Transcription
Yay, God! All right, we're all doing good. Good. Just want to share a little bit, and we're going to go out and celebrating and water baptized. Uh, Lee talked to you about you going. I see you got your guitar, man. So, what I saw, what I saw, I just say it openly, is girl family. I just saw us baptizing, like just entering into the time of worship, celebration, baptizing somebody. Maybe so, just for you to hear what, what that looks like, just, uh, celebrate a little more. Baptize another man. Y God, celebrate and worship Him right through water baptism. Makes sense? You got it? Yeah. Good. I knew you would. You're such a man of God. No, I just, I just love you, buddy. I, I've enjoyed everything that flows out of you. You guys tore me up with that. There was that song, man, that the music was from another song, a second song, that, that the Rising. Yeah, the Rising Sun. And I was like, he's singing Rising Sun. I said, no, they ain't singing Rising Sun. I love that thing this morning, man. I just loved it. You had the choir going too, man. I was back there joining you. I felt like I was in the group. I was singing loud. I thought, I'm going to hear me. I'm just having fun. I don't know if you understand. I'm, I'm so glad to be here. I'm just blessed. I'm, I know I'm doing what I'm called to do, but it's my honor and my heart, my honor to be here. Just the fact that you guys drove here two and a half hours or two and a quarter hours. They said, how far are you away? And they said, two hours 50. I said, oh man, I hope this thing was good. We got to meet and chat and talk, and I'm just honored. I'm just glad to be a part of this weekend. So, I wouldn't have had to share, honestly. I, I have gotten so touched by the testimonies, by John this morning, and by the worship time. I'd have flew down here for that. I, I mean it. I, I, I would, I, I've been touched by your lives and your ministry. Thank you, Lee, for what you're doing. You, you run and keep running. Amen. Yeah. Yeah. If you ever feel any other way, that's a flat-out lie. Amen. Yeah. I think you know that by now.
I just want to talk about something that's amazing. Uh, go to, let's try Colossians 1. We hit two. Let's back up to one, man. If we'd ever make it to three, how about it? Ran says amen wherever he is. Three. If we never make it to three, that'd be good, wouldn't it? Colossians 1 is amazing. In Colossians 1, remember I talked to y'all about the purple in the last session? Yes. Watch this. I, I wasn't going to read this, but it just feels right. Uh, Paul in Colossians 1, he heard about their love for one another and their dedication and and life in the spirit. And he said, for this reason, in verse nine, we also, since the day we heard of it, don't cease to pray for you. I thought that was interesting. When I first got saved and read that, I thought, man, we're always praying for people that are lost. He found a group of people that are doing everything right, and he hasn't ceased praying for them because they're doing everything right. And it hit me that it's because it's a life we're called to live. We always feel like the people need so much prayer that that aren't saved. And I agree, there's a place for prayer. But I never realized till I saw this that Paul saying, man, when I saw their love for the Saints and I saw how they were living and life in their spirit, I just prayed for God to continue on that they get a full measure of understanding and they go ahead and fulfill everything they're here for. Like Paul didn't stop praying for people that seem to be on track. I, I don't know if you catch that, but that just sounded different than what I think we're used to. We're usually praying motivated by trouble. He's praying motivated by the good way they were living. And I just thought that was a cool point. But I want you to see this. He said, uh, I haven't ceased to pray for you and ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God, strengthened with all might according to his glorious power for all patience and longsuffering with joy. I just read that because that's part of like all the purple I read at the end of the last session. That's not why I turned to Colossians 1. In Colossians 1, you'll see you've been delivered from the power of darkness in verse 13, conveyed into the kingdom of the son of his love. You'll see that he's the visible image of the invisible God. Colossians 1 is just chalk full of amazing revelation. So in verse 20, it says, and by him to reconcile all things to himself, whether things on earth, by him, things on earth, things in heaven, having made peace. Catch this. Having made peace through the blood of his cross. Now, let's look at verse 21. This is why I turned you to Colossians. This is huge and important. You men that are getting baptized, very important. You put this on today. If you've been saved and water baptized and didn't have this revelation, just add your faith and put it on to to being in Christ. Watch this. And you, who's he talking to? Talking to us, ain't he? Me too. You too. You were once alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works. Yet now he reconciled. It's fascinating to me that it doesn't say that I did anything to attract him or change my mindset along the way. He just said, this is the state I was living in, and in that state, he came and paid for reconciliation. That's pretty incredible. So, what's this wicked mind thing? And what's this work? Does that just mean thinking about murder, adultery, and lust, and all that stuff? It's anything self-centered and contrary to his will. Our minds from birth were programmed to think in a wicked manner that was contrary and opposite to God's plan and God's kingdom. Who would agree in humility that we were thinking on a different track and we were alienated to the plan and purpose and presence of God in that lifestyle? Would you agree? Yet now he reconciled us. That means to befriend, to draw near to, and make one with, and become friends of. Watch, how does he do that? In the body of his flesh through death. Okay, so we know this. Jesus died on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins, the remission of our sins, etc., etc. But watch what the word gives away in this chapter and shares the intent of God. Watch this. He reconciled us in the body of his flesh through death, purpose, comma, purpose to present you. That's like pulling the tarp off the masterpiece. To present you. You getting this? To present you holy. Who did this? Did he? Did by reconciling us through the blood of his cross to present you. It didn't talk about you becoming holy, trying to live holy, or master holy. The blood of Christ was enough to present you holy because you're washed clean and forgiven of everything you've ever done. I can show you in 1 John 1, you're forgiven of everything you've ever done. So if you're forgiven of all your sin, how much sin aren't you forgiven of? But if you're forgiven of all, how much are you not forgiven of? It's all forgiven. If you're cleansed of all unrighteousness, then there's none left. Amen. Are you with me? Now, I'm just talking straight and plain, and I'm not talking to you. I'm just talking at large based on 30 years of experience. Most