Sermon
Hear and recognize
Publisher transcript
Transcript
-
Welcome to the Cross Power Church podcast.
-
You're listening to a service from our church in Campbell, TX.
-
We pray this message strengthens your faith and points you to the
-
cross. Now let's join the service.
-
Sitting there thinking about all the the background music in that
-
and the way they do it, you know, and that the guy that's
-
playing all the all and all of her songs is he wasn't at the
-
studio. His name is Milo.
-
During, during, I think is how you say it during.
-
And he did all the Eagles stuff. I mean, listen to the Eagles.
-
He did all the Eagles stuff. A lot of your mainstream he
-
played with, I'm pretty sure he played with the Eagles, but I
-
know he did all their backup stuff, but they send that stuff
-
to him. He's maybe in a motel room at
-
his house and he puts all the stuff together and they send it
-
back. But I had this thought that
-
there's a scripture that talks about that, what the enemy meant
-
for evil. And I begin to think of all the
-
songs he probably played backup on that wasn't godly.
-
And you know, now he now he's playing for a lot of these Main
-
Street and gospel groups and stuff.
-
And you know what the we we're going to see that one of these
-
days. What they what, what the enemy
-
meant for evil. God turns it into good.
-
I thought about it. We're hearing about our circuit
-
rider brother, what he give his life to the Lord.
-
How just a month ago when Ben came to a meeting, they was at
-
Thursday night and they got got hit on his bike and and lost his
-
life, but he gained life. You know what the enemy meant
-
for Eva? God saved him just in time.
-
Isn't that isn't that awesome to know he lost come to know the
-
Lord a month ago and then the Lord took him home and that's
-
wow what the enemy means for Eva.
-
I might just preach on that. Amen.
-
Now I'm not going to preach on. I got something else here, but
-
good to be in the House of the Lord tonight, Wednesday night.
-
It's a little different atmosphere in here.
-
I don't use a Sunday morning. People bringing it with them.
-
Or are we losing it on Wednesday?
-
I don't know, huh. Spirit tear.
-
I'm going to preach to you some things tonight that I just been
-
on my heart. And I think it's very important
-
and I think it's lacking in the body of Christ and there's some
-
things it's kind of kind of confusing to me as well, but
-
we're going to share it tonight. Amen.
-
Let's stand one more time. Go to the Lord in prayer.
-
I I titled this tonight here say with me here and recognize very
-
important in your Christian walk very important because I dare
-
say there's a lot of Christians. The majority do not hear from
-
God. They say they don't.
-
I hear people say it all the time.
-
God doesn't speak to me. People that are his children.
-
The truth is God speaks. They don't hear, right?
-
And when we hear, we don't recognize the voice of God.
-
And I want to explain some of this tonight.
-
The Father, we come to you tonight.
-
We pray that we would hear your voice in our life.
-
We pray that we would recognize your voice in our life.
-
And then we would act upon the uptions of the Holy Spirit that
-
comes upon us in our life that leads us toward the cross of
-
Calvary. Father, we pray tonight that you
-
give us ears that hear a heart to receive that would fall upon
-
good ground. That's in your son's name.
-
We ask and pray Amen. Being John chapter 10 verse 10
-
is talking about the Good Shepherd.
-
It's very familiar verses of Scripture, but out you can be
-
seated. I'm going to read a little bit
-
here, but in John chapter 10 and verse one Jesus talking, he
John 10 chapter mention
-
said, verily I say unto you, he who enters not by the door into
-
the sheepfold way, the same is a thief and a robber.
-
I'm reading out of the King James tonight.
-
If y'all want to change, it doesn't matter.
-
It's close enough. But there's a few things in here
-
that I that I do like out of the King James.
-
But see this proclaims to us that there is a door.
-
There is an entrance into everlasting life and despite
-
what is being taught today, there's only one door.
-
Say that with me there's only one door.
-
There's only one way that leads to eternal life.
-
This is probably one of the greatest teachings and most
-
simple teachings that Jesus taught on and yet they still
-
didn't understand it because they he was explaining who he
-
was and what he came to do. In verse 2, it says, but he who
-
enters in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
-
See Jesus is alone. The shepherd he had to enter
-
into the door of the blood covenant before we could even
-
think about getting near the door, right?
-
And it says to him, the Porter opens, it opens, it means that
-
the law of the doorkeeper. This was immediately it admitted
-
Jesus. Why?
-
Because he was, He had made, He had perfected the law, something
-
that man could never do. God had realized man cannot keep
-
the laws that I put up on this earth.
-
There's no way. There's no how.
-
But Jesus had came in the form of a man, and he had kept every
-
law, and he was perfect in the eyes of God.
-
So he says I am the perfect shepherd.
