A Troubled Mind And An Open Door

0:00:01.280 --> 0:00:05.880 I wanted to remind you real quick about Elevation Nights 0:00:06.360 --> 0:00:11.319 starting on October twenty six, going through November fourth, We're 0:00:11.360 --> 0:00:21.960 going to be in Atlanta, Nashville, Tulsa, Fort Worth, Houston, Orlando, Sunrise, 0:00:22.600 --> 0:00:26.759 and Jacksonville. And if you know anybody that lives near there, 0:00:27.120 --> 0:00:30.160 tell them they better get their ticket. Now. It's going 0:00:30.240 --> 0:00:34.599 to be hyperactive, it's going to be ridiculous. We're going 0:00:34.640 --> 0:00:37.080 to be ripping the roof off and expecting the glory 0:00:37.120 --> 0:00:40.519 of God to come in a powerful way. So if 0:00:40.560 --> 0:00:43.280 you live in any of those cities, or if you 0:00:43.360 --> 0:00:48.040 live close enough to get an uber or a scooter, 0:00:49.080 --> 0:00:51.280 whatever it takes to get to the presence of the Lord, 0:00:51.360 --> 0:00:53.840 we would love to see you there. Go to Elevation 0:00:54.080 --> 0:00:58.840 Nights dot com. But right now, somebody shout right now 0:00:58.880 --> 0:01:01.600 in all caps, put it in chat, right now, right now, 0:01:01.760 --> 0:01:05.360 right now, right now. Throw an exclamation point on there 0:01:05.400 --> 0:01:07.600 in the chat. It doesn't cost you anything to put 0:01:07.600 --> 0:01:11.440 an exclamation chapter right now, who's ready for a word 0:01:11.520 --> 0:01:21.440 from God? Thank you, Jeeve. I want us to go 0:01:21.440 --> 0:01:33.280 to Second Corinthians chapter two. Remain standing for like one 0:01:33.319 --> 0:01:40.600 more minute out of respect for God's word. Second Corinthians, 0:01:40.959 --> 0:01:47.000 chapter two. I've been messing with this passage for like 0:01:47.120 --> 0:01:49.240 four months, trying to preach it. So today's the day, 0:01:53.200 --> 0:01:55.080 So you'll help me out, because I've been looking forward 0:01:55.120 --> 0:02:02.120 to this. You know, when how many y'all ever cooked 0:02:02.120 --> 0:02:04.400 a big meal for people and then they just ate 0:02:04.440 --> 0:02:07.080 it so quick and didn't even yeat, which looks like 0:02:07.120 --> 0:02:08.840 for me when I spent a long time looking at 0:02:08.840 --> 0:02:13.480 a passage and y'all just yawn at me, and anyway, 0:02:13.840 --> 0:02:19.839 it's gonna be good. Tewod Corinthians chapter two, Verse ten. 0:02:20.360 --> 0:02:25.519 Anyone you forgive, I also forgive, and what I have forgiven, 0:02:26.160 --> 0:02:29.320 if there was anything to forgive, I have forgiven in 0:02:29.360 --> 0:02:34.200 the sight of Christ for your sake, in order that 0:02:34.320 --> 0:02:41.000 Satan might not outwit us, for we are not unaware 0:02:41.040 --> 0:02:46.640 of his schemes. Now verse twelve, when I went to 0:02:46.760 --> 0:02:50.760 Troas to preach the Gospel of Christ and found that 0:02:50.840 --> 0:02:54.880 the Lord had opened a door for me, I want 0:02:54.880 --> 0:02:57.440 to read that scripture again, because I've lived in the 0:02:57.639 --> 0:03:02.679 door had opened or excuse use, the Lord had opened 0:03:02.760 --> 0:03:06.320 a door for me. Tell somebody, it's not your door, 0:03:06.360 --> 0:03:11.000 it's my door. God gave it to me. Paul said 0:03:11.000 --> 0:03:15.079 the Lord had opened a door for me. Point to yourself, 0:03:16.000 --> 0:03:19.799 the Lord, say it the Lord. Type this. The Lord 0:03:20.880 --> 0:03:26.919 opened a door for me. When I found that the Lord. 0:03:26.919 --> 0:03:28.959 When I went to Troas to preach the Gospel of 0:03:29.040 --> 0:03:32.400 Christ and found that the Lord had opened a door 0:03:32.440 --> 0:03:37.240 for me, I still had no peace of mind because 0:03:37.280 --> 0:03:41.920 I did not find my brother Titus there. So I 0:03:42.080 --> 0:03:49.160 said goodbye to them and went on to Macedonia. That's 0:03:49.160 --> 0:03:52.240 the scripture. The Lord had opened a door for me, 0:03:53.160 --> 0:03:55.760 but I still had no peace of mind. And we're 0:03:55.760 --> 0:03:59.800 going to call this message a troubled mind and an 0:03:59.800 --> 0:04:08.760 open and door. Last week I shared with you green 0:04:08.880 --> 0:04:15.360 light at the Red Sea. You remember, man, y'all forget quick, 0:04:16.480 --> 0:04:19.000 because I've been thinking about it all week, at every 0:04:19.200 --> 0:04:24.320 traffic light. I've been thinking about God's goodness and how 0:04:24.320 --> 0:04:27.560 he gives us the ability to overcome any obstacle, and 0:04:27.600 --> 0:04:32.160 sometimes the obstacle is the opportunity. But today we'll continue 0:04:32.160 --> 0:04:33.800 that thought from a little different angle, and we're going 0:04:33.839 --> 0:04:37.520 to talk about a troubled mind and an open door. 0:04:39.000 --> 0:04:41.480 Speak Lord in Jesus name, Amen, you may be seated. 0:04:47.400 --> 0:04:51.680 Troubled mind and an open door that it feels like 0:04:51.760 --> 0:04:55.040 in this text, we've stepped into the middle of something. 0:04:55.680 --> 0:04:57.039 I don't know if you felt that when I was 0:04:57.080 --> 0:05:00.760 reading it, but back around verse ten, it's kind of 0:05:00.800 --> 0:05:04.599 like one of those tense arguments you sometimes got caught 0:05:04.640 --> 0:05:06.960 in the middle of a argument that you don't know 0:05:06.960 --> 0:05:09.680 how it started, but you know, I get I'm a 0:05:09.760 --> 0:05:13.960 tiptoe out real quick. So we understand in the text 0:05:13.960 --> 0:05:16.599 that we're reading. You know, like when you read Bible 0:05:16.680 --> 0:05:20.039 verses in isolation, it doesn't really give you the integrity 0:05:20.040 --> 0:05:22.960 of the thought. So if you just read one verse, 0:05:23.040 --> 0:05:27.000 that's good, but it's better to read a few so 0:05:27.040 --> 0:05:30.880 you can understand. They taught us in seminary the text 0:05:30.960 --> 0:05:35.040 in context, because a text without a context is a pretext. 0:05:36.240 --> 0:05:39.080 Whatever that means. I spent like fifty thousand dollars to 0:05:39.240 --> 0:05:45.320 learn it in seminary. Interestingly enough, Paul is dealing with 0:05:46.279 --> 0:05:49.200 one of the most important churches that he ever laid, 0:05:49.200 --> 0:05:52.720 the foundation for, the Church at Corinth. The Church at 0:05:52.720 --> 0:05:56.160 Corinth is responsible for a lot of Paul's pride as 0:05:56.160 --> 0:06:02.039 a pastor and a lot of his problems, and it 0:06:02.080 --> 0:06:04.919 seems in this passage that we're reading right now to 0:06:05.000 --> 0:06:10.200 the Corinthian Church, Paul finds them very important. I don't 0:06:10.240 --> 0:06:16.640 know if Paul, that dignitaryan statesman, that gospel practitioner who 0:06:17.279 --> 0:06:20.240 erected altars for Jesus Christ and all of the known 0:06:20.320 --> 0:06:22.839 Roman world to the gentiles who were previously not even 0:06:22.880 --> 0:06:26.680 considered worthy of the message. I don't know if he 0:06:26.760 --> 0:06:32.120 had favorites, but he certainly understood that some people are 0:06:32.160 --> 0:06:36.080 more strategic than others. Doesn't mean that somebody is more 0:06:36.160 --> 0:06:39.760 valuable than others or And I was even out here 0:06:39.800 --> 0:06:42.200 today before church started. I don't always do this, but 0:06:42.279 --> 0:06:45.240 today I came out in the auditorium and sat down 0:06:45.279 --> 0:06:48.840 in one of the seats here at this beautiful Ballentine campus. 0:06:50.520 --> 0:06:54.120 If I'm not mistaken, it was the fifth row of 0:06:54.160 --> 0:06:57.440 this section on this side of the aisle one two 0:06:57.440 --> 0:07:01.440 three four five seats in one two three four five. 0:07:01.720 --> 0:07:05.960 So you in the hunter green looks like shirt. I 0:07:06.000 --> 0:07:10.560 was in your seat, preaching, praying, praying for who I 0:07:10.600 --> 0:07:12.720 was going to preach to today, preaching to myself to 0:07:12.760 --> 0:07:15.480 get ready to preach this morning before you got here. 0:07:16.400 --> 0:07:20.720 So you feel a little something extra over there today. 0:07:26.320 --> 0:07:29.520 But I was thinking, how in each seat is somebody 0:07:29.600 --> 0:07:35.560 whose situation is uniquely difficult and uniquely wonderful. While we 0:07:35.560 --> 0:07:37.960 were praising the same God a minute ago, we were 0:07:37.960 --> 0:07:40.080 praising the same God for a lot of different things. 0:07:42.520 --> 0:07:45.160 Somebody was praising God just because you didn't get caught. 