The Grace Period | Pastor William McDowell

amen amen we're so grateful for our times in the presence of the lord together uh grateful for our times even of generosity and how the lord even moves through his word in those moments as well i just want to tell you deeper that i love you and while i'm standing here i've been spending this time in the presence of the lord like all of you and as we were just praying right before we stood up to preach this word i felt the presence of the lord so strong and i feel honestly i know that the lord is working in someone's lower back at the moment i felt a great sense of heat right before i stood up to deliver the word of the lord and i knew uh that wasn't just for me alone but i believe that the lord himself is touching someone's lower back right now and so father we thank you for moving we pray that you're moved by the power of your spirit we pray that you release your healing power we pray that you would touch and heal this area of pain that has been in this person or persons i pray that as you are moving that your spirit would literally begin to move up and down their back and father i pray that whatever area of injury whatever area of strain whatever area of muscle tightness be released and loosed right now and father i pray in jesus name that you'd move by the power of your spirit that you begin to work and father i thank you that even as this is happening it's causing the faith of others to begin to rise and so father i thank you that even those which are not being called out by word of knowledge lord as people begin to receive from you that you begin to pour out your spirit you begin to do things literally across the world i pray that you begin to move by your power literally across the world you who are being healed in the area of the lower back make sure you testify make sure you testify because one of the things the enemy would love to have you do is assume that it may come back so you stay quiet but if you were in pain and it's gone make sure you testify make sure you testify don't allow the enemy to hold that over you to cause you to believe this is too small it's just something minor it's just something that you have to live with no you do not have to live with it when god removes something he removes it for good and so i thank god for healing you i thank god for him moving by the power of his spirit and we testify and we and we come alongside and give god praise with you for the manifestation of your healing if there's anyone else who you're sensing the lord beginning to do something in your body testify i recognize that we're online and people don't have the ability to to point it out in the room or say yes it's me your ability to say yes it's me is literally right there in a chat bar and i know it may seem weird to you uh to be begin to say that but if you sense god working and moving in your life and moving uh on your body or in your body make sure you testify i i we have a lot of people sometimes when they get healed they'll begin to look for the sickness more than look for the healing i'm telling you look for the healing look for the healing he's moving right now in this moment we sensed him right before we begin to speak as we were praying and he's moving right in this moment so i want to encourage you to receive what the lord is doing thank you lord thank you lord thank you jesus thank you jesus thank you jesus we're just giving him a moment to work here just giving him a moment to work i know it's time to preach but we're giving him a moment to work by his spirit because he is moving he is moving it's a supernatural thing what he does to move in ways like this even when we're not in the same room there is no distance with his word there's no distance with his presence we may not physically be in the same room but you don't need to be in the room with me you just need to be in the room with him hallelujah and when he enters the room when he walks into the room wherever you are he has no physical limitation by his spirit he can go anywhere and he can touch you where you are thank you lord thank you lord thank you jesus thank you jesus father we honor you for what you are doing we honor you for what you are doing in this moment we thank you for what you are doing in this moment we give you praise for what you are doing in this moment in jesus name amen amen well family where it's time for us to share the word of the lord and i can tell you uh that i have way more in my heart than i have time for way more in my heart than i have notes for and so i'm just gonna have to trust the leading of the holy spirit as he leads us uh through this moment but as you know we have a custom as a family uh to stand when we read the word and i want us to uh take a look at romans chapter two verse four uh romans chapter two verse four so wherever you are i know it may seem like a silly exercise to you maybe but it's just our way of letting the lord know that we honor him and we honor his word above any other thing that we're not just reading a book but we are actually reading his word uh and his word is alive and powerful and it stands alone and so that's why we stand uh to honor that so we're gonna look at romans chapter 2 verse 4 romans chapter 2 verse 4. we're going to read this uh together don't you see how wonderfully kind tolerant and patient god is with you does this mean nothing to you can't you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin but because you are stubborn and refused to turn from your sin you are stirring up terrible punishment for yourself for a day of anger is coming when god's righteous judgment will be revealed he will judge everyone according to what they have done he will give eternal life to those who keep on doing good seeking after the glory and honor and immortality that god offers he will pour out his anger and wrath on those who live for themselves who refuse to obey the truth and instead live lives of wickedness there will be trouble and calamity for everyone who keeps on doing what is evil for the jew first and also for the gentile but there will be glory and honor and peace from god for all who do good for the jew first and also for the gentile let's pray together father i thank you for the power of your word i thank you for the privilege of proclaiming your word father i pray that in these next few moments you would speak to us you would give us insight and you would give us clarity in your word i pray for the anointing to proclaim your word i thank you that your word is already anointed i pray that you use me to proclaim your word and father that you by the power of your holy spirit would illuminate your word to the hearts of your people it is not my communication ability it is your interpretive ability to be able to interpret your word to every heart and to ever hear that we would not just be hearers of the word but we would be doers of the word and so father i thank you for the anointing to proclaim your word i decree so that you may increase and i pray as always at the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable and thy sight o lord my strength and my redeemer and because of your mercy and because of your grace i pray that you reveal jesus to those who do not yet know you caused them to see the truth and father i pray that you would save some in jesus name amen well family if you're standing you can be seated you can be seated as we enter into this time of the word together again we are so privileged to be able to be together even in the online space and i recognize that you say well you know you're talking about together but honestly it's great every week the community that we have literally around the world that interacts with one another week after week and it's a beautiful sight to see as you pray for one another in the chat bar as you say hello to one another in the chat bar we know that it will not always be like this but we do thank you for continuing to show our faithfulness towards god and towards one another in this way you know we've been uh talking the last number of weeks um really not only about the secret place and intimacy and being invited into the secret place but of course even what we've been hearing uh in this time of where we've been invited by the spirit of god to come away with him and we've been really landed uh back on this this topic of repentance and and and throughout the prayer calls all week long if you are part of the prayer cause i know some of you who are internationally like well i wish i could be a part of the prayer calls we're working on that part but but for those of you who are faithfully a part of that you know that that this week the holy spirit uh through our pastors has really highlighted this and really brought out so many amazing uh points from his heart and from the scripture as we've excavated the scripture uh in the area of repentance and we've