Why Are We Here? (part two)

See the descriptions of this great episode message in the descriptions of part one.

Transcript

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 0:02

Hallelujah. Praise God. We thank God. Sunday I started a message and I didn't complete it. So it kind of transformed into a part two that I wanted to continue tonight while it's still fresh in our minds. Uh what I had said on uh on Sunday. On Sunday, I I took a topic saying, why are we here? And we need to know why we are here. We need to know what our purpose is. We need to know what's going on, what plan has God has for our lives. And we need to know this because once we know a thing, we can walk in that in that status of which God has ordained us to do, like you're gonna see in the word this evening, what he has chosen us to do, a purpose. We have been chosen for a purpose. We were not just born just to be born. We were not just placed here just to be placed here. God had a specific purpose for us, and even the word of God lets me know that it had nothing to do with our mamas and our daddi coming together. God says in his word, I formed you. In the bail, I formed you. And his word gonna also tell us not only did he form us, he chose us, and the word of God, Jesus is gonna say to us in the scripture tonight, that he even ordained us. It's not the type of ordination like you you get a church title. This is ordained or chosen or set you apart to be a vessel, hallelujah, hallelujah, or an instrument for him to use in drawing others while we are here on the earth. Hallelujah. So let us pray. Father God, we thank you. Oh God, we open and yield ourselves to your word this evening. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Oh God, and that we may receive it, Lord. We ask that you, as we humble ourselves in your presence, forgive us of our sins, forgive us of our transgression iniquities, that there be nothing hindering or blocking us from receiving the truth of your word this evening. Hallelujah. Let your will be done in our lives, Lord, as we strive to better, come to a better understanding and knowledge of who you are and ignoring our purpose through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Touch us tonight, Lord, with knowledge, understanding, and clarity of your word. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. On Sunday, I laid a foundation on why are we here? And I use the foundation uh in Ephesians. I I don't want to go back and have to read all that, but I give you the scripture. The foundation of scripture is Ephesians chapter 1. I read verses 3 through 5, then I skipped to verses 9 through 11. That was our foundation for Sunday when I did part one. I will read some of it, but not all of it. Let me just give a little of that, especially in that ninth verse. No, Lord have mercy. Let me just go and read verse four, then I'll go to verse nine. Because I need us to make sure we get this. We need to know why we are here. We're not here just to do what we want to do. We're not here to live and party and pop and roll, and then one day we just accept the fact we got to die, having not accomplished anything, having having not done anything that is conducive to the kingdom of God or living the life that He wants us to live. And the one thing that I fear, I dread, is that the reality is going to be that so many of us are gonna have lived a whole life, never knowing why we are here, never knowing what our purpose was in the eyesight of God, and never fulfilling that purpose, walking blindly and in the darkness of the truth when we could have yielded ourselves to his will. Now, Paul's taking the church emphasis. I'm gonna read Ephesians 1 and 4. He says, according as he has chosen us, come on now. Sometimes we need to keep hearing certain scriptures until we get it. Because you don't always get the first time you hear it. A lot of people, you don't care what you say, they might not admit it. When they read or hear the word of God the first time, they don't ordinarily, automatically receive it right then. Because sometimes the word of God can be hard for a lot of people to grasp and to accept that this is what God is saying. According as He has chosen us, God chose us. I'm gonna read the scripture in a few minutes. Jesus is gonna say, I didn't, y'all didn't choose me, I chose y'all. Now, if God through Christ unchosed us, that means something in us that he has placed in us that we have failed to recognize and we have failed to notice. But is in there. But the reason we don't see it because we have not put ourselves in place to come into this knowledge to tap into those things that are spiritual. And what he has placed in you is spiritual. And one reason we can't we don't recognize because we are still carnal and we're still operating in the natural sense of things. Because we have not learned, nor do we have a knowledge of spiritual things. But oh, one day, if we ever do, you will begin to know from a spiritual perspective, not only why you are here, but what God really wants to do in your life, according to his word. According to his chosen us in him. And this is the part that gets me every time because I my mind go way back. When he says, Chosen us in him before the foundation of the world. I said, Oh Lord, let me sometimes I had to wait and just digest things slow because the word comes strong sometimes. Before the foundation of the world, you mean God? I talked to God, I said, You mean tell me you had a plan and a purpose for our lives before the foundation of the world began? God knew, has always known, who it is when it came time for us to step over into the realm of creation, who it was he was gonna choose and make choice of, even before there was a world even for us even to dwell on. Before the world even had a foundation, before the world was even built and established, before he spoke it this world into existence, he already had a plan for your life and my life. And that can be hard to swallow because we can't think that deep and that far. But I'm here to tell you the word is the word and the word is the truth, nonetheless.

