The Wrong Side of History

Lord save me. And so, so grateful to be here.

It's hard to put into words just how much this church means to

us, the young people, just last night, watching them stand up

here and sing. And just to think about the

commitment that was made several years ago when we wanted to see

our young people grow up and live for the Lord.

And, and man, we've done so many things together and we've seen

them make so many good decisions.

And I'm really excited about what God is doing in their

hearts, what they're doing for the Lord.

Both here at Mount Victory also put gospel at Baptist Church.

So. Let's turn the Divine library

this evening to the Book of Luke.

The Book of Luke chapter #11 Luke chapter. #11 and while

you're turning there, my heart really does go out to Pastor

Shifflett last night he mentioned that.

One of the biggest challenges? Of this Bell's palsy that he's

going through is that he's looking more and more like.

Me, brother, when you. Said that how my heart went out

to you. That's a cross nobody should

have to bear. I mean that from Obama heart.

I know I carry it every day. But take comfort brother.

Take comfort because you're starting to resemble me in other

areas as well. I got to thinking like you.

Not only does he look like me, but he's also starting to preach

like me. If this thing lasts.

You know too much longer, brother.

Folks aren't going to be able to tell the difference very much,

right? Anyways, I don't know.

I'm not going to comebacks, but Luke, Luke chapter #11 I trust

that God will be will bless you through the preaching of his

Word. Let's begin reading verse #14.

And my text is Luke. Chapter #11 Verse 14 down to

verse #23 the Bible says and he was casting.

Out a devil. And it was dumb.

And it came to pass. When the devil was gone, out the

dumb spake. And the people wondered, but

some of them said he casteth. Out devils, through Beelzebub,

the chief of the devils, and others tempting him, sought of

him a sign from heaven. But he, knowing their thoughts,

said unto them, Every Kingdom divided against itself cannot

stand. And how?

Every Kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation,

and a house divided against the house falleth.

If Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his Kingdom

stand? Because you say that I cast out

devils through Beelzebub. And if I by.

Beelzebub cast out devils. By whom do your sons cast them

out? Therefore shall they be your

judges. But if I.

With the finger of God cast out devils.

No doubt the Kingdom of God is come upon you when a strong.

Man armed, keepeth his palace. His goods are in peace, but when

a stronger than he shall come upon him and overcome him.

He taketh from him all. His armor wherein he trusted and

divided his spoils. He that is not with me is

against me. He that gathereth not with me

scattereth. May God bless the reading of His

Word. This evening I'm printing a

message. To you entitled the wrong.

Side of history, the wrong side of history.

Let's pray as we begin. Lord, we look to you now for

help. Lord, we look to you for grace.

I pray now that you would give us ears to hear as we listen to

your word. Give us a heart of faith.

Lord, help us to respond. Lord, I pray that you would fill

me and fill every person in this room with Your Holy Spirit.

May the Spirit guide us into all truth this evening.

Lord, may we be. Stirred, stirred by your Spirit

Lord, to take action in our lives, grow our faith, grow our

love for you. Help us Lord, not to end up on

the wrong side of history. And I pray these things now in

Jesus name, Amen. We think about the wrong side of

history. We think about people who.

Made the wrong choice, right they they picked the wrong.

Side they had an opportunity to. Be on the winning side, but for

whatever reason they picked the wrong side.

And and history has. Proven that right as time goes

on it. Shows that they made.

The wrong choice now people have ended.

Up on the wrong. Side of history in a number of

different areas, and some of some of those areas are more

serious than. Others I.

Think about the area of. Business.

Some people. Ended up on the wrong side.

Of history in the area. Of.

Business and in that case maybe all they.

Lost out on was a little bit of money.

I don't think about Western Union all the way back in 1876.

They dismissed the. Telephone as having quote no

value UN quote. We might.

We would say they ended up on the wrong side of history.

IBM in 1943 what was hired to estimate the world market for

computers? And they came back after.

Doing their research. And they estimated that the

world. Market for computers would be 5.

Five computers would be about. All that the world would need,

all right, I think. History has kind of shown.

That they ended up on the wrong side of history, I'm told.

That BlackBerry. Laughed off touch screen phones

as something that that would never take off right and and and

so we think about the wrong side of history.

We think how? How?

Who? Who made that?

Decision, but for whatever reason there they have their own

reasons they made the wrong choice.

