The Enemies of Worship - 7/5/26 - Bro. Todd McKeehan - Meadows Baptist Church

Welcome to the podcast of Meadows

Baptist Church of Walnut Cove, North

Carolina. We're so glad you joined us

today. If you enjoy today's message, be

sure to subscribe, follow, and share

with your friends. Now, let's join

Pastor Charlie Branch with a word from

God.

>> Amen.

I tell you what worship is.

It's honesty before the Lord.

>> Amen. I don't know a more humble man in

this building than that man right there.

Amen. Just wants to sing for his Lord. I

tell you this, if we get our own ideas

and opinions out of the way, it would

probably help our worship a whole lot.

Amen. And uh I like what that that song

says. I don't know how he did it. All I

know is that I was blind. Now I see.

Amen. And I can tell you this. If you

ever been saved, you know exactly what

that means. Amen. And I bless the name

of the Lord for it. So good to have my

father-in-law, Brother Todd McKon, here

with us tonight. And I appreciate him so

very much. And looking forward to

hearing what he has for us. You going to

help the preacher tonight?

>> Amen. You help him preach. And I tell

you this, I know he'll feed our souls.

And I know what we need tonight. And we

need a touch from heaven is what we

need. And so you pray that God would

help him tonight. preacher, you come and

you share with us what the Lord has

placed upon your heart and close it out

how you see fit.

>> Amen. Exodus chapter number five

tonight. Exodus chapter number five. It

is good to be in church. Amen.

Appreciate the Lord letting us be here

today. And I so I was sitting there

thinking while the brother was singing,

I was just thinking about how good God's

been to me.

>> Amen.

And uh

when God saved me, I had no idea what he

was going to do. And uh God called me

into ministry. I had no idea what he was

going to do. And uh Missy and I tried to

have children for a long time. I don't

know if I ever I've ever told all that

here, but and uh struggled, went through

a lot of things. And then God gave us

Abby. And uh and I was just sitting

there thinking how that here I am now my

my baby girl

and uh she's married to the pastor of

this church

>> and God has put them here and they're

serving and uh I don't deserve for God

to bless my family like that. And uh but

he has been so good to us and I and I

bless his name. Amen.

>> And I thank the Lord for it. But I I

mean, God has been so so so good to my

family, and I'm I'm so thankful for it.

Uh I tell you, if I got what I deserve,

I'd be in hell. But I sure am grateful.

God saved me. And uh I appreciate the

blessings of God on every way. Amen. I

appreciate God sending Charlie in our

life. And uh and and uh was joking there

a moment ago. Somebody said that he said

you was hard on him. And I said, "Well,

I tried to run him off." if I really did

didn't do any good. Amen.

But I am glad I wasn't able to. I

appreciate him and how God is using him

here is uh it excites me. Amen. And I

know y'all are you need to be thankful

for that God sent you a man that'll

preach this book without fear and favor

of man. Amen. And uh and I I thank the

Lord for him and how God's using him and

how God's using Abby and their family

here. And uh and I appreciate the Lord.

Amen. Being so kind to us. And I'm just

kind of overwhelmed. Just be honest

about it. And uh God has been so good.

Exodus chapter number five tonight.

Exodus chapter number five. If you're

familiar with you with your Bible, I

trust that you are, you understand what

what's going on in Exodus chapter number

five. And the children of Israel been in

bondage for some time and God is setting

the stage to deliver them out of

bondage. In chapter number five, Moses

and Aaron go into Pharaoh to demand that

they be let go. And we'll pick up our

reading in Exodus chapter number five

and verse number one. If you're able,

would you stand as we read the word of

God? Try not to preach long tonight.

Just got a few simple thoughts and um

just try to be a help and a blessing to

you tonight. Exodus chapter number five

and again verse number one. And

afterward Moses and Aaron went in and

told Pharaoh, "Thus sayith the Lord God

of Israel, let my people go." Watch

this. Here's why. But he wanted them to

be let go that they may hold a feast

unto me in the wilderness. And Pharaoh

said, "Who is the Lord that I should

obey his voice to let Israel go? I know

not the Lord, neither will I let Israel

go." And they said, "The God of the

Hebrews hath met with us. Let us go, we

pray thee, three days journey into the

desert, and sacrifice unto the Lord our

God, lest he fall upon us with

pestilence or with sword. And the king

of Egypt said unto them, Wherefore do ye

Moses and Aaron, let the people let the

people from their works get you under

your burdens? And Pharaoh said, Behold,

the people of the land now are many, and

ye make them rest from their burdens.

And Pharaoh commanded the same day the

task masters of the people and their

officers, saying, "You shall no more

give the people straw to make brick as

here to for. Let them go and gather

straw for themselves. And the tail of

the bricks which they did make here to

for you shall lay upon them, and you

shall not diminish ought thereof, for

they be idol. Therefore they cry,

saying, Let us go and sacrifice to our

God. Let there more work be laid upon

the men, that they may labor therein,

and let them not regard vain words. And

the task masters of the people went out,

and their officers, and they that spake

to the people, saying, Thus said

Pharaoh, I will not give you straw. Go

ye, get you straw where you can find it.

Yet not ought of your work shall be

diminished. So the people were scattered

abroad throughout all the land of Egypt

to gather stubble instead of straw. and

the task masters hastened thee. I'm

saying, fulfill your works, your daily

task, as when there was straw, and the

officers of the children of Israel,

which Pharaoh Pharaoh's task masters had

set over them were beaten, and demanded,

"Wherefore, ye have not fulfilled your

task in making brick, both yesterday

as here to for." Then the officers of

the children of Israel came and cried

unto Pharaoh, saying, Wherefore dealest

thou with us uh with thy dealst thou

thus with thy servants? There is no

straw given unto thy servant that they

may say to us, make brick, and behold,

thy servants are beaten, but the fault

is is in thine own people. But he said,

Ye are idol. Ye are idol. Therefore, ye

say, let us go and do sacrifice

to the Lord. Let's pray together.

Father, thank you for the privilege to

be in church tonight. God, you have been

so good to us. God, you've been so good

to me, and I want to thank you for your

kindness, God. Lord, to me and my

family. Thank you, God, for loving me

tonight and caring for me. Thank you,

God, for being a friend tonight that

sticketh closer than a brother. Thank

you, God, for how you blessed us

tonight. Thank you for the day that

you've given us. Thank you, God, that

you're in control, Lord. Thank you, God,

that nothing takes you by surprise, God.

