Before The Cock Crows

Is it possible for us to deny the Lord?!  When we fall on certain times or find ourselves faced with trying and fearful situations, could we possibly deny him?  After serving and living for him would our dedication and loyalty remain fixed?  

Before the cock crows twice will we have denied him thrice?  I pray not, and I do pray that our commitment to him is genuine and true, and that when the cock does crow, there will be no denial of our Lord present in us.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:04

Hallelujah.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 0:06

Hallelujah. Hallelujah. I want to talk this morning on uh something I talked on. I talked on this I know about two years, about two years ago. Um I've been ready to talk about it again. So this morning that's what I'm gonna do. Because I keep hearing this when I talk to a lot of you, when I when I talk to people that I be around, that profess to be saved, that profess to know who God is, profess to living the life to who say that they have faith in God and who say that they trust Him. But I'm a firm believer and I and I and I have to go without a doubt, I have to go according to the word of God that it's so easy for us to say things, but then for us to be saying what we are saying is it lining up with our actions. Are we saying one thing and doing another? That's where the the the conflict, and that's where the the contrariness comes in, and if we are saying something but doing or living a whole nother way, that's contradictory. And we don't need our mouth to be contradicting what our actions are doing. If we are saying and speaking according to the word of God, our actions should be in line with that as proof that we're not just talking, but we are living the word of God. This morning I want to talk again. Like I said, I spoke on this about two years ago, but I want to touch on it again because sometimes things have to be rehearsed in our spirit. In other words, we have to hear it again. Because maybe the first or second time we heard it, it didn't stick, or or we didn't get it, or the understanding wasn't there, so I don't mind going back and teaching or preaching things that I previously taught before. This morning, let's we I want to talk about this morning before the cock crows. That's from a very familiar passage of scripture. And and and and one reason why the cock crew crows, excuse me, is that the men of God that was following with Jesus denied him.

SPEAKER_00 2:59

Oh, they said things with their mouth, but their actions showed otherwise.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 3:09

Even though their mouth said that they wouldn't deny him, even though that their intentions was that they would never deny him, yet and still in their actions. And I'm coming away from uh, because it wasn't just Peter all undid it if you know your Bible, but I'm coming, I'm trying to bring it to you today where are we saying that we won't deny him, but our actions have our actions show to the world, show to the Lord that we are denying him. We say we trust him, but do it is that what I'm seeing in your actions? We say we love him, we say we have faith in him, but our actions, and I hope and I'm praying this morning that God will do something that will simulate the cock crowing in our lives. I want God every time we step out of what our words say and our actions show something else, I hope He let some in our spirit be the cock crowing in our ears to let us know that's not you done got off. You're offline somewhere. We need to hear this to jar us, to to shake us up and bring us back to the reality, the spiritual reality, if you would, that we just can't flip-flap with our mouth and our actions show otherwise. Because see, if I trust him, if I love him, my actions don't do that. See, our belief and our faith is we put into action what we believe. Hallelujah. If we believe God's word, our actions should reflect that we believe God's word. Not just because we have a vocabulary, not because we can say words and make sounds to put into other people's minds and to put it also in our own minds, a false sense of belief. Because I'm gonna tell you, I said it before, I'm gonna tell you again, just because you say something don't make it so. I am also a firm believer, and some of you will agree with me, that actions have always spoke louder than words. And we need to get a grip on ourselves and our lifestyles and our actions if we are living one way but talking another way. That's when I want the Lord to send something in our lives. Let the Holy Ghost make a sign in our spirit, like the cock crowing, when Jesus told his disciples that they would deny him. Because if you're doing something, if you're talking one way and then your actions showing another way, do we understand that that is a sign that we are denying him? Hallelujah. We are denying him. Because if you love me, Jesus said, see our actions don't line up with what we don't speak those things according to how we listen.

SPEAKER_00 6:31

Before the cock crows, how many times will you have denied him?

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 6:38

Hallelujah. Before the cock crows, how many times you just gonna be done saying it with your mouth, but your ass ain't gonna tell you, uh-uh, you you I hear what you said, but this ain't how you this ain't what you're doing. Before the cock crows, when we come to the reality and see ourselves according to the truth based on how we live.

