reads but the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed
thing for Akan the son of Carmi the son of Zabdai the son of Zerah of the tribe
of Judah took of the accursed thing the anger of the Lord was kindled against
the children of Israel Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai which is beside Beth
Avon on the east side of Bethel and spake unto them saying go up and view
the country and the men of Ai went up and viewed Ai and they returned to
Joshua and said unto him let not all the people go up but let about two or
three thousand men go up and smite Ai and make not all the people to labor
thither for they are but few so there went up thither of the people about
three thousand men and they fled before the men of Ai and the men of Ai smote of
them about thirty and six men for they chased them from before the gate even
unto Beth Shebarim and smote them in the going down wherefore the hearts of
the people melted and became his water Joshua rent his clothes and fell to the
earth upon his face before the ark of the Lord until the eventide he and the
elders of Israel and put dust upon their heads and Joshua said alas Oh Lord God
wherefore hast thou at all brought this people over Jordan to deliver us into
the hand of the Amorites to deliver to destroy us what did God we had been
content and dwelled on the other side Jordan Oh Lord what shall I say when
Israel turn at their backs before their enemies for the Canaanites and all the
inhabitants of the land shall hear of it and shall environment us round and cut
off our name from the earth and what will thou do unto thy great name award
senator Joshua get thee up wherefore lies thou thus upon thy face Israel
hath sinned and they have also transgressed my covenant which I
commanded them they have taken even taken of the accursed thing and have
also stolen and disassembled also and they have put it even among their own
stuff therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies but
turn their back backs before their enemies because they were they were
accursed neither will I be with you anymore except you destroy the accursed
from among you up sanctify the people and say sanctify yourselves against
tomorrow for thus saith the Lord God of Israel there is an accursed thing in the
midst of thee Oh Israel thou canst not stand before thine enemies until you
take away the accursed thing from among you in the morning therefore you shall
be brought according to your tribes and it shall be that the tribe which the
Lord taketh shall come according to the families thereof and the family which
the Lord shall take shall come by households and the household which the
Lord shall take shall come man by man and it shall be that he that is taken
with the accursed thing shall be burnt with fire he and all that he hath
because he hath transgressed the covenant of the Lord because he hath
wrought folly in Israel so Joshua rose up early in the morning and brought
Israel to buy their tribes and the tribe of Judah was taken he brought the
family of Judah and he took the family of the Tsar Heights and he brought the
family of the Tsar Heights man by man and Zabdai was taken and he brought his
household man by man and Achan the son of Carmi the son of Zabdai and the son
of Zorah of the tribe of Judah was taken Joshua said unto Achan my son give I
pray thee glory to the Lord God of Israel and make confession unto him and
tell me now what thou has done I did not from me and Achan answered Joshua and
said indeed I've sinned against the Lord God of Israel and thus and thus have I
done when I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonian ish garment and 200
shekels of silver and a wedge of gold of 50 shekels weight then I coveted them
and took them and behold they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent and
the silver under it so Joshua said messengers and they ran unto the tent
and behold it was hid in his tent and the silver under it and they took them
out of the midst of the tent and brought them unto Joshua and unto all the
children of Israel and lay them out before the Lord and Joshua and all
Israel with them took Achan the son of Zorah and the silver and the garment and
the wedge of gold and his sons and his daughters and his oxen and his asses and
his sheep and his tent and all that he had and they brought them unto the
valley of Achor and Joshua said why is thou troubled us the Lord shall trouble
thee this day and all Israel stoned him with stones and burnt them with fire
after they had stoned them with stones and they raised over him a great heap of
stones unto this day so the Lord turned from the fierceness of his anger
wherefore the name of that place was called the valley of Achor unto this day
let's pray dear Lord God just thank you for this time we've got here to come and
hear your word being preached Lord just please fill pastor me here with your
Holy Spirit and give him boldness Lord as he preaches unto us Lord and please
ready our hearts and minds to receive the word with gladness tonight Lord and
we pray this all in Jesus name amen amen okay we're in Joshua chapter 7 and
look at verse number 1 it says but the children of Israel committed a trespass
in the accursed thing for Achan the son of Carmi son of Zabdine the son of Zara
of the tribe of Judah took of the accursed thing and the anger of the Lord
was kindled against the children of Israel the time of my sermon this evening
is don't be a liability don't be a liability a liability is essentially a
person or thing whose presence or behavior may cause embarrassment or put
someone at a disadvantage obviously this is in direct opposition to an asset
which is something that is useful someone or something that is of quality
or that which is valuable and it goes without saying that we as Christians
should desire to be assets in our church and not a liability as an asset we
should desire to be useful in the hands of God to be a blessing to our church to
help propel our church forward to be a blessing to be used of God to see people
saved to disciple individuals etc the Bible tells us you don't have to turn
there in 2nd Timothy chapter 2 verse 20 but in the great house there are not
only vessels of gold and of silver but also of wood and of earth and some to
honor and some to dishonor he says if a man therefore purge himself from these
he shall be a vessel unto honor sanctified meet for the Masters use and
prepared unto every good work essentially what this is saying is that
every Christian starts off as a liability to a certain extent right
babes in Christ are somewhat liabilities people who are young in the Lord can be
a liability but eventually if you're growing in the Lord you're reading the
Word of God you're striving to be a disciple of Jesus Christ you will
eventually turn from being a liability into an asset and what I want to talk
about this evening is this matter of being a liability and what are some
things that you can do to avoid being that liability in our church now let me
just say this is that not everyone is gonna be an asset in our church okay I
know this is just shocker but not everyone is gonna be per se useful or a
blessing but here's the thing is that some people just break even so sometimes
a person is not necessarily useful but you know they come to church the
present just their presence is just a blessing it's good to have them in
church and they somewhat just break even and let me just say this I prefer
the person who breaks even than the person who becomes a liability in our
church because then we're left in the red spiritually speaking because of the
liability so here's two things I would prefer is obviously the asset and the
goal would be that we would grow as a church grow individuals to the point
where we become assets in the house in the house of God but if not let's just
help people become someone who just breaks even and avoid being a liability
in our church let me give you a couple things that you can do to avoid or I'm
sorry let me give you a couple things that will make you a liability so that
you can avoid them number one is unrepentant sin will make you a
liability in our church unrepentant sin will make you a liability in our church
and this is why I started off in the book of Joshua chapter 7 go to chapter
6 if you would because it says that essentially Achan took of the accursed
thing and if you pay the attention to the chapter that was being read they
were supposed to go out and conquer different cities you know you had Jericho
and then they were to move on to AI and AI was actually a lot smaller than
