Brand Recognition 2 Favored Features 06 06 2021

Okay, good morning. Good morning. Good morning.

Wow, you guys are late today. You're starting

late and you're still late. Alright, so we're

going to start with an exciting song. I'm not

very excited today. I really don't feel good

today. So, we're going to do this together. So

I need children up front. We're going to do some

motion and everyone else to stand up please.

Just take a brief moment to pray together. I

will remind you that BBS is ongoing. So starting

at 6 o 'clock on Tuesday, we'll be here for dinner.

And we had quite a good showing of kids last

week. And so hopefully all the kids that were

here last week will come back. And if you were

here last week or if they were here last week,

hopefully they'll bring another group of kids

and they'll just grow. And we'll share the gospel.

We'll have a little fun. And it'll be a good

time. And more important than it being a good

time, we'll be learning about God and bring God's

word. and growing, and just... Okay, so I'm going

to list these. So we've been slacking off the

last couple of weeks, which means I've been slacking

off the last couple of weeks. So these are two

lists. We have two lists today so we can play

catch -up of names in the neighborhood, around

the church. So we're praying for these folks

today as the Lord has led us, and I'm going to

share both the lists and then both the verses

that go with that. Both the verses that go with

that. And then we'll pray. And we do have some

folks traveling and some folks who are in a difficult

situation. And Brother Tim, very untimely, just

got called away. So, yeah, it's a good time to

lift each other up in prayer, I think, then,

right? Isn't it? Okay. So here we go. So this

is from last week, then. Finley and Aaron's Divert,

a 2058 lot port. Just right over here. Yeah,

right over here. Correct me if I get this wrong.

Bonnie Wittner of 252 Lock Court. Deborah Gladio

of 246 Lock Court. Barbara Dunbar of 216 Hefner

Street. Right over there. And Robert Reams of

220 Hefner Street. And it says, no matter how

difficult my neighbor's trials may be, bless

them with your grace to give joyfully to your

people. First and foremost, may they give themselves

to you. In all this you greatly rejoice, but

now for a little while you may have had to suffer

grief in all kinds of trials. From 1 Peter 1

.6. And then today. Alright. We have Beverly

Reikow, or Reikow, I'm not sure how to say that

exactly. Juan and Santos Garcia. Beverly is a

302 Hefner, and Juan and Santos are 312 Hefner.

So we're right here on the block. Actually, that

would be... Where did the numbers go? That's

three, right? Anybody know? Three is that way?

Three is that way. Okay, so be right over here

on the opposite side of the street, first and

second house. Okay? And then 316, Hapner, Shayla

Reed. 318, Hapner, Dasani Minor. And 322, Hapner,

Melissa Witt. And it says, I pray this prayer

for my neighbors, that they will be strong and

take heart, that they will wait for the Lord.

Wait for the Lord. Be strong and let your heart

take courage. Yes, wait for the Lord. From Psalm

27, 14. Okay. So we've made our list and we have

some idea of prayer. If you have a prayer request

right now, what is it? If you could ask for one

thing, what is it? Guidance. Amen. Go ahead.

Help with the broken down truck. Okay? Wow. Okay.

Wow. Say it again? Madeline. Madeline. Okay,

Madeline. Wow. Have you... Sometimes you think

you've got it difficult. You hear about being

cut open over and over again for seven years

to try to deal with the disease. It's only 20

years old. That'll put things in perspective.

Maybe we don't have to go through that. That's

correct. I remember when I was really bad the

last few weeks. Yeah, rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia,

and basically that's just pain. It's just pain,

and it hurts a lot. I've not personally had mild

arthritis. I'm dull, but they say. If you have

mild arthritis, if you've ever had aches in your

joints or maybe overdid it a little bit too much,

aches in your joints working out or doing physical

labor, take that, count about 100, and that's

five miles. That's right, it's like Ms. Chris

said, so definitely pray for her. Anybody else?

Okay, so let's pray together, and then we're

going to worship, and this time it's about the

Lord. It is about his will being done on the

earth. It's about his kingdom coming. It is about

us learning from him. It's not about the person

that's elsewhere in the room. I know we have

distractions. I know there are temptations. What?

Go. I would praise AJ, Jack, whatever you're

calling him. Okay. The little baby. His kidneys

are improving, and they're just playing watch

and see. Okay. Well, that's a nice little prayer

right there. Yeah. All right. So let's pray.

Father in heaven, you've heard these requests,

and we know we came into your house, and this

place is a house of prayer. And so everything

that everyone was saying, they thought they were

just, well, these are things I need to pray about.

Well, we know we were praying. This is us coming

to you with these concerns. We pray for these

neighbors who are listed. We pray, Lord, that

they would know you in earnest. They would know

you personally. That they would receive Jesus

into their life. That he would become Lord to

them. That that would become the most important

thing over human relationships, over jobs, over

finances, over... whatever else. We don't know

how much time we have left to serve you, Lord,

but we pray that we will be active, and that

those whose names we called, who are going through

the worst difficulties in their lives, maybe

they would be blessed, they would receive blessings,

and they hopefully would figure it out and give

you the glory. And when we know it, when we pray

for somebody and we see a miraculous turn, we

should be open and sharing it. And so we just

want to praise you, Father, for what's going

on with AJ. There are others as well. I know

even as Chris is praying for ongoing healing

and strength with her arthritis and fibromyalgia,

but it was way worse earlier this week, and then

you softened it up. And so we just pray, Lord,

that you would continue to work in and through

our body to serve you. And then let us help you

then. Help us, I should say. Let us worship you

in a way that honors you now. We could be anywhere

else. We could be here. but not really here.

And we need your help to be really here and worship

you the way you deserve. We pray this in Jesus'

name. Amen. to tell you at the opening, if you

think of it while you're singing, while you're

praying, pray for me a little bit today. I am

nursing a mild sore throat, so I will keep this,

my explanation with Inspiration Momentum very

short. So, because I need to preach later and

I'm not going to not worship so I can preach.

