Untitled Episode

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

This week I'm actually this is the fourth message in this uh series called Open Door. Now it seems like it's been forever uh since I and it has been, it's been three weeks. Um I started this back on the first Sunday of March, and we did the first three Sundays, and then uh we had guests. We had Isaiah Saldivar, and then the next Sunday was Easter, and then last Sunday was Pastor Jane and Zane and Jan Anderson. Wasn't that phenomenal last week? I mean, it just a man, it was a it was a powerful move. A lot of a lot of testimonies from that, a lot of online, a lot of not just here, but of a lot of people from around not only the state, but around the the nation and the world were responding to what it did uh in their life. And really, this kind of ties right along with that. But to to get into this fourth message, some of you have probably forgotten what we were talking about. So let me just take a moment and kind of recap um what we have talked about to this point, and then we'll just we'll launch right into uh what we want to talk about today for the next few minutes. Um as we begin, when we talk about an open door, first of all, you have to remember that the door, not a door, but the door is Jesus. We know that. And uh Jesus said in John 10, he said, I am the door, and all who enter through me, not to me, but through me, will be saved. So that that's the promise. What Jesus says it it's law, it it it is it is settled, it is done, because thy word is settled forever in heaven. The Old Testament says, so Jesus just came and fulfilled the law. So he said it, I all who enter through me will be saved. Okay, so that means that there is a transition when we enter, we don't just come to, but we enter through. And the say that really ties along with John the 14th, chapter, the sixth verse, where Jesus said, I am the way, I'm the truth and the life, and no man comes to the Father but through me. Some translations say by me, but it's actually it means a step, it's it's a it's a uh a gateway, it's through through him. That's the only way that we can come to the Father. So salvation is the door, but it's it's not it's not the end, it's only the beginning. If you just come to the door, but you don't go through the door, and all you've done is you've given Jesus lip service, but you haven't given him your heart. So it's important to understand that that what you do at that point, a lot of people say, I do and I will, but they never do. You know how Jesus addressed that? In Luke the sixth chapter, Jesus said, Why do you call me Lord, Lord, but you don't even do the things that I say? And then he said over in Matthew 7 again, he says, Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven. But it's only he, meaning them, humanity, only he who does do, who does the will of my father, which is in heaven. So it isn't it isn't just praying a prayer and saying I'm a Christian. What it is, is praying a prayer, you're going through the door and you are repenting. See, salvation without repentance is not salvation. So if we if we just come by words only, uh that will that will never get you anywhere. But when you come through the word, through the truth, it transforms your mind, it then it transforms your life, it transforms your actions, transforms your behavior. That's what repentance is. Okay? So Jesus, Jesus is the door. So Jesus said, when you come through the door, me, you will be saved. Now, when you go through the door, Jesus, then you will have many doors opened up to you in your life. Now it's up to you to know which door to go through. Now, for the believer, if you are if you are following his heart and connected to his will and to his desires for your life, then to the believer a door is is an opportunity. So when we go through the door that God gives you, and if God gives you a door that is full of blessing or has opportunity on the other side of it, that means you will likely have resistance. Resistance comes from where? An opponent. Your opponent, the adversary, is the devil, the enemy. In other words, the enemy is just not going to, when God opens a door of blessing and favor for you to walk through and you know it, you can't just picture that the enemy is just simply gonna back up and then help usher you through the door, applauding you as you go. No, that is against even what the Bible says in Paul. I'm gonna look at it, we're gonna look at it in just a second. Because Paul, the apostle, wrote this, and that's really kind of what I want. I want to pick up on to tail off of what we ended up with three weeks ago. I encourage you to go back and listen to them, to the messages prior, to help give you a little bit of a, again, a perspective of where we're going today. But in in 1 Corinthians 16th chapter, the ninth verse, here's what Paul said. He said, For a great and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries. Now we don't like the sound of that. We like the open door thing, we like the great part and the effective part, we just don't like the adversary part. But what you need to know is is that is that what God does is that when he opens something up to you, you have to understand that it will not come without some sort of resistance. We love the door, we just don't love the resistance. And and what what God does is God takes the battle to prepare you to manage what's on the other side of the