September 15, 2025 • 48 mins
The broken state of our world can leave us feeling frightened, angry, and unsure how to respond as Christians. When violence erupts around us—from political shootings to random acts of aggression—our natural instinct often leans toward vengeance or retribution. But what if the problem isn't about politics or individuals at all?
This powerful message confronts us with a challenging truth: our collective crisis isn't about disagreement—it's about heart posture. We've cultivated hearts prepared for hate rather than love. When we focus on revenge, we're no longer focusing on Christ. The Scripture is clear that vengeance belongs to God alone, yet how often do we find ourselves seeking to right wrongs through our own means?
Jesus directly addressed the Old Testament teaching of "an eye for an eye" by challenging us to "turn the other cheek" instead. This isn't weakness—it's faith in action. Like Joseph, who told the brothers who sold him into slavery, "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good," we're called to trust God's redemptive power even in our darkest moments. Every person—even those who deeply disagree with us—has value in God's kingdom.
The practical application is straightforward but profound: pray instead of plot, forgive instead of festering in resentment, and trust God's timing while shining His light in darkness. When we argue with people, the kingdom loses, because they see Christ through our actions. Our responsibility isn't to convince the world they're wrong, but to love Jesus and love our neighbors.
As we move forward in an increasingly fractured world, let's commit to checking our heart posture daily. Are we cultivating hearts of vengeance or hearts of Christ-like love? The choice we make doesn't just affect us—it shapes how the world sees Jesus through us.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
may be seated.
We're going to let the kidshead back, the small children
head back to nursery.
There is no kids class today,so just nursery.
Apparently there aren't many.
So I had committed to afour-week series on the Holy
(00:29):
Trinity and today was supposedto be the completion of that
series.
But in light of the world thispast week two weeks I had
decided that I was going toshift from that plan, and that's
the one thing that I appreciateabout the anointing that we
move in and that we don't fixate.
I appreciate about theanointing that we move in and
that we don't fixate ourselveson things being an exact way.
And I just wanna ask a questionthis morning, and this is an
(00:51):
honest question how many of youare just scared for the way that
the world is today?
Right, we look around and werealize how much hate and how
much chaos has taken over thisworld, and I wanna share with
you today some of the thingsthat the Lord revealed to me
this week.
And for those of you who followme on social media, you know I
don't get political on socialmedia.
I don't believe that I have aplace in that arena because I am
(01:11):
ignorant to many of the thingsthat happen in the world.
I have an opinion, amen.
I have an opinion, and I willtell you this, this is my
opinion of the past week that wehave experienced.
This is not a problem with apolitical party.
This isn't a problem withindividuals.
This is a problem with all ofour hearts.
(01:32):
This is a heart posture problemToday, yesterday, tomorrow.
This is not about hate for oneanother.
It's about hearts that areprepared for hate and cultivated
for hate and not cultivated forlove and the love of Jesus
Christ, amen.
And here's why I say that, andthis is what we're going to talk
(01:53):
about today.
Many of us were affected by theweek just in such a way, and I
want to just again, not meant tobe overtly political, so please
forgive me if you take it thatway.
It was not.
This is not the intention.
I was driving home from anappointment and on my way home
my wife had called me and shesaid do you know who Charlie
Kirk is?
And I said absolutely know whoCharlie Kirk is.
(02:14):
She said he was shot today andI said really I had no idea.
And she said yes, and so Icould not stop looking at my
phone to see if he had died.
Now, it wasn't because I wantedhim dead, it wasn't because I
wanted him alive, it was becausemy mind was fixed on what was
happening in the world, right,and my problem was I didn't know
(02:35):
how to feel.
I didn't know what to do, Ididn't know where to go.
The only thing that I could dowas pray.
Lord, whatever it is you'regoing to do, do it good, right,
like, make it big.
Lord, allow us to see yourgoodness in this.
And I remember refreshing myphone, and the headline was that
he had died and my heart wasbroken, not because some
(02:55):
political figure had died, butbecause he left behind a wife
and children, that somebodywould be so selfish that they
felt like to silence opposition,that they should take a life.
And I thought, lord, why?
Lord, help me understand.
And he said they've been doingit since the beginning.
(03:16):
They've been doing it.
He said what happened to me?
I'm telling the truth and theonly thing that they can do to
silence the truth is toeliminate that opposition.
And I thought, lord, I knowthat you are good and I know
that all good things come fromyou and, father, I know that
(03:37):
this is not of your doing, but Iknow that you're going to make
it good.
And he said to me stop thinkingabout one man.
And I said Lord, what do youmean?
And he said I want you to justthink about the world that you
live in.
And so I started to just lookand you guys saw that there was
a refugee stabbed to death on abus.
(03:58):
At the same time that CharlieKirk was shot.
There was a school shootingthat injured two children, right
?
Did you know?
Not last weekend a schoolshooting that injured two
children, right?
Did you know?
Not last weekend, not theweekend that we're in?
The weekend before there was ashooting in the flats in
Cleveland and six people wereinjured.
Did you hear about the dead bodythey found in New Philadelphia
Church?
Are you hearing what I'm sayingto you?
(04:20):
The world is a dangerous place.
This is not a problem with usdisliking one another.
It's our heart posture.
We can't disagree with somebodywithout attempting to eliminate
that disagreement.
Listen, a lot of you won'tagree with what I say today.
I'm okay with that.
I was talking to somebody lastnight.
They said how do you think yourmessage is going to go?
(04:41):
Because we were talking aboutit?
And I said I don't care as longas it is the word of God and as
long as it is the truth, I amhappy with what I deliver.
Amen.
And I know that some of you arevery political and some of you
are not political at all.
This isn't about politics, thisis about spiritual wellbeing,
this is about the hearts of eachand every one of us.
(05:02):
And you know, I'll tell youthat as I looked and as I
watched, I realized the problemisn't just with the world
anymore.
The problem is with the church.
And here's the reason.
I watched friends of mine,christians, people who I know
(05:23):
believe in God of mineChristians, people who I know
believe in God, talk about theshooter of Charlie Kirk as if he
was not a human being.
Shoot him in the street, hanghim on television so we can
watch.
Is that what the heart ofChrist really is, church?
Is that what God wants us to do?
Now?
Listen, every one of us.
We immediately we go back intothe book of Leviticus and we
(05:45):
wanna talk about an eye for aneye, a tooth for a tooth.
Right, I want you to reallyread that passage of scripture
and I want you to really ask Godwhat were you saying?
Because it's clear what he wassaying.
Punishment was to be swift andjust and fair.
Amen, it was not about revenge,it was not about vengeance.
(06:08):
It was actually a limitation,because if you were to jab
somebody's eye out, theycouldn't shoot you for it, they
couldn't kill you for it.
Right, it was a limitation, notan exaggeration.
The problem is is the churchtoday?
We're right about everything?
Amen, at least we think we are.
(06:30):
And because we think we are, wethink that our decisions and
our actions are more just thanthat of the world.
But let me tell you somethingthey are not.
When you are living for theworld, when you are talking and
making decisions based on theway that the world would treat a
person, you are not living forGod, you are not seeking the
(06:52):
heart of Christ.
Amen.
Now I know some of you aresitting in here going.
That was me.
He's probably talking about me.
I probably am, because if I sawit, I thought it, I thought how
could someone's heart be sodark?
I have never wished death uponanyone ever, and I say that
(07:13):
because I don't want God knowing, I don't want God seeing that I
don't understand his will orhis purpose.
Amen.
How many of us have sat aroundthinking this is none of my
notes.
We haven't touched anything inmy notes yet.
Church, how many of us havethought I'm going to get this
person back for whatever it isthat they've done to me?
(07:34):
It's flesh right.
I told you just weeks ago.
I thought that I'm sittingthere thinking how do I get that
?
Listen, just as a matter offact, I was on a phone call with
some friends on Friday nightand we were plotting, we were
scheming.
I had formed my posse, rightand it was.
We were gonna do this thing andit was gonna rock everybody's
(07:55):
and I thought it's fun, itsounds fun, it would be funny.
But man, that is not the heartof Christ.
That is not the heart of Christ.
That is not the heart of Christ.
Maybe you've thought thosethings, but you never said it
out loud.
It's a natural way to feel, butjust because it's natural does
(08:17):
not mean that it's godly.
Amen Does not mean that it'sgodly.
We're gonna start in Romans 12,19.
It says dear friends, nevertake revenge.
Leave that to the righteousanger of God.
For the scripture says I willtake revenge.
I will pay them back, says theLord.
(08:39):
Vengeance is mine.
Thus saith the Lord.
What does that mean that meansvengeance is his.
When your heart is focused onrevenge, it is not focused on
God, amen, you are not lookingto Christ.
If all you're doing is focusingon how do I get people back for
the wrong that they've done inmy life?
(08:59):
And I wanna tell you, the worstpart about this is oh Lord,
have mercy.
We have lost all moral compass,right?
So we think that when somebodyhas done something wrong to us,
that we have no moral obligationto Christ, the church, the
(09:21):
family of God.
We have no obligation to them.
We have obligation to the worldto pay retribution to somebody
who has done us wrong.
Amen, that's not how that works.
Clearly, dear friends, nevertake revenge.
If we're reading this scriptureand we know that the scripture
(09:42):
is true, how many of us knowthat the scripture is true, that
this is the word of God, thatthe scripture is true?
How many of us know that thescripture is true that this is
the word of God, that everythingthat is in here is written
through divine appointment, inrelationship with the Holy
Spirit, amen.
Okay, if that is the truth,then how do we look at revenge
and get excited about it?
Never take revenge.
(10:06):
Leave this to the righteousanger of God.
Here's the truth.
We are not built to carry theweight of vengeance.
We aren't, because what happensto us?
We become consumed by it.
And what happens to our heart?
It becomes hateful.
What happens to our mind?
