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Such a good word. It's a better word. And today we're going to be talking about that. There's these moments in life where I wish I heard a better word. You ever been there? Serious situations, sometimes irrelevant situations. A better word can change everything. Recently, Brooke and I were coming back from Florida and I was tired. And you know, it's always fun when you drive seven hours in one day with kids. Um, she's a trooper because she just did it by herself. Um her choice, by the way. I'm not a bad dad. All right. Um, let's just settle that. Um, but she's such a good mom, right? Um, we're driving back from Florida, and I'm tired. We're exhausted. We didn't book a hotel for on the way back because I didn't know how far we would make it. So I didn't want to book one if we could have gone farther or whatnot. And so we're exhausted, we're tired, the kids are hungry. It's around 6 p.m. And I book on Expedia once we know we're going to be arriving around south of Nashville, and uh we got the room, everything's good. I get out. I always tell Brooke and the kids to stay in so I can get us checked in, and then I'll come back out. We'll grab everything and go in. This time I was like, everybody, you just get out of the car, grab the stuff. Like, we're tired. And we go into the foyer and I come in and there's all these people there, and I get up to the counter, and the woman's like, How are you? I'm like, better now. It's like it's been a long day. And she's like, Oh yeah. And she's like, What was your name? Tyler Watson, confirmation number. She was like, Oh my goodness. I'm about to really make your day longer. And I was like, What? And she was like, Expedi has been pushing people through our system, but we're completely booked. We're on the phone with them right now. And she was like, I'm really sorry. And I was like, Me too. I looked back at Brooke and the kids. I was like, hey, get in the car. We're gonna have to go find another hotel. At this time, I didn't know that almost every hotel was going to be booked. We get in the car, there's a Wendy's right next door, but it's four lane, and you gotta go around. And Brooke's like, just let us out of the car. We'll walk, you go figure out the hotel thing. I'm like, okay. And I'm calling, I'm calling, and finally a hotel has a better word for me. In fact, it was $40 cheaper. It was a bigger hotel. And you know what? I began to think, you know, maybe this was just God's plan. Who knows? The other hotel room probably had a dysfunction on the AC. That would be our luck. You begin to think, you know? Put the family back in the car, they'd finished up Wendy's, we got over to the hotel. It took phone calls, but there was a better word. And it's frustrating at times on the path to a better word. Would you agree with that? It's frustrating because this is the plan we had, this is what we wanted, and sometimes we don't get the things the way that we plan for them to happen. But if I wanted things to go my way all the time, then I would have settled for a lesser hotel because this was a better hotel. I would have been able to save $40 more dollars. And, you know, this is what I've learned in life that sometimes my trials become a path to a better word. That's it. And see, today I want to talk about that a better word. I want to give your life today a better word. I want to give your marriage today a better word. I want to give your financial uh mishaps and situations a better word, and I want to give your struggles and unknowns a better word. I want to give the health diagnosis that you have a better word because I believe there is a better word. And I want to give those who are addicted to things a better word. There is life. I want to give your haters that can't stop hating on you a better word. Amen. This week I want to remind you that regardless of what you're facing, when you're facing doesn't stand a chance against a better word. It doesn't. This morning in did I turn this on? Yeah. I want you to understand what the word is. In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God. He is the better word. Amen. He's the better word. And I want you to see for yourself through this today that he is for you. He is not against you. He loves you. He's passionate about you. He wants a relationship with you. He's known you from the very beginning. All you need to do is believe the better word. Believe it. Step into it. Tell the enemy no more. This is the better word. This is his promise. This is his goodness. This is who he is. The Bible says it in Ephesians like this praise be to God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. When we sing that song, God is so good, man, it's a declaration because we know he's so good. We know we didn't deserve what he did for us. He did it, he gave us a better word, and because of that, we can rejoice in it. Praise be to God and Father, our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us for, for he chose us. He chose us. He chose us. He chose us. You didn't choose him, he chose you. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. I don't know about you, but I oftentimes don't feel very holy, and I definitely don't feel blameless. I don't know. You guys are just better than I. Okay? There's times when I get cut off in traffic that I'm not very holy. And there's times when people say certain things to me that I react and I don't feel very blameless. You know what's crazy about that? Before the creation of the world, he chose you and he wanted you to be holy and blameless. Garden of Eden, that's where we're going to get to here in a minute. But in love, somebody say in love. In love, he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ. See, he knew you wouldn't be able to get for right, holy and blameless on your own. There's no hope. But in love, he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ. When you sing that song, God, you're so good, you better start acting like it because he did it for you. He didn't have to do it. He could have left us. He could have said, Well, you're holy and blameless, or you're out. But you know what? In love, I'm going to predestine you for adoption through my son, Jesus Christ. In accordance with his pleasure and will. Listen to me this morning. You bring him pleasure, you bring goodness because he has a better word for you and I, to praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the one he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood. Not you, not me, not your good works. Through him we have redemption through his blood. The forgiveness of sins. The forgiveness of sins. Your sins have been washed clean because of him. Because he chose you before. You didn't choose him on a random Sunday. He chose you before. You just finally decided to walk into it. That's where we're at. The forgiveness of sin in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. He made known to us the mystery, it's a mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure, which is purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the time reaches their fulfillment, to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ. Remember, we're in our heaven series here recently to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth. And one day Jesus Christ will come down and he will reign on the new Jerusalem and it will be unified like never before, for he will come down and he will be God among his people. I want you to understand before we get into the main text this morning that God chose you and that you can't be holy and blameless without sin. So in that, he gave us Jesus. And it's in Jesus and Him alone that we have redemption through his blood and the forgiveness of your sins. Don't you ever take credit for what God has done for you, ladies and gentlemen. He did it for you because you couldn't help yourself even if you tried. That's the truth. Jesus is the better word. And Jesus is the better word. And when we believe that, how we believe that better word is what's going to determine everything. Because oftentimes we can believe the better word for someone else. But sometimes we never believe the better word is applicable to you and I. It's so easy that when the better word is for our neighbor or our children or our loved ones, but when it comes to ourselves, when we know what we think, where we've been, what we've seen, what we've done, it's hard for us to apply the idea of a better word being sufficient for us. It's hard because we know how messed up we are. We know what we've done, we know where we've been, we know what we struggle with. I've always been amazed by the arrogance of humanity, but also the continual lies of the kingdom of darkness to not believe that Jesus Christ is not enough. He's not enough. Today he needs to become enough for your life. We're going to be going to Genesis chapter 3, and I hope that I can help you today. I hope that with what God has given me and shown me this week, that it will be something that you can apply to your life and you can be truly set free and have the freedom of Jesus through the gospel. I don't know who this is for. Maybe it was just me. But I really hope that this is for you today. We're in chapter three of Genesis. This is where the fall of man begins. And the Bible says, but God did say, This is the serpent, okay, and Adam and Eve. They're having conversation. Weird times to be alive, I'm sure. But God did say, You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die. The serpent says, You will not certainly die to the woman. For God knows that when you eat from it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. Now there's some truth in this, but there's a lot of lies in this. This is how Satan does. He's so good at this. Six. And when the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. And she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate it. And then their eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked. Now they sowed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God, and as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, Where are you? And he answered, I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid. Ten. And he said, Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from? The man said, The woman you put here with me, she gave me some of the fruit from the tree, and I ate it. That's a typical man right there, right? Yeah, she made me do it. 13. Then the Lord God said to the woman, What is this that you have done? The woman said, The serpent deceived me, and I ate. He deceived me. So the Lord God said to the serpent, Because you've done this, cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals. You will crawl in your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your offspring and hers, and he will crush your head, and you will strike his hill. These are prophetic things right here. To the woman he said, I will make your pain and childbearing very severe, with painful labor, you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you. 17. To Adam he said, Because you listened