The Appointed Time Of Vision

You ready to see Jesus? Hallelujah, hallelujah.

If you have your Bibles, turn with me to the

book of Proverbs, chapter 29. Most of you may

Proverbs 29 · chapter mention

know this by heart. Man, what a wonderful presence

of the Lord in here today. Amen. There y 'all

are. Good morning. I get so central focused,

I forget to lift up my head. I need to lift up

mine eyes into the balcony where the offering

comes from. These folks up there, hallelujah.

Y 'all don't forget them. Turn around and wave

at them. They're up there. Tell them good morning.

Amen. Proverbs 29, 18 reads thusly. Where there

is no vision, the people perish. But he that

keepeth the law happy is he. Going back in time.

1999. The word of the Lord was the appointed

time for vision. The appointed time for vision.

It's very apropos for today, I think, as well.

We need clarity. We need focus. We need renewed

vision, refreshed vision. This thought just came

to me. Our eyesight spiritually sometimes becomes

clouded over with spiritual cataracts. How many

in here has experienced cataract surgery removal?

Raise your hand. Yeah, you see better when that

cloud was gone? We're going to pray that that

film moves today for all of us spiritually so

that we can see clearly what the Lord is desiring

of his people. Amen? For this last day and time

in which we're living. Whether it's the last

day and time for all of humanity, we're still

living in our last day and time. Our days will

run out. Amen? So truly we are living in the

last days and the last times. I want to preach

to you on that thought, the appointed time for

vision. If you'll pray with me, I'll pray for

you, and we'll pray together, and we'll ask God

to have his way. I'm weakened this morning by

what I feel behind this podium. I feel the presence

of the Lord, and I can't hardly catch my breath,

and I'm in better shape than I've been, so I

know it's not that. So I know it's the Lord.

I feel the quickening power of the Spirit of

God this morning. Father, we love you. We thank

you so much for your goodness and your mercy.

Beautiful congregation that's assembled together

today. Thank you so much, Lord, for drawing the

hearts of your people and continuing to draw

the hearts of the lost and the hurting and the

lonely and those who are in need. Continue, Lord,

to draw them to this sanctuary. At Hope Well,

from where the well of joy, the joy of our salvation,

we draw the hope that we have for now and our

future. Bless the household of faith in Christ's

name. The church said, Amen. You can be seated.

Hallelujah. I think it would be very apparent

that we're living in a time and an age where

the church is... Losing its identity. The true

focal, the true, you almost want to say with

the real church, please stand up. There's so

many things going on from the realm of religiosity

today. Forget that other stuff that's out there.

Let's just talk about the church. There's some

crazy stuff going on. in the church world today.

I saw a little thing the other day for one pastor

came in on a zip line. I thought, huh, that's

interesting. Just right down, he just zipped

right down to the floor. I thought, huh, maybe

that's what you got to do to get him. He had

a whole bunch of folk. I don't know if he had

a church, but he had a whole bunch of folk. I

said that, didn't I? I'm working on a church.

I'm entertaining enough just being myself without

a goofy zip line. Amen. That's probably why a

good third of you is here today to see what he's

going to say today. But there is an identity

crisis. Let's just call it in our nation. The

church is in crisis. There is a need for the

authentic church of the living God to again emerge

and stand up. To be accountable for what the

Lord has called us to be and do. If we're not

very careful, there is a danger of permitting

the attitude of the world to creep on in and

just totally... Well, it's not going to totally

overtake because Jesus done said, on this rock

I'll build my church and the gates of hell shall

not prevail against it. So there you go. There

is the danger out there that we are slipping

into the world's identity for what they would

love for the church to be. And the reason being

is that we'd be comfortable, they'd be comfortable

sitting in the presence of all of the rest of

us. And you've got preachers who don't want to

make people uncomfortable. Amen. They endeavor

not to offend. They don't want to offend anyone.

Well, Jesus came to offend. He came with a sword

in one hand. He came with a fan to build up the

fire in the other. Amen. And to set at odds.

