When the Gospel Gets a Flat: A Theological Review of ‘Remember Jesus’

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[00:00:00] This spotlights centers on opportunities for you to serve. Our first opportunity is with our safety team. The safety team serves on Sunday evenings to help create a calm, secure, and welcoming environment while the youth and children have activities. These times are from 4.30 to 7.30 p.m. If you're attentive, dependable, and have a heart to serve behind the scenes, this is a meaningful way to care for our church family. You can serve monthly or
[00:13:26] even weekly, depending on your interest. Another opportunity is with our Beulah Go team.
[00:13:33] Our Beulah Go team plans and leads our outreach efforts in our community, meeting practical needs and sharing Christ's love through action. If you enjoy planning, teamwork, and making a real impact beyond the church walls, this is a meaningful place for you to serve. Help us be the hands and
[00:13:53] feet of Jesus by reaching our neighbor. Upcoming serving dates are March 28th, May 16th, September 12th, and October 10th. If any of these opportunities interest you, please contact Elizabeth Green at BeulahChurchLife at gmail.com or call the church office at 704-872-6971. We look forward
[00:14:19] to serving with you.

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[00:14:21] Let me come to rejoice today.
[00:14:33] We went over every one of them.

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[00:19:43] Been waiting for 10.30 to throw down on this song right here.
[00:19:51] And he's only about, look here, look here, look here.
[00:19:53] I know we struggle with a little rhythm, but it's a downbeat.
[00:19:59] That's all it is right here.
[00:20:02] Don't speed it up.
[00:20:03] You don't know what to do.
[00:20:04] Watch my man Tim when he hits the snare drum, okay?
[00:20:08] But you and I are called to rejoice.
[00:20:11] we have everything to rejoice about who here has been forgiven of their sins that means you were loved when you were still sinning God demonstrated his love for you and that while we were still sinning Christ Jesus died that is enough if we didn't have
[00:20:33] another blessing in our life that's enough to rejoice about this morning I've been waiting for 1030. I've been waiting for you this morning. I've been waiting for us to worship God together.
[00:20:46] Now, how many of you have seen God's blessings in your life? Timely blessings that ain't no way in the world you would have made it if God didn't show up, even at the midnight hour. How many of
[00:20:59] you? How many of you? That is plenty of reason to rejoice. How many of you right now are in a season where you were expecting God. You need God to show up. You need God to turn things around.
[00:21:12] You need God to sustain you. The Bible tells us to rejoice in hope because why? God is not slack concerning his promises as some men count slackness. His promises toward you are yes and amen.
[00:21:27] Amen. That is reason to rejoice. And the truth is, is that in that delay that you're expecting. God wants to grow you. You know, at this season in my life, one of my friends reminded
[00:21:51] me the other day, he said, Brian, you do realize there are people who either love you or there are people who hate you. There's really no in between. I was like, I'm praise God for a friend like this.
[00:22:05] But you know, look, I'm okay with that. I say it like this and I don't say it braggadociously. I say, look, like me, love me or hate me. I've lived rent free in your head and God will use me to sow
[00:22:25] seed. But here's the best part about the Lord is the Lord doesn't see like men see the Lord. When he sees you, you are made in his image, red, yellow, black, and white. You are precious in his
[00:22:43] sight. And God in Christ Jesus came to get near you and came to get near you and came to get near you and you and you and me and you and all of us. He wasn't standing in glory going, all right,
[00:23:06] do your best. Get to me. No, he took on flesh because he wants to grow you into his image.
[00:23:15] he ain't looking at us going, oh, I don't like her. I don't like her. Oh, I like him. Oh, I like her. Oh, but I can't stand her. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. He loves you. His love is demonstrated
[00:23:31] on that old rugged cross. That's why we rejoice that not only does he love you, but he wants to work in you. He wants to get near you. He wants to change you. Will you let him in? And I'm going
[00:23:48] tell you straight up, when you let him in, you can't help but rejoice. The word rejoice. Come on. How many of you know the truth of that? So they're going to take us back into this song
[00:24:01] and I want us to rejoice. I want us to lift high the name of Jesus. Look, even in your brokenness, lift him high. If you've never sang a day in church before in your life, let today be the
[00:24:18] first. If you've never clapped your hands on beat, let today be the first. And if you don't know what to do, look at the person that is in the sink with the downbeat on the drum, but let's rejoice.
[00:24:34] Heavenly father, we invite you into this place. We thank you, Lord Jesus, for your love and your mercy and your grace that is sufficient. We thank you, dear heavenly father, that you've come to be
[00:24:45] near us, but Lord, we want to be near you. So help us to rejoice in you. Thank you for everything you've given us that we may rejoice. Now, Lord, let us lift high your holy name and doubly celebrate

[00:25:01] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:25:01] you for you are worthy of our praise. Come on, come on. He knows we serve a mighty God.
[00:28:01] His name is Jesus. Amen. So I trust in you. For him to fail, it is impossible. So what is it?

[00:42:39] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:42:39] that you need in your life right now?
[00:42:41] Is it physical healing?
[00:42:45] Is it spiritual healing?
[00:42:49] Is it a renewal of your mind that you can shift in your perspective and lay old ways down?
[00:42:57] Is it a battle in your flesh that you're wrestling against that it's finally time to repent of and to lay it at the feet of Jesus?
[00:43:11] Being able to get over your past.
[00:43:13] He never fails.
[00:43:19] And so if he never fails, then why are you and I trying to carry on so much stuff that he can just handle. He can heal from and deliver and strengthen and guide and open a new pathway and a new door. I want to invite us into this just precious moment for
[00:43:38] prayer. Many of you have already been at the altar, but if you know there's something in your life that you want to lay down, the altar's open right now. What is it that you need from the Lord?
[00:43:50] Tell him right now. Tell him right now in confidence, knowing that he will never fail.
[00:43:56] and that it is a precious thing to trust him.
[00:44:01] Father, in the name of Jesus, I pray over your people.
[00:44:05] I pray over them, dear heavenly father, because they have real needs in their life.
[00:44:09] Some of them this morning, Lord, are wrestling with crushing grief.
[00:44:14] And I ask Lord Jesus that you would strengthen them with your strength and comfort them with your comfort.
[00:44:21] And father, help them to see from your vantage point that even in the hurt, God, they may be strong and not in themselves. God, I pray for the individual who's struggling this morning with cancer. Father, I believe you have all power, heaven and earth, Lord, that you
[00:44:42] can dissolve every cancerous cell in their body. And I speak life from the crown of their head to the toes of their feet, that you would allow their body to receive your miracle.
