Don't Open That Door | Pastor Chris Kouba

Hey, real quick before we get going this morning, I uh forgot to mention this just a second ago that I want to give you a resource.

There's a I don't agree with everything that's ever been put out about this website, but I can assure you of this the majority of the time, I find this to be an amazing resource that I want to make sure that you're aware of and that you can use.

And they have a specific article related to the issue of whether Christians should support Israel at gotquestions.org that I want to point you to.

I should have mentioned that earlier, but did not.

But I've got the QRs code on the screen.

You can take a picture of that and you can read it.

Not during the middle of this message, but you can maybe read it on your own time.

Uh, but I do want to just make sure that you see it, that you're aware of it.

Uh, I also want to encourage you uh to uh we're gonna post on social media as well.

Let this just be a resource to you as you begin to think through and filter through things as we go forward.

First John chapter two is where we're going to be.

First John chapter two, I'm let me invite you to grab your Bibles and open them there.

Uh and I want to welcome, which is a pretty cool thing now, because it's a whole lot more.

Welcome all of the men and all of the women at our correctional facilities.

Let's give them a hand to celebrate those on the other side of this camera.

All right, I want you to picture the scene.

I want you to think about somebody coming over to your house unexpectedly.

Maybe somebody is already at your house, but you didn't think that they were gonna go into certain parts of the house.

And so maybe you get word, maybe you're up in your room, maybe you're and they and that you get told, hey, so-and-so, we're coming up into your room, or you get word that an unexpected guest is going to come by.

Now I'm sure all of you keep your house guest ready all the time.

I have no doubt.

I have no doubt that anybody could gladly walk into your room and have no reservations, or you would be not ashamed of anything that might be laying out or left out on the ground.

But I'm just gonna tell you, at our house, we do not any of what we don't want any of you to stop by this afternoon, okay?

We are not ready for you to stop by, we are not guest ready.

And so when that you get word, hey, we're gonna we're in the neighborhood, we're gonna, we're gonna pop in.

Immediately, panic begins to set in.

And what do you do?

You go and you begin to grab everything that you have yet to put up or yet to throw away or yet to deal with, and you throw it in that drawer.

All of you have a drawer like that, right?

We've got a drawer like that.

We call it a junk drawer.

It's a drawer that has everything while at the same time having nothing in it, right?

Uh, this is a little bit of a vulnerable moment.

This is a picture of my junk drawer, okay?

Uh there's a there's a menu for a restaurant we've never eaten at, okay?

Uh there is some Clorox wipes, there is some rubber bands.

I have no idea what else is under there.

I do know inside of our junk drawer, though, are some keys that we don't know what they go to, and we're afraid that one day we're gonna need them and we're not gonna know where to go find it, right?

And so it's just full of a bunch of junk, right?

How many of you also have junk drawers?

Would anybody willing to be confessed?

Okay, good.

We're not the only ones that do this, okay.

Uh so we have these drawers where we put stuff that we don't want to deal with.

We either don't want to deal with it because we don't necessarily want to take the time in the moment to deal with it, or we don't want to deal with it because somebody's coming over and we don't want them to see that junk laying out.

Some of you, it may not be a junk drawer, it may be a junk closet.

For you, you've gone to a whole nother level, right?

I mean, it's just basically like, hey, hey, somebody's coming over and you kind of grab all the stuff and you throw it in the closet and you just throw it in there, expecting at some point, some magically, it's just gonna put itself up.

And the whole time that your uninvited guests come over to the house, you're thinking this thought, don't open that door.

For fear not only of what may fall out, but also because you don't want them to see that junk.

The tendency over the next three weeks is gonna be for you to guard with everything you have your junk drawer.

The tendency over the next three weeks is for you to do everything that you possibly can to ensure that nobody opens that door.

And I want to encourage you.

The goal of this series is not that you would feel judgment, the goal of this series is that you would find freedom.

But the only way that's gonna happen is if you open that door.

We're gonna be in a series of messages looking at first John chapter 2, verses 15 through 17 over the next three weeks.

1 John 2:15–17

Three simple verses.

And what these verses show us is that all of us are faced with a choice.

The choice is gonna be between two things that cannot coexist.

And we're gonna have to be honest with our choice, because most of us, the fact that you're at church, probably assume you already know what choice to make, and you probably do know what choice to make.