-
And it says the sheep to him. I'm going to back up and read
-
that again to him. The Porter opens, the door opens
-
and the sheep hear his voice. The sheep hear his voice.
-
And he calls his own sheep by name.
-
Isn't that awesome? And he leads them out.
-
If we follow Him, He will lead us out to to great pastures and,
-
and and make our way right and in verse.
-
Four, it says that when he puts forth his own sheep, he goes
-
before them. How can he lead us?
-
Because he's going before. Us right he has planned
-
everything and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice and
-
a. Stranger they will not follow,
-
but they will flee from him, referring to the thieves and
-
robbers and the false prophets, for they know not the voice of
-
strangers. The Parable.
-
Spoke Jesus unto them, but they understood not that the things
-
that were which He spoke unto Him, they couldn't understand
-
that. I fear today there's a lot of
-
people that still don't understand it.
-
And I want to look at some things he said here, you know,
-
as Jesus is the one true shepherd.
-
You know, pastors, I often heard them referred to as shepherds.
-
And you know, we we. Seem like most of the time
-
we're. Pulling and trying to pull
-
people in the right direction. But I like what it says here.
-
They know his voice, and his sheep follow him, and to a
-
stranger's voice they will not. Follow.
-
But as a shepherd or as a pastor, you know, I'm not the
-
Good Shepherd. There's only one that's Jesus
-
Christ. We know that.
-
But my job as a pastor is, is I feel like more to keep sheep on
-
their feet, to keep people standing up, because this world
-
will knock you down, right? It would walk.
-
Knock you down and walk over you, but I'm tired of sheep that
-
lay down and don't get up. We have to learn to stay on our
-
feet. Hey, man, we have to learn to do
-
this. And the number one way that
-
we're seeing sheep get knocked down, we're seeing sheep and
-
God's children, that's who He's referring to here, not following
-
the Good Shepherd because they are following another voice.
-
Let's go to Matthew Chapter 7 and verse 15.
Matthew 7 chapter mention
-
Jesus warned of this, and right there we just read it that he
-
said it. And he puts forth his own sheep.
-
He goes before them. The sheep follow him, for they
-
know his voice. And a stranger will they not
-
follow, but they will flee from him.
-
You know, when we look at the body of Christ today, it seems
-
that almost every Christian I know seems to be looking for
-
another way. If we could just grasp that when
-
we come into this life, did anybody bring anything with
-
them? You look back, say, man, the day
-
I was born, I had that thing. It was mine and I brought it
-
into this world. Anybody, maybe somebody give you
-
something, but you did not arrive with anything but a mess,
-
right? Many people leave with a mess,
-
but we brought nothing into this world.
-
Scripture says that we will take nothing out of this world, but
-
yet we spend our life while up on this earth trying to acquire
-
and be busy and accumulate things that will not be going
-
with us right. And many times I said that to
-
say this, I believe that's why we don't hear.
-
That's why we don't recognize because we're focused too much
-
on the here and now and not the Yonder Amen to where we're going
-
to spend eternity. But yet I see Christians every
-
day, every month, every year, the same old thing.
-
They they come to church and yet they're looking for another way.
-
I'm going to give you a heavy Revi tonight.
-
There's no other way. There's one way the way the
-
truth and the life. And the problem is, is we're so
-
caught up in this life that for many Christians that are not
-
hearing the voice of God that are not following.
-
If you don't hear how you're going to follow right, if you
-
can't hear him, you can't follow him.
-
But that's what Jesus was telling him here.
-
I'm the way, the truth and the life.
-
I'm the Good Shepherd. I'm going to put you in a good
-
pasture. I'm going to give you good
-
things and the good you know, I I'm the I'm the lion of the
-
tribe of Judah, but I'm going to become the lamb.
-
I'm a shepherd right now for this three and I had this 33
-
years that I'm here, but I'm soon going to become a lamb that
-
will be led to slaughter. Amen.
-
And then I'm going to return another roaring lion.
-
That's what he was telling them. But yet people are always
-
looking and it seems that they hear these, they all this is a
-
new way to serve God. Run from that.
-
There's no new way to serve God. They meant read your Bible, pray
-
and see God and hear the voice of God.
-
There's a lot of people that read.
-
There's a lot of people that pray, but there's not a lot of
-
people that here right here. There's not a lot of people that
-
here, but in Matthew 7 of 15, Jesus explained this.
-
He said beware of false prophets.
-
The church is full of false prophets today.
-
Can I say that again? It is full of false prophets
-
today which come to you. They don't come as a false
-
prophet. They come just as Jesus did and
-
they they came, they come as a shepherd, but they're in sheep's
-
clothing. But he said inwardly they're
-
raving wolves. Beware of false prophets, he
-
said. And in verse 16 he says, How
-
will you know? Them.
-
He says you shall know that it's never changed.