been talking about this and and the lord really began to deal with my heart uh concerning something if you remember uh even on tuesday when i was leading the time of prayer um i began to talk about this concept of the grace period i wanna i wanna elaborate on that a little bit more because i want us to understand the season that we're in and the nature of what god is doing because he's doing something that is birthed out of his love which is one of the reasons why we read romans chapter 2 because it's important for us to recognize and this is an important statement to make right from the beginning it's important for us to recognize that it is the kindness of the lord or the goodness of the lord that leads us to repentance i know that typically when we think about the term repentance we we think about you know obviously sorrow and grieving and emotions are a part of that but more than that it is a consistent decision to turn towards god and so even the things that that we look at to be catalytic moments which i'll deal with a little bit later even those things that we look at that some people may struggle with to say well how can you appropriate or or connect these things to repentance all of the things that are happening are happening as a result of the goodness of the lord or the kindness of the lord and that's very difficult for some who don't have a full throat of biblical viewpoint to see because of the way that they view god but i want us to deal with that just a little bit because it's important that we don't presume upon the grace of god it's so important that we don't presume upon the grace of god if i if i took romans chapter 2 verse 3 and 4 in the esv uh this would let us know that this is something that's important for us to see in the esv it draws out the word presume or presumption when it says do you suppose oh man you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself that you will escape the judgment of god verse 4 or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience not knowing that god's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance it's not meant for you to stay the way that you are god's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance and we are seeing in this year the manifestation of the goodness or the kindness of the lord even if you don't feel like it that's what we are seeing in this season what we are seeing in this year is the manifestation of the goodness or the kindness of the lord it is it is our our understanding of of not only his goodness and his kindness but also his holiness and his presence that causes even believers to stay in this perpetual place so that when the spirit of god says to us um that repentance is still on my heart it is a recognition of the nearness of god now pastor caleb brought this up on monday evening and i want to bring it back out again when he was talking about isaiah chapter six we won't turn there i'm just going to to reference it here but in the year that king uzziah died isaiah recorded he said that was the year that i saw the lord and he begins to describe this heavenly encounter that he's having and all the things that he saw as it relates to the train of his robe filling the temple and the seraphim and cherubim crying out and he sees the heavenly worship and all of that and then in that moment he also recognizes his own frailty when he says woe is me i'm undone i'm unclean i'm among a people of unclean lips what is happening in that moment is that whenever humanity comes into contact with divinity humanity realizes fragility in light of his holiness there's something that says okay anytime i get close to him i recognize my own imperfection because of his perfection and so now isaiah has an opportunity now to do something he can either run from that holy moment or he can run towards god this is an important factor for us to remember and i think it's important for all believers to remember as well whenever you're in the presence of god or whenever you feel the conviction of sin that is an indication of the nearness of god and if you are being convicted of your sin by the holy spirit that is the kindness and the goodness of god because of his holiness he could cast you away but instead because he draws you he makes you aware of your imperfection and what repentance is in that moment is a perpetual decision to turn towards god instead of away from him because the scripture lets us know that our sin separates us from god but what he does is shines a light in that moment what is the light not a flashlight it is his glory he shines the light of his glory in that moment and when you come into the light of his glory you are made aware of your imperfection and at that moment you have a decision are you going to run to god or are you going to run from god the clear thing is this you can't see the lord without holiness it is the pure and heart that are the ones that see god which means that if you are invited into the presence of god it is because you are invited as a result of the fact that you have access to that holiness and that purity through the blood of christ stay with me we make a constant decision when we take the posture of repentance to turn towards god instead of away from him and so we find ourselves talking about this and it's almost like well are we going to keep talking about this but i want you to know that this is the perpetual posture it's not just something we do when we feel that we've messed up it's a perpetual posture how is it a perpetual posture not that we are sinners it's not that it's a perpetual posture that says that we need him it's a perpetual posture that recognizes that we're going to constantly turn towards him because we live in a world that's constantly trying to pull us away and so the posture of repentance is a posture of perpetual god turning it's a posture a perpetual god turning everything in the world everything in your life desires to pull you out of that place and so the posture of repentance is the posture that says i'm always going to turn to him so then if that is a posture that the believer can live in if that's a a posture a perpetual place not just something we do when we we feel that we've messed up or made a mistake but it is a perpetual posture that the believer is to live in then how then do we reconcile that at the same time we're talking about a posture do we also then talk about urgency how do we get urgency out of a perpetual posture and this is this is an interesting thing for us because because it's important for us to to wrestle with how we reconcile that if our god is gracious and if our god is patient and if our god is merciful and if our god is love why is it then that we're preaching urgency how is it then that if all these things exist and they do and all these things are natures and characteristics of god and they are how is it then that we have to wrestle with the urgency of repentance it is because unfortunately and one of my chief concerns uh even for the believer is the fact that the believer because they don't live in a perpetual posture of repentance begins to look at repentance as something that we had to do the day that we got saved but no longer have to do and therefore because we don't see the need for it we find ourselves drifting and because god loves us so much he will not allow us to drift and so what he does in every generation and in every season is he will allow things to take place to keep us from drifting why because our god is the divine initiator he's a divine initiator those who initiate don't allow drifting for too long in other words that's why it's important that our vernacular we don't say things like we found jesus the reason why it's important a vernacular it may it may seem like semantics but the reason why it's important in our vernacular not to say things like we found jesus is because we did not find him he found us he rescued us he saved us he is a divine initiator and and whenever he he's the initiator of salvation he's the initiator of grace he's the initiative initiator of mercy he's the initiator uh he's the one who initiated on the cross these are all things that he did for us when we were running he is a divine initiator and it's important then that if we recognize that he's the divine initiator then what that also means about divine initiation is that whenever he looks at his creation whenever he looks at a generation whenever he looks at his people the righteous and those who are not when he looks and he sees them drifting he initiates not only on the context of overarching context of the earth but also within each generation he initiates moments or movements that will get the attention of his people are you here it's important that we don't miss it and specifically important that we don't fail to see the kindness or the goodness of god whenever we lose urgency family the divine initiator god sets