Christians I've met don't believe this and live in this actively. Most Christians buy into other teaching. Yeah, but brother, we're always sinners. Yeah, but we're not perfect. We always make mistakes. It's frivolous to even think that way. We're not even talking about that right now. We're talking about how God sees me through the blood, and he's presenting me holy. Come on. Who sees this? Isn't my sermon. I'm reading right out of the book. You can't blame me for this. Holy, blameless, and above reproach. That means he ain't shouting you down. Above reproach. Where in his sight? Guys, this isn't theological. This isn't positional. This isn't just positional. This is how he sees you. This is in his sight. You're holy, blameless, and above reproach. Amen. There's no purpose in waking up in the morning and trying not to sin. That's a dead-end street. You'll just be conscious of sin, and you'll be failure-driven, and you'll think you're not working it out right. And at the end of the day, you'll take a test he never laid on your desk, and then you'll grade your scores, and your scores will be your value and your identity. What a lie from hell. He ain't giving you the test. He wants you to wake up and know you're holy, blameless, and above reproach in his sight through the blood. Now, that doesn't give you permission to live loose and to do other things and say, oh well, God will forgive me anyway. See, this is some preachers are afraid to preach this because they say, I don't preach righteousness because it gives people a ticket to sin. It does the total opposite when it's understood. The last thing I want is to miss God. He loves me. I'm not even thinking of missing God. Like I didn't not wake up today to try to not sin. I woke up enjoying being his son, being holy, blameless, and above reproach in his sight. So if I focus on that, what I see, what I give myself to, as a man thinketh, so he is. This is all about identity. So this is how grace works through faith. So when I start believing I'm holy and blameless and above reproach in his sight, I have, I have confidence and access to approach him in a sonship friendship intimate way. Who would agree? And I realize he's not mad at me. He doesn't have his brow. He ain't condemning me. He ain't judging me. He's invited me into who he is through the blood of his son. If I believe that, are you with me? I just read it in your Bible. Look, you're holy, blameless, and a brother approach in his said. I just talked to a young man back there in the program. He was honest. He was sharing his heart. Said he was struggling with some things. I said, man, it's just how you're thinking about. You're holding yourself so accountable. You're already sorry in your heart. So you did it. So just because you're saying you knew better, now you're using that as criteria to not forgive yourself because you should have known better. But God's not sitting there saying, well, you should have known better. God's saying, I'm glad you see what you see now. And if you saw what you saw now, you probably wouldn't have went there then. So stop being your own God and thinking you should have known better. Why not just come to me now and let me love you and father you? That was for you, young man. They already gave it to him. I'm not giving him away, but I know who it is. I know, I know his name. But, but watch. If he, hello, if he wakes up every morning and says, thank you for washing me clean. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for making me holy in your sight. God, I so appreciate that. My life is above reproach because of the blood of Jesus, and you presented me blameless in your presence. God, what would happen if every one of us as a believer would wake up every day and stop trying to not sin and just enjoy being his son, his daughter? Just enjoy being forgiven. Wonder if every day you'd wake up and just say, Father, thanks for loving me. Thanks for giving me fresh revelation today. And I think nothing about my past that can hold me from coming to you because you came and rescued me. God, thank you for making me clean. I have talked to countless Christians in my life, and I found 90, mid to high 90% of Christians have never acknowledged God loving them on their own. 90 some percent. I'm 30 years a Christian, involved with thousands of people in my life. 90 some percent sincere people that aren't waking up evil and looking how to miss God, that are really pursuing and try, but they've never had the confidence to just walk through their their room and say, Father, thank you for loving me. They're still dealing with if he loves them and how can he love them. God, thank you for washing me clean. What would do to your life if every day you just put on Christ and woke up every day and understood you were clean and had access to the Father? What would that do to relationship? How would that invoke your intimacy with God and give you the ability to be with him and pray and have confidence that he's hearing you? See, here's the trick. When we don't see ourselves the way he does, then we don't have confidence to come to him because we see ourselves different. Are you all with me? What we just see in our Bible, that he reconciled us. Who did it? He did it in the body of his flesh through death. Why? To present you holy, blameless, of reproach in his sight. Now, look at verse 23, and don't miss this. So this truth is always true, but it'll only manifest in your life if indeed you continue believing it and you're not moved away from it. Let me paraphrase what it means. This is all true if you keep believing it and don't let anything change your mind. What the young man that talked to me was doing, he was letting something change his mind. Well, I should have knew better, and that's the part he ain't forgiving. Well, I knew better and did it anyway. Well, I had a chance and I blew the chance and I went and did what I, I knew not to do. You see? So then you get drawn away from the hope rather than a sober moment. Wow, I didn't realize I had this capacity. I don't even know how I got here. God, I don't want to be here. You know what I said to him? I said, what about, I said, all you're doing is looking at your heart that ran away. What about your heart that came back to me to talk? Amen. Why are you even talking to me if you're what you think you are? Why do you care? You can't condemn somebody that's sincere. Amen. Or or or that's not sincere. That that doesn't care. Like you can't condemn somebody that doesn't have purity in their heart. Like if somebody doesn't care, you can't condemn them. They would never care. They'd say whatever. The only reason people struggle with condemnation because they're alive inside and their condemnation is telling them they're unworthy, they're bad, they're a failure, they're this, and then they live that way and they can't even look up to God. But the only reason they're condemned is because they're actually alive inside and wish they didn't do what they did, and they're actually remorseful. And it's just getting perverted from conviction to condemnation. Like if somebody just didn't care, you couldn't make them condemned. And the number one thing I've seen in Christians' lives is condemnation, guilt, shame. There