Mercy in Perilous Times (LIVE)

A quiet milestone turns into a bold charge: if the heart is the wellspring of our words and choices, then the real battle is not cosmetic but core. We walk through Ecclesiastes 8 and 2 Peter 3 to confront a hard truth—when judgment doesn’t come quickly, we often mistake God’s patience for approval—and then we flip that lie on its head with the better truth of grace. God’s forbearance is not indifference. It is a window for repentance, a daily sermon through breath, beauty, and borrowed time.

We talk candidly about why “I’m dealing with it” can be a subtle form of unbelief, a way to manage appearances rather than receive a new heart. Christ purchased more than survival; he purchased joy, victory, peace, and freedom from the inner war we can never win alone. The church’s response to rejection and misrepresentation is not retreat but resilience: deeper unity, fervent prayer, simple obedience, and the steady fruit of the Spirit. If Jesus knew what was in man and still set his face toward the cross, then we can face dark days with bright hope.

Along the way, we answer the scoffer’s question about promises and time. The same word that formed the world will finish history. It may feel like any other day, until it isn’t. That urgency drives a personal invitation: return to the God who is longsuffering toward you, lay down the struggle you’ve glorified, and step into the abundant life Christ secured. If this message moves you, share it with someone who needs hope today, subscribe for more, and leave a review to help others find the show. What part stirred your heart most? We’d love to hear.

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome, Milestone, And Setup
• 1:44 The Human Heart And Its Fruits
• 4:38 Christ’s Example Amid Rejection
• 6:47 The Church’s Call To Stand Firm
• 9:45 Ecclesiastes 8 And Set Hearts
• 13:40 Twisting Mercy Into License
• 16:35 Born Again: Dealt With, Not Managing Sin
• 19:49 Mercy Prolongs Days, Judgment Remains
• 22:35 Scoffers, Noah, And Certain Fire
• 26:30 A Day Like Any Other, Then Judgment
• 29:27 God’s Longsuffering And His Will
• 33:00 Abundant Life Versus Endless Struggle
• 36:35 Learning Grace And Loving Enemies