door. So so the battle is is to strengthen you because the purpose and the blessing is that big. And you couldn't handle the weight of it if the battle didn't strengthen your spiritual muscles. See, so what God does is God has to test your strength. Now, some of you who are maybe new in the Lord, you're probably thinking, are you telling me that God gives me tests and tests me? You know, I thought I thought it was the devil who always tested me. The devil doesn't test you, he just tries to destroy you. He doesn't need to test you. That's a waste of time for him. He's just, he's just he's just got the darts out and he's at the onslaught. He's just trying to take you down. But but if God is going to take you into something greater, if he's going to expand your influence and and your calling and your anointing into another level, the Bible says from glory to glory, he's changing us and transforming us from what? Out of the image of Adam who fell into the image of his son. So if we are going to be ready and equipped to go into the next level, there has to be some sort of testing. I mean, come on. That shouldn't be news to us. We were tested in school. Some of you can't remember that far back, but I will tell you, you had tests in school. What were the tests for? At the end of every semester, especially at the end of every year, you know, you had that final exam, and that that always that was always a big part of what your grade would be for the year. The reason they gave you a test was to see what you retained and what knowledge you now possess to see if it warrants you to be able to move to the next level or the next grade. That was the reason for a test. Jesus was tested. Come on, the Bible says that the Holy Spirit, before Jesus entered into his earthly ministry, the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness. Now think about this. And for 40 days and 40 nights, Jesus fasted. He didn't have any food whatsoever. And in that time, the enemy, the adversary, which is it really, really, Jesus doesn't have an adversary. He he at the cross it was done. Now, we do. Our adversary is the devil, but Jesus already defeated him at the cross. But at this point in time, Jesus was tempted by the enemy, and he came and he tempted in in three levels: the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life. And in every single level, every temptation, Jesus responded with the command and the word of the Lord, it is written, and he passed the test with flying colors. And the Bible says that Jesus came out of the wilderness full of the Holy Spirit without measure. The same spirit that is in you as a believer. The same one. And so watch, watch what happens to this. As a matter of fact, probably the one of the most common passages of scripture is in James, the first chapter, the second verse, and it says this. It said, Count all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your next verse, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. Now that word patience also in its expanded version is the word endurance, uh, the word perseverance, uh, the word steadfastness. It really denotes someone who is settled and locked in and solid. You just move, nothing's going to shake you as you move forth. But the thing is this, what brings you to that point is a trial. Yeah, I'd said it. A problem, a frustration, a challenge, you know, a tribulation. I mean, that's what brings you to that point. If you don't encounter that, then God doesn't know, hey, are you equipped to move to this next level that I have purpose and called you to? The Bible says in Jeremiah 29 that God has plans for us and plans to bless us and not to harm us, to give us a future and a hope. How does he know if you are ready for that next level or that next phase? See, it it requires a test. But what's what's crazy about that passage of scripture when it says count it all joy, that's not a natural thing. That's just not a it is it isn't natural for us to think, oh yippee, I got a trial, you know, or I've got tribulation. Woo, I can't wait to head into that one head first, you know. It's the whole mind, it doesn't seem natural. So why does he say count it all joy? I will tell you this, because the arrival of an enemy, an adversary, always means the arrival of a door. Remember what we just read a moment ago? He said, for great, a great and effective door has been opened to me, but there are many adversaries. See, don't start throwing a party and rejoicing when you see the door. You need to start rejoicing when you see the enemy, because the enemy only shows up to keep you from going through the door. So you know you're on the right track. I don't know if you've ever looked at it that way, perspective, but we need to shift our perspective. This is what renewing the mind is all about. We're getting a different idea. So if doors and resistance go together, if if if opportunities have an enemy standing in front of it trying to keep me out, then what is an enemy? I know you have a lot of opinions on what that would be. Let me show you what an enemy is. Put that up. An enemy, you need to write this down, take a picture of it, whatever. An enemy is any influence usually manifesting through someone that seeks to increase a weakness that God desires to remove. Let me just let me say it again. Faith comes by hearing. An enemy is any influence usually manifesting through someone. That's how that's how influence is getting into the