When God Gets Violent

So, find your place in the book of Matthew. We're here to make a difference. Has anybody in here ever read the book, Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire, by Jim Cimbala, pastor of the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir in Brooklyn, New York? If you've never read that book, I'd encourage you. If you do extra reading outside of the Bible, this will be a good one. I'm not suggesting you replace your Bible, but supplement your reading. It be a rich resource for you.

As many of you may know, the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir and the Brooklyn Tabernacle Church was built basically in the ghettos and gutters of Brooklyn, New York. I'm talking about druggies, dope, crackheads, whores, all the, all the dregs of society. God one by one started scraping them up off the street side and saving them and putting them in the choir. And you talk about a display of the glory of God's grace and what God can do with what some of us would consider the lowest of society. But did you know that in the eyes of God, if you're guilty of one, you're just as guilty of all of them, that sin is sin? And if you're in hell, it doesn't matter how you got there, does it? Whether by one or by many, you might as well swallow your pride and realize, but for the grace of God, there would go you.

And God built a church out of what a lot of society, including a lot of churches, rejected. Didn't want nothing to do with, didn't want to fool with them. cost him much time and money and embarrassment I guess I don't know but yeah you need to read this book and Pastor Jim Sembler was given his testimony of how his ministry started and there was a point in his book there where he talked about how that he the thought that his opportunity would pass to God do something great, it disturbed him deeply. And so he got hungry for God. And what I want you to do this morning is come into this sermon with the understanding that this sermon is not going to be for everybody. It's going to be for those who so want to see God move that you're scared you'll miss it if you blink an eye. That you want to be on a front row seat and you're not going to be satisfied until you know that you've soaked up every bit of God you can and you've let him do everything he's going to do with you before you breathe your last breath of the trumpet sounds. That's what this message is for. Now, if you're not there, you'll probably get a good nap while I'm preaching. And that's okay, because not every sermon, it should be for everybody, but it's really for those that want it, that are hungry for it, amen. And so, let's go into the word of God, we're in Matthew chapter 11. and I'm gonna read several verses. Would you remain seated and attentive as I begin in verse number one? Thank you, Joe. I'll let you go ahead and go back to your seat, buddy.

The Bible said it came to pass when Jesus had made an end of commanding his 12 disciples. He departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities. Now, when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples and said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another? Now, let's just pause right there for a minute. Imagine being John the Baptist, selected by and even prophesied of in the Old Testament and and day he has a human has to come to the realization on the one that the scriptures themselves for told that will be the for pretty big deal would you say but what the prophecy did not for tale was the death that john the Baptist would die He didn't see that coming. He no doubt probably at least had hoped if not thought that he would be on the front lines with Jesus and his disciples for the duration of Jesus' ministry. But here he is in prison being bound down while the rest of them are preaching all over the place the mighty works of God. a huge disappointment to John the Baptist personally otherwise why would he be seen in an inquiry back and asking I wanna be sure that I got this right

would you say a word back to Jesus and ask him if he really is the one or should we be looking for someone else cause something don't feel right about this it was John's natural perspective and all get there, don't we when disappointments slam us to the ground and we're like, wait a minute what just happened I wasn't told this part of the story and honestly when we solicit for the cycles we don't tell them the worst part of it the we say they give you a lot of Jesus ever give you this is a washington's but you be a member of the kingdom of god and we m it sound good and it is good but we don't very seldom if ever tell them by the way it probably won't cost you everything by the way you're gonna lose a lot of friends over mm -hmm right by the way it's gonna hurt many times a lot more than it's gonna feel good to be committed to Christ we don't like to And I don't even blame God for not letting us in on all of the story. Now, he warned us generally, but he don't always specifically tell us what it's going to cost us. Because if he told us everything, we'd back out quick. Now, if you're more spiritual than I am, maybe you'd go on and just face hell and walk through everything that you... and that but if most of us are being honest if we knew going into it what it was one of causes we might have at least tried

skirt around it and the am being real so john the badness is here in prison supposed to be in his mind imagine preaching with Jesus and the disciples and he's not was disappointments and the is not over yet but the story they could care less for the poor, can I get an amen? And blessed is he, Jesus said, whosoever shall not be offended in me. Why did he add that?