Amen. To set at odds father against mother and

the whole ordeal. When he declares you've got

to love God more than your mom and daddy. You've

got to love God more than your children. You've

got to love God more than your grandchildren.

You've got to love him more than your great -grandchildren.

So there is an odd that has already been set

in place. And it is there because there can be

no other. No other love that is more supreme

than the love you have for God. Amen. He's number

one or he's nothing. And in this society in which

we're living in, if we're not very careful, that

let live and get along and to go along and to

get along will creep into the church and compromise

sets in and we're just all in one happy basket

waiting to go to hell in it. But I believe there

is a separation, and it's an appointed time,

and we are in that time for a renewed and a refreshed

vision of what the church ought to be, amen,

who we are declared to be and what we are proclaimed

to be to a lost and dying world. It has been

said in the past that a vision without a task

is but a dream, and a vision with a task is the

hope of the world. We understand that if we don't

have a task to this vision, then it is only dream

world. A task without a vision is drudgery. But

when you've got a task with a vision attached

to it, with a revelation, with a declaration

from God on it, and you've got a hold of that,

then that is going to be a pleasurable time as

we are endeavoring to do what God has called

us to do. And when we move into that, we've got

to think about this nation. We've got to think

about our surroundings. And back in the early

90s, the number had dropped from 49 % to 37 %

of adults attending services weekly. Do you know

what the new numbers are? It's 20 % to 25 % of

adults that attend church weekly. In a decade

and a half, the decline is shown throughout.

Amen. And I'm talking about in -service, in -house

worship. I know there's a lot of folks sitting

at home this morning, thumbing their way through,

scrolling their way through a comment here and

there, watching. half a song here listening to

a quarter of a sermon there they're watching

those things but that that is not that my book

look that in my book that don't count why because

I've tried to do that and it didn't count for

me amen and I'm like Paul I think I'm as spiritual

and more spiritual than some or a few of you

anyway and it wasn't working for me it wasn't

for you I hope I am. I'm your pastor. I'm trying

to be. You know what I'm saying? I'm trying to

be. One of the laws, 21 irrefutable laws of,

oh, what's his name? Maxwell. One of those was

the law of the lid, right? Thank you, Brother

Milt. I couldn't spit him out. But the law is

sticking out there. It's the law of the lid.

You know, people cannot come to where you are.

At best, they can get to one level below you,

right? You can't get them up beside you. There's

not enough room on the ladder. The rumble break

and we all go down. So you can only get people

so far. So I've got to keep striving to come

on up and get to a new plane and a new place

in God. Why? So that I can bring you up a little

bit higher. Amen? And so when we begin to endeavor

to think about the decline of the church in America,

I'm not talking about the world, but just here

in America, we are now the leading nation receiving

missionaries. In this same decade and a half,

we were second. Now we are the most received

missionary nation. in the world. They're sending

missionaries to the good old U .S. of A. We're

sending them out left and right, but people are

coming. I think it was estimated somewhere around

32 ,000 missionaries a year come to the United

States, and the second largest country received

20 ,000. So not only are we seeing and beginning

to look and know that there is a desperate need

for revival in America, but God is stirring the

hearts of people around the world. who received

a missionary from the good old U .S. of A. and

received the gospel message that was proclaimed.

But now God is stirring their hearts and saying,

get over there and proclaim. Get over there and

declare the glorious good news of the Christ.

Amen. So when we begin to think about all those

things, we begin to ask ourselves some questions.

Who are we really? If we are in an appointed

time for some clarity, for revelation from God,

We need it now. We need some clarity now. We

need some more refreshing. We need a reminder

of who we are. We need to be reminded that we

are the church of the living God. We are the

ecclesia, those who were in darkness and now

have been called out into his marvelous light.

We need to be reminded, as Paul told the Corinthians,

some of you were adulterers, some fornicators,

some this, some that, some idolaters. And he

said, such were some of you, but you've been

called out of that darkness into his glory. Glorious

light. Let me remind you the reason you have

to be separate from the world is because you've

been called out of that darkness and the glorious

illuminating light of Christ's love now resides

in you. Hallelujah. And so we cannot be the world.