earth that seeks to increase a weakness that God desires to remove. See, uh a real friend is somebody who's not just gonna sit back and watch you self-destruct. They're not gonna just stand by and tolerate the foolishness that brings destructive behavior into your life. There are some people that you can get around that absolutely bring out the best in you. And then there are other people you get around that bring out the worst in you. You might be setting it. No, no, I'm not saying it. We don't want to say that. Okay. There's a group of people, there's a group of people that you get around them, and all of your strengths seem to come to the surface. I mean, it's like it's like there's a uh an aliveness that happens. You know, it's just like you get exhilarated somehow, your spirits are lifted, and all your strengths come to the surface, but then there's people you get around that all of your weaknesses will come to the surface. And understand that the enemy is not studying your strengths. He's studying your weaknesses. See, let's let me take this from an analogy of competitive sports. Okay, let's just take a football, for instance, all right? If if one one team is getting ready to play another team, for the days leading up to the game, they're spending time in film sessions. They're analyzing everything about the team they're about to play. They can see very quickly what the team's strength is. Maybe it's their quarterback, he's got a great arm, you know, maybe it's the offensive line. You know, I mean, you nobody, nobody can bust through that offensive line. Whatever it is, they know what the strengths are pretty quickly. But what they spend time on is dissecting and discovering what the e-weaknesses are. Maybe it's the defensive line, maybe it's the back, you know, the safeties, maybe they got a weak, you know, uh defensive backfield, maybe it's the wide receivers, whatever. And and they they find a place that they can target and they can target and they can zero in on a weakness in order to capitalize and hopefully thereby bring a win. So it's not anything new. And understand that dominant weaknesses are usually blind spots. In other words, everybody else can see it, but for some reason you have difficulty, as the old saying goes, smelling your own stink. Do you know, do you know what marriage is supposed to be? Marriage is supposed to be relationally a friendship, but it is also supposed to be a partnership. In other words, you've got my back, I've got your back. See, in Dina's in my marriage, there are there are things that she sees and that she hears that I don't. You know, and she'll she'll come to me and say, Hun, you know what? The way you responded, or the way that you said that, or the way that you communicate that, probab man, probably wasn't the best. I don't know. And I'm and you we, you know, I do kind of what all of you probably do, the same thing. Little defensive, what are you talking about? I didn't do anything, I didn't mean that. That wasn't my heart, that wasn't my intent. You know, you go through all those things, and and she goes, I I understand, but that's how it came across. And and so I realize what she's doing is revealing a blind spot to me. And then and then I to her. I see things and and I hear things that she doesn't see and that she doesn't hear. And I'm continually going through those blind spots with her. No, and and uh trying to work on it, but no, no, no, I have more than she does. Ain't that right, babe? Okay, thank you. So I just want to let you know, but it it's important, it's important that that's that's how this whole thing goes. So, a very what we're what we're good at as believers, as people, is we're very good at finding what's wrong in the other person. I know that's none of you, but I'm just saying a lot of us have that issue and that challenge, all right? And I love the way that Jesus addressed that whole thing in Matthew the seventh chapter, fourth verse. This is probably one of the most hilarious verses in the entire Bible. And here's what Jesus said in Matthew 7, 4. He said, How can you think of saying to your friend, let me help get rid of that speck in your own eye when you can't see the log coming out of your own eye? In other words, what he's saying is, you have the ability to look past this log hanging out of your head to go and pull the speck of dust out of someone else's eye. It's like, it's like you can see their small problem, but you are blind to your big problem. And understand that weaknesses have desires attached to them. See, and those desires, they they are looking, they're they want to find people who will strengthen it. And it's hard to combat that. Because one of the most difficult things to do when you get saved, I'm talking about when you truly make a decision to follow Christ, one of the most difficult things to do is change your associations. Because, listen, it's because your past actions and behaviors and you know, your patterns of thinking and your past conversations, they are comfortable and they thrive in that environment. And and it's difficult for your new decision of salvation to get rooted and established in that environment. Why? Because everything weak in you seeks out that which is familiar. Let me let me give it to you this way. Let's take just for example, let's take uh someone who has a substance abuse problem. You know, alcohol, drugs, you know, those are the most common things we go