Blind Spots - Pastor Joel Urshan

[Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] you [Music] praise the Lord everybody praise the Lord we're gonna go into a time of worship today I wonder before we even sing as [Music] we honor you we bless your name [Music] we worship your name geez God we worship You Lord blessed be your name Jesus you're worthy God hallelujah come on and clap your hands to the Lord we worship You Jesus we're here for you God we're here for you let your spirit move as we shout your praise from my heart to your ears all the glory is yours now forevermore here I worship all we can give is for you we [Music] you [Music] we were you are with it for you [Music] to the one who's worthy one who is worthy ah [Music] we're here for you come on if you're here for the Lord today if you don't come Jesus we're not moving we need you God you don't come we won't move but Esprit Lord for it touch from you you say if you don't come we won't move the desperate look for a touch from you if you don't come we won't move with Jaspreet Lord for a touch from you if you don't come [Music] you [Music] today then you're going to be he is the waymaker he is the miracle worker he can break chains in this way [Music] Jesus [Music] jeez [Music] [Music] you're a Jesus [Music] we believe in you to come in this place sky touch ever hard move on our lives Jesus [Music] [Music] I wish [Music] worse [Music] I was [Music] working in I was [Music] the clock is my [Music] [Music] is who you [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] miracle-worker playmaker miracle-worker waymaker miracle worker miracle [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] away for anybody in this house can somebody be a witness for the Lord or saying he'll make a way out of no way hallelujah if he made a way out of no way put your hands together and give God glory this morning hallelujah hallelujah what he's done for what you do for another hallelujah gotta make away well there seems to be no way hallelujah hallelujah glory to God wave maker miracle worker hallelujah thank you Jesus thank you Jesus the song say when I don't see it you're working when I don't feel it he's still working never stop he never stopped working see his vital for a child of God to walk by faith and not by sight when we walk by sight what strikes fear in the hearts of his children but that's why I tell you to walk by faith depend on my word the Bible says 365 times fear not 350 pounds fear not for every day of the year every day our daily bread fear not what I was thinking it's leap year this year we got an extra day this year the Bible says in 365 but I'm gonna tell you brother Jordan tell you this morning for the extra day fear not for God is for you he's not against you hallelujah he want to see him heal he want to see you prosper he want to see you hold hallelujah if you have pain in your body or trouble if you want to stand in the gap for a fit remember the altar is open and I believe the prayer of faith I believe it I know God still answers prayer do we have a witness God still answer prayer hallelujah God still healed he's a weight maker he's a miracle worker halle-loo if you need us if you have a need of your body you want the ministers to touch a degree in anoint you with oil I prayed the prayer of faith the altars is open and if you can if you want to stay just be doing in your areas just close your eyes that's let's look towards heaven let's look towards the heels from which cometh our help God we action right now the name of Jesus God we action in Jesus name to show up in this place Lord we saw that if you don't show up we won't move Lord God now we promise if you go out we will move Lord God we will give you glory and honor and praise Lord we declare your goodness in the land of the Living God we know you as a hill as we know mountain mover Lord God we know we could get straight from You Lord God now we ask to the name of Jesus or nothing is too hard for you nothing is too hard for you nothing is too small or we come cash at all our cares upon you for you care for us Lord God and shout your blood Lord God that we might have life and have that more abundantly Lord God acts in the name of Jesus but that we won't in our purpose or walk with victory Lord God you've done too much for us Lord God was tough colony to call upon your name and the time of me that we need you this morning Lord God that we need to know restructure our hands torch for God we have no other place to you are a father you are rwr Redeemer in the name of Jesus we pray and we thank he we magnify you for the things that she want to do the things you've done in Jesus name we pray amen [Music] [Music] see [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] to [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] to [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] to [Music] receptions banquet center in Loveland Ohio it's a great time of fellowship around the Word of God and I actually attended this workshop last year and if the funny thing about it was I had never planned to attend one of my daughter's got sick and couldn't go and so I went in her place and while I was there a funny thing happened everyone that got up to speak spoke things that have been prophesied into my life and at the end of this workshop they drew names for a free home Bible study and guess who won the free home Bible study yes it was me so I encourage you to come and be a part of this wonderful event even if you're like me and that you've never thought that you could have a ministry in home Bible study come and see what the Lord has in store for you you'll be amazed I was please join us for this wonderful event and I promise that you will not be disappointed [Music] hey man why don't we give the Lord I had praise once again [Music] thank you sister Teresa for that wonderful presentation we greatly appreciate that but many times when we look at the Ministry of region people we have a tendency to complicate things we have a tendency that make it more than than what it actually is or make it something that it isn't sometimes we've developed a paradigm where we're evangelism takes place on a Sunday well everybody my grandmother's knocking on every door in a community but you're walking by everybody but community every other day in the week except for that one day which is Saturday the ministry of regional losses is a very specific