Beyond the Buttons: Are You Pushing God’s Prompts or the World’s?

[00:00:00] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[00:00:00] that uh he didn't just go to his dad and say i want my inheritance see you normally get the inheritance when what happens huh when your parent dies he literally looked at his dad and said you're as good as dead to me give me what is mine and the bible says he went away in a foreign
[00:00:39] To the point that a famine hit the land and he was broke as a joke and he was without a place to live and he hired himself out.
[00:00:48] And while he was at the worst place ever, the story in the Bible was so powerful.
[00:00:54] He's a Jew and he's feeding pigs.
[00:01:00] That place in your life where you get to where you're doing what you said you would never do.
[00:01:08] Do you understand that?
[00:01:08] and he come, the Bible says he comes to his senses and he says, even my father's servants have a better living than I do. I'll go back home, repent and say to my father, just let me live with
[00:01:25] the servants. In other words, there's something about, there's something inside of him. Kind of like Katie said that I know I'm not right with him, but I'm, but I know what he has is better
[00:01:37] than what I'm living. And so he gets up and he takes off for home. And the Bible says in this parable, while the son was still a long way off, the father saw him and he broke and ran.
[00:01:58] Dignified men don't run, but he ran and he embraced his son who still had all that pig stuff on him. And he said, kill the fat calf, make a sacrifice, put on my son, a new robe,
[00:02:15] give him a new ring for today. My son who was dead is brought back alive. I wonder where you are today. I'm not asking if you've ever been baptized. I'm not asking if you've ever said
[00:02:32] you were sorry. I'm not asking if you were a certain denomination truth right now. Have you ever given your life to Jesus? It doesn't matter if you're in a season where you were doing what
[00:02:56] you said you would never do the father sees you it doesn't matter if you have told him you're as good as dead to me as though our world pitches to us an atheism or an agnosticism or just a
[00:03:12] i ain't into this church thing i'm telling you there's a father he's using a morning like this and a story like katie's to draw you to himself so i pray that you would come to your senses
[00:03:34] and you can run to him not by cleaning yourself up but simply confessing lord i'm a sinner i've chosen my way over yours and that separates me from you but i don't want to be separated from
[00:03:55] you i want you in my life be forgiven and redeemed i will serve you today there are some of you here who this is what god is calling you to do and i want to help you do that i want to help you do
[00:04:20] that in a prayer nothing magical about these words but something very supernatural in the authority of scripture that when you call on him ask him to forgive you of your sins you claim him as savior and lord that he will save you and you will be his for eternity that is a life worth
[00:04:41] living so if you would just bow your heads with me you've never given your life to christ you've never surrendered yourself fully to him you're in a season where you're doing things you said you'd
[00:04:57] never do and the father is drawing you now this is your moment would you borrow my words pray them to jesus let him save you with me and say jesus i have chosen my way over yours and that makes me a
[00:05:23] sinner my sins separate me from you and today i humble myself i confess my need for you i turn from my sins and in faith i turn to you forgive me jesus save me jesus be my savior be my lord
[00:05:52] rescue me i need your love i need your grace i need your mercy and your forgiveness i want to belong to you i want to follow you now with every head bow and every eye closed if you pardon my
[00:06:15] words as sincerely as you possibly could. You have just crossed over from death to life. Everything you've ever done against the Lord has been forgiven. He has put the Holy Spirit in your life and you are born again. And I want to ask you if you just borrowed my words and all that's just
[00:06:36] happened in your life. When I count to three, I want you to raise your hand just as high as you can. I promise you I'll not embarrass you, but I do want to celebrate you. And you may say, well,
[00:06:49] pastor, why do I have to raise my hand? Because Christ calls you publicly. And I want to give you an opportunity to have that first public opportunity to confess him as Lord in a very
[00:07:00] safe place, in a loving place. You just gave your life to Christ. You just surrendered yourself to him. When I count to three, I want you to raise your hand. Lord Jesus, I trust you today for
[00:07:12] public repentance and sin. I believe you for it. In Jesus name, when I count to three, I want you going to raise your hand. Here we go. Ready? One, two, three. There's one on this side
[00:07:34] this far. Seven right here. Seven right here. Raise them and raise them high. I want you to confess you as Savior and Lord. Just raise your hand. I want you to make eye contact with me. Put your hand down. I just want you to look at me. I just want you to look at
[00:08:41] me in the balcony and here on the floor. This is the most important decision in your life because this is where life begins. You walked into this room dead and undone in your sins, separated from god no hope and no covenant and by an act of faith and the love mercy and grace of
[00:08:57] god you now have gone from being a stranger to being one of his children you have been forgiven of your sins because of him not because of me and not because of you he died on the cross he was
[00:09:09] raised from the dead to accomplish this he is the mediator for you and he has deposited his spirit inside of you and will live with you eternally because you are now born again. The angels in
[00:09:21] heaven are erupting and rejoicing for the salvation. One survival, greatest gift you'll be given next to salvation. It is the lamp. It is the word of God. It is a lamp to your feet. It will be a light
[00:09:44] into your path. And if you will read it and hide it in your heart, you will not go back to old ways of living. Next to it is a new believer's guide. And I want you to camp out in it for the next
[00:09:54] couple of weeks it will help you answer some of the questions that maybe you have right now and the okay what now what do i do next will help you begin to your walk with jesus and the third
[00:10:06] thing is a connect card a new believers card and i'm begging you to fill that out before you leave today and when you walk to the foyer on your way out on either this side or out here in the middle
[00:10:19] of the foyer there is a basket and i want you to drop it in there so that we can follow up with you and make sure you understand the decision that you made today salvation is in this house amen
[00:10:32] come on church family jesus i celebrate you for saving god you're the lord of the harvest and lord i thank you that as long as you are who you are till the day you return there will be a
[00:10:53] harvest. Lord, let Beulah be a harvesting church. Let Beulah be a discipling church. Let Beulah be empowered by you to win men and women, to train them up that they may make you known. Jesus, I
[00:11:05] thank you for what you've done here and have been doing over these last nine years. I ask Lord Jesus that you would continue. I pray to your father as we continue to worship that you would let us experience your presence. I pray as we get into
[00:11:19] the sermon today that we could experience you speaking to us. I I pray, dear Heavenly Father, that we would run from old ways and run to you.
[00:11:30] And we ask these things in the strong, amazing name of Jesus, and we give you the glory and the praise for it all.
[00:11:38] We wear the best.

[00:12:41] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:12:41] We shout out.

[00:13:53] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:13:53] This morning.
[00:13:54] Amen.

[00:13:54] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:13:54] Come on, man.

[00:18:55] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:18:55] How many is grateful that he is our provider today?
[00:18:58] Amen.
[00:19:00] Praise the Lord.
[00:19:01] Let's worship the Lord.
[00:19:02] Let the flower and all of the...
[00:19:22] Sing it, church.
[00:19:26] I don't have to wonder.
