Offenses Will Come Part 2

If you have your Bibles, we were going we are going to continue uh where I started last week and uh we're continuing as I made mention uh last week. Uh this is what I what you will hear me teach uh tonight. What was last week? Those of you that have asked, several of you have even ordered uh the book, The Bait of Satan. Uh I highly recommend the book uh what I will teach and what I what I taught last week uh was was from that book uh by John Bevere. Uh it is a very very helpful helpful book when you are processing life's offenses. There is in scripture Nothing more revealing and nothing more humbling that when the Lord says it is impossible but offenses will come. It's impossible. Now I just said when I when we had prayer that all things are possible with God and it is but he would say unto his disciples that there is something that is impossible and is simply this offenses will come. And as I as I taught us last week that the difference in how you process offenses is solely dependent on how you take the bait. If you consume the offense, you you consume the bait, then you will become offended. You will become bitter. You will become angry. you will become uh uh I I've seen people become other human beings when they became offended. But I've come with instructions tonight in this second uh second lesson because as I did last uh last week uh I felt like we left encouraged and empowered and tonight is going to be no uh no no different and and it's coming from Matthew chapter 24.

Matthew chapter 24:es 10 through13 once again in the red words in the red letters uh the question in Matthew that he has given and he is writing down it Jesus is giving the signs of of the age the end of time and his disciples would ask this thoughtprovoking question what will be the sign of your coming that's a question even being said today. What What's the sign of your coming and and and if you read it, you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars. You've heard that said before. Uh see that ye be not troubled. And I'm going back to verse six and I'll catch up to verse 10. For all these things must come to pass, for the end is not yet. Many are going to come in my name, saying, I am Christ and shall deceive many. For nation shall rise against nation. Is that happening right now? Kingdom against kingdom. Is that happening right now? There shall be famines and pestilences, earthquakes in diverse places. You can't go hardly a week without hearing something of this magnitude. And all these are the beginning of sorrows. Verse nine, then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted. And we don't want to talk about this, but the Bible says, "And shall kill you, and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake." And here's here's where we will launch from tonight. Remember, what will be the sign of your coming? He says, Jesus says, "And then many then shall many," somebody say many. Many be offended and shall betray one another and shall hate one another, and many false prophets shall rise and shall deceive many.

And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But here's the promise. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. We've got a word tonight to process because I believe if I were to ask the question and I believe we would all agree that we are in the season of his return. It's useless according to scripture to pinpoint the actual day of his return. You may say why? Because but of that day, according to Matthew 24:36, but of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my father only. But Jesus did say we would know a season. There would be signs. There would be indicators that we would know, hey, Jesus is getting ready to come. Jesus is soon to come. And and I believe that is where we are. Somebody say right now. Never before have we seen prophetic fulfillment in the church, in Israel, in the Middle East, in nature. I mean they're already saying I mean some crazy things about the weather and the atmosphere and the El Nino a super el I mean there is things going on right now in the atmosphere and what's going on out there is a direct reflection I believe that what the enemy would like to do in the kingdom of God. So, so I stand before you tonight and can confidently say that we are in a time period that Jesus would say would be a sign. It would be a sign. Many signs, wars and rumors of wars, famines, pestilence there.

There's so many signs. But I want you to notice one of the signs of his pending return. Many shall be offended. Not a few, not some, but the Bible says many. And then I I I was provoked through the study of this. Who are the offended? Are they just society in general? Are they the world? Uh are they the church? But we find in scripture, if you continue to read, the Bible says, "And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold." And that Greek word there, if you go to the Greek and you look at that Greek word for love, it is agape love. And there are several Greek words for love throughout the New Testament, and that's a whole another whole another study. But th those two common uh descriptions or the Greek of those the word love is agape and felio love. And when you look at those two words felio is that that definition or that love among friends that love among it's affectionate love that is conditional. Felio would say something like this. You scratch my back I'll scratch yours. Or you you treat me good I'll treat you the same. But on the other hand, agape, the love of God, that kind of love is shed abroad in our hearts as children of God. That agape is the same love that God gives to us freely. And it's unconditional. Somebody say unconditional. It's not based on performance of whether it's returned or not. It is a love that gives. Somebody say gives. Without God, we can only give a selfish love.

