If we could all please find the seats and grab the hymnal
and insert that hymnal, the song number 409.
We could begin this evening's service
by singing the song number 409, The Fight Is O'er.
["The Fight Is O'er"]
The fight is on all Christian soldiers,
and face-to-face is heard already.
With armor gleaming, and colors streaming,
the right and wrong is today.
The fight is on the lean of weary,
be strong, and in his might all fails.
The God before us is better o'er us.
We'll sing the victor's song at last.
The fight is on all Catholic soldiers,
great and true, the hope of thee,
the victory of the sheep.
We'll love no other.
The armor God has given to him,
to give his strength forever and ever more.
The fight is on all Christian soldiers,
and face-to-face is heard already.
With armor gleaming, and colors streaming,
the right and wrong is today.
The fight is on the lean of weary,
be strong, and in his might all fails.
The God before us is better o'er us.
We'll sing the victor's song at last.
The fight is on all Catholic soldiers,
great and true, the hope of thee,
the victory of the sheep.
We'll love no other.
The fight is on all Christian soldiers,
and face-to-face is heard already.
With armor gleaming, and colors streaming,
the right and wrong is today.
The fight is on the lean of weary,
be strong, and in his might all fails.
The God before us is better o'er us.
We'll sing the victor's song at last.
Amen, my brother.
Let's turn to song number 165 in our hands.
Song number 165, We'll Worship the King.
We'll worship the king, all glorious above,
and gracefully sing his wonderful love,
a shield and leaf, and new the ancient old days,
a bill and a splendor, and her head with praise.
We'll tell of his might and sing of his grace,
whose role is the light, whose care of his grace.
They share in self and the deep like their clouds for more,
and our peace is that on the wings of the storm,
a bountiful kid once again we sigh.
It breathes in the air, it shines in the light,
it streams from the hills, it descends to the plain,
and sweetly distills in the dew and the rain.
The children of the sun and people as well
will be to be trusted or by me to fail.
Thy mercies I'll tender thou firm to the end,
a maker, defender, redeemer, and friend.
At this time, we're going with the announcement
to be the following of the singing song number 164,
so stay right there if you're ready to go.
Number 164 next.
All right, if you'd like a bulletin,
go ahead and slip your hand around and bring you one.
We've got our service time listed there at the top,
the one on the left, as well as the church-wide solely
and salvations.
Go ahead and count up some of the numbers
going back to the Friday or Saturday.
And then today, was there anything out there today
at the group?
Two, all right.
One Bible, right?
Yeah.
Everybody off to a good start in Operation Confiscation.
All right.
Good start to New Year.
And then also, over on the right-hand side,
Happy New Year to everybody.
Thanks for making 2021 so great.
We're looking forward to what's ahead in 2022.
We've got the birthdays listed there below
and the New Testament 90-day challenge.
So I know we're already kind of into the second there,
but there's a plan if you want to kind of get on board.
I'll just kind of put those in there weekly.
But you're also, of course, always
welcome to do it however you want to do it,
as long as you get it read by March 31st.
And then on the back, don't forget the homeschool field
trip coming up to Rooster Cogburn's Ostrich Farm.
That's this Friday, January 7th.
Of course, that's open to anybody with at least one
homeschooling student at H-5 and up.
So you can come on up next.
And if you haven't contacted us, let somebody know.
I know there's different groups the ladies are in
and stuff like that.
If you have anybody you know, please let us know
as soon as you can.
And then speaking of Operation Confiscation,
anybody come up with a better name?
No one wants to get shot down in terms of your name, right?
Operation Bible Swap?
Bible Swap?
Yeah, that's kind of a word.
It doesn't rhyme.
It's got to be catchy.
Oh, it's got to be good.
It's got to be good.
Kind of like a joke.
It's only good if it's funny.
So anyway, we'll go with Confiscation for now,
but I have open suggestions.
Maybe I shouldn't ask for that publicly,
but you know it's going to be friendly.
And don't forget how that works.
We're replacing people's false versions
with King James versions.
Paperbacks are provided in the back.
And if they're ever out, if they're not on the shelf,
we've always got a box in the AD room there
that we can always pull some more out.
And by the way, you're doing this with real people,
not just going and collecting false versions
wherever you want.
You have to put another one in someone's hand, okay?
So when you get the version,
you'll get their false version, sign your name in it,
and there's the metal wastebasket right behind the wall
there in the corner.
Just go ahead and throw it in there.
Hopefully by the end of the year,
you know it's just flowing over with false versions
for our Bible version.
And we will burn them in Tucson.
Yes, we will.
We'll burn them this time next year about approximately.
So it'll be, you know, it won't be such a fire hazard.
It won't burn until like August or anything like that.
But make sure you go ahead and sign that
and then we'll count at the end of the year.
That's another reason why you want to sign it.
Because whoever has collected the most false versions
and given out and replaced them
is going to get a leather-bound Cambridge King James Bible.
Those are great Bibles.
Those are Bibles that will last you.
You take care of them.
You treat them well.
They will last you a lifetime.
You can put your notes in there and stuff like that.
You know, I like that.
You know, I have one myself.
I have a nice one.
It's just nice to have.
It's kind of an heirloom, you know,
if you make notes as you go.
It's something you can pass down to your children.
You know, they can see grandpa's notes later,
you know, grandkids and everything.
So it's worth, you know, it's worth doing anyway
just to get the right word of God in somebody's hands.
You're not going to get those false versions out.
We'll go ahead and we'll just put some icing on cake.
We'll put a cherry on top and say,
hey, we'll give you a really nice Bible to fill in.
So I'll probably order, you know,
a version of what I want to get and have it up here.
But the competition is year-long,
so don't feel like, you know, you don't have time to do this.
You know, I know we're getting into it right now,
but stick with it and better get cracking.
Brother Jamie's already got one in that basket.
He's fixing to get some more.
So he's already in the lead.
He's giving it a run for his money.
Don't forget, we've got the men's preaching night
coming up Tuesday, January 25th at 7 p.m.
This is open to men 18 years or older,
no spectators allowed, so please be
come prepared to preach.
And you can repeat the last two days of your month.
Don't forget, we've got the Mexico Monday tomorrow.
If you're planning on going, please let me know.
But that will do it for another session.
Go ahead and sing one more song for the preaching tonight.
So, 164, praise him, praise him.
Praise him, praise him.
This is the Lord.
Praise him, praise him, Jesus our blessed believer.
Sing, O Earth, his wonderful love prevail.
Hail him, hail him, highest our angels we've ever been.
Strength and honor lead to his holy name.
Like a shepherd, Jesus will guard his children.
In his arms he carries them all day long.
Praise him, praise him, tells his excellent greatness.
Praise him, praise him, ever-be-joyful star.
Praise him, praise him, Jesus our blessed believer.
