A Boost Up

If you want to hear it, you'll come show up for

it. That's just the way I am. Amen. We'll try

to accommodate. I just kind of have to watch

what I say. Amen. Good to see you in the house

of the Lord today. Had a good week. Happy you

know it. Give the Lord a good praise. Say amen.

Hallelujah. If you have your Bibles, turn with

me to 2 Timothy. 2 Timothy. Don't forget, there's

a lot going on. We want to start taking up and

collecting some toys for our local children.

We're partnering with one of the car clubs that

will be here Saturday. Last year, Ken, how many

toys did y 'all give out? Over 100 children?

Something like that? Something like that. Yeah,

truckloads. And again, our mission emphasis is

not to recreate the wheel. It's just to be a

spoke in a wheel that's already turning. So if

you would, November, like the second week, the

first? November 1st. Is that when they're giving

them out? No, the car show. The cruise end's

the first. So you start bringing some toys or

give an extra $10, and we're going to get it

in the hands of these folks and see if they can't

bless 150 kids this year. I think, if I remember

hearing correctly, they presented each child

with at least five gifts that would not have

Christmas any other way. Isn't that something

worth being a part of? Amen. You know, the angel

tree and all that stuff's been around for a while,

but I know these folks, and they will hand them

personally to children who are in need. And what

better way? Amen? So bring a gift, $10 gift for

whatever age the Lord lays on your heart, and

they're going to take it. You don't even have

to just bring it. If you come by the cruise in

Saturday to get some barbecue, bring that gift,

that toy with you, whatever it is. Bring it with

you. Drop it off. Amen. And we're going to be

a part of that. Don't forget the mission service

next week. Something we've been trying to get

really going. Want to get it good and up and

moving forward. We'll have a report for you on

what we've done thus far in 2025 for missions.

I think you'll be pleased. We're not done yet.

We're not finished. Amen. Got more to do for

the kingdom. And the Lord is good. Alright, we're

doing an experiment this week. Hallelujah. Thanks

to an anonymous donor. Got tired of seeing me

hike them up, I guess. We'll see how it works.

There you go, bro. We'll see how it works. It's

a habit, so I'll probably be pulling on them

anyway. The grace of the Lord is wonderful, isn't

it? How many of you have found 2 Timothy? All

right, look at chapter 1 with me. Let's begin

reading in verse 1. Paul, an apostle of Jesus

Christ, by the will of God, according to the

promise of life which is in Christ Jesus, to

Timothy, my dearly beloved son, grace, mercy,

and peace from God the Father. In Christ Jesus

our Lord. I thank God whom I serve from my forefathers

with pure conscience. That without ceasing I

have remembrance of thee in my prayers night

and day. Greatly desiring to see thee. Being

mindful of your tears. That I may be filled with

joy. When I call to remembrance the unfeigned

faith. that is in thee, which dwelt first in

your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice,

and I am persuaded that in thee also. Wherefore,

I put you in remembrance that you stir up the

gift of God, which is in you by the putting on

of my hands. For God hath not given us the spirit

of fear, but of power and of love. and of a sound

mind. Be thou not therefore ashamed of the testimony

of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but be thou

partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according

to the power of God, who has saved us and called

us with an holy calling, not according to our

works, but according to his own purpose and grace,

which was given us in Christ Jesus before the

world began. but is now made manifest by the

appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, whom hath

abolished death and hath brought life and immortality

to light through the gospel. Whereunto I am appointed

a preacher and an apostle and a teacher of the

Gentiles, for the which cause I also suffer these

things. Nevertheless, I am not ashamed. For I

know whom I have believed and am persuaded that

he is able to keep that which I have committed

unto him against that day. Hold fast the form

of sound words which thou hast heard of me in

faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. That

good thing which was committed unto thee keep

by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us. This

thou knowest, that all they which are in Asia

be turned away from me, of whom are Phygelius

and Hermogenes. The Lord give mercy unto the

house of Onesiphorus, for he oft refreshed me,

and was not ashamed of my chain. But when he

was in Rome, he sought me out very diligently

and found me. The Lord grant unto him that he

may find mercy. Of the Lord in that day and in

how many things he ministered unto me. At Ephesus

thou knowest very well. For a little bit this

morning I want to speak on this thought. A boost

up. We're back in. We're still in. We've not

left for quite a while. This journey that we're

taking. A visit to the archives. And I want to

just look at this simple thought. A boost up.