SPEAKER_00 7:06

And we're gonna let the word tell us this morning. In the book of Mark, I want to read.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 7:15

And I got five pages, but don't look for me to get through all of them. Y'all know how I do. The Holy Ghost take over. I'm gonna get as much as I can. In the book of Mark, that 14th chapter. I'm gonna start at verse 26, Mark 14, 26. Jesus is gonna do the talking, but I want you all, and I'm myself, all of us to do the listening. And when they had sung a hymn, they gathered around singing, praising, having a nice time, but Jesus dropped the bomb on them. And when they had sung a hymn, they went out into the mount, hallelujah, of Olives. That was one of Jesus' main hanging out spots when he wanted to relax and unwind. He will go to the mouth of Olives, his hideaway, if you would. Verse 27. And Jesus said unto them, his twelve disciples, all ye shall be offended because of me this night.

SPEAKER_00 8:20

Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. All of you.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 8:30

See, because when we get offended in Jesus, we just we just about to deny him. If you done got to the verge, almost getting offended because you living whole and sane, you on the verge, almost about to deny him. And Jesus fucked this in his spirit of concerning all players. I know a lot of preachers preach when they preach, they just hear, they just point out what Peter did. The Bible gonna tell you all of them. And I bring it home, I say, Lord, is all of us about to be offended in you? Will that be a time where all of us, even today, be offended by you when it comes to living a holy lifestyle? Just because I say, I say I'm uncomfortable, I get uncomfortable because I want to do this. But then I think about them saved and I get offended because if I was saved, I'd be free to do this. Some people take salvation and being saved as something that's confining them from being free to do what they want to do. But I'm here to tell you, Jesus never meant for us to do what we want to do, he meant for us to do his will and his will alone. And we should never be offended when we are called to obey him. Hallelujah. When we're called to acknowledge him, when we let others know I can't do what everybody else does. I can't live the way other people live. Because if I let myself veer back to what I once was and the things I used to do, I'm on the verge of denying him. And like Peter and all the rest of them, when I confess, Lord, that I'm saved, and I confess you're my Lord and Savior, also what I was saying in that that I will never deny you, that I'm gonna stay saved till I see your face. That's what I said. But the see, the cares of this life and the cares of this world, time done went by now, and I done got a little lax and I done got a little lazy with my salvation. I now kind of feel like sometimes it ought to be all right for me to do what I want to do sometime. But I'm here to tell you, doing what we want to do will cause us to deny him, and we're gonna hear some cop crowing. The rooster gon' crow, letting you know you out of order, you out of the will of God. The Holy Ghost come to let us know. He'll tell something in our spirit, you out of the will of God. That's not in line with the word. Don't you hear the cop crowing? You almost about to deny your Lord and your Savior. And I'm gonna tell y'all today, the Bible teaches, I'm gonna get, I hope I get to this scripture. Well, Jesus said, if you deny me, whoo! Hallelujah. Hallelujah.

SPEAKER_00 11:37

Hallelujah, hallelujah. Hallelujah.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 11:44

Jesus is gonna tell us in his word this morning, if you deny me, you're gonna read, he's gonna say, I'm gonna deny you too, but you can't just stop right there. Listen to that what he said after that. He said, I'm gonna deny you, but I'm gonna deny you before my father, which is in heaven. Oh, Lord, have mercy. Have mercy.

SPEAKER_00 12:03

Have mercy. Because you done denied me. You heard the rooster crook.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 12:13

Other words, the whole the Holy Ghost set off an alarm in your spirit. That ain't right. You weren't supposed to do that. You playing on the edge. So Jesus sometimes has to sting us with some very raw truth. We just got to singing songs in heaven, church. Testimony service. Sitting up here in the nice recreational area at the Mount of Ottomans, then he's gonna just drop a bomb on us and say, all of you gonna be offended of me this night. Wait a minute, Jesus. Well, we just had we were having a good time. We was enjoying the songs of Zion. And you're gonna tell us all of us gonna be offended of you this night? That's what he said, and that's what he meant. All ye shall be offended because of me this night. And he let them know that was written, for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered. See, the devil, let me tell y'all something about the devil. He is trying his best, and some of us so slow, spiritually slow, I don't mean to harm y'all. But some of us are spiritually so slow, and I say it because sometimes we're not even aware of what the devil is doing. I mean, in our own individual lives, not looking at nobody else's life. Some of us are not even aware of what the devil is doing because he's so subtle, we're not even aware of what he's trying to do to us in our own life. We some of us don't notice how much he done pulled us away from the Lord already. Some of us are not aware of how he has already caused several distractions in our lives already. Some of us are not even, it's gonna happen so smoothly, he's so smooth and he's so sort of, some of us don't realize just how much we have not spent time in relationship and fellowship with the Lord just on this week, just this week. We done been, it's gonna happen so, so we didn't realize ain't read the Bible, ain't prayed, ain't talked to him, ain't meditated. And here's the sad part about it: for some of us, it don't even bother us. It don't even prick your spirit, it don't even make you feel uncomfortable that you have not spent time with the Lord on just this week. And some of us are so bold now, and because we feel so comfortable in our comfort zone of doing us and doing what we want to do, we're not even uncomfortable when we know we have heard the cock crow. No, we heard the rooster crow, and it still yet didn't make us uncomfortable. Because we have gotten to a place where we are right, and we'll spit out those cliches. The Lord know my heart, the Lord understands, the Lord know I'm trying. The Lord know I ain't what I ought to be, but I ain't what I used to be. We throw out those cliches, and none of that God will accept as an excuse for why you denied my son. Hallelujah. I keep telling y'all. I pray when the Lord give me this message about the wrath of God. And we need to know about that because one of the main reasons why the wrath of God is coming up on the face of the earth in the last days when Jesus gets back here and the and coming with the wrath of God. The main reason, the number one reason on the list, is because the world has not accepted my son. Because the world has denied my only begotten son. That was causing the wrath of God. And some of us are playing tidally wings with with denying him, not realizing what you're playing, really playing with, is the wrath of God coming up on your life. And we should not want that because who can stand? Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah.