But there are some other areas that are more serious thinking

about Voltaire, the atheist who predicted that within 50 years

of. His death no one would believe

the Bible that it. Would go out of print due to a

lack of demand. Within 50 years of his death a

Bible society had purchased his home and they were printing

Bibles is very house. He ended up on the wrong side of

history. I think of Pastor Martin

Niemuller, a German pastor in the 1930s, and even though there

were other pastors. Who were warning about.

Hitler and the regime. That was taking over an.

Attack against Christianity there in Germany.

And Niemiller could not be convinced to use his influence

to. To, to, to, to, to.

To fight against the Nazis and eventually he.

Came around, but it was too late.

Martin Niemiller is famous for his quote.

First they came for the Socialist and I did not speak

out because I was not a socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionist.

And I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came. For the Jews and I did not speak

out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me and there

was no one left to speak for me. Niemmeler refused to use his

influence with the pastors there in Germany, even though he went

to prison for many years. He ended up on the wrong side of

history. But I think there's examples in

the Bible of some people that ended up on the wrong side of

history and I think. That we can be warned.

When we look at it in our text, we find some people ended up on

the wrong side of history. Jesus is here and he he's.

His ministry is picking up speed and yet.

The more it seems that. He's winning the victory and the

more miracles he does, he does and the more devils he casts out

and and the more sermons he preaches, the more this group of

people. End up on the opposite side,

opposing him fighting. Him tooth and nail, trying to

catch him in his. Own words trying to trip.

Him up. These Pharisees and Scribes and

Sadducees and. High.

Priest, we know now many. Years later, history has proven

that they ended up. On the wrong side of history.

Jesus is trying to point that out to them in this passage of

Scripture. He's referencing things that

they were very familiar with and he's.

Drawing examples from Israel's past and their.

History that they were well. Familiar with about people who

ended up fighting against the wrong or ended up on the wrong

side of history in verse #20 Jesus says.

But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, now that

expression really jumps off the page.

And it was not something that the Jews were unfamiliar with.

They had known about the finger of God.

In fact, it went all the way back to the great deliverance

that God gave in Egypt. And here when Moses showed up

and God told Moses, I'm going to deliver my people out of the

hand of the Egyptians and from Pharaoh.

And that great deliverance at the party of the Red Sea, there

was a showdown that took place before that great deliverance.

And we you know that as the 10 plagues, as one after the other

God took down the Egyptian gods. And you know those first few

plagues, Pharaoh was able to call his magicians and they were

able to come and they were able to duplicate what was going on.

But in. Exodus chapter #8 verses 18

through 19. The Bible says this, and the

magicians did so. With their enchantments to bring

forth lies, but they could not. So there was lice upon man and

upon beast. Then the magician said unto

Pharaoh, This is the finger of God.

And Pharaoh's heart was hardened.

And he hearkened. Not unto them as the.

Lord had said, here's what's going on.

Jesus said, hey, look, I'm here to give an even greater

deliverance than when God made you a nation.

I'm showing up on the scene to deliver you from sin and from

death and from hell. I'm going to the cross and I'm

going to win the victory by shedding my blood, and I'm going

to come out of that grave. Amen.

And I'm here. But before that great victory is

going to take place, I'm having a showdown with the devil.

And every time Jesus was confronted with Satan, Jesus

wins. We see that in our text.

The Bible says he runs into a man who had a devil.

Jesus cast that devil out. That devil was dumb and the dumb

spake And the people wondered every time that the Kingdom of

light came into contact with the Kingdom of darkness, light one.

And Jesus is going back to their history and he's saying, hey,

remember when God took on Pharaoh?

Remember when God took upon the gods of the Egyptians and one

after the other, he won and he destroyed them.

And then there was that moment to time when those magicians

came to Pharaoh and they said, hey, listen, we can't replicate

it. We can't duplicate it.

We're up against something that we cannot defeat.

This is the finger of God. We better change tactics here.

We better reconsider our our plan of action moving forward

because we he cannot stand against it.

The Bible says that Pharaoh. 'S heart was hardened.

Despite the fact. That he was confronted with

these miracles. And that his.

Own magicians were telling him. We don't have an answer.

Pharaoh still ended. Up on the wrong side of history?

That's right. Jesus is saying, hey, look.

Pharisees, I'm here. There's a great deliverance.

