The Pillar Of Almost

Man, aren't you thankful to be in the house of the Lord? Aren't you thankful to be in the house of the Lord? Oh, thank you Lord. Thank you singers, teachers. I believe the teaching of the word is vital. Thank you. Thank you, Tech guys. I have my own opinions on tech guys, but thank you. They're good. They're a good bunch. They're a bit skittish. Maybe a bit bit awkward be around every now and then, but they're good guys.

Thank you for being here today. you know, um, the word is why we're here. But boy, does that worship feel good. As you're being seated today, would you would you hug somebody's neck? Yeah. Yeah. you. Some of y'all was halfway already sitting down. Hug somebody's neck. Tell them you're glad to see it. I've got throughout throughout the house today, I've got some boxes. They're scattered. I'm going to ask for them. They've got words on them.

And when they when when I when I when I when I call on that, I need you to like pick it up and put it in the air, okay? Because I've got a little little dude right here who's got too much energy for his own good and he's going to run. And believe me, when he walks, he's still running. And he's going to come and get that. And he's going to help me today. All right. The book of Ephesians, chapter 2, verse 20, says something.

Paul writes here to the Ephesians. He says very simply, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone. In whom the home the whole structure being joined together grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you're also being built together into a dwelling place for God by the spirit. The foundation of the apostles and prophets. Some of you, some of you probably don't know why we're called Cornerstone Apostolic Church or Apalytic or however else it is mispronounced and misspelled.

The reason is because they're the foundation. The doctrine of the apostles is what we're built on. Very simp. It's biblical. That's that's why we're here. And so when you start thinking of of a foundation, you start thinking of a building. Paul very very very aptly did not like to live without a roof over his head. He started thinking of a building. And he and he he reckoned us as a temple, our bodies as a temple. Now, I don't know if any of you guys are health fitness I'm almost want to call you nuts, but I don't like mean it meanly, but you know what I'm saying?

You're just like super into fitness. You're like, my body's a temple. It's like I don't put anything in it. Then you're like using creatin all the time. It's like I don't know, buddy. You know, it's like that pre-workout stuff. That's pretty not great, you know? And my body's a temple. Our body is a temple. So if if the apostles and the prophet Jesus being the chief cornerstone, if that's the foundation, then it's upon us, it's our job to build.

So when we get to we we've been working through the tabernacle in the wilderness and God and that that was God's way of of teaching. It was types and shadows of teaching us to to put a it's an abstract idea, right? Approaching a god that we cannot see. And so he gave us a concrete pattern to follow. And so we attach we we use that principles and the types and the shadows to now follow and know how to approach a holy God.

We get to Exodus chapter 38 verse9. the pillar and he made the court. All right. Verse nine. For the south side. Everybody. Anybody from the south side? All right. Whoa. Easy. Easy. Now we're just from the south. All right. The hangings of the court were the fine twine linen 100 cubits. There 20 pillars. Everybody say pillars. Their 20 basins were of bronze. But the hooks of the pillars, everybody say pillars. And they're f I don't know if that's fililets or filletes or of silver.

Was it fillets of fish? It's probably fillets, wasn't it? Has anybody else got that one? Listen. Listen. I I preached Friday night at a church. All right. And uh the youth pastor and his wife, they carried us out to eat after. And she's a speech pathologist. Talk about who got roasted at the dinner table. Yeah, that's just not what you want to hear. Yeah, I was like, all right. It wasn't them. Verse 11. In the north side there were hangings of 100 cubits, and there are 20, everybody say pillars, and their 20 bases were of bronze, but the hooks of the pillars and their fillets were of silver.

And the west side, anybody from the west side here? Man, it was easy now. Don't be throwing those. Yeah. Yeah. All right. Somebody got it. The west side were hanging of 50 cubits. There are 10 pillars. Everybody say pillars. And there are 10 basins. And the hooks of the pillars and the the foots were of silver. And the front to the east 50 cubits pillars. Look overhead everybody real quick. We got some Beautiful, beautiful wood pillars.

