Theological Status: Critical Concern
Biblical Parallel(Archetype): Thyatira
❓ What do these grades mean?
🔍 Biblical Discernment: The 7 Church Parallels
The Cold Orthodox Parallel
Ephesus
Teaching that upholds doctrinal precision yet parallels the loss of the "first love"—the vital, motivating power of the Gospel (Rev 2:4).
Why strictly "Mark & Avoid"?
We do not issue this rating to attack the speaker, but to protect the listener. This church's overall teaching trend consistently deviates from sound doctrine. As per Romans 16:17, we identify these patterns so believers can guard their hearts.
We do not issue this rating to attack the speaker, but to protect the listener. This church's overall teaching trend consistently deviates from sound doctrine. As per Romans 16:17, we identify these patterns so believers can guard their hearts.
🧐 Overview
Sermon Summary: This sermon uses the powerful metaphor of 'hunger' to encourage listeners to be more sensitive to God's conviction. While urging people toward holiness is commendable, the message ultimately prescribes a dangerous and unbiblical solution for spiritual nourishment, confusing the nature of salvation and God Himself.
Big Idea: I want to preach today, if I could, listen to your hunger. [00:00:19 ▶️ 📄]
Pastoral Analysis: The sermon is a topical exhortation on responding to divine conviction, framed as 'spiritual hunger.' However, it is fundamentally compromised by two critical errors: 1) A synergistic framework that presents God's grace and calling as conditional upon human effort, suggesting God will 'move on' if ignored. 2) The promotion of a non-Trinitarian soteriological formula, explicitly linking salvation to being 'baptized in Jesus' name' and speaking in tongues as evidence of receiving the Holy Ghost, which contradicts the scriptural command of Matthew 28:19 and corrupts the doctrine of God.
Biblical Parallel(Archetype): Thyatira — The sermon actively promotes a soteriological formula that corrupts the orthodox understanding of God and salvation, seducing listeners away from sound doctrine.
🧭 Biblical Alignment Dashboard
Overall Verdict: Fundamentally in Error
| Category | Status | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| Soteriology | ❌ FAIL | The sermon presents a synergistic model where God's grace can be nullified by human inaction ('He's going to take the table and fold it up'). More critically, it prescribes a works-based formula for receiving the Spirit (baptism 'in Jesus' name' plus speaking in tongues), which adds to the finished work of Christ. |
| Bibliology | ✅ PASS | The sermon treats the Bible as God's Word and uses it as the source of authority, even though the application and interpretation lead to erroneous conclusions. |
| Hermeneutic | ❌ FAIL | The sermon employs a flawed hermeneutic by taking descriptive accounts from the book of Acts (e.g., baptismal phrasing, tongues) and elevating them to a prescriptive command that supersedes the direct didactic command of Christ in Matthew 28:19. |
| Theology Proper | ❌ FAIL | The explicit promotion of baptism 'in Jesus' name' as the correct formula is a historic marker for theology that denies the distinct persons of the Trinity. This functionally corrupts the doctrine of God as revealed in Scripture. |
| Sacramentology | ⚪ N/A | Neither Communion nor Baptism were observed during the sermon. |
📖 How they Handle Scripture & Jesus
Primary Text: Matthew 5:6 (Topical (Safe))
Scripture Saturation: Verses Read: 4 | Referenced: 3 | Alluded: 1
Passages Read Aloud:
Key References: Romans 8, Genesis 4 (Cain and Abel), Isaiah 55:10
Christological Connection: None (Moralistic): While Christ is identified as the 'Bread of Life' (John 6:35), the sermon immediately pivots to human effort, discipline, and self-control (keeping Cain in check, making time for God) as the primary means of spiritual success, bypassing the redemptive work of Christ as the ground for righteousness (Matt 5:6).
🧱 Sermon Outline
- Introduction: Hunger as a Gift and Warning Sign [00:01:29 ▶️ 📄] : Physical hunger compels us to eat. Spiritual hunger (conviction) compels us toward God.
- The Danger of Ignoring Conviction [00:05:09 ▶️ 📄] : If you ignore hunger long enough, the pains go away. It is dangerous to keep saying no to God because we forget what His voice sounds like.
- Conviction: The Spiritual Hunger Pain [00:06:11 ▶️ 📄] : Conviction means God convincing us to do right or stop doing wrong. We must ensure we can still be convicted.
- Flesh vs. Spirit (Cain and Abel) [00:11:04 ▶️ 📄] : The voice of the flesh (Cain) and the voice of the Spirit (Abel) both want attention. We must offer God the 'fat and the first' and keep the carnal nature in check.
- Practical Conviction and Culture [00:15:30 ▶️ 📄] : Applying conviction to modern life: controlling sports, alcohol, and avoiding coarse language in current culture/podcasts.
- Don't Eat Like a Prisoner [00:23:42 ▶️ 📄] : We are children of God, not prisoners of war. We must feed ourselves spiritually daily by making time for prayer and the Bible.
🗝️ Key Topics & Themes
- Conviction : The primary mechanism God uses to nudge believers toward righteousness.
- Spiritual Hunger : The desire for righteousness and the necessity of feeding that desire through God's Word and Spirit.
- Flesh vs. Spirit : The internal conflict between the carnal nature (Cain) and the spiritual nature (Abel).
✅ Commendations
Pastoral Heart | Desire for Congregational Holiness
The sermon demonstrates a genuine desire for the congregation to live lives that are sensitive to God's leading and free from worldly compromise. The exhortations to 'keep things in check' and prioritize God are born from a concern for practical righteousness.
Homiletics | Use of Relatable Metaphor
The central metaphor of 'hunger' is accessible and consistently applied throughout the sermon, effectively illustrating the concept of spiritual desire and the danger of apathy.
⚠️ Theological Concerns
🔴 Non-Trinitarian Baptismal and Salvation Formula
Root Cause: Modalism (Sabellianism): This teaching denies the distinct and co-eternal persons of the Trinity, viewing the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as different 'modes' of a single person. The insistence on a 'Jesus' name only' baptismal formula is a primary marker of this error, as it implicitly rejects the co-equal persons of the Godhead.
"Get baptized in Jesus' name, just like they did... just like it happened 2,000 years ago, they spoke in tongues when the Holy Ghost came, and I will as well." [00:21:52 ▶️ 📄]
Correction: The Lord Jesus commanded his disciples in Matthew 28:19 to baptize 'in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.' While the book of Acts uses shorthand to describe people being baptized into Christ, it does not abrogate the explicit Trinitarian formula given by Christ himself. Furthermore, Scripture teaches that salvation is by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9) and that the Holy Spirit is given to all who believe (Galatians 3:2), not contingent upon speaking in tongues (1 Corinthians 12:30).
🔴 Synergistic View of God's Calling
Root Cause: Semi-Pelagianism / Synergism: This error teaches that salvation is a cooperative effort between God and man. It denies the biblical doctrine of total depravity, suggesting that fallen man retains the ability to make the first move toward God or to ultimately veto God's grace. This makes God's sovereign will dependent on man's permission.
"if we tell Him no long enough, He's eventually going to take the table and fold it up and move on." [00:05:45 ▶️ 📄]
Correction: Scripture teaches that God's saving grace is monergistic (a work of God alone) and preserving. Jesus states, 'All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out' (John 6:37). The danger is not that God will give up, but that a person who persistently refuses Him may be demonstrating they were never His to begin with (1 John 2:19).
📜 Full Sermon Transcript (Audit)
Use the 📄 icons next to quotes above to automatically jump to their location in this raw transcript.
[00:00:01] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Say Amen if you're there.
[00:00:02] Praise God.
[00:00:06] Matthew 5 and 6 says this, Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.
[00:00:19] I want to preach today, if I could, listen to your hunger.
[00:00:29] Thanking you, giving you glory, honor, and praise today, knowing that you're righteous and holy and powerful, God.
[00:00:37] Thanking you for that, Jesus.
[00:00:39] We praise you for that.
[00:00:40] In Jesus' name, you may be seated today.
[00:00:43] We give appreciation to the men that unload the van this morning.
[00:00:53] Brother Brian and Brother Alan.
