Pastor to Pastor
This podcast is dedicated to iron sharpening iron, current events, and culture trends. You will hear pastors perspectives on a variety of topics including leadership development, evangelism, outreach and so much more.
Pastor to Pastor
Embracing Change and Holiness: Sermon Reviews on a Call to Repentance and Renewal
What if embracing change could unlock a deeper connection in your personal faith journey? Join me, along with Pastor Jason Watson, as we explore the compelling dynamics of change in our lives and churches. Together, we confront the discomfort of resisting, resenting, and retreating from change, and urge you to consider how staying stuck in the past can hinder growth. By opening ourselves to the new possibilities God has in store, especially when traditions shift, we can transform division into opportunity for renewed worship and community.
Pastor Jason and I also dive into the transformative power of faith in Jesus Christ, challenging the limiting belief of "that's just who I am." Through scripture and personal reflection, we illustrate how a renewed mind, anchored in God's word, can guide us through life’s inevitable changes. The unchanging nature of God’s love, purpose, and word offers a foundation of hope and assurance, especially as we navigate cultural shifts. Romans 8:28 shines as a beacon, reminding us that all things work together for those who love God, providing a lens to focus on the unseen and eternal.
In our concluding conversation, we examine the themes of repentance, holiness, and spiritual maturity. We use biblical teachings to highlight the necessity of a life dedicated to God, drawing parallels with modern life and common misconceptions about God's presence. Embracing a lifestyle of continual spiritual renewal, we emphasize the importance of preparing ourselves for God's presence, just as Esther did before meeting the king. Through candid discussions, we hope to inspire you to reject the misleading notion of following your heart, urging reliance on God’s guidance for true transformation and readiness.
what's up, family? We're back for another episode of pastor to pastor. I'm pastor seth, across from me, like always, the man pastor jason watson. Hey, what's happening? Everybody super excited for another episode sharing the good news of j Jesus with so many people that will listen.
Speaker 2:Yeah, hey, let those who have ear, let them hear.
Speaker 1:You know what I'm saying?
Speaker 2:Yes, what the scripture what the word is being preached.
Speaker 1:Hey, like always, I want to encourage you to share this like it. Do some interaction with us online and share it with somebody who you know needs a good word today. Today, we're going to be talking about what we've preached at our houses of worship Crosspoint Church in Longborough, here for Pastor Jason. Reliant Church for me in Aberdeen.
Speaker 2:And some people would say even Crosspoint there, because I've preached there before and called them Crosspoint.
Speaker 1:I know, and you're trying to You're never coming back.
Speaker 2:Well, you know, that's fine. I don't go very many places. Anyway, I'm super excited man.
Speaker 1:Hey, so I'll open up. I'll open up with really what I started and we'll wrap it up with your fire and brimstone that.
Speaker 2:I know you preach. Oh man, You're always laying the hammer down on people. Yeah, man.
Speaker 1:Hey, let's is that change. Change will happen. You can't avoid it. It's going to happen, no matter what. Some of it is you. You're responsible for it. You created it, but most of the change that happens either is God doing a work in us or it was forced by something else in life, and today we talked about how to cope with the stress of change. I don't know about you, but there's been some changes in my life over the years that have really been very stressful, especially when I didn't create it or I just don't know what's next, what's going to come out of that. And so we talked about some things, and three of the things that we talked about is how do we really respond to change? Right, and I talked about there's three different ways that we typically respond, and the one was sometimes we resist change. Those are the people that really we fight against it, we oppose it, we're skeptical to it, like I want it to be this way, always this way, never changing.
Speaker 2:So when change comes, I'm going to resist it.
Speaker 1:I'm going to push back on it. I'm going to resist it. I'm going to push back on it, I'm going to fight it. And we talked about that, how that creates an insecure person. Insecure people do not like change.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:And we talked about how to deal with that. And then we talked about sometimes we resent change, resent change, that we don't like it but we don't do anything about it. We just gripe and complain. You know, know, there's those people who, uh, you've heard it said before you can't complain about what you allow, and uh, we live in a time where everybody wants to complain about stuff, but yet they don't want to make any changes in their life to make the outcome different yeah, what you tolerate, yeah, what?
Speaker 2:what is it? What you tolerate today, you can expect tomorrow. Oh yeah, for sure, yes, yeah, that's right, absolutely.