SPEAKER_02 7:39

Before the found, he chose us in him before, before means prior to the foundation of the world.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 7:56

Why do you do that, Lord? Keep reading. He said that we should be holy. Come on now. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. God wanted a holy people, even for the world. Got him. That we may be what? That we should be holy. Holy is what? Like him. Is the reason why Peter spoke in first Peter said, Be ye holy. When God said, Be ye holy, for I am holy. God wants a holy people. And it's high time you and I, we need to get serious about being holy. Holiness is just a lifestyle. Ain't nothing to be scared of. It ain't nothing to be, it's being like God. Now, what's wrong with our minds and our thinking if we don't want to be like God? Something wrong. You don't want to be like God. But the fact is, yeah, a lot of people don't want to be like God. A lot of people want to stay like the world, remain like the world, and live like the world. Holiness is the farthest thing from their mind that it can ever be. But I'm here to tell you, those who have been chosen, those who are trying to seek out and come into a knowledge of why they are here, they want to be holy. Of whatever else God said for them to be. That we should be holy and without blame before him in love. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Do you love him?

SPEAKER_02 9:23

Do you love him? You know he loves you, but do you love him? Also on Sunday, I rested.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 9:34

I went to verse 9. I'm gonna skip to verse 9. I read all this Sunday. Verse 9, I'm just recapping before I get into part two. Verse 9 says, Ephesians 1 and 9 says, having made known unto us, God has made it. Those of us who have been chosen, those who know why they are here, they eventually come to this knowledge.

SPEAKER_02 10:02

They eventually come to this intellect.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 10:06

What God has been trying to make known unto us for I don't know how long. And some of us still slow about grasping this knowledge of what God wants us to know. Having made known unto us the mystery of his will. Everybody's gonna know God's will because it's gonna be a mystery to him. It's gonna be a mystery, like I said, it's gonna stay a mystery as long as we're trying to tap into God from a natural perspective by natural carnal means. You ain't gonna reach God like that. You got to get into spiritual. If you want to tap into the knowledge of God, you got to learn how to live a spiritual life. And I may need to do a series on that, how to live a spiritual life. Because until we do, we're not gonna know God. We're not gonna tap into his spirit, we're not gonna know what it means to even be involved in a true spiritual relationship with him. And that means it's gonna stay a mystery. The mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure, which he has purpose in himself. This is the foundation I'm laying, just in case some of you missed it on Sunday. Because I want to get to part two. Also, we need to know our tap into Timothy, Second Timothy, in order for us to grasp why we are here. See, so many of us we know, we don't even know who we are, let alone know why we're here. We don't even know our purpose in life, even with our families, even with our loved ones, we don't know why why we can't get along with them. We don't know our purpose in society, let alone knowing why we are here according to the will of God. But I'm here to tell you the most important thing, whether you know those things or ever know those things or not, you do need to know why you are here according to the will of God and what his purpose is. Man, I never know your purpose nowhere else, but if you know your purpose, why God got you here, you know the main purpose of your life right there. Timothy said this to us as I read it Sunday. Because see to know why you're here, you can gotta know God. See, if you want to know why you're really here, you got to first go back to the one that put you here.

