Whats The Deal God - Pastor Jeff Schreve

today on from his heart were in pastor Jeff Shrieves new series called rollercoaster facing the ups and downs of life join us today as we explore what happens when we take our eyes off of Jesus and the overwhelming purpose and joy that we can have when we live a life that serves him the message is called what's the deal God [Music] have your Bible please turn to Psalm 73 Psalm 73 we want to talk about this question what's the deal god I heard about a kindergarten teacher in the Northeast it was in January and it was wet and cold and she had the students go out for recess and one of the students was trying so hard to get on his rain boots to go out for recess and he was struggling so she came to help him and and she had to struggle and struggle and struggle to get his boots on and she finally with much effort and much pulling she finally got his boots on and the little boy said to her teacher they're wrong the wrong feet she looked down and Schurz the world they were on the wrong feet so she struggled and struggled and struggled to get him off and then she struggled and struggled and struggled to put him back on the right feet and she finally who I got that done he said teacher these aren't my boots she was so exasperated so she struggled and struggled and struggled and got him off his feet and then he said to her teacher these are my brothers boots my mom says I have to wear them so she struggles and struggles and pulls and sweats and finally gets him on a hold her temper and then she says there she said now wear your mittens he said I stuffed him in the toes of my boobs she's looking for another job I see she was so frustrated as you can imagine now all of us in the room we can identify with frustration with trying to do something and not seeing any success as a result of all your efforts and all your trying and all your struggles that's in life in general but that's also in the Christian life see in the Christian life we can get very frustrated at what is going on around us we can say hey God you know I am trying and trying and trying to live for you I am trying to do what's right I'm trying so hard to be a good husband to be a good dad to be a good mom to be a good wife and all I see is difficulty in my marriage I'm trying so hard at work and all I see is I'm getting further and further behind and got it yeah I just don't understand what gives what's the deal here God and to make it even worse my neighbor who doesn't care about God at all who doesn't go to church who doesn't seek the Lord boy he just seems she just seems to have everything come up roses I mean my neighbor doesn't pray but he sure prospers he doesn't worship but he sure is wealthy he doesn't obey God but he sure is blessed by God and Here I am and I'm doing everything I'm supposed to be doing and I get nothing what's the deal god I mean am i barking up the wrong tree I don't understand this God we're in a series on selected Psalms called rollercoaster facing the ups and downs in life and we're looking at the Psalms because Psalms are so true to life and Psalms pull back the veil as the psalmist David and others Asaph as we're gonna see today they share how they feel about a situation and they're just lets you know this is what's going on inside it's just raw and it's it's got emotion in it and that's why I love the song so much and in this song today Psalm 73 a Seth who was one of the musicians one of the singers in in the Levitical line he was in David's kingdom and he was in David's Court and he was involved in worship he was involved with the choir and he got so frustrated and he was so frustrated that he was about to throw in the towel on his relationship with the Lord about to throw in the towel on worship and just say you know what it's not worth it this is what he says in Psalm 73 11 through verse 11 through verse 14 in the message version of the Bible what's going on here is God out to lunch nobody's tending to store though we could get by with everything they have it made piling up riches I've been stupid to play by the rules what has it gotten me a long run a bad luck that's what a slap in the face every time I walk out the door hmm that's how he felt and that's how many of us feel to but we don't really verbalize it because it's like I'm not supposed to say that because that's the wrong answer but you know when you're honest before the Lord you're able to tell him anything the Bible says trust in him at all times o people pour out your heart before him God is a refuge for us God's a safe place and you can share with God how you feel and you can share your frustrations with God and that is what a ASF does and he teaches us a lot about this question is serving the Lord really worth it Psalm 73 begin reading in verse one and the new American Standard Bible that says this surely God is good to Israel to those who are pure in heart but as for me my feet came close to stumbling my steps had almost slipped for I was envious of the arrogant as I saw the prosperity of the wicked I want you to notice with me three insights from this Psalm that help us understand and answer the question is serving the Lord really worth it insight number one we begin to question and doubt and wonder is serving the Lord really worth it when we begin to compare look at it again in verse three for I was envious of the arrogant as I saw the prosperity of the wicked he began to look at what other people had he began to compare his lot in life with the arrogant and the wicked and those who didn't know God and those who didn't follow God and