"Don't Get Back to Normal" Part 1 | Pastor Debleaire Snell

on next Sabbath so Acts chapter 9 and verse 1 when you get there we're gonna go ahead and begin with the scripture reading Acts chapter 9 and verse 1 when you get there just say amen amen I heard some of y'all at home Amen Exeter chapter 9 verse 1 Bible says then saw still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord went to the high priests and asked letters from him to the synagogue's of Damascus so that if he found any who were of the way whether men or women he might bring them down to Jerusalem and as he journeyed he came near Damascus and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven then he fell to the ground and he heard a voice from saying to him Saul Saul why are you persecuting me and he said who are you lord then the Lord said I am Jesus whom you are persecuting it is hard for you to kick against the goads so he trembling and astonished said and this is of course all of us need to be asking today Lord what do you want me to do then the Lord said to him arise and go to the city and you will be told what you must do and the men who journeyed with him stood speechless hearing a voice but seeing no one today as we just begin this series I want to talk for a little while under the subject don't get back to normal don't get back to north let's let's pray together father the culture is has a great necessity to get back to the way it was but there's some things I believe in the spiritual realm that you don't want to go back to the way that it was so Lord I'm praying today that in the preaching of the word that you would give revelation that is specific for our church in this time and so Lord I'm praying that you will give me boldness to proclaim the word and that you would give your people the faith to be able to hear and receive the word so Lord once again would you please hide me in the shadows of the cross that Jesus alone might be seen that Christ alone would be heard and at the end of all things may Jesus alone be praised we ask this in the Magnificent name of Jesus that God's people say together amen and amen [Music] you know Saints one of the things that amazes me is the complete transparency of the scriptures you know the Bible doesn't try even a little bit to hide the flaws of those that we deemed to be the heroes of faith in fact you can read the Bible from cover to cover and with the exception of Jesus the Bible is gonna put on display these shortcomings of those that we tend to put on a pedestal in fact to even use the word shortcomings is somewhat of an understatement because the Bible doesn't just put the shortcomings the Bible shows the scandal the Bible shows their rebellion the Bible shows their lapses in faith the Bible puts on display the utter faultiness of humanity which shows us beloved that the scripture is not just a list of man's triumphs the the scripture is a story of how God is long-suffering with the shortcomings of humanity in other words like the Bible does not hide Abraham's deceit or Sara's unbelief or Jacobs trickery it does not hide noah's drunkenness it doesn't hide the murder of Moses it does not hide Aaron's idolatry the bible does not hide Samson's fornication or David's adultery or Solomon's polygamy it does not hide Jonah's rebellion or Peters bigotry or even Paul's ego and the reason the Bible is so transparent is that he wants us to understand that the gospel is for imperfect people in fact the reason the Bible is so transparent about our faultiness is twofold the reason God shows you the flaws of man is to show us number one the attainability of salvation now the reason that's important is that I never celebrate the downfalls or the failures of other people but the failures of the great men of God they do give me a little bit of hope to know that if God can be loan suffering to people that are messed up and with repeat offenses it gives me a little bit of hope that God can be merciful to somebody that's messed up like me see how many of us understand that all of us have a representative in the scripture because the truth is that some of us have a little David in our past some of us have a little Rahab in our past some of us have a little Mary Magdalene in our past some of us have a little Jonah in our past some of y'all being a little spiritual because some of us ain't even in our past some of us is still in our present because the truth is that some of us still have the fearfulness of Gideon some of us still have the impulsiveness of Peter some of us still have the doubting of Thomas and see I need us to understand that the scripture shows all these things to be clear that God's grace is sufficient you see how many of us know that the gospel is not four perfect people in other words the gospel is not an assist to help you save yourself the gospel is not for those who are lawkeepers as a safety net when you come sort of his glory the gospel in of itself is the announcement that I can't save myself it's an announcement that only his grace is sufficient in fact the gospel doesn't take root until I approach it like the old hymn writer when I say nothing to him I bring simply took across I agree it is only when we realized that his grace is sufficient that the gospel can take place the second reason that the scripture is transparent is to teach us that our deliverance comes with a responsibility now I need y'all to get this because notice that the Bible it ah does not send angels to preach the gospel to fallen mankind and the reason that God didn't send angels to preach is that angels have not had the experience of having a fallen nature they can appreciate the power of forgiveness and they can't rejoice over the gift of redemption in other words the Angels can't preach the sermons that we can preach because they have not lived the lives that we have had to live in other words the gospel is only powerful as it is transmitted from one fallen man to another fallen man which shows beloved that your past does not disqualify you your past is what gives