Jericho and so they sent out a smaller party of soldiers to go and overtake
that but then they got their rear ends handed to them tons of people died and
Joshua was kind of beside himself thinking like why would the Lord forsake
us why is it that we've lost I thought we're here to like win I thought we're
here to conquer I thought we were here because God you promised this land to us
and God says it's because you've taken of the accursed thing there is a
liability in the camp of Israel which is why you're not permitted to succeed now
look at chapter 6 and verse 17 it says in verse 17 in the city shall be
accursed even it and all that are there in to the Lord only Rahab the harlot
shall live she and all that are with her in the house because she hid the
messengers that we sent it goes on to say verse 18 and ye and any wise keep
yourselves from the accursed thing lest you make yourselves accursed when you
take of the accursed thing and make the camp of Israel a curse and trouble it
now what is the accursed thing that he's referring to look at verse 19 but all
the silver and gold and vessels of brass and iron consecrated unto the Lord they
shall come into the treasury of the Lord the Bible says now here's the thing
is that when it comes to when it comes to what he's talking about here he's
essentially saying you know when you go into the land of Israel into these
different nations and cities obviously the things that you find there are yours
you know it's yours for the taking this is your inheritance but the first city
that you come to that needs to be sanctified unto the Lord okay so there's
nothing necessarily wrong with the silver gold brass all of these physical
assets that they find in the in the cities it's just that you know the
first fruits are to be the Lord's you understand the first fruits are to be
God's it's kind of like the tithe right you know the tithe is essentially the
first fruits of our labor that's supposed to be sanctified unto the Lord
when a Christian then decides not to tithe what takes place you know God
sends the devourer essentially and so what he's saying here is you know what
after Jericho when you go into AI and the surrounding cities take what you
will and if you read the remainder of Joshua you see that God tells them all
right you know it's a free-for-all go ahead and take what you want and it's
all yours he just said make sure the first one though Jericho you need to
sanctify that unto the Lord okay look at Joshua chapter 7 with that in
mind in verse number 10 so at this point they've lost they've had significant
lives lost in this battle with AI and Joshua is just being he's lamenting he's
mournful he's kind of like Lord why did you allow this why did this happen and
look at verse 10 the Lord sent to Joshua get thee up wherefore lies thou thus
upon thy face now I like this response because God's not making it complicated
okay sometimes people are like what have I done and God's just like just get up
get up and go fix it go fix it go make it right and it'll be all over verse 11
says Israel sin and they have also transgressed my covenant which I
commanded them for they have even taken to the accursed thing and have also
stolen and dissembled also and they have put in put it even among their own stuff
therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies but turn
their backs before their enemies because they were a curse neither will I be with
you anymore except you destroy the accursed from among you what is the
same their sin in the camp is what he's telling them you know there's people who
are secretly hiding that which was supposed to be sanctified into the Lord
you have a liability in your camp Joshua you need to fix it and once you fix it
we can go on with you know as business as usual you can go and conquer the
other lands but until then I'm not gonna be among you he says a verse 13 up
sanctify the people and say sanctify yourselves against to tomorrow for thus
ain't the Lord God of Israel there is an accursed thing in the midst of the
Israel thou canst not stand before that enemies until you take away the
accursed thing from among you look at verse 18 so at this point you know all
these families are coming and then Joshua is just kind of grilling
everyone he's investigating who's got the sin who's got the accursed thing
who's taken of the accursed thing and everyone was like I didn't you know it
wasn't me well then verse 18 it says he brought his household man by man and
Aiken the son of Carmine the son of Zabdim the son of Zara of the tribe of
Judah was taken and Joshua said unto Aiken my son give I pray I pray thee
glory to the Lord God of Israel and make confession unto him and tell me now what
thou has done hide it not from me now I don't know if this is just something
that he said to every tribe you know maybe he's just like tell me what you
did even to the innocent people just to kind of put the pressure on them or if
he was just divinely you know given that information was the violently given to
Joshua to know that it was Aiken and his family because this is a pretty direct
approach right you know tell me how what thou has done and hide it not from me in
either case let's say it was the first one that he didn't really know he's just
kind of questioning people obviously Aiken's guilty conscience made him think
that you know oh man the Lord's got me and you know what anytime someone's
involved in sin sometimes you just have like a regular conversation with them
and all of a sudden they think that you know or something somehow you just know
they're about that particular sin and it's not that you know I guarantee you
there's someone in here probably right now who's thinking like oh he knows
because he's preaching no the reality is this is this the Holy Spirit working in
conjunction with your guilty conscience to bring that to light he says in verse
20 Aiken answered Joshua and said indeed I have sinned against the Lord
God of Israel and thus and thus have I done when I saw among the spoils a
goodly Babylonian garment you know he's got it he got it found a Versace
whatever okay 200 shekels of silver and a wedge of gold of 50 shekels of weight
then I coveted them and took them and behold they are hid in the earth in the
midst of my tent and the silver under by the way that's a good little outline
there he says when I saw I coveted I took you know he saw the goodly
Babylonian garment he started a coveting in his heart and it resulted in him
taking of that essentially what same thing what happened to Eve look at verse
22 so Joshua sent messengers and they ran into the tenant behold it was hid in
his tent and the silver under it and they took them out of the midst of the
tenant brought them and Joshua unto Joshua and into all the children of
Israel and laid them out before the Lord look at verse 25 Joshua said why has
thou troubled us the Lord shall trouble thee this day and all of Israel stone
him with stones and burn them with fire after they had stoned them with stone so
needless to say a kin was a kin you know because he was stoned or whatever the
point the principle that we see here though is that there is a liability in
the camp and it's because of hidden sin because he was involved in something
that God specifically told them do not take up the accursed thing he
deliberately disobeyed that and not only did he pay the consequences of that but
unfortunately his family did as well and the principle we can learn there as
a church is that you know what you could be a liability in our church by just
keeping unrepentant unconfessed sin in your personal life go to first
Corinthians if you would chapter number five first Corinthians chapter number
five first Corinthians chapter five obviously we know we're all sinners and
we all make mistakes we're not perfect we you know commit sin because we're in
this corruptible flesh but the reality is this is the Bible highlights specific
sins that can be a liability to a local New Testament Church even to the point
that if you don't get that right or is just allowed to go unfettered in the
congregation it can spread into the entire church the Bible says that a
little leaven leaven at the whole lump it can corrupt the church and then the
church ends up becoming a cesspool of sin of a variety of different sins and
obviously that incurs the judgment of God upon that particular church and in
first Corinthians chapter 5 he specifically addresses the subject of
fornication and this is something that I feel like I just have to keep bringing
up every couple of months just because it's a major sin and it's a major sin
