Tearing Down the Walls Part 1 - The Sledgehammer

give a shout out to Creek Side praise

band for Friday night we went to the

Outer Banks for a a worship conference

with a bunch of churches gathered just

to kind of share and and worship

together and it was so cool because

there were some uh Holiness churches

there you know some charismatic churches

and we went on first uh so I was like

man this place is going to come unglued

when they start singing and uh it did it

was awesome there were people with the

the flags and stuff in the front and um

it was just such a cool experience to

see all the different streams of the

Christian faith uh kind of represented

in one one building and I I tell you our

group did a a great job and I was very

proud to uh to have been there to to

fellowship and worship with them and I

want to thank those of you that made

that trip all the way to the Outer Banks

to be a part of that event thank you for

coming out and supporting as well um

shout out to our overflow seating over

here how yall doing I hope this is my

good

side freaking me out a little bit

all right so we're going to start a uh

new sermon series today and this one's

called tearing down the Walls uh tearing

down the walls and it's going to start

out with Matthew chapter 6 we'll be in

Matthew 6 · chapter mention

verse 31 uh the main idea is really

something that I've been thinking about

for a long time which is the fact that

God really does want to partner with his

children to help Tear Down the Walls

that keep you from being the people that

God created you to be uh and as a

Baptist preacher it's sometimes a little

hard to preach a message like this

because it's very easy to get labeled

into this category of like name it claim

it Prosperity Gospel and so often times

what we do to try to avoid uh falling

into those those camps that bad theology

is we just avoid the subject altogether

so we don't get labeled as such so I

wanted to take the challenge this month

to really dive into what the Bible has

to say about how God produces good

things for his people when they worship

him we're going to talk about these

walls and walls are really just anything

that you have tried to overcome on your

own own and you just can't uh it could

be a emotional wall perhaps it's worry

or an anxiety or or or jealousy maybe

it's resentment or anger this could also

be a physical wall obviously a a disease

or an illness but it could also be a a

strained relationship it could be the

glass ceiling at work it could be uh

weight loss you know there's a lot of

things that could fall into that camp

spiritual walls of course this lack of

motivation to worship and read your

Bible and pray or be part of a small

group or perhaps you have a strained

relationship with your church you're

just not digging what they're they're

doing and so it's hard for you to get up

on a Sunday and come to this place that

you know God wants you to be and so the

these These Walls need to be torn down

and the good thing about the Bible is it

gives you all the tools you need to take

down the walls that keep you from being

what God created you to be so I'm going

to start out with the best tool of all

God gives you an actual Sledgehammer to

knock down these walls are you guys

ready to hear that today

you ready to hear what the sledgehammer

is I don't know that you're going to

like it when you hear it but it is the

number one tool for tearing down walls

it's a destructive force and it is this

daily faithful obedience to

God daily faithful here's a word

everybody loves

obedience to God what what we're talking

about is waking up every day of your

life and bringing your chice choices and

your behaviors in line with God's Will

and bl and putting his values ahead of

your values we're talking about stuff

like dating we're talking about tithing

we're talking about giving God your

schedule bringing things to into

alignment with what he wants for you

this is everyday faithful obedience to

God bringing everything in faithful

obedience to God now you might say well

that doesn't sound too exciting I don't

know that I should have got up this

morning to come here this one but let me

just say this don't underestimate the

power of

obedience don't underestimate the power

of of obedience so let's say that you

made some resolutions this year for the

new year I would be willing to bet that

you have already failed in most of those

resolutions that you've made

statistically most people don't make it

to February you've you've uh missed that

day at the gym you've smoked that

cigarette you've pulled into the Taco

Bell

drive-thru knowing

that chipotle is right up the street

Taco Bell costs more and tastes worse

but who are you you pull right into the

driveway just out of habit I don't know

I'm talking about you not me obviously

uh I made a resolution to not talk about

that place anymore and look at me I

didn't even make it past

February chances are you you you failed

and what we tend to think is that we

didn't have the willpower to stick with

the resolution but do you understand

statistics and sociologists they have

all come together and they said look it

has nothing to do with willpower that is

a a falsehood that is a a wives tell

that that has nothing to do with the

reason that we fail at our resolutions

they say this they say that for most

humans our natural state of being is a