Transcript

SPEAKER_01: 0:36

Welcome uh all those who are here tonight. Amen. And um yeah, 5,000 downloads. Bless God. Um and uh thankful to the Holy Ghost in doing that. Uh it all started on Dalton Road here in King. And I was talking to the Lord about it, and the Lord said, go ahead and do the podcast, and uh that was that was years ago now. And uh human uh humanly I've got to thank you though uh for downloading it, for supporting it, for helping it along on the social media, for sharing it with friends and sharing it with family, sharing it with your churches. And so um glory to God, and we rejoice together in that. And uh, we're glad all of you are here as well. And uh we're gonna be in Ecclesiastes chapter eight to start out with. But gotta give some background first. And prayerfully in the Holy Ghost, this will help you hear the message in the right way. And we've been talking about the hearts of men, talked about the hearts of men last week, um, hearts of men, women, and children. That's just how we're born. We're fallen. And these things come out of the heart. And you can replace the word heart with soul, or will, or desire, or passion, or pursuit. Um, before anything really comes out of your head, before anything really comes out of your mouth, it was in your heart first. And Jesus himself uh stood there and um having a grand debate about hand washing at the time, and he can he shifts it to the real issue with the Pharisees and the scribes one day, and he says, you know, nothing that goes into the body defiles. That's what comes out of the heart, that defiles men, defiles, makes unclean, makes unholy, makes impure. So nothing outside does it, but it's already, already, remember that, it's already there on the inside, and it's always there, no matter your expression. Whether you've got an anger problem, whether you're feeling it or expressing it, or whether you're not feeling it and not express it, it's still there. Fornication, still there, adultery, still there, blasphemy, still there, whether it's being acted on or whether it's not. Whether you're really happy or whether you're really sad, it's not. It doesn't matter. It's the heart is the heart. Now, knowing this about people, God still chose to provide mercy and salvation by grace through faith. Knowing this, knowing that people were going to reject him, knowing that people were going to twist his words, he still said them. Knowing that people were going to make the cross an argument and even go so far as to make the cross an idol, he still went to the cross. He endured it, he shed his blood, he laid down his life, and he did it all with a joyful attitude. He did it all for the joy that was set before him. He did it all for the love of his father and for the love of this world, for the love of these people whose hearts are continually wicked. Heaven rejoices when one soul repents and when one soul is born again. And bless God, church, this is where it starts to involve the church. We ought to also. Rejection, scripture twisting, the perilous times, the opposition you face, these should not cause the church to change course. The hearts of the people you're ministering to, and they're rejecting you. That should not cause you to change. That should not set your agenda, and that should not control the church. The church should not hold back just because people are silent. The church should not hold back just because people twist what you say. The church should not hold back just because people throw insults at you. The church should not hold back just because the times are perilous. If anything, the church should be stronger. If anything, the church should be more united. If anything, the church should be talking to each other more. If anything, the church should know each other better, bear each other up. And that goes from the pastors all the way to everybody in the membership. Everybody roll up their sleeves, everybody get in there, and everybody pray and everybody preach and everybody labor in the fields, and the mission, the vision should be stronger, not weaker. In the face of opposition and in the face of rejection. Because God Himself is your example, my friend. Knowing, John says it. Jesus knew he didn't commit himself to everybody. You ever notice that? He didn't like he didn't reveal everything to everybody. Jesus is the one who talked about putting pearls before swine. Why? He knew what was in the hearts of men. But that didn't change who he is. And that didn't change what he was going to do. That didn't change the fact that he said, Father, forgive them, they know not what they do when they were nailing him on the cross. He didn't change. Why should we? He's our head and he's our husbandman, my friend. Hallelujah. And we have to remember as well, we don't embrace helplessness, hopelessness, jadedness, or hostility. If anything, the fruit of the Holy Ghost. Starting with love, peace, joy, long-suffering, mercy, that becomes all the stronger. And we can't miss that those who twist the word do so to their own destruction and the harm of others. And so, my friend, Jesus ministers to his church to walk in the spirit, to bear the fruits of the spirit, to be as he is, to watch, to pray, to love one another. And with that backdrop, we plumb the depths of the darkness of the human heart in Ecclesiastes eight. With that backdrop in mind, and if you think this is gloom and doom, it's not. And uh Ecclesiastes eight, starting in in verse eleven. Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore, and this is never one of those heart things, the heart of the sons of men is fully set one hundred percent set in them to do evil. Not to do good, to do evil. This is just the first sentence, my friend. We're going to get a few more, hallelujah. Um sentence against an evil work, not executed speedily. So the the fact that you've got a lot of fornication or lust or anger or and whatever whatever is going on in your heart, the fact that you don't wake up in hell instantly, the fact that the wrath of God is not poured out on you right there, right instantly. The mercy of God, the forbearance of God, the goodness of God, because God puts you under his mercy. Therefore, the heart of men, the sons of men is fully set on them to do evil. This is the darkness, you know. I believe this is the one of the most stark descriptions in Scripture, even more so than Jeremiah, about how deceitfully wicked the human heart is. Because the reality here, even if hell