'Words of Life' w/ Pastor Mark D. Ingram
'Words of Life' w/ Pastor Mark D. Ingram
Noise
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In this week's 'Words of Life' broadcast / podcast...
We live in a time where volume is mistaken for value. The message unpacked within Pastor Mark's sermon centers on a single word—noise—and how it corrodes discernment, fractures community, and drowns out the gospel of Jesus Christ. Drawing from 1 John 4:1–3, we explore why testing spirits is not cynicism but obedience, and how guarding the heart is a spiritual discipline, not a lifestyle trend. Noise is any unwanted interference that disrupts peace, clarity, or truth. Noise agitates and disturbs the mind, elevates stress, and blurs our ability to hear God.
In our digital age, noise multiplies: negative news cycles, comment and dislike wars, platform branding, and even church politics. The answer is not retreat but discernment formed by Scripture and unconditional, unwavering love towards those within our circle of influence.
The first pillar within the message is clear: God’s Word is the standard, not the speaker's vernacular. The Apostle John warns that many false prophets have gone out, and Jesus predicted impressive signs used to mislead. A compelling voice, large following, or flawless branding cannot authenticate truth. The Berean Christians modeled a better way: receive teaching eagerly, then examine the Scriptures daily to verify it. When we compare messages to the entire counsel of God, in context, the fog lifts. We stop chasing hot takes, cute colloquialisms, or posts to engage and start cultivating holy habits. Discernment grows when we slow down, turn down the volume, and let God's Word dwell richly within us.
Next comes the fruit test. Not every voice that says “Lord, Lord” is known by Jesus. Examine lifestyle, motives, and message. Does the speaker prioritize Jesus crucified and risen, or do they elevate brand, denomination, agenda or ideology? Do their words cultivate love, repentance, and humility, or do they stoke envy, strife, and self-importance? False teachers are self-referential, while the Spirit points to Christ and pours out love for others. Real ministry may confront sin, but it does not dehumanize people. It carries the fragrance of the Spirit: patience, kindness, self-control. If the content from one's platform is mostly self-help, psychology, politics, or prosperity, with Christ used as garnish, it’s likely harmful, spiritual noise.
Thus, guarding our heart is not avoidance; it’s stewardship. Proverbs 4:23 calls the heart the wellspring of life, a source that must be protected from contamination. This means carefully selecting our inputs: less doomscrolling, more Scripture; fewer divisive opinions and arguments, more prayer; fewer platform wars, more quiet obedience. Jesus’ call, “Whoever has ears, let them hear,” urges us to listen with spiritual attention, not just consume His words. If a message cannot confess Jesus as the only way to the Father and refuses to embody love, it fails the discernment test. The antichrist spirit is not always a monstrous one; it is often a polished, pragmatic, and popular one.
Finally, we return to the priority which we will be held accountable for: elevate Jesus as the sole means of hope for humanity. Ministry exists to herald Christ, not personalities or agendas. The world does not need a louder church; it needs one with crystal-clear clarity. This week's challenge? Ask yourself...
"Does this message line up with GOD's Word or have I wasted time infecting my heart, by listening to unproductive, harmful, spiritual 'noise?'"
In lieu of eternity, sermons and musical artists are featured to extol JESUS CHRIST as the sole hope for the eternal souls of humanity.
We thank you for joining our Words of Life broadcast or podcast, where our mission is making God known for extolling Jesus the Christ as the sole hope for the eternal souls of humanity. We now join Pastor Mark for this week's Words of Life message.
