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beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep The words of God faithfully the way that you have them be preached and please just help everyone who is here to pay close attention to the sermon tonight and to let you speak to them through God's word and in Jesus name I pray, Amen. Now in this chapter the part that I want to focus on is the first half and really verses 7 and 8 but let me go ahead and just read a little bit of the beginning once again as I show you what I'm trying to illustrate here with this chapter. In verse number 2 it says the good man is perished out of the earth and there is none upright among them. They all lie in wait for blood. They hunt every man his brother with a net and then in verse number 5 he begins to speak about how even his own friends in fact even his own family his wife, his children, his brother, his sister, mom and dad and of course this passage is quoted if you know the Bible in Matthew chapter 10 when Jesus is sending out his disciples to preach the gospel two by two from house to house he explains to them that the brother shall deliver up the brother to death and the father the child and it says that the children shall rise up against their parents and cause them to be put to death and he says that man's foes shall be they of his own household. That's quoting this passage when he says ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake. They called the master of the house Beelzebub how much more so they called them of his household. Look this is where the quotation comes from. Look at verse 5. Trust ye not in a friend. Put ye not confidence in a guide. Keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom for the son dishonereth the father. The daughter riseth up against her mother. The daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. A man's enemies are the men of his own house. Therefore I will look unto the Lord. Why? Because the brother will forsake me he said. My sister, my wife, my children, my parents he said because of this therefore I will look unto the Lord. I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me. Rejoice not against me O mine enemy. When I fall I shall arise. When I sit in darkness the Lord shall be a light unto me. Now I want to preach to you tonight on this subject and turn if you would to John chapter 16. John 16 I want to preach to you on the subject of being alone. Being alone. Look at John 16 and I'll show you what I mean. John chapter number 16 and we're going to begin reading in verse number 32 of John 16. Preaching to you tonight on the subject of being alone and look down at your Bible at John 16 32. These are some of my favorite verses in the entire Bible. John 16 32 and 33 I think about these verses often and quote them often. Behold the hour cometh Jesus said. Yea is now come that ye shall be scattered. He's speaking of the twelve disciples. Every man to his own and shall leave me alone and yet I am not alone because the Father is with me. These things I have spoken unto you that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation but be of good cheer I have overcome the world. You see there came a time in the life of Jesus Christ when he was alone. I mean there came a time when his most trusted friends and companions the eleven disciples that he'd spent three and a half years tutoring and training and teaching when even they forsook him. When even they were scattered from him and he said there's going to come a time and here he's pouring out his heart to them in John 16. He said there's going to come a time very soon in my life when I'm going to be alone. But he said yet I'm not alone because the Father is with me. You see the first time the word alone is ever mentioned in the Bible in Genesis chapter 2 when the Bible says that God looked down at Adam and said it is not good for the man to be alone. But see even when we're alone as believers we're never really alone because Jesus said even when I'm forsaken of all my companions even when I'm left completely alone humanly speaking he said I'm not alone the Father is with me. Now look if you would I'm just going to show you turn to Jeremiah 15 and I'll read you several verses while you're turning there to Jeremiah 15. The Bible says in John 8 29 I just want to read you some of these scriptures about Jesus being alone. And he that sent me is with me. The Father hath not left me alone Jesus said for I do always those things that please him. John 6 15 when Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force to make him a king he departed again into a mountain himself alone. Luke 9 18 and it came to pass as he was alone praying his disciples were with them they came to him is what that means and he asked them saying whom do the people say that I am. Mark 6 47 and when even was come the ship was in the midst of the sea and he alone on the land. Mark Matthew 14 23 and when he had sent the multitudes away he went up into a mountain apart to pray and when the evening was come he was there alone. And then of course the forerunner of Jesus John the Baptist in Luke 1 80 he says the child grew and waxed strong in spirit and was in the deserts till the day of his showing unto Israel and was he there alone of course. You see there comes a time