Coming darkness cannot stand the light, the Bible says, shined in

darkness, and the darkness cannot comprehend it.

You guys better. You guys better get with the

program. That's right.

How is it that I'm doing all these works and proving who I

said I am, proving whom the Bible says I am, and you keep

fighting against me, you keep going against it?

This. Is this is it?

That's what's going on in our passage of Scripture.

And Pharaoh wasn't the only one. Belshazzar, Merrill Belshazzar,

Daniel chap #5 He had his drunken.

Party. And he called out for them to

bring out the the golden vessels, God's choice vessels,

and he began to drink out of that, and he began to party.

And you remember what happened. God showed up the hand.

The Bible says the. Fingers of a man's hand begin to

write on that wall. Many, many Tegel you Farshan,

you've been found. You've been weighed in the

balances and you've been found wanting.

That's right. That's right.

Belshazzar took on God and God, and God defeated him.

He lost. That's right.

He lost. They knew what was going on with

the finger of God describes in these Pharisees.

Now we're ending up on the wrong side of history.

Now, friend, I want to draw some application today because there

are differences. The circumstances have changed.

The situation is different. We don't have Jesus physically

present with us. But I'm here to tell you that

there is a conflict that is going on right now in the day

and age that we're living in. And to make it really practical,

there's a battle that's taking up place right here in this

Greater Richmond area. There's a fight between the

Kingdom of Light, the Kingdom of Darkness.

God has called out his. Church, he's predicted, he's

foretold that there's going to be a great conflict between the

gates of hell and his church, and the Bible says the gates of

hell cannot prevail against it. Amen.

And I'm telling you. What?

There's a great deliverance coming.

Yes, we know. Christ has died.

And he's risen. Again.

But friend, he's coming again and the trumpets going to sound.

And in the meantime, we are waging warfare against the devil

and praise the Lord. God is winning.

Praise the Lord. God is doing things.

People are getting saved. Our lives are being changed

right here in this community, right here in this church.

Something's happening. Whose side are you going to end

up on? Are you going to end up on the

wrong side of history? When it comes not.

Not to the Pharisees and what they did.

We're not talking about them. You can't make that mistake.

You live back then. How about the battle that's

taking place right now in our day and age?

You're going to end up on the wrong side of history in that

battle, in that conflict. I, I, I know many of you would

say now the pastor, there's no way.

There's no way I would choose the wrong side.

There's no way that I want to help Satan win the battle in my

community. There's no way I want to see the

devil win in our marriages. There's no way that I want to

see the devil win with our youth group and our child and in our

area. I want to see God win.

I want to see more people get saved.

And I know that's what you would say.

But I want to examine this passage of Scripture.

Let's be warned, because while we might.

Say we want to be. On the right side, sometimes our

actions say differently, do they not?

Well, we've had some good We've had some good Nerf wars between

Mount Victory Baptist Church and Gospel at Baptist Church right

here in this building. In fact, I remember sitting up

here with a 50 Cal Nerf gun just you know, and we picked up sides

and every once in a. While, you know, I get shot by

somebody. On my own team, you know, I bet

I was crawling through them chairs right there trying to get

some of these teenagers and. Man got shot.

By my own daughter. She's laughing.

I'm like, well, who's side are you on?

But you know if it. Happens and it happens and it

happens. There comes a point when you're

like, man, whose side are you really on?

There's some church. Members, come on.

Yeah. Sometimes you just you wonder,

man, whose side are you on? Good.

Come on. Whose side are you on?

Say, how do I how do I end up on the wrong side of history?

Well, you, if you don't want to end up on the wrong side of

history, you need to check whose side are you on right now?

That's right. That's good.

What side are you on right now? Can I ask you something?

Whose side are you on when it comes to the prayer meeting?

See one of the ways. That you can help Satan.

And end up on the wrong side of history is by being silent in

your prayer. And I find it interesting in

this chapter in in in the first part of Luke chapter #11 Jesus

talking about prayer. His disciples come and they say,

Lord, teach us to pray. Jesus was a man.

Of prayer you read through. The book of Luke and we're going

verse. By verse through the book of

Luke right now, I mean Jesus was praying all the time he was at

the throne of the Father and he he was seeking wisdom and and

power and and he was a man of prayer and the disciples knew

and they said, Lord teach us to pray.

He took them aside. He said, when you pray, say our

Father, which art in heaven hallowed be thy name, thy

Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is is in heaven.

