Obey God and leave the consequences

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.

Boy, you can feel them old songs, can't you?

Them old songs were rolled under the anointing.

I like the new ones too, man. I can't, I can't get away from

the old ones. There's one thing I can get away

from is the right pair of glasses.

They seem to avoid me. Have your Bibles tonight going

to be in Exodus chapter 19? You're going to be in several

Exodus 19 · chapter mention

places here. I mean, he's glad to be here

tonight. Exodus chapter 19 Let's stand

Exodus 19 · chapter mention

the reading of the word. This is a it's a very good word

right here it finds the children of Israel wandering around a

desert. God had just brought him out of

bondage. He had just parted a Red Sea.

Can you imagine God seeing God part the Red Sea through the

staff of Moses? And it was once said somebody

had had researched that. I've shared this before, but

they said at that time of the year, the water was only so many

inches at that part of the Red Sea where they cross.

Some historian and he was telling some preacher that he

said, so the miracle wasn't really that big.

He said, Oh no, it's way bigger than what you think.

If it was only three inches of water, he said, or whatever they

were saying, 2 foot of water. He said God did even a bigger

miracle than I thought. He drowned the whole army of

Egypt in three foot of water. What?

What? People try to prove the word

wrong. It really proves it right,

doesn't it? But this finds Israel there.

It finds them at a place having to obey God.

Maybe you're there tonight. We must obey God, but after we

obey God, we need to leave the consequences.

Say it with me up to Him, Amen. It's up to him.

When I obey, it takes it off of me and it puts it on God, right?

There's still things I have to do.

But in Exodus 19 and verse one, it says in the third month after

the children of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on the

same day they came to the wilderness of Sinai.

So they came out of Egypt, the place that they were eating and

taken care of, but yet they were in slavery.

But yet life finds them in the wilderness of Sinai, for they

had departed from Refidem and had came to the wilderness of

Sinai and camped in the wilderness.

So Israel camped there before the mountain.

And Moses, Can you imagine being Moses?

You're leading these people and you really have no instruction

except to get up and get them out of Egypt.

But how are you going to lead a bunch of wine and Israelites

that had rather died back there in bondage than they had to live

in freedom? I like a lot of Christians.

I know they, they think about the place they come from and

they're serving God. They love God, they know who God

is. But really deep down they still

like some of Egypt. The Egypt has not got out of

them. Can I get a witness?

And Moses went up to God to receive some instruction and you

can turn the radio on 2025 and almost 6000 probably.

Plus years later and they're still talking about today.

I heard it this morning on the 10 instructions that God give

Moses this day. They're still talking about

whether we should put him in a school, whether we should take

him out of a school. I heard one guy and I turned him

off. He's supposed to be educated and

talking and preaching and talking about truth.

But yet he said we got lots of bigger problems in our school

and our academic system than whether the 10 commandments are

on the wall. More like an education, more

like them. Lord, I said, never place

education above the commandments of God.

And education is a great thing, but without a Bible it's still

nothing, right? And Moses went up to God and the

Lord, and he called to him from the mountain, saying, Thus you

shall say to the House of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel,

what do you want me to tell them you've seen?

He said, Tell them, you have seen what I did to the

Egyptians, and how I bore you up on eagle's wings and brought you

to myself. Verse 5 Get this now.

Therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice, big key, if you

will obey my voice and keep my covenant, then you shall be a

special treasure to me above all the people.

For all the earth is mine, and you shall be to me a Kingdom of

priest and a holy nation. These are the words which you

shall speak to the children of Israel.

And you can go home and read the rest of it.

But it leads back and Moses give instructions for receiving it to

the people weren't supposed to get so close to the mountain or

they would drop dead. But shortly after this, the next

chapter, Moses receives the 10 commandments.

So that I want to preach to you tonight along about this, that

he says to keep my voice, obey my voice and keep my covenant.

Then you shall be a special treasure to me above all the

people, for all the earth is mine.

Father, we thank you for your word.

We thank you that those words that you spoke to the children

of Israel still ring true to us today.

We thank you for your love and your mercy and your grace to

preach your word one more time. I pray that we get in our ears

and enter into our heart and just change us tonight about the

way we think about obedience to you and that we would just leave

the consequences of what you're calling us to do or the place

you're calling us to leave from or to go to and just do what you

what your voice is telling us to do.