that young people are tempted with it's a major sin that yes even Christians get
involved in no matter how many times I preach it no matter how many sermons
it's just like I'm running out of creative ways to talk about fornication
and it's like no matter what there's it just happens you know people get
involved in fornication and they what are they doing they become a liability
in our church now look there's churches out there that don't consider that a
liability the churches out there they're okay with you fornicating and remaining
in the church and oh they're just growing in the Lord right they're just
growing we need to give them time to grow we got to give them space we gotta
be gracious with them and I'm all for being gracious and I'm all for being
merciful and giving people a grace period to understand these things but
there comes a point my friends after you know a couple months where a person just
realizes okay I'm involved in fornication I'm gonna get thrown out of
the local New Testament Church if I don't get this right so either one you
know one I have to get married or two I got to separate or three just suffer the
embarrassment of reproach of getting thrown out of a local New Testament
Church okay now this is not something that is very popular amongst churches
because churches don't like to practice Church discipline because you know
churches like to grow and so they'll do whatever it takes to grow the church
even to the point where they compromise on this particular point and allow
fornicators adulterers drunkards and all manner of sin that the Bible talks about
should not remain in the church but they'll allow it you know in the name of
being gracious and merciful or whatever but folks you know that's wrong the
Bible tells us that an unrepentant fornicator is not allowed in church look
at 1st Corinthians chapter 5 verse 9 says I wrote unto you in an epistle not
to company with fornicators yet not all together with the fornicators of this
world or with the covetous or extortioners or with idolaters for then
must he needs to go out of the world so it's not an extreme commandment right
it's not just saying like you shouldn't just be around fornicators because the
reality is this we live in a world that's filled with fornicators and
you're gonna come into contact with fornicators at your job maybe you know
people your neighbors just unsaved people or even backslitting Christians
that are just fornicators that you can't necessarily do anything about maybe they
work at your job you know you come into contact with them for whatever reason
you can't really do anything about that but it goes on the same verse 11 but now
I've written unto you not to keep company if any man that is called a
brother be a fornicator or covetous or an idolater or a railer or drunkard or
an extortioner with such a one no not to eat so what is this specifically
saying it says that we should not have fellowship with because when it says no
not to eat he's referring to the fact that we shouldn't fellowship with people
who are openly involved in these particular sins and are not willing to
get them right so yeah you know you have some Christian friend or whatever or
some Christian co-worker should I say who's involved in fornication or they're
drunkard you know you shouldn't be taking a lunch break with them because
the Bible says that they call themselves a brother they consider themselves to be
a Christian therefore you know fellowship must needs be broken between
you two because that's what the Bible commands okay now if the Bible is saying
that we shouldn't eat with these people do you think the exception would be if
they're here in our church no it's like what the Bible says Terry not at the
wine look not thou upon the wine when it is red if it's telling you not even to
look at it you know the implication there is that you shouldn't drink it
either it's like don't even look at it is like almost exaggerating the amount
of distance that you should create between you and alcohol so if it's saying
you shouldn't eat with the fornicator and I know there's other sins that it's
talking about here but if it's saying don't eat with the fornicator it's
basically saying we should have no fellowship with fornicators okay and
eventually you know it goes on to say that we need to put away from ourselves
that wicked person what does it mean to put away from yourselves that wicked
person it means they need to be thrown out of the church be Church disciplined
be excommunicated from the church be asked to leave the church if they're not
willing to get that right and you know what this should this should essentially
be a preventative warning for those who are tempted to fornicate okay and I've
said it before and I'll say it again and sometimes I'm on an island by myself
this is why I don't think it's good for young people who are dating to ride
alone in the car together I know that's not popular I know people get they kind
of flinch at that and they think I'm just kind of being too strict about it
but you know what it's just being cautious and I guarantee you you know a
couple who has fornicator committed the act of fornication it all started with
them being alone and just kind of normalizing being alone just being
comfortable with just being alone right together and you know I'm not saying you
can't ride in a car together as long as there maybe there's a chaperone or
someone another a third party someone they're present to make sure that you're
accountable because here's the thing folks he that stand to take heed lest he
fall so well I'm a godly Christian I'm King James only I hate fornication yeah
you'll you hate fornication until the point that you actually commit
fornication because you have a sinful corruptible flesh that's tempted and you
put yourself in that position the Bible tells us make no provision for the flesh
to fulfill the lust thereof okay now people have this misconception that what
I'm saying is that if you commit fornication you're gonna get thrown out
of the church and that's not true you get thrown out of the church if you're
just unwilling to repent of that fornication but let me say this you know
the reproach of committing fornication is punishment enough to a certain extent
I mean think about that committing fornication and even if you repent of it
that's a major reproach and let me just get really awkward here okay you know
committing fornication with someone in our church is very awkward because even
if you get right you're both in the same church that's weird oh I gotta make it
so weird well because we're talking about fornication here why don't we
just stay away from it period it's weird and you know what I'm not saying you
can't love the Lord I'm not saying you can't serve God I'm not saying you know
you can't be restored and everything can go back to the way it was before but
let's just be a hundred percent honest it's a little weird so why don't we
avoid that little awkwardness and weirdest by just not fornicating at all
now again if you've you know you're with someone you're in a relationship you
commit fornication number one is the the ideal situation would be to get
married you both are saved get married okay or you could just separate and just
not date anymore sit somewhere else go to church in separate vehicles have
someone else pick them up like oh why you gotta make it so awkward because I
don't want you to commit fornication that's why is it really that bad yeah
people this is this is a reality in the world in which we live and in the seven
years that I've been pastoring this church it happens you know and sometimes
I'm like it my preaching to the air because it seems to go in one ear not
the other and people don't seem to believe how dangerous that is until it
happens to you but the Bible tells us explicitly so either one you get married
which is ideal I would encourage that and you don't have to have a fancy
wedding you can just go to the recorder's office get your marriage
license and we even throw a little little shindig here amen or you can
separate or the third option is we can just simply throw your rear ends out
because you're just not willing to stop fornicating like a bunch of little hot
dogs they can't seem to control themselves or you can join some other
church that is okay with you fornicating and then I'll just shame you from the
pulpit for attending a church and I'll shame that pastor as well for allowing
fornicators in that church and not doing anything about it which one would you
like free will you you could choose any one any one of them fornication is
