Woooooord. Let’s see your pens, lesson plan, lesson plan. Let’s turn to Romans 1, Romans 1 and we want to acknowledge the people online watching. They’re probably going – Wait, we’re, we’re from out of town. So we want to say hello to everybody watching online. Romans 1. If you do not have a bible, watch it online and the right side of your computer, right around here there’s a little button and you can download or, or ah press a button and you’ll have a bible there. You can scroll through. Romans 1 New Testament book #6 in the New Testament. Romans 1, Romans 1.
Let me pray for you while you turn there.
Lord we thank you so much for your word. Thank you so much for your faithfulness and we pray you bless us and bless your word. Bless the teaching of your word and we pray you reveal truth to us. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
Romans 1
I was eating dinner last night eating a plate of spaghetti and I was sitting on my couch and my couch, the cushion said – Pst, hey Miles why don’t you pour the spaghetti on the cushion and eat off the cushion cuz I want to have some warm sauce on me and I figured you know you can make me warm and you could eat off the cushion. I was like – You’re a cushion. You’re not a couch, can’t eat. The spaghetti will going….will mess it up. He says – Don’t worry. I, this is, I, I, this is my cushion. I, I know how to use it just put the sauce on me. Don’t worry about it. This is my decision. I was like – Nah I don’t want to do that.
And as we were having this conversation my TV – Pst hey Miles put your cup on top of the TV and so when you’re watching TV you can just drink and we could be right, we could be right here real close to each other. I said – What if the water drips down into your circuits. He said – Oh don’t worry about it. These are my circuits. I know how to treat em and to take care of em. I’m doing my, I’m doing what I want to do. This is my TV, it’s my, it’s my body.
Then as we were talking my clock said – Pst hey, hey open me up and I want you to spray water on me cuz I haven’t had a shower since they put me here. I said – I can’t put water in the clock. The clock will break.
Do, do, do your furniture pieces have the right or the knowledge to be able to tell you how to use them? As we’ve been studying who is God, everyone say who is God, we’ve been asking the question – Is there evidence that there is a God? Does the evidence tell us what kind of God there is? Does the evidence tell us how to have a relationship with that God? Does the evidence tell us how to have a relationship and what the, what the results of that relationship should be?
We’re gonna read Romans 1 and we’re gonna see that God has given us enough evidence in the things that He has made to not only prove that He exists but to show us what kind of God He is and also how we need to be accountable to Him.
So let’s read Romans 1:20, Romans 1:20 it says – Since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and God head so that they are without excuse.
Let me read it again. Since the creation of the world, say creation, since the creation of the world God’s invisible attributes are clearly seen. His invisible attributes are His wisdom, His creativity, His intelligence, His ability to organize, strategize, administrate, sustain, His power, His love. His invisible attributes are clearly seen being understood by the things that are made. That means when you look at the things that He has made it is obvious that someone very intelligent, someone very powerful, someone very creative created.
You look at all the animals in the world and how creative they are, how created they look. Matter of fact every 6 billion people that live on the earth there’s not 2 that look the same. Not 2. You heard the story that no, no 2 snowflakes look the same. I mean I believe that that’s true but you can’t really prove it cuz you have see every snowflake but think about that. Every snowflake but you know every, there’s never, you will never ever, ever, EVA see a person that is just like you. So God made every single person, every single zebra, every single tiger, every single lion. They’re all different. Creative, He’s creative.
And so when you see, when you look at God’s face God is saying – That when you look at what I made and look at the creativity, look at my invisible attributes, my power, how big the universe is. You talk about the big bang and you think about, if the big bang is true. That’s a theory. You think about all the matter in the universe squeezed into a little point you know what’s, how much power, I don’t believe that really happened but if it did how much power that would take? How much power it is to spin the earth and keep it spinning, rotating around the sun and all the stuff that God, that’s happening in the universe and God says – When you look at all of that you have to come to the conclusion that someone very strong, very smart, very, very eternal, very creative did it. And by the way if you don’t you are without excuse cuz God is saying – It’s so amazing you can’t deny it.