How many of you ever need just a boost? You just

need a boost up. That's what Paul is giving to

young Timothy. Father, we love you. We thank

you for your goodness and your mercy. Lord, such

a sweet, sweet anointing in the house today.

I feel your divine presence ever so near. And

I ask God this morning for that greater touch.

Let that anointing, let the spirit abide that

makes it easy to preach. And Lord, we'll leave

this house edified in your grace, enriched by

the power of your word through that anointed

touch of your spirit. Till you be praised forever.

Christ's lovely name and the church said, amen.

Tell your neighbor it's our boost up. When you

look at this letter to Timothy, this second letter,

it is Paul's last will and testament. It's the

last epistle that he would pen. He's in a Roman

prison. Many of the epistles of Paul came from

a jail cell. Philippians is one of my favorites.

He speaks of more joy there, and he's chained

up and bound up, and the whole letter is just

oozing with joy and how that we are to be joy

-filled people of God. And in this epistle, this

last will and testament, as Paul is instructing

young Timothy, he's giving him a boost. He's

wanting his faith to be charged. He's wanted

him to be lifted up. And when we think about

where we were at last week and the enemies being

unleashed on the face of the earth, he's just

no holds barred now. Any and everything goes.

The devil's out to steal, kill, and to destroy.

And, you know, we talk about shutting him up.

And I hope you've shut him up this past week.

So that today you'll be able to hear and receive

this boost in your spirit and an encouragement

in your faith today because God is ever mindful

of us. And knowing that the devil is working

overtime, knowing that he's out to destroy the

souls and the sanctity of mankind, what is it

that we as believers, what can the Christian

do to solidify our position in Christ and in

our faith? If this letter of Paul's to Timothy

gives instructions to him about the last days,

you go over in 3 and 4, you'll see those wonderful

mindful passages that we read. Perilous times

are coming, right? Men departing from the faith

and heaping to themselves, itching ears, teachers

who will just tickle them and let them know,

oh, everything's okay. He said those things are

coming. That is the warning. Paul's telling Timothy

to be a good soldier, and any good soldier does

it. doesn't entangle himself, doesn't get all

wound up and wrapped up within the things of

this world, amen, but he keeps himself separated.

He gives him his last testimony. He said, I fought

a good fight, and I've kept the faith, and I've

finished the course, hallelujah, and there's

a crown that is laid up for me, not for me only,

but for everyone, because he makes his declaration,

I am now ready to be offered up. I've come, I'm

down to the end of the road. I am in Rome, and

I will stand, and Caesar will hear, amen. And

so now he's talking to young Timothy, letting

him know that you're going to be left behind,

son. And it's a son in the faith, a man that

he had sought. I have several of them, amen.