refusal to yield to any system or form

or pattern of accountability

you failed in your resolution because

probably you refused to yield to any

system or form or pattern of

accountability it is the rebellious

sinful nature of the human heart so so

people like to talk about making these

positive changes but then they dislike

the idea of submitting to the authority

that would help them make the positive

change and that's where we are in

Matthew chapter 6 Jesus is engaging a

Matthew 6 · chapter mention

group of people that have just been

running into walls over and over again

just running into walls and the the

reason is because they're stressed out

over taxation by Rome over just the pace

of their life also their willful sin

their unmet needs and their

overdependence upon religion these are

people these are the same people when

Jesus looked out he saw the same people

that loved it when he did Miracles but

did not follow his commands these are

the people that valued super superatural

outcomes but they dislike the concept of

God's Authority these are the people

that wanted eternal life but rejected

the process of s sanctification these

are the ones who wanted Deliverance but

did not want to repent these are the

ones who sought blessing with no regard

for Holiness these are the ones who

wanted a savior to rescue them from

their problems but they did not want a

Heavenly King to control their

Destiny to these people who run running

into the walls Jesus says in verse 31

don't worry about a thing don't worry

about what you will eat what you will

drink or what you will wear for the

Gentiles they eagerly seek these things

and your father and heaven knows that

you need them Jesus wants to tell these

people how the kingdom of God actually

works and he points out here that God

knows the stress that you were under at

work he knows the quot that you have to

meet he knows that you and your wife are

sleeping in separate bedrooms he knows

that you had to take your child's phone

away because they got in trouble he

knows about the bullies at school he

knows that you were still wearing the

scars of the abuse that you suffered as

a child and he knows that you barely had

enough money this month to pay your

light bill God is aware of the walls but

he also has the power to help you tear

them down and here is how that power is

Unleashed check this out verse

33 seek first the kingdom of God and his

righteousness and all these things will

be provided for you seek first the

kingdom of God you know what that means

daily faithful

obedience if you do that it says God

will somebody say that with me God will

one more time God will God will give you

everything you you need notice the word

need not want he will give you

everything that you need and you might

say well that sounds like works that

sounds like religion that sounds like I

have to earn God's favor and I would say

no because grace and mercy are unearned

these are free gifts just like salvation

that God gives to you he loves you

perfectly you do not have to earn his

favor but Christian get this there are

things that you can do in your practical

everyday life that will unle leash an

extra blessing a supernatural blessing

that God has waiting for you that will

help you tear down those walls and

become the people that God created you

to be it's the whole process of of

sanctification it's what the Holy Spirit

does for you he comes into your life and

he helps you live daily to be more and

more like Jesus he he puts your life in

alignment and when your life is in

alignment with God when your will

matches his will and when your values

match his values something Supernatural

takes place in your life uh a long time

ago I was having trouble sleeping

because my neck was so sore and it's

probably from where I wanted to be a

professional wrestler when I was a

teenager and so I would allow my friends

to throw me off of things through tables

and hit me with chairs and all of that

well it finally caught up with me and I

was having trouble sleeping so my doctor

said to go to a chiropractor so I go to

this chiropractor and I lay on the table

I'd never been before and he he makes me

cross my arms and he says I'm going to

count to three and on three I'm going to

do a little thing like this like you

know snap your neck basically and I'm

like okay all right and he goes

one I'm like you said you were going to

count to three he's like I do that all

the time man just get it out rip the

Band-Aid right off when my neck cracked

I I saw God and Satan at the exact same

time my life flashed before my eyes

there were fireworks I felt things that

I've never felt before and I'm like what

just happened and he said I brought what

was out of alignment into alignment

everything was put in order and the pain

went

away friends obedience corrects your

spiritual posture it aligns your will

with God's will it aligns your values

with God's values and it un it unleashes

this full strength of Christ into your

life so you can do the things that he's

called you to do Jesus says this is a

kingdom you know what happens in a

kingdom any guesses

what you

guess well that could happen you know

what happens in a kingdom whatever the

king wants to happen in the Kingdom

because the king is in charge of the

kingdom and Jesus says hey look you're

living in a kingdom this is God's