I told, I had a guy conversation with a guy today. He said – I you know, where did God come from? He wanted to argue and, and we got into a, we weren’t arguing but we were raising our voices da-da da-da-da back and forth. We were standing right over there and I said – Let me ask you a question. Do you believe that phone in your hand is complicated? Yes. Do you believe that the, that, that phone created itself? He says – No. I said – Are you sure that someone created it? Absolutely. I said – Why? It’s too complicated. So then how could you that the earth which is infinitely more complicated than a phone, that people which are infinitely more complicated than that phone weren’t created by something? Well I, I cuz I don’t know who did it. I was like – Brother you just don’t want to believe that. God’s gonna say –You have no excuse. That’s not a good enough excuse brother.
And so, so what we’ve been looking at is this very simple living room and based on what we learned from this very simple living room we’ve been realizing that there is a God. So let’s, let’s review. 1st we saw that this living room is a limited object. In other words the living room couldn’t have a caused itself. We asked ourselves is there any way the living room could have, could have put itself there and we had a consensus no. So we, we said it couldn’t cause, it didn’t cause itself. Then we said ah who designed the living room? Did the living room design itself? And we said no it couldn’t have designed itself so someone had to design it. Then we said – well did the living room give itself its purpose because its purpose is to fulfill the design. Well it couldn’t, it can’t decide its own purpose because it didn’t give itself its own design. So we came up to the conclusion that man caused the living room, and that man designed the living room, and that man gives the living room its purpose.
Because we all agree that nothing, we have a nothing jar here, and we all agree that nothing did it because nothing does nothing. Now it’s very important to grasp this very simple, basic concept. It is a scientific fact that nothing does nothing and that nothing can’t do anything. Is that clear? Yes? You may say – What’s the trick? There’s no trick to this because when you, it’s very important to understand that because when we start talking about the option that there’s no God. Well if there’s no God then how did all this come about if you and I didn’t do it? So the no God option is not an option. You just don’t get everything that we have by nothing. It’s impossible. So if this little living room didn’t’ get here by itself, certainly the universe didn’t get here by itself. So we’ll get to that in a minute.
So what we, what we agreed is that a man, people our staff put the living room there, designed the living room, organized it, painted the colors and all this stuff, and whatever-whatever and, and, and, and whoever designed it is the one who gives it its purpose. Because the TV doesn’t understand what, what’s inside of it. that someone put it together for a specific purpose so you can see television. Someone put the clock together so you can tell time. Someone put the couch together so you can sit on it. And so whoever designed it is the one who gives it its purpose. Ok.
Then we said – Well if man, if man designed it and gave it its purpose. Who determines the rules by which you fulfill its purpose? Because there are rules. So who fulfills the rules? And we figured that’s man, the person who gave it its purpose. The TV can’t decide its own rules. The TV can’t say – Put water on top of me, because if a TV did say that the TV would ruin itself. See the couch saying – Put spaghetti on it, would ruin itself. And so what we decide is that if man is the first cause, the creator and then man designed it and then man gave it its purpose, so man is the man to give it its rules and the rules are designed to fulfill the design and the purpose.
Ok so here’s the million dollar, so if you look in your notes the first guiding principle is right there at the top of your notes is that limited objects fulfill their purpose by following absolute rules provided for them by the designer. This is very important for you to understand ah this so I’m gonna say it again. Limited objects, which is everything you’ve ever seen. You are a limited object. You had a beginning, this building, your car, your clothes, ah, ah university you go to, your high school, everything is a limited object. Someone created it. Someone designed it. Someone gives it its purpose and someone determines the rules by which you operate it so it fulfills its purpose. Ok?
So if you and I ah if, if, if a man created this living room and a man created a car and a shirt and a shoe, man gives those things their purpose. So here’s the million dollar question. Who gives purpose to all the things man didn’t design and give purpose to? Who gives, who decides all the rules I should say? Who decides all the rules for everything man created and designed? Man didn’t create and design, who gives rules to the universe? Who gives rules to the animals, to the birds, to the bees, to the ocean, the fish? Who gives the rules for how you and I should use our own body?