We we ask for the anointing to preach this word once again in

Jesus name, Amen. What a great promise for

obedience. We just read great discipline

and we have great promises if we obey God, and there's great

discipline and chastisement that come our way for not obedient

obeying God, right? But obedience can be

challenging. It doesn't matter what age you

are in your spiritual walk. It can be in your spiritual walk

of faith. It can be challenging, but

without believing in what you cannot see, that's kind of

backward saying that how do you believe in something you can't

see? That's what he's called us to

do. It's through faith.

It's impossible to please God if we cannot believe for what we

cannot see, because faith is what pleases God.

He is a faith God, right? And but most believe more of

what they do see than what they can't see, and that's natural.

But serving God is not natural. Can I get that?

It's not anything natural about it.

He created us with a hole within our heart, within our soul that

longs to be filled. And until we fill it with Him,

we will not be able to see those things in the spiritual.

But many believe that, believe in what they can see.

But we have to move on before the miracle happens.

We have to see it. We have to see it before we

believe it. We must receive it by faith to

see it in the flesh, right? Can I say that again?

We must receive it by faith to see it in the flesh.

That's how God works. Because what say it with me?

He is a faith God. I'm going to cover a few

scriptures here in Deuteronomy 11.

I'm going to read in 26, 28, I'm going to cover all these.

I want to just cover about 8 scriptures here pretty fast.

But he says, behold, I set before you in Deuteronomy 11/26

through 28. He says, behold, I set before

you today. You know, everybody wants to

wait till tomorrow, whatever it is.

We like many like to put it all, especially when it comes to the

things of God. But he said, I set before you

today a blessing and a curse. There's two things set before us

every day as we get out of the bed and we strap our clothes on

and put our boots or shoes on. It's a blessing or a curse.

They're set before us. The blessing if you obey the

commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today,

and the curse if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord

your God, but turn aside from the way which I command you

today to go after other gods. Boy, that's a huge realm, isn't

it? What gods do we chase in America

today? Many and I like what he says

here in this last deal. He says to go after other gods,

which you have not known. See, we know the true God that

gives us a beating heart, that gives us air in our lungs, that

makes the blood plump through our body, Amen.

That gives us the power to get wealth.

We know that God. Why do we go after other gods?

Is that what he's asking us here?

We go to First Samuel 15 and 22. It says so, Samuel said, has the

Lord as a great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices?

That's what he had a great a great delight in, in the in the

under the law. But he also says as in obeying

the voice of the Lord, does he have great That's a question

there. Behold, to obey is better than a

sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of Rams.

There's a lot riding on our obedience.

Isaiah 48 and 18, it says, oh, that you had heeded my

commandments. Then your peace would have been

like a river. You ever watch the river flow?

How peaceful it is. Why does Isaiah say that?

Because we hadn't obeyed the commandments of God.

So we don't have this peace like a river that we sing about, and

your righteousness like the waves of the sea.

See our righteousness and our peace run hand in hand.

But this is what I command them saying here it is again, Obey my

voice and I will be your God. Obey my voice and I will be your

God, and you shall be my people. And walk in all the ways that I

have commanded you, that it may be well with you.

John 14 and 15 under the New Covenant of Grace and John 14

and verse 15, he says if you love me, keep my commandments.

My question is, if we're not keeping the commandments, do we

love it? You can flip it right around,

right? You have to answer that if you

love me, keep my commandments. He who, he who has my

commandments and keeps them, it is He who loves me.

So he answers that question. And he who loves me will be

loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest.

See, that's a cool thing about obeying, obeying God.

When you obey God, he's about to manifest himself to you.

He's about to make himself real to you.

Right. In Acts 5 and 9, Peter it says,

but Peter and the other apostles answered and said while they was

preaching, when they didn't want him to preach something, He said

we ought to obey God rather than man.

Man, I have to do this so many times in my ministry.

Instead of preaching what man wants to hear, I got to obey

God, Amen. When you're witnessing, you got

to obey God. When you're leading somebody to

Christ, we ought to obey God rather than man.

First John 2-3 and six that says, now by this we know that

we know him if we keep his commandments.

You see people running around acting crazy.