He needed John the Baptist to hear these words. I need you to know that there's a blessing lined up, even for you if you can just survive your plot without being offended. The word offended means to walk away. coach and John the Baptist keep your faith right up to the end don't lose hope I know you're in a bad spot I know you wanna give your life up for me but keep the faith don't be offended don't walk away from me in your heart because if you won't there'll be a blessing even for you that's what the word

what Jesus was sending to John the Baptist and his prospects were pretty I right at that moment. From an earthly perspective. Bless as he whosoever shall not be offended in me. Don't get offended at God when the cross costs you more than you ever thought you'd have to pay. Because there's still a blessing after the cost of the cross. Have you ever heard of resurrection? Can somebody shout amen? Death ain't the last thing to be said or experienced. We go on, verse seven, and as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, what went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind, the power of nature, the but what would you offer to see a man close and soft rain behold they were soft clothing are in king's houses the power of man but what we're you out for to say a profit

the power of god is to say the categorical powers he was as a matter to come out to say that the powers of nature the power man of the power and by the way why do you come to church do you come to see the power of nature the power of man or the power of God. You'd be shocked at the people that come to church to witness the power of man. It's called denominational branding and we're so proud of it that we're egotistical and arrogant and condescending and spiteful and full of hatred at others that don't fly the flag

the way we fly under our denominational brand and it makes God sick because we're so impressed , without power but the power of god has left the building and they're only us and the truly are saying among them there were women there has not risen a greater than john the bad as well, not withstanding he did as well as in the can of evidence greater than the how you get

more least than what john the bad as god if you wanna be greater than john the bad as a good lower than john the baddest the way up with god is down how did john what it cost him what it him his head if you'll be greater than that then find something that's gonna cost even more I don't even know what that could be maybe family I don't know but think about the repercussions of what Jesus is saying and if you wanna be great in the kingdom, then lose it all. We want to show our greatness by what we gain and what we build and what we give, but God measures greatness by how great a sacrifice you're willing to make. You know, there are those that give out of their abundance and they could outgive any of us

because they're rich with the wealth of this world. And in one tithe and offering, they can give more in a tithe than we earn all year long. And you come in here and scrape by, and you make a sacrificial offering, and you put your bread money in the offering plate trusting God to pay your grocery bill next week, and you've given more than that rich person. Because God measures not by the way man measures, but God measures by the level of your sacrifice. and by the way, God increases that which is given by sacrifice he does

god will allow your sacrifice to go away so we're headed somewhere to sign with a few more minutes verse 12, and from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force I've always been puzzled by this verse I'm going to try to break it down for you as best I can by how the Holy Spirit has given it to me First, let's lay some groundwork. What happened prior to John the Baptist that when John the Baptist stepped on the scene, it invoked violence as it relates to the kingdom of God? Okay, that's part of it, yes. I'm thinking a little more broadly. and

let's think of it this way before well and that was liquid Jesus said in this person because first 13 for all the profits and the law prophesied until john as the you receive it this is a lie as which was for a, said if you can handle this board on the bad this was a one prophesied as the forerunner of Christ , following all the law and profits prophesied until john up until john the bad this came to introduce Jesus to the world The messiah was off limits and behind a glass with a sign that said do not touch he was foreshadowed All they'd heard up to this point was Jesus is coming. A future event. And it was always in the future, but now John has shifted everything because he's no longer saying the Messiah is coming, he is saying the Messiah is here. Reach out and touch him. Grab a hold of him.