I've got many sons in the faith. I've got another

one here that I'm watching the Lord put his hand

on. And I can feel, as Paul is writing to Timothy,

wanting him to encourage him. I was in contact

with about seven or eight of them this morning,

telling them I'm praying for them to step into

the pulpit anointed of God. grace and let the

Holy Ghost touch them and let God use them, be

an encouragement to the people. And in this last

letter, Paul would tell Timothy, reprove, rebuke

with all longsuffering. Preach the gospel. He

would tell him to preach the word. And that's

what I remind him every Sunday morning. Preach

the word, gentlemen. Go in boldly. Now, I told

him this morning, one of them wasn't responding,

and I sent out a little jab at him. I said, well,

he must be on his face or he'd be on here jabbing

back at the rest of us. About 15 minutes later,

he'd come on. You're exactly right. I've been

begging God. He said, isn't it funny how you

get your mind set and you think you've got the

mind of the Spirit all week long, and then Sunday

morning he decides to change your mind. I sent

him back this little quib. I said, well, for

Pontiac, the Pontiac brand, the car, their motto

is wider is better. I said, I have come to learn

over time that less is more. Amen. If God is

sure, shifting and God is changing. And when

he wants to do whatever he will, it is the most

difficult thing for a preacher to do, to step

into a pulpit unprepared because you want to

stand before God. You want to stand before God's

people prepared with your heart ready. And one

of the most difficult things there is for you

to do is for God to change all that and not give

you anything until you get up there because we

want to know what we're about to say. I want

to know what I'm about to deliver, but it took

about three decades to get to say, okay, God,

whatever you will this morning, if you'll give

me an opening context statement, I'll just yield

myself, and we will go from there, and let the

Spirit do the work. Amen? It's not wrong to want

to be prepared. It's not out of order to be prepared,

because especially if you've had your mind on

the Lord all week long, and that's the way we

do. When Sunday's over, come Monday morning,

you know what my thought turns out. What am I

going to preach next week? What does the Lord

want to say to his people next Sunday? What are

we going to declare next Sunday morning? What

is it, oh God? And you start conversing with

the Spirit. You're in prayer. Maybe not just

always in your closet with the door closed, but

when you're walking around, you're in prayer.

And I can see the Apostle Paul making this contact

with this young preacher, knowing his life's

about over and Timothy's is just about to take

off. And knowing that the devil is unleashed

and doing everything he can to still kill. and

destroy, he begins to encourage and give the

young preacher a boost. Amen. He begins to talk

to him with his testimony. He begins to remind

him of his spiritual heritage. Oh, I am in remembrance,

and it does me great joy. I know you're in tears

knowing that my life's about over, but I am in

joy -filled mode right now, Timothy, because

I know that you're about to carry forth the good

news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And in doing

so, let's... Let me just give you some reminders.

The first thing I want to remind you of is your

unwavering faith and the mission that is before

you. And you've got to remain true to it. And

in order to remain true to the mission of the

furtherance of the gospel, I'm going to remind

you of the faith that you have. Somebody needs

a reminder this morning that your unwavering

faith is the stabilizing agent of your life and

the remainder of your days. It's an unwavering

faith. an unmovable faith, knowing, as Paul would

say, I know in whom I have believed, and I am

persuaded that he is able to keep that which

I have committed unto him against that day. Part

of our problem is we fail to commit. We want

to hold on to it. We want to labor of our own

and labor in our own strength, but it's time.

Somebody in this house this morning says, Lord,

I'm going to commit it all to you. I'm not going

to carry any of it. I don't want a hold of none.

of it. I want to commit it unto you. Paul said,

I am fully convinced that he is able. And when

you stir the remembrance of your mind to the

ability of God and God's sovereign power and

God's sovereign grace and the encouragement of

the Holy Ghost, then you begin to let your faith

be built. Your faith gets, he said, I call you

to stir up. We think about our faith. Unwavering

faith. If you're going to maintain a victorious

life, you have to maintain a victorious faith.

Amen? We just sung that song. Because the battle

is the Lord's. We're going to receive the victory.

Why? Because he is victorious. He is the victor.

And greater is he, do we have to do this all

over? Greater is he that's in you than he that

is in this world. If God be for you, then who

can be against you? Let's let God arise and his

enemies be scattered. Amen? When we begin to

think about the opportunistic life of the faith

of the child of God, the opportunity is yours

to exercise an unwavering faith in a God who

is more than able. Isn't that what he wrote to

the church at Ephesus? God, who is able to do

exceeding, abundantly, above all that you may

ask or think. And it's according to the power

of God. power that works in you. It's time you

recognize what is in you and who resides on the

inside of you and your unwavering faith. What

is this faith? You know it. First Corinthians

16, Paul encourages the church at Corinth. He

said, stand fast in the faith. You stand firm

in the faith. What is the faith? It's Christ

and Christ alone. It's Jesus, the son of the

living God. Born of a virgin, crucified at Calvary.

placed in a borrowed tomb, but on the third day

he arose again. And now he sits at the right

hand of the Father, and sitting at the right

hand of the Father, he's there ever, making intercession

on your behalf. That is the good news of the

gospel, that God so loved the world that he gave

his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth

in him should not perish, but have everlasting

life. And knowing this, that God is not willing

that any should perish, but that all should come

unto repentance, and that all may know. him.