are three tools I see that are used constantly in people's lives. They're never in God's tool belt, and they're anti-finish works of Christ. God never uses them. He doesn't subcontract them out to the devil. Guilt, condemnation, and shame. Three major things I see people struggle with all the time. What isn't the word enough for us? Do we believe the word? Watch, he did not, did or did not. He did not send his son into the world to, did or did not. John 12, I did not come to judge you. Same word, but that you might have life. But you'll have my word that will judge you in that day. In other words, live my word because you're going to answer, and I'm coming with a sword in my mouth called the word of God. We always preach Hosea, we're destroyed for the lack of knowledge. For six. But most people don't know what seven says. We're destroyed for the lack of knowledge. He says, I gave them the knowledge and they rejected it. Ain't that something? That means men have conviction. That means men in the middle of their thing know there's another option, and maybe I don't have to do this. And God is moving. Paul said, there's no man with an excuse. His love is unfailing and far-searching. He is working in our hearts all the time. That second-guessing, that conviction when you're living outside of what you know is right, you can't stop thinking about it, and yet you keep living there. If he would ever turn that off, we'd just be destroyed like beasts. We would just walk off into darkness without a thought. Some of us seem like we've done that, but we haven't. Our hearts have been knowing, and that's what brings us back. And then all of a sudden, we cry out or get in that dry place and end up help. If he ever shut that off, that would be something, wouldn't it? Why doesn't he shut it off? Because he never sees us and judges us for where we're at. He sees us through the blood for what we're called and created to be. And that's why his love never fails. So if he loves me that way, he wants me to love you that way. And if he loves us that way, he wants us to love one another that way. You get it? I'm telling you, nothing else works, or you wouldn't need a single eye. It's why you need a single eye because if you don't stay in this place, it's all muddy, and then somebody has a right to be something that don't look like Christ. And you don't know my story. Well, let me tell you what they put me through. Well, you don't know how long it's been. If God had that language in his life, you wouldn't be filled with his spirit. You wouldn't be forgiven. So why would you put on your heart something that he never has in his? Well, you don't know what they put me through. You ought to be glad God ain't sitting at the board of 24 elders talking about you like that. Well, maybe we ought to reach down and grab CJ out of the darkness. Well, you don't know what he put me through. You know, I gave him chances. I can't trust him anyway. He said one thing, did another. He knew better, did it anyway. In fact, I just don't like his attitude. I, I, I used to say I love him. I've been changing things. He's just kind of changed my heart. Have we talked that way towards one another? But when I say God talking like that about CJ, it's ludicrous and silly, and we know it can't happen. Amen. So why are we so content to put that label on him, and we don't want to put it on us? Why do we want to hold him to everything he says he is, and we don't want to follow him and be found in his image? While are we speaking the language he never taught us and never showed us? Why are we okay with that? See, here's the thing. You don't even have to believe in God to believe what I'm saying. If you just hear the principles of what I'm saying and the fruit it produces, it would be just better to live this way. Some people ain't taking all this because it's a God thing, and deep down in, they're just mad at God. They don't have resolve with God, or they're just trapped in their intellect. But here's the truth. What I'm preaching doesn't hurt nobody ever. But anything else does, and it gives you right to have a right, and that gets all messed up, and that's where self-righteousness comes from. That's where pride comes from. That's where injustice comes from. Be real with me. See, the Bible says the way you judge others is the way you're going to be judged. Why would do to others as you would have them do unto you? Come on. These are things we grew up hearing, but do we really think about it? Do we really apply it? Do we really believe it? Well, here's God setting the example. He says, I tell you what, guys, girls, through my blood, I'm going to see you holy, blameless, and above reproach every day in my sight, and I want you to continue believing it and don't let anything change your mind. You get it?
Go to Romans 6 real quick. We're going to go out and do ourselves a hoedown time. Water baptism. Oh, we're going to stop some bubbles, buddy. No, no, they kick and squirm. Oh, you got to see it. You hold them under. They're trying to get up. You just hold them till every bubble's done. 40 seconds after the last. You got them. See, the goal is that when we put them under, that they die. That's why I joke about it. I'm just joking because the goal is you die. We don't hold under the bubble stop. They're dying by faith. They're saying, you know what? Everything I've ever done is going away in his sight. It's going away in me. Any place I've ever been, anything I've ever done, and anything ever done to me is going under that water and dying in the likeness of his death. And I'm going to die to sin once for all, and I'm going to live unto God forever. That's what, what a baptism is. It's the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. That's the tomb symbol of the tomb. That's why we put him under. That's why we don't sprinkle them. That's like a dedication. It's scriptural, but it's a dedication. They did it at the days. And a lot of people say, I was water baptized. It don't matter if you sprinkle. This well, baptized means fully dipped, immersed, and made one with. That's why you're going under. [Laughter] Boys, but it's crazy. We're going to put them under for one second in faith, and they get to come up and step into everything he paid for. Amen. I don't know about you, but I think about this stuff. I think about Jesus being real and coming as a man. He's not just a historical figure to me. He's not just Christmas and Easter baby in a manger, Christ crucified. I think about what it took. I think about God becoming a man. That sounds like sacrifice right there. Yes, sir. Like God Almighty put himself in the womb of a woman and hung out in her womb for nine months, like we did, and didn't take a shortcut. He came as a man to fulfill what man failed. So actually, technically, we know he's the son of God in Jesus Christ, but he laid down his glory, made himself of no reputation. He had to be anointed by God at his day of baptism. Acts 10 reveals he was anointed by God. If he came as God, you wouldn't have to anoint him. He came as a man. Why? Because the man was given the dominion, and man gave up the dominion. God defeated the devil through a man, but the man Jesus Christ, not taking away his