Gradually

i thank god for every person that is here live in person or you are viewing by way of the web we are in some very challenging and changing times there are various references throughout the scripture to the action or movement of either drawing closer to god or drifting further from him in the scripture there were sacrifices that were day by day so there was a movement toward god there's the negative side of gradual the temptation daily pharaoh's wife tempted joseph and daily delilah tried to entice and eventually did samson when describing one of the deaths of one of the the death of one of the

kings of israel it's recorded and uses this phrase day by day the sickness ate away at his body until life was no more then there can be the gradual spiritual renewing and strength second corinthians 4 says our outward man may be perishing but the inward man can be renewed day by day that's going to happen today there's going to be a renewing in your spirit because you have made room for the spirit of god and made your way to the house of god or tuning in to viewing this service the descent of gradualness is seen in the term backsliding that's used to describe people's decline

away from god jeremiah chapter 3 the 12th verse talks about proclaiming these words and say return thou backsliding israel says the lord i will not cause mine anger this is a great promise if there has been a gradual drift away here's a great promise i will not cause my anger to fall upon you because i'm merciful saith the lord aren't you glad he's merciful and i will not keep or hold anger forever and in the 22nd verse of the same chapter return ye backsliding children and i will heal your backslidings in other words i will turn your steps around i will restore the direction that

you should go i will point you in the right direction and then in the new testament the writer of hebrews warns of the danger of gradualism hebrews chapter 2 and verse 1 therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed would you say those three words more earnest heed with me more earnest heed we ought to give more earnest heed we need to listen carefully we cannot afford to be dismissive about the spirit of god that works in our lives and the in fact the very power of his presence that's in this service nor of the word of god this he said lest at any

time we should let them slip to flow by or to float by or to drift by this is written in the language of the sea in the original language it's an image it's suggestion of an image of a boat that is drifting because perhaps its anchor had broken loose from the floor of the lake or the ocean or the river or it had become loosened and untied from the boat slip are the pier and so as the ropes or the anchor gave way there was just the gradual drifting by the tides that were surrounding that boat and so it is dangerously and gradually drifting away

and i want to preach to you today about gradually sadly the sinful behaviors that one generation tolerates the next generation normalizes there has been a gradual cultural descent until today in our world and in the united states of america we are to a place that we would not have thought 40 years ago that we would be the descent also is accelerating rapidly the boat if you please is not floating gently now because of the tides and the swirling waters that we are in we must realize it as the writer was trying to awaken us to to stay awake and to stay alert spiritually someone has

rightfully said the safest road to hell is the gradual road it only has a very gentle slope it feels soft and comfortable underfoot there are no sudden turns on this part of the road it doesn't have any mile markers no signposts because with those we could tell where we were but that road that is safe supposedly is that gradual road the lord is ready to come back stay ready if you are get ready if you're not the lord is ready to come back i appeal do not be dismissive of these statements that we have made hundreds of times in services and we have thought about

and we have read about numerous times and heard them in singing but the lord is ready to come back it could be today and i i just want to say and i just about went into a little disclaimer we're so used to this giving disclaimers thinking that we're trying to i'm not trying to scare anybody we're trying to get prepared for the coming of the lord stay ready if you are stay on fire if you are and if you're not get ready for his coming our current reality in our culture i think you probably feel it there is a deep spiritual angst we are by

nature an optimistic people but it's hard to shake this angst that we feel about where we are morally and spiritually it causes there to be a feeling of unsettledness as we look at the landscape of the american culture but also the american church our culture has become increasingly divided in particular here in north america in the united states broken selfish ambition racial tension physical violence political division sexual confusion and spiritual disorientation calling evil good and good evil sometimes when we hear a news blurb you can actually take that scripture and pin it right to that particular news item i found myself saying my goodness how

can that be and then not long after going to the scripture that talks about how men and women are not afraid and will not blush at what is going on in our world probably as americans we have more money we have more liberties than ever before but the fruit of that excess is proving to be rotten at its best that's not where true happiness is there's nothing wrong with those things but when we make those things our priorities we will find it on some occasion at some point in time being nothing but a rottening core that will leave us spiritually male neuter malnourished there are

so many things our so-called progress but in that progress it seems that we are losing ground at the same time and there are several things that contribute to this suffering of our culture a sociologist and historian wrote a book many years ago but in that book he gave a very telling tale he had done a study of various cultures and various nations through the year way back into ancient history and he compared the disintegration of the culture with a parallel decline of family life and family values it was amazing how when family values went down so did national values marriage loses its sacredness these are