For our sins he suffered and bled and died.
He, our God, our hope, will return our salvation.
Hail him, hail him, Jesus the crucified.
Sound his praises, Jesus, who bore us all.
Whose love unbound him, wonderful, deep, and strong.
Praise him, praise him, tells his excellent greatness.
Praise him, praise him, ever-be-joyful star.
Praise him, praise him, Jesus our blessed believer.
Then we, Lord, close, loud with hosannas real.
Jesus, Savior, reign forever and ever.
Crown him, crown him, prophet and priest and king.
Christ is coming over the world victorious.
Thou and glory unto the Lord be Lord.
Praise him, praise him, tells his excellent greatness.
Praise him, praise him, ever-be-joyful star.
And at this time, we'll pass the offering play.
As the play goes around, let's turn our Bibles to Ephesians chapter 6.
That's Ephesians chapter 6.
As always, we'll read the entire chapter.
Please follow along silently as we read from Ephesians chapter 6.
Ephesians chapter 6.
The first one in the Bible reads,
Children, obey your parents and your Lord, for this is right.
Honor thy father and mother, which is the first commandment of promise,
that it may be well with thee, and thou mayst serve them on the earth.
And ye fathers, with all kind of children to wrath,
will bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh,
with fear and trembling, and sinless of heart, and of Christ.
Not with thy service as mentors, but as servants of Christ,
doing the will of God in the heart, with good will, doing the service,
as to the Lord, and not to men, knowing that whatsoever good thing
the man doeth, the same shall be received from the Lord,
whether he be bond or free.
And ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing thread,
knowing that your master also in heaven is in heaven,
neither is there respect or person or thing.
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord,
with the power of his might, throughout all armor of God,
being able to stand against the wiles of the devil,
for rest are not against flesh and blood, but against principality,
against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world,
against spiritual wickedness in thy places.
Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God,
being able to withstand in him the day, and having done all to stand,
stand with him, having your loins heard about the truth,
and having on the breast played righteousness,
and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace,
above all taking the shield of faith,
who with thee shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked,
and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit,
which is the word of God,
praying always with all prayer and supplication of the spirit,
and watching everything with all perseverance,
and supplication for all saints,
and for me the other ones will be given unto me,
that I may open them up boldly,
to make known the mystery of the gospel,
for which I am an ambassador in bonds,
that they are in heaven to speak boldly,
as I have to speak,
and that you also may know my affairs,
and how I do it,
in psychiatry, the beloved brother,
and faithful minister of the Lord,
shall make known to you all things,
whom I center unto you for the same purpose,
that you may know our affairs,
and that you may comfort your hearts.
Peace be to the brethren,
the love of faith,
from God the Father,
to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Grace be with them all,
to the love of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and sincere amen.
Amen.
Thank you, Lord God, for today, Lord God.
Thank you for the salvation, Lord God,
and thank you for all the business, Lord God,
that you do for us,
and back to the breath of the Spirit,
Lord God, thank you for preaching,
and feel good according to your spirit,
and allow him to preach over to us,
Lord God, and give us the heart,
and hear the blood of Christ,
Lord, and give him the praise.
Amen.
So let me just double check here.
I've been not unmuting my mic.
Okay.
We're live streaming now.
There's a lot of kinks I'm working out,
so if you see me running up here last minute,
that's why,
but I want to preach a sermon tonight
entitled Real Zeal.
Real Zeal.
And of course,
a very familiar passage there
in Ephesians chapter six
where it says in verse 10,
Finally, my brethren,
be strong in the Lord
and the power of his might.
Put on the whole armor of God,
that you may be able to stand
against the wiles of the devil,
for we wrestle not against flesh and blood,
but against principalities,
against powers,
against the rulers of the darkness of this world,
against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Wherefore, take unto you the whole armor of God,
that you may be able to stand
in the evil day,
and having done all,
to stand.
So Paul here is admonishing the Ephesians
to put on the whole armor of God
so that they can do what?
So that they can stand.
And having done all,
to stand.
Now keep something in Ephesians.
We're going to be there
throughout the sermon.
But go over to 1 Corinthians chapter 16.
1 Corinthians chapter 16.
So this admonishment to stand
and to not back down
is something that you have to be
very deliberate about.
This isn't something
that's just going to happen
in your Christian life.
And you have to,
you know,
I'm preaching this because,
you know,
right now we're not really
going through any kind of
major persecution.
Of course,
people are always going
through certain levels
of persecution,
maybe with their family
or on the job site
or wherever.
You know,
there always is some kind of level
of persecution that comes
and goes in our personal lives.
But, you know,
we as a church have never
really faced a real persecution.
But I know this much
is that it will come.
Is that as we grow,
as we do more,
as we get on the devil's radar,
as we continue to preach
the Word of God
and go out and preach the gospel
and, you know,
put those King James Bibles
in people's hands
in people's hands,
you know,
we are going to encounter
resistance and we have to be
prepared to stand.
That when that time comes,
we've already predetermined,
we've already deliberately
thought about this and said,
you know what?
I am going to stand.
I'm going to do all to stand.
You know,
this is why we're preaching this.
But, you know,
Paul often admonishes
people in the epistles
to do this,
to stand and to not back down.
This isn't just an isolated
incidence.
That tells me that this
is important.
This is something that
we as Christians have to
have in the forefront
of our mind.
This is something that
we have to think about.
This is something that
we should address.
This is something that
we should look at,
that we need to learn to stand.
And there are several things
we have to stand against.
It's not just the persecution.
You know,
another thing that Paul
admonishes people to stand
against is against sin,
you know, against temptation,
to resist temptation.
If you look at
1 Corinthians chapter 16,
look at verse 13.
He said,
Watch ye stand fast
in the faith.
So there it is again.
I beseech you like men.
He's saying basically,
you know, act like men.
Be strong.
Let all your things
be done with charity.
I beseech you, brethren,
you know the house of Stephanus,
that it is the first fruits
of Achaea,
and that they have
addicted themselves
to the ministry of the saints,
that you submit yourselves
unto such and to everyone
that helpeth with us.
So not only is Paul
admonishing people to stand
against temptation,
but here in 1 Corinthians 16,
you see that he's also
admonishing them to stand,
to quit themselves like men,
to be strong,
and to stand in unity, right,
and to stand in labor.
You know, and this isn't
something our church
is struggling with.
You know, we have
a very unified church.
We have a working church.
But again, this is something
that you have to stand in,
meaning it's once you occupy
that space, you know,
someone's gonna try
and get you out of it.
You have to determine
that you're gonna stay in it.
You're not gonna get
pushed around.
He's saying there,
look, you have to do
all things with charity,
that you have to submit
yourselves unto such
and to everyone that helpeth
with us and laborerth.