-
Amen. Why were the people following
-
Jesus? Why was why was the multitude
-
seeking after Jesus? Why were they following Him?
-
There was one reason he he proclaimed to be the Messiah,
-
but they didn't believe his words.
-
They didn't believe he was who he said he was.
-
But yet they could not deny the fruit that he was dropping that
-
was falling off of him, right, Because people are being saved,
-
they're being healed. They were being changed.
-
And as he come, as they come to him one way, they left another,
-
right, So they could not deny the fruits.
-
And whether you spend the rest of your life in this church or
-
another church, I challenge you. You shall know them by their.
-
Fruits. But yet we have we have all
-
these people. You know, I, I really got a lot
-
of this back when, when when Olsteen put put Oprah Winfrey on
-
his stage on his platform, the biggest platform to preach the
-
gospel. And you put a woman up there or
-
man, it doesn't matter. He's put both that claims that
-
there's many ways to God. There's many ways to God.
-
I've heard her say it. But yet why would he need that?
-
But see, you will know them by their fruits.
-
He goes on to say, does men gather grapes or thorns or figs
-
from thistles? Pretty simple, isn't it?
-
You can go out there to that locust tree as it begins to
-
bloom here in a few weeks, as they will.
-
And you reach up there to pick some fruit off of that locust
-
tree. And I got news for you.
-
You're probably going to grab a thorn.
-
A locust tree ain't never bared an apple and it never will
-
because it's it's not in his DNA to do so.
-
See it's possible for false doctrines and things that and
-
false prophets, they can bring forth some good fruit, but is it
-
godly fruit? You know most things today, most
-
of so many preachers and messages you hear it's about
-
prospering in this world and this world is not going to last.
-
So that is a false doctrine. Amen.
-
So as we read on here. Says, You shall know them by
-
your fruits. The men gather grapes from
-
thorns, and figs from thistles. Verse 17 Even so, every good
-
tree, he turns it around right here brings forth good fruit,
-
but a corrupt tree brings forth. Evil fruit.
-
Pretty simple. A good tree cannot bring forth.
-
I like that right there. A good tree cannot bring forth.
-
Evil fruit. Why?
-
Why can a good tree not bring forth evil fruit?
-
We see, we see people that are good, that have been in the
-
church, maybe taught a class, even preachers today that
-
they're they, they were a good tree, but yet they begin to
-
bring forth some bad things in their life, right?
-
They were. Up here and could preach
-
eloquent and and say the right words, but yet their private
-
life was much different. Right.
-
We're in it and it is being exposed.
-
They they're pulling these people out.
-
These pastors and these false prophets, they're being pulled
-
out day by day almost. You can hear of it every time
-
you turn the news on, it seems. Why?
-
So what? Why did Jesus say?
-
Even so, every good tree. Let's read that again.
-
Even so, every good tree brings forth good.
-
Fruit. But a corrupt tree brings forth
-
evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth
-
evil fruit. Why?
-
It wasn't a good tree right because it but you know,
-
sometimes I think that it what maybe was a good tree, but it
-
quit hearing it quit recognizing right you can be a good
-
Christian, but do you and and go to church all the time and still
-
never hear from God right and things in your life can become
-
bad. We know that he said neither can
-
a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit and in verse 19 he brings
-
it all all home. He says every tree that brings
-
not forth good fruit is home down and cast into fire.
-
Talking about the judgment that will ultimately come.
-
You can go read about it and in Romans 1 and 18, but he said
-
wherefore by their fruits you shall know them.
-
Hello. I think when people go to church
-
they really don't look for the fruit, not of the pastor even.
-
They look for a good message. A good message don't mean I bear
-
good fruit though I know all the big words, it doesn't mean that
-
I'm bearing good fruit in my everyday life.
-
Hey man, check it out. Know the scriptures, Know who
-
you're hearing. From but he he he says that that
-
the Kingdom of heaven and salvation.
-
There's only one entrance. You can't enter by any other
-
way. And the sheep recognize his
-
voice. So we read in John 16 and 13, he
-
says. How be it?
-
When he, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into
-
all truth and all knowledge. How are you going to be guided
-
if you don't hear? Because it's a spirit, you're
-
not going to see it, right? He says.
-
It's going to come and it's going to guide you, but yet
-
we're still looking with the eyes to be guided, right?
-
Doesn't work that way. We got to start hearing right.
-
We got to start hearing how be it when the spirit of truth
-
comes and then the King James says is come.
-
He will guide you into all truth.
-
That means he's here to guide us not some truth, but all truth
-
see there's only one shepherd, but today there there's
-
estimate. You know that I read this today
-
and just got in my in my spirit, the way that that Jesus said
-
this, because when we look today and I look this up by the study
-
of global Christianity, there is 45 to 47,000.