into motion catalytic catalytic events to get the attention of the earth and it's important that when he does so that we don't miss it because we we have a different definition of the kindness of the goodness of god whenever there is a divine initiation in the earth there are really only two responses to the moment in fact there are only two real responses to this moment in time are you ready for them here are the two responses repent or resist these are the two responses to the moment that we're in right now it's either repent or resist because the reality of the happenings of the earth are too forward for us to ignore so you can't say that people are missing it i want to say that again because the events of the earth right now the things that are taking place in the earth right now are too forward for us to ignore which which means that we cannot then say that we are missing it or don't see it what we are making is a conscious decision either we are going to repent which is a turn towards god or we're going to resist what he's doing but nobody can miss it because he's making it obvious as we said last week the scripture says to us that if we lack wisdom we can ask the father who gives freely and without reproach um if we look at james chapter 1 verse 2 contextually on what he's saying or what this particular scripture is saying we say if we lack wisdom we can ask the context of it is we can ask what we're going through look at this james chapter 2 james chapter 1 verse 2 dear brothers and sisters when troubles of any kind come your way consider an opportunity for great joy for you know that when your faith is tested your endurance has a chance to to grow so let it grow for when your endurance is fully developed you will be perfect and complete needing nothing look at verse five if you need wisdom ask our generous god and he will give it to you he will not rebuke you for asking but when you ask him be sure that your faith is in god alone do not waver for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave on the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind such people should not expect to receive anything from the lord what's divided loyalty their loyalty is divided between god and the world and they are unstable in everything they do we can ask god what he's doing and he will not rebuke us for asking but if we're asking with our loyalty being in god and in the world we will receive nothing which may be one of the reasons for confusion why are we so confused possibly because he's been coming for our idolatry and he's been coming for our divided loyalty but for those who actually ask him in the time of trouble he will not rebuke you for asking and he will give you wisdom one of the reasons that some fail to see god and what is happening is because their definition of god is a god made in their image and after their thoughts and because they see god in their image and after their thoughts they see him as doing what they would do they really struggle with what is happening but his thoughts family as we know as isaiah records are not our thoughts and his ways are not our ways and what shows this to us is what pleases him is ultimate glory he does not avoid difficult paths what god will do is different than what we would do in fact how he even came and what christ went through is different from what any of us would have actually imagined particularly if isaiah had not prophesied it to us in isaiah chapter 53 which i wanted to look at in a new king james version it's a well-known passage of scripture but i think it's important for us to understand this contextually as we begin to build the case that what god does is different than the way we would do things the bible says this who has believed our report and to whom has the arm of the lord been revered for he shall grow up before him as a tender plant and as a root out of dry ground he has no form or commonness and when we see him there is no beauty that we should desire him he by the way this is prophesying about christ is despised and rejected by men a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief and we hid as if it were our faces from him he was despised and we did not esteem him surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows yet we esteemed him stricken smitten by god and afflicted but he was wounded for our transgressions he was bruised for our iniquities the chastisement of our peace was upon him and by his stripes we are healed all we like sheep have gone astray we have turned everyone to his own way and the lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all he was oppressed and he was afflicted yet he opened not his mouth he was led as a lamb to the slaughter and as a sheep before his shearers in silence so he opened not his mouth he was taken from prison and from judgment and who will declare his generation for he was cut off from the land of the living for the transgressions of my people he was stricken and they made his grave with the wicked but with the rich at his death because he had done no violence nor was any deceit in him look at verse 10 yet it pleased the lord to bruise him it pleased the lord to bruise him or some translation say to crush him he has put him to grief yet when you excuse me when you make his soul an offering for sin he shall see his seed he shall prolong his days and the pleasure of the lord shall prosper in his hand you say why would you read something like this pastor the reason why i'm reading something like this is because the what he does is not what we do what pleased god was to crush jesus we don't think that way and we don't define goodness like that but that is the goodness of god that is the kindness of god as paul puts it in romans as we read at the beginning it is the goodness of the lord or the kindness of the lord that leads us to repentance but in that moment it pleased him to do this as hebrews chapter 12 verse 2 we don't have to look at it right here it says that he endured the cross disregarding the shame that is what he does but that's not how we operate he endured the cross he endured the pain he didn't take the easy road what we do in life is we take the easy road and what we want to do now is appropriate that to how god moves but how god moves how he works how he thinks how he operates his ways and his thoughts are above ours in fact the metaphor is this as high as the heavens are above the earth so far are my thoughts from your thoughts and my ways from your ways in other words there is no connection between the two that's not how we think that's not how we operate we avoid pain and difficulty as much as possible this is why human nature and christ nature are directly opposed to each other what we call the law of human nature is self-preservation or the preservation of self submission to christ is the death of self this is why many have missed and even resist what god is doing because of their definition of god and what they believe about him doesn't allow for the possibility of divine initiation of the painful areas of life so we struggle so instead of seeing god they define everything that's happening in this season as an attack of the enemy and therefore all year long there have been some who have been rebuking a thing that has not been moving it hasn't moved and you have people who are rebuking it because you can't rebuke god we have people fighting against something that is yet to move and yet it is here for global attention the question is how long will we ignore the burning bush you say okay pastor you you're it's said some of this before and i think we get it and all of that but but the spirit of god is pressing on it because he wants us to understand and not miss it because there is an urgency in the spirit you say well how does this urgency come because the divine initiator is doing something in this moment and it's important for us to see it i say but pastor isn't it dangerous to attribute the happenings of the earth now to god because if you do that don't you open up the thought process that all bad things that happen are sent from god and don't we play into the hands of those who are called religious extremists who say that every act of nature is the judgment of god isn't it safer to just say that these happenings are the groanings of the earth that is subjected against his will because of the fallen state of man so that everything that happens is happening as a result of a fallen world in many cases i understand your argument there i understand why you would say that because there is what we would call a slippery slope as it relates to attributing painful things to god because the question that becomes where do you stop i understand i i understand the argument i really really do and in many cases you can appropriate the natural events of the earth to the fallen state of the world you can do that however there are moments in history