Transcription
[music] [music] >> A whole van load of people cuz they want to see miracles, signs, and wonders. Listen to this preacher. Again, it's not the first time I said it. If you've got to have something more than Jesus, you have never met Jesus. >> [applause] >> I WANT THAT TO GO ON live streaming. If you have never met Jesus, there are seducing things associated with [music] Jesus and the church that will lure you into foolish. Angels. People want to see angels. Oh, if I could just see an angel. What? If you How do you know you haven't seen one? How do you know that that man that needed help the other day and you passed him by was not an angel? How do you know that little poor lady who's hungry and can't pay her bills, but you just forgot about her? How How about your mother down in the nursing home that would love a visit? How about dad who's sitting over in the apartment? He'd love a PHONE CALL. HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT'S NOT an angel? Angels. Oh, if I could just I could just have a vision. But really, I've never wanted a vision. Everybody in scripture that I saw got a vision got trouble. Have you ever noticed that? I'm going to give you a vision. Oh, the prophets go, "Oh, Lord." You know, why do you need a vision when you have the whole truth right here? What does that prove? You have Jesus. Folks, everybody seems to want a mind-blowing experience, something supernatural. Why, there's a program on Christian television, and all they do is give supernatural testimonies. Supernatural. And they say, "Well, that's what it takes for Jews. The Jews require a sign. It takes supernatural stuff." And you're wrong. Paul said, "It's the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ that wins Jew and Gentile alike. No supernatural miracle, no sign, and no wonder has ever won anybody to the cross of Calvary. It astounds people, it stuns them, it amazes them, but it wears off. There's only one thing that can get a sinner to the foot of the old rugged cross, and it's a >> [applause] >> somebody filled with the Holy Spirit, filled with the Word of God, ON FIRE FOR JESUS, TELLING THEM He is the way, THE TRUTH, THE LIFE. THERE IS NO LIFE IN ANYBODY BUT JESUS. THAT'S THE ONLY THING THAT WILL GET A MAN BORN AGAIN. >> [applause] >> LORD, IF I COULD SAY ANYTHING to young people who are hungry for Christ, I want TO SAY THIS, STAY AWAY FROM WEIRD STUFF. >> [applause] >> STAY AWAY FROM WEIRD PEOPLE. GOD'S PEOPLE AREN'T A BUNCH OF WEIRDOS. WE'RE NOT SPOOKY. SORRY I RAISED MY VOICE. Cuz it hurt my throat. But I want you to stay away from weird stuff. There is nothing new. God's not going to give more word than he's already given. There is no more proof than is already in this book. GOD DOESN'T WORK OUTSIDE OF THIS BOOK. NOTHING outside of THIS BOOK IS GOING to convince you or anybody else to live a better life.