It becomes so focused ondestroying another person,
(10:30):
another blood-bought child ofthe Almighty Amen.
We get so focused on that thatwe cannot focus on Christ.
Jesus.
Now, this is a really simpletransition to talking about the
thief on the cross, amen.
There were two thieves hangingon either side of Jesus and one
(10:53):
of them said Lord, remember mewhen you enter into your kingdom
, right?
And the other said if he werethe Messiah, he could get
himself down Right.
Now we're arguing about whetheror not Jesus is between us.
Can I ask you a question?
When the world has turned dark,what should our decision be?
Believe in the Messiah, amen.
(11:16):
Let me tell you a secret.
If we come here every week forour entire lives and we die and
we find out that we were allwrong, guess what?
We're all just dead.
But if the people outside dieand find out that we were right,
they spend eternity in hell.
I'm willing to take the riskI'm not a gambler because I
(11:39):
don't know when to stop right,but this is something I'm
willing to roll the dice onbecause I believe everything
that I read in here.
It's not I believe it becauseI'm too ignorant to do the
homework myself.
I believe this because God hasspoken to me and said that it is
true, right.
If you haven't had thatrevelation, my question to you
is have you really sought theLord?
(12:00):
Have you really sought the Lord?
There are people who will sithere and I listen to Pastor
Michael every Sunday and then Igo home and I don't look at my
Bible and I don't think aboutGod the rest of the week.
I'm going to tell you somethingyou are not in relationship
with Jesus right now.
You are not in relationshipwith Jesus right now and I need
you to understand the importance, because the world is a scary,
(12:21):
scary place.
If Jesus chose to take you hometoday, what is your level of
confidence that you are enteringinto the kingdom of heaven?
Amen?
It's a scary question to askyourself, but really evaluate it
.
Has the Lord spoken to you andtold you to do something that
(12:44):
you have chosen not to listen to?
Has the Lord spoken to you,clearly told you to do something
that you have chosen not tolisten to.
Has the Lord spoken to youclearly and said I need you to
move, stop, do whatever.
And you've chosen not to listen.
My question is are you living inthe will of God?
Amen, I can tell you this.
If your heart's desire today isrevenge, or vengeance, or the
(13:08):
righting of a wrong, I promiseyou this.
You have lost the focus onChrist and centered your focus
on the world.
We have to trust in the Lord inall things.
Amen.
Now, what does that mean for us?
That means every good thing weknow comes from him.
(13:30):
Every bad thing we know he willturn for good.
Amen.
Now, how many of us you canraise your hands for this trust
God with our sins.
We know that he is going tocorrect them, that he is going
to put us where we need to be.
Amen, hallelujah.
Thank you, jesus.
Now let me ask you anotherquestion how many of you trust
(13:51):
the Lord with the sins of otherpeople?
That is like half, probablyless than half.
Do you know why?
Because we cannot think thatthose people are deserving of
the same grace and mercy that weare deserving of.
We have somehow justifiedourselves in the eyes of God
that I am worthy of hisforgiveness, but nobody else is,
especially if you don't agreewith me, amen.
(14:12):
So we look at people who aredifferent than us and we condemn
them to hell in our headsbecause we don't know them.
The problem is is they areblood-bought children of the
Almighty, whether you like it ornot, whether you like it or not
.
Now they have a choice it'swalk in that glory, walk in that
(14:35):
grace, walk in that forgivenessor not.
Now I might get myself introuble.
We might get kicked out of heretoday.
Okay, I don't know, I'm justsaying this is not a we.
She says you're getting kickedout.
I'm coming back next week.
So many of us are focused onbeing, oh Lord, umbrella of
(14:59):
grace.
Okay, hear my voice, understandmy heart.
Okay, so many of us are focusedon pro-life right, we shouldn't
abort babies.
That's pro-life right.
Amen, hallelujah.
But how many of us are okaywith the death penalty?
Because you're not pro-life,you're pro-birth right?
Because here's the thing thisguy just shot Charlie Kirk.
(15:21):
That's a terrible thing forsomebody to do, but isn't it
worse for him to have to livehis life knowing and let's hope
that he finds Jesus and that hegets to get into heaven like the
thief on the cross.
Listen, that to me is worthmore than watching him hang in
the streets.
Amen, I want glory for thekingdom.
I don't want us to just getsomething that makes us feel
(15:41):
good.
I want the kingdom of God toexpand, because the church
believes that he is good in allthings.
Amen.
Now listen, you guys aren'tgetting excited, and I'm okay
with that, because maybe you'renot excited because you don't
agree with me.
I don't care.
Do you know why I don't care?
Because God does not want hischildren to die without knowing
(16:05):
him.
That is not his desire.
It never has been.
And let me ask you something.
Let me ask you something If youdied today and didn't know God,
he said depart from me, for Inever knew you.
That would be devastating, amen.
How would you wish that onsomebody else, ever, ever.
I don't care if it is yourworst enemy.
I don't care if this person haswronged you to the end.
(16:27):
My wife said to me the other day.
She said if you saw that personreferring to somebody in our
personal life, she said, youwould be able to be cordial.
It's a gift that I have.
It's not necessarily always agood thing, but there are people
that I dislike, that I canstill be cordial with right
Because I know that if God ismoving in their life, if he is
(16:48):
moving, truly moving in my life,I don't have to worry about the
negative things that havehappened in that relationship,
because God is going to handlethem.
If I focus on the revenge, if Ifocus on the negative thing,
guess what's going to happen?
I'm going to reap what I sow.
I am going to reap what I sow,and if I am sowing discord in
relationships, if I am sowinghate, if I am spewing all of the
(17:11):
negative things that the worldwould want me to spew, then I'm
going to receive those things.
Can I tell you that when Godmoved in my life and he said
we're going to move you fromthis season into this season, I
said I don't understand.
Can I tell you that since wehave done that, this church has
grown exponentially?
And it's because I wasn'tfocused here, right?
He knew he had to make a change.
(17:32):
I didn't like the change, right?
I still don't necessarily lovethe change, but I know that he
is doing something better and Icannot fault the other people
for what happened.
I have to look at myself.
I have to look at my heart.
I have to look at myself.
I have to look at my heart.
I have to look at my decisions.
I have to go.
God, if it was me, help me fixit.
(17:54):
God, if it was me, help me fixit.
God, if it wasn't me, give mepeace, give me comfort.
Lord, settle my heart, ease mymind.
We're going to go to Leviticus2420, and this is this passage
(18:21):
of Scripture that I started on.
Well, here's my problem, andI'm blaming Roger for this.
He gave me a half-frozen water,so I can't even drink it it.
I drink it and the ice cubepops out and hits me in the nose
.
It's about 90% frozen.
Leviticus 24 20,.
(18:43):
It says a fracture for afracture, an eye for an eye, a
tooth for a tooth.
Whatever anyone does to injureanother person must be paid back
in kind.
We often read that and say well, if you've murdered somebody,
you should be killed yourself.
Right Now I'm going to askanother question how many of you
are familiar with the book ofLeviticus?
The book of Leviticus, it's alot of rules, right.
(19:06):
It's a lot of stuff that wecan't do.
We can do, we shouldn't do.
We should do right.
What's one of the things weshouldn't do.
In the book of Leviticus it's myfavorite one to talk about.
Eat pork Now, by show of hands.
How many of you like bacon?
How about sausage?
How about pork chops?
Right, we love pork.
(19:27):
If about sausage, how aboutpork chops?
Right, we love pork.
If the book of Leviticus tellsus we can't do it and we do it,
it is because it is becauseJesus came not to abolish but to
fulfill the scripture.
Right, so all of the prophecyhe came to fulfill, he tells us
that there is no unclean animal.
(19:47):
Jesus goes through all of thiswith us and can I tell you,
jesus also addresses thispassage of scripture.
Did you know that?
Let me show you.
I'm going to bring it.
It's Matthew 5, 38 and 39.
Here it is.
You've heard the law that saysand the punishment must match
(20:09):
the injury.
An eye for an eye, a tooth fora tooth.
Now, wait a second, go back one.
He actually addresses thescripture directly.
Amen, all right, but I saywho's?
I turn to your neighbor and sayGod, say it louder.
(20:35):
So God said do not resist anevil person.
If someone slaps you on theright cheek, offer the other
cheek also, and this goes on tosay how many times?
Seven times 70.
Now, he wasn't giving you anexact number.
What he was saying was there isno limit to the number of times
that you are going to forgivethe person who has wronged you.
(20:58):
Now, for every person who hasposted that passage of scripture
on social media, I want to saynah, nah, nah, nah, nah, because
guess what?
That tells me that you arelooking to win an argument with
the world and you cherry pickedscripture in order to justify
(21:18):
the hate that is in your heart.
Amen, and I am telling you nowthat if you want to walk it with
Christ, that hate has got to go.
Amen, because Jesus, his ownwords, he tells us do not resist
an evil person.
If someone slaps you on theright cheek, offer the other
(21:39):
cheek also.
Amen, hallelujah, hallelujah.
When Jesus was preaching thescripture, he was telling so
many things about having come tofulfill and all of the
prophecies and all of the lawsthat were made, and I really
(22:01):
think that our hearts get sofocused.
Listen, most of you won't evenread the Old Testament, right,
right.
Most of you won't even openyour Bible to the Old Testament.
When you open your Bible to doa Bible, and most of you, if you
go buy a Bible study that youdo every morning, it doesn't
even touch on the Old Testamentanymore.
Right, it's because we'reafraid of it, but then we'll use
(22:21):
it against other people.
We don't even understand it.
Right, I'll tell you.
And even the book of Revelation, right, so many of us there are
a few of you that I love totalk to about the book of
Revelation because you know somuch about it.
But the book of Revelation doesit scare the pants off of you.
Amen, hallelujah, thank you.