Thank you, Lord, that you got all power

in heaven, the earth, and you're able to

do all things, God, above and

exceedingly, we can even thank or ask.

And I thank you for, Lord, just for

that. Thank you for who you are tonight.

And I pray you'd help us, God. I pray,

God, that you would speak to our hearts,

God. I pray you'd give us what we need.

I pray, God, that you would give me

liberty tonight. Bind the forces of

hell, God. Do the work that only you can

do. Move in the power of conviction.

Lord, we'll thank you for it in Jesus

name. Amen. And amen. Thank you for

standing

again. Exodus chapter number five, Moses

and Aaron have went in unto Pharaoh and

demanded that the people of God be let

go. And here's the reason that God

wanted them to be let go. That they may

go out in the wilderness, verse number

one, and hold a feast unto the Lord. And

then in verse number three, the Bible

said that they should go there and

sacrifice unto the Lord our God. So

what's going on? What you'll find is

that uh the Lord wanted uh the children

of Israel be delivered from bondage that

they could go out in the wilderness and

worship. And that's what all this was

about. That's what the feast was about.

That's what the sacrifice was about. It

was about the people of God worshiping

uh the true God of heaven. And so God

desired for them to be set free so they

could worship. And I want to say

tonight, but I'm glad that we have

freedom to worship in the house of God

in this country. Amen. How? But but can

I say this that if you've never been

born again, if you've never been saved

by the grace of God, though you live in

a free country and have the ability to

worship in freedom, you still cannot

worship the God of heaven because you've

not been freed from the bondage of sin.

And that's what's going on in this

chapter. God uh desires for his people

to be delivered from the bondage that

they were under that they could go out

and worship. AND THAT IS STILL the

desire of God tonight for people to

worship him. And you know that the devil

will do everything in his power to try

to hinder God's people from worship. Is

that right? Now in this text, what

you'll find is that Pharaoh begins to do

everything he can to try to prevent the

people of God from going out in the

wilderness to worship. And he does he

uses many tactics here in the next

several chapters uh to try to stop or

prevent the people of God from going out

and worshiping God. And I want to preach

tonight. God help me with all that mind

on this thought. I want to preach on the

enemies of worship. Or maybe I could say

this. The tactics that the enemy that

enemy uses to prevent our worship. Amen.

Now it is God's will for us to worship

tonight. Now, I want to say I think

there's a lot of messed up there's a lot

of uh messed up ideas in this country

about what worship really is. Amen. If

you study the word of God, you'll find

that worship is a main theme throughout

the scripture. Matter of fact, the word

worship in its various forms uh appears

more than 200 times in the word of God.

But the reality of worship reaches far

beyond those references. And really uh

from the opening pages of Genesis uh to

the closing chapters of Revelation, uh

you'll find worship uh woven throughout

every page of the word of God. Amen. And

can I say this that man was created to

worship God. Man's recreated for the

glory of God. And and you know listen,

if man does not worship the God of

heaven, if individuals do not worship

the God of THIS BIBLE, THEY WILL FIND

something to worship. Amen. AND YOU KNOW

WHY? BECAUSE MAN IS CREATED TO worship

God. He's designed to worship God. And

if mankind does not worship the God OF

THE BIBLE, HE WILL WORSHIP SOMETHING.

That's why we have, listen, all the

false uh uh uh religions in in the day

and time we're living in. And that's why

people are prone to idol worship and and

many people worship them theirelves and

their pleasure and their sin. And that's

what we're seeing in this day is PEOPLE

THAT DO NOT WORSHIP THE GOD OF HEAVEN,

the God of the Bible, UH WILL FIND

SOMETHING TO WORSHIP. AMEN.

>> Because my man is created, he is

designed to worship. Now the English

word worship comes from an old word

which means worthiness or to ascribe

worth. It implies honor, reverence or

devotion to something or someone deemed

worthy. How can I say tonight that the

God of heaven, the Lord Jesus Christ is

the only one worthy of our devotion.

He's the only one worthy of our

reverence. He's the only one worthy OF

OUR LIFE. HEY FRIEND, but but he is

indeed worthy. Amen. Hey, listen. And

and I want you to notice that uh worship

is the dividing line between those that

serve God and those that serve themsel.

Amen. NOW, AGAIN, THERE'S A LOT of mixed

up ideas about what worship really is. I

want to say worship is more than uh just

a musical performance. It's more than

just an emotional stir. Worship is much

more than that. AS A MATTER OF FACT, I

believe worship is a lifestyle. Amen.

Somebody said this that worship is the

heart's response to God for who he is.

Amen.

>> It it means again to ascribe worth.

Amen. I MEAN WHAT IS HE WHAT IS HE worth

to you? Amen.

>> How many is he worth our time? Is he

worth our affection? Is he worth our

attention? Is he worth our treasures?

What is he worth to you and I? That's

what true worship is. And uh listen,

somebody said this. Think the preacher

SAID IT THIS MORNING. SOMEBODY SAID THAT

worship uh is is an is a the obedient

response to God's revealed truth. AMEN.

IT'S NOT just an emotional stir. Not

just a musical experience, but is a life

of obedience to revealed truth. Matter

of fact, the first MENTION OF WORSHIP,

Y'ALL NEED TO LOOSEN UP JUST A LITTLE

BIT. I'M going to preach FOR A LITTLE

WHILE. NOW LISTEN ABOUT YOU'LL FIND THE

FIRST mention of worship in Genesis

chapter number 22. How when Abraham was

going to take Isaac and offer him up up

there on Mount Morai and what he's doing

is he's given the Lord the very best

that he has. And what he's saying is

he's SAYING THAT GOD IS worthy of his

best. And so he's going to give he's

going to offer his son unto the Lord of

glory. WHY? BECAUSE HE'S worthy h to do.

And that's WHAT'S GOING ON. AMEN. I WANT

TO SAY TONIGHT CHARLES Spurgeon said

this, "Man was made to adore his maker

and worship is the flower of all

religion." G. Campbell Morgan said,

"Worship is the highest and noblest

activity of which man IS CAPABLE." I

JUST DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH TRUE BIBLICAL

WORSHIP IS GOING ON IN OUR CHURCHES.

