Full, Filled, Brimming, Bursting

The question is, how much of God do you want this morning? What do you think? How much of God do you want this morning? We're just gonna let this sink in for a minute. Right here, you can see it over there. Well, what does that mean? Well, you're gonna have to find out.

How much of God do you want? It's really up to you in this area. So the title this morning, the title this morning is Fulfilled Brimming and Bursting. Fulfilled Brimming and Bursting.

Two weeks ago, I was in Acts 5, and I'm not gonna go over all the different details in there, but you can go back and listen if you want. The apostles got in trouble for preaching the truth. We're gonna see that as I continue that Stephen is gonna get in big trouble for preaching the truth.

And I'm working on an important message on that. As of now, next Sunday, Pastor Abram, that's his Sunday, he'll be preaching, and then I'll be the backup. So I'm second string quarterback on that Saturday, Sunday.

We'll be flying in just actually from Ohio. I'm gonna preach to about 250 pastors next week in Ohio. And I'm like, why did you ask me? He goes, because we follow the church and we love, we need that type of revival in the pastors as well.

And so, be praying for that as well. Looking forward to it. But again, Fulfilled Brimming and Bursting.

Number 24 in the series of Acts. I almost titled this Full of Wisdom and Full of the Spirit, because that's kind of what they will talk about as we get into this. But let me just tell you up front, to be filled with wisdom, you must be filled with the Spirit.

That's where true wisdom, one person understands that. All right, okay, I know, I know. But to truly be filled with wisdom, wisdom is not only knowing what to do, but to actually do it.

That's the difference between knowledge and wisdom. I'm hoping to get in that, but I had like eight pages on the message, so I had to kind of condense it to just this one on Fulfilled Brimming and Bursting. And the reason I love topics like this is because it's a turning point.

It's a turning point for all Christians. This topic, this can be a turning point for you. This can be the thing you've been praying for.

Anybody been struggling with something? Situations, let-downs, disappointments, maybe struggling in sin? I've mentioned this before, but all the testimonies we have, 90% of them that come in are based on this topic alone. They're based on this topic of being filled and full of the Holy Spirit. And when I talk about this, there are really three types of believers.

One, maybe you're here this morning or listening, you're filled, but you need encouragement. Have you ever been there too? And you're filled, but you need encouragement. And these I call the Amen Brother.

Amen Brother, that's who I refer to them as. But then there's those who are convicted, but they want to change. They're not saying amen yet.

They're kind of stuck in conviction mode. And then, which is sad but true, I get the angry crowd on this topic because it challenges our carnality. I don't know about you, but do you like to be challenged about things you need to work on? It challenges our carnality.

Or it crushes our pride. Because there's a lot of Christians, we struggle with pride. And we don't want to go too deep.

Because when you go deep, you get wet. I like to go in a cold pool about up to my ankles. I'm good.

This is nice. But really, it's important to experience God and to go deep. And I found throughout the Bible, there is a verse, be filled with the Holy Spirit.

But I began to realize that a lot of what Paul writes about is so people can be filled with the Spirit. Because obedience brings insight. When we follow the commands of Scripture from what you put in your mind to how you treat others, to getting rid of everything from slander, gossip, bitterness, envy, all those things, when you begin to apply Scripture, so a lot of the Scripture, when you read it and apply it, leads to the filling of the Holy Spirit.

Anytime I talk about this, let's go deeper, people say, I am deep. Okay. Well, if you have studying the Scriptures without surrender, if you have doctrine without dying to self and you have theology without humility, I'm not sure how deep you're going.

The legalist doesn't see their need because knowledge puffs up. And compromisers, they often see their need. But they need a little help getting there.

And so what we're going to do is focus in on a little bit on that with Acts 6. Acts 6, now in those days when the number of the disciples was multiplying, so the church is growing. It's very healthy for a church to grow. There arose a complaint against the Hebrews by the Hellenists because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution.

So, very common problem with churches. As they grow, some things get neglected. Have you ever seen that maybe in your families? Your family grows.

As your calendar grows, some things get neglected. And what was happening is the widows, and I believe over a certain age, 55 years old, legitimate need. That's important for the church too to find out if a need is legitimate.

We actually have a responsibility to not just believe anybody that needs help and benevolence. We have to kind of use a little bit of due diligence there and make sure it's a genuine need. And so these widows over 55, they were not being able to be looked after because there was more and more and the church grew and grew.

But I want to remind us this morning that complaints can be good when they come from the right heart. Amen? Amen? Complaints can be good when they come from the right heart. And that's what we've always said here.

