["In the Hall of the Mountain King"]
.
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.
Welcome to Faith Forward Baptist Church.
So nice to see you all here on this Wednesday evening.
If you don't please find your seats now and take a hymnal.
Go to Hymn 207.
We'll begin tonight.
Hymn 207.
Number 207.
Only a sinner is a sinner.
Hymn 207.
Number 207.
Hymn 207.
Only a sinner saved by grace.
Hymn 207.
We'll sing it out on that first verse together.
Not have I gotten to what I have received.
Hymn 207.
We'll open up on that verse now.
Hymn 207.
Not have I gotten to what I have received.
Praise have you so lived since I have believed.
Oh, sweetest of it.
Bright eye and face.
I'm old and free.
Hymn 207.
Bright eye and face.
I'm only a sinner.
Saved by grace.
Only a sinner.
Saved by grace.
Only a sinner.
Saved by grace.
This is my story.
To God be the glory.
I'm only a sinner.
Saved by grace.
Once I was foolish and sinned.
Moved my heart.
Watching my footsteps.
From God to depart.
Jesus has found me.
Happy by grace.
Right now I am a sinner.
Saved by grace.
Only a sinner.
Saved by grace.
Only a sinner.
Saved by grace.
This is my story.
To God be the glory.
I'm only a sinner.
Saved by grace.
Here's on a mailing note.
There in that eye.
Mercy is in me.
Over and outside was died.
Sin had alarmed me.
Here in God's face.
Right now I'm a sinner.
Saved by grace.
Only a sinner.
Saved by grace.
Only a sinner.
Saved by grace.
This is my story.
To God be the glory.
I'm only a sinner.
Saved by grace.
Suffer a sinner.
Whose heart overflows.
Loving his Savior.
To tell what he knows.
Wants glory.
Tell it.
Would I embrace?
I'm only a sinner.
Saved by grace.
Only a sinner.
Saved by grace.
Only a sinner.
Saved by grace.
This is my story.
To God be the glory.
I'm only a sinner.
Saved by grace.
Thank you for that blessing tonight.
We want to open up some prayers.
So if you want to bow your heads together with me.
Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for the opportunity that you've given to us to be in church this Wednesday night.
thank you, Lord, for bringing Pastor Bruce Mejia safely here to preach to us this evening.
We ask, Lord, your blessing upon us as we lift our voices to you in praise and worship.
We just ask that you fill us with your spirit as we do that, that you help us be
edified and that you'd also open our hearts and ears to receive the message tonight
and that you fill Pastor Bruce Mejia with your Holy Spirit, fill him with power and
unction as he preaches the word to us, keep distractions to a minimum, and that
all that's said and done tonight would give you the honor and glory that you deserve for
it and we'll thank you for it in Jesus' name, Amen.
Hymn 205 is next, 205, he keeps me singing, hymn number 205, we'll lift it up on that
verse, 205, there's within my heart a melody, hymn number 205.
Within my heart a melody, Jesus, whisper sweet and low,
here I am with thee, peace be still, in all our lives heaven flow.
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, sweetest name I know,
fills my every longing, gives me singing as I go.
All my life was wrecked by sin and strife, this will fill my heart with pain.
Jesus, swept across the broken streets, serve the song records again.
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, sweetest name I know,
fills my every longing, keeps me singing as I go.
Facing on the riches of his grace, dressed beneath the sheltering wings,
always looking on his smiling face, that is why I shout and sing.
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, sweetest name I know,
fills my every longing, gives me singing as I go.
Though sometimes he leans through waters deep,
he drives us all across the way.
Though sometimes our path seems rough and steep,
we see his footprints all the way.
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, sweetest name I know,
fills my every longing, keeps me singing as I go.
Soon he's coming back to welcome me, far beyond the starry sky.
I shall win my fight to worlds unknown, I shall reign with him on high.
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, sweetest name I know,
fills my every longing, keeps me singing as I go.
Amen. If you need a bulletin, you know what to do.
Get that hand high in the sky and an usher will come by and give you one.
So if you have your bulletin, please open it up.
On the left-hand side is the Service Times, Church Soul Winning Times,
and the Regional Soul Winning Groups, as well as our salvation and baptisms for the year.
On the right-hand corner is information about the mega conference we are currently having.
Pastor Mejia, right over here in that direction, is preaching for us tonight.
So when you get a chance after the service,
please thank him for taking the time to come here and preach for us.
And not just that, but thank you to those who participated in the Navajo Reservation Soul Winning.
We had eight soul winners and 19 salvations, and every door in chambers has been knocked.
And also join us for a small town soul winning trip to Eden, Arizona, Saturday, July 20th.
Any questions, please talk to Brother Raymond and he will help you out.
Please continue to pray for the expecting ladies in our church.
And also join us for a skating ad that we're going to have on Thursday, August 15th, from 5.30 to 8 p.m.
The address is right there. Take a look at it when you get a chance.
And also our upcoming events are right there. Take a look at those when you get a chance.
And at this time, we're going to go over these soul winning for the week.
So if you've got somebody saved on Monday, the 15th, we'll start over here.
Just go ahead and raise your hand and give me the number.
Other than that, I'm just going to sweep through the area.
Any salvations on Monday? 12.
Any other salvations for Monday? Tuesday.
Salvation for Tuesday. We've got one over here.
Any other salvations? How many? 15.
Anybody else? And today? 3.
What happened? Just kidding.
2. Well, maybe he did.
Anybody else back there? 6.
Does that include his two? Okay, so technically we have how many?
6 it is, amen. Anybody else?
Going once, going twice. All right.
Brother Hernandez, come lead us to the next song.
All right, you should find the insert in front of your hymnal with Psalm 81.
If you don't have an insert, you can raise your hand and you'll receive one.
We'll sing it on that first verse together.
Psalm 81, sing aloud unto God our strength.
Our solemn feast day, for this was a statue for Israel,
and the love of the God of Jacob.
Is he ordained in Joseph for a testimony when he went out
through the land of Egypt, where I heard a language that I understood not.
I removed his shoulder from the burden.
His hands were delivered from the box.
Thou caused control when I delivered thee.
I answered thee in the secret place of thunder.
I threw thee at the waters under the cloud.
See, Lord, hear, O my people, and I will testify unto thee.
O Israel, O ark and unto thee.
There shall no strange God be in thee.
Neither shall thou worship any strange God.
I am the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt.
Open thy mouth, quiet, and I will fill it.
But my people would now bark into my voice,
and Israel would none of thee.
So I gave them up unto their own hearts, thus,
and they walked in their own counsels.
But my people had already done to me.
Israel had walked in my ways, I should soon have some to do their enemies,
and turned my hand against their adversaries.
The haters of the Lord should have submitted,
should have submitted themselves unto him,
but their time should endure forever.
He should have fed them also,
with the finest of the wheat and with the honey.
Out of the rock should I have satisfied thee.
Amen. You're singing well this evening. Let's go in your hymnals now to hymn number 81.
Hymn number 81.
When we seek Christ, hymn number 81. We'll sing it out.
Nice and strong, starting on that first verse.
Off times the day sings long.
Hymn number 81.
Let's hear it. Keep up the good singing now.
Hymn number 81. Sing it out now.