you credibility to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and I want to say this with somebody that's got an imperfect past don't you be ashamed of your testimony don't you be ashamed of where God has brought you from because it is your checkered past that gives you the credibility to the preach to fallen people in other words your deliverance comes with a responsibility in other words let me say it this way a couple of weeks ago our brother Goodman sent me a great article on how antibodies worked in the body and in fact you know whenever there is a pandemic like this there is always the use of what they call blood plasma therapy in other words in pandemics like measles or the Spanish flu or Ebola what they do is they harvest blood plasma from those who have survived the disease in other words when you have survived what happens is your body produces antibodies generated by your immune system but in order to turn it to a drug what they have to do is they have to harvest the blood plasma they have to test it for safety him they have to isolate the protective antibodies but after they've taken out the protective antibodies when they inject it into a new play vation understands the antibodies produced what they call passive immunity y'all y'all not hearing me today in other words what happens is when you get passive immunity the empty bodies are able to strengthen your immune system until your immune system is able to produce white blood cells on its own in other words when somebody recovers they automatically have a responsibility to help somebody who is where they once came out of now how many of us understand that if you've never had the disease then your blood can't help nobody else if your blood has never been contaminated then you're not a benefit to nobody that's sick but understand that when you come out of the virus and when you recovered from the disease it is the disease that actually qualifies you to be a blessing to somebody else and how many of us know that all we are in the church are spiritual antibodies we've been infected by the disease of sin but because of the blood of Jesus we've been able to funk as survivors we've been able to overcome and God has not just called us to live with freedom but we are to take what helped us survive and pour it into somebody else so that they can find the deliverance that we walk in as believers are y'all hearing me today sales and so today I want us to look real quick at the life of the Apostle Paul before he was converted as a man named Saul because I believe that Saul was one of the major spiritual antibodies of the New Testament now again I just want to be clear I'm not gonna get through it all today but I just want to lift a few principles from the spiritual from the scripture and I'm gonna take my seat today now before we get into the confrontation of Paul I believe that this story in Acts chapter 9 is instructive in a number of different ways but the first thing that this story teaches us is that you can miss the answer to your prayers if you're only willing to receive one answer first thing this teaches us is that you can miss the answer to your prayers if you're only willing to receive one answer what are you talking about pastor let's go back to the text here we find Saul before he is converted the word says Anthony that he is breathing out murderous intentions to the church or the body of Christ now not to be clear that that free convert of Saul he only has one objective he wants to put a lid or cap on the spread of the gospel of Jesus Christ now you got to get Curtis that as a devout Jew that supports all he sees the gospel as some new-age hippie movement that simply needs to be kept in check as they devout Jew and a member of the Sanhedrin and a member of the elite community he makes no room in his mind that this Jesus who was a vagabond carpenter there's no way that this cat from Nazareth could be the savior of the world but the irony is that as a devout Jews the arrival of the Messiah was the linchpin upon which all of their holds hinge in other words it was the arrival of the Savior that was the foundation of all of their prayers from the establishment of David's throne until the time Paul lives every prayer that was prayed was about the coming of the Messiah in other words Jesus was who they had been praying for and it's crazy to me to think that the answer to the prayer was amongst them for 30 years in secret unrecognized the answer to the prayer went three and a half years out in the open and very demonstrative ways and it's crazy because in their minds they're waiting for the prayer to be answered when the prayer has already come to pass in other words the prayer has already been answered the promise has already been fulfilled and there's this interesting frustration in Judaism because they're still praying for something to happen that's already happened they still pray for something to come that's already come and the reason they're frustrated is because they think that God hasn't answered the prayer and the reason that God is frustrated is because they haven't acknowledged that the answer to the prayer has already been delivered and can I suggest today Saints that this same tension still exists between God and his followers because there are times where we want God to move in such a specific way that we get offended when God moves in his ordained way and see one of the things I've learned the hard way and I pray that somebody get this that you don't get so blinded by your specifics that you miss out on God's spectacular in other words I need buddy to understand that God has spectacular plans for your life he has plans to prosper you plans to give you a future and a hope plans that are so spectacular that exceed your highest imaginations and thoughts but don't get so caught in specifics that you miss out on God's spectacular what do you mean pastor you see it's one of the things about us and our fallen nature is that sometimes we can be spiritually myopic and narrow in our view and sometimes