The Threshold Between Who You Are And Who You Could Be

A closed door changed everything. On Christmas Eve, we pause with gratitude and face a hard question: which side of the threshold are we living on—comfort, compromise, or courageous surrender? We reflect on self-examination, walk through Jesus’ invitation to ask, seek, and knock, and reframe it as a path to spiritual good rather than a vending machine for our wishes. That frame opens space for an honest, compassionate call to three groups: those still undecided about Jesus, those who drifted and feel too tired or ashamed to return, and believers who perform publicly but compromise privately.

We share real stories of struggle and turning, and we sit with scripture that refuses to flatter us: Revelation 3’s warning to lukewarm hearts and Luke 13’s narrow gate that requires endurance, not just a great start. Romans 1 becomes a mirror, not a weapon, exposing any habitual sin we defend or normalize. The throughline is relationship over legalism: in love, there are things we won’t do, not just things we can’t. The Holy Spirit doesn’t demand pre-cleaned lives; he asks for access. Surrender is not behavior modification—it’s opening the door and letting God do the deep work in our motives, habits, and loyalties.

This is a warm yet urgent episode for anyone standing at a threshold. Whether you are weighing faith for the first time, longing to return from a backslidden season, or ready to end the split between public devotion and private compromise, the invitation is clear: stop vacillating and step through. We close with a prayer of salvation and a welcome home for anyone who responds, trusting that grace meets us at the door and leads us forward.

If this speaks to you, share it with someone who needs encouragement today. Subscribe for more Christ-centered reflections, leave a review to help others find the show, and email your testimony so we can celebrate and support you.

Transcript

Christmas Eve Greetings & Gratitude

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Welcome to another little podcast. And another little podcast, we go beyond the norm. We take another look at the like Christmas. We keep an open heart and mind. So we can reach teach another concentration. Whether you are numbers or this one, this podcast is for you. You ready for something new? Something that will challenge your thinking and hum? Are you willing and ready to um in order to learn? Willing to take a bab? So gonna carry big. Let's get up and go. People away from us. Let's go fishing.