Off times the day sings long.
Our trials are to bear.
We're tempted to complain,
to murmur and despair.
But Christ will soon appear,
to catch us right away.
All tears forever over,
in God's eternal day.
It will be worth it all,
when we see Jesus.
Life's trials will seem so small,
when we seek Christ.
One glimpse of his here face,
all sorrow will erase.
So bravely run the race,
till we seek Christ.
Sometimes the sky looks dark,
with not a ray of light.
We're tossed and driven on,
no human help is sight.
But there is one in hand,
who knows our deepest care.
When Jesus solved your problems,
just go to him in prayer.
It will be worth it all,
when we see Jesus.
Life's trials will seem so small,
when we seek Christ.
One glimpse of his here face,
all sorrow will erase.
So bravely run the race,
till we seek Christ.
Life's tables to be old,
all storms forever pass,
will cross the great divide,
to glory safe at last.
We'll share the joys of heaven,
a hall of crown.
God's answer will be banished,
we'll lay our burden down.
It will be worth it all,
when we see Jesus.
Life's trials will seem so small,
when we seek Christ.
One glimpse of his here face,
all sorrow will erase.
So bravely run the race,
till we seek Christ.
Amen.
At this time we're going to pass the offering place,
and as we're passing around the offering place,
please turn your Bibles to Proverbs 24.
Please turn your Bibles to Proverbs 24.
Proverbs 24, the Bible reads,
Be not thou envious against evil men,
neither desire to be with them,
for their heart studieth destruction
and their lips talk of mischief.
Through wisdom is in house builded,
and by understanding it is established,
and by knowledge shall the chambers be filled
with all precious and pleasant riches.
A wise man is strong,
yea, a man of knowledge increase its strength,
for by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war,
and in a multitude of counselors there is safety.
Wisdom is too high for a fool,
he openeth not his mouth in the gate.
He that deviseth to do evil
shall be called a mischievous person.
The thought of foolishness is sin,
and the scorner is an abomination to men.
If thou faint in the day of adversity,
thy strength is small.
If thou forbear to deliver them
that are drawn unto death
and those that are ready to be slain,
if thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not,
doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it,
and he that keepeth thy soul doth not he know it?
And shall not he render to every man
according to his works?
My son, eat thou honey because it is good,
and the honeycomb which is sweet to thy taste,
so shall the knowledge of wisdom be unto thy soul.
When thou hast found it, then there shall be a reward,
and thy expectation shall not be cut off.
Lay not wait, O wicked man,
against the dwelling of the righteous.
Spoil not his resting place,
for a just man falleth seven times
and riseth up again,
but the wicked shall fall into mischief.
Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth,
and let not thine heart be glad when he stumblest,
lest the Lord see it, and it displease him,
and he turn away his wrath from him.
Fret not thyself because of evil men,
neither be thou envious at the wicked,
for there shall be no reward to the evil man,
the candle of the wicked shall be put out.
My son, fear thou the Lord and the king,
and meddle not with them that are given to change,
for their calamities shall rise suddenly,
and who knoweth the ruin of them both?
These things also belong to the wise,
it is not good to have respect of persons in judgment.
He that saith unto the wicked,
Thou art righteous, him shall the people curse,
nations shall abhor him,
but to them that rebuke him shall be delight,
and a good blessing shall come upon them.
Every man shall kiss his lips that giveth a right answer.
Prepare thy work without,
and make it fit for thyself in the field,
and afterwards build thine house.
Be not a witness against thy neighbor without cause,
and deceive not with thy lips.
Say not, I will do so to him as he hath done to me.
I will render to the man according to his work.
I went by the field of the slothful,
and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding,
and lo, it was all grown over with thorns,
and nettles had covered the face thereof,
and the stone wall thereof was broken down.
Then I saw and considered it well.
I looked upon it, and received instruction.
Yet a little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to sleep.
So shall thy poverty come as one that travelth,
and thy want as an armed man.
Dear Father in Heaven, please fill Pastor Mahi with your spirit.
Please give us all wisdom understanding from the sermon this evening.
We pray in Jesus' name, amen.
Amen.
It is a blessing to be here tonight in the absence of your pastor.
I'm always thankful for the opportunity
to be able to preach at Faith Forward Baptist Church,
and it's good to see you all on this very warm summer evening in Arizona.
The title of my sermon tonight is
How to Get Back on Track.
Throughout my time in church,
I've always heard preachers say from the pulpit,
they'll make this statement that the Christian life is essentially
two steps forward and one step back.
Two steps forward and one step back.
Essentially saying that, you know,
the Christian life isn't always achievements and success and progress.
There are instances where we regress.
We kind of step back a little bit.
Maybe we fail in a certain area.
And the reality is this is that God isn't necessarily interested
in characterizing your life by that one step back,
by that one failure, by that one bad day,
one bad week, one bad month, or even one bad year of your life.
He characterizes you by the fact that you get back up again.
Those two steps forward that you take after the step back.
And obviously we're imperfect people.
We make mistakes.
We don't always do right.
And so it's unrealistic to think that we're always going to take steps forward
and never going to fail in the Christian life.
We're never going to make mistakes.
We're never going to step back.
The reality is this is that we will fall back every once in a while.
The important thing is to step forward when we do it.
It says in Proverbs 24 and verse 16,
For a just man falleth seven times and riseth up again,
but the wicked shall fall into mischief, it says.
And I want you to notice that it says that the just man falls seven times.
Seven, of course, in the Bible is a number that symbolizes perfection.
And it goes without saying that we are perfectly imperfect,
meaning that we're always going to make mistakes
and so we should expect to fail at times in the Christian life.
But again, it says that he rises up again.
So when you fall and you fall out of church,
you fall out of your Bible reading,
you fall out of spiritual disciplines,
pre-determine that you're going to get back up no matter what.
Pre-determine that purpose in your heart that no matter what happens,
no matter what failures you have, you got to get back up.
And this evening I just want to talk to you about how to get back on track as a Christian.
How do you do it?
And I'm going to go over three specific points tonight.
The first point being, how is it that people get off track?
Second point is, how to get on track?
And then the last point will be, how to stay on track?
Now go with me, if you would, to Matthew chapter 26.
Matthew chapter 26, if you would.
Let's first talk about how is it that someone gets off track?
How does someone fall and, quote unquote, stays down?
How does that take place?
The first thing I want to mention is that it's pride.
Pride is what causes Christians, believers, just men, to get off track, to fall, and yes, even to stay down.
And one of the best illustrations of this, in my opinion, in the Bible is the Apostle Peter.
Here's a man of God who loves the Lord and he's zealous for the things of God.
He's willing to go even unto death, so he says,
but yet we see, even towards the latter end of Jesus' ministry, that the Apostle Peter takes a step back, does he not?
And where does it start off with?
It starts off with pride.
It says in Matthew 26, in verse 31,
Then saith Jesus unto them,
All ye shall be offended because of me this night.
For it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad.
But after I am risen again, I will go before you into Galilee.
Peter answered and said unto him,
Though all men shall be offended because of thee,
Yeah, well, I never be offended.
Jesus said unto them,
Verily I say unto thee, that this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.
Now, what is Peter doing here?
He's being prideful, arrogant.
Why?