0:07:50.840 --> 0:07:53.520 You were praising him because you memorized Colossians in your 0:07:53.560 --> 0:07:56.560 men's Bible study. Okay, you were praising him just because 0:07:56.600 --> 0:08:04.640 nobody found out about it. Mm hmm. But as we 0:08:04.760 --> 0:08:06.440 preach and teach online and just go ahead and put 0:08:06.440 --> 0:08:08.080 your name in your city in the chat, God, has 0:08:08.080 --> 0:08:14.320 you situated? God? Has you situated? Now? Now, Corinth was 0:08:14.360 --> 0:08:18.080 a city that was situated. It was important because it 0:08:18.160 --> 0:08:23.280 was a cosmopolitan city that also represented a seaport, and 0:08:23.600 --> 0:08:25.600 it was a it was it was a it was 0:08:25.640 --> 0:08:30.240 a flourishing place in terms of culture because you kind 0:08:30.240 --> 0:08:33.000 of had to go through Corinth. It was It was 0:08:33.040 --> 0:08:36.160 the third largest city by population in its time. The 0:08:36.200 --> 0:08:39.959 only cities that were bigger than Corinth would be Roman Alexandria. 0:08:41.120 --> 0:08:44.360 So Corinth is not only populated, but it situated. Now 0:08:44.400 --> 0:08:45.720 when you think about this from a minute, it was 0:08:45.720 --> 0:08:49.439 a very important city because it was a port city 0:08:50.760 --> 0:08:53.040 and that meant that the ships came through there, and 0:08:53.080 --> 0:08:55.760 it was situated well enough, the distribution could happen in 0:08:55.840 --> 0:08:58.520 trade could happen, and commerce could happen because of where 0:08:58.559 --> 0:09:02.600 Corinth was situated. On the other hand, Corinth was a 0:09:02.800 --> 0:09:08.360 very ungodly city because the same situation that made it 0:09:08.440 --> 0:09:13.200 so effective for business made it susceptible to temptation. Corinth 0:09:13.280 --> 0:09:15.720 was a city where there was a lot of sexual immorality. 0:09:16.559 --> 0:09:18.400 You know, back in the Bible times, they had different 0:09:18.440 --> 0:09:22.000 problems than we have today. They had sexual immorality even 0:09:22.040 --> 0:09:24.680 in the church. Some people were messing around in the 0:09:24.800 --> 0:09:28.520 church at Corinth. Can you believe those crazy Christians at Corinth, 0:09:28.800 --> 0:09:31.559 and Paul spent eighteen months with them, and he couldn't 0:09:31.640 --> 0:09:35.480 cast out all these sexual devils. He couldn't cast out 0:09:35.520 --> 0:09:38.320 all of these idolatry devils. They were so greedy. They 0:09:38.360 --> 0:09:41.040 were getting drunk off the Lord's communion wine and Corinth 0:09:41.120 --> 0:09:43.839 a bunch of crazy Christians in Corinth. I used to 0:09:43.840 --> 0:09:45.840 find it funny people would say, I don't go to elevation. 0:09:45.880 --> 0:09:47.319 Back when we used to start. They would say, I 0:09:47.320 --> 0:09:49.240 don't go to elevation because some of the people that 0:09:49.320 --> 0:09:51.280 go there. Some of the people that go there aren't 0:09:51.360 --> 0:09:55.000 very good Christians. And I would always think that should 0:09:55.000 --> 0:09:59.400 be your invitation to join us. I always wish I 0:09:59.400 --> 0:10:01.440 could put a c old circuit camera in their house 0:10:01.440 --> 0:10:03.680 when they talk like that, just a little nest cam 0:10:03.760 --> 0:10:05.600 so I can catch you in the middle of the 0:10:05.679 --> 0:10:11.200 night doing the crazy stuff you do. But really, no, 0:10:11.360 --> 0:10:13.880 really to get to the core of how crazy you are. 0:10:13.920 --> 0:10:17.600 I couldn't put the camera in a room. I'd have 0:10:17.679 --> 0:10:25.240 to put it. And Paul is talking to a group 0:10:25.320 --> 0:10:29.280 of people who are very important to him. He's invested 0:10:29.320 --> 0:10:34.000 a lot in them, and they've hurt him deeply. Nobody 0:10:34.040 --> 0:10:38.320 can really hurt you deeply if you haven't invested in 0:10:38.360 --> 0:10:43.960 them greatly. The proof that I love you is that 0:10:44.000 --> 0:10:47.800 I have the capacity to hate you. You can't hate 0:10:47.800 --> 0:10:52.000 somebody you don't love. You can ignore them, you can 0:10:52.040 --> 0:10:56.000 be annoyed by them, you can be perturbed by them. 0:10:56.360 --> 0:10:59.200 Then you can pray for them. But you can't hate 0:10:59.240 --> 0:11:03.240 somebody that you don't love. It's not that Paul hates 0:11:03.320 --> 0:11:08.200 the Corinthian Church. It's that his relationship with them is 0:11:08.280 --> 0:11:12.760 so important, not only to him personally, now it's important personally. 0:11:12.960 --> 0:11:15.720 We find out more about Paul through his writings to 0:11:15.760 --> 0:11:18.800 the Corinthian Church than anything else. He wrote in the Bible, 0:11:19.120 --> 0:11:21.160 the Book of Romans. If you want to really understand 0:11:21.200 --> 0:11:25.760 Paul's theological construct for justification by faith in Christ, not 0:11:25.840 --> 0:11:27.720 through works of the law, you should go to the 0:11:27.720 --> 0:11:30.640 Book of Romans. But if you want to see inside 0:11:30.679 --> 0:11:34.320 of Paul's mind how he thinks not only about our 0:11:34.360 --> 0:11:38.160 relationship with God, but his relationship with others, you should 0:11:38.200 --> 0:11:41.320 read First and Second Corinthians. And it might interest you 0:11:41.400 --> 0:11:44.959 to know that as powerful as Paul was with God, 0:11:45.480 --> 0:11:50.080 he still had dysfunctional relationships with people through which God 0:11:50.120 --> 0:11:54.400 worked to get the Gospel to the earth. The church 0:11:54.440 --> 0:11:58.120 at Corinth was important for Paul. It served, as it were, 0:11:58.440 --> 0:12:01.640 as a hinge for the Gospel to go forth into 0:12:01.840 --> 0:12:07.440 the hitherto previously unevangelized gentile world. This important church in 0:12:07.480 --> 0:12:11.520 a seaport city that was established by the apostle himself, 0:12:11.840 --> 0:12:14.280 and now he's having to write them about a conflict 0:12:15.040 --> 0:12:19.720 that should have been resolved by now. He said, I 0:12:19.760 --> 0:12:24.719 need to forgive you. I need to forgive you. It's 0:12:26.280 --> 0:12:30.040 not that I'm saying you're not important. Fifth row, fifth seat, 0:12:30.600 --> 0:12:36.839 hunder green golf shirt. But all seats in this church 0:12:36.880 --> 0:12:39.640 are not created equal to me, I've learned through time 0:12:39.720 --> 0:12:42.839 that this seat, and they probably aren't showing it on 0:12:42.880 --> 0:12:45.400 the camera, the one we're Holly sitting right now, that's 0:12:45.440 --> 0:12:48.880 the most important seat in the church to me. To 0:12:48.960 --> 0:12:56.520 me now, early in my ministry, I thought that having 0:12:56.720 --> 0:13:00.360 all the seats full was the whole goal. Where I'm 0:13:00.360 --> 0:13:02.840 at in my life right now, I think that if 0:13:02.880 --> 0:13:06.040 every seat in this church was full, but that my 0:13:06.200 --> 0:13:09.400 wife didn't respect my life enough to want to hear 0:13:09.440 --> 0:13:11.160 me preach what I had to say, because the way 0:13:11.160 --> 0:13:17.120 I live at home, that I would be a hypocrite. 0:13:17.320 --> 0:13:21.160 I think that if this seat, when Holly tells me, 0:13:21.480 --> 0:13:23.760 she told me last week she said that spoke to me. 0:13:24.920 --> 0:13:29.880 I said, well, good, because I've kind of put some 0:13:29.880 --> 0:13:34.000 stuff in there for you. I know why I didn't. 0:13:35.280 --> 0:13:38.240 But what I'm saying is in the eyes of God, 0:13:39.040 --> 0:13:41.520 fifth seat, fifth row is just as important as this one, 0:13:41.520 --> 0:13:46.360 but not in my eyes. In the eyes of God, 0:13:46.559 --> 0:13:49.200 there's equal value to every human being. So if there's 0:13:49.240 --> 0:13:52.280 a millionaire on your row and then somebody who can't 0:13:52.320 --> 0:13:54.680 even doesn't even know where their next meal is coming from, 0:13:54.760 --> 0:13:59.040 to God, the worth of his children is not based 0:13:59.080 --> 0:14:04.680 on something called network or occupation, or any of these 0:14:04.760 --> 0:14:09.640 opportunistic ways that we see people. But to us, to us, 0:14:10.080 --> 0:14:12.520 we have to realize that certain things we have to 0:14:12.559 --> 0:14:17.720 learn to prioritize what's really important in our lives, what 0:14:17.800 --> 0:14:20.840 opportunities we give our energy to. Some of us are 0:14:20.880 --> 0:14:23.320 praying for God to give us things that He simply 0:14:23.400 --> 0:14:25.720 cannot give us the way we're asking them to come. 0:14:26.400 --> 0:14:29.360 If we're asking God to give us peace in our lives, 0:14:29.600 --> 0:14:32.880 but we have no priorities, we will never receive the 0:14:32.920 --> 0:14:36.080 peace that God gave us through Jesus, who is our peace, 0:14:36.120 --> 0:14:41.640 when he died on the cross. So that's the setup. 