SPEAKER_02 12:44

Because he the one got the answer. You don't got the answer.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 12:49

Wanna know why you're here? Go to God. Because he is the reason why you here. You ain't we can get here on our own. So let me go ask God, find out now. How I ask God, and how can I find out from God why I'm here? Get in his word. The one thing we don't want to read, get in that book, and God is telling us why we're here. Hallelujah. Hallelujah, hallelujah. God is telling us in his word why we're here. But we've got to read it, we haven't read it. And for our spirits to receive it, you got to read it. And in reading it, you become, you come to a place of knowing it. Like you breathe every day. Like that is in you. And then knowing God, Peter tapping to it. Knowing God, I know who saved me. I know who's who's who sanctified me. I know who put me here. Now I know why he put me. Uh Timothy goes on saying 2 Timothy 1 and 9, that one verse. 2 Timothy 1 and 9. He said, Who has saved us? See, Peter knew. I mean, Timothy knew. He came to the knowledge of who saved us. And we need to come to the knowledge of who done saved us. Who has saved us? Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Not only did he save us, Timothy goes there and called us with what, Timothy? A holy calling. See, a call from a holy God is gonna be a holy calling. Because the only God can call us to holiness. Only God can speak out a holy calling on our lives.

SPEAKER_02 14:40

It ain't like no phone call. It ain't like nobody hollering at you.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 14:49

That's a holy calling. Because it's calling you. See, when God is calling you, listen to me, y'all. When God is calling us, his call is calling us to himself. He's saying, Come to me. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. And see, when he gave us that holy calling, that call that he calls us with is sent to awaken something in us that we didn't know was in us. Hallelujah. Because whosoever don't heard this call and receive this call and acknowledge this call, their lives have changed dramatically. And I'm here to tell you, when that call and you yield yourselves into that call, that call on your life will not release you. Even when your flesh, even when the world is trying to join you, and you just can't completely go back. That call is on you. Because when God put a mark and a call on you, it's on you. Oh, you might slip ahead, dip here, but it's gonna convict your spirit. That call, that holy calling on your life, is gonna convict your spirit. It's gonna drive you. You're gonna have to all you're gonna do is heal yourself, stop being stubborn, repent, and get yourself back right. That's the only thing gonna satisfy that spirit in you, because it ain't gonna let you rest. And see, what I'm saying now, only those who have had a call on their life, a holy calling, to live right, to be saved, just like Tim said. It ain't come about calling to be no title, call to be no pastor, call to be no mission. Forget that. This call to be saved, this call to be holy. And anybody who has a call on their life just to be saved and be holy, your life is not like any other life. But it will help you to accept this. When you grasp this knowledge, you will know exactly why you're here. I'm here to do the will of my father. I'm here for the master's use. I'm not here for myself. I may not have them big houses, them fine cars. I may not have the wardrobe. I may not have the bank. I am here to do the will of him who has called me with a holy call. Hallelujah. Oh, hallelujah. I'm here because of the one who saved me. Because I need to save. God saved. Come on, Timmy. Let Timothy keep talking. Who has saved us and called us with a holy calling? Not according to our works. There ain't nothing we can do to deserve this him. I don't care how many times you go, God, oh God, I pay my tithes every Sunday. Oh Lord, I never miss a church service.

SPEAKER_02 18:10

That don't mean nothing. I go to everybody. I took so-and-so some groceries.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 18:21

I helped somebody. I fed the hungry, fed the poor. That don't mean nothing if your heart ain't right. Well, see, some people do those things because they think they're getting brownie points with the Lord. They think they're getting a gold star. Lord have mercy. We twisted in the head. That's why he said it ain't about no works. It's about God. This his doing. He ain't asked our input. He ain't asked our opinion. He doing it did it all himself. And all we all he expects us to do, y'all, is just receive and accept his plan for our lives. To know why we are here to serve him. Not according to words, but according to his own purpose and grace. Thank you, Tim. Which was given us in Christ Jesus. Oh, here it is again. Before the world began.