Because Jesus himself is saying, you guys are going to forsake me, and in fact, as it is written.
So aside from the fact that he is, in real time, giving the revealed word of God as he's speaking,
he's also quoting Old Testament scripture to reinforce the fact that they're going to be offended.
And any person who is humble, any individual who recognizes that the Bible has authority,
and they're imperfect, they're going to say, you know what, amen to that.
This is going to happen because the Lord said it.
But not Peter, though.
Peter says, not me.
Everyone else is going to fall off track.
Everyone else is going to take a step back, but not me.
What is he saying?
This applies to everyone else, but I'm the exception to the rule.
And what is that?
It's called pride.
And an example of this or an illustration of this could be when the pastor gets up and preaches
and tries to warn you about the consequences of actions that you might take.
And you may think to yourself, well, that's for the person to the left of me.
That's for the person to the right of me, but not me.
I will never be offended.
That's not in my character.
I'll push through.
I'm built different.
It's called pride.
And one sure way to make sure that you fall flat on your face and get a base and humbled
by God is you're prideful.
You're arrogant.
You think that you are the exception to the rule.
And in fact, the parallel passage to this, you don't have to turn there, is in Luke
22, verse 31, Jesus, it says here in verse 31, the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold,
Satan had the desire to have you that he may sift you as wheat.
So in Matthew 26, he addresses all the disciples in general.
But here in Luke 22, he's specifically talking to Peter, just in case Peter thought
that he's the exception to the rule.
He says, Satan had the desire to have me sift you as wheat, but I've prayed for
thee that thy faith fail not.
And when thou art converted, strengthen thy brother.
I love the fact that the Lord has faith in his people that when they are converted,
not if he's converted, but when they are converted.
He knows that Peter will bounce back and he wants to use him to convert his
brethren not to, by the way, this isn't referring to salvation.
Let me just, this isn't like a New Testament thing where Peter had to get
saved again or something.
When he says converted, it's simply, it's essentially saying that when he's
transformed from being this backslidden believer to having faith in the Lord
and coming through and believing on the Lord for his deliverance, you know,
he wants, he needs to be an example to the believers and strengthen them
by his example, okay.
He says in verse 33, and he said unto him, Lord, I am ready to go with thee,
both into prison and to death.
Not the response that he should have given.
And he said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day before thou
shall thrice deny that thou knowest me.
So he tries to warn the apostle Peter telling him, hey, Satan's out to get you.
He wants to sift you.
He wants to destroy you.
He's out to get you.
And don't worry, though, I prayed for thee that your faith fail not.
And when you're converted, implying that something bad's going to happen to him,
but he is going to bounce back, he is going to recover,
he needs to convert his brethren, help them to be strengthened,
and the response he gives is like, I'm going to go with you even unto
prison, even unto death.
That's called pride, okay.
And we should never think of ourselves so highly that we think that,
well, you know, I've been in the Christian life for so long.
I've been in this church for so long.
I've read my Bible for so long.
I'm the exception to the rule.
Participating in these actions are not going to get me out of church.
I'm not going to stop reading my Bible.
I'm not going to stop serving God.
Folks, that's called pride.
And the Bible tells us pride goeth before destruction
and a haughty spirit before a fall.
1 Corinthians 10, 12 tells us,
Wherefore, let him that thinketh he standeth,
take heed lest he fall.
In other words, don't be a delusional Christian.
Don't lie to yourself.
Don't deceive yourself into thinking that you have all your ducks in order
and it will never happen to you because it can.
And this is why the Bible tells us to be vigilant, to be sober,
and we have an adversary who's constantly out to sift us as weed.
We need to make sure that we keep our guard up
and make sure that we're not the exception to the rule.
Go back to Matthew 26, if you would.
The Bible also says in Psalm 19, verse 13,
Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins.
Let them not have dominion over me.
Then shall I be upright and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.
So one of the reasons why people get off track, the main reason,
the first step, is pride.
It's arrogance. It's thinking that you're the exception.
It's not going to happen to you.
Maybe for brother so-and-so, maybe for sister so-and-so,
but not for me.
I'm different. I'm built different.
I know how to walk with God.
I serve God. I know how to win souls to Christ.
Folks, you may be the very candidate that Satan goes after
and you can fall because of it.
But what's another reason why people get off track?
Well, the first one obviously is pride,
but the second one would be negligence regarding spiritual disciplines.
Negligence regarding spiritual disciplines.
Let me just say this, is that the day that you decide to stop reading your Bible today, for example,
and then you make an excuse to not read it tomorrow,
it's easier to not read it the day following,
and then it's easier to just skip that week,
and then it's just easier to just say,
I'm going to hop back on the following week,
and the day you say, well, today I'm not going to go to church.
I'll just come Sunday night,
but then, you know, something always comes up before Sunday night,
and it's like, well, for sure I'll be there on Wednesday for the Bible study,
but then you miss out on the Bible study for whatever reason,
and you say, okay, Sunday's the first new start,
but then you miss that Sunday.
You know, the longer you're at a church,
the more you become negligent regarding those spiritual disciplines,
the more distance you create between you and the things of God,
and ultimately it causes you to get off track,
and what people don't realize is that sometimes failure in the Christian life happens incrementally,
not overnight.
It's just a little here and a little there.
The Bible says that gray hairs are upon him,
here a little, there a little.
Failures come as an accumulation of just a negligence of spiritual disciplines
when you decide not to do the average today,
and then you end up falling off track because of it.
Look at Matthew 26, verse 38.
It says,
Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful,
this is referring to Jesus being in the Garden of Gethsemane,
even unto death.
Tear ye here and watch with me.
And he went a little farther and fell on his face and prayed,
saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me.
Nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt.
And he cometh unto his disciples and findeth them, what?
Asleep, and saith unto Peter, What?
Could you not watch with me one hour?
Watch and pray that ye enter not into temptation.
The spirit is indeed willing, but the flesh is weak.
And I always found it funny that Peter's like,
I will go to prison, I will die for you,
and just a little bit later he's like catching some z's, he's counting sheep.
He's not staying awake during the apex of the trial
that Jesus Christ is experiencing, he's falling asleep.
It's like Christians, like, you know,
they're fully committed, I'm King James Ollie,
but then you fall asleep in church when the pastor's preaching.
During one of the most important times, to stay awake.
You say, well, when's the time I should be asleep?
At night, when you go to bed.
But when you're in church, you know, watch, amen?
Watch the preacher, watch the Bible.
Enter not into temptation, the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
And obviously that's like a third application to this principle that I'm giving here.
But the point that I'm making here is the fact that once pride sets in,
then excuses for why you shouldn't do the basics of the Christian life
also start setting in, those accumulate over time,
and then eventually you just don't do them anymore.
Your heart becomes hardened, it's no longer tender towards the things of God,
it's easier to get out of the habit of doing the things in the Christian life,
and then what happens? You get off track.
Okay, look at verse 56.
Verse 56, so pride, negligence of spiritual disciplines,
but then also people begin to increase their distance between them and the Lord.
Look at verse 56.
But all this was done, that the scripture of the prophets might be fulfilled,
then all the disciples forsook him and fled,
and they that had laid hold on Jesus led him away to Caiaphas the high priest,
where the scribes and the elders were assembled,
listen to this, but Peter followed him afar off unto the high priest's palace,
and went in and sat with the servants to see the end.