Year In Review And Faithfulness

Self-Examination And Daily Accountability

The Door As A Transition

Ask Seek Knock Reframed

Three Audiences Introduced

Appeal To The Undecided

The Rapture And Urgency

Grace Salvation And Consequences

Call To Backsliders To Return

Making Jesus Lord Over All

Lukewarm Faith And Revelation 3

Warning To Double-Lived Believers

Strive For The Narrow Gate

Romans 1 And Habitual Sin

Quit Excuses Church And Accountability

Final Plea To Three Groups

Closing Blessing

SPEAKER_01 0:46

Welcome tonight to another look podcast. This is Christmas Eve. And this is Brother Ken coming to you on Christmas Eve to say, first of all, to all my listeners, to all my followers, um, on my podcast. Um Merry Christmas and Happy New Year if I don't speak to you. Before the new year, we made it this far by the grace of God, and we're grateful for all that God has done and is doing and will do. Um, I don't have any prophetic word. Um not going to do that. That is a gift that God has bestowed upon me for his glory, but I don't use it um for snaps or clicks or anything like that. It's just as the Holy Spirit wills. Um I just want to again thank you for your faithfulness and your your encouragement. Thank you. Um, 2025, as I've said in the previous episodes, has been a challenging year for me and my family. Um, but God has brought us through. I'm not gonna harbor back, I'm just gonna be grateful. When I look back at it, I am so grateful for all that God has done and is continuing to do. Um so keep us in prayer, keep us as we put our hands to the plow, um, as we walk through our journeys with the Holy Spirit um in this life. So I want to talk today. Um I really um had a lot on my, I guess you could say I had a lot on my heart. Um, not in a bad way. Um, but you know, when I get to Christmas, you know, and I know a lot of people, this is a I'm sorry, I hit my mic. I know for some this is a joyous time, and it should be. This is time to be with family, with friends, loved ones, and celebrate, you know, family. Um, but you know, for us who follow Christ, this is also uh our celebration of his birth. Um, again, we don't know when he was born, and the point is not about pinpointing the date he was born and all that stuff. That's minor. The point is we celebrate his life because had he not come to the earth, we would not have salvation. So um I one thing I do is I often kind of take a step back each day in reflection of my life and look at some of the decisions I made during the day. In my time of reflection, I ask myself, what inspired me to make that decision? Or what was my motivation? And I also ask myself, what could I have done better today? And I asked these questions so that I can have self-accountability, which is an important part of my life. As a follower of Christ, I've learned to give the Holy Spirit access to my daily self-accountability. Yes, I have asked myself these questions also first, because in 1 Corinthians 11 28 it says, Let a man examine himself. Now, even though that scripture instructs us to examine ourselves in the context of the Lord's Supper, I just don't believe this is just the Lord's Supper that God's saying to examine ourselves. Um, so recently I had a chance to reflect, and for some odd reason I just sat there and kept looking at this door. Um, I wasn't trying to do anything, but be still and focus on the door. Um, and there's so much that I didn't realize about a door, but I'm I'm learning as I get older to stop my life sometimes and look for what God is trying to show me, even though I don't hear Him in these times. Um But it was weird because I kept looking at this door and I heard nothing in my spirit, I heard nothing from God. So weeks later, God catches my attention. And it's ironic because I'm in Sunday school class and I'm listening to this amazing lesson being shared. But God disrupts me in a good way and begins to unravel what he showed me with this door. Um, so let me share some of these things. Um, so to many, a door is a way into or out of a room. Nothing incorrect in that definition. However, let's consider these other thoughts. A door is also a center point of transition. Again, a door is also a center point of transition. On one side of the door could be a very nurturing and caring environment, but on the other side of that door, there could be a discouraging and toxic environment. And for those who you know have jobs, you know what I mean. A door could be a transition between one, the past, two, the present, and third, and number three, the future. For example, when you graduate high school, you transition out from one level of education and into another level of education for those of us who attended undergraduate school. So, you know, we left the door, we we walked out of the door of high school and into the door of higher education. For others, it was a transition into the school or work life. So some people didn't go to undergraduate school, no worries there. You went right into your work life. It still was a door. You went from being in your parents' house and you know, going to high school to all of a sudden now you're you have your own place, you gotta be responsible for yourself. That's a different door. For others, it was a transition maybe from undergraduate school and you left that environment, and maybe you went into the world of professional working life. So for those who went from high school to work, there are those of us who went from high school to undergraduate school to work, professional work life. When I graduated from law school, there was a door of transition even there. But I think you get my point, right? So let me take a let's take a look at uh Matthew 7, 7 through 8. And I believe this is in this uh CEB version, I'm not sure. But it says this ask and it will be given to you. Seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son ask him for bread, will give him a stone, or if he asks for a fish, we'll give him a serpent. If you then who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him? So in Matthew 7, 7 through 8, this has been so misused sometimes by the church, especially when it comes to things like the prosperity gospel. And again, I'm not acting like I didn't participate, I surely did, but I've thank God for wisdom and maturity and growth. But I'll stay focused on another area for this podcast episode. So in this scripture, Jesus is letting everyone saved or unsaved know that if we ask the Father, he's willing to give. If we seek him, he's not hiding, and we can find him. If we knock on his door, he will open the door. We misinterpret the scripture and think God is willing to give us anything we ask him. The key phrase is in verse 11, when he says, If you then who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, the key here is God gives what he is. And