Boy, if they weren't there, it'd be hurting right now. We'd have a bunch of headaches. The the the job of a pillar is a thankless job. We don't think about them. It's a structural job. It's integral to being able to have a roof, to be able to have good walls. The pillars were what held everything else up. They were around the courts and they were around the temple. The pillars were what was there. And and and we and we we we look at it and we we sometimes forget about it.

Uh these beautiful beams and pillars in here that honestly will probably outlive us. All of us. They are beautiful. They they've been crafted and been honed and they have been designed to hold more weight than we can imagine. Everybody say pillars. So we got to thinking is if if this is the type in the shadow then there's and and and we're the temple then we have to find we have to build the temple. Where else to start?

We've got the foundations been laid. So where else can we go now? We we go to everybody say pillars. That means we have to build some things in our lives. Verse 21 of that same chapter, it says, "These are the records of the tabernacle, the tabernacle of the testimony as they were recorded at the commandment of Moses, the responsibility of the Levites under the direction of Ithmar, the son of Aaron the priest." Verse 22 says, "Beziel, the son of Uriah, the son of her, of the tribe of Judah, made all the Lord that the Lord commanded Moses."

Everybody, you got your notebook? You got your Write down the Son of Her. Almost almost really wanted to title this a man named her. I've been wanting to preach that for a while now and I hadn't quite figured it out. You see, Her was a man that was right there. Beziel was the chief architect. He was he was the master designer of the temple. He was he was a man that was the gifted. He was the most gifted to design and to pull it all together.

He could see it all. He probably dreamed of this at night. He probably thought of all the little intricate details. Beziel had a pillar in his life. Though you see in Exodus 17, whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed. And whe whenever he lowered his hand, Amalcch prevailed. They're in the middle of a battle here. But Moses' hands grew weary. So they took a stone and they put it under him and he sat on it while Aaron and her held up his hands.

So the man that designed the tabernacle, his grandfather was a pillar. I imagine if I went and asked some of you, you would have some pillars in your life. Some people you look to. Some people that that that you you you you you knew without a shadow of a doubt that were going to be there. That put that that put a path of service before you before anyone else. It it didn't matter. Come what might, come what may. They were just like a metronome.

They were just there. They were just pillars. They were just men and women of God. You knew when they called on the name of God that God was going to show up. You knew that when when you needed really needed something and and you wasn't right where you needed to be, you knew that that you could just call them and God was maybe a little closer to them than to you. You knew that there were some hers in your life, some pillars, some people that had gone before you that had paved the way for you to be here today.

We need some pillars of service. Anybody got a Anybody got a box with service on it? Where we at? Go Aussie. Run. Run. It's the one time. One time I'm going to say that. All right. All right. Oh, you got it right here. Pillar of service. When we build our lives, when we design our lives, when we start down a Christian walk, we must develop a pillar of service in our life day in and day out. If we're going to build the temple of God, we've just got to learn how to serve.

That means serving one another. That means serving our community. That means serving God. We've just got to serve. Amen. That's right. You may not have had someone to do that for you. And a lot of people I I I know sometimes we start talking about grandmas and grandpas or mothers and fathers that have paved the way and we haven't had someone do that. Can I tell you today is the day you can change the course of your family.

If you want your family to be blessed, you learn the pillar of serving. If you want to make your home a home of peace and a house of rest, you make your home a house of serving. You find a way day in and day out. I'm just going to serve. I'm just going to do what God needs me to do. We go on and we find that we get to Solomon's temple. First Kings chapter 7 talks about this. Verse 21 says that he set up the pillars at the vegetable of the temple.

I always wondered where vegetable came from be like and and some churches would be like out in the vegetable be like what's a what's a vegetable? He set up the pillar on the south and called its name Jacen and he set up the pillar on the north and he called its name Boaz. You know, Jacob means he shall establish and Boaz means in it is strength. Anybody got anybody got a box that says establishment? Oh, come on. Find a box.