[00:00:56] We appreciate them and Brother Jackson for helping put all this stuff together like a big puzzle.
[00:01:01] It's working out pretty well.
[00:01:03] Amen.
[00:01:04] It really helps out quite a bit.
[00:01:06] I want to preach, listen to your hunger today.
[00:01:11] I do realize this morning that I'm the only one standing between you and your lunch.
[00:01:16] Hopefully you had a good breakfast.
[00:01:18] We're going to be talking about some food today, so stay with me.
[00:01:21] Stay with me if you can.
[00:01:23] I know there's probably somebody that's a little bit hungry.
[00:01:27] Maybe a lot hungry today.
[00:01:29] And I just want to say to you that hunger is a gift.
[00:01:33] It's what God put into our system, and it compels us to eat so that our body can be nourished.
[00:01:39] It helps us to gain strength from food.
[00:01:42] It helps us to gain strength from nourishment.
[00:01:46] Praise God.
[00:01:47] Love the opportunity to always get around brothers and sisters.
[00:01:50] I especially like it when somebody goes into a little overtime with the prayer.
[00:01:55] Have you ever been there before?
[00:01:57] Hey, brother so-and-so, can you pray for the meal today?
[00:02:01] Twenty minutes later, we're still praying.
[00:02:04] Praise God.
[00:02:05] Thirty minutes later, we're still praying.
[00:02:08] Man, I didn't know this was a prayer meeting.
[00:02:09] I thought this was potluck today, brother.
[00:02:12] Amen.
[00:02:13] Not sure if you've ever been in that situation, but I did hear Brother Merle speak to that just a couple weeks ago.
[00:02:17] And if I'm not mistaken, he said the guy prayed for like 45 minutes.
[00:02:21] Am I right with that?
[00:02:22] Okay.
[00:02:23] Hopefully nobody from their church is watching today, but, you know, 45 minutes, bro, we might have to ask God to compel you to stop praying.
[00:02:31] I would never ask you any time again or for any other situation, but if we're standing between food,
[00:02:38] A good little blessing is pretty good.
[00:02:40] Praise God.
[00:02:41] Short and sweet is probably going to get the job done.
[00:02:44] Hunger is like a warning sign.
[00:02:46] Your body says, Hello, it's time to feed me.
[00:02:48] For some of us, it says that a little bit more often than others.
[00:02:52] That's all right.
[00:02:52] That's not my point today.
[00:02:54] But for some of us, we need to eat.
[00:02:57] We need to eat.
[00:02:58] Some of us...
[00:02:59] Enjoy eating.
[00:03:01] There's a new term that's came out over the last five or so years, really kind of progressively over the last decade, the word foodie.
[00:03:10] Have you heard this term?
[00:03:11] You probably have.
[00:03:14] And I've heard it and I thought, am I a foodie?
[00:03:17] Am I this individual?
[00:03:19] Is this who I am?
[00:03:21] Is this something I aspire to be?
[00:03:22] And I looked it up and a foodie is a person who eats for the joy and entertainment of eating.
[00:03:32] So they're not just eating just because it's nourishing their body.
[00:03:35] They're doing it because there's enjoyment around what they're eating, how they're eating, the location that they're eating.
[00:03:42] It's entertainment to them.
[00:03:44] And I believe that we have probably more foodies today than we've ever had.
[00:03:47] In fact, I think in our generation, this might be the first generation that actually has that term, foodie, where we eat for entertainment.
[00:03:56] Hunger starts out with a little bit of a nudge.
[00:03:59] And it's funny that I speak to this right before I've asked for us to do a little fasting this week.
[00:04:04] But first off, it starts with a little nudge and then a little rumbling.
[00:04:10] And then eventually it tries to slap you in the face, punch you in the gut to get your attention to eat.
[00:04:17] When people are hungry enough, they'll eat whatever they can get their hands on.
[00:04:24] How many of you can testify?
[00:04:26] Yeah, I won't go into personal stories, but man, even Vianney sausages begin to look pretty good.
[00:04:33] Bologna begins to look pretty good again.
[00:04:36] I've moved past those meats, if it's a meat.
[00:04:39] I've moved past those meats in my life, but it's probably got more sodium than meat.
[00:04:45] But anyway, you'll eat just about anything, and I will say this, that there have been times where there have been great famine, and there are parts of the world...
[00:04:53] where there is great famine and anything that they can get their hands on and I don't want to be gross to you today but literally any animal that's close by is free game if you're hungry enough especially if you haven't eaten in a while.
[00:05:09] But let me just bring to you a point that if you ignore your hunger long enough some of you who have went on extended fasts will know this if you ignore it long enough those signs and those pains
[00:05:22] They go away.
[00:05:25] They begin to kind of dissipate because it says, well, we tried.
[00:05:29] Now we're not achieving what we want to.
[00:05:33] And let me just say to you today to bring out the point extra early that it's dangerous to keep saying no to God because after a while we forget what His voice sounds like.
[00:05:45] It's like telling us to eat from His spiritual table and if we tell Him no long enough,
[00:05:50] He's eventually going to take the table and fold it up and move on.
[00:05:56] I don't want to ever get to the point in my life where God can't nudge me.
[00:06:00] I don't want to ever get to the point in my life where God can't do something to me to get my attention.
[00:06:06] Don't make the Lord work hard to get your attention.
[00:06:09] My God, pay attention to Him.
[00:06:11] Hey, the word that we're shooting for today is conviction.
[00:06:15] The Lord speaks to us and works through us through
[00:06:19] Conviction.
[00:06:20] Can he convince me, which is what the word conviction means, can he convince me to do something right or to stop doing something that's wrong?
[00:06:30] That's the spiritual hunger pains that the Lord uses to nudge us from time to time.
[00:06:35] My God, can we close our eyes and just ask the Lord to say, God, I want to pay attention to your convicting hand.
[00:06:42] I want to make sure that your conviction still rests and resides upon me, God.
[00:06:47] Lord, I pray that I can be convicted of something once again, God.
[00:06:52] Lord, I want to be convicted of Your Word and Your way.
[00:06:55] Amen.
[00:06:57] Hey, listen, I believe in a feel-good moment.
[00:07:00] I believe in a good pat on the back, a hug around the neck.
[00:07:03] I believe in all of those things.
[00:07:05] But I also believe that when the Lord wants to convict and push
[00:07:11] and Direct.
[00:07:12] That's what needs to happen.
[00:07:14] Amen.
[00:07:15] Somebody asked me one time, they said, God, or Pastor, if you look at my background, am I really good enough to serve God?
[00:07:27] Some people have thought that or still continue to think that.
[00:07:33] Let me just say this, you can't get good enough to get God.
[00:07:39] You get God to get good.
[00:07:42] Amen.
[00:07:43] Don't let me lose you in the semantics today, but the fact of the matter is none of us are so far away from Him that we can't get back to Him.
[00:07:51] Some of us are too far away from Him that we can't grab back onto the Lord.
[00:07:55] But let me just say that eventually if the Lord keeps calling you and you don't answer, He's going to stop.
[00:08:01] His voice will begin to fade.
[00:08:05] Let me pose this question to you.
[00:08:07] Maybe His voice never fades.
[00:08:11] Maybe His voice never stops.
[00:08:13] We just stop recognizing what His voice is.
[00:08:17] We've ignored it for so long, we don't even know what the sound of conviction even sounds like anymore.
[00:08:27] Something to consider.
[00:08:28] Something to think about.
[00:08:31] Some people come to church for years and they never continually eat spiritually or they've not eaten spiritually for so long that they no longer feel the hunger pains of conviction.
[00:08:43] That's how some can sit in the house of the Lord for years and maybe never come to an altar.
[00:08:48] They just refuse to eat.
[00:08:49] They leave after service year after year and service after service and nothing's ever changed in their lives.
[00:08:56] I don't want that to happen to me.
[00:08:57] I don't want that to happen to you.
[00:08:59] Can I still be convicted of something?
[00:09:02] Listen, I've lived for the Lord for a while now.
[00:09:04] Not my whole life, but a while and long enough to recognize
[00:09:08] that sometimes when things get out of kilter I got to come back to God.