Speaker 1:And one that I really hit home was that sometimes we retreat from change. You know we love to look at the past and live in the past. This is why, like we're in this nostalgic age now I don't know if you've noticed, but like the fashion has moved back from the past 15 to 20 years to now.
Speaker 2:It comes back around.
Speaker 1:It's like the 80s and 90s is what people are wearing now. Why? Because we think that the past was a simpler time. But the truth is this is it's not that it was just simpler, it's just that we're comfortable there because we know what it is right and we fear the future because we don't know what's next change is coming and we don't know what's on the other side of that.
Speaker 1:And you know is great. You know, you hear about it in churches all the time. Back then we did a six-week revival and God did good. Well, you know what God did back then.
Speaker 1:We need to be praying for him to do in the future if it's that good, but one of the things that I talked about, we could have preached on that. We've done it many times as far as comparing where the church was to where it is and where it needs to go. And it's hard for you to see what God can do in the future when you're literally living in the past.
Speaker 2:Right, One thing I always think about when we talk about change and we talk about church and I know you have been in ministry long enough, around ministry for quite some time and it's like even the change in music, oh yeah, when you start talking about all these different changes you're talking about and how people hey, that's a split of church, it's how they receive change, even in things they've grown religious to and things they've become enslaved in.
Speaker 2:And I realize they're a slave sometimes in certain things. But even you show them in Scripture, where God says sing to me a new song. But we're still singing, and it never fails. Listen. I was raised on hymns. In fact, we sang some today.
Speaker 2:So, I'm not. I'm not talking about one way's right or one way's wrong, whatever the case is, but if the music determines how we worship, if the music determines our heart posture, then I wonder if we're in the right posture to begin with. And so when we talk about worship I know we're kind of a little sidebar right here with this but when we're talking about this man, I think it holds us back. We keep looking back, like you said, at what God did once. But listen, what he did with Amazing Grace. He can do with Amazing Grace my chains are gone, or he can do with Amazing Grace my Chains Are Gone. He can do new things regardless. It matters the posture of our heart, not necessarily the words just from our lips.
Speaker 1:Yeah, when you talk about change within the church, it's not that the message changes, it's just the methods.
Speaker 2:Right right.
Speaker 1:And the songs don't change, just the lyrics do.
Speaker 2:I love that one song or that one album, I think with Derek Bowie, not Derek Bowie, not Derek Bow. Dante Dante Bow, yeah, he was talking about it's a new hallelujah with a new melody. It's just an old hallelujah with a new melody. That's right. I mean it's the same thing, it's the same word, it's put in a little bit different song, but anyway, yeah, when you talk about changing, especially when you're talking about church stuff, all Especially when you're talking about church stuff, all those three things you were talking about there would definitely be seen within the church culture.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, for sure.
Speaker 2:For sure.
Speaker 1:But today we really focused on the actual individual. Right, right, right you can really talk about the church and all aspects of these things and wonder why Most of the time you see dying churches because they refuse to change.
Speaker 2:Right. And then they want to blame the—anyway, yeah, we can go. And then they want to blame the. Anyway, yeah, yeah, we can go. We have a tread light right there.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, yeah, but you know, and when we talked about the past, I really wanted to lay this home with our people is that some honestly a lot of people are focusing on the past, and the past is what's holding us back. It's hard for you to say, god, I want this for the future, future, but still dragging the past with you. You cannot walk in the future of god that he has for you while holding on to the past, and sometimes the past like, for example, you know, the past causes us to reminisce uh-huh, back then it was this. This is why you break up with that person and then you get lonely and you start thinking about them and you go right back yeah, regardless of how they treat you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's kind of like that. Those in the wilderness I mean they, they were walking this new path, going into the promised land, and they got to thinking about what slavery was like. Well, you know, back when we were in egypt, we had good meat, we had good food, and and here we are now, out here in the wilderness and it's like you, free. Yeah.
Speaker 1:I'd rather be a slave than die of hunger.
Speaker 2:Right, it don't make no sense how weak as people are. Man, it's wild.
Speaker 1:It's amazing that I said it like this. Sometimes, only focusing on the past is what's holding a lot of people back. You can't walk in the future that God has for you because you're scared of repeating the past. Because you're scared of repeating the past, and you know it's almost as the past has framed our future. So we think that if we're going to move forward, then our future is going to be just like our past. I'm going to make the same mistakes. It's going to be the same problems and the same issues.