to your wife and ate from the fruit of the tree about which I commanded you, you must not eat from it. Cursed is the ground because of you. Through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground. Since from it you were taken, for dust you are, and dust you will return. And Adam named his wife Eve because she would become the mother of all living. The Lord God made the garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. And the Lord said God said, The man has now become like one of us. See, it was a partial truth I'm saying. He's become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and also take from the tree of life and eat and live forever. See, I think it's important that we understand here that they were kicked out of the Garden of Eden. Not because they had sinned, but because God was trying to protect them. You get that? Because if they take from the tree of life and eat, they live forever condemned. There is no hope. There is no future. And God has already set in the motion before the beginning of the world that he was going to give his son Jesus. He knows everything, gives us free will, but he's so good. That's how great he is, it blows my mind. Verse 23. So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had taken. And after he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way of the tree of life. Okay. So this is this is our main text today as we go on. And this is the essence of how the enemy operates. So if you have a notepad or pen today and you want to take notes for your own life, I'm going to give you kind of the equation of hell so you have an idea. Okay? Here's the equation of how Satan works. One, he starts with the deception of God's word. The better word. He starts with that. Did God really tell you it won't be that bad? This is going to be better than what you think. It's just one sip. It's just one download. It's just one smoke. It's just one. Your friends are doing it. They say it's good. It's just one time. This is how he works. He tries to get you to doubt. Do you think God would really be upset with that? Do you think God would really care about it? Did God really say that you would die? Did God really say that it would be bad? This is what he does. He deceives. This is how he works in your life. He lies to you to deceive you into deception against the better word. God's never going to forgive you. God will never help you. God's not for you. God is against you. Every better word, you're not gonna make it out. You're not gonna figure it out. It's never gonna work. You shouldn't go to church. It's just a waste of time. Is the pastor really going to preach something that you've never really heard? Is the pastor really going to give something today that's going to help you? All these different things that the enemy will try to bring against you. Do you really want to do that? Do you really want to be there? Do you really all these deceptions of God's better word for your life, taking you completely out of the equation because when he isolates you, his voice begins to become louder than the voice of God? That's what he does. So your first note this morning needs to be that the way the enemy works in the very beginning of your life is the deception of the promises in God's word for you. Number two, once he deceives you by deceiving you into believing that God's word is not good, he's going to bring to you an irresistible temptation through the lies that he's beginning to tell you. If you do this, you will feel better. If you do this, your life will be better. If you do this, you will now have knowledge and you will be like God's and you will know good from evil. If you do this, you're going to access something that maybe God's just wanting to keep from you. This is the way the enemy works. He begins to take away the goodness of God's word and then gives you an irresistible temptation, and it just kind of culminates in the mind because the mind is where the battlefield is. The mind's where the battlefield is. And then what happens after the irresistible temptation? You fall into it. The third thing that happens is the revelation of sin. We call this shame and guilt. And on one hand, the enemy was telling you how great it was going to be. And now that you've stepped into it, now the enemy's telling you how horrible you are. Isn't that crazy? Isn't that crazy? And now you've had the revelation that that smoke wasn't that good, or the alcohol wasn't that great, or that party wasn't that fun. And now you're beginning to understand that the whole thing was a setup from the very beginning to get you to not believe the better word, to get you to fall into the irresistible temptation, and now to get you to see yourself as no good, never gonna be enough, never gonna figure it out, never gonna have it. And now it's just this cycle of you trying to figure out how do I get out of this mess? How do I figure it out? How do I become who I need to be? How am I going to be better for my family? How am I going to be better for my kids? How am I going to do it? Because I'm stuck, because somehow this serpent got me to do something that God told me not to do. And then four, the consequences we face. The consequences we face. Now, Adam and Eve, they've done the deed, it's happened, and now because of that, there's things that begin to happen. They get kicked out of the Garden of Eden. Now we're out of the Garden of Eden. Don't know what that's like going from the Garden of Eden to now this. The consequence. And what we don't understand sometimes is that God is doing this