SPEAKER_02 19:25

Before the world even got started. God had a plan for us.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 19:36

God had a plan for a holy people. Let me let me just take y'all back a little bit. Some might receive this, some might not. I'm gonna tell it to you, none of the same. God's plan for man before this particular world began was to create a holy people on the earth, just as there was holy heavenly host in heaven. See everything up there holy already. And those beings who didn't want to be holy got thrown out. Everything up there is holy. But God wanted to create a being, another holy being on the earth, but slightly different, but holy, yet none nonetheless, on the earth. And we need to see that in the beginning, because when he created Adam and Eve, when he first created them, they were completely 100% holy. The earth was 100% holy at that time, and his plan was everyone that would descend from Adam and Eve, offspring, generation after generation after generation, everybody was gonna be holy. Everybody was gonna have the spirit of God because God had already blew his spirit into the first one, which was Adam. So everyone that came after him was gonna have the same spirit that he blew into the nostrils of Adam. He disobeyed God, and another spirit entered into the picture with Adam and Eve. And the reason we got messed up because it entered into Adam and Eve before they began to have offspring. Now, because they allowed sin and disobedience into their life before they had offspring. Now, instead of every offspring that they had, Being holy, now because of sin, every offspring they ever had or will have was going to be born in sin and shaped in iniquity, which messed up the whole plan of God. But knowing the word, in the fullness of time, God fixed it, which is what we are right now, through Christ Jesus. The Bible calls him the second man Adam. Now holiness can be obtained. And that holy calling that God called upon us before the world began, now it can be put back into place. That holy calling. And now God can have the holy people that He had planned to have from the beginning from the foundation of the world through Christ Jesus. He can have that now. And he is extending that invitation to all that are willing to know why they are here, why they were created in the first place, was to be like God and be a holy people. And I hope that wasn't too much for you. Now, let's try to get into part two. Paul also said to the church in Rome, to them who are called according to his purpose. Did you hear that? Those of us who are here for the will of God, we have been chosen and called for the purpose of God. To do his purpose. And so many of us, it's sad, but a lot of us have gotten sidetracked because we done got caught up in the ways of the world, and most of our time is doing what we want to do, how we want to do, and what we think we should do. And we fail in the area of adding to our calling, understanding our purpose, walking in the knowledge of our purpose, carrying ourselves as being called by God, living a life which shows the world we've been called by God. We fail in those areas. But nonetheless, the purpose and plan of God on our life, it still stands. And you know why he leaves it there? Even if we miss it, somebody's gonna get it. Somebody else gonna notice it in their own lives. And their lives are gonna be blessed. See, just because you got some don't want to do the will of God or accept his call on their lives, that don't diminish his will. That don't diminish his purpose. Because God knows somebody's gonna yield themselves to his will.

SPEAKER_02 25:01

Somebody gonna accept his calling. For whom he did foreknow.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 25:08

I'm still in Romans, the eight chapter. He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son, because God knows this. It may be you and I might not gonna do right. He knows it's somebody that they're gonna yield themselves for him to conform them to the image of the likeness of Jesus. See, God gonna have, God gonna have a lot of Jesus in heaven. Those who live like Jesus, those who carry themselves like Jesus, those who pattern themselves after the example that Jesus left. It's gonna be Jesus in heaven. Whether it be you or I or not, somebody. Because he ain't just preparing heaven to be empty. He ain't preparing a place in heaven for it not to be occupied. Somebody gonna occupy it. And he ain't gonna make you, he ain't finna force you to know why you were here or to know his will on your life, or to accept the call to be saved on your life. He ain't gonna make it. Who so never will, let him come. Whosoever don't want to come, stay like you will. He that is holy, let him be holy still. He that is unholy, when he gets here, let's just go and say unholy. Stay like you. That's what you want it. But if you want to know why you're here, let's get into the word. Let's get into this knowledge and know why we're here.

SPEAKER_02 26:53

Let me get on into part two.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 26:55

Y'all trying to make me stay too long on one area. Part two is this. I'm beginning with part two. Let's talk, let's see what Jesus got to say about it. Because he is all of sin around him. In the book of John, the 15th chapter, one verse I want to I want to lift up off the page.

unknown 27:15

St.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 27:15

John chapter 15, verse 16. Jesus says this, You have not chosen me. We ain't choose Jesus. We didn't know who Jesus is. Some of us still don't know who Jesus is. Just because you called it to say Jesus don't mean you're knowing. You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you. Hallelujah.

SPEAKER_02 27:38

I said sometimes, Lord, why in the world you chose me? A wretch. No good. I was a sinner. Why would you choose me? Why would you choose any of us?