Speaker 1:And you know, the truth is, if you will learn to step into trusting the Lord with your future, you know he's there in the past, he's there in the present, he's there in the future. No matter what, you can say goodbye to your past, hello to your future, and you don't have to resist it, you don't have to resent it and you don't have to do that last thing. You don't have to retreat from change, because change is a good thing when God is the one doing the changing. And so we talked about three different things, three unchanging realities of faith when it comes to things in your life. Number one was this that God's love never changes for you. Jeremiah 31 and 3 says that I have loved you with an everlasting love. So, no matter where you've been, what you're going through, where you're at in life right now, god loves you no matter what and his love is always going to be there. It's always there. It's permanent, permanent love. And then go ahead.
Speaker 2:I was just thinking, man, you know how change will chain us, or a lack of it. Here's the thing I preached on this. It's been a few years ago, but I remember about this photo of this horse that was tied to a plastic chair oh yeah, I've seen that and the horse wouldn't go anywhere because in the horse's mind it was bound um and so.
Speaker 2:But we, we both know that a horse is way stronger and and heavier and and has the power and the strength to move and do whatever the horse wants to do. But in the horse's mind he's chained to that chair and sometimes our past will shape our future that same way. We're so used to being stopped at a certain point that we won't realize. Man, you've got the power to overcome what's holding you back, anyway.
Speaker 1:I'm sorry I'm stealing your message, but go ahead. That mindset is some of what I've talked about Like. If that's our mindset, or our past is always going to frame our future, then why get into that relationship? Why do this? Why do that? Because it's always going to be the same. But the truth is that the Bible says behold all things become new.
Speaker 1:And you really truly put your faith and your hope in Christ and you actually give your life to him and start serving him, everything begins to change. You just got to believe what you're reading.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:You got to believe what you're seeing. And the enemy this is what I told him. I said the enemy this is how he gets us. Is you know? You've heard people say that's just how I'll always be.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:That's who I am, yeah yeah, yeah. One of the sneakiest things the devil does is get us to believe that that's just how I am Right, because he got us dragging an old nature around. Right, that's just how I am, that's just my personality. Well, the truth is no, no, no, it's not about who you are, it's who are you becoming Right, right? So the old has passed away and the new has become. You can't become new by still saying that's just who.
Speaker 2:I am Right, I am. That's not who you are. That's who you used to be.
Speaker 1:That's who you used to be. And so, instead of living in the past, you say God, change my attitude, change my mentality, change the way I see people change, the way I love people. That's what the gospel of Jesus Christ does to us. It changes us. What does Scripture say? From the inside out, inside out. So when he changes you from the inside, your behavior changes.
Speaker 2:so it's not always who you the way you think about things changes because we're renewing our mind in the God, in God's word, and so that's why our prayers to be let this mind be in me, that is also in Christ Jesus.
Speaker 1:All those scriptures, you cannot use it, but the enemy. The enemy has got it in our head as an excuse and we don't realize it that he is holding us back. We're allowing him to hold us back by just using that excuse to be able to do the things that we do. That's ungodly. That's just how it was created. That's who I am. That's why these people who say they were born this way, born in sin, born in addiction, they blame generational curses for everything. I was born this way, I was born homosexual. I was born this way. No, no, you'd be born again. That's right. God renews everything. So these are the changes that you're wanting to resist and you wanting to run from that are actually for your good right right but because you've allowed it to frame your future.
Speaker 1:You don't want nothing to do with it, but you're really holding yourself back right so we talked about god's love will never change. Man, I could, I could preach that thing go ahead and give it to him.
Speaker 1:god's love will never change and God's word will never change. And the Bible says in Psalms 119 and Isaiah 48, it says that the word has been settled in heaven forever. It also says that the grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of God abides forever, and I think that's one thing that we need to learn is that the word will never fade away. The word will always be true. No matter what your circumstances are, the word of God remains the same.
Speaker 2:So what if culture changes?
Speaker 1:The word of God stays the same. What I can't believe that. Let me just say this. I said it like this to our people. On what you just said, I said God's word has stood the test of time. It's managed to stay in spite of all the cultural changes and all the differences of thousand years, is still relevant. It's been attacked by dictators, ridiculed by critics, burned and outlawed, but the good thing is it is outlasted. Every single one of those people.