to. It could be anything, but I'm I'll just zero in on that. You probably have somebody on your contact list right now that that addiction seeks out in order to make it stronger. Dean and I, over our 46 plus years in ministry, we have had a lot of meetings and sit-downs with people who are who are battling with that very thing. The first question that we ask them every time is, tell me about your friends, who your friends are. Tell me about your associations. And a lot of the time, the response that we got back was, well, I uh this isn't about my friends, this is all about me. But we then politely and very firmly respond to them by saying, I get that, but the thing is, is if you don't get free from them, you won't get free from it. Because you only want to do it when you get around them. So if you can get delivered from them, you will be taking the first big step for being delivered from it. And we try to make that known, and and sometimes they don't catch it, they don't understand, they don't realize the importance of associations, connections, and and what we would call friendships that many times are really are really just acquaintances that we have become very comfortable with because you have to define what friendship is. Oftentimes the people that we are comfortable around aren't necessarily a friend. Look at Jesus and Judas. We won't go there on that. I'll go there some other time. Hebrews 12, verse 1. This is a familiar passage of scripture. It said, Therefore, we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance. There's that word again, the race that is set before us. Now understand, a race of endurance is not a sprint. And what he says here, he says, lay aside every weight, follow this, and the sin. So what that means is that every sin is a weight, but not every weight is a sin. Because there are things that you can be carrying in your life that are not bad, they're not immoral, you know, they're not wrong, they're just baggage. It just weights you down. And God is saying here that if you want to walk through that door, remember, a door is opportunity, and you want to successfully run the race with favor and with patience and endurance, that you are going to have to lay aside the baggage and the stuff that is dragging you down that was never meant to be a part of this journey in this stage of your life. See, there are some people here, probably listening to me right now, who you are absolutely trying to force people into your future that were never meant to be there. Now, follow me on this for you get mad, just listen to me. You are willing to compromise your future to stay in a level of mediocrity based off of yesterday just to keep that connection. There are people who were just not meant to go into your future. See, and you say, Well, wait a second, Pastor. I mean, I I grew up with them, I went to school with them, we played ball together, you know. I mean, they you know, they were always a part of my life all this time. I get that, and I understand that. But what you need to realize is there are people who love you for who you were, they don't love you for who you're becoming. So, what happens is every time. You get around them, the tendency, they don't even realize they're doing it. The tendency will be of the influence in their life. They will want to draw you back into what was. All the good times we had and the conversations we had and the things we did and the places we hung out at. And it'll just automatically roll back to that. And if they're not a believer, if they're not on the same plane and desire for you to be led by the Holy Spirit, then when you are connected with them, and if it's continually or consistently in your life, what's going to happen is they will neutralize you based on your past and stop you from laying hold of what's in your future. So all of a sudden you become frustrated. You know God has something for you, and you can't figure out why you just keep going around the mountain in this cycle, and you don't even realize that it has to do with the very associations that you have allowed into your life. And it's important for us to understand those things. And what we do is we don't take stock in that. But there are people who just were not meant to go into your future. And it's not until you come to a place where the decision and you believe that if I can just cut this baggage off, that God has greater relationships in the next season if I'll just take that step of faith. There are some of you, there are some of you right now that are finding it difficult to run your race of life with patience and endurance because you are dragging so much stuff with you. So Hebrews 12, it says this lay aside every weight, okay. We just talked about that, and the sin. He didn't say lay aside every weight and sin. He said the sin. So understand, when you get saved, there are some things that just automatically fall off of you. In other words, you get saved, man. You you want to you see a life change and you want you want to experience God in all of his glory. And so you you are making decisions. You want to you want to be successful, you want to go forward in your life in Christ. And there are some things that you were a part of your life that just ah, I'm I'm not doing that anymore. I get rid of that. And and and God is faithful and he blesses and he gives you the strength to do that. But there is that one. The Bible says that it easily ensnares