Now you gotta get this picture in your spirit to understand this. the religious especially themselves would ever enter into the kingdom of God, not by those rules. Everything was off limits, especially the poor had not a chance, had not a chance in the world. You're getting the context, right? Here comes John preaching Jesus, and here comes Jesus repeating what John said, repent for the kingdom of heaven, not it's coming, but it's at hand, it's right here, reach out and grab it. The is for the taken, so what happened next? I'm telling you what happened. Have you ever seen what happens to a city when the law enforcement leaves and the poor people that are kind of have a tendency to steal things, what happens? They end up looting everything. because the law has been removed this is not a perfect illustration

and you can get in line and take all you want in spite of what the religious people said over yonder What do you think happened all of a sudden thousands would come out and hear Jesus that didn't give them scribes and Pharisees the time of day Cause they never cared about them to start with and all of a sudden they're being ignored, they're no longer being needed Jesus is basically fulfilling the law, circumventing what used to be the primary role of the scribes and Pharisees Was the keepers of the law the keepers of the book and if anybody needed to get together had to go through these high priest Now Jesus was removing a whole of that and saying whosoever will let him take of the water of life freely All of the sudden it's almost like looting Everyone is coming for because what used to prohibit them from approaching a holy God is now made available by grace and they're going for it It got violent And more than one way. I'm going to show you the three ways it got violent. Ready for it? Say amen. It got violent, number one, for God. I could imagine, and I don't say that God had this conversation, but with my imagination, I could almost hear God the Father and God the Son having a conversation before the foundation of the world. And God the Father saying the God the Son of this is going to get violent and the God the Son is going to say Yeah, I know, but let's do it

It got violent for God To make himself available for whosoever will it cost him everything and it hurts Think about the bloody cross and what Jesus went through yes, it got violent It got violent for God first. It got violent for God's people because when you begin to associate yourself with this man Jesus, that Jesus said, the hated me first is going to hate you too. All of a sudden, those that put Jesus on the cross would just as equally put you on the cross. Because they hate you because they hate Jesus. And so the kingdom suffereth violence at the hand of our enemy. So God experienced violence, God's people experienced violence, and the enemy brought on violence. You see the three areas of violence. All right, but what is the thrust of this text? I feel like God's given me something that's worth you listening to this morning. I cannot wait to share this with you.

Because I used to always emphasize in that scripture, in my mind, the violence had something to do with John losing his head. Yeah, that was violent. It had something to do with what the enemy was doing to the kingdom. And that could be argued, those are those elements of violence. and I want you to think of your pursuit of God as a violent pursuit because what did the violent pursuit of the poor who responded to the gospel, what did it do to the religious powers of that day? It completely obliterated them they lost their power, they lost and their influence because we was moving from law to grace and where it was moving from Old Testament covenant to new covenant and all of a sudden Jesus became the very fulfillment of the law and in one person all of that religious stuff they built and created to manipulate and to control the masses and to even build up and amass a great form of wealth for themselves starts to deteriorate and it got violent on the kingdoms of darkness and the man -made religious systems of the world Because your hunger for Jesus, when you're satisfied with Jesus, it offends every other religious establishment that doesn't share the same passion for Jesus. You will offend a majority of religious people when you just sell out for Jesus alone. You will make them mad and it will get violent. They will get violent towards you, but your effect on them will also be violent. Because you're no longer asking man for permission to do what God has already commanded you to do.

And it creates tension in the air. And all of a sudden there's this war that's not even supposed to be there. All you're trying to do is follow Jesus and you've got all these religious nuts following around their list of do's and don'ts and they're trying to define you by their little short list and they think their righteousness is wrapped up in their list. When it's not wrapped up in a list, it's wrapped up in the Lord Jesus. And Jesus even said, if your righteousness does not exceed the righteousness of the scribes and the Pharisees, You shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven. He said you're gonna have to better than these this religious a bunch of quacks And paraphrasing a little bit you get the picture, right And I was asking the Lord Lord help me to understand this violent pursuit of the kingdom oh And he gave me a flashback to a moment in Malawi Africa from which I got this shirt. In fact, I'm honored to wear this shirt. I was given this shirt by Abusa Billywood. Abusa is the affectionate term they use for pastors in Malawi. Abusa Billywood said, I'm going to give you this shirt, but you've got to promise me you'll wear it more than just when you're in Malawi." I gave him my word. But it was precious because I stepped into just a little moment there in Malawi that I always dreamed that God would let me do one day, but I didn't know how. I was preaching to I'm guessing a couple hundred pastors and wives in a pastor's conference trying to encourage them in their work. I've always known that God at some point in the future, if not now, maybe later, I would not just pastor a church, but I would speak into the lives of other pastors and encourage them. It's just a blueprint in my soul. I don't know how to explain it. I just know it's there.

