WEBVTT 00:00:00.800 --> 00:00:03.359 Welcome to another edition of the road. 00:00:03.439 --> 00:00:10.480 It's our vision to make all-hearted disciples of Jesus Christ and to see you grow with the grace and knowledge of his love. 00:00:10.880 --> 00:00:17.120 If you're in the area, we welcome you to come out and join us for our Saturday night service beginning at 6 p.m. 00:00:17.440 --> 00:00:26.000 We meet at Chapel Hills Church, located at 2025 Parliament Drive, Colorado Springs, Colorado, 80920. 00:00:28.800 --> 00:00:33.119 I want to speak to you tonight about the mighty hand of God. 00:00:34.079 --> 00:00:39.359 I want to tell you about the difference between the story of Exodus. 00:00:39.520 --> 00:00:45.759 Those of you that are doing PBJ were right in the book of Exodus, about chapter 20, if you're on target. 00:00:46.000 --> 00:00:47.840 It's been an interesting journey. 00:00:47.920 --> 00:00:59.679 And so we see this the Hebrew people, but I want to compare the Hebrew people of the Old Testament to those of us that are here in this room in the year 2015. 00:00:59.840 --> 00:01:04.480 And I propose to show you that there's not a whole lot of difference. 00:01:05.280 --> 00:01:10.319 The similarities are incredibly striking and incredibly powerful. 00:01:10.560 --> 00:01:24.000 Today we have people in our churches, in our church globally, that are very religious, but they've never experienced a born-again experience. 00:01:24.400 --> 00:01:36.079 Our churches are filled with people that go to church, pay their tithes, some of them teach Sunday school class, some of them pastor those churches. 00:01:36.480 --> 00:01:41.359 I remember years ago meeting a pastor. 00:01:41.760 --> 00:01:48.159 I was planting our first church up in Wyoming and was determined to meet the other pastors in the area. 00:01:48.239 --> 00:01:51.760 And I met this one particular pastor, I won't share the denomination. 00:01:52.000 --> 00:01:55.359 He had been the longest standing pastor in this community. 00:01:55.599 --> 00:02:00.959 And we just got to talking, and I was, I was a young Christian. 00:02:01.200 --> 00:02:03.359 I'd never been a part of a church plan. 00:02:03.439 --> 00:02:08.960 I'd never done anything this radical in my life, and I'm just excited to be a Christian. 00:02:09.039 --> 00:02:13.039 And I'm thinking everybody in ministry is excited to be a Christian. 00:02:13.280 --> 00:02:19.599 And so he and I are talking, and he begins to tell me how that he doesn't believe in the virgin birth. 00:02:19.840 --> 00:02:22.479 He doesn't believe in the authority of Scripture. 00:02:22.639 --> 00:02:32.319 He doesn't believe that Jesus Christ physically, bodily, rose from the dead, and I am sitting in his presence in absolute dismay. 00:02:33.120 --> 00:02:43.840 How can you not believe the foundational things of Christianity, the things upon which we base our faith and be in the ministry? 00:02:44.080 --> 00:02:49.840 Well, he had a really nice house, drove a really nice car, had a much better suit than I had. 00:02:50.240 --> 00:02:51.680 It was a vocation. 00:02:51.919 --> 00:02:56.800 He could just have easily been a mailman, a police officer, a fireman. 00:02:57.039 --> 00:02:59.520 I mean, for him it was a vocation. 00:03:00.000 --> 00:03:05.680 And it shocked me because I had never met someone in ministry like that in my life. 00:03:06.000 --> 00:03:09.759 And then we have people in our churches that are genuinely saved. 00:03:09.919 --> 00:03:11.599 They do love the Lord. 00:03:11.919 --> 00:03:20.719 They do love the Lord, but they still struggle with unresolved offenses, deep wounds, and emotional pain. 00:03:21.360 --> 00:03:40.400 The Apostle Paul in Ephesians 6, verse 12, said, We are not fighting against flesh and blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of an unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in heavenly places. 00:03:40.879 --> 00:03:52.240 Whether you're saved or whether you are unsaved, we are all dealing, all living in a spiritually bankrupt and broken society. 00:03:53.120 --> 00:04:01.280 We are all dealing with demonic forces that are very, very real, that are determined to keep us bound. 00:04:02.719 --> 00:04:06.800 Just like the children of Israel in the book of Exodus. 