we don't realize as the old folk used to say that God works in mysterious ways am i preaching to anybody in this room today see let me just give you an example there's some of us that have been praying the prayer and saying Lord I need you to help me to have more time with my family but then when quarantine came we complained about it not realizing that quarantine was an answer to the prayer that you prayed there was somebody that testified that pastor they've been asking God to help them be stable financially but then they were upset when they were never rejected they were not able to get a house about our six months ago but they did not realize that Kovac was going to come and their job was gonna be taken away and they didn't realize that when they were asking God to keep them that God was keeping them that from a debt that was going to be greater than their income there are times where we pray for God to bring the family together but sometimes the only way he can bring the family together is by letting somebody fall asleep in Jesus there are times where we pray God give me patience and faith in Christ's likeness then we get mad at every circumstance that grows faith and patience and Christ's likeness there are times where we pray lord give me a godly partner but then we get mad when God gives somebody that's gonna make you pray and call you to moral accountability and that's not gonna sit down and watch any old thing with you because they are walking in the spirit and I guess what I'm saying is don't get so specific that you miss out on God's spectacular see how many of us know that God doesn't have to do it like you want him to do it he doesn't have to send it when you wanted to send it it has got to look how you want it to look but you got to get to that place where you remove all your preference and all your specifics and how you want it done and say like the old song anyway you bless me Lord I'll be satisfied don't let the specifics make you miss out on God's spectacular are y'all here in the word today so go back with me if you will to Acts chapter 9 and verse number 1 the Bible says then saw still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord went to the high priest and asked letters from him to the synagogue's of Damascus so that if he found any who were of the way whether men or women that he might bring them bound into Jerusalem now the second thing that our story teaches us today Saints is that sometimes it's a good thing for things to not get back to normal now now beloved hello laughs now see I need you to understand what drives this God named Saul is this innate need that he has to see everything get back to normal so I need you to get who soul is that Saul is an up and coming rising star in Judaism here's a member of the Sanhedrin but you got to get loose all is Saul is a defender of the Jewish religion he is a defender of the religious establishment Saul is one that wants to preserve order and tradition and the way it was at all costs since I need you understand that that's all like even though he does some wicked stuff like so all accounts is not a wicked man I need you to get that like if you were to look at Saul's life that every measurable tool they use to measure religion that Saul would be off the charts in fact when he describes himself in the book of Philippians yo u boy so he says I counted as dung now but he says man I was a hebrew of hebrews he says our circumcised on the eighth day of the tribe of benjamin as it relates to the law a Pharisee and when he says when it comes down to the righteousness of law keeping he says I was topless in that joint in other words he says that when it comes down to all the religious metrics of the time okay nobody's stand up next to me so I mean forget that Saul is not this guy that persecutes the church cause he hates religion that's not who he is so eats religion so breathes religion so whose is religion in fact all of his efforts are in attempt in his mind to preserve right religion on your whip in length now I need you to understand the reason he is offended and he is so zealous about what he does is that this new Christian faith what it literally teaches is that the old Judaism our Joe all our religion of Judaism is now obsolete in other words what the claims of the gospel is is that the works of the cross literally have nullified all of the types and symbols that comprise the Old Covenant there is nothing more offensive to a devout Jew than this idea of being saved by faith apart from the works all the responsibilities of the law in other words the reason that they hate Christianity is that Christianity doesn't have any measurables for conversion in other words you got to realize how you measure conversion see the problem with the Jewish religion at least how it manifested itself before Jesus is that all the metrics of conversion outward in other words the way you measure conversion before Jesus it was based upon when you got converted you had to be circumcised you had to start keeping the Sabbath you had to change the way that you ate you had to wash your hands a certain way you had the fast a certain number of days you had to make sure you attended the temple service in other words everything that suggested you were converted had to be seen or measured with the eyes but the reason they don't really like this newfound faith is because it doesn't have a clear set of rules by which you establish on measure somebody's conversion and see I need y'all to understand that what the pastor is saying I believe that when you get converted I do believe that conversion is obvious but the problem when you make all the signs of conversion outward what happens is you create inspectors and not apostles and what happens when you make all the signs of conversion outward is you create actors and not disciples and see the reason saints of God the church is lacking power the reason that we lack anointing the reason we don't preach like we used to preach the reason we don't pray with heavens Authority the reason we