Speaker 2:That's right.
Speaker 1:The word of God is permanent and so you have the living word that leads us to the living person of Jesus Christ. The word leads us to a living person. Hear what I'm saying. We don't have to go rub a belly of Buddha to get anything from the Lord. We don't have to go and pray to a dead grave of Muhammad and Gandhi and all these people. We don't have to go make sacrifices to these millions of gods in Hinduism and these statues. We can call on the name of jesus, who remember his love for you never changes. His word never changes. So when you call on him, he says I'm a present help in the time of trouble. You don't have to do any rituals.
Speaker 2:All you got to do is say what, jesus, you just oh, come on, now get that, get that b3 organ out here yeah, you just got to call the name.
Speaker 1:that's the beauty of the relationship that you get with Jesus Christ. As change is happening, you don't have to go through change by yourself. He'll be right with you every step of the way. And the last thing that we hit on was that God's purpose will never change. We know this. We use this verse all the time Romans 8, 28. And we know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who have been called according to his purpose. He has a purpose for you, he has a purpose for your life, and that is that you will eventually make it to heaven. That purpose is that you would receive his son, that he sent on the cross to die for you, into your heart and that you can live for him. And so we talked about change and how to cope with the stresses of change and the changes of life, and how we can rely on god because scripture says this that paul says to fix your eyes, not on what is unseen, but fix your eyes, don't fix your thighs on the things are seen.
Speaker 1:I tongue twisted it again fix your eyes on the things that are unseen why, because the things that are seen are temporary, but the things that are unseen are the realms of faith. They are permanent, they don't fade away. And what are those things? The love of God, the word of God, those things will never fade away. Focus those things on the promises. His promises are what? Yes and amen. There's over 7,000 of them in that written word.
Speaker 2:Go find one you like and apply it to your life written word go find one you like and apply it to your life, right? Amen, yeah, and it's so natural and normal. It should be unnatural for us, but it is what we are. We are renewing our mind and trying to become more an image of Christ and think like him and speak like him and see like him and act like him. But we've got to think on the things that are above. Right.
Speaker 2:We are so focused and I've shared this before we're so focused on retirement here that we don't think about retirement in heaven. That 401k is going to run dry. The rewards in heaven won't the moth right, they'll eat. The rust is going to destroy. It's going to destroy the rewards and things here. We've got to be thinking on what's stored up for us later. We're going to destroy the rewards and things here. We've got to be thinking on what's stored up for us later. And so if we will think, stop thinking now and start thinking in the future, I think a lot of what we do, a lot of the problems we have as humans, is we put a time limit on things. We think, well, I don't have enough time to do this. No, you have eternity and our goal, as long as we're focused on eternal things. We have eternity. We should be working and striving to achieve those things. Yeah, not limiting ourselves, because God is limitless. Yeah, that's right, but anyway.
Speaker 1:I even said this today on that note is that if you're spending your time trying to chase money, chase dreams, chase popularity, chase keeping up with the Jones, all these things, you're wasting time, right. You're wasting the time that God has given you to bring heaven on earth. Just like you said people are. I can't wait to make it to heaven, man. No, no, you're supposed to be bringing heaven to earth, right. Don't waste your salvation, don't waste your walk. Walk on earth with heavenly authority. Bring heaven on earth. That's why Paul says in Philippians I would love to go to heaven, but also I'd love to continue to teach on the joy of Christ to you. Yeah, there's work here for me, so because of that, I should. I'm going to stay here with you so that I can produce more kingdom fruit here on earth while I'm here while I'm here.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:That should be the quote of the year while I'm here. While I'm here talk about the Lord. What else is there? Let's talk about it. Let's talk about what your sermon was and how you blessed the people of God today.
Speaker 2:Hey, you know we have been going. I said this during the sermon. We have been going through becoming better disciples in 2025. I laid the first stone last week and then I laid the second stone this past Wednesday, and today I laid the third stone.
Speaker 1:Just for our listeners. They know Jason's bringing in these stones every Sunday and they're going to build a wall. Hey, we're building a wall. Keep the enemy out.