[00:19:28] that's it you know what you do yes you do God cause you're faithful to Jesus of the Lord in this house this morning amen amen how many agree with me he's in the room today come on let's see
[00:24:42] you sing it our God is an awesome God from heaven some time our God this is what heaven's gonna sound like right here. Our God, sing it, Beulah. Our God is going to provide. Lord God, I thank

[00:26:55] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:26:55] you for this day that you've allowed us to just gather here in fellowship and worship together, God, I just thank you so much for that and so much that it's just a blessing in our lives,
[00:27:05] God, that we're able to gather here this morning. And I thank you like that song says, Lord, that you will provide for us, God, when everything seems lost in our lives. And even though our
[00:27:14] hands might be empty, God, you can fill our hands with every blessing and everything that we need, God. I want to pray over this service, God, and Pastor Brian, Lord, that you would just give him
[00:27:23] the words to speak, God, and that you would just allow us to have open hearts, God, and open ears to hear it and accept it and go out and implement it to our lives and tell others about it, God.
[00:27:33] And it's in your name that I pray. Amen. Amen. Amen. Five, four or five people welcomed them

[00:27:42] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[00:27:42] to church this morning. Tell them it's good to see them. Tell them God will provide for them.
[00:27:53] Happy New Year's to you. I want to say thanks to Eli. Eli is a religious studies student at Montreat. And so trying to give our young men and young women who feel called to ministry,
[00:28:03] the opportunity to, to learn, uh, to pray in front of people. My pastor, um, did a lot of that stuff with me. And I'm very grateful that he took a lot of, a lot of risk with me to help
[00:28:14] train me, uh, in moments where he could have just had it real and predictable with him. And so, so super, super grateful. Um, just a few things real quick, uh, this evening, Beulah Academy starts. And if you're not signed up for it, the, the, the class is capped out.
[00:28:29] We don't have any more room in the facility where we're at.
[00:28:34] And so we'll be taking that step by step.
[00:28:37] And so if you are a part of that, this is where your attendance and dedication to it really do matter because it means you're keeping someone else from being a part of that.
[00:28:45] Not that it's not important for you to be there.
[00:28:47] So this is, just want you to be aware of that and look forward to seeing you this evening.
[00:28:53] And also the team is out, the Rooted in Grace and Love team is out in the foyer before and after the service for the concert coming up on January the 10th with Gold City and Second Generation.
[00:29:05] I want you to be a part of that.
[00:29:06] So please go by, support them.
[00:29:07] This is the big push for getting them staged for the orphanage.
[00:29:12] So please, please take part of that.
[00:29:14] Y'all ready?
[00:29:15] Pray this with me.
[00:29:16] Jesus, speak to me exactly how I need to be spoken to from you, not just what I need, but with your wisdom. Let me not push aside your word, but let me be open to hearing from you,
[00:29:40] to being taught your word. Open my eyes, grant conviction that I may leave old ways and run to you. Show me, Lord, what prompts from the world I'm listening to, and may I lay them at your feet
[00:30:07] and you retrain me for obedience.
[00:30:12] In Jesus' name we pray and all God's people said, amen.
[00:30:18] Can I show you a picture?
[00:30:20] What is this?
[00:30:22] Help me.
[00:30:25] Xbox what?
[00:30:27] An Xbox 360 controller.
[00:30:29] I'm glad we have some resident professionals at this.
[00:30:33] That's an Xbox 360 controller.
[00:30:36] Over the years, my kids have come to me from time to time and they have said, da would you come upstairs and play a game so they go upstairs they got everything set up and
[00:30:47] then they hand me this spaceship i don't have no idea what to do with this none whatsoever like it has two joysticks on it a directional pad action buttons it has an x and a y button
[00:31:05] an a and a b button it also has paddles on the front of it l1 l2 am i getting this right guys r for right r1 r2 who who just said that yeah right bump right trigger the directional pad like
[00:31:30] i don't even have a clue not a clue thank you i appreciate you supporting your pastor and making sure you're keeping me out of hot water with my kids you're like oh would you say it wrong for
[00:31:38] appreciate you guys love y'all this is where this controller it has it's got buttons it's got triggers it's got joysticks but every button is designed to produce a specific response but the truth is you just can't mash these buttons randomly no no no there's a sequence to them and
[00:32:00] depending on what game you are playing depending on what game you're playing determines what the sequence is. It determines what's to be pushed when, where you're supposed to look, which joystick, which directional pad, what you're supposed to do. And if you don't push those buttons,
[00:32:17] regardless of whether you're playing a shoot-em-up game or a storyline game or just a classic game or an athletic game, if you don't match those buttons at the right time, you're what?
[00:32:28] You're out. You lose. You lose. I don't know what to do with that. It's highly frustrating because i want to show you another picture because i'm used to this yes yeah son that's good preaching without me even saying anything right there yeah uh-huh those of you who who know
[00:32:52] what is that blessed thing that came off of noah's ark to your far left what is that huh that's an atari 2600 controller and if you had the upgraded edition you got suction cups on
[00:33:07] the bottom of it maybe you could slam that thing down on a coffee table and go to work and with one button play yards revenge defender galaga 1942 tanks i mean frogger and the blessed pac-man can
[00:33:22] i get amen yes one button that's all you needed one button one button and then they upgraded us to the nintendo then we got a little directional pad you had to learn to use your thumb it was all
[00:33:36] teaching us how to text that's all it was it was a conspiracy baby a conspiracy they did give us an on button they did give us a select button and action button but then they just still gave us
[00:33:47] two buttons a and b but when when my kids want to play they throw me the spaceship right and normally i get the broken one pray for my children they're sinners no just kidding i'm just kidding that was
[00:34:04] a joke when i think about the control pad and i think about our new series buttons triggers and truth it takes my mind guys to this is exactly what the world is doing to us go forward to me
[00:34:20] guys it is handing us a controller that you don't just mash the buttons randomly and press what you have to press what the game tells you to or you lose and i believe that the world
[00:34:34] is a game that keeps telling us what to push.
[00:34:39] It keeps giving us prompts and our culture works the same way.
[00:34:43] It's constantly flashing prompts for us to know the sequence.
[00:34:49] It says, press this if you wanna feel accepted and press this if you wanna avoid rejection.
[00:34:54] Press this if you wanna feel powerful.
[00:34:57] Press this if you wanna belong.
[00:34:59] Press this if you wanna feel this way.
[00:35:04] And let me ask you a question.
[00:35:05] Well, let me say it like this.
[00:35:09] And if you don't press these in the certain sequence that culture wants, you lose.
[00:35:15] You lose.
[00:35:17] At this point, guys, I'm not talking about the world.
[00:35:20] I'm talking about men and women just like me and you who have bought into that.
[00:35:24] That if we don't do exactly what the world in front of us says we're supposed to do, that we're gonna lose.
[00:35:31] And I wanna tell you, that's not the truth.
[00:35:34] Not ultimately.
[00:35:38] Let me ask you this.
[00:35:40] Are any of these in and of themselves bad?
[00:35:44] Is it bad to wanna be accepted?
[00:35:48] In and of itself, is it bad to wanna avoid rejection?
[00:35:52] In and of itself, is it bad to wanna feel powerful?
[00:35:55] Like you can actually put one foot in front of the other and you can actually exert your will in life and accomplish the things you wanna accomplish.