deity, he had to become a man in the likeness of sinful flesh. He didn't take a shortcut. He had to be born of Mary and hang out for 30 years before John even announced him at the Jordan. Do you guys know that? Like he was 30, probably around 30 years old. Why? Because the Jewish culture would not have listened to him if he was younger than 30. He's already young. He, if he was 27, you're a whipper snapper, you ain't a man yet. He had to wait 30 years. Come on. When you're 12, you ain't never going to be 30 in your mind. Be real with me. When you're nine and you're playing basketball with a 14-year-old, you don't think you'll ever be 14. I, that happened to me. I was eight or nine playing with a kid 15. I thought, I'll never be 15. Now I've been 15 four times plus three, and I don't know where time went, but I've been 15 a few times. You know how it is. Life and goals and time. You feel like I need to be a teenager, and then you're like, I got to get 16. You get 16, then you won't be 18 because then you don't have to listen to your parents, you think, and I'm an adult. Then you want to be 21 for all the wrong reasons. But it's a journey, and it feels like you'll never get there. After 21, there's no goals. Now you're 25, you're freaking out. You're 30. Ah, 35, running from mirrors. Lordy, lordy, look who's 40. You know what I mean? It's just life is lying, man. But Jesus, I think about this stuff. I sit on my bed and think about this stuff. I think about Jesus put himself in the womb of a woman, had to be birthed by her, and suck on her breast and swaddling clothes, whatever that was, but it wasn't Huggies with tape. He had to drink, environment. He had to poop and pee and stuff. He's the son of God. He's the one that wasn't, is, and is to come. He was always there from the beginning, the word, and he's made flesh, and he's sitting in the womb of a woman. He didn't just Star Trek behind a cactus and and manifest at age 30. Hey guys, he was born of a woman. I mean, history records the life of Jesus, man. 30 years. John announces him. Boom. He's finally debuting, and he's hanging out on the earth for 30 years, a carpenter's son. First day he preaches, they go, whoa, ain't nobody has authority like this man. We never heard nobody talk like this. Two minutes later, they're going, is he talking about us? He's talking about us. Yeah, he's don't kill him. They try to kill him on his first day, try to push him off a cliff. First day preaching, offended because he's talking about them. Ain't that something? How encouraged would you be on your first debut of preaching? They tried to push you off a cliff. You go home and your mama says, how'd it go, son? Well, I think I sowed some seed. I mean, it was all. I can't wait to get back in the saddle next week. No, you're like, what do I do wrong? How can I change my approach? And why do they hate me so much? I miss my calling. Be real with me. I think about this stuff. I'm looking at what it cost Jesus. It sounds like sacrifice, but somehow it, I don't think for him it was an ounce of sacrifice for the joy set before him. He despised the shame and the pain of the cross. He went. He knew what he was buying back. He knew the value of our lives in him. He knew what it would look like to shed his blood and wash us in that blood and get us back to the Father. And he said, I love them so much, I'll pay whatever price to win back their lives. I don't know about you, but that's rich. It's the greatest love story ever. And it hit my heart 30 years ago, and it's consumed me. And that's why I told you some of those testimonies and stories. I want you to understand that there's a whole lot of life experience you can have in God. Like there's groups and groups of people out to say, well, God doesn't do that today. There's no miracles, there's no healing, there's no signs, there's no wonder. Man, that's just crazy to me that you could even talk like that. See, people that ain't pursuing nothing have nothing for their testimony. If I wouldn't have laid hands on my coworker at three months old in the Lord and believed that God doesn't heal today, then he's probably not healed. Problem is, if I pray for him and he doesn't get healed, then we judge that, and then somebody says, see, you're out of bounds, you shouldn't have prayed because God doesn't heal. We go, oh yeah, I guess the facts prove it. Well, the word don't prove it. The word says, pray for the sick. Sign of a believer. Lay your hands on the sick. Amen. We'll pray tonight for the sick. You'll see. He heals. I didn't say that cocky and arrogant. I said that because I know him. Amen. Amen. Because I can't heal nobody, but I know him. Well, we'll pray for the sick tonight. You'll see it right here in this room, and ain't nobody can stop it because he heals. We'll do it after what baptism. We'll have fun. Are y'all okay? Yeah. It's funny how weird I felt the room get when I said all that. No, I felt the room get real weird. Be amazed how much we don't believe God. We need him, but we don't believe him. We take all our needs to him, but we don't believe him. We don't believe his goodness. We don't believe his forgiveness. We don't believe his mercy. We don't believe his power. We don't believe his wisdom. We don't believe his word. I'm not being mean, I'm just being sober and real. There's a lot of unbelief we boast in without purposely boasting in it. Well, you're telling me, God, well, I have a hard time. Look, the guy could be lying, the testimony could be false. You should already know because it's in your Bible. Yeah, but people just mix up. This ain't made up. I've seen it firsthand in my life. My wife came out of a coma, severely brain damaged. They're afraid she's going to die. I'm in my shoes, watching her suck on that tube. She don't even look like her. She's swollen, her eyes are bulging. It don't even look like my wife. But she's, I kissed her goodbye on my way here, totally completely normal with no brain damage. When she woke up, no residuals of an hour-long seizure. And you're going to tell me that's happened? St, I'm way too late for unbelief. I'm way too B late for your theological debate. I don't debate with nobody. I just keep on laughing and walking and living Jesus because I'm taking fruit to heaven, not a head knowledge. I ain't taking a bunch of arguments to heaven. I'm going to take a bunch of real people that got saved and healed and delivered. I got a girl in my church. She'd be a quadriplegic today from neurological line, couldn't have children, and she was going to be paralyzed from her neck down. She's got two beautiful children, and she don't have a trace of immobility or impairment. Amen. Ain't that something? I can tell you stories for three hours and not not take a breath because they're there. Sometimes I lay on my bed and just reminisce, and then I cry myself to sleep, and then I wake up holy, blameless, and above reproach, and just do it for another day. And you face all kinds of y y and people that don't have a clue what they're talking about. They've just been to school. They've ain't been with God. They've just been with knowledge, so their knowledge has puffed them up. So now they defend their theological heritage instead of intimacy in