I read it and I'm excited forwhat God is going to do, but I
(22:43):
read it and I'm like I don'tknow if I want to be around for
some of this stuff.
Right, there's a lot going on,and I read the Old Testament and
I think the same thing.
Jesus, thank you for neverhaving put me through any of
that, right, thank you for neverhaving me put having put me
through any of that.
But the problem is this Todaywe read that scripture, we chase
(23:04):
down scripture in the OldTestament because we want to
make the world feel bad fortheir actions or justify our
actions.
My actions should only bejustified through the heart of
Christ, right.
So when I'm thinking and I'mwanting to do something, I
should be able to ask myself youremember those 90s bracelets we
all wore, wwjd what would Jesusdo?
(23:27):
What would Jesus do If Jesuswere standing here today?
What would he do?
Would he want us to wish harmon other people in our lives?
He would expect us to give themgrace.
He would expect us to show themmercy.
He would expect us to show themmercy.
(23:48):
The world is not built for that, but the body of Christ is who
we have to learn to trust God,even when it hurts.
I said to somebody I was havinga meeting with somebody and she
told me that she has a closecoworker who is going through a
battle with cancer and it wasvery unexpected and it's been
(24:10):
very, very hard for them.
And she asked me.
She said have you ever, like,gone through anything where,
like it's been challengingemotionally?
And I said, yeah, as a matterof fact, I have.
I said but here's the thingwhen I hit the bottom of that
valley, when I'm looking aroundin that valley, I say to myself
(24:31):
this is the view I'm going toenjoy from the hilltop Right.
See, when I get out of thisvalley and I get to the top of
that mountain, I'm going to belooking at that valley and that
is going to be a beautiful,beautiful view, because I know
that even in that valley thatGod is good.
He know that even in thatvalley that God is good.
He didn't send me to thatvalley to punish me.
He didn't.
He sent me there to grow megreater, to put me to the next
(24:54):
mountaintop.
But see, our problem is iswe're so focused on the fact
that we've landed in a valleythat we can't enjoy the view
that waiting is a special placeto be.
I am in a, I'm still in aseason of waiting and I don't
understand it.
I'm like God, I've doneeverything and he's like right,
you have, but I didn't ask youto do that.
(25:15):
I asked you to wait and you'renot listening right.
See when you.
I think that's the third time.
I fired him today, poor Roger.
(25:36):
Somebody said Psalms 37.7.
It says be still in thepresence of the Lord and wait
patiently for him to act.
Are you hearing me?
Are you hearing me?
Wait patiently for him to act.
Don't worry about evil peoplewho prosper or fret about the
(25:57):
wicked schemes.
Listen, why are we worriedabout the wicked in the world
when we should be focused on thegoodness of God.
Amen.
Listen, the world is gonnaconsume us.
But my wife said this to me theother day and church, I need you
to hear this.
Okay, I don't know if this washer original thought or if she
saw this somewhere.
She certainly told me, but Ican't remember.
(26:18):
Our bodies are not equipped.
They were not built, they werenot designed to watch somebody
get shot in the neck and bleedout and to scroll up to the next
video being two little kittensplaying in a basket.
Because what have we done toourselves?
We've desensitized ourselves towhat life actually means.
(26:38):
Amen.
When somebody seeks out thosevideos, like I, just I remember
when I was a kid there was awebsite and I'm not gonna talk
real long about it, but thereare many of us who have probably
seen it that showed likeautopsy photos of famous people.
Right, I thought that was thecoolest thing in the world back
then.
There was a picture of JohnKennedy laying on the table
(27:01):
while they were doing the.
That's disgusting, see, and theolder that I've got and the
more mature in Christ that Ihave become, the more I realize
I don't need that in my life,because I'm looking at a life
taken tragically and thinking,man, this is pretty cool.
Can I just say that there aresome of us sitting in the room
who are still doing it, thatwe're looking at life as if it
(27:25):
doesn't have value in thekingdom of God.
We're treating it as if it isdisposable.
You are not disposable to God,and if you are not disposable to
God, neither is the person whodisagrees with you.
None of us in the kingdom ofGod are disposable.
Some of us get older.
Kingdom of God are disposable.
Some of us get older and westart to think, man, there's
(27:47):
nothing left for me to do andI'm not useful in this and I'm
not useful in that.
Let me tell you something thereis use for you in the kingdom
of God.
The older that you get, themore wisdom that you have.
Your gifting in that season isimparting that wisdom on those
who don't yet have it.
Amen.
And the challenge is is you haveto have the confidence to
(28:11):
believe that you can do it right.
You should not be sharing withsomebody oh, that's the dumbest
thing I've ever heard thatperson.
You shouldn't talk to thatperson.
They're stupid.
It might be true.
They might not be the personthat you should be confiding in,
or you should be, but youshould be able to say, hey,
listen, I'm sure that person'sheart is in the right place, but
let me tell you what the wordof God says.
(28:32):
But let me tell you what theword of God says.
You know, they may think thatthat person is stupid, but the
Bible tells us that we are allgifted in our own areas.
Right, listen, you don't come tome for financial advice.
Spend the money, I don't care.
Right, buy the shoes, pastorHolly, go for it.
(28:54):
I don't.
Do.
You know why, though?
Because I don't see yourcheckbook, right, you know what
I do see.
You know what I do see.
I do see your salvation, andbecause of that, I never want to
see a single person in thisbuilding in the world, and not
in the kingdom.
You know, I have a standardwhen it comes to being quote
(29:17):
unquote on staff here, and I sayquote unquote.
If you are in a leadership role, that means, if you come to the
platform to sing for worshipand many of you have proof of
this I have an agreement thatyou sign with me, and that
agreement says that you don'tdrink, and if you're going to go
out and go to a bar with afriend, maybe not even drink.
(29:37):
You're not posting that onsocial media, do you know why?
Because the people of thischurch and the people outside of
they don't know whether you'reactually drinking or not.
Right, there is a standard touphold.
When you work with me inministry, I expect you to uphold
that standard, and the reason Iexpect it is because if I'm not
gonna do it, I don't think youshould be doing it.
(29:59):
If it is not in the will of God, we should not be seeking it
out.
Amen.
If it is not in the will of God, we should not be seeking it
out.
Amen.
Now, I think oftentimes we getso attached to the idea of
always doing things exactly howwe're supposed to that we don't
ever take a risk when we'refellowshipping with other people
.
Right Now, most of us will havegone to barbecues this summer
(30:20):
where somebody has offered us adrink right.
Hopefully, most of us have us adrink right.
Hopefully most of us haveturned them down right Now.
My question to you is this ifthey are so willingly open to
offering you alcohol, are youequally as willing to offering
them?
Jesus?
See, my point is is.
I think that we have to do itright.
(30:41):
I have to invite you to churchso Pastor Michael can deliver a
message, right?
No, sheep, begot sheep.
You guys should be going out.
We had 102 people in thisbuilding last week.
There wasn't anywhere to sitlast week.
How many is here today?
Roger, 75.
I guess 60.
I was in the 60s is what Iassumed today would be.
Here's the thing.
(31:01):
I was in the 60s is what Iassume today would be.
Here's the thing.
God is doing something in thisbuilding, right, there's no
doubt about that.
The problem is the sheep arenot going out to greet the sheep
.
The sheep are not going to findthe sheep.
There are people in this worldwho need Jesus right now.
Right.
(31:22):
So there's this push.
I can't remember I heard it onthe radio If it's this Sunday or
next Sunday, but one of them isnational go back to church
Sunday.
Is that next Sunday?
Next Sunday, okay, and today,like Sid posted, like hey, I'm
hearing there's a lot of peoplegoing back to church for the
first time.
There's always a seat next tome in organic church, right,
(31:42):
listen, that's what the heartshould be.
That's where we should be.
Every single day is draggingpeople into the body of Christ,
kicking and screaming, because Iremember the first time I was
here it was kicking andscreaming.
Dave, the first time he wasthere was kicking and screaming,
maybe even a little hungover, Idon't know.
Dave, right, like that's life.
It's true, we go kicking andscreaming, but then, when we
(32:05):
find relationship with Jesus, werealize the heart that we had
for the world is dead and gone.
The heart that we have forJesus is alive and well, and now
we can change the world.
Listen, I prayed this morningthat, lord, allow us to change
the world.
Allow the body of Christ tochange the world, and this is
(32:25):
where I announced that I amrunning for president in 2028.
I'm kidding.
My wife told me she'd leave me.
I don't blame her.
I'd probably leave me too.
What I'm saying, though, is thatwe have to start to infiltrate
some of those places where Jesushas not been allowed Right.
If you have the opportunity tovolunteer in some of those
places where Jesus has not beenallowed right, if you have the
opportunity to volunteer in yourchild's school, please go and
(32:48):
volunteer right?
I saw that some schools haveroom grandmas.
How cool is that?
Huh, it's cool, do you do it.
That's what I'm talking about,because guess what those kids
need?
They need people with a solidfoundation in Jesus Christ to
(33:09):
surround.
Now, you might not get to praywith them, but guess what you
can be kind and sweet and I willtell you that there are so many
kids who don't get that samething at home.
That's why my kids like to goto their grandparents' house.
They don't get that from me athome.
I don't know why they'relooking at me like that.
(33:32):
Okay, what did I just preach?
I don't remember.
Was that Psalms 37?
All right, all right.
Okay, think about Joseph in thebook of Genesis.
His brothers sold him intoslavery.
That's messed up.
Can you imagine, can you?
Your brothers hated you so badbecause your dad liked you best.
(33:56):
In my house, it would have beenmy sister.
We would have sold into slaverybecause my dad liked her best.
That's okay.
That's not the case anymore.
I win, kidding, kidding.
If she listens to this podcast,she's really going to get me
(34:16):
for that one.
Joseph never sought revenge.