So we have Peter, he is claiming that he's going to be committed unto the prison,
even unto death, he's being prideful, presumptuous, and arrogant,
and of course he's sleeping on the job, so to speak,
but now he's not right next to Jesus.
How are you going to go to prison with Jesus if you're not even going,
you're not by his side, you're not backing him up?
What is he doing? He's following afar off.
Oh, he's still following the Lord, but just afar off.
You know, people begin to miss church and say,
you know, yeah, I miss church, but I'm watching online, though.
I'm catching the sermons online.
What is that called? It's called following afar off.
Right?
Because it's just like, well, I'm still getting into preaching.
Yeah, but you know what? Preaching is very much important in the house of God,
coupled with the fellowship of God's people as well, though.
And God wants you to be here in person,
not only being exhorted by the sermon, by the preaching of God's word,
but also by God's people.
You know, God wants you to fellowship with other believers,
and use other believers as an example unto yourself,
be an example to the believers,
and have that community of fellowship with God's people.
But we see here that the Apostle Peter begins to create distance
between him and the Lord Jesus Christ.
The parallel passage, you don't have to turn there,
it says in John 18, 18,
And the servants and officers stood there,
who had made a fire of coals,
and they warmed themselves,
and Peter stood with them,
and warmed himself.
You know, one thing I've noticed as a pastor
is that when members begin to get off track,
specifically in the area of church attendance,
there's a distance that's created between them and the church,
them and the Lord,
and it's almost as if they separate from church,
but they're separating unto someone or something.
And what I see more often than not is that
the less you come to church, the less you fellowship with people,
the more it's likely you're going to fellowship with someone else who's not in church,
someone who is not a Christian,
someone who's not serving God,
and the easier it is to stay out of church,
especially if you're hanging out with a bunch of other backslitting Christians,
who are also following the Lord afar off,
it's just easier to be peer pressured into
falling into that same condition of being lukewarm,
apathetic towards the things of God,
following afar off.
But the Bible tells us that God wants us to be in the house of God,
He wants us to keep close communion with Him,
to keep short accounts with Him in the Bible.
Look at verse 69.
We're seeing a progression here with the Apostle Peter
of how he got off track.
It starts off with pride,
then the negligence of spiritual disciplines,
we see that he begins to follow the Lord afar off,
and then ultimately it leads to this casualty of denying the Lord.
It says in verse 69,
Now Peter sat without in the palace,
and a damsel came unto him, saying,
Thou also was with Jesus of Galilee.
But he denied before them all, saying,
I know not what thou sayest.
And when he was gone out into the porch,
another maid saw him,
and said unto them that were there,
This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth.
And again he denied with an oath,
I do not know the man.
And after a while came unto him they that stood by,
and said to Peter,
Surely thou also art one of them,
for thy speech be rayeth thee.
Then began he to curse and to swear,
saying, I know not the man.
And immediately the cock crew.
And Peter remembered the words of Jesus,
which said unto him before the cock crow,
Thou shalt deny me thrice.
And he went out and wept bitterly.
Now let me clarify something.
I don't believe this means that
Peter was denying being a believer,
or a Christian,
or that he was saved,
or that he just stopped believing that Jesus was the Christ.
He's obviously denying his association
out of fear of persecution.
And there's nothing new under the sun.
Christians when they get off track,
they get out of church,
they backslide,
they're ashamed sometimes.
And why?
Well because they're around other unbelievers,
lukewarm Christians,
they want to fit in,
and so by proxy they essentially,
what do they do?
They deny the Lord by denying
that they're even a Christian at times.
Not because they're saying they're not saved,
but just because they are acting like,
you know, they're not in church,
they're acting like a non-believer,
they're ashamed that they're a Christian
and they're not in church,
they're not serving God.
So in a sense they're denying
that they are serving the Lord,
they're embarrassed about those things,
and ashamed of the Lord Jesus Christ.
This is a very shameful position
and condition for Christians to fall into
when they get off track.
I mean think about it.
You know, think about you being three to thrive,
you're constantly reading your Bible,
but then, you know,
you start being negligent and prideful,
you start following afar off,
and then six months down the road,
you're not even talking to people
about the Lord anymore.
You're hanging around your unsaved buddies
and you don't even want to talk
about the things of God.
You don't want to win them to Christ.
You're not bringing up church,
you're not even going to church on Sunday.
It's a complete contrast of what we see with Peter
prior to his denial of Christ and after, right?
And so it's important that as Christians
we recognize what are some of the steps
that people take into getting off track.
We see here that he begins to deny the Lord.
And why is that?
Because he stopped denying himself.
The Bible tells us,
if any man will come after me,
let him deny himself, take up his cross,
and follow me.
But yet with Peter, he begins to deny the Lord,
he stops dying to self,
and that leads to his spiritual demise, so to speak.
Go to John chapter 21.
Is this my water?
Did anybody drink out of this?
This is mine.
I think I ask this every time, huh?
You just never know, though.
You know, Peter essentially becomes a castaway.
And you know, the Bible tells us
you don't have to turn there yet.
But it says,
doesn't man advantage if he gain the whole world
and lose himself or be a castaway?
And there are instances where people can become covetous,
they become involved with greed or lust,
they're entangled with the affairs of this life,
and essentially what happens to them
is that they become useless to God.
They become a castaway, they get off track,
they're no longer serving the Lord.
They are as salt that has lost its savor,
wherewith shall it be salted,
it is thenceforth good for nothing but to be cast out
and to be trodden under the foot of men.
You know, God obviously has a purpose
for every single one of our lives.
The Bible tells us that we are as workmanship
created in Christ Jesus unto good works
which God has before ordained that we should walk in them.
But when a person allows pride to creep in,
they become negligent regarding spiritual disciplines,
they create distance between them and the Lord,
and what happens?
They begin to deny the Lord.
Look what happens next.
Spiritual matters are no longer priority.
It says in verse number one of John 21,
After these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples
at the Sea of Tiberius.
On this wise showed he himself.
This is after the resurrection, by the way.
There were together Simon Peter and Thomas Caudidimus
and Nathanael of Canaan in Galilee
and the sons of Zebedee and two other of his disciples.
Simon Peter saith unto them,
I go of fishing.
They saith unto him, we also go with thee.
They went forth, entered into a ship immediately,
and that night they caught nothing.
So what do we see here?
Peter went from being a fisher of men
to just plain fishing.
You know, going back to his old hobbies,
his old job, and you know,
from the looks of it, in the very beginning,
he was actually really good at what he did.
I mean, that was his vocation.
But here we see that when you backslide,
you know what, sometimes you take people with you.
When you get off track,
one thing that Christians do and they don't realize
is they take people with them.
And you don't really realize how much influence
you have in this church or in your family
until you backslide.
You go fishing, and other people say,
we go with you as well.
But one thing you'll notice is that when you get off track,
you get out of church, you catch nothing.
Life outside of the Christian world
is meaningless, it's not fruitful,
it's miserable, you will catch nothing.
Peter is a prime example of someone who got off track.
This is a man who claimed that he was gonna go
with Christ to prison.