We may be in it, but we cannot be of it. Hallelujah.

We must be that separate people called out. Who

are we? We are those in whom he has placed the

hope of humanity. If Christ lives in you and

the hope of glory resides in you, then you have

the good news message for a lost and dying world,

for a hopeless people filled with pain and hurting

and separation, anxiety, separation from God,

not just people, but the separation anxiety that

people go through being separated from God. But

you and I who have been aligned, you and I who

have been brought, into his marvelous grace.

Have the good news and the answer for God's separation

anxiety. It's Christ. Who are we? It's time that

the church again walk in the proposed and intended

purpose for who we are. When you think about

the church, Church is about principles, standards,

and values. And what are principles and standards

and values? Qualities considered inherently worthwhile

or desirable. I think the principles of the faith

are worthwhile. I think a life emulating Christ

in this dark world is valuable. Amen. Because

there's so many people living without hope and

longing for some type of help. The root word

for value is valor, which means strength. Values

are sources of strength because they give people

the power to take action. Values are deep. They

are emotional. And often they are difficult to

change. It is very important for the world around

us to know who we are. And the way they know

who we are is by how we live. live among them.

My Lord, I've heard people say, well, you know,

that's just the way I am. I've always been that

way. I was born like that and I'm scratching

my head thinking, well, then you've not had the

same experience I had at an altar because old

things pass away. Behold, all things become new.

If your attitude stinks as bad as it did before,

you claim to have found Christ, you hadn't got

a good hold on him and he definitely hadn't took

you to the fountain that flows from his veins

because once you are submerged and purged by

his precious blood. You come up a brand new somebody.

You've got a different attitude. You've got a

smile. It's not rotten. It doesn't stink. And

it's not mean. If it is all of those three, I

want to pray with you this morning that the grace

of God is able to renew and refresh you. It's

important for the world to know who we are. It's

important for the world to know that the task

that we have been given is important. We have

been mandated to go into the world. Amen? We

have been. We cannot all, as I just talked about,

the missionaries receiving and going. We can't

all go around the world, and God doesn't call

us all to go around the world. But what he does

call us to is to evangelize in the world in which

we exist. Go ye into all the world. Actually

means as you are going throughout the world.

What are we doing? We're preaching the gospel.

What are we doing? Next week we're baptizing

13, 14, 15, whoever knows how many wants to be

baptized as an example and following in the footsteps

of Jesus Christ. Amen. That we are no longer

the same. That we are different. And the world,

it is a testimony. I'm preaching my little baptism

sermonette right now before next week. It is

a testimony to a lost and dying world. world

that we are changed and that we are different.

But we can't tell them who we are unless we know

ourselves. Unless you know that you are a born

-again, blood -bought child of God. It is important.

I told you a couple weeks ago my least favorite

seasons of the year. Now let me tell you my favorite

season of the year. We're in it. We are in it

all the way through October. From now through

October to about the second week of November,

it is my favorite six, eight weeks of the year.

I just love this time of year. And I think it

has a lot to do with the atmospheric change.

Can you feel the crisp in the air? Amen. I just

love that change. And I've always been a change

agent. That's just who I am. I love to see things

change. Don't like the furniture stay in the

same spot. Some of you carpets got a hole in

it because it hadn't been moved. You got worn

places on your hardwood because sit down and

scoot it and you scoot it back. Same spot. I

like to change things up. I'm trying to figure

out what I'm going to do around here to keep

you off your rocker. How'd you like that? Get

ready. Changes are coming. I love change. Why?

Because it keeps us ready for anything. It keeps

you ready for anything. You better be ready for

anything because there's a day coming when a

trumpet's going to sound and there's a radical

change coming into your life. And if you can't

handle a little wall color, carpet, and furniture

moving around in God's house, you sure are going

to have a problem when he tries to transform

you wholly and take you to be with himself. I'm

just trying to get you heaven ready. Amen. And

the world needs to understand and know that we,

We are changed. Change agents, amen, because

of the mandate that we've been given. Not only

the mandate, but who we are. We have the message

that's incorporated with it. What do we tell?