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 27:55

Because I remember one time Jesus told his disciples, they asked him for questions like that. He said, Ain't I done chose y'all twelve? And one of y'all a devil. But even though we have been born in sin and shaped in iniquity, and our first master was the devil. That deal still does not change the fact that God has placed in those who He has chosen. And he does not go back on that. I've chosen you. I don't care what you did in sin. Repent and I will forgive you. Because I still got something for you to do. I still want you to know why you're here. I still want you to know a plan and a purpose for your life. Where you can do a work for me, where you can be useful for me, where you can be a vessel and an instrument for me and my kingdom. I still got it in you. You just need to understand and recognize it and come out of that corner, come out of sin, and accept my plan and purpose for your life. Jesus says, You have not chosen me. I, but I have chosen you and ordained you. That is, I told you he's gonna I was gonna show it to you. Well, he ordained it. I ain't talking about no getting ordination. There'd be no pastor no minister like I went to one time back in 2008, when I was ordained. They ain't got nothing to do with that. This has an ordination, spiritual, whether you have a title or not, just to simply be saved and do the will of God. And ordained you that while you did that, Jesus, that you should go and bring forth fruit. There it is. You're gonna help somebody else be saved. I don't put enough in you. You're gonna be the reason why a lot of people say, why a lot of people come to me. Go and bring forth fruit, that your fruit should remain, and that for someone you shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. Because when you know why you're here and know that you got a holy calling in your life, and you know that holy calling has been called on you by God, Jesus fix it now. You can go to God yourself and ask what you want of him in my name, and he may give it you. Because you know why you're here and you know you belong to him. All saints of God are chosen by God out of the world. See, God had to choose out of the world. Because through Adam, we was placed in a world we had no choice over. And he's making this thing right. I'm gonna fix it where you got a choice now. Chosen by God out of the world to bear fruit, possessing certain virtues God put in us, and those virtues come from him. So possessing certain virtues of the spirit, that's talking about the Holy Ghost, to draw others to Christ.

SPEAKER_02 31:16

This is a major reason why we are here.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 31:22

That through Christ in us, God can draw others to his spiritual kingdom. And when you when you when you know why you are here, and certain a certain anointing and a certain move of the spirit come on your life, you'll know what's going on. God trying to use you. Go there and speak a blessing word to that person's life. Go there and lay hands on that person.

SPEAKER_02 31:54

Go there and call sister saw it, encourage you. And when that's happening to you, you got to know that's what's going on.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 32:05

Why is he on this way? What's going on? You got to know that's God moving in you. I'm here to tell you, I'm gonna back it up in scripture. Let me talk to you. You got to know when you feel the hand of God on your life, and when that movement of his spirit is compelling you to do something righteous and holy for his kingdom, especially when it comes to the lives of others. So many of us miss it when dealing with people because we are not people persons. And we try to choose who we want to talk to, we try to choose who we want to witness to, and we can't even draw the very people in our own house because we fail to be an example of God, even to those that we live under the same roof with.

SPEAKER_02 32:57

Because we won't yield ourselves to the leading of his spirit.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 33:03

I don't care how ugly they cuss, I don't care how stinking they smell from cigarettes and beer. I don't care. And God don't care.

SPEAKER_02 33:14

He sees there's a soul, and there is nobody beyond saving.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 33:25

Wait till I say my arm is not short that I can't save. We gotta stop thinking we saving folks, and we ain't Holy Ghost. God is the Savior, and it's his spirit, the Holy Ghost, that causes us to come out of that dark place. You just be the instrument and shut up and be the vessel and be obedient. You don't care what you done heard about him. Know why you're here to save for God to save those that are lost in Christ through you.