was immediate, my friend, even if the wrath of God was immediate, it wouldn't change the human heart. Oh, you'd see someone end up in hell. Oh, well, hold on. That person ended up in hell. So how can I have my sin and not end up in hell? And so some people will start bargaining with God, some people will start appeasing God, some people will start reading the room and figure out what every everybody wants them to do, everybody wants them to say, and try to, and so we do everything in order to protect and control and manage our situation so we can have our sin somehow. You see, if God poured hell out on a sinner immediately, God would not accomplish God's will. He's out to change the heart. He's out to change. Hallelujah. Glory to God. He's seeing all of this, seeing the way people twist it, seeing the way people, I mean, in my word, it gets dark. To distort the mercy, goodness, and forbearance of God. Some people will say God isn't there. Because I've had my I've told my lie and nothing struck me down. I've committed adultery and I didn't get caught. I stole and I didn't lose everything. I cussed God out. And I'm still walking around. Some people will twist to say God isn't there, God doesn't care. And the worst one, the one we see so commonly today, God approves. God approves of my lust because I'm working on it. God approves of my sin because I'm dealing with it. But my friend, you gotta hear this. It's already been dealt with. Yeah, and one of the biggest self-deceptions, and one of the biggest attempts to deceive other people that can come out of the human heart. I'm dealing with that. Oh, if you're born again, it's dealt with. If you're born again, it's done. If you're born again, where, my friend, is the rejoicing that the Lord God Almighty He bore your sin and He's growing me up? Hallelujah. This was going on in my life. I didn't see it until now. And glory to God, the Holy Ghost showed me this. Where is the rejoicing? Oh, we say I'm dealing with it. We say I'm trying, we say I'm working on it. It's a self-deception, and it's also a way to try to control others. It's a way to try to manipulate God into letting you off the hook and a way to let others know that I've got this thing, but I'm not believing God. It's a rejection of the Lord. See, I told you it's going to get dark. But this is the world we minister in. This is the world we we love. This is the world God so loved, and God so loved everyone in the darkness and the wickedness and the evil of their heart, and that is you included, my friend. That is you. This is a description of you, but it does not invalidate the fact that God loves you, it proves the fact that God loves you. Because the Lord's telling us here, you know, verse 12 though a sinner do evil a hundred times and his days be prolonged. That's a man under God's mercy. That's a woman under the goodness of God. That's the forbearance of God, that's the goodness of God right there that leads men to repent. His days be prolonged. He keeps breathing God's air. The heart that God gave him keeps pumping. The blood that God gives him, the sleep that God gives him, the rest that God gives him, the provision that God gives him, it keeps coming. Nature itself, the witness of creation, keeps on shouting, There is God, I am God and I love you. Yet surely I know. The preacher writes, Yet surely I know it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before him. But it shall not be well with the wicked. Neither shall he prolong his days. His days will be prolonged, but not forever. His days are but a shadow. They're there one minute and they're gone the next. Experience slips away. Time slips away. Because he feareth not before God. There yet remains a day. And we've got to come over to Second Peter here. There yet remains a day of judgment. God will not prolong this time of grace forever in your life. But this time is there for a purpose, my friend. Second Peter chapter 3, starting in verse 3. See if you can hear the echoes of Ecclesiastes. Writing to the church, hallelujah, but the lost can see a lot in this. Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last day scoffers, walking after their own lust, walking in the evil of their heart, and saying, Where is the promise of his coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. This is a particular kind of scoffer. This particular kind of scoffer has been told that Jesus is coming again. This particular scoffer has been told that God so loves the world and he gave his only begotten son. Anybody who believes in him, the scoffer included, will not perish but have everlasting life. This scoffer has been told of the love of God, has been shown the grace of God, has been shown the goodness of God. This scoffer has been warned that my friends, your days have an end. You're hanging under the wrath of God right now, but God wants you to turn. The Lord is coming again. This scoffer has knowledge, and this is the scoffer's response to mock. A willing ignorance. For this they are willingly ignorant of. That by the word of God the heavens were of old, the earth standing out of the water and in the water, we heard of Noah last week, whereby the world that then was being overflowed with water perished. But the heavens and the earth which are now, that's what you're walking around on. That's what you drive your car on, that's what you drive your truck on. These are the the trees that you see. They're so gorgeous this time of year. The trees that you see, the stars that you see, the sky that you see. Your favorite place to go. Your favorite restaurant. Your house. Your neighbor's house. Which are now, by the same word. Hallelujah. Our captain's store. Captain store. Kept. Reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. It'll probably be a day like any other. Yeah, there are times I I drive a lot these days. There are times I see ambulances. And you pray for whatever's going on in the if you if you're me anyway. Um you pray for whatever's going on. Because someone's going through it, that someone has someone, that someone's got a family, uh, that someone is somebody's son, that somebody is somebody's daughter. Um, and at least in in this state, everyone's supposed to stop, everyone's supposed to move to the side, everyone's supposed to let the ambulance go. What happens 30 seconds later? Everything just kind of goes on. Just kinda goes on, you know, okay, um. It'll be a day like any other. Everything will just be kinda going on.