What is the greatest commandment? You've got

to love the Lord your God with all your heart,

your soul, your mind, and all your being, and

then you love everybody else as much as you love

yourself. Come on, somebody. I know you love

yourself. Let's start loving others as much as

we love ourselves, amen. That's who we are. We

are the change agents and the agent in which

we change. with is the love of Jesus Christ you

don't have to implement the change you just have

to relay the message of love that come on somebody

we need a revival of the love of God and the

love of Jesus Christ when we think about revival

in the Pentecostal ranks we think about power

don't we when we think about revival we think

about how many devils we can cast out We think

about revival. We think about how much oil we

can slather on and see somebody healed. But let

me tell you, all that is secondary to the revival

of the lost, unregenerated soul of humanity.

That's what revival we need, a revival of love.

And let me tell you, when you get a revival of

love flowing, the power of God will show up.

All devils will run. Demons will tremble. Sickness

will be healed. You still good? Some of you may

be struggling to love yourself, let alone somebody

else. I better move right on. Right on. Who are

we? Matthew 5. Good thing there's only three

little points to this. This was, like I said,

a decade and a half ago. Matthew 5, 13 says you

are the salt of the earth. Verse 14 says you

are the light of the world. But there's a danger

of the salt losing its savor. Bland salt is about

as good as a cold cup of coffee. Now, I know

there's some of you in here drinking your iced

coffee. That's not coffee. That's flavored milk

in ice. Coffee's hot. Coffee's hot. God don't

even like cold coffee or cold people. He don't

like it lukewarm either. He said, I'll spew that

right out. I mean, take it from the word. Drink

hot coffee. He said, I'd rather you be hot or

cold. I just want you hot. He just said, you

fence straddlers are worse than the whole bunch.

He said, I can deal with you if you're cold.

Right? I love you when you're hot, but if you're

right in the middle, I can't do a whole lot with

you. Because, see, when you're in the middle,

you think you're good. We think we're good. And

if we lose our savor, all we are is a crystal

floating around. That's how savorless salt is.

You can put it in there, but it has no flavor.

It's like this salt substitute. How many of you

have had to get on with some of that? You blood

pressure people. Your salt substitute. It's not

salt. So don't call it a salt substitute. Because

it ain't salt. I can tell you right now, stevia

is not sugar. Ask me how I know. Three tablespoons

of that don't do a whole lot. And for us fat

people, that's all they let you put in your stuff.

Three tablespoons. It's not sugar. Sugar is sugar.

Right? It's like, how many of you, like myself,

kind of grew up a little on the poorer side?

When we had pancakes, you didn't get Aunt Jemima.

Syrup with the butter in it. That's not what

we got. How many of you know what K -Rose syrup

is? Yeah. And see, we didn't have a microwave.

You had to try to spoon it out of that bottle

in a pan to get it thin enough to pour on your

pancake. That's not Aunt Jemima. It's K -Rose.

It's more like molasses than syrup. You're the

salt of the earth. Don't lose your flavor. Because

you and I are what spice this thing up. We make

it good. You're the light of the world. Do not

hide your light under a bushel. It's the city

that's set on the hill that illuminates the lost

and the dying and the darkness. That's you and

I. Don't retreat. Do not compromise who you are

for a lost and dying world. Yeah, folks are not

going to be happy with you. And the further this

thing goes, the less happy they're going to be.

The more, well, I don't want people to hate me.

They're not hating you. They're hating the Christ

that's in you. Because you can't help but let

him out. And it is contrary to who and what they

are. But we got to know who we are. Salt, we

are light. Romans 8, 17 says you are heirs of

God. Join heirs with Christ. And 1 Thessalonians

5, 5 says that we are children of light. And

1 Peter 2 and 5, you are lively stones which

build up a spiritual house. In verse 9, he says

that we are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood,

a holy nation, and a peculiar. It seems as though

that peculiar is all we want to take a hold of.