don't see apostolic work in our time is that because of our approach to religion we've created more actors and less disciples and what they learn how to do is modify their behavior in order to pass the human inspection and satisfy the standards of the church but the problem is that they were never born again they were never regenerated they were never filled with the Holy Ghost they never had the love of Jesus at work in their hearts are y'all hearing me today let's see I need us understand the reason that we use lost credibility with the community the reason we even lose credibility with our own children is that based upon our external conversion practices what happens is our skirts get longer and our faces get cleaner and our ears get lighter and our meals get healthier but we still never have freedom and we still never have joy and we still never learn what it means to be a child of the Most High God as you have each other get what I'm saying see the issue with Judaism and still some segments of Adventism is we still are trying to focus conversion on outward samples see how must understand Saints that Christianity does not begin with how I look but Christianity does not begin with what I wear and how I look and how I present it begins its work in my heart but see the problem with some of the contemporary church is that we become fruit inspectors instead of root developers are you hear what I'm saying today see see I need y'all to understand the problem when transformation starts on the outside it stays on the outside ok i'ma preach it anyway today see the problem with transformation that starts on the outside is that it stays on the outside see the problem with external transformation is that it's not thorough it's not pervasive it never gets down on the inside of the soul see the problem with an external transformation is that as soon as you pass the inspection and you're considered good and in regular standing what happens is your spiritual light black holes because you satisfied those are the requirements are being seen as a good member are y'all hear me and see how many of us understand the love it that the world that the world does not have a problem with hi church standards that is not why we lost credibility with the world said let us understand the issues that our children have it's not with high church standards I need your understanding that I believe in all of the standards of the church but see the reason we struggle Justin is because we we keep the standards only in though in a lopsided way we only keep the standards that are visible to the outside and what I mean when I say this see the problem is not that you don't wear makeup or that you have a clean face the problem is not a clean face it's a clean face with an impure heart see see the issue is not that that we teach you mama see ain't nobody mad that you have a long skirt but but see it's not credible when you have a long skirt and a short temper see see see the issue beloved it is not that you changed the way you eat in fact I believe that God has given us this health message well ahead of a time like this but the problem was not the health message Curtis and Paula it was with the way some folk handled it we treated it as a means by which we can judge somebody's spirituality and so we were never mad that you admonished us to eat clean but the problem is that you eat clean but you talk nasty about thought she had let us understand that the problem is not that you keep the Sabbath what makes folk mad is that you're meticulous in keeping the Sabbath but you couldn't keep your marriage and your family together are you hearing what I'm saying nobody's mad that you don't go to the movies but it's stupid that you don't go to the theater but you'll bring dirt and filth and put it on a big screen and bring the devil into your house and see the issue is that we put all of our emphasis on outward standards but we never got transformed and born again and we never learned how to live up the real meanings of the law or y'all hear me today Saints see it is literally what Jesus says he says that you all your religion of the Pharisees y'all are like whitewashed up liquors that I'm full of bit their men's bones he literally says that's what salih do is y'all are going clean the outside of the vessel but the inside is still filled with all types of impurities because you settle for just an outward experience with dollar it's just like this man I'm blessed manhood my oldest two kids in recent y'all year so they had to kind of assume dish duty in the house I need you know man we ain't busting no more sir down there I got a ten-year-old and a seven-year-old who are well able to watch dishes my trash taking out days and dishwashing days are in the rearview mirror can I get a witness to all the daddies out there today but it's crazy because see one of the things about kids when they wash dishes is that even though they work hard and they do their best sometimes you got to realize that for them sometimes to go eight to get the dish clean that that sometimes the go is just for it to pass inspection and so sometimes if it's a plastic bowl or a or a marble dish that's that you can't see through like sometimes men what they'll do is they will clean the outside that job would be sparkling off because they just want to make sure it can get in the cabinet without Daddy paying no attention to that joint but sometimes if you turn that drun on the inside I mean it will look like ain't nothing been done to it at all and and so I need to understand that sometimes when when the kids may bring me a cup with some juice in it I need you to know that you when I get a cup of my hand I can't just take that joint and turn it up no no I gotta first take a look on the inside just see what's on the inside and that means you'll understand my issue is not with the content of the cup I'm just nervous about the cleanliness of the container yard and hear that today and see the reason that folks are tentative to taste and see that the Lord is good it's