wicked we know that adultery is wicked adultery in the Bible is punishable by
death but let's just be honest fornication is far more prevalent than
adultery in certain instances especially amongst young people okay and so this is
a you know a subject that I have to cover over a couple of months just as
preventative or sometimes just as a matter of you know it happens and so
therefore it needs to be talked about but he says fornication covetousness
idolatry railing being a drunkard by the way being a drunkard does not just
include alcohol and includes marijuana includes any kind of drug mushrooms you
add whatever drug you want into there okay that includes being a drunkard
where you're completely inebriated you're hallucinating or whatever that's
included you know you're sniffing glue
well such a one no not to eat okay and you know the Bible says the Bible talks
about the fact that you know God says it is good for a man not to touch a
woman right and then he prescribes a solution he says let every man have his
wife then because it's not like God's like instituting this rule because he's
just so like strict and he's not willing to have fun he just doesn't want you to
destroy your life and the reality is this let me just speak to the women
briefly okay if he is willing to fornicate with you he doesn't respect
you can I just be frank with you if he's willing to just commit fornication
with you and not put a ring on that finger and not you know commit to you
then he's just using you for your body even if he's a Bible believing Christian
he has zero respect for you you said well that that's not nice because you
know maybe we're in that situation I'm not talking to you I'm talking to people
who have not yet done that act who are tempted to let me just remind you if you
allow that to be you your boyfriend or whatever does not respect you and let me
just be very frank with you you are like unto a whore unto him amen go to chapter
6 if you would chapter 6 hey we want to promote godly marriages here and you
know in my opinion dating should be with the intent to marry not just dating so
you can play around and fool around and fornicate around it's with the intent to
marry okay and if that is your intent if that is your goal did you want to
achieve be smart about it be wise about it understand that you are a man a red
red-blooded man that has natural desires that God has given to you and you got to
make sure you don't make provision for the flesh and you think well you know I
got self-control you know and I don't feel that way around her or whatever
then you're like a fag or something what dude likes to be around the woman that
he loves and not want to be physical with her hello or am I preaching to fags
or something it's fact if you're around the woman that you love emotionally you
want to be with her physically and so the goal would be to restrain yourself
learn how to possess your vessel and sanctification and honor for this is the
will of God that you abstain from fornication the Bible says until you
get married look at 1st Corinthians 6 verse 14 it says meets for the belly and
belly for meats but God shall destroy both it and them now the body is not for
fornication before the Lord and the Lord for the body and God has both raised up
the Lord and will also raise up us by his own power know you not that your
bodies are the members of Christ shall I then take the members of Christ and make
them the members of in harlot God forbid what know you not that he which is joined
to in harlot is one body for to say if he shall be one flesh but he that is
joined unto the Lord is one spirit flea fornication every sin that a man doeth
is without the body but he that committed fornication sinneth against
his own body what know you not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost
which is in you which you have of God and you're not your own and I can
obviously go through the list of just you know terrible things that can happen
to you if and when you commit fornication but you know I preach other
sermons on that but let me just say this a lot of the consequences of committing
fornication has a ripple effect that will affect you for years on end even if
you don't get diseases or you know let's say you don't have bastard children
and nothing really kind of comes from that and that in that sense you know
there's there's like emotional damage that comes with that it's like mental
damage that comes with that you have to live with for the rest of your life okay
and so do it right have accountability and you like why don't agree then don't
let the door hit you with the Lord split you because you're not welcoming in our
church if you're just like an open fornicator that you just like to commit
fornication and you think it's okay because you like to take the test drive
before you actually buy the car you know and you don't think there's anything
wrong with that then you know what there's the door see you later and don't
come back why because you are a liability in our church and don't let
this message just fall on deaf ears don't ignore what I'm saying don't just
take this as oh man this is just a red fiery hot sermon yeah you know I'm sure
throughout the years people thought the same thing about previous sermons that I
preached and they still commit a fornication why don't you actually take
serious what I'm saying here okay take it to heart you will be a liability you
are a liability if that's you okay and so what are some of the ways that you
can become a liability one just have unrepentant sin if you're a drunkard if
you are a fornicator and you know a lot of these other sins that we see in 1st
Corinthians 5 they happen but not as commonly as fornication and drunkenness
I'll just be honest with you some people just struggle with these
particular sins and it's because of the fact that our culture has made it just
it's kind of normalized these sins and so young people just expose themselves
to this and look obviously if you're in our church and your parents are not in
our church it's probably harder for you to abstain from fornication it's true
because you know when you are a young person and you don't really have you
know parents to kind of guide you protect you have a curfew for you have
standards for you you have to set those on your own you don't have anybody to
tell you those things you know myself I got saved when I was 21 you know mama
wasn't dragging me to church I had to drag my mom to church okay you know I
didn't really have anybody that kind of held me accountable I had to set up
guidelines and principles to protect me from these sins that I know would
destroy my life and so if that's you you need to have the maturity sorry
that your parents are not in church I'm sorry that you don't have some
spiritual you know advisors at home and maybe they're worldly and maybe they
might even encourage some of that type of behavior and sin but you know what
sorry you got to grow up a little faster than the rest of them and you know what
you need to set up some guidelines some principles and some standards in your
life that will protect you from these sins that will destroy your life just
understand this the Satan is as a lion walking about seeking whom he may devour
and he wants to take you down he wants to destroy your life he wants you to
make life-altering decisions that will affect you for the rest of your life in
a negative way he wants you to be a liability in our church okay so be wise
have wisdom and you know you're like well I don't know what guidelines well
you know what there's enough people in here to kind of help you to know what
those guidelines should be okay and don't be so prideful and arrogant that
you don't get some help when I when I got there when I was 21 I was like
there's a bunch of men around me I I liberally asked a lot of people what do
I need to do I wasn't like well I'm spiritual and I write the Bible I go
sowing in I'm a fundamental Baptist forget all that I was like you know what
I need your help to know what it's what I should do in order to abstain from
particular sins or not get myself into a situation that can destroy me later on
and so don't be a liability in our church amen if you're dating date to
date to marry or don't date at all and you know what if you're dating there
should be a date to that to that to the conclusion of that you know season why
not well we'll figure it out one day like when though cuz look a relationship
has to grow it grows it's like it's like a triangle it's just like you know
the closer you get to God the longer you're dating the closer you want to get