[00:36:03] Is that in and of itself a bad thing?
[00:36:05] No, is it in and of itself a bad thing to wanna belong?
[00:36:10] To have a place to rest your head, to be a part of.
[00:36:13] Is that in and of itself a bad thing?
[00:36:17] Talk to me, friends.
[00:36:18] No.
[00:36:20] But here's what I am concerned about.
[00:36:23] Is getting to acceptance and getting to avoiding rejection and getting to affirmation and getting to feeling powerful can be very sinful if we follow the wrong prompts.
[00:36:38] If we mash the buttons of this world and train ourselves to let it just slide in, getting to these things can be very sinful and not produce the life that Christ died for and rose from the dead to redeem us to.
[00:36:56] If you have your Bibles, I want you to turn with me to 2 Timothy chapter one in our series, Buttons, Triggers, and Truth.
[00:37:05] I want us to look as a way of reminder to what Paul is helping Timothy understand.
[00:37:12] And then we pray that the Holy Spirit will help us apply this to our lives so that we can make the decisions that we need to make.
[00:37:19] This is where he writes to us, and I want you to read this with me.
[00:37:22] He says, for this reason, I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.
[00:37:33] Now let me set the stage for us culturally and with the context.
[00:37:36] Paul is writing to Timothy who is the pastor of Ephesus which is an absolute Mediterranean mess it really looks a lot like modern day America and pretty much modern day anywhere where we value our
[00:37:51] intellect we value our technology we value our image we are absolutely smitten with our athletic endeavors and we are inebriated by our sexual exploitation and he sent Timothy there to be the pastor as a young man, probably in his 18 to 25 years of age. This is where we know that age is
[00:38:16] not a prerequisite to serving the Lord. Faith and conviction and dedication is. He writes to Timothy to say, Timothy, you have a gift in your life and you received it by the laying on of my hands,
[00:38:28] which for us is a demonstration of an Old Testament model that a prophet or priest would lay his hands on that person that is being set aside into the Lord as a transference of the Holy Spirit.
[00:38:44] If you've ever been with us when we ordain deacons or we lay hands on someone set aside for ministry, as your pastor and as the deacon body with authority from the Lord and the church,
[00:38:56] we lay our hands, not just symbolically, but believing that the Lord is endowing to you this special calling that is on your life. And this is a symbol of that. Does that make sense?
[00:39:09] And so he is talking to Timothy about his ministry, but at the same time, he is talking to him about his walk. Now we made very clear last week that every believer, every person who is born
[00:39:23] again is called to ministry. You may not be in ministry vocationally in the sense that you earn your living from the gospel like I do, but every one of us is called to ministry. You and I have
[00:39:39] been given the greatest gift ever, which is the salvation of our souls. And that great gift now has to make itself known in every responsibility we have, not just the hour and 10 minutes, 15,
[00:39:55] who's judging, 20 minutes that we might spend on a Sunday morning here in this service. I love you, church family, right? This is not just this time, but that it goes home with me. It influences the
[00:40:08] way you treat the people that you say you love. It influences your business endeavors, every responsibility you have. And this is where guys, you have to fan this into flame. This is where as a church family in 2026, we're really going to keep our mission in front of you. That we exist
[00:40:27] to know Jesus, to love Jesus, and to make Jesus known. And that's our kingdom business. That's what we're about. If it don't fit in with that, I ain't interested in it. And if that doesn't work
[00:40:37] for you, hire a new guy. I can't be any more blunt than that. And I don't say that sarcastically.
[00:40:43] I want us to be about kingdom business because I believe his coming and his return is nearer than it ever has been.
[00:40:51] I also believe, it's okay, you can clap if you believe in that, amen, amen.
[00:40:55] I also believe there's a great awakening that's happening.
[00:40:58] There was a time in 2020 at COVID, I didn't think it was, but as my buddy Clayton King and I have the opportunity to travel and preach, we're watching more people get saved now than I think I ever have in 30 years of being in ministry.
[00:41:10] And I praise God for that.
[00:41:11] People are hungry for truth.
[00:41:15] And so knowing that, you are Christ's workmanship and you have the gift of God in you and you are to be fanning it into flame that it would burn strong.
[00:41:26] Are you with me, church family?
[00:41:28] God did not intend for his believers to be what I call Generac generators.
[00:41:35] Anybody know those generators?
[00:41:37] Yeah, they're hugely expensive.
[00:41:39] They're crazy reliable.
[00:41:42] but when do you use them? Only in case of emergency. And I'm concerned that that's the way many of us have used our walk with Jesus. We're only kind of like Katie was telling us,
[00:41:54] I only prayed when it was a trauma. I only prayed when there was an issue going on. And that's not what God intended us for us to be. God intended for us to be like lights at the airport, constantly
[00:42:07] shining for him, constantly blinking, pointing the way in the midst of the darkness, constantly shining out to see who God is calling. And that's coming from our life. And to do that consistently and effectively, we have to be fanning into flame, the call and the gift of God in our life
[00:42:28] and to make much of it. And so my question for us at this point is this friends, if that is not an interest of yours, then I want to submit to you two questions to think about.
[00:42:41] If it's not an interest of yours, then the first thing I want you to consider is, are you truly born again?
[00:42:49] Are you truly saved?
[00:42:52] I'm not asking if you have a religious tradition.
[00:42:55] I'm not asking if you feel bad about the stuff you do in your life.
[00:42:59] I'm asking, again, from the testimony of what we had today, from the testimony of what we had at the 930 service, have you truly, fully surrendered your life to Jesus?
[00:43:10] if you have not done that it is a simple act of faith it is that it is simply confessing that you are a sinner and you are in need of a savior and you said pastor why would you say that why would
[00:43:26] you try to get people to doubt their salvation i'm not i'm not at all because the bible says it's impossible for the elect of god to be led astray you either know that you are or you know
[00:43:37] that you're not and if you're not and you're deceived about it then it's my calling in life to help you shine light to see if you truly are born again?
[00:43:47] Is there a passion in your life?
[00:43:49] Is there a drive to become a godly man, a godly woman, a godly student?
[00:43:53] Or are you just running through the motion, unmoved by anything, untransformed by anything?
[00:43:59] That is a problem.
[00:44:01] The power of God is the power of God.
[00:44:05] And it can't just brush over a life.
[00:44:10] So I would ask you, do you truly know Christ as your personal savior?
[00:44:16] Listen, friends, I got baptized at eight years old, but I didn't get saved until I was 15.
[00:44:23] And you say, well, pastor, you were eight years old.
[00:44:25] I was a God fear.
[00:44:27] I feared God.
[00:44:28] There were curse words I wouldn't say.
[00:44:30] You weren't supposed to take stuff from church.
[00:44:32] You're supposed to dress a certain way when you went to church.
[00:44:35] You were supposed to be nice to people.
[00:44:37] A lot of that had to do with just being a good guy raised in the South.
[00:44:41] I was a God-fear.
[00:44:42] I knew you weren't supposed to act a certain way when you're around religious people.