didn't worship God and he starts to look at and compare the two and he's like this just stinks you know when I was in high school I played basketball and I still remember a cheer that our cheerleaders had it was really a gear it was a taunt to the other side to the other team and we only did it when we were ahead but here was the cheer watermelon watermelon watermelon rind look at the scoreboard and see who's behind anybody remember that cheer that's a good cheer it's good cheer it's good cheer if you're a head can't really do it you getting beat by twenty watermelon no you can't do that but that's what a SAFF is doing he's running that cheer through his head he's looking at the scoreboard he says hey I'm Way behind here man the wicked have everything and I have nothing and what's the deal God hey comparison produces one of two things both are bad it produces either pride or envy you know you can you start comparing yourself with other people one of two things pride or envy you compare yourself to person X and you're doing a little better than person X you have a better house you have better cars you have a better job you have a prettier wife you have better kids so to speak in your mind you think my kids are doctors their kids you know where they're working in today you know chick-fil-a and you just say I'm doing better than you are so you kind of puffed up and I'm good but then you compare to somebody else looks like man he's got a bigger house tonight if he's got a better car the night and he's got a better job than I have it's wise a lot better-looking than my wife and man his kids the CEO of Exxon I'm not doing very well boy I wish I had what he had wish I had what she had and you become envious now God hates pride very very clear in the scripture there are six things which the Lord hates proverbs chapter 6 there are six things which the Lord hates yes seven which are an abomination to him number one on the list a proud look haughty eyes it says in the new American Standard God hates pride because pride is independence from God I don't need you God I got it all handled on my own and God hates that and God also hates Envy when you're looking at what other people have and say well I'm getting the short end of the stick see pride says I don't need you God and Envy says you're not fair god you're holding out on me god you're a dirty cheat God because if you were right if you were fair I would have what so-and-so has comparison is a bad thing either inflates you with a big head or it deflates you and it turns your heart sour and bitter and rotten and comparison here's the bottom line with comparison as I saw he says why are you questioning is it worth it to serve the Lord because I saw the prosperity of the wicked well I saw how high wide and handsome they live and it's just not right and it's just not fair and they have so much more than I have he's comparing comparison means that you've gotten your eyes off the Lord bottom line you've gotten your eyes off the Lord you're not just looking to him anymore the scripture says in proverbs chapter 23 verse 17 do not let your heart envy sinners but live in the fear of the Lord always I don't look at the the sinners don't look at the wicked don't look at the the people that are living for self and and envying their lifestyle and envying the the fact that they oh man they just go out and drink and they party and they they do this and they do that and they cheat on their taxes and bla bla bla oh I wish I could do that do not let your heart envy sinners but live in the fear of the Lord always and it says in Hebrews chapter 12 since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us people who have gone before us who have been faithful let us lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us fixing our eyes on Jesus the author and perfecter of faith when it says fixing our eyes on Jesus in the Greek that means you look to him and to nothing else don't take your eyes off him set them on Jesus who is the author and perfecter of faith run with endurance the race that is set before you now think about that that little phrase in Hebrews chapter 12 the race that is set before us did you know that the race that is set before you and the race that is set before me is not the same race you have a race and I have a race we're not competing in a race against one another I'm not trying to beat you across the finish line I'm competing in a race and you know who's running in the race me I'm competing against myself I'm not that God's goal for me is not that I am the best it's that I do my best you can't control if you are the but you can control if you do your best and the race that you run is different from the race that I run and when we get our eyes off of the Lord we start looking at everybody else's race we start looking at what everybody else other people have you know the old hem says count your blessings name them one by one but we like to compare our blessings then you get together with a bunch of preachers at a conference and they're constantly comparing how BIG's your church how many people do you have what's your budget how many baptisms did you have and yeah you know you're like ranked it's like well you don't have as many people as I do you go sit over there I'm hanging out with the people that have more than you do and so you you know you're relegate who I got to hang out with the losers that only have a thousand people in their church or a hundred people in their chair or whatever it is it's just guys do that all the time they're comparing themselves girls do that constantly have