Endure Doctrine

Lord, You're worthy of my praise I stand here in wonder Of Your beauty and Your power I stand on Holy God, sing in glory and honor Power forever to You, Lord Just to dwell here in Your courts It's better, better In Your presence I have found I'm standing on holy ground Sing in glory, honor, power Forever to You, glory, honor, power Forever to You, Lord I've searched and I've searched Couldn't find anything better Nothing more pure and holy Holy, You are holy Holy, holy, You are holy There is no one like You There is no one else beside You You are holy There is no one like You There is no one else beside You You are holy Faith and angels rally For You're nigh You are holy Faith and angels rally For You're nigh You are holy Sing in glory, honor, power Forever sing in glory, honor, power

Forever sing in glory, honor, power Forever sing in glory, honor, power Forever, and ever, and ever Amen Applause Let's pray. Our God and Father, sometimes it's just beyond us to even imagine that heaven would be here among us, that a risen Christ would be walking up and down these aisles, that a Holy Spirit would find residence in our hearts and in our worship. But that is what you have told us in your word, and our spirit bears witness with your spirit that we are the sons of God, a family. And now, I very humbly ask you to also help us realize what a gift it is to be able to hear the truth and understand it. And to be able to stand up and proclaim it with God's help. Let every one of us experience a depth that we have never had in our lives. And I ask it because that's what your word does. Thank you for your help. We bless your name. In Jesus' name, I pray, amen. Everybody said, praise the Lord. Before you're seated, let's read together. I am in 1 Timothy chapter 3. How many brought a Bible? Hold it up. Hold it. Yeah. That's wonderful. And for those of you that don't need it, you'll be fined. And that guy right there is going to collect the fine. Chapter 3 verse 14.

Everybody look now. I'm taking my time. I went over my limit this morning at 8.30. But I have to preach this today. I want everybody to read with me. I don't want anybody just to stand there. I don't want you to think about what you're reading. I want you to say what you see from the top to the bottom. Whether it be Hall, Lake Park, Wilmington, I want to hear you from Wilmington. Together, the word of the Lord. These things I write to you, though I hope to come to you shortly. But if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. And without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen by angels, preached among the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up in glory. The word of the Lord. You may be seated. Don't you think that's an interesting verse? It's from a shepherd to a pastor. Advice from experience. How to lead people to conduct themselves in the house of God. This is the house of God. We sometimes call it sanctuary, but any time the saints gather, that's the house of God. And this house of God joins with untold numbers to make up the church of God. And I don't mean a denomination. I'm talking about the called out ones of almighty God. So Paul is writing to the young man, Timothy, and he said,

I want to come to you shortly, but if I'm delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God. Church, do you understand that there is a certain comportment? A certain way you conduct yourself in the house of God, it's respectful and humble, and it does not interfere with somebody else's worship. It is not self-centered. You're looking out for the good of the others. There's a certain way to dress when you come to the house of God. Ladies should dress modestly and appropriately, cover up. Men should dress respectfully, not like you're going to a game, but like you're coming into the house of God. And when you get to the house of God, there are certain things you must expect to happen in the house of God. Worship about Jesus. You should expect to hear preaching about Jesus. You should expect people to love one another and enjoy fellowship with one another. There is something special about the house of God. It's more special than my house. It's when we bring all of our differences together under the name of Christ, and we act like a family. That's how you conduct yourself in the house of God. Which is the church of the living God. He called it the pillar and ground of the truth. Nothing should come out of this pulpit but the truth.

Not illustrations, jokes, stories. It should be the whole counsel of God. Truth should come from the people of God. The church is founded on the truth, but the truth finds bedrock in the church, in the house of the living God. The church is the pillar. We support it. We preach it. We're not ashamed of it. We uphold it. And he said, Timothy, this thing about being godly, this whole gospel message is a mystery. Without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness. It's a mysterious thing. Just a few verses over, he talks about the mystery of lawlessness, the mystery of iniquity. Sin did not begin in the garden of Eden. It began in heaven. Sin did not begin with Adam and Eve. It began with the Lucifer in heaven. That's a mystery to everybody. Where did sin originate? How did it originate in Lucifer's heart? It's a mystery. We'll know one day, but not today. Then there's the mystery of godliness. How is it that lost, frail, mortal human beings can become children of God?