You know, we should stand
in unity with those
that labor in the church.
You know, we should
be a unified body.
And this is repeated again
in Philippians chapter 4.
I won't belabor the point.
Another thing that we should
stand against
is false doctrine,
false doctrine.
So ultimately I'm gonna
get to the fact that, you know,
we need to stand
for the word of God.
We need to stand for truth.
We need to preach
the word of God
and not back down.
And this is something
that's especially true
for a preacher.
You know, anyone that wants
to be a preacher, you know,
you have to be somebody
that's willing to stand up
and preach the whole
counsel of God
and quit you like a man
and be strong.
And, you know, we as a nation
today are suffering
because there's so many,
you know, there's so much
weak preaching going on
behind the pulpit.
There's so many men of God
that are just afraid.
And I don't even know why
I should call them
that, men of God.
There's so many men
getting up behind pulpits today
that are afraid to preach
what the Bible says.
And it's unfortunate
because, you know,
when the word of God
is not being preached,
when there isn't a real zeal
behind the pulpit, you know,
the nation suffers.
The people suffer.
God's chastening comes
and we're going to see that
here in a minute.
Go to Leviticus chapter 26.
But I'm just, you know,
making the point that,
you know, we are to stand
in all these different areas.
You might say,
well, this doesn't apply to me.
I'm not a preacher.
Yeah, but you need to stand
against temptation.
You don't need to resist
the devil.
You need to, you know,
stand against the wiles
of the devil.
You need to be able to stand
with your church
and those that labor.
These are places that
we all need to stand.
But I'm going to focus in on
here in a minute on the fact
that men of God,
those that preach the Bible,
need to be people that have
some real zeal about them,
meaning that they have boldness.
You know, that's what it means
to have zeal.
You know, zeal's not just
arguing with a bunch of
Sodomites on Twitter.
You know, a lot of guys seem
to think that's what it is.
You know, they just get
on social media
and they're just so bold
because they're out there
getting up with a bunch
of reprobates or something.
You know, that's easy.
Getting up and preaching to,
you know, flesh and blood
people, getting up
and showing people
their sins, you know,
lifting up your voice
like a trumpet and preaching
the whole word of God,
that takes boldness.
You know, that takes zeal.
And I'm not saying that
to sound, you know,
blow my own trumpet
or anything like that,
but I am saying that, you know,
if you're somebody who
desires that office to be in,
you know, behind a pulpit
preaching, you know,
you need to make sure
that you're willing to preach
the whole counsel of God,
to have that boldness,
to have that zeal.
Otherwise, people suffer.
The body suffers.
The nation suffers.
And I believe that's why
we are where we are today
because there's just a dearth
in this land of real zeal
behind the pulpit.
Oh, sure, there is some.
We can find it.
I mean, a lot, you know,
I'm sure that there's even
people that we don't know
in the circles that we run with
that there's even people
that are, you know, out there
that are preaching
the whole counsel of God.
But you know what?
They're few and far
between these days.
It seems to me like I just see
a lot of watered-down,
weak, lily-livered preaching
going on anymore.
That's what's taking place
in a lot of even independent
fundamental Baptist churches.
They're getting soft,
and we need some men to get up
and have some real zeal,
and I don't just mean, you know,
getting red in the face
and spitting and slobbering
and running around
and taking their jackets off
and jumping in the baptistry
and doing laps.
That's not zeal.
I'm talking about getting up
and actually preaching
and getting sin
and taking a stand
in the word of God.
That's the real kind
of preaching.
That's the real zeal
that we need today
in this country.
You know, you've got to preach
against false doctrine.
You've got to preach
against, you know,
all these different things.
Now, I had you go
to Leviticus 26.
Hopefully, you kept something
in Ephesians chapter 6.
In Ephesians chapter 6, you know,
we'll come back to Ephesians,
okay?
We'll come back there,
but if you notice,
as Paul goes on there
in Ephesians chapter 6,
you can follow along
if you got something
there with me.
In Ephesians chapter number 6,
you know, he talks about
how we are to be,
to put on the whole armor of God.
And as we go through
that armor of God,
as we will later,
you'll see that there's a helmet,
there's a breastplate,
which is something
that goes on the front.
You know, there's the,
to gird yourselves with truth, right?
There's the sword of the Spirit.
You know, these are
offensive weapons.
Yes, there's the shield of faith,
but these are all parts
of the armor that are what?
Front-facing.
These are things
that are showing us
that we are to be
on the offensive as Christians,
doing battle, right?
Going into it.
There is no armor
for your back,
is what I'm getting at.
You never notice,
he didn't say,
make sure you got
your backside covered
in case you got to
turn tail and run.
In case you got to,
you know, quit
and be a coward.
You know, that's not,
that's not prescribed
in the word of God.
That's not in there
in Ephesians 6.
You won't find that there.
There is no armor
for the back
because cowardice,
you know,
failing to preach
the things that need
to be preached,
you know,
that's not something
God expects
out of men of God.
Those that are going to
get up and claim
to be a man of God
and preach the word of God,
he doesn't expect them
to back down,
to hold back.
He wants all of it preached.
The good, the bad,
and the ugly.
The things that people
like to hear
and the things they
don't like to hear.
He wants them to do what?
Reprove, rebuke,
and exhort with all
long-suffering and doctrine.
That's what we're
prescribed to do.
And you really,
you know,
the biggest
that we see
is a failure to preach
the things that need
to be preached.
And I don't care how
excited and how,
you know,
just, you know,
drummed up some guy is
about some,
you know,
something.
And you see this
type of thing going on
where they just,
they get like these
camp meeting style
preachings where it's
just, you know,
everyone's hooping
and hollering,
but you know what?
There's no hard
preaching against sin.
You know,
that's not a real zeal.
A real zeal
is a consequence of
the consequences.
That's the kind of
zeal that we need today.
But unfortunately,
this boldness
is lacking.
You know,
and the Bible says in
Proverbs 28,
I'll read to you,
the wicked flee
when no man
pursueth,
but the righteous
are as bold
as a lion.
The righteous
are as bold
as a lion.
That's what God
expects us to be like,
bold as a lion.
You know,
if you see these lions
out in the wild,
they're not,
they're not timid
creatures.
You know,
if you saw,
you were out somewhere
and you saw a lion,
man,
if you had any brains,
you'd get out of there
as quick as you can.
Because chances are,
you know,
they are looking at you
and thinking,
that's what's for dinner.
You know,
they're thinking,
there's the beef.
You know,
that's,
that's what we're
supposed to be.
You know,
we're supposed to be
that bold where
people look at us
and they say,
wow,
this is somebody
who's not going
to back down.
You know,
the wicked that flee
when no man pursue it,
that's an attribute
of wicked people.
You know,
they're,
they're cowards.