Then we have you know, churches are known for things. Churches are known for their music. Oh, that church is about music. That's a sad testimony. No church should be known for music. Every church should be known for preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. I will say it again. >> [applause] >> Music is not evangelism. Music is to be sung to God. Music edifies the congregation, but music is not an evangelistic tool. Here we go again. There's only one. It's called the foolishness of preaching. Paul said God in his wisdom chose the foolishness of preaching to astound and put to shame people who think THEY'RE SMART AND STRONG AND NOBLE. IT'S THE foolishness of preaching. So, no church, real church should be known for anything except proclaiming the whole counsel of God. There are churches known for deliverance. Oh, they've got deliverance ministries over there. Well, I know what that means. I want I just want to make it really brief and terse. Jesus Christ has filled this church with deliverance ministries. If you've been born again and you walk out on the street >> [music] >> and you tell somebody that Jesus can save them from their sins, you have a deliverance ministry. He is a deliverer. >> [applause] >> Their church is known for their community involvement. Oh, that's a really socially active church. They're into politics. They're into social injustice and all of those other things. Really? That's a seductive spirit. It takes away from the cross. No preacher who is a real preacher will preach anything but Jesus Christ and him crucified. [music] Did you like that? It's the truth anyway. They You got to understand something, ladies and gentlemen. This is what the Bible calls This is what we read this morning, doctrines of devils, because it it pulls people away from Jesus. This is a seducing spirit because [music] it appeals to our flesh. We want to see things, experience things, touch things, be involved in things, rather than letting Christ be all in all and our our whole life, we like to get into the arrangements and do supernatural interesting things. If we don't preach Jesus, if any church doesn't hold high Jesus, you know, a lot of churches have gone I I heard of one the other day, they they rarely have a preacher. It's all [music] music. The whole service is nothing but music. And they say that's how we reach the community. Seductive spirit, doctrines of devils. You know how many churches now are blacked out, painted black? >> [music] >> Paint it Why would you paint the church black? Why would you WALK INTO A DARK BLACK BUILDING with lights flashing everywhere and think that that somehow how has an appeal to the community [music] or to the younger crowd? If we're trying to make an appeal, it's in the flesh. But when we preach [music] the gospel of Jesus, it's the supernatural at [music] work. Jesus saves. Jesus delivers. Jesus heals. But seductive spirits and doctrines of devils have ways of making people feel like this this feels right. Oh, brother, [music] watch out for how you feel. This just feels right. This seems good. But I'm telling you it's a substitute for being crucified with Christ. It's external. It is not a genuine spiritual transformation. Too many people sitting on church pews [music] are externally changed. They are doing life differently. They are going to a place, but nothing has happened on the inside. And until you are born from above, born again, until supernaturally Jesus jerks you out of the darkness and puts you into the kingdom of light, you will spend your whole life with an external experience rather than an internal transformation. Did that make sense to anybody? Because when you are saved, your whole life is Jesus.
Now, oh, let me tell you, miracles are in the Bible, and [music] changing the community is in the Bible, and making a difference, and being salt and light, all of these things are in the Bible. They're good things. IT'S WHAT GOD'S CHURCH DOES, BUT THE THE FOCUS IS NOT ON THOSE THINGS. It's on him who loved us and gave himself for us. And then those things just automatically drive us. I want to read to you from Luke. Can we do a little Bible study here this morning? We got time. Luke chapter 11. >> [clears throat] >> I want to begin Uh Jesus cast the devil out of somebody. And his critics started talking saying, "Yeah, he does this by the power of Beelzebub, the lord of flies. He gets his power from the lord of filth." And Jesus said, "Well, hang on a minute. Um if I'm casting the devil out, then that means [music] Satan's house is divided, and a house divided itself cannot stand." He said, "Think [music] about it. Now, if you're accusing me of casting out devils by the devil, mm by whom do your sons cast them out? You just insulted your family." Then he goes on to say, "But if I cast out demons with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. He's here. I'm here, and you don't even know it. >> [snorts] >> When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, >> [music] >> his goods are in peace." >> [snorts] >> Hey, he's talking about Satan here. Jesus just cast the devil out of somebody. And Jesus said, "When a strong man Satan's strong. Let me tell you, he's stronger than you are. Let me also say he's smarter than you are. And the only reason I can stay ahead of him and have power over him is because Jesus lives inside of me. But when a strong man fully armed guards his own palace, his goods are in peace. He's safe. But when a stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he takes from him all his armor in which he trusted and divides [music] his spoils. I say hallelujah. Jesus said, "Oh yeah, the devil is a formidable force, but I'm stronger." >> [music] >> And the devil thought he had it all together, but I came and I ripped it up and I took it from him and I overpowered him. I am Lord. Next verse seems not to fit. "He who is not with me is against [music] me, and he who does not gather with me scatters." There it is. He's saying, [music] "In this, there is no neutrality. You are either for Christ [music] or against him. You can't say, 'I respect Christ. I I like his teachings, but I'm not into that.' No, you are against him when you say that." "Well, I don't WANT TO GET INVOLVED IN CHURCH STUFF." Jesus said, "If you're not helping me, you're hurting me. If you are not gathering with me, you are scattering from me. There is no in between. There is no neutrality. You are either saved or lost. I And if you're visiting today, I know you're kind of taken aback by this approach. I'm I'm that way. I'm not dangerous. I'm I'm I'm I'm very passionate. I won't hurt anybody. So, don't be afraid. I'm just telling you what the Bible says. It's what preachers ought to do every time they walk TO THE PULPIT. TELL THEM WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS. AND JESUS SAID, "THERE IS NO IN BETWEEN. You are either for me, with me, helping me, or you are against me and scattering from me." They must have shaken their heads wildly.