Now you would say – Well it’s my body. I use it the way it want. Wait a minute sister girl. You are a limited object. We just read that limited objects fulfill their purpose by following rules given to them by the designer. God is the one who gives the rules and establishes the rules for how limited objects to be used and guess what? You are one of them. None of you created yourself. None of you designed yourself None of you have seen your nervous system, your endocrine system, or your endocrine system for all you who don’t know what that is, is your, is what your system that creates hormones. None of you have seen your digestive system, your reproductive system, your respiratory system, your skeletal system, your muscular system. You’ve seen none of that and you don’t know how to operate complete. You don’t. you don’t know how they interact with each other completely. None of you have seen your soul, your spirit. You don’t understand how spiritual the whole components of spiritual relationships between people. God is the one who created all that. God is the one who decided the purpose for having all that and God is the one to say – Here’s how you use all that. Hmm. You don’t decide that.
So this leads us to point #1 in your notes and this is gonna go in the opposite of everything you’ve learned in school and everything you learn in your culture today. #1-Universal absolute, absolute moral laws do exist. Ooh. Universal absolute moral laws or moral truths exist.
Now I want to tell you that what I’m gonna say for the next half hour or so is gonna be completely opposite of what you hear all the time and not only am I gonna tell it to you I’m gonna give you proof and evidence that you can go home and, and check it out for yourself that God has provided you cuz remember God has said – The invisible attributes are being clearly seen. God is give you enough evidence to realize whether these things be true or not. Ok? So um universal laws exist.
Now turn to Genesis 2 all the way at the beginning of the bible. Genesis 2. And as you turn, it’s the very first page of the bible. It should be very easy. As you turn there I want to acknowledge the moral code of today of our culture and the moral code of today is we need to be tolerant. How many of you have heard that term before? Ok you need tolerant and some of you say – Well you know I believe in tolerance is good. Now I’m gonna, I’m gonna describe or define tolerance and there’s two definitions I want to use. 1-Is that we want to be respectful of everybody’s right to have an opinion and we should be respectful of people who don’t agree with us without putting them down because they disagree. Fantastic. I think that’s great. And we should do that.
The other part of tolerance which is the other flip side of the is that every truth claim or belief system is equally true. In other words you have a, you, what you believe if it’s true for you it’s true. What I believe is true for me is true and, and I should respect the fact that what you believe is just as true as what I believe. That I would say we’re gonna challenge today. Now I know you hear this everyday and your conflict is if you’re gonna say you walk with God and the world is telling you to be tolerant where every truth is equal you have a problem. The bible’s gonna tell you that every truth is not equal. The bible’s gonna tell you that God has a truth and there’s truth and there are things that people believe that are flat out wrong. And the world’s gonna tell you you’re a bigot if you disagree. You’ve heard that. Can I get an amen? Ok.
So here’s the question. Is this a clock? And by the way it is a clock so. This is a clock. If I said it’s not a clock what would you say? I was right or wrong? Ok you say I’m wrong. This is a TV. If I say it’ not a TV what would you say? Right or wrong? Say it a little louder. Very good. And then is this a couch back there? If I say it’s not a couch am I right or wrong? Ok so by you telling me I’m wrong you are, you are denying me of the right to have an opinion that’s different than yours and you are a bigot. You’re a bigot. Matter of fact you’re a racist. I can call you anything I want because guess what? You, you’re not being tolerant of me right now. I don’t think this is a clock. I believe this is a drum se and I’m gonna hit the drums on top and it’s, and if this is my clock I can do whatever I want and to me it’s not a clock and who are you to tell me, who are you to tell me what that is? Who are you to tell me what I believe?
Now in a minute I will tell you if you just be patient I’m gonna get to that in a minute. I’ll be right there. Ok? Thank you very much. I appreciate it. We’re gonna get there. We’re gonna get there.
And so, so you’re looking at me saying – well listen I disagree with you. And I’m saying – But wait a minute. I believe something. I have a belief system so why are you against my belief system? Being tolerant and, and being able to have every truth claim the same is impossible.
Matter of fact talking about Hitler, she was hurting.
Mother Theresa, Mother Theresa is, her ministry was to hold people when they die. Right? That was her ministry. She was gonna hold people when they die and pray with them when they die. That’s what she did. Very honorable thing and she, matter of fact she held and ministered to the poorest of the poor in the world, people dying of diseases you would never see in this culture: leprosy, the poorest of the poor and when they would die in her arms which I don’t know how many of us have ever had someone die in our arms she would pray with them and give them dignity in death. Honorable thing.