The question ultimately, though, is the choices of your life leading to a destination that is going to be a path of destruction, or is it gonna be a path of life?

First John chapter 2, let's begin reading in verse 15.

1 John 2 · chapter mention

It says, Do not love the world or the things in the world.

If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

For all that is in the world, the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life is not from the Father, but is from the world.

And the world is passing away along with its desires.

But whoever does the will of God abides forever.

We're presented with a choice.

A choice between the things of the world and a choice between the things of God.

And I want you to think about this in terms of steps.

Here's the first point that I want you to write down that is so vital for you to understand and comprehend.

Number one, it is this.

You must take a step.

You must take a step.

There is no third option presented here in these verses.

It doesn't say if you want to do both, you can do both.

It instead says very clearly, do not love the world.

What does the world mean?

It doesn't mean people in the world.

One of our core values here at United City Church is that lost people matter.

Our goal and objective is not trying to produce a holy huddle where all the people come together that are believers and we stay away from all the people that are bad out there.

No, we believe that we are bad, we've just been saved by grace, and they need to know that too.

And so, therefore, we encourage you and design opportunities for you to be around people who do not know Christ.

It is a part of our strategy.

So it can't mean that we're supposed to avoid people.

It also can't mean that we are to avoid government or to avoid culture or to avoid education.

Because let's be honest, multiple times in the Bible, it gives us wisdom about how we are to be in the world, but not of the world.

Meaning we are supposed to feel attention relationally.

John chapter 17 then helps us understand what it means here when it says the world, verse 14 and 15.

John 17 · chapter mention

I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world.

Just as I am not of the world, I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.

The world represents the rule and the reign of Satan himself, with all of its worldviews and all of its ideologies.

This is when the enemy wants to either cause you to go straight down a path of destruction, or he wants to try to let you believe the lie that you can have godliness and worldliness.

He wants you to try to do everything that you can to hold on to both because here's what he knows will take place.

If you begin to pursue the things of the world, trying so hard to hold on to the things of God, eventually you're gonna let go of the things of God and you're gonna go to the things of the world.

And whenever we take a step, it leads to a destination.

Most of us want to choose both, and that's the problem.

I want these two ladders here to represent this one here over here, is gonna represent the things of the world, and this one right here is going to represent the things of God.

We all are forced to take a step.

We aren't just gonna be standing here forever with indecision, wondering what we're gonna do.

But instead, here's what how this happens.

On a Friday night, Saturday night, I begin to go out and I begin to have a good time.

I begin to go enjoy the things of the world, I begin to go enjoy the pursuits of the world, I begin to go and uh enjoy all the trappings and the wonderful things that come along with life and friends and relationships and all of those various things, all things that I'm very excited about doing and I'm very proud of doing, but all the while I'm trying to make sure that I'm doing it in such a way where no one behind me sees what I'm doing.

Because the last thing we'd ever want is for somebody over here who's going after the things of God to be able to see me doing the things over here.

So I'm very selective in what pictures I post, and I'm very selective on what friends are allowed to see the certain pictures that I post whenever I'm doing things over here.

Whenever I'm over here, I begin to pursue the things of the world in such a way where this becomes my identity.

How people like me, accept me, how people respond to me, that really determines what I view about myself.

And so I'm very interested in what those in the world think about what I'm doing, how I look, and what I say.

But then church comes around.

And this is what we do here in Northeast Houston.

We go to church.

And so, guess what happens?

I have the opportunity then to all of a sudden then take a step towards the world.

And then I go to worship, and the worship is great, and I begin to sing and I begin to connect with the Lord in the midst of my worship towards him.

I begin to hear the message, and I'm grateful for that.

I begin to actually take notes.

Like you realize you can move like three steps up if you take notes, all right?

And so if you take notes, you can shoot up the ladder, right?

And not only taking notes, you be you begin to go to your small group and you begin to experience some accountability and you begin to experience some openness and connection, and God begins to move in a pretty significant and a powerful way in your life.

And man, you're like, man, this is it.

This is what I want to do.

And then what happens?

All of a sudden you get a text message from a buddy, and that text message, man, it's it's really funny, all right?

It's totally inappropriate.

You don't want anybody that's your boss or your parent or anybody else to see it, but my goodness, it's hysterical.