All right, put it real high up. All right, Aussie, you got it. Bring it up here. Set it like that one. The pillar that we must establish in our life. You see, this was outside the temple. This was in this was as you were approaching. This was on the left and the right hand. This was one that we must establish who we are in our homes and in our communities outside of the church building. We must establish who we are.

Somebody better know that we are gods. They'll know what what is what does the Bible say? They'll Jesus said they'll know that you're my disciples by what? Your love towards one another. We've got to establish the pillar of establishment. Jeremiah 52, it gets it's talking about these same pillars here. It's the pillar of brokenness. You got you got a you got a pillar of brokenness? Anyone got brokenness somewhere? Anyone got reading glasses?

I know we got a brokenness somewhere. Maybe we'll see if it doesn't appear. You guys, you guys get the point, right? The pillar of brokenness and 52 and 17. The pillars of bronze that were in the house of the Lord and the stands in the bronze sea that were in the house of the Lord. The Chaldans broke in pieces and carried all the bronze to Babylon. So, we're going to come across some things in life and we're going to come across some some issues and it's going to break us.

We've all been broken. We've all been hurt. We've all been shot. What we do with that then then establishes if we're going to be good or bad for our family, if it's going to be a blessing or a cursing. You see, when we when we when we it's actually when we get when we get to looking at brokenness, we sometimes look at it from the past, we we start looking at the past with rosecoled glasses almost. Anybody got a got a pillar named past on it over there?

There you go. There you go. The past. We start looking at the past and the brokenness that happened and we can mourn it and bemoone it and we can we can even say this was the worst thing that's ever happened. And it can change the trajectory of our families. It can change the trajectory of our life. When we establish when when we when we take the the the pillar of the past, it's a double-edged sword. It can either be a testimony.

Or it can be a curse. You see, we get we look in Genesis chapter 19 and verse 26. But Lot's wife behind him looked back and she became a pillar of salt. When we start looking upon the things that God has delivered us from. When we start looking upon the things that God has brought us from, he it's like salt. You ever had too much salt? Bitterness. Bitterness starts to set in and take over our lives. And all of a sudden, nothing is good enough.

Everything's bad. It's a no good, ugly, very bad day. It's just a terrible place to be. We become horrible to be around. When we start romanticizing the past and we don't allow God to heal our brokenness, we don't allow him to turn it from brokenness into a testimony so that we can propagate our family. This pillar can become a curse. Hebrews chapter 6 says, "For it's impossible." Impossible. Impossible. In the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift and have shared in the Holy Spirit and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and then the powers of the age to come and then fallen away.

Impossible to restore again to repentance since they are crucifying once again the son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt. Impossible. should be very careful what we do with our past. This pillar will either be what establishes or destroys our family. It will be whatever establishes or destroys our salvation. The pillar of our past. Then we find in Genesis chapter 28 a different pillar. Somebody got encounter.

Uh oh, Millie, bring it on up. the pillar of encounter. Verse 20, verse 16. Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, "Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it." And he was afraid and said, "How awesome is this place? There's none other this is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven." So early in the morning, Jacob took up the stone he put under his head and he set up for a pillar and he poured oil on top of it and he called the place Bethl that it but the name of the city was L at first that is the house of God.

When we encounter God this becomes a pillar in our life. It's not something to be taken lightly. It's not something to just be brushed aside. It's a it's it's a monument. It's a moment in time that we look and we say, "Oh my Lord, this changed me. This broke me. This healed my past." Then we get to the pillar of conversion. Because here's the thing. Jacob encountered God, but he was not converted. He was not changed by God.

He encountered him. He noticed it. And he said, "Man, I remember what happened here." But he did not say, "I remember and I know my God." Genesis chapter 35 says, "And God said to him, I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply. A nation, a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come from you." And he goes on and blesses him. Verse 10 says, "And God said to him, your name is Jacob. No longer shall your name be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name.