That is the good news of the God. Timothy, stir

up the gift that's in you. That unwavering faith

I saw in your granny. That unwavering faith I

saw in your mama. And that I know when I laid

hands on you. And the Holy Ghost touched you,

son. I saw the impartation of a great faith.

Stir up the gift that somebody's got to do a

little stirring. His second letter to the Corinthians

in verse chapter 1, 24, he said, by faith you

stand. The first letter he told them, stand fast,

firm, sure in the faith. Second letter he said,

that's the only way you're going to keep your

faith is you stand. That's how you stand. It's

by your faith. To the church at Ephesus, chapter

2, verse 8, he said, by grace are you saved.

Through faith, that not of yourselves. Somebody

needs to get a good grip on this. It really has

nothing to do with you. Your salvation is not

empowered by you in any other way than your faith

and the acceptation and you accepting that Christ

is the sacrifice for your sin. That is all that

it's got to do with you. No, it's not by works

that we do of our own, but it is by grace through

faith. Abraham, it was accounted unto him for

faith. Why? He believed God. And when God said,

get up, get out, he didn't bellyache, he didn't

grunt, he didn't fuss, he didn't barter. He packed

up and headed out. Why? He was looking for a

city whose builder and maker was God. And he

had a promise from that builder, amen, that he

would receive and accept. So it's by faith. In

that sixth chapter, he tells them how to do war

by their faith. Your unwavering faith helps you

stand in the face of opposition. Amen? He said,

taking the shield of faith. Whereby and wherewith

you shall be able to quench all of the fiery

darts of the enemy. It's by your faith. Your

faith can absorb everything the enemy fires at

you if you're standing fast and firm. If you

know and realize that your salvation is not dependent

upon you other than you believing God for the

assurance of it. That's the only role you play

in this. Is believing God. and the assurance

of the promise of his word and the sacrifice

of his son and that precious blood that was a

pearl without price was poured out for you and

for me. And all I have to do, you say you make

it sound so simple. Well, quit making it so difficult.

I think it resides somewhere in the middle of

the two. Amen? We overcomplicate living the life

of faith. Here's how simple it is to stand firm

and fast in the faith. If God said it, believe

it. If the devil twist it, dismiss it. Do you

know how victorious your life would be if you'd

quit playing mind games with the devil? Do you

know what grace you could walk in? Do you know

the power of faith that would lift you up and

cause you to get a boost above all boosts? Why?

Because faith comes by hearing, and hearing comes

by the word of the living God. How can they hear?

without a preacher. Well, I'm here to tell you.

We've turned it up so it's good and clear. And

you got no excuses this morning. I want to hear

what the Spirit of the Lord. You've got to keep

on believing God and stand in your faith in obedience

to the Word of God. Do what the Word says. Don't

do what it says not to do. See how simple that

is? The argument comes in when you let your flesh

begin to dictate how you want to live. Well,

this is supposed to be a boost. If I go down

that road, I'm about to tear some houses down.

I'm about to take a D9 and run right through

your little house of cards. So let me just stay

on the good side of this, and it'll remain to

be a boost instead of a tear down. But sometimes

we need our little world disrupted. Paul's last

testament, this last letter, he told Timothy,

reprove and rebuke. What does that mean? Line

them up with the word in accordance to the word.