And here I found myself preaching to this group of pastors in this church. And one of the comments that came back to me from one of the pastors there, now here's what I want you to get, I want you to get this picture. Some of these pastors sacrificed days to get there. Riding on bikes and or walking to have a one day pastors conference. Many of them didn't have any food until they got there. That was their meal. But you know what they would do? They would feed the guest pastors first, and then if there was anything left over they would divide it amongst themselves. I want you to see their violent pursuit of Christ. How many pastors conference could we hold in America to where you could get 200 pastors to walk or ride bicycles for days just to be there for one day?

Now, I understand that it's not a fair comparison because if we were given those circumstances we might respond differently, but I'm just trying to make a point. We're so easily put off by the slightest inconveniences in America. They could have quite literally. , you spoke of struggle, they didn't even know that Americans struggled now, admittedly I don't struggle like they do but I was able to speak a language they could understand because the kingdom has cost me and so the Lord gave me the grace to speak in a way that connected with them And they were encouraged to know that even in America, not everybody has it made. It's a struggle to serve God. It costs and sometimes it hurts to serve God. and a man

OK so so they're violently pursuing the kingdom over there so much so that they'll give up days we was in this village , and this mission team that I was with bills, and gave away I think it was five houses during our visit to orphans or widows who lost their homes during a flood that had not happened too long before that. Built these beautiful, cute little homes, they painted them. Most of the homes were built like mud huts, with grass roofs. And some of them was built with bricks, but the bricks were not cured right, and so in a matter of two or three years, they just start mail. You know under the rain in the elements that just it will last long. So they built these things right and gifted and there was this one village that we went to where we gifted this it was a it was a young lady about if my memory serves me correctly she's either twelve or fourteen and she had two or three younger siblings and their mom and dad were not in the picture so the oldest one had to take care of the younger ones and they were homeless so they gifted this little precious family this home and also got the local chief and law enforcement involved to ensure their protection so that others wouldn't take advantage of their vulnerabilities.

While we were there as we was piling back up in our vehicles to pull out of this little village the little children started surrounding our vehicles. And they were dancing and singing and they were so happy that it was a beautiful sight to behold. But one of the people in the van that I was in made a mistake that he failed to hear the instructions never to do this. He said, when you're in a crowd of kids, don't start passing out pieces of candy unless you have enough for all of them. Or a piece of bread or whatever. Well, he mistakenly slipped a little piece of bread through the window and in my mind I can see about a hundred hands violently reach and grab that piece of bread till it was completely gone in just a swift violent pursuit of that bread. and that's the they were trying to outdo each other they were just hungry and they saw something that was a potentially available for and that's the picture the holy spirit gave me , what it looks like to violently pursue the bread of life You should be so in awe of the fact that the bread of life has been laid on your table that there should not be a crumb left. And yet, what do Americans do?

We are rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing, we say to ourselves. And we haven't even ate the first bread crumb of the real bread of life. and the kingdom is what God wants you to know this morning the kingdom of God is for those who want it so now let's look at the text from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence the words suffereth in the King James translation is often used in other passages and by its use you can determine sometimes its meaning. For example, suffer the little children. It doesn't mean to make the children suffer by the way. Y 'all can laugh. That was a joke. Suffer the little children. Allow the children permit the children if you dig deep into the original Greek meaning from which the word suffereth is translated it can also imply to be subjected to so here's the rendering the kingdom of God subjects itself to violence and the violent take it by force not with permission mind you so here these hungry people here's the light here's the here's blind Bartimaeus sitting by the wayside begging and and was a blind Bartimaeus a son of David have mercy on me they said shut up boy he ain't got time for you and the more they told him to shut up, the louder he cried. He was getting violent. He did not need man's permission because man made it very clear that he did not have their permission to pursue Jesus. So he didn't listen to them because he heard that Jesus would help anybody. So So went for it and completely ignored the religious establishment and said I'm going for Jesus and it got violent. It got so violent they hated Jesus and put him on the cross because they were jealous of his popularity and his power. What kind of mindset is that by the way that when God begins to move mightily in a church in all people can do is find things to complain about rather than praising the Lord for meeting with us in a very powerful and special way I've seen it I've seen God move in here so rich and so thick, you had to have a seeing eye dog to find your way around and at the end of the people were back in the corner somewhere complaining about stuff blind leaders of the blind and both are gonna fall in the beach can I get a name and