to each other and I'm just telling you some people date just a little too long
and then they open themselves up to temptation okay he said well I'm kind of
like the exception to the rule yeah you're the exception to the rule but not
everyone else is so beware and I don't enjoy throwing people out of the church
I don't I know some young guys probably do I don't I'm not like finally you know
I don't enjoy that you said what do you enjoy marrying people I enjoy when
Christians repent I enjoy when Christians make wise decisions I enjoy
young men keeping themselves pure and holy I enjoy women keeping themselves
holy and pure before the Lord that's what I enjoy seeing that point number
two you're in 1st Corinthians go to chapter 10 if you would I'm sorry not
chapter 10 go to chapter 3 don't be a liability don't allow yourself to commit
fornication and by the way stop get off that dating app to stop looking for just
random just type in Christian girl
Christian girl who loves Jesus I don't know how those things work because
that's before my time back in my day you actually had to like you know like meet
people face to face I know now they have like dating apps and stuff and from what
I've heard a lot of these dating apps are simply fornication apps that's what
I've heard you know and you know some of these other apps like Instagram end up
becoming like fornication apps where people just meet on there and they're so
bold to begin with that they end up you know it ends up escalating to something
else and they end up committing fornication or adultery and it's wicked
you know and I know I already preached to clean up the ox's crib but clean up
your ass's crib clean that beast's crib up don't a lie you know if that's
something that's a temptation to you delete that's that stinking app throw
that thing away you know dedicate some time to just reading the Bible getting
off of social media spending time soul-winning spending time talking to
people and look you know just let me just say what irritates me in church
sometimes can I just get this off my chest when you're in church and you're
on like your social media app what a complete oxymoron there's like yeah let
me come to church where there's people to get on social media to contact people
who are not in church let me just get on my tik-tok and my Instagram while I'm
in church amen we come here to fellowship and we were just looking at
stories of the people who are in church or whatever looking at stories of other
people who are in other churches who are in church fellowshipping with people
face-to-face I'm not against social media because I'm gonna be watching your
stories later on tonight I'll be in my bed you know just looking at your
documentaries Jill's you know plum work plumbing work or feel like I've seen
them I feel like I know how to do your job now looking at just cats and it is
like I'm not against social media I think it's great I think it's wonderful
I like it I like to I like you guys so much that I just want to see your lives
even when we leave church I think it's great but you know what while we're here
can you just like you know what's better than the my social media post is me I'm
right here just talk to me that honestly that that drives me wild and
sometimes I want to just like you know I see people on their phones I'm like get
off of social media you're here to socialize not with media why did you
even come to church if you're gonna be on your phone the entire time now if
you're on your phone right here right now because you're looking through
Bible verses whatever I'm not I don't care about that that's you that's cool
but I'm saying after church you just kind of sit yourself in the corner
somewhere and just going through like your followers list or something it's
it's it's nonsense I'll get off that don't be a liability in our church by
having unrepentant sin not only that you could be a liability by being a gossip
the term gossip isn't necessarily found in the Bible the Bible more so uses
the term tailbearer okay and things of that nature but you know essentially the
result of gossip is division now this morning I was talking about division
right and how Jesus Christ brings a sword in that divides but that's out
there so the way God wants it is like he wants division out there but he wants no
division in here he wants us to dwell together in unity not just in doctrine
but just you know just to get along okay the Bible tells us your first
Corinthians chapter 3 I'm gonna reach you from Leviticus 19 verse 16 it says
thou shalt not go up and down as a tailbearer among thy people neither
shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbor I am the Lord first
Corinthians 3 1 says and I brethren could not speak unto you as into
spiritual but as into carnal even as into babes in Christ I fed you with milk
and I was not with me for hitherto you were not able to bear it neither yet now
are you able for year yet carnal for whereas there is among you envying and
strife and divisions are you not carnal and walk as men the Bible says Proverbs
11 13 says a tailbearer reveal its secrets but he that is of a faithful
spirit concealeth the matter Proverbs 20 verse 19 listen to this he that goeth
about as a tailbearer reveal his secrets therefore meddle not with him that
flattereth with his lips go to Proverbs chapter 26 Proverbs 26 if you would
Proverbs 26 if you're a gossiper in our church and I'm not saying this because I
heard that you know someone's gossiping to me about your gossip or something but
this is a temptation for people in church as the church begins to grow the
little factions that start you know forming look little clicks are forming
up and then you know maybe some person in our church doesn't really get along
with another person in our church and let me be more specific some lady in our
church doesn't get along with another lady in our church and you know there's
these ladies who are in opposition one to another or whatever stop all that
okay have unity stop being divisive stop being a gossiper and stop sharing gossip
as a prayer request against their fellow brother sister in Christ or against your
husband to amen you know being an open reproach to your husband by sharing a
prayer request but really what it is just you wanting to vent about your
husband or something like that that's wicked you're gossiping about your head
your Lord like in Proverbs 26 verse 20 where no wood is that there the fire
goeth out so where there is no tale bearer the strife ceaseth as coals are
to burning coals and wood to fire so as a contentious man to kindle strife the
words of a tale bearer as wounds and they go down into the innermost parts of
the belly burning lips and a wicked heart are like a pot-shirt covered with
silver dross he that hateth dissembleth with his lips and layeth up deceit
within him when he speaketh fair believe him not for there are seven abominations
in his heart let me just say this is that you know going back to the whole
spouse gossiping about their spouse you're actually shooting yourself in the
foot let me explain to you why okay let me just explain to you a very practical
reason why when you verbally outwardly complain about your husband you're
basically saying I'm a bad husband I'm a bad wife that's what you're doing when
you openly complain about your spouse and how unhappy or how bad the bad
qualities of your spouse you're basically saying I'm a bad wife I'm a
bad husband because here's the thing folks is that there is no perfect
marriage we all make mistakes we all have things that we need to work on and
we should as a marriage or as a couple strive to highlight and accentuate the
strengths of our spouse not bring them down not criticize not correct in front
of others our spouse and be just an open reproach like that and this is my point
for later on but obviously I'm talking about gossip here you know I haven't
heard about this at all but again this is preventative you know ladies when you
get together you shouldn't be just criticizing your husband's criticizing
you know their bad habits or something to leave their socks and their underwear
out and they never put it away or you know just kind of just going through the
long list because you have no one to talk to throughout the week or something
like that keep that stuff to yourself don't be an open reproach to your spouse
and just gossip and so strife and you know and by the way just as church
members we should we should not have any gossip about church members right
creating division and obviously the guys talk trash to each other all the