With all longsuffering. What's it saying? Be

patient because they're not going to get it the

first time through. So let's go it again. Jude

20 says this. Here's where it's going to get

right to it. Building up yourselves on your most

holy faith. Praying in the Holy Ghost. We've

got some people that need the Holy Ghost. You

need the baptism of the Holy Ghost. Well, I'm

scared. Don't be scared. I saw a little meme

the other day. He said, you'll run yourself right

through a haunted house, but you get scared when

you come to the Pentecostal church. Don't get

scared. Well, you run in there and see your little

Freddy clones and little Jason mask and all that

junk, and then you want to come in here and tell

me my eyes are wild and you get scared. Well,

there's something else behind that. There is

a conviction that will drive you now. You don't

have no business. It would have been in another

place anyway. But here you are in the house of

God, and you need to build up yourself. Now,

see, you've done done it. Here we go. It's on

you. It's not on me. My role is to stand here

and declare, Thus saith the Lord. Try my best

to read it out of the book where you can hear

the instructions of the faith. And I'm giving

you the instructions. Build up. yourself. It's

not my responsibility to keep you saved. It's

your responsibility to flee from sin and all

unrighteousness. It's on you, baby. And if you

don't have enough grace and you don't have victory,

honey, it's on you. Building up yourselves, praying

in the Holy Ghost. The only spook you need to

see is the Holy Ghost. That's the only ghost

I'm concerned with. I'm about to, I'm treading

on light ground because I'm about to be like

the Apostle Paul when he would say, it is I that

speak and not the Lord. You know what I'm saying?

He'd let them know when he was interjecting his

personal conviction. So I'm going to stay with

the book. Because I almost said some things.

I almost did, but I didn't. Keep yourselves.

Who's responsible? If you know who's responsible

for your victory, raise your hand. If you're

still confused, I'm going to read it one more

time. But you, beloved. I love the way Jude starts

it out. But you, beloved, building up yourselves.

It's no one else's responsibility to keep you

joy -filled. It's you. It's me. If I'm tripping

and stepping on my lip all week, it's not the

pastor. It's not the praise team. It's not the

musicians. It's not the radio. It's not the TV.

It's me. It's a choice that I'm making to leave

my lip run out and chirp over it. It's time you

roll your lip up and lift your eyes, as a psalmist

would say. Let's get back in the book. Get your

lip rolled back up and lift up your eyes into

the hills from which your help comes from and

encourage yourself in the Lord, dictating Scripture

and allowing the Scripture to be repetitive in

your life. And let the power of the Word that

builds hope and help and offers joy pick you

up. Problem is, too many people enjoy. How many

of you like, you go maybe to a little smoothie

place, you get a smoothie. How many run through

the coffee place and get your favorite iced coffee,

which is nasty? God did not create the coffee

bean to go in ice. He created it on the day that

he created all the herbs of the earth. to be

mixed with boiling water and drank it. That is

an oxymoron. I want an iced coffee. No, you don't.

You want sweet cream. Cold. That's what you want.

Now you're afraid to own up to it. Sister Kathy

and I, from time to time, We'll drive plum to

Dayton, Tennessee at a little coffee shop called

The Drip. And I think they might have learned

my voice now when we do get to go. We need two

caramel macchiatos. Do you want that iced? Absolutely

not. No. No, I don't want that iced. I want it

hot. Oh, you want it hot? Yes, ma 'am. Please

drive around. I think they charge me more. But

if you get there before 430, they're half price.

Come on. Get two for the price of one. We'll

drive from over there to get it. We have to build

ourselves up. We take, we add. Building up yourselves,

praying in the Holy Ghost, keep your Whose responsibility?

Whose responsibility? Keep yourselves in the

love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord

Jesus Christ unto eternal life. The onus for

your victory is you. It is you. You. The responsibility

is on you. If you want to let the devil wreak

havoc in your mind, all you got to do is open

it up and let him go. And he will take his liberty.

If you want to shut it down. That is up to you

also. You rise in the power that's in you. You

stir up a gift of God, the gift of salvation,

the gift of the work of sanctification in your

life. We could spend a little time there. I think

that's part of the reason we lack the power and

lack the power of the Holy Ghost is we need a

little more sanctification, separation, consecration

unto the holy things of God. Separate. Don't

go to those places. Don't watch that stuff. Don't

listen to these other things. Consecrate and

get our minds set on him. And then we will understand

that it's not as hard or as difficult as it used

to be to keep ourself in the love of God. Secondly,

a little boosting. There must be a hunger for

the things of God. This will give you a boost

up. There's got to be a hunger for the fire of

God. You must cultivate a hunger. for the word

of God in your life. To maintain a spiritual

prowess, you have to maintain a prayer life.

Well, I just tore down a lot of little houses.

I went to D9 right through. If we were to do

an honest survey on how much we prayed, I guarantee

you this week, we would all, myself included,

come up short of the goal. There might be three

or four of you that's holding this thing together,

praying at home. So please don't stop. Please

don't let up. Keep going. Amen? Hang in there.