Hitler on the other side, on the other hand killed 6 million Jews. The man did horrible, horrible things but if you’re really tolerant you can’t tell, you can’t say Hitler was wrong because you have to acknowledge his truth claim as being equal as yours. Cuz the minute you say that he is wrong you become intolerant. You’re saying his belief system is wrong. Just wonder why the lady’s mad. Why is he up there? Well I just told you why. You, and, and, and in this society we say – well everybody’s truth claim is true. That is not true. You just proved it unless you say those two things, those two people are equally right. You can never say that.
And whenever you say – I’m gonna be true and be tolerant and I’m gonna respect everybody’s opinion of being as equal as mine. That’s a, if you go to prison there are people in prison because their opinions were wrong. Their opinion was wrong. Now you might say – well, well you’re not tolerant by saying that. I didn’t claim to be tolerant. That’s not my belief system. I don’t believe everybody has an equal, that everybody has a right to believe something but I don’t believe everybody’s right. I believe some people are wrong.
I’m wrong. I tell you all the time. My opinion means what? Nothing. What does the bible say? Look what the bible says in Genesis 2:15, Genesis 2:15. It says – The Lord God took the, in Genesis 2:15 – The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend it and keep it and the Lord God commanded the man saying – Of every tree of the garden you may eat, truly eat, freely eat but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat for in that day you will surely die.
Everyone say die. This is that garden of Eden where there is no sin. A perfect man and a perfect woman. You have, you have never, ever seen that before. You know what God says? You have rules. If you break the rules you die. Now you may say – Well that’s Adam and Eve. That’s not really true. Well do people die? Sure. To people die? Absolutely. You, I, I don’t have enough time to read all the verses in the bible that talk about God’s law and breaking God’s law brings death and the penalty of sin is death. There’s too many to count. God said there’s a right way and a wrong way. Our culture says uh-huh all truth is relative. It’s whatever you believe. You can use your body anybody any way you want because it’s your body. Wait a minute you are a limited object and someone else imposes rules on you. Just like the TV can’t make its own rules, just like the couch can’t make its own rules, just like the clock can’t make its own rules. Well you say those things aren’t alive I’m alive. So what, what, where does that change the rules cuz you’re alive? Well I could think where does that change the rules?
They’re so much above your, your ability reason that God knows about your life even though you didn’t think and even though you’re intelligent what’s gonna happen tomorrow? You don’t know. What does your heart look like? You don’t know. What does your stomach look like? You don’t know. When are you gonna die? You don’t know. God knows all that and what the devil wants you to do is to be independent of God and do what you want to do, use your body your way, smoke what you want to smoke, drink what you want to drink, have sex with whoever you want to have sex with, want to have sex with them and God says - Ok there’s gonna be consequences. There’s gonna be consequences. You can’t….
By the way when you, when, whenever someone says they’re gonna be tolerant and they don’t, I say they violate what I call, not what I call but what is called the law on non contradiction. If you’re taking notes write this down if you will, if you will. Law of non contradiction, non contradiction. The law of non contradiction it’s a very powerful concept. The law of non contradiction says that something can’t be something and at the same time not be something. Ok.
So if you look at this, this clock you can’t say this is a clock and at the same time say it’s not a clock. Are you with me? Yes? Ok are you all, are you all there? Take a deep breath in. Say Jesus! You can’t say this is a clock and this is not a clock. TV-law on non contradiction says you can’t say this is a TV and it’s not a TV. You can’t say that. It, it can’t be a TV and not a TV at the same time. You can’t say the couch is a couch and not a couch at the same time. You can’t say that! It’s a contradiction.
So therefore if you say – I’m tolerant you can’t do that. You’re either one or the other. So whenever someone who claims to be tolerant disagrees with another person they cease to be tolerant. So here you are someone saying, someone who’s tolerant saying – Listen I believe every truth claim is true and I believe we all, there’s, there’s no absolute rules and I believe we should all respect each others rules and then you one day say – Well I think Jesus is the only way to heaven. And they say you’re a bigot. Wait a minute, wait-wait-wait-wait-wait you just told me all truth claims are true. So why can’t, why you disagreeing with me? You just became intolerant. You just violated your own rule.
