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The Rock Family Worship Center
Taking The Church Outside The Walls
The Rock Family Worship Center
Truth vs Tradition
We explore how understanding your true identity in Christ frees you from religious traditions and performance-based acceptance, revealing that you are already complete in Him through His finished work.
• Breaking down walls between denominations to share the finished work message
• People across all backgrounds are hungry for a deeper understanding of identity
• Your identity in Christ was established before you ever got anything right
• Psalm 119 declares that God's Word is "settled in heaven" and not up for debate
• Being "in Christ" is about who you are now, not just about salvation after death
• We don't need to chase God because He already lives inside us
• The difference between religious tradition and Scripture's truth about our identity
• God's acceptance was His original posture toward you, not a response to your performance
• The Bible is a mirror reflecting our identity, not just a rulebook for behavior
• Rest is not a posture of laziness but a posture of completeness
Don't leave unchanged. Decide what you want and allow God to awaken you to your true identity in Christ. Allow Him to awaken you to your purpose right here, the plans and purposes He's got for you right now, while you're living.
I had the opportunity yesterday to go out and speak at the men's meeting, that new vision and it's something that I've prayed for, not specifically the men's meeting, but for open doors. I don't care how it comes, and when I say open doors I don't mean just anywhere. I mean open doors that we have the opportunity to break down some religious walls, break those lines of denominations up. The good thing about yesterday is they was Baptist, they was Methodist, they was Church of God, they was non-believers old, young, a lot of older. It kind of scared me when I first walked in I said, oh my Lord, but the older were receiving it better than the younger. The older was, they was hollering amen, come on, say that you're right. I mean, they were into it, and so it was really good to see that. Because you know and I'm not saying that because, oh, I've done a good job I'm saying that because people's hungry and you've seen that You've seen people are hungry for something more. But the problem is they're not always getting more, because certain places teach certain things and they don't let them be open-minded to hearing something different all the time, because it's not taught in a lot of places. So, being able to go in there and even though there was a lot of denominations represented, I went in and preached finished work. I went in and preached what we preach here and it was very, very well received. So I'm excited about that. I was just sharing with Cindy.
Speaker 1:God even spoke to me this morning and last night about some things. And there's the same churches. They're starting, I guess, an extension men's group where they're trying to go a little bit deeper and they're going to do a specific program called Titus 10 program. Going to do a specific program. It's called Titus 10 program and it kind of teaches the men how to be godly men in so many different areas family, as a husband, as a father, as a church leader, whatever. And you go through Titus 2, verses 1 through 10. And the one that's heading that up out there at the church had asked me about it. He said hey, he's asked me about it. He said hey, he's just excited about it. He's a good guy, he's really excited about starting this. And he asked me the other day. He said we're going to get all the books, we're going to pay for everything. You know, man, I would love for you to come join us in this. And I've finally cleaned my plate off a little bit, so I've got more free time than I had at one time, so I wasn't too excited about it.
Speaker 1:But then this morning during praise and worship, god said Titus 10 is a seed. A seed Don't know what for yet, but I know what I heard God say. He said that is a seed. So I will be attending that and I believe, more than anything, it's going to give an opportunity to offer a different perspective of Titus 10, because you can see it from a traditional perspective or you can see it from a finished work, inclusion perspective, and until people's offered the opportunity to see the difference, the only thing they have is this. So that's something I'm going to be praying about the opportunity to see the difference. The only thing they have is this. So that's something I'm going to be praying about as well. Just that God continues to open up doors, because I don't know if y'all haven't realized it yet, but people's not beating this door down to get in, and it's not just here, it's not, it's at any church. I mean churches attend, attendance are down. Okay, sometimes you got to take it to other places. You got to every open door, every opportunity that there is to get involved and to get connected so that your voice can be amplified in whatever way. That's one of the things I'm going to really start searching for and praying about. So I'll give you all more detail on that, because I certainly want you to prayer on it as we begin it.
Speaker 1:But what I'm going to do is I'm going to share a little bit this morning about really what I shared yesterday, because it's really the same thing we've been teaching all along. But I believe that God really helped me yesterday because I struggled putting a message together, for that I really did. I told them that yesterday I didn't sugarcoat it and I told them. I said I struggled today because I knew there was going to be a lot of different denominations represented a lot of different churches represented a lot of you know, a big gap in age group. There was kids there and they was guys looked like it was 95 there, you know. So there was a huge age gap, you know, represented. So I really did struggle on not what I believe or anything like that, because I'm very content in what I believe or anything like that, because I'm very content in what I believe.