some of the things that he noted this was more than 50 years ago when he wrote this but it is still after relevant today traditional meaning of the marriage ceremony lost feminist movements abounding increased public disrespect for parents and authority in general accelerated juvenile delinquency promiscuity and rebellion refusal of people who are in a traditional marriage to accept family responsibilities a growing desire and a growing acceptance of adultery increasing interest and spread of sexual perversions and sex related crimes some church authorities now are saying the next major issue of sexuality and gender that the church will be needing to deal with and needs to grow

in awareness of is intimate relationships with multiple partners dealing with people in multi-relationships with multi-partners that's where our nation has come but there is hope in that redeeming blood we heard about in our first service today there is a change there is a transformation that can take place i point you to the reality statistics say that as many as five percent it seems like a very low number and i'm glad it is no higher our in current relationships um involving multiple partners in doing some of the research i came across a word that i had not known of before instead of couple now there is

the word thrupal which means three people and it's used to describe a three-way sensual and intimate relationship a very close relationship here's what was shocking to me as i read through these matters 24 almost one quarter of church going poli people believe that consensual multiple multiple relationships are morally permissible there is a gradual drift and i know that statement right there is stark and hits us today but slowly but surely there has been more and more of this in movies and television and media and books until we bring it right into our homes be it by computer be it by the famous sitcoms or whatever

it is oh it doesn't seem like all that much and there's a lot of humor that is mixed in but the boat loses its moorings and there is a drifting here's the apostolic church's position in the midst of all of this we must hold to biblical values with an unchanging grip and a hold up to god's commands yes we must yes we must hallelujah we must hold we must hold to your word lord help us to hold your word let it never become outdated to us or out of fashion hallelujah and i tell you we're going to be challenged we're going to be challenged by

all of this you're going to be challenged personally the church is going to be challenged corporally to hold these biblical values but when all the dust settles this is what is going to be left standing when everything else has put pulled out of its moorings this is the anchor that will hold this ship a zion to its course and where it should be here's the second position we must have we must love everybody it doesn't matter how many partners they have it doesn't matter what sin they may have been involved in hey if it wasn't for the grace of god this man would not stand

behind this pulpit i know that you believe that you would not sit in this pews and you would not have the blessings that you have in your life and in your family love all and reach all love the sinner hate the sin but love the sinner where do we go what do we do how do we anchor hold to god's unchanging hand hold to his values anchor up on god's word no matter what what people say no matter what the moral climate is in our word go back to this book and tell your kids this is what we're going to live by talk to yourself

this is what we got to live by tell your family members this is where we're going to stand it's not a matter of is it important or does the majority adhere to it what matters is it is the word and the voice of god love god several several months ago now it's while we were still in normal course of services and in bible class brother cardin who preached a powerful message earlier was dealing with the church of laodicea which means the rights of the people he talked about the characteristics of the laodicean church and i believe it was he that used the term now we

live in a time it happened in laodicea now we live in a time where there is a self-styled christianity just craft it yourself how and what it means to live a christian life but he also made this statement and it's telling and it's true the bible is not up for a vote there's there's nothing democratic about whether the bible is true or not it is absolute he is the monarch he is the ruler he makes the statement and so we must abide by his will the church you and i can become so accustomed to allowing sin to invade the church because it's a part of

our culture here's what we could say to ourselves well it's all around us it's just a part of where we live today here's some of that mindset whatever you want go get it it doesn't matter that you took an oath to be committed to this person in marriage if she or he does not make you happy anymore you have the right to leave or this no one has the right to judge you or judge your behavior when we start operating like this in the church we begin catering our theology and our beliefs to people's desires and then ultimately to their sin that kind of an

attitude is offensive and ugly to god we cannot afford to do this in the church our commitment to the kingdom must take precedence over culture jesus and the apostles were counter cultural the teachings of the church should be radically different from that of the world and there will be a backlash and there may be some loss in attendance but the church will be purified and god's word will be exalted god help us help us apc we need to return to god-centered theology and holiness rather than a human-centered theology and whatever it takes we may have to turn over some tables and suffer for it along

the way but the will of god is worth it at any cost stay sensitive stay sensitive to the lord stay committed to his kingdom it's good it's good that we consider people and their feelings but when that consideration ignores the word of god and the holiness of god we have gone too far we must consider how does god feel not our feelings only and there's been a shift in this direction there there's been a shifting or a drifting perhaps in that direction in an effort to be sensitive to others we can lose sight of the truth we can do both we can have the truth

and speak that truth in love because we love in fact if you're going to warn somebody not to go out when there's an on coming car it's not because you're just trying to give instructions it's because you're trying to preserve them and help them to be safe we must not listen just to what others think or what others say we must be sensitive to others and to god true compassion takes into account far more than how we or others feel today but it will include how will we feel in eternity how will we feel on that day as we stand before him calling wrong right