They don't know God, right? Because they're they don't know

his commandments. He who says I know him and does

not keep his command. Boy, this y'all ready for this?

I didn't say it, the Bible did. He who he who says I know him

and does not keep his commandments is a liar.

And the truth is not in him who said that?

Jesus, He who says he abides in him, ought himself also to walk.

Oh that's good, isn't it? Just as Jesus walked, so if you

walk in my ways to keep my statues and my commandments as

your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days.

Psalm y'all stay with me so I get some people said I need to

read more scripture. We need to have Bible so I'm

reading your scripture. Amen.

No nobody said that. Y'all believe what you want to.

They did say it. Psalms 143 and 10 teach me to do

your will. We don't know the will of God,

but as He teaches us, teach me to do your will, for you are my

God. Your Spirit is good.

Lead me in the land of uprightness.

Deuteronomy 5132 and 33 And Moses called all Israel, and he

said to them, Hear, O Israel, the statues, the judgments which

I speak in your hearing today, that you may learn them and be

careful to observe them. Therefore you shall be careful

to do as the Lord your God commanded you to do.

There it is, obey, obey. And again it's all in the Bible.

Obeying again, you shall not turn the side to the right hand

or the left. You shall walk in all the ways

which the Lord your God has commanded you, that you may

live, and then it may be well with you, and that you may

prolong your days in the lands which you possess bond.

Servants obey in all the things, your masters according to the

flesh, not with eye service as men pleasers, but in sincerity

of heart fearing God. I don't think this one's on

there, but I'm going to read it anyway.

Colossians 322 and 24 And it says, and whatever you do, do it

heartily as to the Lord and not to men.

You know, we could, I could preach on that boy.

I want to preach on that. We have a job.

We do it heartily. And when God sees we do that job

and we're thankful for that job, He'll give you a better one.

But until you're proud of what God's already given you and

learn to operate that way, He's probably not going to elevate

you anywhere else. Knowing that from the Lord you

will receive the reward of inheritance, for you serve the

Lord and the Christ. I can read all many scriptures

about obedience in the Bible because as much as many don't

like to hear it, it's in there. Great promises for obedience,

great discipline and chastisement for not obeying

God. So see obedience, what it really

does. You know, a lot of people, they

think it's something they got to do.

I got to be a Christian, so I got to obey God.

It's just what we do, right? Many people don't realize that

obedience is really what it's doing.

It sets a framework around our lives that forms a hedge of

protection from the enemy. Can I say that again, I should

want to obey God. I should.

If I'm born again and I know Jesus died on a cross for me,

there should be something implanted within inside of me

that the Holy Spirit put there that I say I want to obey God.

It's not. I have to.

It's not, you know, well, I got to go to church.

I got to do that. I got to read my Bible.

No, it's an obedience sets the framework around our lives that

forms a hedge of protection. So when we think about it like

that, will obeying God cost me more than disobeying him?

Depends on how you look at it, right?

If you if you if you like the things of the world and you're

hanging on to the things of the world and you think giving up

those old things and those old habits are costing you, then

you're probably going to answer that question.

Will obeying God cost me more than disobeying him?

Some people would say yes. I would have to say, how would

you answer that question? Will obeying God cost me more

than disobeying him? In this world, Probably.

But in the afterlife, in the forever and eternity, it will.

It will be added to you in good measure, pressed down, shaken

together and running over. Will obeying God cost me more

than disobeying him? It'll cost you some friends.

I found out they weren't friends anyway, right?

It'll cost you a lot of things, but God will replace them.

The next question I want to answer tonight is, can I

experience greater happiness by committing this sin than I would

by obeying God? Sin is the here and now.

Sin looks good, it feels good, it tastes good, right?

Sin appeals to the flesh because the devil is a flesh devil.

He appeals to the flesh. The devil is not a faith devil.

He couldn't look through the portals of time when he was

leading choral worship in heaven and see that one day he could

have been in heaven, that the whole plan could have been

avoided. But no, he was a flesh devil.

He lived in the flesh, and he is not changed.

So when we look at this word, obedience, it's very

challenging, especially when we feel tempted to believe that we

stand to lose more through our obedience right than what we

might gain. But obeying God is essential

because you're putting out the framework.

You're building something that the enemy can't tear down.

Obedience is building a hedge of protection around us from evil.