you ever noticed that ladies how it's just kind of a female thing to size up another woman and just kind of compare with look at her shoe what size is she I bet she's a six I'm an eight and she's a six and that's just not fair it's like yeah I mean quit going to Larry's pizza you know I mean that kind of deal and there's a reason on some of that stuff but but here's the point you fix your eyes on Jesus you don't look at anybody else and you run with endurance the race that is set before you Paul or Peter was met by the Lord when he rose from the dead he had a important conversation with Peter Peter who denied the Lord three times the Lord had a one-on-one with Peter to reinstate him so to speak and remember he asked him three times he was denied three times I don't even know the man Peter said it three times and the Lord asked him three times this question Peter do you love me do you love me do you love me do you love me and Peter was grieved when the Lord asked him the third time says Lord you know all things you know that I super like you a lot he didn't use the same greek word that jesus did and and the lord said feed my sheep and then the Lord said to him Peter there's gonna come a time where somebody's gonna take you by the hand and lead you to a place where you don't want to go and the scripture says there in John 21 by this he was signifying by what kind of death Peter was going to die and glorify God and we know from church history that Peter was crucified under the persecution of Nero in the 60s AD but he didn't think he was worthy to be crucified in the same manner that his Lord was so he was crucified Origen the church father tells us he was crucified upside down just a horrible way to die crucified upside down hey Peter there's gonna come a time that somebody's going to lead you to a place where you don't want to go and that happened in 66 67 ad but then Peter said this when the Lord said that to him Peter looked back at John who was kind of over in the distance John the disciple whom Jesus loved and he was kind of following after them at a distance and Peter said to Jesus Lord what about this man well what kind of plan do you have for that guy Lord what's that guy's race let me see what you're gonna do in his life Jesus kind of jumped on him in a way and said if I want him to remain until I return what is that to you you follow me hey Peter it doesn't matter what my plan is for John you just follow me fix your eyes on me run with endurance the race that is set before you in Acts chapter 12 the first apostle who is killed for his faith is James James John's brother the son of Zebedee and in that same passage of Scripture in Acts chapter 12 James is beheaded by Herod and the Lord sends an angel to release Peter from prison Peter was going to be killed - and the Lord brought an angel and brought about a great deliverance and released Peter from prison and it's like hey what's the deal Lord how come you didn't deliver James but you delivered Peter that's God's business you run with endurance the race that is set before you fix your eyes on Jesus serving the Lord really worth it hey we begin to question when we start to compare he God is good to Israel but man when I was envious of the arrogant as I saw the prosperity of the wicked an insight not only do begin do we begin to question when we begin to compare but we begin to question when we begin to assume we begin to assume assume what assume that those who are doing better than we are outwardly have it all together look what he says in verse four and following especially I like the way it words it in the good news Bible he says the wicked they do not suffer pain they are strong and healthy they do not suffer as other people do they do not have the troubles that others have and so they were pride like a necklace and violence like a robe their hearts pour out evil and their minds are busy with wicked schemes they laugh at other people and speak of evil things they are proud and make plans to oppress others they speak evil of God in heaven and give arrogant orders to everyone on earth so that even God's people turn to them and eagerly believe whatever they say they say God will not know the Most High will not find out and then verse 12 and the new American Standard behold these are the wicked and always at ease they have increased in wealth a Seth gets his eyes on the wicked on those that don't trust God doesn't serve God those who don't obey God and he says they have so much more than I have what's the deal God and not only do they have more than I have God they are so much happier than I am God he begins to assume things about them they are always at ease when it says they're always at ease that word ease means to be tranquil to be secure to be careless to be trouble-free I want you to think about that for a moment because we do the same thing that a SEF does we look at people who have a lot maybe they live in a big house or they have a big job or they're some kind of celebrity and we say all the lifestyles of the rich and famous oh if only I could be one of those lucky fortunate people who like that who have all those things then I would be so deliriously happy I want us to think about two questions question number one are the wicked really enjoying peace and tranquility I mean is that true are they always at ease they have increased in wealth do they live a trouble-free life are they just so giddy and and carefree and just have such security inside are they are they experiencing the Hebrew word Shalom peace and well-being and everything's great no they're not experiencing