that make you stop and have to ask for godly wisdom in search of scriptures this is so difficult for some i understand it and and because our tendency is whenever there's something difficult in scripture instead of wrestling with it we just turn the page that's the easier thing to do but what happens when the thing is still there it's still in front of us we're still in it globally well one of the challenges that we have is that when people want to just kind of say well should we stop and move on or should we stop or should we move on let me tell you a moment to stop a moment to stop is when there's a global event that's a moment to stop and ask god what is it that you're doing a global event is a moment to stop and ask god what is it that you are doing now i want to help us i want to help us these are some things that i've said to some pastors some prophets some friends maybe i haven't always said this to you family out loud so i must say some things out loud so that can help us process why we should be asking god what he's doing and how we get to urgency particularly in the case of pestilence which actually translates to global disease in the case of pestilence which translates to global disease we might want to stop and ask god what you're doing you say why why because isn't this just the state of the fallen world i've heard that in some circles and we've had to to wrestle with it and it's really difficult for some to embrace so i've learned wisdom in my language on this and i've done that specifically not to impugn the character of our holy righteous loving and merciful god just because i think i have some revelation i don't want to do that and so because i don't want to impugn his character i've learned in my language to at least bring people along in a biblical thought process so can you take a journey with me somebody say let's go deeper god does everything he does out of love because that's who he is but as it relates to the word pestilence pestilence hear me family rarely if ever in scripture is attributed to the devil as you read this bible you don't see where it says and the devil released pestilence now that's challenging so you say pastor are you saying that god sent pestilence are you saying that god sent covet 19 because i mean like in this nation alone over 200 000 people have died and don't you think that's cruel and you're saying that god's behind this did god kill them and it gets into a really really difficult conversation and i understand that it's a difficult conversation but it's a conversation that we need to have as it relates to how god moves i get it i understand it i understand from my pastor friends who struggle with this idea i understand from a prophet friends who struggle with this idea i understand from a place of intercession who struggle with this idea how then should we pray there are some people who say i can't get with you on that that's not what he does you are looking through an old testament lens so i say okay maybe here's my language maybe you don't agree that it's god's sent you you struggle with that you you read the scripture you look at the new covenant you say that's an old covenant mentality i can't get with you on that the best i can come up with is that the romans eight this is the this is the result of a fallen world and a creation is subjected to a fallen state against its own will and so things just happen okay i understand but if then you can't come to a theological construct that it's god sent perhaps you can come to an idea that it's god allowed but some people because of their view of the goodness of god it doesn't allow them to agree with the idea that it's god allowed and i understand that too so then if you cannot come to the theological construct that is god sent or the theological concept construct that it's god allowed then perhaps you can come to uh another one at least we can agree that he has the power to stop it because if we can agree that he has the power to stop it and he's the omnipotent god then we're talking about the same god if you don't believe that he has the power to stop it we're not talking about the same god so then you can't get with god's sent you can't get with god aloud but perhaps you can get to the agreement that he has the power to stop it and if he has not stopped it that brings us to another reality then he's using it so you say not god's sin okay won't argue with you you say not god allowed i won't really argue with you there but at least then we can come to the agreement that it's god used which is to say that if it is god used and perhaps we should ask him why he's using it what is it that he's doing perhaps perhaps you're on you you've you've come to the point where you say i can't even get with you on that this is all the devil the devil has sent this the devil has us here the church is under attack the world is under attack we need to rise up in authority and we need to rebuke it because it's the devil well i thought about you too you know i was thinking about this this passage of scripture when david took a census one descriptor in samuel says that god caused david to take a census in chronicles it says satan incited david to take a census so which one is it are they not saying the same thing no it's both god caused david to take a census by allowing satan to incite him he uses everything he uses everything and if he the divine initiator is behind everything why would we not ask him what he's doing everything he does is amazing and perfect now you say pastor i'm still struggling because people are dying i need you to hear the heart of our god second peter chapter 3 verse 9 through 11. second peter chapter 3 verse 9-11 it says this the lord isn't being slow about his promise as some people think no he is being patient for your sin here's his heart you ready he doesn't want anyone to be destroyed but wants everyone to repent it's right there he doesn't want anyone to be destroyed but once everyone to repent but i need you to see why things happen because the very next two verses but the day of the lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve what judgment since everything around us is going to be destroyed like this what holy and godly lives you should live you say pastor but if this is happening and he's using it and things are happening and people are dying hear the heart of the lord ezekiel chapter 33 verse 11 in esv ezekiel chapter 33 verse 11 in the esv are you guys good i know i can't hear you but i want to make sure you're good if we were in the room i'd be asking you the same thing ezekiel chapter 33 verse 11 in the esv it says it this way say to them as i live declares the lord look at this i have no pleasure in the death of the wicked but that the wicked would turn from his way and live turn back turn back from your evil ways for why will you die o house of israel the lord takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked i need you to hear this as it relates to his heart even as we're in the midst of a season like we are the lord takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked as we see these things happening family the global nature of what god is doing is to get the attention of the earth that is why it is a global thing god is getting the attention of the earth this is an important fact he's not just getting the attention of his people alone he's getting the attention of the godly and the ungodly he's getting the attention of the righteous and the unrighteous everybody is going through it at the same time we are not exempt from what is happening in other words what god is doing is of a global nature and this is one of the reasons why it's important for us to understand what he's doing for the believer what god is doing is he's coming for our prayerlessness for the non-believer what he's doing is he's trying to make people come to grips with the fact that they are dead in their trespasses and sins for the believer he's saying your prayerlessness has led you to sleepiness lethargy and caused you to no longer long for revival and it's affecting the earth and at the same time i'm doing something to cause the non-believer to say what is happening and if they would just ask a simple question he would reveal it it is for everybody when we read psalm 32 last week when we read psalm 32 last week there is a a large context that needs to be uh discovered here in psalm chapter 32. i want us to see it in verse one and two psalm chapter 32 verse one and two hallelujah oh what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven whose sin is put out of sight yes what joy for those whose record the lord has cleared of guilt and whose lives are lived in complete honesty now family these two verses even though they are written by david are the result of finished work crosswork produces this our record is not cleared of guilt except for the cross of calvary except