[00:44:52] I pray to your father over hearts and kidneys and livers, over backs, dear father, over folks with diabetes. Dear Heavenly Father, I pray and I ask, and I pray this not nonchalantly or just listing out things. I pray God is prompted of the Holy Spirit that Lord, these individuals could
[00:45:10] receive your grace and a great dispensation, Lord, that their bodies would receive the healing that can only come from you. Father, I pray for the man or the woman that stands here today, struggling with where they are in their life. God, would you give them strength to take a step of faith and to
[00:45:27] grow in you. Lord, I pray over the man and the woman who desire somebody to be in their life as a single person, God, that they could have somebody from you to love them and encourage
[00:45:36] them and push them toward Christ. God, would you tailor make that person for them and let them, dear father, let the joy and the hope of an answered prayer be theirs. I pray father for
[00:45:48] the married couple that is struggling today, God, that you would mend those paths, create Lord, that new marriage in their, in their marriage, that they would love you and surrender to you.
[00:45:59] And Lord, they would love their spouse as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for it.
[00:46:04] I pray to father, that they would understand that mutual respect and that dear heavenly father showing up in your name for one another in ways, Lord Jesus, that is not a contract, but that is a covenant. I pray for the parents who are struggling parenting and
[00:46:20] balancing what their kids need in their life. God, let them be able to settle in you. And I pray for the student father who is wrestling with friends and wrestling with mistakes and wrestling with
[00:46:31] your grace. God, would you restore those students? I pray for people that you would heal and restore their finances, that you would grant them self-discipline, that they may, Lord, find their path. And Lord, whatever the season that they're in, I'm asking Lord Jesus that you would satisfy
[00:46:50] them and sustain them in this season. And I believe you for this in Jesus' name. Sing that again. I trust in you.

[00:46:59] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:46:59] I saw the Lord and he heard the answer. I saw the Lord and he heard and he answered.
[00:47:09] And he heard and he answered. That's why I trust him.
[00:47:17] Sing it.
[00:47:17] I saw the Lord, and He heard, and He answered.
[00:47:28] I said, do it God, that's why I trust Him.
[00:47:36] Come on, proclaim it.
[00:47:37] I saw the Lord, and He answered.
[00:47:43] I said, do it God, that's why I trust Him.
[00:47:48] Church, amen.

[00:49:39] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:49:39] We celebrate our Lord.
[00:49:40] Oh, Heavenly Father, I thank you and I praise you for precious moments like this.
[00:49:46] We're here, Heavenly Father.
[00:49:47] We didn't just come to church.
[00:49:48] who came to be the church into your hand.
[00:49:51] And Heavenly Father, I thank you for the act of faith of being able to come before you like Hannah, Lord, and the desire to have a child.
[00:49:58] Father, she poured herself out in great distress on the altar, Lord.
[00:50:03] You heard her cry.
[00:50:04] You blessed her with Samuel, and she dedicated him to you.
[00:50:08] Lord, like Mary Magdalene, Lord, poured out her alabaster box on your feet, dear Heavenly Father.
[00:50:15] I pray that we'd have that devotion to you, Lord Jesus.
[00:50:18] I thank you dear heavenly father for the example of like John the disciple who wherever you were Lord he was as close as he could get to you and I thank you dear heavenly father
[00:50:30] for moments too like the apostle Peter Lord where when we don't get it right you still pursue us you still call us you still commission us and I thank you dear heavenly father that you're growing
[00:50:42] our faith that we may walk faithfully with you day by day I thank you dear heavenly Father, that you want to be near us. I thank you for words like this, Father. If my people who are
[00:50:55] called by my name will humble themselves, seek my face, turn from their wicked ways, and I will hear from heaven their cry, and I will heal their land and forgive their sins.
[00:51:11] God, we are in need of you healing our land and our souls and our minds and our hearts, delivering us Lord from our flesh healing our marriages and our homes and our children healing dear Father the broken
[00:51:25] system that we've depended upon so long and Father now may we depend on you in greater fashion I thank you Lord that you are meeting with us today and it's in Jesus name that we pray
[00:51:35] and all God's people said amen would you find five or six people around you welcome them to church this morning it is that was good wasn't it y'all mind that Amen.
[00:52:06] Am I by myself?
[00:52:07] Y'all mind that?
[00:52:08] Amen.
[00:52:08] Was that good?
[00:52:09] Wow.
[00:52:11] Love me.
[00:52:11] I love every service.
[00:52:12] I love me some 1030.
[00:52:15] Guys, I just want to say that this morning you have a new pastor.
[00:52:19] I'm grateful for you to have a new pastor.
[00:52:22] Your old pastor, the last time he was in this pulpit, he was 49 years old.
[00:52:27] Today he is 50.
[00:52:32] And I just want to say thank you so much for the crazy cockamamie stuff y'all sent me.
[00:52:38] I love this church.
[00:52:40] I am so grateful for the crazy stuff.
[00:52:42] Whoever sent me that AARP membership, I just want you to know that I love you.
[00:52:47] And I just don't know me this morning.
[00:52:49] I'm five years away from joining Golden Harvesters.
[00:52:53] But I'm very, very grateful for you, church family.
[00:52:57] Very grateful.
[00:52:58] And thank you for your encouragement this week.
[00:53:00] I wanna remind you to begin to tell your friends and to make your plans for our Easter services.
[00:53:05] We'll have three services, okay?
[00:53:07] Hear this.
[00:53:07] There'll be a seven, nine and 11. Okay. 7am nine and 11. I encourage you to maybe think about coming earlier. And I encourage you to not try to get here like five minutes before the service
[00:53:25] begins. Um, I just want to encourage you and I want to encourage you to invite people and let me register. I'm so excited for what God's doing as we're prepping the service and building and
[00:53:36] developing it and just asking God that I'm like, I'm so excited for what God's going to do. I'm excited for us. Uh, yeah, just, just absolutely cannot wait. Um, and I also want to encourage
[00:53:46] you today. This afternoon, uh, is our business meeting. It will be at two 30. Uh, we normally have them later. It's just because of Beulah Academy. And so at two 30, and I'm super excited,
[00:53:57] probably the most excited I've been in a long time. Our main order of business will be the presentation of our state-of-the-art playground for our older children. Since we've gotten rid of the one that came off of Noah's Ark and was faithful and God let it hang in there for us,
[00:54:14] I'm super excited to be able to present what we've worked on for a couple months now. And I really think we could probably take a vote on it now and it wouldn't even be an issue, but we need to do it
[00:54:24] at a business meeting. So you're ready to get to business? Amen. Pray this with me. Jesus, speak to me show me that in every season you are faithful and let me be faithful to you
[00:54:39] in christ's name we pray and all god's people said amen can i show y'all some pictures this morning these pictures are some buttons that the older i get are becoming my favorites Y'all recognize any of these?
[00:54:56] These are buttons that are in pretty much the modern day car.
[00:55:01] And let me just walk you through a couple of them.
[00:55:03] To start in your top left, anybody know what that is?
[00:55:06] It's lane assist.
[00:55:07] Now, I don't own a vehicle that has lane assist, but I've rented some vehicles that have lane assist.