that you just don't know you can't tell from the outside you can't just drive down some you know some fancy street and just say well gosh you're just behind that door you know it's just got to be so wonderful because that person has so much money my aunt and uncle recently passed away my uncle some years ago but my aunt just a couple of weeks ago and they live on bel-air Drive in Bel Air California when we were kids we would go visit uncle Harry and Auntie Regina and we would go to their house now they have a small house they built it in 1962 on a very little piece of property right on the side of the hill is 1,800 square feet it was tri-level because there wasn't enough footprint to build anything any different from that but on their Street as kids we would drive up to their Street up to the the the mountain there and they would say now that's where they filmed the Beverly Hillbillies there's the mansion that you see at the Beverly Hillbillies and there is Dean Martin's house and there's where Roger Moore lives and and Ronald Reagan lives just down the way here and you know just freaking out as a kid because it's like man I've seen that on TV and now I'm right out in front of the Beverly Hillbillies house and he kept looking for Jethro he wasn't there but but you're just a boy you just say wow and these houses are just gigantic and you think man those people must have it made in the shade you can't tell based on where someone lives and the things that someone has you know what you can know for certain for certain for certain for certain Isaiah 50:57 verse 21 there is no peace says my god for the wicked I don't care what someone has if that person doesn't know the Lord doesn't know Jesus as Savior and Lord in today's world you can know for certain that person doesn't have peace because there is no peace unless you have a relationship with the Prince of Peace so I don't care what they have they don't have peace we know and we've seen in our world today people who have so much and they commit suicide and why are they committing suicide because you mark it down they don't have peace why did Robin Williams commit suicide he had so much everybody loved him he didn't have peace that's why Jim Carrey the comedian said this on one occasion I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that it's not the answer great quote so true see those of us who haven't made it so to speak we don't have the money that the wealthy do we're never gonna be on lifestyles of the rich and famous we always think boy if I just if I just got a little more if I just got that promotion if I just made more money if I just just had this or just had that then I'd be happy hmm no they not have peace no there is no peace says my god for the wicked I love what the Lord says in isaiah 57:20 the verse right before that verse it says the wicked are like the tossing sea for it cannot be quiet and its waters toss up refuse and mud there's no peace says my god for the wicked but laughs as he looked out on these wicked people that were prospering so much that it just had this carefree life he just assumed they were just at peace not so second question are the wicked really living satisfied lives I mean okay with it there's no peace says my god for the wicked but man there's a lot there's a lot of joy and have it a bunch of money there's a lot of fun in getting on your own private airplane and flying from here to New York to have a thousand dollar dinner at some really nice restaurant I mean well that would be a lot of fun I have a friend of mine who can live that kind of life and do that kind of thing and when I lived in Houston periodically he'd say hey you want to come with me and I'd say yes and I would go with him and we Debbie and I one time once in New York with him just for an overnight trip he he put us up at a nice hotel we ate at this wonderful restaurant I went on another trip with him he said why I can't do anything cuz I got to work but you guys go play golf at Spanish Bay there by Pebble Beach and I'll pay for everything it's like that's just awesome I love being I love being his friend you know it's just a wonderful thing but is there we can get temporary thrills from having lots of stuff but does that produce satisfaction in life and the answer is no Solomon had more than anybody has ever had I mean he had so much money and so much fame and so much glory as king of Israel and he wrote a book led by the Holy Spirit to write this book called the book of Ecclesiastes and the whole purpose of the book of Ecclesiastes is Solomon the wisest man who ever lived apart from Christ he goes on a search to find satisfaction Under the Sun he uses that phrase 29 times under the Sun Under the Sun under the Sun and so this is what he's doing he's searching to see can I find satisfaction in this world apart from God I'm gonna just do it under the Sun I'm gonna leave God out I'm gonna leave heaven out I'm gonna see where I can find something that really will satisfy my heart and he went on a search for satisfaction and he searched in wine and he searched in women you know I had 700 wives and 300 girlfriends I mean he he really explored things to the depth will this make me happy he searched wisdom he searched work and he did all sorts of building projects and things and he just searched wealth he had more money than anybody else silver and in the day of Solomon silver was as common as stones because there was so much wealth in the city and he tried and tried and tried and tried and he begins the book of of Ecclesiastes with his executive summary and he says this