HAVE FRIEND. LISTEN, I don't know how

much true BIBLICAL WORSHIP IS GOING ON

IN OUR OWN PERSONAL LIVES. AMEN. BECAUSE

IF YOU IF YOU DON'T WORSHIP IN PRIVATE,

YOU WILL NOT worship in public. AMEN.

>> AMEN. FRIEND, I KNOW THERE'S A LOT OF

THINGS GOING ON UH THAT THAT'S JUST A

WHAT IT IS. IT'S A SHOW. AMEN.

>> AMEN. I MEAN, THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS

LIKE THAT GOING ON. It's just a show and

it's just entertainment. But I'm telling

you, FRIEND, LISTEN. IF YOU IF YOU

WORSHIP GOD IN PRIVATE, THERE WILL BE

SOME WORSHIP OF GOD IN PUBLIC. AMEN.

>> AMEN. FRIEND, YOU SAY, "PREACHER, I'M

NOT TOO EMOTIONAL." I'M TELLING YOU

FRIEND, IF IT IF YOU if you ever really

get a hold of the idea how that you was

a wretched sinner, UNDONE, GUILTY, HAD

nothing you COULD DO TO SAVE YOURSELF

AND A HOLY GOD OF HEAVEN WANTED TO HAVE

A RELATIONSHIP WITH YOU SO MUCH THAT HE

SENT HIS SON TO COME TO THIS WORLD TO

DIE FOR YOU, THAT HE MIGHT RECONCILE YOU

BACK TO HIMSELF. I'M TELLING YOU,

FRIEND, LISTEN, THAT WILL THAT WILL STIR

UP SOME EMOTION ON THE INSIDE. AMEN.

>> AMEN, FRIEND. AMEN. AMEN. You study the

the Bible though, you'll find there's

many things associated with worship.

Prayer is associated with worship.

>> Obedience, righteousness, all these

things are associated with worship.

AMEN. I MEAN, SOMEBODY CAN COME in here

and raise their hand, talk about how

much they love Jesus, but if they go out

there and live like the devil and listen

and do everything that that that is

contrary to THE WORD OF GOD, THEY'RE NOT

WORSHIPING.

>> AMEN, FRIEND. BECAUSE RIGHTEOUSNESS AND

WORSHIP GO HAND IN HAND. Prayer and

worship go hand IN HAND. OBEDIENCE AND

WORSHIP go hand in hand. Amen. Tonight.

Amen.

>> And if we're NOT WOR LISTEN, IF WE'RE

NOT WALKING A LIFE OF PRAYER AND

OBEDIENCE AND RIGHTEOUSNESS, MY FRIEND,

THEN WE ARE NOT WORSHIPING.

>> That's right.

>> Now, in our text, Pharaoh is trying to

hinder. He's trying to stop. And he uses

several tactics, if you will. And I want

to show them to you in these chapters.

And I'll be done tonight. I want you to

notice first of all in in these in the

first several verses here, he uses the

enemy of distraction. Look what the

Bible said in verse number four. And the

king of Egypt said unto them, where

where uh wherefore do you Moses and

Aaron, let the people from their works?

He said, get you under your burden. And

then look what he said in verse number

six. And Pharaoh commanded uh the same

day the taskmaster of the people and

their officers, saying, "You shall no

more give people straw to make brick as

here to let them go and gather straw for

themselves. And the and the tail of

bricks which they did make here to four,

you shall lay upon them, and you shall

not be diminish ought thereof. For watch

this, for they be idol, therefore they

cry, saying, let us go and sacrifice to

our God." Amen. You know what Pharaoh

said? It's simply what he's saying. He

said they've got too much time on their

hands.

>> And you know that true worship takes

time. It takes meditation. It takes

solitude. And what Pharaoh is saying is

they've got too much time on their

hands. AND WHEN THEY'RE think about God,

they think about going out in the

wilderness and and and they're offering

a sacrifice UNTO GOD. AND SO WHAT WE

need to do is we need to get them busy

AND OCCUPY their mind SO THEY DON'T HAVE

TIME to think about going out and

worshiping. And that's why he increased

their burdens. THAT'S WHY HE TOOK THE

STRAW. HE SAID THEY'RE IDLE. THEY'VE got

too much time on their hands. We need to

get them busy so they they don't think

about worshiping God. Amen.

>> And I say a moment ago, it take real

worship takes solitude. It takes

meditation. Amen.

>> And we live in a day when there's so

many things to rob our attention and rob

our affection and we're distract people

are so distracted IN THE DAY AND TIME

WE'RE living in.

>> Yeah.

>> Amen. Friend, I mean, listen, I don't

know about you, but how you get down to

read your Bible and and and there'll be

a notification on your phone and next

thing you know, you pick it up and 20

minutes later, how you you engulfed in

in in looking at something on THE PHONE.

AM I AM I TELLING THAT RIGHT? HOW? WHY?

BECAUSE WE'RE THE DEVIL IS using

devices. He's using things to rob OUR

ATTENTION TO DISTRACT US. BECAUSE HE

KNOWS IF WE'RE NOT meditating on THE

WORD OF GOD. LISTEN, IF HE KNOWS WE'RE

NOT CONTEMPLATING ON THE GOODNESS OF GOD

AND WHO GOD IS, WE WILL not worship.

AMEN. IF WE'RE JUST TOO BUSY AND WE'RE

GOING ABOUT THE day and we don't have

time to read, we don't HAVE TIME TO

PRAY, WE DON'T HAVE TIME TO MEDITATE ON

THE WORD OF GOD, FRIEND, THEY'LL THEY

WILL NOT be true worship.

>> Amen.

>> And and I'll tell you what, listen, uh

he he he he wanted to distract them. And

I'm afraid he's getting that in the day

and time we're living in. He's doing a

good job. I hate to give him any kind of

credit, but he's certainly doing a good

job. Amen. I mean, you come to church,

see people looking at the phone, and you

get people checking this and checking

that and thinking about this and

THINKING ABOUT THAT, AND THEY'RE already

planning the next day and the next week.

You know why? Because we HAVE BUSY

LIVES, AND A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE A LOT OF

THINGS GOING ON. IS THAT RIGHT?