How can people who walked in sin and were under the curse of sin be touched by God so that they now run from sin, hate sin, avoid sin, and their whole drive in life is to live a life of holiness? That's a mystery. How can God actually change somebody? How can you take a rogue rebel, a blind enemy, and just by faith turn them into someone who understands, who longs for more of God, who wants to be filled with God every day of his life? It's a mystery. He said, so the mystery's wrapped up in these six statements. God was manifested in the flesh. Wow! The eternal, almighty, sovereign, immeasurable, unlimited, infinite God was suddenly seen in the flesh. That's the gospel. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men, and the light shines in the darkness. The darkness could not comprehend it, and the Word was made flesh."

Can't explain it. It's a mystery. It's a mystery that God would send His Son. The Son of God would become the Son of Man, so that the sons of men could become sons of God. Think about that for a moment. Just take a slight breath and say, wow. And that's part of this mystery of godliness. Next, He was justified in the Spirit. Now, you have to understand, Jesus preached for a little over three years, and He said some pretty remarkable, incomprehensible things to the world at that time. He was the Son of God, called Himself the Son of Man, so He could identify with us. The prophets, the Old Testament, declared before He got here, thousands of years before He got here, that He would arrive, He would be a suffering servant, and that when He came, He would preach truth, and He would set people free. But then He would die a miserable death. But then He would be raised in glory to become the Messiah, the Deliverer of Israel. So when Jesus came, He started preaching that very same thing. The Word was preaching the Word to the people. And He said preposterous things, like, destroy this temple, and in three days, I will raise it up. Now, of course, they were blind. They thought, what do you mean, this temple? They were thinking of Herod's temple. Jesus always spoke in spiritual terms. He said, no, you destroy this temple, and in three days, I will raise it up.

And they thought He was blaspheming. So all of those claims that Jesus made were doubted until resurrection morning. They were just claims. But when He walked out of the tomb on resurrection morning, He was justified by the Spirit. Jesus Christ, according to the seed of David, Paul writes, was declared to be the Son of God with power by the Spirit of holiness when He raised Him from the dead. So nobody could doubt all of Christ's claims when He walked out having conquered death, hell, and the grave. He was justified by the Spirit raising Him from the dead. Then He was seen by angels. This is the message of godliness. This is the doctrine that's supposed to be coming from every pulpit all the time. He was seen by angels. I have racked my imagination with this. He was seen by angels. Christ made everything that was made. It was read to you this morning from the Word. God made it all. God made the angels. We don't know how long the angels served the Lord before some of them fell. But they were created to serve God. Now, of course, they're serving us. But they moved every time God blinked. They were at His every desire. Angels looked at Him. They adored Him. They would almost fall down every time they looked in the direction of their Creator. He was high and holy and lifted up.

And you talk about a shock when the announcement was made in heaven by the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit that Jesus was going to be made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death that He, by the grace of God, should taste death for every man. Angels must have lost their minds. You mean this One that we adore, whose very brightness is brighter than the sun that He has made, this One that is God Almighty, is going to become a little lower than we are? Go down to that dust speck called earth? Let wicked people kill Him that He can save those wicked people? Oh, they saw Jesus in heaven. Before He ever walked on earth, He was seen by angels. They saw the Holy Spirit plant Jesus in the womb of Mary. They saw the birth of Christ. They were there when the Lord God came out of that womb and began to kick and cry. They saw it. They saw the shepherds coming in from the fields with excitement. They heard the animals moving there in the barn. Even the animals knew something was wonderful and happening. They saw Mary hold Him. They saw Joseph adore Him. And all of a sudden, they looked at each other and said, We can't hold it back anymore. Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men. They saw Him at His highest throne. Now they see Him as a baby in a manger. They saw the Holy Spirit lead Jesus Christ into the wilderness