When he finally had the powerto punish them, he didn't do it.
He used that power for good.
Amen.
Genesis 50, 20.
This is that portion.
It says you intended to harm me, but God intended it all for
good.
He brought me to this positionso I could save the lives of
(34:39):
many people.
Amen, you meant for me to diebecause of your jealousy of me,
and when you sold me intoslavery, god said I will appoint
you to a position of power sothat you can help many.
Amen.
When we are raised up in Christ,when the body can come together
(35:01):
, we are feeding people everyweek that we don't even know
right.
Easter egg hunt that we haveevery year, that I swear every
year we're not doing againbecause it is so stressful.
Do you realize that people findour church because of that?
When the body comes together,god lifts us up to a position
(35:22):
where we can do good for ourcommunity.
Amen, and that is what weshould be focused on.
We need to stop considering allof the bad things and start
focusing on the good things, thebigger picture.
When we hand it over to God,we're allowing his light to do
the work.
Amen, not my light, his light.
(35:44):
Listen.
Some people walk in here andthey're fixated on every word
that I said.
And there are some people whosit in here and they're like is
that guy still yakking on, right?
Why is his voice so whiny?
Right, there are some people inthe building that have said
that Listen, I make that joke alot and I want to tell you guys
(36:08):
something.
When she said it the first timeI was like ouch.
And then I was like I can kindof hear it when I listen to the
podcast, so I get it.
John won five.
That's okay, don.
(36:30):
I was never offended by it.
My heart was never offended.
It wasn't it really?
Because when she said it wewere live on the podcast and I
laughed.
And then I thought about it andI was like Ouch, kind of sings
a little and, like I said, thenI listened to the podcast.
I was like I ouch, it kind ofsings a little and, like I said,
then I listened to the podcast.
I was like I hear it, I get it.
The light shines in thedarkness and the darkness can
(36:51):
never extinguish it.
Understand this that when thelight of Christ shines in our
community, the death and thedestruction of the community can
never extinguish that light.
Amen, listen, I have beenprayerful about what is next for
our church.
I have been prayerful about whatGod is asking us to do, and I
(37:11):
know that God is asking us toget outside of these four walls.
I know it, but my thing is isI'm still arguing with him a
little bit, right, because I'mlike God, I hear you, I believe
you, but I need to understandsomething.
God, what is it that you wantme to do?
You say out of the four walls,but what does that mean?
And he keeps saying the samething and I'm like I don't want
to do that.
Can I tell you what?
(37:31):
It is Something that we'vetried before Several times.
We've tried it and it doesn'talways just take off, because we
don't get the people tovolunteer.
Not who said that?
Hit you with my shoe.
Yeah, I won't fight you.
(37:51):
Steph, steph makes me nervous.
Yeah, easton says he could beatStephanie.
Can I tell you Nursing homeministry.
And let me tell you why.
Do you know that when Alyssaand I have always considered our
Elvis shows inside of a nursinghome part of this ministry?
Because when we go there, welove on those people, we sing
(38:15):
Elvis gospel songs, we make surethat they understand that we
are believers.
Amen.
We talk about it all the timeand we know that that is part of
it, but I know that we are notsupporting the people who are
stuck in nursing homes in ourcommunity the way that we should
be.
Right, sometimes they just needsomebody to just go and love on
them, to sit and talk.
Listen, some of you people justlike to yammer on right, do you
(38:38):
know there are people at thenursing home that would love to
listen to you?
Right, listen, we don't alllike the same things.
Right, I can go and sit andtalk about music to some of
these people.
I'm sure each of us have ourown thing that we enjoy doing.
That is where our hearts aresupposed to be right now.
Okay, guys, you hear that.
So we're not there yet.
(39:00):
I'm still rationalizing it,trying to figure out how does it
work, but that's my job.
But just understand thatsomeday that's where we're going
to be.
That might mean that on aSunday afternoon we're visiting
a nursing home to have church.
That might mean on a Saturdayevening we're visiting a nursing
home just to visit.
That might mean this winterwe're singing Christmas carols
(39:20):
in nursing home hallways.
Right Now, listen, none of thatstuff sound exciting to me, but
I know that's what we're calledto do and when we do it it will
be exciting that God will dosomething great Amen, okay,
sorry, for 30 years.
And it's not always successfulbecause you can't get the people
(39:41):
to rally behind the idea, right?
So you go by yourself and youare one person trying to do
everything it is impossible todo, and that's why we're going
to do this, and I believe thatthat's what we're going to do
next.
Okay, and then, after thathappens, you want to hear the
next one.
Are you ready?
Listen, god's already startedplanting all this stuff.
Folks, the next thing thatwe're going to do, are you ready
?
Well, no, listen, only becauseI got a little bit of PTSD with
(40:05):
that.
I've been there.
I'm not interested in goingback.
I'm afraid if I get there,they'll keep me, and so, no, no,
I believe that the next thingthat we will do is we will have
a transportation ministry and wewill be able to pick those
people up and bring them to thisbuilding on Sunday morning.
I don't know why, but Iactually had a conversation with
(40:29):
my dad.
I'm like, hey, when you'reready to sell your van, hit me
up, because wouldn't it be niceif we could get other people
into the building?
The kids?
You know what I mean.
Like that's the idea.
And okay, stop it, michael,you're getting ahead of yourself
.
Lord Jesus, lord Jesus, trustingin all things includes
forgiveness, amen.
Trusting the Lord doesn't meanwe excuse sin, but it does mean
(40:53):
that we forgive the sinnerEphesians 4, 31 and 32.
Is that right?
It says get rid of all thebitterness, rage, anger, harsh
words and slander, as well asthe types of evil behavior.
Instead, be kind to each other,tenderhearted, forgiving one
another just as God, throughChrist, has forgiven you.
(41:16):
Listen.
At the end of the day, ourresponsibility is to trust God
in all things and love ourneighbors as Christ loved the
church.
Amen.
Now I need you to understandwhat the church is.
The church is not just thisbuilding.
The church is not just severalbuildings.
(41:37):
The church is the body ofChrist.
Right, this church, this body,should be going out to love
Jesus, or to love the world justas Jesus loves us, amen.
We should be going out to treatthe world just as Jesus has
treated us with grace and mercy,forgiving them of their
wrongdoings, amen.
(41:58):
That is not easy to do, butthat's what we need to be
focused on Trust him to dealwith it.
Forgiveness is not weakness,it's faith, it is faith in Jesus
Christ.
So how do we live all of thisout, what?
(42:18):
That was the very first one.
Air high five, good job.
Pray instead of plot right.
When your heart is done wrongby people around you, pray about
it, lord.
Clear up this pain and thisdistraction, lord.
Whatever it is that I'm feeling, I want this.
I want to lay this at the footof the cross instead of sitting
(42:39):
there going.
Well, I'll tell you what I'lldo to get them back.
All right, tina, can I share thestory about your?
I think it was your niece, yourcousin, your, okay, her niece.
She had a run-in with somebodyand she was angry at them, and
so you know what she did.
She took a knife and went outto slash their tires.
What was her husband?
(43:00):
Okay.
And when she went to slice thetires, the knife slid in her
hand and cut her hand all up.
Well, three ligaments.
That's disgusting, right.
Vengeance is mine.
Thus saith the Lord.
Yes, but guess what?
(43:21):
When we choose to be vengefulourselves, we usually pay for it
.
Amen.
Pray instead of plot.
Release the frustration, theanger, the hurt, instead of
looking for revenge.
Forgive instead of festering.
Now, I don't mean, uncle,fester right.
(43:44):
What I mean is instead ofallowing those things to live
inside of you for so long thatyou just, every time you see
that person, you want to justsock them in the face, right?
You guys know people like that,like, oh, if that, if they
would right.
Instead of doing that, learn toforgive them.
Trust God's timing and shinehis light in the darkness, amen.
(44:08):
That seems like a lot of work,seems like a lot of rules, but
here's the thing when you are inrelationship with God, almighty
, all of those things becomenatural.
All of those things becomenatural.
So I'm telling you that ifyou're doing any of the adverse
of these things, I need you tocheck your heart, because the
problem with the world today isheart posture.
(44:29):
The problem with the worldtoday is heart posture.
This week, we're going to goout into the world and it is
still going to be broken.
It is still going to be full ofhate.
Amen.
Will you turn on the prayermusic for me, please?
(44:51):
And I want you guys, as a callto action when we go out into
the world this week, I want youto look at those things and I
want you to just remind yourselfthat it is not your
responsibility to get revenge,amen.
It is not your responsibilityto convince the world that they
(45:13):
are wrong.
It is your responsibility tolove Jesus and love your
neighbor.
Don't argue with people.
You don't win.
The only thing that happenswhen you are arguing with people
is a loss to the kingdom,because they look at you as if
(45:35):
you are Jesus and, because ofthe things that you say, they
believe that that's what Jesuswould say.
Jesus was sinless.
Jesus was blameless.
Jesus was God.
We are not God.
(45:55):
We don't decide what happens.
Amen, pray for the world.
Pray for your neighbors.
Pray for your neighbors, prayfor your friends, pray for our
community.
Pray that God would move in amighty way and that salvation
(46:16):
would just roll through thiscommunity.
Amen that we might see anexplosion of all of the churches
in the Twin City area, in allof Tuscarawas County, in all of
the state, of all of thechurches in the Twin City area,
in all of Tuscarawas County, inall of the state, in all of the
nation.
There are pockets of justrevival happening all over the
world right now and we need tobe excited about that, because
that means the kingdom isgrowing.
(46:37):
Amen, let's pray together.
Father, I thank you and I praiseyou for the posture of the
hearts of every person in thisroom, father, man, child, woman,
lord, whoever it may be, I praythat their hearts are prepared
for the world that we arewalking into.
That we may be able to tellpeople about Jesus at a rate
(47:00):
that is second to none.