doesn't make it right you can change the name of the street but the direction of the street remains the same and so the destination of the street remains the same i wanna i wanna say i'm gonna try to alert somebody there is an immediate relief when somebody starts to backslide there's an immediate relief there's a let up there's a comfort because there's an ease and we're not pressing for those spiritual disciplines and we're not holding as tight as we once did you're going to hold on to something tight it can strain your muscle it can strain the tendons in your hand and and we can

we do become weary but it's because of the pain and the start of backsliding feels right feels comfortable but that is deceptive that feeling good and that feeling right and we think or say things like see that wasn't so bad it feels better i feel more relieved i feel more free but in essence we are drifting and there is not that freedom that we think that we have if holiness is a highway which way on that highway are you walking in righteousness toward him are in unrighteousness away from him and toward hell the direction toward heaven is a walk of faith and a walk of

obedience and a walk in the spirit the direction of hell is one of flesh and doing what the flesh wants to do and disobeying the will of god and doubt and fear it's important for the church hear me church hear me every believer that is either watching or hear it's important that we stay sensitive to and responsive to conviction we do we need conviction there will be more conviction in our services due to the mindset and heart set that helps create the atmosphere and the environment of conviction if the church is gradually drifting how can we expect less of anyone else and if we are

sensitive to conviction as believers there will be a greater possibility of conviction on the lost or the backslidden if the church shuts down on conviction how can we expect those who are lost to allow it and to respond to it it's important that we stay sensitive i'm going to ask everybody in here right now i want us to take a few seconds of prayer and let's pray the spirit of conviction in our lives god we want to be sensitive to the conviction of your word we want to stay sensitive to the convictions of your values and your principles lord it's a signpost to us it's

a guard rail it's a boundary it's not meant to harm us but to keep us and protect us the walls that you put around us are not necessarily to keep us in but to keep something detrimental and dangerous and toxic out help us to be sensitive to conviction help us to be sensitive to conviction hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah if you're watching something and some untoward thing comes up turn it off or else gradually gradually a little bit more we were watching something on one of the apps and came on i felt this way she said it first turn that off haven't watched another episode in that

series that's not the popular way to feel i feel a little bit of that angst in here today in in this service today a little bit of that please don't be dismissive a conviction preaching god is trying to help us and warn us there's not an episode that's worth our soul lot hear me dads lot felt like he could take it and he made it in sodom but it affected his family his wife and his children god help us we need conviction conviction here's the reality of where we are in 2020 church attendance is still very important here's the reality of october 2020 because of

the way we're having to operate because of what's going on around us and it's very real what's going on around us i particularly refer to coronavirus some are sensing fear and they have some basis for that others hesitancy i'm talking about attendance now to the house of god there are real physical issues that people are dealing with that is causing them to take the precautions that they should wisely take i speak out of experience the season that i'm going through being more cautious and careful i tried to sneak in getting to come to the first service i'd already decided i wouldn't so i asked the

nurse a few minutes before i think i think i can go take that word go change the word g to an n and that was the answer there are things that because of physical precautions that people are not able to do well there's some fears and some hesitancies that are valid i want to address carnality and self-preferences right now which is another reason people are not showing up to church been lolled to sleep gradual our carnal singing our carnal mind rather thinking sings in that lullaby and then perhaps the enemy joins in and makes a duet whether it's a solo or a duet it's a

lullaby that says you cannot or you don't need to return to actually attending church services god's the same everywhere i would just say let's not use god or his characteristics as a get out of jail free card we cannot allow fear carnality lack spiritual priorities or disciplines to control us we must control them by the help of the lord and by faith and faithfulness here's one of the simplest ways and most honest ways for folks that are in the throes of trying to decide about coming to the house of god one of the most honest and simple ways if we can go to other things

parties baby showers weddings we can also come to the house of god schedule your life and activities around the church instead of scheduling church around your activities this this preaching will save us right here not because i'm doing it but because it's the values of the word of god and if there's been a drifting grab that road i thought earlier this morning we'd go out in the boat sometimes and i'm going to talk about becky's dad pap and uh he was used to the ways of the water and i was kind of fearful of the water and get in that john boat and uh it

wasn't a big tanker you know i mean i don't know how long that thing was about 16 foot 14 16 foot and if you stood up on the wrong side and leaned too heavy if both of us got on the wrong side we were all going to enjoy a baptism and so he could he could sense my trepidation and only could he sense it but i think he liked to jab out a little bit and so we'd be coming in and we'd come to the dock and he said grab that rope boy grab that thing he'd see my you know hesitancy and grab that thing