They just flee
when no one pursues,
right?
You know,
and that's what a lot
of these sodomites
are like,
by the way.
You know,
they talk a big talk,
but they never back it up.
You know,
they flee when no man
pursue it.
They're very fearful,
right?
But also,
I want us to,
I want us to notice
that this cowardice,
this fear,
you're there in Leviticus,
chapter 26.
Look at verse 21.
God gives them this
very stern warning.
He says in verse 21
of Leviticus 26,
and if you walk contrary
unto me,
and will not hearken
unto me,
I will bring seven more
times more plagues
upon you,
plagues upon you,
according to your sins.
He's saying,
if you disobey me,
if you don't do what I say,
I'm going to punish you
seven more times worse
than what you did to me.
And you say,
well,
that doesn't sound fair.
Yeah,
but unto whom much is
given of him also
and this is him giving
them these judgments
before,
you know,
he's bringing his people
into the promised land
and they've seen the,
you know,
they've seen all of the
plagues in Egypt.
They've seen,
you know,
the Red Sea split.
They've seen all these
miracles.
You know,
they're accountable to,
you know,
fear the Lord their God
and to not walk contrary
and to hearken unto him.
And look,
I'm not going to take
the time to read all this,
but I mean,
go home and read this
passage tonight
if you haven't read this
passage.
It gets to a place where
he says,
if you,
if I'm going to bring
the plague upon you,
I'm going to bring an
enemy upon you.
If you still won't listen,
it gets to a place he says,
and if you still won't
listen,
you know what?
You'll,
you'll end up eating your
sons and daughters
because there'll be a
siege on your city.
And that is exactly what
happened.
If you know the story of
Israel,
that is exactly verse 28.
And you shall eat the
flesh of your sons and the
flesh of your daughters
shall you eat.
And I will destroy your
high places and cut down
your bones.
And God's not messing
around here.
But notice there,
notice in verse,
verse 36,
and he's saying,
and upon them that are
left alive of you,
I will send a faintness
into their hearts
and the lands of their
enemies.
And the sound of a
shaken leaf shall chase
them.
You know,
that,
compare that to what we
read in,
in,
in Proverbs where he
says the righteous are
as bold as a lion.
This is the complete
opposite.
Look,
when a little leaf is
getting across the
pavement or whatever,
and that,
that scares you,
you know,
you're a coward.
But this is something
that is the judgment of
God.
And really what I think
is going on,
because you have to
remember,
this is,
this is something that is
of,
that's going to happen
to them that are left
alive,
meaning they've seen all
these other things,
right?
They saw the enemy come
in and lay siege.
They saw the cannibalism.
They saw these judgments
of God being poured out.
They're the ones that
just made it through.
And they shall flee
as fleeing from a sword,
and they shall fall
when none pursue it,
and they shall fall
one upon another
as it were before a sword
when none pursue it.
He's saying,
you're going to,
you're going to be
afraid of nothing.
You're going to have,
you know, senseless fear.
Really, you know,
and I was reading this,
I was thinking,
that sounds like,
you know,
what I would call this
as OT PTSD, right?
Old Testament post-traumatic
stress disorder
is what this is,
okay?
Because remember,
these people have seen
a lot of things.
There's no new thing
about them.
You know,
they've gone through
these horrific things,
and now they're having
these flashbacks, right?
They're afraid.
But this is the judgment
of God.
Fear is not something
that should be
in a Christian's life.
Obviously, you know,
we fear the Lord.
We understand that,
okay?
But being afraid of nothing,
you know,
that's the judgment of God.
You know what?
A lot of people live
their Christian life this way.
They don't want to speak
up for the Lord.
They don't want to speak
up for the Lord at work.
You know,
they don't want to be
associated with that church.
They don't want to be
associated with that church.
They don't want to be
associated with that church.
They don't want to be
associated with that church.
They don't want to be
associated with that church.
They don't want to be
associated with that church.
They don't want to be
associated with that church.
They don't want to be
associated with that church.
They don't want to be
associated with that church.
They don't want to be
associated with that church.
They don't want to be
associated with that church.
They don't want to be
associated with that church.
They don't want to be
associated with that church.
They don't want to be
associated with that church.
They don't want to
be associated with that
church.
We're not always afraid
of being associated with
the man of God, or the
church, or the word of God.
Not be like these people
that are afraid
of a leaf,
but people live their
lives in fear sometimes
as Christians, you know
what, and they're afraid
of nothing.
They live their lives,
and they're afraid of
something, and it never
comes to pass, but they
just live in fear.
I'm not saying that
it's always the judgment
of God, but sometimes
we can look at this
and say, well, maybe that
is the judgment of God
in some instances,
but really what I want
to apply this to
the preachers. Because they're the ones that are ultimately responsible, as we'll see here.
Go over to Ezekiel chapter 22, Ezekiel chapter 22. You know, fear is a curse. Fear does not
benefit people. You know, fear is the opposite of zeal and boldness, isn't it? You know,
we're preaching tonight about real zeal. And real zeal isn't just, you know, getting all
excited and shouting amen and, you know, just running amok, you know, being a bapticostal
or whatever. You know, it's preaching the word of God. It's standing for the word of
God. It's having done all to stand. That's what real zeal looks like. Taking a stand
for the word of God and not backing down. Preaching all of it. But fear, you know, a
lack of zeal, a lack of boldness inhibits bold preaching, doesn't it? People, you know,
preachers, you don't, I mean, you think it's far-fetched to suggest that there's preachers
out there that get to certain passages in the word of God and just say, well, I'm not
going to preach that. That's going to make people mad. That happens all the time. Look,
there's plenty of sweetness and light and goodness and all of that in the word of God.
You could spend, you could preach year after year on nothing but the love of God. You know,
we could do 40 days of grace here. You know, we could do 40 days of amazing grace. And
then we could follow up with 40 days of love and peace. I mean, we could just go on and
on and on. But is that the whole counsel of the word of God? No. And real zeal preaches
all of it. You know, but men of God, they pull back and they say, well, I'm not going
to preach that because, you know, that might offend so and so. You know, and that they
might stop, you know, they might stop coming here and then, you know, there's no tithe
in the offering plate. Or, you know, that might bring the news van down here. That might
get the protesters all riled up. And here's the problem with that is that the Bible says
in Proverbs 29 that the fear of man bringeth a snare. It bringeth a snare. What's a snare?