[00:55:13] And let me just ask as a moment of confession, for the first three or 400 miles, lane assist and I talk very ugly toward one another.
[00:55:21] Very ugly.
[00:55:22] because lane assist likes to jerk the steering wheel out of, out of my hands. I was like, if I wanted the car to drive myself, I would have drawn, I would have bought a Tesla. Okay. I,
[00:55:33] that was funny. Okay. Go ahead. Go ahead. The other, let me make another confession. So we're in a season of funerals. So we've had a lot of funerals. There've been a lot of, a lot of grief
[00:55:43] among our church. And I just want you to know as a church family, I'm very proud of you for how you've loved on people. And I want to encourage you to love on Annabelle and Jerry Cook, their
[00:55:50] daughter, uh, Wanda is 53 years old, passed away unexpectedly. So we'll have another funeral this week on Thursday, but I'm grateful that we still live in a, in a, in a part of the country that
[00:56:01] when a funeral procession is happening, people pull over. Okay. And they wait as a sign of respect. Well, this, the, in this funeral season, as we've headed to the grave side, there have been several cars that have not pulled over. Each one of them have been a Tesla. Hold, hold on.
[00:56:19] don't be triggered yet. Let me get to the full story to which in my pickup truck, I have been very judgmental, very judgmental, very judgmental, sinfully judgmental. And the Lord has a way of showing up going, Brian, those cars drive themselves. There are no funeral buttons in
[00:56:43] those cars that say, pull over, slow your roll center and offer a little bit of grace. So I've confess twice this morning, okay? Is that good? Is that okay, right? Lane assist in the first
[00:56:57] little bit is aggravating. And it is for a kid that grew up, you know, like we didn't have driver's ed. Anybody remember that? You learn to drive by driving everything your daddy told, grandpa told
[00:57:10] you to get in and follow him in. Most of my driving was illegal for at least half of my life before i ever got my driver's license right and and and and drifting in the lane is a bit natural
[00:57:24] like they said i don't know about y'all but when we left the house they said just keep it between the ditches lane assist was not programmed that way not at all no no no lane assist takes it a
[00:57:37] great offense if you start drifting too close to the line and now as as an older man who gets highly preoccupied even by my own thinking my of course my family says dog we we ride behind you
[00:57:53] it's a wonder you don't get pulled over somebody think you're drunk driving right phone's going off i'm trying to write a sermon note i'm singing to the top of my lungs you know i'm riding down the road but i i've grown to love lane assist because why it is an accountability
[00:58:07] to make sure i'm in the lane i'm supposed to be in now um cruise control and y'all got cruise control. As I get older, I love cruise control. And here's the reason why I love cruise control
[00:58:22] because, because have you ever been like three hours out from your destination and the first sign of sleepy hits you? Anybody been there? I mean, you're trying to get back. Maybe your kids are at a ball tournament. You got to go to work on Monday morning. It didn't end till late. You're
[00:58:37] just getting in the car at nine o'clock and you got a four hour ride home, right? Because somebody of conned you into being on this travel team, right? And you are very aware that the coffee
[00:58:48] you got at that local choke and puke is not cutting the edge on the sleepy. Anybody know what I'm talking about? And you are at the age where you are scared to death to drink an energy
[00:58:57] drink because you don't want to have a heart attack riding down the road. That's me. That is me. And my flesh is going, it's okay, Brian. Just put that 2,500 sun in the wind, mash it on down
[00:59:10] and hear that turbo go, and you just rolling coal all the way back home. And then I think about my wife who says, I am not driving you around everywhere because you have lost your license.
[00:59:24] So cruise control keeps me a steady Betty and keeps me rolling and keeps me without blue lights behind me. I've grown to enjoy cruise control. Now another button I have grown to enjoy your bottom right. Anybody know what that is? It's called hill assist. Running back and forth from
[00:59:47] Western North Carolina, when you hit 226 and you're behind three vehicles who do not appreciate that stretch of about four miles of intense curves, whether you're going up or coming down is really a modern day man's Lamaze. I mean, it is, it is the Poconos, if you will. It is,
[01:00:07] and they're, they don't honor God. They're just looking at every leaf that's fallen and you're just riding on the brakes, you know, where they're just smoking. You mash that button and it creates a combustion. It lowers the joy. You know anything about going up to 26 with me? Have you ever talked
[01:00:21] to the Lord and seen the Lord on the way up there? It's amazing how fast Motley Crue make it drive on it. Right. And so, uh, that's, that's the other confession here. Be quiet. Okay. All right.
[01:00:31] But it takes the pressure on the engine, so it will limit how fast you go down the hill.
[01:00:39] And then last but not least is traction control.
[01:00:42] Much like lane assist, when traction control, when I bought a vehicle that had traction control, me and traction control talked pretty ugly to one another too.
[01:00:52] Because being a kid from the 70s and the 80s, y'all, I grew up watching Smokey and the Bandit, Starsky and Hutch, Chips.
[01:01:01] Come on. Anybody know what I'm talking about? Yeah. Duke's a hazard. You are no kind of driver if you're not leaving the parking lot with the hind end cocked out just a little bit.
[01:01:11] That shows everybody you have authority. You have authority. And so here I am trying to goose it, you know, wanting to show out a little bit and get in the middle of the road when that turbo's
[01:01:23] wound up and traction control kick in and you're just a dead duck in the middle of the road.
[01:01:29] But as I've gotten older, I've realized there's a few times that had I stayed in it, it had been worse than the mountains when I ran off the side of the road. It had been real bad.
[01:01:41] And so I've learned over the years that these buttons really are there to help me. And as I think about our series, Buttons, Triggers, and Truth, I want you to know that there is a button
[01:01:50] in your life, which is no button. It's a person. His name is Jesus. And he is all of these for you.
[01:01:57] He is all of these for you.
[01:01:59] Go forward with me, guys, if you will.
[01:02:00] Here's where the joy of this, guys, is that I want you to know that, and please don't hear me trivializing Jesus, that he's a button that when you want him, you trip him on, and when you don't want him,
[01:02:10] you press him off.
[01:02:11] No, no, no.
[01:02:11] Here's where Jesus truly is lane assist for us.
[01:02:16] In seasons when you're tired, you're aggravated, you're in a mood, and you have a temptation to drift, he keeps you in your lane.
[01:02:23] Jesus is like that cruise control.
[01:02:26] when you wanna do it on your own and rush ahead of him or you just can't stay consistent.
[01:02:32] You ever rode with somebody that drives their car like a go-kart?
[01:02:35] Like it's like, whoo, to the speed and then they back off, whoo, and then don't point.
[01:02:41] I don't have enough time in the planning year to do that much marriage counseling, okay, right?
[01:02:49] Jesus is the one that will keep you consistent at the right pace according to his will in your life.