what is God? God is good. He's not giving you something that is not good. In other words, he's not going to give you something that is focused or centered or inspired by evil, whether it's outside of you or in you. If it's not him or if it's not in him, he's not giving it. But what's important in the context of this scripture is to understand Jesus is letting us know God only wants to bless and multiply us as it pertains to our spiritual life. He's not wishing to hurt us, but to grow us, such that when we ask anything of him, it is to give him glory, which makes us his own. So when I ask him, the expectation I have is that what I'm asking for is what he's already provided for life and godliness, not for my flesh and wickedness. So, what does this have to do with opening the door, Brother Ken? So remember, the door is a center point of transition. So when I ask, seek or knock, that is the door to change in my life. Asking God, seeking God, knocking on the door for God to open it. It's the difference between my present situation and my future. Now, for the rest of this episode, I'm going to speak frankly and candidly to you. I'm going to speak with three different ones. First, I'm going to speak with my friends who have yet to ask Jesus into their lives to be their savior. Um, and I'm saying this because I spoke a few years ago to my friends in the shadows, because the Holy Spirit led me to put out his net and seek for souls. Now, I don't have the numbers or measuring tools to know how much of an impact it made. Um, other than to know that that episode which I entitled which was entitled Emmanuel A Message to the Shadows was probably in the top three episodes for Another Look podcast. Ummazing uh downloads. It's still being downloaded um on a daily basis, and it's being used as an evangelistic tool, not because of me, but it's just because the Holy Spirit is using it. And I'm just grateful that he used me as a vessel to even deliver it, share it. But I want to speak to three different audiences tonight. Of course, I want to speak to those who have yet to select to have chosen Jesus as Savior and Lord. And then I want to speak to those who may have chosen but have gone back. You've you're considered in a backslidden condition. Doesn't make you a bad person, it's just the way it is right now. And the third group I want to speak to are those who know the way. You may not be backslidden, but you are in a I call an alternative universe where you know you are you are operating. I'm not talking about crazy, you're operating in sin. And it could, and you know, it's and I'm talking about, and I'll get into it more, but we're gonna narrow it down in a few minutes, okay? So let me get to my people who are not born again. Um, so let's start with this, let's start with this realness here. I'm gonna come straight with you, okay? You know the truth, you've heard the gospel, and you can sit there and you can compare it to other world religions, and you can sit there and vacillate, but you know there's a tugging and pricking of your heart. God has given you opportunity after opportunity to receive him as Lord and Savior, but you keep vacillating. In first Kings 18th chapter, the 21st verse, the prophet Elijah says it like this And Elijah came unto all the people, and he said, How long halt thee between two opinions. If the Lord be God, follow him, but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him, not a word. That's you. You've been hearing God, you know God. Or God knows you. You chose not to know him, but you keep trying to vacillate between whether I'm gonna serve God or am I gonna serve this other person or this other uh alleged God. Stop vacillating. You keep going back and forth between two opinions. God's not an opinion, God's a decision. And when I say God, I'm not talking about the general God, I'm talking about I'm talking about Jehovah, the Lord God, Elohim, El Shol, El Shaddai, the the God of more than enough. I'm talking about God the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Three in one. I'm talking about the God who made everything you see, who sent his son Jesus into the world, that the world through him might be saved. I'm talking about the Holy Spirit, who is the in this dispensation of time, he is the voice and ear of God speaking to us in this world. Because Jesus is in the is in heaven on the right hand of the Father. He is not coming back until it's time for the rapture, which I will get into in a few episodes. I'm gonna start in 2026 sharing about the end times. Because let's be real, it's happening, it's coming. I ain't talking about soon, it's it's soon upon us. It's gonna be like a thief in the night. It's gonna be quick, and you're not gonna know what happened. And of course, the world's gonna make it seem like it was nothing, but you'll know this was the rapture. You want to be caught up in that, but you gotta stop going back and forth in these opinions. Listen, John 3 16 has been said to you so many times, you know it by heart, but you still keep going back and forth. Look, God so loved you, brother. God so loved you, sister, that he gave his son up for you. Took your place, you deserve death for your sins. Past, present, and future. You deserve the cross, you deserve the wrath of God. But instead, he sent his son to substitute for you. As the Bible says, he was a propitiation for your sin, he took your place on the cross, he took all of God's wrath for all the sins you committed, past, present, and future, so that when he sees you, he sees his son. But because you won't make that decision, he just sees you. And understand this you can choose whatever you want. God gave you free will. You can make any decision you want. That's what the father intended. However, what you don't have freedom from is the consequences of your decisions. You can never say to God, I didn't know. Because the fact that you're listening to this right now, God's making you accountable for what you hear. But don't just be a hearer of the word, be a doer of the word. God's not looking at what you did tonight or what you did last night. He wants you to come home. He wants you to come home because before you were formed in your mother's womb, he knew you, but also he knew what decisions you'd make. But you need to stop playing now. It doesn't, you don't have to get yourself right. You just have to come as you as you are. God will make you right, provided you yield to him. But you gotta stop going back between these two opinions. You gotta stop, you know the truth. You've heard the gospel. You may not have the vessel who delivered it may not have been perfect in your eyes, they may not have done everything right in your eyes, they may have even backslitten in your eyes, and in the eyes of God, but it doesn't change the fact that the content of what