in your life when you're going to be alone. It comes in the life of all of us and if you don't know how to be alone with God now you're not going to be able to stand in that time when you're all alone. I mean if you have the crowd around you when you have the church supporting you when you have your friends on your side when you have your brothers and sisters on your side when you've got mom and dad on your side hey if you can't learn now to step apart from your family a little bit sometime step apart from your friends step apart from the crowd and get alone by yourself with God you're not going to be able to stand when the day comes that you will be forced to be alone. You see Jesus didn't choose to be alone on that night when he was tried before the Jews but he was alone and he was able to stand because he'd been alone all throughout his life. He'd chosen to forsake the multitude from time to time. He chose to send the disciples away a little space so that he could pray to God alone. You got to learn to be alone. You got to learn not just alone but alone with God is what I'm talking about. Look down at Jeremiah 15... before I say that I was thinking about how we were going soul winning we were talking about starting a church and I remember years and years and years before I started this church I knew that someday I would start a church and I remember I decided to start going soul winning alone sometimes because I figured I'm going soul winning a couple times a week with people from church and it's so much easier to go soul winning two by two isn't it? I mean it's just a lot easier and I think that's the scriptural way to do it going two by two I mean that's what Jesus sent him out two by two. It's a great thing to have somebody there with you and to go in pairs and that's what we do at this church but I just said to myself I'm going soul winning in pairs all the time but I think that if I'm going to start a church someday I better learn now how to win souls alone and let me tell you something when I started this church there were many many many many many many hours of soul winning alone to start this church I mean just alone and I'm telling you I'm going to tell you something it's not that easy it's a lot easier when somebody's with you it's a lot easier when somebody's there with you encouraging you but you know what I remember just hour after hour door after door street after street alone and young man if you're in this room and you're going to start a church someday if that's what you believe that God wants you to do you better learn what it's like to stand alone because when you start a church you stand alone you're all by it starts out with just you and your family that's how it starts and then it goes from there so of necessity you're alone I mean the first almost the first year of pastoring this church aside from people who go soul winning with me a little here a little there I mean almost for a year all of my soul winning was done alone you know my wife and Amanda would go out soul winning in those early days but I was soul winning alone hey you've got to learn to be able to stand alone I thank God that my grandma she she's been in churches down in Tucson where soul winning was not emphasized and where there was no soul winning time and she would try to go to people and ask them to go soul winning with her nobody would go soul winning with her and finally she said God wanted me to go two by two God told me to go with somebody but she said I'm just gonna have to go alone and you know what my grandma who was 85 years old at the time did she got in the car she drove to a nursing home alone at 85 years old walked in and went soul winning and won somebody to Christ but can you stand alone young man can you stand alone young lady or are you leaning on your friends children are you just leaning on the faith of mom and dad hey that's great go ahead and lean on the faith of mom and dad but some day you better have your own faith in your own God your own Bible because one day you're gonna leave the comfort of mom and dad and have to stand up alone and I'm gonna tell you something if grandma at age 85 can go out and do it alone can you do it two by two think about that I mean if grandma at age 85 can stand alone hey I'm willing to stand up for things that are unpopular in 2008 preaching that's unpopular a Bible that's become unpopular the King James Bible a moniker and a label that's become unpopular Baptist I'll stand with it and I hope you will too but look at Jeremiah 15 16 the Bible reads thy words were found and I did eat them and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of my heart for I am called by thy name O Lord God of hosts I sat not in the assembly of the mockers nor rejoiced I sat alone because of thy hand for thou has filled me with indignation you see that I mean here's a guy who when he was on the job and everybody was telling the dirty jokes he went over here and sat alone you see that I mean over here when everybody's talking about the latest the latest movies and the Hollywood and the rock and roll and the fornication and the dirty jokes and and the sleaziness and the adultery and the fornication he said I'm just gonna pick up my lunch pail I'm gonna pick up my Bible and I'm gonna sit alone I'm not gonna sit hey you remember