One can that cannot be given if it is not received in return. But agape love, it's that love of God that regardless of the response. That agape love is the love of Jesus when he shed his blood, he forgave. Catch this tonight. from the cross when his hands were stretched wide. Brother Ed, brother Edwin, when nails pierced those those hands and feet and that spear went through his side, he forgave from the cross. Amen. He said while we were yet sinners, he died for us. Amen. So the many I'm going back to that the many Jesus is referring to are I believe I could say this without any hesitation are spiritfilled individuals. Those that have been beneficiaries of mercy. Those that have been beneficiaries of grace. Uh those that have experience the mercy and the grace of God whose agape love has grown cold. Yeah. How many times h have we said these things and how many times have we can say I I just can't believe uh the more I do for somebody the more I it seems like I I get treated this way or when this happens my flesh don't want to I I I can't let that wall down again and I I can't put myself in that position again. We want to tell the Lord, every time I show your love to an individual or a person or a friend, I get anger thrown back at me as though I haven't I haven't done enough. When I when I read the scripture and I read the book bait of Satan and I begin to process this thing, it it it it's hard to argue with this Bible.

It's hard to argue with scripture. Galatians 6:8 and9. For he that sweth to his flesh shall reap the flesh corruption. But he that sweth to the spirit shall of the spirit reap life everlasting. And here's the kicker. And let us not be weary in welloing. For in due season we shall reap if we faint not. We got to get a revelation tonight in this house that when we sow the love of God, we will reap the love of God. When we sow mercy, we reap mercy. Uh when we sow grace, uh we reap grace. Let that I'm talking about offenses tonight. When we sow forgiveness, we reap forgiveness. Flip that coin. When I sow unforgiveness, I reap unforgiveness. When I sow strife, I reap strife. When I sow bitterness, I reap bitterness. We've got to develop tonight in this church a faith and an understanding that faith is a spiritual law. Yes. Even though we may not harvest it from the field in which we sowed or as quickly as we may like, I've got a promise that it we will reap if we faint not. It may not come back to you through the person who you put energy and time and money into, but it does come back. It does come back in a way that God chooses. It's in Jesus's greatest hour. His closest friends and this this this one portion of this message really really man it ministered to me in such a deep way because it was his closest friend Judas that betrayed him. It was Peter who denied him and the rest of the of those disciples fled from their fled for their lives.

Only John followed from afar. Amen. He had cared for them for over three years feeding them and teaching them. Yet as he died for the sins not only of the world but of the men that he had deposited into. Let me tell you what he did. He forgave and released all of them. Every one of them from his friends who had deserted him to the Roman guard who had just crucified and pierced his side. And here's the most magnificent part of it all. They never asked for forgiveness. He just freely gave it because he wanted to demonstrate to all of us. There is a there is an agape love that can only come from the one who demonstrated it. He demonstrated it with his own life. He demonstrated it from an old rugged cross. when all had deserted, when all had left, he said, "You know what I'm going to do? I'm going to forgive them because they know not what they do. I'm going to forgive them because it's the right thing to do." Jesus said, "Love your enemies." Ma Matthew 5:44, I said, "This word's hard to do. Love your enemies. Bless them that curse you. Do good to them that hate you. Pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you, that ye may be the children of your father which is in heaven. For he maketh his son to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and the unjust. For if ye love them, which love you, what reward have you? Do not even the publicans the same?

And if you salute your brethren only, what do you more than others? Do not even the publicans so pretty humbling, pretty pretty revealing there. We've got to realize that the love we give will be sown to the spirit and eventually we will reap those seeds of love. I don't know where. I don't know from where. But the harvest will come. If we as a church can recognize this, we wouldn't give up and get offended when somebody does what we never expected them to do. Because that's where offense comes is when reality and expectation collide. It's when they collide I get offended because I never expected it. And that's where that's why and that's where our walk in agape love ceases. We start walking in a fleshly love that is easily disappointed when our expectations are not met. If I have expectations about anyone, this goes to us all today in this church. If you have an expectation in anybody, you give them permission to let you down because they ever who it is. It doesn't matter if it's your wife, your husband, your children, your co-workers, those you do business with, it does not matter. They will disappoint you to the to the degree that you and them that you fall short in your expectations because if you didn't have any expectations then there would be no offense. There would be no disappointment. But if I have no expectations about someone, anything given is a blessing and not something that's owed.