That's how we maintain is with a spiritual hunger.

Look at verse 6. He says, Wherefore I put thee

in remembrance that you stir up that gift of

God which is in thee by the putting on of my

hands. Look at verse 13. He goes on to say, Hold

fast the form of sound words which thou hast

heard of me in faith and love which is in Christ

Jesus. You have to get your grip on the right

things to maintain. Those who hunger and thirst

after righteousness according to the word of

God, they are those who will be filled. If you

don't have a hunger, if you don't have a thirst,

and it's more than just hunger. Well, you know,

I'm a little late for breakfast. I'm not talking

about that. I'm talking about a man that's been

about half starved to death. And anything that

comes along looks good to eat. Can you imagine

how hungry the first man was that boiled and

ate a shrimp? You seen them things with the heads

on them? Doesn't that look very enticing? No.

But you pull his head off and his tail off and

put him in a little bile and water and about.

Two minutes. Mmm. It works that same way with

your, you have to be hungry to boil that critter.

Say, man, that's all we can find. That's all

we can get a hold of. Then you think, wow. Whew.

Where's that dipping sauce? Where that at? Let's

try that. Butter with a little garlic in it.

Let's dip him. Bring me another dozen or two.

See, I can eat all them I want. They're on my

diet plan. The butter too. Say what you want

to, it's working. You've got to cultivate a hunger.

Stir it up, Timothy. Stir up your hunger for

the righteousness of God. That gift that's in

you, that power that's in you, stir it up, young

Timothy. Remember that the effectual fervent

prayer of the righteous man, James wrote it and

spoke it very clear. Under the inspiration of

the Spirit, the effectual fervent prayer of the

righteous man availeth much. What does that mean?

The more righteous you are, the more hungry you

are, the more fervent you are in prayer, the

more answers you get coming your way. When God

sees the consecration of your heart and the faithful,

of your walk when you call on the name of the

Lord because now you are not asking from your

will and the center of your purpose, but that

hunger drives you to seek him for his will and

his divine purpose. And he said, when you ask

anything according to my will in my name, where

you at, Bible reader, then? But your prayers

will be no more spiritual or fervent than your

walk is. If I didn't have more to say, we'd do.

We'd just let her drop. Matthew 21 and 2, all

things whatsoever you shall ask in prayer, believing,

you shall receive. We're approaching the hour.

Let's move on to the third one. There's only

three little points in this. As you live from

your unwavering faith, you know, I just thought

of something. I didn't hack my britches one time.

Thank you. You say, how could that be going through

your mind? Don't ask me. There's more going through

my mind while the Lord's coming out my mouth

than it just. Preachers in the house, there you

go. Your unwavering faith to be stirred. A hunger

and a righteousness for the fire of God. That

means you won't be satisfied with nothing less.

It's a daily walk you are responsible for. I

told you almost seven years ago, going on nearly

eight years ago, I would do what the Lord called

me to do. I'll give you 110 % of what I'm supposed

to do so long as you make me the same commitment.

You do what you're supposed to do. Amen? Build

up yourselves. You're the one that got yourself

in that mess. Holy Ghost didn't lead you there.

Hello? I sure enough didn't tell you to go there

and do whatever. Amen? I've been trying to do

everything in my power to keep you from doing

these things. You did it. You can blame the devil

if you want to. All he did was suggest to you

the opportunity. He forced you in no direction.

No act. Hello? You. Boy, what a boost. You have

to cultivate the same righteousness. I've had

people stand in front of me and say, pray for

deliverance over certain fleshly addictions.

After about the fourth time, I said, no, I ain't

praying for you. And their eyes get big. Well,

I'm down here now. I said, well, get down and

pray. Pray for yourself. I said, I've done laid

hands on you several times and felt the Lord

touch you, but you go home. You go home. I went

to visit them one day. There they laid, right

in the middle of the table, big pack of Winston's.

I said, brother, I thought we prayed for deliverance.

Oh, we did. I ain't had one since that Sunday.

I said, well, what's that doing there? To show

the devil. I said, well, you just messed up.