>> AMEN. AND I MEAN, THINGS that are not

necessar necessarily sinful OR WRONG,

BUT WE'RE JUST BUSY. WE GOT TOO MANY

THINGS GOING ON. AND AND LISTEN, PARENTS

ARE ENGULFED IN IN THEIR CHILDREN AND

TRYING TO MAKE THEM A NEXT SUPERSTAR in

the SPORTS WORLD AND AND THINGS LIKE

THIS FRIEND AND THEY LISTEN THEY'RE SO

ENGULFED IN THAT THAT THEY DON'T HAVE

TIME HOW TO WORSHIP GOD. AMEN.

>> AMEN.

>> DISTRACTED AND AND YOU SAY, "PREACHER,

IS there anything wrong with that?" I

AGAIN I I THINK THERE'S a lot of things

that that that we do THAT WE GET

ENGULFED in that WE GET CARRIED AWAY IN

THAT IS NOT necessarily wrong

>> but it's just distracting.

>> Go ahead.

>> Amen.

>> Oh listen friend, we live in a

distracted society. I mean who would

ever thought that there was such a thing

as distracted driving?

>> Amen.

>> Is that right?

>> Amen. Oh, what are you I'm just simply

saying this. He's trying to get their

mind off God. He's trying to get their

mind off the things of God. Amen. Ain't

no wonder we come to church and we can't

have a We can't worship God. We got our

mind on everything else. WE'VE GOT OUR

MIND ON THINGS THAT DON'T MATTER.

Instead of INSTEAD OF PULLING AWAY FROM

THE WORLD AND GETTING OUR MIND FOCUSED

ON GOD. AMEN.

>> AND MOST OF THE TIME WHAT HAPPENS, WE

COME RUNNING IN AND WE HADN'T HAD ANY

TIME WITH GOD DURING THE DAY. AND I

LISTEN, WE COME RUNNING IN, WE AIN'T

SPENDING TIME ALONE WITH GOD, MEDITATING

ON HIM, AND THEN WE COME IN AND WE

EXPECT HOW TO UNPLUG FROM THE WORLD AND

WORSHIP GOD. FRIEND, IT'S NOT GOING TO

HAPPEN BECAUSE WE'RE TOO DISTRACTED.

>> You're right,

>> Amen. He wanted to use distraction. You

said, "Preacher, I'm not doing anything

wrong." Well, I'm just asking you this.

I'm just asking you, are you too busy?

Amen.

>> Amen.

I mean, if listen, if I'm too busy to

read my Bible, I'm too busy.

>> That's right.

>> If I'm too busy to pray, I'm too busy.

Somebody help me. Amen.

>> And we just get too busy. Amen.

>> That's right.

>> Life I I live I understand we have we

have families and we living a chaotic

life. I'm telling you, friend, if we're

going to really worship God, we must

make time. WE MUST MAKE TIME FOR HIM.

AMEN.

>> There's the enemy of I got to hurry.

There's an enemy uh uh uh here of

distraction. But notice this, there's

the enemy of discouragement. In this

chapter, you'll find that in verses 12

down through verse number 21, what

happens is they cannot fulfill their

work. They cannot continue doing what

they're doing. They It's too much for

them and they they can't gather the

straw and make the bricks they're

supposed to. How? Because it's just too

much. It's just they're overwhelmed and

overloaded. And what happens is that the

task masters have began to beat the

people that were in charge and make

their lives more difficult. Why is that?

Because Pharaoh knew if he could break

their spirit,

he would he would keep them from wanting

to go out in the wilderness and worship.

Amen. Can I tell you what he's doing in

the day and time we're living in is he's

discouraging people.

>> I mean, think about it. They understood

that God was g they had God had told

them that they were going to be

delivered. Uh but here finally God sends

Moses and Aaron unto Pharaoh to demand

their deliverance and their situation

does not get better. It gets worse.

>> Yeah.

>> Amen.

>> And they're disheartened and they're

frustrated and a a and they're they're

physically exhausted. And because of

that they get discouraged. And when THEY

GET DISCOURAGED, THEY BEGIN TO LASH OUT

AGAINST LEADERSHIP. That's right.

>> Look, look, look what the Bible said in

verse number 19. And the officers of the

children of Israel did see that they

were they were in evil in an evil case.

And it was said, you shall not finish u

from their bricks of your daily task.

And they met Moses and Aaron, who stood

in the way as they came forth from

Pharaoh. And they said unto them, "The

Lord look upon you and judge because she

have made our savior to be a boore in

the eyes of Pharaoh and the eyes of his

servants and to put a sword in their

hand to slay us." THEY LISTEN THEY THEY

HAVE GOTTEN DISCOURAGED BECAUSE THEIR

circumstances

had not gotten better.

>> YEAH.

>> AND THEY BLAMED IT UPON MOSES and Aaron.

AND THEY BEGIN TO LASH OUT AGAINST THE

MAN OF GOD. UH BECAUSE THEY FELT LIKE IT

WAS THE PREACHER'S FAULT. UH FOR BECAUSE

THEIR SITUATION WAS NOT BETTER.

>> YEAH.

>> AMEN.

>> AND YOU KNOW WHY? THE WHY THE THE REASON

THEY'VE DONE THAT IS because they were

discouraged and they be got bitter about

what was going on.

>> Amen.

And I'm going tell you friend, you get

discouraged and you get upset and

frustrated just about life, about

circumstances, disappointed about things

that are going on. Things are not going

your way. Things don't work out the way

you think they should. Maybe God hasn't

answered your prayer the WAY YOU HOPED

HE WOULD. AND THINGS ARE NOT JUST NOT

GOING. LISTEN, JUST EXACTLY THE WAY YOU

YOU WOULD LIKE FOR THEM TO GO.

>> And you get discouraged.

One of the first things UH THAT WILL

COME OUT of that is he'll rebel OR GET

ANGRY WITH LEADERSHIP.

>> AMEN.

>> That's what's going on in this text.

>> Amen.

>> And what the LISTEN AND THEY WERE SO

DISCOURAGED. THEY THEY WERE upset

before. They were THEY THEY WERE

EXCITED. THEY WERE GOING TO get to be

set free. They were going to get to go

out in the wilderness and worship. BUT

NOW LISTEN, THEIR LIFE IS SO HARD. THEY

GAVE UP THE IDEA OF WORSHIP AND SAID,

"WE JUST WE JUST WANT YOU TO GO AWAY. WE

WANT ALL THIS TO GO AWAY AND WE DON'T

CARE ABOUT WORSHIP."