We've always been up front that if somebody loves the church and they're on the same page and they want what's best and their heart is right, we love constructive feedback. That's actually how you grow and change. A lot of things that we do here were because of that.

One thing is, if things come to mind, I'll tell you, but I was not an announcement guy. They'll just read the bulletin. I'm ready to go to preach.

But we need to know what's going on. They need your support as a pastor. When you say it from the pulpit, it's like, okay, I got it.

It's compromise. Can we get real short? And things that are mainly just for the whole church. And so that was a great feedback.

Other things that you've seen up here, maybe with how we do things or how things are organized, and maybe even some of the services. We talk to the elders. We have elder meetings and just a constructive feedback.

And that's, we want to improve. But when it comes to the critical heart, that's where I'm leery because their motives are not right. And sometimes I'll talk to the critical hearts.

So I knew you wouldn't be open for feedback. Oh no, I am from the right heart. Your heart's dirty inside and you're critical and you have a very critical spirit.

Why am I going to, that's why I don't read 99.99% of the comments on social media. Who are these people? You're living in your mom's basement in Idaho or Georgia and you're going to critique how we're having service? Really? And so you have to look for the right person with the right heart. And just to clarify, to Hellenize meant to adopt the Greek culture and the ideas.

So you had different believers. Some were Hebrews, more of that Jewish roots. And then others were like the Greek culture ideas.

And it was believers and they went to this group and they said, hey, listen, we've got to fix this problem. And so how did they fix the problem? Verse two, it's very interesting. Then the 12, remember the 12 apostles? They summoned the multitude of all the disciples and they said, okay, here's how we're going to fix a problem.

It is not desirable that we should leave the Word of God and serve tables. Well, that seems a little brash up front, doesn't it? Well, it's not, let's unpack it. Therefore, in other words, you're saying, it's kind of like me saying if I was so busy, with the homeless ministry or Care Net or this and benevolence, I'm going here.

It's like the sermons would really suffer. The service would suffer because God's called me to mainly be filled and full and prayed up so I can basically set the pew on fire. When the pulpit's on fire, the pew's on fire.

When the pulpit's dead, it's a good sign that the church is also dead. And so they recognize there's different callings. Okay, here's what we're going to do then.

Seek out from among you, what we would do here for example, seven men of good reputation. Well, that's not enough. Guys, we love you if you have a good reputation around town, but this is critical.

This underlying point here, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom. I honestly don't know how you can have one, I mean, you can't have one or the other. Man, that guy is so spiritually wise and so mature, but they're not full of the Spirit.

Or somebody's so full of the Spirit, God, they are so dumb. They're just, whoa. They're spending money like a drunken sailor.

They're doing this. Their house is out of order. No, they really go together, and that's what I think he's saying.

They're full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom. Now, I don't want to get too deep in this because it's a little controversial. We would need some time to unpack it.

But seek from among you seven men. So, our position as a church has always been where we believe men and women are completely equal in all areas of Christian service in the eyes of God. There's been so much injustice to women over the years, hasn't there? From voting to women's rights.

And so there's good things in there. But sometimes what the church will do in order to correct itself, they'll run all the way to the other side. And then they call it egalitarian.

So, women pastors. Well, that's not in the Bible. Women should never lead men spiritually according to Scripture.

Now, I do have people say, well, I do in my house, or I'm an evangelist. Okay, but you could be out of order and still functional. Even though you're out of order, God can still bless you.

Any time this comes up, that's why I pray, Lord, what do You want to say, not me? Because women pastors get mad at me. Like, how dare you challenge my calling? I'm called to be an evangelist. I'm called to witness.

Do it. Do it all, please. But men should not sit under your tutelage.

Lead me. Lead me. That's not biblical.

And here's what stumps them is, okay, if a woman is to be an elder pastor, leader over men, what's the Bible verse for their qualifications? Just one. Well, the same qualifications as a man. Okay, so they're supposed to be the wife of one wife? And rule their home.

See, there's no qual... But that doesn't make lesser than. We elevate. That's why Paul said their weaker vessel doesn't mean weak.

In that sense, it means very valuable. Thank God for the complementarianism. We complement each other.

If I hear a noise at 12 midnight, I don't go tell my wife to go check the front yard. I've tried that when I'm really tired. What is that? Just let me know.

Correct? Come on, guys, you know where the glock's hidden. Let's be real. And so just because somebody's a woman pastor, they're friends of mine, no, doesn't mean it's out of order.

Now, some people have that title, they're at a church, and they have that title because they're over women's ministry or children. And that's fine, I understand that, but still, the word means elder, bishop, overseer. It means overseeing people.