But I want us to get a little more holy with

our peculiar. Amen. I want us to stand up and

walk a little more dignified in this royal priesthood

in which we've been adopted into. Why? Because

the royal blood from Emmanuel's veins flows through

you and I. Because we have been regenerated.

That's who you are. we understand who we are,

then we will fully understand what time it is.

I know the doomsday clock is around a minute,

just a little over a minute toward midnight,

meaning that the world's going to destroy itself.

Got Rocket Man over there increasing his nuclear

arsenal, or so they say. We've got minions of

the enemy around the world poised. I don't know

how you don't have enough sense to see that it

destroys everybody. I don't know how. I can't

figure that out. I can't understand why peace

wouldn't reign supreme when we have millennia

of history behind us. And to see all that does

is destroys mankind. I know why. S -I -N. That's

why. People say, I can't believe God allowed

all this stuff to go on. God doesn't allow it.

He's permitted you and I free choice. Free will.

And he has dated a time in history when he will

put a stop to it. And it's coming. And it's close

to that hour. It's time that each local church,

each individual begin to unveil the revelation

of Christ in them. Release the anointing that's

placed in them by the wonderful engifting of

the Holy Ghost. We need to know that the church

in America has to discover again afresh and new

the urgency of the hour in which we are living.

It is growing closer to midnight. We are growing

closer to the sound. of the alarm of the trump

of God and the shout of the archangel. And the

people who are lost without him do not understand

how urgent that it is that they accept the Christ

and bow their knee and surrender their heart

and life. Because I'm telling you right now,

they don't want, you don't want, and I don't

want what is to come after the fact. When God

unleashes right now, they say, why does God allow

there's one day coming that he will not? And

the time is approaching when the wrath of God

is going to be released upon the face of the

earth. God! God! Are you hearing me? If you want

God to intervene, he's going to. But it's going

to be different than you want. It's going to

be different than you desire. Because when he

unleashes his wrath upon humanity who have rejected

him, rejected his son and crucified him, and

now rejecting his marvelous grace. Oh, Lord,

wrath is coming. Woe unto them who give suck

in that day. What does that mean? Those who are

living and they have young babies. Oh, woe unto

them. Then there's trouble coming. There's hardship.

When they run to the mountain and their hearts

fail because of fear. Because why? The heavens

are trembling. Things are falling out of the

sky. The earth is quaking and shaking. And the

wrath of God is released. It's getting close

to that hour. You know, we preachers used to

preach about the wrath of God. I used to hear

that as a child, and I think that's part of the

reason I still have fear and tremble at who God

is. It's a terrible thing to fall into the hands

of a just God. Oh, if he's so just, then what?

Sin. He can't tolerate it. He can't coexist with

it. He refuses to coincide with it. He's holy.

And he will allow nothing to contaminate his

holiness. The effort for animal sacrifice, blood

without the shedding of blood, there is no remission,

no forgiveness, no cleansing. Well, let me try

ten simple rules, many of which are directed

straight toward me. It's about me, God. I created

you. Ten little rules and blood to cover your

sin. That ten quickly turned to what, 600 and

something? Then he sends his son, one. That last

man, Adam. For the redemption of the first man,

Adam. And the time is approaching for him to

send him again. What time is it? It's time that

we release what's been given us. 2 Corinthians

6 and 2 says, I have heard thee in a time accepted.

And in the day of salvation have I secured thee.