ministers a very focused ministry and it's not a complicated ministry it's a ministry where we're allowing the presence of hello allowing us for the Lord to move to us in Acts chapter 3 the Bible tells us that there was a man that was laid at the deed called beautiful and the scripture tells us at Peter and John was going to the temple to pray fellowships to be in service there was no special concerns effort no no special emphasis ministering to that man that man just happened to be in the course of the direction that they were taking to the temple to pray and that's what the ministry of evangelism is really all about you may have a concerted effort in your mind by the prophecy when it comes to reaching our community has to deal with us just live in everyday life somebody say everyday lights that means on my passes somebody that does not have a relationship with God on Tuesday in passing somebody will say Thursday Friday Saturday and even on Sunday passes somebody that does not have a relationship with God and the strength of the gospel the strength of the gospel flows through the Bible tells us in Proverbs chapter 10 verse 21 I believe in is verse 11 it says the mouth of the righteous is a well of life there's something that flows out of us that brings the community there's something that flows out of us to reach those that do not have a relationship with God I invite you once again to attend this workshop on behalf of myself pass erson sister Teresa term we want to fight you out because we believe that there's power in your life and God can use you to reach somebody that does not have a relationship with him [Music] I just want to answer that if I could brother Fazal is trying to equip the Saints to be other reach God's people and and it is vital I know sometimes we like you know that's not our ministry or our area but I just want to encourage you don't wait until you have a loved one that's you still trying to get the church and then you're calling on bras Vonzell because you're not equipped you can be equipped now and when they've come [Music] now everyone's the best solution breakfast we are having a wonderful breakfast here next Saturday for all the brothers other church starting at 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 if you have not signed up yet please do so please do so it's a $5 minimum if you if you can donate or give me more if you're able to force Mario's that might not have it but five dollars we collected just to cover the food costs our very own brother Otis Miller is doing all the wonderful cooking it's gonna be a nice breakfast to eat all you can it's normally a lot left over amen if you can sign up I believe the deadline to pay is to sign up this Wednesday so I urge all the brothers all my brothers here sign up for this hey man we always have a good time in the Lord hey man all right if you can prepare yourself to give the Deacons and Usher's come if we can pray over this Alfred I was looking around this morning and sometimes scenery can become mundane and we have these these these posters up on the wall to remind us of the vision that the lower castes sometimes we can walk in and out about look at some of these these declarations that we have put on these walls that remember hold on to a promise that's that's home on these walls whatever you're going through God is able and know that the vision still speaks and there's no resistance amen they was ready then and we are ready now amen amen hold on to the promises don't forget Lord God we acts in the name of Jesus that she blessed us all from or god bless the giver bless those with a willing heart Lord got those may not have to give for a blessing on the next time to give Tommy come bring our sacrifice and our ties now we trust that she'll bless break and multiply in the name of Jesus let every one knee be bent Lord God in Jesus name we pray amen [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] Oh [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] you [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] my [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] yes Lord yes Lord yes yes from the rising of the Sun to the going down of the same his name is to be praised his name is to be praised is to be praised [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] come only praise his name praise his name crazy [Music] [Music] thank God thank God thank God thank God you know why you feel victory in this house you feel this victory because we're lifting his name on high when you lift this name on high this victory that pouch to your life bless his name bless his name [Music] come on let's clap our hands again under God this morning and worship Him for he is holy worship him for he is worthy hallelujah [Music] then they feel good the dance before the Lord didn't it feel good to shout with the voice of triumph didn't it feel good just to tell him I love you Jesus to think back on as many miracles and blessings in your life and to think we still haven't praised him the way he's worthy to be praised you think we still haven't done justice in the head 10,000 tongues that wouldn't be able to give him the kind of praise that is worthy of receiving [Music] [Music] you are in an apostolic Pentecostal Holy Ghost Church we worship because we've been redeemed by love divine glory glory Christ is my Jesus [Music] I just want to praise him I know I'm supposed to preach but I really just want to praise [Music] we've run the up [Music] [Music] why don't we just lift up our hands to heaven and one more time just give God a praise hallelujah from the fruit of your lips begin to give God the praise that he's worthy of Lord thank you tell him something special right now Lord thank you for healing me thank you for setting me free thank you for drying the tears from my eyes thank you Lord for breaking the bonds of sin and shame off of me I praise you lord I praise you Lord hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah Oh blessed be the name of the Lord blessed be the name of the Lord thank God thank God thank God thank God thank God thank God thank God praise the name of Jesus we're so honored that you're here today I believe the Lord is so happy to have all of us in this place in his presence we give all of our guests a great big hand clap god bless them [Applause] [Music] we're so thankful that you are here and we trust that the Lord will minister to you