relationship because they ain't been taught that. That can't be true. No, that's not right. That's proud and presumptuous. Just because you ain't experienced it doesn't mean somebody hasn't. It's because he didn't do it through you doesn't mean he didn't do it through someone. We just don't realize how shallow we can be, and we think we know. But I promise you, if you're not excited and going after God and seeing the manifestation of God in your life, then we ought to stay humble and say, then let me see that God, cuz I want that. And if it's available, and you ought to give God that season in your life to make that happen, rather than sit back and be presumptuous and judgmental and critiquing, and they ain't no fruit in your life, and you're miserable inside, and you ain't manifesting anything but displeasure. I'm not being mean, I'm being real. I've met way too many people like that. They get puffed up in their knowledge, but their knowledge is misguided, and they're not even excited in life. They don't have goodings of great joy. They don't have joy unspeakable, unspeakable. They just have the outcome of their circumstances. And look, if I didn't understand what I'm saying when my wife's in a coma, I'm devastated. I'm trying to get everybody in the world to pray. I'm crying myself to sleep. If my wife's in a coma, and I don't know what I'm preaching to you, I'm a man in big trouble. No, I'm a man in covenant. I'm a man with God, and my wife's not my idol. God is my God, and I ain't got this thing all disproportionate, and I'm not just coming to God because of my wife. I'm coming to God because he's God, and I know in my heart he loves her. So I think this is a win-win. We just got too many amazing testimonies, man. I've just seen too much, but I haven't seen enough. I haven't seen enough. Sorry for that little rant. I just went off, didn't I? Man, at the end of Romans 5, he said, where sin abounds, grace abounds much more. And as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord. It's a big deal. The righteousness of God in Christ is a big deal. The Bible says he rules his kingdom with a scepter of righteousness. The Bible says we have a like precious faith through the righteousness of God that comes through Christ Jesus. What is righteousness? The God-given ability to stand in his presence without any sense of guilt, condemnation, or shame. When you live in guilt, you know what you're saying subconsciously? You're saying you're not forgiven. When you live in condemnation, you know what you're saying subconsciously? That my life's worthy to be judged. When you live in shame, you know what you're saying? I still am what I'm ashamed of. They're all three anti-finish works of the cross. Are you all with me? They're the three major things I see Christians fight with: guilt, condemnation, and shame. They're way different than repentance. Repentance is godly sorrow that leads to change. Repentance can be, it's not boohoo, I'm sorry, and crying all night. Repentance could look as simple as this: Duh, what? Yeah, you get it. Just seeing what you never saw. Just the light coming on. Just whoa. To where now, if I had the chance to replay it, wouldn't look like it did. Are you with me? Yeah. That's the power of the gospel. That's the power of the blood. Like, so here's what God does. Can you ever change where you've been? Can you ever change what you've done? Can you take back words that you said and make them that you didn't say them anymore? So that's a dilemma. It seems in the world's only way to handle that is regret or just harden your heart and act like you don't care. That's the only options. Regret or whatever. And ne, none of them produce life. So, can you go back and change where you've been and what you've done? But you can change. And when you change because of the gospel, God says he'll never see you for where you've been and what you've done. Amen. In fact, he goes this far and says, I'll forgive their lawless deeds and remember them no more. So if we're keeping them alive, why are we keeping them alive when he remembers them no more? Are you with me? I'm challenging our hearts and saying, do we really understand and believe the power of the gospel? And I'm passionate about it. And and and you can let yourself like get like say, oh, whatever. Why do you keep talking about this? Because life and death depends on this. This is the biggest deal of the whole gospel is receiving his love and forgiveness and mercy. What shall we say? Chapter 6, verse one. What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? He's writing this in light of what he just said, and he knows how people think. Oh, well, we'll just keep sinning because then God will keep pouring out his grace. Watch. Most people are go to church their whole life and they're never even taught this. I'm not saying here, I'm just saying most people go to their church their whole life and never, ever, ever taught this, but it's in your Bible. Certainly not. How shall we who died to sin live in any longer? Guys, I've been a Christian 30 years. I've been in every denomination. I can tell you there's more churches and more pastors that don't believe that scripture and preach the opposite than actually believe that scripture. They actually feel like they have to tell you, oh yeah, but look, we can't die to sin. We're always going to sin. There's nobody perfect. It's the dilemma for the rest of our lives, and we all have that tendency, and we're always going to sin, and we feel like it's humility, but it's false humility because we're taking on an identity that he's telling me I should never wear. Now, here's the problem. When you, when you say, yeah, but we're always going to sin, I'm not preaching perfection and saying that we're not going to have some stuff going on in our lives at times. But why are we the ones that seem to always justify, qualify, and decide what that's going to look like? Why aren't we letting grace decide what I can look like by doing what the word says and reckoning myself dead to sin? You see, because here's the thing, as a man thinketh, so he is. So when I put on righteousness and see God seeing me holy, blameless, and above reproach, it empowers my life to live what I believe. And all of a sudden, I'm not a man trying not to sin. I'm a man enjoying being his and walking out my salvation. So I'm not struggling with the things that I thought were a struggle before. In fact, almost across the board, all those things are so foreign to me now. It's like, why did I even want that? Because I see it for what it is, and I'm clean now, and I'm free now, and I'm full now. Do you get it? So now when I look, my eyes are so different. I see it for what it really is. Pornography. I was never addicted to it, but I had access to it at work. I was never addicted to it. I probably watched one video in my whole life of pornography up until I got saved. But at magazines and things, once I got saved, I saw it for what it was. I thought, why would I even be attracted to that? Actually hurt for people. I realized it's an exploitation of flesh and lust and stuff, and it's just all built on lies. So we're entertaining something for a moment that's supposed to be dead at the expense of one