kingdom this is a place where God's will

is done and he's like look do you want

the all powerful King of the universe to

help you tear down those barriers that

you keep running headlong into he's like

if you do align your will with his daily

faithful obedience do the things that

God called you to do love your wife

respect your husband honor your parents

honor God with your giving and your

finances live with Integrity forgive

people that have hurt you serve people

that can't pay you back and aren't going

to post about it on social media when

you do something nice for them Jesus

looks at these these overworked

overstressed people and he said if you

will align your will with Gods then the

king of the universe will use his

unlimited Authority and power to step in

and tear down those walls that are

keeping you from being the people that

God created you to be don't

underestimate the power of obedience so

let's look at some biblical examples

we'll start with Israel the Old

Testament they were facing enemies and

they lacked everything necessary

to fight against an enemy so in Exodus

Exodus 12:35

12:35 said the Israelites acted on Moses

word where did Moses get this word from

he got it from God God told them put the

Lamb's blood on your doorpost at night

and the angel of death will fly over

will pass over your house and so they

did what God asked them to do they

followed his commands they aligned their

will with his will and it says here that

they asked the Egyptians for silver and

gold and items for clothing the

Egyptians were the people that had

enslaved Israel so they asked their

Master to give them gold and silver and

clothes and look what happens and the

lord gave the people such favor with the

Egyptians that they gave them what they

requested in this way they plundered the

Egyptians Israel had no power they had

no weapons they had no Army but God

stepped in and gave them back all the

things that the Egyptians had stolen

from them and how did they get there

through a simple Act of

obedience I love this one Nehemiah he

goes to this king the king who had

enslaved once again Israel and he asked

the king to give him money and workers

and resources like the trees that he

owned to build Gates so that Israel

could rebuild Jerusalem and become an

independent nation once again so he goes

to his captor and says hey can I have

all your stuff so we can go back and

rebuild our city and become independent

and not be you know living with you guys

anymore how's that going to go probably

not well but let's see Nehemiah did what

God told him to do God said hey pray

about this fast about it and then speak

up and speak confidently to this King

look in Nehemiah chapter 2 ver8 it says

Nehemiah 2 · chapter mention

the king granted my requests why because

the gracious hand of my God was on me

God gave Nehemiah favor with the King to

bless and fulfill the the purposes in

his life and the way Nehemiah found out

found this success was through daily

faithful obedience to God one more

Joseph in the Old Testament he lived

with Integrity this is a young man whose

brothers threw him in a pit left him for

dead told his dad that he was dead then

they got wise to that they were like

well why don't we just make some money

off this dude so then they sold him into

slavery so Joseph goes into slavery and

everywhere that Joseph went he showed

integrity and

trustworthiness even when Piper's wife

the Master of the House that he served

even when she hit on him and tried to

make a move he he ran from her he wound

up in prison even at the end of his

story when he had an opportunity to get

revenge on his brothers as he's now The

Prince of Egypt and his brothers are

bowing down before him he could have

enacted the greatest revenge of all time

but instead of doing that he forgives

them and blesses them why because he had

Integrity he was daily faithful obedient

to God and look what happens in Genesis

Genesis 39:2

39:2 says the Lord was with Joseph and

he became a successful man serving in

the household of his Egyptian master and

when his master saw that the Lord was

with him and get this the Lord made

everything he did successful this was

not about Joseph and his personality

this was not about his his giftedness

this was all about the fact that he was

daily faithful obedient to God and

because of that that everything he did

in a practical way was

successful God tore down the walls

because of The Obedience of these

people now here's where we get a little

messed up obedience fights against our

fleshly desire for

Independence the Bible warns us over and

over that we will be tempted to do what

is right in our own eyes our natural

desire is to journey toward self as

absolute

Authority Russell Johnson says you run

the risk of shipwreck your destiny while

idolizing your

identity it is terrifying for me to

think that that everything that I set my

mind to do seems like a good idea to

me you ever thought about that like you

you often times think you're the

smartest person in the room your brain

is going to validate the the thoughts

that you have so before I had kids in

college I actually could afford a boat

and I had a boat back in the day that I

really loved um I lived in Henderson

North Carolina and I went fishing on car

Lake and so I bought this boat in Rocky

Mount and I was so excited about it as I