grab the rope somebody get anchored back those values you held that brought you to victory it's what'll take us all the way to victory you need to shrug off that comfortable backsliding feeling you say pastor you're saying i'm backslid for not coming to church you're on your way there's a temptation and it happened before covet i know but the coveted cards got added to the deck of unfaithfulness it's easy to use the covered card to camouflage unfaithfulness or other priorities or a lack of loyalty to the kingdom of god and there's a deception that is happening near the early in some of the early weeks

of covid brother mark condon who pastors in ohio posted and he opens up by saying a vulnerable post and he had done like many of us pastors do and giving reports had been reporting about people visiting and guests coming and baptisms and salvations and healings and all of those kind of things that are so victorious but on this monday morning he said we post only good pictures and we speak positive things which is right but after i've had quite a few pastors contact me thinking we live in some utopia i feel like i need to let whoever it is know that we have our challenges

also and here's what pastor condon said we have many who have not come they were having to have outside parking lot services we have people going to the zoo out to eat hanging with friends but yet don't come to church we have people who vacation with their children and swimming in public pools and hanging around in parks but afraid to bring their kids to church because their kids don't know how to social distance we have people watching online whenever they get around to it and then some are even saying they watch on youtube because they can watch it twice as fast and get on with

their day that made me laugh at first let's get church out of the way let's get god out of the way i've got a little kingdom i'm ruling here i've got some things that i want to do and it could be anything anything that sets god or his kingdom in second third fourth or other places we have some people who are making decisions that would make your head spin and grieve he said even some of our leadership seems confused and lost we have no clue for sure when and where we will ever get into an actual building and so he wraps it up by saying

no we don't have our screen for lyrics and we don't have air conditioning or padded seats or lights or staging yet in the very midst of it all god is still god and god is still working and god is going to be working listen church should be your excuse for missing everything else had to miss because a practice had to miss because of this had to miss because of that schedule your activities around the church not church around the activities stand your ground in your faithfulness to the lord the waves are going to try to move you off the majority are going to try to

move you off stand your ground in your faithfulness to god and to his kingdom and here's some reasons i make this appeal today who doesn't love getting not having to get ready in the morning or not leaving home but it's important to remember why church attendance matters so much you can't serve from a sofa you can't have community of faith from a sofa you can't experience the power of a room full of worshipers and believers christians are not consumers we are contributors we don't just watch we engage we give we sacrifice we encourage we do this thing together the church needs you and you need

the church members of apc unless there's a legitimate reason get yourself back here non-members wherever you are find an apostolic truth proclaiming church where you and your family can be a part of a community and can exercise your worship and faith and use your talents to advance the kingdom and come along others to encourage and lift them up i am grateful for technology i used it this morning i thank you for the thomas and team for all you are doing for us and without it early on we would not have been able to continue to have service but it's absolutely not like being in the

building and it never will be yes church on the sofa is nice but it'll never be the same as church in the sanctuary and everything i just stated about church attendance can be repeated about prayer about fasting about bible reading pray folks pray to stay close to god to stay anchored to god but pray in the way that abraham did abraham had conversations with god and the things he asked it was like abraham just knew i could make a difference with this prayer that bargain 50 40 on down that took that took guts for one thing but it took a faith to say i believe

this conversation with god is going to make a difference that conversation you had with god this morning is going to make a difference that conversation you had with god yesterday it's going to make a difference it's more than just some little prayer language the thing you prayed god heard it today the thing you pray this afternoon god hears it believe it it's going to make a difference gradual is not only negative and detrimental but how many of us have ever seen god just gradually make a way maneuver or massage the situation and this boss got transferred over here and this door opened over here and

this favor came to me as i spoke with someone that i was dealing with a perplexing insurance problem with god has a way and i know i won't put this on you i know how steve is if i want that to work out i want it i don't want to have to wait three days i don't want to have to wait seven days but god sometimes works gradually many times in fact i think i'm safe to say most times it's gradual but whether it's gradual or immediate it's still his power whether it's immediate or slow it's still his miracle in his spirit and we know

that we've been praying since february for sister sandy brady since february and even before that but when this diagnosis come of having dialysis and praying and sister sandy if you're watching i appreciate you keeping us updated and she'd send those reports and those numbers and sometimes they'd be a little bit down and then the next one would be back up there and she was doing everything that she could do it was it was gradual it was gradual but last week i didn't bring the text right before we regret last week she sends a text in fact it came to us right in the middle of