You know what I'm saying? So there's only so

much left in here. I got cough drops. We'll see

how that helps if we get to that point. But,

the point is, this is Inspiration Momentum. What

have you seen? What have you heard? What has

God been saying? What did you come to share with

us today? Ms. Grace? Well, I just noticed something

a little bit ago, and it just, like, tickled

my heart. So, when new hearts... New hearts.

my heart that we're like casting it on. Amen.

God is good. Alright, who else? So, I thought

I was going to be poetic today. I didn't always

try to be poetic. When I was 23 years old, I

was always in my strange clothes. I was lost.

I was never able to recover. When I called out

the name Jesus, He cut my strings. I'm free to

live for the Lord Jesus. I'm also free not to

have eternal life and a new spirit, a new life

in Christ Jesus. Done. Said and done. Nothing

to anything can do that. That's something, that

great hope we have in everything as a Christ

follower. But those strains, they're still there.

They're cut. And for 10 years, you know, through

insecurity, ignorance, all that stuff, you know,

I allow people to grab them. Strains get older,

but not just them, but personal demons, same

as self, all the stuff that's going on. In my

life, you know, I told somebody the other day,

I'm not joking, I have a third -degree heartburn

inside. I'm burning. I'm just absolutely hurting

like blood. And so I ask you to keep me in prayer

for that. But no matter what, when I was at VBS

Tuesday, which is loving, you never can out -serve

God. Never. And when we're truly found in the

Lord, when we're doing, we're not serving just

because, you know, we're supposed to. We're serving

because we love Him. We're serving because...

He died for us. We're serving because it's the

right thing to do. When you're serving, you know,

the Lord will speak to you. And, you know, we've

all heard Matthew and Jesus, you know, Tom, come

follow me. Like, especially if you're older,

you've heard it many, many times. And so, but

I got something out of it, you know, I haven't

heard ever. You know, it was so cool when we

were talking about Matthew in the text, when

he said, come follow me. And I got to this point

where I was like, you know, I don't think for

a second, that Matthew was looking for Jesus.

He was a tax collector. He wasn't looking for

the Messiah. He wasn't reaching out for the Messiah.

Now, deep down, everybody's looking for a Messiah.

Everybody's looking for an answer. Everybody's

looking, but they're not willing to look. But

Jesus calls him out by name and says, come follow

me. And it was the coolest thing. It's like,

we're not always looking for God. And I think

that's okay. We're not always wanting to live

for God, do what's God, but that's not the point.

It's that God's looking for us. It's that God

loves us. You know, we're called to serve, and

I'd like to just say that that's not a good way

to say we're called. It's because God's calling

us by name. He's calling us out by His strength.

He's calling us out by conviction, by hope, by

His armor, by His group. It's His love that helps

us reign. for Him to do what we're called to

do. And I just think that's so cool because when

we get to that point, we feel like we're burned

out and we feel like we're done. And God's like,

you are done because it wasn't your fire. You

are done because it wasn't your hope. It's not

ours. It never will be. And I'm not saying that

God doesn't want to let us have it and be blessed

by it, but it really isn't ours. It's never ours.

It's God's. So, what I guess I'm saying out of

all of this is, you know, when people say God

loves you, and I have no problem saying God loves

you, when you say God loves you, you have to

understand that when God loves you, it means

that when He says He loves you, it means that

what love really is, is that God chooses you

every day to be everything He says that you can

be. Every day He makes that choice. to be there

and be the Father and be everything He says He's

going to be. Because love that extinguishes love

is no love at all. He stays love. That's why

God is love. Because He'll never settle for anything

else that He has loved. Okay, where else? Somebody

else? You good? Mike? Mike, if you realize we've

got to share a song. Anyway, by walking the path

of determination, and the obstacles come up,

we're supposed to take a head off and smash through

it. And it just so happens, I was hit kind of

hard this week. I'm not going to divide any stuff,

but it was pretty bad. And usually in these situations,

I blow my stack. I didn't. And I didn't know

nothing. I looked at my life and what the heck

was that? And I talked to my dad and he said,

what? And it hit me, you know why? You know,

you're supposed to walk that path, be determined.

No matter what comes through, walk with God and

you'll tear it down. And I mean, it's really,

I spoke the words and then I put it into action

and it blew my ears off. Thank you for putting

it back on before you came here. Praise the Lord.

That is good stuff. And that's it. I think it's

interesting how we can pile through and break

down barriers, but when God does it, we're amazed.

It's awesome. That's a good feeling. You know,

that God is doing it. When we're doing it outside

Him, there's a lot you can do outside God. You

shouldn't, but there's a lot you can do outside

God that we were created as in the human word.

not following Him, we can do a lot. Most of that

ends badly. You wind up paying a dear price for

it. But man, when He does it, what an awesome

thing. That's awesome. Alright. Okay, so we're

going to pray together, jump back into just a

little more worship, and then go to the Word.

Thank you so much for coming and willing to share

your experiences with the Lord this week. That's

how we all grow. That's how we all work together.

Right? And take little steps forward and reach

the heights in Jesus. And everybody here is in

a different situation. Everybody here is facing

different trials. But everybody is facing trials

every day. Right? There is no temptation except

that which is common to man. But your temptation

by name might be completely different than somebody

else. Right? But everybody has it. Let's pray

together. Father in heaven, as we transition

today, I'm asking you, Lord, just continue to

do what you're doing. Just watch over us and

favor us and give us strength. Encourage us and

give us endurance. Lord, let us. Let us realize

that it was you who called us out of the darkness.

That it was you who has loved us every step all

the way along to get us even to this very geographical

spot here today. Wherever we're at on our journey,

whatever our next stops are, it's going to be

you that's going to be in us and with us and

carrying us on to the next place. And Lord, thank

you so much that we can see changes in us. It

really helps us. Helps us glorify you. helps

us know that you are at work. Lord, we pray for

those who are searching you out, who are searching

out what they're supposed to do. We pray for

guidance and wisdom. As we go to your word, we

pray for the hope and the strength that only

you can provide, that we can better understand

what it is that you have for us to do, to carry

out being your people. Fill us with your spirit,

with knowledge. of who you are and what you have

us to be, we put ourselves under your direction.