Speaker 1:But I also know that part of getting this out there is not just pushing in your face what I believe, but how do I say it in a way that you can receive it? How do I say it a little bit differently than maybe I would to another group of people? You know, because the presentation of it and how you present it makes a huge difference and I really believe that's what made it a lot better yesterday and made them receive it as well as they did. I was very, very happy about the way it was received. So I'm not going to go into the testimony I did with them yesterday.
Speaker 1:I told them a little bit about my testimony because when I listen to people preach, if it's somebody different that I've never heard before, I want to know where they come from. I want to know where they may be an awesome pastor, you may see a lot of conviction in them, a lot of just drive in them to push their message through. But I want to know what created that message, what started them on that route? Why do they teach like they teach? Why do they teach what they teach? So I knew that was probably going to be one of the questions If I wanted to get these folks' attention yesterday. They had to know where I was coming from.
Speaker 1:Okay, so I gave them the brief testimony about how I got started in really diving in and trying to understand my identity in Christ. Because it's a lot different when you're just reading the Word, just to read it, because it's a lot different when you're just reading the Word just to read it, just to say I read the Bible, or you're reading the Word to truly understand who you are in Christ. Because if I want to understand my true identity, I can't go to drugs and alcohol, I can't go to other people, I can't go to all these other things. I've got to go to the One that created me, I've got to go back to the Word.
Speaker 1:And when I got in that years ago, when that situation happened and Wyatt told me, he said I want you to go to the book of John and I want you to start reading. And he said in the book of John, I want you to answer the question who am I? And I don't want you to do it based off of what you've been told. I don't want you to do it based off of anything from your past. I want you to do it based on what you see in the book of John, and I did that. And if you went through and done the same thing, let me tell you what you're going to find. You're going to see that you are loved without measure, that you are born of God, that you're a child of divine origin, that you are in Christ and you are deeply connected, you are filled with the Spirit and you're never alone In this process. You are set apart and you are unified in divine love. Those are the things that, just in the book of John, that you're going to find. And if you really want to see what you're all about and what God created you to be, you've got to go back to the source. You've got to go back to the one that created you in the very beginning.
Speaker 1:So, the discovery of my truth, of my true identity. It started that day, but it never stopped. Once I started seeing these things, once I started understanding how God really looked at me and understanding how he really viewed me and created me, it didn't stop on that day. I kept going deeper and kept striving for more, and every time my life did not line up with the Word, I would say God, you got to show me what's missing. You got to show me what I'm doing wrong. You got to show me how I'm looking at this in the wrong way, because I want my life to line up with what I'm reading in the Word. So it never stopped.
Speaker 1:And here's what I've come to realize, even through every wrong turn that I've made and I've made plenty of them. I've made a bunch of wrong turns, I've had a bunch of failures. I've been through moments where I doubted and moments where I just drifted away. Even through all of that, my identity, even through all of that my identity listen to this my identity never was in question, never. I never questioned myself and who I was, no matter what I went through. It was already set. God said it in the very beginning, and this is something that we've got to realize that I didn't earn this. Okay, this is what God chose to give me. This is what God chose to give you those things that I started out with. So if I did not earn it, then I can't lose it. I can't do anything to make it change, because I did nothing to receive it in the first place.
Speaker 1:My true identity was established in Christ before I ever got anything right, when I was still messed up when I was still doing wrong, when I was still running the streets and doing whatever. He gave me these things anyway. He said I love you this much and it was never about what I was doing, it was always about who I was. And the other thing about that is it does not dissolve. My identity does not go away, it does not change when I make a mistake. Today I'm still who God created me to be, no matter what happens.
Speaker 1:What changed over time isn't who I am, but how deeply I come to know and really believe what the Word said. My eyes are still being opened, what the word said. My eyes are still being opened, but the foundation has never changed. And that gives me a peace. I don't walk around worried about a lot of things. It gives me a peace that doesn't depend on my performance. It gives me a confidence that doesn't collapse under pressure. I can go speak to somebody and if they don't agree, that's okay. It don't change my view. If you don't agree with the way I said or do it or what, that's okay, because I've got confidence in who I am. Why? Because my identity comes from who God said I was. So you walk around with a peace and you walk around with a confidence that a lot of people may not have because they're still trying to figure it out. So I'm not chasing identity anymore, I'm growing into the one that's already been provided for me, and I told them yesterday too, and I know I have it here.
