Gospel Tabernacle Live Stream

thank the Lord and God bless you today thank you for the Hold'em and thank you everyone for being in the house the Lord praise God you can be seated for just a few moments if you'd like it's a great honor always to be here we love coming being here at gospel tabernacle of course we love but Josh's sister Adrienne will have been sister Hold'em amen and what a wonderful Sunday School lesson this morning I just enjoyed that teaching on prayer today such words of wisdom words of truth from the Word of God amen

thank the Lord we are so very sorry that your pastor is sick thankful that he did get to go home from the hospital this morning but I know that he still has a road of recovery ahead of him but I believe through prayer and and through your love and concern you will let you'll see him bouncing back here very quickly

want you to know that that we and and in the church there in Cookeville have been praying for him and for all of you and during this time Latricia initiated a prayer chain that when when the just got sick and we've been praying and just trusting God in believing for his complete recovery praise God

Amen wonderful presence of the Lord great singing worship at amen I just just just feel at home in the presence of the Lord that Amen not at home like but the whole dome was talking about that amen will you know will we'll take a maybe an afternoon nap or something this afternoon but right now we've got spiritual business to take care of raise god that we're in church hallelujah I said we're in church

yeah praise God that a man the presence of God is here the Lord is moving God's doing things Amen God wants to work in the service God wants to change somebody's life in the service God wants to answer somebody's prayer in the service Amen God wants to meet somebody's need in the service and hallelujah Amen I don't know about you but I like being in the presence of the Lord that Oh hallelujah somebody put your hands together praise God Lord we praise you worship You hallelujah amen amen thank the Lord

if you wouldn't mind standing one more time I want to take us to the word of the Lord the Book of Luke the ninth chapter amen Luke chapter 9 I want to share with you what I feel the Lord has placed on my heart for the service today amen Luke chapter 9 I'm beginning with verse 57 Luke 9 and 57 the scripture says

and it came to pass that as they went in the way a certain man said unto Him Lord day I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest and jesus said unto him foxes have holes birds of the air have nests are you real sure now you want to follow me because the son of man hath not where to lay his head

verse 59 and he said unto another follow me but he said Lord suffer or permit or allow me first to go and bury my father jesus said unto him let the dead bury their dead but go thou and preached the kingdom of God

and another also said Lord I we'll follow thee but let me first go bid them farewell which are at home at my house and Jesus said unto Him no man having put his hand to the plow and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God amen amen

would you just ask right now for the Lord to place a special anointing upon me and upon all of us that we can hear and receive the word amen this morning in Jesus name father Lord we call upon your now Lord we need you now I ask Lord but your special anointing I need you so much Lord I can do nothing within myself Lord I have no power and no ability Lord to affect any change in anyone's life today yeah

but Lord if you will move if your spirit will work Lord if you will speak through me O God that Lord you can do exceeding abundantly above that which we can even ask or think and I thank you for it in Jesus name and everybody said amen amen god bless you you may be seated amen

it's been a number of years ago in fact probably well twelve years ago or so so many of you probably would not even remember it but some of you might the nation for a few days actually was kind of riveted to a story that was unfolding there was a young woman by the name of Jennifer Wilbanks from Duluth Georgia that was preparing for her wedding her wedding was to take place in just a few days in fact in fact just four days before her planned wedding Jennifer Wilbanks mysteriously disappear

I don't know if any of you remember the story or not but this bride-to-be mysteriously disappeared four days before her wedding was planned I believe it was in April of 2005 that and then just as mysteriously she showed up in Arizona after a nationwide search had ensued dead at first her story was that she had been kidnapped dead but then eventually her story broke down and finally she confessed that she simply ran away just ran away now as a result of that that young lady became known across our nation as the runaway bride to be the runaway bride to be

well the truth is when it when it comes to relationships today unfortunately there's a lot of runaways amen there's a lot of Runaways because in our day it seems that making commitments and sticking to them is almost just asking too much you know people just just feel like it's just not fair to really ask for commitments and really sticking with it dad but I want to tell you if you and and and really this message today is not about marriage and and and and all of that but

but what I'm what I want to say at the beginning here just kind of lays the the groundwork for the message that I want to preach but I do want to just say if you are concocting plated and I don't know if there's anybody contemplating getting married here or not but haven't heard of anybody but if you are contemplating you know a relationship as serious as marriage needs to be then that I want to tell you you're looking at serious business