SPEAKER_00 16:52

Who can stand against the wrath of God?

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 16:59

But all of you gonna be offended in because of me, because I'm in your life, all of y'all gonna be offended because of me. You know how these days you ain't gonna be offended because something you did. You ain't gonna be offended because of you. Because we bold. Either they accept me or they don't. I don't care if nobody don't like me. But no, he said you're gonna be offended because of me. Because I'm in your life. And you got to a point now, you don't need everybody knowing that you saved, you don't need everybody knowing you're holy, you don't need everybody knowing you're going to church. That's my business, that's my private business. I don't need everybody knowing that. And the reason why you don't want people to know because you don't want people to know Jesus. Why? Oh, what has caused us to get to a point where we don't want people to know that Jesus is in our lives? He said, Oh, look, because of me, you're gonna be offended this night. This night, not next night, not tomorrow night, but this night. For you go to bed before this day in, you're gonna sit up and let yourself be offended because of me. Because of me, the one who has blessed you with blessings that you will never number. The one who's about to die on the cross for you and shed blood for you. You're gonna be you're gonna be offended because of me, the one who bridged the gap back between you and my father. You're gonna be offended because of me? The one who has loved you, hallelujah, with an unconditional love, the one who brought you out of trouble when you was in trouble, the one who paid your bills and protected you, put a roof over your head, looked after your children when you weren't able to look after them. You're gonna be offended because of me, the one who has been with you when you was in the line then, when you was in the fiery furnace, when you had trouble on every side, you're gonna be offended because of me this night.

SPEAKER_00 19:21

Hallelujah.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 19:24

And I'm telling you this because I'm Jesus and I already know. I'm telling you what I already know. So you can jump up like Peter all you want to and say, No, I die first. Oh, that's fine. But I'm telling you what's gonna happen.

SPEAKER_00 19:37

I done told you what's gonna happen. But after that, I am risen. Verse 28. I will go before you into Gather Lee.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 19:51

But Peter said of him, although all the rest of them, he's throwing off on the mother limb, although all shall be offended, yet well, I'm not. I ain't gonna, I ain't gonna, I'm not gonna be offended in you, geez. I love you. Yeah, that's your that's your mouth, Peter. That's not in your heart, that's in your mouth. I know that's what you think you're gonna do, but I I just told you. And if you should have been telling me what I just told you gonna do, don't be calling me no lie, Peter. I just told you what you're gonna do. What you need to do, and like we need to be doing, if we find ourselves at a point where we're about to deny him, instead of playing it off and ignoring it and acting like it ain't happening, we need to hallelujah, hallelujah. We need to seek the Lord like that disciple that that laid up against his breath. We told him, what are y'all finna betray me? He laid his head on Jesus and Lord, is it I? You better ask the Lord, Lord, is it I? Am I about to be the one to be offended in you? Am I about to be the one that's gonna deny you? Lord, am I the one who's gonna hear the I'm gonna am I allowed to be the next one to hear the cockroat?

SPEAKER_00 21:15

And Jesus said unto him, hallelujah, hallelujah.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 21:21

Verily I say unto thee, that this day, even in this night, before the cock crow twice, before the for the for the cock can get two crows out, then shall ye deny me thrice. Other words, Peter, before this rooster get two crows out, his mouth, you gonna be done outnumbered him and denied me three times to his tooth.

SPEAKER_00 21:59

Three times.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 22:04

And that was too hard for Peter to accept. Since you want to be the bold one and step up and act like you ain't gonna do what these others are gonna do because you think you were super saved and super saved, you ain't got the Holy Ghost yet, Peter. Because it has not been given yet. You can't say what you're not finna do.