It builds faith in us. When we choose to obey God, when

we choose the way of wisdom, He, he promises a blessing for

obedience that far outweighs the other consequences.

Are y'all getting this tonight? We must obey God, say it with me

and leave the consequences to him, whatever it may be.

Anybody ever had to do that Anybody ever had to do that cost

you a lot. I did it in rodeo business.

I prayed for sponsorships. There was not many then it was

it was on your own daughter. They didn't have the the shirts

all over then and and guess guess what, The guess what I got

when I started praying. The first one was tobacco

products, a huge deal, but guess what, I battled with tobacco and

I done quit it and I was delivered from it.

But yet they going to give me thousands just to put it on my

shirt. You know, I boy, it come up real

fast. I said I don't I don't do that

anymore, but I what does it hurt?

The devil's whispering because it was my conviction.

It was something God had dealt with me about right.

And then the next deal, like it was curse.

I didn't drink. But, you know, at a young

Christian, I was 22 years old, they was throwing these things

out. It would have been real easy.

Believe me, it would have been real easy.

But see, anybody you've been in that situation, maybe it wasn't

a deal like that, but maybe it was about just being a little, a

little, a little this will this hurt?

You know, I had, I had a lady the other day asked me that.

She said if you tell a little bitty lie, but you're going to

receive something out of it, it's not going to hurt anybody,

was it? Will God forgive me that I said,

yeah, I said he'll forgive you of it.

But how do you feel now? Why are you asking me if

anything was wrong? I counsel this lady summon.

That's why you asking me if anything's wrong with it,

because if it wasn't, you wouldn't be asking me, right?

So that's the Holy Spirit. And that's a good thing He's

pulling at you. But see, it's at the point that

he become on somebody that he begins to pull that you have to

obey. And if you don't obey, you

suffer the consequences of it, right?

But we've all laid down things that and had those decisions to

make. But remember this when in the

valley of decision and the adversary says give in when the

devil's in your ear, it ain't going to hurt nobody but me.

He loves to do that right? But Satan, he always has another

goal in mind. God commands us to do what to

obey right. But as we grow in our walk with

the Lord, obedience becomes the cornerstone of our fellowship

with God, right? Anybody wonder why you can't

hear God? I can't pray.

I can't feel God. Start obeying.

When you start obeying God, He will meet you at the point of

your knee. He will meet you at your hour of

prayer. But until you do it, quit

disobeying God. It causes a little friction in

the communication, right? How many is ever?

Y'all know this true, But as we grow on our walk, obedience

becomes the cornerstone of what our fellowship with God.

If we obey him, what happens? He pulls us a little bit closer,

right? Always pulled Landry a little

bit closer and that kicked my son because she was obeying,

right? She was doing the things.

But yet those that ain't obeying, they don't get quite

the treasure. My son said, well you did this

for later. I said Landry obeying, you ain't

obeying. So why would I want to help you

right now? Right, you think God feels like

that. I mean he's our father, but then

how he loves us all the same. Keep this obese, keep disobeyed.

That's somebody one time tomorrow.

It's just easy for a kid that you know, peer pressure.

It's it's just always easy for you to to not do what we did.

I said, how's it any easier? The difference is, is I spend

time in prayer. The difference is I spend time

trying to please God instead of trying to find ways to not

please Him because I want the communication.

Amen. When I pray, I want Him to be

near. If we obey Him, He pulls us

closer. But there's something else.

When He pulls us closer, I think He teaches us more about His

love. I think He teaches us more about

His ways. Amen.

Because I know when I'm mad just to zip it and hold my tongue,

the next one knows to just go off cursing somebody.

But I know the consequence of that, right?

Because I've been there. So there's a difference.

If we obey Him, He pulls us closer.

This disobedience sends a message to the Lord declaring

that we know better than He does right when we disobey God when

we know that that He did. Let me back up.

Disobedience sends a message to the Lord declaring that He knows

that we know better than He does about our lives and our

circumstances. And how foolish is that?

Because he can see a head. He can see a head.

He commands us to obey because he knows the devastation that

disobedience brings. And maybe your mind's sitting

there now. Well, how do I, how do I hear

the voice? How to obey?

You know what, go read the six to the, the, the next chapter

there in Exodus 20, the 10 commandments.