Or maybe all of a sudden you get that image.

That image is something you probably shouldn't be looking at, it's not something you should be focusing on, and you get that, and then all of a sudden you're thinking, man, this is pretty nice.

This is pretty good.

I really like this stuff.

And then guess what?

All of a sudden, then you get one of those sermon clips on your social media.

Those things are awesome, by the way.

All right, and you want those sermon clips, and it begins to remind you, oh, this is what we talked about on Sunday, and this is what it looked like there.

And then all of a sudden, you begin to find yourself at a place to where now, look, man, I am really far up here.

And here's the problem.

I gotta make a choice.

I can't keep going.

At the end of the day, I can't have it both ways.

Yet here's the problem.

So many of you find yourself wanting to walk up and experience all the beauty and the benefit that comes with the things of God.

But here's what I want you to see.

You'll never be able to get there with your foot on the world.

You're gonna have to make a choice.

And ultimately, some of you are trying so hard to live in this middle that you're finding yourself now at the place to where, guess what?

You've got to choose.

Am I gonna choose the things of the world?

And am I gonna go there?

Because to do so, guess what?

I'm fully committed, I've got to go there.

Or am I gonna go and I'm gonna choose the things of God.

Some of you are like, this is scaring me to death, right?

Can I be honest?

It should scare you too.

You live your life on this tightrope, somehow thinking that God doesn't see what you're doing.

And all along, what God is saying is that look, I'm just telling you, it's not gonna end well.

Some's about to come crashing down one way or the other, and I'm asking you to make a choice to be able to choose the right path, knowing that the step towards this is gonna lead to life, but the step over there is gonna lead to destruction.

In fact, let me show you the scriptures say.

I want to walk you through it and I want you to see it.

First John chapter 2, verses 16.

1 John 2:16

Look at what the description is.

It says there, for all that is in the world, the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life is not from the Father, but is from the world.

Don't miss this.

And the world is passing away along with its desires.

This shows us what the two different destinations are.

The first thing I want you to see is this a step towards the world leads to destruction.

A step towards the world leads to destruction.

John goes on to describe the world by using three different descriptions.

He says it's the pride, uh, the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life.

This morning we're gonna talk about the desires of the flesh.

Next week, we're gonna talk about the desires of the eyes.

The following week we're gonna talk about the pride of life.

Let me just give this disclaimer to you.

Next week, next Sunday morning, uh, I'm gonna be preaching a message that I am labeling as a PG 13 message.

And so I want you to know we're gonna be very honest and open about what the world talks about all the time.

But that being said, I want to make sure, parents, you know we've made accommodations for you.

We'll communicate that to you next week to make sure that they're age appropriate wise, you do not feel like you are putting your children into a conversation that you aren't ready to have.

We will communicate that more to you this week.

But next week, we're gonna go there.

We're gonna talk about sexual immorality, we're gonna talk about pornography, we're gonna talk about the desires of the eyes.

This morning, though, I want to talk about the desires of the flesh.

The word desires, the Greek word, means epithumia, which basically means this: it is an over-desire.

Meaning the desire in and of itself isn't bad.

It's the fact that there is an overdrive to that desire.

Some of you may find yourself uh to where you've got some allergic reactions, and you maybe have gone to the doctor, and the doctor will prescribe to you an epipin, right?

An epi pen.

The epi pen is basically an intense dose of medicine designed to help steer off an allergic reaction.

It's the same way we get the word epi here in the epipin, is the same idea presented here with the desires of the flesh.

What it's saying is that these desires, they're on overdrive.

Like they are they are as intense as they possibly could be.

And we are not to have an over-desire for the things of the world.

Let's be honest though.

The things of the world, it's not like they aren't attractive.

Like, let's be clear.

We don't need to act like somehow vacations are not fun.

We don't need to act like having money isn't something that all of us would rather have as opposed to not.

We don't want to act like having friends and relationships isn't something that we all long to have.

Enjoying good food isn't something that we truly want.

Please understand, the things of the world aren't gonna look ugly to you.

The things of the world are gonna look super enticing to you.

And what you won't discover is that a majority of these things are not bad in and of themselves.

In fact, what you will discover is this is that the problem comes when a good thing becomes a God thing in your life.

We're gonna talk about it next week.

Sex isn't bad.