they said was still backed by heaven. Because let's be honest, God uses imperfect people to deliver a perfect God to you. I'll say that again. God uses imperfect people to deliver a perfect God before you. And while you may say, when you get before that white throne of judgment, you may say, Well, Brother Ken said this, and but he did this, so I couldn't do it because he was such a hypocrite. You know what God's gonna say? What does that have to do with me? Did you hear what he said to you? Did you it did you listen to the message, or were you so focused on the vessel delivering the message that you missed the message? And I'll make it more plain to you. How many times, and I'll use this in another analogy, how many times have you gone to McDonald's or Chick-fil-A, and maybe the person who brought the food to you wasn't someone you cared for? Maybe they were nasty to you, maybe you didn't like the way they looked or smelled, but you still took that food and ate it, didn't you? Because you could you got past what was bringing your food to you because you were more interested in eating the good food delivered to you. If you can do that for something as simple as food to feed yourself, why would you reject the message being brought to you to repent and to come home and receive Christ as your savior? Why would you reject that message because the vessel that delivered it to you, you didn't like, or you didn't like their tone, or you didn't like the way they looked, or you didn't like the way they are? What does that have to do with the word? The word is what God got to you. And whether you like the vessel that brought it or not, the word, the gospel is still relevant and it was brought before you, and you are accountable for it. Stop vacillating, stop trying to get into behavior modification, just yield your behavior, yield your life to the Lord. See, this is the difference. Because the first choice you have to make is Him being your Savior. The second choice you have to make, and now I'm going into my next audience, is Lord. So I'm gonna talk to those who of you who have known the Lord and you've backslitten, you've walked away. I know that because that was me for many years. I grew up in the church, but I was so backslidden, I didn't think it was even worth trying to come back because everything I knew growing up was if you make one mistake, you're done. You're going to hell. And in my mind, I said, well, if I'm going, I'm going in a little red corvette. And I'm gonna blaze it all up. I'm gonna burn it all down. But that wasn't God. And the people who were condemning me to hell, that wasn't from God. It took me getting to my junior year in college and undergraduate school, entering into my senior year where I really started. I'm sorry, that was not intended for you to hear my ring doorbell, but all good. But it took getting to my senior year in college when I had such a huge mental um breakdown. I had um went through a horrible relationship and was experiencing a lot of loss. I lost one of my best friends in college to a drunk driver, and it tore me up. I was I was a wreck, and I was probably heading in the same path. And and I was actually on the verge of of leaving Christianity altogether and becoming a member of the Nation of Islam, the fruit of Islam, the FOI. And my mother said something to me, and she knew how where I was at and where I was heading. She said, Before you make that decision, son, can you give Jesus one more opportunity? And she sent me a simple Bible, not King James. It was plain English, English Standard Version. And I started reading Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. And I was doing it to try to find flaws in Christianity. But what I wound up doing is finding out the real Jesus. He wasn't some weak milked toast person that was presented to me when I was growing up. He was a strong, caring, loving, but militant person. He wasn't no punk like it was presented to me when I was growing up. He was a man who stood with integrity, stood with truth. Didn't care who heard it. The way he went at the Pharisees, I was sitting there like, whoa, he didn't care. Because this is the first time I saw someone who attacked the religious authorities for falsely misrepresenting God. But yet loving the sinner enough to walk with them, eat with them, talk with them, walk with them. I said, this is the person I never saw, but this is the person I want to see. This is the person I want to, I want this person my life. Because different than you know what other world religions practiced, they didn't have a savior who died for them. But yet I saw and I read someone who didn't open their mouth while they were being humiliated, who kept quiet when they could have called down leeches of angels. Because he had me. All I could focus on was him taking my wrath. I know all the dirt I did and all the sins I committed. And yet he was on that cross for me. And he stayed on there for me. And he wrote, he died for me, and he rose for me. And he intercedes in heaven as I speak for me. It broke me down. It made me undone. And in the dorm room, I gave my life back to him. So it was you. You think you may be too far gone. You may think you've done too much, and you've been listening to every voice but God's that tells you you're condemned. You've gone too far, but you have never gone too far. There's nothing that can separate you from the love of God except one thing. You and your hard-headedness, your stiff-heartedness, you wanting to be a victim of your own past, present, and future, let it go. God knows you made mistakes, so did we all, but you can turn, you're as close to God as one decision. But staying stuck in your in your victimhood, staying stuck in your sin cycles, you don't have to do that. But you have nothing in your power you can do to change it, but you can yield to the power of the Holy Spirit who can change you. And let me tell you, the simplest way to do it is to just surrender your life. See, the one of the reasons I would say, based on my experience, why most people who are backsliders, one of the reasons why they um stay in a backsliding condition, is because one of the main reasons is because they when they made Jesus their savior, they never made the conversion to make him Lord. So what does that mean to make him Lord? It means simply this He has access to all of you: mind, body, soul. Because when you're saved, he already has your spirit. You're spiritually dead and you were made spiritually alive when you chose him to be your savior. But you have to work out your soul salvation now with fear and trembling. See, your spirit is saved, but your soul is being saved. Because your soul, which is your mind, your intellect, your thoughts, your heart, is still full of sin. It still wants to sin. Your soul is so connected to your flesh, which