[00:44:46] But when I got saved at 15, the pendulum swung and it ain't never swung back.
[00:44:52] And I don't want nothing of that old life.
[00:44:54] Are you with me, church family?
[00:44:55] Amen.
[00:44:55] And I hope that's the case for you.
[00:44:58] The way you have a hunger for God's word, you wanna be around God's people, you wanna be involved in God's stuff, you're expecting the power of God in your life.
[00:45:06] And if that's not in your life, then I'm asking you to consider that question and do business with God, even now?
[00:45:13] Or secondly, are you saved, but you've never been discipled?
[00:45:20] In other words, you've never taken a serious, consistent, strategic time in your life to study through God's word, to begin to dismantle your life and your habits to see what lines up with the cross
[00:45:35] and what doesn't line up with the cross to actually get out of your life.
[00:45:41] or that you have walked through the Bible and Christian fellowship and discipleship with someone in your life to help you grow and to help you be built up in Christ.
[00:45:57] Are you with me?
[00:45:58] Some of you may have never done that.
[00:46:01] You got saved, but you didn't know what to do, and you went and basically lived the world.
[00:46:06] The world gave you the game controller, and you're just like, I'm saved, and I wanna see Jesus, but there's no real fire in your life.
[00:46:13] And this is where you need the Bible.
[00:46:16] This is where you need to learn how to pray.
[00:46:18] This is where you need to be in a church fellowship like this.
[00:46:21] You need to be, ladies, you need to be in BLAST or our women's Bible studies.
[00:46:26] There's so many women's Bible studies now, I can't even keep up with them all.
[00:46:30] And I praise God for that.
[00:46:32] You need to be, if you're a man, you need to be in knuckleheads on Monday night or early morning prayer, Tuesday and Thursday mornings here at 5.30 or forged on Tuesday nights so that you got men around you
[00:46:45] who are walking with Jesus and experiencing discipleship together and all of you together are fanning into flame the gift of God.
[00:46:54] It makes a difference.
[00:46:55] Listen, I'm way stronger when I go to the gym when I've got a workout partner than if I'm just by myself.
[00:47:02] If I'm out working on something, I'm a way better electrician.
[00:47:06] Some of y'all don't know this, but before I surrendered to ministry, I wanted to be a highway patrolman. I wanted to be a law dog. I wanted to retire as a U.S. marshal.
[00:47:16] I love that stuff. It's still in me somewhere along the way. I love every part of it.
[00:47:21] And to help pay my bills, because in the late 80s and 90s, those guys didn't make much. They still don't get paid as much as they deserve, like teachers as well. I went to vocational school and
[00:47:34] learned residential electricity. Now I don't practice that all the time, but when we're in Western North Carolina, I'm a way better electrician when I'm with God's electrician, Jeff Tucker. All right. Now I'm picking on Jeff and I do that a lot because he's not easily
[00:47:49] embarrassed and I don't have to worry about somebody getting mad, leaving the church just because I said their name. Okay. I'm able to slide in with, because both of us have been blown up a
[00:48:01] time or two, haven't we, Jeff? We know what you're supposed to touch and what you're not supposed to touch at certain times. But when I'm with him, there's a greater confidence. And that's what discipleship does. That's why we want you to be a part of this. Does that make sense, church friends?
[00:48:20] All because we are what? Fanning into flame so that we are responding to God's prompts.
[00:48:28] Now watch what Paul tells Timothy as a way of reminder.
[00:48:32] Verse seven, read it with me.
[00:48:33] For God gave us a spirit not of fear, but of power and of love and of self-control.
[00:48:44] Self-control.
[00:48:46] How many of y'all remember back driving vehicles the day that there was nothing power on them?
[00:48:52] Like literally turning the steering wheel was a workout.
[00:48:56] out. Come on. Oh, I love watching those hands. Yeah. Yeah. Now, how many of y'all got more buttons in your vehicle than you got time to study the manual on? All right. All right. So this is where
[00:49:08] we know the power of buttons, don't we? And God has given us some great buttons for us to push for all the right reasons. But I want to ask, are we mismatching the buttons? God gave us the spirit,
[00:49:26] not of fear, but of power. Friends, that power is the power of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus Christ given to believers to accomplish God's will on this earth until he returns. It is the same
[00:49:40] power that raised Jesus from the dead. That power is in you. That power that raises people from the dead is undeniable. Amen. You believe that? So here's the question. How much are we pushing the button of God's power in our life? Or are we pushing the button of opposite of God's power?
[00:50:04] Let's take a look at that. Powerlessness. We just don't feel powerful at all. We feel like we've got no real drive to exert our will some of y'all been stressing out last couple days you've been
[00:50:19] watching everybody's new post about their 2026 resolutions and you're just like i don't know what i'm gonna do i'm just gonna go to work and pay bills and you somehow or another you feel powerless in saying that as though you're supposed to have some kind of spectacular thing going on
[00:50:35] in your life i wonder how many of us are mashing the button of weakness to where we don't feel like we have any power to overcome maybe a sinful habit or a temptation or just a weakness in life
[00:50:51] to where it's just like i can never be consistent i can never cultivate the life that i want to i want to live you're jealous of people who get in a lane and they stay in their lane and and you just
[00:51:04] feel weak in reference to that i wonder how many of us are pushing the button of submission not submission to the Lord, but just a submission to this world. Whatever they're cramming down our throats, you're just mouth wide open. Just, yes, another one, please. Another one.
[00:51:19] Submission to everything that's coming along instead of being able to take a step of faith and power and go, whoa, I don't know about that. I don't know if that's good for my family. Whoa,
[00:51:29] I don't know if that's good for my life. And when we don't mash the button of power, the power of god we're mashing the button of cowardice we will shrink back in our life and we will become pros at what i call passive aggressive living you ever had something you
[00:51:51] wanted to confront but you don't like confrontation so what you do you passively aggressive confronted you get sassy you make size and slam doors and go around it instead of just dealing with it head on right and then finally when you've had enough you just full tilt active
[00:52:07] the rage and flesh demonic verbally vomit on somebody right and then all you got over there is like i'm so sorry i'm so sorry i'm so sorry where'd all that come from not from power from
[00:52:18] cowardice power god gives us capacity say hey let's sit down and talk let's have let's have a come to jesus meeting why both of us coming together with jesus and both of us trying to
[00:52:28] figure out how to resolve this so that why the power of our relationship to glorify god is the most important thing going on here hello sometimes guys um we we have that cowardice not because
[00:52:43] it flips on us we might agree with somebody that is totally right we we may we may go man that's that was a good sermon pastor i love the way you articulated that or maybe there's somebody
[00:52:54] you listen to or maybe there's there's one of your friends that has a great disposition on this but you're just like no i ain't saying that because i don't want the attention i don't want
[00:53:02] people blowing up my social media, right, right, and so in a flip way, cowardice overtakes our lives, which button are you mashing, he gave us the spirit of love, the love of God, unconditional love, love that was brought and bought for us on the cross of Jesus Christ, are you mashing that
[00:53:26] button of unconditional love in your life to where you serve and you won't stay the same way that God found you? Or are you mashing the button that's opposite of that? Conditional love to where pretty much everything you have in your life and the relationships you have
[00:53:41] are just simply contracts on varying scales. You look at individuals and the interaction you have with them, it's kind of like, well, if you will do this for me, then I will do this for you.