vanity of vanities says the preacher vanity of vanities all is vanity it's all empty it's all meaningless you can't find any satisfaction in the things Under the Sun they might give you a temporary thrill but they're not going to satisfy your soul he says in Ecclesiastes 2:25 for who can eat and who can have enjoyment without him without the Lord no one can Blaise Pascal the great thinker of the 1600s the French theologian and mathematician and scientists and philosopher he said this in every human heart there's a god-shaped vacuum and the only thing that can fill a god-shaped vacuum is God and you can try and fill it with all sorts of things but it's never going to be filled with things as DL Moody said if you could take the whole world and concentrate it down in a pitcher and pour that pitcher in a man's heart his heart would still be empty because the only thing that can fill a god-shaped vacuum is God all of us in this room have probably heard the name Mick Jagger Mick Jagger is the king has been one of the kings of rock and roll for decades the lead singer of the Rolling Stones and his sidekick Keith Richards who died in 1990 but nobody told him and so he's still kind of breathing but he's decaying and but they're still at it they've been doing this for 50 years and their most famous song is the most honest song these guys who have gone way down the road of drugs sex and rock and roll they sing this song I can't get no satisfaction because I try and I try and I try and I try I can't get no satisfaction hey hey hey that's what I say you're not gonna do it there there is no satisfaction in the things of this world God didn't set it up that way he didn't create you that way because in your heart there's a god-shaped vacuum so Asaph looks out at the wicked and he sees all these outward things there are no pains in their body when they die baloney they have pain when they die if you cut them they bleed I don't care how much money you have and they have family problems they have marital problems many of them have more problems then if they were never rich and famous I was talking to Todd Williams the other day superintendent at Pleasant Grove and we were talking about two people in particular whose lives are just careening out of control Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber Matt's favorite singer those people they would be a lot happier had they never experienced Fame their lives are just a mess you just see it's like good night you're just falling apart right before our eyes you're not gonna find satisfaction in those things so how is it does it pay to serve the Lord is it worth it to serve God well we question when we begin to compare we question number two when we begin to assume how all these other people have it so great but the third insight we begin to see when we begin to god we see the real score when we begin to seek God so Asaph says this verse 13 surely in vain I have kept my heart pure and wash my hands in innocence for I have been stricken all day long and chastened every morning i I'm just getting smashed in the face every day while the wicked just prosper and then he says in verse 15 if I had said I will speak thus behold I should have betrayed the generation of your children I got to be careful god I can't publicly say this stuff because then that's gonna cause other people to stumble and I don't want to betray the generation of your children but more I'm coming close to slipping my feet almost slipped he says in verse 2 then he says verse 16 when I pondered to understand this it was troublesome in my sight I don't understand why the wicked prosper and the righteous suffer verse 17 until I came into the sanctuary of God then I perceived their end he came into the sanctuary of God and he started to seek the Lord and he started to see things clearly Hey we begin to see when we begin to seek God Asaph was in the ministry Levitical priest led in the choir and the worship and the playing of instruments but you know he's just like everybody else he can get away from the Lord he can get his eyes off the Lord he can maybe get out of church for a while and you know it doesn't take long you get out of church and all of a sudden your your mind starts to get warped and your world starts to turn upside down it's it's sad when you see people doing so well and they're coming week in and week out and week in and week out and then something happens and they miss and then something happens again the next week and then they miss and then they miss a third time and then they buy a lake house and they're gone every single weekend to go to the lake and their spiritual life goes down the tubes and then they start having marital problems and then they start having family problems and they say what's going on you've been neglecting the sanctuary of that's what's going on you know we say well Church isn't that big a deal it's a huge deal because you need it I need it we need it and we come together and we worship the Lord and we praise the Lord and we see things clearly when we sing his praises and when we study his word so what did he begin to see when he sought God no one gets away with sin no one gets away with sin do not be deceived Galatians 6s God is not mocked for whatever a man sews this he will also reap the wicked don't get away with sin God is a righteous judge we wonder sometimes is God fair yes God is fair if God weren't fair he couldn't be God because if God weren't fair then he wouldn't be righteous he would be unrighteous because if you have an umpire in baseball football a referee in basketball and they're