You showed him all right. When you get done with

supper. And you got to eat a cup of coffee. When

you used to suck about three of those down into

your lungs, the devil's going to say, boy, that

sure would be good. You got something laying

in there on the table. Two weeks later, guess

where he was? Right back down there. I said,

no, sir. I walked right on by. You did it. You

undo it. Well, I thought God would give him grace.

Well, he did, but you tempted the grace. You

undo it. We expect God to bail us out of more

stuff than we do ourselves. And wonderfully,

he grants mercy and many times miraculously delivers

us, doesn't he? Oh, I've seen that too. I've

seen it stick. You know, we used to pray this,

God, I hope the Holy Ghost makes them gag the

next time they take a drink. Puke their living

guts out. from the inside out, Holy Ghost. That's

when we used to really get down to business.

Where we didn't worry so much about their uncomfort

as much as we did the regeneration of their lost

soul. That may be the reason I'm as hard as I

am as a pastor. I'm not worried about your comfort.

Not concerned with whether you like everything

I say or not. I'm concerned. about the eternal

condition of your soul. And if I can convince

you that those things are against you, but God

is for you, then I've done my job. When we stand

before God, I don't know how it's going to work.

I picture in my mind before that great white

throne, brethren, the congregations, those sheep,

those flock might be gathered. I don't know how

it's going to go. And then shepherd by shepherd,

we're going to be called up and given a count.

For how we led. I don't know how that judgment

is going to work, but I do know this. For those

of us who are called and anointed to proclaim

the gospel, there is a more strict judgment.

So why do you think I give it the way I give

it? Because I want out as easy as I can. I do

enough myself. I made a pledge to God when he

called me. I'll never have their blood on my

hands. What does that mean? I'll stand boldly,

proclaim to you the truth of God's word. I'd

love to be able to, I'd love to be able to repose

onto you the same standards that I hold for myself.

Somebody said, don't do that to me, preacher.

Because I know I'm responsible. And here's why.

That third point. We must cultivate a revere

and fear of the Lord. Oh, I don't think God wants

to be scared of him. That's not what I'm talking

about. That's not the implication of the word.

There's at least three different Greek definitions,

different words for fear that you read in the

New Testament, and about nearly as many. In Hebrew

and Aramaic for the Old Testament. There are

those times that we should be in shuddering fear

of the Lord. It's a fearful thing to fall into

the hands of a just God. That's the book. That's

the book. And so what has happened in our culture

and society today, the fear of God is being removed

from our culture. And now all of a sudden he's

just this peaceful God and everybody's going

to heaven. No, no, no, no, no. There is a standard

whereby one has to live and measure up. And that

standard is Jesus Christ. And the directions

to live to that standard are in this book. And

if they are applied to one's life, you will stand

before God and you will hear him say, well done,

my good and faithful servant. I made you a ruler

over a few things. Now come on in. I got a lot

of stuff in store for you. But the fear of God

is gone. And it must be cultivated. In the church,

the revere and the awe of God, the respect of

God, must again be reclaimed. And it won't be

reclaimed in our pews until it's reclaimed in

our pulpits. Exodus 20 and 20 reads, Fear not,

for God is come to prove you, and that his fear

may be before your faces. that you sin not. To

the Israelites, God is coming before you to prove,

to test, to challenge your faith that you remain

sinless. Why? Because in their day, the earth

would open up and swallow people. Hello? Now

that would cause one to shudder. But for those

who are watching on, it causes a revere and awe.

Oh, God. So that is how we are to live and go

about our day. Proverbs 7 says, The fear of Jehovah

is the beginning of knowledge. Job 28 and 28

says, And unto man he said, Behold, the fear

of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to depart from

evil is understanding. Now, who fulfills that?