prayer meeting sister vicky cardin got it right during prayer meeting and she lifted her hand and read it out loud to us that that level was down to its lowest level they were going to take that port out going to be removed from dialysis whatever you are listen whatever you are praying for there's another answer there's another answer in this service just like that one it may be physical and i want to take this opportunity to thank everybody for your prayers there have been times that i've just been laying on that radiation table and i am so thankful it's radiation versus chemo but i've been

laying on that radiation table and i've been i just say it out loud nobody can hear me they can see my lips moving in the other room they got a camera in there i don't think they can hear me but who cares somebody's praying that's what i was saying somebody's praying somebody's praying somebody's praying hey for you somebody's praying right now you don't know where they are or who they are you say oh pastor that's just a good sermon point no it's not i feel the holy ghost somebody has called your name in prayer and it's working let's thank you for the power that he

gives us through prayer right now thank you thank you thank him for let the spirit move through you right now let the spirit let the spirit move through you right now go ahead somebody at home go ahead let it happen right now let it happen right now hallelujah hallelujah anybody that lives a spiritual victorious life they got there one verse at a time one service at a time i know the answer to this there will not be one hand lifted but i'll probably give you a chance to lift it if if you want to say all of a sudden you attain some great spiritual accomplishment

just the first day you desired it no it was step by step promise my promise verse by verse song by song altar call by altar call prayer meeting by prayer meeting trial victory battle victory hallelujah and it's going to be the same way when we stand in heaven and we're going to stand there someday i'll take a stronger amen we're going to stand there someday and i wasn't saying that for me i was trying to say that for you we need to get the hope of heaven in our heart and get it anchored in there the lord is coming back and when we stand in

heaven it's not going to be because we just immediately got there now rapture is going to be immediate but getting there was day by day year by year praise god service by service faithfulness by faithfulness giving by giving hallelujah i'm going to tell you this we won't barely get there we will barely get in we will barely be in or barely stay in when you're in you're in praise god when you're in you're in former things passed away no more tears no more death no more pain no more sorrow no more angst no more crying no more sin everything all things are becoming new in

the former things have passed away if you're in pain today whether it be physical emotional or spiritual if you're in pain i want the church gathered online and the church gathered in this building i want us to agree together for anybody that is suffering if it's physical or if it's emotional i want us to go to the name of the lord right now and pray for the power of his healing touch and his covering blood let's pray right now in jesus name in jesus name our faith is in your power and your word i call the name of the one who is the almighty god

the almighty god hallelujah hallelujah go to whatever that ailment is go to whatever that sickness is go to whatever that problem is spiritually or emotionally or mentally or physically right now in the name of the lord oh god we want to bring a little heaven down here right now and you said in that day no more pain you're able lord you're able to bring some of that heaven right here today to relieve the pain of stress to relieve the pain and the anxiety would you stretch your hand would you stretch your hand toward brothers and sisters those of you that are in the building would

you pray for others around you and i'm going to ask some of you just point to that camera right there there and some of you that are at home or wherever you are just stretch your hand toward the screen and i want us to pray one for another god you can transcend any distance you're with us right now and we need you and we need one another and you've given us your power and your presence you've given us yourself and then also you've given us one another and for that i'm very thankful o lord i'm very thankful i'm very thankful i'm very thankful o lord

thank you jesus thank you jesus touch every life here touch every life hero god touch every life in the name of jesus in the name of jesus we need you o lord it's not our might it's not our power it's your power it's your name hallelujah hallelujah oh god we owe you great thanks lord we owe you great thanks today hallelujah hallelujah i feel some thanks that's trying to bubble up just go ahead and just let it flow let it flow that thanksgiving to the lord because of your goodness god everything you've given us you've given us yourself you've given us your spirit you've given

us this body that we're a part of i thank you lord that there is healing in the body naturally and spiritually i thank you lord i thank you jesus i thank you jesus i thank you jesus i thank you jesus just keep taking steps drawing nearer versus drifting away just in fact i want you to think about it and you don't have to ponder long right now but sometime in the next couple of hours you may have already thought what steps could i take today what actions could i take today that would anchor me greater that would draw me closer what steps could you take

today and then pray for endurance and encouragement and patience and strength it seems like you're just plodding along sometimes getting nowhere but that's not true you are making progress you are you are you are making progress just stay faithful to the lord thank god let's just praise and thank him another time lord i want to thank you for your grace your grace that pulls us back that calls us back to a healing from our backslidings i want to thank you lord for showing us where the port is i want to thank you for showing us where the true anchoring boat slip is thank you lord

that we have a safe harbor it's in you it's in you it's in you hallelujah hallelujah thank you for your faithfulness to the house of god thank you for your faithfulness tuning in