SPEAKER_00 22:21

I'm telling you what you're finna do.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 22:29

And he spake, even though Jesus told he was telling him the truth, Peter got more vehemently. He got real and anxious. And no, no, no, no, I ain't finna do it. I ain't gonna I can't do it. He said this, and he's this Peter, but he spake the more vehemently. If I should die, I die for I deny you. That sounds like some of us, I die for I ain't finna deny the Lord. Lord done done too too much for me. He done he done brought me from the money long way. If I should die with thee, I would not deny thee in any way, anyway. Ain't no kind of way I'm gonna deny you in no area of my life. I ain't gonna do it. I ain't finna be, I ain't finna deny you, I ain't gonna deny you in my words, I ain't gonna deny you in my actions, I ain't gonna deny you when I'm around people I don't know, I ain't gonna deny you when I'm rise, people I do know, I ain't gonna deny you in church, I ain't gonna deny you from out of church, I'm not gonna do it in any wise, Jesus. Okay, Peter, all right. Now he didn't let you know all of them said the same thing. The Bible said, likewise, also said they all, all of them said they wouldn't deny it. So you're gonna leave Pete alone. He just had the big mouth, but all of them said it within themselves. All twelve. I said, oh, wait a minute now. What would happen today if all of us who say we saved today were saying the same thing with our mouth, but in our hearts we have already denied you. Likewise, likewise, in the same proportion, likewise, also said they all, they all 12, all of them said it, that they wouldn't deny Jesus. And don't get me wrong, I know I really believe in their minds they really thought they would, but see, like so many of us, let me let me bring it on home. Let me just let me just cut and just cut it up real wrong.

SPEAKER_00 24:36

So many things we say with our mouth and proclaim with our lips.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 24:46

We do good at proclaiming things with our mouth and our lips before trouble comes. Hear me, hear me. I'm talking somebody's moment. Before we go through an affliction, before we go through a sickness, before we go through trial and tribulation, there's a whole lot our mouth will say, till we get in trouble, till we are about to be tested. I'm gonna tell you something. I hope I get in scripture. Jesus is gonna say, when afflictions come, because we were not rooted and grounded in him, as soon as afflictions come, we are quickly, the Bible no, the Bible says immediately, immediately we are offended. I'll get to that scripture in a minute. I'm gonna tell it to you. I'm gonna back everything up with the book. Whole lot of stuff we say and speak real well, speak in our most proper tongue, before Trump, before we get four problems go to piling up on us. See, some of us don't know yet what it means or what it feels like to have five and six things attacking you at one time. And for some of us who are not rooted and grounded in the Lord as we ought to be, there are gonna be those times will prove to us, well, I ought to just stop living for the Lord. He don't let all this happen to me. I might as well go and do what I'm gonna do. But see, we ain't rooted and grounded, Lord, see, a person that's rooted and grounded in the Lord by faith, they ain't gonna let their minds and their hearts think like that. They're gonna keep trust, hallelujah. They're gonna keep trusting, they're gonna keep depending on it. But see, the twelve disciples, they were not at this point in their life, at this point of this text, particular text, they were not yet filled with the Holy Ghost, which means their heart was not yet truly rooted and grounded in the Lord as yet. Which is why Jesus was able to tell them, because of me, this night, all of y'all are gonna be offended. Because they weren't, see, trouble hadn't come yet. See, they was having a good time singing and having a good time, having a nice little get together in the Mount of Ireland. No trouble here. We sang it and even having a good time. But before the night's over, if you keep reading about the story, when the guards and the Sanhedrin court send guards to pick up Jesus, and they come with their swords and they come with their torches. And the disciples just can't see now, see, their trouble is not, and when trouble comes, fear comes. If you ain't rooted and grounded in Jesus. And as soon as they was the situation done flipped on them from a peaceful, good time situation to a trouble situation, they hear and their minds changed. Just as Jesus told them it was.

SPEAKER_00 29:22

When we should never let anything move us from our love and our faith in God.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 29:35

See, when we just when trouble comes from a lot of us, we even fail to hear the cock crowing. Because fear done took over trouble. See, some of us get so consumed with our bills, some of us get so consumed with who how I'm gonna get these cheering this and how I'm gonna get these cheering that. Some of us get so consumed, who the food got so low in the refrigerator, the cabinets almost got but a couple of cans or something. We get so consumed in our cares of the world, and soon forget that the book says the Lord carries for us. And we lose, we move our faith, which should stay on Jesus, and we put our faith in our own abilities. And anytime you put your faith in your own abilities, you are setting yourself up for failure. Because we fail every time, because we are not equipped with the power to sustain our own life, to provide for our own selves. We must be dependent on him who is greater than we are, on him who is higher than we are, on him whose resources are inexhaustible. Our job, Jesus never, the Lord never tells us to provide for ourselves. Our job is to put our faith, like Jesus said, have faith in God. Hallelujah.