>> You know why? They're discouraged.

>> That's right.

>> Amen. Now, you may never get

discouraged.

Amen. You Yeah. I mean, you may

everything you you may be on the

mountain top all the time.

>> Amen. But I'm telling you, it's

difficult to worship God when YOU'RE

DISCOURAGED.

>> IT'S DIFFICULT. SOMEBODY HELP ME. IT'S

DIFFICULT TO WORSHIP GOD when things are

not going your way. Or it's difficult to

difficult to worship God uh when things

are when when you're just discouraged.

Amen. Watch what we'll find. I ain't got

time to preach ALL THIS TEXT. YOU'LL

find that there's several things that

that create discouragement in the heart

of the believer. And you'll find every

one of them in this text. Amen. Say,

"What is it?" Well, first of all, there

it was fear. Yeah,

>> they were f focusing on circumstances

instead of on God. Amen.

>> And then then you'll find that that

failure. Amen. Sin or mistakes lead to

discouragement. You'll find that fear

and failure. You'll find a frustration.

Things not turning out as expected.

Fatigue, physical and emotional

exhaustion. AMEN. AND THAT'S WHAT'S

GOING ON IN THIS TEXT. THEY'RE

PHYSICALLY they're emotionally

exhausted. They're they're full of fear

AND THEY'RE FULL OF FRUSTRATION. AND

WHEN THAT HAPPENS, THEY BEGIN TO REBEL

AGAINST THE MAN OF GOD. And sin enters

the camp.

>> Amen. And then there's friction.

>> Amen. A problem in relationships.

Those things bring discouragement in the

heart of the believer. You hear me?

>> And when you're discouraged, it's hard

TO WORSHIP.

>> AND THAT'S why there is such an attack

ON GOD'S PEOPLE. THAT'S WHY WE'RE LIVING

IN SUCH A DISCOURAGED WORLD. IT SEEMED

LIKE GOD'S PEOPLE ARE SO DISCOURAGED, so

defeated. Many people are walking with

their head down all the time, TALKING

ABOUT HOW HARD LIFE IS, HOW HARD

CIRCUMSTANCES ARE, AND THE THINGS THAT

ARE GOING WRONG INSTEAD OF WHAT'S GOING

RIGHT.

>> That's right.

>> Amen. Hey, discouraged. I got to hurry.

I'm trying to get somewhere.

>> There's the enemy of discouragement or

the tactic of discouragement. But I want

you to notice in chapter number eight,

watch this. In chapter number eight,

Pharaoh uses another tactic or another

enemy, I guess you could say, to try to

prevent the people of God from

worshiping. In chapter number eight,

verse number 25, he uses the enemy of

distance.

Look what he said. Verse number 25,

chapter 8.

And Pharaoh called for Moses and for

Aaron and said, "Go ye sacrifice to your

God in the land." And Moses said, "It is

not meat to do so, for we shall

sacrifice the uh we shall sacrifice the

abomination of the Egyptians to the Lord

our God. Lo, shall we sacrifice the

abomination of the Egyptians before

their eyes, and will they not stone us?

We will go three days journey into the

wilderness and sacrifice the Lord our

God as he as he shall command us." So

notice what Pharaoh said in verse 25. HE

SAID, "YOU CAN YOU CAN SACRIFICE, you

can worship, but do it in the land."

>> Yeah.

>> Amen. You say, "What's wrong with that?"

Well, Egypt in your Bible is always a

type of the world.

>> And well, Pharaoh said, "You can worship

your God. You can do all those things.

Just do it right here in the land. Stay

here in Egypt and worship." But you KNOW

WHAT GOD KNEW? GOD KNEW THAT THEY COULD

NOT worship in Egypt. They could not

worship in the world. They had to come

out from among the world in order for

them to worship. Amen.

>> And I'm telling you, the Bible is still

very plain. We're to come out among the

WORLD AND TOUCH NOT the unclean thing or

to separate from this world. But I tell

you, WE LIVE IN A SOCIETY WHERE PEOPLE

WANT TO TRY TO BRING THE WORLD INTO

CHURCH AND THEY WANT TO TRY TO PAINT IT

UP AS WORSHIP. THEY WANT TO BRING THE

WORLD'S MUSIC IN THE CHURCH AND TRY TO

PAINT IT UP AS WORSHIP TONIGHT. BUT I'M

TELLING YOU, FRIEND, FOR YOU AND I TO

REALLY WORSHIP GOD, WE GOT TO COME OUT

FROM THE WORLD.

>> THAT'S RIGHT.

>> AMEN.

>> YES, SIR.

>> HEY, LISTEN. AND THERE'S A COMPROMISE.

YOU CAN WORSHIP NOW. YOU CAN WORSHIP.

JUST stay here.

>> Oh, you can worship God, but just do it

while you're in Egypt.

>> Amen. It amazes me. God, help me. I'm

Lord, help me.

>> It amazes me how many people think and

they will justify their sin.

>> Yeah.

>> AMEN. AND JUSTIFY. HEY, LISTEN. SOME OH,

LORD HELP ME, JESUS. HEY, the main

streak about A MILE WIDE. COME. HEY, I'M

TELLING YOU, LISTEN. CAN I JUST SAY

THIS? SOMEBODY OUT IN THE WORLD THAT'S

SINGING MUSIC THAT GLORIFIES EVERYTHING

THAT BIBLE'S AGAINST. IT GLORIFIES SIN

AND WICKEDNESS AND DRUNKENNESS AND

FORNICATION. I'M TELLING YOU, FRIEND,

GOD IS NOT IN THAT.

AND WE AIN'T GOING TO PULL IN THE

PARKING LOT, LISTEN TO THAT KIND OF

MUSIC AND COME IN HERE AND HEAR THE

MUSIC OF GOD AND EXPECT THE WORSHIP.

>> THAT'S RIGHT.

>> AMEN.

>> AND IT AMAZED ME HOW MANY PEOPLE WANT TO

JUSTIFY.

>> AMEN.

>> THAT'S RIGHT.

>> WELL, THEY TALK ABOUT GOD IN THEIR

CONCERT. I DON'T CARE WHAT THEY SAY

ABOUT GOD, FRIEND, WHEN THEY'RE SINGING

ABOUT EVERYTHING AND PROMOTING

EVERYTHING THAT GOD IS AGAINST. THEY ARE

NOT FOR GOD.