for the blood of jesus and so what we are now talking about is an overarching thing that what repentance does it allows us access to a cleared record but what it also does is keep us in a perpetual state of righteousness so it's not that the believer is having to repent to continue to have their record cleaned as if the cross has not happened instead the believer is repenting because the awareness of the holiness of god the desire to stay in his presence at the same time the non-believer repents in order to receive a cleared record so the finished work of the cross does something significant which is one of the reasons why we understand that even as we begin to talk about repentance what we're talking about is a posture and not just an emotional state can we keep going at the same time psalm 32 verse 6 does something else for us that's very important we talked about it last week therefore let all the godly pray to you while there is still time that they may not drown in the flood waters of judgment which is to indicate that there is a set time in the mind of god for everything that is not known for man therefore man can never take the grace that they receive for granted there is a set time in the mind of god that's not always known to man and whenever man begins to bump up against set time urgency comes we are right now living in a grace period we're living in a grace period both the age and the generation now you say what are you talking about the age of grace is initiated by god through the coming of the lord it is accessed by faith when jesus came he initiated an age of grace that is the overarching thing that we are living in it is great for those who have made them to place their faith in jesus christ and also amazing for those who have yet to do so because you are living in an age of grace where you still have time the problem is you don't know how much time so we're living in a grace period both the age and a generation as you know ephesians chapter 2 we access grace by faith for by grace you have been saved through faith and this is not of your own doing it is a gift of god not a result of works so that no one can boast so we are living in that time right now the lens of eschatology tells us that the day of the lord is coming like a thief in the night when we least expect it so we are instructed to prepare how do you prepare perpetual preparation is the posture of repentance perpetual preparation is the posture of repentance or if i said it the other way repentance is the posture of perpetual preparation it's the perpetual decision to be ready or to stay ready while we live in the age of god's grace this is the moment in time the grace period that we are living in right now the problem is uh particularly among believers is that false teaching leads us to a comfortable complacent posture as it relates to the grace of god and that upright living doesn't seem to matter and that sin doesn't matter but we must never forget that the age of grace initiated by mercy ends in judgment when christ comes again how do then we know that we are in a grace period we know that we're in a grace period because what grace is or what a grace period is is an extension of the penalty that you should have deserved at one point but you get an extension in order to make right what you should have before family let me make it clear to you as it relates to the overarching point the overarching point of the age or the day that we live in is this man mankind was sinful the scripture tells us in romans that all sinned and fell short of the glory of god and because of his holy nature he could have come the first time with the penalty but instead what he did was he extended grace so when he came to the earth he could have judged it then but he didn't judge it then he initiated grace or a period of grace or a grace period that's the overarching time that we live in that the whole earth the whole world and every generation that is alive since the time that he came until now is living in a period of grace in which the penalty that we deserve was not given to us the bible says to us in romans that the wages of sin is death but the free gift of god is eternal life through christ jesus in other words what we deserved was death but when he came instead he gave us a free gift of eternal life by believing in him what did he extend when we place our faith in him he extended his grace so the entire world is living in a grace period which is what we passed the point where the penalty should have been but instead it's been extended or the time has been extended so that you and i and everyone in creation could get right before god because when he comes again there is no more grace the period of grace is now the time to decide is now and those who are playing around with the grace of god living complacent and comfortable lives thinking i'll get it together tomorrow i'll get it together next week i'll get it together next year i'ma give this decade to myself and then i'll give the next decade to god you do not know when he is coming and the divine urgency that exists over all is the fact that the day of the lord is coming like a thief in the night but when he comes it will not be glorious for everybody people who are taking advantage of his grace in the season of grace are playing a dangerous game the bible says in the book of jude it's interesting i just want to bring it out to you i'll start with verse three and in jude and i'll read several verses here because i want you to understand the folly of complacency and the folly of false teaching as it relates to the grace of god which empowers us to live right before god it does not give us a green card or a license to do whatever we want to jude chapter 1 verse 3. jude chapter 1 verse 3 look at how jude was writing here he said dear friends i had been eagerly planning to write to you about the salvation we all share but now i find that i must write to you about something else urging you to defend the faith that god has entrusted once for all time to his holy people i say this because some ungodly people have wormed their way into your churches saying that god's marvelous grace allows us to live in moral lives such condemnation or the condemnation of such people was recorded long ago for they have denied our only master and lord jesus christ so i want to remind you though you already know these things that jesus first rescued the nation of israel from egypt but he later destroyed those who did not remain faithful i hope you are hearing this and i want to remind you that the angels who did not stay within the limits of the authority god gave them but left the place where they belong god has kept them securely chained in prisons of darkness waiting for the great day of judgment and don't forget sodom and gomorrah and their neighboring towns which were filled with immorality and every kind of sexual perversion those cities were destroyed by fire and serve as a warning of eternal fire of god's judgment in the same way these people who claim authority from their dreams live immoral lives defy authority and scoff at supernatural beings but even michael one of the mightiest angels did not dare accuse the devil of blasphemy but simply said the lord rebuke you this took place when micah was arguing with the devil about moses body but these people scoff at things they do not understand like unthinking animals they do whatever their instincts tell them so they bring about their own destruction what sorrow awaits them for they follow in the footsteps of cain who like it who killed his brother like balaam they deceive people for money and like cora they perish in their rebellion when these people eat with you and your fellowship meals commemorating the lord's love they are like dangerous reefs that can shipwreck you they are like shameless shepherds who care only for themselves they are like clouds blowing over the land without giving any rain they are like trees in autumn or that are doubly dead for they bear no fruit and have been pulled up by the roots they are like the wild waves of the sea churning up the foam of their shameful deeds they are like wandering stars doomed forever to block its darkness enoch who lived in the seventh generation after adam prophesied about these people he said listen the lord is coming with countless thousands of his holy ones to execute judgment on the people of the world there is a second coming family but when he comes again the grace period that we're living in right now is over he's coming to execute judgment on the people of the world he will convict every person of the ungodly things they have done and for all the insults that ungodly sinners have spoken against them these people are grumblers and complainers living only to satisfy their desires they brag loudly about themselves and they flatter others to get what they want but you dear friends must remember