[00:09:12] Has this voice grown a little bit too dim to me?
[00:09:15] Let me draw back to God or else you find yourself doing something spiritually odd.
[00:09:21] Something spiritually that just doesn't even make sense.
[00:09:27] Have you seen somebody do something that just doesn't make spiritual sense and you just almost scratch your head because it's like that doesn't line up to who that person is.
[00:09:36] That doesn't line up to what that person believes.
[00:09:40] You can only say no to God for so long before the hunger begins to dissipate away.
[00:09:48] I'm going to stop putting major decisions about God off.
[00:09:52] I'm going to stop putting those off.
[00:09:53] I know there's major decisions to be made in life.
[00:09:56] Jobs.
[00:09:57] I know there's relationships.
[00:10:00] Somebody said this, and I like this.
[00:10:02] They said, how would you choose your spouse?
[00:10:05] And they said, I would run to God as fast as I possibly could.
[00:10:11] And the person that kept up with me, I'd look at them and say, we can be running mates.
[00:10:17] That's who I would choose to be in relationship with.
[00:10:20] If you can keep up with me to stay on my pathway to God, we might can do this together.
[00:10:26] Amen.
[00:10:27] But just as the natural man needs food, the spiritual man needs the Spirit of God.
[00:10:33] Amen.
[00:10:33] I don't want to cry out to God and not hear His voice.
[00:10:37] I don't want it to be so weak to where it's almost unnoticed.
[00:10:41] Romans 8 says this, So that those that are after the flesh cannot, somebody say cannot, cannot please God.
[00:10:50] But those that are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if it be so, the Spirit of God dwell in you.
[00:10:57] Now if any man be in Christ or not be in Christ, he is none of his.
[00:11:04] So it's the Spirit of the voice of the Lord versus the voice of my flesh, and both want your attention.
[00:11:12] You've heard me speak to this before, but let me give you another comparison.
[00:11:15] It's almost like Cain and Abel both live within us.
[00:11:19] We get a little bit of both of them.
[00:11:21] You've heard this story from Sunday school maybe.
[00:11:23] Cain killed Abel.
[00:11:26] Cain is always mad at Abel.
[00:11:28] Cain will kill Abel if you let him.
[00:11:30] It's our responsibility to control the carnal nature of Cain within us.
[00:11:35] Cain will never offer us to correct praise and sacrifices to God.
[00:11:41] Both offered sacrifices to God.
[00:11:45] But the Lord respected one
[00:11:48] Over the other.
[00:11:50] Why?
[00:11:51] Well, we do know that Abel offered the fat and the first.
[00:11:58] What do I mean by that?
[00:12:00] He gave the first fruits of all of his increase, and he gave the fat.
[00:12:05] He gave the best thereof.
[00:12:08] The Lord had respect unto Abel's.
[00:12:10] Cain gave from the ground.
[00:12:14] And the Bible lets us know quickly that as soon as the Lord did not respect Cain's offering, he got upset.
[00:12:22] Could it be that he was already upset before the Lord got involved either way?
[00:12:27] Because it sure was quick that Cain got upset, so much so that he feels like he's got to kill Abel.
[00:12:34] So the Lord will respect one offering versus another.
[00:12:39] Do I offer it to God out of the first fruits of my heart?
[00:12:43] Do I give the best of what I have?
[00:12:45] Or am I giving this out of begrudgingness?
[00:12:47] Am I giving this because it's obligation to give it?
[00:12:51] I don't want to give anything out of obligation just because somebody says so.
[00:12:56] But let me be convicted by God
[00:12:58] To give unto God what God asks for.
[00:13:01] Is it a little bit of holiness?
[00:13:02] Hey, let me give holiness unto God.
[00:13:04] Is it a little bit of finances?
[00:13:06] Let me give my finances to God.
[00:13:08] Is it a little bit of time?
[00:13:09] Let me give my time to God.
[00:13:12] Both of us have a Cain and Abel part of us.
[00:13:17] And I dare say the Abel needs to rise up and keep the Cain in check.
[00:13:24] Every one of us have certain urges and desires that we have to keep in check.
[00:13:30] This current society says, you be you, you do what you want to do.
[00:13:34] I say, that's not true.
[00:13:35] I can't do anything that I want to do.
[00:13:37] I have a right to do it, but it's not right to always do it.
[00:13:40] Praise God.
[00:13:41] I got to choose what's right in the eyes of God to allow myself to dive into that.
[00:13:49] Amen.
[00:13:49] Galatians 6 and 8, hear this.
[00:13:52] For he that soweth to the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption.
[00:13:58] But he that soweth in the Spirit shall the Spirit reap.
[00:14:02] Here's what you need.
[00:14:03] Everlasting life.
[00:14:06] Amen.
[00:14:07] Keep putting God on the back burner and He'll stay there.
[00:14:11] Keep pushing God to the side and He'll eventually fade off to the side.
[00:14:17] Keep putting God last and He'll eventually begin to fall so far back in the end of the line that you don't even know He's there anymore.
[00:14:26] Listen, I'm your pastor.
[00:14:29] To my understanding for the most part in here, I'm your pastor.
[00:14:32] Listen, through all excitement, through every bit of angles that we go through, I want to preach excitement.
[00:14:40] I want to keep you excited about where we're moving.
[00:14:42] But if we do all of this and you lose conviction, if we do all of this and you lose relationship with God and we get a silly building, it's not worth it.
[00:14:55] It's not worth it.
[00:14:57] The point of us being here, you heard me say it this past Wednesday, if you listened to the live stream, and I hope that you did, is that the Lord came to seek and to save the lost.
[00:15:07] He didn't come for a glorified sheep shed.
[00:15:10] He didn't come for a building to be a church.
[00:15:12] He came for you to be saved.
[00:15:14] And so I preach today that let me continue to hear the voice of God.
[00:15:19] Let me continue to hear the voice
[00:15:21] and be convicted in my life.
[00:15:23] God, convict me once again.
[00:15:26] Convict me once again, oh God.
[00:15:29] Hallelujah.
[00:15:30] Listen, we don't preach against sporting events.
[00:15:32] I go to sporting events.
[00:15:33] We don't preach against them like they used to.
[00:15:36] But man, if that stuff gets out of hand, can I keep it in check?
[00:15:40] If that begins to take too much of my life, can I keep it in check?
[00:15:44] Praise God.
[00:15:45] Hey, even at restaurants.
[00:15:46] Hey, we go to, we like to eat at Barcelona, man.
[00:15:49] Love some Barcelona.
[00:15:51] But I hate that it's also a beer garden.
[00:15:54] I don't believe in alcohol in my life.
[00:15:57] Can I say that if that stuff gets a little out of hand in my life that I put that stuff on check?
[00:16:03] I have been at corporate events.
[00:16:06] Come on, stick with me now.
[00:16:08] I have been at corporate events where every single person, except for the Hindu guy that was beside of me, was drinking.
[00:16:17] 98% of the people drinking, and it comes up, what would you like to drink?
[00:16:22] Well, I'll just have some water or, you know, maybe a Diet Coke.
[00:16:27] Oh, we don't have any of that.
[00:16:28] I'm good.
[00:16:29] I'm good.
[00:16:31] So much so, it says, hey, if everybody here is doing what you're doing, I'm going to head on back to the hotel room.
[00:16:37] If it's got to be weird, I didn't make it weird.
[00:16:40] You did.
[00:16:42] Conviction.
[00:16:43] I'm just trying to give you some very practical things because what happens is if we just allow things to kind of begin to chip away and we just allow things to go as they want to, we find ourselves being somebody that we were never meant to be in the eyes of God.
[00:17:00] People will take you there that don't have the same values as you.
[00:17:04] Individuals will say things and they will talk a certain way.
[00:17:07] Can't stand current podcast culture.
[00:17:10] Listen to me.
[00:17:11] They cuss way too much.
[00:17:13] Just way too much.
[00:17:15] They don't have to get their point across by cursing so much.
[00:17:18] Don't let that get on you.
[00:17:20] Man, am I pastoring today?
[00:17:21] I didn't mean to get into all of this.