But, then Jesus goes on to say, "When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places seeking rest and finding none. >> [music] >> He says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.' And when he comes, he finds it swept and put in order. And by the way, the King James version says, 'Swept, put in order, and garnished.' Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that man is worse than the first." Wow. Give me a moment here, church. Jesus said, "When an unclean spirit goes out of a man." See, devils, demons, unclean spirits have to do evil. They have to do increasing evil. They are They are not neutral, either. They are angels of darkness that must do evil. And so, when [music] this unclean, ungodly spirit went out of this man. Jesus said he goes through dry places. He's looking for somebody else to take [music] down. Looking for somebody in a dry place. This is what I want to say to you. This is why I can shout and act crazy. You can be in a dry place, but you don't have to be dry on the inside. You can say this is the driest place I've ever been to spiritually. Ah! But Satan still can't come in because you've got a river of life flowing inside of you. FOUNTAINS OF LIVING WATERS. There's nothing dry about that. Sometimes you don't feel it. A lot of times you don't feel it, but Jesus said, >> [music] >> "When I come in, you'll have a river of life flowing up inside of you." So, the devil just goes around looking for somebody who doesn't have the river, who doesn't have the fountain, so he can inhabit then them and begin to progressively take them down. But I noticed here, he was seeking rest and finding none. I never thought about this. The devil got tired. He was tired. He couldn't find anywhere to do his evil. Remember when Jesus cast the devil out of these two men and they the devil said, "Let us go into the pigs." See, they've got to go into something. They've got to destroy, tear up, tear down. THAT'S WHAT EVIL IS. THAT'S WHAT EVIL DOES. KILL, STEAL, DESTROY. AND WHEN YOU DESTROYED THIS, YOU GO TO ANOTHER ONE. BUT HE WAS tired because he couldn't find a dry place. And he said to himself, "I probably ought to go back to where I came from. I'm going back to that other guy, that other place. And when he comes, Jesus said, >> [music] >> he finds it swept, put in order, garnished, and empty. I want you to hear me today. You cannot reform yourself. You cannot stop a life of addiction alone. You cannot deliver yourself from evil and evil spirits and evil demons. Only Jesus Christ can do this. I can tell you that for a while you can modify your behavior. I know them. I know them by the hundreds. They quit drinking for a while. They might even go 2 years and say, I got it whooped. They might do the drug thing and say, you know, I haven't I haven't fallen to this in 6 months and they feel like they're okay. They are trying to modify their behavior >> [music] >> thinking that stopping sin is salvation. But it is not. Because the problem this fellow had right here is that when the devil left, he didn't fill his life up with Jesus. So when the devil left and he comes back, he finds it swept. It's clean. I've cleaned up. I'm clean. AND PUT IN ORDER. I GOT MY LIFE JUST WHAT IT OUGHT TO BE. I'VE GOT SCHEDULES AND WOW. And King James says, he garnished it. Garnish. I told the this morning, you know, garnish? That's a little weed you put on a little tiny piece of very expensive food that doesn't taste that good to start with. That's put there to make it look bigger. TO MAKE YOU THINK THAT $82 FOR this little piece of fish is worth it. IT'S PRETTY. IT'S GARNISHED. That's exactly what this guy did. He spruced up his life. But it was like giving a facelift to a corpse. Why would you put a tux on a dead body? He didn't fill up his life. Let me tell you something, just as there is no neutrality in the kingdom, you cannot have empty spaces. There is no void >> [music] >> in life. Because when something moves out, something else moves in. And when Jesus is merciful and sweet enough TO YOU TO DRIVE YOU DRIVE THAT THING AWAY FROM YOU, you have to immediately fill that void with truth, with Christ, [music] with the Holy Spirit. You have to be vicious. You have