what the apostles of our lord jesus predicted they told you that in the last times there would be scoffers whose purpose in life was to satisfy their ungodly desires these are the people who are creating divisions among you they follow their natural instincts because they do not have god's spirit in them but your dear friends must build up build each other up in your most holy faith and pray in the power of the spirit and wait await the mercy of our lord jesus christ who will bring you eternal life in this way you will keep yourself safe in god's love when the day of the lord comes for some it will be the manifestation of judgment or wasting the period of grace and for others we await because that's when mercy will be our portion we are in the overarching grace period what is the grace period i said this on tuesday i want to give you a natural reality to say it again here for those of you who pay bills it is the period of time beyond the due date during which a financial obligation may be met without penalty the due date for the earth could have been when christ came but instead said i'ma show up now and i'ma go to prepare a place for all who will place faith in me but when i come back again the grace period the extension of time is over judgment for some mercy for others this is the kind of stuff we used to call fire and brimstone preaching jesus is coming at any time and we can't play with it this is what was supposed to happen but now i give you time to get right by placing your faith in jesus this is how you are to perpetually live in a state of turning towards god a perpetual state of righteousness which is the perpetual state of staying ready which is born out of a perpetual state of repentance so then if we're in an overarching grace period that is the urgency by which all men should live but when all men don't live with that urgency the divine initiator begins to do catalytic things to wake up the sleeping out of their place of complacency the lens of eschatology tells us to live with urgency but [Music] as peter tells us some people begin to think that god is being slow concerning his promise when the scripture is clear that he's just being patient for our sake why because he does not desire that any should perish so therefore he continues to allow his patience which is why we then have to wrestle with trying to reconcile how is it that with the patience of our god and the love of our god and the mercy of our god and the graciousness of our god can you then talk about repentance with urgency it is because of complacency within every generation whenever there becomes a level of complacency whenever it is that the face of god is not sought whenever it is that the move of god is not sought whenever it is that the presence of god is not sought and people begin to become comfortable in the way that they do things and they begin to program things and predict god and try to put him in a box and try to make him uh reducing to their standards and try to act like he's in their image and do things like he wants then he has to say no if a generation is losing a level of urgency because of my love for all men because of my love for mankind i did not just come and send my son to then watch subsequent generations drift away so then what he will do by his divine initiation which is the kindness of the lord which is the goodness of the lord which leads us to repentance he will allow catalytic moments use catalytic moments since some of you won't say sin he'll at least use catalytic moments in order to get the attention of his people in order to get them to turn and whenever we begin to see that within a generation we are bumping up against something family that is causing us to know that there's a change coming whether there's a shift coming or that the grace period even though we're in an overarching grace period the grace period within a generation is getting ready to shift and we don't want to find ourselves on the wrong side of his movement can i show you and i show you amos chapter four verse six amos chapter four verse six i want us to see this this is what happens this is divine initiation this is the manifestation of the kindness of the lord but we don't tend to see it that way so i want you to see that it's not just my words amos chapter four verse six i god's talking i brought hunger to every city and famine to every town but still you would not turn to me if you remember his goal his purpose we read it in first peter 3 his goal and his purpose was specifically that men would turn we read it in ezekiel 33 11 that his goal and his purpose was that men would turn when he does things his goal and his purpose is that men turn to him i brought hunger to every city and famine to every town but still you would not return to me says the lord i kept the rain from falling when your crops needed it the most i sent rain on one town but withheld it from another rain fell on one field while another field withered away people staggered from town to town looking for water but there was never enough but still you would not return to me i struck your farms and vineyards with blight and mildew locusts devoured all of your fig and olive trees but still you would not return to me look at this i set plagues on you like the plagues i sent on egypt long ago i killed your young men in war and led all your horses astray the stench of death filled the air but still you would not return to me i destroyed some of your cities as i destroyed sodom and gomorrah those of you who survived were like charred sticks pulled from a fire but still you would not return to me says the lord verse 12 therefore i will bring upon you all the disasters i have announced prepare to meet your god in judgment you people of israel what was happening what was happening what was happening was he was saying i'm doing all of this and you're not paying attention i'm doing all of this and you are you're you're ignoring me i'm doing all of this and you're resisting me and the result of your resistance is that you will now receive what i never wanted to do the first time i did everything else to get your attention but when i'm coming now when i'm coming instead of mercy you receive judgment this is what happens when people waste grace this is what happens when god loves the people so much that he doesn't want to he says i'ma send these things or allow these things or use these things to get your attention and we have a people on the earth right now who are saying this is the devil this can't be god how do you reconcile what he says here i did it because of my love don't you see that it is the kindness of god it is the goodness of god that leads you to repentance i don't define goodness that way as far as the heavens are above the earth so far my thoughts on your thoughts and my ways from your ways i don't have too much more just stick with me i want you to see the same thing in the message i want you to see the same verses in the message this i want you to see how eugene peterson transliterates this i want you to see this same verses in the message amos 4 6-12 because i want you to to understand this you know don't you that i'm the one who emptied your pantries and cleaned out your cupboards who left you hungry standing in bread lines but you never got hungry for me you continued to ignore me yes i'm the one who stopped the reins three months short of a harvest i'd make it rain on one village and not another i'd make it rain on one field and not another and that one would dry up and people would stagger from villas village crazed for water and never quenching their thirst but you never got thirsty for me are you seeing this family i hit your crops with disease and withered your orchards and gardens lord locust devoured your olive and fig trees but you continued to ignore me i revisited you with the old egyptian plagues killed your choice young men and prized horses the stinking rot of your camps was so strong that you held your noses but you still didn't notice me you continued to ignore me god's decree i hit you with earthquake and fire and left you devastated like sodom and gomorrah you were like a burning stick snatched from the flame but you never looked my way you continued to ignore me all this i have done to you israel and why have i done it and this is why i've done it time's up prepare to meet your god out of all these proclamations family that he's coming or that people are saying i sense a shift or i sense a new day or i sense a new season understand that that day is coming the question then becomes for everyone who's prophesying about a shift and a new day and in a new season and a new time and all of these things understand that there is a prerequisite to these things there is something that's connected to all this and it is a posture of repentance without it when the day comes what it will look like for us will not be as glorious as