We set ourselves up, hear me tonight, church, for offense when we require certain behaviors from those with whom we have relationships with. And I there there I look across this room and there we all have our testimonies. We all have our our stories that we can tell. And this is the there's none more truer. The more we expect, the greater the potential offense. The more we expect, the greater the offense because it's hard to compute. That's why you can't do it in the flesh. You got to walk in the spirit. And when you're walking in the spirit, you understand it. It's it's not the flesh and blood that we're fighting as spirits and principalities and wickedness. I It's the spirit of this world. And because of that, because we expect and we get offended, if not processed properly, Proverbs 18:19 tells us, "A brother offended is harder to be one than a strong city, and their contentions are like the bars of a castle." The offended brother, the offended sister is harder to win than a fortified city. The strong cities, they had walls around them. The walls were cities that they were the cities assurance of protection. That's why Nehemiah wanted to build a wall. That's why Nehemiah got burdened. I got to build a wall that the enemy's come in. The walls have fallen. I've got to I' I've got to build these walls back up to protect us. But when you're offended, the walls you think are protecting you.

You see, walls kept the unwelcome inhabitants and invaders out. All entrance. You had to if you come through the wall, you had to go through the gate. Those who owed taxes were not allowed in until they had been paid. those considered a threat to the city's health and safety. They were kept out. And we're no different today. We construct walls when we've been hurt to safeguard our hearts to prevent any future wounds. We become selecting on on denying entry to all we fear will hurt us. We filter Yeah. We filter anyone we think owes us something. We withhold access until these people have paid their debt in full. Here's what happens next. We only open our lives to those we believe that are on our side. Often these people who are on our side are offended as well. That's the trap. That's the bait. Instead of helping, we stack additional stones on existing walls. And without knowing when it happens, these walls of protection have become a prison. And we're surrounded. At this point, we are not only cautious about who comes in, but in terror, we cannot venture outside of the fortress. The focus of an offended spiritfilled believer is inward and introspective. We guard our rights. We guard our personal relationships. Our energy is consumed with making sure no future injuries will occur. If we don't risk Oh, God help me right now. If we don't risk being hurt, we cannot give unconditional love because unconditional love gives others the right to hurt us.

Love does not seek its own, but hurt people become more and more self-seeking and self-contained. It's in this climate that the love of God waxes cold. The greatest example that I can find in scripture is found in two seas in the Holy Land. It's the greatest example. I've been to both places. I've been to the Sea of Galilee. Freely it receives and it gives out water. takes in, it gives out. Takes in, gives out. It's got an abundance of life. It's where the miracles of of the great catch took place. It was the miracle on the Sea of Galilee that's recorded in scripture. It was it was known for it its nourishment and its sustaining lifegiving power. You go read read the gospels and you'll see how powerful the Sea of Galilee was not only in the life of Jesus but to every city that connected to it. It was nurturing. Many different kinds of fish, many different plant lives existed because of that sea. Because the water from the Sea of Galilee was carried by the way of the Jordan to the Dead Sea. But the Dead Sea only takes in and it never gives out a dead sea. There's no living plants or there's no living fish in the Dead Sea. The living waters from the Sea of Galilee become dead when mixed with the hoarded waters of the Dead Sea. That which was alive comes in contact with that which is dead and the life of the living becomes dead. Because life cannot be sustained if held on to. Life cannot be sustained if held on to.

For life to be sustained, it must be given freely. You got to give it. If it's just give me, give me, give me. And there's no send it send it. It it's know keeping it alive, keeping it flowing, keeping it exchanging it for more. There's more where that living water came from. But if we hold on to it and we become a cesspool, a dead sea, nothing lives in us. That's why we've got to die daily. That's why we've got to have the influence of the Holy Ghost every day. That's why we got to have an encounter with God every day. If not, it's as though the the offended individual is one who takes in life and because of fear cannot release life. We can take it in, but I can't release it. Envision it like this. It's impossible that offenses will come. But because they come doesn't mean they have to stay. because they come to your doorstep. You don't have to you you don't have to hang on to them. But I can challenge you in the Holy Ghost. If offenses have come, let them go. If offenses have come now, let them go. Forgive. Forgive. Forgive. Because even the life that does not come in because of stagnant stagnation within the wall or the prison of offense, it will eventually die. 2 Corinthians 10 4-5. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds. Casting down imaginations and every high thing. I said this, Brother Kenny. I almost quoted this scripture to you in the in the well tonight.