He was converted. He was changed. He was made a new creature. Our conversion is more than just getting goosebumps. It's more than just worshiping. It's more than just saying, "God, I love you." Our conversion is us changing. Amen. and saying, "God, change me. God, move me." You see, the pillar of conversion and the pillar of encounter are two separate pillars, but they go hand in hand. Because when we encounter God, we have a choice to make.

Am I going to be converted or am I not? Am I going to allow God to change my very being and who I think I am into who he wants me to be? or am I just going to continue on my way? You see, I am convinced that Jacob could have been converted that very day. His life could have been wildly different if he'd have just said, "I'm in the house of God. Let me be converted and changed right here and right now." But you see, he spent a good 14 long years of servitude at least before he was ready for conversion.

Right. Then we find in Exodus chapter 24, anyone got a pillar of covenant? Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord and all the rules. And all the people answered with one voice and said, "All the words of the Lord that that the Lord has spoken, we will do." And Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord. He rose early in the morning and he built an altar altar at the foot of the mountain and 12 pillars according to the 12 tribes.

The pillar of covenant is something we take in deeply in our lives that the we'll talk more about this Wednesday night, but but as we were singing today, a covenant keeping God. A covenant is not just hey buddy, how you doing? It's not just a pat on the back. It is God, let's make a deal. It's God. I don't have any chips to bargain with. I don't I I I I don't have anything else I can do but you're going to be my God.

And whatever you say, that's what I'll do. The covenant, the pillar of the covenant will sustain us and it will keep us. Because what we know is when we vow to God and God vows to us, he honors his word. And in the good times and in the bad, we we get caught in these cliches, okay? If you ask an elder because they've already lived it in experience, they say just trust in God or just keep walking the just keep fighting the good fight.

And and we think, well, that doesn't help me. I mean, really and truly, right? Dorian, what does keep fighting the good fight mean? She doesn't know what what is what is just just keep going on. You see, what we find is that when we hold that covenant and we say, God, there's nothing else that I have. There is nothing else that I can do there. I cannot make it on my own. I have encountered you and I have been converted to you.

But God, I need to be in covenant with you. I need the pillar of the covenant to sustain me and keep me when I don't know what's up and I don't know what's down. I'm just going to trust that you've got my back, God. I'm just going to trust that I'm right here in covenant with you. I've taken your name upon me in baptism. I've been baptized in your name. I am with a covenantkeeping God. 1st Samuel chapter 7 gets us to the pillar of help.

You got it. Thank you for your help. Verse 12 says, "Then Samuel took up a stone and set it between Mispa and Shin and called its name Ebenezer Scrooge, I mean Ebenezer." For he said, "Till now the Lord has helped us." These pillars, they were not God. They were reminders. They're the pillars that hold up the temple. When I know that God has helped me, when I know that God has helped me through, and when Oh, come on.

when I know that God has kept his covenant with me. when I know that I didn't deserve to win that battle because I'd done given up, but God somehow or another just came through and helped me. Come on. That builds the temple. That that that lets me know that I'm establishing myself in the Lord. These are the things that we build in our Christian walk with God. I know that's mind-blowing. These are the things if if you've if you've never understood why Christians do what Christians do, they're building the temple.

They're building the temple. But in studying pillars, I came across the most interesting, sad, kind of weird story. Joshua chapter 15 verse one says, "The allotment of the tribe of the people of Judah according to their clans reached south southward to the boundary of Edom to the wilderness of Zen at the farthest south." Does anybody know where Zen is? Are you? And I cracked myself up. I didn't even think that was that funny.

I cracked myself up with that. And their south B boundary ran from the end of the salt sea from the bay that faces southward. It goes out southward of the ascent of Acriben, passes along to Zen and goes up south of Ca Cadesh Barnea, along to Hezron, up to Adder and turns out to Ka. This is a rough chapter to read through, isn't it? Y'all with me? Y'all with me? Passes along to Asthma and goes out to the brook of the Egypt and comes to its end at the sea.