That, father, when the worldattempts to distract us, that we
can turn and fix our eyes uponyou, lord, that we would be able
to be excited about the goodthings that you do and less
about the bad things that arehappening in the world.
Father, I pray for all of thefamilies who have been affected
(47:22):
this past two weeks.
Father and Lord, there havebeen so many more, but just the
ones that we've touched on thismorning.
Father, just allow them toallow those families to be whole
and complete.
Allow them to find peace andcomfort in you, father, god, not
in the world, but in you.
Father, I thank you for movingon the hearts of our people, the
(47:46):
hearts of your people, lord,that we would continue to seek
you and to find you.
I give you praise, honor andglory in the mighty name of
Jesus, and the church says amen.
may be seated.
We're going to let the kidshead back, the small children
head back to nursery.
There is no kids class today,so just nursery.
Apparently there aren't many.
So I had committed to afour-week series on the Holy
(00:29):
Trinity and today was supposedto be the completion of that
series.
But in light of the world thispast week two weeks I had
decided that I was going toshift from that plan, and that's
the one thing that I appreciateabout the anointing that we
move in and that we don't fixate.
I appreciate about theanointing that we move in and
that we don't fixate ourselveson things being an exact way.
And I just wanna ask a questionthis morning, and this is an
(00:51):
honest question how many of youare just scared for the way that
the world is today?
Right, we look around and werealize how much hate and how
much chaos has taken over thisworld, and I wanna share with
you today some of the thingsthat the Lord revealed to me
this week.
And for those of you who followme on social media, you know I
don't get political on socialmedia.
I don't believe that I have aplace in that arena because I am
(01:11):
ignorant to many of the thingsthat happen in the world.
I have an opinion, amen.
I have an opinion, and I willtell you this, this is my
opinion of the past week that wehave experienced.
This is not a problem with apolitical party.
This isn't a problem withindividuals.
This is a problem with all ofour hearts.
(01:32):
This is a heart posture problemToday, yesterday, tomorrow.
This is not about hate for oneanother.
It's about hearts that areprepared for hate and cultivated
for hate and not cultivated forlove and the love of Jesus
Christ, amen.
And here's why I say that, andthis is what we're going to talk
(01:53):
about today.
Many of us were affected by theweek just in such a way, and I
want to just again, not meant tobe overtly political, so please
forgive me if you take it thatway.
It was not.
This is not the intention.
I was driving home from anappointment and on my way home
my wife had called me and shesaid do you know who Charlie
Kirk is?
And I said absolutely know whoCharlie Kirk is.
(02:14):
She said he was shot today andI said really I had no idea.
And she said yes, and so Icould not stop looking at my
phone to see if he had died.
Now, it wasn't because I wantedhim dead, it wasn't because I
wanted him alive, it was becausemy mind was fixed on what was
happening in the world, right,and my problem was I didn't know
(02:35):
how to feel.
I didn't know what to do, Ididn't know where to go.
The only thing that I could dowas pray.
Lord, whatever it is you'regoing to do, do it good, right,
like, make it big.
Lord, allow us to see yourgoodness in this.
And I remember refreshing myphone, and the headline was that
he had died and my heart wasbroken, not because some
(02:55):
political figure had died, butbecause he left behind a wife
and children, that somebodywould be so selfish that they
felt like to silence opposition,that they should take a life.
And I thought, lord, why?
Lord, help me understand.
And he said they've been doingit since the beginning.
(03:16):
They've been doing it.
He said what happened to me?
I'm telling the truth and theonly thing that they can do to
silence the truth is toeliminate that opposition.
And I thought, lord, I knowthat you are good and I know
that all good things come fromyou and, father, I know that
(03:37):
this is not of your doing, but Iknow that you're going to make
it good.
And he said to me stop thinkingabout one man.
And I said Lord, what do youmean?
And he said I want you to justthink about the world that you
live in.
And so I started to just lookand you guys saw that there was
a refugee stabbed to death on abus.
(03:58):
At the same time that CharlieKirk was shot.
There was a school shootingthat injured two children, right
?
Did you know?
Not last weekend a schoolshooting that injured two
children, right?
Did you know?
Not last weekend, not theweekend that we're in?
The weekend before there was ashooting in the flats in
Cleveland and six people wereinjured.
Did you hear about the dead bodythey found in New Philadelphia
Church?
Are you hearing what I'm sayingto you?
(04:20):
The world is a dangerous place.
This is not a problem with usdisliking one another.
It's our heart posture.
We can't disagree with somebodywithout attempting to eliminate
that disagreement.
Listen, a lot of you won'tagree with what I say today.
I'm okay with that.
I was talking to somebody lastnight.
They said how do you think yourmessage is going to go?
(04:41):
Because we were talking aboutit?
And I said I don't care as longas it is the word of God and as
long as it is the truth, I amhappy with what I deliver.
Amen.
And I know that some of you arevery political and some of you
are not political at all.
This isn't about politics, thisis about spiritual wellbeing,
this is about the hearts of eachand every one of us.
(05:02):
And you know, I'll tell youthat as I looked and as I
watched, I realized the problemisn't just with the world
anymore.
The problem is with the church.
And here's the reason.
I watched friends of mine,christians, people who I know
(05:23):
believe in God of mineChristians, people who I know
believe in God, talk about theshooter of Charlie Kirk as if he
was not a human being.
Shoot him in the street, hanghim on television so we can
watch.
Is that what the heart ofChrist really is, church?
Is that what God wants us to do?
Now?
Listen, every one of us.
We immediately we go back intothe book of Leviticus and we
(05:45):
wanna talk about an eye for aneye, a tooth for a tooth.
Right, I want you to reallyread that passage of scripture
and I want you to really ask Godwhat were you saying?
Because it's clear what he wassaying.
Punishment was to be swift andjust and fair.
Amen, it was not about revenge,it was not about vengeance.
(06:08):
It was actually a limitation,because if you were to jab
somebody's eye out, theycouldn't shoot you for it, they
couldn't kill you for it.
Right, it was a limitation, notan exaggeration.
The problem is is the churchtoday?
We're right about everything?
Amen, at least we think we are.
(06:30):
And because we think we are, wethink that our decisions and
our actions are more just thanthat of the world.
But let me tell you somethingthey are not.
When you are living for theworld, when you are talking and
making decisions based on theway that the world would treat a
person, you are not living forGod, you are not seeking the
(06:52):
heart of Christ.
Amen.
Now I know some of you aresitting in here going.
That was me.
He's probably talking about me.
I probably am, because if I sawit, I thought it, I thought how
could someone's heart be sodark?
I have never wished death uponanyone ever, and I say that
(07:13):
because I don't want God knowing, I don't want God seeing that I
don't understand his will orhis purpose.
Amen.
How many of us have sat aroundthinking this is none of my
notes.
We haven't touched anything inmy notes yet.
Church, how many of us havethought I'm going to get this
person back for whatever it isthat they've done to me?
(07:34):
It's flesh right.
I told you just weeks ago.
I thought that I'm sittingthere thinking how do I get that
?
Listen, just as a matter offact, I was on a phone call with
some friends on Friday nightand we were plotting, we were
scheming.
I had formed my posse, rightand it was.
We were gonna do this thing andit was gonna rock everybody's
(07:55):
and I thought it's fun, itsounds fun, it would be funny.
But man, that is not the heartof Christ.
That is not the heart of Christ.
That is not the heart of Christ.
Maybe you've thought thosethings, but you never said it
out loud.
It's a natural way to feel, butjust because it's natural does
(08:17):
not mean that it's godly.
Amen Does not mean that it'sgodly.
We're gonna start in Romans 12,19.
It says dear friends, nevertake revenge.
Leave that to the righteousanger of God.
For the scripture says I willtake revenge.
I will pay them back, says theLord.
(08:39):
Vengeance is mine.
Thus saith the Lord.
What does that mean that meansvengeance is his.
When your heart is focused onrevenge, it is not focused on
God, amen, you are not lookingto Christ.
If all you're doing is focusingon how do I get people back for
the wrong that they've done inmy life?
(08:59):
And I wanna tell you, the worstpart about this is oh Lord,
have mercy.
We have lost all moral compass,right?
So we think that when somebodyhas done something wrong to us,
that we have no moral obligationto Christ, the church, the
(09:21):
family of God.
We have no obligation to them.
We have obligation to the worldto pay retribution to somebody
who has done us wrong.
Amen, that's not how that works.
Clearly, dear friends, nevertake revenge.
If we're reading this scriptureand we know that the scripture
(09:42):
is true, how many of us knowthat the scripture is true, that
this is the word of God, thatthe scripture is true?
How many of us know that thescripture is true that this is
the word of God, that everythingthat is in here is written
through divine appointment, inrelationship with the Holy
Spirit, amen.
Okay, if that is the truth,then how do we look at revenge
and get excited about it?
Never take revenge.
(10:06):
Leave this to the righteousanger of God.
Here's the truth.
We are not built to carry theweight of vengeance.
We aren't, because what happensto us?
We become consumed by it.
And what happens to our heart?
It becomes hateful.
What happens to our mind?
It becomes so focused ondestroying another person,
(10:30):
another blood-bought child ofthe Almighty Amen.
We get so focused on that thatwe cannot focus on Christ.
Jesus.
Now, this is a really simpletransition to talking about the
thief on the cross, amen.
There were two thieves hangingon either side of Jesus and one
(10:53):
of them said Lord, remember mewhen you enter into your kingdom
, right?
And the other said if he werethe Messiah, he could get
himself down Right.
Now we're arguing about whetheror not Jesus is between us.
Can I ask you a question?
When the world has turned dark,what should our decision be?
Believe in the Messiah, amen.
(11:16):
Let me tell you a secret.
If we come here every week forour entire lives and we die and
we find out that we were allwrong, guess what?