SPEAKER_00:Hey there again to you, Words of Life listeners and viewers. This is Pastor Mark D. Ingram of Words of Life. And before we even get started, I'd like to always start every broadcaster podcast by thanking you. Because the truth is, you could have been doing anything else, you could have been watching anybody else, but you have allowed God's Spirit to touch your heart, to listen to a word from Him through this ministry. And for that, my wife and I, we truly are thankful for your viewership as well as your listenership. I'm going to ask that you turn in your word, the Bible, to the book of 1 John, chapter 4. We're going to read about three verses. I believe we're going to read, uh open up going from verse 1 to verse 3. Again, we are just at living just a little bit. Just kind of go towards the back of your Bible, right before the last book, which is Revelation. And you should land in the area of 1 John, beginning at chapter 4. I'm going to go ahead and start reading, beginning at verse 1. And God's word, 1 John chapter 4, beginning at verse 1, reads as follows. Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God. For many false prophets have gone out into the world. Verse 2, by this you will know the Spirit of God. Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God. And verse 3, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard is coming and which is already in the world at this time. May the Lord add a blessing to the hearers, the readers, but most importantly, those that intend to do with Holy Spirit's help, his holy word. The title of this week's message that I would like for you to consider is noise. It is just one word, but that one word holds so much significance. Noise. Noise is just unwanted, unpleasant, or disruptive sound vibrations that become noise due to perception, context, or even interference. And noise can impact our health in the form of hearing loss, in the form of stress, and noise can definitely impact communication. And so, in one phrase, I want us to understand this noise is just undesired disturbance. What is disturbance? Well, disturbance is any interruption, any commotion or change that disrupts peace, order, or a settled state. And a disturbance can cause anxiety, and again, just like noise, even significant health changes. And so now we're going to look at a disturbance as essentially anything that causes disorder or trouble. So let's get some examples in here before we get rolling. When we're talking about noise, how noise can often be an interruption in our lives. I mean, anything that interrupts working, sleeping, or even enjoying peace, that's called a disturbance and is often caused by noise. How about any commotion, any distraction, any diversion, any disorder or tumult? It's often caused by noise. How about our emotional and mental states? Worry, anxiety, or agitation. You know, you just have that feeling sometimes. You wake up, you're just vexed. Or you can be at work or you can be with somebody always, their spirit is just, you just feel vexed, and it's often caused by noise. If you have paid any attention to our world and the landscape surrounding us right now, spiritual discernment is a must because it is so easy to get caught up in the noise that just deluges. It's like a deluge. It's just, it's it's just it just bombards our sense. Sometimes it's good to turn off the TV, you know. Um, sometimes it's it's good just not that we don't have to answer every phone call. If sometimes you just need peace, sometimes you just need, you know, we act like silence is a bad thing. Silence is a good thing, you know. We have to, if we've paid any attention to what's going on in the world, sometimes too much news is just bad. It's like God has given us the charge to guard our heart. I mean, let's let's look at what He's given us, what we see, what we hear, what we watch. Sometimes we carelessly, without even thinking, we allow so much into our heart, and God has warned us to guard our hearts. In Proverbs chapter 4, verse 23, the verse says, our heart, it is the wellspring of life. For everything that we do, it flows from the heart. And this emphasizes that our core thoughts, our desires, our choices, you know, if they're coming from the heart, it then becomes crucial for us to protect our heart from these negative influences and the disturbances that noise can infect us with. And and get this, I certainly understand as a Christian that we live in a fallen, sin-filled world. And we have to deal with so much as God carries out this sanctification process within us in this world. This is not our home. We just have to deal with a fallen, sin-filled world, but it is unconscionable, you know, and I'm gonna say this because uh I don't know if many know, but those in the Dallas-Fort Worth area do know. I'm a pastor uh of souls. We had a building, we don't have a building anymore, and that's okay. Um, my era of ministry that God has called me to be responsible for is I minister to the world via broadcast or podcast um without a building. And so the broadcast will look like you can catch us on Roku, our Roku channel, but more often than not, if you're watching the broadcast, you're watching it on Facebook. And nothing against Facebook. But man, it's unconscionable to go. It's just like I used to enjoy putting it on there and going back, not to judge my sermons, but just to watch them to make sure uh I'm on point. Did I make a mistake here? Did the camera move or whatever? But nowadays, you get on Facebook and it's unconscionable to witness the disturbia, the noise that is emanating, not from the world. You you expect that, but when you see it coming from within the church, Satan is having a blast. He's laughing, the world is having a blast, they're laughing at us all because of the noise that we just let into our hearts from our ear gates, our eyes, and our hearts then become infected. Noise again, it can be unpleasant, it can be just disruptive, it's fruitless, it's no benefit to anybody, it's just noise, and so we incur these self-inflicted wounds, wounds. The book of James, chapter 3, verses 9 through 10, and then I'm gonna skip down to verse 14 and 15. The word says, With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it, that same tongue, we curse human beings who've been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. The the writer admonishes brothers and sisters and says, This just should not be. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your heart, don't boast about it, don't deny the truth. Such wisdom that you claim that you have, that does not come down from heaven, but that is earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. And a lot of what we're witnessing right now, that noise, it certainly is classified is coming from earthly perspective, it's unspiritual, no benefit spiritually, and it is certainly not of God. It is demonic. So, in a world in need of the only hope for humanity, Jesus Christ, understand, we Christians, we the church, we have them, but some withhold Jesus from others purposely and selfishly because they've forgotten, or maybe they never knew, that the gospel is not about us. Some make it about them, and it's just noise. There are people that are masquerading within the church, false prophets have gone out, and there are those that clamor, they will maneuver themselves into position, they will flout their connections, they will brag on their abilities, they will elevate themselves, and they will espouse a message that is not the gospel message, and therefore have pierced themselves and others with spiritual harm while leading people away from the faith. That's a dangerous place to be with God, and so it is up to those of us with spiritual discernment to call it what it is. Noise. Here are some examples. Any Christian that is not espousing that Jesus is the sole means, the only singular way of eternal salvation and relationship with God, tune them out. That's noise. Anybody espousing their church, promoting their pastor, their religion, their title, their qualifications, their abilities, their degrees, or their wisdom, or even their connections. When anybody is espousing, promoting, and prioritizing any of that that I just listed, instead of exalting Jesus as the one and only eternal King to come over all of that, well, it's just noise. And it must, it will bow at the feet of the cross. And so understand, it I didn't preach, I didn't come on here this week. It's not my job to criticize, to judge, or to call names regarding the noise that we're just starting to be bombarded with. But it is my job, and it is the job of every believer to proclaim the name of Jesus Christ above any exalted thing. And if anything or anyone is exalted above Christ, it is called an idol, and God's just not having it. So let's get into our exegetical portion of our sermon before we get to our application points of the week. Because as we exegete the text, 1 John chapter 4, the writer wants the readers to discern true Christian teaching from false teachers and false instruction. And so the writer starts to emphasize and to reiterate that God is love. And so therefore he says, Hey, believers, don't just believe everybody up here preaching and teaching about love. Test that spirit. Look at their lives. Are they loving one another? Recognizing that the genuine love that God has, agape, unchanging, unwavering, unconditional, that stems from God and it overcomes all fear. Now, I want us to notice within 1 John chapter 4. Notice how love is embedded within the chapter that's focused on discerning false teachers. How does that connect? But love is embedded within that. Well, guess what? False teachers were concerned then, and false teachers right now are concerned about themselves. Whereas God is always concerned about others. And if we're believers and Christians, Christians, that same love of God that He has for us, we are supposed to have for humanity. So those are the two things that we should be looking at. How those connected. False teachers, beware of them. But do you have the love of God within you? Well, this is how you can tell whether somebody is a false teacher, because if you are a blood-bought believer of God through the blood of Jesus, you will have a concern. You will have a love for humanity, i.e., those that you interact with on a normal basis. It could be your family, it could be your coworker, it could be at college, it could be at school. Wherever God puts you in your circle of influence, you will have a genuine concern for them, not just temporally, but even eternally. But false teachers, they're concerned about them. They're concerned about their message, they're concerned about their agenda. They're not, you rarely hear that Jesus, God, proved his love for us by incarnation and he died for the sins of humanity. You don't hear that prioritized in a false teacher's message. Okay? You hear their agenda, you hear all of that. So within the context of 1 John chapter 4, the apostle John cautions his readers look, don't believe everybody who claims to be led by the Spirit, but test them. Because if they were truly of God, love is going to be a fruit of their actions that everybody can discern. Thus, testing one's spirit for error as well as the missing component of love, that would indicate which prophets were false and which were truly disciples of Christ. And so, as we close that exegesis, if you were a disciple led by the Spirit