It's a trap. It's something, you know, a snare is like you would set for an animal. They
would step into it and then they would be caught, right? It's like a, like a line or
something. Okay. And that's what fear does to us. You know, there's some, we want to
be somewhere else. We want to be doing something else. But fear has a hold of us and it keeps
us bound. It keeps us in bondage. And that's what a lot of preachers are like up in the
pulpit today. They're like little caught animals. They got a little, you know, they're afraid
of man and they got a little snare on their ankle. You know, they're not going to turn
to, you know, Judges 19. They're not going to go to Genesis 9. They're not going to go
over to Leviticus 20. They're not going to go to Romans 1. They're not going to turn
to these hard passages in the word of God. They're just going to, because why? Because
they have a snare. They might want to go there, but you know what? They're afraid. So they
have a snare. The fear of man bringeth a snare, but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall
be safe. You know, that's a great verse for a guy who wants to preach. And believe me,
I mean that. You know, if you've got to get up and preach the whole counsel of God, it's
not always easy to get up and rip face. All these guys think, oh, it's going to be so
much fun for me to just get up there and tell everybody how it is. It's like it's another
story when they're looking at you. It's another story when it's people that you know and love
and care about. Okay? So keep that in mind. But it's still got to be preached. And you
know, if it's someone that you're going to upset people, look, you just have to trust
in the Lord and you'll be safe. And you know what? That snare, you know, and all you're
doing when you hold back in the word of God is you're just snaring other people. You know,
if I'm afraid to preach the word of God, the whole, you know, if I'm afraid to offend somebody,
I've snared you in a way, haven't I? Now that you're not getting what you need, you know,
and look, there's, church is a dime a dozen where you could just go get, you know, the
nice, soft, gentle message. You know, people tend to come to this church because they expect
to have, you know, some hard preaching. And amen, they should, you know, and unfortunately,
they should be able to get that in any church, but unfortunately, they can't. Okay? So, you
know, we need to not be afraid. We need to preach the whole counsel of God. We need to
have real zeal. Because if you are afraid and you hold back, you know, you're going
to have a snare. And people who are snared, you know, they don't preach the whole counsel
of God. And if people don't end up hearing what they need to hear. So why does a preacher
got to get up and preach all those hard passages and be that way? Because people need to hear
it. You know, people need to hear the sermons about the sodomites. They need to hear the
sermons on adultery and fornication and drunkenness. I mean, repeatedly, these things have to be
brought up. You got to preach all of it. And if you don't, people don't hear what they
need to hear. I mean, think about, I'll just remind us of 1 Samuel 3, right? When Samuel
is first coming onto the scene as a boy, he goes to the temple. Remember how it comes
after Judges. Remember how Judges ends? Every man did that, which is right in his own eyes.
You know, and then you have, you know, Hophni and Phinehas, Eli's sons, are the priests,
you know, doing the sacrifices. They're committing fornication in the temple and adultery because
they're married. And they're, you know, they're stealing the sacrifices. They're taking that
which is supposed to be roasted and eating it for themselves. They're taking raw flesh
from the people. And the people are, you know, they're despising the offering of the
Lord. The Bible says in 1 Samuel 3 that there was, and the word of the Lord was precious
in those days. There was no open vision, meaning the word of God wasn't being preached. Do
you think that's any coincidence that you had such a dark time spiritually in Israel
and the word of God's not being preached? It's not a coincidence. Those things go hand
in hand. When men of God are afraid to get up and have some real zeal and preach the
whole counsel of God, everybody suffers. You know, spiritual darkness comes across
land. How else do you explain where we are as a nation? And do I need to go on and on
about the moral cesspool that is the United States right now? I think, I'm sure everybody
in the room is convinced. You don't have to look very far to see how far down, you know,
the drain we've gone morally in this country. And you say, well, I don't understand how
that could be. There's just so much zealous, bold, face-ripping preaching out there, right?
Wrong. There's a bunch of weak preaching out there. That's why we are where we are spiritually.
You know, we might have a lot of abundance. We might have a lot of nice things. We might
have a lot of stuff and money and wealth in this country. But you know what? Gain is not
godliness. You know, spiritually, if we could see this country, it's dark and it's poor.
And unfortunately, you know, it's because of the fact that there is an ignorance of
God's word. Men of God are afraid to preach the counsel of God, so people are just ignorant
about what the word of God even says. I mean, we're running into people out there now, kids,
boys and girls, they don't even know who Jesus is. They've never heard of him. The resurrection,
what? They never heard of the crucifixion. I mean, that's something everybody knew for
a long time in this country. But now we're getting to a place where people haven't even
heard these stories. Did I have you go to Ezekiel 22? Look at verse 27. He says, her
princes in the midst thereof are like wolves ravening the prey to shed blood and to destroy
souls to get dishonest gain. And her prophets have daubed them with untempered mortars,
seeing vanity and divining lies unto them, saying, Thus saith the Lord God, and the Lord
hath not spoken. So they're false prophets. They're saying, oh, this is what God wants.
God hasn't said that. There's a lot of that going on today. The people of the land have
used oppression and exercised robbery and have vexed the poor and needy. Yea, they have
oppressed the stranger wrongfully. So he's just laying out these sins of this country.
You know, and we can see a lot of parallels with our own nation, can't we? The shedding
of blood, the destroying of souls. You know, think about abortion, right? There's just
a lot of, I mean, to get dishonest gain, right? You could think about, you know, the
unwarranted warfare where people are just, you know, people are just going to war to
support the military industrial complex. You know, they're getting dishonest gain through
destroying souls. And then you have, of course, the prophets, right? Who are saying, thus
saith the Lord, and the Lord hasn't spoken. We're living in a land that's full of false
prophets today, folks. They're everywhere. They're on every corner. We're surrounded
by people who are getting up and saying, thus saith the Lord, and God hasn't said anything
to them. So how do you know that? Well, a lot of them are getting up. They don't even
have the right Bible in their hand. You're saying, thus saith the Lord, and they're reading
out of an NIV or an ESV or some other corrupt version. It's like, well, the Lord didn't
say that. The people of the land have used oppression. I mean, there's a lot of that
going on. They have exercised robbery, IRS. They have vexed the poor and needy, right?
Sorry, I had to clear my throat. Yeah, they have pressed the stranger wrongfully. I mean,
think about, you know, I don't want to get all political, okay? But I mean, think about
some of the practices we have when it comes to things like immigration. The stranger is
talking about a foreigner, not the guy who's weird, strange. That's not what it means.
It means he's a foreigner to the country. Now look at verse 30. So all these things
are going on. You say, well, why is it? Why is this happening? Why is this going on? Verse
30, and I saw it for a man among them that should take up the hedge, should take up the
hedge and stand in the gap before me for the land that I should destroy it not, but I found
none saying that all this was going on. And I thought, well, maybe if I could just find
somebody to go there and show my people their sins and preach to them and get them to get
right, I won't have to destroy the land. You know what? I went looking for that guy and
he wasn't there. He's gone. You know, and God can look at a lot of cities across this
country, a lot of places in this country, yeah, even the world and say, boy, there's
a lot of iniquity. There's a lot of oppression. There's a lot of bloodshed. There's a lot
of wickedness going on. And there'd be nice if there was someone there that could preach,
but there's no one there. That's what's going on all across the world today. That's what
it's like in our country. That's why these people are in the same predicament that we
find ourselves in today. And look, and the guy not being there has pretty bad consequences.