another. He hit me with stuff growing up, man, in the Lord, like prostitution. You ladies, man, if a lady gets caught in prostitution, who gets hit for being a prostitute? Who gets slandered? Who gets name called? The man that picks her up, or the lady that gets picked up? Yeah. When do they ever talk about the man that picked her up? Because the man ain't on the earth to take advantage of her vulnerability. He's on the earth to give her Christ. But the man don't never get addressed. W. And every man that's ever picked up a prostitute, if he don't repent and see the value of women and get it right, he's going to stand before God, and he'll be more guilty than her because she was in a bind and in a trap and in addiction, and he's just taken advantage like a predator of her vulnerability, and he's feeding something that should be dead. But nobody talks like that. That's too harsh. Uh, you'll see what that's like on the day we stand in the light of his glory. Nobody talks about that. I was looking for a a lost lady. She took off and was doing crack again. I ran in a crack house. It's crazy how you know where the crack houses are, but they're there. And I couldn't find her, and I'm crying, and I want to find her. She was doing good. I'm sitting in my truck, and I'm thinking, maybe this is one of the houses. The prostitute, functioning prostitute, peeked in my window. Hey, honey, what are you doing in this part of town? I snatched her by the wrist so quick. I wouldn't let her go. Them girls are packed. Some of them got knives. They don't talk pleasant. They'll kill you in a second. I had her wrist, and I didn't let it go. She said, blankety blank, let me blanket go, let me. And I just held tight. I started crying. She shouldn't be messing with me. I'm looking for a lady. She said, what are you doing in this part of town? You know what I did? I flipped the question. I said, the real question is, what are you doing in this part of town? Let me go. I said, no, I ain't letting you go because I need to talk to you. You. I said, if you knew who you were, you wouldn't be doing what you're doing leaning in my window. She said, who are you? Who are you? I said, you still got it wrong. Who are you? Because you don't know who you are, but I know you. She said, you ain't never met me. I said, but I know you. See, I'm a mad man. Oh, no. I didn't let go of her wrist, and she tried hard to get away. Shouldn't mess with me. I'm serious. You kill me, I ain't going to die. I got over that a long time ago. She shoot me right there in my truck, and I did right. I invested into her. I tried to rescue her. She ain't killing me. I ain't never going to die. Corner could say I'm dead. You better rethink that thing. I'm sitting up there on the knee going, woah, because I'm a believer. Amen. I ain't trying to get through life. I'm living it in Christ. I ain't full of fears and worry and my longevity and my well-being. Just want to wake up every day holy, blameless, and above reproach, one day at a time. Today has enough of its own. Don't you think about tomorrow? There's enough in today. Just get through today and wake up the same tomorrow. Amen. That's scripture. Long story short, she took me to my lady. She showed me my lady. My lady's working out of an alleyway, doing tricks for men for a few bucks to stay high. Broke my heart. Oh my gosh. I went to drop her off, and she said, you can't drop me here. They'll know I ratted. That's the life they're living. We're driving down the street. I'm looking for my girl. She said, stop looking around and being so conspicuous. Yeah. I said, honey, I came out of the shadows a long time ago. I ain't hiding nothing. You don't pull in between two dealers. I grew up in the city, guys. You don't pull up between two dealers. Those dealers are working the street. They're packing in their pockets. They're exchanging money and exchanging. Y'all with me? Cars are sliding up. They're leaning in, making their exchange, and then they're saying, you want any action? Got action. They point into the alleyway. If the guy says, I want action, she runs in the car, oral sex for a few bucks, she comes back, she gives them the money, they give her a bag, she goes in the alleyway and stays. I, that should matter to us. She's so much more if she knew who she was. There's no way she's doing that. She ain't easy. She ain't loose. She's lost. She's deceived. She ain't all the things we call her. That ain't what Jesus sees. This ain't got me. I'm too deep right now, ain't I? I pulled right in between those dealers. You don't do that. And I wound down my window and I said, get in my truck. She's crying. She sees me. She's Bing. Every time she saw me, she would cry. Why? Because she knew I loved her, and she's running from love and can't believe she's lovable. And I'm the closest thing she's ever seen to Jesus in her life. On the day she was dying, she whispered to her daughter with the last breath she had, please get past her can, because she was dying of AIDS, and she's laying in an emergency room, coding, and passing out. She has no breath, and she's dying of age, and her whole body's shut down. And guess who she's thinking of? Pastor down, because I'm about to die and face the Lord. He's the closest thing I know. I need to see him now. Her daughter called me. Well, and Mama's dying. She's asking to see you. I said, she's dying. I hadn't seen her forever. I met her in another house. I walked in. There's a naked lady on the couch. I said, can you cover her? And I sat there, and there's a guy cooking food, and she's sitting there.
And she balls. I mean, I tried to rescue her so, so many times. She wouldn't come with me. But I dropped the girl off in the alley and I said, "Honey, I need to pray for you." And she said, "I just need money for cigarettes." I said, "No, honey, I need to pray for you. You need to know who you are." She said, "You keep saying about knowing who I am." And I said, "Well, I know who you are, honey, and I need to pray for you."
So she said, "Said, why do you keep saying you know me?" I said, "Let's go through this again." And I began to quote scripture to her and share my compassion for her. And I reached up and I touched her and said, "I started to weep." And it freaked her out. She has never been loved in her life. She's been used for being a woman, probably molested, probably touched at a young age. You could see it all. When I'm in the truck, I could see it all. And she freaked. You talk about manifesting, she totally manifested demonically. Like, and was swinging at the air, pressed against my door, trying to like get away. And she's saying, "Why do you, why do you care so much? Why do you care?"
See, that's what she needs. She needs that man in the truck, not the man that gives her the whatever for the whatever. And I said, "Because I know who you are, and you're way more than you're choosing to live." And I grabbed her and prayed. And I gave her all the information for a great women's ministry. And I saw her get out and run down the street holding the paper, just running and crying. And I thought, "She's never got picked up like that [Laughter] before." And I don't know what ever came of her. I just know I'm supposed to love people and sow seed.