SPEAKER_02 33:57

If you would just we would just yield ourselves and stop being judges. Stop being picks and chooses.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 34:09

If he saved you, now I tell you what, when you will pick and choose, what if somebody said that about you? You weren't worth being saved. God saved us some of the stuff, the regular stuff we done did, come on now. We ought to humble ourselves and keep our open mind to see that he can save somebody else. Well, I can't talk on that enough, but I know this a whole nother message. My point is that know when that kind of anointing, you feel that presence on you, know that that's God. Yield yourself to it and obey it. Let me let me let uh let me let Paul say something to you, what he told to the church at Philippi. He says, For it is God which worketh in you. Come on now, stop right there. Did I just tell you who that's in you? Doing the work? You gotta know that it's God. See, when you don't know who you are, and when you don't know why you're here, you don't know what's going on with you. And you'll you'll kill the movement of that spirit on you because you'll ignore it, not knowing what it is, not knowing that that's the spirit of God. Hallelujah. Paul told the church of 5, for it is God which worketh in you. That's God working in you. That ain't you working. Let God work, both to will and to do of his good pleasure. God will be pleased if we would just let him move. If we would just let him work. And stop trying to figure things like you know what gives us in a lot of trouble? Our brain, our mindset, our imagination, all that stuff that's going in our heads, that ruins our lives with God. Because that brain you got, that mindset you got in the imagination, they ain't gonna never be in line with the word of God. Because to know God is not a mental thing.

SPEAKER_02 36:13

To know God, that's not a mind thing, it's a spiritual thing.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 36:22

And before you can even say you're using your mind, you got to lose your mind that you got. I said, You got to lose your mind. Totally lose it, lost it, and and forget what you lost today. In order for you to do like the word of God said, let this mind be in you. You got to get a whole nother mind. And the mind that you need to have is the same mind that Jesus had. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. I'm here to tell you right now, Jesus' mind and your mind can't operate in the same head. I said and I meant it, because I'm backed up by the book. Stop trying to use your mind to figure things out in life. It ain't gonna work. Go to God, the one who sent you here, the one who put you here. For it's God that worketh in you, both to will and to do his good pleasure. Our Father has a holy plan for all who believe in his son, Christ Jesus. He has placed in us the power and the desire to do his will. You got some people that's all they want to do. They want to do right by God, they want to do right towards others, they want to do right and live in their life. His will in our lives is his pleasure to see us living holy, to see us being obedient, to see us doing right and talking right. That pleases God. That's his pleasure. And his pleasure is why we are here. Did you hear what I said? God's pleasure for him to be pleased with our lives is why we are here. Not trying to please yourself, not trying to please others, it is to please God.

SPEAKER_02 38:29

Now let me get into this, let me get into this this other part right here before my time run out.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 38:36

There's a group of people called drifters. Those will say they save, but in reality they done drifted so far from God, so far from his will, so far from their holy calling, and you just about can't tell the difference in them and somebody in the world, and the way they talk, and the way they think. They don't even think as though they got faith, they don't even talk as though they got faith in God, they don't even talk as though they believe God, they don't even talk like they know the word, what the book said.

SPEAKER_02 39:20

Because out of the abundance of the heart, that's what the mind is gonna say.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 39:24

If diamond is in your heart, it's carnality is in your heart, worldliness is in your heart, that's what's gonna come out of you instead of the things. They call drifters, or they done drifted so far from God. Let me give you this here. Those who lack the knowledge of knowing why they are here will soon drift away and wither away, never truly realizing their godly purpose for being here. You hear what I said? That's something I wrote. There ain't no scripture, that's something I wrote. Because I'm gonna back it up with the scripture, though. Drifting. See, the cares of this world will cause you to drift from God. Trying to be entertained by this world will cause you to drift from God. God ain't standing about the this entertainment of the world. Because your favorite show coming on tonight, and you're trying to make me hurry up to get through so you can go watch it. Well, you go watch it now. Because I'm gonna speak this book. Because God's plan and purpose should be paramount in our lives. Not the concerns of this world. And we're missing it. And guess what? If we're missing it now, you know what else you're gonna miss? You're gonna miss heaven. And that's what's gonna be so sad. Because those of us, how you'd be surprised how many people who have had a holy calling on their lives still gonna miss heaven. Look at all them children, people that come out of Egypt, the children of Israel. You know how many thousands and millions still missed the promised land? But they had a call on their lives to be set free. They had a call on their lives to be delivered, but they missed it. Because they were talking about going back to Egypt. They were grinding that complaint, missed it, because they didn't see the plan and purpose God had on their lives by bringing them out of Egypt and taking them to a place that he had prepared for them. They missed it because they lacked the knowledge of knowing who God was and what kind of God they were serving. But guess who else is gonna miss it if you ain't careful?