amen and in fact if you're contemplating that kind of serious relationships relationship there's a there's a couple of statements that you know that you need to be able to make without any wet without without any strings attached here one of them is an i statement day and one of them is a you statement and and these two statements and I'll give you those two statements in just a few moments here but those two statements set will say an awful lot about whether or not that you have a tough enough love then to make it work

amen amen and I want to tell you you know dr. James Dobson wrote a book years ago about you know what love must be tough I believe or something like that and and I think a lot of people misinterpreted that they they interpreted that to mean that you know you got to have the kind of love that to really be tough on your kids well and and there is some truth to that but really the kind of tough love that I'm talking about this morning is the kind of love that's tough enough to tough it out there to stick with it

death amen amen and and genuine love has to be tough that if it's going to survive the strains and the stresses that the world and the flesh and the devil left place on relationships today yeah I don't know about you but I have a feeling most all of us understand that Amen that that relationships come under a lot of stress amen and so it the kind of love that's going to be able to stick it out has to be tough

now I mentioned those two statements the first statement that I believe that we have to be able to make unequivocally yeah in order for a relationship to last a marriage in particular is this I am willing to risk everything for you amen I am willing to risk everything for you now listen that that statement that is much more than just a sentimental expression of love that is it's it's a whole lot more than just you know warm fuzzies and-and-and goosebumps say Amen

listen when you make that statement when you say I am willing to risk everything for you you are saying I am willing to transfer the loyalty and security that I have placed in myself and I'm willing to place it in someone else's I'm willing to pledge my faith in that person I'm willing to risk my life for that person I'm willing to risk all that I hold dear with that person and I understand that that person really can give me no guarantee

amen oh they can say they guarantee me that they will you know that they will be faithful to me and all of that but really they they cannot truly give you any guarantee but we simply choose to abandon ourselves to him or to her I'm willing to risk everything for you that's a statement of tough love them amen

the second statement goes like this you can count on me the first is a nice statement I'm willing to risk the second is a you statement you can count on me not only do I plant yet my faith in another person but I want that person to trust me to lean on me to count on me because I'm dependable and and I will not fail him or her no matter happens I will not quit on that relationship I may not always get it exactly right but I will keep trying

I want you to trust me you can count on me so two very powerful statements of tough love I'm willing to risk everything for you and you can count on me that's some tough love amen that's some tough love

and and in my opinion that's kind of that you know for those of you that are old enough to remember Paul Harvey Amen that's kind of the rest of the story Amen that all couples you know even who are contemplating engagement even that's the kind of the rest of the story that that you need to have at the heart of your relationship say Amen a tough love that that goes beyond feelings and emotions and sentiments it's an act of the will that will withstand all seasons and a relationship said Amen and the and the storms that come

meant now now let me let me say this about about Jennifer Wilbanks said at least she was honest at least she was honest about her doubt said at least she was honest about her confusion Amen at least at least she she decided I will not go through with a wedding that I am not prepared for for a marriage and commitment that I am not prepared for

and maybe it was the very nature of that commitment maybe maybe she got to thinking about those vows that she was about to take you know for better for worse for richer for poorer in sickness and in or in health and in sickness and and you know and until death do us part there maybe she got to thinking about that and and and that caused her to

bolt maybe she loved the idea of romance maybe she loved the idea of a wedding and marriage but but the reality of giving up control of her life for another while having someone else depend on her it became just too much we won't ever know everything that was in Jennifer's heart and her mind but we do know that she will be forever known as the runaway bride to be amen amen

but the problem that Jesus had in his ministry and in fact the problem that continues even today in the church F is not runaway bride said that might happen occasionally but rarely but the problem is not runaway brides its runaway disciples amen it's spiritual Runaways amen that's what I'm preaching about today I'm preaching about spiritual runaways

just like the starry-eyed couples engaged to be married sometimes people love the idea of church and and the worship the singing and and the activities and the fellowship and going on trips and doing things and and all of that you know and maybe they are even looking for you know a genuine experience with the Lord but when they began to realize that what is expected in this relationship many began to get cold feet