[00:17:23] But listen, I like a good podcast because I do a lot of driving.
[00:17:26] But I don't have to listen to all that cussing.
[00:17:29] I don't.
[00:17:30] And now politicians.
[00:17:32] I don't care if you voted for Trump or not.
[00:17:34] We don't have to cuss as a politician.
[00:17:37] Oh, I'm getting on a soapbox now.
[00:17:39] Let me just move on.
[00:17:39] I'm not pastoring.
[00:17:41] I'm just pestering now.
[00:17:42] Praise God.
[00:17:44] But you get what I'm saying.
[00:17:46] Current culture will take you the way that it wants to take you.
[00:17:50] And I don't have to go there.
[00:17:52] There's the canes that will lead you where it wants to take you.
[00:17:58] And to say, just offer God any old thing, and it's good enough, and it's not.
[00:18:05] You being who you're supposed to be in the eyes of God is good enough.
[00:18:09] But just any old thing is not good enough.
[00:18:13] How many of us, you can show me by the raise of hand, like collect recipes?
[00:18:17] Not many people do that anymore.
[00:18:18] Allen, that's fantastic, brother.
[00:18:22] I'm glad you raised your hand.
[00:18:23] You helped me out there.
[00:18:25] Stella just scratched her eye.
[00:18:27] I thought she was saying she liked recipes.
[00:18:31] I was like, didn't know that about Stella.
[00:18:32] Praise God.
[00:18:35] I didn't mean to embarrass you either.
[00:18:37] But some people used to... We used to have this thing called a recipe book.
[00:18:42] We don't need that anymore, man.
[00:18:43] We got the online stuff.
[00:18:44] We got videos to show us how to do it.
[00:18:47] But there used to be a thing where we collected recipes.
[00:18:51] We got a couple of recipe books.
[00:18:52] My wife, the level that what she does to cook, she has them from recipe books.
[00:18:57] Moving on from that.
[00:18:58] But we do that because we like something different.
[00:19:01] I don't want to eat the same things every day.
[00:19:04] We have endeavored to lay out a menu of what we're going to eat each day so we don't go out to eat so much.
[00:19:11] You know, at Mount Ola, there's not a whole lot of eating choices.
[00:19:14] If you didn't know that, there's like two restaurants, Subway and El Michoacan.
[00:19:19] And I don't even know if that's the name of it.
[00:19:23] Actually, I think in Mount Ola, it's just Mexican Restaurant.
[00:19:29] Am I right?
[00:19:30] Mexican Restaurant.
[00:19:31] And so that's our choices.
[00:19:33] And Subway, they ain't hitting on much out in Cleveland, North Carolina.
[00:19:37] It's just, it's a little thin out there.
[00:19:39] And bless her heart, the lady that worked behind the thing, she has as many teeth as they have supplies, praise God.
[00:19:45] And so I feel bad for them, I really do.
[00:19:49] So we've tried to plan out what we eat week to week.
[00:19:53] We've tried to give some variety of it too.
[00:19:55] But the funny thing is that it's the same stuff every week.
[00:19:58] It's a different thing every day, but it's the same stuff every week.
[00:20:02] Every Tuesday it's going to be breakfast for supper.
[00:20:05] Every Wednesday it's going to be Alfredo with low-carb pasta.
[00:20:10] But every once in a while we begin to collect recipes because we like to have some variety.
[00:20:16] Listen, I say all of that to say I don't want you to get bored in your relationship with God.
[00:20:22] If you stick with God long enough, He's going to take you in avenues and in areas of your life that will spice it up as much as you need it to.
[00:20:31] Hey, I just want to stay with Him.
[00:20:33] I just want to stay with Him.
[00:20:35] You've got a pastor that believes in breaking up the mundane enough.
[00:20:39] Hey, stick with God long enough.
[00:20:41] He'll keep it exciting, I promise you.
[00:20:43] You know why?
[00:20:44] Because He'll heal you when you need it.
[00:20:46] He'll touch you when you need it.
[00:20:48] He'll pour out the Holy Ghost when you need it.
[00:20:50] He'll baptize somebody in late morning when they need to.
[00:20:54] Oh, God's going to spice it up when I need to.
[00:20:58] Thank you, God.
[00:20:59] Thank you, God.
[00:21:00] That's why I say stuff like, man, can't wait to have a tent revival on the tent.
[00:21:04] You know why?
[00:21:04] Because that's spicing things up a little bit.
[00:21:06] We don't want to have church as usual.
[00:21:10] Amen.
[00:21:11] I don't want to do things the way we've always done them.
[00:21:14] To get stuck in the rut of even church.
[00:21:17] That's why the Bible says, Taste and see that the Lord is good.
[00:21:21] The Lord is good.
[00:21:23] The fundamental for all godly living is to hunger and thirst after righteousness.
[00:21:32] Blessed are those which hunger and thirst after righteousness.
[00:21:36] And the Bible says,
[00:21:37] They shall be filled.
[00:21:42] I said, you know, the interesting thing is you want to have God spice up your life a little bit?
[00:21:47] Man, get a little dose of the Holy Ghost.
[00:21:50] That will begin to change everything.
[00:21:52] Hey, look, just like it happened 2,000 years ago, they spoke in tongues when the Holy Ghost came, and I will as well.
[00:21:59] Get baptized in Jesus' name, just like they did, and God will do something miraculous, powerful,
[00:22:06] In your life.
[00:22:08] Amen.
[00:22:09] Your spiritual condition depends on how hungry you are and how often you feed that hunger.
[00:22:15] There are times I'm not physically that hungry.
[00:22:17] Amen.
[00:22:18] But sometimes just the smell sparks my hunger.
[00:22:23] Ever been somewhere you just start talking about it?
[00:22:25] Certain type of food in the conversation made you crave that food.
[00:22:30] The smell and the talk about hunger had that mechanism kick in.
[00:22:34] Let me be that sensitive.
[00:22:37] To the convicting hand of God to stir, to bless, to move in every situation.
[00:22:48] Folks, everything that we do as a church is not perfect.
[00:22:52] You have probably been with me long enough to know that I'm not perfect.
[00:22:56] You've been with people in this building to know that they're not perfect.
[00:23:01] But let me be so hungry for God
[00:23:04] Did I begin to overlook the imperfections of my brothers and sisters?
[00:23:11] I want us to be quick to say they didn't mean that.
[00:23:14] They didn't mean it the way that I took it.
[00:23:18] As opposed to, I can't believe they shook my hand like that.
[00:23:22] As opposed to, I can't believe they sat in my seat.
[00:23:26] As opposed to, I can't believe the tone in which they said hello.
[00:23:29] You see how ridiculous that sounds?
[00:23:32] But many times it happens to us.
[00:23:34] When we're not listening to the voice of God.
[00:23:36] There's a term called POW, which is Prisoner of War.
[00:23:42] I want to tell the enemy today that I am not a prisoner of war.
[00:23:48] I only bring that up today because by rules of prisoners of war, you only have to feed a prisoner of war three times a week.
[00:23:59] That's not a lot.
[00:24:00] That's just enough to keep them alive.
[00:24:03] And that's what that rule is there for.
[00:24:04] I only have to feed them three times a week.
[00:24:08] That's a prisoner.
[00:24:11] Here's my point.
[00:24:13] If I only go to God a couple times a week, are we a prisoner?
[00:24:18] Or are we a child of God?
[00:24:21] If I only come to God a few times just at church and maybe a few times speckled through the week, if even that, I'm not talking about necessarily church, I'm talking about prayer, about ripping open your Bible,
[00:24:32] Are you a prisoner?
[00:24:33] You're not a prisoner.
[00:24:35] I'd say quit eating like a prisoner of war and start eating like a child of God.
[00:24:42] I got opportunity every single day.
[00:24:45] Hey, I hear you.
[00:24:46] Pastor, I am busy.
[00:24:47] Wake up a little earlier, stay up a little later.
[00:24:49] Fit it in somewhere.
[00:24:50] You got the same 24 hours a day as every single person in here that ever lived beyond eternity.
[00:24:56] Make time.
[00:24:57] It's funny that we make time for the things that we want to make time for.