[01:02:54] Jesus is he'll assist there are certain seasons of life to where it's like the brakes go and the load is heavy and the grade is too steep and you ever gotten anybody old enough to remember riding
[01:03:06] the skateboard and you got the downhill wobbles like that was the sign of imminent pain right road rash of the worst kind and Jesus is that for us he will until we can get control he will
[01:03:20] control it for us and build safe spots in our life to help us in whatever downhill ascent we're in.
[01:03:28] And he functions in our life like traffic, like traction control. You ever been in that season where you've thought yourself in a spin cycle? You ever been in that season where you got a little frisky for, for, for what you were doing? And he's the one who helped you and held you and
[01:03:43] will hold you from spinning out. Because here's what I'm learning guys. Our stability in life comes from his faithfulness, not yours.
[01:03:54] God Almighty, Jesus, his son, is faithful.
[01:04:00] Now, this is not a blank check for you to just simply be unfaithful.
[01:04:04] No, sir, no, ma'am.
[01:04:05] This is not for you to say, well, Jesus has got it, he's faithful, I don't have to be faithful.
[01:04:10] No, no, no, no, that's dangerous.
[01:04:12] You see, here's the joy of this, is because Jesus is faithful and faithful to work in your life and in my life, he calls us to be faithful to him as we have seen him and how many of you seen God be faithful in
[01:04:26] your life as you look back and every part in your best days and your worst days he has remained faithful the joy is is that that expression of faithfulness draw out a real faithfulness in us
[01:04:38] to where we want to walk with him and we want to believe what he is telling us to believe and we want to grow in our faith so that we are consistent in our walk today if you have your
[01:04:49] Bibles, I want you to turn with me to second Timothy chapter two, as we move forward in this text. And just as a way of reminder, I want us to catch up again. And so I'm going to read this as
[01:04:58] we walk into this, watch what he says in verse two and following. He says, you then my child be strengthened by the grace that is, that is in Christ Jesus. And what you have heard from me in
[01:05:11] the presence of many witnesses and trust of faithful men who will be able to teach others.
[01:05:15] This is where we took time to understand and we went back to the qualifications for a deacon and we asked the big questions.
[01:05:23] What if these aren't just qualifications for a minority among the majority?
[01:05:27] What if these are qualifications for every man, woman, boy, and girl who believes in Jesus has been born again and bought by his blood?
[01:05:34] So that unless, instead of it just being a small amount of people who are actually able to teach and actually live out faithfully, what if God and a tumbler just shook any of us up. And whoever fell out first, you could lead the way because you are walking faithfully with
[01:05:50] God. This is what I think really makes a healthy church. I think this is what God is calling us to.
[01:05:56] It's not just for a select few. All of us are called to live faithfully. And remember, Paul is writing to Timothy, this young man who is the pastor at Ephesus. And Timothy is on the brink
[01:06:09] of quitting. He is very emotionally distraught. He is struggling right now. And while he's struggling, Paul is writing to him from prison in the middle of his own struggle, using several illustrations and his own life to say, Timothy, hold on my child and the Lord. Don't you dare
[01:06:30] quit. And he gives him three illustrations that Parker preached on. And we, I reminded you of this last week. He says, look, share in suffering. And guys, this is the one thing no person wants to do,
[01:06:43] specifically a believer. But suffering writes a prescription for the gospel that becomes medicine to lost people who watch you go through seasons that you didn't vote for, and you don't know how you got in it or how you're going to get out of it, even if you made the decisions that God is
[01:07:00] disciplining you in them. But when they watch you hold on to faith, it writes a prescription for the gospel, that they're willing to take that medicine. I have seen it time and time again, the hardest of
[01:07:12] heart, the most atheistic, agnostic person, watch a faithful believer suffer in their life, come through that suffering, holding on to Jesus, watch that soften that person's heart as though it were, it was like a stool softener. That's a horrible illustration, just came up with that one. But you
[01:07:29] get the idea. The flood works come through and they give their life to Christ. And that's largely the issue with most of us is we have a hard heart. We have been through a season and we cannot see
[01:07:42] how God can redeem it because we didn't expect suffering. We expected roses and golden streets.
[01:07:48] And this is where guys, if God were to suffer for us on the cross in Jesus Christ, there's going to be some suffering, but the suffering is not pleasant because we hate discipline. And this
[01:08:00] is what he uses in these three illustrations. He says, I want you to share in suffering like a good soldier of Christ. He says, no soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs or pursuits. In other words, you know, he's not, he's not on duty one day and he's off. No, no, no. A soldier is
[01:08:15] always on duty because why? It is his aim to please the one who enlisted him. Jesus enlisted you in this. You didn't think this up. Jesus did. So the goal of our life in faithfulness is to
[01:08:30] please the Lord. He says, as an athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.
[01:08:36] He's reminding Timothy, Timothy, even in your worst days, the rules are not optional. In other words, we don't get to pick and choose in the Bible what we want to live and believe or disbelieve
[01:08:48] or disregard. No, no, no. It's all written for us that we may follow Christ. And then he says, it is the hardworking farmer who ought to have the first share in the crops. A farmer has no days
[01:09:01] off. A farmer is 24 seven, 365. There is always something to do because why? The seasons and the clock is ticking. So there's always something to weed. And this is the truth of our walk with
[01:09:15] Jesus. Look, I don't get to be non-Christian just because I'm going on vacation. I don't get to be non-Christian just because I'm going to my sports camp this summer and I'm going to room with a
[01:09:26] bunch of my high school buddies. I don't get to turn the button of Christianity off in my life just because you got a weekend away with the girls or you're going fishing or duck hunting
[01:09:37] with all your drinking buddies. If you are a Christian, that button stays on all the time like the hardworking farmer. Why? Because we're sowing seeds. And that's the real truth. What kind of seeds are you sowing in your life? Are you sowing seeds of righteousness? Are you sowing
[01:09:56] seeds of joy of the fruit of the Holy Spirit? Come on. I think this would change most of our lives if we would get a different perspective, even in relationships. Sometimes I think we have the
[01:10:08] perspective in the relationship to say, what are you going to do for me? And the other person's like, well, what are you going to do for me? What if both of you focused on the power and the fruit
[01:10:16] of the Holy Spirit showing up in your life? How different would your home be if there was love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, temperance, right? Mercy and self-control. How different would home be? How different would home be if we just had a little self-control? How nicer would we be to one
[01:10:34] another? How would we not say certain things to one another? How cleaner would the house stay?
[01:10:42] That is a great place, ladies, for you to say amen.
[01:10:46] And my super particular men, right?
[01:10:49] That's good preaching right there.
[01:10:50] Where are y'all at this morning?
[01:10:51] Don't be acting like nine o'clock.
[01:10:53] All right, no, I'm just kidding.
[01:10:54] I'm just kidding.
[01:10:54] That's a joke.
[01:10:56] And then we talked about this last week.
[01:10:57] Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.