But sex with an over-desire, an epi desire, can lead to very bad things.

Food isn't bad, but whenever you begin to have an epid desire for food, it can lead to very bad things.

Money isn't bad, but when you have an epid desire for money, guess what?

It begins to lead you down some paths that aren't right.

It's when you take the things that God gave you to enjoy and you make them things that you can't live without.

It's when you take the things that God said, I'm giving you these things for you to have pleasure, and instead you have turned them into things where you break God's very laws just to be able to enjoy them.

Matthew chapter 16, verse 26.

Matthew 16:26

Listen to what it says.

For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?

What shall a man give in return for his soul?

Here's what I want you to see.

If you at your core want everything else that those who don't follow Jesus want, you're not any different than them.

Folks, some of you are putting the label Christian, but your life screams you might as well not be.

All that you care about, all that you pursue, all that you want is what everybody else who's not here this morning wants.

And we gotta understand we have got to be different.

The world and the things of God are contrary to each other, they don't mix well.

Yet, so often we have tried to buy into this lie that somehow, as long as I straddle the fence, I'm gonna be good when we're not realizing that to straddle the fence is to choose the things of the world.

God desires that we are holy, set apart, that we are different.

Let's talk through a few areas about the desires, the epidesires of the flesh.

One of these is gluttony.

Gluttony.

Uh-oh, everybody just sucked in a little bit, didn't they?

Woo! Everybody's feeling a little guilty about that ice cream last night, right?

It's just kind of like, ugh.

Let's just go ahead and let's get this over with.

All right, any foodies in the room?

I am a massive foodie, right?

I love food.

I love a good meal.

Especially when I travel, like I do not want to eat anything that's chained.

I instead want to make sure that I eat something that is super unique to the area where I am, that they are very proud of, and that's supposed to have a very good meal.

I want you to know this.

God gives us food and drink as a God-given desire for us to enjoy.

There's nothing wrong with it.

Isaiah chapter 55, verses 1 and 2, it says this come, everyone who thirst, come to the waters, and he who has no money, come buy and eat.

Isaiah 55:1

Come buy wine and milk without money and without price.

Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy?

Listen diligently to me and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.

God uses food and drink as positive examples to show the goodness of the Lord.

When we receive food and see it as a gift from God, then we can enjoy it, we can be blessed by it, but we must never allow food or drink to control us.

That's the problem.

First Corinthians chapter 3, verse 16 and 17.

1 Corinthians 3:16

Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?

If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him.

For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple.

1 Corinthians 6, 19 and 20.

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God?

You are not your own, for you were bought with a price, so glorify God in your body.

Let's be honest.

Gluttony may be one of the most accepted sins in all of the Bible.

I heard so many messages growing up about sexual immorality and about alcohol.

I never even heard the word gluttony.

I don't know how many times you've heard about it as well, but it's certainly a very convenient and easy one for us to ignore.

The problem is statistically, we should not.

Ignore this.

Listen to this.

Just five years ago, 42.4% of Americans were considered obese, and that number has skyrocketed up since COVID.

Over 34 million Americans suffer from diabetes, with the majority having type 2 diabetes, which is often associated with lifestyle factors, including diet.

36.6% of Americans eat fast food every single day.

This is something that is hard to hide because of its visibility, and it's easy to hide because no one talks about it.

I'm not trying to shame you.

I'm not trying to cause anyone embarrassment.

But we also cannot act like food when it is expressed and received in a non-God-honoring way is not a path that leads to destruction.

And while we are not gonna have you get on scales as you leave the services today, I promise.

We also don't need to act like how you treat your body doesn't matter.

Here's the reality, folks.

We gotta be different.

We gotta be different in the church.

We gotta be different in the way that we treat our bodies.

We gotta show a healthy relationship with food because we we know that God gives us to enjoy.

He doesn't give it to become a master over us.

And we know that our body is a temple, one that we are to prepare and be used in service to the Lord in every single way.

No question, we live in a broken world, and as a result of being in a broken world, we have broken bodies, and our broken bodies are not always gonna be at their peak of health.

There's no question that is the case, but let it never be said of us that the Church of Jesus Christ acted like I could eat whatever I want and it doesn't matter.

But instead, may we be mindful and wise about how we enjoy God's gifts instead of abusing those same gifts.

Let me mention another one to you.