while you're here in the presence of the Lord you only come one time as a guest to Tree of Life Church after that we just we just let you know hey you're just you're just part of that of the family and we love you and we're here with you we support one another we love one another we forbear one another bearing one another's burdens and so fulfilling the law of Christ a man we're so thankful that you were here today you're in a safe place among family among friends in the house of God and I don't mean this physical structure I'm talking about the church the house of God and we're so grateful that you were here today and are honored that you that you chose to be here this morning I want to say how awesome yesterday was here a tree of life challenge if you didn't know we had 25 Bible Quiz teams from around the state of Ohio all over the state of Ohio right here Tree of Life Church and to watch those children quote the Word of God I thought my goodness I need to have them preach today my my and I'm gonna tell you something you get that word down in their hearts and nothing can nothing can pry it loose hallelujah and we thank God for that and I want to thank all of the volunteers who played such a very integral role in setting up tearing down and cleaning and hosting and you just went above and beyond and made such a such a tremendous representation for the Tree of Life Church can we give all of our volunteers children's ministry workers youth leaders god bless them and our very own lovara summand was the top scorer of every quizzer junior or McKenna [Music] I think that is absolutely awesome and to hear those children quoting the Word of God okay there's nothing nothing better than to hear that hallelujah this generation they're growing up in Lord let your word get down in their hearts keep them God keep them God keep them Lord with your word Oh God thank you Jesus amen we just love our children and thank God for His Word going into their hearts and pray that that they will serve him all the days of their lives and we're committed to doing all we can to ensure that that's the case amen before I turn to the word of the Lord I want to ask for you to to continue to remember sister eNOS in your prayers many of you may know already but sister eNOS took a fall just a couple of weeks ago and it was a really bad thing and in so doing she fractured her heel there are a couple of positives that have come out of it one she will not require surgery and we are very grateful for that amen we've learned that we thank God for that and - we're thankful that it was just her heel because it was a headfirst fall down several steps and it could have been much worse and we give God praise that it wasn't worse than it has been [Music] we ask that you remember a brother and sister eNOS in your prayers as she recovers and and we just know the Lord's gonna heal her up real good and and she's not used to sitting or taking her time but she's she literally cannot walk right now she she can she can't put any pressure on her foot so she has to she has to have it extended for several weeks two months and so prayers are appreciated and we thank you for that and isn't God good to be a healer and a protector and a provider amen we give Him praise we give Him praise I'm inviting your attention this morning to the book of Exodus chapter 4 and I'm reading from the 21st verse and I want to I want to read a few verses of Scripture and you're hearing and I will tell you it said it's an unusual passage that we're reading this morning Exodus chapter 4 verses 21 through 26 word of the Lord says this the Lord said unto Moses wind down goes to return into Egypt see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh which I have put in that hand but I will harden his heart but he shall not let the people go and thou shalt say unto Pharaoh thus saith the Lord Israel is my son even my firstborn and I say unto thee let my son go that he may serve me and if thou refused to let him go behold I will slay thy son even thy firstborn and it came to pass by the way in the end that the Lord met him and sought to kill Moses then support took a sharp stone and cut off the foreskin of her son and cast at his feet and said surely a bloody husband art thou to me so he let him go then she said a bloody husband thou art because of the circumcision and I want to I want to preach to you this morning about something the Lord has laid upon my heart I can't get away from it and so I am going to be obedient to the Holy Ghost and preached to you on this subject blind spots blind spots lord help us today open our eyes could you bow your head with me and and pray with me over the word the preaching of the word of God Lord open our eyes that we may see you that we may know you Lord I pray in Jesus name that your word would be alive in us God let your word be alive in the members of our body let it take control of our very conscience Lord lead us and guide us and do all of your precious truth they helped by soul Lord to be overcomers in this world god we ask this anointing upon the preaching of your word today let it go forth as you intend let it prick our hearts and and cause us to bring forth fruits meet for repentance I pray Lord in Jesus name that you will you will allow your spirit and your word to flow freely in this house in Jesus precious name we pray and everybody said in Jesus name and everybody said amen and amen you may be seated in the name of the Lord this passage of Scripture of course is one that that is is quite complex in terms of just it kind of comes out of nowhere and and yet it doesn't I think it may for us sometimes because we we have grown up in a dispensation if you please of grace we've grown up in a time where where the mercy of the Lord flows like water from a faucet there's a reason for that the reason for that is because the Lord was manifest in the flesh and he lived the life of perfection and obedience that we are required to live and he took upon himself the form of a servant and in the Garden of Gethsemane when all things culminated he humbled himself said not my will but the will of God be done and that will was that all sin be eradicated and punished the brutality of the cross is not an easy thing to comprehend or to even want to think about it is spoken of throughout the scriptures Isaiah gives such a clear depiction you'd think that he was standing at the foot of the cross and I believe