And so what does that mean? Is that mean that the great thing about this is that God, even though people could argue about right and wrong God is the one who will decide it for us. In other words is, is ah sleeping and having sex before marriage wrong? Some people say – What’s wrong with it? Other people say – It’s my body. God says, the bible says – You should only have sex when you’re married. You say –Well I’m gonna do what I want to do. Ok. God will deal with it.
Turn to Romans 2, Romans 2.
I have been, you’ve heard the question a lot about people saying – what happens to people who’ve never heard the gospel? How are they ever gonna, how is God gonna judge them? Well let me say a couple things about that. 1-You will probably never in your lifetime meet somebody who has never heard the gospel. The gospel is worldwide and if you ever do meet someone who’s never heard the gospel just tell them the gospel and then they won’t be that person anymore. The gospel is global but let’s just case there was somebody. God has a safety net. It’s called their conscience.
Look what it says in Romans 2:11. It says – There is no partiality with God. For as many as have sinned without the law will perish without the law. If you don’t have, and at this time if they need to understand the Old Testament and the rules associated with the Old Testament, if they perish without the law, ah sin without the law they’ll perish without the law.
Let’s keep reading and then we’ll be clear. And as many as sinned in the law will be judged by the law. And it says – For not hearers of the law are justified, are just in the sight of God but doers of the law. For when gentiles who do not have the law by nature do the things in the law. These although not having the law are law unto themselves. Who show the work of the law written in their hearts their conscience bearing witness. And between themselves and their thoughts accusing or excusing them. They in the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to the gospel.
How many of you know somebody who is not saved but yet they have integrity? They’re not saved but they’re honest? They’re hard working? And matter of fact they are more godly in the way they act than some Christians you know. Anybody know people like that? Guess what? God put their conscience in them, He put it in them. God gave it to them. He says – Listen I, I’m gonna, I’m gonna put a sense of right and wrong in you. You’re gonna know it. How many of you are getting ready a lie and right before you told the lie or you are asked a question that you attempted to tell a non truth, you started getting hot? When you started to tell the lie you were like, and you knew. You knew it was wrong. Can I get an amen? Even little kids 2 and 3 years old.
Matter of fact how many of you all don’t have kids raise your hand? Ok. Yeah you’re happy huh? When you have little kids what you will learn is that kids you know you can hear em playing in another room and they’re noisy. When kids get quiet and they’re in the other room that is a sign they are doing something wrong and they’re in the other room they’re like, they’re like 2. They can barely walk and they’re like….to each other and they’re’ doing something they’re not doing and you’re in the other room and you know whenever you’re a, a parent and you’re in the other room and you hearing-hearing-hearing all of the sudden it gets quiet you know they’re doing something wrong and you call em and they come running in. Right? I’m not dong anything wrong. I’m not doing anything wrong. Because you know what that is? It’s called guilt. It’s called a conscience and guess where it came from? God.
God says – I’m gonna give you a conscience and guess what? You’re gonna sense when you’re talking behind someone’s back and ew it’s not right. Telling a lie, ew it’s not right. Cheating on your taxes, stealing money ew it’s not right. Talking to some little honey you shouldn’t be talking to. Creeping up in someone’s bedroom you shouldn’t be creeping ew….By the way if you’re doing things that all your friends are doing yet you think it’s wrong and you wonder why you think it’s wrong, because you assume they don’t think it’s wrong, they think it’s wrong too. And, and by the way you keep doing it and, and it gets a little easier but still in the back of your heart something’s not right with what I’m doing and yet you say all the right words: I love you, blah-blah-blah-blah-blah but something still ain’t right. You know why? Your conscience’s are telling you stop. And yet everybody else is doing it and it feels good so maybe it’s not that bad. No it’s wrong. It’s wrong.
I don’t ever have that feeling with my wife. Thank you. Are you married young man? Soon to be. Looking forward to it amen. But here’s the thing. Here’s the thing is that your conscience and by the way your conscience over time will start to get used to things you shouldn’t do.
How many of you have seen what you visualize on television, especially the sexual suggestive stuff on television get worse over the years. You all might be a little too young. Have you all noticed? Language getting worse over TV over time. When I was your age, when I was 20, 30 years ago, when I was 30 something years ago when I was in my 20’s you would never see that stuff on TV. And so what happens is over time culture just changes. It doesn’t mean it’s right. And, and people get used to seeing that stuff. Matter of fact you hear people saying – Well you know I don’t know these days but that’s just how it is. And they just accept it. It’s like when you sit in a room, turn the lights off and you can’t see and then you get used to the darkness and then you can see. What happens is people get used to the darkness. That’s why those things don’t bother people anymore because your conscience gets seared and all of the sudden people saying curse words on prime time television is ok.