you. That one. That's why you're so quiet right now. You know. You can think of those things. Maybe you got more than one. I'm just gonna go with one and give you the benefit of the doubt, okay? So we're talking about one thing. That one thing. And and that one thing doesn't even have to try that hard. It just ensnares you. And you've told God a hundred times, God, I'll never do it again. Give me the strength, Lord, I'll never do it again. And in time, it comes back around and it ensnares you out of nowhere. Where'd this come from? I thought I took authority over this thing, I thought I was delivered from this, I thought God was giving me the strength and God took it away. Why is this coming back again? He said, Lay aside every weight and that one weakness. You gotta confront it. You gotta acknowledge that it's there. If you don't acknowledge it, then you can't confront it. And if you don't confront it, then you can never be conformed or transformed from it. So what happens is it hangs around. We feel good for a while, it comes out. But it says, he lay aside every weight and the sin that easily ensnares us. Now, the true Greek translation for that word ensnares, it actually means, it actually means encircles us. So listen to this. It's saying here, there's there's one sin, there are some sins that you can commit that you know immediately. Ah, why did I do that? God forgive me. I don't even know where that came from. I have no desire for that. You know, forgive me, and maybe you go to the person ask forgiveness if it was directed to somebody. You say, Lord, forgive me. And and you feel like God forgives and cleanses, and you just move on, everything's good. But there is the another kind of sin that the Bible says easily ensnares us, and it creates a cycle. You did it, and you feel horrible about it, and you cry out to God, you know, take it away. But inevitably, it circles back around and revisits you. And every time it happens, you do the same thing. God, I take this thing off of me. I rebuke you in Jesus' name, and we're binding and we're loosing, and we're going through everything and we're doing everything. God, I'll never do it again. And for a time and for a season, you'll walk and you'll live out life, and you think, Yes, I got this. Thank you, Lord. Man, you feel free from it, but then out of nowhere, it cycles back around, and you get that phone call. It's a surprise. You get that text, it's unexpected. You run into that old friend in the store, or that ad pops up on your computer or on your phone again. You thought you'd clean that out, and there it is. It cycles back around and ensnares you. Am I in your kitchen today at all? So, what are we gonna have to eat? All right, let me tell you, let's eat some more word. How about that? Let's just do that real quick. All right, so I put a note here because I I actually I came across this this past week. You know, in the agricultural uh world, this is common knowledge, vegetables have to be replanted every season. In other words, once you harvest vegetables, they're just not going to come up again. You you have to, you know, you have to get the till the ground, get it ready, and you have to plant again to get another harvest of vegetables. But an orange tree, a lemon tree, a grapefruit tree, an apple tree, you just have to plant the seed once. The tree comes up, and it will continue to bear fruit in a cyclical manner every year in a season. The only way the fruit will stop bearing is to sever the tree at the root. Everything's about the root. It's not about the fruit. The fruit will come out of the root. So whatever, whatever is still rooted in you, it may always not be evident on the outside, but you can be sure that if it's rooted there, it will cycle back around. And it will it will bear out in your life. That's another message, by the way. I'll get to that one sometime too. Let me give you a couple examples here, and uh then I'll close. The disciple Peter, everybody knows Peter. About Peter, we love Peter because he's a lot like us. He stuck his foot in his mouth many times, and but yet he was he was the one who was bold as well, unlike you know, the masses. And and I I I love Peter because of his tenacity. I love him because of his boldness, the things that he wanted to do. And you know, even though he made mistakes, man, he was always the one that seemed to shine in moments that were really critical. But Peter had a weakness, as we all do. Peter's weakness was other people's opinion. And can I just tell you that those those kind of people they make me nervous because they they just become whatever room they're in. And you can watch somebody, and I and if they're if they're shifting and changing like a chameleon based on you know who is around them, though those people make me uncomfortable. I I probably don't spend a lot of time around them. And and Peter, Peter really had that weakness. And so on that that eve of that last supper, that last meal that they shared with Jesus, the Passover, before Jesus was to be taken away. Jesus at the meal, he is explaining to his disciples what he's gonna have to do, what he must suffer, and and how it's gonna be done. He's letting them know that you're gonna be fearful, but don't be afraid, and this kind of thing. And Peter is the one in that in that dissortation that Jesus has given, you can read it in John. He's given this. Peter's the one who stands up and says, Lord, I will go