he did have an actual revelation of it and as he as he describes it it's easy to let the Old English and and even the the words the words find it hard to truly encapsulate the depth of his suffering you can quote every scripture that deals with the severity of the suffering of the Cross as Paul could no doubt given his understanding of the Hebrew Scriptures and and Paul would still say that I may know him in the Fellowship of his suffering because I can quote every verse perhaps he could say but but I still cannot understand that depth of the suffering of Christ but when you look upon the suffering Messiah you you are seeing a picture of God's anger towards sin see Jesus was a lamb yes and Jesus was a substitute yes Jesus was the sacrifice yes but but the Bible said he was made to be sin he wasn't just a substitute for sin he became the actual sin and so when you look upon the the wound and the bruise and the chastisement and the the the absolute brutality of the cross you are looking at God's vehement indignation towards sin the wounding of Christ was the wounding of sin and and and so you see then God's anger towards sin now his love intervened and His mercy rejoiced against his judgment and his mercy intervened by saying I will do it I will take it upon myself I will take your sin upon me and the scripture said the Lord laid on him the iniquity of us all not just a few but but every body who will he laid upon him the iniquity of us all and because of that we have learned through the gospel of Jesus Christ that we can repent from our sins we can turn from our wicked ways and the scripture says so beautifully that if the wicked will turn from his wicked ways I will remember his wickedness no more God said I I will not remember the wickedness anymore if the wicked will merely turn from their wicked ways we have learned that when one is baptized in the name of Jesus Christ that they are baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins the blotting out of those sins the the total removal of those sins from one's record oh no wonder we praise him like we praised him no wonder we danced before him the way we danced before him we were going to face him in judgment with a track record 40 miles long but he washed our sins away he cleansed us of our unrighteousness he removed from us the filth of our flesh Oh glory be to God hallelujah marvelous mystery the Christ of Calvary and we learned that we shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost this kingdom of heaven is not something you can just shake a hand and be a part of coming to a church service does not admit you entrance into the kingdom of God but but you must be born into this kingdom of God born of the water and born of the Spirit except a man be born again he cannot enter into the kingdom of God so we live in a dispensation where people can come to God where there's no veil that separates them where there is no litany of requirements that that prevent them from boldly approaching the throne of grace but they can step into his presence like we did here oh we're so blessed to be able to stand in his presence the way we did this morning to lift up holy hands and I like this part without wrath and without doubting hi lord have mercy and the truth of the matter is we take it for granted we don't do it justice like we should in terms of appreciating it but we live our life sometimes as though we could take it or leave it we live our lives sometimes as though it doesn't really matter we were pretty happy xored so often we're so slipshod and the way we think of God treat God treat his precepts and and this ought not to be and I need to remind you that the only thing that separates us from the judgment the indignation and the wrath of God is not is not us it is it is Jesus it is the blood of Jesus that covers us in the same way that the blood of the Lamb was painted over the doorposts of the homes of the children of Israel on that night when the death angel swept through Egypt in that same way the blood of Jesus Christ covers us through repentance baptism in his name and the infilling of the Holy Ghost and as it does it protects us from the judgment of God that sweeps through this land and we many times start thinking it's because of us or because of our goodness or because of of something we have done or or just something we make up we don't even know why we just don't feel any kind of urgency concerning the judgment of God and I but I look back into this Old Testament and I see what the raw judgment of God looks like and I see what the judgment of God looks like without the blood of Jesus without the grace of God without us walking and covenant with God and don't even think for a moment that because you've repented and been baptized and filled with the Holy Ghost that you've got some kind of eternal security and that there's no way that you could miss out with God that's it that's an absolute way of missing out with God is to take it for granted and think that that all is well now that you've done your duty and you've checked your boxes know you've got to walk with Him and let his spirit overtake you and let his let his love and rapture and envelop you and hallelujah it's easy it's easy to walk away from him and you can the Bible describes even after they were filled with the Holy Ghost even after they were baptized in his name that something departed from the faith having loved this present world and I'm going to tell you that's where many of us are today there's a competition for our devotion there is a conflict for our consecration wondering where is it that we stand do we of God or do we love the world I can hear the New Testament admonition to the saints of God love not the world neither the things that are in the world for If any man love the world the love of the father is not in him hallelujah and so when I look at this story of Moses it gives me pause and it causes me to stop for a moment it's a cautionary tale because this man Moses had a call of God upon his life he had an anointing of the Lord that rested upon him the Lord had called him aside he had his hand on him when he was just three months old when his mother put him inside an ark and sent him down the river and as she did the anointing of God covered that baby all of the dangers that could have come upon him they were all held at bay because the Lord had preserved him for his purposes and here he stands now