That's a good place to start. God's already said it and we

can't master that. So it's a good place to start,

right? How to obey God.

I just don't know what God wants.

This church over here said it's OK to drink a six pack.

This one said you only have one. What did God say?

It doesn't say. It doesn't say it in the 10

commandments. We'll read the rest of the book.

Amen. Satan, however, has another goal

in mind. And it's just what I said to

tempt believers to disobey. He tempts us to disobey.

Did God really say that was the Can you believe That was the

words. That was the fall of man, the

enemy, the serpent. What did he say to Eve?

He said he got her. He said, did God really say Eve

would have preached him a message right there?

He said, yes, God really said it, and God really meant it.

And I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.

Life would have been much different today.

But see, he tempts believers to disobey and convinces us that

God's promises can't be trusted, right?

That's what he tries to do, and that we can enjoy life more

through doing what appeals and feels good at the moment.

The enemy is good at that. But remember this when you're in

the valley of decision and the adversary says give in.

Disobedience always has fierce repercussions.

The feeling of guilt. That's one of the things that

disobedience brings on. The feeling of guilt, the

feeling of shame. Anybody ever been there?

The feeling of worthlessness, broken lives, destroyed

marriages, bitter disputes. Sin doesn't mean that God

doesn't love you any less, but it certainly disrupts our

fellowship and it can alienate us from the blessings of God.

It makes us weak spiritually and unable to discern right from

wrong many times. See, that's what happens when we

keep going farther and farther into disobedience.

Pretty soon you wake up with what was once a great nation

under God, with liberty and justice for all, and we wake up

and it's nothing but sin and uncontrollable things going on

because somewhere along the lines we become unable to

discern right from wrong. People say I really don't feel

convicted and that that's where we're at today because God has

turned so many over to reprobate minds because they never turn

any attention to him. And what happens?

We sink deeper and deeper into the grasp of sin and we become,

it becomes harder and harder to get back right.

This all sounds good, but how do we do it?

I remember growing up in church, I'd get fired up.

A lot of preachers leave you hanging, man.

I want to do. How do I do it?

I'm going to give you some ways tonight.

The first thing we could do is trust God with our life and all.

Can I say that? Will you say that word with me

and all that concerns you? That's the key to obeying God.

When we're holding something back from God, we're really not

obeying God, right? We give God a little bit, but as

we have begin to to follow these principles in our life, we begin

to know that God can be fully trusted.

There's no way to go wrong if we place our hope and trust in God.

He created you, He loves you, He says, I'll never leave you, I'll

never forsake you. Even when you were unreachable,

guess what? He found you, Amen.

And He brought you back. So you, whatever you're going

through now, know that you can trust God with anything and all

that pertains to your life #2 wait on the Lord for an answer

to your problem or your situation.

When in doubt, sometimes we have to wait.

We have to refuse to remove ahead, to move ahead, unless we

know that God is leading us in that direction.

But when we hear that voice, when we hear that correction,

when we hear what God has for us, then it's time to act, not

to wait. Amen.

Many get caught in the waiting. Wait up on the Lord and you'll

renew your strength. But as your strengths being

renewed daily, there's something that's building inside of you,

not to stay where you're at and just be renewed, but to move out

to new realms and new things that God has for you, right?

There's a time to wait. There's a time to move.

Third thing is meditate on God's word.

I could preach right here a while.

I could read all the scriptures and I can know the scriptures

and I can quote the scriptures, but do I meditate on them?

See, when you begin to meditate on them, you begin to apply them

to your life. They begin to pass through your

intellect and into your heart, Amen.

I figured out a long time ago this Bible is not an

intellectual thing. It's not how much you know, it's

not how much scripture you can quote, but it's how much you

walk by daily and how much you apply to your life and every

situation. Then you can't.

We have far too many people that's just read the book.

Amen. When you saturate your mind,

what is meditating? I saturate.

I didn't just read it and it come out my mouth.

Come on, help me preach tonight. But I read it and I meditated on

and it saturated my mind. And then it moved from my mind

down into my heart. And then when it got into my

heart, I begin to talk different.

I begin to walk different. I begin to realize that

everything that I touch can become new and blessed.

When temptation comes, you will know right from wrong and you

can act accordingly when you've meditated on the Word of God.