It’s not all right people being half naked going to the mall and seeing naked people in, in ah these stores. There’s one of them that’s really bad. I can’t, ah not only stop, I don’t know if it’s… Huh? Huh? All that, yeah, all that, all that. I can’t hear what all you all are saying but you know the, Abercrombie, Abercrombie it’s like naked. There’s naked people. Just a little top, they’re naked. Am I right? You would never of had that 10 year, 20 years ago.
My point is this is that your conscience gets seared. So here’s what God says – I’m gonna give you a conscience that your conscience so you will understand right and wrong but guess what? I know your conscience is not enough so what I’m gonna do is I’m gonna give you ah internal evidence is your conscience. I’m gonna give you external evidence. Stuff is going to die.
Turn to Romans 6, Romans 6
The bible says in Proverbs 14:12 – There’s a way that seems right to a man but in the end it leads to death. God said – If you’re, if you’re not going to listen to your conscience the rules are still the rules and the penalty of breaking my rules is death. What did He tell Adam and Eve? If you eat from that tree you die. Things die.
And look what it says in verse 23 – The wages of sin, Romans 6:23, the wages of sin is death. The wages of sin is death. God caused you. God designed you. By the way marvelously. You are marvelous, marvelous, marvelous. He gave you marvelous talents, precious gifts and abilities and then He said – Here’s your purpose and your purpose is incredible, eternal! Eternal purpose. And then He says – Here’s how you fulfill your marvelous, eternal, incredible, precious purpose is that you follow these rules. And if you follow these rules I will do amazing things through your life because you put yourself in a position to be used in incredible ways.
The devil comes along and says – I have God. Because you were made in God’s image, I hate you. Oh yeah the devil hates you. No doubt. And I’m gonna destroy God because I can’t destroy God I’m gonna destroy His image and that’s you. And the only way he can destroy His image is to get you to do what you’re not supposed to do because if he can get you to do what you’re not supposed to do things will die and what will die? Your ability to fulfill your purpose.
There are incredible artists in this room. You are an artist. You were created by God to be an artist and you know it and you think art, creativity every single day yet you’re doing no art. And you see people doing art and you say – I can do that. And by the way you’re probably right but you will never do it because you broke the rules. Until you start obeying the rules, you broke the rules and God destroyed all your opportunity to do art die. Your connections to do art dies. Your passion to do art die. One or all the above.
Some of you are incredible athletes. Some of you are incredible teachers. Some of you are incredible encouragers. Some of you are mathematicians. All these different gifts that God has given you and by the way none of you are gift less. All of you have a gift. None of you are purpose less-less. Is that a word? You all have a purpose.
And so here’s what the God, God created you for this masterful purpose and the devil says – I’m gonna create, I’m gonna encourage you to create your own rules because it’s your body, your life. You hear that every day.
I, I have never done a message on abortion and people say – I have the right, the, the right to choose. It’s my body. No it’s not. No it’s not. Not only is this not your body it’s Gods. He gave it to you on loan but it belongs to Him. Not only is this not your body the baby’s a whole nother person! And by the way I know this is real political because, well it is. It’s a big issue but if you are a Christian, if you are a Christian you have to go back to the beginning. Who created you? Who gave you a purpose? Who gave you a design? Who determines the rules? Not you, about anything. It’s not your hair. It’s not your teeth. It’s not your womb. It’s not your head. It’s not your, it’s not your sex organs. It’s all, it is all on loan by God. By the way for you, and give it to you, give it to me to honor God with. Not yourself.
Girls you got nice legs. You got a nice little jiggle wiggle. Be careful, be careful how you use that. Don’t use it to glorify the devil. Don’t use it to glorify you. Use it to glorify God. Fellas same thing. Don’t use it to glorify you. It’s not about you. And so when you present your body to God, God is saying to you – I am giving you these abilities to do all these different things, whatever those things are, and the only way you’re gonna fulfill those things is by doing it my way because if you don’t do it my way something dies.