to be determined. You have to say with GOD'S HELP AND BY GOD'S GRACE, I'M GOING TO LIVE the rest of my life for his name and for his glory. But ladies and gentlemen, if you don't, [music] if you stay empty, when it comes back, it comes back with a vengeance. Can everybody hear me? Sin worsens. Sin never stays static. Just like your walk with Jesus. There's no such thing as a static walk with Jesus. >> [music] >> You're either growing or you're dying. Did I just say this? You're either going up or you're sliding back. There is nothing static about this. And so, when sin returns, it comes with a vengeance. [music] It takes you lower. It is more violent. It makes you crazier. You can't believe that what you used to do is not enough now. It requires more. That's because Jesus said, he goes and gets seven other demons more wicked than himself.
But let me say this, too. He's not talking about a Christian here. Oh, no. Jesus said, "So it is with this wicked generation." He's talking about wicked people who play church. Wicked people who have a form of godliness, >> [music] >> but no power. Those are the people that walk away from the faith. Help me, Jesus. [music] Those are the people that can get involved in church work. And then, a seducing spirit, because they have not filled themselves with Christ, [music] will cause them to live the kind of life they never imagined that they could live. It So, it is with this wicked generation. I want to be very blunt this morning, as blunt as I know how to be. I don't know what good alcohol does anybody. I know that I am living in a generation of preachers that believed that we ought to abstain from alcohol. That generation is dying out. My generation is dying out. I've had my tryst with alcohol. And I can tell you right now had it not been for the mercy of God, I would not be standing here today. Wait. >> [applause] >> But I am now coming behind me is a generation of preachers that drinks because their people drink and their people drink because their preacher drinks. And they always say the Bible doesn't condemn it. Yeah, well, there's plenty in the Bible that says you can be fooled about that, too. I don't know what's going to happen. You know, I I know a guy. I know a preacher who used to be this this way. I don't know what happened to him. He lost his mind or something. He Somebody told me Friday night. He's all tatted up now. He's got his a church and he's covered in tattoos. He drinks. His people drink. And see if you're one of those persons who has not made a commitment to Christ and these things still control you you'd probably like to find that church. Cuz he certainly will not condemn you. He will not preach a thing to convict you. And you can just feel comfortable. And it's a matter of time before you walk away from the faith because you've given heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils. Same thing with drugs. You see all of these substances lower your [clears throat] resistance. People say it relaxes me. No, it lowers your resistance. That's why women are foolish when they get alcohol in them. That's why men are stupid when they get alcohol in them. And you know I'm telling the truth. Women do things with alcohol in them they would not normally do and say. And they get in trouble. And men do things that if they were in their right mind and if they were Here's that term, cognitively connected. They wouldn't say and do those things. But it lessens your self-control. [music] Your mental reasoning becomes foggy. And that's when seducing spirits will begin to lure you farther and farther away and fill you more and more with their doctrines. [music]