And I thank you for the inspirational moment

in time to be such a part of who we are as a

church. We know that you're speaking. We know

that you're working in our midst. We pray for

our absent folks who didn't get to hear that.

Maybe they're watching on Facebook or going to

be listening on the podcast. Lord, let them too

grow. Reach new heights in Jesus as they experience

what you're doing in the lives of others. And

maybe if they're out there, they would have had

something. And they'll come next week and they'll

share it with us. And so we can also grow by

what they're going through. I ask your blessings

upon the tithes and offerings that are now given.

And some of it's electronic and people are giving

online. And some are putting in the offering

plate. Lord, we know that all the money that

comes from the coffers needs to be used for your

glory. It can be used for glory. And in so doing,

it can be multiplied. and its influence can be

multiplied. We're literally supporting missionaries

that are reaching folks so far away that we'll

never meet them in our lifetime, and at the same

time, Lord, we're doing your work here with what

you bless us with. And so we ask you to do just

exactly that. Bless us with what you have us

produce for your service, and we praise you for

what you're about to do. We pray this in Jesus'

name. Amen. if y 'all would stand with us and

just make a joyful noise. I was so... Sessions,

campaigns. Good job. and sharing our lives in

a fairly miraculous way to move us to Michigan.

And we lived in Mason, Michigan on the square.

It's a county seat town. And so it's a big square

right in the middle of town with a courthouse

in the middle. And on the backside of that square,

there was a church building. And every summer,

which we were there for two summers, every summer

they would have a rummage sale. I like rummage

sales. I like garage sales. I like flea markets.

I like everywhere you can buy something for maybe

about what it's worth or cheaper if you can get

it, right? And instead of going to the store

and paying for the price of what it's worth plus

all the promotion, plus all that kind of stuff.

And keep the lights on and everything like that.

So I like rummage sales, garage sales, yard sales.

So I walked with Alicia and Amalia. Amalia was

only about two and a half years old. And so she

was in the stroller. And we walked up to the

rummage sale at the church building there. And

I bought about like seven things. Now one of

the things that I bought was a pair of tennis

shoes. They were Nike tennis shoes. But they

were tennis shoes like I had never seen before.

They weren't like radical. Like I just went this

week and had to buy a new pair of tennis shoes

and they're red. And I'm like, now I wear red

shoes. I remember that one red shoe, the movie

with the spy. And if you're wearing one red shoe,

that's the spy. But anyway, you probably don't

know that. But the point is... So this was a

pair of leather, white leather tennis shoes.

They're soft leather on top, good sole on the

bottom. And I bought them for 50 cents. 50 cents.

Now they were almost like new when I bought them.

And I like these tennis shoes. I wore these tennis

shoes, this 50 cent pair of tennis shoes, for

roughly about three years until the soles were

starting to get worn out, you know, and they

weren't providing any cushion for my foot anymore

and like that. But then I thought, man, I need

another pair of tennis shoes like that. I thought

about that brand, I thought about that make and

model, if you will, of tennis shoes, and I thought,

I need another pair of tennis shoes like that.

Now, I would go to the store, I'm thinking to

myself, I would go to the store, and I would

pay 60, 80 bucks for this pair of tennis shoes,

new, because I had it for that several years,

and I loved it. It was good for my foot, it was

comfortable, and felt like... I wasn't going

to twist my ankle, and I'd get wet, my feet wouldn't

get wet. I mean, they would eventually soak through,

but they weren't waterproof or anything, but

it would repel water, and they repelled dirt.

I didn't have to clean them very often. I'm like,

this is the best pair of tennis shoes I ever

owned, and I only paid 50 cents for it. Now I'm

ready to go to the store and pay like 80 bucks

for another pair of these tennis shoes. We're

in the midst of a sermon series called Brand

Recognition. Now, it's a play on words because,

and we'll read the text again in a minute. But

Joshua, the high priest, was called a brand pulled

from the fire. We talked about how talking about

a brand like you would brand an animal with or

back in the day was probably just a hot stick,

piece of wood, that they would heat up real hot

and some of the coal would break off and get

red hot and you could mark something with it.

But today we're going to talk about the features.

of a brand that you really would want, okay?

So you probably remember, for those of you who

were last week, and I apologize, Ken, I'm going

to fill you in the best I can, but we probably

remember that we talked about last week that

this brand thing, right, what we were talking

about was God favoring or owning someone, and

then God kind of washing away or wiping away

their iniquities, and we even talked about how

your righteous acts could be part of that iniquities

because we're talking about Joshua the high priest

who's standing before God. in the presence of

angels and having to have his robes completely

removed and replaced, even though he was supposedly

the most righteous man, probably, in Israel.

Okay, so today we're going to talk about the

features of the brand that we want, okay? And

then kind of bear that object lesson in mind.

If these are really the features of the brand

that you want, then what would you pay? How far

would you go? What's really, what would you put

at stake to get that, okay? So we usually amen,

hoot, holler, screech, yahtzee, something as

we go to the word of God. And so we're going

to read from Zechariah chapter 3. Thank you very

Zechariah 3 · chapter mention

much. I didn't do that today because there is

a very good possibility by the time I get to

the invitation at the end of this, I may be whispering.

So if I have to stop in the middle and suck on

a cough drop for a second, I apologize in advance.

I'm pretty sure I'm just having like an allergy

thing because it's been going on for about three

weeks. I don't think I'm sick. So I'm not going

to give it to anybody, but my throat is sore

and scratchy. And I've had several allergy attacks

in the last two days. I stopped taking my allergy

medicine quite a while back because it was giving

me headaches and blah, blah, blah. Anyway, so

all that being said, here we go. Joshua chapter

Joshua 3:1

3, verse 1. And the first of these verses, those

of you who were here last week or listened to

the podcast or watched online or something like

that, will recognize them because they're the

same text from last week. So I will still break

it down, but I'm going to go through it faster

so we can really hammer the one for today, okay?

Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing

before the angel of the Lord and Satan standing

at his right hand to accuse him. And so we kind

of have a sort of a court setting there. And

we talked about how the angel of the Lord, the

representative of the Lord, could be God or God's

angel or could be Jesus if you want to say that

or whatever. But we have a powerful individual

representing God standing there and the high

priest of Israel standing in front of him. And

then Satan there to accuse him. And it says,

And the Lord said to Satan, The Lord rebuke you,

Satan. Indeed, the Lord who has chosen Jerusalem

rebuke you. And he says, Is this not a brand

plucked from the fire? So basically, he shuts

Satan down and says, Don't accuse him. I don't

want to hear it. I know he's done bad things.

Just shut up. That's it. No more. He rebukes

him. Just stand there and be silent. And then

he says, is this not a brand plucked from the

fire? And I gave you a little bit of that just

a second ago, but the bottom line is, he's talking

about him, talking about the Israelites, the

Jerusalemites, how they were really only who

they were because God had pulled them out, right?

And we talked about how a brand can do what a

brand does because of the fire it's been in,

because of the pain it's gone through, because

of the heating up it's done. A brand can do that

because of where it's been, but really God is

the one who plucked him and plucked, the Jerusalemites,

and you could say plucked the church out of the

fires of judgment and pain and tribulation and

all of that. And he says to Satan, is this not

a brand plucked from the fire? In other words,

does it not depend on me? Is he not someone I

have pulled out, someone I have chosen? And he

rebuked Satan because of what he had been through

and also because of what God had done. Alright?

Now, Joshua was clothed with filthy garments

and standing before the angel. And right there,

I told you like the Jerusalemites would have

went, oh no, that's horrible. He can't be in

filthy garments because he is the holiest man

amongst us, right? Verse 4. And he spoke and

said to those who were standing before him, saying,

remove the filthy garments from him. Again, he

said to him. See, I have taken your iniquity

away from you and I will clothe you with festal

robes. And so God's going to solve that problem.

Now the garments could represent his works of

righteousness, his holiness before God, right?

And he says, we're going to take that away from

you because your works of righteousness are as

filthy, right? If we take that away from you

and give you a new set of robes, festal celebration

robes, so you can really get excited about what

God has done, okay? Then it says in verse 5,

Then I said, Let them put a clean turban on his

head, so they put a clean turban on his head.

So now he's dressed from the top to the bottom

in all clean clothes, and clothed them with garments

while the angel of the Lord was standing by.

Verse 6, The angel of the Lord admonished Joshua.

So now he's correcting or straightening Joshua.

This is where it gets interesting for us today.

The angel of the Lord admonished Joshua, saying,

Thus says the Lord of hosts. Now that's a traditional

introduction for God speaking. If you will walk

in my ways, and if you will perform my service,

then you will also govern my house, and also

have charge of my courts, and I will grant you

free access among those who are standing here.

Remember who that was. The angels, God, Satan,

right? Free access amongst them. Alright, so,

first thing I want you to see in here is I want

you to notice the order of events. Okay? Notice

the order of events. First of all, he's got the

new clothes. He's got the festal robes. The stuff

that he brought with him, the best that he brought

with him, the righteousness that was as filthy

rags or whatever that he brought with him has

been taken from him and he's got the festal robes.

Now that he's got the festal robes, God looks

at him and says, Serve. Do what I ask you to

do. Carry on my charge. And if you do that, then

I will do this. So he's admonished to do what

God asked him to do, called into the service,

if you will, and then God says, if you do that,

I'll do this. So now let's not talk about getting

saved, right? He's already a brand pulled from

the fire. He's already getting the old robes

taken off, the new robes put on, right? But he

said, if, now if that having happened, if you

will do the things that I have told you to do,

then I will do these things. So there is an if.

The grace of God that saved him, the grace of

God that called him out, the grace of God that

dressed him in festal robes is a prerequisite

to this if. Understand? Okay. Second thing. The

question is, why is there an if? You understand

what he just did? He's standing before the God

of heaven. Having had his dirty, filthy robes

removed and a new turban put on his head, the

festal robes so that the feast can begin, so

that the great celebration can take place. And

God says, now, if. Why is there an if? If you're

saved, why is there an if you will do what God

asks you to do? But there is an if. There really

is. It blows my mind. But it's amazing to think

that you have some concept of where you're going

and where you're going to spend eternity and

that God is in you and His Holy Spirit is in

you and God is seeing you through the difficulties

and there is an if. That blows my mind that we

do that. Now I understand that we struggle a

little bit, if you will, with the flesh still

being with us and our desires still being there

and our old man is still sort of present as long

as we're on this earth. But here is a moment

at which it is very clear and obvious that God

has done what God has done. And I submit to you

that same moment takes place at the moment of

salvation. If you know you've been born again,

the Holy Spirit has come in you and now testifies

with your spirit that you've been saved. If you've

seen your spiritual gifts begin to be enacted,

if you've begun to act in the service that God

has given you to do and you get that little feeling

from God like, yeah, that was the right thing

to do, then you know for a fact that this has

happened for you. then there really shouldn't

be an if, should there? But there is an if. In

the book of Amos in chapter 4, I'll go there

and we'll look at it real quick. If you've got

your Bibles with you, please do flip over there.

Amos chapter 4. Through the prophet Amos, God

Amos 4 · chapter mention

is speaking to the nation Israel. And beginning

in verse 11, I'm only beginning in verse 11 because

it's kind of a long passage, but it leads up

to it, and it's exactly like in 10. It says,

I send a plague among you after the manner of

Egypt. I slew your young men by the sword. So

it's the same topic, okay? In 11, he says, I

overthrew you as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah,

and you were like a firebrand snatched from a

blaze. I pulled you out. I took you from the

fire. What you had been through, I made you able

to serve me. I made you able to be saved. I pulled

you out. He says, but then I overthrew you. Yet

you have not returned to me, declares the Lord.

See, they exercised the wrong side of the it.

He said, if you'll do this, if you'll do what

I ask you to do, after I pulled you out of the

fire, if you'll do this, but then they didn't.

But yet you have not returned to me, declares

the Lord. Therefore, thus I will do to you, O

Israel, because I shall do this to you, prepared

to meet your God, O Israel. For behold, he who

forms mountains and creates the wind and declares

to man what are his thoughts, he who makes dawn

into darkness and treads on the high places of

the earth, the Lord God of hosts is his name.