See, the kingdom is not for them folk because they're too blind to see it anyway and they probably never will see it unless they get their heart right with God, but the kingdom is for the ones that were up in the altars weeping their way to Calvary and asking God to do something special in their life, and that's the ones that God's gonna pour out his favor on, that's the one God's gonna bless That's when God's going to help and we can do that with or without the religious Establishments stamp of approval or favor or anointing or anything else? God can do what God wants to do even if it gets violent on the established rule of order Because God will not be denied He said whosoever Shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved, and why would God allow anybody to put a roadblock between you and Jesus? He paid too great a price to pay attention to man -made rules that put a halt to the moving of God. So God steps over it, God steps around it, God burns it up, God walks through it, God allows it to self implode, But he don't care what happens as long as Jesus is lifted up and all men are brought unto him. You see how little God cares about our religious way of doing things when it don't line up with his book and his appetite for sinners. The title of my message is when God gets violent. God will take your religion and rip it up into a million little pieces and blow it to the wind if that's what it takes for you to see Jesus. Now, I know religion has its place. Most religions have its place in hell one day. There is a pure religion and undefiled, the describes, to visit the fatherless and the widows. Keep himself unspotted from the world. That's talking about holy living. That's talking about living with a pure heart before God. That's pure religion.

All this other mess we've made up and we need to get rid of it. and only this just dragging things down as well as lay aside every white and the scene of all have been missing some, to be a good thing , some of them from this morning recently I was given an opportunity to take on a part -time job at the local food pantry and I was seriously and prayerfully considering it because it was a good thing and it would have supplemented my income which I could use. So I took it seriously for a little while but I started looking at the bigger picture and I asked counsel of some of my most trusted people that God's put in my life and asked them to help me see things from their perspective because I might have a blind spot and what I come to the conclusion of was not everything that is a good thing is always the right thing because if I devoted 30 more hours a week of my time to another entity how much would that draw from what God's doing at Washington Heights Baptist Church how much would that pull from what God's doing and Gary called on ministers how much would that keep me from my sons who still need me to finish the job of raising them until they move out on their own and I've determined that the cost of the extra I

gain did you see what I just did it wouldn't balance I I wouldn't gain monetarily but I'd lose everywhere else and so what we decided is continued to trust, you know, and I was honored that the position was offered to me and I was pursuing them until God said, and now you're murdered in the say no one will do what you focus on the things they got our interest in trying to get better about those I said all that to say this when you're a violent pursuit of the kingdom of god is only one thing that's a matter that is the word and will of god and it doesn't have to make sense on paper to be a beating to the lord somehow another it'll work itself out it may take a while you may go away down before you start, but the bug you've got time to work because the the

of god will cost you everything but it'll also give you everything in return he does say that there's a lot shall lose it , and preserve yourself you cannot serve god and men know what you can have two masters who serve in god, and I'm constantly reminded I gotta keep my eyes on Jesus, I need money to survive, there's no doubt but I need Jesus more, God's gonna take care of me whether by here, yonder, somewhere else, somehow or another, God's gonna do it He's gonna do it Amen, and He reminds me of that from time to time, sometimes with a truckload of blessings Lord, I'm sorry, I feel like Peter sometimes, you know , , remember when Peter was down, and he said that the cash and another seven, we told all my, OK, whatever to ensure where we and gonna do it, I'm not not it, it and then Peter's like, get away from me Lord, I'm a sinful man sometimes God will rebuke you so good with blessings that you'll have to apologize for doubting him I'm talking about violently pursuing the kingdom of God, God's doing too much around here for me to ignore money to start this is a call to let me say something else is an investment is an investment as a better word in you're be able make look quick and ensure all of your losses as losses look at them as investments because in the kingdom of god what comes aroun , goes around comes around