not calling a fair game you say well that guy's crooked that UMP behind the plate is crooked he's rooting for the other team he calls balls strikes and strikes balls I mean that's not right God is fair God is fair and God will judge sin the Lord says in numbers chapter 32 be sure your sin will find you out listen we have a group in America today called Planned Parenthood and they're butchers and God sees what they're doing and God's gonna judge that and it's horrible but God sees and God is righteous and God cares about those children who have been ripped apart in the womb the 50 million in America since 1973 Roe vs. Wade God sees God cares God knows about all the politicians and all the the lies and all the graft and all the corruption you say well does God see that the eyes of the Lord are in every place watching the evil and the good God sees God sees the preachers who cheat people get on television and and get people to give their money just so that they can line their pockets so they can buy a 65 million dollar jet God sees all that do not be deceived God is not mocked for whatever man shows this he will also reap and God sees the sin in your life and he sees the sin in my life and listen we can struggle with sin and all of us do struggle with sin but there's a big difference between struggling with sin and yielding to sin we live in a world today where many many Christians are just yielding to sin they're just giving sin a place in their lives and they're not doing anything about it they're not fighting against that they're just giving in to that and God will judge that you don't get away with sin you know David was king in Israel and God's hand was on him he was a man after God's own heart but David got to start he got to thinking that he could get away with sin and in second samuel chapter 11 we read about the story of him with Bathsheba and how he brought her to himself and how he committed adultery with her and then she comes up pregnant and he's like oh man what am I gonna do her husband Uriah the Hittite is out in battle and so he brings Uriah back to try and get Uriah to spend the night with his wife so Uriah would think the baby was his but Uriah wouldn't do it and so David has to send Uriah into battle and concoct a plan so Uriah will be in the fiercest part of the battle and everybody will withdraw from him so he'll get killed and Uriah gets killed and then they mourn you're ayah and then David brings Bathsheba into his harem and it says in the last verse of 2nd Samuel chapter 11 verse 27 this little phrase but the thing that David did was evil in the sight of the Lord God saw what he did and God punished him for what he did there consequences for every kick there's a kick back there were consequences for David and they were tremendous and they were horrible and there'll be consequences for you and there'll be consequences for me we need to walk in the light as he himself is in the light and like I said all of us struggle with sin but there's a big difference between struggling with sin and giving in to sin and letting it just have this making friends with sin and letting it have this part of your life you can't do that because it will take over and it will eat your lunch ouais have learned hey until I came into the sanctuary of God then I perceived therein no one gets away with sin the wicked are one heartbeat away from hell that's what it says verse 18 surely you set them in Slippery places you cast them down to destruction how they are destroyed in a moment they are utterly swept away by sudden terrors like a dream when one awakes Oh Lord when aroused you will despise their form one heartbeat away from an eternal hell that's what the people that don't know God are you might be here today and you say well I'm not so sure I know God well then I want to tell you with love in my heart that you're one heartbeat away from everlasting hell the Lord does not want that for you Jesus hung naked on a cross for you so that you wouldn't have to go to hell the veil of the temple was torn in two as we sang so that you could have access to God but what happens to the wicked what do we read about in the New Testament Jesus told the parable of the man who had so much and he said oh I have so many goods laid up for so many years he's the guy that build bigger barns and he says oh look now everything is taken care of I'm on easy street and I'll say to my soul soul you have many goods laid up for many years take your ease eat drink and be merry and God said to him fool this day your soul is required of you now what are you gonna do who's gonna own all that you have a mass you can't take it with you and you're gonna have to stand before me one day in Luke chapter 16 there's the story of the poor man Lazarus and the rich man he's not given a name although the theologians like to give him a name they call him dive ease dive ease in Latin means rich man and the rich man dive ease is living high wide and handsome he's got everything that he needs the poor man Lazarus is begging at his gate the rich man doesn't pay him any attention but then Lazarus dies he's carried off to Abraham's bosom and the rich man died v's he dies and the scripture says in hell he lifted up his eyes being in hell's a real place it's a real place and an unbeliever is one heartbeat away from hell and how should that make us feel as Christians and I was in Houston I heard the testimony of Nabeel Qureshi the Muslim who became a Christian and in his testimony he was sharing at First Baptist Houston when I was there and in his testimony he said this you know all