Behold, now is the accepted time. Behold, now

is the day of salvation. Paul to the Romans in

13, 12. The night is far spent. The day is at

hand. Let us therefore cast off. I want you to

hear this. Let us therefore. He's writing to

the Roman believers. Let us therefore cast off

the works of darkness. And let us put on the

armor of light. Hallelujah. Can I tell you there's

a radiant force fielded around you which is Christ's

glory that illuminates within you. Let us cast

off every work and deed and action of darkness

and let us put on that wonderful glorious armor

of light. Let Jesus shine through. The urgency

of the hour and humanity is lost. We've grown

at ease in Zion. And the only way we can grow

at ease is that we grow comfortable. We grow

comfortable. And the only way to get comfortable

is compromise. That's the only way. When we understand

the urgency of the hour and the time in which

we're living, we know that the hour's growing

short. What time is it? The second part of that

1 Peter 2, 5 says, Offer up spiritual sacrifices

accepted to God by Christ Jesus. The second part

of verse 9, after that royal priesthood, royal

nation, and peculiar people, declares you should

show forth the praises of him who hath called

you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

It is time for the sleeping giant, which is the

church, which is the bride of Christ, to arise

from our compromising slumber. It's a time, again,

that we understand the urgency of the hour. Do

you not understand that if we are not careful,

the very elect, will be deceived. Do you not

understand? You can't just live in a compromised

state, but you have to stay prayed up. You have

to stay read up. You have to stay churched up.

You've got to keep your mind made up. Amen? You

cannot compromise because there's a time and

a deception that will be unleashed across the

earth that the people whom you thought had it

together didn't really have it together, and

they accept the deception and the lie of the

enemy. Pastor, you're scaring me. Good. I hope

I am. Because it's time we get scared. It's time

we become reverent. Amen? Not just fear and trembling,

but the fear of God, the revere of who God is,

and the revere of God's word. We need to reclaim

that again in the church. When you can zip line

in. Super Bowl Sundays, act like an idiot and

let somebody kick a Bible like a ball through

a goal post. Where's the urgency when a goofy

preacher can swing in on a wrecking ball and

thousands cheer? Not this preacher. I had to

give up a long time ago looking toward there

are preachers who preach truth that do have great

crowds. Amen? They still preach the uncompromised

truth, and they have large crowds, but they're

by far fewer. Gave up a long time ago. I know

the method of my delivery and the intensity of

it. I thought, Lord. I don't know that 1 ,500

or 2 ,000 are going to rush in on every Sunday

to get a good dose of live right or go to hell.

So I'll take the couple hundred of you that's

interested in going to heaven. Amen? I'm going.

I done made up my mind. I stay prayed up. I stay

blood washed up every single day. Are you hearing

me? Oh, you've got to do that every day. I don't

know about you, but I do. Yes, I want to start

the day under the blood. I want to end the day

under the blood. And sometimes at lunch, I've

got to take a good blood shower. Why, pastor?

Because you don't know how near the time is.

No man knoweth the day nor the hour when the

Son of Man cometh. But he's coming and he shall

appear in the clouds of glory. When the trump

sounds and the angels shout. When God gives the

directive, I want to be ready. It's time we wake

up. Lastly, somebody say amen. We've got to understand

whose church this is. Amen. Who we are, what

time it is, and then whose church this is. It's

not yours. It is not mine. There are no nail

prints in my palms. I've got a little poison

note on the back of my hand. There's no nail

prints. There's no spear scar showing on my side.

I've got a few scars from my teenage adolescent

years preempting before things were right to

pop a pimple. Got a few of them. Where you at?

You know what I'm talking about. If it ain't

ready, you can squeeze all you want to. Pastor,

how did we get here? I don't know, but here we

are. I'm going to try to preach my way out of

it. I think. Needless to say, I carry a few scars,

but it's not from Calvary. I've encountered a

few sheep with fangs along the way. Hello? I've

got a few scars, but I give a few too. It's his

church. This is his church. And we simply do

our best to steward the church. To be good stewards.

of the ministry that we've been mandated to do.

Oh, well, we built this thing. Well, you may

have put your hands on it, but he provided for

it. As a matter of fact, this building is not

the church. You, me, us, we're the church. When

the horn sounds, This carpet ain't going and

it's a good thing because I wouldn't let the

Lord have it. One failure in seven years and

you're standing on it. The carpet. I hate it.