So many of you right now are living a dead life and your friends are dead. What does that mean? You’re going through the motions and you know something’s not right. You’re not fulfilled. You’re not happy. You’re working a job. You’re going to class. And what am I doing? What’s my purpose? Some of your friends are in the hospital addicted. They’re in the hospital with disease because they broke rules. They’re dead.
If you ever watch you know these television shows these gang members say – Yeah man you know if you, if you live my lifestyle you can get, go to prison or you die. Well hello, why are you in it? You mean they ain’t got no 401K plan? I’m not gonna get, I’m not gonna get a vacation in Hawaii and retire up in the, in the…. What kind of lifestyle? Is it, it’s a dead end road. They just tell you that. And you, you all heard it. So what do they do it for? Because the devil’s got them duped. There’s nothing better for you. Think about that. The devil’s got people fooled to think you have to live a life of destruction because there’s nothing better for you. Well I’m gonna tell you there’s something way better for you and that’s God has a way better life for you. Then you’re gonna say – Well there’s no way out. You’re gonna tell me God can’t help you? Come on! There’s nothing God can’t fix. Nothing!
And so here, here’s your question. Here’s your dilemma. Here’s your decision. Do I say – This is my life and I’m gonna use it the way I want and I’m gonna make my own rules which is as crazy as a TV making its own rules. It’s crazy as the couch. Am I putting you at the same level? In one way yes. In this way it is. You’re a limited object. Who are you to tell God how to use what He gave you? It’s like you having, going home tonight and there’s 5 roaches on your counter. Don’t act like you never had roaches in your house. There’s roaches standing up on the counter – Hey man waiting for you to come home. We’re gonna watch some TV. What’s for dinner? What’s for snack? Roaches get out of my house. Not only, this is our house. We live here too! We’re the same, me and you, roaches, you, owner we’re all the same. Open the fridge. What you got? That roach trying to negotiate with you is a lot closer than you trying to negotiate with God.
Now what the devil would have you believe – I’m gonna do it my way. Ok. Go ahead but here’s what I want to tell you. Look where the devil, look what the mentality got the devil. Ha! He’s going, hell was created for him. He’s trying to take you there with you, with him. So I would say this to you – You have two choices. 1-You can do it your way and reject God’s rules and does God have rules for everything in your life? And a right way and a wrong way to live your life? And a right way and wrong way to treat your body? And a right way and a wrong way to have a relationship? Absolutely. Absolutely!
I talked to a man today, today in this building who is having an affair with a woman down the street from him and his daughters brought him to me and I said to him – What’s going on brother? He says – I’m breaking the rules. I said – You know it’s not gonna turn out good. He says – It’s a mess. I know. I said, I said – Breaking the rules is never going to get you what you really want. He goes – I know. Then why you doing it? It’s never gonna break it. It’s never gonna get it.
So you have a choice. You can do it your way and I’m gonna tell you things will die. Or you can say – God I want to do it your way. Now if you do it your way the bible says in Proverb, it says – As a dog returns to his vomit. You seen dog vomit and then they go back and get a second bite? You all seen that? That’s, that’s like you saying – I know this is a wrong thing to do but I’m gonna go do it again. I know he broke my heart once but I’m gonna go back again. I know I almost when I got high and got drunk I was passed out but I’m gonna go and do it again. Ok. God is very patient but, but at some point you’re gonna be destroyed without remedy. So you can decide – I’m gonna keep doing it my way because I’m me. Stuff will die. Pay attention please to what dies cuz that’s the proof, the evidence. Look around you what your friends who do that. At some point stuff is gonna die in their life. It’s gonna, it’s gonna self destruct at some point.
When I was getting high and doing cocaine I thought I was getting away with it, thought I was getting away with it, thought I was getting away with it then my friend got arrested. Thought I was getting away with it then my friend got arrested. I was the third one getting ready to get arrested. I got saved and the cop started following me to church thinking I was getting my cocaine from church. But I wasn’t. I was going to church! I was saved and he said – I almost got you. I still know him to this day. He’s a friend of mine. And I thought I got away Scott free and, and, and, and I, that cocaine and drug habit almost cost me my career. It did cost me stuff and then I was getting a physical with the Chargers the next year and the guy was looking in my nose doing the ear, nose, throat thing and he went – You have a deviated septum and your nose is curved. And he said – What have you been doing? Busted!