>> AMEN.

>> AND THEY ARE NOT PROMOTING THE GOD OF

THIS BIBLE. AMEN. THEY'RE PROMOTING

FLESH AND THEY'RE PROMOTING WICKEDNESS

AND THEY'RE PROMOTING WORLDLINESS. AND

FOR GOD'S PEOPLE TO REALLY WORSHIP GOD,

WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO COME OUT FROM

AMONG THAT.

>> YES, SIR.

>> AMEN.

>> AMEN. Lord help me.

>> But notice here, notice that so Pharaoh

compromised. Look what he says in verse

number 28. And Pharaoh said, I will let

you go that you may sacrifice to the

Lord your God in the wilderness. Only

you shall not go very far and treat for

me. Oh, you can you can leave Egypt.

Just don't go very far.

>> DON'T DON'T DON'T GO DON'T GET TOO

INVOLVED in this thing. DON'T GET TOO

far away from the world. Amen. I

remember when I got saved, I mentioned a

little bit of it this morning. I I

remember when I got saved, I I mean, my

family was tired of the lifestyle that I

was living and and uh they wanted me to

straighten up. They wanted me to uh you

know, they wanted me to do better and

get off the drugs and all these things.

But I'm TELLING YOU, WHEN GOD SAVED ME

AND I GOT SERIOUS ABOUT SERVING GOD,

THIS LISTEN, THEY THEY wanted me to get

they wanted me to do better, but they

didn't want me to get that saved. YEAH.

>> OH, YOU WENT TOO far now.

>> Oh, I MEAN I MEAN YOU WENT THROUGH YOUR

I MEAN YOU'RE TAKING THIS TOO FAR NOW.

>> YOU'RE GOING TOO FAR WITH IT NOW. YOU

MEAN YOU NEED TO CHANGE YOUR DRESS? YOU

MEAN YOU NEED TO CHANGE YOUR MUSIC? YOU

NEED TO CHANGE YOUR LIFESTYLE. YOU MEAN

EVERYTHING NEED YOU'RE GOING TOO FAR.

>> AMEN.

>> Tell it preacher.

>> AND THAT'S WHAT PHARAOH SAID. YOU CAN GO

JUST DON'T GO VERY FAR. OH, YOU CAN GET

SAVED. If he can't stop you from get

saved, YOU CAN GET SAVED, BUT DON'T

REALLY GET SERIOUS ABOUT SERVING GOD.

DON'T REALLY DON'T REALLY COME OUT AMONG

THE WORLD. KIND OF STAY IN between

>> because he knew if he could keep them

close, HE COULD STILL influence them.

>> That's right.

>> I'M GOING TELL YOU SOMETHING, FRIEND.

THE WORLD has got too much influence on

a lot of churches.

>> That's right.

>> And a lot of people in our churches and

they make decisions based on the world

instead of based on the scripture.

Amen. People make financial decisions

based on what's be a worldly ideas

instead of what the scripture says.

>> I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY TIMES PEOPLE CALL

ME AND SAY, "PREACHER, I GOT A JOB OFFER

AND AND IT'S MAKING ALL THIS MORE MONEY

AND I'M I'M GOING TO HAVE TO MOVE. WHAT

DO YOU THINK ABOUT IT?" I SAY, "WELL,

have you have you got a church to go

to?"

>> Yeah.

>> Well, I mean, well, I don't know. I'LL

FIND ONE WHEN I get there. Said it ain't

the will of God.

>> That's right. PREACHER.

>> I SAID IT'S NOT THE WILL OF GOD. AMEN.

>> IF YOU MAKE A DECISION BASED ON FINANCES

AND IF YOU MAKE A DECISION BASED ON

THOSE THINGS AND NOT BASED ON WHAT THUS

SAYETH THE WORD OF GOD, IT IS A WORLDLY

DECISION.

>> AMEN. I'M NOT SAYING WE ARE Y'ALL RIGHT.

I'M NOT SAYING WE'RE NOT TO MAKE MONEY.

I'M JUST SIMPLY SAYING THIS, FRIEND. IF

GOD IF WANTS YOU TO TAKE ANOTHER JOB,

HE'LL ALREADY OPEN A DOOR IN A CHURCH.

HE'LL LISTEN, IT WILL NOT HINDER YOUR

WALK WITH GOD. HE'LL ELEVATE YOUR WALK

WITH GOD.

>> AMEN.

>> That's right.

>> I TOLD MY I TOLD I TOLD OUR DAUGHTERS,

this what I told our daughters. I said,

"Listen, when God sends a young man in

your life, if it's right, if that

relationship is right, CHARLIE DID I SAY

THIS. IF THAT RELATIONSHIP IS RIGHT,

HE'LL BRING YOU CLOSER to God. That's

right.

>> BUT IF IT'S WRONG, IT'LL TAKE YOU AWAY

FROM GOD.

>> THAT'S RIGHT.

>> AMEN. AND YOU CAN APPLY THAT PRINCIPLE

TO EVERY ASPECT OF YOUR LIFE. IF IT'S

RIGHT, IT'LL BRING YOU CLOSER TO GOD. IF

IT'S WRONG, IT'LL TAKE YOU FARTHER AWAY

FROM GOD.

>> AMEN.

>> That's right.

>> Amen.

>> Just don't go too far now.

>> Amen.

>> I got to hurry.

>> Amen.

Amen. There's the enemy of distance.

There's the enemy of division. And this

really what I want to get to. Look at

verse Look at chapter number 10. Look at

chapter number 10.

Chapter number 10. Look at verse number

Look at verse number 10. And he said

unto them, look at verse nine. Let's

just read it. And Moses said, "We will

go with our young and with our old and

with our sons and with our daughters,

with our flocks, and with our herds will

we go, for we must hold a feast unto the

Lord." And he said unto them, "Let the

Lord be with be so with you, as I will

let you go, and your little ones, look

not to it, for evil is before you." Look

at verse 11. Not so. Go now, ye that are

men, and serve the Lord, for that ye did

desire, and they were driven out from

Pharaoh's presence. So, it's what half

Pharaoh says this, he I'm paraphrasing,

but he basically said this, "The men can

go,

>> but the women and children has to stay

behind."

>> Yeah.

Amen. And you know what he's doing? He's

dividing the family.