[00:25:00] Hallelujah, if you want to make time for that video game, you'll make time for it.
[00:25:04] If you want to make time for that basketball game, you'll make time for it.
[00:25:07] If you want to make time for God, you'll make time for it.
[00:25:13] Deuteronomy 8 and 3, Man shall not live only by bread, but every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord.
[00:25:23] Isaiah 55 and 10, God tells us His word is like bread to the eater.
[00:25:27] So shall my word go forth out of my mouth, and it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper.
[00:25:40] John 6 and 35.
[00:25:42] He says, I am the bread of life.
[00:25:48] Amen.
[00:25:49] Let's all stand.
[00:25:57] I heard a very stirring message yesterday on grace, extending grace, extending love, pulling people to you, not pushing people away.
[00:26:12] When we preach on conviction, it can feel hard sometimes.
[00:26:18] It can seem almost abrasive at times.
[00:26:25] But I say it like this, it's almost like a metal hand in a velvet glove reaching out to you.
[00:26:32] To draw you closer to Him.
[00:26:34] Amen.
[00:26:35] The truth is the truth no matter how I accept it.
[00:26:40] The truth has nothing to do with my feelings.
[00:26:42] It has everything to do with what truth is.
[00:26:46] But sometimes truth can negatively affect us because when we find out the truth about ourselves it may not look as good as we thought it did.
[00:26:55] And there has to be some changes in regards to that.
[00:26:58] I say that to say I love you enough
[00:27:01] To continue to preach conviction.
[00:27:04] I love you enough to continue to preach, to listen to the voice of God.
[00:27:09] Let it be strong in your ear and in your spirit.
[00:27:14] Amen.
[00:27:15] That is far beyond anything that you will hear just at church.
[00:27:20] Can the Lord spiritually speak to you?
[00:27:25] Let's all begin to come to the front right now.
[00:27:27] Let's begin to talk to God right now, shall we?
[00:27:30] Holy Ghost, I thank you right now, Lord.
[00:27:34] You are holy and strong and righteous, O God.
[00:27:38] Thanking you and loving you, Lord Jesus.
[00:27:41] I believe in you, God.
[00:27:43] That's it.
[00:27:44] Somebody just begin to talk to Him.
[00:27:46] Sharpen my conviction, God.
[00:27:49] Sharpen my attuneness to you, Lord.
[00:27:53] Holy Ghost Jesus, thank you God.
[00:27:57] Draw me to you Lord, draw me to you God.
[00:28:01] Sweet Jesus.
[00:28:07] Hallelujah, Jesus.
[00:28:08] Hey, brother, I just thought about this.
[00:28:09] Have you ever been baptized in Jesus' name?
[00:28:12] Have you ever been baptized?
[00:28:14] You have?
[00:28:15] Okay.
[00:28:15] Was it a long time ago, a little while ago?
[00:28:18] Okay.
[00:28:19] I was just wondering.
[00:28:19] I was just like, I don't know if he's been baptized or not.
[00:28:22] Okay.
[00:28:22] All right.
[00:28:23] We're going to pray that God gives you a good dose of the Holy Ghost, okay?
[00:28:26] Hallelujah, Jesus.
[00:28:27] Thank you.
[00:28:29] Yes, Lord, yes, Lord Jesus, thank you, God.
[00:28:33] Sweet Jesus, thank you, Jesus.
[00:28:40] I receive what you got for me, God.
[00:28:43] Thank you, Jesus.
[00:28:44] My God, my God, my God, lead us, lead us, oh God.
[00:28:49] Sweet King Jesus, holy good Lord God.
[00:28:55] I thank you for it, Jesus.
[00:28:57] My God, teach us.
[00:28:58] Teach us, O Lord.
[00:29:00] Yes, Jesus.
[00:29:06] Yes, Jesus.
Say Amen if you're there.
[00:00:02] Praise God.
[00:00:06] Matthew 5 and 6 says this, Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.
[00:00:19] I want to preach today, if I could, listen to your hunger.
[00:00:29] Thanking you, giving you glory, honor, and praise today, knowing that you're righteous and holy and powerful, God.
[00:00:37] Thanking you for that, Jesus.
[00:00:39] We praise you for that.
[00:00:40] In Jesus' name, you may be seated today.
[00:00:43] We give appreciation to the men that unload the van this morning.
[00:00:53] Brother Brian and Brother Alan.
[00:00:56] We appreciate them and Brother Jackson for helping put all this stuff together like a big puzzle.
[00:01:01] It's working out pretty well.
[00:01:03] Amen.
[00:01:04] It really helps out quite a bit.
[00:01:06] I want to preach, listen to your hunger today.
[00:01:11] I do realize this morning that I'm the only one standing between you and your lunch.
[00:01:16] Hopefully you had a good breakfast.
[00:01:18] We're going to be talking about some food today, so stay with me.
[00:01:21] Stay with me if you can.
[00:01:23] I know there's probably somebody that's a little bit hungry.
[00:01:27] Maybe a lot hungry today.
[00:01:29] And I just want to say to you that hunger is a gift.
[00:01:33] It's what God put into our system, and it compels us to eat so that our body can be nourished.
[00:01:39] It helps us to gain strength from food.
[00:01:42] It helps us to gain strength from nourishment.
[00:01:46] Praise God.
[00:01:47] Love the opportunity to always get around brothers and sisters.
[00:01:50] I especially like it when somebody goes into a little overtime with the prayer.
[00:01:55] Have you ever been there before?
[00:01:57] Hey, brother so-and-so, can you pray for the meal today?
[00:02:01] Twenty minutes later, we're still praying.
[00:02:04] Praise God.
[00:02:05] Thirty minutes later, we're still praying.
[00:02:08] Man, I didn't know this was a prayer meeting.
[00:02:09] I thought this was potluck today, brother.
[00:02:12] Amen.
[00:02:13] Not sure if you've ever been in that situation, but I did hear Brother Merle speak to that just a couple weeks ago.
[00:02:17] And if I'm not mistaken, he said the guy prayed for like 45 minutes.
[00:02:21] Am I right with that?
[00:02:22] Okay.
[00:02:23] Hopefully nobody from their church is watching today, but, you know, 45 minutes, bro, we might have to ask God to compel you to stop praying.
[00:02:31] I would never ask you any time again or for any other situation, but if we're standing between food,
[00:02:38] A good little blessing is pretty good.
[00:02:40] Praise God.
[00:02:41] Short and sweet is probably going to get the job done.
[00:02:44] Hunger is like a warning sign.
[00:02:46] Your body says, Hello, it's time to feed me.
[00:02:48] For some of us, it says that a little bit more often than others.
[00:02:52] That's all right.
[00:02:52] That's not my point today.
[00:02:54] But for some of us, we need to eat.
[00:02:57] We need to eat.
[00:02:58] Some of us...
[00:02:59] Enjoy eating.
[00:03:01] There's a new term that's came out over the last five or so years, really kind of progressively over the last decade, the word foodie.
[00:03:10] Have you heard this term?
[00:03:11] You probably have.
[00:03:14] And I've heard it and I thought, am I a foodie?
[00:03:17] Am I this individual?
[00:03:19] Is this who I am?
[00:03:21] Is this something I aspire to be?
[00:03:22] And I looked it up and a foodie is a person who eats for the joy and entertainment of eating.
[00:03:32] So they're not just eating just because it's nourishing their body.
[00:03:35] They're doing it because there's enjoyment around what they're eating, how they're eating, the location that they're eating.
[00:03:42] It's entertainment to them.
[00:03:44] And I believe that we have probably more foodies today than we've ever had.
[00:03:47] In fact, I think in our generation, this might be the first generation that actually has that term, foodie, where we eat for entertainment.
[00:03:56] Hunger starts out with a little bit of a nudge.
[00:03:59] And it's funny that I speak to this right before I've asked for us to do a little fasting this week.
[00:04:04] But first off, it starts with a little nudge and then a little rumbling.
[00:04:10] And then eventually it tries to slap you in the face, punch you in the gut to get your attention to eat.
[00:04:17] When people are hungry enough, they'll eat whatever they can get their hands on.