about 80 years old standing on the backside of a desert for 40 years and he stands before a bush that is burning but not being consumed and out of this bush comes the voice of the great I am the God of Abraham the god of Isaac and the God of Jacob and he is calling Moses into his holy purpose I'm going to send you to Pharaoh and you're going to declare to him let God's son go Israel is the firstborn son of God let God's son go and if you won't let God's son go then the God of Israel is going to come through and take the firstborn son of every Egyptian household this was his message it was not a popular message but he was without question anointed of God for the task there was a little something that occurred in his conversation with God the Bible said that he said to the Lord Who am I that I should speak I am soul of speech I don't have any eloquence about me I'm not an orator I don't know how to articulate things well and the Lord the Bible said his anger was kindled against Moses Moses didn't even realize he had kindled the anger of God what a word kindled he just kind of set a match to the anger of God this is the anger of the Lord now I want to explain to you today that God does have anger he does he does have anger he is love he is love but God does have anger and I want to put it into the context for us to understand today Moses leaves this conversation with the Lord but there was a blind spot in his life he was looking at Israel in Egypt he was looking at the hand of God on his life he was looking at delivering the people out of Egypt he couldn't wait to get over there and start doing what God had called him to do but there was a little thing that lurked in his own private life that was against God that displeased God it was something Moses had never tended to it had to do with the circumcision of his own son circumcision to God was important in the Old Testament it symbolized the Covenant that God had with man it was something that was in place since Abraham and it was a way that man could show God I'm in covenant with you I trust you I believe you I'm walking in obedience with you and when it didn't happen it was a lack of obedience it was a lack of covenant and Moses had all these things in a row he was ready to go to Egypt he was ready to fulfill God's call on his life the purpose of God was going to flow through him he was excited about going but in his private life in his home there was something wrong there he wasn't paying attention to his own son's covenant with God he wasn't paying attention to make sure that his house was ready to be right with God and the Lord even though he had called Moses to his purpose the Bible said that the Lord waited privately to kill him because of a blind spot in Moses life thankfully Zipporah his wife who was Ethiopian it had no appreciation for this whole circumcision thing didn't understand the symbolism of it didn't make any sense and I'm gonna tell you something ladies and gentlemen there are some things God may require of you that don't make sense to you don't don't hold your own opinion above the decrees of God it doesn't have to make sense to us he's God and we're not God I know that in America we are independent we believe in Liberty and I pray we continue to believe in Liberty and I pray we continue to believe in Independence but don't let that independent streak taint your relationship with God true freedom is found in covenant with the Lord true freedom is found in relationship with God Oh hallelujah no no it is God who hath made us and not we ourselves we are his people and we are the Sheep of his pasture it's not the other way around he's not our people we are his people the Bible said that he has chosen us as a people so that we can be his people and he can be our God that's not an equal relationship he's God and we're the people we're not a God unto ourselves and we don't get to look up at God and say who do you think you are requiring certain things of me he created the earth and all things that are therein he created you and he created me he knows who we are he knows what we need and when he gives a command he does it for a reason it's not arbitrary he understands the mysteries of the foundations of the earth hey I don't understand fully why Zipporah felt moved but she did and she proceeded with the circumcision of Moses son and and she was a little frustrated by it she said I don't understand this and you're a bloody husband unto me because of this act but she did it and in so doing it she saved his life and Moses lived all of that manner that gnosis was connected to those tablets of stone that Moses was connected to the parting of the Red Sea that Moses was connected to all of that Moses almost had no part in it because of a blind spot in his life and I think oh I think Oh God help me not to have any blind spots in my life oh god help me not to have something that I'm just running merrily along trying to do what God has called me to do I'm trying to do a work for the Lord and sometimes we can get so arrogant as to think because God is so gracious and because God is so merciful and because God is so loving in his kindness that somehow he's gonna overlook the stuff in my life I know this pleases him I know he's not happy about it and I know his word speaks against it but he's so good and he's so kind and he's so loving hey friend you've got a blind spot in your life you're allowing something to prevent you from seeing the big picture Oh hallelujah Psalm 103 and verse 8 I want to read it to you if we can pull that up I just want to read to you because this is important for you to understand in this dispensation of grace Psalm 103 and verse number 8 teaches us about the goodness of God the Lord is merciful and the Lord is gracious everybody say Amen the Lord is slow to anger everybody say thank God the Lord is plenteous in mercy and then we should preach that that the Lord is merciful he is gracious he is slow to anger and he is plenteous in mercy but the part of that that we seldom concentrate on is there is anger he might be slow to it but it's there and some of us have never even witnessed the anger of God some of us have been so covered by mercy and grace that we've never even seen the anger of God I'm gonna tell you you and I could never stand up under the raw anger of God we could never we could never survive and encounter with the raw anger of God I don't ever want to be on the