We're all just dead.
But if the people outside dieand find out that we were right,
they spend eternity in hell.
I'm willing to take the riskI'm not a gambler because I
(11:39):
don't know when to stop right,but this is something I'm
willing to roll the dice onbecause I believe everything
that I read in here.
It's not I believe it becauseI'm too ignorant to do the
homework myself.
I believe this because God hasspoken to me and said that it is
true, right.
If you haven't had thatrevelation, my question to you
is have you really sought theLord?
(12:00):
Have you really sought the Lord?
There are people who will sithere and I listen to Pastor
Michael every Sunday and then Igo home and I don't look at my
Bible and I don't think aboutGod the rest of the week.
I'm going to tell you somethingyou are not in relationship
with Jesus right now.
You are not in relationshipwith Jesus right now and I need
you to understand the importance, because the world is a scary,
(12:21):
scary place.
If Jesus chose to take you hometoday, what is your level of
confidence that you are enteringinto the kingdom of heaven?
Amen?
It's a scary question to askyourself, but really evaluate it
.
Has the Lord spoken to you andtold you to do something that
(12:44):
you have chosen not to listen to?
Has the Lord spoken to you,clearly told you to do something
that you have chosen not tolisten to.
Has the Lord spoken to youclearly and said I need you to
move, stop, do whatever.
And you've chosen not to listen.
My question is are you living inthe will of God?
Amen, I can tell you this.
If your heart's desire today isrevenge, or vengeance, or the
(13:08):
righting of a wrong, I promiseyou this.
You have lost the focus onChrist and centered your focus
on the world.
We have to trust in the Lord inall things.
Amen.
Now, what does that mean for us?
That means every good thing weknow comes from him.
(13:30):
Every bad thing we know he willturn for good.
Amen.
Now, how many of us you canraise your hands for this trust
God with our sins.
We know that he is going tocorrect them, that he is going
to put us where we need to be.
Amen, hallelujah.
Thank you, jesus.
Now let me ask you anotherquestion how many of you trust
(13:51):
the Lord with the sins of otherpeople?
That is like half, probablyless than half.
Do you know why?
Because we cannot think thatthose people are deserving of
the same grace and mercy that weare deserving of.
We have somehow justifiedourselves in the eyes of God
that I am worthy of hisforgiveness, but nobody else is,
especially if you don't agreewith me, amen.
(14:12):
So we look at people who aredifferent than us and we condemn
them to hell in our headsbecause we don't know them.
The problem is is they areblood-bought children of the
Almighty, whether you like it ornot, whether you like it or not
.
Now they have a choice it'swalk in that glory, walk in that
(14:35):
grace, walk in that forgivenessor not.
Now I might get myself introuble.
We might get kicked out of heretoday.
Okay, I don't know, I'm justsaying this is not a we.
She says you're getting kickedout.
I'm coming back next week.
So many of us are focused onbeing, oh Lord, umbrella of
(14:59):
grace.
Okay, hear my voice, understandmy heart.
Okay, so many of us are focusedon pro-life right, we shouldn't
abort babies.
That's pro-life right.
Amen, hallelujah.
But how many of us are okaywith the death penalty?
Because you're not pro-life,you're pro-birth right?
Because here's the thing thisguy just shot Charlie Kirk.
(15:21):
That's a terrible thing forsomebody to do, but isn't it
worse for him to have to livehis life knowing and let's hope
that he finds Jesus and that hegets to get into heaven like the
thief on the cross.
Listen, that to me is worthmore than watching him hang in
the streets.
Amen, I want glory for thekingdom.
I don't want us to just getsomething that makes us feel
(15:41):
good.
I want the kingdom of God toexpand, because the church
believes that he is good in allthings.
Amen.
Now listen, you guys aren'tgetting excited, and I'm okay
with that, because maybe you'renot excited because you don't
agree with me.
I don't care.
Do you know why I don't care?
Because God does not want hischildren to die without knowing
(16:05):
him.
That is not his desire.
It never has been.
And let me ask you something.
Let me ask you something If youdied today and didn't know God,
he said depart from me, for Inever knew you.
That would be devastating, amen.
How would you wish that onsomebody else, ever, ever.
I don't care if it is yourworst enemy.
I don't care if this person haswronged you to the end.
(16:27):
My wife said to me the other day.
She said if you saw that personreferring to somebody in our
personal life, she said, youwould be able to be cordial.
It's a gift that I have.
It's not necessarily always agood thing, but there are people
that I dislike, that I canstill be cordial with right
Because I know that if God ismoving in their life, if he is
(16:48):
moving, truly moving in my life,I don't have to worry about the
negative things that havehappened in that relationship,
because God is going to handlethem.
If I focus on the revenge, if Ifocus on the negative thing,
guess what's going to happen?
I'm going to reap what I sow.
I am going to reap what I sow,and if I am sowing discord in
relationships, if I am sowinghate, if I am spewing all of the
(17:11):
negative things that the worldwould want me to spew, then I'm
going to receive those things.
Can I tell you that when Godmoved in my life and he said
we're going to move you fromthis season into this season, I
said I don't understand.
Can I tell you that since wehave done that, this church has
grown exponentially?
And it's because I wasn'tfocused here, right?
He knew he had to make a change.
(17:32):
I didn't like the change, right?
I still don't necessarily lovethe change, but I know that he
is doing something better and Icannot fault the other people
for what happened.
I have to look at myself.
I have to look at my heart.
I have to look at myself.
I have to look at my heart.
I have to look at my decisions.
I have to go.
God, if it was me, help me fixit.
(17:54):
God, if it was me, help me fixit.
God, if it wasn't me, give mepeace, give me comfort.
Lord, settle my heart, ease mymind.
We're going to go to Leviticus2420, and this is this passage
(18:21):
of Scripture that I started on.
Well, here's my problem, andI'm blaming Roger for this.
He gave me a half-frozen water,so I can't even drink it it.
I drink it and the ice cubepops out and hits me in the nose
.
It's about 90% frozen.
Leviticus 24 20,.
(18:43):
It says a fracture for afracture, an eye for an eye, a
tooth for a tooth.
Whatever anyone does to injureanother person must be paid back
in kind.
We often read that and say well, if you've murdered somebody,
you should be killed yourself.
Right Now I'm going to askanother question how many of you
are familiar with the book ofLeviticus?
The book of Leviticus, it's alot of rules, right.
(19:06):
It's a lot of stuff that wecan't do.
We can do, we shouldn't do.
We should do right.
What's one of the things weshouldn't do.
In the book of Leviticus it's myfavorite one to talk about.
Eat pork Now, by show of hands.
How many of you like bacon?
How about sausage?
How about pork chops?
Right, we love pork.
(19:27):
If about sausage, how aboutpork chops?
Right, we love pork.
If the book of Leviticus tellsus we can't do it and we do it,
it is because it is becauseJesus came not to abolish but to
fulfill the scripture.
Right, so all of the prophecyhe came to fulfill, he tells us
that there is no unclean animal.
(19:47):
Jesus goes through all of thiswith us and can I tell you,
jesus also addresses thispassage of scripture.
Did you know that?
Let me show you.
I'm going to bring it.
It's Matthew 5, 38 and 39.
Here it is.
You've heard the law that saysand the punishment must match
(20:09):
the injury.
An eye for an eye, a tooth fora tooth.
Now, wait a second, go back one.
He actually addresses thescripture directly.
Amen, all right, but I saywho's?
I turn to your neighbor and sayGod, say it louder.
(20:35):
So God said do not resist anevil person.
If someone slaps you on theright cheek, offer the other
cheek also, and this goes on tosay how many times?
Seven times 70.
Now, he wasn't giving you anexact number.
What he was saying was there isno limit to the number of times
that you are going to forgivethe person who has wronged you.
(20:58):
Now, for every person who hasposted that passage of scripture
on social media, I want to saynah, nah, nah, nah, nah, because
guess what?
That tells me that you arelooking to win an argument with
the world and you cherry pickedscripture in order to justify
(21:18):
the hate that is in your heart.
Amen, and I am telling you nowthat if you want to walk it with
Christ, that hate has got to go.
Amen, because Jesus, his ownwords, he tells us do not resist
an evil person.
If someone slaps you on theright cheek, offer the other
(21:39):
cheek also.
Amen, hallelujah, hallelujah.
When Jesus was preaching thescripture, he was telling so
many things about having come tofulfill and all of the
prophecies and all of the lawsthat were made, and I really
(22:01):
think that our hearts get sofocused.
Listen, most of you won't evenread the Old Testament, right,
right.
Most of you won't even openyour Bible to the Old Testament.
When you open your Bible to doa Bible, and most of you, if you
go buy a Bible study that youdo every morning, it doesn't
even touch on the Old Testamentanymore.
Right, it's because we'reafraid of it, but then we'll use
(22:21):
it against other people.
We don't even understand it.
Right, I'll tell you.
And even the book of Revelation, right, so many of us there are
a few of you that I love totalk to about the book of
Revelation because you know somuch about it.
But the book of Revelation doesit scare the pants off of you.
Amen, hallelujah, thank you.
I read it and I'm excited forwhat God is going to do, but I
(22:43):
read it and I'm like I don'tknow if I want to be around for
some of this stuff.
Right, there's a lot going on,and I read the Old Testament and
I think the same thing.
Jesus, thank you for neverhaving put me through any of
that, right, thank you for neverhaving me put having put me
through any of that.
But the problem is this Todaywe read that scripture, we chase
(23:04):
down scripture in the OldTestament because we want to
make the world feel bad fortheir actions or justify our
actions.
My actions should only bejustified through the heart of
Christ, right.
So when I'm thinking and I'mwanting to do something, I
should be able to ask myself youremember those 90s bracelets we
all wore, wwjd what would Jesusdo?
(23:27):
What would Jesus do If Jesuswere standing here today?