-
Can I say that again, 45,000 to 47,000 Christian denominations
-
in the world. But Jesus said there's one way.
-
What does that tell me a bunch of folks wrong, right?
-
If there were five, there's still 4 wrong.
-
If there were two, there's still one wrong.
-
Right, Because we're so divided and we preach.
-
There's so many different things going on in the boat.
-
We're messed up 47,000 ways to to to be a Christian and Jesus
-
said there's only one follow the shepherd.
-
Pretty astounding, isn't it? But when you.
-
Look that up and you'll find that that there's 40 can't name
-
them. You know, you're pretty well.
-
I know about all. There's no way to know what
-
they're making up because people are inventing ways.
-
Wolves and sheep's clothing have come in and you know the enemy.
-
When I was young, I always thought the Antichrist when he
-
come on the scene would be very recognizable.
-
And there's some things about him that.
-
Will, but we're. Already being prepped for it in
-
the church. Amen.
-
Because we've let so much junk in, when the Antichrist comes on
-
the scene, the stage is already set.
-
He takes over a people that's willing to believe anything.
-
I never thought it would be the church.
-
I never thought it would be the body of Christ.
-
But I'm seeing it more and more. One voice, 1 shepherd.
-
So this tells me that the majority is wrong.
-
You can back up a few scriptures in Matthew 713 and 14 Jesus said
-
straight is the way, narrow is the gate and few say that with
-
me. Few be there that entered in in
-
Matthew 721 and 20 he three he says not everyone that.
-
Cries Lord Lord, just because you're one of these
-
denominations that man made and God did not make, just because
-
you cry Lord Lord, don't mean you're going to enter into the
-
Kingdom of God. Right?
-
So that tells me I better be hearing a man.
-
I better be hearing from something more than elder,
-
bored, or Deacon. Bored or or even just the things
-
that come into my head. I need to know that it's God.
-
How about you? So I want to break this down to
-
some ways that we have to know. Two ways.
-
Write this down. The sheep hear the Good
-
Shepherd's voice. We just read that John 10, three
-
and four, the sheep hear the good Shepherd's voice.
-
If you're a Christian that says don't hear the hear God, you
-
better start hearing God, Amen, because you will be LED astray
-
if you're not hearing from God. The second thing is not only do
-
they hear, but they recognize that that voice belonging to the
-
Good Shepherd because you're going to hear a lot of voices.
-
Hello. You're going to hear a lot of
-
things that come in and creep into your mind and you have to
-
discern. So the keys here are hearing
-
from God and recognizing God and it takes a long time.
-
It don't just come overnight. Amen, Because you will.
-
Fail. You will mess up.
-
You will have good ideas that aren't God ideas.
-
I have learned that. But what does the voice of the
-
Holy Spirit sound like? I got to grab some water.
-
What does the voice? If you've ever heard the voice
-
of God, what does the voice of the Holy Spirit sound like?
-
It's a good question. He just said that when the
-
spirit of truth comes. He not just going to tell you a
-
little bit of things, He going to tell you all things, bring
-
you into all truth and all knowledge, right?
-
He's going to bring that to us. So let's look at this.
-
What does the voice of the Holy Spirit sound like and how do I
-
listen to him? It would be interesting to
-
record some Christians responding to that, wouldn't it?
-
I dare say some young Christians, new, new people in
-
Christ can hear better than old people sometimes, right?
-
Than those that have lived for God a long time.
-
Because we tend to quit listening.
-
Sometimes we tend to get at peace in Zion.
-
But see, we read A good illustration of this is in first
-
Kings chapter 19 verses 11 through 13.
-
Elijah. How many know who Elijah was?
-
He had called fire down from heaven.
-
He'd done all kinds of things. But Elijah.
-
Had recently just killed 400 prophets of baal, a false God, a
-
false God of a Pagan God, a God that the.
-
World is still worshipping today.
-
If you turn your TV on, it doesn't matter what it.
-
Is you're going to find, you're going to find things in it.
-
That is what the God of Baal worshipped.
-
It was infidelity. It was sexual sins, it was
-
things of that you can't. You can't turn on the radio or
-
television or you would just have to refrain totally from the
-
world reading any billboards, doing anything if you were going
-
to take the God of the bow that they worshipped here and do away
-
with it. And Elijah had just killed 400
-
prophets of Bow, and he had Queen Jezebel chasing him.
-
There's a Jezebel spirit I preached on that that's still
-
here today. Amen.
-
It's here today. And it's the same thing that
-
caused the Roman Empire to fall. It's the same thing that's
-
caused Babylonian to fall. It's the same thing that forced
-
the children of Israel and scattered them abroad.
-
And it's the same thing that will destroy America if we
-
continue. But Queen Jezebel, she had
-
threatened to kill him. Think about it.