Not just the sin running rampant, but it brings God's wrath. He said, I sought for a man to
stand the gap that I should destroy it not. Meaning God gets the place and says, well,
you know what? There's nothing else I can do, but just wipe these people out and start
over and teach them a lesson. Therefore, I have poured out my indignation upon them.
I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath. Their own way have I recompensed upon
their heads, sayeth the Lord God. Oh, that sounds a little rough. Yeah, but that's what
the Bible says. That's who God is. You know, welcome to the King James Bible. And look,
that's why people need hard preaching. Go to Isaiah chapter 59. They need it. You know,
the people in this room, they're getting it, you know, and I know hard preaching works.
I've been around it long enough. I've seen it in my own life. It works. People get under
hard preaching, you know, they get right with God. You know, but there's not enough of it.
That's what I'm getting at. You know, there's two, there's not enough of it. We need more.
We need more people. We need more men of God behind pulpits. What about when I, you know,
when I grow old and die, you know, Lord willing, if I make it that long, and I'm still in this.
Who's going to take up the mantle after me? Who's going to be the next guy that stands
up and says, thus sayeth the Lord? Or is it just going to be one less preacher, one
last man of God, one more empty pulpit? Or is it going to get filled with some guy who's
just going to say, well, you know, I don't want to preach that. I don't want to offend
anybody. That's not what we need. We've got plenty of that. We need more hard preaching
because when people don't have the hard preaching, they suffer the consequences. And part of
the consequences are not just being overrun by sin, but God actually pours out his wrath.
Look at Isaiah 59 verse one. He says, behold, the Lord's hand is not short and that it cannot
save. Neither is his ear heavy that it cannot hear. It's not like God is just, you know,
twiddling his thumbs oblivious to what's going on. You know, God still wants to help. God
still wants to do something. You know, I personally don't believe that we can bring this whole
country back away from the wrath of God, but we can definitely stay it off. You know, we
can definitely put that day off for another time by getting, if people wanted to get right
with God and do the works of God and save souls, I believe that. God's still in heaven.
His hand is not shortened. It can still save. Neither is his ear heavy that it cannot hear.
God's still listening. He's still seeking for a man to stand in the hedge. But verse
two, but your iniquities have separated you from you and your God and your sins have hid
your face from you that he will not hear. For your hands are defiled with blood and
your fingers with iniquity and your lips have spoken lies. Your tongue hath muttered
perverseness. I mean, I could just go on and on. There's so many parallels with our own
nation. Verse four, none calleth for justice nor pleadeth for truth. Jump down verse eight,
the way of peace they have not known. There is no judgment in their goings. You know,
God wants hard preaching. God wants justice. God wants somebody getting up and pleading
for the truth. That's what he wants. That's what he's looking for. And he wants somebody
to get up and to preach judgment. Now judge not, you know, that's the cry of the liberal
Christian. Judge not, lest he be judged. Yeah, but if you go on and read, he goes on and
says judge righteous judgment. Judge not after the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.
God is a God of judgment. God is a judge. He's got a book called Judges. God's for judgment
folks. In fact, he's showing us here that a lack of judgment, it leads to wickedness
when people are, no one wants to offend anybody. No one wants to judge anything. No one wants
to stand up and say, no, actually you were born a man and will remain a man no matter
how much you butcher yourself or what bathroom you chose to go into. Right? But look, there's
guys and that's easy for me to get up and say, cause I'm used to saying it. Right? But
there's a lot of guys, a lot of preachers today, you know, they'll tell you, oh, you,
you better show some, you better be nice to the homo when they come into church. You better
have a right spirit and we're going to love on them. No, we're not. We'll have a right
spirit, but not according to what they think is a right spirit. They'll get shown the door
and then they'll get shown the parking lot and they'll get shown the street. Anyway,
but look, that's what God is looking for here. He's looking for judgment for people to, to,
call for justice, to plead for truth. There is no judgment in their goings. Look at verse
nine. Therefore is judgment far from us? Neither doth justice overtake us. Well, what a coincidence
when no one's preaching judgment, when no one's preaching justice, when no one's pleading
for the truth, it's far from us. Yeah, that makes sense. One plus one equals two. If there's
no one preaching it, it's not happening. That's why I can look at what's happening and say,
well then it must not be being preached. There must not be any real zeal behind the
pulpits today. Jump down to verse 14 and judgment is turned away backward and justice
standeth afar off. For truth is fallen in the street and equity cannot enter. Yea, truth
faileth and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey. That's an interesting verse
right there. He that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey. You know the guy that says,
gets up and says, you know what? That's wicked. He becomes the next victim. He becomes the
prey. Right? The guy that starts calling it out, the guy that departs from it and says,
no, you know what you're doing is wicked. That philosophy is wicked. That way of life
is wicked. Whatever. He himself becomes a prey. And look, again, that goes back to fear.
A lot of people, they, they, they, they would agree with what the Bible says. They just
are afraid to say it. And look, I can understand that to some degree when it's just, you know,
an average, you know, just the, just the guy in the, in the, in the pew. There's not, it's
not really his job to get up and to boldly proclaim the word of God. Well, look, and
when your job is, when you're a preacher, when you're a pastor, when your job is preaching
the word of God, you cannot be afraid of being made a prey. You have to make yourself a prey.
You have to depart from evil and say, that's wrong. That's what real zeal is. He said,
and the Lord, he, he, he that maketh, excuse me, and he that departed from evil maketh
himself a prey and the Lord saw it and it depleased him, displeased him that there was
no judgment. So is God for judgment or not? God's for judgment. God wants people to preach
judgment. He wants them to call evil, evil, lightness, darkness, and love bitter and sweet,
sweet. God wants someone to judge and discern and say, thus saith the Lord. And when it
doesn't happen, it displeases him. And he judges. Verse 16, and he saw that there was
no man and wondered that there was no intercessor. And that word wondered wasn't like, Hmm, I
wonder. It was like in awe, like shocked. Like he, he was wondered, you know, he wondered
that there was no intercessor. He's looking down there and it's just like Ezekiel. I saw
it for a man. Where are they? How come there is nobody that's going to preach judgment
and there's no one that's going to plead for truth? Where have they gone? I mean, what
more can God do? He's given us the Bible. We've got King James Bibles, you know, in
every dollar store in America. They're all over the place. It's not like, it's not like
we don't know what judgment is. It's like we don't have access to what God thinks about
things and God's just shocked that no one's actually getting up and saying, thus saith
the Lord anymore. You know, he did it back then. I'm sure he feels the same way now.