[01:11:01] And this is where we thoughtfully reflect, we actively reflect, and God gives us discipline.
[01:11:07] Then watch what he says in verse eight.
[01:11:08] Read this with me.
[01:11:09] Notice this.
[01:11:10] You ready?
[01:11:11] Go for it with me, guys.
[01:11:11] Here we go. Remember Jesus Christ. Read it with me. Remember Jesus Christ risen from the dead, the offspring of David as preached in my gospel. So the question is, if we were looking at this
[01:11:25] in our personal devotional life is how does Paul go from verse seven to verse eight? And it's great because why? When you and I are struggling being a soldier of the Lord, an athlete for Christ and
[01:11:38] a hardworking farmer, patient, faithful farmer for Christ. How do you hold on? Remember Jesus.
[01:11:46] Remember Jesus. And everything Paul gives us here in this verse is the saving knowledge of Jesus, that Christ is not Jesus's last name. It's the fulfillment of the promise of God of who he is.
[01:12:01] He is the Messiah. He is the anointed one. He is the long waited savior of the world.
[01:12:07] whatever season you're in remember Jesus he is risen from the dead we don't serve a dead God so when everything is doom and gloom and destruction in your life Paul says remember Jesus remember him when you think God doesn't understand your struggle for him to die he had to be punished
[01:12:28] first and the chastisement that was laid upon him that brings us peace that says by his stripes we healed. He went through that for you. Remember Jesus and he didn't stay dead. But on that third
[01:12:42] day, what not even the stone with the Roman seal on it could hold him down. Ain't no grave going to hold him down. Why? Because he came alive. He is risen from the dead. When you worry, if you're
[01:12:54] at a dead end, if this, if this stone's too hard to push away, if this, this grave that you ever said, oh, I dug myself in a hole now. If you ever think that hole is too deep for you to get out of,
[01:13:07] remember Jesus, whom Paul says, oh, and he's the offspring of David. In other words, in the fullness of God's prophecy, that Jesus is the servant leader, the Messiah, the King that we've always waited on. So if you wonder, is chaos ruling the world? No, Jesus is. Jesus is. Remember
[01:13:27] Jesus. Amen. Here's what I want you to understand this morning. If you're taking notes, whenever you struggle, whenever you are pressed, whenever the weight feels heavy, whenever you are struggling, being a soldier and athlete and a farmer, remember Jesus,
[01:13:52] remember Jesus. I'm telling you when you're struggling and you're about to lose your junk and tailspin out. Get somewhere and preach to yourself and call yourself by name and say, remember Jesus. Get to that cross. Get to that image in your head of a savior who died for you
[01:14:16] while you were still sinning. Get to that love and that joy and that mercy and that grace that only faithfully comes from him. When you feel pressed, when you are just getting mashed in on
[01:14:30] every side, there's this bill and then that happens and then you get this notice and then the kids are going through this and works now asking this of you and you're just about to lose your junk. You're
[01:14:41] about to live in sin. You're about to shift lanes. You're about to start drifting. Get out of that office complex, walk around the building and preach to yourself, remember Jesus. Brian, remember Jesus. Remember he is faithful. Remember he is here. Remember his power. Remember who he
[01:15:03] is and how he stands and how he is alive today. When you feel that weight of heaviness on you, the way you just want to quit, or you want to go back to some old ways of living,
[01:15:15] you remember jesus i'm telling you if your temptation is drinking and there you are in the middle of sheets or qt or or or a local gas station and you see the the cooler the beer cooler
[01:15:30] and you normally would grab you a six-pack or a case and take it home and forget the rest of the day to get up and do it tomorrow i want you to stand in front of that cooler and i want you to
[01:15:40] speak to that beard and say, I remember Jesus over you. You have never benefited my life.
[01:15:48] I remember Jesus. If porn is your thing and you're stressed and you're willing to pick up your smartphone, it's so stupid. It makes you do evil stuff. I want you to look at that phone and
[01:15:58] go in this moment of my temptation, I will remember Jesus. When you are at it with your spouse, then you are at it with your kids and the house is about to become an atomic warfare.
[01:16:10] I want one of you who is Bible believing to stand up and say, we will not fight this way.
[01:16:17] We will remember Jesus.
[01:16:20] When your grief is big and it wants you to stay in bed and you're just like, oh, I just don't think I can make it.
[01:16:27] Or the stress of Monday morning is too big because you know all Hades is going to break loose.
[01:16:32] As soon as you get to work, you put your feet on the ground, you get up, you get to that shower, and you say, I will remember Jesus.
[01:16:43] And if you don't have the strength, I want you to get to somebody who has access to your life.
[01:16:49] I want you to talk to them.
[01:16:51] I want you to pull them to the side.
[01:16:53] If it's your spouse, if it's your boyfriend, your girlfriend, if it's your fiance, if it's your children, you got Bible-believing, faithful kids, if it's a classmate, if it's somebody you know, I want you to tell them when you see me struggling,
[01:17:08] When you see me drifting, when you see me go silent, when you see me in the midst of my wandering, I need you to get in front of me and say one phrase, call me by name and
[01:17:19] say, remember Jesus right now.
[01:17:23] Remember Jesus.
[01:17:24] Text me every day until I tell you to stop texting me.
[01:17:28] Send me a card, write it, slip it in the seat of my vehicle, put it on the, put it, what is that thing called?
[01:17:33] The windshield wiper.
[01:17:34] Put it under there.
[01:17:35] Help me remember Jesus because right now I'm spinning my hunting shoved out to the side.
[01:17:42] I'm tempted to drift lanes. Anybody been there? But we don't just remember Jesus in the bad times when life is good and you are blessed. And whenever joy comes easy as a soldier and as an athlete
[01:17:59] and a farmer for Jesus, that's when we need to remember Jesus too. Because I want to tell you when life is easy, it is just as easy to drift then, if not easier to drift than it is when it's
[01:18:12] bad. Anybody been there? Because somehow or another, when the wolves are at bay and there's a little extra money in the bank account and we feel good and we're starting to look good and all this good stuff's happening, somehow or another, we have the temptation to take our
[01:18:28] eyes off of Christ, who is our anchor, and start thinking about all we've done and what we deserve and how it's time for us to have our place in life and do what we wanna do.
[01:18:37] And that becomes just as demonic as the bad times.
[01:18:42] This is where the Bible warns us in the Old Testament in the Torah, the first five books of the Bible, specifically Exodus and Deuteronomy, when the Lord says, when you enter into the land that you did not purchase
[01:18:51] and live in homes you did not build and you eat from vineyards and gardens that you did not plant, be careful to remember the Lord because there is something about when ease is happening, we take everything for granted.
[01:19:07] And this is where when it's good and you feel good, remember Jesus.
[01:19:13] When it's easy to laugh, oh, thank you, Jesus.
[01:19:17] Thank you for this good laughter.