Casting down imaginations and every high thing that exaltth itself against the knowledge of God and bringing in into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. These strongholds create set patterns of reasoning through which all incoming information is processed. I'm going to say this again because you got to catch this. When there is an offended stronghold right here, it sets a pattern of reasoning and everything coming in is processed through the lens of offense. You got to get although we were originally that that that stronghold we originally put in our in our mind for protection or in our spirit for protection. What happens is it becomes a source of torment, a source of distortion because they war against the knowing or the knowledge of God. that that you put in place to protect you. I I'll never get hurt again. I'll never I and we've got all these list of nevers and and everything in life is filtered through that lens. When we filter life, we filter church life, we filter social life, we filter every relationship through past hurts, past rejections, past experiences. We find it impossible to believe God. We cannot believe what his word says. We can't believe what I'm saying tonight because it's such a a foreign concept. We doubt his goodness. We doubt his faithfulness since I judge him by the standards that I've set for myself. Not what he set for me, but what I set.

But can I remind you that God cannot lie. God is not a man according to Numbers 23:19. God is not a man that he should lie, neither the son of man that he should repent. Hath he said, "Shall he not do it? Or hath he spoken? Shall he not make it good? His ways are not our ways. His thoughts are not our thoughts. Isaiah 55. For my thoughts are not your thoughts. Neither are your ways my ways, sayeth the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. Offended people. And this is the most tragic piece of this whole offense battle that we face. Offended people will be able to find scriptures to back their position, but is not the correct division of God's word. The knowledge of the word of God without love is a destructive force because it puffs us up with pride. It puffs us up with legalism. I puffs us up with phariseism. But 1 Corinthians 8:1, now as touching things offered unto idols, we know what we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffth up charity edifyth. But charity, that word charity means love. It edifies. What happens is it causes us to justify ourselves rather than falling upon an altar in repenting and asking for forgiveness. This creates an atmosphere in which we can be deceived because knowledge without the love of God will lead to deception. I we've seen it. I've seen it. It it's mindboggling to me that knowledge without love, knowledge without the love of God will lead to it'll lead to deception because Jesus warns of the false prophets immediately after his statement.

I've got a revelation through this study and many false prophets shall rise and deceive many. Let me ask you again, who are the many? the ones offended, the ones whose love is grown cold, and because of iniquity shall abound. The love of many shall wax cold. Jesus calls false prophets wolves in sheep's clothing, self-seekers who give the appearance of Christian, what I call sheep clothing, but having an inward nature of a wolf. Here's what you need to Wolves like to hang around sheep. Wolves like to hang around sheep. They're found in the congregation. They're found among us. They are sent by the enemy to infiltrate and deceive. They m here here's what you identify by a fruit. Not by their teachings, not by their prophecies, not by their sayings, and not by you know one conjure up something good. But what's the fruit of the life? Often the teaching can appear sound whereas the fruit in their lives is not sound. A Christian is what he lives, not just what he says. Wolves always go around the wounded. Wolves always go around the young sheep. Not the healthy, not the strong ones. The wolves will tell people what they want to hear and not what they need to hear. Wolves don't want sound doctrine. Want itching ears. Someone who will tickle my ear. Tell me I'm going to be all right. No. Paul said this about the last days. This also. This know also that in the last days perilous time shall come where men shall be unthankful, having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof.

And the Bible says, "From such turn away, for the time will come where they will not endure sound doctrine, but after their own lust shall heap to themselves teachers having itching ears, and they shall turn away their ears from the truth." When someone is deceived and someone is offended, they cannot comprehend the truth of God's word because the word is being filtered through a mind that's offended. When you notice, when you notice this scripture, they will have a form of God. They'll have a form of Christianity, but they will deny the power. How will they deny the power? They deny that the power of the Holy Ghost can change them from being unforgiving to forgiving. Paul could see trying to hurry. Paul could see prophetically that these deceived men and women would have zeal for knowledge and remain unchanged since they never applied what he taught them. This is what he told Timothy. Always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. If Paul were alive today, I believe he would grieve to see the foretold in operation. He would see the multitude of people. He would see people coming to church. He would see people attending our services. you know, having knowledge of scripture, maybe even able to quote scripture. But there there would also be that disturbing grievance where there's some always looking for a new revelation, always looking for a new revelation to live more selfish, live more successful lives.