to be tempted of the devil 40 days and 40 nights. They were there. They saw Jesus fight Him off. They saw Jesus have victory over the evil one. They saw Jesus say, You will not serve anybody but the Lord your God, says the word. And they saw the devil leave, and then the Father said, Now strengthen Him, angels. So the very ones that got their orders from Him in eternity are now strengthening their very Creator. They saw Jesus kneel across a rock in the garden of Gethsemane. They saw His sweat become as great drops of blood. They heard every word He said. And when He finished that prayer, the Father once again said, Strengthen My Son. Oh, and they saw it that morning, three days after the crucifixion, when spears of bright, eternal, divine light began to leak out of the cracks of the tomb. They were there when they heard the earthquake, and they rolled the stone back. They saw Him walk out, the one who had been miserably crucified and placed in a tomb and given up on by many. But He walked out shaking keys to death, hell, and the grave. They saw it. Seen by angels.

And I'll tell you, it hasn't happened yet, but one of these days they're going to see Him mount an ivory steed somewhere on the streets of glory, and a trumpet's going to sound again, and the Lord is going to come back to this earth, and He's going to put an end to the sin and an end to the world as we know it, and they're going to see that too. Amen. Ah, Paul said, Timothy, he was preached among the Gentiles. It didn't stay in Jerusalem. It did not stay with the Jews only. God meant for Jew and Gentile alike to hear this great message, so it went from Jerusalem all over the world, from Pentecost to the farthest reaches of the known world at that time. Not only was it preached among the Gentiles, it was believed on in the world. People didn't just hear it. They gave themselves to it. And by the time that Caesar took Paul's head off, he had established more churches than people can count. All over Asia Minor, all over the known world, congregations had popped up singing the praises of a risen Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, he was preached, but he was also believed, and the same thing is happening right now all over the world. Gospel is being preached, and people are believing, and God is completing His bride, and He's about to call out His people.

Hallelujah to God forevermore. He was received up into glory. Think about that. He took those disciples to a brow, Mount of Olives. He gave them instructions. He gave them power, and then right in front of them, He began to rise, and a cloud began to wrap around Him, and the last thing they saw was His nail-pierced feet. And I... I'm coming to tell you again, when He comes back, one day those same nailed, pierced feet are going to land in the same spot on the Mount of Olives that they left from. Oh, He was received up into glory. He sat down at the right hand of the Father. He's been waiting for 2,000 years, waiting for the Father to make a motion in His direction to come and get those He bled and died for. Come, Lord Jesus, come today. Here's what Paul said in Timothy. First Timothy chapter four, verse 13. I'm gonna go through Timothy several times today. Till I come, Timothy, give attention to reading, exhortation, doctrine. You got it? Do you preachers have it that are watching me online? That's your job. Your job is not to run the sports program at church.

Your job is not to raise money for projects. Your job is to give attention to reading. Read the Bible. Study it till your eyes are crusty. Your job is to exhort. No matter what the people say, you keep on warning, exhorting, advising, and you do it with doctrine. You do it from Holy Scripture. Timothy, do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership. Meditate on these things. Give yourself entirely to them. Do you hear me, young preacher? You give yourself entirely to these things. And you do it so that your progress may be evident to all. You can't take people where you haven't gone. You can't teach people what you don't know. And that's why the pastor has to be the leader in reading, studying, exhortation, and he must know the doctrines of the church. And those doctrines must be preached. Paul goes on to say, I read again, meditate on these things. Give yourself entirely to them that your progress may be evident to all. Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Folks, Paul emphasized doctrine, truth, Bible, Scripture.

That's what you preach. That's what you study. Take heed to yourself. Don't let yourself do anything else. Don't be moved by what the people say or what the people want. Stick with doctrine. Continue in them. For in doing this, you will save both yourself and those who hear you. Did you hear that, folks? What I'm trying to do this morning is save myself and those who are hearing me. I don't mean save myself in a redemptive manner. I'm preaching doctrine. I study it. I pray doctrine all the time so that when I stand in front of you, I know where I stand. I know I'm stable. I know what I believe. And that confidence should be given to you. And when you hear doctrine and you know what God says, it should give you a confidence when you get up every morning, when you pray, when you live for Christ, doctrine will make you strong in the faith. Praise the Lord. Paul said, continue in it. Don't stop.