This shall be your south boundary. The east boundary is the salt sea to the mountain of Jordan. And the boundary on the north side runs from the bay of the sea at the mouth of Jordan. Verse six. And the boundary goes up to Beth Hogla and passes along north to Beth Arba. And the boundary goes up to the stone of Bohan, the son of Reuben. Can you guys put this picture up? the the picture. Now, it it may not look good on this screen.

I did not Dylan's probably real mad. Can y'all see this? This is this is a this is a picture of where the boundaries were. We were just reading the boundaries of Judah, which is down in the lower lower side here. It was between Judah and Simeon or Benjamin. But it says the boundary goes up to the stone of Bohan, the son of Reuben. Reuben is over here and Judah is over here. There's a sea and the Jordan River between them.

Why was there a stone of Reuben of Bohan the son of Reuben and Judah? Why? Why is Reuben where Reuben is? Numbers bears this out. Now the people Numbers chapter 32. Now the people of Reuben, the people of Gad had very great number of livestock. They saw the land of Jaser and the land of Gilead. That's on the that side. That is where they landed at on that side of the Jordan River. That's on the west side. So the people of Gad and the people of Reuben came and said to Moses and to Eleazar the priest to the chiefs of the congregation.

Verse four, the land that the Lord struck down before the congregation is a land for livestock and your servants have livestock. And they said verse 5, "If we have found favor in your sight, let this b let this land be given to your servants for possession, do not take us across the Jordan." Does anyone have a box that says almost I almost had enough spray paint to paint this box all the way. I almost almost I showed you that map because Bohan had no land.

He had no business in Judah because of a decision that they had made. They had made the decision to stay on this side of the Jordan. They said the promise was almost good enough. They said the promised is almost good enough for us. But I think we found something better. Bohan, why are you in Judah then? Because the monument was set up that most likely because of a battle that was fought and he died there. Why did you die in Judah, Bohan?

You you were of the tribe of Reuben. You should have the Reuben was the oldest. You should have been this should have been your land. But why why were you fighting a battle? Because well, they said we'll just go we'll go fight with you. We'll go help you. We'll go we'll go with you and we'll be right there with you, but but we will not commit to going across the Jordan. I do not know how many people that I have served God alongside of that said almost.

I don't know how many people that showed up to a workday, but they said almost. I can't be converted. I can't be changed, but I I'll help you. Why are you memorialized in the land that is not yours, Bohannan? Why? Why? Why are you dying for something that you're not actually committed to? Why haven't you sold out? Don't you know you're going to have to fight for it anyway? But your family is now left outside the promise.

Your descendants are now left outside the Somebody hear me today. A Grippa said to Paul like this. He said, "Almost thou hast persuaded me to be a Christian." Paul said, "I wish it was not almost, but all together." I know you're here today. I'm so glad you're here today, but I wish you would be more than just almost. The pillar of almost is the most sad pillar. It's the most depressing pillar I've ever seen because it is the pillar of souls lost and died without actually being converted.

It is the pillar that was almost there. I cannot tell you as a preacher, a as being raised in church, the almost that have affected my life. I know you know some of them. You see them and they haunt you and you see them and they and they oh almost almost. How many preachers are we missing? How many evangelists are we missing? How many soul winners are we missing? How many singers are we missing? Because they were almost time tells me percentages tell me that everyone under the sound of my voice that there's a percentage in here.

I wish it weren't so. or almost doesn't mean you're a number. God knows more than the percentages. He overcomes more than what man can think. But almost is not good enough. You see, the pillar of almost will leave your family broken, hurt, and disgusted. The pillar of almost will will leave you with an empty hollow shell of what could have been and what was. The pillar of almost will leave you hurting, disgusted and bitter and and enraged about the past.

The pillar of almost will leave you hurting and dying and lost with nothing and no one to cling to besides, "Oh, God, just hear me. Oh, just hear me." And it was almost it was almost a pillar of the pillar of almost sits on top of all these other things that we could have and should have done. The pillar of almost can can can the temple that God intends for us to be. the temple that God intends for us to to to have the temple that we could be.