Speaker 1:But one of the things I said yesterday is I hope I have the liberty just to be real with you this morning because and I'm always I always do that here I take that liberty here just to be real, to be open, not to sugarcoat things and just try to make it sound good. But can it be practical in our life? Can this really mean something? Is it just another sermon, or can I walk out of here with something that can in our life? Can this really mean something? Is it just another sermon, or can I walk out of here with something that can change my life every day? Because most of us, truth be told, were raised in church traditions where we were taught to try harder, do better and maybe, just maybe, one day God would be pleased with us. That's a tough place to live. I was raised the same way I was raised up a lot of those folks that was in there yesterday. I was raised up in church with them. I was a little old kid coming up. Most of them probably don't even remember me, but I was raised up with a lot of those guys. That was in that meeting yesterday.
Speaker 1:But I've come to a point in my walk where I've had to make a decision. If I ever have to choose between what people say and what the Word of God has already said, I'm going with the Word of God every single time, no question about it. That's why when I say it sometimes and people take it the wrong way and I say I don't care what people think, I mean that in the way that I'm going with the word, somebody's opinion is not going to sway who I am. If you disagree with me, that's not going to change my opinion of who I am. I know I'm settled on my identity and I'm going to continue to see things through the Word of God, no matter what man says. So when you look around the church and you look around anywhere, here's one of the big things. People change all the time. Traditions change. It shifts. Emotions come and go. We see people all the time. They're up, they're down, they're all over the place. So emotions come and go, but Psalm 119 says His Word is settled in heaven.
Speaker 1:Think about that just a minute. His Word is settled in heaven. What does that really mean? Sounds like an awesome verse to know to quote, but do I really understand what that means? Settled in heaven? It means that God's Word isn't up for negotiation, debate or revision. It's not evolving based on how I feel that day. It don't matter what denominational church I attend. It don't matter how many hoops I've had to jump through to get to the place that I'm at. It don't matter my level of education or how much money I've got in my bank account. It don't matter about any of that. It's already decided Through Christ. It's already decided. It's's already decided. It's already done, finished, finalized. So what are we allowing? Think about those words again settled in heaven.
Speaker 1:So here's a question what are we allowing in our life to unsettle what God said is settled? Because there's something and it may be different with every person, but there's something in our life that's making our life unsettled, even though the word of God says my word is settled in heaven. Here's what's really awesome, too, about it being settled in heaven it's not determined by my performance. It's not waiting on my next breakthrough or my next apology at the altar. It's not reacting to my ups and downs. If his word says we're forgiven, we're complete, we're included and we're accepted and that's settled in heaven, according to what the word just said, why are we walking around, still acting like it's only going to happen sometime in the future? Why can't we accept what's settled but yet we're waiting on it to come?
Speaker 1:What would it look like if our identity was built on what God said is settled, instead of being shaped by tradition? What if we could take the word and read the word and then realize that God said this is settled and I build my identity off of that, instead of building my identity off of something that man kept saying and kept saying and kept saying, until one day he said oh, that's biblical and the fact is, it's never in the Bible to begin with. It's never there. It's just something man said and it sounded good and it made you feel good, but it was never in the bible, it was never scripture. I want my life to be settled on the word. I want what he said to really. That's the way I define myself. That's the way I look at myself. For years, I. I lived like I had to chase god, like he was always just right there, but he was a little too far off for me to really grab on to him. I always needed more prayer, I needed more discipline, I needed to sin less, I needed to do all these things. Then maybe I would just feel close to him. But that's not what the gospel tells us. It tells us a totally different story than that In Colossians 2 and 10,. It says you are complete in Him. John 19 and 30 says it is finished. Now you got to really pay attention to that word. I love we teach on that all the time here. It is finished. It did not say that it's just started. It did not say that it's halfway done and sometime in the future. No, it said it's finished. I've got to take the word for what it says. He said it's finished.