Fourth thing, if you're writing these down, I'm trying to slow

down. Listen to the Holy Spirit

because He speaks, because He speaks, because He speaks.

When I was a Pew sitter, I tried to find the one thing that act

that just got under my skin the most that the preacher preached

and the thing that I disagreed with.

I've never been taught that before, so I'm going to throw it

out. I tried to take that thing.

I've never heard it. Maybe there's something there

and I just begin to chew on it. God, what do you want me to do

with this? I hadn't heard it, but then I

was searching and I will see if it's in the Bible, but far too

many people, they just throw it out because they hadn't heard

it. Hey man.

Because they had never read it in the Bible because they lot

don't read their Bible much. So maybe they never heard it.

There's a lot in the Bible that I've never heard still.

And when I hear it, I want to listen to it because it's the

Holy Spirit speaking. God continues to speak to his

people today. Go read the book of Exodus and

what all God began to do for the children of Israel, man.

And you know, we say, if I could just see that today.

Well, we do see it in different forms and realms, but He speaks

to us through His Word, the Holy Spirit, through the words of a

pastor or trusted Christian. Yes, God still speaks.

We must become sensitive to the Holy Spirit of God and seeking

Him through His Word and listening and spending time with

Him praying and studying the principles of the Scripture.

Listen to the Holy Spirit #5 be willing to wait or walk away

when the way before is unclear. That's a very important one if

you desire to please God above all others.

Obedience to God will require you to remain firm at all times.

If you do not sense clear guidance in your situation, ask

God to confirm it. God, show me a sign He will.

God show me. Show me what I'm supposed to

preach tonight. And I walk in and they're

singing the very song that I had wrote down.

Confirm with signs and wonders, give me guidance in my

situation. Ask God to confirm it through

his word or his will. He'll never contradict

Scripture. I've had so many people before

come to me. Well, God told me this and I

would think, man, that, you know, that's that's really not

even biblical and it's going against some things that the

principles of God, things like this, you know, I know I got a

wife, but I love her. I've heard those things.

It's not scriptural. It contradicts His will for our

life and always lines up perfectly with what the Bible

says. That's when we don't want to do

it sometimes. I know, I've read it, I know it

says it, but I want to do this. Here's the sixth thing.

You ready for this? Because a lot of Christians fail

right here. When obeying God, leave the

consequences up to Him. Be willing to endure conflict.

A lot of Christians don't want conflict.

We want the we want the smoke and gun lights and we want the

dark, the darkness in the church where we can't see our neighbor

worship. That's not really scriptural.

Somebody asked me one time about that here.

I said they'd never see it here because dark, lightness cannot

stay together. What flees darkness?

Very scriptural, right, but we're like that with conflict.

When Israel entered the promised land at God's direction, it had

to face a strong enemy opposition.

See God rarely write this down. God rarely empties our lives of

trouble and conflict. Like the lady that come to the

church one time and she said, man, I not this church, but it

was another church. She said I just don't I just

don't feel love there. There's no love in that church,

Pastor Asker said. Did you got love?

I'm full of love, the lady said. He said, then why are you

leaving the church if the church needs love because of conflict?

Many Christians leave because of conflict.

Many people don't come to church because of conflict.

You've ever been driving to church with your spouse and had

an argument turned around? Raise your hand.

It's OK, I haven't. I couldn't turn around.

I was preaching. I didn't say there hadn't been

conflict, but I was preaching. I said get thee behind me Satan.

I'm going to preach today. I wouldn't call him her Satan,

but the conflict was Satan, right?

Right. Y'all don't go tell her I called

her Satan. I said get thee behind me, not

her. But the conflict, right?

The people you don't like in your life, it's not them, it's

the enemy working through them to get to you.

Just look at me, Chris. I know what you're up to, devil.

You're just trying to make me see you in this, their face on

you. And I'm not falling for you.

You're stupid. I'm not going to enter into that

conflict. But we have to be willing to

enter conflict because God will rarely.

We have a lot of Christians. They're looking for God to just

empty their life of trouble. Oh, if I could just stand up

there and preach, Pastor. Oh, no, you don't know the

trouble that that causes. Hey man, Oh, if I was a

preacher, I'll be OK. I'll trade you.

God rarely empties our lives of troubles and conflict.