What would he do?
Would he want us to wish harmon other people in our lives?
He would expect us to give themgrace.
He would expect us to show themmercy.
He would expect us to show themmercy.
(23:48):
The world is not built for that, but the body of Christ is who
we have to learn to trust God,even when it hurts.
I said to somebody I was havinga meeting with somebody and she
told me that she has a closecoworker who is going through a
battle with cancer and it wasvery unexpected and it's been
(24:10):
very, very hard for them.
And she asked me.
She said have you ever, like,gone through anything where,
like it's been challengingemotionally?
And I said, yeah, as a matterof fact, I have.
I said but here's the thingwhen I hit the bottom of that
valley, when I'm looking aroundin that valley, I say to myself
(24:31):
this is the view I'm going toenjoy from the hilltop Right.
See, when I get out of thisvalley and I get to the top of
that mountain, I'm going to belooking at that valley and that
is going to be a beautiful,beautiful view, because I know
that even in that valley thatGod is good.
He know that even in thatvalley that God is good.
He didn't send me to thatvalley to punish me.
He didn't.
He sent me there to grow megreater, to put me to the next
(24:54):
mountaintop.
But see, our problem is iswe're so focused on the fact
that we've landed in a valleythat we can't enjoy the view
that waiting is a special placeto be.
I am in a, I'm still in aseason of waiting and I don't
understand it.
I'm like God, I've doneeverything and he's like right,
you have, but I didn't ask youto do that.
(25:15):
I asked you to wait and you'renot listening right.
See when you.
I think that's the third time.
I fired him today, poor Roger.
(25:36):
Somebody said Psalms 37.7.
It says be still in thepresence of the Lord and wait
patiently for him to act.
Are you hearing me?
Are you hearing me?
Wait patiently for him to act.
Don't worry about evil peoplewho prosper or fret about the
(25:57):
wicked schemes.
Listen, why are we worriedabout the wicked in the world
when we should be focused on thegoodness of God.
Amen.
Listen, the world is gonnaconsume us.
But my wife said this to me theother day and church, I need you
to hear this.
Okay, I don't know if this washer original thought or if she
saw this somewhere.
She certainly told me, but Ican't remember.
(26:18):
Our bodies are not equipped.
They were not built, they werenot designed to watch somebody
get shot in the neck and bleedout and to scroll up to the next
video being two little kittensplaying in a basket.
Because what have we done toourselves?
We've desensitized ourselves towhat life actually means.
(26:38):
Amen.
When somebody seeks out thosevideos, like I, just I remember
when I was a kid there was awebsite and I'm not gonna talk
real long about it, but thereare many of us who have probably
seen it that showed likeautopsy photos of famous people.
Right, I thought that was thecoolest thing in the world back
then.
There was a picture of JohnKennedy laying on the table
(27:01):
while they were doing the.
That's disgusting, see, and theolder that I've got and the
more mature in Christ that Ihave become, the more I realize
I don't need that in my life,because I'm looking at a life
taken tragically and thinking,man, this is pretty cool.
Can I just say that there aresome of us sitting in the room
who are still doing it, thatwe're looking at life as if it
(27:25):
doesn't have value in thekingdom of God.
We're treating it as if it isdisposable.
You are not disposable to God,and if you are not disposable to
God, neither is the person whodisagrees with you.
None of us in the kingdom ofGod are disposable.
Some of us get older.
Kingdom of God are disposable.
Some of us get older and westart to think, man, there's
(27:47):
nothing left for me to do andI'm not useful in this and I'm
not useful in that.
Let me tell you something thereis use for you in the kingdom
of God.
The older that you get, themore wisdom that you have.
Your gifting in that season isimparting that wisdom on those
who don't yet have it.
Amen.
And the challenge is is you haveto have the confidence to
(28:11):
believe that you can do it right.
You should not be sharing withsomebody oh, that's the dumbest
thing I've ever heard thatperson.
You shouldn't talk to thatperson.
They're stupid.
It might be true.
They might not be the personthat you should be confiding in,
or you should be, but youshould be able to say, hey,
listen, I'm sure that person'sheart is in the right place, but
let me tell you what the wordof God says.
(28:32):
But let me tell you what theword of God says.
You know, they may think thatthat person is stupid, but the
Bible tells us that we are allgifted in our own areas.
Right, listen, you don't come tome for financial advice.
Spend the money, I don't care.
Right, buy the shoes, pastorHolly, go for it.
(28:54):
I don't.
Do.
You know why, though?
Because I don't see yourcheckbook, right, you know what
I do see.
You know what I do see.
I do see your salvation, andbecause of that, I never want to
see a single person in thisbuilding in the world, and not
in the kingdom.
You know, I have a standardwhen it comes to being quote
(29:17):
unquote on staff here, and I sayquote unquote.
If you are in a leadership role, that means, if you come to the
platform to sing for worshipand many of you have proof of
this I have an agreement thatyou sign with me, and that
agreement says that you don'tdrink, and if you're going to go
out and go to a bar with afriend, maybe not even drink.
(29:37):
You're not posting that onsocial media, do you know why?
Because the people of thischurch and the people outside of
they don't know whether you'reactually drinking or not.
Right, there is a standard touphold.
When you work with me inministry, I expect you to uphold
that standard, and the reason Iexpect it is because if I'm not
gonna do it, I don't think youshould be doing it.
(29:59):
If it is not in the will of God, we should not be seeking it
out.
Amen.
If it is not in the will of God, we should not be seeking it
out.
Amen.
Now, I think oftentimes we getso attached to the idea of
always doing things exactly howwe're supposed to that we don't
ever take a risk when we'refellowshipping with other people
.
Right Now, most of us will havegone to barbecues this summer
(30:20):
where somebody has offered us adrink right.
Hopefully, most of us have us adrink right.
Hopefully most of us haveturned them down right Now.
My question to you is this ifthey are so willingly open to
offering you alcohol, are youequally as willing to offering
them?
Jesus?
See, my point is is.
I think that we have to do itright.
(30:41):
I have to invite you to churchso Pastor Michael can deliver a
message, right?
No, sheep, begot sheep.
You guys should be going out.
We had 102 people in thisbuilding last week.
There wasn't anywhere to sitlast week.
How many is here today?
Roger, 75.
I guess 60.
I was in the 60s is what Iassumed today would be.
Here's the thing.
(31:01):
I was in the 60s is what Iassume today would be.
Here's the thing.
God is doing something in thisbuilding, right, there's no
doubt about that.
The problem is the sheep arenot going out to greet the sheep
.
The sheep are not going to findthe sheep.
There are people in this worldwho need Jesus right now.
Right.
(31:22):
So there's this push.
I can't remember I heard it onthe radio If it's this Sunday or
next Sunday, but one of them isnational go back to church
Sunday.
Is that next Sunday?
Next Sunday, okay, and today,like Sid posted, like hey, I'm
hearing there's a lot of peoplegoing back to church for the
first time.
There's always a seat next tome in organic church, right,
(31:42):
listen, that's what the heartshould be.
That's where we should be.
Every single day is draggingpeople into the body of Christ,
kicking and screaming, because Iremember the first time I was
here it was kicking andscreaming.
Dave, the first time he wasthere was kicking and screaming,
maybe even a little hungover, Idon't know.
Dave, right, like that's life.
It's true, we go kicking andscreaming, but then, when we
(32:05):
find relationship with Jesus, werealize the heart that we had
for the world is dead and gone.
The heart that we have forJesus is alive and well, and now
we can change the world.
Listen, I prayed this morningthat, lord, allow us to change
the world.
Allow the body of Christ tochange the world, and this is
(32:25):
where I announced that I amrunning for president in 2028.
I'm kidding.
My wife told me she'd leave me.
I don't blame her.
I'd probably leave me too.
What I'm saying, though, is thatwe have to start to infiltrate
some of those places where Jesushas not been allowed Right.
If you have the opportunity tovolunteer in some of those
places where Jesus has not beenallowed right, if you have the
opportunity to volunteer in yourchild's school, please go and
(32:48):
volunteer right?
I saw that some schools haveroom grandmas.
How cool is that?
Huh, it's cool, do you do it.
That's what I'm talking about,because guess what those kids
need?
They need people with a solidfoundation in Jesus Christ to
(33:09):
surround.
Now, you might not get to praywith them, but guess what you
can be kind and sweet and I willtell you that there are so many
kids who don't get that samething at home.
That's why my kids like to goto their grandparents' house.
They don't get that from me athome.
I don't know why they'relooking at me like that.
(33:32):
Okay, what did I just preach?
I don't remember.
Was that Psalms 37?
All right, all right.
Okay, think about Joseph in thebook of Genesis.
His brothers sold him intoslavery.
That's messed up.
Can you imagine, can you?
Your brothers hated you so badbecause your dad liked you best.
(33:56):
In my house, it would have beenmy sister.
We would have sold into slaverybecause my dad liked her best.
That's okay.
That's not the case anymore.
I win, kidding, kidding.
If she listens to this podcast,she's really going to get me
(34:16):
for that one.
Joseph never sought revenge.
When he finally had the powerto punish them, he didn't do it.
He used that power for good.
Amen.
Genesis 50, 20.
This is that portion.
It says you intended to harm me, but God intended it all for
good.
He brought me to this positionso I could save the lives of
(34:39):
many people.
Amen, you meant for me to diebecause of your jealousy of me,
and when you sold me intoslavery, god said I will appoint
you to a position of power sothat you can help many.
Amen.
When we are raised up in Christ,when the body can come together
(35:01):
, we are feeding people everyweek that we don't even know
right.
Easter egg hunt that we haveevery year, that I swear every
year we're not doing againbecause it is so stressful.
Do you realize that people findour church because of that?
When the body comes together,god lifts us up to a position
(35:22):
where we can do good for ourcommunity.