because of their action, reaction, and now there's a consequence, but even in the consequence, he's still trying to protect them. He's still trying to protect them. See, this is the path in which hell uses against you and I. It is. This hasn't changed. But we are ignorant, and sometimes we are really, really dumb. Can we admit that? My grandmother always said, she's like, Tyler, I might be dumb, but I'm not stupid. I was like, that's true. That's true. It was more true when I was a teenager. I thought I knew everything, you know? No, we're really, really dumb sometimes. The kingdom of hell, the darkness, and everything else, there's they've been doing this for a long time. A lot longer than you've been alive. They're smart. And I'm gonna show you some scripture here that kind of backs up in a minute what I'm what I'm talking about. But we can be really, really dumb. We're like sheep led to the slaughter, you know? Like we we just go because it's like we see the warning sign. Stop! Don't do it! Quit it. We're just like I know better. I'm gonna go get that fruit. That's what we do, huh? It's not good. So what happens is we go through this cycle and we feel shame and guilt in this cycle. And listen to me, conviction is necessary. You should feel convicted when you do something dumb. You should. I'm more worried about people that do not feel convicted when they do something dumb, right? You should feel some guilt. You should feel some shame. But can I tell you that you should not sit there and stay in it and feel defeated and feel like this is defining your life and that this is who you are. It is not who you are. I have a better word for you. Paul said it like this in Romans. I've read it before, I want to read it to you again. He says, I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do, I do not do, but what I hate to do, I do. Anybody ever felt like that? Dumb. That's what happens. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who does do it, but it is sin living in me. So I want to go back real quick. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do, I do not do, but what I hate to do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. It is I that no longer lives or do, but it is sin living in me. Can I can I tell you, um, as it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. Can I tell you that some of you that believe that when you became a Christian that not sinning was going to be easier? Like I'm sorry. I need you to know that when you become a child of God, you have an X on your back. And the enemy is trying to get closer to you as you get closer to God. You wanna know why? Because the enemy knows how powerful God is, and if he knows the God that lives in Side of you, he knows what then is capable of happening in your community, in your family, and those around you. Because when people pray, things begin to move. When people begin to step in, things begin to happen. But I need you to understand that you are never going to be perfect on this side of eternity. You're going to really screw it up. You're going to mess it up. You're going to fail. You're going to have guilt. You're going to have shame. And this is why I talk about your sin doesn't shock me. And I know your sin doesn't shock God. Paul literally just said it. I can't seem to get it right. I need a better word. And humanity always needs a better word. But let's get back to Genesis 4 real quick, can we? So we have Adam and Eve. They're kicked out of the garden. All right. They're kicked out of the garden. They can't get it right. Okay? Can't get it right. And now they have children. Adam made love to his wife Eve and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. And she said, With the help of the Lord, I brought forth a man. A man. Later she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. In the course of time, Cain brought some of his fruit of the soil as an offering to the Lord. And Abel brought an offering, fat portions from some of the firstborn of his livestock. And the Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering. But on Cain and his offering, he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry and his face was downcast. So we have Abel, who now has a flock, and he's giving a portion to it, and God is pleased with it. Cain, he is doing gardening and things, and he has uh a portion and he brings it and God is not pleased with it. Cain does not know how to handle uh this situation, the rejection that he feels from the Lord. And the Lord said to Cain, Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, you will not be accepted. But if you do, if you do not sorry, if you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door. It desires to have you, but you must rule over it. Okay? Now Cain said to his brother, Abel, let's go into the field. And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him because he was angry because God didn't receive, and he was jealous of his brother. This is what happens. And the Lord said to Cain, Where is your brother Abel? I don't know, he replied. Am I my brother's keeper? Jerk. 10. The Lord said, What have you done? Listen, your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground. Now, this is really important for where we're going today. I need you to lock in with me for just a few moments here. It's really important. Now, he says, Because of your reaction to your brother, you're under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wonder on the earth. That's like a farmer's nightmare, right? That's bad. Okay, so this