SPEAKER_00 31:14

Have faith in God. God will do the rest.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 31:20

Your faith in God, rooted and grounded in it, will cause you not to deny your Lord and Savior. Even in times of trouble, even when things seem to be overwhelming you. And I pray, I'm praying this, that God will take us through more things that will test our faith. Yeah, I said I said that. Because the only way our faith is gonna be increased. Some of us are gonna have to learn how to go through some things and let patience have her perfect work in your life. The only way you can go higher in a lot of areas of your lives, y'all, is you're gonna have to suffer. My Bible always tells me this. It's still in there, if you read it in yours. Before we can even think to reign with him, before we reign with him, we must suffer with him. Moses learned this. He said, I refuse, he refused any longer to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter. But this is the point that gets me. The Bible said he chose to suffer with the people of God. Because he wanted to learn something. He wanted his faith to grow. He wanted his faith to develop. He wanted to get to a place in his life where he will never deny the Lord. And you and I should want to get to a place in the Lord that we never deny him. You let that chicken crawl all he wants to, you ain't gonna deny it. Trouble can come all around you, and you'll never deny it. Because you have yielded yourself to total, to the total, not son, but total will of the father. But he told them, all of them, black wise said they owe.

SPEAKER_00 33:26

All of them said. Now Peter sat without in the palace.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 33:37

That word without that means he sat outside. He was outside the palace. I don't skip, I'm sorry, I don't skip to I'm in Matthew, but I'll skip to that 26th chapter. Matthew 26 and 69. I'm I'm starting that. Now Peter sat without in the palace, and a damsel, look, girl, come up and see you seen Peter before you, because they'll been they'll been here all day. Jesus traveled through this area all the time, and if they see Jesus, listen, if the people see Jesus, they saw them that follow Jesus. And if the people see Jesus, they supposed to see us who living for Jesus. So what Peter fell down to say was many times when Jesus come to him, we done seen all 12 of y'all walking with him. We remember you, Jesus. Uh Peter, we know you. You've been going to the church all your life. We know you go to church, we know you. And a damsel came unto him, saying, Thou also was with Jesus of Galilee. You with you with Jesus. I remember you. But he denied before them all, saying, This is what he said, I know not what thou say. I don't bit more know what you're talking about, girl. But I was saying you was with that Jesus from the Galilee. I don't know what you're talking about. Then you just done denied him already. But you already got one in, Peter. How many we done got in? How many times we done denied the Lord just this this week and our ways? No, you ain't been acting like Jesus. No, you ain't been thinking like Jesus. I know not what thou said. I don't even know what you're talking about. You know, we said that a minute. I don't know what you're talking about. And when he was gone out into the porch, he left God around there because it's too hot right there. Too many people know me. So he went. And when he was gone out into the porch, another man, another woman son, and said unto them that were there, this fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth. I know he never come to him all the time. That's that's him.

SPEAKER_00 36:19

And again, it's Peter.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 36:22

He denied with an oath. I done told you, I swear. I don't know him. I do not know the man. I don't know no Jesus. Come on now. Did y'all see what this book says? Anytime we set our actions up to deny Jesus, what you're really saying is, I don't even know Jesus. Oh Lord, Jesus. Help us, Lord. Help us, Lord. Help us. How many times our actions have shown to other people that we don't even know Jesus? And we acted in such a way to let the people show the people that we don't know him. Remember, I told y'all, actually speak loud words. When we act in a certain way to the world, we're telling them that we don't even know Jesus. Fussing all the time. Angry all the time. Being messy all the time. All that's gonna do is tell the world that you don't even know Jesus. And with you being in your denial state, that's what you want people to know. Because that's what Peter wanted to know. He didn't want them to know that he knows Jesus. So he thought by denying and saying he don't know him, that that would convince the people. But that wasn't enough to convince the people because they'd have seen you come to him back and forth all the time, Peter. You weren't shining dead. You were glad to be proud, strutting like a peacock, walking with Jesus, the Son of God, the Holy One. Before trouble came, you were glad to be seen with him. You were glad for people to associate you with him. But see, now trouble done come. And they're gonna come at you with the knives and some swords, now some fire, and trying to trouble them came. Now you don't want to have no part with him because you're scared and you have become fearful. Because now things, the tide has turned. Anybody who can proclaim to know Jesus is gonna get in trouble. And some of us don't want to get in trouble because we know Jesus.