of God, John says you boldly confessed under God's power and anointing, the Holy Spirit, you confessed that, hey, God has already shown us his love by sending Jesus to die for us. But if you preached or taught any other message, not espousing Jesus as God incarnate, and then you lacked love towards those that you see every day, how can you love God but you hate or mistreat people that you see every day, yet you love God? It's not happening. Nope. You lack love towards those you see every day, and you preach any other gospel, you might be a false prophet. And so now let's transition from the text, uh, 1 John chapter 4 into our application today. Because if we transition from the text, it's right here that I want to backtrack to my introductory thoughts because so much of the noise that we hear and that we witness now, it lacks love, it lacks concern for our fellow brother or sister. And I mean, that's just in a temporal sense. We're not even thinking about eternity right now. I'm just talking about you get on, you turn the news on, you turn on Facebook, you turn on, and I'm mentioning Facebook because that's basically where I do my ministry. If you're not going to Roku, our channel or our website to watch uh a broadcast that you missed, it's generally on Facebook where you can just watch it. But I'm just stunned by the amount of vitriol, the hate, the cruelty, the slander, the arguing, the debating, and the fighting within the body of Christ. I mean, I'm watching pastors attack pastors and preachers attack preachers and Christians attack Christians when it's all just if it's not talking about Jesus as the soul means for somebody's eternal soul, and if love isn't involved, when there's that is just noise, vitriol, hate, cruelty, slander. We bless God and praise him one minute, and the next minute we're arguing, debating, fighting, cussing. And the word of God says this should not be. Love is supposed to be our chief aim, as well as exalting Jesus as the priority above any and everything. Now, understand, remember, I'm not talking about the world right now. I'm not talking about a lost world that doesn't know God because they haven't accepted Jesus. They're supposed to act the way lost souls act, contrary to the things of God. But this noise is detrimental when it comes from the body of Christ, the church. It's detrimental for those who truly don't even know how to find God through Jesus alone, and we have them, but the noise distracts, it deters, and it just sometimes destroys our witness. All because it lacks love, and we see the prioritization of agendas, ministries, ordinances, finances, political association. I'll never forget this. I remember the church before God gave me uh words of life, and that is my concern until I reach eternity. But in searching, I will never forget. My wife and I went to a church, we went to a Bible study, and I think it was Wednesday night, and the pastor got up and it you All it wasn't many, it wasn't many African Americans in there, wasn't many black people in there. Not that that matters, but for the pastor to get up and to say, and this was the time when uh Barack Obama uh was running for the first presidency, the pastor got up and he looked at us and said, If if you vote for Barack Obama, you're a fool and you're going to hell. My wife and I were stuck, I think our mouths dropped open. We've we've been the churches where there was an ATM in the lot. We've gone to churches that would not accept membership until we filled out a credit report for the church. I'm like, this is the church. What do you mean we got to fill out a credit report? For the church to be a member of the body of Christ? And when all of that is happening, it just seemed like God's Spirit said, Are you tired now? Are you going, you see all of this, but I've given you Jesus to go, to preach, to tell the world that eternity is on the horizon. I've given you him. You know this. You've been taught this. I've anointed you. You're gifted to preach and to teach. How long are you going to keep going, running around, listening to the noise, trying to be accepted, wanting people to join? Hey, can I join your ministry? Please pick me, pick me. That did it for us early on. That did it in the middle, I'd say we were around about 2008, 2009. That pretty much did it. And when the noise within the church, I got to do a credit report just to join the church. Anything that distracts, deters, and destroys our witness, the lack of love, the prioritization of agendas, ministries, ordinances, and finance and political associations, you name it, when they are elevated above elevated above our chief command from God, love God with all of your heart, love ye one another. It is noise. And in this day and age, the lateness of the spiritual hour that we reside in, if it doesn't extol Jesus as Savior for a world approaching judgment, if it doesn't convey the unwavering love and concern for those that we live with, work with, and interact with, especially if God is giving you a platform, it's just noise. And we need to be able to discern who or what's of Christ Jesus and who or what's been planted and is coming from the enemy, no matter who Satan uses. And so here are application points for the week that I think we should heed and apply. Here's number one, coming strictly from verse one, God's word is the standard, not the speaker. If we go back to verse one, it says, Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirit to see whether they are from God. For many false prophets have gone into the world. God's word is the standard, not the speaker's word. Acts 27, 11 through 12 state, they, the Berean Jews, they received the message with great eagerness, and they examined the scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men. The word of God was preached, and the Berean Jews they examined the scriptures every day to see of what Paul would say. They didn't take what Paul said as the gospel and then try to line the word and the scriptures up to what Paul said. Uh-uh. They examined this everything Paul said. Let me go to the word of God. This is the plumb line. This is the standard. And that's what we have to get back to doing. Does the word, what does the word say about it or them or any situation or circumstance? Let's examine the word of God to see if what the preacher said is true. Matthew 24 and 11, as well as down to verse 24, these verses state that many false prophets they will arise and they will mislead many. They'll even perform signed and signs and wonders to deceive even God's chosen people, if that were possible. And that highlights the danger of deception and the noise that we are being inundated by right now. Just preach the word. Those of you that are that are dedicated to just giving Jesus to a world in need of him, just preach the word. Do not be distracted. Do not be drawn into arguments. Do not be going back and forth with false teachers who will introduce and bring swift destruction upon themselves. That's the one thing I try not to do, and I try to stay cognizant of. I don't battle, fight, and argue the word of God with anybody. The word is what it is. We need to line up with it. There's no point in me going back and forth with anybody. The word of God says, only a fool says in his heart, there is no God. It's not up to me to convince you. It's my job is to just simply cast bait. That is the Holy Spirit's job to convince you if you are seeking truth, God knows that. I don't. So here's how we can protect ourselves when it comes to false teachers. Test their word against the scripture. Compare their claims and actions to the complete word of God in context. We should also know God's word for ourselves. A strong understanding of the word starts to help us to discern truth from error. Like, no, that's not what that means. And again, protect yourself by guarding our hearts. You do that every day. The word of God says, early in the morning, Jesus got up and spent prayer time with the Lord. It's as if the woman with the issue of blood, I kind of get it. She grabbed the hem of Jesus' garment. And if I can symbolically place myself there with what's going on today, the noise of today, right now, if Jesus were here, I could see me at his feet. Where you move, I'm moving. I'm wrapping my hands in the hem of your garment. Because it's so we have to stay close to God in times like these, because it's just progressively getting worse. We have to be able to resist deception. God's word is the standard, not the speakers. And so here's the question I want us to consider before we get to point number two. Does the speaker that we listen to that you come across, do they promote God's glory and story through Jesus Christ? Or does their message promote them, their ideology, or their agenda? Here's application point number two. Every speaker or teacher does not have a word from or a relationship with God. I'm gonna say that at 10. Everybody ain't got a word. Every speaker or teacher does not have a word from or a relationship with God. So we have to learn how to discern and tune out the noise by always checking somebody's fruit. Literally. You can identify a tree by the fruit it bears. You can't, you can't necessarily go to excuse me, y'all. That's my message uh that literally I did not block. So that if you just heard that message come across, that's my text message that comes across. Living in an imperfect world, I'm not gonna even try to edit it out. But I thought I silenced that. But anyhow, that's a distraction. The Lord rebukes Satan. I'm getting right back onto it. Every teacher, every speaker does not have a word from or a relationship with God. So we have to learn how to discern and tune out the noise by always checking, examining their fruit. How do you identify or examine somebody's fruit? Well, by their actions. Actions speak louder than words. That's a phrase we say all the time. Identify and check their lifestyle, their character, their influence within their circle of influence. Are they contrary to God's will? Does it does it convey greed, sensuality, hatred, divisiveness, bickering? Identify them by their actions. Or is it God's peace, God's love, God's generosity? This is how you identify false prophets or teachers by their fruits. Look at their words. Do they speak lies that don't line up with the word of God? Do they promise easy paths? Does the word of God in every sermon sound like psychology instead of the word of God? God's gonna do this for me. God's gonna do that for you. People don't understand you're this, but your this is this. It sounds like a lot of the word coming forth sometimes is psychology. And God didn't call us to address politics, psychology, self-help from the pulpit or our platform. He called us to extol Jesus, preach the word. Does a false teachers do they tell people what they want to hear? Are you gonna be prosperous? Are you gonna are you coming out? Are you just, oh my gosh, I'm in the valley now. I'm uh I'm from the pit to the to the to the to the palace. Um all of that in its own little segue. It's cool if you weave it with it, but somewhere it's turning out to be noise and not the truth. What does their sermon constantly sound like? Identify their fruits by looking at their motives. You know, people often seek personal gain, money, power. They promote self-serving agendas, not God's glory or story. Check their fruit. Because in Matthew chapter 7, verses 21 through 23, I'm gonna read