Speaker 1:A lot of our belief simply comes from church tradition. That's why we sometimes feel like we're still waiting on something, or we're not going to get it yet, or we're not good enough for it yet, because traditions put so many rules and regulations and things that we have to do to try to meet the requirement. According to his word, that is already settled in heaven. I meet the requirement and you meet the requirement. And here's the thing about it. Tradition itself is not a bad thing. There's a lot of really great traditions out there that people do, churches do. We celebrate Christmas on the 25th every year that's a tradition. Our kids go and hunt Easter eggs every year that's a tradition. Our kids go and hunt Easter eggs on Easter that's a tradition. Nothing wrong with that. So don't take what I'm saying the wrong way. There's nothing wrong with tradition, unless listen to me unless it contradicts the Word. If tradition says this and the Word says something totally different, I've got a question Is it tradition or is it Scripture? Tradition can be a great thing until it starts contradicting what the Word of God says. So you guys know this.
Speaker 1:I love to ask questions. I love to provoke people to think differently. I feel like that's what the anointing that God's put in me. Some people say I'm anointed here and I'm anointed for this. I feel like the anointing God gave me is to provoke people to think differently. I told them yesterday. I said I'm not here to change your theology. Believe what you want to believe. I'm here to make you think on another level that you've never thought before. I'm here to provoke you to maybe say could it be possible that maybe I looked at that the wrong way? That's my only job, and if you can do that, then the Holy Spirit will then jump in and say I'm going to lead you to the truth. It ain't about me trying to get you there. I'm not getting you there because Brian's right and you're wrong. That ain't what it's about. It's about just asking some questions that provoke you to think on a level that you've never thought before. And that's what breaks tradition. Tradition means I do it over and over and over again because that's the way it's always been done, that's the way it's always been taught. But if I start to think, traditional walls will start to fall down a little bit. So again, I love to ask those questions that cause you to think.
Speaker 1:Here's a few questions for you. What if you were already included in Christ before you ever made a move toward him, if Christ died for all and all died, as it says in 2nd Corinthians 5 and 14? Christ died for all and all died, as it says in 2 Corinthians 5 and 14. Christ died for all and all died. How many were left out? That question went over well yesterday we had a lot of people say none and I was like praise God. None were left out.
Speaker 1:2 Corinthians 5 and 19 says God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself. Here's a question Was he successful or did he need me to complete it? It's one of those things to make us think about. The cross didn't just offer a possibility or an opportunity. It revealed a reality that I can live in. Ephesians 1 and 4 says he chose us in Him before the foundation of the world. Let that sink in just a minute. He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, in Him before the foundation of the world.
Speaker 1:God's acceptance was not a response to your performance. It was His original posture towards you. It's what he always wanted for you. It was rooted in Christ from the very beginning. And see, this changes things. Having that view and understanding that verse really changes the way we look at things, because I'm no longer trying to get God to accept me. I'm awakening to the truth that I'm already accepted and I always have been that I'm already accepted and I always have been. Big difference in that, because if I'm trying to get accepted, then I'll do all kind of things to make it happen. But if I realize I'm already accepted, I can just rest. I can just rest in the fact that he's already completed.
Speaker 1:Religion and tradition have really good intention, but the problem is they're often man-made. It's built on human effort. It tells us try harder, stay humble, prove yourself and maybe then you'll measure up to what God wants you to be. But the more I read the Word, the more I realize something God's not distant. He's not waiting on me to earn what he already gave. The Word reveals a God who is not far off. He's not somewhere hiding in the heavens. It says he is God with us. He's not somewhere hiding in the heavens. It says he is God with us. He's with us. He's not somewhere up there and we're trying to get to Him.
Speaker 1:From Genesis to Revelation, the story was never about us trying to climb up to God. It was always about God coming down to dwell with man here. We're so busy down to dwell with man here. We're so busy trying to get somewhere there instead of just living here. And through the years, from my own experience, religion has often taught me to strive, that I had to chase after God like he was playing hide and seek or something, and I just had to keep going and going and going after him. But the more I soaked in the truth of Scripture, the more I saw that God already made the first move. Before I ever decided anything, god made the first move toward me.