He'd see he'd see people offended so much that they would be taking, you know, taking issues against brother and sister and choosing to walk away from God, allowing that pride to be lifted up and stay offended. He would see he would see others attacking one another. Men and women of God by name while they are running to and fro trying to escape offense. Here's one thing I can tell you and I say this with all love. Offense is never it it is never dealt with by moving from one church to another. It's not can't be. It's not getting, you know, having another pastor or having another this. No, no, no, no. Offense can only be rectified between you and God first. And if we can get this right, God gets this right. It it is it's a fact. We must get this in our spirit because I've seen way too many. We're still holding on thing holding on to things that happened 30 years ago, 40 years ago. We cannot run to and fro and profess our lord the lordship of the Lord. We cannot pre profess that I'm Pentecostal. I'm apostolic and at the same time I can't forgive. At the same time I can't let let something go. a a brother or a sister did something, Paul would say, "Repent and free yourself. Free from free yourself from deception and your self-seeking generation of hypocrites. It doesn't matter how up to date you are in new revelations. I don't care how many books you read, how many hours a day you pray and study.

If you are offended, you are living a life of unforgiveness. If you choose to repent, you have not come to the knowledge of the truth. I will safely say you are deceived. You confuse others with your hypocritical lifestyle. No matter what the revelation, your fruit tells a different story. you'll become a spring spewing out bitter waters, bringing forth deception and not truth. That's why I I I pray that Lord, I want to pray the prayer that David prayed. God, create in me a clean heart. Renew in me a right spirit every day. Create in me a clean heart. I want that spirit flowing through me. How long has it been since you prayed through? How long has it How long has it been since she spoke in a heavenly language that he affected this and he affected this and he affected this? Then shall many be offended and shall betray one another and shall hate one another. H how how such strong language that Jesus would use. But if you look closely, I can see the progression. And offense leads to betrayal and betrayal leads to hatred. As I stated earlier, offended people build walls of protection. When you build a wall of protection, your focus becomes self-preservation only. It's all about me. It's all about mine. We must be protected and safe at all cost is what we're saying. When that happens, it makes us capable of betrayal. When we betray, we seek our own protection or own benefit at the expense of somebody else.

of betrayal in the kingdom of God comes when a believer seeks his own benefit or protection at the expense of another. The closer the relation, the more severe the betrayal. To betray someone is the ultimate abandonment of covenant. When betrayal occurs, the relationship cannot be restored unless genuine repentance follows. Betray then leads to hatred. Hatred leads to serious consequences. The Bible states it so clearly in 1 John 3:15. Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer. And you know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. How sad it is when we find example after example of offense, betrayal, hatred among believers. It's so rampant today. It's sad when offense becomes and accepted as normal behavior. We become numb. We become too numb to grieve. We become too blind to see I'm the one. It no longer surprises us when things happen. Christians are protecting their rights and making sure they are not mistreated or taken advantage of by others. But the Bible gives us such a such a command. Now therefore, there is utterly a fault among you because you go to law one with another. Why do you not rather take wrong? Why do you not suffer yourselves to be defrauded? Matthew 5. But I say unto thee, love your enemies. Bless them that curse you. Do good to them that hate you. Pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you. He wrote to the church at Philippi, "Let nothing be done through the strife, through strife or vain glory, but in loneliness of mind.