00:04:07.520 --> 00:04:09.599 There were people there. 00:04:10.560 --> 00:04:18.720 They were all known as the people of God, but there were those that were followers of Yahweh, and there were those that were just born into a heritage. 00:04:19.279 --> 00:04:25.920 And all of them were under severe bondage, all of them struggling, all of them calling out for help. 00:04:26.079 --> 00:04:29.199 And you know our churches are filled with those people today. 00:04:29.920 --> 00:04:36.240 So I want to show you that, again, the parallels between the people of Egypt and the people today. 00:04:36.480 --> 00:04:39.920 First of all, the Jewish people were in bondage to Pharaoh. 00:04:40.480 --> 00:04:41.360 That's a no-brainer. 00:04:41.519 --> 00:04:42.800 You know that, I know that. 00:04:42.959 --> 00:04:43.920 They were in bondage. 00:04:44.000 --> 00:04:49.839 And it's an interesting thing because when they first went down to Egypt, they had incredible favor. 00:04:49.920 --> 00:05:01.199 They were in Egypt at the invitation of Pharaoh because of the testimony and the position of Joseph, who had been sovereignly raised up for a very specific purpose. 00:05:01.439 --> 00:05:05.439 But then that king, that pharaoh died, new Pharaoh came up. 00:05:05.600 --> 00:05:08.319 He did not know, did not care. 00:05:08.560 --> 00:05:09.519 They said, you know what? 00:05:09.600 --> 00:05:11.759 We've got a lot of people here that could do us good. 00:05:11.920 --> 00:05:13.360 Let's enslave them all. 00:05:13.600 --> 00:05:18.079 Have them build our temples, build our pyramids, make our lives easier. 00:05:18.720 --> 00:05:20.399 They were in bondage. 00:05:20.879 --> 00:05:23.439 People today are in bondage. 00:05:23.519 --> 00:05:24.959 They're slaves to sin. 00:05:25.199 --> 00:05:32.959 John 8, 34, Jesus answered them, Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. 00:05:33.439 --> 00:05:40.720 Now you're probably thinking, I could have gone to the new movie that just came out, Fantastic Four or whatever it is. 00:05:41.759 --> 00:05:47.519 And here I am, and this guy is telling me that if I practice sin, I'm a slave to sin. 00:05:48.800 --> 00:05:49.759 You are. 00:05:50.639 --> 00:05:52.959 If you practice sin, you are a slave. 00:05:53.040 --> 00:05:59.759 You are as much a slave as the children of Israel who were in bondage and were slaves then. 00:06:00.160 --> 00:06:01.920 Romans 6, 16. 00:06:02.560 --> 00:06:16.319 Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin which leads to death, or of obedience which leads to righteousness. 00:06:16.480 --> 00:06:21.439 In our congregation tonight, we have people that are slaves. 00:06:21.759 --> 00:06:24.639 Some of you are slaves unto righteousness. 00:06:25.199 --> 00:06:28.879 My dear brother is a slave to righteousness. 00:06:29.439 --> 00:06:31.680 I am a slave to righteousness. 00:06:32.000 --> 00:06:39.279 But I remember before I was a Christian the few times that I went to church, which were very few. 00:06:40.000 --> 00:06:45.680 One time in particular, Billy Graham, if my memory serves me correctly, it's been a long time ago. 00:06:45.759 --> 00:06:47.439 It was in the 60s somewhere. 00:06:47.680 --> 00:06:58.160 Billy Graham was holding one of those huge crusades in the Denver, what used to what is used to be Coors Field, the old arena there. 00:06:58.319 --> 00:07:00.560 I mean, there's thousands of people. 00:07:00.879 --> 00:07:04.160 And I was attending a little Nazarene church. 00:07:04.399 --> 00:07:07.439 I was about as saved as this pulpit. 00:07:08.319 --> 00:07:10.720 But I've always loved music, any kind of music. 00:07:10.879 --> 00:07:11.680 I like music. 00:07:11.839 --> 00:07:14.399 And back then I could actually carry a tune. 00:07:14.560 --> 00:07:23.519 And so our church, our little church choir, decided to be part of a huge citywide mass choir for the Billy Graham Crusade. 00:07:23.759 --> 00:07:25.439 I was in that choir. 00:07:26.879 --> 00:07:39.920 I am in this huge choir of hundreds, hundreds of Christians from just about every denomination across the state of Colorado, and I am an absolute reprobate. 00:07:40.079 --> 00:07:46.639 I'm abusing drugs, alcohol, and people, and those are just the good things that I was doing. 