He was willing to die for the cause of Christ.
He was willing to stand by him to the bitter end,
but yet we see here what happens.
He goes fishing instead.
What happened to him?
He got off track.
And this is the testimony of many people
As a pastor, you see a lot of casualties in church.
Spiritual casualties.
People who were once on fire for God,
they're serving the Lord,
they have a brightness about them,
they have a bright countenance,
they love what they do,
they love coming to church or loving the preaching,
they love to hate,
they love to win souls to Christ.
They just love the things of God,
and then they just get worse and worse and worse,
and it starts off with pride.
The next step is they neglect spiritual disciplines,
they create distance between them and the things of God.
Ultimately they deny the Lord in the sense that
they don't even talk about being a Christian anymore.
And then of course we see that spiritual matters
are no longer a priority to them,
and they become a casualty.
This evening I want to also talk about
how to get back on track.
Because here's the thing,
what's exempt from happening to us,
what happened to Peter, right?
And obviously we need to be vigilant,
but if you find yourself in a situation
where your heart has grown cold
towards the things of God,
maybe you're not reading your Bible anymore
like you used to.
Maybe you're not even coming to church
as much as you used to.
Maybe you stopped soul winning,
or you're not soul winning as much as you used to.
Let me just remind you tonight,
you're getting off track!
And you're like, well, you know,
I don't think so,
you know, I think I'm fine,
that's called pride.
It's called pride.
And you know, every once in a while
we need to reevaluate our spiritual lives
and see, where am I spiritually?
Am I reading my Bible every day?
Am I coming to church?
Am I trying to be a blessing to those in our church?
Am I soul winning?
Look, if you're checking those boxes,
you're probably in a good spot.
But if you think to yourself,
you know what,
I haven't witnessed anybody in weeks,
in fact in months.
I haven't read my Bible in weeks.
In fact, I can't remember the last time
I read my Bible.
You've gotten off track.
You know, it's like, oh man,
it's just too hot to come back on Sunday night.
It's too hot to come on Wednesday.
You know, it's just too much.
You know, you might be getting off track a little bit.
Okay?
So let me show you how to get back on track.
Go to Ezekiel chapter 47, if you would.
Ezekiel chapter 47.
We're gonna read five verses of Ezekiel 47,
and give some spiritual application
on how we can get back on track as Christians.
And when we read this,
you're gonna think to yourself like,
what in the world does this have to do
with getting on track?
This is such a obscure passage here.
But I'm gonna explain what it is in just a bit.
Look at verse number one.
It says,
Afterward he brought me again
into the door of the house,
and behold, the waters issued out
from under the threshold of the house eastward,
for the forefront of the house stood toward the east,
and the waters came down from under
from the right side of the house
at the south side of the altar,
then brought he me out of the way of the gate northward,
and led me about the way without
and to the utter gate by the way that looketh eastward,
and behold, there ran out waters on the right side,
and when the man that had the line in his hand
went forth eastward,
he measured a thousand cubits,
and he brought me through the waters,
the waters were to the ankles,
and again he measured a thousand,
and he brought me through the waters,
and the waters were to the knees.
Again he measured a thousand,
and brought me through,
the waters were to the loins,
afterward he measured a thousand,
and it was a river that I could not pass over,
for the waters were risen,
waters to swim in,
a river that could not be passed over.
Now here in Ezekiel 47,
we see this vision
that God is giving to the prophet Ezekiel
about the house of God,
and of course,
when you compare this to the house of God
out of the Old Testament,
one glaring difference is the fact
that there's water issuing forth
from the house of God,
and obviously if you've read the Bible through
all the way to Revelation,
you see that this is essentially
foreshadowing the temple
in Revelation chapter 22
where the river of life is flowing
from the temple of God outward,
and that's what's being symbolized here,
and we see that there's a man
who's leading Ezekiel
from the house of God
passing the altar
unto these waters
that start off shallow
but get deeper
the further he gets out,
and the Bible tells us here
that he measures it,
it comes up to his ankles,
he goes a little further,
it gets to his knees,
he goes a little further,
it gets to his loins,
and then ultimately,
the water's so deep
that you can swim in it, okay?
Now what I believe this is referring to
is the fact that this unnamed person
that's leading Ezekiel
is probably the Holy Spirit, okay?
And the waters that he's leading them through
is also the Holy Spirit.
You say, well how so?
Well I'm gonna explain to you
in just a bit
how that can be.
Now let me give some practical application
to this particular story
regarding the context of the sermon
of how to get back on track.
And the first point I wanna make
of how to get back on track
is that the Holy Spirit leads Ezekiel
first to where?
The house of God.
It says in verse one,
afterward, he brought me again
unto the door of the house,
and behold, waters issued out
from under the threshold
of the house eastward.
You see, it all starts off
in the house of God.
And in my experience,
one of the best ways
to get back on track as a Christian,
and hear me out here, okay,
isn't necessarily to pick up the Bible
and read it,
although that definitely helps.
But let me just say this,
most Christians,
if they're off track,
are not just gonna pick up the Bible
and read it.
If any Christian's been backslidden
for any length of time,
it's just harder for them
to actually pick up the Bible,
open it up,
and just start reading it cover to cover.
It's actually easier,
listen to this,
to get to the house of God first.
And one of the best ways
for you to get back on track,
listen to this,
is just come to church.
You come to the house of God,
you feel like you're off track,
you feel like you're not
where you're supposed to be.
Let me just tell you this,
come to a church service,
come to the house of God
to hear the preaching of God's word,
it'll put you back on track.
It'll put you back on track.
We're like, well, you know,
pastor's going through this series, though,
and I don't know how it applies
to my life,
and I don't know how that's gonna apply
to what's going on.
It'll apply somehow.
It always does,
because the word of God
always resonates with the Spirit
who wants to hear the word of God.
It's always gonna resonate with,
I mean, there's been times
when I preach a sermon
in my church about a particular topic,
and someone comes to me,
like, man, you know what
that really spoke to me about?
And it just has nothing
to do with the sermon.
And I'm thinking to myself,
I spent all that time
preparing this sermon
about this topic,
and he gets this out of it,
his marriage or something,
and I'm just like,
you're welcome, you know?
I guess, you know?
I don't know how that,
but you know what?
The word of God is powerful.
And you know, the Holy Spirit
is working in that person's life.
The Holy Spirit knows
exactly what you need,
what you need to hear.
It resonates with the word of God.
And you know what?
If you're off track,
one of the best things
for you to do
is just get your rear end
into church.
You'll hear the preaching
of God's word.
It'll quicken your spirit.
It'll quicken your soul.
If your soul is dry,
it's apathetic,
it just doesn't want
to do the things of God,
drag yourself to church,
and I promise you,
you'll get back on track.
It's one of the best things to do
is to hear the preaching
of God's word.
And it's not just the preaching,
obviously.
That's the most important part.
But just being with God's people,
being in the house of God
with God's people,
fellowshipping again,
singing the hymns,
putting yourself in a state
of a spiritual mind
to esteem the things of God,
that does something to your soul.
It helps you to get back on track.
You know, you get off track,
what do you start doing?
You start envying the wicked.
You start seeing what the wicked has,
the way the wicked prospers.