Because you have to save yourself from deception. And those who are hearing you must be saved from deception. So I gather from this that if doctrine is not preached, if what I just read and preached to you this morning is not preached constantly, frequently and energetically, something bad happens in the house of God. Want me to tell you what it is? Well, first of all, let me go to 1 Timothy 4, 13. And let me find it. 413, that's not the one, just forget it. He mentioned having faith and a good conscience, Timothy, which some having rejected concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck. Folks, I can't make shipwreck anything but bad. There is nothing redeemable about a shipwreck. It's total loss. And Paul was telling Timothy, if you don't preach doctrine, if you don't tell them the word, they will begin to stumble and they will make shipwreck of their faith. Here's the deal. It's been preached on so many times. Right after all of these references, God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen of angels, preached on in the world, believed on, and received up into glory, next verse. Now the spirit expressly says that in the latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons. Let me read this a different way.

The spirit in specific terms says that in the last days some will depart from the faith. How do you argue with that? How do you depart from the faith? You start giving heed or listening to seducing spirits that are not doctrine. You start listening to dreams and interpretations and all kinds of ancillary church activities that should not be happening in the house of God. Instead of your faith being founded on Christ and the truth, you begin to measure your spirituality by how you feel, what you see, what they prophesy over you, and before you know it, instead of you being solid and well-grounded, you're on sinking sand. Folks, if you don't stay grounded in Jesus Christ, you are apt to depart from the faith, and there it is right there. Some will depart from the faith. It happened in Jesus' day. You remember when Jesus was popular? That's after He performed some miracles and fed 5,000, and He walked on some water, and He raised some dead people. It was a happening movement. It was a Jesus movement. Everybody wanted to be in on this latest, greatest religious wave. And so they're all following Jesus around because they love to hear Him say, Oh, blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Oh, blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted. They love those verses. But one day, they're all following behind Jesus, and they're just talking like people do in church.

Sometimes they forget they're in the house of the Lord, that the preacher's preaching, and no other conversation is supposed to be taking place except the one taking place right here. And so they're walking along, they're having a good old fellowship, and Jesus suddenly stops and says, Unless you eat My flesh and drink My blood, you have no life in you. And they went, What? What did He just say? What did He just say? Jesus said, If you want to live, you've got to die. If you want to gain life, you've got to lose life. Jesus said, If you're going to follow Me, you've got to pick up a cross and follow Me every day. If you're going to follow Me, you count this world as nothing and let Me be everything. You've got to give it all up, this world, so you can have all of Me. And they went, Now, wait a minute. I wasn't expecting that. He did not hear that at first. This thing has taken a turn, and I'm just not sure I want to go that far. Eat flesh, drink blood. Is He actually saying that my life has to be His life and He's got to live in me? I don't think I can do that. John 6. 666 says, from that time forward,

many of His disciples followed Him no more. They walked away. You think that's odd? I've seen it happen for decades right here in this church. Oh, preachers talk about it all the time when we get together. About how people come in and they're, ooh, this is it! I found it! Ooh! And they'll wait in line after church to get to me. Sandra and I were laughing about it last night. And they'll finally get there and they'll say, we're here! God sent us! We're gonna be your best supporters! You can count on us! We wanna be your best friend! We can't wait to get involved! And I go, okay, I'll give you 90 days. Have we heard it, Sandra? Oh, yeah, about 90 days. And then when the novelty wears off and they're used to hearing them sing, and after a while I sound monotonous and boring, they go, you know, maybe we ought to try another place. Oh, it happens all the time, ladies and gentlemen. You might as well just accept it. People fall away. People turn back.