is no good in the flesh. Your soul is so connected to your flesh that it still has those that muscle memory of doing sin. You know, you're gonna sleep with oak, or you're gonna watch that porn, or you're gonna smoke that thing, or you're gonna drink the tennessee, or that's so because your soul is so tied to it, but the Holy Spirit wants to unbreak those ties. I mean, he wants to break those ties, not unbreak them. He wants to break those ties. Your soul is tied to sin. It's been tied to the fornication, it's been tied to all kinds of lasciviousness and lust, and it's not always all sexual, but yes, some of it is. But if you give the Holy Spirit access to all of your life, my brother, my sister, he can break those ties you have to those sinful things. You have to make the wise decision to stop staying in a backslidden condition. And I know you bought into the belief that you're here in church, which is not in the Bible, that once saved, always saved. No. Listen, and I'm gonna get into this a little later in a couple episodes, but let me just clarify it for you. Is there anything you can do to lose your salvation? Is your is salvation so weak that you, if you make a if you sin, you can lose it? No, it is not weak. No, you won't lose your salvation, provided you repent. You need to repent, which means turn away from the sin. Up, you know, you you can't, Jesus. How can I say it's without hurting your feelings? You can't keep playing with the grace of God, thinking that grace is always going to be there for you as a as a um fallback position, you know, because you know, grace is there for you. God's not mocked. It doesn't mean you keep sinning. God forbid, you keep doing that. Because now you're abusing grace, now you're taking grace for granted. You can't listen. I'm gonna read this. Let me just read it to you. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. I'm sorry, I'm dumb, I'm done. I'm trying not to get into my feelings with this one, but I need to talk to you. I need to talk to you. It's a let me let me read this to you. Revelations 3, 19 through 22. I'm gonna probably read a little bit more than that because I don't want to open this proper context, okay? Uh Lord help me. Alright, let me get to the scripture. Let me get to the scripture. I'm on my phone. So let me read this, Revelations 3. I want to put it because this is the church of layer to see it. And I want to put it to you because this this speaks about you. This speaks about you. And I'm please don't read what I'm not saying, but I need to read this to you. Okay, so I'm gonna get this out. I'm gonna put this in plain English. So I'm in a KJV. I'm gonna read it in common English Bible, okay? So y'all have no reason to say I didn't understand I didn't understand what Brother Ken said. Let me get my glasses on, get my peepers on, I'm gonna read this to you. I'm gonna take my glasses off afterwards. So in Revelation, the third chapter, excuse me, verses 14 through 23, I believe. 22, it says this. Again, it's Revelations 3:14 through 22. It says, Write this to the angel of the church in Laodicea. Let me explain. When it says the angel of the church, that's a common phrase for the leader of the church, the pastor of the church. These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation. Listen to this in verse 15. God says this to them I know your works. You are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were either cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm and neither hot nor cold, I'm about to spit you out of my mouth. After all, you say, I'm rich and I've grown wealthy, and I don't need a thing. You don't realize that you are miserable, pathetic, poor, blind, and naked. My advice is that you buy gold from me that has been purified by fire, so that you may be rich in white clothing to wear, so that your nakedness won't be shamefully exposed, an ointment to put on your eyes so that you may see. I correct and discipline those whom I love. So be earnest and change your hearts and lives. Look, I'm standing at the door and knocking. If any hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to be with them and will have dinner with them, and they will have dinner with me. As for those who emerge victorious, I will allow them to sit with me on my throne, just as I emerged victorious and sat down with my father on his throne. If you can hear, listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches. Listen, he's telling you, he's knocking at the door of your heart. Open the door. Open the door and let him in all the way into your life. Not just the parts you want him to see. He wants full access to you, even the dirt you have hiding in that corner, which you call, which you try to justify with your sin. God saying, Give me the sin, I'll clean it up. Matter of fact, I already cleaned it up when I put my when I died on the cross for you. You just have to receive the finished work and allow me to take this word that I put in your life and cleanse you of it. Because, beloved, you can't hold on to the sin and hold on to the Father. Both can't dwell in the same place. You keep holding on. God saying, Let it go. I'm gonna talk to the third wage now. This one, I imagine it won't be easy, but I need to say it. It probably won't be popular, but I need to say it. Because I need to be obedient to the Holy Spirit as he gives me these words. I need to say it. I won't apologize for what it's gonna be said, but you need to hear it. It's in Luke. Lord help me with this one. Look at Luke 13, 23 through 30. And I want to talk to this audience, this third audience. These are people who are born again. Jesus is your savior, he's even your Lord. But you keep playing these games with your salvation, you keep playing these games with God. You live two different lifestyles. You have one life you live in public, but behind closed doors you live another life. You make it seem to the public you know God, but in private, you give him no time. You don't yield anything to him. You have grown up in the church, you may have grown up in faith, but you have learned to fake well, you've learned to perform well. But your life, the fruit, you may have even had fruit. I'm sure you led many to the Lord. But you're that it's the end of your life that is more problematic than the beginning of your salvation life. See, this is the thing, you gotta endure to the end. I just read it when I talk about Revelation. When you are to those who strive to the end, you gotta stop with this. Let me read this, because I'm about to cry. I ain't gonna cry. I won't. I'm gonna read this in the comment English Bibles. This is Luke 13, 23 through 30. Someone said to him, Lord, will only a few be saved? Jesus said to them, make every effort to enter through the narrow gate. Many, I tell you, will try to enter and won't