Give us this day Our Daily Bread and lead us not into temptation,

right? Deliver us from evil.

We know the prayer. We know that Jesus was praying

and for the victory and he was teaching his disciples to pray

and he's given them examples of how to pray in stories.

You read through those first few verses of of Luke chapter #11 of

this chapter and you could see Jesus trying to tell him, hey,

if you want to get in the battle, the spiritual warfare

that we're talking about, you want to be on the right side,

then you're going to do battle with the devil on your knees in

prayer. Ephesians chapter 6 says be

Ephesians 6 · chapter mention

strong in the Lord and in the power of his mind.

Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to

withstand against the Wiles of the devil.

And you read on as he admonishes us to take the breastplate of

righteousness, right, and have our loins good about with truth,

and the shield of faith, and the to the Spirit and the helmet of

salvation. And then he says, praying always

with all prayer and supplication.

And I'm here today to tell you that while you may not ever want

to help the devil win the battle, you are assisting evil

by staying silent in your prayers.

Christians have abandoned the midweek prayer service.

Christians have abandoned the the prayer closet in their

homes. Christians have abandoned the

all night prayer meetings. They've just disappeared from

our churches. And I ask you tonight, Mount

Victory Baptist Church, do you care about Jesus winning the

victory here in the Richmond area?

Do you care about your marriages?

Do you care about your church? Do you care about your child,

your children? Then you've got to pray.

Amen. You got to go to warfare, war

with the devil in prayer. You stay silent.

You stay. Silent, you're assisting the

rulers of the darkness of this world.

You know it's not lost, at least on me.

And in verse 14, the first thing after Jesus teaches on prayer,

he meets a man with a devil who was dumb, couldn't speak.

You know, I know Christians who can talk to just about anybody,

but they can't talk to God. It's almost as if we got a dumb

spirit in our churches. They can't.

They they can speak about. Just about anything with.

Anyone, any topic but they can't talk.

About the Word of God. It's a dumb spirit.

They know all the stats of all the sports teams, but as Pastor

have already mentioned, they know very little about the word

of God. It's a dumb spirit.

We used to we. Used the expression cat got your

tongue. The devil's got.

Some of your tongues. Your praise is silent, Your

prayer is non existent. Dietrich Bonhoeffer said silence

in the face of evil is evil itself.

There's a Irish proverb. Many of us know it by all that

all that's needed for evil to prevails, for good men to stand

by and do nothing. I'm here to challenge you

tonight. Whose side are you on when you

stand before God? One day he talks about what's

going on in the battle that's taking place.

I was going to say, where were you?

It was time for prayer, you know, six years ago.

To almost, you know, we're right on.

We're in step as far as the days of the week with when COVID hit.

I remember because we were having a friend day.

It was our very first friend day at Gospel Light Baptist Church.

We had just moved over to the Promised Land Camp and I had

sold my business. And I mean, I was nervous.

It was a make. Or break here, I remember

telling my wife, I said. Honey, 2020 is going to be a

make or break here now. We, we got to do it.

We didn't have no, we didn't have an income coming in.

I had sold it. We had stepped out in faith.

We had moved into the area. The house need a lot of work and

I and my plan was January, February, it's cold, it's dark,

we're going to work. On the House and as soon.

As time change happens, we are going to have.

A friend day, March 15th. I had an evangelist come in and

the week before we were going to knock doors all week long and we

did, but things were going haywire.

Now remember, as we were getting ready to do that, we planned an

all night prayer meeting. It was the very first all night

prayer meeting I'd ever come to. Now, I'm ashamed to say this,

but you know, I've been, I've been saved for many, many years.

But to me, I'd always thought that all night prayer meetings

were like a gimmick. That's what I I thought.

No, that's just, that's just like, you know, some, you know,

some sort of promotion or some sort of yeah, they say that.

But but for whatever reason, I believe the Lord LED us.

We are going to have an all night pyramid that was supposed

to be for the friend day. On Friday, March 13th.

The governor of Pennsylvania shut down all schools.

I mean, this is right when it happened.

This is right right now what we're dealing with.

It was on this day that the president declared 2 weeks to

stop the spread. Jog our memories a little man.

We prayed all night. We had the friend day the Lord

blessed. We had our highest day.

We had 50 that day, 10 first time visitors.

That's a number. That's a number.