Gossip.

Gossip.

Gossip is defined as casual or unconstrained conversation or reports about other people, typically involving details that are not confirmed as being true.

And it's another one of those sins we don't like to talk about a whole lot.

It's much easier to hide than it is to cover up and admit it.

Here's what we say I'm not gossiping, I'm just sharing a prayer request.

I'm not gossiping, I'm just having a conversation.

I'm not gossiping, I'm just talking about somebody.

I'm not gossiping, I'm just posting all of my thoughts, my opinions, my frustrations, my rants, all of the things that I disagree with, all online, because if I post it online for everyone to see, then somehow that maybe makes it not as bad as if I tell it to somebody else behind someone's back.

Church, we shouldn't post like everybody else.

We gotta be different.

We gotta be people who guard the truth, and a lot of times guarding the truth means keeping your mouth shut.

Yet, how often is it said about the church of Jesus Christ that we act just the same way, say the very same things, post the very same things as those online, as those who don't have a relationship with Jesus.

Sometimes I look online and I just want to, I just am thinking like Jesus has got a matter.

He's got a matter here.

There's no way you respond and you act that way.

We've got to be different.

But this is again so hard because we just hide it.

We so badly wanna be in the know, but we also so badly want to be and appear religious.

We so badly want to know what's going on in our kids' lives, we so badly want to know what's going on in our grave, we so badly want to know what's going on in the office, and we also so badly want to know verses that make us look religious.

Proverbs, listen to what it says in verse 20 or chapter 20, verse 19.

Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets.

Therefore, do not associate with a simple babbler.

The Bible says, if that's you and this is how you act, we shouldn't be hanging out with you.

Folks, don't be that way.

Ephesians 4 29, let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

Your speech, your mouth, your words should be used to build up, not to tear down.

I want y'all to hear this.

Even if you get away with it, it doesn't make it right.

1 Timothy 5 13.

Besides that, they learn to be idlers, going about from house to house, and not only idlers, but also gossips and busybodies saying what they should not.

Modern translation would be besides that, they learn to be idlers going about from X to Instagram to Snapchat to on and on and on it goes.

Facebook, whatever it may be.

Saying what they should not.

Church, we gotta be careful that we don't turn normal concern and conversation about people that can quickly turn into gossip and talking behind somebody's back.

I'm not trying to be legalistic, but I am not apologizing for asking for holiness.

We gotta do better.

We're about to head into an election season next year, and people are gonna lose their minds.

Please hear me.

God is the God who rules over all nations.

He doesn't need your help taking down his throne because of the way that you act, the way that you speak.

Let our public officials, the Bible tells us, let it be said that they love serving us even when we disagree with them.

We must speak well of others, use our words to build up Jesus has got to matter.

And when you take those steps down that road, you gotta know this.

You may think you're gonna get away with it for a little bit, but eventually it's gonna lead to destruction.

Let me give you another one.

Epidesire of the flesh.

It's crude language.

It's crude language.

We all know that hearing foul language and cuss words and crude speech and inappropriate jokes, it's not a matter of whether or if you're gonna hear it, it's a matter of how often you're gonna hear it.

What used to be considered only extreme is now considered to be very common.

This shouldn't sound crazy, but I know that it will.

We as believers should talk different than those who are not believers.

Y'all realize that, right?

Like we should sound different in the words and the jokes and the sarcasm that we use.

James 3, 9 and 10, with it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God.

From the same mouth come blessing and cursing.

My brothers, these things ought not to be so.

We've got to be careful with our mouths because if you go and you use your mouth to take God's name in vain, and you begin to cuss out other people, and you begin to badmouth your boss, and you begin to talk negatively about your neighbors or those that are in your class, and then you come to church and you sing and you use that very same mouth to be able to worship the Lord and Savior.

I want you to know you may think that you're getting away with it, but God sees both conversations.

And what God tells us to do is his worship is so sacred, and his worship is so important.

It is better if you got a beef with somebody else that you leave the worship service and you go make that right before you come back in here and make a mockery of the living God.

God is calling us to speak and to think and to act differently.

I know what some of you are thinking.

Sometimes we say things about people and we say things to people, and we say biting, cutting, hurting, hard for words, and then all of a sudden they react in such a way that maybe we weren't expecting.

And here's what we say.