receiving end of the raw anger of God and then I just want you to understand sometimes that there are blind spots in our life things David called them secret faults secret faults things I don't know exist stuff I may be doing I didn't know was just pleasing to God let me tell you something there have been times in the Holy Ghost praying to the Lord weeping in an altar hearing the preaching of the word where the word will come forth and as I'm hearing the word something will come up into my thinking and I'll realize wait a minute there's something in me that needs to change there's something I'm doing that is displeasing to the Lord there's a certain way I treat people there's a certain way that I that I act there there's a there's a particular way that I believe about something that is displeasing to the Lord thank God for every moment like that where the convicting word of God who reached down into your heart and begin to transform you into who God wants you to be there's another scriptural encounter a scriptural illustration of a blind-spot man by the name of Balaam he was he was called upon by Balak the king of the Moabites and Midianites to bring a curse upon the Jewish people and Balaam was called upon to curse them and they were going to give him all kinds of money to do so and Balaam heard that that they wanted him to curse the Israelites and so he got prepared to do it and he called upon the Lord as to what he should do and the Lord said don't curse whom I have blessed and Balaam looked at those who came he said I don't care how much money you got I'm I'm not doing nothing I'm not cursing I'm not cursing who God has blessed and and and and so then the the scripture says that they inquired again of him but we need you to do this they they multiplied they and they are spread out and and we're afraid of them and we need you to curse them so he went back to the Lord and said they really wanted me to curse these folks and the Lord said fine do it you know how when you go to your parents and you say Please Please Please Please Please Please Please Please Please Please Please Please and they say no no no no no no and then finally you just wore them out and they say whatever whatever fine go ahead I don't care whatever that does not mean yes and be very careful if you take that as a yes Balaam Balaam was like please please please that's a lot of money please Lord and let me just at least go see what they're talking about and the Lord said fine go do it and as Balaam went to do it the Bible says the Lord was angry that he would go and the Bible said the Lord dispatched an angel as an adversary to stand in the way now hear what I'm telling you it's scary enough for an angel to show up the good angels are scary the good angels have to say be not afraid peace be unto thee the good angels got to do that I don't want an angel that's coming as an adversary who stands with a sword in the way and here's the most terrifying part Balaam couldn't see it it was a blind spot he wanted that money he wanted that advantage you know what he even turned let me let me back up he turned down the money so this tells us something about Balaam and about ourselves even more important to him than the money was the accolade they placed on him you're a great prophet we really value your religious spiritual insight and if you speak it matters to us and to them and they will absolutely come under a withering curse if you will curse them and so Balaam felt puffed up that he was seen as this great prophet and he went forward to to provide this curse potentially perhaps maybe and the Lord sent an angel standing there with a sword in the way he was riding his donkey his donkey saw the angel Balaam didn't he was blind to it the whole time and the donkey tried to veer off the path and and Balaam smoked the donkey and the Bible said that that the angel went into a way that where there was a wall here and there was a wall there and the angel was was there and Balaam never would have made it through he would have died as soon as he came in contact with the angel sword but the donkey pressed up against the wall and he crushed baylin's foot and Balaam smote the donkey again and the Bible says that the third time the donkey absolutely collapsed and David smoked the donkey again and said why are you acting this way and the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey and the donkey forbade the madness the madness of the Prophet are you insane are you mad have you lost your mind I need I need God to say that to me sometimes Joel have you lost have you done lost your ever-loving mind I brought you out of that stuff and now you're gonna go back into you I delivered your father's from that sauce doctrine and now you're gonna go back into it have you lost your mind I'm gonna tell you something hey hey wake up God God begins to put things in your life to prevent you slow you down and you just keep on down you're arrogant rebellious bitter path have you lost your mind why are you beating me the donkey said I'm trying to save you and the Bible says the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam and he saw something standing in his path that he never knew was there it was the angel of the Lord with a drawn sword ready to slay him oh I know you wanna you wanna shout about mercy are you - you want to dance about grace I do - but but don't don't misunderstand it's the New Testament that tells us see that you walk circumspectly not as fool's but as wise it is possible to walk so we'll circumspect walking means that you better look around everywhere everywhere you better watch make sure you know what's going on now this is important not as fools not with paranoia not with some kind of a of a fleshly fear and a crippling anxiety but with wisdom I want to make sure I'm not gonna believe every spirit I'm gonna try the spirits whether they be of God and every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh it is not a God walk circumspectly that means look everywhere you got why cuz you've got blind spots and stuff can prevent you from seeing things as they are hi the first time I really came in contact with the term blind spot was in driver's ed thank the Lord for drivers there y'all don't want to know me without driver's ed in my life driver's ed helped me put the fear of God in me they sit us down in that room and show us what could happen if we're not paying attention and and