00:07:47.360 --> 00:07:56.399 And so he brings this message, which was incredibly simple, pierced my heart, and he gives the altar call. 00:07:56.560 --> 00:08:06.800 Hundreds of people from all the stands, they are coming down by the thousands, filling up that field, and I'm looking around, and no one is going down from the choir. 00:08:07.600 --> 00:08:09.759 And I wasn't going to be the first. 00:08:10.720 --> 00:08:16.959 The conviction of the Holy Spirit was so heavy on me, I knew that I was a slave to sin. 00:08:17.199 --> 00:08:27.279 I knew that God wanted to set me free, but because of my pride and what other people might think of me leaving the choir, we're supposed to be saved. 00:08:27.519 --> 00:08:30.800 We're singing praises to God. 00:08:32.080 --> 00:08:36.639 And I guarantee you, that is the day I will never forget that day. 00:08:36.960 --> 00:08:41.360 Because my life went from a gradual downward slide. 00:08:42.240 --> 00:08:45.679 Somebody cut the bottom out, and I started to fall like a rock. 00:08:46.320 --> 00:08:49.840 I denied God so terribly that day. 00:08:50.240 --> 00:08:54.879 And I paid a huge and terrible price for that for several years. 00:08:55.840 --> 00:09:03.919 I was in church, I was in the choir, and I did not know that the Lord Jesus Christ is my personal savior. 00:09:04.240 --> 00:09:06.480 I was a slave. 00:09:07.919 --> 00:09:16.080 Not only were they in bondage, but they had harsh taskmasters who exploited the people of Israel for their own desires. 00:09:16.320 --> 00:09:18.639 I mean, they weren't just slaves. 00:09:20.080 --> 00:09:21.200 They were harsh. 00:09:21.519 --> 00:09:27.679 Exodus 1, verse 11, therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them. 00:09:29.279 --> 00:09:32.320 To afflict them with heavy burdens. 00:09:33.120 --> 00:09:41.600 The word afflict means to put down, become low, to be depressed, to be downcast, to be afflicted, to stoop. 00:09:41.840 --> 00:09:44.240 As I read these words, think about your life. 00:09:44.399 --> 00:09:45.440 Think about your life. 00:09:45.759 --> 00:09:49.279 Do any of these words strike a chord in you? 00:09:49.919 --> 00:09:51.440 Are you afflicted? 00:09:51.840 --> 00:09:56.240 Do you feel put down, depressed or downcast? 00:09:56.639 --> 00:10:02.399 Heavy burden, hard labor, forced labor, compulsory service. 00:10:02.639 --> 00:10:06.000 Before I came to know the Lord, I was an addict. 00:10:06.559 --> 00:10:07.759 Compulsory. 00:10:08.240 --> 00:10:14.879 I didn't want to do the things that I did, but I did them anyway because I didn't know how not to do them. 00:10:15.039 --> 00:10:16.720 Does that make sense to you? 00:10:17.120 --> 00:10:18.720 It was compulsory. 00:10:19.360 --> 00:10:23.759 I was afflicted, like the children of Israel. 00:10:24.559 --> 00:10:30.240 A hard taskmaster, afflicting my life with a heavy burden. 00:10:30.559 --> 00:10:42.480 Today, Satan and his demons oppress and demoralize people by beating them down with lies, with deception, with compulsive behaviors. 00:10:43.200 --> 00:10:47.759 Do you know someone who always exaggerates the truth? 00:10:48.080 --> 00:10:54.000 You ask him a straightforward question, and the truth is this big, but their answer is this big. 00:10:54.240 --> 00:11:03.360 Someone who cheats on their taxes, someone who cheats on their wife, cheats on their husband, someone who is a dry alcoholic. 00:11:03.600 --> 00:11:05.840 Do you know what a dry alcoholic is? 00:11:06.080 --> 00:11:10.320 He's a person that can't put down the bottle, but he can function at a high level. 00:11:10.639 --> 00:11:11.759 Compulsory. 00:11:12.720 --> 00:11:13.600 Compulsory. 00:11:14.000 --> 00:11:16.480 Can't leave the pornography alone. 00:11:18.000 --> 00:11:29.200 We could name a thousand things, a thousand things of what it means to be oppressed and demoralized by demonic spirits. 00:11:29.840 --> 00:11:36.080 The Jewish people were subjected to cruel and harsh labor, making their lives bitter. 00:11:36.399 --> 00:11:38.720 Exodus 1, 13 through 14. 00:11:38.960 --> 00:11:47.279 So they ruthlessly made the people of Israel work as slaves and made their lives bitter with hard service. 00:11:47.519 --> 00:11:48.000 Bitter. 