We don't like that. It's bad theology. We wanna hear that once you're saved, you're always saved. Once you confess the Lord, nothing you ever do will keep you out of heaven. That's what we wanna hear. That's what many of you have been taught. But then when I bring up a verse like this and say, can you explain this to me, sir? Let me just read it. Beware. That's the first word. Beware, brethren. Brethren? Yeah. The writer never addresses sinners. Paul never talks to sinners. He's talking to brethren. Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God. Can you explain that to me, sir? But it's not finished. But exhort one another daily while it is called today. Right now. See, what I'm doing you right now, I'm exhorting you. I'm calling you to be attentive to the fact that if you don't stay in the Scriptures, stay in the house of God, stay in the book, stay on your knees, a really bad thing can happen to you, lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.

For we have become partakers of Christ if... Do you mind if I read that again? For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end. While it is said today, if you will hear His voice today, today, today, hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion. Oh, it's unnerving to think that God brought the Israelites across the Red Sea and He slapped the sea together and they walked around for 40 years, but God let most of them die in the wilderness because of their unbelief. And that's what I'm preaching about today. That's what we face today, brothers and sisters. So the only remedy we have for any of that happening to any of us, I find it in Paul's writings to Timothy. He said, when you get up in front of people, preach the Word. It's deathly quiet in here. When you stand up in front of people, preach the Word. I've been very good this morning. I think that I have controlled myself. And you all are nodding, so I appreciate that. I think that I have bridled my enthusiasm and it's killing me. I don't play, see. I'm not trying to make you laugh.

I got a... People that feel free to say things to me, I don't know why, we're not that close. But one old fella texted me and he said, I don't know if he was old or not, he was a fella. And he said, everything you preach is the truth, but you are harsh and your preaching is abrasive. Why don't you try toning it down a little bit? So I guess this morning I've tried toning it down a little bit because the last thing I want is for my harshness or my abrasiveness to hinder the gospel of Jesus Christ. But I have to tell you again, we are not dealing with an expired card from Costco. You are not about to lose your gym membership. That's not what I'm preaching about. I'm preaching about eternity, heaven, hell, eternity, righteousness. And you expect me to try to be diplomatic about it when it's burning the marrow out of my bones? Now I'm off script and I know it and I knew what was gonna happen, but one of my elders reminded me this morning of an illustration I gave years ago. Those of you that think it's a little too loud for your neighbors, that's why you don't bring them or you don't want your mama or your new mama-in-law to come and see what you belong to. Let me tell you the illustration I gave.

If I came by your house and you were laying out on the road and you said, my house is on fire and I see it and I've got three little children in there and I can't get in there to save them. Will you do it? Do you think for one moment you'd say, now don't make a noise, don't yell. They're very sensitive children. They can be scarred and I don't want that. There is a right way to tell them they're about to burn up and die. Well, what is the right way? Do you bust in and say, excuse me, everybody, the house is on fire and I don't want to hurt you. I know mommy loves you. We all love you, but your skin is about to turn into charcoal and I just want you to follow me out of the house. That's not what you do. You bust down the door, you run in and you scream at the top of your lungs, the house is on fire, get out. I'm preaching to people and the house is on fire. Get out. We gotta leave this house. It's on fire. Get up, wake up. So enough of that. I'll yell all I want to.

You can call it harsh or abrasive or unacceptable if you want to, but I know what I gotta do. And I'm telling you, time is running out and people in the very church, in the very house of God are departing from the living God. Preach the word. Watch this. Be ready. In season, out of season. That's me. Convince, I'm trying. Rebuke, I did. Exhort, I am. With all patience and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine. Do you ever really read that? Endure sound doctrine. Sometimes sound doctrine is not fun. You have to endure it. That means put up with it. The time will come, it's here, when people will not endure strict, deep, Bible teaching. Teaching because they just want to feel better. There's no doubt in my mind. People came to this church today and some people are listening today who just hope they can feel better when this is over. I just want to feel better. Sometimes doctrine doesn't make you feel better. Sometimes you have to endure prayer.