And so if they're overseeing leading men scripturally, there's just no support for that. If the Bible said it, we'd have lots of women pastors. So it's nothing to do with that.

And it has nothing to do with male dominance because it's actually servant leadership. I'm supposed to lead not in a spirit of dominance, but a spirit of servitude. And God brings the two and complements them.

And so, can there be women deacons? That's a whole other topic, but this group of deacons that they were looking for are seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom. Okay, I don't know if this is my opinion, or God's kind of put it on my heart. And maybe this will help somebody who hears it.

Anytime, if I talk to a woman pastor and they get upset, they've got an attitude. They've got a little chip right here on the shoulder. And I can tell.

Why does that trigger you? Why does it trigger you? We'll read back to Genesis. They desire to be above the man. And so again, serve in all capacities, evangelize.

Be everything God's called you to be. I would never take away with that. But there's no biblical support for women leading men spiritually.

Now it may happen from time to time, God might raise up a woman in the mission field in different places. And again, just one exception doesn't make it right. And I really want to get that point across because I don't have a problem with the idea if God had it and outlined it, good to go.

But we just, and I have to stick with Scripture regardless of who gets a little offended. Because I'd hate to go home and go, okay, God, I'm sorry I didn't. I got worried about people's opinions.

You want to see an anointing, leave the church, try that. Worried about people's opinions. And appoint them over this business.

But we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the Word. So there had to be a distinction. How did God call certain people? Okay, we see you guys.

We see these seven men. We need help in these areas. Yes, I'd love to do that.

And I'd love to lead that. Okay, now because you've got that covered, I'm going to spend a lot of my time in prayer and reading devotionals and worshiping and still serving and counseling and all the things we do, but it can't be the priority. Because whatever the priority is, that's what you focus on.

And as we all know, if everything is a priority, nothing is. Or if you try to juggle too many things, everything will fall. And what is supposed to happen with pastoring is the fullness of the Spirit, the fullness that goes into the heart of praying and studying and reading, that fullness is supposed to flow out.

And you can't have a lot flowing out if you don't have a lot flowing in. And so that's why there was a separation there. Full of the Holy Spirit and of wisdom.

Let them watch over this. So what is wisdom? Well, it's when we wait, we're not impulsive. We consider the consequences.

We make decisions based on the truth. How does this decision affect my family, my relationship with the Lord, my finances? Many of you would be doing a lot better if you just sought the Lord. And even in the area of finances.

Nobody's perfect though, amen? Those with the gift of teaching, they will still serve others. But they aren't to leave the teaching to serve. Again, if you juggle too many plates, you might drop them all.

I knew I remember that from somewhere. It's my notes. And it might be a good time to remind you too as well what deacons versus elders, we see these terms and many churches get confused.

But it's pretty clear in Scripture because there's different qualifications, there's different ways of doing things. Deacons would be a group of guys, I think we have about 12, it should be on our website, where their heart is service. They mainly serve, basically oversee a ministry and serve in that area.

And then we have a group of elders who again, really it's not better than or over than, it's different ways that they lead. So the elders then are responsible for the spiritual health of the church. So although they do serve, their goal, their calling is to be in spiritual oversight of the church.

And one of the things we first did when I, I'll probably talk about this at the meet and greet, when we started the church, it was really just me and my wife on $100. And so we found a church that would kind of, it let us use their building. I had to put together the bylaws and things like that, because you can't file the 50C3 nonprofit status without that and I had to make the decision of what my role would be.

And at that junction, I remember that junction, I actually could have put myself as senior top dog. You know, some churches are like that, the pastor and then they've got the others underneath them. Some churches work fine with that.

Calvary Chapel, Chuck Smith, Four Square, you know, that's how kind of their church, their board of deacons or their church governing board is not really over them. They have the final say. And I said, you know, that can be a little scary.

Let's have a plurality of elders, which is also in the New Testament, where there's a group of elders. So I'm the leader among equals. So all of us meet five, six of us or so.

And then older men that we call elder emeritus, they don't necessarily make all the meetings or a lot of them, but they're still because of that status and their maturity. And so we will vote on things. We'll do certain things.

But usually, as far as I know, we've been consistent. We've never not agreed on major issues. We won't really go forward if we don't.

And so that's what leads the church, a plurality of elders. So that's how God keeps me in check, other elders in check, because just left to ourselves without that final, and that's why you hear there's a lot of yes men. There are at some churches, but plurality of elders, it's hard to have that because they'll speak their mind.