Speaker 1:Ephesians 1 and 3 says we've been blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 2 Peter 1 and 3 says we've been blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 2 Peter 1 and 3 tells us we've already been given all things that pertain to life and godliness. See, I was living like I had to fight for acceptance, like I had to chase down His presence, like I always had to prove myself and prove my worth to him. But grace, it says I'm already home. Grace says none of that's necessary, I'm already home. God's not asking me to try to earn union with him. He's already one with me. We're joined together as one. The union's already one with me. We're joined together as one. The union's already occurred. He's inviting me to wake up to what's already happened. That's it. Galatians 3 and 26 says this you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. Think about that. You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. Think about that. You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
Speaker 1:It's important to realize what's going on in this letter right here that Paul wrote, because so often we read Scripture but we read it through a lens of tradition, and when we read it through a lens of tradition we don't think about what's really going on, we just take it for what we've always been taught whatever, so and so taught, and whatever and so and so taught him. It's just passed down. But what if we just stopped doing that and said I'm going to read this in context. I'm going to think about who wrote it, who he was writing to, what was going on during that time and why did he write it to begin with? That's context, context matters in this.
Speaker 1:So Paul, right here, is writing a letter to a group of Christians who actually started off believing the message of Christ. They believed that they were made right with God through faith in Christ, just like that verse says. But then, all of a sudden, some religious teachers come around and they told them. They said you got to start believing in Jewish law and there was all these rules. They said you got to do this and you got to start believing in Jewish law and there was all these rules. They said you got to do this and you got to do this, and if you do this, then, and only then, will God fully accept you. They added something to it. See, paul steps back in right there and he says this is what the letter was about. He wrote to him. He steps back in, he says no, no, no, don't go back there. You are already a child of God through your faith in Jesus. Paul is not laying out a plan right here to become children of God. He's telling them you are already children of God and it don't matter what they say and try to get you to do. It's not necessary. You're already accepted by Him. See, he's putting the focus on what has already been accomplished in Christ, not what will or what can be accomplished.
Speaker 1:That makes me think about a really important question what does it mean to be in Christ? We talk about that so much here, and when I brought that up yesterday, I was just wondering. I asked that question, I was wondering. I wonder if we had the time to just let people answer that, what would the answer be? What does it mean to be in Christ? And I believe most people that hear that phrase in Christ, they immediately think about going to heaven. When they die, it comes back to salvation again. But that view, I believe, sells the gospel short.
Speaker 1:Being in Christ is not about where you go after you die. It's about who you are right now, while you're living. To be in Christ means that you've been recreated, and not from out here, but from the inside out. You've been recreated. You're no longer defined by your past. You're no longer defined by your failures, your family history, anything that you went through, no longer defines you. It's about who you are right now and what God has done for you and the image that he's given you, not based on anything that you've been through, and it's not based on your performance. Right now, the Word tells us if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new.
Speaker 1:Being in Christ is about your identity, not just your destination. Seeing my true identity changes everything. It even changes the way I read Scripture, and I know sometimes we read Scripture and again we read it from a traditional lens and because of that so many of us have been taught these words. Don't you ever question the Word. But if I'm reading it wrong the whole time, shouldn't I question it? I mean, if I'm reading it wrong the whole time, shouldn't I question it? I mean, if I'm reading it and it's just not making sense to me or it's not lining up with what my life looks like, I believe we should question it. I believe we should say God, help me here. Something's going on. It's not lining up, but see it does. It changes the way I look at Scripture, because I don't read the Bible anymore to learn to behave better. I read the Bible to remember who I am.
Speaker 1:When I stopped looking at it as a rule book and started looking at it as a mirror, it changed everything. I started seeing things in myself that I'd never seen before. My viewpoint of myself shifted because I was looking through a different lens. When I look in the mirror now, I don't see shame or guilt. I don't see an outsider. I don't see an old sinner, saved by grace, just trying to make it in. I see Christ in me. I see righteousness, I see a finished work that I'm awakening to more and more every single day.
Speaker 1:1 John, 4 and 17 says this as he is, so are we in this world. It goes on to say in 2 Corinthians you are the righteousness of God. You want to get really frustrated in life. Keep working and striving every single day, trying to become something that you already are. It gets frustrating. The frustration comes when we don't know who we are in Christ. But the freedom think about it now. We want freedom all the time. The freedom comes when we realize that the work is already finished and all we have to do is just wake up to it. It's complete. It's complete in Christ. So you can stand on the Word or you can stand on tradition. That's the options we have. But we have to realize that those two things aren't always the same. Just because it's a great tradition does not mean it's the Word of God, even though great traditions can be really good.