with you to prison and to death. Now, whoa, we read that, we stand back and we say, Way to go, Peter! I mean, man, that's an awesome thing. Pete, Pete, Pete. Let's hear for Pete, you know, and and we're we're doing, but you know what happened? Just a few hours later, Jesus arrested. He's taken away, brought before the Sanhedrin. It's caused a hustle and a bustle and a lot of noise in the city of Jerusalem. And later that evening, man, they're going through this. This was a kangaroo court. This wasn't anything planned. They were trying to drive this thing through, but it was necessary. Peter, later that evening in the dark, he's he makes his way to the court, the courtyard where crowds and people are gathering to see what's going to happen to Jesus. And somebody looks at him and says, Hey, aren't you one of his followers? This Jesus? And Peter says, I don't know what you're talking about. And so he moves from the courtyard and then he moves over to the gate, the Bible says. And somebody else sees him and says, Hey, aren't you one of the followers of this man Jesus? And Peter says, I don't have any idea who you're talking about. And then he moves to another place, and a woman says, Hey, listen, you're you're one of them. I can tell by your speech, you're a Galilean, you're one of his followers, this man Jesus. And at that point, Peter gets so stressed out and riled up that the Bible says he cursed and he said, I do not know this man Jesus. In one environment, he would lay his life down for him. A few hours later, in another environment, he doesn't even know him. Do you know what concerns me about the body of Christ at large, especially in the American church, is that a lot of people saying that they are Christians live that very same way. Man, inside the church house and inside the building and gatherings, man, we're risking our hands and we're praising God and we're declaring the name of the Lord and we're praying and we're believing God to break this and you know to open this up, and and we're calling down heaven. We're doing everything we can possibly do. And then we walk outside the doors and we just kind of become vanilla. We just blend into the great landscape of massive humanity, and we don't look any different than the person who doesn't know Jesus sitting right next to us. How will they know? That was Peter's thing. Let me let me give you one other guy. This is out of the new uh out of the old testament. Uh I'm talking about Samson. You know, we know Samson is the strong man. Uh actually the Bible doesn't say that he he looked like the Hulk. Really, it doesn't. It just says that he had he had strength and it was supernatural. So he could have looked like Pee-wee Herman and and you know did whatever. And and because when God comes on you and his strength and his spirit comes on you, it doesn't matter who you are, you know. Come on. God makes even the you know the you know the smart people to be confounded, you know, and thinking, well, that can't be possible. Oh, with God all things are possible, but but we don't know that. He he could have been a little bit more, I don't know. He probably had a few bicep muscles in there, but anyway, Samson, most people read that story and they look at his downfall and they think that his weakness was Delilah. It wasn't Delilah, it was a compliment. See, and men, can I tell you, you are vulnerable to compliments. And let me tell you one other thing. When it turns from a compliment to flattery, you better run. Because you are vulnerable to that. Why? Because the Bible says that God, your creator, inhabits the praises of his people, and you were created in his image. So, so what you need to know, women, if you haven't learned that, you need to learn that. Men do not perform by nagging. All the men, no, don't say anything, men, just keep quiet on that one. You're because you're sitting right next to her. Okay, so it says, I don't know, though that was a kind of a boy I could have roped you in and you could have been slapped across the face in the next minute here. But the thing is, is that they men do not perform by nagging. But if you praise him, if you honor him, like, hey, hey, hey, you know, I mean, it's a if you if you if you praise him, he will become Iron Man, the Hulk, and Captain America all in one. I mean, you will have your own Marvel Avenger sleeping in the same bed with you. I'm telling you. Isn't that right, babe? Yeah, yeah. Here, look at this. I'm yeah, she has a Marvel. Okay, we won't go there. So, anyway, the Bible says, though, go with me, the Bible says, actually, the Bible doesn't give any indication about Delilah. It doesn't, it doesn't give us any any information about Delilah's appearance, her body, uh, her beauty, her sensuality, nothing. I mean, she could have been a plane Jane. You know? It doesn't give any indication, but what she did do is she let the mighty man, the strong man, lay his head in her lap and she stroked his ego. And he was vulnerable to that. A weakness. He had a strength, but his strength became a weakness. Yeah, he appreciated the compliments and the praise and that, all that. Oh, yeah, I get it. But but you understand there is a line, and the enemy is going to look for your weakness. Do you know the reason why I think God gave us the Word of God? Because when we look in the Word, the Bible gives us a lot of insight and a lot of details on individuals in the Bible, you know, insight on their