you will report you so sticky first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added to you, added to as pursue His will and His purpose for your life. Now this is a year I believe that God wants us to more violently pursue His will than ever before. Like, we're not on the threshold of a move of God. We are here. We just need to open our eyes to see it. But what we're going to do with this opportunity is yet to be told. Are we going to fumble the ball or are we going to violently pursue at any cost to self the perfect will of God? If your love for God was measured by your pursuit of Him, how would it measure up? people people say all of Jesus but they do absolutely nothing

for his kingdom is Jesus said if you love me keep my comments have been a star out there and the , loving Jesus and so sees a discord among the brethren we're not people died every time they won the summer, you know, we're like to throw on a god help us this morning and of a, violently pursuing god's will god's word god's way of the Peter

to go after him and Jesus knew it would kill him Peter knew that it would kill him what do you think Jesus was asking Peter when he said Peter do you love me he asked him three times Peter knew the implications of that conversation Peter knew it was going to cost him his life because it had already been prophesied that he would die the death of the cross Peter , am it. And had to admit

I don't just love you as a friend but I commit to death to you and then when Jesus said feed my lambs you know what Jesus was essentially telling people to do feed yourself for me through yourself to the world you know what happens to bread, right? It gets consumed. That's violent. If you make yourself available to be used of God, you know what it's going to do? It's going to deteriorate you. It's going to break you down. It's going to break you. It's going to kill self. In fact, you're going to die, but the one on the other side of resurrection morning is going to be Jesus in you, the hope of glory. And it'll be the best life you ever lived because it'll be the most Thorough death you've ever died Am I making any sense to you? I'm talking about pursuing God and leaving nothing on the table and I think that the reason the church in America is Still asleep Or you're in bed with other things besides the city when I'm saying that the play in the harlet the reason the charges like there's because we have left our first love you pursue who you love in a two -was it when you like somebody when you wanna spend time with you wanna talk to me was the money on a man a man

if you don't like him if you don't wanna talk to them you don't wanna hang around them if you don't wanna spend no money on right , people say they love Jesus but they never talk to the never was. I'm with them or his people and a certain opening thing all from play and they say they love Jesus payment There that preacher goes preaching on that money and there you go missing the whole point again It's not about the money it's about the mission What are we here for we're here to pursue Jesus and it's going to get it's going to cost us If we're going to do it, right Do we do we expect God to build a mighty fortress to himself here? Washington Heights with us just half -heartedly doing things and just tipping God like we do a cheap waitress can I get an amen hello y 'all know how you tip the waitress when you're mad at him you don't right well I'll tip God this week because I got a good bonus at work well can you tip him when you didn't get a bonus any tithe not tip and in the U .S.

And in a man , I'm trying to follow the lord on this and, from a place that is what time it was , but . So so so he was just a violent and a mix of the morning if you come back will be part two as we're going to get into the kingdom again but we're going to get into that part and I want to call this one finders keepers losers weepers yeah, it's going to be about the Lord said to him that hath the same shall be given and to him that hath not even that which he seemeth to have shall be taken away and there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth and that's going to be a part two of this kingdom minded philosophy, but if we want to see God move, we're not going to see Him move playing it safe we're not going to see Him move doing things as we've always done them in the past and expecting different results, that's defined as insanity, doing the same thing over and over expecting different results and we're not going to see God move, being afraid that we're going to offend everybody if we do something different and I've said this before and I'll say this and maybe this will be a good closing note, I don't know I understand the wisdom of pacing yourself as a pastor as you coach people through the process of acclimating their hearts and minds to what the Holy Spirit of God is revealing way to where we are and where we need to be in one year from right away to say man was, the worst advice you can give a pastor don't change nothing for the first five years I don't have five years to waste for the king and neither do you if it needs to be changed issue them in chains 10 years ago while we put another five year deadline on it. Change it now. Let me ask you something. If you found out a medicine in your cabinet was killing you, would you quit taking it now or let your prescription run out and then change it? No. If you've been prescribed death, you change it immediately. And if it offends people, let it get violent. But some point, it'll settle back down and God will get glory and the church will grow because people have come out of their spiritual coma and realize it's time to wake up and get real with God that's why I moved I try to move at the pace of the Holy Ghost and a lot of times the Holy Ghost is moving a whole lot faster than any of us are ready to move and I can't set that pace only God can so if it's too fast for you buckle up and hang on baby you'll survive it if you'll buckle up but don't bail out especially if you're going through one them loops at the top, because you fall. Right? Right? Just hang on. Don't judge