[00:53:53] But if you don't do this for me, I am only doing this for you. You go to work and instead of being in a team, it's more like, well, you scratch my back, I'll scratch your back.
[00:54:06] First shift, first shift busted out, second shift busted out.
[00:54:10] If first shift won't do it, second shift isn't picking up the weight.
[00:54:13] And what we ultimately become walking around are baptized curmudgeons, just having to hear it a certain way, it having to be done a certain way, or we're just not gonna ever, ever be happy.
[00:54:27] God's called us not to live in that life.
[00:54:31] And friends, if we're not mashing the love, the spirit of God's love in our life, then we will be mashing the button of fear.
[00:54:40] The Bible tells us that the love of God, perfect love drives out fear.
[00:54:47] Perfect love helps us walk in faith.
[00:54:51] And the Bible says that whatever does not come from faith is sin.
[00:54:55] So when fear is overwhelming us, some of us already are in 2026 going, oh my goodness, I don't know what we're gonna do.
[00:55:00] We don't have the business we have.
[00:55:02] We don't have this.
[00:55:03] This has already happened.
[00:55:04] And what if, what if, what if, what if, what if, what if?
[00:55:06] And you are just mashing like crazy the button of fear as though you're playing Galaga.
[00:55:12] Anybody remember that game?
[00:55:14] Where you learned to three-finger shuffle there?
[00:55:17] Yeah, if you don't know what I'm talking about, Google it, okay, right?
[00:55:21] How much fear is overcoming your life?
[00:55:23] God didn't give you a spirit of fear, of phobos, of phobias.
[00:55:28] God gave you the spirit of love and God gave us a button of self-control the last fruit of the Holy Spirit that as all of these go together it's not a gradual it's not a progression they all go
[00:55:43] together and this is where we do have the capacity to exert a godly will in our life and if we're not mashing the button of self-control we're mashing the button of impulsivity one impulse after
[00:55:56] another, after another, whether it's based off of comfort or thrill or rewarding ourself. And you say, well, pastor, how do you know if you're an impulsive person? Look in your garage, look in your attic, look in your building, look in the playroom, look in the bonus room, the basement,
[00:56:19] look in your closet, look at the checking account, look at your calendar to see if you impulsively, you get really involved in this and then you kind of burn yourself out and then you get really
[00:56:31] involved in this and you kind of burn yourself out you go full tilts in this and you kind of burn yourself out it's impulsivity does that make sense we do this spiritually too this is one of
[00:56:43] the hardest lessons i've ever had to learn as a pastor is watching people be impulsive in their walk with jesus there's something to the man and woman of god who has stayed consistent throughout the years one of those examples for us that we have here is miss jean roseman i know she wouldn't
[00:56:59] Wouldn't want any props on that.
[00:57:01] I promise you, Miss Jean is not a real person.
[00:57:03] She is an angel.
[00:57:05] Every time I hug her, I try to feel for her wings.
[00:57:08] They're back there.
[00:57:09] Jean's, how old's Jean, y'all?
[00:57:11] She 80?
[00:57:13] Huh?
[00:57:15] 91 years old.
[00:57:17] Loves Jesus.
[00:57:18] You walk into her house, on her dining table is a little mini bookshelf that tilts her Bible up where she can read it and stay in it.
[00:57:28] Remember old school pictures of the man and the woman sitting by the bread with bowed hands, that's Miss Jean. That's Miss Jean. Now, she's not had an easy life, but she's been self-controlled and not impulsive. I've watched over the years,
[00:57:48] sometimes people come to Beulah and they'll be like blow torches for Jesus. Like, I want to get involved in this and that and this and that. And then maybe after six months or nine months or two years, they just kinda drift away.
[00:58:05] And I'll be prompted of the Holy Spirit.
[00:58:07] It'll wake me up in the middle of the night, I'll be riding down the road.
[00:58:10] Veda, you can tell the truth of this, as our office manager, I'll call you, I'll say, hey, hey, hey, text me real quick, text me real quick, such and such a number.
[00:58:15] I hadn't seen them in a little bit, and I'll call them.
[00:58:18] And sometimes they won't respond, which is always interesting to me as a pastor.
[00:58:26] Cause I'm like, well, if you're supposed to be a Christian and I'm a Christian, why aren't you calling me?
[00:58:32] Back, right?
[00:58:34] Like if both of us die and we go to heaven and you see me, are you gonna walk the other side of the street to go just cause you don't want me to be your pastor anymore?
[00:58:43] Cause I'm a chase you'll hunt in.
[00:58:45] I am that guy.
[00:58:48] But here's the better thought.
[00:58:50] Y'all ain't never thought about this, have you?
[00:58:52] Here's a better thought.
[00:58:52] One of us ain't making it to heaven if we got that attitude.
[00:58:57] You ain't thought about it that way either, have you?
[00:58:59] No, it's because why?
[00:59:01] We're impulsive.
[00:59:02] But sometimes they'll call me back and I'll say, hey, what's going on?
[00:59:05] I've been missing you.
[00:59:07] And I don't want to be like I'm judging.
[00:59:08] I'll be like, hey, have I been missing you?
[00:59:10] Pastor, how do you pay attention to so many people?
[00:59:12] It's the Lord.
[00:59:13] The Lord put your face right in front of me.
[00:59:16] One of my buddies, I texted him yesterday.
[00:59:17] I said, hey, man, riding down the road thinking about you.
[00:59:19] He takes me back and said, don't you have something better to think about?
[00:59:23] I was like, bro, man, I love you, dude.
[00:59:24] The Lord just put you in my mind.
[00:59:26] I was singing a good song and here you come, right?
[00:59:30] so so what you and you then you listen to their story and you realize that's kind of the case of their walk with Jesus has been one impulse after another whatever happened fan the fan the fire and they did well and then they kind of
[00:59:44] waned out and this is why it's important to have a faith community around you so if that you're spiritually you're impulsive that you got some people who are not judging you they're just like we missed you at ladies Bible study we've
[00:59:56] been missing you in worship. What's going on? It's not trying to be intrusive. It's to help you grow in Christ. Are we mashing the button of self-control? Are we mashing the button of spiral? That's a good trigger word today. Anybody know the word spiral? Any of you ever spiral out?
[01:00:12] One little seat thought gets in there and then the old devil goes, and then it turns into a forest fire. I did that this morning, getting ready to work, to come to church, in the bathroom,
[01:00:24] Getting ready.
[01:00:25] Some of you are like, uh-oh, nervous.
[01:00:27] No, no, no.
[01:00:28] Not a TMI story.
[01:00:30] But I did.
[01:00:31] I started spiraling.
[01:00:31] I started thinking about the day.
[01:00:34] I started thinking about, well, my girls are gone.
[01:00:37] They had to leave early this morning for volleyball.
[01:00:40] And I've been trying to keep up with text messages.
[01:00:42] But I get used to seeing my girl over here, right?