not that they're worried about the content but they got suspicion about the containers because we've been so good about cleaning the outside while allowing the inside to remain unpolished and untell are you're hearing me today sense so I need to get what Paul is telling me what Paul man I mean he met as a snake because his whole goal is just to get this Jewish Church back to normal he is unsettled by all this change see that's why salt wants he just wants to be able to go into the temple on the Sabbath day and stand up to read like Saul just wants to get back to the day where everybody gathered and everything is like it was but Paul one says he wants two traditions back he wants the orthodoxy back he wants the the religious establishment back like if you bought Paul was here he would sing with boys to men it's so hard to say goodbye to yesterday are y'all hearing what I'm saying and it's crazy because in his trip to Damascus to try to set things back in order he is literally intercepted by the very presence of Jesus himself and the reason that Jesus intercepts Paul on his mission to get things back the way that they were was because God was trying to stop Paul from trying to get things back to normal that God never wanted to go back the way they were and the reason I'm talking to First Church specifically is that there is an angst amongst us because what we want more than anything is we want to just get back to church like normal we just want we just want to get back like it was we just want to do things the way we've always done them and I guess what I wondered in the secret place for the last several weeks is getting church back like it was gonna be the antithesis of getting Church where it needs to be see I need us to understand that there's a part of me that is wondering Saints no matter where your church is whether or not God wants us to just get back to normal or is God using circumstances to take us to a higher plane since a I need us to understand that sometimes the church grows better when it's scattered and third then it does when it functions like it's normal so so so only the Bible readers will understand what I'm about to say remember when Jesus before he ascended in Acts chapter 1 in verse 8 he says you shall receive power when the Holy Ghost shall come upon you and you shall be witnesses of me in Jerusalem and Judea and Mariya and to the other ends of the earth but have you ever read the book of Acts and notice that between Acts chapter one and Acts chapter eight did you notice that the disciples at that point even though they baptized 5,000 in a day they still have not left the confines of the city of Jerusalem what has happened in that time is that by the time you get Acts chapter six is that selfishness is back in the church as they begin to the dispute over the distribution between the Jews and the Greeks now you got a place where all this happened against the gospel is going to folk that look like Peter Paul and James in other words they're about to make our Christianity a simply a Jewish click where they don't believe in Judaism but they only believe in Jesus and it was not until the persecution that breaks forth in Acts chapter 8 that they actually begin to spread the gospel down into Samaria and begin to take it to the uttermost parts of the earth and other words the church didn't really become the church until the church got scattered and until the church got stirred y'all hear what I'm saying another reason that is important for somebody else to understand is that they loved one another when they were scattered they worked with more urgency when they were scattered they were more attentive to the mission when they were scattered they were more zealous about the gospel when they were scattered in other words in order for the work to go forward he couldn't just let them cook together in Jerusalem and meet peacefully on the Sabbath day because Christianity would have never been born it would have just simply been a new version of the Jewish religion but in order for it to become what it needed to become God had to shake it God had to scattering God had to stir it because if he didn't stir it it was just clump together and be a clique what are you talking about fast let me head this way listen I'll be honest with you I won't be in the kitchen a whole lot but as a southerner one thing I can do is I can make some grits so I have a witness in this room today this I need you to know that my grits I almost said surrender Kurtis and Paulo they will put you in the grave they got salt and butter all in them joints but like one of the things you got to know about good grits is that when you making grits how many of us know that you can't never let grits just settle now when you make us some grits you got to be stirring them joints the whole time because guess what the moment you stop stirring what happens is they just don't clump together and they just gonna become a solid block in other words they can't expand if you don't stir they came multiply if you don't stir they can't heat up if you don't stir up and how many of us know the church can become like unstirred grits we'll just clump together we'll lose our purpose we won't grow like we're supposed to grow we won't expand like we're supposed to expand and so God has to stir it scatter us so that we can become who God has ordained us to be are y'all hear me sakes and the reason I'm saying this to our church is I've seen some stuff during quarantine team that I didn't I didn't usually see when we would gather together it's crazy they see how we call and check on each other all the time since we've been in quarantine in an amazing how you know our when we come to Midway prayer meeting we only have a couple dozen at prayer meeting but but now when we've been in quarantine we have almost two hundred devices each morning coming together to call on the name of the Lord and pray and seek the study of God's Word it's crazy how when we call for people to come and serve for events we only get the same faithful few but