You no longer set your affections
on things above.
Now you're setting them
on things of this earth.
Your priorities are out of whack.
What happens?
Well, if you come
to the house of God,
then you will understand
the end of the wicked.
You know, it reminds me of Asaph.
It says in Psalm 73,
you don't have to turn there.
When I thought to know this,
it was too painful for me
until I went into the sanctuary of God,
then understood I their end.
Surely thou didst set them
in slippery places.
Thou castest them down
into destruction.
How are they brought into desolation
as in a moment
they are utterly consumed
with terrors?
You know what he's saying?
He starts complaining about
how the wicked is prospering,
they're doing better than him,
but then he goes
to the house of God
where he is the word of God,
and then he remembers,
oh yeah, that's right,
they're going to be destroyed.
Never mind.
Hey, you get off track.
You get out of church,
you're going to start envying the wicked.
You're going to start coveting
what the unsaved have,
but if you're in church,
you get yourself into that first step
of getting into church,
you'll remember the end of the unsaved,
which first and foremost is hell.
Then you'll be reminded
of what happens to people
when they get out of church,
and the punishment
that could come upon them,
the consequences that they can suffer.
It realigns your priorities once again,
and you think to yourself,
man, I've known people
who have been out of church
for so long,
and it just doesn't seem
as though God
is doing anything to them.
Yeah, but you don't know
first and foremost
if God is just being merciful to them,
you know,
because the goodness
and forbearance of God
leads us to repentance,
and he doesn't want
to bring down the hammer
just yet,
because if he does,
he's going to just destroy them,
or you don't know
what they're thinking
when they put their head
on their pillow at night,
and how dissatisfied
and miserable they are,
because they're outside of church,
they're not serving God,
their heart is not right
with the Lord, okay?
But let me say this,
if you've gotten off track
before, you know,
committing to reading
10 chapters a day of the Bible,
and going soloing
five hours a day,
and you know,
being excessive
in your spiritual disciplines,
just come to one service,
and one thing that I've observed
is Christians
who have gotten off track,
if they just determined
to come Sunday morning,
give them a couple weeks,
they'll come Sunday night,
give them a couple more weeks,
they'll come to a midweek service,
and before they know it,
they're back in church,
they're back in the saddle,
they're back on track,
but it all starts off
with the Spirit leading them
to the house of God.
Not only that,
but we see that he leads them,
it says in verse number one,
afterwards,
he brought me again
into the door of the house,
and behold,
the waters issued out
from under the threshold
of the house eastward,
for the forefront of the house
stood toward the east,
and the waters came down
from under,
from the side of the house,
at the south side of the altar.
We obviously know
that the house of God has,
in the Old Testament,
had an altar,
for what?
For animal sacrifices.
But, New Testament,
we are the temple
of the Holy Ghost,
which we have of God,
we are not our own,
those New Testament sacrifices
have been done away with,
because Jesus Christ
is the Lamb of God,
who should take away
the sins of the world,
and the Bible also tells us
that we are essentially
a living sacrifice.
The Bible says,
I beseech you therefore,
brethren, by the mercies of God,
that you present your bodies
a living sacrifice,
wholly acceptable unto God,
which is your reasonable service.
So we see that once
you go to the house of God,
then you begin to be reminded
of your priorities,
and what do you do?
You start dying to self again.
Putting others first,
putting you last.
Putting the Bible first,
putting Facebook last.
Putting soul winning first,
hanging out with your friends last.
Putting spiritual priorities first,
dying to self,
and putting everything else last.
The Bible tells us
you don't have to turn there.
Go with me, if you would,
to Galatians chapter five.
Galatians chapter five.
Romans 8, 13 says,
For if ye live after the flesh,
ye shall die.
But if ye through the Spirit
do mortify the deeds of the body,
ye shall live.
Colossians 3, 5 says,
Mortify, kill, destroy,
therefore your members,
which are upon the earth,
fornication, uncleanness,
inordinate affection,
evil concupiscence,
and covetousness,
which is idolatry,
for which things sake
the wrath of God
cometh unto the children
of disobedience.
Now let me get
to the main point
of this second part here,
and that is that the
unnamed person,
which from here on out
I'm just going to refer
to the Holy Spirit,
leads Ezekiel from the house
of God to the altar,
and then he starts going
to the altar,
and then he starts going
to the altar,
and then he starts going
to the altar,
and then he starts going
to the altar,
and then he starts going
through the waters.
And when he leads him
through the waters,
it goes up to his ankles first.
And why is that?
Well, think about this,
you know, in the spirit,
in the Christian life,
when you come to church,
you start dying yourself,
we can assess that and say,
hey, you're walking
in the spirit.
And if the water in Ezekiel 47
is a picture of the Holy Spirit,
and the Holy Spirit's
the one who's leading
Ezekiel through the waters,
well, if you be led
out of the spirit,
you're also walking
in the spirit.
One of the best ways
to get back on track
is just start walking
in the spirit.
And you think to yourself,
well, that's, you know,
because it's up
to his ankles.
And you think to yourself,
well, that's, like,
easy for you to say,
like, how do you just,
like, walk in the spirit,
you know?
How do you just,
how do you just say
I'm going to walk
in the spirit, you know?
Well, luckily,
you don't have to start
speaking in tongues
to sign or healing people.
Really, here's a really
simple way to determine,
or to make yourself
walk in the spirit, okay?
And that is that you
mind spiritual things.
It's really what it is.
Walking in the spirit
is not like you,
you know, I'm in the spirit.
It's more like,
you know what?
I'm going to actually
think about the things
of God.
I'm going to make time
for church.
I'm not going to give
that guy who cut me off
on the freeway the bird.
I'm going to sing hymns.
I'm going to read my Bible.
You're like,
yeah, but I don't feel
spiritual when you do it.
Well, because you're
not charismatic.
So, it's not a feeling,
you know?
It's not a sensual thing.
You're minding the things
of the spirit
is what you're doing.
You're basically saying,
you know what?
Instead of doing A,
I'm going to do B instead.
Instead of sitting home
and just mindlessly
scrolling and watching
Netflix and watching whatever,
I'm going to go to church
instead on a Wednesday night
to hear the preaching
of God's word.
Oh, you're walking
in the spirit.
The waters are to your ankles
because now you're walking
in the spirit.
You know,
you're living at work.
You're living honestly at work.
You're obeying your boss.
Maybe you're thinking
about scripture.
On your break,
you're reading your Bible
or you're singing hymns
unto yourself.
You know what you're doing?
You're walking
in the spirit.
Now, here's the thing
with walking in the spirit
is that once you walk
in the spirit,
you're no longer
walking in the flesh.
And what people
get confused about
is just like,
oh, but what if I
get in the flesh?
Does that mean
I lose my salvation?
No, it just means
you're in the flesh again.
And, you know,
the last thing they're like,
how do I know if I'm
in the perfect will of God?
And I basically explained
that the perfect will
of God is like a unicorn.
It doesn't really exist,
per se.
Because really,
the will of God
is just you serving God
at any given moment.
And no one serves
God perfectly
because we're constantly
in and out of the spirit.
Right?
You're in the spirit
because you're thinking
about the Bible,
but then you get
worried about your bills.
Well, now you're
in the flesh.