this verse blessed is the man that walketh not in the council of the ungodly nor standeth in the way of sinners nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful his delight is in the law of the Lord and in his law that he meditate day and night sometimes it's never pleasant to be alone is it no it's not pleasant to be alone it wasn't pleasant for Adam to be alone that's why God said I'm gonna make it help meet for him and he gave him Eve as a companion and a friend and a wife but I'm gonna tell you something sometimes you're gonna be forced to be alone Jesus was forced to be alone John the Baptist was forced to be alone when he was imprisoned and put in a jail cell he was alone but he already knew how to be alone from being in the deserts before his showing to Israel Jeremiah had to be alone there was a time if you read the book of Jeremiah when some of his own family members conspired to kill him in the book of Jeremiah I mean that's alone and so we see Jeremiah didn't just get in with the crowd you're not gonna be in the cool crowd if you're living for God and look if you would at Hebrews chapter 13 actually look at Leviticus 13 I'll turn to Hebrews 13 you turn to Leviticus 13 Leviticus chapter number 13 you ever get around people where they always have to have some kind of a noise or people around them they always have to be either on the phone or listening to iPod or TV or radio you know there's something to be said for just sitting alone sitting alone in silence sitting alone with the Bible sitting alone with God's word being by yourself one of the things I think that's good about starting a church in Phoenix is I didn't know anybody here so I was alone I learned how to walk with God alone some day in the future maybe I'll be alone again I don't know I hope not but chances are there could be a time in the future where I might be alone and I better prepare myself now to be able to withstand being alone by walking with God alone now I'm gonna walk with God alone I'm gonna walk with God alone I'm gonna walk with God alone by walking with God alone now but the Bible says in Leviticus 13 46 all the days this is talking about a person who has leprosy in their body all the days wherein the plague shall be in him he shall be defiled he is unclean he shall dwell alone and look at these next three words without the camp shall his habitation be now let me read this for you look down at Leviticus 13 I'm gonna read for you Hebrews 13 13 let us go forth unto him talking about Jesus without the camp bearing his reproach see when you live for God you've got to go outside the crowd you got to go without the camp you've got to step outside of the bounds of where the average people are and where your friends may be many times and the cool group and the crowd you got to step without the camp where Jesus is and be alone see without according to Leviticus 13 46 being without the camp why did they go outside the camp to be alone to be separate from the rest see I believe in separation I believe in personal separation from the world I believe in ecclesiastical separation of the church that it's different that it's set apart that we dwell alone this church isn't part of a denomination we stand alone we're not tied in with some Bible college somewhere Jack Treiber is not my Pope somewhere or Jack Scopp or any of these other Jacks or Paul Chappell is not my I'm sorry Paul Chappell is my diocese because he's in Southern California and I'm in Arizona so I'm closest to him so Paul Chappell is not my Pope Jack Treiber is not my Pope Jack Scoppell is not my Pope you say what camp are you in I'm without the camp I'm thrown out of every camp I'm rejected by every camp teenagers in these Bible colleges get in trouble for listening to my sermons on a CD I can tell you the story after the service okay hey that's what camp I'm in I'm outside the camp it's the truth you know why I'm alone now I sure I have friends but I wonder if they'll always be with me I don't know I wonder if they'll always stand with me I don't know who knows who knows if your friends will always stand with you but you know what Jesus is the friend that's taking closer than a brother and if you learn to just lean on him only he's the only one you need you'll be just fine no matter what happens you see I know that's a little far-fetched I don't know if I'm ever gonna be alone like that think about the Apostle Paul here's a guy who did more good for more people than I don't think anybody in the Bible I mean he started churches everywhere he preached the gospel everywhere he went this guy did a lot for God but listen to this he said in 2 Timothy 1 15 this thou knowest that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me of whom are by jealous and homogeneous he said this in 2 Timothy 4 16 at my first answer no man stood with me but all men forsook me I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge he said God forgive them for not standing with me in my hour of need wouldn't you think Paul would have a lot of friends think about it I mean he'd won so many people the Lord he preached to so many people he had so many friends wouldn't you think that in his hour of need people would just be coming to his aid by the droves I mean all the lives that he had touched right I mean all the churches he'd