now that we've been seeing poking quarantine I literally have to tell some of y'all not to come and we have to send some of y'all home now that we're being shaken and stirred isn't it amazing how usually during Sabbath school we got the same folk in here during lesson setting but during this adult Sabbath school we have about 200 folks on YouTube 200 on our the website and another on Facebook I'm need you to understand that I've always wanted the gospel to go worldwide but ever since we put the service virtually we have almost 20 countries every week that are watching and receiving the gospel of Jesus Christ man and I guess what I'm saying church is not that I don't ever want us to come back together again but what I'm saying is that the things that we've learned where we've been scattered we've got to bring those things back to church when we come back together when we come back together let's keep the same zeal keep the same concern keep the same mission keep the same sensitivity let's not go back to normal where I just come to my church and I park in my spot and I sit in my seat and I get mad if somebody else sits there where I come and I fold my arms in praise and worship instead of lifting my hand and I go home and I assess but I don't participate I complain but I don't contribute what I'm saying is that when we come back let's come back better let's stay prayerful let's stay spiritual let's stay studious let's stay hungry let's taste real about our witness let's stay aware prophetically let's stay relationally connected let's not go back to normal are you here to say because if we try to settle what we do is we go invoke literally more circumstances that cause us to be scattered and stirred so that we can be calm who God wants us to be somebody ought to say Amen to this word today 13 assault all teaches us this I need y'all know I'm almost done 13 teaches us is that number three you can do Satan's work in God's name now to be clear Saul's wickedness it is literally driven by an attempt to keep things like they are that's it not to be called weekly assault like Saul studies the scripture like as a devout Jew this God knows the first five books of the Bible by heart are you insane so I need to get that that even though he prays and goes to church because his zeal is mismanaged he literally becomes a tool in the hand of the enemy and he accomplishes Satan's biddings in God's name and it's amazing how God just steps to Saul he's tempted to do like he sent angels in times fast but jesus said let me get him I gotta talk to this guy taste the face and it's crazy because sometimes people be like yo pastor I want an experience like Saul I want that kind of experience with God no you don't know no that is not the kind of experience you want my god do you realize why God had to show up to saw with blinding crippling force the reason he had the short in that way was simply because Saul would not receive the word when you read a chapter 7 you read about how your boy Saul was there when your boy Stephen full of the Holy Ghost with his face aglow with the glory of God preaches one of the most thorough sermons ever to be preached how he literally takes the scripture like a sample and from all of Israelite history he is able to identify Christ as the Son of God and the risen Savior in fact the sermon was so good that they got so mad that they literally took rocks and hit him with them joints and his face is aglow with the glory of God as he peers into the heaven and he sees Jesus seated at the right hand of the glory of God and I need you to understand that Saul was staying and he heard the word but literally what acts of the Apostle says is that the more Saul was under such conviction that he goes back to the priest and to the Sanhedrin to see what they have to say and what they do is they push him back to the old beliefs and way and what she literally says is that when he goes back that saw proves himself right and let me just pause and say this but the reason some of us will never grow is because we're too good proving ourselves right okay can I just say here we just submitted brother back see the reason some of us won't grow and the reason we can't expand the reason we stopped confessing the same old sense is because we are very efficient at proving ourselves right in fact the truth is that even a way some of us study the Bible we don't really study the Bible for truth we study just to prove whenever we already believe to be right some of us were willing to discuss them with our stops we don't really listen in order to hear we listen so we can form a counter argument or a reply we just listen so we can prove ourselves listen I know this which I've done it myself come on as Haman listen listen another spirit be moved you confessed all in front of the church can you take it back when I get home lord have mercy somebody help me at this thing take the microphone from your boy listen say I need to understand the reason we can't go is because we try to prove ourselves right I literally the reason we have spiritual niches is because like we are in an attempt to stay like we are to prove ourselves right and let me just suggest to the body of Christ the thing that we need to be delivered from more than anything the more you need to be delivered from thing you need to be living from more than we more than crack more than porn more than sex more than fornication or adultery what we need to be delivered from is the need to prove ourselves rights why is that because one of the ways you prove yourself right is by attaching your religious preference to your faulty practice to justify doing whatever you want to do so so so what makes it palatable for Paul so to jail women and children and manhandle them in order to silence his screaming conscious is he's got to attach religious significance to it or else he wouldn't be able to sleep at night there's got to be something spiritual in order to justify his behavior so he can look himself in the mirror and see in other words the reason he's got to