0:14:42.680 --> 0:14:47.880 And here's the sermon. Paul said, when I went to 0:14:47.920 --> 0:14:51.720 preach the Gospel of Christ intro ass and found that 0:14:51.760 --> 0:14:55.480 the Lord had opened a door for me, I still 0:14:55.480 --> 0:15:00.680 had no peace of mind. This is Paul point Guard 0:15:01.520 --> 0:15:06.160 of the New Testament Church to the gentile, saying I 0:15:06.240 --> 0:15:09.920 had an opportunity. Now, Paul has seen God open so 0:15:09.960 --> 0:15:13.520 many doors, and so have you? I said, so have you? 0:15:15.440 --> 0:15:18.360 How many of you just wave at me? Have seen 0:15:18.440 --> 0:15:21.640 God put you and situate you and position you in 0:15:21.720 --> 0:15:24.840 places that you could never earn or deserve. And don't 0:15:24.880 --> 0:15:29.480 know how you got here. Yeah, how many of you 0:15:29.560 --> 0:15:31.920 were smart enough and competent enough, and you did it 0:15:32.000 --> 0:15:34.960 all by yourself, and you created your own oxygen that 0:15:35.000 --> 0:15:37.200 you breathed into the lungs that you formed with your 0:15:37.240 --> 0:15:43.640 hands in your mother's womb. Even listen, Even your success 0:15:43.800 --> 0:15:48.560 was because of how God situated you. The reason Corinth 0:15:48.640 --> 0:15:51.000 was was because of where it sat in relation to 0:15:51.040 --> 0:15:55.120 the Mediterranean Sea. Some of us get very prideful about 0:15:55.120 --> 0:15:58.440 things that we accomplished, but if God hadn't put Corinth 0:15:58.520 --> 0:16:02.000 by the sea, it wouldn't have been a port city. 0:16:02.720 --> 0:16:05.920 So even when God blesses me, I understand that if 0:16:05.960 --> 0:16:08.680 he did not give the wisdom, if he did not 0:16:08.840 --> 0:16:12.080 give the strength, if he did not give the opportunity, 0:16:12.320 --> 0:16:14.680 I don't care. If you're a professional tennis player, if 0:16:14.720 --> 0:16:17.520 somebody didn't give you a racket, if somebody didn't give 0:16:17.560 --> 0:16:20.440 you a ball. You can have all the athletic ability 0:16:20.440 --> 0:16:24.920 in the world. But without the opportunity that God gives, 0:16:26.440 --> 0:16:30.400 all of your human ability means nothing. Even the ability 0:16:30.440 --> 0:16:34.200 itself comes from God. This is what Paul knows, and 0:16:34.240 --> 0:16:37.040 that's why he uses a phrase that we can use 0:16:37.040 --> 0:16:39.440 to Sometimes we can say the Lord opened the door 0:16:39.480 --> 0:16:43.000 for me. The Lord opened the door for me, So 0:16:43.560 --> 0:16:46.000 don't be mad at me about the blessings that I'm 0:16:46.040 --> 0:16:50.280 walking in. The Lord opened those doors for me. Remember, 0:16:50.320 --> 0:16:54.160 real early when I was preaching, I invited myself to 0:16:54.160 --> 0:16:57.680 preach out a church. I didn't like it. I didn't 0:16:57.760 --> 0:17:00.760 like how it felt because he said yes, and once 0:17:00.800 --> 0:17:03.440 I got there, I felt like it to me to perform. 0:17:04.000 --> 0:17:06.840 I was seventeen years old. Spirits spoke to me, said, 0:17:06.840 --> 0:17:08.760 don't ever invite yourself somewhere to preach again. You can 0:17:08.840 --> 0:17:10.399 put your messages out, you can put them online, you 0:17:10.440 --> 0:17:12.440 can use all the platform blah blah blah and social 0:17:12.440 --> 0:17:14.280 media and all that. You do everything you can do 0:17:14.400 --> 0:17:18.320 to get the gospel out, but don't ever situate yourself 0:17:18.320 --> 0:17:21.760 in a position through manipulation, because then you will carry 0:17:21.760 --> 0:17:27.000 the burden of performance. It's something awesome about knowing the 0:17:27.040 --> 0:17:31.560 Lord opened this store. It's just something freeing about knowing 0:17:31.600 --> 0:17:34.920 the Lord opened this store. It's something great about knowing 0:17:34.960 --> 0:17:38.560 that God brought me into this relationship. Because see, you 0:17:38.560 --> 0:17:42.119 can get into a relationship and really God wants you 0:17:42.160 --> 0:17:43.880 in it, and then you have to spend the rest 0:17:43.920 --> 0:17:47.280 of the relationship trying to get somebody to like a 0:17:47.359 --> 0:17:50.080 pretend version of you that you had to put on 0:17:50.200 --> 0:17:54.040 like a costume to get them to accept you. But 0:17:54.119 --> 0:17:57.080 if you had to compromise yourself to gain their acceptance, 0:17:57.119 --> 0:18:02.280 what did you really get? Something awesome about the Lord 0:18:02.320 --> 0:18:06.359 opening doors? There's something awesome about the Lord closing doors. 0:18:09.800 --> 0:18:14.440 I need both. Last week we talked about the red 0:18:14.480 --> 0:18:17.600 light and the green light, praising God for one and 0:18:17.640 --> 0:18:20.920 not the other kind of foolish. You know, the green 0:18:21.000 --> 0:18:24.320 light is only as effective as the red light. You'll 0:18:24.400 --> 0:18:26.480 want all green lights in the city of Charlotte, where 0:18:26.480 --> 0:18:28.919 everybody's just smashing into each other all the time. So 0:18:28.960 --> 0:18:32.520 why do we want all green lights from God just 0:18:32.560 --> 0:18:34.640 to be crashing into stuff that we could have avoided 0:18:34.640 --> 0:18:39.639 if we would have heard his voice. Pray this Lord 0:18:40.359 --> 0:18:46.480 open the door. Now, pray this Lord close the door, 0:18:48.040 --> 0:18:50.200 because either way, I want your hand on the knob. 0:18:54.720 --> 0:18:57.200 Everybody over twenty five ought to give God a shout 0:18:57.240 --> 0:19:01.560 of praise. You don't notice shout over that closed door 0:19:02.200 --> 0:19:09.320 till at least twenty five. What's interesting about this text 0:19:09.400 --> 0:19:13.320 to me is that we could argue the most important 0:19:13.359 --> 0:19:16.720 figure in the New Testament other than Jesus, who Roughly 0:19:16.760 --> 0:19:18.879 over a third of the New Testament is devoted to 0:19:18.920 --> 0:19:22.959 either his letters or his life. Paul formerly Saul of Tarsus, 0:19:23.600 --> 0:19:26.600 the one who got knocked off of his horse on 0:19:26.720 --> 0:19:30.800 his way to kill Christians, and God closed his eyes 0:19:30.800 --> 0:19:34.040 and blinded him, sent him to Anonius in Acts chapter 0:19:34.119 --> 0:19:36.960 nine to receive his sight, and he spent the rest 0:19:37.000 --> 0:19:40.080 of his life taking the Gospel to the known world. 0:19:41.119 --> 0:19:44.720 He started at least fourteen churches, and he started out 0:19:45.240 --> 0:19:49.240 as a Christian killer. God used him to multiply in 0:19:49.280 --> 0:19:52.119 the earth the thing that he tried to uproot in 0:19:52.160 --> 0:19:56.280 one season. Only God could do that. Only God could 0:19:56.280 --> 0:19:59.280 take somebody trained under Gamali and get him to let 0:19:59.320 --> 0:20:01.880 go of all the traditions of men and call it rubbish. 0:20:01.960 --> 0:20:04.120 He said, the things that I once counted as game, 0:20:04.280 --> 0:20:07.159 I now count as lost. God has completely reversed my 0:20:07.680 --> 0:20:11.919 understanding of my value system. Of what's important and what 0:20:12.040 --> 0:20:14.360 was once gained to me I now count as loss, 0:20:14.520 --> 0:20:16.520 And what was once lost I now count as the 0:20:16.600 --> 0:20:19.679 ultimate gain. And all I want to do is no Christ. 0:20:19.960 --> 0:20:22.000 And all I want to do is make him known 0:20:22.080 --> 0:20:24.520 as I come to know him better. Now I know 0:20:24.680 --> 0:20:30.760 what's important and of all churches he establishes, and he 0:20:30.800 --> 0:20:35.520 started at least fourteen, at least fourteen that we know about. 0:20:35.680 --> 0:20:38.800 That doesn't count all the spinoff churches. That doesn't count 0:20:38.800 --> 0:20:41.400 all the churches that had baby churches, of baby churches 0:20:41.520 --> 0:20:45.480 and the grand baby churches that Paul started, every gospel 0:20:45.600 --> 0:20:49.080 drop that entered the gentile world, Paul had a pardon 0:20:49.160 --> 0:20:54.800 it sometimes sowing in tears and pain. But that's Paul 0:20:56.359 --> 0:20:59.480 who God opened a door for. And I want to 0:20:59.480 --> 0:21:01.480 say one word thing about that before I move on 0:21:01.560 --> 0:21:03.160 to the other that that I'm going to say after 0:21:03.240 --> 0:21:10.640 I say this about that. The whole reason that Paul 0:21:10.720 --> 0:21:12.960 took the Gospel to the Gentiles was because the Jewish 0:21:13.000 --> 0:21:21.480 people rejected him. You know, sometimes rejection is one of 0:21:21.520 --> 0:21:27.359 God's greatest doors. While Paul was preaching in Judea, they 0:21:27.359 --> 0:21:30.360 didn't want to give up the customs and the rights 0:21:30.400 --> 0:21:33.960 of Judaism. So God said, that's fine, I'll open a 0:21:34.040 --> 0:21:38.359 door for you somewhere else. When God opens a door, 0:21:39.760 --> 0:21:49.199 nobody can shut it. And if the door you're standing 0:21:49.240 --> 0:21:52.159 in front of right now won't open, it's not yours. 