SPEAKER_02 41:46

Let me give you something that Jesus said in the book of Luke. Just two verses. I'm on Luke chapter 8.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 41:56

I'm gonna just give you two verses, but you need to read the whole eight chapter of Luke. But let me just give, let me have verse 6 and verse 13. This Jesus talking. He said, This is talking about the seed, what it's the ground that fell on. But this part here is stuck some with me. He said, if some fell upon a rock, now this ain't talking about the rock of Jesus. They're just talking about a seed cannot germinate on rocky ground. It's got to have some soil, because it got some roots got to come out. Anyway, and some fell upon a rock, and as soon as it sprung up, it withered away. Didn't I say someone's gonna wither away? And drift away. These are drifters. They don't withered away from God. It withered away. Why, Jesus? Because it lacked moisture, it lacked the knowledge, it lacked the anointing, it lacked the will of God, it lacked the purpose of God of why it was even planted. A seed don't know why it's planted, will wind up anywhere. The wrong well and the wrong place for a seed to try to spring up is on rocks that has no soil, rocky terrain, rocky ground. It's gonna soon wither. Listen to verse 13 though. He explains it even deeper. See, they on the rock are they, which when they hear, uh uh, receive the word, a whole lot of people hear and receive at first when they first get saved. Happy, fire, joyous, jump it around, do more shouting in church, anybody. They hear and receive the word with joy, gladness. Be saved. That was a time a lot of us was glad that we was even saved. Now, when we say we saved, it don't even sound like a joy, even in our tone, even in our vernacular.

SPEAKER_02 44:16

We don't hear the excitement of being saved.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 44:20

And these have no root because you never had no root in you. See, if you were rooted in God, rooted in our Lord and Savior, you'll begin up every day excited. Lord, I'm so thankful. I'm so glad to be saved. I'm so glad you kept me yesterday. Lord, I look forward to you to keep with me again today. Keep me safe. That joy set me. And these have no root, which for a while believe. And then in time, they believe, but in time of temptation, they fall away. And the drifters is that a drifters. Oh, because you can't take nothing. You don't fell away. It's too hard for me to take, Lord. Time of temptation. We ought to know when you know why you are here, you ought to know that being here, you're going to, your closest with God, your commitment to God, it's going to be tried.

SPEAKER_02 45:21

It's going to be tested. And I ain't talking about no small tests.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 45:27

Some of them tests are going to be thy tests, strenuous tests. Tests that almost bring you to the end of your self-test.

SPEAKER_02 45:39

But nevertheless, hallelujah.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 45:43

We are to endure if we have planted ourselves in the Lord Jesus Christ and in his word. In times of temptation, cause something comes up on you, you didn't know you didn't want to take it. I can't take it, I just give up. I just I can't take no more. I'm through with it. It's too hard. No, it ain't too hard because ain't nothing harder than God. Because my books still say, endure hardness as a good soldier. And even if you come up against something that you feel like it's too hard, call on him that called you. And ask him for strength because his strength is very perfect and weakness. Call on God and stop trying to have a pity party. It's gonna require us to stand, y'all, if we're gonna make it.

SPEAKER_02 46:51

We got to stand. One last verse I want to give you before I let you go. Paul told this to the church at Colossae.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 47:09

In Colossians, the first chapter, just one verse I want to bring out to you. Know why you're here. After the night I pray that we know why we're here. It's all about God, it's all about Jesus. And we have have been called by Him. We have a responsibility, we have an obligation, and we have a duty to serve Him by giving Him our best, our best that we could possibly give.