attach religious significance to it is because you'll never repent of a sin that you've sanctified see there are things that we can't repent of because we've sanctified them and yet some of us and this way you may turn off on the servants cooler mumbles done you already go to meet up it already see it's crazy how like like see see the worst sinner Saints it's not a street Center the worst kind of sinner is the religious center see see the reason I say that is because a street Center they always on the down-low they always operating in darkness they always undercut in other words they are in darkness so much that whenever they come into light they automatically under conviction so the worst kind of center is not a street center because they kind of know according to their conscience that they wrong about what they do but the worst kind of center is like salt it is a religious center that has learned out how to sanctify their sin practices and it's crazy how many Christians both white and black that have learned how to sanctify their bigotry in a crazy how some of us have learned how to sanctify our pride it's crazy how some of us have even learned how to sanctify leaving the church is a trip now some of us have learned how to sanctify gossip if I just pass it along as a prayer request how we learn how to sanctify not speaking to people we've learned how to sanctify not serving in church and now we got a whole new generation of young people that have learned how to sanctify smoking weed because god bless every or every every herb yielding seed from the feet are y'all hear what I'm saying and see see the difference we kind of this generation our generation it's when we wanted to do our dirt guess what we weren't sanctified we just say we was wrong like if I was going to church I wouldn't blame it on church folk I just say I want to come to church like if I just wanted to do this I wouldn't blame it on my parents I just I just wanted to do what I want to do and what I'm saying is the reason we can't repent is because we won't take ownership we sanctify it by attaching some religious principle to it that's not real to justify what it is wanna do and the reason beloved that God has to show up you can play something for me I'm done the reason that God has to show up with blinding crippling force is because so and this is where Merlin saw like some of us he's become so good at proving himself rights that he has learned how to justify even the most inhumane treatment of others and because he can sanctify it he can justify it and he never ever has to repent of it and this world my land because I want I want to talk to somebody here today somebody watching online it's crazy how your your life and world is falling apart because you become so adept at proving yourself right like there are homes that are literally honor on house of cards there no more stable than a house of cards because we got husbands and wives that don't function with humility they just determined to prove themselves right we got folk man that are sitting disengaged from church because whatever dispute happened however many years ago and they ain't got no eternal consequence but you'll stay separated from the body and the head of the body just so you can prove yourself right there are some of us man that are alienated from our adult children over an argument that you can't remember that again then have no eternal consequence just so you can prove yourself right and it's crazy because when when saul goes back to to the priests and the Sanhedrin he doesn't go back for truth he goes back just so that what he already believed could be a three affirmed and reinforced so that he can just stay where he is and suddenly understand this is why God has to intervene and I need you to know like me I want to experience I saw no you don't man God hits all so hard that he had to suffer with debilitating blindness and a thorn that never left his flesh no matter how often he prayed you remember what what God taught Ellen eyes he's like yo yo God bringing here I've got to show him how many things he must suffer for my name sake and what I'm saying to us beloved I would rather just submit than to have to be arrested by God and see this is the one thing I need somebody to understand about God is that you can't run from that you can't hide from God he sees in the darkness just as well as he sees in the light I need you know you go to heaven he's dead make your bed help he is there and see see what what somebody is wrestling with see it's not a duck true belief it's not church relationships really what's beneath all of it up what's beneath what was beneath it all is is really what you wrestle with is the issue of submission so what you have done like what I talked about you passed the inspection you dress you down you play the part you look the wrong but because you've never submitted because you never just said Lord like honestly have you ever as you think through your religious spirits have you ever said Lord I yield I give it all the way everything I am everything I had all my preferences my desires my my instinct my ways and I think law I just yield it all over to you I yield I submit and seeing this is where I want to stop and I and I know it seems somewhat abrupt because again there's part two next week I need you to make sure you back next week and you bring somebody else to here I'm gonna bring this word to a conclusion as we we've finished talking about Saul's confrontation but where I wanted to end today is just with the with the practice and the discipline of submission because I need to understand what religious centers do is we literally walk around doing Satan's bidding in God's name because we never repent from things that we've learned how to say fine so you'll come it's just a girl with the short skirt the wrong way and you'll wound her and you'll do Satan's bidding in God's name it's crazy and we don't feel no need to repent because we've sanctified it up doing like song I'm doing God's will and this was not that you