[00:04:24] How many of you can testify?
[00:04:26] Yeah, I won't go into personal stories, but man, even Vianney sausages begin to look pretty good.
[00:04:33] Bologna begins to look pretty good again.
[00:04:36] I've moved past those meats, if it's a meat.
[00:04:39] I've moved past those meats in my life, but it's probably got more sodium than meat.
[00:04:45] But anyway, you'll eat just about anything, and I will say this, that there have been times where there have been great famine, and there are parts of the world...
[00:04:53] where there is great famine and anything that they can get their hands on and I don't want to be gross to you today but literally any animal that's close by is free game if you're hungry enough especially if you haven't eaten in a while.
[00:05:09] But let me just bring to you a point that if you ignore your hunger long enough some of you who have went on extended fasts will know this if you ignore it long enough those signs and those pains
[00:05:22] They go away.
[00:05:25] They begin to kind of dissipate because it says, well, we tried.
[00:05:29] Now we're not achieving what we want to.
[00:05:33] And let me just say to you today to bring out the point extra early that it's dangerous to keep saying no to God because after a while we forget what His voice sounds like.
[00:05:45] It's like telling us to eat from His spiritual table and if we tell Him no long enough,
[00:05:50] He's eventually going to take the table and fold it up and move on.
[00:05:56] I don't want to ever get to the point in my life where God can't nudge me.
[00:06:00] I don't want to ever get to the point in my life where God can't do something to me to get my attention.
[00:06:06] Don't make the Lord work hard to get your attention.
[00:06:09] My God, pay attention to Him.
[00:06:11] Hey, the word that we're shooting for today is conviction.
[00:06:15] The Lord speaks to us and works through us through
[00:06:19] Conviction.
[00:06:20] Can he convince me, which is what the word conviction means, can he convince me to do something right or to stop doing something that's wrong?
[00:06:30] That's the spiritual hunger pains that the Lord uses to nudge us from time to time.
[00:06:35] My God, can we close our eyes and just ask the Lord to say, God, I want to pay attention to your convicting hand.
[00:06:42] I want to make sure that your conviction still rests and resides upon me, God.
[00:06:47] Lord, I pray that I can be convicted of something once again, God.
[00:06:52] Lord, I want to be convicted of Your Word and Your way.
[00:06:55] Amen.
[00:06:57] Hey, listen, I believe in a feel-good moment.
[00:07:00] I believe in a good pat on the back, a hug around the neck.
[00:07:03] I believe in all of those things.
[00:07:05] But I also believe that when the Lord wants to convict and push
[00:07:11] and Direct.
[00:07:12] That's what needs to happen.
[00:07:14] Amen.
[00:07:15] Somebody asked me one time, they said, God, or Pastor, if you look at my background, am I really good enough to serve God?
[00:07:27] Some people have thought that or still continue to think that.
[00:07:33] Let me just say this, you can't get good enough to get God.
[00:07:39] You get God to get good.
[00:07:42] Amen.
[00:07:43] Don't let me lose you in the semantics today, but the fact of the matter is none of us are so far away from Him that we can't get back to Him.
[00:07:51] Some of us are too far away from Him that we can't grab back onto the Lord.
[00:07:55] But let me just say that eventually if the Lord keeps calling you and you don't answer, He's going to stop.
[00:08:01] His voice will begin to fade.
[00:08:05] Let me pose this question to you.
[00:08:07] Maybe His voice never fades.
[00:08:11] Maybe His voice never stops.
[00:08:13] We just stop recognizing what His voice is.
[00:08:17] We've ignored it for so long, we don't even know what the sound of conviction even sounds like anymore.
[00:08:27] Something to consider.
[00:08:28] Something to think about.
[00:08:31] Some people come to church for years and they never continually eat spiritually or they've not eaten spiritually for so long that they no longer feel the hunger pains of conviction.
[00:08:43] That's how some can sit in the house of the Lord for years and maybe never come to an altar.
[00:08:48] They just refuse to eat.
[00:08:49] They leave after service year after year and service after service and nothing's ever changed in their lives.
[00:08:56] I don't want that to happen to me.
[00:08:57] I don't want that to happen to you.
[00:08:59] Can I still be convicted of something?
[00:09:02] Listen, I've lived for the Lord for a while now.
[00:09:04] Not my whole life, but a while and long enough to recognize
[00:09:08] that sometimes when things get out of kilter I got to come back to God.
[00:09:12] Has this voice grown a little bit too dim to me?
[00:09:15] Let me draw back to God or else you find yourself doing something spiritually odd.
[00:09:21] Something spiritually that just doesn't even make sense.
[00:09:27] Have you seen somebody do something that just doesn't make spiritual sense and you just almost scratch your head because it's like that doesn't line up to who that person is.
[00:09:36] That doesn't line up to what that person believes.
[00:09:40] You can only say no to God for so long before the hunger begins to dissipate away.
[00:09:48] I'm going to stop putting major decisions about God off.
[00:09:52] I'm going to stop putting those off.
[00:09:53] I know there's major decisions to be made in life.
[00:09:56] Jobs.
[00:09:57] I know there's relationships.
[00:10:00] Somebody said this, and I like this.
[00:10:02] They said, how would you choose your spouse?
[00:10:05] And they said, I would run to God as fast as I possibly could.
[00:10:11] And the person that kept up with me, I'd look at them and say, we can be running mates.
[00:10:17] That's who I would choose to be in relationship with.
[00:10:20] If you can keep up with me to stay on my pathway to God, we might can do this together.
[00:10:26] Amen.
[00:10:27] But just as the natural man needs food, the spiritual man needs the Spirit of God.
[00:10:33] Amen.
[00:10:33] I don't want to cry out to God and not hear His voice.
[00:10:37] I don't want it to be so weak to where it's almost unnoticed.
[00:10:41] Romans 8 says this, So that those that are after the flesh cannot, somebody say cannot, cannot please God.
[00:10:50] But those that are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if it be so, the Spirit of God dwell in you.
[00:10:57] Now if any man be in Christ or not be in Christ, he is none of his.
[00:11:04] So it's the Spirit of the voice of the Lord versus the voice of my flesh, and both want your attention.
[00:11:12] You've heard me speak to this before, but let me give you another comparison.
[00:11:15] It's almost like Cain and Abel both live within us.
[00:11:19] We get a little bit of both of them.
[00:11:21] You've heard this story from Sunday school maybe.
[00:11:23] Cain killed Abel.
[00:11:26] Cain is always mad at Abel.
[00:11:28] Cain will kill Abel if you let him.
[00:11:30] It's our responsibility to control the carnal nature of Cain within us.
[00:11:35] Cain will never offer us to correct praise and sacrifices to God.
[00:11:41] Both offered sacrifices to God.
[00:11:45] But the Lord respected one
[00:11:48] Over the other.
[00:11:50] Why?
[00:11:51] Well, we do know that Abel offered the fat and the first.
[00:11:58] What do I mean by that?
[00:12:00] He gave the first fruits of all of his increase, and he gave the fat.
[00:12:05] He gave the best thereof.
[00:12:08] The Lord had respect unto Abel's.
[00:12:10] Cain gave from the ground.
[00:12:14] And the Bible lets us know quickly that as soon as the Lord did not respect Cain's offering, he got upset.
[00:12:22] Could it be that he was already upset before the Lord got involved either way?
[00:12:27] Because it sure was quick that Cain got upset, so much so that he feels like he's got to kill Abel.
[00:12:34] So the Lord will respect one offering versus another.
[00:12:39] Do I offer it to God out of the first fruits of my heart?
[00:12:43] Do I give the best of what I have?
[00:12:45] Or am I giving this out of begrudgingness?
[00:12:47] Am I giving this because it's obligation to give it?
[00:12:51] I don't want to give anything out of obligation just because somebody says so.
[00:12:56] But let me be convicted by God
[00:12:58] To give unto God what God asks for.
[00:13:01] Is it a little bit of holiness?
[00:13:02] Hey, let me give holiness unto God.
[00:13:04] Is it a little bit of finances?
[00:13:06] Let me give my finances to God.