Let us let each esteem one another better than themselves. Why don't we live by these laws of love? Why are we so quick to betray rather than lay down our lives for one another even at the risk of being cheated? The reason our love has grown cold, it results in our seeking to protect ourselves. We can no longer confidently commit our care to the Lord. We're trying to care just ourselves. When Jesus was wrong, he did not wrong in return, but he submitted his flesh to the spirit. 1 Peter 2:21-23. And I close. For even here unto we were ye called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that ye should follow his steps. who did no sin, neither was G. G found in his mouth, who when he was reviled, reviled not again. When he suffered, he threatened not, but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously. What are you trying to say, pastor? We must come to the place where we trust God and not our offended flesh. We can give lip service to God yet live as orphans. We can take our own lives in our own hands and confess he's still my Lord and my God. But now we look at our lives and we see how serious the sin of offense is. If it is not dealt with, offense will eventually lead to death. Spiritual death is one of the most tragic things I would say in the apostolic church. to come in and be in an atmosphere like we have, be in a church like we're blessed to have, and literally be spiritually dead.

If offense is not dealt with, it will take you down a long winding road. When you resist the temptation to be offended, God will begin to bring victory into your life. God will begin to direct your path. God will begin to speak. God will begin to restore. God will begin to set things in motion. But it's hard for God to do what only God can do when the heart is offended. I want us to stand all over this house. Victory. Victory can be yours. Victory can be obtained when we lay down our swords. When we lay down our fear, when we lay down the offense and say, "I refuse to be offended. If I could practice, if I could, I prayed this morning. I prayed this afternoon." Lord, I want to have your response. I want to I I I want to be guilty of trying to be a better version of you. Pray for them that despitefully use you. Pray for them. Pray for them that Pray for the betrayers. Pray for those that lie. Pray for those I want to be a better representation of what he called me to be. I believe if we could all be honest, let me just say, I may not have preached to nobody in this house tonight, but I'm going to tell you, the Holy Ghost has brought me into his presence where I had to lay at this altar. I had to sit there and I've had to sit there and I've had to say, "God, I don't want to get offended. I don't want to get offended in you. I don't want to get offended in a brother or sister. I want my heart to be pure.

And it was he spoke to me as the Lord does speak. He said, "As long as you keep your flesh on the altar and you keep the river flowing through you, you keep the re river flowing through you. You keep it flowing. Fences come, the river takes offense away from you. The spirit takes offense away from you. It may come, but if you get enough, the it's going to take it away. It's like any current. It's any river. The offense may be there, but the river of the spirit takes it away. But the moment we cling to it, we want to justify our rights. We want to justify. Well, they've done me wrong and they you're clinging to an offense. You're hanging on. But if you'll just let it go like Jesus did. Judas, I can't believe you did that. Peter, I can't believe you did. Bartholomew. Matthew, I can't believe you walked away in my most defining moment. He watched him walk and he seen John afar. And this is what he would say. Forgive them for they know not what they do. Is what you're hanging on to? Is what you're hanging on the offense you're hanging on to really worth continuing to live in the perpetual cycle that you've been living in? miserable, upset, angry, bitter. When you open your mouth, venom comes out. Hatred comes out. All because if you could get a revelation, it's because you're offended. And most of the time, you're not offended at what you think you're offended at. Because the issue is never the issue.

You got to go back to the source where where did that offense come from? Did it come from a child? Something happened and it's morphed and this happened and then that h you got to some of you need to go and release individuals that hurt you years ago and let it go. You need to let it go out OF YOUR SPIRIT. YES. YEAH. We're not negating that something wasn't done wrong, but is it worth hanging on to? Because as long as you hang on to it, you're dead. You're unproductive. You're unfulfilled. But the moment you say, "God, you forgive me. I've got to forgive them." I've known people that went to the cemetery and released people that they had held grudges against. I've watched them and I've heard the stories. I went to THE GRAVE, PASTOR. I went and stood. No, they can't give me forgiveness back. No, they can't say I'm sorry. But I HAD TO GET IT OUT. I HAD TO GET IT OUT of my heart because I could not go another day without releasing what had been done to me. Whatever's been done, whatever's been said, whatever's happened, is it worth hanging on to? The handwriting of ordinance The Bible says that the handwriting of ordinances that was written against me, he nailed it to the cross. Our record was nailed to the cross. He forgave us before we ever asked for forgiveness. But tonight, I ask you to humbly consider, humbly consider in your spirit, is what you're holding on to just for the sake of being right, worth holding on to?

Is what you're holding on to, worth the future, worth your children, worth your home? What could separate us? what the enemy would love. But tonight, I want you to step out of your seat. I want you to come to this altar. I carry a heavy burden tonight. I carry a heavy burden.