Have places called, you know, where there are actual Baptist churches that claim, you
know, even King James Baptist churches that use the right Bible that are still like, are
still afraid to preach the whole counsel of God, that have no real zeal. God looks at
that and let's just wonder what's going on. Say, why do you call yourself a man of God?
Why do you call yourself a pastor? Why are you even showing up and collecting a paycheck
if you don't have the, the, the backbone to get up and preach the whole counsel of God
and to judge. God wonders. He's shocked. You know, God wants us to stand because we
have to judge. We have to do what? We have to engage the enemy. That's what Ephesians
6 was all about. He's saying, stand, put on the armor. Why? Because there's a fight. You
have to engage the enemy. And when people don't stand, when people don't judge, when
there, you know, there is no real zeal, the enemy advances and he gets, and they get bolder
and they get bolder and they get bolder and they've gotten pretty bold today, haven't they?
Go back to Ephesians chapter 6, Ephesians chapter 6, beginning in verse 14. I should
have had you keep something there, Isaiah, but just forget it. I'll read it for you.
No, you gotta, you gotta keep something there. You gotta, I'm sorry. Isaiah 59. We gotta
look at this in a minute. So I apologize. Keep saying Isaiah 59. But God wants us to
stand and say, why is God, you know, looking for something? I mean, well, God doesn't expect
us to. Why is the Bible talking about in Ezekiel and Isaiah where he's, he's wondering that
there was nobody, when he's seeking for a man, he's looking for somebody to do it. You
know, he wants us to do this so that we can engage the enemy so that somebody can stand
for truth today. Ephesians 6 verse 14, stand therefore having your loins girt about with
truth and having on the breastplate of righteousness and your feet shod with the preparation of
the gospel of peace. Above all, taking the shield of faith wherewith you may be able
to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. You know, a shield is not, and he's not saying,
you know, put that shield on your back so you can run away and let the darts hit you
there. He's saying you're in the fight. The darts are coming at you. Someone's accurately
firing at you. He says in verse 17, and take the helmet of salvation, the sword of spirit,
which is the word of God. Keep something there in Ephesians chapter 6. Go back to Isaiah
59. So we see there's all this armor that's listed here, right? There is, you know, the
loins being girt with truth. There's the breastplate of righteousness. There's the feet shod with
the gospel of the preparation of peace. You know, you've got to have something on your
feet when you go to war. Above all, taking the shield, right? And you've got to have
the helmet of salvation, the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God, okay? Now
if you notice in Isaiah 59, there's a similar warning. My opinion, I don't think this is
a direct quote, but I think it's Paul kind of, as he's writing Ephesians, these things
are coming to mind. But look at verse 17. He, speaking of the Lord, for he put on righteousness
as a breastplate. Doesn't that sound familiar? He put on righteousness as a breastplate and
a helmet of salvation upon his head. And he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing
and was clad with zeal as a cloak. Now I don't think Paul like forgot to include zeal there.
I just think that, you know, the cloak, I just think that, you know, it's just not listed
there for some reason. You know, anyone who has actual zeal would already know these verses.
People were actually zealous about reading their Bible. They go, oh, that reminds me
of Isaiah 59. And they would remember that there he talks about being clad with, you
know, the zeal as a cloak. So you've got to have all these other instruments. You've got
to have all this other part of the armor, right? You've got to have the sword. You've
got to have the shield. You've got to have the helmet. You've got to be girt about the
sword. You've got to have your feet shot. You've got to have all these things. But you
know what you need more than that, or excuse me, what you need to have in addition to that
is you've got to have zeal. There's got to be zeal. I mean, what good does it put on
that honesty? Like, oh, I guess I'm going to war today. I mean, think about that in
the army. You know, they put the body armor on you. You get the fatigues on. You know,
you've gone through boot camp. They put the weapons on. You've got the grenades hanging
after you. Eclipse here, eclipse there. You've got the radio, the helmet, the boots. You're
all laced up. And you're just kind of, oh, OK. Just kind of stumbling around on the battlefield.
You know, not really get anything done. You've got to have zeal, too. You've got to be willing
to pick out that gun and look down the sights and pull the trigger. That's, you know, that's
what we need today. And this is what I'm getting at is that there's so many guys behind pulpits
in this country, and yeah, even the world, they have everything except zeal. They have
no real zeal. They're saved. You know, they've got their loins girt about with truth. They've
got the helmet of salvation on. They've got the sword of the spirit. They've got a shield.
They could fight off the enemy if they wanted to. But you know what? They lack is a cloak
of zeal. So they don't get anything done. You know, they don't grow. They don't reach
their community with the gospel. They don't preach hard against sin. People come to church
and it's just another lame sermon about whatever. You know, it's whatever's in the, you know,
what was in their news feed. Whatever they saw tick across Fox News. I'll preach about
that. You know, whatever Rush, Rush Limbatomy spoke about. Of course, he's dead now. I met
Sean Insanity. You know, or one of these other guys. All these, whatever talk radio. That's
what they want to preach. They're zealous for the Republican format. You know, the talking
points. Their platform. Who wants to hear that? You know, if you've got cable at home,
you don't even have to come down here to hear that. Well, he wants, what God wants is guys
to put on some clothes. Guys who have all this other armor. Great. Why don't you put
the cloak of zeal on and actually get something done for God and actually preach hard and
actually, you know, stir things up a little bit. That's what real zeal is. And again,
if we don't have the zeal, we will suffer as a consequence. According to their deans,
he said in verse 18, accordingly, he will repay fury to his adversaries, recompense
to his enemies. To the islands, he will repay recompense. And here's what I want to close
on is this thought is that, you know, it's one thing to know the word of God. It's another
thing to live it, isn't it? It's another thing to know what the Bible says. It's another
thing to actually live it. It's another thing to actually preach it. It's another thing
to actually flesh it out in your life. There's a lot of people, they know what the Bible
says and they completely ignore it. Say, yeah, I know that's a sin. I'm going to ignore it.
Oh yeah, I know I should be doing that, but I'm just going to ignore that. Oh yeah, I
know as a preacher, I should get up and preach that passage, but I'm just not going to do
it. Well, then don't tell me you have any zeal. And I don't care how good your music
program is. And I don't care, you know, how, what big name preacher comes or what circles
you run in. If you hold back on the word of God, you have no zeal. And you might have
a sword and you might have a helmet and you might have everything else, but you know what?
You might as well just give it to somebody who's actually got a cloak. Will actually
do something with it. Because it's another thing to know the word of God. It's another
thing to live it, to get up and to preach it. I mean, that's what Paul did. You know,
and I was trying to think of other examples. I thought of Esther, you know, when she was
supposed to go in, you know, Mordecai is telling her, look, you got to go into the king and
tell him that, you know, the Jews are going to get slaughtered if he doesn't do something.