[01:19:19] When you gather with friends and there's no friction and you're having a good time and you're picking on one another and you're telling old stories and you're giggling and laughing, thank God for that relationship.
[01:19:30] And go to that friend that has access to you and say, when you see me going here and there on my social media, when you see me laughing and looking like I'm having a good time,
[01:19:40] I want you to get in front of me as a safety valve, as a safety switch, and I want you to say, hey, Brian, hey, you, whatever your name is, remember Jesus.
[01:19:52] Don't you dare forget him in these moments.
[01:19:55] Amen?
[01:19:58] Come on, clap him up.
[01:20:00] Praise his name.
[01:20:02] So now watch what Paul does.
[01:20:04] He says, I want you to remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal.
[01:20:17] But the word of God is not bound.
[01:20:22] Isn't that awesome?
[01:20:23] The word of the Lord works in every season, every scenario.
[01:20:28] I'm telling you guys straight up Your money will only last so long Your intellect will only work in certain seasons Your willpower will only work in certain seasons Your boyfriend will only show up in certain seasons
[01:20:47] Your girlfriend will only be as good as certain seasons As awesome as your spouse is They will only be able to help you in certain seasons As great as your children are They will only be able to help you in certain seasons.
[01:21:01] As awesome as your career and your job is, which you sacrifice everything to maintain and hold, will only last you for certain seasons.
[01:21:09] But the Lord Jesus and his word will work in every season.
[01:21:17] Every season.
[01:21:22] Because why?
[01:21:22] He told us in Isaiah 55, 11, my word does not return unto me void, but it goes out and proves that which I've sent it.
[01:21:29] Jesus himself said, heaven and earth will pass away, but my word lasts forever. My word lasts forever. So this is where I want you to understand that. Watch as Paul says, I want you to understand
[01:21:44] if you're taking notes, no matter the situation, the gospel is never bound. And sometimes as a Christian, we carry the blame like criminals. Look guys, there will be some people who hate you just because they know you as a Christian. You've never done anything wrong to them. You've never said
[01:21:59] anything awkward to them. You never gossip about them. You never wish to ill will. But because of the aroma of life in you, you are the stench of death to others. And this is where it is important
[01:22:11] for us, as Paul's telling Timothy, even though you wear the criminal's mark, and you do realize that Christianity is the number one, once again, we're on the top of the list, the number one persecuted religion in the world. And for decades, they have beat down the vocal, bold believer
[01:22:29] through HR regulations and the group of people who demanded tolerance now are the most intolerant people on the face of the earth. I don't care which side of the coin you're on.
[01:22:42] That's gospel truth right there. The screaming, the hollering, the physical altercation.
[01:22:50] But this is where you have to know the word of God is not bound. The word of God works in every situation because why he who said it is faithful. And when you're out the eye, when you think
[01:23:04] yourself the odd man out because of faithfulness, don't you dare believe the lie. You are still a majority because everywhere you go belongs to God. Amen. Amen. And this is where I want you to
[01:23:16] hold on. So watch what Paul says. I'm bound like a criminal watch verse 10. He says, therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in
[01:23:30] Christ Jesus with eternal glory. This is where Paul now says, everything that I go through, I do it because I know God will use it to draw people to himself. And he uses a big loaded word
[01:23:43] in our theological constructs today called the elect. When the Bible uses the word elect, it means those who have been called out of darkness into his marvelous light. They're the called ones. And you know, they are called because they responded to the sovereign grace of God who
[01:24:02] had granted them repentance and allowed them to come to their senses and escape the trap of the devil. Being elect is an after the fact thing. Okay. So a guy, a theologian named Martin Luther
[01:24:15] took those words and he developed a theology called reform doctrine. And for people, it drives them nuts. It shouldn't. Listen, it is the understanding that God is sovereign and nobody can come to salvation unless God draws them. And I can tell you as a pastor, but as an evangelist
[01:24:34] and a disciple, knowing God is sovereign, boy, it makes me a zealous evangelist. Because why?
[01:24:40] I'm fishing with gospel dynamite. And when I like that gospel stick and share the gospel, Baby, if you in near the water where that gospel lands, boom, you coming up and whooping out in the boat, baby, we taking you home. You are not lost anymore. Not at all. This is where we're
[01:24:57] going to see it in a couple of weeks where Paul teaches us how to pray for lost people.
[01:25:01] He teaches us how to pray out of the power that God is sovereign. I've never once walked up to someone and went, hey brother, are you elect? No. I ask, hey, do you know Christ is your Lord
[01:25:14] personal savior? Do you have an active relationship with Jesus? Have you ever confessed to God that you've chosen your own way over his, which separated you from him, but he loved you enough to die on a cross to remove that separation and forgive you of your sins and make you his son,
[01:25:26] make you his daughter for eternity. And if God, look here, how many y'all ran from God before you got saved? Raise them hands. Look around. How many y'all thought you were juking God. And look where you're at now. Gotcha. You ran until he tackled your hind end. And when the
[01:25:48] hounds of heaven get on you, run for us, run, but you can't outrun the Lord because everywhere you go, he's there. And you will be, listen here, if you're sitting here in this room running the sound
[01:26:02] of my voice and you're running from God, stop. That is the most miserable you will ever be.
[01:26:09] it is a miserable place to hear the call and the song of heaven saying come to me and you would say nope not gonna do it not gonna do it and running it is a sickness that is worse
[01:26:24] than any drunk i've ever been on in my pre-jesus life it is a sickness worse than any withdrawal i ever had in my pre-jesus life because why there is only one answer to that soul sickness and it is
[01:26:38] the blood of Jesus Christ. And I'm just right now, if you are in this room and you are running from God and God is calling you, I want to offer you an opportunity to be saved right now in the middle
[01:26:51] of this message. Would you just bow your heads with me? So not to be spiritual, just so you can focus. You've never given your life to Christ and Christ is calling you right now. You feel it. You
[01:27:01] feel the draw. You felt it since you got to the parking lot this morning. You've never given your life to Christ. I'm not asking if you've ever went to church. I'm not asking if you've ever
[01:27:11] been baptized. I'm asking, have you ever told Jesus you are a sinner and you ask him to forgive you of your sins? And if you've never done that to become his, today is the day of salvation right
[01:27:20] now. I believe it. And you've never given your life to Christ. This is your moment. And I want to help you call on the name of the Lord through a prayer. Pray this with me right now. Say, Jesus,
[01:27:32] I humble myself and I confess to you that I'm a sinner. I have chosen my way over yours and my sins separate me from you.
[01:27:43] And I turn from my sins and I turn to you, the faithful one, and ask you to forgive me of all my sins.
[01:27:51] Come into my life, Jesus, and save me.
[01:27:53] Be my savior, be my Lord, rescue me.
[01:27:57] I wanna be a Christian.
[01:27:59] I wanna follow you.
[01:28:02] Now, with every head bowed and every eye closed, I wanna ask you to do something very real and very profound.