time that's normal I don't consider that gossip because I'll say it to your face
you'll say to other people's face the guys in our church operate more like
brothers you know it's like big brother and little brother and they say very
offensive things to each other and I'm here for it you know he's like they're
just kind of like brethren and they at the end of the day they love each other
they won't tell each other that but they do love each other man see
testifying right there you know but I'm saying you know you're actually
criticizing someone because you don't like them or for whatever reason you
have some sort of strife with them and if you have a problem with someone in
our church for a legitimate reason let's go through the proper channels okay and
you're like you know not like this well I have this problem but it's okay I
already forgave them after you just listed the whole entire problem that
you have against that person okay it's not right it's not fair don't be a
liability in our church and just be a gossiper sowing discord and strife and
division in our church you know if that's you you probably need to find a
new church because you should be in a church where you get along with the
people well I like to preach and I just don't like the people you gotta like
both sorry you gotta like both comes with the package okay well I like your
preaching I just don't like you well sorry you gotta have both go to Exodus
16 actually no hold your place to go to Philippians chapter 2 actually Philippians
chapter 2 I got to finish up here in a couple minutes talk about being a
liability hey being a complainer next one being a murmur and a complainer
makes you a liability stop being a complainer stop whining about everything
some people you just can't please for nothing you could just have like the
greatest environment you know the best of whatever and it's just still not good
enough for certain people learn to have gratitude and stop being a murmur and a
complainer you know God hates murmuring and we are natural murmurers that comes
natural to us it's easy to point out all the bad stuff about our building
that's easy it's a it's a freaking storefront it's not a church building
this is not a church building this is a storefront we've turned it into a church
really you don't have to remind me how ugly certain parts are I work here seven
days a week I know I'm trying to make it better we're not gonna add purple lights
and smoke either but you know there's certain people no matter how nice you
make the building no matter how much you fix the floors no matter how much of the
wall you get rid of you know they're just like a Debbie downer they're just
like yeah but there's like a little part right there that you guys didn't fix
what about everything else
murmurs and complainers that are just really good at pointing out all of the
little flaws well let's go ahead and take a microscope to your life and just
look at every nook and cranny do you need a fix let's go to your house why
don't we just show up unexpectedly at your house throughout the week and just
do a surprise visit and see how you know let's see if you hold up to that same
standard yeah you don't like that don't be a murmur and a complainer just be
grateful do we have somewhere to meet be grateful that you know you're not in
some godless state where the temperature is 120 degrees some hot as hell state
we're just talking about that sorry brother Connor he would like that kind
of weather but you know you know some some state out there there's just super
hot or you know just you know forgive me Texas or something you know we got
some Texas visitors thank God that we're here yeah but see there's like a little
cover that's missing on that outlet right there it's just like it like yeah
we got the floors we got the you know that the trimming yeah but I see that
they miss trimming over there though this is there a reason for that you fix
it then yeah we left it like that so you could fix it because we know you'd find
it so you know what instead of complaining about why don't you just fix
the problem just getting these things off my chest here well you know it is a
virtue not to complain God despises complaining because it shows a lack of
gratitude for what you have and you know what young people don't complain about
your parents don't complain about whatever food your mom provides don't
complain about you know your living situation be grateful for it be thankful
for what your parents provide be thankful for the house do you live in
be thankful for the vehicle that you drive be thankful for the clothes you
have your possessions be thankful for those things because you know there's
people out there that would love to have a building like this people out there
just wish they had something like this it's probably people in Africa who are
just meeting in a hut somewhere having mosquito burgers for lunch or whatever
instead of Lachona oh we're having Lachone oh that's so gross why can't we
do something better so I can't believe we're doing it yes we're doing Lachona
is gonna be delicious you know what eat it oh man we're having alligator yes you
know explore a little bit you know at least we're not having a possum or
something or some random animal that they do in the south or whatever we're
not having like roadkill or something you know sometimes things are just
aren't good enough for people you know and it takes discipline to be
intentional about being grateful for whatever happens okay it's like the
muffins oh man oh this is the only muffins you guys brought bring pizza
where's the cheese pizza though you know but it's just like there's always
something to complain about there's always something to murmur about folks
let us be those who just shut it if you have a complaint look we have a
complaint box here by the way we do have a complaint box so you can always write
out a complaint you go right out these doors it's really big it's it's like tall
and it's the doors go like this and you drop she just got it yeah sure everyone
look that's the complaint box right there right into the trash cuz I don't
give a rip about your complaints and here's the thing okay when it comes to
murmuring let me just teach you something about murmuring when you
murmur against me or you murmur against the church you know how God actually
views it he views it as though you're murmuring against him because the Bible
says let me read it to you exit at 16 8 and Moses said this shall be when the
Lord shall give you in the evening flesh to eat in the morning bread to the full
for that the Lord here with your murmurings which he murmur against him
and what are we your murmurings are not against us but against the Lord the
Bible says now I get it you know I complain sometimes and you know it's it's
a simple thing to do and I have to get right with God when I do it I complain
to my wife you know I complain to the Lord and it's not right sometimes but
you know we shouldn't be characterized though as being complainers what does the
Bible say look at Philippians 2 14 do all things without murmurings and
disputings that you may be blameless and harmless the sons of God without rebuke
in a midst of a crooked and perverse nation among whom he shined his lights
in the world the Bible says hey don't complain about the restaurant that your
team leaders taking you to after soul winning I'm just inspired by the whole
the Holy Ghost has come upon me right now hope don't complain about whatever
we always come here can we go somewhere else especially if someone's paying for
your meal just suck it now if it's like a if it's like a vegetarian spot you
know I get it if it's an Indian food for sure
complain murmur dispute contend earnestly amen we all complain okay but
don't be characterized by being a complainer in a murmur okay and if you
have that temptation to just murmur and complain about something that you see
it's too cold it's too hot it's to this you know you're just like Goldilocks in
our church this is what you do just shut up that's one of the best things
Christians can do is just zip it remind yourself God doesn't want me to
complain he doesn't want me to murmur and so I'll just complain thus within
myself and then that'll teach you to be more grateful not complaining actually
teaches you to be more grateful sometimes because it helps you to see
you know the silver lining and everything okay I must hasten here well
the sermon is too long you preach too long you don't preach long enough folks
can't please everyone so just be happy and whatsoever state you're in there