be able to. Once the owner of the house gets up and shuts the door, then you will stand outside and knock on the door, saying, Lord, open the door for us. He will reply, I don't know you, or where you are from. Then you will begin to say, We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets. He will respond, I don't know you, or where you are from. Go away from me, all you evildoers. Then we'll be weeping and grinding of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets in God's kingdom, but you yourselves will be thrown out. People will come from east and west, north and south, and sit down to eat in God's kingdom. Look, those who are last will be first, and those who are first will be last. You gotta stop. This thing, this faith walk is not about what you did in the beginning, it's enduring to the end. In one version, it says strive. It says strive to enter in at the straight game. In other words, you have to continually keep making effort, not every day to prove you're saved, but you have to strive to stay saved. You have to strive to get better, to improve in your walk spiritually. See, here's the thing: some people strive to stay out of sin. And some of you, you just strive, your life is about a list of do's and don'ts. But if you are in relationship with God, see, see, let me go back. Again, I said this. Some of you, you walk with a life of do's and don'ts, and that's what people who are religious do. Oh, I can't do this, but I can do that. Oh, I can't, I can't smoke weed, but I can do this, I can do vaping, whatever. See, it's not even about that. When you're in a relationship, it's about will and won't. Let me explain another way. When I got married, it wasn't about because my love, and this is the key, because I loved my wife. Was I perfect in it? No, but I had a love for her that was so strong that remained strong, that there are things I won't do that may not be bad. Well, for sure, I won't do things that are bad that will cause my relationship with her to suffer because I she I don't want to do anything that will cause her to lose trust in me because I wasn't faithful with my marriage vows, my marriage covenant with her. But for sure, there are some things that have nothing to do with my marriage covenant, but it affects our relationship. Thus, it affects our covenant trust that I won't do because I want our relationship to grow stronger. Just because we've been married for 33 years doesn't mean it can't it can't get better. That's when the danger is when we start taking our relationships for granted, and that's what we do, and that's what you are doing with God. You take the grace of God for granted so much, you take your relationship with God for granted so much, you figure you find loopholes in your walk. You try to be legalistic with your relationship with God, and you you you try to bring loopholes before God saying, Well, he didn't say I couldn't do this. Some of you are in in ungodly relationships, and you try to find something says, Oh, God didn't condemn this. Stop that. You know, do you know the Holy Spirit convicts your heart when you're sleeping with that person you shouldn't be sleeping with? Some of you, you're being convicted because you were drinking things and smoking things and and and doing things in the dark, thinking God's not seeing it. Darkness is light before God. He sees it all. And it's going to be shown before you if you get to the bhima seed of Christ where the believers are judged, it's going to be shown before you and the works you've done on this earth will be judged, wood, stubble, and hay. But for some of you, you think you'll be before the bhima seed, but you have a notorious, infamous lifestyle of sin. For you are practically, you are practically walking away from your salvation and choosing to live a sinful life. See, if you continue to sin, you no longer walk away from your salvation. It's not that your salvation was so weak you could lose it, it's that you made a choice by your actions to walk away from your salvation. Because you rather have the things of the world than the things of God. Listen, and I know I can already hear some of the comments and some of the things. I know you're already trying to tune out what I'm saying. I know, because I know how I can hear the Holy Spirit telling me this. And I know I can I know how this goes. Listen. Oh Jesus, let me bring it home to you. Romans 1 15. Romans 1 15. I'll start at verse 15. And I'll go all the way through to, I believe, um, Jesus. To verse 32. And again, I want you to hear what I'm not saying, okay? Because some of y'all will take this and run with it to beat people over the head with. This is not what this is for. But this is an example of something. You may not be in this particular kind of unrighteousness, but it doesn't mean that you're not unrighteous because of your sinful lifestyle. Again, I say sinful lifestyle. See, there's a difference between someone who struggles with sin but knows it's wrong and repents. That's what David was like. Versus someone who's like Saul who has a sinful lifestyle and is more upset about someone holding them accountable for their sin rather than someone being willing to change when it's brought before them. See, because when Nathan confronted David about his sin, David immediately repented. Versus when Samuel confronted Saul, Saul made excuses and tried to even kill Samuel. Some of y'all are trying to kill your pastors or your leaders for bringing out sin before you, your sin. Some of y'all trying to kill other people who may not be in leadership positions. Maybe it's your mother, maybe it's your father, maybe it's your spouse, maybe it's your children, maybe it's your brother or sister. But you rather crucify them rather than be accountable for your sins. And God's speaking to you through them, but you are so tied up in your mess. You rather hold and embrace that sin rather than embrace the cross. Let me read this to you. Romans 1:15. That's why I'm ready to preach, and I'm reading this in the CEB, the Common English Bible. That's why I'm ready to preach the gospel also to you who are in Rome. I'm not ashamed of the gospel. It is God's own power for salvation to all who have faith in God, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. God's righteousness is being revealed in the gospel from faithfulness for faith, as it is written the righteous person will live by faith. God's wrath is being revealed from heaven. God's wrath is being revealed from heaven against all the ungodly behaviors. Behavior and the injustice of human beings who silence the truth with injustice. We're living in that today. This is because what is known about God should be plain to them because God made it plain to them. Ever since the creation of the world, God's invisible qualities, God's eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen because they are understood through the things God has made. So humans are without excuses. Although they knew God, they did not honor God as God or thank Him. Instead, their reasoning became pointless and their foolish hearts were darkened. While they were claiming to be wise, they made fools of themselves. They exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images that looked like mortal humans, birds, animals, and reptiles. So God abandoned them to their heart's desires, which led to the moral corruption of degrading their own bodies with each other. They traded God's truth for a lie, and they worshiped and served the creation instead of the creator who is blessed forever. Amen. That is why God abandoned them to degrading lust. Their females traded natural sexual relationships for unnatural sexual relations. Also in the same way, also in the same way, the males traded natural sexual relations with females and burned with lust for each other. Males performed shameful actions with males, and they were paid back with the penalty they deserved for their mistake in their own bodies. Since they didn't think it was worthwhile to acknowledge God, God abandoned them to a defective mind to do inappropriate things. So they were filled with all injustice, wicked behavior, greed, and evil behavior. They're full of jealousy, murder, fighting, deception, and malice. They are gossips, they slander people and they hate God. They are rude and proud and they brag. They invent ways to be evil and they are disobedient to their parents. They are without understanding, disloyal, without affection, and without mercy. Though they know God's decision that those who persist in such practices deserve death, they only keep doing these things, but they not only keep doing these things, but also approve others who practice them. This is, you know, this is you. You know this is you, beloved, but I'm saying this not that you can feel condemned, but I'm trying to get you to understand the Holy Spirit is convicting you now to turn around to repent and to stop walking in your ungodly ways and come home. And I know you might be still struggling, but God can change the struggle, He can turn the struggle into a victory for you if you just stand for what's right and stop practicing sin in the dark. I'm not saying this to say this, I'm I'm all I'm with everything in me. God is telling me to warn you. Repent, for the kingdom of God is coming again. Jesus is coming to take us up in the sky, and after that, God help you. But if it means you are mad at me, but you turn your life back to him, I'd rather you be mad at me and be in love with God than to be in love with the world. There's no good thing in the world for you. And I know the propensity is to you know wince, I was it, wash, rinse, and repeat. Go to church, make a public showing of who you how much you love the Lord, go home and live like all hell from Sunday through. Wash, rinse, repeat. Wash, rinse, repeat. Because you're so acclimated to living that way. But it doesn't mean you have to stay that way. You don't have to stay in where you are. Brother. Listen to me. Don't use church and what church hurt you went through as an excuse of why you walked away from God. Sister, don't use the excuse that I still pray to the Lord, but I don't want to be around church folk. God said, forsake not the assembling of the saints. You can't, and I said this before, stop thinking you can ask God to prepare you a house in heaven, but you refuse to come to his house on earth. Think of how dumb that is. I'm sorry, I hate to be blank, but that's dumb. That's straight up disrespecting God. Stop making excuses. And no, YouTube church does not count except for those who may not be able to physically go to church. You have a responsibility. And here's the thing, God knows what's in your heart. Stop playing with him. If someone hurts you in church, okay, give it to God, but that doesn't mean you abandon his word. His obedience is better, or your obedience is better than sacrifice. Stop playing around. Get right with God. Repent and turn around. This is not a message to the shadows. This is a message. This is a clearing call because this is wrapping up soon. This is a last ditch effort to tell you. Turn around, beloved. To you who don't know the Lord, it's time now. God has already put before you evidence that He exists. Stop vacillating between two opinions. To you who are in a backstain condition and you're trying to get right to stay right so you can come back home. No, you don't have the time and you don't have the power to change your life. Just come on home and give your life to the Holy Spirit. Open, give him full access to every part of you, and he will change you through the word and through the power of the Holy Ghost. And to you who know better but refuse to do better because you get away with this public out, this public performance you keep doing. But privately, your life is like Saul. You gotta stop playing with this. You're playing with fire, and you will only get burned. I couldn't imagine anything worse than your eternity being in hell and conscious of God. You can see Jesus, not in hell, but in heaven, and you're in hell. And every day you're filled, you're tormented, you see him, and you had a chance to be with him, and you chose to make the wrong decision. You thought you had an end because you you did things in his name, you did works for him. You were busy in church doing things on behalf of God, but really it was on behalf of you. You drank in his presence, you ate in his presence, but he didn't even know who you were. So the question for you is does God really know you? And better yet, do you really know God? Because if you did, you would understand this is God trying to talk to you through this little frail, portly vessel called Brother Ken trying to tell you, turn around, come back home, give your life to Christ as a Lord. You already know him as Savior, but let him be your Lord. Let him rule your spirit, let him be the bishop of your soul so you can work out your soul's salvation with fear and trembling. That's all I have to say. In Jesus' name, I pray this message reaches you. It pricks your heart, it convicts you. It motivates you to come back to him. And I don't care what part you fall in, whether you're one of those three audiences or not, at the end of this message will be a prayer of salvation. Just pray it anyway. It fits every all three of you. If it's all three of you, come home. Nobody needs to know about God. I pray this message touches your heart and reaches you. If this is not you, share with your loved ones. Share with those who you love, but you know they're not right with God. It's time now to get right with God. Not by power, not by might, but by his spirit. In Jesus' name.