And you're like,
well, I'm gonna pray
and have faith in God
that He's gonna provide.
Boom, you're back
in the spirit.
And then you're like,
yeah, but you haven't
gotten that raise yet.
You know, God,
do you really think
God's gonna provide?
And you're like,
you're in the flesh again.
And then you're like,
well, I'm gonna sing
hymns to remind me
of God's provision.
Then you're in the spirit.
So it's like,
it's like a constant
going in and out
of the spirit.
And, you know,
it shouldn't,
don't marvel at that
because we live
in the flesh.
So the flesh
The spirit against the flesh,
these are contrary
to the one to the other
so that you cannot do
the things that you would.
The goal is to be
spiritually minded
and that is how
you can walk
in the spirit.
Okay?
And in fact,
what I have here
in Galatians,
chapter five, verse 16,
it says,
This I say then,
walk in the spirit,
you should not fulfill
the lust of the flesh.
For the flesh lusteth
against the spirit,
the spirit against the flesh.
These are contrary
to the one to the other
so that you cannot
do the things that you would.
Look at verse 24,
If we live in the spirit,
let us also walk
in the spirit.
Let us not be desirous
of vainglory,
provoking one another,
envying one another.
You know,
the Apostle Paul says,
This I testify therefore
in the Lord
that you walk
not as other Gentiles
walk in the vanity
of their minds,
having their understanding
darkened,
being alienated
from the life of God
through the ignorance
that is in them
because of the blindness
of their heart.
He goes on to say,
Who being past,
feeling,
have given themselves
over to lascivious
to work all unclean
as with greediness,
but ye have not
so learned Christ.
If so be that
ye have heard him
and have been taught
by him as the truth
is in Jesus,
they put off
the former conversation,
the old man,
which is corrupt
according to the deceitful lust
and be renewed
in the spirit
of your mind
by coming to church.
Right?
And they put on
the new man,
which after God
has created righteousness
and true holiness.
What is he saying?
You know,
you gotta decide
that you're gonna
walk in the spirit today
and don't walk
as other Gentiles walk.
And when you do that,
you end up
doing the right things
because he says,
Let every man
speak truth
through his neighbor.
Let us not lie
one to another
for we are members
of the same body.
He tells us,
Let all bitterness
and wrath
and anger
and clamor
and evil speaking
be put away
from me
with all malice.
He says,
Be kind one to another,
tenderhearted,
forgiving one another,
even as God
for Christ's sake
hath forgiven you.
That's the right product
of just walking
in the spirit.
If you're off track,
here's what you gotta do.
Just think
about spiritual things.
You're not a psychopath.
You're not schizophrenic.
You can control
what you think about.
You can cast down
imaginations
in every high thing
that exalted itself
against the knowledge
of God.
You can bring it
to captivity
over thoughts of the
obedience of Christ.
You can determine
I'm bitter,
okay?
Think forgiveness.
You know,
Oh, I just feel covetous.
Okay, well think
about contentment.
You know,
I'm scared,
we'll have faith.
And I'm not talking
about the power
of positive thinking here.
I'm just saying
mind spiritual things.
And that is
a very practical way
for you to know
that you are
walking in the spirit.
Go back to Ezekiel.
So we see here
that he takes him
from the house of God
through the altar.
Then he goes into the water
and he gets to the ankles.
And I'm gonna breeze
through some of these points
cause I'm almost out of time.
He takes him
through the knees.
And I believe
what this pictures
is, you know,
the Holy Spirit
will often
lead people
into hard times,
temptations, trials.
You know,
it's in Matthew chapter four
that Jesus Christ
was led of the spirit
into the wilderness, right?
And what did that do?
It caused him to pray.
And you know what?
When we are walking
in the spirit,
the spirit will often
lead us into hardships
because what hardships do
is they cause us
to get on our knees
and pray,
which is a very vital
aspect of the Christian life
is prayer.
It's one of the first things
that goes
in the Christian life
when someone
gets off track.
He gets to the knees,
then it gets to the loins.
He says in verse four,
and again,
he measured a thousand
and brought me
through the waters.
The waters were to the knees.
Again,
he measured a thousand
and brought me through.
The waters were
to the loins.
And what I believe
this is referring to is,
you know,
when a person
starts to go that deep
into being filled
with the spirit,
walking in the spirit
begins to make
biblical convictions
his core beliefs.
Out of his belly
shall flow rivers
of living water.
The more you come
to church,
the more you do
the things of God,
the more they just
become a part
of who you are.
And that's the goal
there, folks, right?
The way you come
to church,
church isn't something
that you choose
to do, per se.
It's something
you just do.
It's not like
you wake up
on Sunday morning like,
should we go
to church today?
You think we should
go to church today?
And I'm not saying,
you know,
because you're
projectile vomiting
or something like that,
you know,
stay home
and if you're
busting an exorcist
and it's, you know,
stay home.
But if absolutely
nothing is wrong
and you're just
being lazy,
you understand
what I'm saying?
You know,
what I'm saying is,
you know,
you want to go
to church to the
point where there's
just no question
that you're going
to go to church.
Your kids are not
asking you,
are we going
to church today?
It's more like,
don't ask that
question.
And then ultimately,
what happens,
he goes from the ankles
to the knees
to the loins
and finally he's
just swimming
in the river,
meaning that
he's filled
with the spirit.
He said,
what does this
have to do with
getting on track?
Well,
this leads me
to my third part,
which is staying
on track, okay?
Now,
I need four
volunteers real quick.
Okay,
come on up.
What's your name?
Jonathan.
Jonathan,
Nate,
stand right here.
Come on up,
Daniel,
right here.
I need one more.
Oh,
okay,
a man.
I saw for a man.
Come over here.
Here he is.
Send him.
All right.
So,
in the Christian life,
there's certain things
that you can do
that will keep
you on track.
So,
if you think about
Ezekiel,
he's in these waters
and he's,
now he's like
in the river
and he's swimming
in these waters,
he's trying to represent
the shore as being
outside of God's will.
So,
the shore is outside
of God's will
within the rivers
is in God's will,
okay?
And that's where
we want to be.
That's where we want
to stay all the days
of our life.
Now,
the way you could
avoid going back
to shore
is you got to swim
a little further in.
The further you go,
or is it further out?
Excuse me.
The further you go out,
the more distance
you create between
you and the shore.
And,
here's the example
that I showed you,
the day before I got
saved,
I almost drowned.
And,
it's because
my friends,
or someone had
invited me to church,
it was a Baptist church,
and I said,
well, I'm going to
go to the beach instead.
And so,
I'll go to church
like another time.
So then,
you know,
we went to,
we went to like
the beach at like
midnight or something.
And,
my friends and I,
my friends are like,
let's see how far
we can swim
before we tire out.
And,
idiots.
Stupid.
So,
you know,
it's dark,
and we're swimming,
and we're swimming.
Well, you know,
we didn't really
take into consideration
this important thing,
is that,
you know,
what do you do
when you're tired?
How are you
going to make it back?
So,
we're swimming,
and then,
you know,
they beat me.
And then,
my lungs are burning.
I'm tired.
And then,
so then,
you know,
I go underwater,
and I do one of these things
to try to touch the ground
so I can like
launch myself back up.