SPEAKER_00: 20:15

And then the church will go home. The trumpet will blow.

SPEAKER_01: 20:31

And history will turn one cycle closer to this day. One day you'll you'll wake up. It'll be your last day, you will know it. You'll wake up somewhere. But by the end of that day, you'll stand before Jesus.

SPEAKER_00: 21:02

And I'm asking, what's that gonna be like?

SPEAKER_01: 21:06

What's the condition of your heart? Because my friend, there is a day of judgment, and this particular day of judgment is referring directly to the perition of ungodly men. The destruction of the ungodly, the destruction of those who refuse Jesus, the destruction of those who spent their life resisting the grace of God. But beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing. One day with the Lord is as a thousand years. A thousand years is as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning his promises. Some men count slackness, but oh, and here's the shouting ground. Long suffering. Long suffering to usward. Oh, church, God's long suffering to loss. We ought to be too. Hallelujah. But God doesn't change or pull punches on the fact that fire is coming. God doesn't change and pull punches on the fact that the ungodly will wake up in hell, except, and this is the will of God. He doesn't pull punches here either. He He wants all to come to repentance. All, everybody, everyone. That's you, and that's everybody you see. Every single man, woman, and child. The heartbeat of God for you is to turn to him now. It's to turn to him at once. It's to turn to him immediately. For why should you die, my friend? Hallelujah. The blood has been shed. You heard that at the beginning of the message. While we were yet sinners, my friend, this is how God proves his love. While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. And what life did he purchase for us? He didn't purchase a life of struggle. He didn't purchase a life of torment. He purchased a life full of joy. He purchased a life full of victory. He purchased a life full of goodness and kindness and charity. He purchased a life full of the truth. He purchased a life full of peace. This is the abundant life that God has purchased for you. And so if you're not walking in this, my friend, you don't have the joy of the Lord. You don't have the victory. You don't have the testimony. All you've got is a wicked heart that you're trying your hardest to control, and you can't help it. It keeps coming out. Oh my friend, you fight that fight, you're going to fight it all the way to hell. But I'm here to tell you tonight God doesn't want you to fight that fight. That's not a battle God wants you to fight because it's a fight that you can't win. It's a fight nobody can win. It's not that you're weak, it's not that you're pathetic, it's not that you're not dedicated enough, it's not that you're not educated enough. You can't change your nature. But God can. What's more? What's more? This verse shouts to you tonight. He's long-suffering toward you. Oh, I'd love to go back to that passage with the shepherds and the angels in the book of Luke. And those angels came down, and what'd they say? They didn't come to announce the wrath of God. They didn't come to pour out the vials and the bowls of God's wrath. That'll come later. But for now and for you, what did they come to say? They said, the goodness of God toward men. They said, This is what's going on. The goodness of God toward men, peace on earth, and good will toward men. What is man's problem? Man's got this heart that is hopelessly wicked. And yet, how does it begin to dawn on you? And yet, the goodness of God is revealed. And yet, this is how God responds. This is how God responds. Why should you die? Why should you go on one more minute being so full of anger? Why should you go on one more minute being so full of fear? One more minute. That's the high crime of God. He wants to solve your problems. Every single solitary one. And he doesn't want to leave one. Because if he left one, oh, would that be good for you? No. If he left one fear, would that be peace? No. That says perfect perfect love. How you can fill in the blanks, some of you. Perfect love casts out all fear. Whoa. All fear. It's all gone. What does he say? Resist the devil? That's you. You resist the devil. Does it say he'll flee sometimes? No. He says he'll flee all the time. And our problem as people is that we don't we we we like to fight. We like to struggle. And God help us in America. We've glorified the struggle. We've glorified struggling. Oh, we're we're bored unless we have something to struggle against. One of man's biggest problems is that we have a terrible time with grace. A terrible time with grace for ourselves. And we God help us, and God does. Glory to God. A time a struggle with showing grace to other people. We want to look at those, you know, blankety blankets and what they did to me, and how this hurt me and how this harm me and blah blah blah blah blah. And God doesn't ignore that. God says you you love your enemy. God said you pray for those who despitefully use you. God said, God, you know, sometimes he comes alongside me. And he says, you know, when I healed ten lepers one day, I only got one that came back to me and said thank you. I got one. And I'm God. You know, hallelujah. Now, hallelujah. The Lord, the Holy Ghost is inside. But I'm not God. Jesus only got one. Why are you crying? Because nobody says thank you. You're in good company. Never forget that. You're in good comp you're in the best company there ever could be. Because God Himself, He deals with unthankfulness on a level that we can't comprehend it. You don't know all six billion people on this earth. God does. God can tell you names, God can tell you situations, God can tell you contents of the heart, thoughts of the mind, God can tell you number of hairs on the head. And in God's eyes, every single one of us, lost or