The almost will you almost persuade me to be holy? Almost but not surrender. Almost persuaded to be righteous. Almost but not repented. Will you almost persuade me to walk in the light? Almost persuaded to bow the knee but not break the heart. Will you almost persuade me to walk after you? You almost persuaded me to make a covenant with God, to taste of mercy, but refuse the feast. Will you almost persuade me to be baptized, to go down in the waters of death, to rise in new life, but just at the edge of the water?

Almost. Every high school is remitted of football players who almost went pro. They almost went division one. Almost. Would you stand with me today? Very simply, very s I I I'm I'm just simple-minded church. I'm just that's I'm that's just as simple as I can be. These are these are different pillars that we choose to build. I almost established myself in the church. I almost served well. I almost overcame my past. I almost had that encounter with God.

I almost converted. I almost made a covenant with God. And I almost I almost got the help I needed from God. I almost every head bowed, every eye closed for just a moment. I almost I almost will you stay almost today or will you become an altogether? Will you stay almost forgiven or you'll be wholly washed? Will you stay almost redeemed or will you be utterly transformed? Will you stay at the edge of the Jordan? Will you have a pillar of almost built after you?

Will you almost be a child of God? Will you almost make a covenant? I wonder if we can all find a place to pray, a place to build some pillars today. Everyone that possibly can find a place to pray. You can gather around the al the altar. You can kneel you can kneel in your seat where you're at. But I I I want I want to break the odds today. I don't I don't want anyone in here to be an almost. I want us all together.

All together being fit and built by the spirit of God. Not all. Not almost. No, not almost. Not almost. Oh, God. Not almost. Oh, God. Not almost. I had the opportunity one time in an apostolic church to encounter God and I almost made the decision. I almost changed the course of my life. I almost changed the course of my whole family. I almost I almost today today can be all together. Today can be all together. Oh God, help me Lord.

Not almost, but altogether. Those little things that I just keep holding back from you. Those those decisions that I'm just not comfortable making. Those notes, but all together. All of me. God. Take all of me. Take everything I am and take everything I have. God, I give it all to you, Jesus. Hol. I say yes. I bring my desire to be what you call me to be. That's what I need. I will be what you've called me to be. I say yes Lord I agree.

My desire passionately is to be what you've called me to be. That's what I'll be. I will be what you've called me to be. I say yes Lord I agree. My desire passionately is to be what you've called me to be. That's what I'll be. I will be what you've called me to be. I say yes Lord I agree. My desire passionately is to be what you've called me to be. That's what I'll be. Yeah. Heat. I will be what you've called me to be.

I say yes. Lord, I agree. My desire will is to be what you've called me to be. That's what I'll be. this past week I had the opportunity to to be in my hometown for a for a day. It's a little bitty place. Center of the town's the gas station. At the gas station, just randomly, I was there for 10 minutes. ran into three people that I had prayed through the Holy Ghost or I ministered with or to served. None of those are in church today.

They were almost and it broke my heart. Oh, they're they're probably good people. I But I I know where I was standing when I prayed one of them through to the Holy Ghost. I know I know the struggles and they were almost but not all together. Can we lift our hands one more time across the room? Can we put our hand on our neighbor's shoulder? Uh can we pray together for just a moment? Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, I plead your blood over us today.

Jesus, I plead your blood over us today. God, let the spirit of repentance to get strong upon us. Let the let the joy of repentance to be strong upon us. But God, let us not stop there. God, let us go further. Let us go further into covenant. Let us go further into the spirit. Let us go further into the receiving of the Holy Ghost. Let us be baptized in Jesus' name. Jesus, let us not be almost, but let us be alltogether converted.

Let us not be almost persuaded, but God, let us be all together. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, I plead your blood. Oh Jesus, I plead your blood. Jesus, I plead your blood. Oh, what a good God. Jesus, what a good God. Jesus, what a good God. I want to thank you all for being here today. I know I'm I'm generally a slow preacher. Generally pretty slow. And I thank you for your patience and hanging with me today and allowing me to to deliver what I felt like the Lord has put on my heart for us today.