But he's not coming after the carpet. The seats,

the podium, the lights, the screens. He's not

coming after that. He's got a great big temple

up there, about 1 ,500 by 15. We're going in

that church. We won't have to go in the breaker

room and flip on the stage light. Because the

light's going to be sitting on the throne. Boy,

that just went all up my spine right there. Old

songwriter said, we'll need no light in that

city. For Jesus will be there. Amen? He's coming

after you and I. He's coming after you. See,

there's so many. There's so many churches dominated

by personalities of ownership. And there's a

rude awakening coming for people one of these

days. Power players in church, I don't flow that

way. Never have, never will. Never have, never

will. He's the head of the church. We're the

bride. And a true shepherd happens to be the

neck that kind of helps navigate the body to

keep up with the head. Trying to stay in line,

trying to stay in the pathway, right? This is

his church. And when we understand that, we become

more enriched by his grace. Stand with me, I'm

going to close. Too many are driven by that grandma

syndrome. Too many controlled by a few. They

actually have no idea or concept of what the

church is in the world. Because they solely see

themselves. D .L. Moody said, if God be your

father, make your plans large. It's time that

we begin to believe that every local church needs

to pull down vision barriers. We've not arrived.

We're just now getting healthy so that we can

engage again in the battle. Hallelujah. Amen.

And we have to pull down. You and I, the church,

there's barriers that we have to pull down. The

first one is this barrier of a negative connotation.

We cannot be pessimists. Right? The world is

negative. Secondly, we must pull down the barrier

of a maintenance mindset. That's the challenge

that I'm facing right now for us here at Hopewell.

I guess because we're breathing, getting over

such a large hump, Brother George, Brother John.

Just kind of catching our breath. But while we're...

catching our breath in reprieve. We've managed

to get, what, four church buildings up around

the world? Four and one in process. In the meantime.

We've got to pull down a maintenance mindset.

We just can't maintain. That's what happened

to the monks in the years and days of monasteries.

They just went in and kept among themselves,

prayed, studied, wouldn't talk to each other

for years at a time. That's not me. I'd never

make a good monk. Why the world around them needed

to know the hope that was within them. That's

what time it is. That's the urgency of the hour.

And that's who this is. It's His church. Pulling

down maintenance barriers. Thirdly, we have to

pull down the barrier of conflict. There's too

much. The church is engaging itself with conflict

more than the spiritual battle that's going on

around us. You'll never hear me. I've never made

it a practice. to preach against other denominations.

Never made it a practice to do that. The reason

being is I don't know who the Lord's going to

save. I don't. It's His church. If they preach

Jesus, born of a virgin, Crucified on Calvary.

Raised again on the third day. The way, the truth,

and the life to the Father. Who are we? To get

caught up in the other. There are some damnable

doctrines out there. Don't get me wrong. There

are. But it's His church. My responsibility is

to preach to you the truth the best I can. And

the understanding and the revelation that the

Lord gives me. He'll take care of the rest. So

I don't. I'll tell you to be careful. I'll tell

you to get in the word. And if it aligns with

the word, you're going to be fine. If it don't,

get yourself somewhere else. Fair enough? But

he's the judge. We have to understand that we

have to take down the barriers of conflict. And

finally. The barrier of unbelief. If God is God,

then all things are possible to those who believe.

Why, Pastor? How? Because nothing is impossible

for the Lord. Nothing. This is His church. Thus

the reason when the Lord asks for an answer from

his disciples, who do men say I am? You know

the story. Elijah, Elias, Jeremiah is one of

the other prophets. Who do you say that I am?

Thou art the Christ, Peter says, the Son of the

living God. To that confession, blessed art thou,

Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood has not revealed

this unto you, but my Father which is in heaven.

And upon this... Not Petros, Peter, which is

a fragment of the rock. Christ, the chief and

the head cornerstone. That rock, upon it, the

church will be established. The church will be

built. We're bought with the precious price,

his blood. Far exceeding that of rubies or pearl.