[01:00:45] She anchors me.
[01:00:47] And so I started thinking, oh, man, she's not there.
[01:00:48] So I don't really have a gauge of how the sermon go in between because we talk about it.
[01:00:52] and we're and we think and then i start thinking oh man i gotta i gotta preach three times and oh we got baptism we got baptism in every service i'm gonna be changing clothes more than a plus
[01:01:00] size model wet dry dry wet wet dry fall over in the floor hope they don't hear me thank god my changing room is right behind the drum so so you think it's the downbeat no it's just big boy
[01:01:11] falling over because i'm stuck in some wet pants right trying to hurry up right so i was thinking about all this stuff and then i got oh we got right after church we got this and then i got
[01:01:20] discipleship appointment, and then I got to start Beulah Academy. Do I remember all that stuff? I know I got degrees in a smart mind, but I forgot what I remember, and I remember what I've forgotten,
[01:01:28] and then what's people's expectations, all this, and I was just, and all of a sudden, the Lord said, stop it. In the name of my name, stop it. You will accomplish each one as they go along
[01:01:43] by my power. Boom, and he helped me hit the self-control button. I'm telling you, The Holy Spirit, y'all ever been going down the mountains and seeing those sharp grades?
[01:01:55] And then they got that sand trap over on the side with the whoop-de-whoop-de-whoop-de zone that look brutal.
[01:02:00] I don't ever wanna have to use one.
[01:02:01] The Holy Spirit will do that for you if you're a spiraler, if you'll mash the self-control button.
[01:02:11] And indulgence, are you mashing that button?
[01:02:14] Look, it's 2026, y'all.
[01:02:15] It's four days in.
[01:02:17] I know you said you weren't gonna eat that last bowl of ice cream, but it's still there and you know it, about that much left.
[01:02:22] Ben and Jerry's. There you are. You're bored. Self-control, indulgent. Which one? You with me?
[01:02:31] So which one do you push more than the other one? Now let's watch this. Are y'all with me?
[01:02:36] We're going to go over our time, but I think this is worth it. We're going to split this sermon, come back to it. All right. Now watch this. He says, therefore, God didn't give you a spirit
[01:02:45] of fear, but of power, love, and a south mind. Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord nor of his prisoner. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Paul is writing this to Timothy to
[01:02:56] let it, he's letting us know what Timothy is struggling with y'all. This is why I love the Bible. This is why I believe the Bible is true because it's not whitewashed. It doesn't avoid personal struggle. Paul is reminding Timothy because Timothy is in a young man in mess town
[01:03:13] Mediterranean with all kinds of pressure. He's a young man. So people look at him going, what do know you're still wet behind the ears he's got the roman government on him secret police watching everything that he does hello he's got the greco-roman world criticizing him he's got the
[01:03:34] silversmith and the makers of the trinkets to diana because he's messing up their business because people are getting saved they got him under the radar they want to slit his throat He's got Jews going to war with him
[01:03:47] over Jesus being the Messiah.
[01:03:50] And then he's got every new believer who just got saved either out of Judaism or out of the most pagan mess you ever could going, I think we ought to run the church this way.
[01:04:01] I don't care what Apostle Paul says.
[01:04:03] I think we ought to do it this way.
[01:04:04] And they ain't never been to church.
[01:04:06] They didn't even know church existed.
[01:04:09] And all this pressure's on him.
[01:04:12] And it's got a bullseye on him.
[01:04:14] Think about it this way.
[01:04:15] how many of you have already gone back to work after the holidays how many of you are getting ready to go back to work tomorrow how many of you got to go to school tomorrow how many of you are
[01:04:26] already dreading it why why why because you've had some days where no target has been on your back right so what do you do you kind of shrink back and you got to work yourself up to get out there
[01:04:46] And this is where Paul's telling Timothy, Timothy, stop mashing the buttons of cowardice, powerlessness, indulgence. What is spiraling? God gave you a spirit of power of love and of a sound mind. Because when we mash all the buttons, other than those three, we too will lose the flame and
[01:05:08] the fire we have for the testimony of Jesus. And we also will become ashamed of anyone who is convinced of him. Because why? Paul says, nor of me his prisoner. Paul is a prisoner when he's
[01:05:21] writing this. So Timothy knows imminent death is before, death is imminent, which means if they'll kill him, Timothy knows they'll what? They'll kill him too. Which also means there's also, we miss it a lot of times in all the New Testament letters that Paul wrote, but there is a vein of
[01:05:41] people in these churches that absolutely despise that Paul is their missionary because he's a jailbird missionary. They don't want to support him. And so they're putting the pressure too on Timothy. Why are you calling him your father in the Lord? Why are we listening to him? He's in
[01:05:59] jail. He's going to die. He can't do anything for us. And he's like, no, no, no, no, no. We're doing what we're supposed to do. Think about it this way. Let's say for instance, I went downtown this
[01:06:07] afternoon and I stood there with my Bible and I started preaching the gospel. Okay. And, uh, I didn't have a permit to do it. I just wanted to stop. I felt inspired to the Lord. And guess
[01:06:18] what? Somebody raised a fit. They had three law dogs there. They arrested me, took me to jail.
[01:06:23] Okay. There will be many of you in this room that would be like, see, pastor Brian is embarrassing us. I'm never going back to that church again.
[01:06:31] Then there'd be a bunch of you. They'd be like, I'll bail him out. Let's let him do it again.
[01:06:35] a bunch of rednecks y'all but notice the difference some of you would say i don't know if i want to go to a church like that the others you'd be like man praise god hey can we write
[01:06:48] pastor brian's bail money in the budget for 2026 is that a new business meeting okay are you with me people think differently well guess what timothy's feeling all this pressure and he paul knows he's not mashing the buttons he needs to he's he's could be thumping a few over there that
[01:07:09] are causing him to shrink back now watch what he says read this with me he says but share come on guys share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God Paul we're going to see this next
[01:07:23] week Lord willing he uses suffering two different Greek words but they mean suffering but one means a community effort. The other one is an individual level of suffering that the gospel brings.
[01:07:36] He now tells him, says, look, because we have power, love, and sound mind or self-control, we are to suffer together, suffer together. Guys, our world will never teach us the joy of this.
[01:07:53] Our world says, if it ain't easy, if it ain't fixed in two weeks, leave it. It ain't worth it.
[01:07:58] Our world says, if you gotta strive for it, sweat for it, and it don't pay big dividends, and it doesn't get immediate, you sweat under the rug, or like it never happened, leave it.
[01:08:07] Let me ask you a question.
[01:08:08] How many of you are in this room who have been married at least 35 years?
[01:08:13] Raise your hand, raise them tall, and keep them up.
[01:08:15] Even if you're a widow or widower, right, but you are married.
[01:08:18] Amen, let's celebrate these guys, amen.
[01:08:21] Okay, all right, let me ask this.
[01:08:25] For just those of you who raised your hand, how easy was the first four years of your marriage? I heard a woo. And I don't think it was a Ric Flair woo either. It sounded more like a pucker up buttercup. All right. All right.