with to be content all right let's move on here go to number chapter 12 numbers
12 numbers 12 if you would numbers 12 talk about being a liability in our
church okay number four being self-willed and rebellious yeah your
liability okay if you're a person that just doesn't like authority your
liability in our church like why like your authority pastor yeah but do you
like your husband's authority though
what about your boss it is like authority your liability because God
wants us to love authority in all facets well I like your authority pastor but do
you like your parents authority though be weird if you like my authority but
you don't like your parents being self-willed rebellious you know that can
hinder our church because our church is supposed to be characterized and and
have the testimony that we are under authority authority of the Bible
authority of the pastor authority of the Lord Jesus Christ authority of just
civil government just being a law-abiding citizen but you know what
just authority all across the board look at numbers 12 in verse 1 it says in
Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he
had married for he had married an Ethiopian woman and they said hath the
Lord indeed spoken only by Moses hath he not spoken also by us and the Lord heard
it that's a scary little piece of information right there because they're
murmuring against Moses they don't like his authority they think that God can
speak by them and this is Miriam mostly by the way and you know God's kind of
like oh I'm hearing what you're saying look at verse 9 and the anger of the
Lord was kindled against them and he departed and the cloud departed from off
the tabernacle and behold Miriam became leprous white as snow and Aaron looked
upon Miriam and behold she was leprous and Aaron said unto Moses alas my Lord I
beseech thee lay not the sin upon us where we have done foolishly and wherein
we have sinned let her not be as one dead of whom the flesh is half consumed
when he cometh out of his mother's womb and Moses cried unto the Lord saying
heal her now Oh God I beseech thee and the Lord said unto Moses listen to this
if her father had but spit in her face should she not be ashamed seven days let
her be shut out of the camp seven days and after that let her be received in
again and Miriam was shut out from the camp seven days and the people journeyed
not till Miriam was brought in again so Miriam basically hindered their
wanderings for seven days because of a rebellion just just think about this
like a million people and probably a little more more than a million people
there's a whole nation just waiting on Miriam this is like work you were behind
schedule yeah I know we're just waiting on Miriam just complaining about Moses
you know authority and so God says she needs to be shut out because she's
leprous I mean that's a hindrance she became what a liability to the children
of Israel they couldn't move forward they couldn't proceed because of her
rebelliousness and you know what your family will not proceed spiritually if
you're a rebellious woman against her husband don't be an open reproach
against your husband don't be an open reproach against your husband and let me
just say this because you know it's important to mention this especially in
the day and age in which we live you know a couple should respect each other
okay I mean I can't believe I have to like say that in a Baptist Church but we
should respect each other like I don't I can't really think of a time that I like
just yelled at my wife because she's like my wife like I have a certain level
respect for her that you know she's very dainty you know and so you know I'm not
saying we've never argued or anything like that or I might have raised my
voice over the last you know nine years or something like that but in general we
have a lot of respect for each other and my wife would not dare even raise her
voice at me and you know if she ever did I'll just be honest with you and she
knows this already like I would consider that to be severe reproach upon me if my
wife raised her voice at me yelled at me cussed at me reviled me and in front
of my children from others or just by ourselves should never be done it's just
an open reproach and it's an indication that you don't respect biblical
authority yeah but he had it coming so what so what are we Christians here
don't we render blessing for blessing not evil for evil you know are we like a
drunk couple in the ghetto just fighting each other or something like that are
you just like some derelict couple crackhead couple that you just you know
in the hood somewhere and you just don't know how to deal with problems you just
yell at each other and cuss each other out no you're not you're Christians well
I can't believe you said that I grew up in the ghetto so I know what I'm talking
about I've seen it and you know what I don't want my family to be
characterized by that why cuz we're Christians and you know what my marriage
I want my marriage to reflect Christ in the church and the last time I checked
Christ doesn't cuss me out nor do I cuss Christ out obviously the church I mean
that's that's the reflection there so grow up you know if you have beef with
each other as a couple handle it like adults not like children I got pent up
rage against my husband or against my wife or whatever then you know what grow
up grow up what are you gonna do you gonna slap him or something what are
you gonna do slap her folks we're grown we're adults we're Christian adults we
should know how to resolve conflict in a Christian manner the Bible says he that
hath no rule over his own spirits like a broken city without walls and so you
know learn to respect each other I for I've sought to practice with my wife the
utmost respect especially in front of my children and especially in front of
others I'll joke with my wife but in general I want to show her the utmost
respect because she's my wife this is my queen this is the woman that I I wanted
to marry okay I'm not just gonna be an open reproach her and just like belittle
her in front of others and in like manner it would be wrong wicked and
sinful for her to belittle me in front of others as well yeah but you don't
know him doesn't matter does it make it right that's a liability and you know
I've seen churches where the pastor's wife belittles the pastor I mean this
guy sucks can't be a part of this church how can I be a part of a church
where the pastor's wife doesn't respect the pastor and just becomes like a
boshtee right those who laughing I've read the Bible and know what I'm talking
about other people like yeah yeah bosh who point that I'm making here is that
you're you are a liability in our church if you just don't know the basics of
just look folks and you don't even need Christianity to respect your spouse
there's people out there in the world who don't have the Bible they're not
saved and they respect their spouse because they know that's just the thing
to do that's just human courtesy and you know it's bad when a husband doesn't do
that to their wife but for some reason I don't know it's just even worse when a
woman doesn't know how to do it to her man because the man is the head of the
wife okay and and here's the thing folks is that we all have to grow we all have
our areas we have to work on and I'm not trying to single people out and if
you've done this before we're sinners we make mistakes whatever but you know from
here on out we should live by that principle I need to respect my spouse
and here's the thing here's a good motivator to respect your spouse even if
they do you wrong here's a good motivator the Bible says that you're
doing it as unto the Lord so before you just slander your husband or slander
your wife and talk all kinds of trash to her face and say all manner of evil
against them just remember this the Lord is right there as you're doing it as
unto the Lord would you say that to the Lord Jesus Christ would you raise would
you yell at your wife would you yell the Lord Jesus Christ the way you yell
at your wife would you say all that manner of evil to your spouse to the
Lord Jesus Christ as you're doing it to your spouse absolutely not don't be a
liability in our church by rejecting biblical authority well I'm under the
Bible of the Bible's authority or you're not not if you don't respect the home
authority not if you don't respect your boss's authority not if you don't
respect parental authority all facade all right let's move on here let me
also say this is that we're talking about being a liability being a bad
testimony outside of the church is a liability I'm not gonna spend too much