You are the church. In raising our children and

instructing them in their behavior, we each instruct.

Now, children, maybe you'll get a hold of this.

I hope you do. It took me a long time. It took

me to get to be an older man before I figured

it out. But I finally figured it out. I want

you to hear this before you get to as old as

I was to figure it out. The reason that your

behavior matters to your parents so that they

get upset when you act ignorant is because you

are a direct reflection of them. People in the

community don't know you yet, but they know them.

I had to figure that one out the hard way. Your

behavior is not a direct reflection only of yourself.

But if mine were an embarrassment to me, I was

sure to embarrass them later. That's the way

it is with the Lord. Child of God, church, we

are a direct reflection of Christ. Why do you

think he takes it so personal? When you act ignorant,

meaning unlearned, and you know that he is the

way, the truth, the life. And those principles

and values that he's laid out for us to live

by. You know and I know, we know when we don't

live up to them, don't we? You know how we know?

There's this little thing in here that goes ding,

ding, ding. It's called the Holy Spirit conviction.

Right here. Not up here, but in here. And we

know it. And we have just been an embarrassment

to him. I'd love to tell you I don't embarrass

him very much, but I do. Probably this morning

once or twice. He'll let me know later. Young

'uns, that's why it's so important how you behave.

They don't know your name, but they'll say, isn't

that Brian's boy? Isn't he the youth pastor over

there? He acting like that? Surely he knows better.

I bet his daddy don't know he's doing that. But

let me tell you what I found that I could not

escape. Is my mama always knew when I acted ignorant.

That stuff that you think you hide, uh -uh. When

you got a mama that's got a closet that she prays

in, and a son that would soon be called to do,

no, he tells on you, the Holy Ghost is a snitch.

He told mama everything I did in secret. And

he let me know. And he drew me. But that's so

we can get it as we're going out into the world.

It's not just about you anymore. It's about he

who lives in you. And it's his reputation at

stake. It's him. It's him that they say, well,

I thought. How many times have you had somebody

tell you, well, I thought so -and -so was a,

I thought they went to church. Going to church

isn't just it. But I thought they were this.

I thought they were that. We're all subject to

failure. We're all subject to mistakes. Right?

But we have to guard our heart that those mistakes

don't become habitual lifestyle. That they see

us repent and reverse. Because we're direct reflections.

What time is it? It's an appointed time for a

clear reality. A refreshing in our vision. Where

there is no vision, the people perish. Where

there is no revelation, no clarity from God.

No instruction from the Lord. No word now in

the moment. People perish. They cast off restraint.

What does that mean? They just run headlong into

all foolishness without... Without revere, without

regard, without moral compass. That's what that

means. We need reality. It's Christ in us. The

hope of glory. We are his. That's who we are.

That's who you are. So when you're out there.

Be the best image of Him that you can be. I know

we're going to make mistakes. Right? He's not

looking for us to be without mistake. He's looking

for us to be repentant. That's why the way is

made clear. If a man sin, he has an advocate

with the Father. Christ Jesus, the righteous.

And if we confess our sins, he's faithful and

just to cleanse us and to purify us. You get

it. And let's march forward. Let's keep going.

Because the time is drawing short. Jesus will

return. But more so than that, be aware that

you may usher to meet him before he returns.

What's that mean? We don't know the day or hour

when we're going to leave this earth. We don't

know when life's going to be over, so we have

to be prepared. Father, I love you today. Lord,

for any foolishness, I repent. But Lord, I don't

know any other way to try to clarify To our understanding

the simplicity but yet the urgency of our lifestyle

and the way we live in a lost and dying world.

So somehow I try to appeal to our humor so that

we understand the interjection of the seriousness

and the urgency of the hour. You're coming and

coming soon. May we be found ready. If you don't

know Christ as Lord and Savior, let me give you

this opportunity to come repent of your sin and

to accept Him as your Lord. We must repent. As

we close out this morning, if you need special

prayer, would you just raise your hand this morning

where you're at?