[00:13:08] Is it a little bit of time?
[00:13:09] Let me give my time to God.
[00:13:12] Both of us have a Cain and Abel part of us.
[00:13:17] And I dare say the Abel needs to rise up and keep the Cain in check.
[00:13:24] Every one of us have certain urges and desires that we have to keep in check.
[00:13:30] This current society says, you be you, you do what you want to do.
[00:13:34] I say, that's not true.
[00:13:35] I can't do anything that I want to do.
[00:13:37] I have a right to do it, but it's not right to always do it.
[00:13:40] Praise God.
[00:13:41] I got to choose what's right in the eyes of God to allow myself to dive into that.
[00:13:49] Amen.
[00:13:49] Galatians 6 and 8, hear this.
[00:13:52] For he that soweth to the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption.
[00:13:58] But he that soweth in the Spirit shall the Spirit reap.
[00:14:02] Here's what you need.
[00:14:03] Everlasting life.
[00:14:06] Amen.
[00:14:07] Keep putting God on the back burner and He'll stay there.
[00:14:11] Keep pushing God to the side and He'll eventually fade off to the side.
[00:14:17] Keep putting God last and He'll eventually begin to fall so far back in the end of the line that you don't even know He's there anymore.
[00:14:26] Listen, I'm your pastor.
[00:14:29] To my understanding for the most part in here, I'm your pastor.
[00:14:32] Listen, through all excitement, through every bit of angles that we go through, I want to preach excitement.
[00:14:40] I want to keep you excited about where we're moving.
[00:14:42] But if we do all of this and you lose conviction, if we do all of this and you lose relationship with God and we get a silly building, it's not worth it.
[00:14:55] It's not worth it.
[00:14:57] The point of us being here, you heard me say it this past Wednesday, if you listened to the live stream, and I hope that you did, is that the Lord came to seek and to save the lost.
[00:15:07] He didn't come for a glorified sheep shed.
[00:15:10] He didn't come for a building to be a church.
[00:15:12] He came for you to be saved.
[00:15:14] And so I preach today that let me continue to hear the voice of God.
[00:15:19] Let me continue to hear the voice
[00:15:21] and be convicted in my life.
[00:15:23] God, convict me once again.
[00:15:26] Convict me once again, oh God.
[00:15:29] Hallelujah.
[00:15:30] Listen, we don't preach against sporting events.
[00:15:32] I go to sporting events.
[00:15:33] We don't preach against them like they used to.
[00:15:36] But man, if that stuff gets out of hand, can I keep it in check?
[00:15:40] If that begins to take too much of my life, can I keep it in check?
[00:15:44] Praise God.
[00:15:45] Hey, even at restaurants.
[00:15:46] Hey, we go to, we like to eat at Barcelona, man.
[00:15:49] Love some Barcelona.
[00:15:51] But I hate that it's also a beer garden.
[00:15:54] I don't believe in alcohol in my life.
[00:15:57] Can I say that if that stuff gets a little out of hand in my life that I put that stuff on check?
[00:16:03] I have been at corporate events.
[00:16:06] Come on, stick with me now.
[00:16:08] I have been at corporate events where every single person, except for the Hindu guy that was beside of me, was drinking.
[00:16:17] 98% of the people drinking, and it comes up, what would you like to drink?
[00:16:22] Well, I'll just have some water or, you know, maybe a Diet Coke.
[00:16:27] Oh, we don't have any of that.
[00:16:28] I'm good.
[00:16:29] I'm good.
[00:16:31] So much so, it says, hey, if everybody here is doing what you're doing, I'm going to head on back to the hotel room.
[00:16:37] If it's got to be weird, I didn't make it weird.
[00:16:40] You did.
[00:16:42] Conviction.
[00:16:43] I'm just trying to give you some very practical things because what happens is if we just allow things to kind of begin to chip away and we just allow things to go as they want to, we find ourselves being somebody that we were never meant to be in the eyes of God.
[00:17:00] People will take you there that don't have the same values as you.
[00:17:04] Individuals will say things and they will talk a certain way.
[00:17:07] Can't stand current podcast culture.
[00:17:10] Listen to me.
[00:17:11] They cuss way too much.
[00:17:13] Just way too much.
[00:17:15] They don't have to get their point across by cursing so much.
[00:17:18] Don't let that get on you.
[00:17:20] Man, am I pastoring today?
[00:17:21] I didn't mean to get into all of this.
[00:17:23] But listen, I like a good podcast because I do a lot of driving.
[00:17:26] But I don't have to listen to all that cussing.
[00:17:29] I don't.
[00:17:30] And now politicians.
[00:17:32] I don't care if you voted for Trump or not.
[00:17:34] We don't have to cuss as a politician.
[00:17:37] Oh, I'm getting on a soapbox now.
[00:17:39] Let me just move on.
[00:17:39] I'm not pastoring.
[00:17:41] I'm just pestering now.
[00:17:42] Praise God.
[00:17:44] But you get what I'm saying.
[00:17:46] Current culture will take you the way that it wants to take you.
[00:17:50] And I don't have to go there.
[00:17:52] There's the canes that will lead you where it wants to take you.
[00:17:58] And to say, just offer God any old thing, and it's good enough, and it's not.
[00:18:05] You being who you're supposed to be in the eyes of God is good enough.
[00:18:09] But just any old thing is not good enough.
[00:18:13] How many of us, you can show me by the raise of hand, like collect recipes?
[00:18:17] Not many people do that anymore.
[00:18:18] Allen, that's fantastic, brother.
[00:18:22] I'm glad you raised your hand.
[00:18:23] You helped me out there.
[00:18:25] Stella just scratched her eye.
[00:18:27] I thought she was saying she liked recipes.
[00:18:31] I was like, didn't know that about Stella.
[00:18:32] Praise God.
[00:18:35] I didn't mean to embarrass you either.
[00:18:37] But some people used to... We used to have this thing called a recipe book.
[00:18:42] We don't need that anymore, man.
[00:18:43] We got the online stuff.
[00:18:44] We got videos to show us how to do it.
[00:18:47] But there used to be a thing where we collected recipes.
[00:18:51] We got a couple of recipe books.
[00:18:52] My wife, the level that what she does to cook, she has them from recipe books.
[00:18:57] Moving on from that.
[00:18:58] But we do that because we like something different.
[00:19:01] I don't want to eat the same things every day.
[00:19:04] We have endeavored to lay out a menu of what we're going to eat each day so we don't go out to eat so much.
[00:19:11] You know, at Mount Ola, there's not a whole lot of eating choices.
[00:19:14] If you didn't know that, there's like two restaurants, Subway and El Michoacan.
[00:19:19] And I don't even know if that's the name of it.
[00:19:23] Actually, I think in Mount Ola, it's just Mexican Restaurant.
[00:19:29] Am I right?
[00:19:30] Mexican Restaurant.
[00:19:31] And so that's our choices.
[00:19:33] And Subway, they ain't hitting on much out in Cleveland, North Carolina.
[00:19:37] It's just, it's a little thin out there.
[00:19:39] And bless her heart, the lady that worked behind the thing, she has as many teeth as they have supplies, praise God.
[00:19:45] And so I feel bad for them, I really do.
[00:19:49] So we've tried to plan out what we eat week to week.
[00:19:53] We've tried to give some variety of it too.
[00:19:55] But the funny thing is that it's the same stuff every week.
[00:19:58] It's a different thing every day, but it's the same stuff every week.
[00:20:02] Every Tuesday it's going to be breakfast for supper.
[00:20:05] Every Wednesday it's going to be Alfredo with low-carb pasta.
[00:20:10] But every once in a while we begin to collect recipes because we like to have some variety.
[00:20:16] Listen, I say all of that to say I don't want you to get bored in your relationship with God.
[00:20:22] If you stick with God long enough, He's going to take you in avenues and in areas of your life that will spice it up as much as you need it to.
[00:20:31] Hey, I just want to stay with Him.
[00:20:33] I just want to stay with Him.
[00:20:35] You've got a pastor that believes in breaking up the mundane enough.
[00:20:39] Hey, stick with God long enough.