was driving um back to my house with my

wife I was like let's let's go ahead and

put it on the water today and she's like

maybe we should take it home and learn

how to use it I'm like it's a boat how

hard could this it's got a thing that

goes forward a thing that goes reverse

you till the motor up and down and you

turn the wheel what more could there be

to do right so we go to car Lake and I

put it in the water and we go sitting

out into the lake and it was so

beautiful that day I remember having a

lot of fun but my wife seemed a little

bit antsy but I didn't know why um so

I'm driving the boat and all of a sudden

I look back and like the water in the

back is like level with the back of the

boat and my wife is like I don't think

that should be happening I'm like sh nah

it's just how these things are made you

know to go faster and then all of a

sudden the front of the boat is up like

really high and the back of the boat

like the engine is almost into the water

I'm like H maybe something is a little

wrong here so I whip around and I put it

as fast as it would go right back to

that boat ramp and and praise be to God

I got the boat back onto the the trailer

there and then we pulled it up out of

the water I'm like what is going on I

got a boat that's broken you know it's

supposed to be brand new and then I

that's when I learned that boats have

plugs why I have no earthly idea why you

need a plug in a boat that seems so

counterintuitive to me but I'm not Scott

Brothers so I don't know maybe he

understands why this happens look every

in my mind it was a perfect plan go

early get the boat get out on the lake

enjoy a day with your wife right I

validated every thought that I had but

that happens over and over again doesn't

it we we think that we're we're so smart

but get this Christianity is not

autonomous as a Christian you do not

live spiritually speaking on an

island we have a king and he governs our

future so obedience to him actually

matters because our King loves us and

wants us to do what what's right in his

eyes so that he can help us through our

life look at Second Chronicles

169 if you ever thought that God wasn't

watching check this out says for the

eyes of the Lord roam throughout the

Earth he's looking he's looking at you

looking at me his eyes are roaming

throughout the Earth and what is he

looking for someone that he can show

himself strong to

for those who are wholeheartedly devoted

to him daily faithful obedience he's

looking for faithful people that he can

show himself strong to see we tend to

focus on outcomes and obstacles and

guess what you cannot control either of

those two things Joseph was obeying God

and he wound up being thrown in prison

Moses rescued the people from Egyptian

slavery and then they turned on him in

the wilderness you have Joseph who who

or Nehemiah who was attacked by his

enemies and his co-workers I don't know

where you work but it might be kind of

weird if Marge from a count and comes at

you with the stapler one day like your

co-workers should not attack you but

guess what nehemiah's co-workers did he

was doing what God told him to do and he

couldn't control the obstacles and he

could not control the outcomes but you

do you know what they could

control

obedience you can't control your

obstacles you can't control the outcomes

but you can control your obedience

and when you control your obedience to

God King Jesus promises that he will

take care of your outcomes he will

multiply your

blessings job 22 come to terms with God

and be at peace in this way good will

come to you receive instruction from his

mouth and place his sayings in your

heart Proverbs chapter 3 my son don't

Proverbs 3 · chapter mention

forget God's teaching but let your heart

keep his commands commands for they will

bring you many days of full life and

wellbeing James chapter 4 therefore

James 4 · chapter mention

submit to God resist the devil and he

will flee from you nothing scares the

devil more than an obedient Christian

Galatians chapter 6:9 let us not get

tired of doing what is good for we will

reap at the proper time if we don't give

up you serve a God that controls the

Harvest so don't get weary of doing good

don't get weary of obeying his commands

even if you're the only person in your

school that is doing it don't get weary

even if you're the only person in your

work that is doing it don't get weary

because God has set up this incredible

system where if you plant a seed of

obedience he provides sun and rain and

nourishment from the soil that will

unleash an incredible harvest in your

daytoday life when you're obedient to

God's standards of living and how you

treat your girlfriend and how you raise

your children and how you treat your

employees he promises to produce

something amazing out of that faithful

obedience now he will forgive you if

you've messed up so please don't hear

that wrong grace and mercy abound with

our Lord so if you are someone that has

not been obedient to God it is not over

for you you can start today and he will

forgive you but he also says when you

are obedient he is going to unleash a

Bountiful Harvest when you are faithful

so I'm going to take it back to 2006

YouTube real quick um hope you don't

mind I'm an old youth pastor so I like

visual aids every now and

again some of you some of you already

know what I'm getting ready to