anything. Don't knock it till you see the end story. Let's see what God's going to do. I'm excited to just see what God will do around here if we'll just make ourselves available. Amen. And violently pursue. And now here's the preview for next week's sermon. I'm going to lay the essential element that we're want to discuss. It's going to be dealing with in the kingdom. Are you working to gain the kingdom? Remember the parable of the talents? The one that had five and the one that had, what was it, two? And the one that had one? Well, the one that had five and two doubled their talents. Their focus was on gaining. The But one with the one talent thought he'd do his lord of service and just not risk it at all.

Well, I knew you worked hard for this money, so praise God, I put it in a mason jar in the backyard until you got back and made sure it didn't get gone. His focus was not on gaining but on keeping. And if you focus on keeping, you'll lose even what you got. and the Lord rebuked if you focus on gaining that means it requires a step of faith and the Lord rebuked the slothful servant is about weekend and slothfully, wicked and slothful he was not easy on

He said, you're wicked and you're slothful because at the very least you could have put it in the hands of somebody else that would have done something with it, but you didn't do a thing with it, you just buried it in the ground. He was worse than doing something wrong with it. He didn't do anything with it at all. And God would rather you risk it and fail than to not risk at all. And I'm telling you, Washington Heights Baptist Church, that we have a prime opportunity to seize our moment in God's timeline of his kingdom to make a difference and we better quit trying to stay in maintenance mode and keep mode or we'll lose what we got and we better get into faith mode and watch God multiply as we step out in faith and obedience. , a man

and I'm going on by lovely pursuing a enemy of her all your feelings for so with and that's not my intention but it's also none of concern. Because if you're offended at truth, it is your responsibility to get unoffended. Because it is your responsibility to acknowledge your wrongdoing and repent before God Almighty and do the adjustment. Because God's already right. He has no adjusting to do. Amen. And I'm trying to teach a church how to walk with the same mindset so that And you're not throwed off when somebody else gets offended, because I know you get your phone calls. And you're going to have to learn how to shut that mess up. You're going to have to learn how to say, pardon me, but if you ain't got something good to say, I really got better things to be doing with my time. And by the way, if you have a problem with a preacher, here's his phone number, 601 -504 -7110, call him and talk to him about it.

If you start nipping it in the bud, they'll realize that either they're gonna have to get on the program or get out of the program, but they ain't no room for comfort anymore. You know why snakes lie in comfort? Because nobody stirred it up. But when Paul started lighting that fire up on the island, you remember that? That venomous snake come out. Anytime the preaching gets red hot, it always drives off a few venomous snakes. the and a lash at you and try to kill you. Paul shook it off. They expected him to swell up and die. At first they said God must be angry and then when they watched that he didn't die that he said he must be a God. They were as confused as termites in a yo -yo. They didn't have no more sense than to get in or out of the rain. And then Paul went to the chief of the village and I think it was his daughter that was sick, correct me if I'm wrong, healed her, healed a bunch of other people there's a revival broke out all because Paul set up a fire that drove off some venomous snakes and he ought to shout the victory when a snake like spirit slithers out the door never to return don't go begging them to come back there's a reason God sent them on if God wants them back he can get their heart right then come back with the right spirit but as long as they lashing out with their venom ain't got nothing good to say about nobody or nothing hey we don't need that in here. Are we okay everybody? Everybody good? Now I love everybody, but you know I'm telling it right. You know I'm telling it right. I can't tell you how many tears I've shed over what I'm preaching about. Broken I don't rejoice in another man's fall. I rejoice in my heart of hearts when I see somebody leave. Because I know what God could do for them if they would just surrender to the Lordship of the Holy Spirit of God. and the black and not cater to everyone will win an opinion does not be a locally based just to keep the peace, and meanwhile the kingdo and why we do anything you know what you call something is, more than one. It's called a monster that's why there's one