Speaker 1:Let me show you a few examples so you see what I'm talking about. Colossians 2 and 10 says you are complete in Him. That's the word of God. But tradition tells me you need to add more effort. You need to add more rules, more rituals to become complete. I can believe tradition or I can believe the word. 2 Peter 1 and 3 says his divine power has given us everything we need. That's the word.
Speaker 1:Tradition says you lack something and you need to strive and you need to work to get there. Tradition versus word. 2 Corinthians, 5 and 17 says If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new. That's the Word of God. Tradition says you're just still an old sinner trying to get better. That's two different views. If I look at myself and say what the Word says that old has passed away and then tradition says nope, nope, you're just an old sinner. You've got to clean yourself up, you've got to get better, you've got to do this, that's two different views, tradition and Scripture.
Speaker 1:If the Word of God says one thing but tradition keeps saying something different, we have a choice to make. Will we stand on what God has said or keep repeating what tradition is saying? So let me ask you this what if the gospel is bigger than you were told? What if you've been included this whole time but tradition kept you blind to it? What if we focused on the fact that the gospel, which actually means good news? What if we just focused on the fact that the gospel really is good and there's no bad news in the good news? What if God's not asking for more striving and working? What if he's asking for one thing and one thing only Believe what I've already said and rest in the truth of your identity that I created. What if we just did that Instead of working and striving and trying to get to a place? Colossians 1 and 2 says the Father has qualified us to share in the inheritance. The gospel did not start when you said yes. The gospel started when Jesus said yes on your behalf, and now he's inviting us every single day to believe and awaken to what's already happened.
Speaker 1:Now this may not be popular, it may not be mainstream, but I've made a decision. I believe the word of a tradition. Every single time, I'm included, excluded, I'm never left out. I'm resting, not striving. I'm already who he says I am, so there's no need to chase after Him. I'm not searching for God. He lives in me and the work is finished. And I believe that.
Speaker 1:Now let me clarify something and I put this in there, like yesterday morning, before I even left to go to this because when I said this, I was reading back over it and I kept asking Cindy a hundred times is that too much, is that too strong? Is that too, but I wanted to clarify this because of the word I said. I said I'm not chasing God and I said let to clarify this because of the word I said. I said I'm not chasing God and I said let me clarify this because I don't want anyone to misinterpret what I just said, because I could see people walking out of there yesterday and I could see people even sometimes walking out of this church and saying hey, that guy said you know, we don't need to chase God, we don't need to go after God. And you're misinterpreting what's being said.
Speaker 1:I think every single one of us should desire a deeper, more intimate relationship with Christ, every single one of us. Okay, but you only have to chase something that's running from you. Y'all remember the old saying you saying if you ever see me running, you better believe something's chasing me. Okay, you don't have to chase something that lives on the inside of you. You only chase something that's running away from you. And God says I am in you, you are one with me, I will never leave you, I will never forsake you. So what are you chasing? Many times we're chasing tradition, not chasing God, because God says if you want me, just sit down and rest, and I'm there. So we have to question ourselves and say what are we really chasing? I'm just going to choose to accept what he said, rest in that and just rest in the One that's already pursued me. I don't have to pursue Him, he's already pursued me and I gave a challenge. And I gave this challenge to these guys yesterday, but I want to give this challenge to you too today, because I believe it's important. Here it is. I want to challenge you because I believe there's people.
Speaker 1:Even as much as we teach on the finished work and as much as we teach on inclusion, I believe that there's still people in this room today that they know where they're going when this life is done. There's no question about their salvation. But when it comes to truly understanding who I am in Christ and knowing my true identity and knowing my purpose here on earth, I think we still struggle sometimes. I think we struggle sometimes trying to figure out what is my purpose here, even though I know where I'm going when I'm gone. What am I supposed to be doing now? Maybe we've got comfortable, maybe we just got content with church, maybe you're saved, but you're desperately trying to find out your purpose in life. I believe there's people in this room right now, today here, that feels that way. What am I supposed to be doing? If that's you, then I want to ask you a few questions.