And then,
I just go,
and there's just no ground.
There's just nothing there.
It's just colder.
And,
I'm like,
man,
I just burned all that energy
just doing this.
So,
I go back up,
I'm just like,
I'm going to die.
And,
the first thing
that came to mind was,
I should have,
I should have gone to church.
I was like,
I'm going to drown out here
at the age of 21.
It's going to be a horrible night.
So then,
I,
with everything I have,
I'm just like trying to swim back.
And,
I look behind me,
and the lights were really dim.
So,
we swam far.
And,
the current's just kind of like taking us.
And,
I'm just like swimming
as best as I could.
I'm swallowing water.
Finally,
I make it to shore though.
And,
I'm like super far from my vehicle.
And then,
needless to say,
I went to church the next day,
and I got saved.
And,
you know,
so thank God for that.
But,
enough that,
you know,
I wasn't too far from the shore.
Enough that,
you know,
I could make it back.
Now,
let's reverse that and just talk about
being in and out of God's will.
Let's just picture,
this is the Bible,
this is your Bible reading.
This is church attendance.
This is soul winning.
And,
this is singing the hymns.
These are just like the basics
of Christian disciplines.
Right?
And,
I'm here in the middle.
Okay?
Well,
the goal is,
go ahead gentlemen,
get in the middle.
Get in the middle.
Go ahead gentlemen,
get a little closer.
You make Bible reading,
slow down.
You know,
you make these disciplines part of your life,
every single day.
Right?
Every week.
And,
the more consistent you are in doing these things,
the closer they get.
Right?
Okay guys,
come on.
You can get on here.
You can get on here too.
Okay?
So,
the more you do them,
the closer these disciplines get.
You say,
Well you know,
we're sinners,
we make mistakes,
we just have bad thoughts,
we get into a rut,
we backslide in our heart,
we go back to Egypt in our heart.
Right?
So,
you know what happens
when you have these disciplines,
and you start to drift in your heart?
You're like,
man,
I'm just kind of tired of the Christian life.
I want you to just,
a gentle push please.
Okay?
Don't just,
not push me,
I said gentle,
gentle,
just kind of,
you know.
So,
you know,
I'm thinking like,
I'm kind of tired of being in church,
I want to sin,
okay,
now you can just,
and what happens?
It kind of pushes me back
to the middle where I need to be.
Because I built in the discipline
of reading the Bible every single day,
you know what happens
when I have stupid thoughts?
When I want to entertain dumb thoughts,
but I read the Bible every single day,
and the Bible catches me drifting,
it just kind of pushes me back.
So I never make it to shore.
Or I'm just like,
you know,
I wish I could barbecue on Sundays,
you know,
and then,
oh never mind,
they're having a cookout at the church.
You know,
and then I get back to the middle.
Man,
I want to listen to Tupac.
You know?
Which one are you?
You're so one.
You know,
you get,
you become cold and apathetic towards people.
Right?
And you just kind of get cold towards people,
but then you come to church
and you hear a sermon on soul winning
and you go soul winning,
and you know what that does?
It causes you to like,
love people again once again.
So these right here
keep you from going back to shore.
So the goal is to get to the ankles,
to the knees,
to the loins,
and ultimately,
you're filled with the Spirit,
and just keep going deeper and deeper.
Build these spiritual disciplines in your life
as guidelines,
as essentially, you know,
these barriers that keep you from ever reaching shore again.
Because at the end of the day, folks,
do we really want to go back to shore?
No.
We don't want to go backwards.
We don't want to go back to old habits,
old friends,
old ways of thinking,
fill in the blank, right?
Well, when you're filled with the Spirit,
you have those thoughts of like,
I don't want to do those things.
Okay then,
build up these disciplines
so that in your heart,
when you're backslidden,
you're drifting a little bit,
the Bible pushes you back.
Oh, you get a little worldly,
pushes you back when you sing those hymns.
Man, I got,
what are you doing?
You know,
you start losing a love for people,
and it pushes you back,
and you start loving the people again
that you witness to.
You already used yours up,
so we're not going to go,
no, I'm just kidding.
You know,
you, you,
whatever, you know,
you just,
you don't have the right way of thinking.
You come to church,
and Pastor Anderson preaches a sermon,
and it just helps you to kind of
correct your thinking again.
And the more you what,
the more you put in those disciplines,
the closer those disciplines get,
the less likely you'll go back to shore.
You understand what I'm saying?
And you just stay right,
you just stay put.
And look,
I'm not saying sin is perfection either.
Right.
Because the drifting
illustrates the fact that we are imperfect.
We do drift.
Pastors drift.
Christians drift.
We have,
you know,
the heart is deceitful above all things,
desperately wicked,
who can know it?
So we've got to be smart about this stuff,
and create these principles
that will keep us still serving the Lord
for years on end,
and it's just bouncing back and forth,
and just keeping us right in the middle
where we need to,
we'll never stay in the middle,
just perfectly still,
because of our hearts.
But hey,
come on man.
At least,
at least,
at least you minimize and reduce
the space between you and the shore.
Thank you guys.
You guys can sit.
What am I saying?
The sermon is simply this.
You know,
how to get back on track,
I showed you how we get off track.
I showed you how we can get back on track.
But number three is really important,
and that is how to stay on track.
Because honestly,
I'm looking at a group of people here,
I'm sure,
you want to stay in the house of the Lord
all the days of your life.
I know I do.
I want to serve God all the days of my life.
But you know what?
I know me though.
And I know my tendency,
I know how my heart can be,
and I know my sinful nature.
Therefore, when I'm in the Spirit,
I need to create those disciplines
and increase those disciplines
so that I never see the shore again.
Doesn't mean I won't drift,
but I never make it back to shore.
Amen?
Let's pray.
Father, we thank you so much for your Word,
and thank you for the principles of the Bible, Lord,
that help us to stay on track.
And Lord, when we fall seven times,
help us to be reminded to get back up.
And maybe there's someone in here tonight
that maybe they just stopped reading their Bible
over the last couple of days or even today.
May they start once again tonight,
or even tomorrow morning,
and help them to walk in the Spirit
to get them back on their knees,
make those Biblical doctrines and principles,
make those core beliefs,
so they can be filled with the Spirit
and construct those guidelines and barriers
that'll prevent them from reaching the shores
of the world, of sin, and of spiritual casualty.
We love you. We thank you.
We pray these things in Jesus' name.
Amen.
Amen. Take your hymnals, please.
Go to Hymn 129, Hymn 129.
Rock of Ages, Hymn 129.
We'll sing it out on that first verse.
Rock of ages, left for me, left behind myself in me,
Hymn 129. Sing it out now.
Rock of ages, left for me,
Left behind myself in me,
Let the water and the blood
From thy womb, this side was full,
He has sinned, a double cure,
Safe from wrath, and made me pure,
Could my tears forever flow,
Could my zeal no anger know,
These poor sin could not atone,
Thou must save and thou alone,
In my hand no price I bring,
Simply to thy cross I cling,
While I draw this waiting breath,
Which my eyes shall close to death,
When I rise to worlds unknown,
And behold, beyond my throne,
Rock of ages, left for me,
Left behind myself in me.
Thank you for watching!