We hit bump status. But you know, as the weeks went

on with that and we were like man, I meant like many of you,

my head was spinning. I had no clue what was going on

and I'm trying to figure out what do we do?

What do we do? And the only thing I could think

of was we need to pray. We need to pray.

I called a number of pastors around our area.

I said, hey, let's have a prayer meeting.

Let's do an all night prayer meeting.

I I. Again, I'm not going to name

their names, you know, but I'll never forget.

They were like, are there going to be more than 10 people there?

Because we're not allowed to have more than 10 people.

I remember thinking, man, that you're supposed to be the

hospital, the soul, if there's ever a time.

When we need to gather together to to beg God for our country

and our nation, when we don't know what's going on, it's right

now. And so we didn't cancel.

We just, I just put it out there.

I said, hey guys, I'm getting together, going to be more than

ten of us. We start having all night prayer

meetings Friday night and the Lord began to bless people,

start getting saved. The church started growing.

We're growing through COVID. Everybody else shut down.

Everybody else shut. Down and we're we're just.

Growing, we're seeing miracles and and and this had been on.

For several. Months and we're growing and.

One Sunday night it was late at night and.

Me and me and me and Anna were were just rejoicing in the Lord,

and I said something. To the effect of man, I have no

idea. What is happening?

I have no idea. What's going on here?

And my wife looked at me and she said maybe it's because you guys

have been praying. I'll never forget it.

I never even equated the two, never even equated the two.

You know what I'm saying? Mount victory.

There's a battle going on. Get involved by prayer, by

prayer. Get behind the pastor for the

men's prayer breakfast, for the prayer meetings, the midweek

service, that prayer meeting. You know what?

Those early days when there was only five of us on Thursday

night, man, we're meeting downstairs.

Some of the hardest challenges is try to encourage the people

that this is important. I'm here tonight to tell you

it's important. Doesn't matter if they're just a

handful of you. Whose side are you on?

Can I ask you this? Whose side are you on when it

comes to living by faith? See, I think we help the devil

when we walk by sight. See what Jesus says here in the

passage of Scripture when it says that in verse 16 that

others tempting him sought of him a sign from heaven.

That Jesus was doing all. Sorts of Miracles 1 after.

The other he just got done casting out a devil.

But it wasn't enough. And here's the truth.

The truth of the matter is that the signs were not the important

thing. The signs were given to confirm

the truth. It's always been the truth

that's important. God told the Jews, I'm going to

confirm that what the prophet is saying is true by giving him a

sign. But the sign was not what God

wanted them to be focused on. It was the truth that the

prophet was delivering that was important.

And that's why, as Jesus was doing the signs, it wasn't

enough for these people, because the truth wasn't enough for

them. We're living in a day and age.

Today, where many Christians. Want to see?

They want to be. Wow.

They want to come to church and they want to see healing

services and they want to see people speaking in tongues, and

they want to see a devil's being cast out because the truth is

not enough for them anymore. And Jesus said a wicked and an

adulterous generation seeketh a sign.

I want to remind you tonight the Bible says trust in the Lord

with all thine heart. And lean not into thine own

understanding, and all thy ways acknowledge him, and he a shall

direct thy paths. But without faith it is

impossible to please God. For he that cometh to God must

believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that

diligently seek him. For the which 'cause we faint

not, the Bible says, But though our outward man perish, yet our

inward man is renewed day by day.

For our light affliction, which is but for a moment worketh for

us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while

we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things

which are not seen. For the things which are seen

are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

So then, faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word

of God. Listen folks, we got to get

back. To living by faith.

We got to get back to walking by faith and not by sight.

Well, I want to ask you tonight, are you just giving what?

You think you can give? That's not faith.

Friend, are you giving what God wants you to give?

Are you in the ministry because you think you can do it?

You think you've got enough talent?

Are you got enough time? Are you doing it because God

told you to do it? We got to get back to living by

faith, not. Leaning on our own

understanding, well, I just don't know if we can take on

that, that step of faith, whatever it might be, we might

as well just give the give the victory to the spiritual

wickedness in high places. Say, well, we'd never say that,

but this is what was going on in this.

That's what's going on there. They ended up on the wrong side

of history because they were not walking by faith.

They weren't reading their Bibles and following what God

said. They were going by sight and

their sight told them that Jesus wasn't all that impressive.