You endure Bible reading. You endure going to church. You endure choir practice. Sometimes I go to my study and I say, I can't, I just can't do it today. But I'm a soldier. And I'm in war. And I endure the study of it all. I endure it. Endure sound doctrine. What is it about us? We think church is a place you go and feel better instead of being made disciples. We've got the American mentality. I'm going to find me a church where I feel better. I want to feel good. I want to laugh. I want to be among people who laugh. I want to have joy. And I get bored with doctrine. The same old message about Jesus and the blood and the resurrection and the cross. I need something else. Hey, you that have children, you that have little children, if you take your little girl, how about that little boy right there, take it to the grocery store and say, you know, mommy's going to do some shopping.

You can run around. That's what parents do these days. They just let them go. Which aisle do you think the child is going to find? They do not say, mommy, where is the produce aisle? I need some carrots. Nope, they know exactly where the candy aisle is and that's where they go. Dad, you take your little boy, you're trying to help him learn the manhood stuff, take him to the hardware. You say, dad's going over here to look at tools. You do whatever you want to do. Where do you think the little boy's going? He's going to the section that has toys. Because that's what immaturity does. That's what children do. So when I hear of people in the church that laugh because they just needed joy, they just wanted to be happy, they want to feel better, I say, they're just children. Because a real Christian says, some days you swallow it, some days you suck it up, some days you endure it, but it's for your own good. I do not eat broccoli because I love it. I eat it because she makes me eat it. But it's good for me and I know it.

I would much rather have potato chips. Yes, I would. And when she's... I don't care, I'm not going to go. But I want you to get my point. I need to finish. We're more concerned about feeling better than being better. Okay, I ask the staff, we have staff meeting every Tuesday at 9.30 and I do some teaching and preaching and we do a lot of singing and we have a good time. So I ask the staff to forgive me because I'm repeating something right now that I said to them in the staff meeting the other day. I may have said it to you, just bear with me. In the middle of the 1800s, there was a great preacher called Charles Spurgeon. He was called the Prince of Preachers. In the middle 1800s, he preached a message and he said, the day will come when it will no longer be the shepherd feeding the sheep, it will be the clowns entertaining the goats. We're there. We're there!

Just go to YouTube. You'll see more clowns and goats than you can stomach. Just look at Christian television. You'll see more clowns and goats than you can imagine. And we are in that day. No wonder the pulpit has neglected sound doctrine. The pulpit has relied on the opinions of people and crowds and money instead of the conviction of the Holy Spirit through the truth. It's almost like every church says, hey, we've got the greatest circus in town. Come over our way. We've got a great three ring circus. You'll enjoy it. Bring the whole family. In the first ring we have music. And our singers dress as sloppy as they can. And they play music that will bust your eardrums. And they sing songs that make no sense. Nobody knows the words, so they can't sing along with them. They write mushy romantic songs to Jesus that almost embarrass you. Yeah, come on. That's the first ring in our circus. The second ring in our circus is sports and entertainment. Why, we've got more sports going on in our church. We've got pickleball and softball and soccer and golf. And we've got it going on. And we'll keep you so busy. We'll keep your family so busy. You won't have time for each other. You won't have time to eat a meal around the table. You won't have time for Bible study at night.

Oh, in this second ring we can keep you busy. And when you get tired of that, just come on to the third ring. You've got four or five pastors, lead pastors, well, actually they're clowns. And they're going to entertain you. They're going to use props. They'll get up and talk about teaching. And they are totally undressed for the house of God. They look more like they're teaching a class at a community center somewhere. And instead of just picking up the Bible and preaching the whole counsel of God, they've got props. And they've got sets. And every week is a new one. And there's no telling how much they spend on props and sets so they can get your attention so you won't ever forget what you saw. Before I go one step further, I just want to ask these young preachers, why can't you just pick up the Bible and preach it? I'm telling you. Listen, friend, the apostles didn't have to have props and sets to get people's attention. If I read this correctly, this has the power, this has the power to go and grab an unbeliever and bring him to the bleeding side of Calvary. Just this alone. Oh, yeah, but we've got pastors that teach life lessons. They're going to take the latest movie that has come out, and they're going to give you life lessons from the movie. Because we know you've all seen the movie. And then we're going to try to jam a scripture in there somewhere to make it sound like it's religious. So, we've got the clowns. We're here to entertain the goats. People say, oh, I feel so sorry for the sheep. There are no sheep there.

