long as you're willing to be a part of the family and follow the rules. You can't come in and change all the rules and expect the family to just go along with what you say.

We got to stop shopping for the advice that fits what we want to hear. Come on, I remember as I got to be an older teen, there was family Rules that were established, but I thought, well, I'm old enough and wise enough that I can make my own decision. And it never failed: when I thought, well, I'll just sneak in, I know I'm late, but they won't know, every time I tried to sneak in it I got called on the carpet. So I got to where IID just make all the racket, come, coming in, and act like that's what I was supposed to do, and that didn't go any better. But we got to be careful what we're listening and tuning Our ear to, because somebody will say what you want to hear. Somebody will convince you that this is truth: why would you listen to what is coming across the pull pit? This right here is far more easier to live by and far more satisfying for the flesh. Why don't you just do this and go this way? Some make the choice: we go here because they say what I like; we'll go there because they allow this and accept what I do and participate in. Before long you'll have 400 prophets that are saying this for this and this for that, directing you and making you happy in the moment: one that you use for this, and one to appeal to this in your life, to tell you, hey, yeah, you're good to go there. Follow them, and the pastor's reaching out, the man of God is reaching for your soul, because he sees what is in the balance. But yet you're just listening for the happy voice to condone what it is you want to do today, in the moment. You not receive truth, and even say when you hear the truth, well, that's an evil report, they just hate me, they're out to get me. And they blame the man for what God is saying the whole time, and you destroy your very family in the process.

Stop listening to the voice that's leading to follow the flesh. Conviction is a dirty word anymore. You can't, I convict, I — we got to do something different. Conviction must be a driving force to guide us the direction of our life, instead of the soothing voice of the world's approval. We must bury our face in the carpet and say, God, let me not be off track, that need not be this disillusion to what truth is in my life. We need to make up our mind that all that I do in word and In Deed is going to align with the word of God. Where I go, what I do, what I say, and who I become will all be to complete the calling that God's placed on my life. God will never lead you to a place in him him to leave you without a victory on the other side. He'll never walk with you and abandon you halfway down the road. He's always there to shelter you from the storm. He may not allow you to avoid the storm altogether, but he will be a shelter. He will be a peace and a comfort in the midst of turmoil, and the boat may be Rocky wildly on the waves, but he will be there with you. He is a weapon that is enough to get you through, yes, and he will give you the faith that can Prevail through any circumstance and situation.

We're called to live a life of Truth. We're called to live a life of faithfulness. We're called to pursue Holiness and to remain faithful until the end. That is the one that he's looking for. Hall, are you willing to be the one? Are you willing to be the one that when everybody else is saying what makes someone happy, you're willing to be the one that says, no, no, no, this is what the voice of God says, this is what the word of God instructs for our life? We can't go down that road. It is a road of Destruction.

1 Thessalonians 41 17: then we which are alive and remain — the verse before that says dead in Christ will rise first, but that word just jumps out: we which are alive — it could just go from there: shall be called up together. But it says, and remain. There's a lot in that remain. So many say, well I, you know, I haven't won a thousand Souls. I haven't taught 50 by home Bible studies. I haven't done these things that everybody else is capable of. That doesn't disqualify you. I'm not saying that we shouldn't try to lead others, and we shouldn't try to teach Bible studies, and we shouldn't try to do all that we can do for the kingdom of God. But I'm telling you, if you're Measuring Up to everybody else around you and saying, well, I don't measure up to them, you're going back and you're picking all those pieces up. But the scripture says, we which are alive and remain — remain faithful, remain holy, remain settled and solid on the word of truth and the word of God and the voice of God, and your Daily Commitment to prayer and to reading his word, in those times of intercession for lost souls. Remain, remain, remain, shall be called up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. You can be the one that remains faithful, holy, righteous. Are you willing to commit to do what it takes to be the one? That's the hard question.

As the musicians come, as we stand: God is looking and pursuing after that one. And the person that disqualifies you from being that one is the one you face in the mirror, the one that you argue with: well, this isn't comfortable, this isn't convenient. Mcka, he was the one that spoke truth. He was hated, but he still did not shy away from the truth and speaking truth of God, when others said only what those listening wanted to hear. Here all right, do not waver because it's not popular. Do not waver because they hate you for you're stand for the word of God and God in your life, and you're just a Holy Roller, and you're just whatever they label. Do you want to be the one for them, or do you want to be the one for him? Because the one for him is the one that will be victorious. The one for him is the one that will see him and spend eternity with him, because they remained faithful, they remained committed. Because John 15:18 says, if the world hates you, know that it hated me before it hated you. So you're not in that hate boat alone: everybody hates me. No, God's there with you. They hated him first, yes. So if they hate you, you're getting a little closer to what he wants you to be, probably.

But I've come to tell you today that you are the one. You are the one that he died for. You're the one that he chose. You're the one that he loves unconditionally. You're the one that he placed his Spirit into to be an overcomer. He's the one one that went to the Cross because you were the one that was on his mind. You're the one that he delivered, the one that he desires to spend that eternity with. And he's the one that will equip you to be the one that will be victorious in the end. You are the one for such a time as this. But we must make a commitment. These altars are open. If you don't know Jesus Christ, if you have not been filled with his Spirit, today is the day you can come and meet him as your savior, your lord, your king, and make a difference in your life. But if you've been on the fence, maybe you've grown a little cold, maybe some calluses because life dealt in tough blows, I challenge you: come and meet with him again. Let him call your name and tell him, God, this is what I'm dealing with, this is what I'm facing. And he'll say, give it to me, give it to me, because I don't want anything distracting you and I from spending eternity together. Thank you. It's time we find a place of prayer, to allow us to be the one that he wants us to be, the one that he's called us to be, and the one that he desires to tell others about him. Can we find a place of prayer today?