Hear this word which I take up for you as a dirge.

You know what a dirge is, right? That's not a

good song. That's a sad song. That's a striking

song. O house of Israel, she has fallen. She

will not rise again, the virgin Israel. She lies

neglected on her land. There is none to raise

her up, for thus says the Lord God. The city

which goes forth a thousand strong will have

a hundred left. And the one which goes forth

a hundred strong will have ten left to the house

of Israel. For thus says the Lord of the house

of Israel, Seek me that you may live, but do

not resort to Bethel, and do not come to Gilgal,

nor cross over to Beersheba, for Gilgal will

certainly go into captivity, and Bethel will

come to trouble. Seek the Lord that you may live,

lest he break forth like a fire, O house of Joseph,

and it consume with none to quench it for Bethel.

For those who turn justice into wormwood, and

cast righteousness down to the earth, he who

made the Pallades and Orion, those are constellations

in the sky, and changes deep darkness into morning,

who also darkens day into night, who calls for

the waters of the sea and pours them out on the

surface of the earth. The Lord is His name. It

is He who flashes forth with destruction upon

the strong, so that destruction comes upon the

fortress. They hate Him who reproves in the gate.

and they abhor him who speaks with integrity.

In other words, it got to be in their society

that they didn't flock to the people who were

doing the right thing, that were speaking up

for the right thing. Instead, they despised those

who spoke out for what was right. Therefore,

because you impose heavy rent on the poor, exact

a tribute of grain from them, though you have

built houses of well -hewn stone, yet you will

not live in them. You have planted pleasant vineyards,

yet you will not drink their wine. For I know

your transgressions are many, and your sins are

great. You who distress the righteous and accept

bribes and turn aside the poor and the gate.

Therefore, at such a time, the prudent person

keeps silent, for it is an evil time. In other

words, there were people who could speak up,

but they were being quiet because they knew they

would be attacked. Seek good and not evil, that

you may live. And thus may the Lord God of hosts

be with you, such as you have said. Hate evil,

love good, establish justice in the gate. Perhaps

the Lord God of hosts may be gracious to the

remnant of Joseph. You see what they had done?

There was an if. They were a brand pulled from

the fire. God literally favored them. During

the day of Joshua, there's a story about Joshua

going out to war against a huge army, and God

rained meteor rocks down on and crushed thousands

and thousands of enemy soldiers before they ever

began the battle. God did amazing things on behalf

of Israel, brought them out of Egypt. Look at

the plagues, for crying out loud. Look at the

things that he had done. And instead of following

God, they exercised the if. Now they were already

and still a brand plucked from the fire. God

had already favored them, chosen them, declared

them. They were already a brand plucked from

the fire, but then being a brand plucked from

the fire, they didn't do what they were supposed

to do. There is an if, and it remains. And I'm

going to submit to you that after becoming a

follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, this if is

still the big question of your life. In the book

of James in the New Testament, it talks about

it in different terms, New Testament terms. If

you want to flip there, you can. The book of

James. Want to bless your pastor? Bring your

Bible? Flip accordingly. If you can't keep up,

use the table of contents. It's okay. I have

to use the table of contents. Sometimes standing

right here, I have to use the table of contents.

James 4, 11 -17. It says this. Do not speak against

one another, brethren. He who speaks against

a brother or judges his brother speaks against

the law and judges the law. But if you judge

the law, you are not a doer of the law, but a

judge of it. Now this is written to Christians,

followers of the Lord. Who are a brand already

plucked from the fire. Who already have a set

of festal robes prepared for them in heaven.

Right? This is written to Christians. He says,

you become a judge of it. There is only one lawgiver

and judge. The one who is able to save and to

destroy. But who are you who judge your neighbor?

Come now, you who say, today or tomorrow we shall

go to such and such a city and spend a year there

and engage in business and make a profit. Yet

you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow.

You are just a vapor that appears for a little

while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought

to say, if the Lord wills, we shall live and

also do this or that. But as it is, you boast

in your ignorance. All such boasting is evil.

Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to

do and does not do it, to him it is sin. Can

you believe that? Can you believe that people

who are followers of the Lord Jesus Christ who

have had... The God of heaven come down and be

crucified on the cross. And then the Holy Spirit

poured out into them and become the church. That

those people would then go, well I know what

I'm supposed to do, but I'm not going to do it.

But people do it. We have done it. Let's be realistic.

There is an if. Some people won't do what God

wants them to do some of the time, you might

even say some of them all of the time, after

becoming saved. Does it sound stupid? Yes. If

your eternal soul is saved, why muddy it with

stupid actions that go contrary to God? But people

do it. People don't do sometimes what it is that

God would have them to do. Let's take a little

bit of a closer look then for our third point

at the contingent promise. It sort of breaks

down in pieces. First of all, he basically instructs

him to govern his house. Now, do you know what

the house of the Lord is? You understand that

it's not this building, right? Or any building

that says church on the wall? Now, that doesn't

give you an excuse not to come. to worship with

believers. You're supposed to do that. That's

a biblical principle. This now becomes the house.

And you govern it. God didn't save you and then

take your body away from you. He said, all of

this that I have now entrusted you with, now

because you know that I have entrusted you with

this, govern it. Do a good job. Exercise the

authority and power that I have given you. You

now have a responsibility. He says the phrase,

take charge of my courts. Now the courts of the

temple were the areas outside. And you may or

may not realize this, but they were not governed

by the priests. So the outer courts, for example,

where the Gentiles worshipped even, Solomon's

colonnade, they were not governed by the priests.

They were governed by the king or later by whatever

ruler was ruling over when the temple existed

and there was no Israelite king. Right? They

were governed by the government. But here, God,

if you will, is giving Joshua command or control

of the grounds outside the main temple. He's

taking it away from the king which he assigned

and putting it back in the hands of the high

priest. What does that mean for us? It means

that you, have to exercise the authority that

is in you to deal with that which is outside

of you. So it's not just I'm responsible for

me. You don't just get to go anymore. Okay, as

long as I'm controlling myself and I'm not watching

things I shouldn't watch, I'm not doing things

I shouldn't do, I'm not saying things I shouldn't

say, as long as I'm not eating things I shouldn't

eat, as long as I'm exercising enough and I am

living an austere life for God, all is good.