>> That's right.

>> Amen. He wants to divide the family

because he knows if he can get that

daddy that that man that man those

daddies out in the wilderness and he can

keep those WOMEN AND THOSE CHILDREN, HE

KNOWS that he can influence them. AND HE

KNOWS THAT HE LISTEN THAT HE'LL HAVE

THEM FOR GENERATIONS TO COME.

>> YOU KNOW WHY? BECAUSE GOD'S PLAN HAS

ALWAYS BEEN FAMILY WORSHIP. AND GOD'S

PLAN IS FOR THE MAN TO BE THE SPIRITUAL

LEADER OF THE HOUSEH. AND IF GOD'S MAN,

LISTEN, IF THE MAN IN THE HOME IS NOT

LEADING THAT FAMILY IN A SPIRITUAL

DIRECTION, HOW THERE WILL BE A VACUUM

THERE AND THERE'LL BE SOMETHING THAT

FILLS IT.

>> AND Pharaoh said, "I'll be the one that

filled it.

>> That feels it."

>> Amen.

>> And we live in a day where families are

divided

>> and there's an attack on the homes.

>> Amen.

>> I'm telling you, God, help us tonight,

friend. LISTEN, GOD ALWAYS THERE NEEDS

TO BE FAMILY WORSHIP. But what we have

in the day of time, I've seen it time

and time again where there'll be a

there'll be a THERE'LL BE A HUSBAND THAT

GETS ON FIRE FOR GOD AND REALLY WANTS TO

SERVE GOD AND REALLY WANTS TO GO ALLIN

FOR GOD. AND YOU THERE'LL BE A WIFE over

here.

>> Amen. And she still wants the world. She

still wants to do her own thing. Uh she

does not want to submit to authority.

She does not want to submit to the word

OF GOD. SOMEBODY HELP ME. AMEN.

OR OR YOU'LL HAVE A WOMAN THAT WANTS GOD

AND WANTS TO RAISE HER CHILDREN RIGHT

AND WANTS TO DO RIGHT, BUT YOU'LL HAVE A

MAN OVER HERE, LISTEN, PUTS ON A FACADE

AND TRIES TO ACT LIKE HE'S SPIRITUAL,

BUT THE WHOLE TIME BEHIND THE SCENES,

FRIEND, HE'S NOT LEADING HIS FAMILY IN A

SPIRITUAL WAY, BUT HE'S FIGHTING AGAINST

THE WORD OF GOD.

>> THAT'S RIGHT.

>> AMEN.

>> That's right.

>> And we see that over and over again.

>> Amen. And he divides the families.

>> Amen.

>> Yes, he does.

>> Mom and daddy are they're they're

they're because one's want to go one way

and others want to go another way.

>> One's want to go God, another Amen.

>> That's it.

>> Amen. I'm telling you, God's plan is for

a husband and wife, how both of them to

sell out to God and TO GO WITH GOD AND

LISTEN, RAISE THEIR children in the

nurture and admonition of the Lord.

Amen.

>> I think about this. I'm telling you, God

helps. Ain't there's no wonder. There's

no wonder our society's in this. And I

thank God for America and I'm thankful

for our country. BUT LET'S JUST BE

HONEST ABOUT IT, FRIEND. UH WE LIVE IN A

SOCIETY THAT'S WALKED AWAY FROM GOD. WE

CERTAINLY HAVE LIVED IN PERILOUS DAYS.

AND OUR SOCIETY, FRIEND, FOR THE MOST

PART IS GODLESS.

>> THAT'S RIGHT.

>> AND can I tell you what the PROBLEM IS?

IT'S THE HOMES.

>> That's it.

>> That's exactly right.

>> Parents have the idea where children

make their own make up their own mind.

God help.

>> Amen.

>> Oh, THEY THEY THEY OWN THEY CAN MAKE UP

THEIR OWN MIND. YOU KNOW, WHEN MY

CHILDREN MAKE UP THEIR OWN MIND WHEN

THEY GOT on their own. Amen.

>> SOMEBODY HELP ME. AS LONG AS THEY UNDER

MY ROOF AND LISTEN, EATING MY FOOD AND

AS LONG AS I'M PAYING THE BILLS, WE'RE

GOING TO DO WHAT THAT BOOK SAYS.

>> AMEN.

>> YES.

>> Say that breeds rebellion. Now, hear me.

Hear what I'm about to say.

>> Listen. Rules without relationship

breeds rebellion.

>> That's it.

>> YOU CAN HAVE RULES for your children if

you have a relationship with them.

>> Amen.

>> That's right.

>> AMEN.

>> BUT IF IT'S ALL JUST ABOUT RULES AND

THERE'S NO RELATIONSHIP, YEAH, they will

be rebellious. Yeah.

>> But if you'll have a relationship with

your children AND YOU'LL TEACH THOSE

CHILDREN HAVE A RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD

AND THEY'LL WATCH YOU WALK WITH GOD AND

THEY'LL WATCH YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH

GOD, FRIEND, IT WILL NOT BREED

REBELLION, BUT IT'LL PROMOTE A WALK WITH

GOD IN THEIR OWN HEART.

>> THAT'S RIGHT.

>> AMEN.

>> YES.

>> That's right. Amen. Oh, he knows if he

can divide the homes and distract the

families, he can destroy unity. Amen.

>> And there's no worship.

>> Amen.

>> Yeah. I think sometimes they know we

come in here and I'm not talking about

just I'm just talking about church in

general. Y'all y'all know what I'm

saying?

>> Amen. People come in and they they've

been they've been fighting and bickering

all week.

>> Amen.

>> There's a power struggle in the home.

>> Yeah.

>> Amen.

>> Preach.

>> Amen.

>> The husband ain't being the spiritual

leader he needs to be.

>> Amen. Wives full of rebellion. Children

full of rebellion.

>> Yeah. Preach. Amen. You say, "Preacher,

I thought this supposed TO BE

PATRIARCHY." I'M TALKING ABOUT WHAT'LL

HELP OUR NATION. IF OUR FAMILIES to get

RIGHT WITH GOD, IF OUR FAMILIES ARE TO

GET SOLD OUT FOR GOD AND LISTEN, FOR OUR

MOM AND DADDIES TO GET SERIOUS ABOUT

SERVING GOD AND RAISE OUR OUR CHILDREN

FOR THE NURTURE AND ADMONITION OF THE

LORD. AMEN.