time on this but let me just say this is that don't be a bozo online don't be
just like a godless person online please can you stop posting stupid music online
please godless just wicked music online okay why because you know you're being a
bad testimony you're a Christian now look there are certain music there's
music out there that's not Christian that I don't think is bad you know I
have certain music that makes me think of my wife and and you know you know the
oldies but goodies amen makes me just think upon my wife and rejoice with them
up with the wife of my youth you know and it just you know I think I don't
think songs like love songs are bad per se obviously there's a difference
between just like love songs and they're like perversion and stuff like that but
there's certain love songs out there that I think are legitimate for between
you and your spouse and you may not agree with that but I believe that okay
you know but you know there's certain songs out there that people be posting
it's just wicked as hell it's just godless it's stupid and it's you're
acting like a bozo online you need to find a different outlet man why are you
so rough because I'm trying to teach you not to be a liability in the Christian
life okay and you know what some of this stuff is just attention-seeking is what
it is the church is here for you the church wants to be a blessing to you the
church is here to help you through the hard times and the difficulties the
church is here to restore you the church is here for you emotionally mentally
spiritually physically we're here for as friends we are here you know to give you
a hug as a man man with the man woman with a woman to give you a handshake and
be here for you and pray for you we will be your best friend okay but there's
only so much that we can do and don't abuse that and still return and be like
a bozo online we live in a day and age where you can just put all your nonsense
out online don't be a bozo don't be look and if you just want to willing I can't
kick you out for being a bozo online but if you want to be just a complete bozo
online posting stupid stuff at least go like private or just put a different
profile picture and just change the name on there or or just remove first works
from your bio or something so why because you're being a bad test because
then people are like this person goes to first works this person's a Christian
they go to first works yeah you know what if that's your prerogative and
that's what you like to do I'm not gonna say more power to you because I think
it's wrong but you know what you can choose to do whatever you want but
please please please take church off your bio though our church specifically
and don't put anybody else's church on there either the Bible talks about
having a good report of them which are without and I understand that that's 1st
Timothy chapter 3 the qualifications of a pastor but everyone would agree that
those are just a bare basics of what a pastor has to fulfill to even be
considered to be a pastor so this is applicable to all Christians to have a
good report of them which are without okay go to 3rd John 11 3rd John 11
3rd John 11 and I'm almost done look if you're struggling with something just
let us know just come and talk to us
let's talk you know just get it off your chest
let's chat let's fellowship you know what I'm a pretty real person you can be
pretty real with me and not offend me you can tell me some of the deepest
things that you're probably struggling with and I'm not gonna be like I will
not freak out God you know he allowed me to go through some things they have
given me thick skin and he probably did it for an intent to hear things like
that and so if that's you you can tell me the craziest stuff and I probably
won't freak out about it and so I'm here for you people are here for you we're a
real church okay use the church as an outlet to get make yourself better not
like these sinful things that people post online and and things of that
nature look at 3rd John 11 says beloved follow not that which is evil but that
which is good he that doeth good is of God but he that doeth evil has not seen
God Demetrius hath a good report of all men and of the truth itself yea and we
also bear record and you know that our record is true what does that mean
Demetrius has a good testimony as a good report people know who he is they know
his testimony is Demetrius perfect no did he have some struggles probably he's
human like everyone else but in general he has a good report and you know what
your struggle is no excuse for you to just live wickedly outside of these
walls because there's people who struggle a lot in our church I know
people in our church they struggle exceedingly they're going through a
really hard time but these people are faithful to church they live a godly
life they live a holy life they're joyous and they go through a very
difficult time but you know what they're going through it the right way so don't
bring that to me being a bad testimony outside of our church liability and then
lastly having a stubborn attitude is a liability so what do you mean by that
we are here to advise you to counsel you but not to advise you and to counsel you
over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and
over and over and over and over again you know the same counsel over and over
and over and over and over again you understand what I'm saying like if I
counsel you or advise you and then you just ignore it and then three months
down the road you come back with the same problem you're like what should I
do and then I tell you the same exact solution and then three months later you
don't do it and you come back with that same problem you're the problem you're
stubborn now you're a liability because now what I see is me giving advice and
then going in one year and out the other be someone who takes advice takes Godly
counsel don't be the person fishing for the right for the council that you want
to hear come to counsel for the things that you need to hear not what you want
to hear the Bible tells us in Proverbs 12 verse 1 who so loveth instruction
loveth knowledge but he that hateth reproof is brutish what is brutish
stupid say if you hate reproof you're dumb you don't listen to reproof you're
dumb you know we're all need to grow and we all have a lifelong of growing but
here's the thing one thing that will help us to stay on the right track is
just listening to Godly counsel not just mine just plenty of people here
who have given Godly counsel wise counsel given good advice but listen to
it listen to it you know we're not just like trying to expound and sound smart
or show you know just kind of show them that we know what the Bible says or
whatever we're actually trying to improve your life but you know if you
don't listen to it and you're just keep continued to suffer with the same issue
the same problem I'm not gonna change my answer it's the same answer and you're
not the exception to that rule okay and so you know it's a hard sermon tonight
but you know sometimes you got to hear things like this what I'm trying to tell
you this evening is don't be a liability you know at best break even hey and I'm
all for it you want to just break even I'm cool with you we're good I'm not mad
break even sounds good because at least if you're breaking even we're not in the
negative with you and you have you still have potential to be an asset the goal
would be to be an asset in our church but if you're not ready for that just
break even but please please please Oh pretty please with the cherry on top
with the fake cherry on top that comes in that jar and all those juices I like
them too don't be a liability let's pray father we thank you so much for your
word and Lord as I mentioned we all start off as a liability just as babes
in Christ but as the years go by as we read the Bible Lord we need to strive to
either break even or become an asset and I pray that you'd help us as your people
to do so I know the sermon was hard tonight but I pray it would fall upon
obedient ears people who are willing to open their hearts to the truth and be
willing to take that advice and that counsel and Lord we're here for people
and we're here to help Lord and we don't want people to continue in unrepentant
sin we want them to restore their walk with you restore their purity Lord and
just live a life that's pleasing unto you I pray that you bless us this evening
as we fellowship and as we go our separate ways bring us back here safely
on Thursday in Jesus name we pray amen