[01:08:43] So a little tough, huh? Vivian's over there shaking her head. Okay. All right. How many of you, let me ask of that group within the first two years had children. Okay. All right. And how
[01:08:57] many of you in those first two years made the same amount of money that you make right now or that you retired on? Y'all not work? Oh no. It was different living, wasn't it? It wasn't
[01:09:15] even a fraction, baby. We got to go to decimals over here. Anybody, right? So it wasn't easy.
[01:09:23] You had responsibilities, major responsibilities, like mouths had to be fed, food had to be put on tables clothes had to be put on backs so what was your attitude say it get to work guess what suffer together suffer together suffer together striving
[01:09:54] together learning together working together believing together sacrificing together your needs today my needs tomorrow our needs wow together guess what if one wins we all win we are suffering together and this is where when the fan of the flame of the gospel is in
[01:10:16] your life you realize the power of relationships when you struggle together most of us have let the world prompt us to just start burning bridges oh you don't like me you don't like me off you
[01:10:30] You don't like me?
[01:10:30] Oh, you don't agree with me?
[01:10:32] You don't see it my way?
[01:10:34] That is not the gospel.
[01:10:37] Because why?
[01:10:38] Relationships are to be redeemed.
[01:10:43] Is everybody with me?
[01:10:45] And think about it.
[01:10:46] As a church family, as a church family, we believe together.
[01:10:50] We pray together.
[01:10:53] We serve together, which is a sacrifice.
[01:10:57] Look, y'all, if I wasn't your pastor, there'd be some Sundays I couldn't be here.
[01:11:01] hello do you understand that this is why we make the commitment to tithe together hello to where we sacrifice and get our financial lives in order we grieve together we celebrate together we hope together we cry together we laugh
[01:11:23] together why and he says we do this for the gospel by the power of God when we quit and when we refuse to strive with one another and serve with one another and suffer with one
[01:11:37] another, we show exactly what Satan does. If all the glory can't be mine, I will quit.
[01:11:46] But when we suffer together, we exemplify the gospel, the good news of God that at the appointed time, took on flesh, came and felt the temptation of this world, struggled with us and for us and
[01:12:03] resisted sin, died upon that cross and rose from the dead so that out of that struggle, you and I could have eternal life and everlasting hope in this world. Isn't that powerful? And so that's
[01:12:17] why I'm asking you, put the gospel in every responsibility you have and learn to strive together with your family with your mate with your friends with your co-workers let them see that exemplified in you and notice this he says we do this for the gospel by the power of god
[01:12:37] most people i'm watching christians i've been watching preachers preach this that's the power of god that keeps you from suffering nobody the best place to see the power of god is in the midst of suffering it's in the midst of suffering how many of you have been to western north carolina
[01:12:53] with me to do one of these tasks, one of these building projects we've done. Jamie, you've been there with us. Jamie, when we get done with our work and I rally up before we all jump in our
[01:13:04] trucks and hope we stay awake as we go down the mountain and I start praying, what happens to me when I start praying? A lot of love. Jeff, it's happening to you right now. What happens to me?
[01:13:21] It's emotions. Like Don Anderson said it best in the second service, somebody has to step in and pray for me because i can't and it's not because i'm just dog tired no it's because as we struggle
[01:13:34] together we're doing most of us are doing things we don't do every day but for the sake of the gospel we're greeting people we've never met we're loving on people we've never met we're serving
[01:13:44] people joey you've you've been there right we get to that moment of prayer man i can't even pray because i'm so overwhelmed with the power of god that i just saw in a 12-hour day from getting up
[01:13:57] at 4 a.m in the morning meeting everybody getting there by 7 30 eating breakfast jumping on the on the job site and finishing strong smelly and stinky and just standing in here with these men
[01:14:08] who are in women who are sharing their pto time they're sharing their expertise they're caring about something bigger than themselves it's in striving together that you see the power of god so don't you dare let the world give you the gaming system that says you are better by yourself
[01:14:24] that is the wrong prompt and we get to experience this y'all still got enough in the tank for this i promise y'all land this bird here in a second because he's given us three new buttons he says
[01:14:38] by the power of god read it with me verse nine who saved us and called us to a holy calling not because of our works so what christ is doing in us doesn't have anything to do with
[01:14:53] our best intentions. It has to do with him. Now let's look at this real quick. We're going to come back to the rest of this sermon next week, but I want you to go home with these.
[01:15:04] How many of you in this room would say, I can mash the button. I am saved. Raise your hand, raise it high. Don't be ashamed. I'm not going to call anybody out. All right. So I want to go to
[01:15:16] heaven. I want to see Jesus. I want to be restored with loved ones. I want all the good of eternity.
[01:15:22] I won't know what street's gold are about.
[01:15:24] I won't sing in heaven's choir.
[01:15:26] I ain't gonna complain about the music there.
[01:15:27] Hallelujah.
[01:15:29] Okay?
[01:15:30] Had to throw that one in.
[01:15:31] All right, trigger.
[01:15:32] All right, here we go.
[01:15:35] Now, if I'm mashing the button that I am saved, do I, do you, do we also mash the button that I am called?
[01:15:48] That there is a very specific serial numbered calling on your life, on your life, on your life.
[01:15:56] And not just out here in the blue, very specific called by God.
[01:16:03] Or am I hitting the button that says, I don't care, I'm gonna do what I wanna do.
[01:16:10] Which one?
[01:16:12] Because what I'm concerned is, is that believers are holding the I'm saved button down, but we are wearing the, I'm in a mood, I don't care what anybody thinks, I'm gonna do what I wanna do.
[01:16:20] I don't care what Pastor Brian says, I'm gonna do what I wanna do.
[01:16:22] I don't care what the Word of God says, I'm gonna do what I wanna do.
[01:16:25] I'm going to do, I'm going to do, I'm going to do, I'm wearing it out. You with me? Not trying to be hateful, not trying to be rude. I'm asking us to contemplate which buttons we're getting used
[01:16:39] to mashing. And then if I have the I'm saved button down and I'm considering that what my calling is, he also gave me another one, a holy life. Holy life means that it is set apart. This
[01:16:56] not self-righteousness this is not just no makeup and dresses and suits and all that stuff no no no this means that my life is truly set apart from the inside out think about it this way how many
[01:17:08] of you are connoisseurs of steak or meat products beef okay all right if you're a vegan a vegetarian i'm not overlooking you and i'm not making fun of you okay don't send me an email on that i don't
[01:17:21] understand you but uh reserve your right to applaud your tofu okay all right i'm gonna get one on that all right i like peas too just with my mashed taters and been a country style steak okay
[01:17:33] hallelujah all right now think about this when you go to the meat counter there is a wide array of cutlets of meat correct early in my years i was way into bodybuilding i was broke as a joke
[01:17:45] top round steak oh yeah great creatine tough like wet leather these are my younger days where i had teeth that you just bought them right some of the old school bro science body there's no exactly
[01:17:58] what i'm talking about but now there's better cuts like prime rib the ribeye the tomahawk steak the t-bone and then my favorite the filet mignon better known as filet mignon right okay so if if money's not an issue which one are you picking exactly i didn't hear nobody say sirloin i didn't
[01:18:30] hear nobody say all around no because why in your mind that cutlet is set apart the experience is totally different of all the cutlets of meat there that is the richest tenderest most that you can
[01:18:47] get this is what god is saying when i saved you i didn't save you to look like the world i saved you to be set apart from the world so he now as we're striving together are i'm saved i'm called and i
[01:19:04] am to be pursuing a set-apart life unless i'm saying no no i'm okay with living an unholy life I'm safe, but I talk like this. I act like this. I think this way. I sex this way. I go this way.