0:21:55.280 --> 0:21:58.040 God will open a door in the desert. We found 0:21:58.080 --> 0:22:01.000 out last week He'll put a green light at a 0:22:01.040 --> 0:22:04.480 red sea. He will lead you through. And one of 0:22:04.480 --> 0:22:06.680 the greatest ways that God will lead you in your 0:22:06.720 --> 0:22:08.640 life is through people who don't like you and lead 0:22:08.640 --> 0:22:12.600 your life to bring you to something else. I'm preaching 0:22:12.600 --> 0:22:14.680 to three people. It's only three, Lord, but I'm gonna 0:22:14.720 --> 0:22:20.920 do it. I'm a do it. So it's been some 0:22:20.960 --> 0:22:26.040 conflict with the church at Corinth and Paul has spent 0:22:26.119 --> 0:22:29.439 a lot of time trying to defend himself to the 0:22:29.480 --> 0:22:34.200 people who honestly should have come to his defense at 0:22:34.240 --> 0:22:36.760 certain points. He must have struggled with bitterness about that. 0:22:38.359 --> 0:22:41.200 Have you ever struggled about bitterness for people who should 0:22:41.200 --> 0:22:44.760 have taken up for you? Or this is just only 0:22:44.760 --> 0:22:48.879 a preacher problem. Sometimes I don't know if you go 0:22:48.920 --> 0:22:51.119 through the same things somebody who should have defended you, 0:22:54.119 --> 0:23:03.040 somebody who he spent eighteen months with these jokers. And 0:23:03.080 --> 0:23:07.240 now he's had to write several letters. You know, we've 0:23:07.240 --> 0:23:09.399 got First Corinthians and Second Corinthians. Let me give you 0:23:09.400 --> 0:23:12.359 a little textual background because it's really good. There's a 0:23:12.440 --> 0:23:16.080 lost letter that we don't have that Paul references and 0:23:16.119 --> 0:23:21.400 he calls it my tearful letter. They got so crazy 0:23:21.440 --> 0:23:26.840 in Corinth, turning up on communion, wine and things like this. 0:23:27.240 --> 0:23:29.840 There was incest in the church at Corinth. Paul's like, 0:23:29.880 --> 0:23:33.640 are y'all absolutely crazy? But then they had the audacity 0:23:34.000 --> 0:23:37.280 to accuse Paul and say he wasn't a real apostle. 0:23:40.480 --> 0:23:44.640 And so rather than validate himself, he makes a decision 0:23:45.280 --> 0:23:49.399 in Second Corinthians too, he says, I'm letting it go. 0:23:51.080 --> 0:23:54.160 Isn't that amazing? He says, the one who said all 0:23:54.200 --> 0:23:56.520 this about me, the one I know, I saw it, 0:23:56.560 --> 0:24:01.399 I heard it, I heard about it. I'm forgiving and 0:24:01.440 --> 0:24:04.199 I'm moving forward, and y'all need to let it go too, 0:24:08.160 --> 0:24:15.000 because I refuse to let unforgiveness in my heart block 0:24:15.160 --> 0:24:24.560 the future that God has for me. He said, So 0:24:25.080 --> 0:24:29.480 I want you to forgive because I'm forgiving. And we 0:24:29.520 --> 0:24:32.760 got to get we got to get our mind right. 0:24:33.480 --> 0:24:35.840 Because here's what happened. This is the part of the text. 0:24:35.880 --> 0:24:40.320 I couldn't figure out that Paul who saw the greatest 0:24:40.320 --> 0:24:44.440 opportunities for the gospel the life that in resurrection of 0:24:44.520 --> 0:24:47.040 Jesus Christ, that's the gospel that if you believe in 0:24:47.080 --> 0:24:49.520 his name, you will be saved. That's the gospel that 0:24:49.640 --> 0:24:51.919 His blood atones for your sin, that you don't have 0:24:51.960 --> 0:24:54.000 to have the blood of bulls and goats. Old Testament 0:24:54.040 --> 0:24:57.760 sacrifices that by believing in His name you may have life. 0:24:58.000 --> 0:25:03.080 Nothing could stop the Gospel from progressing through Paul, but 0:25:03.160 --> 0:25:05.639 he described something very interesting, and I want us to 0:25:05.680 --> 0:25:09.280 study it today. He says in verse twelve, Now, when 0:25:09.320 --> 0:25:12.960 I went to troe Ass to preach the Gospel of 0:25:13.080 --> 0:25:16.200 Christ and found that the Lord had opened the door 0:25:16.240 --> 0:25:20.920 for me, I still had no peace of mind because 0:25:20.920 --> 0:25:24.320 I didn't find my brother Titus there. So I said 0:25:24.320 --> 0:25:31.359 goodbye to them and went on to Macedonia. Wow, so 0:25:31.440 --> 0:25:35.800 we got troe Ass. That's a whole city, and we 0:25:35.840 --> 0:25:41.320 got Titus. That's one person. Let's look at this together 0:25:41.320 --> 0:25:43.200 again because I don't know if you had your Starbucks today, 0:25:43.200 --> 0:25:45.800 and I don't want you to miss it. In verse twelve, 0:25:45.840 --> 0:25:48.640 he said, I went to troe Ass and God gave 0:25:48.680 --> 0:25:54.000 me an open door to share the gospel in this city. 0:25:54.200 --> 0:25:56.439 Troas is also a port city. Look you see this 0:25:57.320 --> 0:25:59.280 zoom in on the camera. I don't know if this 0:25:59.400 --> 0:26:01.000 is this a worker. I don't know if we get 0:26:01.000 --> 0:26:05.120 close enough, but try to focus. You can't really see 0:26:05.280 --> 0:26:10.240 is there another camera? I need to show you this. Focus. 0:26:10.320 --> 0:26:19.640 I'll be still you focus. That's it? What this one? 0:26:20.440 --> 0:26:27.800 I went that page? Right there? Y'all see my tattoo 0:26:27.840 --> 0:26:32.400 on my wedding ring finger? Get close? Get close? Can 0:26:32.440 --> 0:26:38.800 we get closer? I want to show you something because 0:26:38.840 --> 0:26:44.040 it's a picture that's close enough. I'm starting to get 0:26:44.080 --> 0:26:51.560 a little freaked out. Now, yeah, you see it? Can 0:26:51.600 --> 0:27:01.960 you see Corrinth, Corant? You know we could have done 0:27:02.000 --> 0:27:04.720 this professional. I gonna put it on the screen. It 0:27:04.760 --> 0:27:08.640 could have been great. And there oh look look look 0:27:08.680 --> 0:27:15.360 there's troe Ass. See troe Ass and there's emphasis in Macedonia. 0:27:15.480 --> 0:27:20.399 So Paul's like, I came here, Corinth, and I preached 0:27:20.440 --> 0:27:25.320 the word in this important city, this isthmus that connects 0:27:25.359 --> 0:27:27.359 southern Greece to the mainland. It's important, Its important. But 0:27:27.440 --> 0:27:30.400 I say it's important, and he says, you are more 0:27:30.440 --> 0:27:37.040 important to me than being right is. I'm not going 0:27:37.119 --> 0:27:39.480 to argue with you about this because it's stopping the 0:27:39.560 --> 0:27:43.760 gospel from flowing. I'm not gonna argue with you about 0:27:43.800 --> 0:27:47.359 this because there's stuff that needs to happen. There's something 0:27:47.440 --> 0:27:50.679 important that needs to get distributed. See Paul understands if 0:27:50.680 --> 0:27:53.000 the Church at Corinth doesn't get right with him, it's 0:27:53.040 --> 0:27:55.439 going to affect the rest of his ministry to the 0:27:55.520 --> 0:27:59.520 gentile world. So he said, I'm letting go of the 0:27:59.560 --> 0:28:04.920 offense to seize the opportunity. Why am I preaching about that, 0:28:05.119 --> 0:28:07.600 because some of you are losing the opportunity because you 0:28:07.640 --> 0:28:16.000 won't let go of the offense. Y'all went to sleep 0:28:16.040 --> 0:28:19.000 while I was over here messing with this camera. Wake up. 0:28:19.200 --> 0:28:25.960 I said, the opportunity is greater than the offense. And 0:28:28.600 --> 0:28:36.879 so that's Corinth, you see Corinth. I'm so sorry y'all 0:28:37.320 --> 0:28:50.960 about this. And then there's true ass anyway, take my 0:28:51.000 --> 0:28:53.600 word for it. Between the two, this is what I 0:28:53.640 --> 0:28:57.479 want to get to. Between the two is Macedonia. And 0:28:57.520 --> 0:28:59.960 now Paul has sent a letter to the church at Corinth. 0:29:00.080 --> 0:29:02.840 Following me so far, they said, Paul's not a real apostle. 0:29:02.960 --> 0:29:05.440 We like the Paul is better. We don't like Paul anymore. 0:29:05.520 --> 0:29:07.360 He told us to put our pants on and stop 0:29:07.440 --> 0:29:10.360 sleeping around and calling ourselves good Christians, and we don't 0:29:10.440 --> 0:29:12.400 like that, and Paul told us to straighten up. We 0:29:12.440 --> 0:29:14.400 don't like Paul anymore. We liked him when he was 0:29:14.440 --> 0:29:16.920 telling us be saved and received the free, get the forgiveness. 0:29:16.960 --> 0:29:18.560 But now he's trying to put something in place that'll 0:29:18.560 --> 0:29:20.360 actually help us live in Christian freedom. And we don't 0:29:20.400 --> 0:29:22.040 like that anymore. We're got to be slave to these mute, 0:29:22.080 --> 0:29:27.040 deaf idols. So Paul's like, no, no no, no, no, no, 0:29:27.080 --> 0:29:29.480 to stop that. You gotta stop that. God has given 0:29:29.520 --> 0:29:33.440 you an open door. You are an important city. You 0:29:33.480 --> 0:29:37.400 are an important city. I'm not preaching about them. I'm 0:29:37.400 --> 0:29:41.960 preaching about you. You are an important city. You are 0:29:42.120 --> 0:29:47.000 an important city. Bye, you got the confidence to say it, 0:29:47.120 --> 0:29:51.239 say it out loud. I am an important city. I 0:29:51.280 --> 0:29:53.760 am an important city, even though I came from a 0:29:53.800 --> 0:29:58.120 small town. I'm an important city. I am a shipping destination. 0:29:58.600 --> 0:30:01.400 I am a port for the Hospel of Jesus Christ. 