-
Elijah had called fire down from heaven and burned their galters
-
down. He'd done all kinds of things.
-
He had. He had prophesied that it shall
-
not rain for X amount of days. And it did not rain.
-
But yet this mean woman. Husbands, feel your wife.
-
Amen. Fear your wife.
-
He fled to Mount Sinai, and he was hiding in a cave.
-
He wasn't just fearing Queen Jezebel.
-
She had lots of people working for her right?
-
But he was scared for his life. And the Lord said, He said.
-
Go forth, can you? Imagine Elijah, the great things
-
that he had done, yet he's hiding in a cave scared, and he
-
was needing to say it with me, hear from God, they're after me,
-
they're going to kill me. And the Lord said this, He said,
-
Go forth, and stand on the mountain before the Lord.
-
And behold, the Lord was passing by, and a great strong wind was
-
rending the mountains and breaking them into pieces, and
-
the rocks before the Lord. But the Lord was not in the
-
wind. He was not in the wind after the
-
wind and earthquake, but He was not in the earthquake and after
-
the earthquake of fire. But the Lord was not in the fire
-
after the fire, a second gentle blowing wind.
-
Oh, this must be God, he thought.
-
And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle,
-
and he went and stood at the entrance of The Cave, and behold
-
a voice. Came to him and it said in the
-
steel. Smallness, after all the smoke
-
and all the fire and all the rocks crumbling, he asked him
-
this question. I preached a great message on
-
this one time. What are you doing here?
-
You're a child of God. You called the fire down from
-
heaven. Elijah, you've done great
-
things. Now you're an old Christian
-
that's lost faith. Get up.
-
You're a prophet of God. What are you doing here?
-
God did not speak to Elijah in a powerful, dramatic way.
-
But yet we haven't called fire down from heaven.
-
We haven't killed 400 prophets of Obama.
-
Now let me take that back. We haven't killed 400 whatevers.
-
False doctrines, right? We haven't done that, but he had
-
killed the other side of his enemy.
-
But see, we think that those things are enemies, and they're
-
not our enemy at all. It's Satan working through
-
people, right? It's Satan working through the
-
right or the left. He's in both sides, right?
-
He actually is right in the middle and they don't even
-
realize it. But he had killed. 400 prophets
-
and yet God says, what are you doing here?
-
Why are you hiding? God didn't speak in a powerful,
-
dramatic way, but yet the Christian today is still waiting
-
for God to speak that way. I hear it all the time.
-
If God would just show me, I would do it.
-
No you wouldn't because you wouldn't be able to hear him.
-
You're looking in all the wrong places.
-
He used a strong wind. He used the earthquake in a fire
-
to demonstrate that he was still God Almighty.
-
But see, yet he spoke in a still gentle breeze and said, Elijah,
-
what are you doing here? See, in the same way that he got
-
Elijah's attention, the Lord may use a powerful dramatic thing in
-
our life. Can I get a witness?
-
He's used it many times to get our attention right, but
-
sometimes we still don't hear the voice of God.
-
We're in the middle of it. It's after everything settled
-
and we look back and we say, man, he, he was trying to tell
-
me that. Then I just didn't listen.
-
When He actually speaks to us, it will be with a tender, loving
-
inner voice. And to hear Him and to recognize
-
that sometimes we have to get rid of the distractions, get
-
alone in a quiet place, that we can feel His gracious words.
-
When the Holy Spirit speaks to us, most of the time it's an
-
inner thought. Almost like our own thoughts.
-
But then there's something that checks in your spirit said,
-
whoa, I didn't come up with that.
-
That has to be God. Your heart will recognize it.
-
It's the Holy Spirit speaking to you, and we must understand it.
-
So how do we do that? I think back, you know I.
-
When I was little, my mom would always call my middle name to
-
try to get my When Lance wouldn't work, she'd say Lance
-
Neil and I knew something. Was up a little bit, but I
-
still, I wouldn't really scare the mom.
-
She didn't whoop that hard, but I knew that she could tell
-
somebody. But I could be in a room full
-
acting like a Heather and it didn't matter what age didn't
-
matter. I was kind of like Swayze.
-
I stayed with my grandparents when my when my mom and my
-
biological dad had divorced, I was four years old.
-
I stayed with my grandparents and you couldn't get a spanking
-
there. One set you could, but I didn't
-
stay with that set. I like staying with the other
-
one. Kind of like Swayze.
-
She knows I ain't going to do nothing.
-
I mean, I can threaten, I can pick it up, I can put it in my
-
hand, I can stomp my face. She knows I ain't going to do
-
nothing. And that's sad.
-
It ain't right, but I can't help it.
-
I'm trying. But I think about my dad.
-
He didn't have to say my name. I could be in a building,
-
running wide open, doing whatever, and I could feel it.
-
I could see his face. I could see one eyebrow.