SPEAKER_02 47:47

In everything we do.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 47:51

He told the church in Colossians, Colossians 1 and 23. He Paul starts out, he said, if ye continue in the faith. You can see that if is predicated on you. Some gonna give up, some gonna fall away, some gonna drift. But you got some gonna stick, and you got some gonna stay. You got gonna you got some that's gonna be unmovable and steadfast. But since Paul didn't know who was all in the crowd, gonna stick or stay, oh gonna he said, but if you continue in the faith, how I got to continue in it, Paul, grounded and settled. He just said it was see, some of us ain't really got settled that we really want to live saved 100%. Oh, we want to be saved, but we want to be, we want to have access to the devil and dabble every nine again, and and it not be a problem, but it's gonna always be a problem because it ain't got nothing to do with God.

SPEAKER_02 49:03

Make your mind up, fix yourself.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 49:09

If you continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away. Otherwise, don't drill. Don't let yourself be moved away, and be not moved away from the hope. Oh God. Oh God. Don't let yourself be moved away from the hope. What hope? The hope that one day we're gonna be eternally existing with eternal life with our eternal God. That's the hope which should make all of us keep holding on.

SPEAKER_02 49:44

Keep enduing. Keep persevering.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 49:50

Knowing that when it's all said and done, God got a reward so great for us, it will never diminish. Eternal life can never go away, y'all. Eternal life is forever. This life you're trying to live and tear yourself over ain't forever. But the life that God has called us to, the holy calling and the purpose of his will that he has called us to, the purpose and reason why he has us here. Our focus should be on doing what we got to do for him through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, that we may be a part of the place that he's preparing for us. And be not moved away from the hope of the gospel. And the gospel is talking about Jesus Christ, which ye have heard and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven, whereof I, Paul, am made a minister. You can't let nothing move us away, y'all, from the knowledge of knowing why we are here. We must never return back to our former state of sin and shame. Don't go back into sin and shame. Lord, please, I beg you. As your brother in the Lord, I beseech you, don't let nothing pull you back into that state of sin and shame that God's holy calling has called you out of. Don't go back. Don't drift.

SPEAKER_02 51:45

If anything, go forward in the knowledge of knowing why you are here.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 51:55

We must never return back to our former state of sin and shame, where abides hopelessness with its soul-destroying vices. All you're doing is destroying your soul. And you're helping the devil to destroy yourself, which is unintelligent. But we're not aware of the spiritual realm. We don't realize just how much a lot of times we're helping the devil to destroy us by staying the way you are. We can't get rid of that stubbornness, we can't get rid of that quick temper, that anger.

SPEAKER_02 52:40

We don't know how to be kind. We have no self-control. We helping the devil.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 52:51

By stirring up, we stir up division in other people's eye because we ain't happy. So we don't like seeing nobody else happy.

SPEAKER_02 52:59

So we cause division and we be messy. We be tail bearers and put out lies and rumors.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 53:11

Laugh behind people that talk behind them behind their backs.

SPEAKER_02 53:15

Helping the devil destroy us. Let me leave you with this hymn.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 53:25

It is our own responsibility to strive to persevere and remain in Christ through whatever we may encounter. No matter what you got to go through, whatever you encounter, while keeping the faith, I don't care what you go through, don't let that situation cause you to lose faith in God. Keep the faith. If anything, let your faith get stronger while keeping the faith and knowing why we are here.

SPEAKER_02 54:07

It should be automatic for us to say, I'm here to do the will of my father. That's what Jesus said when he came here.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 54:21

My will is to do the will of him that sent me. He even said, These words I speak to you, they ain't mine. These are the words of my father. He even said, My meat is to do the will of my father. He knew why he was here. Okay, now it's time for us to know why we are here. To do the will of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, to be responsible, to be attentive and aware of our actions, our ways, our thoughts, how we treat others, how we represent the kingdom of God and the kingdom of heaven. To be willing to quickly repent and ask him forgiveness when our lives have veered a little bit, and get ourselves back on this straight and narrow path and stay where we can continue to hear him calling. Hallelujah. When he has need of us to reach somebody, when he has need of us to be an example and to share the good news of the gospel with those that he is trying to draw to be saved. Well, the people are around or whether we are alone, live the life and know why you are here. And if you know why you are here, you will know what God's plan is for your life, and you will live according to that plan and that purpose until you see his face.