backgrounds and kind of what they went through and where they came from. And it just doesn't give us all of the victories. What it does is it gives us the frustrations and the pain and and and the hurts and you know the the flaws and the inconsistencies. And let me tell you something, that's what gives me hope. Thank God. Because I'm like Peter a lot of times as well, and I need to know that God is there and that he's faithful and that I have a rock to stand on. And your enemy, you need to know this, your enemy is studying that. See, most people will tend to work on their strengths to make their strengths stronger. But let me suggest to you that if you focus and target and work to destroy your weaknesses, that your strengths will become more prominent and stronger by themselves. They will, they will. Don't be blind to the blind spots because the enemies, the enemy wants to enhance weaknesses. So when Paul said, in that verse we read at the beginning in 1 Corinthians 16, when he said that there's an open door, an effective and great open door, but there are many adversaries, sometimes, sometimes that adversary works through someone who you have allowed into your life or you've allowed to remain in your life that shouldn't be a part of your future. Again, those aren't easy acts to do and to create and to make in your life, especially if you've known somebody for so long. But the fact is, is if they're if they're not hungering for the same thing you are, if the Holy Spirit is not working in them and they're striving to become more like Christ, then then your association with that person will most likely neutralize you and will stop you from moving into your destiny. You won't realize it because you think you're being nice, and it's okay. I'm not saying you can't ever talk to them or you don't, I'm not telling you what to do at all, period. What I'm telling you is just think about what I'm saying to you right here. It's very important. And I know that that's why we have to examine ourselves. Like Paul said, we we gotta see if we are of the faith, if if we are even in alignment, if we're connected to his heart and his will and his purposes and his calling. Do I know God's heart for my life? Really? I know what I want to do, I know what I'd like to see, I know what I'd like to have, but but is it is it God? I mean, I know it's a good thing, but is it a God thing? And that's always the question that I'm asking now. God, I don't want to, I don't want to step one iota over a line if it is not you. If you're not in it, I don't want to go. It may look great, it may be something that I thought that I've always longed for, but Lord, if it is not you, I am gonna stay put until you open up the door, and I know, and I will walk through, and I will not be nervous, I will not be afraid, I will not be intimidated, because I know if you go with me, there is no weapon formed against me that will prosper, and all those who rise up against me will fall, and I will walk through the door, not striving for victory, but actually moving from victory. Because the victory is already ours through the finished work of Christ on the cross. We celebrated that just a couple of weeks ago. And it's it's not something to be celebrated once a year. We said that. It's every day of our lives. The work was done. It's whether we choose to receive it, accept it, so that we walk through the doors and opportunities with strength, even when the adversary rises up, even when we don't understand why this is happening, what's going on, Lord. I know I heard your voice, and I know this door is right, this is a God thing, and I know that I prevail. And I am, if I'm being tested in this season, Lord, test me. Lay it out, give me all the problems you can possibly think of. And Lord, I'm going to strive to come through with shining. If I get a C, God, go with me on that, will you? You know, but I will come through and I will pass the test because you give me the strength to do so. Examine yourselves. See if you are of the faith. Or are you are you the ones who Jesus says, Why do you, why do you come to church? Why do you sing songs about me? Why do you go to Bible study? Why do you help out with a an outreach on Saturdays? Why do you call me Lord? But you really don't do the things I say. Will you bow your heads? Father, by your Holy Spirit, I pray that you'll just open up the hearts and minds of people here today. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. This is always opportunities for those of you who are sitting here. Sometimes we can end big, sometimes it's it's just in the quiet as his spirit is moving right now. And his spirit convicts. His spirit is opening up things to your mind and understanding you already know, you see those weaknesses, you think, you see those things that you have over and over again that you've you've given in. Into and you seem to be frustrated and you feel like it's hopeless and that it's never going to change. But I'm telling you here today that with God all things are possible. That greater is He who is in you than He who is in the world. That as a believer you are seated with Christ in heavenly places far above all principality and power and the rulers of darkness. God, you declared in in Luke that man, that you've given us authority to trample on serpents and scorpions and over all the powers of the enemy, all of it, and nothing shall by any means harm you. God, I take you at your