0:30:01.960 --> 0:30:06.600 I am an opening to generational freedom. Yes, I am. 0:30:06.920 --> 0:30:11.040 I am an important city, Oh little town of Bethlehem, 0:30:11.040 --> 0:30:17.680 from you shall come a ruler. I am an important city, 0:30:19.760 --> 0:30:22.840 and I have an open door. And God has placed 0:30:22.880 --> 0:30:27.000 opportunities in my life in this season that are amazing. 0:30:28.760 --> 0:30:31.040 And the Word of God says that if God opens 0:30:31.080 --> 0:30:37.600 a door, nobody can shut it. That's in Revelation, chapter three, 0:30:37.720 --> 0:30:40.920 verse seven and eight. Thank you very much. The Lord 0:30:40.960 --> 0:30:43.680 told the church at Philadelphia through the apostle John, who 0:30:43.760 --> 0:30:47.280 was exiled on an island, and God still showed him 0:30:47.280 --> 0:30:52.480 a door. Exiled on an island called Patmas, and God 0:30:52.520 --> 0:30:57.680 showed him a door, isolated in a terrible situation. But 0:30:57.760 --> 0:31:01.360 God showed him a door. And listen what he prophesied 0:31:01.400 --> 0:31:05.000 to the Church of Philadelphia. He said, these are the 0:31:05.000 --> 0:31:07.920 words of him who is wholly and true, who holds 0:31:07.920 --> 0:31:11.680 the key of David. That means that Jesus Christ has 0:31:11.960 --> 0:31:16.040 a kingdom over which he has all authority, the key 0:31:16.080 --> 0:31:20.760 of David. That's the God you serve. So when people 0:31:20.840 --> 0:31:23.840 leave you out, you're not locked out because he has 0:31:23.880 --> 0:31:31.880 the key to that room. WHOA. I'm just happy, y'all 0:31:31.880 --> 0:31:37.160 because everybody doesn't like you. Everybody doesn't have to. If 0:31:37.280 --> 0:31:42.520 God is for you, If God is for you, you 0:31:42.560 --> 0:31:46.280 don't have to say anything. You don't have to defend yourself. 0:31:46.560 --> 0:31:49.360 You'll have to go back and forth. Let it go. 0:31:49.680 --> 0:31:56.600 I get through this door. The gore is yours. Okay. 0:32:00.080 --> 0:32:02.480 So he says he holds the key of David. What 0:32:02.560 --> 0:32:05.480 he opens this is speaking about salvation. This is speaking 0:32:05.520 --> 0:32:08.840 about how Jesus Christ is the door, how you come 0:32:09.040 --> 0:32:12.560 to God through Him, through nothing else, through no other system. 0:32:12.840 --> 0:32:15.560 He is the author of salvation. He is the finisher 0:32:15.600 --> 0:32:18.280 of our faith. He holds the key of David. I'm 0:32:18.280 --> 0:32:21.560 preaching about Jesus. Now, I'm preaching about Jesus. And he said, 0:32:21.560 --> 0:32:24.320 what I open no one can shut, and what he 0:32:24.440 --> 0:32:27.560 shuts no one can open. Next verse. Please, let's stay 0:32:27.600 --> 0:32:30.040 on this for a second. I know your deeds. See, 0:32:30.080 --> 0:32:37.080 I have placed before you an open door. The Lord said, 0:32:37.080 --> 0:32:40.640 I've placed before you is not going to be in 0:32:40.680 --> 0:32:53.520 your past. That's why Paul had to forgive. He said, 0:32:53.520 --> 0:32:58.120 whatever happened that, whatever they did. Now, look, Paul forgave 0:32:58.160 --> 0:33:00.000 the guy, but he didn't put him on his senior leadership. 0:33:03.360 --> 0:33:07.840 He just said, I'm going through the door, and what 0:33:07.920 --> 0:33:09.600 he opens no one can shut. What he shuts someone 0:33:09.600 --> 0:33:11.200 can open. I have put before you an open door 0:33:11.400 --> 0:33:14.600 that no one can shut. Now, listen to this what 0:33:14.680 --> 0:33:16.880 God says to the church at Philadelphia, and I believe 0:33:16.880 --> 0:33:18.600 he might say it to the church at Elevation too. 0:33:21.240 --> 0:33:26.719 I know you have a little strength. It's not about strength. 0:33:28.080 --> 0:33:32.719 Can I show you something? This is really cool? Everybody 0:33:32.720 --> 0:33:38.160 says strength. Now everybody says scheme. Go back to Second Corinthians, 0:33:38.200 --> 0:33:43.200 Chapter two, Verse eleven is one of those that I've 0:33:43.200 --> 0:33:46.200 read out of context for years. I didn't even really 0:33:46.240 --> 0:33:47.880 know what it meant. I never really read it in 0:33:47.920 --> 0:33:51.280 the context of Paul's conflict. But now have and I 0:33:51.280 --> 0:33:54.520 saw something. He said in verse eleven. We got to 0:33:54.560 --> 0:33:58.520 forgive and get through this in order that Satan might 0:33:58.560 --> 0:34:01.360 not outwit us, for we're not aware of his schemes. Now, 0:34:01.400 --> 0:34:04.480 what was interesting to me is he didn't say in 0:34:04.720 --> 0:34:07.720 order that Satan put the verse back up. He didn't 0:34:07.760 --> 0:34:14.759 say in order that Satan might not overpower us. He 0:34:14.840 --> 0:34:19.880 said outwit us. Because the battle is not about strength, 0:34:24.040 --> 0:34:29.520 it's about strategy. Put this in the chat. Say it 0:34:29.520 --> 0:34:31.920 out loud if you're with me in the room. It's 0:34:31.960 --> 0:34:37.880 about the strategy. And Satan is not stronger than you. 0:34:39.480 --> 0:34:42.400 We just read this. If God opens the door, nobody 0:34:42.440 --> 0:34:49.600 can shut it. No devil, no depression, no trauma, no abuse, nothing, 0:34:51.200 --> 0:34:54.000 nothing can stop the Gospel of Jesus Christ from going 0:34:54.040 --> 0:34:57.440 forth in your life, in your heart, in your marriage. 0:34:57.880 --> 0:35:02.279 We give the devil too much credit sometimes because we'll say, oh, well, 0:35:02.360 --> 0:35:06.160 the devil is attacking my marriage. The devil is attacking 0:35:06.200 --> 0:35:09.120 my finances. That's where you're feeling it, but that's not 0:35:09.160 --> 0:35:14.359 where the attack is happening. He didn't say in order 0:35:14.560 --> 0:35:18.279 that Satan might not overpower us, because that would make 0:35:18.320 --> 0:35:21.799 it about your strength. And we already know from John 0:35:21.880 --> 0:35:25.680 sixteen thirty three that Jesus said peace. I give to 0:35:25.719 --> 0:35:29.480 you my peace I leave with you in the world. 0:35:29.520 --> 0:35:34.320 You will have trouble, but take heart, I have overcome 0:35:34.400 --> 0:35:40.520 the world. It's not about the trouble in front of you. 0:35:40.960 --> 0:35:43.640 We can have a testimony service about your trouble. What's 0:35:43.640 --> 0:35:45.640 the point we can all line up and blake. Can 0:35:45.719 --> 0:35:47.759 I top your trouble? I have a headache, I have 0:35:47.840 --> 0:35:49.719 a back ache. I don't have a back, I don't 0:35:49.760 --> 0:35:52.640 have a head I'm decapitated. I've seen people do it, 0:35:52.719 --> 0:35:55.040 and we top each other with our trouble. But that's 0:35:55.040 --> 0:35:59.160 not what this is about, is it. It's not about 0:35:59.160 --> 0:36:02.920 what's happening in my life. Satan's not stronger than you. 0:36:03.760 --> 0:36:06.640 He can't make you do anything. If God opens the 0:36:06.719 --> 0:36:09.520 door to freedom, if God opens the sea, you can 0:36:09.640 --> 0:36:13.200 go through it. I don't care who's chasten you. I 0:36:13.200 --> 0:36:16.560 don't care who said you couldn't. I don't care how 0:36:16.600 --> 0:36:22.440 long you've struggled with it. It's not about who's stronger. 0:36:24.800 --> 0:36:31.080 It's about who's smarter. Because you're like, well, that's Jesus. 0:36:31.880 --> 0:36:36.120 Jesus has overcome the world. I'm not Jesus. But first, 0:36:36.200 --> 0:36:38.000 John four Ford says, greater is he that is in 0:36:38.040 --> 0:36:41.640 you than he that is in the world. So he's 0:36:41.719 --> 0:36:47.480 not stronger. That's not why you're stuck. He's not stronger. 0:36:47.520 --> 0:36:51.160 You have the spirit of God. He's not stronger. The 0:36:51.239 --> 0:36:53.719 condemnation that haunts you at light, in your in your 0:36:53.719 --> 0:36:57.680 midnight hour has been nailed to the cross. The written 0:36:57.719 --> 0:37:00.200 regulations have been nailed to the cross. That's dealt with. 0:37:00.560 --> 0:37:06.040 That is not what is standing at the door. Paul said, 0:37:06.040 --> 0:37:10.120 I had an open door, but I had a troubled mind, 0:37:11.920 --> 0:37:13.719 And so he sent Titus with a letter to the 0:37:13.719 --> 0:37:17.160 Corinthian Church because he didn't know if things were going 0:37:17.200 --> 0:37:20.040 to be all right. You know, your body can be 0:37:20.080 --> 0:37:23.719 one place and your mind can be another. And Paul's 0:37:23.760 --> 0:37:26.640 at Troas, and God's given him opportunities, and he can 0:37:27.080 --> 0:37:30.799 preach the gospel to a whole city. And he said, 0:37:30.840 --> 0:37:34.840 but I couldn't find Titus, so I left, and it 0:37:34.840 --> 0:37:38.680 didn't like he left because he wanted to. When Paul 0:37:38.760 --> 0:37:41.600 says in verse fourteen thirteen, excuse me, I believe it 0:37:41.640 --> 0:37:43.680 is he said, I said goodbye. That's the only time 0:37:43.680 --> 0:37:47.239 he uses that phrase in all of Scripture. It's a 0:37:47.280 --> 0:37:51.000 solemn farewell. He's almost embarrassed about it. He's like, I 0:37:51.000 --> 0:37:55.160 couldn't get my mind right, so I couldn't seize the opportunity. 