And she started it. She leaned in my truck and started. And you know what? I'm telling you, men, listen up. When she leans in my truck, she should be zero threat to me. There should be no vulnerability in my life to her request because of Jesus. Are you hearing me, man? When she leans in my truck, what she actually needs is the Christ in me, not the urge of my flesh. And she could tell me it's free night, I'm just being sarcastic. She could tell me it's free night, and I should still give her Jesus, right? And I'm telling you, as a man of God, I'm looking you men in the eyes and telling you, you're gonna find out one day when we all stand before the Lord, she is zero temptation to me. Zero. Not because I don't like women, not 'cause I'm old and can't get it up. Oh, I know how we talk. 'Cause of Jesus. Are you all with me? Are you okay if I'm real, or do you want me to be something else? Are you all with me? Yeah, yeah. God have mercy. I need to just read for a second here. Certainly not. We're not going to let sin abound. Certainly not. How shall we who died to sin? I don't know how many of us in our lives were ever taught that in church. Now you're coming to this ministry and they teach great on righteousness. I know they do. But nobody ever told me of my life that I could actually die to the mentality, identity, stain, and memory of sin. Nobody ever told me that. But the Bible tells me that.
Now watch. Or do you not know? Why is he saying that? Because some people don't know that. As many of us were buried and baptized into Christ Jesus, we were baptized into his death. What's that mean? You'll see. Therefore, we were buried with him through baptism into death, that just as Jesus Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we should walk in a new life. So he just mentioned the baptism of his death twice. For even if we've been reunited together in the likeness of his death, uh oh, three verses, three times he said the same thing. Must be important. Certainly, we shall be in the likeness of his resurrection. So it ain't just about dying, it's also about outliving. Knowing this, second time, you better know that our old man was crucified with him. That's what you're doing, gentlemen. Old man's being crucified with him, that the body of sin be done away with, washed in the blood, forgiven, removed. Y'all with me? That's what you're doing by faith tonight.
Now watch this. That we should no longer be a slave to sin. He's not talking about perfection. He's not talking about never messing up. I wish we'd get that out of our minds. It stumbles us constantly from just hearing the pure truth. He's not talking about that. He's talking about you seeing yourself different and clean through the blood and actually standing for the first time in your life and being forgiven and clean in the presence of God with no condemnation. That's what he's talking about. And you reckon yourself dead indeed unto sin, and you're not purposing to live in its identity, stain, or desire anymore. Are you with me? Come on. If it's in your Bible, it has to be possible. Let's stop talking around it. People say, "Well, here's what we're doing. We're making our experience greater than God's grace." And we're just saying, "Because everybody lives a certain way, that's the way it has to be." But when you read scripture, he says, "My grace is greater." When are you going to start trusting and honoring me? He can make my life different. And I preach with such passion and aggression because I'm living, living out of that experience. I know how I live. You don't. You just see me on a wound-up weekend. You could think, but I live with me every day. I wake up with me every day. And I like who I am anymore. And that's why I'm here. Because now I see you clear, 'cause I see me clear. And now I know the way he sees me is exactly the way he sees you. That's the only reason I would fly here and not take anything in return. You get it? See, if you knew I was getting an honorarium, it would look like I'm being paid. And I didn't just come here for you as a little piece of pie for me. But when I come and don't take nothing with me, that'll sure challenge your thoughts, won't it? Oops. Did you buy my plane ticket? Did I turn in any reimbursements last year? This year? Are you giving me a penny when I leave? Right. You're right. 'Cause I would not take it. I'm here 'cause I want to be. And that makes it clean, don't it? So now you can't even sell it cheap and talk in your mind, "Well, you know, it's like he's sacrificing away from his family, but it ain't like he ain't taking some paycheck home. I mean, he's just doing the job like any man. He's just ain't a plumber, he's a preacher." You see, that ain't why I'm here [Laughter]. Oops.
The body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be. I looked up the word "slaved" in this chapter. You know what the word "slave" means? Chained and bound to do one's will. I'm no longer chained and bound to sin to do its will. It actually says in this chapter, "I'm a slave to righteousness and I'm a slave to God." I'm bound and chained to his verdict over me to do his will. That's what it says. But the key is, I can preach this all day, but if you don't believe it, you'll never walk in the joy of it. If you don't put it on, you ain't wearing it. You got to put something off to put something on. Watch. For he who has died. Now you try to preach this in 90% of churches out there. Verse 7: "For he who has died has been free from sin." Now, if we died with Christ, we believe we shall live with him also. Knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. And death no longer has dominion over him. Now watch. We're buried into baptism into his death. Verse 10 explains what it is. For the death that he died. Look, listen carefully. I know I've been talking a lot, but just listen carefully. For the death he died, he died to sin once for all. But the life that he lives, he lives to God. Likewise, you also reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Isn't it crazy how you can't even preach this in the average church? How are you going to reckon yourself dead to sin and say, "Yeah, but brother, everybody sins. We all sin. We probably all sin today. We just don't even realize it. We're just not at the level holiness that God is, so we just ain't convicted of our sins, but we are all sinning." That's what I hear people say constantly. How are you reckoned dead to sin when you're still talking about your ability to commit it? You see the dilemma? What's your Bible say? Not my sermon. What's your Bible say? Did you all look at it? You all got your Bibles open? You're amazing. Taught to have your word, ain't you? No, you better have that word right. Am I making this supper, or is it in there?