[01:19:18] I'm moral this way. Are you following me? And those don't go together. Let me help you as we close this. This is where guys, your walk with the Lord matters because it's at this moment
[01:19:41] that the world says, okay, let's talk about life. And the world slides its control over and says, Look, you want success, you want success, don't pray about it, hustle harder.
[01:19:54] You want comfort, avoid sacrifice.
[01:19:58] You want control, manage the outcome.
[01:20:03] Any manage outcomers out there?
[01:20:07] No, no, no, we don't call them that, they're called meddlers.
[01:20:11] You don't get your way, oh, I'm fine, I'm fine.
[01:20:14] But you work every angle, every nook and cranny to get what you want.
[01:20:20] Guys, that's demonic.
[01:20:21] Stop it.
[01:20:25] Our world says, you want self?
[01:20:26] Just do what feels right for you.
[01:20:28] But in the process, guys, this is where Jesus says, no, lose your life and find it in me.
[01:20:34] You do this, you will lose your life.
[01:20:36] But if you will give your life to me, you will find it.
[01:20:41] When the world says, oh, you wanna be religious?
[01:20:43] No problem.
[01:20:45] Look, just look spiritual.
[01:20:48] Carry your Bible, buy you a devotional, hug a tree, get you a yoga mat, go holistic, do Daniel's fast.
[01:21:02] Let me remind you, fasting is not for the purpose of losing weight.
[01:21:06] Fasting is the purpose of building a greater desire for God.
[01:21:09] Okay, when you fast, know why you fast.
[01:21:13] The world says, you wanna be religious, that's fine.
[01:21:15] Just say the right words.
[01:21:16] You say the right words, nobody will pay attention.
[01:21:19] You don't have to worry about the rest of these buttons, just say the right words.
[01:21:22] When the world says, hey, hey, hey, look, we're gonna play a good game here, You wanna go to church, fine.
[01:21:27] Attend, just don't be transformed.
[01:21:30] Go, just don't, go with the gospel.
[01:21:35] When the world says, hey, let's try a new one here, perform instead of repent.
[01:21:41] You wanna be religious, just perform, but don't repent.
[01:21:46] But if you want power in your performance, you better repent.
[01:21:53] When the world gives us, and this is where God says, look, I desire truth in the inward being.
[01:21:57] I don't look on the outward as man does.
[01:21:59] I look on the inward.
[01:22:02] When the world gives us sexuality, it says identity is equal to your desire.
[01:22:07] So whatever you desire, that must be your identity.
[01:22:13] Do you hear that?
[01:22:14] And this is where we get people say, well, I was born this way.
[01:22:18] I was born with the desire to eat everything that ends in edos.
[01:22:23] Cheetos, Doritos, Tostitos, burritos.
[01:22:28] Did I miss one?
[01:22:30] Taquitos, no, no, no, no Takis, no, no, no, right?
[01:22:35] Now, listen, I'm not trying to be silly, but here's what I'm saying.
[01:22:38] My personal physician is in here.
[01:22:40] If I eat all those edos, when I go to do blood work, guess what?
[01:22:45] He sees it.
[01:22:47] And just because I feel I was born with a desire that I love the taste for that does not free me from the responsibility of personal choice as assigned to my Creator's design.
[01:22:58] When the world gives us sexuality, it says, look, love with no limits and no boundaries.
[01:23:02] That's where we get this foolishness that we get today that's followed up from the Romans.
[01:23:05] open marriages, and all this crazy, sinful, perverted mess that's today.
[01:23:10] This is where when the world gives us sexuality, it says, no, no, no, question God's design.
[01:23:16] Listen, there's only one design that procreates. Last night I had a call about 11 o'clock, somebody, or nine o'clock, excuse me, wanting me to, wanting me to give them, pastor from the Old Testament, where does it say that homosexuality is abomination? I said, how about instead of
[01:23:32] looking for the abomination. Let's look for the adoration. Go back to Genesis. At the pinnacle of creation, God created Adam and Eve and said, be fruitful and multiply. If we will adore his design, I can stay in adoration. And it doesn't mean I got to hate you. I'm just going to put
[01:23:52] you back, point you back to what I adore because what I adore is biblical. And what I adore promotes life. And why I adore it is because it is God's design. You see, this is where scripture says,
[01:24:05] you are created on purpose, and that purpose is holiness. And when the world gives us the gamer for morals, it says, hey, what's legal is right. Pastor, I don't know why they're going to legalize marijuana. Just because it's illegal, does it make you better? Whiskey's illegal.
[01:24:24] Has it made you better? Gambling's legal. Has it made you better? Donuts are legal.
[01:24:30] They made us better. Massage parlors are legal in some states. That made you better. Prostitution is legal in las vegas that made you better freedom of your rights is legal is that that made you
[01:24:45] better is it cause you walk further away from the gospel well i'm saved and i smell like a skunk but but i i'm still saved hello oh i'm gonna get it on now when i know i am you see you see what we're
[01:25:02] doing when the world handles us morality it says uh what's popular is true really when the world hands us morality it says if it's feel it feels good it's justified and and truth is flexible
[01:25:17] and this is where god says no i am the lord your god i do not change listen we're going to come back to this next week but i want you to go home and i want you to think about which buttons are
[01:25:28] you pushing are you holding down the save buttons but you're pushing everything else you see sometimes the kids know that when they hand me that controller i don't know what i'm doing and and I mash the wrong buttons.
[01:25:42] So they say, don't mash a button until the game starts, until I tell you to, because it resets the whole thing.
[01:25:51] I'm an idiot.
[01:25:52] Oh, somebody's gonna get offended I said that.
[01:25:54] That's a personal conversation that I'm having with myself, okay?
[01:25:58] Sometimes they'll hold the controller until they get the game set up and they'll go, here, two buttons is all you need to worry about, pops.
[01:26:06] And then I'm playing.
[01:26:09] Here's the issue of this illustration in this sermon.
[01:26:13] I'm not being hateful.
[01:26:15] I'm not trying to be hard-hearted.
[01:26:17] I'm not trying to point a finger.
[01:26:19] I'm asking this, which buttons are we growing accustomed to pushing?
[01:26:25] Because if I'm holding down the I'm saved button, but the rest of my buttons look unsaved, because Jesus said, "'You will know my children by the fruit they bear.'" And all God's people said.
[01:26:46] Heavenly Father, help us in this moment to yield ourselves to you and your understanding that we may be strong in you, that our buttons would be your buttons.
[01:27:05] In Jesus' name we pray, and all God's people said, happy new year, I love you.