0:37:56.000 --> 0:38:00.840 Now that hit me because I'm trying to raise these kids, 0:38:00.840 --> 0:38:04.080 you see, and I know God has given me an 0:38:04.080 --> 0:38:08.719 opportunity to be a great father. But sometimes, if I'm 0:38:08.719 --> 0:38:13.520 honest with you, I'm sitting at the table with them, 0:38:13.680 --> 0:38:18.840 and my body is there. My body is there, but 0:38:18.920 --> 0:38:23.840 my mind is on other stuff. And some of it 0:38:23.880 --> 0:38:29.239 is real, and some of it is completely fabricated, of 0:38:29.280 --> 0:38:35.839 stuff that might happen three years from now, maybe, and 0:38:35.880 --> 0:38:39.240 so my mind will drift to the possibly and slip 0:38:39.239 --> 0:38:44.239 away from the present. Now. When I saw Paul, I 0:38:44.239 --> 0:38:47.640 saw us. He said, I was intro ass and so 0:38:47.800 --> 0:38:51.839 was the open door that God gave me, and great 0:38:51.840 --> 0:38:56.080 things could have happened intros But I had to say goodbye, 0:38:56.200 --> 0:38:59.560 not because of the trouble in troass, But because my 0:38:59.600 --> 0:39:05.520 mind was trouble. The enemy wants to mess with your 0:39:05.560 --> 0:39:10.040 mind so much that you can't even go through the 0:39:10.080 --> 0:39:15.399 doors that God opens for you, that you can't even 0:39:15.480 --> 0:39:20.120 enjoy the moments that God gives you. He wants to 0:39:20.160 --> 0:39:24.520 mess with your mind and scramble your perspective to the 0:39:24.600 --> 0:39:29.960 point where you can't even focus long enough to sit 0:39:30.000 --> 0:39:37.359 down and pray about something. He wants to He wants 0:39:37.440 --> 0:39:40.799 to get you so focused on something. And I put 0:39:40.800 --> 0:39:42.919 down four things that spell the word door with each 0:39:42.960 --> 0:39:48.439 first letter. When was the disappointments in your life? When 0:39:48.560 --> 0:39:52.160 was the outcomes that you can't control? That's the oh, 0:39:52.840 --> 0:39:56.759 disappointments outcomes When we mentioned the offenses that you can't 0:39:56.800 --> 0:40:02.080 get over, and one is the regret of the opportunities 0:40:02.080 --> 0:40:08.080 that you can't get back. So I realized that not 0:40:08.160 --> 0:40:14.920 only does God use open doors, so do Satan. Have 0:40:15.000 --> 0:40:18.840 you ever opened a door in your mind to the devil? 0:40:21.920 --> 0:40:24.680 A door of just like going down a trail? And 0:40:24.760 --> 0:40:28.040 I like to imagine the Bible how different it was 0:40:28.239 --> 0:40:31.680 from our day where look, if there would have been 0:40:32.080 --> 0:40:34.960 technology today like there would have been in if if 0:40:34.960 --> 0:40:37.040 Paul would have had the same technology as us. Rather, 0:40:37.440 --> 0:40:41.160 none of this would have been an issue. What Paul does. 0:40:41.400 --> 0:40:44.000 He sends tight Us with a letter, and remember I 0:40:44.040 --> 0:40:45.680 tried to show you on the Bible. Don't worry, we 0:40:45.680 --> 0:40:48.480 are not going through that again with the camera. But 0:40:48.960 --> 0:40:52.960 he sends ted Us back to Corinth over the AGAs 0:40:52.960 --> 0:40:55.400 you see, and he goes, all right, you go to Corinth, 0:40:55.920 --> 0:40:57.680 and when you get back, tell me how it's going. 0:40:57.719 --> 0:40:59.759 Tell me if they receive my correction. He's trying to 0:40:59.760 --> 0:41:01.680 direct and saw the relationship. But he sends Titus with 0:41:01.719 --> 0:41:04.319 the letter is trustworthy a companion in the gospel, And 0:41:04.360 --> 0:41:05.879 he said, Titus, when you get there and find out. 0:41:05.920 --> 0:41:08.920 Let me know now, if this would have had a 0:41:09.000 --> 0:41:11.720 zoom call, if Paul could have got on a zoom call, 0:41:12.239 --> 0:41:16.080 just imagine with me, he could have stayed in tross 0:41:17.880 --> 0:41:20.720 because Titus would have got on the zoom call and said, hey, Paul, 0:41:21.200 --> 0:41:23.239 it's all good. I got a quilla in Priscilla here 0:41:23.560 --> 0:41:25.920 and uh, we're all here on the zoom call Paul, 0:41:26.480 --> 0:41:28.560 and it's all good, Paul. We were all good. They 0:41:28.600 --> 0:41:30.960 got your letter and they love you and it's all 0:41:30.960 --> 0:41:33.719 good and whatever whatever. But see the reason I wanted 0:41:33.719 --> 0:41:37.120 to show you the map is because between Corinth, where 0:41:37.120 --> 0:41:41.600 Paul's mind was, and tro As where his body was, 0:41:43.040 --> 0:41:45.960 there was a seat. And to me it looked like 0:41:46.040 --> 0:41:50.160 my mind. It looked like how sometimes my body is 0:41:50.200 --> 0:41:54.240 in one place, but my mind is in another. And Paul, 0:41:54.280 --> 0:41:57.040 with a note of sadness, said, I had to say 0:41:57.080 --> 0:42:01.400 goodbye to the opportunity that God gave me because I 0:42:01.440 --> 0:42:07.840 couldn't get my mind right in the process. Has that 0:42:07.920 --> 0:42:11.520 been you? Let me give you a little test to 0:42:11.520 --> 0:42:14.520 see if that's been you. Have you been not letting 0:42:14.960 --> 0:42:18.120 new people love you because of how old people hurt you. 0:42:22.760 --> 0:42:27.560 Have you stopped trusting people period because you found out 0:42:27.600 --> 0:42:31.919 that people are not trustworthy totally. You never should trust 0:42:32.000 --> 0:42:35.120 anyone totally other than God. Even if they want to 0:42:35.120 --> 0:42:36.399 do good for you, they're going to let you down. 0:42:36.440 --> 0:42:40.239 They can't help it. It's the human condition. But for 0:42:40.280 --> 0:42:41.880 you to sit there and go, well, I'll never trust 0:42:41.920 --> 0:42:43.759 anybody with anything again. I got to do it all 0:42:43.800 --> 0:42:45.120 on my own. If you want something done right, you 0:42:45.200 --> 0:42:47.040 got to do it yourself. And people are just Yeah, 0:42:47.040 --> 0:42:48.279 people are just people and you want them and j 0:42:48.320 --> 0:42:49.520 just di brawl of us. So you've got to get 0:42:49.560 --> 0:42:51.840 back in the game and do some stuff in this 0:42:52.000 --> 0:42:54.080 life and not get so bitter that you don't go 0:42:54.120 --> 0:43:03.600 through the door. Have you have you? Have you been 0:43:03.640 --> 0:43:07.120 standing at an open door, but the enemy's got your 0:43:07.160 --> 0:43:10.879 mind soul in trouble that you can't go through it. 0:43:13.360 --> 0:43:15.520 I mean, like real opportunities God has given you to 0:43:15.520 --> 0:43:21.000 be fruitful. But you're scarred. Not only scarred. Scarred is good. 0:43:21.000 --> 0:43:25.680 It means it's healed. You're wounded, and the wound is 0:43:25.719 --> 0:43:30.560 still open. So now the door is closing, and weeks 0:43:30.600 --> 0:43:34.600 and months of your life are slipping away, and you 0:43:34.600 --> 0:43:39.279 say goodbye to Troas and you go to Macedonia. Why 0:43:39.440 --> 0:43:43.960 was Paul so desperate to find Titus? Because Titus had 0:43:43.960 --> 0:43:47.680 the news. If Titus could have texted Paul, this could 0:43:47.680 --> 0:43:51.680 have all been over with. But they didn't have a 0:43:51.719 --> 0:43:56.520 text message. It takes months to cross the Mediterranean Sea, 0:43:57.800 --> 0:44:00.120 so Paul's waiting for Titus to see is it all 0:44:00.200 --> 0:44:02.160 right in Corinth? Is it gonna be all right? Are 0:44:02.200 --> 0:44:04.439 they gonna accept the correction? Are they back on track? 0:44:04.440 --> 0:44:06.759 Because he loves them and they're important, And every day 0:44:06.800 --> 0:44:11.080 that goes by the Titus doesn't show up. Paul's mind 0:44:11.080 --> 0:44:18.680 gets more and more burdened. Honestly, I can't last five 0:44:18.960 --> 0:44:23.319 minutes that somebody doesn't text me back, that I don't 0:44:23.360 --> 0:44:27.279 start making up the most screwed up scenarios in my head. 0:44:28.320 --> 0:44:33.680 And so I feel for Paul. I'm serious. If Holly doesn't, 0:44:33.719 --> 0:44:38.560 if I don't see bubbles within twenty five seconds, in 0:44:38.600 --> 0:44:42.440 my mind, she's dead. The car has flipped seven times. 0:44:42.680 --> 0:44:45.080 It's horrible. I know it's kind of funny, but it's 0:44:45.120 --> 0:44:47.480 really not. In a moment, anybody like me, like you 0:44:48.080 --> 0:44:51.719 have two minutes to respond to me, and I'm freaking out. 0:44:51.760 --> 0:44:53.560 Maybe I don't like me anymore. Maybe I don't respond 0:44:53.560 --> 0:44:55.440 to me anymore. And when it's on green, when I 0:44:55.480 --> 0:44:57.920 text you and it's on green instead of blue on 0:44:57.960 --> 0:45:00.759 my iPhone, oh my god, last week got for green. 0:45:00.920 --> 0:45:03.000 But if the text comes back green, you've got your 0:45:03.040 --> 0:45:05.200 phone off. You don't ever want to talk to me again. 