00:11:48.720 --> 00:11:53.679 If you've ever struggled with unforgiveness, you understand bitterness. 00:11:54.480 --> 00:11:56.000 You understand it. 00:11:56.559 --> 00:12:00.960 Sometimes I talk to people, I may have shared this story before. 00:12:01.039 --> 00:12:05.519 I was talking with a woman, and she was telling me about the death of her husband. 00:12:05.600 --> 00:12:16.159 They were out boating with the kids, and there was an accident, and she and the children watched her husband die, and they were just powerless to do anything. 00:12:16.399 --> 00:12:18.320 And I'm thinking, this is so terrible. 00:12:18.399 --> 00:12:23.440 I'm thinking this must have happened like last week, maybe yesterday. 00:12:23.759 --> 00:12:26.879 And I asked, I said, Well, how long ago did this happen? 00:12:27.200 --> 00:12:30.480 Fifteen years ago. 00:12:31.200 --> 00:12:37.279 They went to church together as a family, they served together in their local assembly. 00:12:37.600 --> 00:12:43.519 When her husband, when she watched her husband die, she walked out of her relationship with God. 00:12:44.320 --> 00:12:48.320 How could you allow something like this to happen to us? 00:12:49.200 --> 00:12:52.240 Unforgiveness settled into her heart. 00:12:53.039 --> 00:12:55.360 Bitterness gripped her soul. 00:12:55.679 --> 00:12:57.840 I have a vice in my garage. 00:12:58.320 --> 00:12:59.840 Big steel vice. 00:13:00.000 --> 00:13:09.120 And if I want to hold something, I put it in there and I crank that thing, and then I put a pipe on it and I push it one more time because I don't want that thing to get loose. 00:13:09.360 --> 00:13:18.559 There are people in churches that feel like they are in a vice, that they are gripped so tight that they can't let it go. 00:13:19.440 --> 00:13:21.039 They can't let it go. 00:13:21.600 --> 00:13:25.120 Maybe it happened last week, maybe it happened decades ago. 00:13:25.440 --> 00:13:34.080 But they are still subjected to cruel and harsh labor, their lives bitter. 00:13:34.879 --> 00:13:40.960 People today struggle with bitterness, anxiety, emotional torment, and depression. 00:13:41.200 --> 00:13:44.799 I talk with those people almost every day because of what I do. 00:13:45.039 --> 00:13:49.279 I talked with another woman, and I also talked to guys that have problems too. 00:13:49.519 --> 00:13:54.159 I mean, I know I'm just using female examples, but those are the ones that are coming to my mind. 00:13:54.399 --> 00:14:06.240 I talked to a lady last week who wanted to, wanted prayer because there was a witch that was cursing her, and she'd lost two jobs and had five accidents. 00:14:06.480 --> 00:14:12.960 The man she was engaged to dumped her, kicked her to the curb, and other people that she knew who went through hard times. 00:14:13.120 --> 00:14:17.440 It was all the result of this one person who was praying against them. 00:14:18.320 --> 00:14:24.480 There was nothing that I could say that would dissuade her that bad things happen to good people. 00:14:25.039 --> 00:14:27.039 Bad things happen to good people. 00:14:27.440 --> 00:14:32.960 Some of those bad things are the result of demonic activity and bondage. 00:14:33.279 --> 00:14:36.320 The Jewish people, they were powerless to free themselves. 00:14:36.399 --> 00:14:37.919 They couldn't free themselves. 00:14:38.159 --> 00:14:43.600 You know, it's an interesting thing because numerically they were huge. 00:14:44.000 --> 00:14:53.759 When you consider, when you read the story of Exodus and you see how many people were let out of Egypt, the count was on the men. 00:14:54.320 --> 00:15:00.480 The count was the men and said, and their wives and their children, about the size of Colorado Springs. 00:15:00.879 --> 00:15:06.639 Can you imagine the city of Colorado Springs getting up and walking out in one day? 00:15:18.080 --> 00:15:22.080 A Pharaoh that was determined to keep them as slaves. 00:15:22.240 --> 00:15:24.720 They couldn't free themselves, and you know what? 00:15:26.080 --> 00:15:27.440 We can't free ourselves. 00:15:27.519 --> 00:15:40.559 Now, let me say this because I believe in biblical counseling, and I am a huge fan of Celebrate Recovery, and there are other programs that are Christ-centered. 00:15:40.720 --> 00:15:45.759 I refer people to CR probably three or four times a week at least. 