I really believe if Jesus were here, we would all be shocked

when we we see him physically. I don't think he's going to look

like what we all think he's going to look like.

The Bible tells us. In the book of Isaiah that he

was of no form or comeliness. If Jesus were amongst us, then

most people would be like man. That's not my idea of the

Messiah. You say.

Why? Because it was not supposed to

be by sight. Jesus said you look at the

things that I do because I'm doing things only God can do,

and you listen to the things I'm saying because I'm only I'm.

Saying things only God. Can say don't walk by sight.

We need to walk by faith friend. You know, several years ago,

Sunday morning we had a man walk into our church, brother Paul

Lambert. We didn't know him at that time.

He was, he was a little odd. He was an artist and he had

these, he had this crazy hairdo and he had these, these weird

looking glasses and mothers were like gathering their children.

I'm not. I'm not.

Lying, you know everybody's. Like most of the time you're

excited when visitors come and that, that that morning,

everybody was like, woo Paul Lambert.

He was listening that morning and I was preaching out of Mark

four and Mark chapter #5 and just talking about the

difference between sitting there and listening to Jesus teach and

Mark 4. Jesus is teaching by the by the

hillside. The multitudes are there.

And then you know. Right there at the tail end of

Mark four, he compels the disciples to get into the ship

and you know the story. The storm comes up and it just

scares the fire out of them disciples.

But then in Mark 5, they get to the other side.

On the other side, Jesus performs miracle after miracle

after miracle. He casts out the devils from the

the man, the maniac of Gadara, the the diseased are healed.

He ends, he ends the chapter by raising a person from the dead.

And I was talking about the fact that, you know, it's time to go

from just sitting and listening to Jesus teach to seeing Jesus

change people's lives. And the.

Difference is you got to go with, you got to get a little

scared. In the boat, got to.

Get a little scared. He's going to test your faith in

the boat that morning, Paul Lambert came up to me

afterwards, tears running down his eyes, and he said, pastor,

I'm going to get in the boat. I'm going to get in the boat.

I didn't know what was going on in his life.

He was a talented artist, but he had been using it for the wrong

things. He had been using it.

He's going to end up on the wrong side of history.

He was in trouble with the law because you have to have this

tag in Pennsylvania for your car to get inspected.

And he had forged those tags that use the gifts and the

skills that got it given to him. He's forging tags.

I went with him to the courthouse and got to answer

prayers. We all started coming to church

faithfully, started using those gifts, started using those

talents, began to do all the artistry work for our special

events, began to do all the decorations for our float.

Every year that we put a float in the Millersville Parade, we

give out thousands of tracks that I mean, we went from

heaven. Just this simple little.

Basic float to we were winning. Prizes for the best float.

Well, because this guy was. Unbelievable.

The Lord called Paul home. He got cancer, took him home,

but before he did, he came to me and he had a framed picture or

something he had drawn, drawn for me.

That was a picture of the disciples in that boat.

And I have it in my office sitting on my desk.

He said, Pastor, I'm so glad I got in the boat.

I'm so glad I got in a boat. My our church, that church that

was gathering their children because they were, they love

that man. When we had his funeral, we

packed the church out. All of his unsaved friends that

knew him and all the partying he did and they could not believe

the change happened in that man's life.

You said, what are you trying to say?

I'm trying to say we need to walk by faith and not by sight.

We're going to start seeing the victory.

But if you want to help the devil win in Richmond, so just

start walking by sight. And lastly, and we'll close with

this, but I see in this pat picture in this passage of

Scripture that we help the devil by scattering in our inactivity.

Notice the last verse, that of our text in verse #23 Jesus says

this. He that is not with me is

against me, and he that gathereth not with me

scattereth. You know what Jesus said?

He says it's time to get busy helping me gather.

And if you're not helping me gather, then you're scattering.

But could you? Imagine seeing the good.

Shepherd rounding up the sheep. The Lord is my shepherd.

I shall not want. Jesus said.

I'm the Good Shepherd. I give my life.

Here's Jesus he's. Showing up on the.

On the scene. He's trying to gather.

The lost sheep of. Israel and and just picture with

me for a moment Jesus out there gathering and somebody comes in

and starts scattering the sheep. He'd be like, what are you?

Doing That's what most of us would do, even.

If we didn't know it was Jesus, if we saw somebody, the shepherd

trying to gather a flog of sheep and you saw somebody come in,

you would be like, hey, that's not.