-
Got a little uneven. It got cocked a certain way and
-
he didn't have to say nothing. My night was ruined because I
-
knew when I got home. He liked to make you wait.
-
He thought the good things come to those who wait.
-
I heard from him it wasn't good when he was waiting on Dad.
-
But he didn't play. He didn't play with it, and I
-
knew it. But see, I would recognize my
-
dad. Why?
-
Because He didn't play when it come to doing what He said.
-
I got news for you today, God does not play.
-
I don't know where we got this mindset that God plays, but when
-
God is trying to get our attention, can I tell you God
-
does not play when it comes to getting you and out of heaven,
-
Amen. He does not play.
-
He will cause the earthquake, he will cause the fire, even if it
-
takes scars to prove that he gave his only begotten son so
-
that you and I come out and preach with me tonight could
-
have everlasting life. He does not play.
-
Salvation is is is free, but it's not cheap.
-
But why was it like this? Because I knew my dad wasn't
-
playing, you know, But I'll never forget if they, if they
-
and my dad at the end of his life, he, you know, he, he
-
would, he always was on me about working.
-
And doing these things and he he instilled some things in me that
-
I would have never gotten. He come to me when I was 13 and
-
he said, you're probably not going to like me till you're
-
about 20. He said, but I just made some
-
mistakes on my other kid and I'm not making it on you.
-
And that voice is echoed many times.
-
And I'll never forget right. Not too long before he went to
-
be with the Lord, he he hugged me right back here and he said,
-
he said all the things I've done.
-
Wrong. I did this right.
-
Why? Because he knew and he had
-
learned. But yet we play in life.
-
We play with our salvation. We play with the things that God
-
holds dear. Hey, man, we play with it many
-
times simply because we don't take the time to hear.
-
Simply when we do hear, we don't recognize.
-
How many read books here? I'm not a big book reader at
-
all, but I understand that people that are they, they can
-
read a book and not that it's a bit, I guess it's a big deal to
-
people that read a lot of books, but they read the literature on
-
these authors and they, they're familiar with the writing
-
styles. And if you read enough of these
-
books that you know, you can, somebody can hand them a book
-
and they'll read this book and they're like, you know, I know
-
who the author is without even reading who wrote it because
-
they understand the style and the familiarities that this
-
author writes. You understand what I'm saying
-
there, Because they recognize that's the way we should be with
-
God. That should we should understand
-
as we go to hearing it because there's some things write this
-
down. If you're trying to hear from
-
God and you're trying to recognize his voice, you got to
-
go to first John. You have to go to first John
1 John 1 chapter mention
-
Chapter 1. I like to call it John's test
-
because it's a test that we can take.
-
I'm going to sum it all up so I can close, but recognizing.
-
We hear the voice, but do we recognize it?
-
But do we? Recognize His voice is speaking
-
within us and go a step beyond that.
-
After listening to what we believe the Holy Spirit has said
-
before acting upon it, we should submit these things to a testing
-
process in first John he describes tests that can help us
-
hear the voice of God and know that what we have heard is of
-
God. See the Holy Spirit in inspired
-
John to write them and John one and five it says write these
-
things down If you want to summarize the voice of God will
-
always lead us toward the light you like that.
-
Not darkness. Light and darkness can't stay
-
together. One has to flee.
-
But yet, when we come to Christ, most Christians spend the first
-
six years of their Christian walk whining about the friends
-
they lost that are partying and doing all the things of the
-
world. Oh, I just lost.
-
I just. It's Waller.
-
You know what I'm talking about. Why?
-
Because you're being LED toward the light.
-
Now. Light and darkness cannot flee.
-
They just don't talk to me no more.
-
They act different when I come around.
-
Big deal. You're being LED toward the
-
light. The second thing, does it lead
-
us away from sin? I was laying in a in a camper
-
one night and this young man that had just came to the Lord
-
not too long before he he was still struggling with things
-
when he left the rodeo. He went out to the bars that
-
night and I was staying with another guy that was a cowboy
-
minister and we've been sharing the Lord there.
-
Will he come in we hours of the morning and the other guy asked
-
him, I'd done been picking on him that day.
-
So the other guy asked him, he says he said, where you been?
-
He said rodeo been over a long time.
-
He said, oh, I just went out and hung out at the club a little
-
while with him bar. He said, I feel like there's
-
somebody in there. I'm not going to lead to Jesus.
-
He said, well, if you're that interested in him, he said, why
-
don't you sit on the curb and catch him before they go in
-
there. I said, that's pretty good.
-
That's pretty good. Two ways to look at it.
-
But when you when you hear the voice of God, I will always lead
-
you toward light. John chapter 1 first John
John 1 chapter mention
-
chapter one. It will lead us away from say it
-
with me sin. I hear some preachers today
-
preaching in such a way that it's almost like they're okaying
-
sin. Can y'all say Amen right there.