00:15:46.000 --> 00:15:54.320 I refer people to in-treatment and outpatient centers for their alcoholism, for their drug addiction, for their sexual addiction. 00:15:54.480 --> 00:15:56.559 I believe in all of those things. 00:15:56.720 --> 00:16:00.000 And all of those things are good to a point. 00:16:00.240 --> 00:16:04.960 But let me say this I'll use a baseball analogy. 00:16:05.519 --> 00:16:09.600 Those things can get you from home plate to first base. 00:16:10.000 --> 00:16:13.440 And if they're really, really good, maybe they'll get you to second base. 00:16:14.000 --> 00:16:18.000 But they'll never get you all the way around the bases to home plate again. 00:16:18.480 --> 00:16:21.200 They're good as far as they go. 00:16:21.600 --> 00:16:30.879 But if you succeed in breaking free, it's not because you were with the right people, the right accountability person, you were doing PBJ. 00:16:31.519 --> 00:16:33.200 It is not because of what you're doing. 00:16:33.440 --> 00:16:36.159 If you are free, it's by the mighty hand of God. 00:16:36.320 --> 00:16:36.799 Period. 00:16:37.039 --> 00:16:37.919 End of story. 00:16:38.159 --> 00:16:40.799 He either sets you free or you're still struggling. 00:16:41.919 --> 00:16:43.200 And it's the truth. 00:16:43.360 --> 00:16:45.440 And I believe in these other things. 00:16:45.600 --> 00:16:49.840 There is, I mean, how many thousands of self-help books are there? 00:16:50.080 --> 00:16:53.519 Videos, CDs, radio programs, Dr. 00:16:53.759 --> 00:16:55.759 Laura, Dr. 00:16:56.080 --> 00:16:56.639 Phil. 00:16:56.879 --> 00:16:59.679 I'm waiting for the next doctor to show up. 00:17:00.320 --> 00:17:02.480 Who's got the magic answer? 00:17:03.600 --> 00:17:07.599 Exodus chapter 3, verses 7 and 8. 00:17:08.160 --> 00:17:11.440 The people of Israel, they cried out to the Lord. 00:17:12.000 --> 00:17:13.440 And he sent them Moses. 00:17:13.920 --> 00:17:21.599 The Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and I've heard their cry because of their taskmasters. 00:17:21.839 --> 00:17:26.480 I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them out of the land of the Egyptians. 00:17:26.799 --> 00:17:29.519 Here's the thing that's important about that scripture. 00:17:30.079 --> 00:17:31.279 This is very important. 00:17:31.440 --> 00:17:32.799 I hope you get this. 00:17:33.279 --> 00:17:35.119 I have heard their cry. 00:17:35.440 --> 00:17:41.759 You know, sometimes in our bondage, in our slavery, we do get desperate. 00:17:41.839 --> 00:17:45.039 And we and we do genuinely, we cry out to God. 00:17:46.000 --> 00:17:47.039 We cry out to God. 00:17:47.200 --> 00:17:49.680 Maybe we're fasting and praying. 00:17:49.920 --> 00:17:54.160 And we're crying out, God, please, you've got to move, you've got to do something. 00:17:54.319 --> 00:17:56.480 I cannot live this way anymore. 00:17:56.640 --> 00:18:00.160 And we cry out, and nothing happens. 00:18:01.359 --> 00:18:05.519 Maybe the situation actually gets worse than it was before. 00:18:05.759 --> 00:18:10.880 How many of you have said, why is God not listening? 00:18:11.680 --> 00:18:16.319 How many have wondered, when is he coming back from vacation? 00:18:17.119 --> 00:18:19.359 This is true of us today. 00:18:19.839 --> 00:18:34.880 When we pray, when we cry out to God, even when we are in the bondage of sin, when we honestly from our heart cry out to God, send someone, send a deliverer, he hears those cries. 00:18:36.000 --> 00:18:37.279 He hears them. 00:18:37.920 --> 00:18:47.119 The prayers that you've been putting forth, the cries, the sacrifices that you've been making, I want you to know God has not turned a deaf ear toward you. 00:18:47.599 --> 00:18:48.880 He hears you. 00:18:49.200 --> 00:18:51.279 And he is going to move. 00:18:51.920 --> 00:18:59.759 But here's the other thing in Exodus 3.19 but I know the king of Egypt that he will not let you go unless compelled by a mighty hand. 00:18:59.920 --> 00:19:01.599 It's the same thing today. 00:19:01.920 --> 00:19:03.440 Same thing today. 00:19:04.000 --> 00:19:11.440 There is a very real demonic force that is absolutely determined that he is going to keep you bound in chains. 00:19:12.000 --> 00:19:16.079 He is going to continue to rob, steal, and destroy. 