influence all the people he'd want to learn wouldn't you think people would just be lining up to come to his aid he said no man stood with me all men forsook me I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge look if Paul ended up being alone Jesus we're talking about Jesus who fed the 5,000 plus women and children how could he end up alone but he did John the Baptist then came out to him Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region round about Jordan to be baptized of him and Jordan confessing all those people came but how did John the Baptist end up alone he did you see any of us could end up being alone but look at Genesis chapter number 32 and I'll read another scripture for you while you're turning there Lamentations 3 27 you're turning to Genesis 32 Lamentations 3 27 it is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth he sitteth alone are you listening and keepeth silence because he had borne it upon him you see it's good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth see all your youth is the lazy days right college days lazy days young adult you know before I get married and bogged down with all that burden I think I'm just going to take it easy for a while right that's what young people think right you 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 22 you know they think oh man before I get all bogged down with all that career and and family and awesome hey I'm just going to relax take it easy enjoy myself and have fun God says it's good for you if you'll bear the yoke in your youth he tells the young man the 16 year old the 17 year old the 18 year old he said take up your cross and follow me he says work put your nose to the grindstone put your hand to the plow and bear the yoke in your youth and he says one day you'll sit alone and keep silence because you've borne it he said in Lamentations chapter 3 27 and 28 but look at Genesis 32 we're going to see a man in the Bible who was alone look at Genesis 32 24 and Jacob was left alone and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day and when he saw that he prevailed not against him he touched the hollow of his thigh and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint as he wrestled with him and he said let me go for the day breaketh and he said I will not let thee go except thou bless me and he said unto him what is thy name and he said Jacob and he said thy name shall be called no more Jacob but Israel for as a prince has thou power with God and with men and has prevailed and Jacob asked him and said tell me I pray thee thy name and he said wherefore is it that thou didst ask after my name and he blessed him there and Jacob called the name of the place Peniel for I have seen God face to face and my life is preserved and as he passed over Peniel the sun rose upon him and he halted upon his thigh that means he's limping on his leg therefore the children of Israel eaten out of the sinew which shrank which is upon the hollow of the thigh unto this day because he touched the hollow of Jacob's thigh and the sinew that shrank so here's a man who was alone and you know what that's when Jesus came and met with him when he was alone right now what was it like when he was alone well he was all by himself and he purposely put everybody on the other side of the river from him if you know the story he was scared he thought that Esau his brother was going to kill him was going to hurt his family take away his goods and so man he needed to get a hold of God and so what did he do he sent everybody over the river by themselves and he was left alone and that's where Jesus came and met with him and this man he didn't know who it was at first but he figured out who it was after a while this man came to him and attacked him okay here he is I mean take a picture of the story here he is he's in the middle of the night he's out praying and this is before all the street lights and everything I mean he's walking around in the dark in the middle of the desert alone in the black of night praying all of a sudden physically a man is there and grabs a hold of him and begins to wrestle with him and he begins to battle this man and wrestle him and he doesn't even know who it is at first and he's he's wrestling with them and fighting with them and you know this is symbolic and of course you know Jacob's winning the fight I get so tired of preachers who don't know what they're talking about saying that Jacob was a sissy who's ever heard that before I mean I grew up learning Jacob was the mama's boy right Esau was the manly hunter Jacob was the mama the first time we meet Jacob he walks up to a well and all the shepherds are waiting because they all had to get together to lift the stone off the well he said you know his future wife is there he's trying to impress her you know so they're all standing around he sees this beautiful girl the slayer going to be his wife and he says what are you all waiting for and they said well we got to all come so that we can lift the stone off the well he says watch this baby okay you know he walks up and he just lifts the stone off the well himself boy a really wimpy guy huh this guy was a tough guy all right and Jacob was you know his whole life is like that he was a hard worker all through his life you'll see him slaving and working