Those sheep said, that's not my master's voice. I'm not going to follow a stranger. The sheep got out. The sheep are long gone. It's just clowns and goats carrying on like it's some kind of church. And the Bible says it's going to get worse and worse. So what you have, you've got the clowns saying to the goats, come on, let's play sports. Let's laugh. Let's talk. Let's have life lessons. Let's play music. Let's just have a good time. Let's eat popcorn. And let's drink soft drinks and lick lollipops and hold each other's hands. And let's just dance down this wide road that leads to destruction. God forbid, Paul predicted it. Jesus told us to watch out for the deceivers. And you could bring the clowns in today and they'd say, you don't have a right to criticize us this way. You're doing it the contemporary way. Hear the preacher. There is no contemporary way to preach the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. It comes out of this book. It comes out of somebody's mouth. And the Holy Spirit. And Jesus said, if I be lifted up, I'll draw all men unto Me. And Jesus said, no man can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him. So, folks, you don't have to rely on antics. You know, I saw this,

I probably should quit watching this foolishness, because it keeps me so upset. I saw one preacher, he walked, one goat, he walked to the pulpit, and he had a big snake wrapped around him, a live snake. And his point was to show unbelievers how Satan can control your life. I saw another goat, he rode up on his stage with a Harley Davidson, and his message was, God needs some bad boys for Jesus. And I saw another one, I don't know how they did it, he rode his Bentley onto the stage to let people know that God wants you to prosper. He wants you to have anything you want to have. And I saw another one, he repelled from the rafters to the pulpit. I don't know what he was trying to teach. It wasn't a rapture, because he was going the wrong direction, I can tell you that. Stand up with me, just stand up with me. I know I make these declarations all the time, but it may be the last time I make it. You are not going to hear foolishness come from this stage. You're not going to watch a clown perform. You're not going to sit out there and baa like goats. This is the house of the living God. In this house, we preach, we pray, we worship, we adore Him, we live right, we do doctrine.

We're going to heaven. Say amen, somebody. I want to do the same thing I did last week. Come down quickly if you can. Somebody fill up the aisles in the front. We're going to sing Amazing Grace, one of the classic hymns of the church. Aster, do you think you might have said something you shouldn't have said? Nope, I didn't. Do you think you're always right? No, I don't. I'm a man, but I don't recall a thing I need to repent of this morning. Folks, hear me. Jesus is coming. And when He comes, He's not coming to interrupt a show. He's coming for a bride who is conducting herself in the house of God in a holy way, walking in the truth, and looking for Him to return. Who wants to go? Here's what I want you to do before we sing. How many of you will join with me this week and read 1 and 2 Timothy? Will you? Slip your hand up. 1 and 2 Timothy this week. I guess you're going to do it, you just didn't want to raise your hand. Is that what I'm saying here? Because that bothers me a little bit. Will you do it? We'll all be reading that together this week. Father, I pray that as we read, you will speak to our hearts. Oh God, don't ever let us forget what you've done for us.

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound. That saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now am found. Was blind, but now I see. Was blind, but now I see. ["Bringing My Prayer"] ["Bringing My Prayer"] ["Bringing My Prayer"] ‫♫ ♫♫ ♫♫ ♫♫ ♫♫ drink ♫♫ ‫♫ ♫♫ ♫♫ ♫♫ ♫♫ ♫♫ ♫♫ ♫♫ ♫♫ ♫♫ ♫♫ ♫♫ ♫♫ ♫♫ And we praise the Lord for his grace and his mercy.

We pray that today as you watch Pastor Livingston's message you will be encouraged and ready to dig deeper into a life with Jesus. To help you on this journey, Central has two resources for you. First, you can sign up to receive Central's Jail and Prison Correspondence course through the mail by writing to Central Church, Jail and Prison Ministries Discipleship Center, 5143 Sardis Road, Charlotte, NC 28270. Second, by using Central's app and clicking on the button below you can read a short daily devotional that will encourage you to read and pray daily as you draw closer to Jesus. Thank you for watching.