Speaker 1:Will you keep following tradition simply because it's what you've always known, or will you have the courage to go deeper, even if it confronts everything you've ever been taught, everything you've ever practiced and everything that makes you comfortable? The fact is and I know this from experience truth is not always popular, but it's always powerful. Don't walk out of here unchanged. Today is not just another service, another meeting. This is a moment that you have to decide something. Am I a person of comfort? Am I just being content because it's easy, or am I going to be somebody who has a little bit more conviction, who says I'm going to go a little bit deeper, who says I'm willing to open up my mind a little bit more conviction, who says I'm going to go a little bit deeper, who says I'm willing to open up my mind a little bit and ask some tough questions and see, when you become that type of person, you're anchored in truth, you're standing firm, even when it's unpopular. I'm telling you, I go through that all the time because I've got things I want to say and it's not going to be popular. I'm telling you, I go through that all the time because I've got things I want to say and it's not going to be popular. And I'm like God, help me to say this the right way, because I know it's not popular, I know it's not mainstream, I know most people are not going to agree with it, but I know it's the Word of God and I believe it.
Speaker 1:Comfort is easy. Comfort is really simple, but it's often empty. Conviction will cost you something, but it shapes. It shapes every one of us into the person that God's called us to be. So I want to challenge you today With this Don't leave here the same. Decide what you want and allow God to awaken you To your true identity in Christ. Allow Him to awaken you To everything that he's called you to be. Allow Him to awaken you To your purpose Right here, the plans and the purposes that he's got for to be. Allow Him to awaken you to your purpose right here, the plans and the purposes that he's got for you right now, while you're living, and not just worrying about what's going to happen when I'm dead.
Speaker 1:But what can I do now? What can I do to be everything that he called me to be in my home, everything that he called me to be in my home, everything that he called me to be in my church, everything he called me to be in my community? What can I do every day to be an ambassador of the kingdom of heaven and actually bring heaven and kingdom into the areas that I walk into and change people's lives because of it? Sometimes I don't have to talk, sometimes I just have to walk in and let my presence be there, and there should be enough on the inside of me that my presence begins to shift things around. That's what our prayer needs to be, not how to fix this and how to fix that. Forget about fixing stuff and just say God, teach me to be who you called me to be. Show me my true identity. Let me be the man or woman of God that you created. All the other junk, all the other junk. It'll start to go away.
Speaker 1:Naturally, we spend too much time trying to fix each other, clean each other up. Why? Because tradition taught us that you're only worthy once you're clean. That's tradition, god says. I take you right now as you are. You're only worthy once you're clean. That's tradition. God says I take you right now, as you are. Actually, as a matter of fact, I've already chosen you. It's not a matter of will he take you. He's already chosen you from the very beginning. You're already here. But can we awaken to that? See it, it's a game changer, if we can ever get to that point. Look how quick that was. Nobody, including my wife, thought I could do this thing in 30 minutes. Yesterday, about 30 minutes, wasn't it 30, 35 minutes.
Speaker 1:I'm sharing this with you because I want you to see the message that even opportunities that we get in other places I'm not sugarcoating anything going to preach what you want to hear, because it's going to make you happy and feel good. I want to cause some things to stir on the inside of you. I want to cause your thinking to say whoa, whoa, whoa. What did he just say? What did he just say? What did he just say?
Speaker 1:And then, when it just flips you out because you can't believe, I just said that I'm going to say yep, yep, says it Right here in Scripture, right here. Read this why? Because we back it up with Scripture and you cannot argue Scripture. You can argue my opinion. There are certain things that I have a theology on. You can argue my opinion. There are certain things that I have a theology on. You can say, oh, your theology is off a little bit, that's fine, you can say that. But when I come back and I back it up with the Word of God, you cannot argue that. And I believe that's what happened yesterday. You could not argue when Scripture after Scripture after Scripture kept dropping to support everything. I just kept saying you cannot argue that. You can, but you're going to be arguing with God. So that's what we've got to get to a point of. That's why it's important to learn this Again.
Speaker 1:I'm not even trying to change your theology in here. I mean, my goal is that everybody that comes to this church would believe the same thing and be in unison and be in one. But I'd be crazy to think that's going to happen automatically. But the more we hear it, the more we study it, the more we go in there and allow ourselves to be challenged with. That's the main thing. Are you willing to allow yourself to be challenged?
Speaker 1:I had a guy come up yesterday at the end and he shook my hand and he said I want to ask you something. He said so are you trying to say? And at first I thought, okay, here we go. He said are you trying to say that we are one with him and he is one with us? And everything I need is already there and I don't have to try to fight for him. Is that what you're trying to say? I said that's exactly it. He said I know that's what you're saying. Good job, keep preaching. I don't know where this guy went to church at, but he's got a revelation of something. He's got a revelation that he ain't out here working every day to try to earn God's love. And that's the message that we need to get to people and we need to be okay preaching it. I'm telling you I feel a whole lot better after yesterday. I really do, because it's hard sometimes to go out and because you know how or you think you know how people's going to receive you, and I was already preparing myself for it.