SPEAKER_00 38:42

So what? When you love us, let trouble come. I'm not gonna deny it.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 38:50

And again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man. And after a while came unto him they that stood by and said to Peter, Come on now, surely thou art all, thou also art one of them. You got to be one of them, Peter. You one of them saved folks. You one of them holy rollers. We have seen you too many times. Just because Jesus was speaking to the crowd, we also was watching them that came with him. We when we saw him, we saw y'all. Surely thou art also, uh also art one of them. For thou speech bewareth thee. Come on, I think we know it's you. We can tell by your accent. You from Galilee, you got that Galilean accent. Where you talk, we can tell you where you're from. We can tell you, say, because the way you used to talk the word to us. Do y'all hear something else? See, you got so used to us talking about the Lord. Now when trouble comes, you ain't talk like the Lord no more. You don't talk like the word no more. People used to know you because you always had something good to say about the word, about the Lord. About what good service y'all was in. And your talk gave you away, letting the world know that you belong to the Lord. See, now you want to go to cussing, Peter. Let me get to that part. You don't talk church no more, you talk cussing. Then began he to curse and swear. Since you think I used to talk good talk about church, now take this and talk. See if you think I'm one of them now when I go to cussing at you. And some of us might not cuss, but when trouble comes, we go to talking in a more ungodly like manner. Let me say it like this.

SPEAKER_00 41:11

You can hear the frustration in our tones. You can hear the burden in our spirits. I'm just so tired of this. I'm just tired. Well, straighten up.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 41:31

So the Lord saying, I'm a very present help in the time of trouble. Keep talking good about the Lord, keep talking good about life. When we go to talking, talk that's opposite from the word. That's what I wish the Lord would let us that talk crow and keep crowing. Until we shut up our mouth. Because by our words we're gonna be condemned. When we used to let our words justify us, because we talk the goodness of the Lord. But now the words you speak will condemn you because they are contrary and contradictory to what the book said. That's how you used to talk, Peter. Now you didn't, now Peter, why you didn't, if you why you didn't cuss around Jesus? You cussing now? Why you didn't cuss around Jesus?

SPEAKER_00 42:24

Why you didn't swear around Jesus? What has caused us to change?

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 42:36

Not only our tone, but what has caused us to change in how we live for? We used to be happy living for the Lord. We used to be on fire living for the Lord. But the cares of this world and the cares of this life, the distractions of hard times, the distractions of going through times, because our focus was taken off of Jesus. Hallelujah. And we placed our focus on our situation. It pulled us away from the talk we used to talk, it pulled us away from the lifestyle that we were living. And it brought us to a place of denial. And it brought us to a place of being offended because of Jesus. Then began he to curse and swear, saying, I know not the man.

SPEAKER_00 43:48

Here it is. And immediately the cock crew. And Peter remembered his father.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 44:00

That it takes some drastic things happening in our lives to bring us back to a reality of seeing ourselves. If some things will happen in your life, it'll bring you full circle back to yourself. Instead of what you're so used to doing and looking at other people's lives, there are things that will happen will bring you back to seeing yourself. And Peter remembered. Just a few hours ago, Jesus had just told him, just a few hours ago. And he remembered the word of Jesus.

SPEAKER_00 44:44

Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Holy Ghost talking. Holy Ghost talking. And that's what it's gonna take. The Holy Ghost talking. For some of us to remember, hallelujah. The words of Jesus.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 45:04

For some of us to remember what thus says the Lord. For some of us to remember what the word of God has said and what we have read. Some of us gonna have to come back, have to gonna something drastic gonna have to bring us back to ourselves for us to remember the life that we should be living.

SPEAKER_00 45:35

And Peter remembered the word of Jesus.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 45:44

And when it comes down to it, y'all, that is the only word we should remember. What did Jesus tell us in our spirit when we got saved? When we accepted him as our Lord and Savior.

SPEAKER_00 46:01

When we countless times we have heard his truth being taught and preached to us.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 46:14

Not remembering the words of that gossiping section you had with your friends, not remembering the foolishness that you listened to on TV, but remember the word of Jesus.