Right, you're scattering the sheep.

I'm here to tell you, friend. That Jesus is in the.

Soul saving business of gathering people into the fold.

And he's and this church is in the soul saving business of

gathering. There's a harvest out there that

God wants to send you forth as a laborer.

But some of you are not gathering with Jesus.

And Jesus says, if you're not gathering with me, then you are

scattering. You're working against me.

You're fighting the work that we're doing.

You're. Going to end up on the wrong

side of history. We gather a harvest in our

witnessing. Listen if you don't.

Show up for soul winning if you. Don't if you don't, jump.

Into the many outreaches of this church, then you're fighting

against this church. We gather an offering through

our generosity. You know, it takes a lot of

money. We all give in.

We all pitch in to keep the lights on, to keep the buses

running. To keep the work of.

That to buy the tracks to print the invitations and you know

there are people here that are giving and they're giving and

they're giving towards the work of God.

And when the the offering plate is passed and gathered together,

right, they're doing their part. But some of you are helping the

devil by being stingy with your finances.

Let's just say it. You're going to end up on the

wrong side of history one day when you stand before God, he

says how how come everybody else it was lifting the load but you

weren't giving. You're not gathering.

You know we gather an assembly with our presence.

The Bible says forsake not the assembling of ourselves

together. Gather together.

You know some of you fighting the church just by not showing

up can't really get going because half the church be

missing. I'm done.

But John Newton was a man who started out on the wrong side of

history. He was a wicked man.

He was a slave trader, slave owner, just a very wicked man.

We can't even go into all of these things.

Rebelled against his Christian mother.

So many people who prayed for him, but God got a hold of his

heart. One day in a storm, he repented.

God saved. Amen.

Gloriously born again. He wrote that to him.

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound.

He also wrote this poem. I wanted to share it with you as

I close. An evil long.

I took the light on, awed by. Shame or fear, till a new object

struck my sight and stopped my wild career.

I saw. One hanging on a tree in agonies

and blood. Who?

Fixed his languid. Eyes on me as near his cross, I

stood, sure never to my latest breath can I forget that look.

It seemed to charge me with his death, though not a.

Word he spoke, my conscience felt and owned the guilt.

And plunged me in despair. I saw my sins.

His blood had spilt. And helped to nail him there.

A second look he gave which said I freely all forgive.

This blood is for thy ransom paid.

I die that thou mayest live thus while my thus while his death My

sin displays in all its blackest hue such.

Is the mystery of grace. It seals my pardon to think

about that with. Pleasing grief and mournful joy.

My spirit now is. Filled that I should such a life

destroy yet live by him. I kill, I tell you as I close.

The greatest mistake that you could ever make, greatest

mistake to end up on the wrong side of history, is to refuse

the salvation that was paid for you by the Lord Jesus Christ

when He shed His blood for your sins and for my sins and for the

sins of the entire world, And He offers it as a free gift.

For by, for by, the Bible says for by grace.

Are you saved through faith? And that not of yourselves It is

the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.

For the wages of sin is death, the Bible says, but the gift of

God is eternal length through Jesus Christ our Lord.

I'm telling you friend, he left heaven and he came down and he

took on that cross. He shed his blood.

The Bible says he tasted death for every man and as many as

received him to them give you power to become the sons of God.

It's there and it's offered to you freely if you would just

repent of your sins and. Believe on him, but if you want

to end up on the wrong side of history and you refuse that

gift. You reject the Lord Jesus.

Christ and He. Will say to you.

One day depart from me. I never knew you all tonight,

friend, don't end up on the wrong side of history.

Let's close in prayer, Pastor, if you come.

Father, I pray now for these folks.

What I believe that many if not all of them claim to be

Christians, claim to be saved. But I pray, Lord, if there's

somebody here tonight has never trusted Jesus Christ to be their

savior, Lord, that they would repent and turn to you now.

Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.

Lord, I pray for the dear folks of Mount Victory Baptist Church

that they not end up on the wrong side.

History, Lord, we're in a battle against principalities and

powers and rulers of darkness and spiritual rickness.

High places, Lord, the weapons of our warfare are spiritual,

and they're mighty to the pulling down of strongholds.

The Lord, we can be assisting the enemy by staying silent in

our prayers, by living by sight and not by faith, Lord, by

scattering.