is what happens. Now it's in this portion of scripture that we find out that God tells uh Cain. He tells him that I will protect you, that no one will smite you. Because God has a better word for him. Even though he just killed his brother, God has a better word. I encourage you to go back in Genesis 4 and read that. Because that's how good and thoughtful our God is. That even in the midst of it, he wants to protect him. And here's what I've learned. We're just really bad at messing this all up. We get emotions, we react, we do things we shouldn't do. And this verse, you know, your brother cries out to me from the ground. This is judgment, this is curse. His brother is wanting, his blood is crying out and judgment in the Old Testament, in the book of Genesis. This is it. This is judgment. And this is how all things were in the Old. This was the cause of effect. And see, we have a lot of New Testament saints in 2026 that preach Jesus, but they have the heart and mind of the Old Testament church. I want you to understand that. This is where things must change. Why? Because we have a better word. See, the problem with people today is that they stop with verse 12 of Cain's life and they apply it to everyone. See that murderer? He should be killed and he should probably burn in hell. You know what? When Stephen was killed in Acts chapter 7, you know who was holding his coat? You know who was holding his coat while they murdered Jesus' cousin? It was Paul. It was Paul. You know what? If Fox News would have been showing that today, every one of you would have been like, kill that man, hang him, he needs to go. And then we see Jesus later on the road to Damascus does this crazy thing where Paul becomes the greatest author of the New Testament church. How is that? You want to know why? Because I've got a better word. And when we see a drug addict, someone that's struggling, and we say he'll never change, I'm sorry, but I've got a better word. I have to believe it because if the better word was good enough for me, I know it's gonna be good enough for him. You know, let's make it a little more personal for you with regret and sin. When the enemy tells you that you'll never get over the alcohol addiction, I got a better word for you, man. And when he says that you'll never be forgiven for having that abortion, I'm sorry, I got a better word for you, woman. I promise you, he's better than you can ever imagine. And he's good. I've got good news for you, Jeremiah 1 and 5. You've heard it and oftentimes preached. But it says, before you were in the womb, I knew you before you were born, I set you apart, I anointed you as a prophet to the nations. Yes, when it's speaking in Jeremiah, I understand the context of it, but if it's the same for one, it's the same for all of his children. I promise you, he consecrated you, he knows you, he's passionate about you. And this is something that I really want you to get in your mind out of the 1 Corinthians church in which Paul preached in chapter 10 of 13. He said, No temptation has ever overtaken you except what is common to mankind. I need you to understand this today. Because when we talk about sin not shocking, I need you to know it doesn't shock God. There's been nothing in your life, nothing in your life that has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. Every sin. Every sin. Every sin. It doesn't matter how extreme that sin is, it doesn't matter how little that sin is, there is not one sin in this room that is not common to mankind that the enemy hasn't been doing since the beginning and that God doesn't know about. There is no new sin that you could do today that would shock God. There is no new sin today that the enemy would have been like, wow, that that really that they they won up us. Are you kidding me? The arrogance of believing that God is caught off guard by your mistakes, your past, or your current struggles? And this is what it says no temptation is overtaking you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful. What? What kind of God are we talking about? Because I just read about a God in the Old Testament that just kicked out Adam and Eve out of the garden. And then when Cain killed his brother Abel, he kicked him out and told him that nothing's ever gonna grow for you. How is it that we're now sitting here saying that God's not sharked by my sin, but God is faithful? He says he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. Hold on a second. Hold on a second. Do I really believe this? Do I really believe this? He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, hold on a second. Is this true? But when you are tempted, he will provide a way out so that you can endure it. No, no, no, no. This ain't the way it's supposed to work. See, my temptation and my struggles and my problems are supposed to be the end of me. That's what the world preaches, isn't it? You'll never be good enough. You'll never figure it out. You'll never, you'll never no no no no. He said God is faithful and he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. Hold on a second. How is that possible? When you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can you can endure it. You can endure it. Here's the way. You ready? Here this is how some of you are wondering, how do I how do I do that? How do I do that? I'm really struggling, Tyler. This is what I'm dealing with. The temptation. Let me let me give you ready, ready? Here's here's the way out. You ready? Jesus answered, I'm the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through me. That's