Speaker 2:No, we are trying to become better disciples, and so we're talking about what that looks like, and I've started this past week with the presence of God, and so we were talking about how to—we've covered already the presence of God, and so we were talking about how to. We've covered already the presence of God and how it changes things, how it changes us. We looked at the presence of God from Isaiah's account in Isaiah 6, where he talks about I sing the Lord high and lifted up, and the train of his robe filled the temple, and I talked about God's glory and God's strength and God's power and sovereignty and how Isaiah got a glimpse of the power of God, and what he noticed in the power of God and the presence of God was God's holiness in his sin. And so what I unlocked today, what we talked about today, was the importance of repentance, and that's a curse word in most circles today.
Speaker 1:That's where it starts right.
Speaker 2:But yeah, I talked about God. Jesus says that I am the way, the truth and the life, and nobody goes to the father except through me. Like that doesn't mean you can't back door, you can't go through another door, you can't go around, you're not going to get to the father unless you go through Jesus. And I said, if God is the, if Jesus is the door to God, then the key is repentance. It unlocks the door and gets you into into um eternity, gets you into the presence of God. And so we just kind of dove into today what it meant to be in the presence of God, what repentance is like. And I start off with second Chronicles 7, 14. Hold on, let me hit them with something. Go ahead now. Come on back to Bible.
Speaker 2:So we covered them there in second chronicle 714. If my people who were called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive them of their sin and heal their land. And so I talked about what it looked like to be humble.
Speaker 1:I talked about what.
Speaker 2:I talked about what it looked like to pray and to seek God's face, and then I talked about a little bit of what it would look like if, talking about God healing, and then, uh, him him forgiving, and then him healing yeah, uh, hearing, forgiving, healing. Let me get that right some tongue-tied like you, man.
Speaker 2:So all right I like that but then I talked about uh, acts 3 9, where it talks about um, I talked about the different benefits of the presence of god and I talked to uh.
Speaker 2:So in acts 3 19 it says repent, therefore, and be converted that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.
Speaker 2:And then in 2 Corinthians 3, 16 through 17, it talks about nevertheless, when one turns to the Lord, right, the veil is taken away, and now the Lord is the spirit, and where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. So I talked about look, if God will hear us, heal us, forgive us, and he will in his presence, right, and if he will bring refreshing and renewing in his presence. And it says that there is liberty and freedom from sin, freedom and liberty from the law, freedom and liberty and all these things are in the presence of God. But what we've got to realize is that at the very beginning of those things it talks about repentance. It talks about turning to the Lord and turning away from sin. And so this is really what I covered. Man and we just kind of talked about that, talked about what it looked like to put that key of repentance in the door for it to open.
Speaker 1:Yeah, repentance is where it starts.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1:That humility, man. Yeah, they go hand in hand.
Speaker 2:But there are so many pastors today, man, and you know this. There are Christians today, pastors today, man, and, and you know this, there are christians today telling, telling people, oh, just follow your heart, just follow your heart, nope. Or. Or they'll say, and this is the worst advice we can give, follow your heart, right. Because. And people will say oh, god knows my heart, yeah, that's why in jeremiah he said it's wicked, that it's desperately wicked. Who can know?
Speaker 1:it as says creating me a new heart, right, because mine is jacked up. We need a new heart, bro.
Speaker 2:And so we've got to quit feeding the old man, feeding our desires, excusing sin, and start cutting it out.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we can't live in excuses. No, pastor Joe, you mean to tell me just because, even though I feel it don't mean it's not real.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. But my feelings are telling me that. That's why scripture says we walk by faith and not by sight.
Speaker 1:You walk by faith and not your feelings here's the truth if, if you go to your feelings and bring them to the word, and your word says something different, you say no to your feelings and yes to the word.
Speaker 2:That's right. You cut them feelings off. I'm sorry feelings, but you're failing me you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2:I mean that's right, so yeah I mean that's, that's what we, that's what we hit on man and, and I talked about I'm not. I talked about this how a lot of times we had, we've got taught, we've had toddlers at some point in our life, right, yeah, and so we'll talk about what it looks like for you to tell a toddler. Parents can, parents can relate to this. That's why I wanted to use this as an illustration. I said you know how you tell a toddler don't touch that, don't touch that table, right, don't touch that.