the NIV version. The verse says, Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? And in your name, didn't we drive out demons and perform any miracles? Then Jesus said, I will tell them plainly, I never knew you away from me, you evildoers, those of you who practice lawlessness. You're in pulpits, you're on platforms, and all you're talking about is psychology, self-help. This is it's like we make God out to be an ATM or the great psychologist that's going to the word the word of God says, in the world you shall have trouble. Those that attempt to live godly in Christ Jesus, you will have trouble. But this is not a tiptoeing through the tulips gospel. If Jesus was hated by the world, the odds are we're gonna catch some strays too. But does your teacher, does the preacher, does the pastor, does anybody that you listen to, is there prophecy to preach, to speak? Is it everything but Jesus exalted as the only means of salvation for a lost soul? I mean, let's just always examine somebody's actions over their words because Jesus contrasted this is empty religious talk, but obedience in relationship with God is better than sacrifice. Obedience is better than religious dogma. Does the preacher pastor's teaching is it doing the Father's will? Is that repentance present? Lord help me to turn from sin. I can't do this by myself, Lord. I need Jesus. Lord help me. Does the message follow Jesus' teachings on love, being merciful, having the fruit of the Spirit? Because the passage in Matthew 7, 21 to 23 that we just read, the passage warns against self-deception, where people will perform religious acts, they will talk a religious, zealous talk, but they lack a transformed heart. All because Jesus was never a priority in the ministry, they are. Are you listening? We need to stop looking for the antichrist in a certain costume. Like he's gonna come with, he's gonna be hideous, he's gonna look nasty, ugly, and horned out of his head. Verse 3 says, Every spirit that doesn't confess Jesus is not from God, that is the spirit of the Antichrist. You've heard he's coming, but he's already in the world at this time. And that was at the writing uh 2,000 plus years ago of 1 John. So, oh yeah, he's here, he's definitely here with all of the noise that you can see and hear nowadays. Matthew chapter 11, verse 15, NIV version states, whoever has here, ears, let them hear. You know, I say this to my, I teach high school as well. I say this to my kids a lot. There's a reason God has given us two ears and one mouth. We might need to listen more than we talk. And Jesus said this phrase a lot. Whoever has ears, let them hear. And it indicates that Jesus wants us to listen with our ears spiritually, not just physical hearing, but Jesus is saying, I want you to perceive and internalize God's message. Hear it, but then do it with my help. Jesus is calling to our attention. There's an importance to paying attention to this word because nowadays you're gonna hear a lot of noise that can deceive you if you don't hide the word in your heart. I mean, back then, Pharisees and Sadducees, they were guilty of spiritual noise, but Jesus would often emphasize this phrase: whoever has ears, let them hear. Don't be seduced and misled by the Pharisees and the Sadducees, religious talk. Whoever has ears to hear, listen to me, the word of God. So we have a responsibility to use our God-given faculties. We've every minute, every hour, every day, it belongs to God. He's responsible for our next step, our next breath. And so he's given us eyes, ears, a heart to understand and to act, to do. Don't just hear it, do act on divine truth, God's word. I mean, even in the book of Revelation, the word of God warns the church, he, the Holy Spirit's urgent messages for spiritual growth to overcome the noise we're hearing today, especially when it's emanating supposedly from a fall church, a fall platform. Every spirit, remember, every spirit or a person that distracts, deters, disturbs, or detours. Every spirit or person that does not confess that Jesus is the Son of God and He is the only hope for humanity and the only way to a relationship with God. Don't be confused or don't be disled, misled or deceived by the noise. Well, there are there are many ways to God. No, there are not. There's only one. That's coming from God Himself. You know, the clay doesn't have the right to call the potter wrong. It's what God said, it is what it is. Every person or spirit that does not prioritize Jesus within their message, but you prioritize religion, ordinances, finances on your platform or within your circle of influence. Know this. Have discernment, people of God. It is all harmful spiritual noise. And more than likely, that is the spirit of the Antichrist, which we have heard is coming and which is already in the world at this time, according to our final verse. And so as we prepare to conclude this week's message with the invitation, it is my prayer every time that I step on the platform that God has given me. It is my prayer that every time that I speak to you, every time that I teach, every time that I preach, every time that you tune, you tune into the Words of Life broadcast or podcast, I pray that I am never guilty of giving you spiritual noise. My prayers that in every sermon you hear Jesus prioritize as the sole hope. For your eternal soul. Even the eternal souls of everybody that's not listening and that just let me see what this preacher's talking about. Let me watch the broadcast or the podcast. I hope you come away with well, he gave me the opportunity to make a choice. Whether I did or did it didn't, that's on me. And herein lies your opportunity to make a choice. It's the only reason that we've been called to preach