And stop right there. That's just not enough.

God is putting under the charge of the believer

or of the brand taken out of the fire who, just

let's be real quick and say this again, who can

do the work because they have seen the fire,

they've been in the fire, they've been marked

by the fire, they've been heated up, if you will,

by the fires of judgment and tribulation, and

then plucked out by God. Because of that, he

then puts the brand to work, not only to do within

itself, not for me only to do within what's in

myself, but also to be concerned about what goes

on around me. Govern my house. Take charge of

my courts. Also, in that whole idea of taking

charge of my courts, is the idea of doing what

religion, meaning what God commands, the laws,

the rules, the precepts, the principles, right?

Doing that, even if you were not saved, this

would be true, but as a saved person, you still

got to do what you're supposed to do. And as

you do that, as you learn what it is that God

would have you do, you carry that thing out.

Now this is the... The beauty of this, first

of all, let me just real quick, you may or may

not know this, we're not going to read it, but

there's a story in the New Testament, and everybody

likes to call it the story of the prodigal son,

even though the word prodigal never appears in

the story, and Jesus doesn't say that either

in his own speech, but it's about a son, a second

son, who wanted to take his part of the inheritance

and live well while his dad was still alive,

because he didn't want to wait for the old man

to die off. And so he does. The old man gives

him his wealth, and he goes off and lives, and

he goes on a foreign land, and he spends it frivolously.

I heard a children's Bible say he bought a donkey,

and then later that day just gave it away for

free. He drank all the time, things like that.

You know, he just spent all this money up, right?

And then it's all gone, and he winds up feeding

the pigs in the field, and he says, man, my servants

in my father's household live better than this.

I'm just going to go home and beg my father to

just let me be one of his servants. So he goes

home, and his dad's waiting for him on the porch,

and he sees him, comes, runs, falls on him, kisses

him on the neck. Right? Kisses him on the neck.

He's like, oh, my son who was dead, who was lost,

is now alive and fine. And he's so happy. And

he does four things immediately. Okay. Not a

rhetorical question. Altogether the body. What

are the four gifts, things, what does he do for

the son returning? Anybody know any of them?

Yep. What? The robe is one. Feast is another.

Sandal is another. We're missing one. What? The

ring, perfect. We got them all. That's exactly

right. Now, does anybody know what the four things

represent? Because you can figure it out. What's

a ring represent? Think medieval times, not today.

Power, authority, right? It can represent wealth,

but it wasn't that kind of ring. It was more

like a father giving his son a ring. I'm going

to give you a diamond ring. I love you. Here's

my diamond ring. Men do that for women. Sometimes

women do that for men, but this was a ring of

authority, right? This is power. This is, you

know, what? take charge of my house. Now, he

wasn't taking it away from his older brother

necessarily, I'm not saying that, but he was

reinstating his authority. He was not accepting

him as a servant, right? He gave him a robe.

So anybody here who's ever been cold knows what

a robe represents. Protection, right? Or provision,

kind of, sort of, to take care of him, right?

So he gave him his protection. He put his robe

on him. When he walked back in that house, he'd

walk back in in that Gentile clothes he was wearing

from the other kingdom that were rags, terrible

looking. Everybody in the house would have thought,

well, he's at best a servant if they didn't know

who he was. But he put his robe, a nice robe

on him, right? He gave him the provision or protection.

And then he had a feast, somebody said, and he

put sandals on his feet. Does anybody know what

sandals represent? Come on, you got to know what

that represents, right? What? Kind of, yeah,

kind of peace, but it's really like bringing

peace, right? It's the message of peace. It's

purpose. The sandals represent purpose. So you

know you've got to take the gospel of peace,

and that's where you're going with that, right?

And so the sandals represent purpose. So he gave

him purpose. So you're back, you get my authority,

you get my protection, you get my purpose. Let's

go have a party. And he gives him provision.

Now it's interesting because the robe, which

could be considered protection, also the feast

could kind of be considered protection because

he was hungry. The robe could be considered provision.

The feast could also be considered provision.

You know why those two are so close to interchangeable?

Because of what we're studying today. Because

of what we're studying today. Govern my house,

take charge of my courts, and I will give you

free access. Let's go back and read from Zechariah

again, that last verse, what God said he would

actually give if. Only if. Back in Zechariah

3, starting in verse 6, And the angel of the

Lord admonished Joshua, saying, Thus says the

Lord of hosts, If you will walk in my ways, if

you will perform my service, then you will also

govern my house and have charge of my courts.

You will govern my house. You will take charge

of my courts. He says, And I will grant you free

access among those who are standing here. Free

access. I don't know, probably eight years ago

or something, in our household, we got a Prime

membership. At the time, we got it for free.

We had it for a whole year for free. And then

we've had it since then. So when you order something

on Amazon Prime, they deliver it to you in two

days. They're supposed to, most times, two days.

And they don't charge you to deliver it. So we

order quite a bit of stuff online, especially

for the ministry and then for the house. You

can order things online cheaper than you can

buy them in person and stuff. We're busy people.

It's very convenient. So anytime we want it,

we just order online. It just shows up on the

doorstep a couple days later. Free access. Free

access to whatever you want, except you've got

to pay for the item, right? But what does this

mean? This means you don't even got to pay for

it. This is literally free access. I want you

to think of the throne room of God as a battle

room. In the palace, in the castle, in the stronghold,

the king's chambers, when the country goes to

war, you walk in there and you see a big map

on the table. You can picture this big map on

the table, right? And there's the forces of the

enemy and the forces of God or the forces of

the human king, right? And they're all marked

out on the map. And the generals come in and

they say, well, clearly you can see over here

we're outnumbered, but we need more forces. And

so the king says, okay, well, we'll take these

forces and we'll move them over there. This is

free access to the throne room of God. This is

the authority of God to do what must be done.