Speaker 2:And then, and then they kind of, they touch it or whatever, whatever the case is, and then, they'll come back right and they'll touch it again, but while they're touching it, they're looking at you, right, and so you're like I just you not to touch that. Now he's looking me in my face and doing what I told him not to do. And I talked about how we do that with God. I know I shouldn't say this, I know I shouldn't do this or do that, and then you do it anyway, looking at God in his face, wondering if he's seeing you.
Speaker 2:Let me clarify for you people he sees you and you'll get frustrated with your kids who are doing this, and you're doing it with God. You're looking him in his face, knowing what you shouldn't be doing, and doing it, man. And so I just talked about what it's like to be a pastor. I said I feel like the big brother telling you don't touch that, don't touch the table. Like you know, god said we ain't supposed to be touching that table Right. And then some people look at me like in the spirit, right saying, without saying you ain't my daddy, right well, here's the truth.
Speaker 1:Is there's this misconception that that you know god turns his face away or the holy spirit leaves you when you sin?
Speaker 2:nah, he there, waiting on you to make eye contact yeah, that's right, it's like, it's like you're getting ready to do it. But you've seen that movie of Samuel what's his name?
Speaker 1:I don't know what you're talking about. Anyway, man, I'm going to have to get you later. I ain't your wife, son, I can't read your mind like that. No, no, no, no.
Speaker 2:They're snakes on this plane. What's his name?
Speaker 1:Oh, Samuel L Jackson.
Speaker 2:Samuel Jackson. There's this movie, this meme of him and a wife beater outside.
Speaker 1:He's not a great influence.
Speaker 2:He's looking at people like that I just remember seeing the men. Yeah, that's right. But I mean like the Holy Spirit's waiting for you and you know better. That's why, right after you say I know I'm not supposed to say this Lord forgive me- yeah, don't say it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, don't say it, don't say it, and you're only saying this before you do it. You shouldn't do it use your brain right.
Speaker 2:Let's stop right here, and that's what we need to do. When, when some people come to you and say I know I ain't supposed to say, then let's not say let's don't say let's, let's leave that right there, common sense ain't all that, come on hey, as paul would say, take captive of that thought and destroy it, because we don't need to let that thing out. Your mouth, that's right. Shut your mouth, exhibit no. But we, anyway, we, we, we right, so we're just trying.
Speaker 2:I'm talking about trying to keep. I'm not talking about legalism, I'm talking about holiness, right, I'm talking about cutting things out of our life. If repentance is what unlocks the door and we want to be in the presence of God, obviously God is the reward himself. But with his presence comes this refreshing, comes this liberty, comes this renewal. I said depression can't follow you into the presence of God, anxiety can't follow you into the presence of God. So why shouldn't we be seeking his presence all the time? Why do we have to wait till Sunday morning service, when all the saints are gathered together, to enter into his presence, like we should be entering his presence all the time, first, humbly, lowly, seeking his face, asking for forgiveness. And I'm not saying you have to look If you are truly saved, god's already forgiven your past. But it's realizing our dependency upon the Lord. I need him. I need him for every breath that I have. I need him for every heartbeat that I have. I need him for every heartbeat that I get. I need him for everything. And so it's realizing, it's purposing in your heart, it's the posture of your heart, that, lord, I come humbly before you. You are my father, my master, right and and and repenting of anything that you know you need to repent of. And then I talked about um, holiness is like a sweet aroma, man. I, man, I've been talking about this sermon before. We talk about holiness is a sweet aroma, unto the Lord. And I said Paul says in Romans 12, 1,. He's begging them. He's like by the mercies of God, I beseech you, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies as living sacrifices, holy, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable. It's not unreasonable to live a holy life. It's actually expected, because you were bought and paid for by a price or paid for with a price, with the blood of Christ. He came and gave his body, gave his blood, so that we could be made right with the Father. It is our reasonable service to stop sleeping with sin Monday through Saturday and trying to crawl back into bed with the king on Sunday morning, like that is our reasonable service to cut sin out of our life. And so I talked about that.
Speaker 2:I talked about Esther 2.12, how there's this ritual? Before in this time there was a ritual for Esther before she got one night with the king, one night to impress the king, and before anybody got to go see the king. In those days they had this ritual, this beautification process they had to go through and for 12 months they would coat themselves in these fine oils and these perfumes and things, and one of them was myrrh, which is interesting. Myrrh, wait them was myrrh. And which is interesting, myrrh, the wait, there's myrrh, right, and so, um, they would have to coat themselves in these oils. But what's funny is a lot of the spices and things they used to smell good was what the jews used to put on dead bodies for burial. So I'm like man, I don't know.