addressed the issue this was that you addressed the issue without wanting to build up a relationship see how you was worried about what was the outside you and you ain't care nothing about the heart are you hear anything I said this is where God is calling us to to stop being fruit inspectors and get to that place where we become root developers where we come not bigger inspectors start being apostles stop being actors and start being disciples of the Most High God so today for your home you've heard this word today and maybe you you've always had religion but you've never had submission it's touch the outside but it's never got to your heart and you want to begin a new experience with Jesus maybe there's somebody that you've tried religious sporadically up and down back and forth one step forward and three steps back but it's never really taken root and so you realize the reason it never work because your modifies your behavior but you never really let it get beneath the surface and I want to know that if you're in Huntsville area what we want to do as we as we want right now we got people who are calling and studying the Word of God and helping you get built up in your faith right now we're gonna put our church email up on the on the screen and if you would like to join the body of Christ whether it is through Bible study whether it is through profession of faith maybe in the coming weeks you know that you need to be baptized for the remission of your sins do me a favor just email us right here at busy church at BellSouth net or maybe even of you just put your name and your information right there in the comments on Facebook or on YouTube somebody from the church will get to give with you by this coming Tuesday I need you to know that the Christ experience listen it does not begin with flashing lights and a voice from heaven see see it was for that it was like that was all cuz he just wouldn't receive the Word of God he would just be submitted he had to be arrested but God is calling you not to just to force him to a place where he has to arrest you he's called you to a place where you just submit voluntarily where you realized I can't save myself I can't improve myself I need the grace of God to do for me which I cannot do for on my own so would you make that submission act of submission would you yield to God would you submit to him today so right now that's your desires just email this busy church not a dull stop doubt net put the names with your name or your information in the comments and somebody will get in touch with you right now what I'm asking is for every head of household or wherever the leader of the household is whatever mature news I want you to gather around your family we've been doing this for a little while and what we're gonna do today in our homes is we want to pray the prayer of submission we're not praying for things not praying for stuff I pray for more not praying for increase we'll just say Lord I surrender all we're saying Lord I I give myself away just say Lord I yield everything I am everything I have I yield it over to you and now you're praying I'm gonna close in just a moment but right now your praise don't turn don't flip to another service right now you need to be praying and submitting you need to be yielding you need to be casting it over to Jesus Christ [Music] giving it up [Music] my second appeal for search family my prayer is whenever it is that we're able to gather I don't want us to just go back to being normal where we come sit observe respect to assess now I want us to keep caring for each other keep checking in on each other keep calling each other keep being eager to serve see it see before we like oh I gotta come to church we need a break the church we burn down from church but now now you eat your keep that eagerness movie get a chance come back together let's not go back to normal let's be better let's be stronger less be more spiritual let's remain prophetically aware let's come to prayer we come to Sabbath school let's stay in the Word of God let's don't just just don't get back to normal because normal was not what God has called you to me he has allowed a confluence of circumstances to elevate the spiritual climate of the body of Christ so that God's will and let these circumstance create his perfect work and as father today for anything good evening virtuous anything lasted all the glory could go sewers for the missteps and misstatements Lord only the mistakes of mine so Lord my prayer today is simply this we just pray the prayer of submission from eldest to the to the youngest going right now we just we throw up our hands we yield you don't have to put us in cuffs Lord we we just put our hands up saying have thine own way have nine own without the father and we are the clay Lord right now we relinquish control Lord we don't want to be so specific that we miss out on your spectacular and as we submit for my prayer for us is that who and I just have a limited conversion that touches the outside that just please the outside of the cup load would you please get deep down and start your work on the inside and when you complete the inside we know that it's gonna manifest itself on the outside so Lord with you anoint us would you fill us with the Holy Ghost may somebody watching and listening for the first time as you assail their living room but they know what it means to be born again pulling of the Spirit and born of water may they have that experience here in their I'm pray that you would help us to develop and to disciples and not actors to be free to have your love have Holy Ghost out to not be inspectors but to be root developers would you bless and keep us would you ignore this we surrender all we give ourselves away we feel safety because we do it in Jesus name that God's people sleep together amen amen god bless you god bless

Channel: First Seventh-day Adventist Church

Views: 36,574

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Id: DPYrkXYLHdI

Length: 56min 27sec (3387 seconds)

Published: Sat May 23 2020