We do. You do. I do. As I am boosted by my unwavering

faith, and I'm encouraged by the fire that has

been placed in my life, I am motivated by the

awe and the revere of a holy God. That's what

Paul is telling Timothy. Remember whose gospel

it is you're preaching. Remember whose testimony

it is that you're actually proclaiming. You're

declaring Christ in you, which is the hope of

glory, which declares, I have not seen, ear has

not heard, and neither has it entered into the

hearts of man what God has in store for those

that love him. But then the fear and trembling

comes into play when we know that in that last

day and at that second resurrection, when all

the dead are raised, and we all stand before

God and give an account for ourselves. It never

ceases to amaze me, most church hurt comes from

misunderstandings. And stuff that doesn't make

a hill of beans, no way. Fostered from worrying

too much about what others think to begin with.

I quit getting church hurt by folks a long time

ago. Because I quit worrying about what they

thought of me. And the sooner you get to there,

why do you come? For them or for him? I am here

to fellowship together. And it's just like family.

Y 'all got family coming in for Thanksgiving

that you want them going to the same room with

them. You won't sit near them at the table, but

everybody comes together. Same thing with this

big family. Sit on the right and let the goat

sit on the left. And hopefully the shepherd can

get it all back together. Amen. I've been in

some strange places. Stand with me. I'm going

to shut up. I've been in some strange church

situations. I have seen where there have been

such bitter divorces. I mean, knocked down stuff,

hateful, me. But a year or so later, they got

their significant others, which is another. And

they're all sitting on the same pew. Praising

God. Saved, sanctified, filled with the Holy

Ghost. I've seen God do some stuff in people's

lives that will surrender their lives and allow

Him to do so. Families, fellas, they'd go to

eat together when they couldn't eat together

when they was together. Now, just somehow, don't

ask me to explain it. I don't know. Somehow,

the love of God. Amen? I have seen no fences

mended with people when you can finally get them

to talk to each other, which, by the way, by

the time you come to me, you should be three

steps down the road. Because if you come to me

with a problem with one another, you know what

I'm going to send you to? Right back to step

number one. Well, have you talked to them? Well,

no, I don't want to talk to them. Well, you got

to before you talk to me. Get on over there.

Then we actually sat down. Most of the time I'm

telling you it's a misunderstanding. Well, I

didn't say that. No, here's what I said. Oh,

well, I misunderstood you. Well, let's pray about

it and move on. Put it under the blood and let's

serve God. So many people. Need a boost up. You

know people who've been church hurt and aren't

going anywhere. Sitting at home soaking and souring

away. With an offense in their life that becomes

an anchor. A chain that weighs them down. Because

let me tell you what happens with offense. Offense

turns to hatred. Hatred turns to spiritual murder.

And you can't go to heaven with that in your

heart. Really, really. You remember when Jesus

said man brought his gift to the altar and was

praying and he had an alt in his life against

a brother. What did he tell him to do? Leave

your gift there and go make it right and then

come back because your gift is no good. It's

unacceptable. So if somebody just popped in your

mind, go make it right. The chain of offense

is only drowning you. I found that one out the

hard way. I got offended by a preacher of all

things. Carried that offense way longer than

I should have. And it was dragging me down spiritually.

Come to find out when I fell on his neck. and

ask for forgiveness. He said, I don't know what

you're talking about. But if you need it, I grant

it. I forgive you, brother. I said, well, I need

it back. That's the way it works. It was torturing

me. He was eating soup, beans, and gravy. Living

life. But I was tortured and tormented by the

sin of offense. Father, I love you today. Thank

you for your goodness and your mercy. I thank

you for your help this morning, Lord. For I have

truly, truly experienced your touch. And I pray,

Lord, that we become boosted in our faith, that

we remember that faith and stir that faith and

stand firmly in our faith. Because it is the

substance of things hoped for. It is the evidence

of things not seen. And without it, God, I can't

please you. But with it, you reward those who

diligently seek. Lord, I'm seeking for righteousness.

I'm cultivating a hunger. I'm going to take responsibility

for my own faith level. Because I'm supposed

to stir up myself. I'm supposed to keep myself

in your love and in your grace. Stirring my hunger.

And Lord, I am reminded today of who you are

and the awe of who you are. You are a great God.

You are a holy God. You are, according to the

word, you go forth as a consuming fire. And you

devour all of our enemies. I tell you what, I'm

going to close this way. I want you to just come

forward. I want to pray over us before we dismiss.

I just want to pray over us all. I want to just

ask the Lord to do some work in our life.