Speaker 1:I thought it was going to be crickets up in that place. I'm telling you they were louder than what y'all ever get in here. It was good, but the thing that it showed me was people are hungry for more. That's the only thing I'm made for more than this. We are made for more than this. Those people at New Vision are made for more than that First Baptist Church of God, acoc. Whatever. They are made for more than what they are doing. They are made for more than what they are doing. We are made for more than what we are doing.
Speaker 1:I don't know what's going to happen from here, but I know what God spoke to me a while ago about that group and it will be held out there and I'll be attending that. So pray, pray. God opens doors, pray. God just allows our voice to get out. They're not coming here to hear. It not going to happen.
Speaker 1:We can sit in here every Sunday and keep preaching to the choir if we want to, and we're going to do that. We're going to teach. We're going to preach here. We're going to teach you, but we're going to teach. We're going to preach here. We're going to teach you. But we also got to get this message If we believe this is the Word of God and we believe that this is what, that you can live a better life and you can have heaven now and you can have the things of heaven on this earth we need to share that with people. We need to share the good news of the gospel with people and not bad news, and I'm telling you people would rather hear good news than bad.
Speaker 1:I left those guys yesterday with one other thing I'll share with the guys in here. I asked them, I said how many of you guys got up this morning and ran five miles before you got here? Of course, no hands went up. You know, because there's something in us, in our nature, that just tells us rest is better than running. Okay, he's calling us to rest, not to run, not to work, not to thrive. Now we're talking about some people will take that. He told us not to get a job. No, I didn't. I mean working for your identity. I'm telling you. Y'all laugh about this, but that's what people walk out of here and say. He told us don't work, quit my job. No, but I told those guys yesterday I said take these things. They're spiritual things, they're biblical things, but use them in the natural too. Football season's about to start.
Speaker 1:On Saturday morning, when your wife walks in and she says I need you to do this and this and this, you say my God tells me rest. You cut the TV on and you watch football all day Saturday at the church when the NFL comes on, my God told me rest. So I get out trash too. But we've got to take some of this stuff and realize that, yeah, he did. He called us to rest. He called us to rest from our working and striving. For what? For identity and for acceptance and for love and for peace. You've got that already.
Speaker 1:He said now, rest in that Don't mean be lazy. I said this yesterday and I've said it here Rest is not a posture of laziness, rest is a posture of completeness. Done. There's nothing else to do. Listen, if I'm working on something and all of a sudden it's finished and I sit down up here and I'm just looking at what's happened because I'm done, it's complete, there's no reason to keep working at it. So this message has got to leave these walls right here, and it can't just leave these walls with me, got to leave with y'all too. That's why we tell y'all ask questions.
Speaker 1:Listen, you're not going to offend me if you say, hey, I don't necessarily agree with what you said. I promise you. I know you don't. I know there's some things you don't agree with and I'm okay with that. You're never going to offend me. You're not going to hurt my feelings, but I want to know that there's some things.
Speaker 1:If you're having a hard time or you're struggling with it, let's at least talk about it. If you still have the same opinion after we talk, great, keep that opinion, but at least look at both sides of it and come to the best answer based on evidence. What's the evidence? Scripture, not me. I'm never going to be your evidence. Scripture is going to be your evidence, and if we can help you back it up with scripture, then that's between you and God.
Speaker 1:If you decide not to do it, but we're going to give you the scripture, we're going to give you the things to support your belief and support your theology. And there's a lot of things and I said this, I think I said this yesterday too there's a lot of things we're teaching in church that cannot be backed up with the Bible, but we've turned it into a theology. We're not going to do that here. We're going to break it down, not saying you've got to throw it out, but don't call it biblical If it's a traditional teaching. Don't stand up and say well, the Bible says no, because the Bible didn't say it. You can believe it if you want to, but let's not call it Scripture, because when we call it Scripture, we turn it into a theology, and it never was to begin with. Those are the things we need to share with people, because I'm telling you, there's people out there who are lost when it comes to that Understanding the Word.