This is the authority of God to rebuke demons

and evil spirits. This is the authority of God

to heal. This is the authority of God to prophecy.

This is the authority of God to preach. This

is the authority of God to deliver the power

of God into the ministry of men. God said, yes,

you're a brand plucked from the fire. Yes, I

will give you perfect festal robes and you will

spend eternity in heaven with me. Now, understanding

that, if you will do what I tell you to do in

a specific list, then I will give you free access

to the throne room of God. Why does the church

not have this kind of power? Why do Christians

who say that they're living for the Lord? And

we could all go, well, you say you live for the

Lord, but see this, you know, you're not even

in the church. You're not serving. You're not

worshiping. You're not giving. You're not doing

what you're supposed to do. And they say, I can't

seem to feel God. I had a lady just tell me this

week, I was witnessing to her actually over Facebook

Messenger. I've been praying with her and stuff

off and on over Facebook Messenger because she's

been going through some stuff in her life. And

she used to be in my youth group back at East

Lido. Some of you would know her. And she said

to me, she said, I just felt like God was so

far away. While I was living with my boyfriend,

I just felt God was so far away. And she said,

I've been thinking about going out today right

after work and buying a Bible because I felt

like God was so far away. Okay, so there's two

right there. If you will live for God, if you

will take charge of my courts, take charge of

my house and rule over my courts, then I will

give you access to the throne room of God. That's

what he said to the high priest of Israel. He

said, if you will do that, I will give you access

to the throne room. We think it's kind of amazing.

Sometimes I think if I'm God and Satan comes

to the throne room like, oh, here's my chance.

I mean, obviously God could do that any day,

any time, right? He chooses not to. But that's

kind of how I feel about it because Satan really

is sort of like, I see him kind of like my enemy.

And I would squish him if I could, except I'm

not supposed to do that. And I know that and

I don't focus on it. But the point is, I think

he just walks into the throne room. Here I am

to accuse Joshua. And God just says, just shut

up. He doesn't say, die. He says, shut up. Right?

You can have access to the throne room of God

where Satan will stand at the right hand of God

accusing, well, probably just a little bit outside

that now, right? Because there's Jesus there

in the way. But the bottom line is, you can have

access to the throne room of God if you will

take charge and rule over and govern his house

and his courts. We wonder why the church doesn't

have the power the church is supposed to have.

Because we think it's an if, and we choose not

to do some of the things that God has given us

to do. You say, well, I don't know. I don't even

know for sure I know exactly what those things

are. But you do know some of exactly what those

things are. The truth is, out of this Scripture,

we can see that God has promised us, He has shown

us that God will rebuke Satan. He will change

our robes. And he will something more. But that's

as far as most people get. As far as most people

get is being very grateful that God will one

day change their ropes. Being very grateful that

God plucked them from the fire and that they're

at least not going to hell. Instead of truly

living for the Lord, figuring out what it is

that God wants them to do and just doing that,

making that their highest priority. I know a

lot of people that do a lot of things for God.

And if I was to write that sentence out in front

of you, a lot of things for God, I would write

a lot of things all in caps and maybe like 50

-point font and the for God in like two -point

font with the smallest pen I could find. And

that is not how God has called us to live our

lives. God has called us to live our lives to

write the for God in 50 -point font and a lot

of things in two -point font that you can barely

see. There are a lot of marathon runners in the

world. They train all year round to run in a

marathon. What would you say a good marathon

runner is? Ricky, what would you say a good marathon

runner is? Somebody who's good at marathon running.

A person? Yeah, a person. If you talk with them

and they say, I train to run marathons, what

would be the next thing they would have to say

in order for you to say, well, you must be a

pretty good marathon runner? Okay, so they got

to train all the time, right? So they say, I

train all the time. That would be the next thing

they'd have to say. What if they said, well,

I've never run a marathon. Would that be a good

marathon runner? No. So you say, well, you're

a runner, but you're not technically a marathon

runner because you've never run a marathon. Say,

well, I ran seven marathons. Would that make

them a good marathon runner? Pretty good, right?

Because they ran seven marathons. Now you'd be

assuming they finished the marathons, right?

Because I can go out and run about a quarter

mile. And I can sign up for a marathon, run the

first quarter mile, and then just kind of step

off and sit in the shade and sip lemonade and

call myself a marathon runner, but I only ran

a quarter mile, not 26. But you'd be assuming.

So assuming they've run seven marathons and they've

finished them, is that a good marathon runner?

Heck yeah. That identifies them as a marathon

runner. Now what if they came in 24 hours or

more after the person who finished first? Are

they a good marathon runner? They did it seven

times. It's kind of getting a little lame. But

it's still a good marathon. They still did it,

right? That's more than I ever did. They still

went 26 miles in two days or whatever, three

days, whatever it took them, which I've never

done, right? So it's something. But what if they

said they finish in the top 10 most times they

race? Now that's a good, that's a great marathon

runner, right? What if they said I raised seven

marathons last year and I was first every time?

Man, now that's a marathon runner. That's somebody

who's really doing what it is. That they say

they are. We know. We know. There's no kidding

ourselves. You know sitting right here right

now. And I'm not saying you should judge yourself.

Don't be judgmental. Don't be critical. Don't

get down on yourself. Don't play Satan's role.

We talked about that last week. Don't take his

role. But you know when God says if. If yes or

if no. The Bible says study his word. You know

whether you've picked up a Bible in the last

seven days, electronic or paper, whether you've

listened to it online. You know whether you're

focused on the things of God or whether the things

of God just kind of authorize you and make you

feel good and you're glad you're going to heaven

and you feel His Holy Spirit kind of comforting

you at dark times in your life and things like

that. You know whether that's your Christianity

or whether you're getting up out of bed in the

morning going, man, I'm going to live for Jesus

today. Let's see how we're going to do this.

Come on, God. And some of it you already know

because you've been praying and you've been asking

God, okay God, what is it you want me to do?