- when the going gets tough they're out the door you've all seen it dead probably some names are running through your mind right now a people who have come to this church that have made a start for God and seem to have great potential but they're not here today amen they are a runaway disciple amen

the nitty-gritty of discipleship living it out day by day the commitment for better for worse a man for richer for poorer in sickness and in health it applies to discipleship a man and and for and for too many yet that when they when they start realizing the demands of discipleship it becomes less attractive it becomes less inviting it becomes less exciting and then they thought it was going to be and eventually they're looking for a better deal amen runaway disciples they bulked when the reality of genuine discipleship confronts them runaway disciples just like runaway Brides need some tough love

amen amen you got to have some tough love to make it dead now in this in the in the scripture passage that I read this morning it describes three conversations that Jesus had with would be disciples all three of these persons seem to have had a sincere initial response to the Lord's invitation to follow him

man one person came up to Jesus and and just and just you know volunteered he said I'll follow you Lord I'll follow you wherever you go then a second one Jesus personally invited him to to come and to be his disciple and and it seems that that may be the disciple agreed but he said he first wanted to go and bury his father and then still another responded affirmatively and and yes Lord I will follow you but first let me go and say goodbye to my family

soon amen now these these all three of these they you know they they seem to love the idea of being a follower and a disciple of Jesus you know they they had probably heard Jesus speak and and teach and all and they were enamored by and by his teachings and they had watched him minister to others and and even seen miracles that he performed and and they you know they're thinking my that this would be this would be a good thing to be a part of here amen and they had they had felt even his love and and passion

and and so this grand idea of being part of something so wonderful and it captured their imaginations and so they they they said we want to get on board that we want to be part of this this looks great we we love what we feel around here amen we we like the music and and we enjoy the preaching you know this this just seems like a really great church to be a part of and it is let me tell you it is amen amen according to the same account in

Matthew 8 the first person that approached Jesus was probably a scribe a teacher of the law so you got to think about this for him after he said you know well I'll follow you then reality sets in begins to realize that to step away from that status and position of a scribe better means that he would now find himself there not among the critics and opponents of Jesus but rather as a follower and disciple he would have to pledge his loyalty to the Lord

and means he would no longer in the clip that he's once pinion means he will no longer be among those that had him on the back and esteem him he men and so Jesus responded to him with some very tough love here jesus knew what he was gonna face jesus knew the difficulties that would come amen and so

he points out to the man right up front then he says you know what there's no guarantee of a certain lifestyle if you choose to follow me in fact he said there in verse 58 he said I want to tell you the foxes have holes or dens that the birds of the air they have nests where they can go and rest Amanda but the son of man has nowhere to lay his head

then now that seems rather abrupt doesn't it it seems kind of harsh yet doesn't it but you see listen Jesus understood reality yeah Jesus was looking deeper than just simply getting another name on the discipleship role amen he knew what was going to confront this man and he wanted the scribe to count the cost and there would be a cost to follow

Jesus to follow Jesus requires tough love it requires a willingness to risk and a loyalty that Jesus could count on that amantha and so he wanted to know right up front are you going to be willing to count the cost amen

turn to the other two another man the second man Jesus said follow me and the man responded by saying well yes you know what I I will but first I need to go and bury my father well now obviously his father was not dead at dad at the moment or he wouldn't have been there with Jesus amen but but simply what is implied is he wanted to follow the Lord but he he just felt that he couldn't leave his teaching father and those responsibilities until he died

and Jesus gave a very tough love response he said let the dead bury their dead you go and preach the kingdom of God no is Jesus saying that we should neglect our our responsibilities our family responsibilities in favor of church work absolutely not Amen absolutely not the real issue here is what is first in our lives amen what comes first in our lives and Jesus confronts us with the absolute necessity of keeping the first commandment death amen what is that first commandment thou shall have no other gods before me amen in other words I yeah I will not worship any other God beside him

amen so whenever anyone including family becomes more important to us than Jesus then we have made that person a little God amen whenever his or her plans for us or their opinions of us are are their reservations about how we live our faith that when those things dominate our thinking amen amen we lose our freedom to follow Jesus and so tough love bad that'll help you keep you from running away yeah we'll be a love that's willing to risk the opinion of others amen because of our unwavering loyalty to Jesus Christ

and it's a cliche that's been said many times but it is true he's either Lord of all or he's not Lord at all amen amen then let's look at that last conversation in the passage again jesus said to another disciple let a potential disciple follow me Paulo mean this man's excuse came very quickly yet he said Lord I will I will follow you but dead first let me go and say goodbye to my family

yet at first that sounds much like the comment of the second man but but we we see the difference in jesus's tough love response and his response to this man was that no one having put his hand to the plow and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God again that seems like a hard saying but really when you stop and think about it it makes sense by using just a simple agricultural illustration that they all would have been familiar with that Jesus said actually yet points out a very powerful truth here

no farmer no farmer could plow his field by continually looking back at what he's already done when Daddy was training me to plow you know what he would he told me he said now you know now you've got a glance back but you got to keep your eye on where you're going my dad could plow one of the straightest firs you ever seen in your life my sisters are here three of them and they can verify he was he could do it death