what could happen if you're not wearing your seat belt and what could happen if you're just driving crazy and they kept talking about blind spots and they said you've got mirrors for a reason you got to look in those mirrors and I don't care whose car you get in you've got to adjust the mirrors if you're five foot two or seven foot two and you get in my car you're gonna have to adjust the mirrors so that they fit where you are and and and what your what your life experience has been you've got to you've got to get it for yourself I'm just gonna go ahead and preach it to you the way the Lord gave it to me the scripture said that a man that is a that is a hearer of the word and not a doer of the word is like a man that look at his face in a glass and see is alls it all his flaws but but does nothing to correct them in other words the Word of God is your mirror this is your mirror you've got to check yourself out here this is what shows you what's going on when I first met sister Heidi and I wanted to make a good impression I was about to go talk to her and I thought oh no I can't just go walking up I got a run to where there's a mirror and I walked up to that mirror and I was checking everything out I got to make sure I'm looking smooth and then I'm gonna move make my move talk try to be as cool as I can be we all need a mirror sometimes sometimes you don't find out 30 minutes into a day that that man I needed a mirror somebody should have said something to me lord have mercy we need a mirror and if you're driving a car with no mirrors you're in trouble you try to change lanes with no mirrors you're in trouble you try to drive through some some rush-hour traffic with no word in your life you're in trouble that's why you keep having fender bender that's why you end up in pile ups that's why you win that's why you get thrust out the window because you're not checking the word of God before you make life decisions mercy I'll tell you what else helps it helps to have a passenger in the passenger's side seat of the car it helped my wife is my GPS finally she just said hey you know what if you feel like turning left that probably means you ought to turn right just as a general principle it's the truth I'll get lost going home today I have no idea where I'm going I'll just I'll just let her just say no turn left okay turn right okay I've learned to depend on that and when I don't have that in the passenger-side I've started having issues I got to start doing things for myself let me tell you sometimes you need a passenger in the car with you and I just want to tell you I'm not I'm not floating my boat I'm just in a god-ordained position but that's why you need a pastor because you need you need somebody in that car with you so that when you can't see it quite right you can say hey can you look over into that lane is anybody coming that's why you need accountability in the church and you need fellowship with the believers you tryna you trying to drive cross country with nobody in the car with you you need fellowship you need pastoral accountability you need brothers and sisters in the Lord hey I'm thinking about making a lane change I got to get over there quick cuz look that says it's in a quarter of a mile and I got four lanes to get across and it's a busy interstate I can't see I can't see real well can you help me is there anybody coming no you got it alright anybody coming now no wait wait wait alright now though now you know what you need a passenger you need mirrors and I'm gonna tell you something in 2020 it's harder to drive than it used to be because we got all these newfangled mechanisms in the car that give us a false sense of security I've almost stopped looking over my shoulder when I back out cuz I got everything on the screen shows my old neighborhood and if there's a dog walking three blocks away bbbbbb baby I'm come to rely on man-made innovations as to whether I'm gonna be safe or not but those things can now function those things can mess up a little bit of bad weather and the sensors will get fogged over you better not depend on man you better check your blind spots you better check walk circumspectly not as fool's but as wise glory Oh hallelujah hallelujah and you know you do it long enough you drive long enough and you you develop an instinct for driving hallelujah I see my girls getting nervous sometime in the middle of bad weather and I'll say do you know who you're driving with I have been doing this for so long snow get scared of me there's a joel advisory he's coming up on these roads again you develop you develop an instinct if you drive long enough and you gotta make snap decisions and not a mirror is gonna help you and not a passenger is gonna help you something will dart out and you gotta know whether to hold the wheel or move you need instincts you need reflexes that's the Holy Ghost you need the holy go and I'm not talking about just poking in tongues one time I'm talking about being filled with the Holy Ghost praying through everyday I'm talking about stirring up the gift that is in you oh [Music] come on winces a narrow pathway I was in Louisiana this week driving from New Orleans up to Bogalusa you've probably never you've heard of New Orleans you've probably never heard of Bogalusa it was 82nd annual Bogalusa Bible conference I drove across 25 miles of a bridge it was narrow and there wasn't a very big guardrail about about that high it's a narrow way and I'm gonna tell you this walk with God is a more narrow way than you realize I will tell you that the broad is the way that leads to destruction you me to give you some New Testament Scriptures because you talking about all this is just Balaam Old Testament this is Moses Old Testament let me give you some new testament scriptures in the New Testament he said it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God [Applause] how about this New Testament scripture if the ungodly shall scarcely be saved and the center where then does the righteous appear if the right just scarcely be saved if the righteous scarcely be saved where then does the center and the ungodly appear that's New Testament let me give you more New Testament Paul said on Mars Hill that that back back in the day they used to grave dogs of silver and gold and iron and brass and he said and the times of this ignorance God once winked that's Old Testament in the Old Testament God would wink at their ignorance