or to teach. It is the only reason that we have been given a platform. It is to elevate Jesus, not our s not ourselves, not an agenda, not our opinion, not our ideas, not our aspirations. And I'll clarify because we can be guilty. I'm don't misread me, please. I'm not saying anything's wrong with writing a book, or if you do music, I do all of those things, but that can never be the priority. Even in doing those things, the book, the music, the wit, whatever, does it point people to Jesus or does it point people to you? This is another thing I've never gotten. So forgive me, uh words of life audience. I've never understood driving down a highway or a busy street or intersection, and you see a billboard, and the pastor and the wife are on the billboard inviting you to the church, as if I'm coming to that church because of you. But then Jesus say, if I be lifted up, I will draw all men unto me. It's the main reason that words of life, if God decides to give us a local building where we can teach the word of God, the odds are pretty good you're never going to see my wife and I on a billboard or anything promoting the church. You will see the cross. Period. We don't need to be on there. Okay? So I'm just asking you. The only reason we've been called a preacher teach, the only reason I've been given a platform is to elevate Jesus, not myself, not my agenda, not an opinion or ideas or aspirations, the word of God. And so I challenge you. Have you tuned out the noise? Have you accepted Jesus as the only bridge to God for your eternal safety? Well, if you have not, this is the part of the message that God definitely holds me accountable for. I want you to pray this simple prayer with me because we call it the ABCs of salvation. It is simply this. Oh God, hey, I acknowledge the fact that I'm a sinner. There's so much noise going on in the world. I even hear people talking about there are many ways to God, but Lord, nobody can cover my sins. Nobody can be the high priest for me. Nobody can shed blood that appeases you but your son Jesus. And I acknowledge I'm a sinner and I need Jesus' blood to cover me. Then, Lord, help me to be believed. I believe Jesus did that just for me. Although He did it for humanity, He thought about me on the cross. I believe that He died a brutal death for me and my sinfulness. And then you rose him on the third day where he's sitting right now at your right hand. And so since I believe that, I will then see. Lord, help me to confess with my mouth that Jesus Christ alone is my Savior and to now help me to go forth, not only confessing him as the only Savior of my life, but the Savior of the world, I'll confess that. I will go and tell that to others as you lead me under your Holy Spirit's power. I thank you, oh God. In the name of Jesus, I pray together with Pastor Mark, and I conclude it by saying, It is so or amen. Well, if you've prayed that prayer, uh you did not know Jesus as the sole way to God for eternal safety, and you now do, heaven is celebrating, and we thank God for you. As we conclude this week's message, if you missed any part of the sermon and you would like to go back and listen to the broadcast or the podcast, or you would simply like to download uh the podcast or broadcast free, uh you can check out our website, Words of Life, with pastormark.com, or you can get our book. Uh, that's something we're definitely excited about. Navigating life, God be willing, that's headed towards the big screen. Uh, but navigating like that book can be found anywhere that you purchase books, be it Google Play, Amazon. Uh, I think another site is um booksby dot pastormark d. Ingram. Put that in Google and you'll find it. And another project that we're excited about, a songwriting project that God blessed me with, entitled One Way. And it is just literally a um a playlist. It is generally an album. Remember those of various genres, but they have one central focus. No matter what type of music you like, uh uh contemporary Christian, gospel, hip-hop, uh, RB, country, uh, blues. I wrote in different genres with one central focus, pointing you towards Jesus the Christ. And we hope that you can get that's also. We hope that you can get that. Uh, that's anywhere where downloads are sold. And I know my time is now running out. And so I gotta present this week's song of the week. It is entitled Appropriately with this message, Clouds Under the Sun. With all of the noise and all of the foolishness at times, it can seem pretty dark. I know sometimes I can get depressed looking at CNN and all of the news and the decisions that are being made. It can seem hopeless, pretty dark. And it's very easy to get depressed. And sometimes it just seems like all that you see are clouds and you can't see the sun shining. But if we can just tune out the noise, you and I, we will realize that the dark clouds that we see, the dark clouds that we are under on some days, they are still under the one. They are clouds under God's Son, Jesus the Christ. There he is hope, for I have never seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging for bread. Until the next time, may God bless you, and he will forever keep you and I. Much love, you all. See you later. Bye-bye.
SPEAKER_02:Nations fight within hope blows and politics' people die, and children don't know why. When crime grows in the streets and hearts full with every beat, but in darkness there is a cold, a still voice above it all. You said days like these will come for us to see glow. There's a light from the sun, there's hope in the sorrow. There's a light from the one even in the storm. There's a light from the sun, light from the sun, light from the sun, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.