So the death he died, he died to once and for all. The life he lives, he lives up to God. So is verse 11 say what I said? Likewise, you reckon yourselves dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God in Christ Jesus. Ah, you know what? 1 Peter 2 says, "He bore your sin and my sin in his body on the tree." Why? "That we having died to sin might live for righteousness." And by his stripes, we were healed. You know why we're going to pray for the sick after the baptism? Because of the forgiveness of sin. Because everywhere in scripture where he talks about forgiveness of sin, he ties in healing. Why are we healed? Because we're forgiven. Why? Because he loves us. Get it? We're trying to get healed and sometimes don't even believe we're forgiven. And when we're trying to get healed, we feel like there's something wrong with us if we ain't healed. We're causing it, or and then we're all struggling with our own self, a whole process, instead of just settling in him, believing we're loved, we're his children, and his grace is sufficient, and walking in that simple, beautiful place. Am I making sense? Well, I'm just reading scripture. Makes sense.
So you don't let sin reign in your mortal body that you should obey it in its lust. And you don't present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead. So that's how you see yourself and present yourself every day. You're not sin waiting to happen. You're a son manifesting. You're a daughter growing up into him, right? And your instruments you give unto righteousness. For sin shall not have dominion over you because you're not under the law, you're under grace. What shall we say? Should we just go on and sin because we're covered by the grace and we're not under the law? Certainly not. We already established that. Do you not know? It's amazing. This chapter is so plain, and we fight over this topic in the church more than anything. One of the things my friends tell me I get criticized for the most is preaching righteousness. And people put words in my mouth and say, "Well, he thinks he's perfect. He thinks he never sins." I have never said that in my life, nor thought that. People just think that for me. And then they write it as if they know me. And they will be judged if that doesn't change and they don't repent. It's called the sin of presumption. pH. That's a serious one too. Because the measure you're judged, you judge is the measure you'll be. You can't get that. That's in the word. [Music]
Do you not know that who you present yourself slaves to obey, you're that one slave whom you obey? This is heavy. In other words, the way you see yourself is what you're bound to serve. What you believe is what you'll manifest. So a man's life reveals his belief. When we stand before God, what we believed will be decided by what we lived. And do you not know who you present yourself to be is the one you'll be enslaved to, bound and chained to do its will? Yeah, ain't that something? Whether it's sin leading to death or obedience leading to righteousness. But God, we thank that though we were all slave to sin, yet you obeyed from your heart this form of Doctrine in which you were delivered. Who would agree that you go to church your whole life and never hear this delivered? Paul's assuming it's always delivered. If I got the mic, I'm delivered. Amen. Amen. Amen. And having been set free from sin, you've become a slave of righteousness. I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. And just as you presented your members as a slave for uncleanness and lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now make the switch and present yourself as a member and a slave to righteousness. Why? For holiness. For when you were a slave to sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. And what fruit did you have in the things you're now ashamed of? But now having been set free from sin, is this the third time he said you're free from sin, having become a slave, chained and bound to God to do his will? You have your fruit, the fruit to holiness, and the end is everlasting life. So what's he telling you? When you believe you're right in the sight of God, it will empower you to live holy without you trying to be holy. It's a fruit of righteousness. Therefore, it's the grace of God. You can't get proud, you get humble. He gets all the glory. You don't. You're not a perfect man, you're a changed man. And there's no boasting in men, for no one has a thing unless God's given it. Amen. You get this? This is good news. It just leads up to why we're doing this water baptism, why these men got saved, and why we're going to pray for the sick in a minute. All make sense? Yes, sir.
Listen, all I can do is bring this and passionately declare it to you. I think I've been guilty of sharing a lot of scripture, haven't I? So it's not presumption. It's not me preaching my thing. In fact, a lot of it I just read right out of the book, didn't I? I didn't say four sentences and then quote a half a line of scripture. All I'm doing is reading scripture. So here's where it is. He who has ears to and let's grow up into him. And let's start where we know to start. Let's believe that the blood was enough to make me holy, blameless, and above reproach in his sight. So now I can approach him. Jesus is the way back to the. So if we don't believe this truth, we won't go back to him. 1 Peter 2 says, "If you don't add things to your faith, it means you're shortsighted to blindness, and you've forgotten you're cleansed of all your sins." Which means if I know I'm for forgiven of my sins, I'll be inspired to add these things to my faith and grow. Why do you think the enemy hits this area so hard? Because he don't want nobody to grow up into Christ. He just wants you to go to church and never shine. He just wants you to go to church, have the same struggles, same mentality, same emotions you had when you weren't saved, but yet all things become new. Are you all with me? Yeah.
Just going to take a faith risk. I, I felt like I heard it before I even came up here. I know we're doing four men are getting baptized, right? You ain't changed your mind, right? No, you're just teasing. You know, I felt like I needed to invite two more men. Is there two more men that you would say, "I should have stood up today, but I didn't, but I would, I would stand up now." I just felt like I heard it twice that I got up here and heard two. So I'm just asking, is there two men in this ministry that are saying, "I need to get saved. I've never been saved. Now is the time. I'm going to baptize you." If you don't stand up, you don't stand up, but I am making it available. And I actually felt like I heard the number two. It would be men in Nehemiah. Is there two men that are saying, "I would stand up and join these and give my life to Jesus?" Two men. Anybody? Did you get him? Did you get him? Still fly. He's still flying, dude. You should have got him. I'm not gonna plead, not gonna beg. I just felt in my heart there's two men. I wouldn't feel that. I wouldn't hear that. I heard it. I heard it twice. So I do believe you're here. But if you don't stand, you don't stand. I just say, don't shut down your heart. Just keep listening. Hang in there, man. Don't don't run from the track you're on. Don't talk yourself out of what's going on here, okay? Stay in this ministry, keep growing, stay humble, and give God a chance at your life. But if those two men would stand up, that would be amazing. I'll give you one last call. I'm gonna wait five seconds. If you don't stand up, we're going to move on. We're going to go baptize these men. But I do believe there's still at least two men that aren't born again that could stand up. Okay, y'all ready to go out and baptize these guys? Let's do it. Let's go outside. Any instructions? We just heading.