I'm telling you, to it, especially when it comes out of that book, because you're doing yourself a disservice to ignore the direction that God is pouring through His servant. I'm trying to help the church this morning. And I'm telling you, it's going to get violent. But in the most, if we do it right, it will be done so with the most elegance and grace. Look at how violently God pursued us. It cost Him everything. He was nailed to the cross. it just crushed him, that's all but he did it for you and me it was very gentlemanly move and when you passionately pursue Jesus, guess what you're going to be doing to your enemies, you're not going to hating them you're going to loving them, amen, you're going to praying for them right? who knew that to be violent for God would be to learn how to love your enemies you know who that's being violent to is not being violent to the person is being violent to the devil that's got that person bound you want to know what a completely obliterate every power of darkness in someone's life is when you learn how to love them like Jesus it'll get violent on the devil because he can't whip on that level because he don't know how to love he can't fight on a love level

you know to do you'll know to do with it he calls a firearm and it'll be about it again by an army in the middle of a, and you can partake of the kingdom of god and you'll see god a great modern thing. Kingdom of god, his righteousness. Man, I'm just so full it's hard to unplug, but we're gonna have to. Let me let y 'all go to the house. Y 'all go? Stand to your feet. We wanna pray. Joe, would you play just a song? Somebody might wanna come up and pray in the altar. You're invited to do that if you can. Thank you for your patience today. I know it's been a little long. My heart's so full, I just, it's hard to express everything God's put in my spirit. But I'm just telling you, church, God wants to do great and mighty things. And sometimes it gets violent on more than one level. But it's okay. Because the kingdom is for the taking. But you're not going to get it being cute. You're going to have to get it being committed. So who would come pray and say, God, I want the kingdom? of them, I all of them. You got to, can you spare God five more minutes to pray? If you're violently pursuing, you can.

Father, thank you for these men, there's others coming, ladies too. and also more of a single were once a single lower joys of which are the ones who are we want you to bust out of the banks around here God, we want to have to baptize people every Sunday. We want to see Sunday school spike, double, triple, quadruple in attendance. We want to see standing room only, we're going to have to start praying about knocking out walls and expanding. But Lord, we're going to have to make room in our hearts for you before we can make room for others in this church. God, we're gonna have to get over ourselves. Lord, me first, forgive me for being so sorry sometimes, so selfish sometimes, that I lose sight of the big picture, which is Christ and his kingdom. Lord, you taught us in the very model prayer, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. So father forgive us for seeking others kingdom and others will or our own God would you help us to violently? pursue Until all the kingdoms of darkness are defeated in our lives And Lord I pray for those God, that are in the gall of bitterness, they can speak nothing but ill will right now, that the good cross of Christ would touch their lives down to the innermost parts of their soul and purge them of their brokenness and purge them of their bitterness and purge them of their anger. God, cleanse them, Father, so that they can repent and get right with You and the Church, O God. Lord, we're violently pursuing. I want to see these young people grow up and serve God, and get married to godly ladies, or godly men if there's a young lady in here. God, see them make their lives count for Christ. to of the to that kind of hunger, that kind of thirst, and you said he that hungers and thirsts after righteousness shall be filled, so fill us up as we hunger for you, God if we've lost our appetite, give it back . We love you and we thank you and we praise you for all that you will accomplish in our midst. We eagerly anticipate and expect a great move of God from henceforth. God I just pray kindly that those who won't get right that might be a potential roadblock that you would kindly and mercifully and rather remember mercy just don't let them hinder what you're doing here unless and until and at last that they get right then bring them back around full circle fully clothed in the righteousness of Christ and on board with what God's doing in Jesus name we pray God's children say amen Shake hands and fellowship one with another on your way out.