SPEAKER_00 46:28

Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 46:32

Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said of him before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out when he when that reality dropped on him like a ton of bricks. That reality was heavy because it was the word of it was Jesus who had just told me this. And in his face, I told him I wouldn't. I lied to his face and didn't realize it. He just told me this. And like a ton of bricks, when it hit Peter, the reality of the truth that was spoken to him before it even happened. Two hours ago, Jesus spoke the future and told him what was gonna happen in the future. That you was gonna deny me. When he realized, when the ton of bricks of this reality fell on his consciousness, he went out, the Bible said, and wept bitterly. Because when the truth hits you at your core, something will break in you that needs to be broken up in you. Peter needed this to happen in order for him to get himself together. And you and I need this kind of stuff to happen for us to get ourselves together. Some of us are gonna have to have some bitterly weeping moments spiritually in order for us to get it. The reality is to live for God, to live for Jesus no matter what come or go. Because I can't afford, if I have denied him, I cannot afford to deny him ever again. And you didn't have that trouble out of people that Peter deny him ever again. But this had to happen because, like Peter, so many of us got to see ourselves in order for us to get ourselves together, in order for us to step out of that place of self-righteousness, in order for us to step out of that place of being high-minded, in order for us to get ourselves together and to shut that rooster up for good, some of us are gonna have to be hit with the remembrance of the words that Jesus said to us. And when it hits you, something of yourself is gonna be broken, and something of yourself is gonna have to die and be destroyed so that it will never come back to life ever again, that you will never even come close to ever again denying your Lord and Savior. So go off and weak, go off and be broken, but come back ready to live the life as you ought to live it.

SPEAKER_00 50:19

Isaiah, our brother Isaiah spoke in Isaiah twenty-nine. I just want to read this right quick.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 50:31

Wherefore the Lord said, He who speaks, the Lord was speaking through Isaiah. He said, Wherefore the Lord said, For as much as this people draw near me with their mouth and with their lips do honor me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear towards me is taught by the precept of men. See, the precept of men said you ain't gotta be scared of God, you ain't gotta fear God, you ain't gotta reverence him. You better believe what that book says, not what men say, because if you love him, you're gonna reverence him, you're gonna have a certain fear of God, and we need that because it keeps us with the frame of mind to honor God as he ought to be honored, to worship God as he ought to be worshiped, and to highly exalt him as he ought to be highly exalted. Titus once said this if you ever read the book of Titus. He said they profess that they know God. They go around telling everybody they know him. They profess that they know God, but in works they deny him. That works mean in how they live, how we live. Oh we're good at professing with our mouth that we know him. I just told y'all, but our actions or our works show the world that we deny him. Jesus said back in Matthew the tenth chapter, whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my father, which is in heaven. Oh, thank you, Lord. That's good. All right, but flip it over, Jesus. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my father, which is in heaven. Well, Jesus, and you deny me all you want to. I ain't gonna stop you from denying me if you have what you want to do. But know this, I'm gonna deny you. And if I don't know you, my father ain't gonna know you. Because I'm gonna tell him who I deny. And who I tell him I deny, he's gonna deny. Yeah, but Pastor Disson, I ain't never told nobody I deny the Lord. You ain't got to. You can just be showing that you deny him in your action, and how you live, and how you carry yourself.

SPEAKER_00 53:47

You ain't got to serve with your mouth, your actions speak. Let me give you this last passage.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 54:00