Let me give you this verse. Jesus healed a man one day. Healed [music] him. And there was such a big crowd that the man just went away rejoicing and Jesus lost him. But then the Bible says later Jesus found him in the temple. Can I [music] paraphrase? He found him at church. And he said, >> [music] >> "You have been healed. Now go and sin no more lest a worse thing come upon you." I can't change the scriptures, folks. That's what it said. Stop sinning lest a worse thing come on you. >> [music] >> That means it digresses. It gets progressively worse. Stop sinning. Live the best life you know how. Run from evil. Run from every temptation. Flee the appearance of evil lest a worse thing come upon you. You see, folks, if you try to deal with the outward first, you're going to fail every time. Changing how you act does not change you. You can stop doing this for a long time or that or them. And you can even act out church things for a long time, but you've not been changed until the Holy Spirit changes you from the inside out. And when you are changed from the inside out, you will live like Jesus and you will live for Jesus. Can I shock you with that scripture again? Anybody who practices sin is of the devil. I didn't say that. My brother John said it. DID YOU HEAR WHAT I SAID? BUT, PASTOR, THEY MAY JUST BE HAVING A prodigal moment. 20 years? He who practices sin is of the devil, for the devil sinned from the beginning. And he said, "This is how you know the righteous ones from the unholy ones by the way they live." I'm not going to preach much longer. But, here's something I want to throw in there. And I said to the congregation this morning, "In my 55 years of preaching, I've met a lot of preachers. I have I've had very close friends in ministry. Pastors, and then they became officials and [clears throat] leaders in the church. Some of them for 25, 30 years. And all of a sudden, I hear they've run off with another woman. And I'm thinking, "How can you do that?" I'm thinking right now of a minister, ordained minister, pastoring a church. He and his wife had a little baby. There was a car accident. The baby became a uh a vegetable. The baby's still alive right now. He's a man right now. And that preacher [music] when the government gave them I think a over a hundred thousand dollars funds to help take care of that child. That preacher took the money, ran off with a woman, disappeared. [music] How? How do you depart from the faith like that? Where is he now, Lorraine? I don't know. But I [clears throat] can tell you where he's going. Unless he falls on his face and cries out for mercy from God, he'll end up in hell. How do you depart from the faith? I've had staff members depart from the faith. I asked Dennis this morning, the choir director, "How many people you think in all these years, decades, sang in this choir, but we don't know where they are now? They returned to a life of sin. Stop. I'm not saying that everybody up here that's not up here now returned to a life of sin. Don't put words in my mouth. Some of them are uh ill, some of them moved away, just various reasons. That's not even the point. The point is that they sang in this choir, and they did this, but today they are in a life of sin. How does that [music] happen? How do you depart from the faith? Because you give heed to a seducing [music] spirit that tells you it's all right to be this way. You're saved eternally by grace and God's never going to undo that. And they don't realize that when you are saved, you will live a saved life. >> [applause] >> You don't get to live a sinful life and say you're saved. You don't get to indulge in perversion >> [music] >> and ungodly acts and say, "At at least I'M GOING TO HEAVEN." NO, you're not. Because if you commit sin, you're of the devil. If you practice unrighteousness, you are unrighteous. [music]
But this I do know. If you are in a bind today, if you are in a sin this morning, bound up, caught up, chained up, you may think that this thing is strong. But I know one stronger. >> [applause] >> His name is Jesus. And the evil one may think that you belong to him. He may even call you his house. But I know somebody that owns everything and has all power in heaven and in earth. And let the devil boast and let him brag, but when Jesus shows up, he can RIP FROM THE CLUTCHES OF THE DEVIL EVERYTHING HE THOUGHT he had. HE CAN MAKE A NEW CREATION OUT OF YOU. HE CAN DELIVER YOU FROM THE POWER OF SIN. YOU CAN BE ESTABLISHED IN THE FAITH AND YOU DON'T EVER HAVE TO WANDER AWAY. And the whole church said, "Amen." Stand with me, please. This is a very wonderful opportunity right here. >> [snorts] [music] >> Cuz today the power of the Lord is present. It's present to heal, deliver, and save the power of the Lord. I am not talking about being