00:19:16.240 --> 00:19:20.240 And you can cry out all you want, all you want, all day long. 00:19:20.319 --> 00:19:27.839 You can fast, you can get the church to fast, you can do all kinds of things, and that devil is determined to keep you bound. 00:19:28.079 --> 00:19:29.599 Here's the second truth. 00:19:29.759 --> 00:19:36.480 Not only has God heard your prayer, but God understands you can't do this without his strong hand. 00:19:37.119 --> 00:19:40.160 He understands the devil isn't just going to let you go. 00:19:40.240 --> 00:19:44.880 It's like, oh, well, they've cried out to God, it's over now. 00:19:46.559 --> 00:19:51.359 God understands that this is going to be a fight, a tough fight. 00:19:51.680 --> 00:19:54.319 And he is ready to demonstrate his power. 00:19:54.559 --> 00:19:57.440 He is ready to pull out the stops. 00:19:58.000 --> 00:20:05.920 He is ready to show his power, to show his magnificence, to show his glory, to show his determination. 00:20:06.240 --> 00:20:09.039 He is going to defeat that enemy. 00:20:09.359 --> 00:20:16.720 And for those of you that may be thinking that God is still on vacation, that he hasn't heard your prayers. 00:20:16.960 --> 00:20:20.480 And if he has heard your prayers, then why are you still bound? 00:20:20.640 --> 00:20:22.319 I want you to know something. 00:20:23.519 --> 00:20:25.519 Your Exodus is coming. 00:20:26.319 --> 00:20:29.519 People cry out today, God sent his Savior. 00:20:29.680 --> 00:20:33.200 John 3, 16 through 17, very familiar scripture. 00:20:33.440 --> 00:20:40.960 For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. 00:20:41.119 --> 00:20:42.000 We all learned that. 00:20:42.160 --> 00:20:43.839 But here's verse 17. 00:20:44.240 --> 00:20:51.200 For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 00:20:51.839 --> 00:20:55.039 Some of you are dealing with condemnation. 00:20:56.079 --> 00:20:59.680 You're here, you're saved, you love Jesus, but you know what? 00:20:59.759 --> 00:21:06.799 There's this strong taskmaster who just keeps hitting you with that whip, hitting you with that whip. 00:21:07.119 --> 00:21:09.519 Pick up that burden, make more bricks. 00:21:09.759 --> 00:21:13.839 You are unworthy, you are unworthy, you're never going to amount to a thing. 00:21:14.000 --> 00:21:16.720 Do you really think that God cares about you? 00:21:16.880 --> 00:21:24.240 And yes, you are still saved, bloodbought, loving the Lord, but there's bondage in your soul. 00:21:25.039 --> 00:21:31.039 Jesus Christ didn't come to this world to point a wagging finger of condemnation. 00:21:32.079 --> 00:21:34.720 He didn't have to come to do that. 00:21:35.039 --> 00:21:38.160 All he had to do was call down fire from heaven. 00:21:39.039 --> 00:21:43.680 He came so that you would know that there's hope, that there's a victor. 00:21:44.079 --> 00:21:45.440 Hope for you. 00:21:46.799 --> 00:21:56.480 In Ephesians 2, 8 through 9, in the Amplified, it reads this way For it is by free grace, God's unmerited favor, that you are saved. 00:21:56.799 --> 00:22:01.680 The children of Israel could not affect Their own deliverance. 00:22:02.799 --> 00:22:04.720 They're sheer numbers. 00:22:05.599 --> 00:22:12.400 They were no match for the chariots, for the armed sword, the armed forces of Pharaoh. 00:22:12.720 --> 00:22:18.559 If they rose up to come against Pharaoh, they would have just simply been slaughtered and digging their own graves. 00:22:19.440 --> 00:22:23.119 And we can't save ourselves, but some of us try. 00:22:24.160 --> 00:22:26.240 Salvation is through faith. 00:22:26.400 --> 00:22:29.920 And this salvation is not of yourselves, it is not of your own doing. 00:22:30.160 --> 00:22:34.000 It came not through your own striving, but it is God's gift. 00:22:34.480 --> 00:22:39.920 Not because of works, not the fulfillment of the law's demands, lest any man should boast. 00:22:40.079 --> 00:22:45.200 It is not the result of what anyone could possibly do, so no one can pride himself. 00:22:45.440 --> 00:22:52.480 I'm thinking of the rich guy who came to Jesus and he said, Lord, what do I need to do to be saved? 00:22:53.039 --> 00:22:56.000 That's an interesting question coming from a Jew. 00:22:57.279 --> 00:23:02.480 Because according to his religion, he did everything that was necessary to be saved. 