And now God said, I want you to do this. And

you know that when you get out of bed tomorrow

morning, somehow or other, that's what you're

going to be doing. So now you're starting to

live the if that God is talking about because

you're running the courts, or running the house,

and in charge of the courts. Right? Which is

what God asked. And guess what God will do? When

that is so, according to what Scripture says,

what will He do? He will give you access to the

throne room of God. It's not just about a reward

eternal, church. Your life, ultimately, will

be about whether or not you accepted Jesus Christ

as your Lord and Savior because that's what's

going to put you in heaven or not. But this day

of your life, will be about having accepted Jesus

Christ as Lord and Savior, did you do today what

it was you knew to do today, governing His house

in charge of His courts? The chief, most clearest

charge that there is, the church doesn't do very

well with. And it is this, Jesus wrote, or Jesus

said, Matthew recorded it this way, and Jesus

came and spoke to them saying, all authority

has been given to me in heaven. I want you to

just listen to the words closely. All authority,

Jesus said, all authority has been given to me

in heaven and on earth. Go therefore, in other

words, because that is true, because I have all

authority on heaven and earth, go therefore and

make disciples of all nations. In other words,

Teach them to follow Jesus. Show them that they

need to follow Jesus. Introduce them to Jesus

so that they can be His disciples. Of all nations,

all people, color, race, creed, financial situations,

age, etc. All nations. Baptizing them in the

name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded

you. And lo, Ever know how it ends? I am with

you always, even to the end of the age. Access,

baby. Access to the throne room of God. Get out

of bed in the morning and decide to do what it

is that God wants you to do and chief amongst

that with the last words, essentially command

or charge of Jesus. Remember I mentioned to you

that that verse or that phrase from Zechariah

3 also meant to do the religious things of God.

You know what the religious things of God are?

Tell people about Jesus. Period. It stops there.

The spiritual disciplines that will help you

know God better. The things that God has called

us to relate to Him. The ways to relate to Him

like reading your Bible and praying and worshiping

and giving and serving. And the list goes on.

All of those things, they are activities in which

you should institute inside yourself and in the

courts all around you. Men, start a stinking

devotional in your house. If you're the only

one that does it, then you do it. Sit down with

your Bible every day. Let your wife and your

kids see that the most important thing to you

is, or your cats or your dogs or whatever, but

let them see that the most important thing to

you is what God... wants of you. And if you let

it be the most important thing, more important

than the way you entertain yourself, more important

than the way you prepare yourself, more important

than the way you feed yourself physically, more

important than the way you comfort yourself emotionally,

if you will make it the most important thing

of all, then God promises you nothing less but

access to the throne room of God. More often

than not, we don't have it. And we don't have

it because we didn't get out of bed today saying,

I'm going to I know I've got this job to do.

I've got to be here on time. I've got to clean

this up. I've got to fix this. I've got to do

whatever. I know what I have to do. I've got

to get out of bed and go to work. Let's say 8

a .m. Or I've got to get out of bed and start

doing what I've got to do at noon or whatever.

And we're going to bed at night and we're thinking

about that. And that's not thinking about what

God wants you to do. There is a difference. Where

is the Word? Where is listening to God? Where

is coming together in service? In the charge

of the church activities, which is to share with

everybody the love of Jesus. Oh, but there were

prudent men and women who knew that that's what

they were supposed to be doing, but they didn't

want to do it. They found another reason not

to answer the if call because there was so much

evil going on around them. There were people

in their household that didn't want to hear it.

People on their street that didn't want to hear

it because they were afraid of being attacked

on social media or whatever. So they kept quiet.

And in keeping quiet, they lost access to the

throne room of God. We mustn't. We must not do

that. God says, if you will govern my house,

if you will take charge of my courts, I will

give you access to... The throne room right here

where God is, where the angels of God are, and

where Satan is. And you are greater than he is

when you have the ear of the God of the universe.

It's time, folks. In case you didn't like Jesus

saying it, Paul also wrote, and he's not the

only one. It's all over the New Testament. We

have now been given the ministry of reconciliation

to bring peace between man and God. Those who

just prayed to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and

Savior a few moments ago are destined for heaven

now. Now whether or not they take on the tasks

that God has given them in this lifetime, that

will be up to them. But when and if they do,

God will give them access to the throne room

of God. You could sum it up this way. You must

do you. You're different than me. I'm different

than you. Each of us must do this. Govern this

house of the Lord. And then take charge of the

courts, the areas around the house. You do you

as the Lord has made you and is remaking you.

But do this as well. Share the gospel. Make disciples.

Lead people to Christ. And if you won't, and

if you don't, you may still be saved. If you

are saved now, you will still be saved. You will

not lose your salvation. But you will lose your

access to the throne room of God, as Israel did.

There it is. Won't you covenant with us to take

charge, to govern? the house of God, which is

us, our physical bodies, our walking personalities,

and then also the courts around us as we do the

ministry of the Lord and we answer the charge

of the Lord to lead people to Him, to represent

Him well in the world. Obviously, you know in

your heart of hearts what your answer to the

question if is. This has been New Heights Fellowship

Baptist Church of East Toledo. You can check

us out online at churchtoledo .com. You can text

G -I -V -E to 419 -419 -0095, that is, 419 -419

-0095, in order to be able to give financially

to the ministry. If you'd like to come and partner

with us in any of a variety of ways to get the

gospel out, we would be very blessed to do that.

You're welcome to join us at Sunday service,

Tuesday night Bible study. We've got PBS through

the month of June, every Tuesday night in the

month of June. with a special challenge for the

children that if they memorize all of the Bible

verses for the month that they get to dump concrete

on the game guy, Mr. Michael. So we're pretty

excited about all that's going on in the ministry.

I ask you to come and join us. Pray for those

who have made decisions to follow the Lord in

a specific way in the ministry that they'll have

strength and the wisdom of the Lord and guidance.

If you'd be willing to be a prayer warrior or

any other kind of partner, you can text B -A

-R -T -N -E -R. to that same phone number, 419

-419 -0095, and then we will reach out to you

with occasional updates, things you can pray

about, and other ways you might get involved.

Thank you so much for choosing the New Heights

Fellowship Baptist Church podcast, and we ask

you to reach new heights in Jesus right where

you are.