You will always pay a price at some point. You can go that route and pay your price or and by the way you are being defiant to God. I wouldn’t fight God. Or you can say – Lord, I understand there are rules and I understand I’ve been living for me and I understand those rules if they’re broken will pay, I will pay a price. So what I want to do is I want to ask you to forgive me for living for me and I want to live for you, and I want to start obeying the rules. I want to start understanding what they are and I want to start walking in, in, in a way that is in align with my conscience, with my design, with your character, and your word. By the way all those things line up. God is very consistent. His character, His word, our conscience will not disagree with his word. And so – Lord, I want to start living according to how you made me and I want to, I want to allow you to fulfill your purpose in my life.
And I’ll end with this. Your purpose is to glorify your Father and your, and glorifying your Father is the most amazing thing you can do. It’s like a diamond. The diamond has no light of itself. It you put a diamond in a dark room you can’t see it but when you take a diamond out into the light the diamond, the bling factor is the diamond to twinkle-twinkle is because it takes the light from outside and reflects it back. You and I are the diamond. We’re supposed to reflect God’s glory back to Him and when we live according to our purpose we reflect God’s glory back to Him. Say – God I want to do that. I want to live that way with you. I’ll reflect your glory back to you.
So let’s all bow our heads and pray and I want you to listen very closely and carefully.
Dear Lord, um I know it breaks your heart to see your people ignore the advice you give them about how to live. I know it breaks your heart to see talent wasted, potential squandered, opportunities ruined. People sitting in this room, people listening in online, amazing abilities that you designed, and that you gave them and yet were led to believe we can take all that talent and use it our way and make up our own rules as we go, and cause all this despair and pain in our life, and then got the audacity to blame you. But the good news is that while we were doing all that your Son Jesus died for us, rose from the dead, and said – I’m gonna make a way for you to be forgiven of your defiance and I’m gonna make a way for you to have a relationship with God so God can get you back on track and realign your thoughts and your actions to be in line with the rules, the absolute laws that govern our lives, the laws designed to guide us into blessing, and happiness and joy, and strength through trials.
So if today you’re realizing – I, I want to surrender my life to God and I want to submit myself to God’s guidance. I want you to pray this prayer with me in the privacy of your heart, a prayer of confession, a prayer of submission, a prayer acknowledging that there’s too much death in your life. You want life. God is not mocked. If you sow unto unrighteousness you reap death and if you sow or plan or invest in righteousness you reap life. In the privacy of your heart if you want to walk away from death pray this prayer with me by faith. Pray in your heart:
Dear God, I know I’m a sinner and that my sin is wrong. I know sin is breaking the rules and that breaking the rules brings death. Jesus please forgive me. Please forgive me and fill me with your Holy Spirit. I surrender my life. I submit my life to you God. I want to obey you. I want life.
As our eyes are closed and our heads are bowed if you prayed that prayer in a minute I’m gonna ask you to stand and acknowledge your surrender. And if you’re truly surrendered you shouldn’t worry about anybody around you except pleasing your Father. So eyes closed, heads bowed if you prayed that prayer just stand to your feet and acknowledge God’s forgiveness in your life. God bless you. Very good. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. Good. God bless you. God bless you.
Eyes closed, heads bowed I’m gonna talk to some of you guys. Come on. A real man is a male human that honors God not himself. You honor yourself it brings death. You honor God it brings life. Stand up fellas. God is looking for godly men to represent Him, men that will honor women, men that will respect women, men that will stand up for righteousness. God bless you. God bless you. Come on.
Eyes closed, heads bowed there are relationships in this room and your relationship is breaking the rules. Your relationship will die. It will be filled with pain and tension and strife. It will end horribly. It will be hard and struggle. It doesn’t have to be that way. God wants to give you life. Stand up as a couple. Surrender your relationship to God. God bless you. God bless you.
Now in a minute I’m gonna ask all of you to come forward and as you come forward I’m gonna ask everybody else to lets stay here and celebrate with them until we send them into the back room we have a little time. But as they come down I want you to cheer for them like it’s 1999! So eyes, so everybody who’s standing up just come out of your seat and come on down to the altar and let’s give them a hand as they come on down.