hard and that's why God used him so greatly and he later his name was changed here to Israel but Jacob was a tough guy because he wrestled with Jesus Christ and was winning the fight here it says that he prevailed not against him referring to Jesus it says so then Jesus you know God in the flesh who he's wrestling with it says he touched the hollow of his thigh and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint as he wrestled him so God had a special move here okay you know Jacob's winning the match here but he had some kind of a trick up his sleeve I don't know if this was a some kind of a miracle or if he just knew some kind of really nasty wrestling move I don't know you know I don't know I think it was a miracle who thinks it was a miracle put up your hand I think it was a miracle who thinks that it was just a great wrestling move okay who knows I don't know I'm not gonna I'm not gonna say which one it was but either way he reaches out and touches the hollow of his thigh and the sinew shrank I don't know why I don't know how that happened and he says in the next verse in verse number 26 this is God speaking and he said let me go for the day breaketh it's the angel of the Lord you know God in the flesh Jesus basically Old Testament occurrence of Jesus and it says let me go for the day breaketh and he said I will not let thee go except thou bless me he's basically saying like say uncle you know it would be our modern term here he said I'm not gonna let you go until you bless me and he said what is thy name and he said Jacob and he said thy name shall be called no more Jacob but Israel for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men and has prevailed and Jacob asked him and said tell me I pray thee thy name and he said wherefore is it that thou didst ask after my name and he blessed him there honey I know why you're laughing but that doesn't fit in with this sermon so I'm not gonna go into it I'm not gonna see honey no anyway anybody wants to know the story after the service I'll tell you but anyway here he's saying I'm just not gonna look at you for the rest of the service either but see this fight that he had was symbolic God was showing him something okay now could God have won the match if he wanted to of course we know that okay it's kind of like when I if I arm wrestle my kids you know I'm like oh man you beat me you know it's kind of like I was arm wrestling brother Dave it was kind of like that remember you know what I mean I don't want to make him look bad so it was kind of like you know I just kind of let him win you know but after you know I struggled for a while I let him win you know you remember that at that picnic and so he's just seeing he's basically showing him an illustration here and he's showing us an illustration he physically wrestled this man and then God said the reason that I'm gonna bless you Jacob he explains it to him after the fight he said the reason I'm gonna bless you the reason you're gonna be Israel the great prince with God is because just as you physically wrestled with me right now just a physically wrestling man he said you've also wrestled with God and man throughout your life I mean you struggled you've tried you've worked hard for God and you've you've you've you've fought for what was right he said that's why I'm gonna bless you but you see it's when you're alone that God meets with you I'm gonna tell you something I have learned more Bible not in a church like this not in a preaching service I learned the most Bible sitting by myself with the Bible alone and anybody who does enough Bible reading that's where you learn most of what you learn by yourself in the Bible alone you and God alone that's when God met with Jacob that's when God blessed Jacob when he was alone with God that's when God was able to give him a new calling in his life and and lead him and direct him when he was alone but if you're never alone with God you'll miss out on the blessing of God you'll miss out on power with God he said you have power with God you prevailed against against man you're gonna miss that if you're never alone the Bible says in Proverbs 6 22 if you'll turn there Proverbs chapter 6 you're in Genesis just go to the middle of your Bible the book of Proverbs alright there was this there was this police officer a couple days ago I don't know what this has to do with the sermon I don't know why she's giving me all these hand signals but you know this police officer asked me my name and I refused to tell him you know and so she thought that was funny because of that you know I got it's a long story but it was did I tell you guys what story they already heard the story but it was it was one of these things where this this policeman came he's knocking on my door started cursing out and so I started screaming at him and it's a long story I'm not gonna go into it but anyway me and the police in Phoenix get along really well so that's another sermon that's another sermon remember were you here a couple months ago you remember that one alright but anyway Proverbs 6 22 is that where I had you turn Proverbs 6 22 it's the Bible reads when thou goest it shall lead thee and this is talking about God's word the commandments of God when thou goest it shall lead thee when thou sleepest it shall keep thee and watch