And she was afraid of what might happen. You know what she said? If I perish, I perish.
That's the attitude we ought to have as Christians. That, you know, if living for God is going
to cost me my life or whatever, then so be it. You know, that's the attitude Paul had.
He said, yeah, doubtless and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge
of Jesus Christ, Christ Jesus, my Lord. He said, well, that's big talk. Of course you
would just count everything loss. That's easy to say, Paul. But he goes on and says, for
whom I have suffered the loss of all things. Paul, that wasn't just flowery speech with
Paul. Paul actually had suffered the loss of all things. I mean, he actually suffered
but look who got more done than any other Christian throughout all of history. He was
used more by God. You can't name anybody else. You know, they're unknown. But I mean, it
came at a price, didn't it? He had to have some real zeal. He had to be willing to put
himself out there and preach hard against the, you know, the Jews of his day and go
out there and preach hard and, you know, be beaten and whipped and everything else that
happened to him and suffer the loss of all things. Paul had to do that. But you know
what? He's willing to do that because he had some real zeal. Go back to Ephesians 6. Paul
said, let no man trouble me for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus Christ.
I mean, he had some real zeal because, you know, Paul understood something. It's one
thing to know what the Bible says. It's another thing to live it. It's another thing to know
what the Bible says. It's actually another thing to get up and preach it. Real zeal,
real boldness is going to put itself in harm's way. I mean, what's the point of all the armor
in Ephesians 6? Put on all that armor and then head over to that playground and get
on a swing and just stay safe and secure and go down the slide. You know, and mommy will
be there to hold your hand. Put on all that armor and find a safe space. Put on all that
armor and go down into your basement and lock the door, turn off the lights, and shiver
in the corner. No, he's saying put on this armor because there's a battle to fight. There's
an enemy to take on. Have some real zeal. Go out there and fight. Put yourself in harm's
way. And that's why Paul told Timothy, endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
You know, real zeal puts itself in harm's way. Ephesians chapter 6 verse 18. Ephesians 6 verse
18. Praying always with all prayer and supplication of the Spirit and watching thereunto with
all perseverance and supplication for all saints. And for me, that utterance may be
given me that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel. He said,
hey, pray for me that I'm bold in my speech, that I'll open up my mouth and say that
things I'm supposed to say. You know, he's asking him to pray for that, saying, hey,
you know, we guys pray that here all the time. You know, right before I get up this pulpit,
they pray for their service. They help the deacon to preach. That's a good prayer. That's
biblical. You know, it's something I pray. Help me to get up there and just whatever
you want me to say, Lord, let it rip. Whatever needs to be said. If it's in the word of
God, I'll preach it. And, you know, Paul here is saying the same thing. He's saying,
look, pray for me that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel
for which I am an ambassador in bonds. I mean, here he is suffering again. He's an ambassador
of Christ, but you know what? He's bound because people don't like to hear what he
has to say. That therein I may speak boldly as, you know, I prefer to speak. Is that what
he says there? Well, you know, you preach like that because that's just, you know,
that's just the way you are. You just preach like that because you just, you know, you're
sensational. You preach like that because you just want to get views on YouTube. You
know, you're just an internet preacher. You know, you just like making waves. No,
you preach boldly. You preach with some zeal because that's how you ought to preach.
That's what needs to be preached. That's what God's looking for. God's looking
for people to preach like that and make that stand. And I'm preaching this tonight because,
you know, our zeal needs to be challenged. Now, we have zeal as a church, but you know
what? It needs to, and I'm not saying that we're lacking zeal so we need to challenge.
I'm saying, what I should say is our zeal will be challenged. You know, you don't
really know if you have zeal until it's challenged. And look, all they live godly
in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. Your zeal will be challenged one day. And
I'll just read to you from Jeremiah chapter 12. He says, if thou hast run with
the footmen and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with the horses?
Look, if some little persecution comes into your life and just knocks you all off
course and you just don't know how you can go on, it's like, well, that's the footmen.
What are you going to do when the horsemen show up? When the real challenge comes?
What are you going to do when, you know, they're thronging at the door? You know,
when, you know, the boss is calling the office and saying, you know this church?
When the relatives are pulling aside and say, you're in that church? You listen to
that guy? That's your pastor? That's your preacher? You know, I have to remind
myself that, oh, you know, that's kind of a, that's kind of a hard saying, and it's
not even the hardest thing in the Bible. You know? Well, Romans 1 is kind of, hmm,
but what are you going to do when you get to Leviticus 20? What are you going to do
into Leviticus 2013? You think, oh, you think the footmen of Romans 1 is hard to
preach? What are you going to preach when, you know, when you get on something
that's actually going to step on people's toes? Well, you know what? You've got to
learn. You've got to have your zeal challenged, because it will, and it's
going to be challenged. And if in the land of peace that where now has trusted
they wear thee, then how wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan? Look, it's going
to come, you know, and it's going to come one way or another, and we're going to be
challenged. You know, I just want it to be because we're doing something for God.
You know, I want it to be because, you know, we're making the enemy mad. That's
how I want our zeal to be challenged in this church, because we're actually
shaking things up in Tucson. You know, we're actually getting on Satan's radar.
And not because God is saying, you know what? You're lukewarm, and you're cold,
and you've got no zeal in that church. I'm going to just start chasing you and
judging you and maybe see if you'll get some zeal that way. That's not how I want
to get it. Let's just go ahead and have the real zeal now, you know, and then God
will be pleased with us. Let's go ahead and pray. Dear Lord, again, thank you for,
Lord, the opportunity that we have to serve you every day of our lives, and
Lord, I pray that you would help us to be a zealous people that are zealous of good
works, and Lord, that we would just understand that, Lord, you desire for us
to do great things for you, and that we would never back down from what the Bible
says, that we would always embrace it and love it, and we will just bless you for
it. In Jesus' name, amen. All right, we'll sing one more song before we go.
We'll sing one more song.
I have found more than my feet on higher ground.
My heart has no desire to stay.
Where doubts will rise and fears will stay.
Though some may dwell where these are found.
I bear my hand is higher ground.
You lift me up and let me stand.
I claim no man of this stable land.
A higher plane than I have found.
Lord, my feet on higher ground.
I want to live above the world.
Though Satan's God sent me unheard of.
Though faith has cut the joyful sound.
The song of sins on higher ground.
You lift me up and let me stand.
I claim no man of this stable land.
A higher plane than I have found.
Lord, my feet on higher ground.
I want to scale the upmost high.
Though Satan's God sent me unheard of.
The song of sins on higher ground.
You lift me up and let me stand.
I claim no man of this stable land.
A higher plane than I have found.
Lord, my feet on higher ground.
I claim no man of this stable land.
.