If he did, what would happen? Our dependence would not be on

Him. It would fade.

He did it to the Apostle Paul that endured every kind of

conflict. You know, I often think about

the Apostle Paul. It looks like what all the, you

know, just my thinking. All he did for the Kingdom, all

he's doing for us today, it looked like God could have

removed that thorn. All he had to do was speak the

word. You know, I pray to God.

God, all you got to do is speak the word.

And this can happen in the life of this person.

Why don't God do it? Because many times the conflict

in the trial that we're going through is what's causing our

dependence on him. It would take us away from him.

He allows enough difficulty many times to keep us turning toward

him because he knows the final outcome and the seventh thing

tonight I'm going to close leave the consequences to God.

I think we want to obey a lot of times, but then it begins in our

head. Anybody ever felt the Lord

calling you away from your job? I mean, you just miserable there

just killing you and you just, you felt God calling you away

from it, but and you knew God wanted you to leave.

Anybody ever been there and stayed or left?

I've left. I've left before.

I'll never forget. I was I was working.

I was leaving here at 3:00 in the morning to get the middle

oath in working a shutdown. I was not, I had, I hadn't been

winning on the rodeo circuit. So I come home and got a real

job and all them old men at the coffee shop and told me I'd

never make it in the rodeo world.

I had to get a job. Older, wiser men.

I wanted to prove them wrong. But I had to come home and get a

job because I wasn't writing good enough for the professional

level to make a living. So I was working in Midlothian

at a steel mill, and it was a union.

Maybe unions are good, but if you ain't in them, they don't

like you, they don't want you there.

I was working for a contractor and I did and then I was payout.

You know down here I was making 5-6 dollars and four $5.00 an

hour on a day job. Down here you get lucky, get

home $40 a day. I know some of y'all can't

imagine that young people, you give them a hundred, they want

150 to show up, not do nothing. But I was getting $4.00 an hour,

but I'm talking about leaving the consequences up to God.

So when I went up there, they was going to pay us like 10.

And man, I was like hungry. I said this will work.

And I just got married and newlywed and man, I had rodeo.

I went to 190 ninety something right at 100 rodeos traveled all

across the United States that year and won $11,000.

My entry fees was 20. I don't know how I did it.

I was working on the side, but I wanted it.

I wanted it, but I was working up there and man, them union

guys, they were snarling at us every day and you know, I was in

good shape and then I was wanting to punch some of them

and it was just building. But this was the best job I ever

had. And I go home, tell my wife and

I quit this job. She's not going to be happy.

All I've done spent rodeo in that year before I started

riding good enough to win the pro level, you know, But

everybody says, oh, it was easy for you had a buddy home.

It was easy. I you don't know the price I

paid. So they give me this job one

day. Our job was we, we was doing

some pretty cool stuff building and I was learning some stuff.

But then there was always this thing called clean up that had

to be done. And they were putting these big

old water pumps down in a down in a hole, a concrete hole about

as big as this. And they were taking cranes and

dropping them down and we had to go in there.

Them guys, there was no restroom, so they would just use

a bathroom in the corner. They would just urinate in the

corners of it and then trash everywhere.

Well, they give me that job to clean that up that day and the

guys up here driving the truck so I could drive them better

than him, but I wasn't union. I couldn't do it.

So man, I had this hard hat and there's something about hard

hats and me ain't never got along.

Even when I was in my drilling business, I I got about get run

off jobs because I wouldn't wear them and I left the job one

time. I told him I said it's paid

really good When I was drilling, I said if I got to wear this,

I'm going home. I said ain't nothing going to

fall on my head out here. They made an exception for me

because it was getting a lot done.

But anyway, back to the other story.

I was in this pit. I said, God, I'm like Joseph,

I'm down here in this pit. Yeah, I mean, it was bad.

And you know what? This thought come to my mind.

I think God put it there. He said you ride way too good to

be in this pit. I said, you know, I don't know

where that come from, but I like it.

But then I looked at the circumstance, right?

Oh, really? You're right.

Good. You spent 20 and 110 this year.

You're good. But I walked up there and I told

that guy said, look, He said you got to give two weeks.

I said I ain't got two weeks. I said I'm giving you today, I'm

going home and I left and I put the consequences up on God.