[01:28:07] If you just borrowed my words as sincerely as you could and gave your life to Christ, when I count to three, I'm going to ask you to do the first step of obedience. I'm going to ask you to raise your hands just as high as you can. I promise you,
[01:28:17] I will not embarrass you, but I want to celebrate with you because something monumental, eternal just happened in your life. And Jesus calls you publicly. You just gave your life to Christ. When I count to three, I want you to raise your hand. Lord Jesus, I trust you for this right now.
[01:28:32] Grant public repentance of sin. Here we go. Ready? One, two, three. There's one, there's two, there's three come on anybody else anybody else keep your hand raised keep your hand raised i have some friends that are coming to you right now there are two people over here raise your
[01:28:51] hand raise it just as high as you can anybody else you thought you'd be the only one you thought you'd be the only one and you want to raise your hand right now once you get your once you gift
[01:29:05] your gift bag i want you to lower your hand i want you to make eye contact with me this is the most important decision in your life because this is where life begins you walked into this room
[01:29:14] dead and undone. And Christ just made you the elect. He just called you out of sin and out of darkness, forgave your sins and let you be born again. It's as though you are a brand new person
[01:29:25] because you are in him. The angels in heaven are rejoicing in his love of his banner over you is love. And he will never take his hand off of you. And in that bag that you were just given as a
[01:29:38] Bible, that is God's holy word. It'll be a lamp into your feet and a light into your path. And if you hide it in your heart, God won't, you will never go back to the old ways of living.
[01:29:48] Next to that is a new believer's guide. And as you follow, I want you to follow it the next couple of weeks, because it'll begin to answer questions for you that you have about faithfulness
[01:29:59] and how to walk this new life. And next to it is a contact card. And I'm begging you to fill that out, drop it in the offering plate. When you leave the basket today out in the foyer, and we will
[01:30:08] follow up with you because I want to make sure you understand the decision that you just made.
[01:30:13] and we praise God for you.
[01:30:14] Church family, we raise our eyes and can we praise God for saving people right in the middle of a sermon.
[01:30:19] Woo, the gospel is not bound, not even by the liturgy of how it's supposed to work in a church.
[01:30:28] We must be zealous about that and what I want you to understand, woo, let's get back to this.
[01:30:34] Paul says, I endure everything I'm going through, why?
[01:30:36] So that people can be saved.
[01:30:38] If you're taking notes, maybe this will help you.
[01:30:40] This is where I want you to understand, church family, here's the truth trigger.
[01:30:43] is suffering as a Christian is the clearest presentation of a relationship with God.
[01:30:49] Because why? And the unquenchable belief and his covenant with you. Because when you go through difficulty, people will look at you and go, how could you hold on to faith right now?
[01:30:59] How could you hold on to God? If God were really real, you wouldn't be going through this right now. But you know, you are confident that he is able to keep that which you have trusted to him
[01:31:08] against such days, days just like this. And when you hold on to faith in the midst of your suffering, that world watches and what seems to be so far off and so unmanageable becomes real to
[01:31:22] them and they will accept the gospel. They watch you in the power of God, wait on him and nothing like suffering in Jesus' name preaches so well. Nothing. Now watching this last part and we'll
[01:31:34] try to land this plane. Y'all still with me? Here we go. This is what we're going to read now.
[01:31:41] Jake, where you at? This is one of your favorite verses right here. It's your favorite verse. You can quote it, can't you? This is like a early church hymn. Think about it this way. If I say
[01:31:50] this phrase, God is good and all the time, just as clear as that old colloquialism is that we learned in the late 90s. This was a formation that they would say in the church or among brothers
[01:32:07] and sisters as a formation of how to live and how not to live. Read this with me. This saying is trustworthy for if we have died with him, we will also live with him. If we endure, we will
[01:32:23] also reign with him. If we deny him, he will also, also will deny us. If we are faithless, he remains faithful for he cannot deny himself. Friends, this is the prescriptive of how you and
[01:32:44] I are to live. This is our new button. This rewires our triggers, but it's a trigger for us because the very first thing is if we have died with him, the problem for you and I is not the
[01:32:57] power of the gospel. The problem for you and I is we don't like to surrender, do we? We don't.
[01:33:04] We don't like to relinquish control of our lives over to the Lord. Years ago when I was doing a lot of work among in Muslim countries, when I, when I specifically flew to Dubai, I told Angie, I said,
[01:33:16] the kids were, they were little. I said, look here, if a newsflash comes on and you see me in a double X orange jumpsuit. I ain't going out on my knees and there's machete around my throat.
[01:33:28] I'm going to bite, scratch, kick. I'm going to be preaching Jesus. If my head's coming off, I'm going to be hacked up before they get to my head. And what is it? It's just the truth that
[01:33:38] none of us want to surrender. But this is where Jesus says, if a man or woman tries to save their life, they will lose it. But if they will lose their life for my name's sake, in other words,
[01:33:50] surrender control. Come to me as a little child. Little children are not innocent. They're vulnerable. When we come to the Lord and we're vulnerable, this is where he says, if we die with him, we will also live with him. In other words, it'll be his will on our life. He says, if we
[01:34:08] endure, we will also reign. Walking as a Christian is not for the quitter. And that's our trigger because our bodies won't comfort. And when it's a little too difficult, we feel justified just to walk away. When we're a little tired, when it's not working as fast as we thought it should at
[01:34:24] this season of our life, we hit the lane assist button off and we feel justified drift in traffic that we don't belong in. And so our triggers are raised up. And this is where the Lord says,
[01:34:38] if you quit on me, you'll never know what I could have done with you. But if we endure, we will reign with him. Well done, good and faithful servant. Come on, praise his name.
[01:34:53] Praise his name. But here's the truth. If we deny him, he will deny us. Our trigger here is at this point is compromise. We think, well, it'd be easier just to stay silent. No, no, no, no. Just
[01:35:09] don't make it an issue. And we compromise our belief. And the worst day of our life, guys, would be to get there and see all the opportunities we had to surrender to the Lord.
[01:35:18] And the Lord said, depart from me, you worker of iniquity.
[01:35:20] I never knew you.
[01:35:22] And then he says, if we are faithless, that means that we refuse to believe.
[01:35:28] Sometimes we enter in seasons of our life, the downhill, the sideways spin, and it is hard for us to believe that God is working our now and our future for good.
[01:35:45] And this is where he says, even if we refuse to believe. Read it with me. He remains faithful for he cannot deny himself.
[01:35:58] When it gets to that Jesus button, you need to know he is faithful, church family. He is faithful.
[01:36:08] How is he faithful? You got room in your bucket? He keeps his promises. The Bible says, no, not one of the Lord's good promises to Israel failed. Everyone was fulfilled. Joshua 21, 45. His love never fails. Lamentations 3 says, his mercies never come to an end. They are new
[01:36:29] and fresh every morning. He forgives when we repent. First John 1, 9, if we will confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Oh man, when he remains faithful and when we're
[01:36:45] faithless. He just told us that. It is impossible for him to deny himself.