we think here's why there is this level of urgency because when that day comes as amos 5 points out for for some people who choose to ignore the period of grace or the urgency of the grace period that day will not be so happy for us as it says in verse 18 of amos chapter 5 what sorrow awaits you who say if only the day of the lord were here you have no idea what you are wishing for that day will bring darkness not light and that day you will be like a man who runs from a lion only to meet a bear escaping from the bear he leans his head a hand against the wall of his house and he's bitten by a snake yes the day of the lord will be a dark and hopeless day without a ray of joy or hope you're like oh my goodness i thought the day of the lord was glorious it is for the repentant it's not for those who waste the day of grace who ignore what god is doing in this moment we're familiar we've heard this probably sometimes in other settings i want to bring it out here how eugene peterson will switch to verse 21 in the message how he brings us out because this is an indictment on many who continue to play church amos chapter 5 verse 21 of the message god's talking he says i can't stand your religious meetings i'm fed up with your conferences and conventions i want nothing to do with your religions religion projects and your potential slogans and goals i'm sick of your fundraising scheme your public relations and image making i've had all i can take of your noisy ego music when's the last time you sang to me do you know what i want i want justice oceans of it i want fairness rivers of it family is it not clear to you that that's the kind of season that we're in right now where the cried is coming up is a cry for justice is it not a coincidence that the prophetic refrain even of this house was a cry for justice what we were in we were in alignment with the heart of god for this season so then you say but why why preach with all this urgency i'm finishing because it's important family that we don't ignore the signs of the age all year long there have been signs in front of us that are too large to ignore we've we're all walking through it and yet for whatever reason we still have many people both in the world and in the church choosing to ignore it or more accurately resist because you can't ignore what god's doing because it's too large so there are two choices in front of us repent or resist and whenever god decides to put a sign within a generation during the grace period that means a shift is faster than we realize something is about to change and it's gonna happen suddenly and it's close because god has decided within the age of grace to put a sign in a generation and when god decides to put a sign in a generation who's already living in a grace period is to say my shifting my heart my desire my plan is about to unfold and i don't want you to miss it i love you so much that i will not allow you to drift in complacency in the day of grace and miss what i want to do in your generation i am looking at what the scripture calls the olivet discourse when the scripture begins to unfold the olivet discourse as we look at the olivet discourse which is found in matthew chapter 24 as we look at the olivet discourse in matthew 24 typically matthew 24 is looked at through the lens of eschatology and rightfully so and there are a number of different biblical interpretations of the eschatological meaning of matthew 24. i totally get it when we're talking about eschatology for those of you i'm not just trying to use a big word we're talking about end times prophecy or end times things we write books on it and there's all sorts of different thoughts about it depending on what school of thought you come from but there's something that's important for us to understand as it relates to where we are and the love of god the kindness of god that leads us to repentance in matthew 24 verse 3 and esv something happens in the esv it says this as he sat on the mount of olives and this is my final passage of scripture as he sat on the mount of olives the disciples came to him privately saying tell us when these things will be what things were they initially talking about they were talking about the fact that he had just predicted the destruction of jerusalem in the temple so tell us when all these things will be and look at these words and what will be the sign of your coming at the end of the age key word some say the end of the world but we'll keep going and jesus answered them see that no one leads you astray for many will come in my name saying i am the christ and they will lead many astray and you will hear of wars and rumors of wars see that you are not alarmed for this must take place but the end is not yet for nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom there will be famines and earthquakes in various places luke in luke chapter 21 adds this word to this discourse and pestilence all these are but the beginning of the birth pains then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death and you'll be hated by all the nations for my name's sake and many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another and many false prophets will arise and lead many astray and because lawlessness will be increased the love of many will grow cold but the one who endures to the end will be saved and this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations and then the end will come now how is the love of god and the kindness of god displayed family every time something happens cataclysmic people tend to think this is the end of the world this is the end of time this is all there is this is what jesus was talking about and we write books about it and we look look at this sign and look at this sign and look at this and look at that and this happened and that happened and so pack your bags the truth is because of the overarching age of grace we're in these things could be a sign of the second coming at any time this is true but i want us to see something about the love of god because in verse 3 when the disciples were asking the question in verse 3 matthew 24 as he sat on the mount of olives the disciples came to him privately saying tell us when these things will be and what will be the sign of your coming at the end of the age family i need you to see something the word age there in the greek translates to a cycle of time it's not an eternal unending time and it does not mean the absolute end the word age means a cycle of time which means that whenever you see these things taking place a cycle of time is ending these things happen at every cycle of time ending and something else beginning my goodness i i need you to get this this is why there is urgency in the earth because if you read these verses of scripture that i just read to you wars and rumors of wars and nation against nations and famines and floods and pestilences it's already happened many times in the history of the earth he did not just say there will be this one time it's already happened many times in the history of the earth which is to then say that if these are the signs of the coming of the end of an age it's a sign of the coming of an end of a cycle of time which is to say that something is about to change something is about to shift something is about to be different and that's why there's urgency because the signs of the time of the signs of the age in 2020 you cannot ignore the fact that these signs are in the earth if we ignore the signs while he's also saying repent what will be on the other side of the change for us there is a change coming and your urgency should be birthed out of the reality of the fact that the greatest period the overarching grace period that we're in has been also interrupted by a divine initiator who in this generation has said even though you are alive in the period of grace i'm about to shift something in your generation and because i'm about to shift something in your generation and you don't seem to notice it i need to cause something i need to send something i need to allow something i need to use something in order to wake you up so that the godly will pray while there is still time the age is shifting the cycle of time is shifting and in the middle of that you have a bunch of people who are resisting but there are two choices in this moment either repent or resist but don't complain about your result on the other side it is possible to be alive and aware of the move of god and missing it it's possible to be alive and on the outside knocking ask those in matthew 25. everybody was told we're talking about the parable of the bridesmaids everybody was told that the bride's groom is the bridegroom is coming the prophetic signs are in the earth that the day is shifting everybody's being told but only some are preparing and if you don't prepare you'll be on the outside knocking let us buy some of your oil but if