word. I take you at your word. And I do not want to be slack concerning your promises, but I believe that they are yes and amen to those who believe. But the belief is the situation. Do I just know it or really do I believe it? So I'm asking is every head is bowed and every eye is closed. Those of you who who have you you see your you are a Christian, you are a believer. I mean, you you made a decision, you want to follow Christ, but you have you've come up against things and you've fallen back. You tried to overcome and get rid of this, and it keeps coming back. I'm telling you, don't throw the towel in. You've got to keep persevering. This is this is a marathon, this is endurance. This is the one who is tried by fire, but comes forth as shining gold and pure gold. And we come forth, as James says, perfect and entire, lacking nothing. We all want to be there, but we have to be willing to go through the test. So, Father, I pray that you'll change our hearts and our minds. Everything that we've been trying to escape, allow us to know that you go before us and we don't have to fear, because you have not given us a spirit of fear, but of love and of power and of a sound mind. That you are the great shepherd who leads us and you lay you lead us beside still waters in the green pastures, and God, you are the one who covers us, and even while we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we don't even fear that because you are with us. God, we we focus on that. We don't focus on the situation, the issue, but God, we focus on the answer. We are we are today, we're drawing a line in the stand. No longer are we gonna keep regurgitating and bringing up the issue and the problem and what's not right and what we wish could be different. But today we make a decision, we are just gonna start declaring the answer, and the answer will prevail. In our weakness, that's when your strength prevails. So, God, let us get a let us get a revelation of that today in Jesus' name, in Jesus' name. Hallelujah. But if there's anybody in this room and anybody listening online right now, we have an online audience that's all over the world and wherever you are right now, if you have never given your life to Christ, in other words, you never made the decision to say, Lord, you know what? I've been running my life and I've been trying to rule everything and make the decisions on my own, and I've come around this mountain again and again, and it never changes. Can I tell you, it probably will never change unless you get hooked up to your source, your creator. Jesus is here. He said, I am the door. The door is wide open. There is an open door this morning for those of you who are saying, Pastor, I need to make that commitment. I want to walk through that door today. I want to lay my life down and I want to pick up his resurrected life. I want to give all to him. I don't want to just be part, part here and part there and waffling and on the fence and gray areas, but God, I want to lay it all down because Jesus laid down his life for you. If you're in here today or even online right now, and you say, Pastor, I want to make this opportunity to accept Christ into my life and to make Jesus my Savior. If that's you, just slip your hand up and I want to pray for you right now. Come on, thank you. Over here, come on, anybody else over there? Come on, anybody? Keep them up so I can see them, if that's you. Okay? All right. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord. Hallelujah. Back there. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Jesus' name. Holy Spirit is moving here. There's eternal work being done. We're not here just to sing a song, go through a message, try to keep on a time clock, and we're out of here. We're here to let the Holy Spirit have his way. So I want every every everybody to stand to your feet, if you will. In just a moment, I'm gonna ask the prayer team or the uh worship team and the prayer team if uh they'll just begin to sing a song. As they begin to sing this course, here's what I'm gonna ask. We do a little bit more old school here. I'm gonna ask those of you that raise your hand to say, Yes, Pastor, I need Jesus. I know I'm lost without him. I have a void in my life that is never filled. He's the only one who will fill it. But if you raise your hand, but even if you didn't, maybe you were a little bit embarrassed, you say, I don't want to make a scene, you're not making a scene. God already knows your heart, anyhow. And quite frankly, everybody else that in the building, most everybody here is rooting for you this morning. So this this is not this is not a happenstance right here. But I'm gonna ask you to do this as they begin to sing. If you raise your hand, I'm gonna ask you to be so bold. Because Jesus said, if you profess me before men, I'll profess you before my father. If you don't profess me before men, he said, then I won't profess you before my father. And and I want Jesus, man, being my my counselor, I want him being my intercessor, I want him, man, going to the father on behalf of me. I that I don't ever want to lose that relationship. And can I tell you that if you take a step here, I'm gonna ask you to grab somebody next to you if you feel like you need to. Come on down here as they begin to sing and meet Dean and I right down here at the front, and we're gonna walk through that door, Jesus, right here, this morning. All right? Let's go ahead. Come on.