-
The third thing is it leads us to seek forgiveness and
-
cleansing of sins we have committed doesn't lead us away
-
from it. You know, that's a, that's a,
-
that's the enemy's greatest trick is to get somebody.
-
To pray the sinner's prayer, get baptized and then get in the
-
church. And then all of a sudden they go
-
out here and do something stupid and then he pours some
-
condemnation upon them because they don't know the word enough
-
to know that it's already been forgiven.
-
A man I just got to line back up.
-
Keep walking and pretty soon I'm going to be LED.
-
Away from those things and they're going to be replaced
-
with better things. What are we on four or five?
-
The voice of God will always this is in chapter 2, verse
-
three and five. It will always align you with
-
God's commandments. I get so tired of hearing
-
Christians say well, I've read that it's in there, but God
-
don't play. There's no, but it's your butt
-
that's in the way. Align with God's commandments.
-
The next thing it will encourage us to respond as Jesus would.
-
Well, that's hard. That's really hard.
-
It will. Lead.
-
Us the next thing away from hating toward loving other
-
people. I've had several people in my
-
life the last few weeks that I even quoted this to my wife
-
today. I said we got to overcome evil
-
with good. That's the hardest thing to do.
-
Is it not hard for you? It's hard to do when especially
-
when you've helped somebody out and you went far beyond anything
-
could ever imagine and give and give and give and, and, and they
-
do, they still respond to you with evil.
-
It's hard to overcome evil with good.
-
But you know, there's a verse in the Bible that says when you do
-
that, you really want to get them.
-
It says you reap burning coals over their head when you return,
-
when you return good for evil. God help us with that.
-
Amen lead us from hating toward loving other people right.
-
We were talking about that the other day one of our brothers.
-
It was stirring thing at a circuit router and you know, I I
-
just stood up pressing God. What do you want me to do?
-
So I want you to love him what you do in a way to love him but
-
correct him and you know, I've had a couple come to me and say,
-
man, that was a good way to do it.
-
God did it. Hey, man, I just loved him and
-
it made him like what I was telling him and love that he was
-
wrong, right. And God did it.
-
And then I hear God's taking care of it now, right?
-
He'll lead us away from hating. But it's easy to, you know, to
-
it's easy. We see this today, especially
-
the election times, man, I heard an old preacher the other day
-
preaching. He said, I'm tired of the whole
-
why he was on Sunday morning live and he was old guy.
-
He didn't care. No more getting like me.
-
He said. I'm so tired.
-
Of hearing our president and all of them up there, he said.
-
I ain't heard nobody up there but two people not curse.
-
And he said they're all dropping F bombs but they all Christian,
-
they all love Jesus, but they don't control their ways.
-
Well, he was getting on them. It will encourage us to know God
-
better. Encourage us to know God better.
-
There's no other way. See, went back to the story of
-
my dad. Why did I know when the eyebrow
-
went up? Why did I know that?
-
I knew a weapon was coming, but I also knew that it was going to
-
Even after the weapons, I knew it was going to affect my
-
everyday life. Right.
-
How many I'd take the weapon. It was the you're not going
-
anywhere. That was the bad deal, wasn't
-
it? You're grounded.
-
He didn't drown much. That's what I like about that.
-
He just beat you half death and send you on your way.
-
There was no grounding. There wasn't no grounding, but
-
now we ground them for go over there for 10.
-
They, I mean, I said getting time out and it lasts for about
-
two seconds and then they're running all over doing the same
-
thing. But I knew it affected my
-
everyday life. But I also see I had a
-
relationship with my dad. I knew that he required.
-
Something and I knew if I didn't do what he required that there
-
was discipline going to happen, right.
-
But we live in a world you know. Do you think God gave his only
-
begotten Son so that he wouldn't discipline those that broke his
-
commandments and his? Rules a lot of the church
-
believes that but the Bible says those whom he.
-
Loves he chastens. He says that if we aren't
-
corrected then we are bastard Childs is what the Bible says.
-
That means we don't know our Father, right?
-
So He corrects those whom he loves, but it will encourage us
-
to know Him better. And it will always be the truth.
-
Never deny or diminish who Jesus is or what he's done.
-
But I challenge you and summarizing this whole message
-
tonight, he says that these things say that with me.
-
Let's go to first John two, First John chapter 2 and 26.
1 John 2 chapter mention
-
He says that these things I have said, I have written concerning
-
those who are trying to deceive you, those who might deceive us,
-
whether intentionally or unintentionally, include what
-
other people, their own desires, evil spirits, these things I
-
have written to you concerning those who try to turn you away.
-
See, the Holy Spirit will never conflict with any of John's
-
test. They will always lead us toward
-
the light. They will always.