unknown 49:26

Amen.

Prayer Of Salvation

Celebrate Decisions & Contact Info

SPEAKER_01 49:27

Love you guys. Hey Christmas. Happy New Year. I'll see you in the next episode. God bless. Dear Heavenly Father, I come to you in the name of Jesus Christ. Your word says, whoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved according to your word in Acts 2 21. I'm calling on you, and I come surrendering my life and my will to you. I pray and ask Jesus to come into my heart and be Lord over my life according to your word in Romans 10, 9 and 10. That says, if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart, one believes into righteousness, and with the mouth, confession is made into salvation. I do that now. I confess that Jesus is Lord of my life, and I believe in my heart that God raised him from the dead. I ask you, Holy Spirit, to come make your home inside of me and live in me. I confess all my sins to you, Lord, and ask for forgiveness for them right now in the name of Jesus. I receive you, Jesus, as my Lord and Savior. I thank you, God, that I am now reborn and a new creation. I am a Christian, a child of Almighty God, and a child of the one true King. I have salvation and I am saved. Thank you, Jesus. Lord, you also said in your word, if you then being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him according to your scripture in Luke 11, 13. So now, Lord, I'm asking you to infill me with the Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit, rise up within me as I praise God. I fully expect to receive a supernatural prayer language and speak in that language as you give me the utterance, according to your word in Acts 2.4. In Jesus' name, amen. So be it. Congratulations, beloved. If you prayed this prayer, then you were born again and now have eternal life in Christ Jesus. All of your sins are now forgiven, and the Holy Spirit now lives inside of you. The word of God says that everyone in heaven rejoices at your salvation, according to Luke 15, 7 through 10. So right now, guess what? Heaven is having a party because of your decision, and God has a huge smile on his face. If you prayed this prayer, please email us at alptrinity1 at gmail.com. Again, that's alptrinity1 at gmail.com. So we can hear your testimony. Please email us. Pray and we can pray for you and send you a free gift from this ministry. God bless you. Remember this always. Jesus loves you, and so do we. God bless you and welcome home. Beautiful, beautiful.