it. That's it. That's it. That's it. I'm the way. You know he puts that in order so perfectly for it for a divine purpose. Because look, he's the way. Man, I don't know where I'm going. I'm just following him. I was a fisherman, and this is what I did for a living, but he told me to come with him, so I'm coming with him, and now I'm following him, and I don't know where we're going, but I just believe that he's the way. He's the way. I don't deserve to be here. I don't know why I'm here, but he's the way, and I'm just following him, and I don't have it figured out. Peter said, get away from me. I don't deserve. I'm a sinful man. Jesus said, just follow me, because I promise you, I'm the way. And some of you today just need to understand that he's the way. You don't have to have it figured out. You don't have to have the answers. You have your struggles, you have your temptation, everything. Just trust me, he's the way. And then when you start to follow him, you'll you'll start to believe that what he says is actually true. And he doesn't just become the way for your life, but he becomes the truth of your life. And it's a process because you don't figure it out. The first way you're you're following him, you're stumbling, you're trying to figure it out, you're cussing on the way. You keep telling me, sorry, I cuss. Quit worrying about it. I still drink, it's okay. I still, I still, I still deal with my idea. I know. But he's the way. Just keep following, just listen to me, just keep following. Because one day you're gonna realize that you're not just following the way, you're following the truth. And when he becomes the truth, it changes everything because then he becomes your life. And now, once I was just following the way, and it was just truth that I begin to believe. Now I realize that my life does look like his because I was discipled by the greatest man that ever lived and still lives today. This is the path. Your temptation is not too great, your struggle is not too great, your sin does not shock God, you are not done for. I don't know what your past looked like, but it really doesn't matter because we have a better word, and his name is Jesus. That's it. That's it. So we get here and we understand that my sin is common, but it was paid for by an extraordinary man named Jesus, fully God. God is faithful even when I'm not, even when I mess it all up, even when I say things I shouldn't say or do things when I shouldn't. He's still faithful. And he says, Yeah, you messed it up. You're tempted, you're struggling, but remember, all you have to do is keep following me. That's it. That's it. That's the promise. I gotta hurry up. I got so much to cover, but I gotta hurry up. See, religious folks don't like this kind of preaching. They want to preach condemnation unless they need compromise for themselves. How do I know that? Because it was the Pharisees and the Sadducees. They knew the most of God. They knew all 600 plus laws, but when it came to grace and redemption for people, they wanted no part of it. They didn't want the woman at the well talking about Jesus because she had a huge revelation of who God was, the way, the truth, and the life. They didn't like that the woman caught in the act of adultery was able to just walk scot-free because he called out their hypocrisy. Listen to me, nobody likes this kind of preaching unless you're a child of God and you realize how filthy and how dirty and how messed up you and I are. But praise be to God that when I couldn't get it right, he did. And when I couldn't figure out a way, he gave me a way out. And when I couldn't worship because I felt like the enemy's lies were greater than my life, his better word became greater. That's it. That's it. That's it. Because I believe John 3:16. I believe for God so loved the world. All eight billion plus. I believe he loves them. I believe he loves every person. I believe he created every one of us. But I believe there's some people in our world that just hasn't taken him at his word that he is the way, the truth, and the life. And what's even crazier to me is that we have people in the church today that have heard about Jesus their whole life, but still they don't believe that he could be the way, the truth, and the life for them. Because they chose not to listen to a better word. This is where I'm gonna end today. I'm gonna hurry up here because I'm almost done. We're in the Old Testament. Last night we were at uh Bollinger's, and uh we were sitting there and they were joking about, you know, second, second ending. I said I was going to leave, and my kids were on a ride, so we couldn't leave. And they were like, it's like you're preaching. I said, No, that's three times. So I get I get three conclusions and then we're done, all right? No, but in the Old Testament, we see Adam and Eve kicked out of the Garden of Eden. We see the law, we see it, the Levitical law, we see it all. We see it. The temple, the priest, all the things. Rolling back your sins, all this stuff. We see it. And there's something that happens. You know? This idea of unconditional love. People say, oh, it can't be that easy. I've got to give up and get my life right before I'll be good enough. I told you. You couldn't save yourself if you tried. You know? You couldn't save yourself if you tried. I want to talk a minute about the Levitical law. I want to talk about this God that we serve. You know, he says in Rom. Uh sorry. Oh no. Oh, there we go. Back in Hebrews. I'm sorry. We'll get there. I'm sorry. There we go. You cannot come to a