do all right maybe I should have

practiced this before I actually did

it that's not

encouraging my mind told me this was

brilliant okay and you can always trust

your mind right I'm not going to put

them all in at once calm down we're

going to do one at a time look here

here's a great if you can see I'm sorry

there's a giant plant there um if you

can see thank you I appreciate that all

right for that side so so what happens

is sometimes we think well one little

Act of obedience really doesn't matter

that much but let's say that you've

pledged your Purity until marriage and

you you stick to that you you obey God's

command in the areas of your sexuality

look what

happens nothing bad happens so so this

little bit there was no doubt there was

a when you put when you put that act of

obedience into the hands of God he

unleashes something Supernatural that

flows over into all the other aspects of

your life right so when you're obedient

to God and your I'm going to do it again

I'm so confident no doubt ain't scared

here we

go no fear

baby SAR Mio all right here we go all

right oh no didn't go didn't work didn't

work that was not the holy spirit that

was the devil all right here we

go all right see nothing bad right so

this is going to keep going for a while

by by the way um so let's say that that

was giving let's say that you're one of

those people you come to church you love

being here that's great uh but then you

read God's command on sacrificial giving

or Grace giving or tithing whatever uh

you know whatever vein you find yourself

in and then that day you're like you

know what I know things are tight this

month but I'm going to go ahead and I'm

going to give to the ministries of the

church that little Act of obedience is

what allows God to just bring all this

other blessing into your life we're

talking about things like integrity and

you're like well I can't you know I have

to cut Corners because everybody in my

office is cutting corners and there

getting the promotions because they look

better than me because they're cheating

and you're so tempted but then you're

like no I'm going to listen to what God

has to say about obedience I'm going to

trust in him and then I'm going to uh

give this this uh little act oh should I

do them all

now all right I'm going to give up while

I'm

ahead I think that was Holy Spirit I'm G

put that one in there all right we're

good we're done all right so here's the

point though this is I know it's goofy

I'm sorry but like it just shows what

God is willing to do with the daily Act

of obedience this is not name it claim

it gospel this is not Prosperity Gospel

this is biblical teachings on the

effects of daily faithful obedience this

is a doctrine that is powered by the

Holy Spirit and modeled in Jesus Christ

himself I learned this last week in

Sunday school it's so cool Luke Chapter

Luke 2 · chapter mention

2 so Mary and Joseph lost Jesus one time

did you know that yeah they were in its

big Caravan and they assumed he was with

them and he's like 12 13 years old guess

what he's not there so they have to go

all the way back to Jerusalem and

they're like where is our child we lost

the Son of God you know how's that feel

as a parent so they they find him and

he's in this Temple and this is what it

says in verse 49 Jesus says why are you

searching for

me he asked him didn't you know that it

would be necessary for me to be in my

father's house and so Joseph's probably

a little confused at that point um

because it says in verse 50 they didn't

understand what he said to them but then

in verse 15 1 then he went down with

them and came to Nazareth so he went

back home and was obedient to them Jesus

was obedient to them and his mother Mary

she kept all these things in her heart

and Jesus increased in wisdom and

stature and favor with God and with

people Jesus was obedient to Mary and

Joseph Mary and Joseph were Sinners just

like us they they weren't infallible he

was the son of God and the the Son of

God chose to submit to obey his Earthly

parents it wasn't because they were

perfect people it was because he trusted

the God that was in them he trusted the

god that placed them in Authority in his

life and since he trusted that God he

was willing to trust in them and it says

that he grew in favor with W with God

and with people and he grew in wisdom

and in stature and man that's what I

want for 2025 I want to grow in stature

I want to grow in wisdom I want to grow

in faith with people and with God and so

how do I do that I submit to the

authority that God has placed into my

life so we don't have time to go into it

today but there are three sets of

authority that the Bible refers to

number one is God's word and so the word

tells us that we should be in Daily

faithful obedient to obedience to the

word of God he also talks about the

structure of the home there there's a

head of the household and there are

parents or there are kids that should

obey their parents like there's a

structure inside of the household

there's this whole authoritative

structure that God has created for our

good and he also talks about the church

he says that there are church leaders

that God has placed in authority over

you now it's hard to grow in your

obedience to God when you are not

growing in your obedience to the

authority that he has set into your life

you have to learn to trust that