0:45:05.320 --> 0:45:07.880 I can get so offended. I am so bad at 0:45:07.920 --> 0:45:11.600 interpreting silence and space, and so this is this is 0:45:11.640 --> 0:45:15.080 Paul's moment, Bob, Paul's like, I sent Titus to find 0:45:15.080 --> 0:45:18.080 out and I couldn't find Titus. So I left trow 0:45:18.120 --> 0:45:22.680 ask because I couldn't find Titus. I left the open 0:45:22.800 --> 0:45:29.720 door because I had no peace. I left the opportunity 0:45:29.920 --> 0:45:33.839 because although the door was open. See that's the enemy's strategy. 0:45:34.120 --> 0:45:36.480 That's why he says, you can't let the devil out 0:45:36.520 --> 0:45:39.800 with you. He is using stuff that hasn't even happened 0:45:39.880 --> 0:45:44.160 yet to run you off from opportunities that are right 0:45:44.200 --> 0:45:47.920 in front of you. He is you see how smart 0:45:47.920 --> 0:45:51.040 he is. He's bringing movies from the past. He is 0:45:51.080 --> 0:45:56.400 bringing classic movies back that happened twenty years ago, and 0:45:56.440 --> 0:45:58.640 it keeps you from seeing what's standing two feet in 0:45:58.680 --> 0:46:03.520 front of you. But God said, when I open the door, 0:46:04.880 --> 0:46:09.480 no devil can shut it. And the reason that the 0:46:09.560 --> 0:46:13.000 devil is at the door to begin with is because 0:46:13.040 --> 0:46:16.880 what God has on the other side of it is 0:46:17.000 --> 0:46:23.120 so important. Oh yeah, so important. There will always be 0:46:23.200 --> 0:46:26.759 a devil at the door of anything important that God 0:46:26.800 --> 0:46:30.879 brings you into, of anything significant that God brings you into, 0:46:31.160 --> 0:46:36.000 there will always be an enemy to anything significant. You 0:46:36.040 --> 0:46:38.640 know why there's a devil at the door because what 0:46:38.840 --> 0:46:42.040 is on the other side really matters. You are an 0:46:42.040 --> 0:46:45.680 important city, you are a chosen vessel. You might not 0:46:45.840 --> 0:46:50.320 be Paul, but God has something with your name on it. 0:46:51.760 --> 0:46:55.000 There's a devil at the door, and the bigger the 0:46:55.040 --> 0:46:57.839 opportunity is the bigger the devil is gonna be. Don't 0:46:57.880 --> 0:47:01.640 you know that? By now? The bigger it is what's 0:47:01.680 --> 0:47:03.879 on the other side of the door. You me asking God, 0:47:04.040 --> 0:47:08.040 why am I having to go through all this? A 0:47:08.040 --> 0:47:11.399 while back. I'll know how to tell you this story 0:47:11.960 --> 0:47:16.840 because it's kind of tender to me. I was about 0:47:16.840 --> 0:47:20.680 to do something really significant in this ministry. I can't 0:47:20.680 --> 0:47:22.480 tell you what it was because it would kind of 0:47:23.040 --> 0:47:24.759 expose me too much and I'm not ready to have 0:47:24.760 --> 0:47:32.359 a relationship with you on that level yet. And on 0:47:32.400 --> 0:47:34.000 the way to the thing I was going to do, 0:47:34.480 --> 0:47:36.359 I broke down crying. I don't cry a whole lot. 0:47:37.320 --> 0:47:40.520 Only Rudy and Rocky three can make me cry. Third 0:47:40.560 --> 0:47:45.480 time in my life I ever cried, and Holly has 0:47:45.520 --> 0:47:47.480 seen me cry so little. She thought I was playing. 0:47:49.120 --> 0:47:52.279 She says, stop playing. This is not funny because my 0:47:52.320 --> 0:47:55.920 head was my head was down on the I was 0:47:56.000 --> 0:47:58.400 laying on the bed and my head was down on 0:47:58.440 --> 0:48:01.799 the pillow. She says, stop playing. And I couldn't answer 0:48:01.800 --> 0:48:03.520 her to tell her I wasn't playing because I was crying. 0:48:03.520 --> 0:48:08.320 I didn't know why I was crying. Nobody had just died. 0:48:11.239 --> 0:48:14.200 I didn't have any technical reason to be sad in 0:48:14.280 --> 0:48:18.640 that moment. But what was on the other side of 0:48:18.680 --> 0:48:24.400 that evening was so important that I believe there was 0:48:24.440 --> 0:48:29.320 a devil at the door. There is always a devil 0:48:29.360 --> 0:48:33.000 at the door when God is bringing you into something important. 0:48:35.040 --> 0:48:37.520 Why do you think kids get demon possessed as they 0:48:37.600 --> 0:48:49.080 go through puberty? And if you don't know, if you 0:48:49.120 --> 0:48:52.280 don't know that, you'll think the devil is at the door. 0:48:52.560 --> 0:48:54.200 This must not be God. No, no no, no, no no no. 0:48:55.360 --> 0:49:00.560 The devil is giving you an indication that this is 0:49:00.640 --> 0:49:06.000 so big, this is so important. This might be a 0:49:06.040 --> 0:49:08.040 life saving word for somebody. If you thought about this, 0:49:08.280 --> 0:49:10.279 somebody might be on the brink of suicide while I'm 0:49:10.280 --> 0:49:13.640 preaching and they can't understand why am I feeling this depressed? 0:49:14.800 --> 0:49:17.160 Why am I going through this darkness? But what you 0:49:17.280 --> 0:49:20.360 might not know is that the size of the devil 0:49:20.400 --> 0:49:24.279 that is at your door indicates the size of the 0:49:24.400 --> 0:49:30.120 assignment that is on your life. Don't die here. This 0:49:30.160 --> 0:49:34.800 is a door. This is a door. This is a door, 0:49:36.400 --> 0:49:42.160 and the door that God opens nobody can shut. Nobody 0:49:42.200 --> 0:49:44.759 can shut and don't you let the devil use the 0:49:44.800 --> 0:49:47.279 door of what you don't know to fill your mind 0:49:47.320 --> 0:49:53.919 with hypothetical scenarios that cause your heart to close. There's 0:49:53.960 --> 0:49:58.200 always a devil at the door. There's always an insecurity 0:49:58.360 --> 0:50:01.360 as you move deeper into your purpose and your awareness 0:50:01.400 --> 0:50:05.320 of your true condition in Christ. But he can't close 0:50:05.320 --> 0:50:12.160 the door God opens. All he can do is try 0:50:12.160 --> 0:50:17.520 to get your mind so screwed up that, as you 0:50:17.600 --> 0:50:21.600 wait for Titus to bring you news, you say goodbye 0:50:21.600 --> 0:50:25.440 to Troe as. We don't see Paul walk away from 0:50:25.960 --> 0:50:29.400 any other open doors in scripture, But he said, I 0:50:29.440 --> 0:50:37.280 had no peace of mind. You know what. Four chapters 0:50:37.320 --> 0:50:42.200 go by, and Paul doesn't even mention what happens next. 0:50:43.560 --> 0:50:47.160 I said goodbye to troeas I went to Macedonia, most 0:50:47.160 --> 0:50:52.680 probably Philippi, and I waited for Titus. Every day that 0:50:52.719 --> 0:50:56.000 I didn't see Titus, I started making up stuff in 0:50:56.040 --> 0:51:03.680 my mind. The enemy is using a story to keep 0:51:03.719 --> 0:51:09.279 you from going through your door. They won't really like you, 0:51:10.600 --> 0:51:15.759 they won't really accept you, nobody really cares about you. 0:51:15.760 --> 0:51:19.440 You don't have what it takes. You're gonna fail, and 0:51:19.480 --> 0:51:23.000 everybody's gonna laugh. So he can't close the door, but 0:51:23.120 --> 0:51:27.800 he can tell you a story. And everyday Titus doesn't 0:51:28.680 --> 0:51:31.400 show up, Paul has a little bit harder time trusting 0:51:32.320 --> 0:51:38.560 that everything's gonna be all right. It isn't until chapter seven, 0:51:39.600 --> 0:51:43.279 verse five of Second Corinthians that we see that what 0:51:43.440 --> 0:51:47.600 Paul was so troubled about God had already worked out. 0:51:56.400 --> 0:51:59.959 He said, when we got to Macedonia, we left Troe. 0:52:00.080 --> 0:52:06.160 As we got to Macedonia, we had no rest on 0:52:06.239 --> 0:52:08.680 every side. Watch this. This is the this is the 0:52:08.719 --> 0:52:12.439 trouble on the outside, he said, harassed at every turn. 0:52:13.560 --> 0:52:17.360 Conflicts on the outside. But that's not what stops you. 0:52:18.680 --> 0:52:20.840 It's never the conflicts on the outside that stop you. 0:52:22.160 --> 0:52:24.400 Somebody else has overcome much more than you to get 0:52:24.440 --> 0:52:29.000 where they are. But it's the fears within, Paul said. 0:52:32.239 --> 0:52:37.600 And then after months and months of wondering, who am 0:52:37.640 --> 0:52:40.040 I preaching to? I know, I know, it's been. It's been. 0:52:40.120 --> 0:52:41.680 It's been. It's been about an hour. I've been up 0:52:41.680 --> 0:52:43.640 here talking. But I've been talking to you, haven't I 0:52:45.080 --> 0:52:48.440 it's been months. You've been wondering, it's been in a 0:52:48.480 --> 0:52:51.280 suspended state for months, and every day you waited for Titus, 0:52:51.280 --> 0:52:54.520 and he didn't come with news of the solution. Ye'll come. 0:52:56.320 --> 0:53:00.239 It's your mind. It's your mind. It's your mind. Your 0:53:00.280 --> 0:53:04.239 mind is like that Mediterranean sea where you wonder, is 0:53:04.280 --> 0:53:08.040 everything gonna be all right? But he said in verse six, 0:53:10.160 --> 0:53:20.200 But God, but God, who comforts to downcast, comforted us 0:53:21.320 --> 0:53:24.919 by the coming of Titus. The word of the Lord 0:53:24.960 --> 0:53:30.800 is Titus is here. Because when Titus finally arrived verse seven, 0:53:33.800 --> 0:53:35.960 he said, he not only comforted us by his physical 0:53:35.960 --> 0:53:38.839 presence in his coming, but by the comfort you had 0:53:38.880 --> 0:53:41.200 given him. He told us about your longing for him, 0:53:41.320 --> 0:53:43.960 your deep sorrow, your art and consume for me, so 0:53:44.040 --> 0:53:51.160 that my joy was greater than ever, so that my 0:53:51.440 --> 0:53:59.120 joy was greater than ever. Joy is coming, Hope is coming, 0:54:00.560 --> 0:54:04.360 Reconciliation is coming, The restoration of all things is coming. 