oil represents preparation you can't buy preparation preparation is not for sale oh preparation is not for sale all of us get weary waiting they all fell asleep but he's coming and the day the lord is coming like a thief and for those who prepared when you jump up you'll be ready to go with him but for those who resist [Music] it's not going to be the greatest day we are in a grace period we are in a grace period let's not waste it [Music] let's not waste it how do we get the urgency when the divine initiator in the overarching age of grace decides to send something in the middle that is saying to us wake up church come out of your prayerlessness come out of your insolence your arrogance your complacency and your comfort and come back to me return to me because you don't have to live this way you don't have to be on the outside because we are at the end of an age a cycle of time and whenever we come to the end of a cycle of time because god loves us so much he's not willing to allow his people to miss it so jesus in his love allows it to happen age after age so that mankind won't forget [Music] sitting on the mount of olives talking to his disciples but knowing that his voice would reverberate for generation after generation and every generation is confused about what's happening in their time would have this discourse so that when it happens to them they'll recognize something's about to change something's about to shift we're getting ready to enter a new age a new cycle of time and how we live in that cycle of time will be predicated on the decision that we make now where we repent or will we resist what will you do will you allow him to shine the light on your life will you sense the urgency or will you resist because you keep trying to rebuke what he's doing you prefer to continue to live the way you're living rather than ask him are you behind this are you in this are you speaking what are you saying i don't know about you family i don't want to miss it i don't want to miss it there's one thing that is a overarching refrain from me it's god i don't want to miss you so do whatever you need to do show me what you need to show me because i don't want to miss it this is the grace period but at the end of the grace period what will be our reward will we be rewarded for responding or be penalized for ignoring that's where we are family you may be someone watching and you're just now realizing oh my goodness [Music] god just gave me time and he's been waiting on me the entire time he's been waiting on you jesus is coming again and when he does he's coming to judge the earth but today you are living in a period of grace where he gave you this moment to get right before he comes he gave you this moment to repent which means to turn away from your sin go in a different direction or towards him [Music] the fact that you are alive and the fact that he has not yet come it means that he was waiting on you for right now i don't mean to sound morbid but it's just true you don't know if you have next week you don't know if you have tomorrow you don't know if you have three days from now you don't know if you have three hours from now what you have is right now to say god i'm gonna stop messing around living my life the way i want to live it and not turning to you the scripture says as a salvation is not a reward for the good things we do lest anyone should boast it says that we are saved by grace through faith in christ jesus came to extend you the opportunity to be right with god you say how am i right with god the bible says we are made right with god by placing our faith in jesus christ and this is true for everyone who believes no matter who you are when you place your faith in jesus christ you receive his grace the work of salvation is something the divine initiator god does in fact what that means is that if you are listening to me right now you are watching me right now and something inside you is saying you need to come home you need to get right with god that is the work of his holy spirit initiating in you the desire to want him what that means is that you were once dead in your trespasses and sins what the bible says but now there's a spark happening there's life moving in you that is the spirit of god who's working on your heart to cause you to believe and to know that you need him it's at that moment that you have the same decision i've just been preaching you either can repent or resist and if you resist you'll go right back to being dead but if you'd repent right now you'll be made alive in christ god loves you so much that the bible tells us in second corinthians 5 that god was in christ reconciling the world back to himself he did what he did because he wanted you because he loves you because he knew that you needed him and i needed him and that we could not get to him without him extending the hand first and saying come home and so right now you may be a person listening to me you've never surrendered your life to jesus christ you now realize you've been walking in a period of grace that has been extended so that you could come home or perhaps you're a person who is listening to me and you were once walking with him but now you've walked away he's also said to you come home [Music] so if you're a person [Music] who is placing your faith in jesus either for the first time or you mean at this time i just want you to put in the chat bar this is a public profession just say i'm coming home i'm coming home i'm coming home i'm receiving his grace i'm receiving his divine invitation i recognize that he's doing things right now to get my attention and you have my attention god and i'm gonna stop running from you i feel the urgency i feel the need i know that i need to do this so i'm gonna do it now some of you you're waiting because you're afraid of what it's gonna look like but it doesn't matter what anybody thinks about you this is just you saying i'm not gonna resist but instead i'm gonna repent go ahead and put it in there i'm coming home and what you're gonna notice is when you do that there are other people that you didn't even know were your brothers and sisters they're going to be welcoming you welcome home welcome home that's you and you're saying i'm coming home i want to pray with you i would invite you to pray with me i'm going to pray not because it's the words themselves that save you the bible makes it very clear that if you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart and god raised from the dead you would be saved so it's really about what you believe in your heart which is the core of you i'm doing this to give you language because maybe you've never prayed this kind of prayer before so you can repeat after me just to give you language but believe it with all of your heart say father i come to you just as i am but i thank you that you love me so much that you don't leave me as i am so today i place my faith and my trust in you i receive your love your forgiveness and your grace i believe jesus you are the son of god who came to take away the sins of the world including mine so that i could have new life in you i believe that you rose from the dead and that you are alive and with your help i promise to live for you for the rest of my life in jesus name amen family if you prayed that prayer for the first time or for real this time this is what i want you to do i know you've already typed i'm coming home but if you've prayed that prayer for the first time or for real this time and you mean it with all of your heart the scripture gives you assurance that you're saved however we don't want to just leave you trying to figure out what to do next those who are moderating want to connect with you and send you some resources so that you know what to do next so how can that happen just put in the chat hashtag i met jesus hashtag i met jesus and as you do that our moderators will connect with you family would you congratulate those who are doing it this is the miracle that takes place they just moved from death to life they took advantage of the period of grace and aren't you glad that he's extended it to the world and he's extended it to us family we love you so much we miss you terribly but we're so glad to continue to be connected in this way you guys are always on our hearts and in our prayers i want to say again a special thank you to our friends chandler moore and duncan oyakan for leading us in worship we can't wait to meet with you again be blessed father i pray that you bless your people in jesus name keep them and allow them to respond to what you're doing they won't miss the signs of the age in jesus name amen

Channel: Deeper Fellowship Church

Views: 12,319

Rating: 4.9779615 out of 5

Keywords: william mcdowell, chandler moore, dunsin oyekan, deeper fellowship church, orlando, florida

Id: 2dD2q_3foOQ

Length: 89min 27sec (5367 seconds)

Published: Sun Oct 11 2020