[01:36:50] Why? Because his very character is faithful. He completes the work he starts in us. Philippians 1 6. He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion. Isn't that so good?
[01:37:01] You're not a scrapbook project because Jesus was bored. No.
[01:37:06] He didn't just like fill like four pages of you and put some cute little pictures of remember when and some doodles and some sprinkles and just some nice stuff. And then he goes, oh, I don't have time.
[01:37:16] And then he goes, oh, I almost forgot about her. Oh, I almost forgot about him. I better get back after it. No, no, no. His thoughts towards you outnumber the grains of sand. He's always thinking
[01:37:25] about you because he is faithful. And the work that he started in you, he will carry it on to completion. He's faithful in the sense that he provides for our needs. Philippians 4, 19. And
[01:37:37] and my God shall supply all of my needs according to his riches and glory by Christ Jesus.
[01:37:42] He is faithful in the sense that he gives strength in temptation.
[01:37:45] 1 Corinthians 10, 13, there is therefore no temptation that has overtaken you, but such is common to man, whereby God is faithful to offer a way of escape.
[01:37:54] He will not allow you to be tempted more than what you can stand.
[01:37:57] He is faithful in the sense that he protects and establishes his people.
[01:38:01] 2 Thessalonians 3, 3 says, he says, the Lord is faithful and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one.
[01:38:08] And he will honor his covenant forever.
[01:38:12] That's how faithful he is.
[01:38:16] So why don't you invite his faithfulness into your life?
[01:38:20] Many of you just did, four of you just did.
[01:38:23] You invited his faithful love, his faithful grace, his faithful mercy.
[01:38:27] And we celebrate with you because now you are our new brothers and sisters in Christ.
[01:38:32] Hallelujah, hallelujah.
[01:38:36] No greater joy.
[01:38:39] But there are many of us that have been sitting at Jesus's table for years.
[01:38:44] Grateful that he's faithful like an old grandpa, but we just go out here and live wherever we want to.
[01:38:49] And think church is us just doing grandpa a favor by stopping in on Sunday to see him because you know he's getting old now.
[01:38:59] Baby, that is not the attitude of a disciple.
[01:39:03] We are called not to grandpa's table.
[01:39:07] We are called to the table of the commander and chief.
[01:39:11] We are called to the table of the CEO, the CFO, the head honcho in every scenario.
[01:39:21] And sitting at that table from his faithfulness is a call for you to be faithful and for me to be faithful. Faithful at 13, faithful at 45, faithful married, faithful going through a divorce. Faithful when all Hades is broke loose in your life. Faithful at whatever stage that the
[01:39:51] grace of God is now confronting you in. Does everybody understand that? I'm not saying go out here and get a divorce. Did y'all hear that? But some of you have walked through seasons like that. I remember that season when my parents got a divorce. It was nutso. I didn't understand the
[01:40:07] grace of God. But I, I want you to understand sitting at this table is not so you can just flash your VIP card and get out of whatever trouble you're in. No, it is a great call for
[01:40:20] there to be faithfulness in your life. So let me ask you some questions. You ready? We'll land this plane. Stay here with me. First question. Have you forgotten who Jesus is in your current season? Have you forgotten that he is the bread of life, that he is the good shepherd, that he is
[01:40:44] the light of the world, that he is the well of living water, that whoever drinks of him would never thirst again? Have you forgotten that he is the one who can cause the lame to walk and the
[01:40:58] deaf to hear and the blind to see? Have you forgotten he is the one who can raise up the dead?
[01:41:04] have you forgotten in this season of your life that he is not only the one who can calm the storm but baby he can walk on water have you forgotten in this season that he's the one who tells demons
[01:41:16] to be quiet and calls them out and delivers people in this season of your life have you forgotten that he is the alpha and the omega the beginning and the end the first and the last the
[01:41:28] author and the finisher of your faith the king of kings and the lord of lords if you have grab a hold of those faithful promises again.
[01:41:41] Secondly, I wanna ask you, are you trying to avoid a cross God is using for a purpose in your life?
[01:41:48] In certain seasons of our life, we wanna drop our cross.
[01:41:53] But you see, it's only in carrying the cross that the Lord will shape our mind, our heart, and our soul, and our flesh to look more like him.
[01:42:02] Look, there are times the weight is heavier, that cross.
[01:42:05] But it's in carrying that cross that you are growing closer to him.
[01:42:11] And if you just shift in lane and out of lane, and you drop it and pick it up when it's convenient, you will never know the power of being renewed by him.
[01:42:23] Thirdly, have you been arguing more with God rather than growing with God?
[01:42:29] Have you been sitting at the table, slamming your hand down, going, why now?
[01:42:34] Why is this happening to me?
[01:42:35] Why'd you work this out?
[01:42:36] Why couldn't it be easier?
[01:42:40] Never forget, yesterday was the anniversary date of the passing of my brother-in-law, Brad Sherrill.
[01:42:46] Grew up in this church.
[01:42:47] I've shared this illustration before.
[01:42:50] I'll never forget one night after we gave him his bath and put him in bed and we're getting ready to pray.
[01:42:55] It was just me and him in the room.
[01:42:58] And he said, Brian, I've grown out of the place of saying and asking, why me, God?
[01:43:04] To the place that I now say, why not me?
[01:43:09] He said, I used to feel sorry for myself about my wife and my three girls.
[01:43:12] and all that I would miss with them and they would miss with me.
[01:43:15] But if God could use this suffering in my life, then his will be done.
[01:43:21] And God did.
[01:43:23] God did.
[01:43:25] How about you?
[01:43:26] Are you spending more time arguing with God than saying your will be done?
[01:43:31] Your will be done.
[01:43:32] I will follow you.
[01:43:35] Teach me what I need to learn in this season and I will be a faithful steward of what you're teaching me.
[01:43:40] And last but definitely not least, this question.
[01:43:43] This is one we've been coming back to.
[01:43:45] if everyone in this room had your level of belief and faithfulness, would we be stronger or weaker? God is faithful. But if everyone in this room had your level, and this is not criticism, this is a real self-assessment of what needs to happen in our life to grow in the faithfulness
[01:44:05] of the Lord. If everybody in this room had your level of faithfulness and belief, would we be stronger or would we be weaker? Maybe we would pray this together today. Heavenly Father, pray with me. Heavenly Father, you are faithful. I am not. Forgive me. Grow me that as you are
[01:44:32] faithful, my heart, my mind, my soul, and my body would long to walk in your faithfulness, that I may become a faithful child of God in every season.
[01:44:51] In Jesus' name we pray.
[01:44:55] Remember Jesus.
[01:44:56] I love y'all.
[01:44:57] Lord bless you.