God, I heard your voice back there.

I heard you got a plan. And you know, at that time I

wasn't ministering at rodeos. I was trying to find my way, you

know. But it wasn't long after that I

heard God heard that same voice that I'll make you one of the

best if you'll do something for me.

I spent a few years finding out that that was telling people

about Jesus. And when I put Jesus in the mix,

we took off 2 years later I was at the National Finals Rodeo.

So we have to throw things out there and we have to speak them

into existence. So I'm telling you tonight,

wherever you're at and you hear that voice, we said, well, was

that the voice of God? I believe it was.

But when I looked at my circumstance and look crazy,

right? And then I Fast forward that

first year, that next year, boy at that was 1990.

Well, 91 should have been a miracle year.

God, you know, but it was very difficult.

I got hurt and about the same result.

I think I won 20 and spent 40 and then in 1992, I wasn't going

to Denver, Co and my granddaddy's going on to be with

the Lord with putting out. Hey, he's you're not going to

Denver. I said, no, I ain't got the

money and as the first rodeo of the year and he said, well, I'm

going to give you 500. I want you to go and if you

don't win it back, first time I'd ever took anything to go

rodeo. And he said if you don't, if you

don't win it back, you can work it when you get back.

I said, OK, so I entered Odessa on the way.

I went Odessa, I went to Denver, I went, I went in there, I went

to Houston, I went in there, I went to Foy.

Just boom, boom, boom. It just started happening.

So I'm not saying anything about what I did, but I'm challenging

you wherever you're at. When you hear the voice of God,

it may not sound like it. It may look crazy if God's

calling you to start a new business.

What? I've been there too.

Whatever it is, when you hear that voice, obey God.

Don't look at the circumstances. If you look at the

circumstances, you'll never do it right.

You'll never do it, and the enemy will trap you in a shell

and he will keep you there forever.

Hey, when I heard the same voice, it was that same type of

voice. Start a church.

I said no. I ran for five years.

I said I like preaching and smiling and leaving.

I don't want to stay around and hear them talk about what I told

them because I might tell them something they don't like.

And I said start a church, God. I even got a building.

I said I ain't got no singers. God give, I said.

I told God. I said give me some singers and

I'll start a church. And Candy invited Chrissy.

She was doing her hair to our church that we were going to.

And then she came and they said we'll try it for a little while.

And then I said I was just kidding.

God, I got the singers, but I still don't know about starting

the church. But whatever God's calling you

to do, I promise you're going to have conflict.

I promise it's going to look like you can't do it.

I promise there's going to be people in your ear that's never

done anything telling that you can't right but obey God and

leave all the consequences up to him.

Why do we do this? Because verse 5 says as we stand

tonight. Now therefore, if you will

indeed obey my voice, but it's powerful.

You know, I don't think there's anybody in here tonight.

If you knew it was God that you wouldn't obey his voice.

But see, it's hard to know it's God sometimes because we look

with the fleshly eyes of what we can see, and God is able to

provide anything we need if we obey.

But he says you got to obey first.

First, when we were meeting in the hallway of the barn, you

know, this ain't that big a building to somebody.

They talk about it being little, but to me it's big compared to

that little hallway of the barn that we'd set the piano up in on

Wednesday nights with a few of us.

And Chrissy would play when we didn't have a building.

We got kicked out of one building and we were looking

right. But if you obey, if you will

indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, my commandments, you

should be a special treasure. Bow your head tonight and tell

yourself, tell the enemy I'm a special treasure because I obey

the voice of my God and I keep his commandments, and I'm above

all the peoples of the earth because all the earth belongs.

Can we say that all the earth belongs to my God?

Hey man, even California belongs to God.

It doesn't look like it, but it belongs to God.

Even you're messed up life. I'm not going to try to get to

preaching tonight. I was trying to stick to

teaching, but even you're messed up life.

How many have been there had a messed up life?

Look at the hands. We had a messed up life, but it

was still God's because He created you.

He just had to discipline you till you heard His voice.

But God sent me here for somebody tonight.

God's calling you for something. Now, I'm not saying the

ministry, maybe a career, I don't know what it is, but God's

moving you maybe to start your own business, to step out in

faith. But to do that, you got to leave

your security blanket behind. Thanks for listening to the

Cross Power 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.