Speaker 2:There's so much some symbolism there talking about how we need to be dead. Scripture says that I, when god's talking to moses, he says you can't look upon me and live. We can get from that that, only get dead. People see god right, right, and so if we are applying the oil of holiness, we are dying to our flesh and therefore we can be ushered into the presence of god. But anyway, there's a lot of deep stuff there, man, that we kind of talked about today. We hit on, um, but biggest thing man is, is the Esther prepared herself to be in the presence of the King? And it took her 12 months. And I talked about how we won't even take 12 minutes to prepare our hearts and our minds to enter into the presence of God. And I just said, man, holiness, holiness is dying to yourself, holiness is living the life and it's not like it's a bad thing, like God's telling you not to touch that table because he don't want the TV to crush you, right, because he doesn't want the. That's what parents tell their kids.
Speaker 2:They don't leave that table alone. But here's the thing it's not like the TV is going to crush you when God says no, what's going to happen is you're going to end up in the lake of fire, and God's trying to prevent you. Why sleep with something that sent him to the cross? Why play with sin when it's what Christ had to come and die for? Anyway, that's kind of what we talked about. Man, the important thing to take away from this is that we repent and that we seek the Father's face, seek his presence, and that by doing that I said a lot of times, maybe what we're going through is not the devil not a result of the devil's attack, but a result of our disobedience, and so, anyway, that was kind of it, man.
Speaker 1:Sometimes you preach sermons like that and you feel like Noah, nobody's listening.
Speaker 2:I will say this the presence of God was definitely in this place today, and even after people. It's not something you know. I love messages you probably can't tell it, but I do love messages that are uplifting and joyful and you go to heaven, and you go to heaven and we all go to heaven, right, but the result, the truth behind it, that's not truth.
Speaker 2:I mean I would love to if we go according to when, when the calling away, the rapture is going to happen. It really, out of 10 people, five are going right, and so my goal I tell them every sunday or every other sunday or so, like my goal is not to to fill a church pew, my goal is to fill heaven yeah, and to to empty hell.
Speaker 1:And so that's why every sunday you're gonna make a say repent you, sinners, repent you, yeah, make way this straight, straight path for the lord. But. And so that's why every Sunday you got to say repent you, sinner.
Speaker 2:Repent you, sinner. Yeah, make way the straight, straight path for the Lord. But now, anyway, man, that's kind of what we love, that's what we hit on today. It was a. It was a very straightforward and really a challenging message, but it was. It was a great.
Speaker 1:Yeah, if you guys want to get the full effect of both of these sermons. You can visit us on Facebook at Crosspoint.
Speaker 2:That's what yours is on there, right? Yeah, crosspoint Lombard. Crosspoint Church Lombard. Yeah.
Speaker 1:And then Reliant Church on Facebook.
Speaker 2:And go visit our websites. We're crosspointlbgcom.
Speaker 1:Yep, If you've got any questions or anything like that, send us a message. If you want to elaborate on Pastor Jason's message, that was really really good, especially on holiness, and a lot of people fight that. But if you need clarity on that understanding man, please reach out to us and we'll give you some clarity so that we can make sure we're living right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's tight, but it's right. That's what I heard somebody yell one time Our website is ReliantChurchNCorg.
Speaker 1:Hey, if you're not at a church but you're in the area, hey, come check us out. Either church, either place, we're family. And if we don't work, we'll send you to the next one.
Speaker 2:If they don't work, you just don't love Jesus.
Speaker 1:I'm just kidding.
Speaker 2:Hey, we'll point you in the right direction now.
Speaker 1:We love you. We thank you so much. You make these podcasts worth for us. Please share, comment and give us a review on whatever platform that you're on. We're going to bless you really quick and then get you out of here. It's the blessings in Numbers, chapter 6. It's a priestly blessing in verses 24 through 26. It says the Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace. We love you. We appreciate you so much. Thanks for taking the time to listen or watch. We'll see you here next week, next time on Pass the Pass. Pass the Pass, adios.