mountain. So this is this is Hebrews, New Testament, and we're talking about the church here. This is the Old Testament with the New Testament. Ready? In the Old Testament, we had Moses. Alright? You remember when the Ten Commandments, he goes up there with God, they do the commandments, Mount Sinai. This is what happens. This is what they're talking about. It's talking about the mountain in the Old Testament. It says, You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire, to darkness, gloom, and the storm, to a trumpet blast, or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further words be spoken to them. Do you know how scary it was for those that were around that mountain? An animal touched it and died. The fear of God. Like you can't see God. If you saw God, you would die. Like Moses was terrified. This was not good. This was such a holy fear. And to a trumpet blaster to such a voice speaking words that those that heard it begged that no further words speak, don't speak to me, God, because we can't bear it the weight of our soul. Because they could not bear what was commanded by God. If even an animal touched the mountain, here we go, guys, it must be stoned to death. The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, I am trembling with fear. This was the God of the Old Testament. This was how serious it was. But now the New Testament. But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all, to the spirit of the righteous made perfect. I want you to think about that. To the spirit of the righteous made perfect. Is that not a better word? 24. To Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant. And to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. Oh, what is he saying here, church? See, to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we then if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? See, here's the thing about the church in America 2026. We complicate this thing way too difficult. Because oftentimes in the church, we want people that look like us, think like us, talk like us. And you have to understand that's not God's church. His church is messy and it's disturbing sometimes, and it can get on your nerves sometimes, and it can make you sometimes just be like, Man, what are we doing? The church is full of people that are different, that look different, that come from different things, that did stupid things even in our community. You want to know why? Because in the new covenant, we do not serve a God that we cannot go to the mountaintop with, but we serve a God that is wanting relationship with us because of the Jesus that we serve, who's the mediator of a new covenant, and his blood is more righteous and more powerful and more forgiving and more redeeming than the condemnation of blood that was given from Abel's life to Cain. Now, this is important for us to understand, and I'm done. Worship team, if you want to come. This is important to understand because your sin, your sin does not prevent you from the throne of God. Your sin does not keep you out of heaven. Your sin does not destroy your future. Your sin does not disqualify you from being in the hands of Jesus. Your sin does not refuse you. You have to give up and understand that when you surrender to the way, the truth, or the life, everything becomes greater because his blood speaks a better word. It speaks a better word. Romans 6 14 says it like this. Let me get back to it. For sin shall no longer be your master. Praise God. Because you are not under the law, but you are under the grace. You're under the grace. Paul said, Should sin abound more that grace may abound. No, no, I don't want to mess up, dude. I don't want to. I don't want to keep saying the things I've said. I don't want to keep acting. I'm just trying to follow the way. And I believe it for my life. And my I hate the people I've heard. I hate the things I've done. I hate the man I've been. I hate it all. I hate the time. Every time I let the enemy tell me something, and I fell into the trap, and I took God's word not with regard, and and I fell into the temptation, and I feel the guilt and shame. I feel it. I feel it all. But you know what? There's a moment when I get down on my knees that I remember that his word is better. And that if I'm going to become the daddy and the husband and the pastor and the man that he's called me to before he even formed the world, sin can no longer be my master. Because I understand that this was never about rules, this was never about getting it right. Because I couldn't if I wanted to. This was about down and he under the grace and sovereignty of Jesus. I just wanted to be God. God, I can't figure it out. God, I need help. I know you're the way, I know you're the truth, I know you're the life. Help me, God. Because it's not under the law that you're gonna find your freedom, and it's not about how you can do that, you're gonna have hope. It's about how you fall into him. I'm gonna share this with you real quick. I don't see Dusty here this morning. This week I encountered a man that believed that the law was what was preventing him from being baptized. I was able to sit with him and talk to him and tell him the better word of Jesus Christ. Tuesdays, two days later, down at Lake Irene, lesson Donald, let me take him down there. We had a Bible study and I baptized him. For the first time in his life, he felt that sin wasn't his master, that the grace of God that he never really knew was true, became the authority for his life. You want to know why it's the authority of your life? Here's