-
God's voice will always lead us from sin.
-
They will always lead us to seek forgiveness and cleansing when
-
we have committed sin. They will align with God's
-
commandments. They will encourage us to
-
respond as Jesus would. They will lead us away from
-
hating toward loving other people.
-
They will encourage us to know God better.
-
We need these things. If you want to hear the voice of
-
God, these things have to be in your life.
-
If you want to hear from God, these things have to be present
-
in your life. They will never deny or diminish
-
who Jesus is or what he's done. And as much as I love the United
-
States of America and I believe it's the greatest country that
-
has ever been placed upon planet earth, I will always believe
-
that. But when I look at our Nation
-
Today, for the most part, we try to diminish who Jesus is as a
-
nation and what he's done. We get excited when people
-
mention Jesus because we know that at the mention of his name,
-
demons have to bow. We know that demons can flee and
-
people that can be healed. But, you know, if they don't
-
recognize and they don't hear the voice of God, they can't
-
lead us in the right direction. But I challenge you, in the
-
world you live in today, we must know how to hear the inner voice
-
of the Holy Spirit speaking to us.
-
We must know that. But you know, there's a lot of
-
people still saying, well, if God would just speak.
-
God cannot look upon us until we have a glorified body and just
-
speak. He didn't look up on.
-
Why did Jesus feel forsaken at the cross?
-
He felt forsaken because for a slight moment God had to turn
-
away because He's a holy God and He had to watch His Son become
-
sin for all mankind and He had to turn away.
-
He couldn't look upon it because He's a holy God, right?
-
And then he took Jesus. You know, people said, well, I'm
-
just waiting on God to speak. And they get real confused right
-
here because he's a triune God. He's God the Father, God the
-
Son, God the Holy Spirit. But Jesus said the Father has
-
already came. He's already died upon a cross,
-
and now he's already rose again. And because I'm going to sit at
-
the right hand of the Father, quit listening for the voice of
-
God. Listen for the voice of the Holy
-
Spirit, right? That's his job is to speak to
-
us. I understand he's a triune God
-
that, you know, a lot of people get confused.
-
I don't. I can't explain the Triune
-
Godhead. I can't explain how a mother,
-
how a mother loves us, cooks. For us and yet wipes our rear
-
end. But she's still mother, right?
-
But does all three. That's the easiest way I've ever
-
known how to explain it. He's God the Father, He's God
-
the Son, He's God the Holy Spirit.
-
You always know He's there, you always know He loves you, know
-
He died on the cross to forgive you of your sins, but yet you
-
feel His holy. Spirit upon this earth every day
-
yearning Learn to recognize his voice as we stand and go to
-
we'll close in prayer. How many want to hear?
-
How many want to hear 2? It's only three.
-
How many want to hear? Hey man, how many want to
-
recognize There's a whole nother part of this message you want me
-
to preach the rest of it? No, you don't.
-
You got to work in the morning. You know what?
-
The third party is here. Recognize.
-
React. React, React.
-
That means act like I'm saved. Sometimes I don't feel saved.
-
Do you? I feel like I'm in a mess.
-
I feel like I'm going through part of the tribulation here on
-
Earth sometimes, don't you? But yet I gotta act like I'm OK
-
because I am. Your feelings will catch up
-
later. They say, well, I can't act.
-
You're going to learn to what is What is being happy when you're
-
really sad? Is that acting or is it inner
-
peace? Some people can act that way.
-
I had a aunt she used to could cry when she wanted to cry and
-
laugh when she wanted to laugh. People recognize that about her.
-
She just start crying when she's talking to you if she's wanting
-
something. Anybody ever seen anybody like
-
that? Y'all just pin all this
-
Wednesday night stuff. Does anybody know anybody like
-
that in your life? They could just turn it on.
-
Tony Ray. I bet I know who it is.
-
I know more about y'all. Before she found the Lord, she
-
could turn it on, couldn't she? We ain't talking about her or
-
your wife. No, I'm going to get in trouble.
-
But you know, sometimes I've found that when I'm sad and I
-
begin to act happy, it's because of what I'm thinking.
-
It's because of what I'm hearing.
-
I'm hearing the voice of God saying it's going to be OK,
-
we're going to make it through. But see, the thing about it is
-
your head's bowed. If you hear and you recognize
-
and you react. I didn't get to preach on that.
-
You know what happens next. You develop relationship.
-
You develop relationship. My beautiful wife, I can tell if
-
she's happy or sad without her saying a word because I've lived
-
with her 35 years, right? God's the same way.
-
Thanks for listening to the Cross Powered Church podcast.
-
May you know that true hope, peace, and salvation can only be
-
found in Jesus. If you're near Campbell, TX, we
-
would love for you to join us in person.
-
You can find service times at crosspowerchurch.com.