Hey, I was just kidding.

I was just kidding, I was just kidding.

Listen to Proverbs chapter, uh, listen to what Proverbs says, 26, verses 18 and 19.

Like a madman who throws fire brands, arrows, and death, is the man who deceives his neighbor and says, I am only joking.

I love kidding and joking and sarcasm.

Love it.

But the epi desires of the flesh can easily lead you towards taking steps that lead to destruction.

There's a different way.

The different way is this.

I encourage you to write this down a step towards Jesus leads to life.

A step towards Jesus leads to life.

I want you to know this.

If you choose to follow after Jesus, you will find that there is nothing better than doing that choice.

What you will begin to discover is that there is fullness of joy far beyond what you could have ever possibly imagined.

What you will discover is that the worst possible day in the presence of Jesus is better than the best day the world has to offer.

What you will discover is that if you make this choice, the choice of life following after Jesus, you will never, ever, ever, ever regret it.

It doesn't mean that you're not gonna have trials, and it doesn't mean that you're not gonna have struggles, and it doesn't mean that you're not gonna have dark moments, but I want you to know God's presence is with you even in the midst of that.

And he says over and over again that you can consider it joy when you face those things.

You want to know why?

Because I'm gonna use it.

I'm gonna use it to produce steadfastness, I'm gonna use it to produce perseverance, I'm gonna use it to produce character, I'm gonna use it to make you more into the image of my Son.

Folks, when you follow Jesus, what you'll also begin to discover is that God never wastes those struggles and trials.

Many times he gives those things to us to remind us this is not our home.

We are passing through.

And every beautiful thing that we may have and enjoy from the things of the world is only meant to be a shadow and a mirror and an image of the greater thing that is waiting for us when we get to spend eternity with him in heaven.

Jesus is better than money.

I need you to know this.

His economy is not one that has ups and downs, and the stock market flies up and then it crashes down and you begin to lose all of your money.

Instead, he provides over and over again.

He owns a cattle on a thousand hills.

Jesus is better than earthly relationships.

I want you to know this.

What you long to experience in your relationships with others in this world are just merely a picture of the relationship that God invites you to have.

He doesn't want to be your boss, he wants to be your friend.

He wants to guide you, he wants to lead you, he wants to walk with you.

Jesus is better than any earthly power.

I want you to know this: every molecule, atom, proton, electron that exists all come underneath the authority of King Jesus.

Every nation bows before him.

He controls and puts kings in place.

And while folks may think that they're in control and they may be acting out in such a way that it looks like they have power, ultimately every nation has been brought to its knees.

And Jesus still stands.

Jesus is better than every earthly pleasure.

I want you to know that the sun, when it shines in the sky, pours down rays that are so intense that you can't even look up at the source.

Yet we have so much light that is provided for us.

And what does that light do?

That light all points to the place that it came from.

And on the cloudiest day that you'll ever experience when you walk with Jesus, I want you to know this the sun still shines through.

Jesus is better than any approval that you might have from anybody else, from your boss, from your parents, from your friends, from your boyfriend, from your spouse, from your kids, from all the other folks that you are longing for the attention.

What good is a few earthly likes when you have the approval and you have the love and the admiration of the creator of the heavens and the earth.

I can assure you of this, you will never, ever, ever regret taking a step towards Jesus.

John chapter 8, verse 12.

John 8:12

Again, Jesus spoke to them saying, I am the light of the world.

Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.

Here's my application today.

What are you hiding?

What junk do you have in the drawer that you're just begging?

Nobody will open.

What are those things that if the door opens up, it's gonna come crashing down?

See, here's what I want you to see is that God in his grace and in his mercy, he gives us the gift by the Holy Spirit of conviction.

Your tendency in these next few moments and over the next few weeks is gonna be to see that conviction and to push it away because you don't like it.

Don't do that.

Instead, I want to encourage you to see that the conviction of the Holy Spirit is God's kindness to you.

He's pursuing you, he's coming after you, and he wants you not to feel judgment today, he wants you to feel freedom today.

But it only comes when you allow that conviction to settle and lead you to repent and experience his grace.

What step do you need to take?

Are you taking a step towards destruction?

Are you taking a step towards life?

Would you bow your heads and would you close your eyes?

I'm gonna ask that no one be leaving.