amen but the but but he couldn't do it always looking back and what had just been plowed death amen and so likewise for us constantly looking back at where we've been makes us unfit for the present and future challenges that will come our way amen the one who wants to go home and say farewell to family and friends and really isn't ready to follow Jesus right now and

that's what he's looking for he's looking for somebody that's willing to make the commitment right now I mean now I mean like this morning I mean before we leave here today yeah praise God I mean before the last day man has said that somebody that's willing to say yeah yes I will follow you Lord and make it the commitment Amen but this man had another agenda not the Lord's agenda he wanted to put the call of God on hold until he got his act together or until he finished his agenda or whatever it was you know

but the tough love that that Jesus wanted to know was can I count on you as a follower right now amen was he someone who was willing to embrace the Lord's agenda amen praise God she run away disciples are often Runaways because their lifestyle gets in the way of a serious commitment to the Lord amen they really want to go to heaven they really want to please God here on earth but there's just so many other concerns responsibilities and desires that demand their attention and their time their devotion

and runaway disciples are so good at finding excuses for their shortcomings in doing what God requires of them they plan to take care of it eventually I'm gonna get to it one of these days but now is just not a good time man amen man

as I'm wrapping up here this morning I just want to say to any would-be disciple and the same thing that I would say to any bride-to-be and her fiance if you're serious about this relationship then you gotta have tough love amen you got to have tough love you got to be willing to risk everything for this relationship amen and be completely available and faithful to that person that you're choosing to love not someday but right now

amen amen and listen Jesus is not just calling people to be saved he's not just calling people to get baptized he's not even just calling people to receive the Holy Ghost and amen Jesus is calling people to follow him to follow him to follow him a man

as we stand together this morning I want to remind you God loves us with a tough love I said God loves us with a tough love that Amen we see we see that God is willing to risk everything for us and he invites us to trust him completely and depend on him completely listen I want to tell you this morning that God is not a runaway God he's not a runaway God

Amen his love will be tough it'll be there he'll stick it out with you and some of us have made it plenty difficult for him but he's still sticking it out with us amen we've all made our mistakes but his love is still hanging on

amen what about ours what about ours say Amen have you told the Lord yes Lord I'll I'll follow you wherever but then when the cost and the requirements began to be more than you wanted to meet have you kind of run away amen

are you still as devoted as you were or maybe you felt the tug of God the spirit calling you to live for the Lord but you know you just think the timings not right there's there's just some things that I've got to take care of first there there's some things on my life agenda that I just wanted I want to do first there's some things I want to experience there's some there's just some things that you know some day but not now

or maybe you're making an attempt to follow the Lord but but if you're really honest you've really been trying to do it on your own terms yes Lord I'll follow you but I want to do it on my own terms I've got my own ideas of what would be okay and now III think I want to just do it on my own terms

and you're finding yourself very spiritually frustrated because there's no joy in your heart there's no spiritual growth and maturity taking place and you're just wondering why is this or maybe or maybe you've been following faithfully but lately the path has been extra difficult and the enemy has assaulted you with thoughts of looking bad and you've been surprised and even shocked at yourself for even entertaining some of those thoughts and even giving them consideration I'm talking to somebody this morning a man who may be in danger of becoming a runaway disciple

Amen but God just sent a simple preacher today to remind you amen that his love is going to keep hanging on and it's because he loves you that he's had a message preached this morning to help you and amen and to cause you to stop and reconsider him and say wait a minute and death I don't want to be a spiritual runaway amen amen I've come too far to turn back now amen there's two there's too many there's too many victories that been won I've got too much invested in amen I'm not looking back now praise God amen I'm gonna continue forward ever praise God

I wonder in the closing moments of this service how many of you would just come and join me at the front a man as we close in a time of Prayer the time of reaching and allowing God to speak into our hearts set him as we say cod dad helped me to read salmon m'lord have I have I been trying to follow you on my own terms or am I really yet willing to make the total commitment dad that says Lord no matter what no matter what dad Amman

that I may not always get an exactly right but I'm gonna hang in there hallelujah in Jesus name praise God that amen oh god help us today Lord them Oh Lord if there is a spiritual runaway in this house today I pray Lord and they'll come running back to you Lord because they learned that the rewards of following you are gonna so much outweigh anything that this world has to offer

and hallelujah God if anyone is struggling here this morning them with boxset of riding away yeah lord I pray that you will arrest their attention today and help them Oh God to come to reality of knowing it for them that there's nowhere to go Lord to whom shall we go you have the words of eternal life where could we go Lord you god help us Lord