why. Because in John 19, 28 and 30, he says, Later, knowing that everything that had now been finished, this is Jesus Christ on the cross, he said, So the scripture. Would be fulfilled, Jesus said, I am thirsty. And a jar of wine vinegar was there, and they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssoplant, and they lifted it to Jesus' lips. And when he had received the drink, Jesus said the words, It is finished. And bowing his head, he gave up his spirit. You know what the word it is finished in the Greek means? It's the word teletolistia, and it means paid in full. You want to know why he was protecting Cain in the book of Genesis? Because he had a better word. You want to know why he did what he did for you and I? Because he had a better word. And there is no sin today that you can run from that will be greater than the price that he paid for you and I. And I don't know who's in this room this morning that needs to hear it, but I want to give you an opportunity to believe it and know that he's the way, he's the truth, and he's the life, that he finished it up on a cross for those in the past that couldn't fix it themselves. Cain, his brother, his mama, his daddy, Moses, Abraham, who was a liar, all these people. We can go down the rec in the history books. We're talking about prostitutes and people that just couldn't figure it out. He did it for them. He said, It is finished, paid in full. And in 2026, there's gonna be somebody that doesn't believe that I'm as good as I say that I am, but I'm gonna send a preacher to remind them that it's still as good today as it was back then, and it's going to be just that good tomorrow. That's it. That's it. Will you stand with me? It's a better word. It's a better word. It's a better word. I'm gonna invite every person here to close your eyes, every head bow. I don't do altar calls often because I think we should do them with great reverence. And I know we pray after the service, and that's good, and I love that. But I want to give you, this is not between you and anybody else. Don't care who's watching, listening. Right now, no one should be, but don't care. This is about your life. He loves you, he died for you. If you're sitting in that pew right now and you're like, you know what? I want a better word, and I want to respond to that with faith. And faith means I move because faith is a verb. If that's you right now, every head bow, every eyes closed, this is between you and the Lord. I'm gonna invite you to the front right now. If you want to start a relationship with the Lord right now, listen, this isn't about me. This isn't performance. If nobody comes, I was obedient and I'm okay, I'm not discouraged with that. But if there is someone right now in this room that wants to join me and together we can continue to walk the way and believe the truth and live in the life, I want to give you that opportunity right now. I want to give you that opportunity. If you're here this morning and you've never done that, or maybe you've been away from the Lord and you're trying to figure, but you're still struggling with your past. Come up. Come up. Let's have that conversation with the Lord. This is up to you right now. You've got a church family that's willing to pray with you. You've got people that want to see you succeed. Don't let the enemy talk you out of your blessing. Don't let the enemy deceive you into believing that if I go up there, they may think something differently of me. Listen, we all need it. We all need him. I don't want you to live another day without him being king over your life. I'm gonna pray for you. And as I pray, if you feel led, you come up. You come up. Dear Father, we love you. We thank you for your goodness. We thank you for your mercy. Lord, I say it all the time. I thank you for your goodness. I thank you for your mercy. God, I thank you that you didn't give up on someone like me. That Lord, every day that I struggle and I mess it up. You don't give up. For while I was still yet a sinner, you died.

SPEAKER_00 48:35

God, thank you for the better word. Thank you for your love. Thank you for your grace. Thank you for your mercy. Lord, there's so many times I didn't know God made you know you were there. Lord, so many situations you've been there. God, I thank you for your goodness. God, I thank you. I thank you for your people. I thank you for our church. I thank you for what you've done in the hearts of so many and what you're gonna continue to do. God, I just pray for that one today, God, that just feels like Lord, I want to move, but I can't. I want to go, but I don't know. Lord, I pray for them today. I pray for you to continue to do a work, God. I thank you, Lord. Lord, we for we repent of all of our sins. We repent of everything we've done.

SPEAKER_01 49:43

Lord, the things we shouldn't do, the things we knew we shouldn't do and we did anyways. God, we repent. God, clean us. Lord, bless your church. Lord, let's move the direction you call us to move and go the direction you call us to go. Lord, when we're all by ourselves at the gas station or at the restaurant or at the meeting, God, let us represent you the way you want to be represented. Let us love people the way you've loved us.

SPEAKER_00 50:11

God, we love you. We praise you. We praise you. We praise you. Lord, I thank you for your goodness. I thank you for it. You're a heavenly father, you're a good father.

SPEAKER_01 50:28

We worship you and honor and truth in all that we do. Lord, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. In your name. Amen.