stronger in your convictions and trying to stop sinning. Can I just say this? We have a counseling center at our church that's very effective. And it's been going on for a long time. And they know no amount of counseling is going to set anybody free until that person kneels at the foot of the cross. And can I say to you who are in uh uh recovery? I can't celebrate recovery. I don't know why I can't remember those two words. [music] For you in celebrate recovery. Everybody that runs that program knows. People can stop drinking, they can stop doing drugs, they can stop looking at pornography, they can stop chasing women, stop chasing men, they can stop it. BUT THEY WON'T CONTINUE to do that. THEY WILL REVERT TO IT UNTIL THE STRONGER ONE SHOWS UP AND CLAIMS YOUR SOUL AND SETS YOU FREE. JESUS HAS THE POWER TO DO THAT. >> [applause] >> WOULD YOU PRAISE HIM FOR HIS POWER? >> [applause] [applause] >> HERE IT IS. HERE'S THE ALTAR. THIS is what we do. This is church. If you'd like FOR THE STRONGER ONE TO GET A HOLD OF YOU TODAY, IF YOU'D LIKE TO FILL YOUR LIFE UP WITH JESUS AND BE FREE FROM THIS TORMENTING, AGONIZING, incessant >> [music] >> temptation, all you got to do is come and ask him. He'll set you free. So here it is. This is for you. And we'll just wait. [music] You know, it's My reputation is not at stake here. Well, I know nobody went down after he preached that. I'm done. This is between you and the good Lord right now. And he'll do anything you ask him to do to set you free. Thank you, [music] young lady. God >> [singing] [music and singing] >> May I just tell you, whoever this is free. You don't have to fix up before you come to Jesus. You bring it all to him. Say >> [music] >> You don't have to stop doing something for a little while and then come to Jesus. No, you bring your trash. You bring your garbage. You bring your sins. He's the master. He can clean it up. He can wash you, make you right. It's free. It's free. You do nothing but ask. It's free. And I want everybody here to look around when I ask this question. [music] If you know that it's real because it happened to you, lift your hand. Look at there. What a testimony. What a witness. And he can do it for anybody. Grace. [music] Grace. >> [singing] [music] [singing] [music] [singing] [music] [singing] [music] [music and singing] >> Thank you, Jesus. Do a work in every one of them, Lord. Put a hunger in them that they would fill themselves with your word every day. Fill themselves with your Holy [music] Spirit every day. >> [music] >> Praise God. Praise God. I've said it for decades. God through Christ [music] can forgive you of every sin you've ever committed. I don't care what you've done, with whom you did it, or how many times you've done it. Any sin, the blood takes care of all sin. Pastor, you don't know what I've done. No, he does. And he said, "Call unto me and I will answer you." He that comes to me, I will in no wise reject. It's yours for the asking and the taking. Just one more time, David. Grace. >> [music] [singing] [music] [music and singing] [music] [singing] [music] [singing] [music] >> Now I know they're still praying. But I want us to do what a church ought to do. Knowing that we may never be together again. The Lord is coming. Knowing that one of us may never come in these doors again. But that we are ready to meet him should he call us or come get us. I want us to finish this Sunday with a great praise on Earth that will shake the foundation of heaven and praise him for his forgiveness, HIS LOVE, HIS KINDNESS, AND HIS MERCY. Praise him this morning. Praise the Lord. >> [applause and music] >> PRAISE THE LORD. THANK YOU FOR LOVING US. THANK YOU FOR MERCY. THANK YOU FOR YOUR KINDNESS. THANK YOU FOR YOUR GRACE. THANK YOU FOR HOPE. THANK YOU, JESUS. THANK [music] YOU, JESUS. Praise the Lord. >> [applause] >> The Lord be with you as you exit. Go out with a smile ON YOUR FACE. JESUS IS COMING. PRAISE THE LORD. Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in thy sight. O Lord, my strength, my redeemer. Amen. Love you, church. >> [music] [music] >> Join our community. Subscribe and let's explore the apostolic legacy together, where faith flourishes. Subscribe now and be a part of it.