If you're joining me online, I want to invite you to wherever it is that you find yourself press in.

Whatever you think that you are hiding, God sees.

What is he convicting you of?

What changes do you need to make?

What phone call do you need to commit to?

What group do you need to sign up for?

What coffee do you need to have this week?

What radical changes do you need to make in your life so that you can start pursuing godliness?

Whatever steps you think you are taking, expecting to jump from whatever side to the other one, eventually you're not gonna be able to.

You're gonna have to make a choice.

I want to ask that you choose life today.

You allow the Holy Spirit to not only convict but restore.

You allow God to restore the years the locusts have eaten.

I can assure you of this, God wants something better for your marriage, but it's not gonna be without change and sacrifice.

But I can tell you this over and over again.

I've seen couple after couple after couple make the changes that God is leading them to make.

It's always worth it.

Always.

If you find yourself in addiction of some kind, whether that's one that would qualify as an addiction that you need to go get help for, or whether that is a pet sin that you've just kept to yourself, come clean.

For some of you who are already believers in Jesus, this means you need to repent.

This double life isn't doing it, it's not working.

It's not fooling anyone.

Come clean, seek his forgiveness, commit to live for him today.

For some of you, you need to choose not just to be around Jesus, but to give your life to him as your personal Lord and Savior.

To make him your Lord and receive his forgiveness of all of your sins, to literally give your life to him.

You do that right now.

If you want to receive Jesus, would you pray this simple prayer?

Father, I want you.

I want your forgiveness, I want your freedom, I want your healing.

I confess that I am a sinner in need of a savior.

And I believe that you sent your son Jesus to die on a cross for my sins, and I believe that he rose from the dead, and right now I am asking him to do radical change in my life, to take me from death to life, to take what is hidden in the dark and the jump drawer and bringing it out into the open so that you can redeem it, restore it, and heal it.

If you just prayed that prayer with me, I want to ask you, just keep your heads bowed and your eyes closed.

Do me a favor, though, I want you to look up and I want you to see the person that is closest to you.

Because I want you to see where I'm gonna ask you to go in just a moment.

If you just pray that prayer with me, I want you just to look up.

You're gonna have someone that's close to you, whether they're in the front or whether they're on the side.

And I want you to see, I'm gonna go tell them about my decision I've just made to give my life to Jesus.

Right over there.

Right over there.

Others of you want to come and join United City Church.

I want to make no apologies.

We're gonna be a church that's gonna preach the grace of God, but we also are gonna be a church that lifts high the holiness of God.

We believe that you have sacrificed God's grace if you don't preach about the whole counsel of God.

And so, therefore, we're gonna call you out for your sins, but we don't want you to live in judgment.

We want you to live in freedom.

We believe that the path to freedom is to be honest about your sin and to be honest about where you are.

We are not a group of perfect people, we are instead a group of forgiven people.

And so, if God is leading you to make this your church home, where you're gonna partner with us to help us reach people outside of these doors who also need to know the hope that we have, would you come today?

Would you lead the way?

Maybe some of you need to be baptized like these three that we saw.

What an unbelievable story and testimony.

That first one there, I the young adult, I remember when I gave the testimony of the gospel and he looked right up at me and gave his life to Jesus.

What an awesome testimony now to see God working in young adults like he has been.

Maybe for some of you, that's your next step today.

Would you come today?

Let us schedule you for baptism.

Maybe others just need prayer.

Prayer of commitment personally, maybe a prayer for somebody else, somebody close to you.

Father, I pray you'd move in these moments we have left.

Give boldness, give courage.

Give people, Lord, the ability to respond because we know these next steps that they take, Lord, solidify a destination.

I pray, God, that people would make the right step today.

Lead them and direct them and guide them.

It's in Jesus' name that I pray.

Amen.

Wow, what an amazing message we got to hear this morning.

I hope the Lord showed himself to you in a fresh, new way.

Hey, if you made a decision today to follow Jesus or a decision for Christ, we would love to process that with you.

So text the word next.

It's a 55498 and someone from our team will be more than happy to reach out and process that.

If you missed the message or you missed the note or two and you want to go back, don't worry.

We've got the option for that as well.

It's gonna be available on Spotify as well as Apple Music.

This has been an amazing morning.

We love you guys so much, and we hope to see you next week.

Bye-bye.