[00:20:41] He'll keep it exciting, I promise you.
[00:20:43] You know why?
[00:20:44] Because He'll heal you when you need it.
[00:20:46] He'll touch you when you need it.
[00:20:48] He'll pour out the Holy Ghost when you need it.
[00:20:50] He'll baptize somebody in late morning when they need to.
[00:20:54] Oh, God's going to spice it up when I need to.
[00:20:58] Thank you, God.
[00:20:59] Thank you, God.
[00:21:00] That's why I say stuff like, man, can't wait to have a tent revival on the tent.
[00:21:04] You know why?
[00:21:04] Because that's spicing things up a little bit.
[00:21:06] We don't want to have church as usual.
[00:21:10] Amen.
[00:21:11] I don't want to do things the way we've always done them.
[00:21:14] To get stuck in the rut of even church.
[00:21:17] That's why the Bible says, Taste and see that the Lord is good.
[00:21:21] The Lord is good.
[00:21:23] The fundamental for all godly living is to hunger and thirst after righteousness.
[00:21:32] Blessed are those which hunger and thirst after righteousness.
[00:21:36] And the Bible says,
[00:21:37] They shall be filled.
[00:21:42] I said, you know, the interesting thing is you want to have God spice up your life a little bit?
[00:21:47] Man, get a little dose of the Holy Ghost.
[00:21:50] That will begin to change everything.
[00:21:52] Hey, look, just like it happened 2,000 years ago, they spoke in tongues when the Holy Ghost came, and I will as well.
[00:21:59] Get baptized in Jesus' name, just like they did, and God will do something miraculous, powerful,
[00:22:06] In your life.
[00:22:08] Amen.
[00:22:09] Your spiritual condition depends on how hungry you are and how often you feed that hunger.
[00:22:15] There are times I'm not physically that hungry.
[00:22:17] Amen.
[00:22:18] But sometimes just the smell sparks my hunger.
[00:22:23] Ever been somewhere you just start talking about it?
[00:22:25] Certain type of food in the conversation made you crave that food.
[00:22:30] The smell and the talk about hunger had that mechanism kick in.
[00:22:34] Let me be that sensitive.
[00:22:37] To the convicting hand of God to stir, to bless, to move in every situation.
[00:22:48] Folks, everything that we do as a church is not perfect.
[00:22:52] You have probably been with me long enough to know that I'm not perfect.
[00:22:56] You've been with people in this building to know that they're not perfect.
[00:23:01] But let me be so hungry for God
[00:23:04] Did I begin to overlook the imperfections of my brothers and sisters?
[00:23:11] I want us to be quick to say they didn't mean that.
[00:23:14] They didn't mean it the way that I took it.
[00:23:18] As opposed to, I can't believe they shook my hand like that.
[00:23:22] As opposed to, I can't believe they sat in my seat.
[00:23:26] As opposed to, I can't believe the tone in which they said hello.
[00:23:29] You see how ridiculous that sounds?
[00:23:32] But many times it happens to us.
[00:23:34] When we're not listening to the voice of God.
[00:23:36] There's a term called POW, which is Prisoner of War.
[00:23:42] I want to tell the enemy today that I am not a prisoner of war.
[00:23:48] I only bring that up today because by rules of prisoners of war, you only have to feed a prisoner of war three times a week.
[00:23:59] That's not a lot.
[00:24:00] That's just enough to keep them alive.
[00:24:03] And that's what that rule is there for.
[00:24:04] I only have to feed them three times a week.
[00:24:08] That's a prisoner.
[00:24:11] Here's my point.
[00:24:13] If I only go to God a couple times a week, are we a prisoner?
[00:24:18] Or are we a child of God?
[00:24:21] If I only come to God a few times just at church and maybe a few times speckled through the week, if even that, I'm not talking about necessarily church, I'm talking about prayer, about ripping open your Bible,
[00:24:32] Are you a prisoner?
[00:24:33] You're not a prisoner.
[00:24:35] I'd say quit eating like a prisoner of war and start eating like a child of God.
[00:24:42] I got opportunity every single day.
[00:24:45] Hey, I hear you.
[00:24:46] Pastor, I am busy.
[00:24:47] Wake up a little earlier, stay up a little later.
[00:24:49] Fit it in somewhere.
[00:24:50] You got the same 24 hours a day as every single person in here that ever lived beyond eternity.
[00:24:56] Make time.
[00:24:57] It's funny that we make time for the things that we want to make time for.
[00:25:00] Hallelujah, if you want to make time for that video game, you'll make time for it.
[00:25:04] If you want to make time for that basketball game, you'll make time for it.
[00:25:07] If you want to make time for God, you'll make time for it.
[00:25:13] Deuteronomy 8 and 3, Man shall not live only by bread, but every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord.
[00:25:23] Isaiah 55 and 10, God tells us His word is like bread to the eater.
[00:25:27] So shall my word go forth out of my mouth, and it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper.
[00:25:40] John 6 and 35.
[00:25:42] He says, I am the bread of life.
[00:25:48] Amen.
[00:25:49] Let's all stand.
[00:25:57] I heard a very stirring message yesterday on grace, extending grace, extending love, pulling people to you, not pushing people away.
[00:26:12] When we preach on conviction, it can feel hard sometimes.
[00:26:18] It can seem almost abrasive at times.
[00:26:25] But I say it like this, it's almost like a metal hand in a velvet glove reaching out to you.
[00:26:32] To draw you closer to Him.
[00:26:34] Amen.
[00:26:35] The truth is the truth no matter how I accept it.
[00:26:40] The truth has nothing to do with my feelings.
[00:26:42] It has everything to do with what truth is.
[00:26:46] But sometimes truth can negatively affect us because when we find out the truth about ourselves it may not look as good as we thought it did.
[00:26:55] And there has to be some changes in regards to that.
[00:26:58] I say that to say I love you enough
[00:27:01] To continue to preach conviction.
[00:27:04] I love you enough to continue to preach, to listen to the voice of God.
[00:27:09] Let it be strong in your ear and in your spirit.
[00:27:14] Amen.
[00:27:15] That is far beyond anything that you will hear just at church.
[00:27:20] Can the Lord spiritually speak to you?
[00:27:25] Let's all begin to come to the front right now.
[00:27:27] Let's begin to talk to God right now, shall we?
[00:27:30] Holy Ghost, I thank you right now, Lord.
[00:27:34] You are holy and strong and righteous, O God.
[00:27:38] Thanking you and loving you, Lord Jesus.
[00:27:41] I believe in you, God.
[00:27:43] That's it.
[00:27:44] Somebody just begin to talk to Him.
[00:27:46] Sharpen my conviction, God.
[00:27:49] Sharpen my attuneness to you, Lord.
[00:27:53] Holy Ghost Jesus, thank you God.
[00:27:57] Draw me to you Lord, draw me to you God.
[00:28:01] Sweet Jesus.
[00:28:07] Hallelujah, Jesus.
[00:28:08] Hey, brother, I just thought about this.
[00:28:09] Have you ever been baptized in Jesus' name?
[00:28:12] Have you ever been baptized?
[00:28:14] You have?
[00:28:15] Okay.
[00:28:15] Was it a long time ago, a little while ago?
[00:28:18] Okay.
[00:28:19] I was just wondering.
[00:28:19] I was just like, I don't know if he's been baptized or not.
[00:28:22] Okay.
[00:28:22] All right.
[00:28:23] We're going to pray that God gives you a good dose of the Holy Ghost, okay?
[00:28:26] Hallelujah, Jesus.
[00:28:27] Thank you.
[00:28:29] Yes, Lord, yes, Lord Jesus, thank you, God.
[00:28:33] Sweet Jesus, thank you, Jesus.
[00:28:40] I receive what you got for me, God.
[00:28:43] Thank you, Jesus.
[00:28:44] My God, my God, my God, lead us, lead us, oh God.
[00:28:49] Sweet King Jesus, holy good Lord God.
[00:28:55] I thank you for it, Jesus.
[00:28:57] My God, teach us.
[00:28:58] Teach us, O Lord.
[00:29:00] Yes, Jesus.
[00:29:06] Yes, Jesus.