Amen, and that is what weshould be focused on.
We need to stop considering allof the bad things and start
focusing on the good things, thebigger picture.
When we hand it over to God,we're allowing his light to do
the work.
Amen, not my light, his light.
(35:44):
Listen.
Some people walk in here andthey're fixated on every word
that I said.
And there are some people whosit in here and they're like is
that guy still yakking on, right?
Why is his voice so whiny?
Right, there are some people inthe building that have said
that Listen, I make that joke alot and I want to tell you guys
(36:08):
something.
When she said it the first timeI was like ouch.
And then I was like I can kindof hear it when I listen to the
podcast, so I get it.
John won five.
That's okay, don.
(36:30):
I was never offended by it.
My heart was never offended.
It wasn't it really?
Because when she said it wewere live on the podcast and I
laughed.
And then I thought about it andI was like Ouch, kind of sings
a little and, like I said, thenI listened to the podcast.
I was like I ouch, it kind ofsings a little and, like I said,
then I listened to the podcast.
I was like I hear it, I get it.
The light shines in thedarkness and the darkness can
(36:51):
never extinguish it.
Understand this that when thelight of Christ shines in our
community, the death and thedestruction of the community can
never extinguish that light.
Amen, listen, I have beenprayerful about what is next for
our church.
I have been prayerful about whatGod is asking us to do, and I
(37:11):
know that God is asking us toget outside of these four walls.
I know it, but my thing is isI'm still arguing with him a
little bit, right, because I'mlike God, I hear you, I believe
you, but I need to understandsomething.
God, what is it that you wantme to do?
You say out of the four walls,but what does that mean?
And he keeps saying the samething and I'm like I don't want
to do that.
Can I tell you what?
(37:31):
It is Something that we'vetried before Several times.
We've tried it and it doesn'talways just take off, because we
don't get the people tovolunteer.
Not who said that?
Hit you with my shoe.
Yeah, I won't fight you.
(37:51):
Steph, steph makes me nervous.
Yeah, easton says he could beatStephanie.
Can I tell you Nursing homeministry.
And let me tell you why.
Do you know that when Alyssaand I have always considered our
Elvis shows inside of a nursinghome part of this ministry?
Because when we go there, welove on those people, we sing
(38:15):
Elvis gospel songs, we make surethat they understand that we
are believers.
Amen.
We talk about it all the timeand we know that that is part of
it, but I know that we are notsupporting the people who are
stuck in nursing homes in ourcommunity the way that we should
be.
Right, sometimes they just needsomebody to just go and love on
them, to sit and talk.
Listen, some of you people justlike to yammer on right, do you
(38:38):
know there are people at thenursing home that would love to
listen to you?
Right, listen, we don't alllike the same things.
Right, I can go and sit andtalk about music to some of
these people.
I'm sure each of us have ourown thing that we enjoy doing.
That is where our hearts aresupposed to be right now.
Okay, guys, you hear that.
So we're not there yet.
(39:00):
I'm still rationalizing it,trying to figure out how does it
work, but that's my job.
But just understand thatsomeday that's where we're going
to be.
That might mean that on aSunday afternoon we're visiting
a nursing home to have church.
That might mean on a Saturdayevening we're visiting a nursing
home just to visit.
That might mean this winterwe're singing Christmas carols
(39:20):
in nursing home hallways.
Right Now, listen, none of thatstuff sound exciting to me, but
I know that's what we're calledto do and when we do it it will
be exciting that God will dosomething great Amen, okay,
sorry, for 30 years.
And it's not always successfulbecause you can't get the people
(39:41):
to rally behind the idea, right?
So you go by yourself and youare one person trying to do
everything it is impossible todo, and that's why we're going
to do this, and I believe thatthat's what we're going to do
next.
Okay, and then, after thathappens, you want to hear the
next one.
Are you ready?
Listen, god's already startedplanting all this stuff.
Folks, the next thing thatwe're going to do, are you ready
?
Well, no, listen, only becauseI got a little bit of PTSD with
(40:05):
that.
I've been there.
I'm not interested in goingback.
I'm afraid if I get there,they'll keep me, and so, no, no,
I believe that the next thingthat we will do is we will have
a transportation ministry and wewill be able to pick those
people up and bring them to thisbuilding on Sunday morning.
I don't know why, but Iactually had a conversation with
(40:29):
my dad.
I'm like, hey, when you'reready to sell your van, hit me
up, because wouldn't it be niceif we could get other people
into the building?
The kids?
You know what I mean.
Like that's the idea.
And okay, stop it, michael,you're getting ahead of yourself
.
Lord Jesus, lord Jesus, trustingin all things includes
forgiveness, amen.
Trusting the Lord doesn't meanwe excuse sin, but it does mean
(40:53):
that we forgive the sinnerEphesians 4, 31 and 32.
Is that right?
It says get rid of all thebitterness, rage, anger, harsh
words and slander, as well asthe types of evil behavior.
Instead, be kind to each other,tenderhearted, forgiving one
another just as God, throughChrist, has forgiven you.
(41:16):
Listen.
At the end of the day, ourresponsibility is to trust God
in all things and love ourneighbors as Christ loved the
church.
Amen.
Now I need you to understandwhat the church is.
The church is not just thisbuilding.
The church is not just severalbuildings.
(41:37):
The church is the body ofChrist.
Right, this church, this body,should be going out to love
Jesus, or to love the world justas Jesus loves us, amen.
We should be going out to treatthe world just as Jesus has
treated us with grace and mercy,forgiving them of their
wrongdoings, amen.
(41:58):
That is not easy to do, butthat's what we need to be
focused on Trust him to dealwith it.
Forgiveness is not weakness,it's faith, it is faith in Jesus
Christ.
So how do we live all of thisout, what?
(42:18):
That was the very first one.
Air high five, good job.
Pray instead of plot right.
When your heart is done wrongby people around you, pray about
it, lord.
Clear up this pain and thisdistraction, lord.
Whatever it is that I'm feeling, I want this.
I want to lay this at the footof the cross instead of sitting
(42:39):
there going.
Well, I'll tell you what I'lldo to get them back.
All right, tina, can I share thestory about your?
I think it was your niece, yourcousin, your, okay, her niece.
She had a run-in with somebodyand she was angry at them, and
so you know what she did.
She took a knife and went outto slash their tires.
What was her husband?
(43:00):
Okay.
And when she went to slice thetires, the knife slid in her
hand and cut her hand all up.
Well, three ligaments.
That's disgusting, right.
Vengeance is mine.
Thus saith the Lord.
Yes, but guess what?
(43:21):
When we choose to be vengefulourselves, we usually pay for it
.
Amen.
Pray instead of plot.
Release the frustration, theanger, the hurt, instead of
looking for revenge.
Forgive instead of festering.
Now, I don't mean, uncle,fester right.
(43:44):
What I mean is instead ofallowing those things to live
inside of you for so long thatyou just, every time you see
that person, you want to justsock them in the face, right?
You guys know people like that,like, oh, if that, if they
would right.
Instead of doing that, learn toforgive them.
Trust God's timing and shinehis light in the darkness, amen.
(44:08):
That seems like a lot of work,seems like a lot of rules, but
here's the thing when you are inrelationship with God, almighty
, all of those things becomenatural.
All of those things becomenatural.
So I'm telling you that ifyou're doing any of the adverse
of these things, I need you tocheck your heart, because the
problem with the world today isheart posture.
(44:29):
The problem with the worldtoday is heart posture.
This week, we're going to goout into the world and it is
still going to be broken.
It is still going to be full ofhate.
Amen.
Will you turn on the prayermusic for me, please?
(44:51):
And I want you guys, as a callto action when we go out into
the world this week, I want youto look at those things and I
want you to just remind yourselfthat it is not your
responsibility to get revenge,amen.
It is not your responsibilityto convince the world that they
(45:13):
are wrong.
It is your responsibility tolove Jesus and love your
neighbor.
Don't argue with people.
You don't win.
The only thing that happenswhen you are arguing with people
is a loss to the kingdom,because they look at you as if
(45:35):
you are Jesus and, because ofthe things that you say, they
believe that that's what Jesuswould say.
Jesus was sinless.
Jesus was blameless.
Jesus was God.
We are not God.
(45:55):
We don't decide what happens.
Amen, pray for the world.
Pray for your neighbors.
Pray for your neighbors, prayfor your friends, pray for our
community.
Pray that God would move in amighty way and that salvation
(46:16):
would just roll through thiscommunity.
Amen that we might see anexplosion of all of the churches
in the Twin City area, in allof Tuscarawas County, in all of
the state, of all of thechurches in the Twin City area,
in all of Tuscarawas County, inall of the state, in all of the
nation.
There are pockets of justrevival happening all over the
world right now and we need tobe excited about that, because
that means the kingdom isgrowing.
(46:37):
Amen, let's pray together.
Father, I thank you and I praiseyou for the posture of the
hearts of every person in thisroom, father, man, child, woman,
lord, whoever it may be, I praythat their hearts are prepared
for the world that we arewalking into.
That we may be able to tellpeople about Jesus at a rate
(47:00):
that is second to none.
That, father, when the worldattempts to distract us, that we
can turn and fix our eyes uponyou, lord, that we would be able
to be excited about the goodthings that you do and less
about the bad things that arehappening in the world.
Father, I pray for all of thefamilies who have been affected
(47:22):
this past two weeks.
Father and Lord, there havebeen so many more, but just the
ones that we've touched on thismorning.
Father, just allow them toallow those families to be whole
and complete.
Allow them to find peace andcomfort in you, father, god, not
in the world, but in you.
Father, I thank you for movingon the hearts of our people, the
(47:46):
hearts of your people, lord,that we would continue to seek
you and to find you.
I give you praise, honor andglory in the mighty name of
Jesus, and the church says amen.
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.