this when thou awakest it shall talk with thee you know there are people who've been who've actually gone insane from being alone did you know that I mean there have been people who've been locked up in prison in solitary confinement and completely lose their mind I mean being in solitary confinement is a type of torture believe it or not now you could sit here and think oh man it wouldn't be that bad but people who are put in solitary confinement for extended periods of time lose their mind people who've been lost and deserted in places in the woods and you know you think of the historical story you know the Donner party I mean people begin to lose their mind when they're by themselves when they're alone I mean it's like having a friend with you all the time I mean having the Bible and when you hid God's word in your heart or you have the physical Bible with you in your hand I mean this is your best this should be your best friend honestly I mean you should bring your Bible everywhere you go or keep it in your heart hide it in your heart because when you wake up you're going to be in your heart and you're going to be in your heart and you're going to be in your heart or keep it in your heart hide it in your heart because when you wake up it'll talk with you when you walk it'll lead you it'll it'll be your friend I mean honestly I've been places where I was alone for days on end and good night I just I wasn't bored I wasn't really missing anyone because it was just me in the Bible you know long drives with the Bible I'm telling you God's word could be a close friend to you and you say I don't really understand what you mean by that well if you don't understand what you mean by that what I mean by that that is then one day you'll be alone and you're not going to know what to do you're not going to be able to handle it and you know if you're ever going to start a church you better learn what it's like to be alone and you know just being a good Christian standing for God one day you may end up isolated from this group right here or from another group like it or from family or from friends and you're going to be alone and this better be your best friend the word of God boy develop that closeness with God now develop that time alone like Jesus said boy I could be preaching the multitude right now which is important I could be I could be teaching my 11 disciples it's important I could be doing this I could be doing that but he said nope I better take the time stop everything and go be alone with God you better take that time in your life because one day that you'd learned to stand alone and to be alone because your friends that you're leaning on right now may not always stand with you they may even turn their back on you or you may just be geographically separated from them same thing with your family your parents your friends your pastor don't lean on pastor Anderson because you know what who knows say are you going to change hey you know what I asked God to personally I've said to God will you please kill me if I ever change I prayed that at the end of the service I was on my knees at the end of the service here and I said God will you please kill me if I ever become a liberal and change and I mean that from the bottom of my heart just save me the shame and embarrassment and just kill me if I change Bibles kill me if I change my prayer kill me if I wired out my preaching because I don't even deserve to live if I've stood up and preached the word of God and been a spirit filled preacher and to turn around and become some liberal compromiser just go ahead and do us all a favor and kill me I mean that and I'd go work at I'd go work at Little Caesars Pizza for the rest of my life or no offense buddy hey I'll go work at I worked at a pizza place for three years it tasted a lot better than Little Caesars I'll have that no I'm just kidding hey I'd rather go work at McDonald's no offense I'd rather go man I don't know where to turn I'd rather work at that computer place you work at I don't know hey I'd rather go out and get an honest job not that I oh yeah I do have an honest job I forgot I forgot I'm not a full time pastor but anyway you know I'd rather just go out and just work a job and just live my life than to stand up here and and blather at the mouth and say a bunch of nothing you know what I mean because I don't have the guts to say what really needs to be said you know what I mean I'd rather just go down and just get a second job somewhere flip pizzas flip burgers you know make hot dogs and chili and corn dogs somewhere hey I'd rather do that and go home and go to bed every night and say I worked all day and went to bed than to stand up here and just blah blah blah cause I don't have the guts to say what really truly needs to be said and so if I have to stand alone I'll stand alone and we've all got to learn me you everybody has to learn not to just lean on Pastor Anderson not to lean on the person next to you ok they're irritated by it no I'm just kidding not to lean on not to lean on mom and dad all the time not to lean on other people's spiritual walk with God but have your own walk with God yourself alone lets bow our heads and have a word of prayer father thank you so much for being our friend it's amazing that you would be our friend dear God because