not, lost or saved, born again or fighting God, you know, whatever. Um, we're of more value to him than the sparrow. We're of more value than the trees, we're of more value than the fishes, we're of more value than the beasts. Um, we may be as natural brute beasts, but we're of more value to him. We're a living soul. Never forget that. And bless God, you know, even earlier today, you know, said Lord, haste that day. Let that trumpet blow. I want to go home. I want my family to go home. But the Lord said, you know, I will. But don't you miss what I'm doing now? I will. But don't you miss all these people? I will. But don't you forget that you're called. And church, you're called. Hallelujah and amen. And there's something to do. And the Lord's here with you right in the midst of it. And the Lord's leading us right in the midst of it. Um, but my friends, my lost dying friend, I really hope that this has been a wake-up to you. And my friends, you're not really getting away with anything. But what's really going on is that scripture says it, New Testament says at least two times off the top of my head. You're opposing yourself. You're opposing yourself, you're deceived, and you are deceiving others. But even so, the Lord knew this about you. Even so, you haven't deceived yourself or opposed yourself straight out of John 3.16. You haven't done that. He still loves you. And my friend, the fact that you're listening to this means that he is calling you home. He's calling you home, he's calling you home. And sometimes that call's got to get loud. Sometimes that call's got to be direct. Sometimes that calls got to be gritty. Sometimes that call's got to be in your face. But my friend, he's calling you home. And the fact that it's loud means that you need it to be loud. The fact that it's in your face means that you're dodging it. The fact that that that it's that it's just gut level down to earth. That means it's got to be really simple. But the love's there. And I hope you've heard that tonight. Hallelujah. If our musicians come forward, um we need to have a time of invitation. Bless God for those who are right here, right in front of me. And church, you've heard as much as the lost tonight. Hallelujah. And my friend, the altar is open for you. But my friend, if you if you need to be born again, I want you, if you're here tonight, just come forward. I'd be glad to pray with you. Um, if you need to be born again out there, my friend, don't you delay one second longer, but you call upon the name of Jesus Christ. Because my friend, um, you you know, the rottenness of sin is there. And the death of sin is there, and the filthiness of sin is there, and the ugliness of sin is there. And my friend, it may feel like the pit of hell is open and you're just dangling there. Oh, my friend, you're not far from the kingdom. Call upon Jesus, trust Jesus, throw yourself upon Jesus, cast yourself upon Jesus, ask Jesus to be saved, ask Jesus to be born again. Oh, my friend, it's not just that God's bigger and you're smaller. No, it's not that. But my friends, if your heart is crying out and it says, I believe you, Jesus, and I want you, Jesus, and I don't know how to say this, Jesus, but I love you, Jesus. If your heart is crying out for Him, to be born again, to be changed, to be free, to be different, to have an abundant life that you've heard about in this message, to have joy, to have hope, to have peace, to have healing, to have real victory. Oh my friend, don't delay. Don't delay, but run home. And you'll find he's waiting with open arms, you'll find that he, I mean, it's it's like he gets down and he meets you halfway. And he just pulls you up. Oh, my friend, it's a glorious thing, it's a precious thing. I'll be saved tonight. And my friend, thank you for being with us. And um, brothers and sisters out there, um, share this message with the lost people that you know. Because um, my friend, uh the time draws short, the time draws near. And every day that goes by is one more day they don't have. Every day that goes by is a testimony to the glory of God, yes, but it's it's one day that your lost family members don't have, your lost friends don't have anymore, your neighborhood doesn't have it anymore, your country doesn't have it anymore, your nation doesn't have it anymore. They've gone one more day, and my friend, who can say? Yeah, scripture tells us who can add years to his life, who can add who can add hairs to the head? Um, who can do it? Nobody. And so God wants us to stand up, God wants us to get over our petty squabbles and our petty struggles, God wants us to get over our selfishness. God wants us to finally stop dealing with things and realize that they've been dealt with. And walk in that faith. It'll change your life. Your fear's been dealt with. Jesus a very, very good message on B. R. Lake and go back and listen to it. Does Jesus care? Yes, he does. Jesus went through. If anybody knew fear, it was Jesus. If anybody knew betrayal, it was Jesus. If anybody knew people letting him down, it was Jesus. If anybody knew pain, it was Jesus. If anybody knew sickness, it was Jesus. If anybody knew what it was like, you know, the devil came personally to him a couple of times. If anybody knew temptation, it was Jesus. And you know what? He walked through it? Sinless. Only begotten Son of God. You know one reason he did that? To identify with you. One reason he did that is that God, let this blow your mind. God wanted to know what it was like. He didn't know what it was like. God cannot be tempted. God cannot hunger. God cannot thirst. He wanted to know what it was like. Why? Merciful, merciful. That's a church gonna remember that. Merciful. Merciful, high priest. He's a high priest, he's the highest authority there is merciful. The fire's coming, but it's not yet. Run to him, my friend. Rejoice in him and hallelujah. Thank you for being here, and thank you for sharing this.