00:23:03.200 --> 00:23:08.720 Jesus said, You need to obey the law, and he said, I have done that from my childhood up. 00:23:09.680 --> 00:23:13.519 He didn't have the Holy Spirit, he didn't have the Word of God, He had the Torah. 00:23:14.799 --> 00:23:16.400 An amazing statement. 00:23:17.519 --> 00:23:23.759 He was faithful in doing, but he recognized that he wasn't saved. 00:23:24.240 --> 00:23:32.319 I'm in church, raised by Christian, and I'm active in church, and I'm serving in a ministry, and I'm doing all the right things. 00:23:32.640 --> 00:23:36.000 But God didn't have his heart, and you know the story. 00:23:36.480 --> 00:23:39.920 Jesus said, Just go and sell everything that you have, come and follow me. 00:23:40.640 --> 00:23:47.119 Jesus didn't care about the man's wealth, but he knew that the wealth had the man's heart. 00:23:48.079 --> 00:23:50.799 And Jesus wanted his heart. 00:23:51.920 --> 00:23:58.720 The scripture says the man turned and he walked away very sorrowful because he was exceedingly wealthy. 00:24:00.000 --> 00:24:05.200 There are people that are coming to Jesus saying, Lord, what do I need to do to be saved? 00:24:05.359 --> 00:24:07.920 What do I need to do to shed the shackles? 00:24:08.079 --> 00:24:09.119 What do I need to do? 00:24:09.279 --> 00:24:14.079 Because I've done everything in my own strength that I know to do, and I am still bound. 00:24:14.880 --> 00:24:26.160 And God asks you for one simple thing, and you have to make a decision whether you're going to sell or whether you're going to walk away. 00:24:26.880 --> 00:24:32.319 An interesting scripture in Zechariah 4 in verse 6, very familiar. 00:24:33.200 --> 00:24:40.559 Then he said to me, This is the word of the Lord to Zerubabel, not by might or by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord of hosts. 00:24:40.960 --> 00:24:44.240 I don't know how many sermons you've heard on that one verse. 00:24:44.720 --> 00:25:00.160 The word might, helial, and the word power, koach, are synonymous terms in the Hebrew expressing every human strength and every form, physical, mental, financial, militarily. 00:25:00.880 --> 00:25:07.039 Jesus is saying, it isn't by might nor by power, it's by my spirit, it's by my strong hand. 00:25:08.559 --> 00:25:22.960 In Gill's expository dictionary of the entire Bible, he writes, not by external force, by carnal weapons or moral persuasion, but by the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God. 00:25:23.359 --> 00:25:30.400 And not by the power of man's free will, but by the effectuous grace of the divine spirit. 00:25:30.720 --> 00:25:36.720 It is indeed done by power and by might, but not of the creature. 00:25:38.000 --> 00:25:41.359 In 2 Corinthians 10, verses 3 and 4. 00:25:42.400 --> 00:25:54.400 For though I walk in the flesh, we are not warring against the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 00:25:55.279 --> 00:25:57.440 I don't know everyone here. 00:25:58.559 --> 00:26:04.640 I cannot presume to know where you are in your relationship, in your walk of faith. 00:26:05.759 --> 00:26:13.839 But if this is a typical crowd, there are some of you here that are in real desperate need. 00:26:14.880 --> 00:26:19.039 And all of the rest of us are in real desperate need. 00:26:19.920 --> 00:26:21.680 Nobody here's arrived. 00:26:22.160 --> 00:26:25.519 We have a congregation tonight of cracked pots. 00:26:25.839 --> 00:26:28.400 You fill us with water, and every one of us leaks. 00:26:29.119 --> 00:26:31.440 Some of us leak worse than others. 00:26:32.480 --> 00:26:34.319 Everyone here is in need of repair. 00:26:35.359 --> 00:26:37.039 Are there strongholds in your life? 00:26:37.200 --> 00:26:39.759 I want the worship team to come up, if you would, please. 00:26:40.319 --> 00:26:42.480 Are there strongholds in your life tonight? 00:26:43.119 --> 00:26:44.000 Here's a few of them. 00:26:44.240 --> 00:26:46.400 Unforgiveness, anger. 00:26:46.640 --> 00:26:49.839 I mean, we all get angry, but some people are just known for anger. 00:26:51.279 --> 00:26:58.880 People that knew me before I was, well, people that knew me before I was a Christian knew I was a very angry person, but as a young Christian, I still dealt with anger. 