through high school he said I didn't have really anybody that I can remember that ever talked to me about Jesus he said except one girl and she asked me one day in class if I knew Jesus if I had a personal relationship with Jesus well he was loaded for bear and so he kind of dismantled her but he said it always struck me that of all the Christians that I knew in high school she was the only one that ever asked me about my soul and he said I wondered why don't the other Christians ask me he said either number one they don't believe it they don't believe that I'm one heartbeat away from hell they don't believe the gospel that those who perish without Christ go to hell or number two they don't care about me ADA Ferguson who prayed for our offering counselor at our church she is such a soul winner everywhere she goes she's looking for opportunities to tell somebody about Jesus - to turn the conversation so she can talk to them about Jesus you know why she does that because she believes the gospel and she cares that's why it's an encouragement to me it's a challenge to my own heart it's a challenge to all of us hey do we really believe this do we really believe that our neighbors without Christ are going to hell do we really believe that the person we work next to is going to hell that doesn't know Jesus Christ if we really believe that wouldn't we talk to them about it wouldn't we look for opportunity wouldn't we pray for them Asaph said hey when I came into the sanctuary of God then I saw the real story and he closes out by saying this there is nothing more wonderful than the presence of God oh god I was so senseless I was like an animal before you earlier in this Psalm he said I was so bitter but then I realized verse 28 but as for me the nearness of God is my good I've made the Lord God my refuge that I might tell of all thy works says in the easy-to-read version as for me all I need is to be close to God that's what I need I just need to be close to you God I need to keep my eyes on you and I need to be close to you because no matter what's going on if I have plenty or if I have nothing if I'm close to you and I'm walking with you then you have promised me love joy peace patience kindness goodness gentleness faithfulness self-control against such things there is no law and that's my birthright as a child of the king and I can have those things the nearness of God is my good and that's how he closes it out hey is it worth it to serve the Lord you better believe it's worth it you know Peter asked Jesus he said Lord we've left everything to follow you what then will there be for us jesus said truly I say to you whoever has left houses or lands or father or mother or children or farms for my sake shall receive many times as much and shall inherit eternal life it's worth let me close with this story suppose I were to put on the platform today ten million dollars in cold hard cash ten million dollars just stack it up and I were to offer you this deal lay down your salvation lay down your relationship with Jesus Christ just for one day for 24 hours and I will give you ten million dollars now it's impossible to lay down your salvation for a day but just suppose you could if somebody offered you that deal ten million dollars for your salvation just for one day would you take that deal let me tell you three reasons why I wouldn't take that deal number one I could die inside of those 24 hours and be separated from God forever number two Jesus could come back during those 24 hours and I would miss the rapture and the glories of the marriage supper of the Lamb and I would have to go through the horrors of the tribulation and number three 24 hours with Jesus is better than 10 million dollars any day of the week [Applause] my friend maybe you're going through a really dark scary time in life hey the Lord knows and he cares and he has the answer he wants you to turn everything over to him he wants to make the difference listen if you're watching today and you're not sure about your relationship with Jesus Christ today is the day to make sure you can start that relationship right now by praying this simple prayer from your heart Lord Jesus I need you I know that I'm a sinner and I'm lost and I can't save myself but Jesus I believe that you're God in the flesh I believe that you died on the cross for my sins I believe that you rose again from the dead I believe that you love me and right now lord I asked you to come into my life forgive me of all my sins be my lord and be my Savior I surrender all to you and I promise to follow you all the days of my life my friend if you'll pray that kind of prayer and mean it the Lord will come in and your life will never be the same I'd love to hear from you to know that you're watching to know that God is using this broadcast to make a difference in your life to know that you just prayed that prayer with me to receive Christ as your Savior and Lord please take the time to call that toll-free number write me email me let me know what's going on and how we can pray for you you are important to God and you're important to us and we're here for you from his heart is the viewer supported broadcast ministry of dr. Jeff Shree speaking the truth in love to a lost and hurting world remember no matter what God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life find out more at from his heart o RG me [Music]

Channel: From His Heart Ministries

Views: 3,887

Rating: 4.8285713 out of 5

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Id: pF8OBwIpp5c

Length: 47min 39sec (2859 seconds)

Published: Sun Jun 10 2018