0:54:05.120 --> 0:54:07.600 And I declare it by faith, not by sight. My 0:54:07.680 --> 0:54:10.719 eyes haven't seen it yet, but I know it in 0:54:10.760 --> 0:54:17.600 my heart. Ty does this coming? And he said, I 0:54:17.640 --> 0:54:22.239 spent all those months worried about something that God had 0:54:22.239 --> 0:54:29.040 already worked out. So you're standing before an open door. 0:54:30.600 --> 0:54:32.400 You don't always see it, you don't always feel it. 0:54:32.400 --> 0:54:35.440 You can't identify it because you've got a troubled mind. 0:54:36.840 --> 0:54:40.120 But let's just take a moment. Stand up, Let's just 0:54:40.160 --> 0:54:44.040 take a moment and be still in the presence of God. 0:54:45.560 --> 0:54:50.320 Because all the conflict on the outside, that's nothing compared 0:54:50.320 --> 0:54:59.080 to the fears of the inside. God, we came today 0:55:00.360 --> 0:55:04.640 with troubled minds. I pray for the one who is 0:55:04.680 --> 0:55:08.120 worried about their job. I pray for the one who 0:55:08.160 --> 0:55:11.359 is worried about their kids. I pray for the one 0:55:11.360 --> 0:55:14.319 who is worried about a report in their body from 0:55:14.320 --> 0:55:17.560 the doctors or someone that they love. I pray for 0:55:17.600 --> 0:55:22.120 the one who is worried about an event that is 0:55:22.160 --> 0:55:23.759 in front of them that they do not believe they 0:55:23.760 --> 0:55:29.120 have the resource to fulfill. But God, today I think 0:55:29.160 --> 0:55:32.680 you wanted to use me, just like Titus, just to 0:55:32.680 --> 0:55:37.240 carry the message to them that the door is still open, 0:55:38.640 --> 0:55:43.719 Thank you Jesus, that the door is still open, that 0:55:43.800 --> 0:55:50.160 it's not too late, that you're not too little, that 0:55:50.200 --> 0:55:54.200 you're not too lost, he said, he comforted us by 0:55:54.200 --> 0:55:58.840 the coming of Titus. God, let me be like Titus today, 0:55:59.120 --> 0:56:02.480 bringing a message that God is not counting their sins 0:56:02.520 --> 0:56:05.480 against them, that you are not angry with them, that 0:56:05.600 --> 0:56:09.160 the season of your favor is upon them. Almighty God, 0:56:09.480 --> 0:56:13.480 opener of doors, way maker, miracle worker, all that that 0:56:13.600 --> 0:56:19.839 you are. But we need our minds right, We need 0:56:19.880 --> 0:56:26.799 our minds right. We thank you, Lord that you hold 0:56:26.800 --> 0:56:30.440 the key of David. It's important to us to know 0:56:32.560 --> 0:56:40.719 that you are our door. You are our door. We 0:56:40.760 --> 0:56:43.479 came into your presence today because you are our door. 0:56:46.760 --> 0:56:48.960 And God right now, for everything that we can't forgive 0:56:49.080 --> 0:56:52.440 others for, and we can't forgive ourselves for, we just 0:56:52.480 --> 0:56:54.680 want to take a moment before we leave this place 0:56:55.120 --> 0:56:58.439 and slam the door in the face of Satan and say, 0:56:58.440 --> 0:57:04.120 you've cost us enough, and you've taken enough, You've robbed enough, 0:57:04.160 --> 0:57:10.560 you've destroyed enough. No more. That door is closed. I'm 0:57:10.560 --> 0:57:13.520 not going back there. That door is closed. I'm not 0:57:13.560 --> 0:57:16.000 playing that out anymore. That door is closed. I'm not 0:57:16.120 --> 0:57:19.360 entertaining that anymore. I'm going forward. There is an open 0:57:19.440 --> 0:57:22.960 door set before me in heaven. I'm not waving goodbye 0:57:23.000 --> 0:57:25.720 to this open door. I'm going through it. In the 0:57:25.800 --> 0:57:29.800 name of Jesus. I will live and not die. I 0:57:29.920 --> 0:57:32.960 will declare the works of the Lord. I've got more 0:57:33.000 --> 0:57:36.600 to do. I'm planning. I'm blessed, I'm flourishing in the 0:57:36.720 --> 0:57:41.520 courts of the Lord. Lord. This is an open door moment. 0:57:41.920 --> 0:57:44.440 Right now, with your head's bowed and your eyes closed, 0:57:44.640 --> 0:57:47.800 the door of salvation is open. There's somebody today. You 0:57:47.840 --> 0:57:49.560 thought it was too late for you to have a 0:57:49.640 --> 0:57:52.640 relationship with God. You thought you'd done too much, run 0:57:52.680 --> 0:57:55.320 too far, lost too much. You thought there were things 0:57:55.320 --> 0:57:57.480 that God couldn't forgive. You thought you were one of 0:57:57.520 --> 0:58:00.560 those ones who just missed God. It's not true. Today 0:58:00.640 --> 0:58:03.240 is the day of salvation. This is the moment, this 0:58:03.320 --> 0:58:06.000 is the hour, This is your time. God brought you 0:58:06.120 --> 0:58:09.560 here for this. The door is open. He stands at 0:58:09.600 --> 0:58:12.160 the door and knocks it. He wants to come in. 0:58:13.760 --> 0:58:16.240 So I want to lead you in a prayer right now. 0:58:16.400 --> 0:58:19.920 You've been far away from God, and this is your 0:58:19.960 --> 0:58:22.960 moment to receive his grace. We don't come to God 0:58:23.000 --> 0:58:26.720 through our effort. We don't come to God by improving 0:58:26.760 --> 0:58:30.360 our behavior. We don't come to God with our knowledge. 0:58:30.920 --> 0:58:34.680 We come to Him with our faith. The Bible says 0:58:34.720 --> 0:58:36.880 that if you will believe in Jesus Christ, his son 0:58:36.960 --> 0:58:39.840 whom he has sent, you will have life. If you 0:58:39.920 --> 0:58:42.120 confess with your mouth Jesus's Lord and believe in your 0:58:42.120 --> 0:58:44.400 heart God raised him from the dead. You will be saved. 0:58:44.440 --> 0:58:48.920 There is no more important decision than this. This is 0:58:48.960 --> 0:58:53.160 the door. This is the door, so for you who 0:58:53.200 --> 0:58:56.040 want to come through and receive Jesus Christ for the 0:58:56.080 --> 0:58:59.480 forgiveness of your sins, who purchased you with his blood, 0:59:00.000 --> 0:59:02.400 who knows you by name, who has walked with you 0:59:02.400 --> 0:59:04.560 through every season of your life. You've been far away 0:59:04.560 --> 0:59:06.680 from him. I'm inviting you home right now. This is 0:59:06.720 --> 0:59:11.320 your door. Now you pray after me out loud. We're 0:59:11.320 --> 0:59:14.120 gonna slam the door in Satan's face today to let 0:59:14.200 --> 0:59:20.440 him know he's lost. He's lost another one. We're gonna 0:59:20.440 --> 0:59:22.680 pray this as a church family, out loud, for all 0:59:22.720 --> 0:59:24.280 of those all over the world who are coming to 0:59:24.320 --> 0:59:27.560 Christ today to place their faith in him. Repeat after me, Church, 0:59:27.560 --> 0:59:32.000 Heavenly Father. I am a sinner in need of a savior, 0:59:32.880 --> 0:59:37.160 and I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of 0:59:37.200 --> 0:59:42.240 God and the Savior of the world. And today I 0:59:42.320 --> 0:59:46.240 make Jesus the Lord of my life. I believe he 0:59:46.360 --> 0:59:51.320 died that I would be forgiven and rose again to 0:59:51.360 --> 0:59:56.400 give me life. I receive this new life. This is 0:59:57.280 --> 0:59:59.960 my new beginning. On the count of three, shooter, hand up. 1:00:00.040 --> 1:00:02.560 If you prayed that one, two three, shoot him up. 1:00:03.000 --> 1:00:07.960 God bless her, God bless her. I'm amazing o. Who else? 1:00:07.960 --> 1:00:10.400 Who else? Who else? Come on? Slam that door in 1:00:10.440 --> 1:00:13.520 the devil's faith. Let him know I came home with 1:00:13.720 --> 1:00:16.960 my father. Stop coming home. Let the ring on their 1:00:17.040 --> 1:00:20.560 fingers dark. Come on, let's kill up at a tap, 1:00:21.040 --> 1:00:25.800 Let's tell him, pray what let's sad? Let's again, holle 1:00:29.000 --> 1:00:31.920 come on, lift up a break shout A pray my 1:00:32.120 --> 1:00:35.560 break out, a pray well. If you enjoyed today's podcast, 1:00:35.600 --> 1:00:37.360 there are a couple of things I'd love for you 1:00:37.440 --> 1:00:41.760 to do. Make sure to subscribe, rate, and review this podcast. 1:00:42.080 --> 1:00:44.440 You can also help us reach others by investing today 1:00:44.480 --> 1:00:48.120 at Elevation Church dot org, slash give and thanks again 1:00:48.160 --> 1:00:50.280 for joining us on the Elevation Podcast.