Because I ain't gonna never get through all these five pages, y'all know that. But I think I done dropped enough on you for you to be. I won't, I hope I done shook somebody up. Jesus also said in the book of Mark, that fourth chapter. And these are they, now if you fall in this category, just say, Lord help me. Lord help me. But these are they, I'm gonna tell you who the day is. These are they likewise which are sown on stony ground. Who when they have heard, what they're hearing, have heard the word, immediately received it with gladness. Oh, didn't the pastor preached today? Oh, we had checks. Receive it with gladness, had a good time, a mighty, mighty good time. That's what you say back in the day, old things you say that. They received with gladness. Oh, we done heard the book today. I done heard the word. Okay, but here comes verse 17. But see, you ain't got no root in. See, the word of God has to, see, the word of God when it's spoken and heard, it has to have a place where it can take root at. And that's your way your heart should be. Whenever you hear the truth, whenever you hear the word, whenever the Holy Ghost talking to you, whenever Jesus talking to you, whenever the law reveals something to your spirit, it got to have somewhere to take root. Or else, all that gladness and all that shadow, as soon as you get in your car, put out the park, like go home, it's gone. Because you ain't got no root in you. And have no root in themselves. Here it is. And so endure but for a look like they're doing good, look like you're doing good. But the book said you just gonna endure for a time. Because see, trouble ain't came yet. Afflictions ain't got him yet. You do good to the end. Oh, I got I had all the money to pay my bill. Ooh, we plenty of food in the house, gas in the car. I was there and just had last to go out and buy me an outfit. Things is good. Oh, but the travel ain't got him yet. What's gonna happen next month when you run the little shop? What's gonna happen next month when you must not be able to do never eat service service? What's gonna happen then when you can't keep living like you wanna live and be comfortable like you wanna be comfortable? Oh, because you ain't got no root. You just endure for a time. So endure but for a time. Afterwards, here's what here's gonna happen afterwards. When afflictions or persecution arises for the word's sake. Oh, when we gonna learn that when the devil trying to send that persecution of affliction, what he's really trying to get us to do, y'all, is deny what the word done says. Because see, he'll put in your mind when you're going through and your needs ain't being met. See what I told you? You sit up there reading something about the Lord says apply all your needs, the carnage, riches, and glory, and you ain't got no loaf of light bread in the house. He put all that in your mind. Tell the devil he's a lie. You don't go by what it looks like. You don't go by what it feels like. You go by your faith in God. And your faith becomes your evidence. Your faith becomes the something. Because even when the blood gets down to the tattooed back part of the loaf of white bread, you just automatically ought to know that he gave me that loaf, he's gonna provide another loaf. I'm just gonna sit here and wait on the Lord. He might provide. Don't let the devil put that stuff in your mind because of the word saying, you know, the words say the Lord supposed to provide. He'll provide, he always provides. But because you ain't got no roots in yourself, you let yourself listen to that godly goop the devil put in your ears about the Lord and about the word. And you ought to be rebuking him, and have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time. Afterwards, when afflictions or persecution arises for the word's sake, immediately they are offended. And when you get offended, you set yourself up to hit a cock crow. But when you get some of us get offended, we act accordingly because we ain't got no root in ourselves. Some of us can't handle pressure, some of us can't handle problems. Some of us don't know where to seek the answer, and we panic. We spiritually panic when affliction comes and a persecution. I don't know what to do. Sit down somewhere, wait on the Lord, trust in him. That's when we should trust the Lord the greatest. Not when times are good, not when everything is going well, but if you can trust the Lord in the midst of the persecution, in the midst of the affliction, I'm not trusting.

SPEAKER_00 59:56

Though he slay me, yet will I serve.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 1:00:04

If I never get what I want, I'm gonna trust him, because he has done enough already in my life for me to know that he is God, and I want to get to that place in my life where I never deny him ever again, that I never be offended at him again, that I never hear that rooster crow no more. Telling me in my spirit that I done stepped out of the will of God, that I've stepped out of faith in him. I don't want to hear that rooster crow like that no more. Because that's gonna be a sign that I done turned against my Lord, and I'm not finna turn against him no more. All that he done done for me, I'm not finna turn against him no more. Yeah, well, you got that one time, and I ran off and wept barely like Peter D.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:06

But when I got myself together, the love, hallelujah, hallelujah, the love of my Savior.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 1:01:16

He sent a message by one of my brother disciples. He said, Go, he said, go and tell my disciples and Peter. When he sent for him after he rose from the dead. Go tell my disciples and Peter. I know Peter died, but I'm I still love him. He's all right now. He ain't gonna do it no more. And to make a long story short, I don't have time to go to after Jesus rose from the dead. When you remember when he talked to Peter, three times he asked Peter, Peter, do you love me? Jesus already knows now. Just like he knew Peter was gonna deny him, he also knew that once Peter had experienced what he had to experience, the brokenness, he knew now that Peter truly loved him. That's why he was able to ask Peter three times, Peter, do you love me? Wait a second, Peter. Yeah, Lord, I love you. He said, Okay, then we'll feed my sheep then. Teach them what I taught you. Teach them how to not to deny me. Like I had to teach you how not to deny me again. Peter, do you love me? Yeah, Lord, I learned. Well, feed my sheep then. Tell others that affliction's gonna come, that persecution's gonna come, but they can stay rooted and grounded in me that they can make it. Feel you love it, yeah. You know I love well, feed my lamb. Feed the little ones that's gonna be babies in the Lord, that's gonna be babies in Christ. Teach them that they can live a life where they never will hear the cock crow. Because somebody somewhere in the world was denying me. How many times is the cock gonna crow today in this generation among God's people?

SPEAKER_00 1:03:23

Brothers and sisters, don't deny it. Come away from that, walking too close with the rooster before you deny him before the reality reveals to you that you are about to be offended in him. Trust him.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 1:03:53

I say trust and never let the enemy bring you to a place to deny your Lord and your Savior. Because we're not in a time now where the cop needs to be crowing. We're in a time now where we should be claiming who he is from the mountaintops and letting the world know and letting the world see that we belong to him.