>> AMEN. Are we okay?

>> Merlin Manson.

>> Merlin Manson. Some of you may have

heard him. Merlin Mansion is a an

ungodly

I don't know what it raw. I don't know

what it kind of music that is. He tries

to put out. It's ungodly. I know that.

>> Wicked. Rips a has concerts where he

rips pages out of the Bible and and just

blasphemous.

>> Yeah.

>> And he made this statement. He said, "If

you don't raise your children, I will."

>> Amen. I said he said he said if you

don't raise your children I will.

>> In other words, if you don't pour into

them, I'll pour into them.

>> That's right.

>> Amen.

>> I'm telling you, friend, don't you turn

out the way they are.

>> We're letting the world pull in our

children.

>> Amen.

>> Hey, LETTING THE WORLD PULL IN. ARE YOU

HEARING ME? I TURN THEM ON TO THINGS OF

THE WORLD AND PROMOTING WORLDLY MUSIC TO

THEM AND TURN THEM ON TO WORLDLY

ENTERTAINMENT AND MAKING MORE ABOUT

SPORTS AND EVERYTHING ELSE INSTEAD OF

ABOUT GOD.

>> AMEN.

>> THAT'S RIGHT.

>> AMEN. AMEN. That's the enemy of

division.

I got to hurry. Give me Let me Let me

give you one more. Let me give you one

more. Look at verse 24. Chapter 10,

verse 24. There's the enemy of

dedication.

Chapter 10 verse 24. And Pharaoh called

to Moses said, "Go ye serve the Lord.

Only let your flocks and your herds be

stayed." Well, that sounds pretty good.

I mean, you can go.

You can take your families and you can

go, but just leave the leave the leave

the herds behind.

>> Leave the animals behind. Well, that

sounds pretty good. I mean, that sounds

good. But look what the Bible said in

verse number 24. And he said, "Let your

little ones also go with you." And Moses

said, "Thou must give us also sacrifices

and burnt offerings that we may

sacrifice in the Lord our God, and our

cattle also shall go with us, and there

should not and hoof be left behind." I

love that. What What's he simply saying?

He said, "You can take the animals." And

Moses said, "No, we must have those

animals to sacrifice."

>> Yeah. Because when we get out there,

we're going to have something to give

God for who he is. Because he's worthy.

Amen. And what Moses is saying is thank

Listen, he's worthy of sacrifices and of

offering and worship. And when we get

there, we're going to have something to

give him for who he is. Amen.

>> As the world says, the world says there

sal, you know, that we're have there's

salvation without surrender and worship,

without sacrifice and devotion, without

giving. Yeah,

>> you can get saved, but don't give him

anything.

>> Amen.

>> Oh, YOU CAN GO TO CHURCH, BUT DON'T GIVE

him anything.

>> Don't offer him

>> anything.

>> And that's what real worship is tonight.

Amen.

>> Here's question. I'm talking about

worship here. Here here's here's my

question. I'm done. What? Listen. What

is the most important thing in your

life?

Say, "It's God." Is it?

>> Is it?

>> Amen.

>> Say, "It's the word of God." Is it?

>> Go ahead, preacher.

>> Or do we spend more time on worldly

entertainment?

>> Yeah.

>> Than we do the word of God.

>> Come on. God help us.

>> Amen.

>> I mean, I mean, what is the most

important thing? Do we spend more of our

money on on listen financial comforts in

this world instead of the work of God?

>> I mean what's the what's THE MOST

IMPORTANT THING to us?

>> Amen.

>> YOU SAY MY CHILDREN IS THE MOST

IMPORTANT THING. Are they?

Amen. Then are you really teaching them

right?

You really guiding them right? I mean,

what is the most important thing? I tell

you what, I'll tell you what, in in our

society, in my own life, can I just can

I just put it that way? In my own life,

if I ain't real careful, you know who

can be become the most important

person I could say? Me,

amen.

If I ain't careful, I'll worship me

more than anybody else.

And Pharaoh knew that if he could keep

them people from worshiping God, he'd

keep them in bondage and they'd never be

able to fulfill the purpose and plan of

God in their life. Amen. And I want to

say tonight, friend, God's plan for us

to worship. And I just wonder how much

of it's really going on in our lives.

How much really going on in our personal

life? Amen. Let's bow our head for a

word of prayer. I'm going to pray. I

know it's hard tonight. I know it's

tough, but I'm understanding God help us

tonight. We live in a day of compromise.

We live in a day of wickedness. We live

in a day of worldliness.

And if you and I are going to really

worship God, friend, we're going to have

to get serious about this thing.

And I wonder if there'd be some tonight

just be honest in your heart. You've

been distracted. You've allowed things

in your life to to hinder your time with

God, to hinder your prayer life, to

hinder your B and you're distracted.

Maybe there's some here tonight. Listen,

you're in church and thank God for it,

but you ain't really serious about

serving God.

You ain't really serious about doing

something for God. You ain't really

serious about worship. You know what we

ought to do? Lord, to get us all and beg

God to help us

to worship him because he's worthy. He's

worthy of our life. He's worthy of all

of our affection, all of our attention.

He He's worthy of all of our finance.

He's worthy of everything tonight.

So here's the question. What is he worth

to you?

What is he worth?

Daddy,

is he worth you getting serious about

serving God?

Mama,

IS HE WORTH

MY GOD NOW? IS HE WORTH? You're really

getting serious with God

and raising them children, right? Young

people, is he worth Is he worth

everything?

Is he worth you giving up some things?

IS HE WORTH YOU DOING SOME THINGS FOR,

giving yourself to?

What's he worth to you? Father, thank

you for the privilege to be in church

today. I pray God that you'd help our

hearts, challenge us, and change us

tonight. And Lord, we thank you for it

in Christ's name. Amen. Let's all stand

tonight. Thank you for joining our

service today. We'd love it if you join

us in person the next time you are able

at Meadows Baptist Church. Our physical

address is 2988

Stewart Road in Walnut Cove, North

Carolina. Our service times are Sunday

school at 10:00 a.m., Sunday morning

worship at 11:00 a.m., Sunday evening

worship at 6:00 p.m., and Wednesday

evening Bible study at 700 p.m. For more

information, visit us at

meadowsbaptisturch.com.

Thanks again for tuning in.