00:26:59.680 --> 00:27:04.799 There were times when I didn't get my way, and it was like I would just black out. 00:27:05.839 --> 00:27:10.319 And when I came to my senses, there was broken furniture, there was holes in the wall. 00:27:10.880 --> 00:27:12.319 And I was saved. 00:27:12.799 --> 00:27:25.920 Resentment, bitterness, selfish ambition, lust, sexual fantasies, addictions, jealousy, gossip, quarreling, drunkenness, any kind of abuse, any kind of abuse. 00:27:26.880 --> 00:27:31.039 You get mad at Betty and you tell everybody, let's pray for, let's pray for Betty. 00:27:33.279 --> 00:27:34.480 It's not about prayer for Betty. 00:27:34.559 --> 00:27:38.799 It's about you venting your frustration over a sister in Christ. 00:27:39.759 --> 00:27:47.680 Are you struggling in your mind with worry, anxiety, depression, fear, doubting your salvation? 00:27:47.839 --> 00:27:58.480 I cannot tell you how many people I talk to who, you know, I just I remember when I accepted Christ, but the devil continually raises the question, are you sure you're saved? 00:27:58.640 --> 00:28:00.240 Are you sure you're saved? 00:28:00.960 --> 00:28:03.119 Do you struggle with suicidal thoughts? 00:28:03.839 --> 00:28:07.759 You know, maybe the world would be better if I just simply wasn't part of it. 00:28:08.400 --> 00:28:13.519 I don't know what the brokenness is in your life, but I do know this. 00:28:14.799 --> 00:28:20.640 Whatever you've tried in the past that hasn't worked, there's a strong hand. 00:28:21.839 --> 00:28:23.039 There's a strong hand. 00:28:24.079 --> 00:28:28.960 And that strong hand is reaching out with a desire to take yours. 00:28:30.240 --> 00:28:37.119 To pull you up and to pull you out and to pull you into a freedom that you would never have words even to express. 00:28:38.000 --> 00:28:41.680 The last scripture, Exodus 13 and verse 3. 00:28:42.079 --> 00:28:49.759 Then Moses said to the people, Remember this day in which you came out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 00:28:50.559 --> 00:28:55.279 For by a strong hand the Lord brought you out from this place. 00:29:00.000 --> 00:29:02.000 You've been listening to the road. 00:29:02.240 --> 00:29:04.880 We pray that you've been blessed by the message today. 00:29:05.039 --> 00:29:08.480 Our hope is to make wholehearted disciples of Jesus Christ. 00:29:08.559 --> 00:29:15.359 And that's why we teach the Word of God verse by verse, scripture by scripture, and precept upon precept. 00:29:15.599 --> 00:29:20.480 We're excited about all the things God is doing in the lives of our faithful listeners. 00:29:20.720 --> 00:29:28.559 We understand that there are many trials and tribulations in this world, and we'd love to be able to pray for you as you encounter difficult times. 00:29:28.799 --> 00:29:32.319 Please drop us a note and let us know how we can pray for you. 00:29:32.640 --> 00:29:34.000 Write us at the road. 00:29:34.400 --> 00:29:40.480 PLO Box 88485, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80908. 00:29:40.880 --> 00:29:44.319 If you've been blessed by this message, please let us know as well. 00:29:44.480 --> 00:29:46.480 Again, the address is The Road. 00:29:46.799 --> 00:29:52.960 PLO Box 88485, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80908. 00:29:53.440 --> 00:30:00.240 If you're in the area, please stop on by and join us at The Road for our Saturday night service at 6 p.m. 00:30:00.640 --> 00:30:09.359 We meet at Chapel Hills Church, located at 2025 Harleman Drive, Colorado Springs, Colorado, 80920. 00:30:09.920 --> 00:30:17.359 In addition, you can find out more about the road by going to our website at theroadcs.org. 00:30:17.839 --> 00:30:20.640 That's theroadcs.org. 00:30:20.880 --> 00:30:23.279 Make sure you follow us on Facebook as well. 00:30:23.440 --> 00:30:26.799 That's facebook.com slash theroadcs. 00:30:27.599 --> 00:30:32.240 If you tweet, you can join the conversation with us at Road Companions. 00:30:32.960 --> 00:30:35.200 As always, we cover your prayers. 00:30:35.359 --> 00:30:37.440 Thanks again for tuning in today. 00:30:37.519 --> 00:30:42.000 And be sure to catch us again next time for another edition of The Road.