Authority now we don't view our leaders

as infall able okay so not everything

that I say not everything that the

deacons say not everything your Sunday

school teacher says not everything your

husband or your wife says or your mom or

your dad like it doesn't mean that

everything they say is absolutely

infallible if you think that they are

perfect then this becomes a cult not a

church okay so we don't trust the

Perfection of the people that are in the

authority over us what we do trust in

though is we trust in the god that is in

them we trust in the god that gave them

that calling to accept that position of

authority we trust in the people that

laid hands on these leaders and prayed

for them as that we ordained them into

this specific Ministry calling and when

we do that we we make a beautiful order

of obedience I heard a pastor this week

say that anything with two heads is a

monster so when you come to scripture

and your will is just as important as

God's you've created a monster because

now the Bible has two heads

in your household if you have two people

that are fighting for authority of the

household then you've created a

household with two heads that's a

monster and as you know I'm an amateur

ecclesiologist and sociologist so I like

to study why some churches are blessed

and some Churches seem to be struggling

and one thing that I've noticed in the

churches that seem to be struggling is

inside of those churches there's often

authoritative structures that are in

place where there are different groups

of people that are vying to be the head

of the church so they've created a

monster God doesn't want us to be

involved with a monster he wants us to

be part of a team a't that awesome

because when you submit to the god-given

authority in your life when you trust

the god that's in them when you trust

the god that called them to that

position then what you're doing is

you're allowing yourself to be a part of

a team that works for the goals at hands

at hand and I think that's part of this

the success of this part of like God's

family tree because a lot of us we were

working toward the goals at hand rather

than putting our personal agendas ahead

of the work that God is trying to do

this obedience to God and this

leadership

structure was modeled throughout Jesus

entire life it started here when he was

a child 12 13 years old as he obeyed the

will of his parents and it carried on

all the way to the cross in Luke chap 22

when he says father not my will but

yours be done obedient to his father

Jesus was always obedient to the will of

his father God and it Unleashed a

blessing that you and I still benefit

from every hour of every day I I'm not

going to try to bring God's will in line

with my will I'm not going to try to

bring God's values in line with my

values because I don't want a God that

agrees with my ignorance and my S

sinfulness so you know what I do I

choose daily in the power of the Holy

Spirit to do my best to bring my life in

line with what God standards for my life

are I don't care what culture says I

don't care what the Tik Tok influencers

say I don't care what my classmates say

I don't care what the professors say

Jesus is not a life coach he is a king

and he is a good King that wants to

unleash blessing into your life to help

you tear down the walls that are keeping

you from being the people that God

created you to be and so what I'm going

to do is I'm G to live and move and find

my being in

Jesus so so here's how this plays out

and in my life too so I'm not standing

on a stage talking down I'm I'm I'm part

of it for a long time in my life it felt

like things were chaotic and I didn't

really understand it until one day

somebody was explaining to me how earth

earthquake work earthquakes work easy to

say they did a better job of explaining

than I'm going to but basically they

said there's two tectonic plates that

run into each other neither one will

submit so they are pressing and rubbing

up against each other and it's causing

chaos earthquakes all over because

neither plate wants to submit to the

other and the earthquake only stops when

one of the two tectonic plates decides

to

submit and I started thinking about all

the chaos that's been a part of my life

in the past and I realized that that

chaos was often caused when my will and

God's will were competing when my values

and God's values were competing when I

was trying to use my my rational

rationalization to to try to figure

things out on my own and control my own

destiny but God had this other plan and

they were competing going back and forth

and that chaos lasted until I submitted

and once I submitted there was peace was

peace so the question is are are you

going to submit to the will of God today

are you going to look at those areas of

your life where you may not be in Daily

faithful obedience and are you going to

realize that there's a lot of chaos

that's caused when we live that way and

are you going to understand that you

have a king a good king a king that

loved you so much that he sent his son

Jesus to die on a cross so that he could

have a forever

relationship with you that's the King

you serve are you going to realize today

that that King has your good in mind

that that King promises to meet all of

your needs if you'll just live in his

kingdom we're going to realize that

today let's pray