but he said now that the veil has been read now that the blood has been shed now God commanded all men everywhere my lord have mercy did you hear what I said he didn't say God commands some men some places he said God commanded all men everywhere to repent that's New Testament blind spots blind spots and one of the biggest blind spots you have is the fact that you is that is that there are there is a culture in our society that is trying to make Christianity so cool that it doesn't look act sound or believe like anything different from the world the car with the greatest blind spots Consumer Reports says is the Porsche Boxster every one of us wants a Porsche Boxster if you have one you ought to sell it and give the money to ready now thank you Jesus man I don't even know where that came from that must have just been under the unction of the Holy Ghost but the Porsche Boxster is so cool and it moves so it's so smooth but there are so many blind spots in it I'm gonna tell you can you can try to make your walk with God so cool that everybody in the world will envy it and it's something that everybody wants but the Bible says that Jesus there was nothing no form nor comeliness that we should desire anything of him he wasn't trying to be cool he was trying to save a lost and a dying world we've made we've made American culture I should say has turned Christianity into something that you can't tell the difference between Christianity in the world and you people don't even know what they're getting saved from anymore you can try to make things so cool but you've got blind spots everywhere and you don't see the 18-wheeler barreling down in the lane next to you and you don't see the drunk driver coming in the other Lane next to you and you don't see the narrowness of the bridge you're on because you have so many blind spots oh god help us help us help us somebody needs to be like that blind man in Jesus day who said she have mercy upon me Jesus walked over to one blind man and he spit in the ground and he put his hand in the spittle mixed it with the clay put it in the man's eyes and the man washed in the pool of Siloam and the Lord opened his eyes another man received his healing of blindness and when he did he looked at Jesus and said I see men as trees walking Jesus said you need another touch somebody in this place I don't know what kind of a what kind of a burning bush experience you've had I'm not questioning that I'm not questioning to call a girl in your life I'm not questioning how God has purpose for you I'm not questioning how he's anointed you how he's called you but I do know you need another touch because you've got some blind spots you've got some angels with swords drawn on your path if you don't make some changes in the name of Jesus somebody lift up your hands right now say Lord open my eyes Lord open my eyes Lord open eyes come on somebody call out to him like like you need a touch from the Holy Ghost come on somebody call out to him like you need Jesus to intervene thank you Jesus thank you Jesus thank you Jesus thank you Jesus thank you Jesus thank you Jesus thank you Jesus come on stand with me right now stand with me in the presence of the Lord hallelujah hallelujah the Bible said if our gospel is hid it is hid to them that are lost in whom the god of this world and he's not talking about the Lord Jehovah he's talking about the Prince of the power of the air he's talking about Satan in whom the god of this world had blinded blinded blinded the minds of them which believe not lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ who is the image of God should shine unto them we're living in a world where spiritual blindness is rampant spiritual blindness is rampant oh I feel this so strong in the Holy Ghost right now some of you derive more inspiration from the world than you do the church and it is the blind leading the blind and you're both going to fall into a ditch some of you are more tuned in to the thoughts and the concepts and and the ideas of the world then you are the truth of God's Holy Word and you're gonna stumble over that barely-there guardrail into an abyss of God's anger and wrath why would you take upon yourself God's anger when Jesus already did oh I feel your presence Lord I feel your presence Lord I wonder if there's somebody right now Oh God who wants to walk circumspectly you want to make sure look over your shoulder look over both shoulders check both mirrors check your rear-view mirror ask the passenger is there anybody coming you're trying to navigate some serious things I know and things are going on 80 and 85 90 miles an hour all around you I get it it's a fast-paced world but you're gonna end up in a collision that takes your life if you don't manage the blind spots in your life come on Moses God has a work for you God has a work for you Samson don't be blinded by Delilah's beauty God has a work-free David David no no don't be blinded that Bathsheba's temptation God has an anointing on your life don't let these blind spots get to you don't let the blind spot of bitterness don't let the blind spot a bitterness take your walk with God don't let the blind spot of unforgiveness some of you are still holding grudges from years ago and God God is trying to lead you into a path oh god I need you Jesus come I need somebody to come forward and say Lord open my eyes I need somebody to come forward and say Lord open my eyes come on in the name of Jesus Lord opened my eyes come on that's it in the name of Jesus in the name of Jesus [Music] here is wrong judges your pee [Music] let God open the eyes open your eyes - destructive habits - you're teaming tomorrow in your eyes as we draw [Music] side [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] confusion confusion aside [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] come on lift up your hands all across this building come on let the Word of God reach you right now moving you right now come on don't let this moment pass you by don't let this moment pass you by God wants to reach you God wants to give you direction he wants to make a change in your heart in your mind Jesus Lord come on that's it open up your mouth and cry out to him [Music] Oh [Music] [Music]

Channel: Tree Of Life Church Cincinnati Ohio

Views: 1,804

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Id: _t6jlLuhmzs

Length: 105min 57sec (6357 seconds)

Published: Sun Feb 23 2020