They'll tell you because we're all biblically qualified according to the Bible. I'm just a loud mouth. Then somebody else's finances, kind of somebody else's specialty on counseling or Christian ministry, or you've got Pastor Abram who backs up and you've got other people and God uses that plurality of elders.

Now, is there a pitfall to that? Absolutely. You're gonna renegade spirit of rebellion? Boy, that's tough. There's some horror stories, but there's more horror stories about senior pastors above everything.

And a lot of the people you're seeing in the media out there, I don't wanna mention names of churches that are this person in ministry, most of them have boards to where they're the lead person. They didn't have that accountability in there. And that's kind of what happens is they kind of come rogue.

They don't answer to anybody. Or if they do have a board, they select people in different states, they're friends. And it can be very, very unhealthy.

So that's the abridged version of deacons and elders. If you have questions, let me know at the meet and greet. And so once they came up with this idea, the saying, it pleased everybody.

And they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and full of the Holy Spirit. Oh, I think we're on the next slide for, is that right? Yeah, or am I in the wrong one? Oh yeah, verse five. And the saying pleased the whole multitude and they chose Stephen.

Now we're gonna get into Stephen. This guy, wow, we need some more Stephens. Now I was a little, like this is very interesting.

Because the Bible is the inspired, inerrant Word of God. God breathed. He allows, I mean, what we're reading, I think God kind of allowed it.

I think, right? And He wants us to read it. I don't know, just throwing it out there. This keeps coming up, full of the Holy Spirit.

Okay, you just told us that in the last paragraph, Bible. Why do you need to remind us? He was a man full of faith and full of the Holy Spirit. Earlier, we read full of wisdom and full of the Spirit.

Now we're reading full of faith and full of the Spirit. See, they go together. If you're a negative Nelly and you have no faith, and you're all walking around like, oh, life is difficult and I don't know.

God, I don't know if God can do this. I don't know, look at what the Supreme Court just did this week. And we're just walking around and you have no faith, you're not gonna be full of the Spirit.

When you're full of the Spirit, it pushes out those things. Two things like that can't coexist. Have you noticed that? When I'm very, have you ever been negative and critical and disgruntled? Five people out of this, my balcony, can I? But can you also be thankful? No, at the same time.

No, you can't. You can take those thoughts captive and say, okay, Lord, I don't wanna think that, I wanna be thankful. I wanna be appreciative.

I wanna be broken and humble. It pushes out. Oh, maybe we should sell this.

It pushes those things out. Fill with the Spirit, fill with the flesh. And many people are filled with the flesh.

And I'm not judging because I can be filled with the flesh. It's ironic, if people only knew, they're like, oh, I just love this sermon, I love this sermon. Do you know I have to live it before I preach it? It's not like you live above everybody and you try to educate.

It's like, I lived it. So when I tell you to get back up and fight again, I've fallen down. When I tell you to hold on to Christ and never let go, it's because I've been challenged.

I've been challenged to quit and to give up and to run back to the old shame. Whenever I preach these things, it's because I've lived the prodigal son. I ate with the pigs.

I know it. And so he was full of faith, full of the Spirit. So were these other people they mentioned.

Their names are hard, so I won't mention them. And when they had prayed, and when they had prayed, they laid hands on them. Hmm.

I don't think God just throws stuff in there for no reason. You know, we got to fill up some sentences here. Then the Word of God, then the Word of God spread.

So was there a hindrance on the Word of God spreading because the things were backed up and not being done right and the ministers were being bogged down? I don't know, it tends to read that way. And so the Word of God spread. It spread again like a fire.

And the number of disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith. But let's talk about this for a minute. Laying hands on others.

This is interesting because people get kind of weird about this topic. And they don't think certain things are going to happen unless you lay hands on people. You know, brother, you need to be full of the Spirit.

You need the Spirit's baptism. I need to lay hands on you. Without that, it's not going to happen.

Well, what we do see in the Bible is, and well, let me explain it first. I'm getting ahead of myself. So laying a hand of hands on others.

The priests would do this. How many of you heard of the scapegoat? They would actually lay hands on this little goat and let it go. And it would represent carrying the sins of the people.

And what often amazes me, and I would start bawling. I don't know if you could stop me from crying if I saw Jesus and He's laid His hands on me and prayed. I mean, I just, the Savior of the world.

And it says He did. He laid hands on the little kids. Let them come to Me.

He would put His hands on the blind man's eyes. The blind beggars, the man with leprosy. Jesus would lay hands on them.

You know, I don't want to go where Scripture doesn't go. But again, I have lots of verses and different things. It's not a teaching on this per se, so I didn't want to spend too much time.

But what it really is, and the Bible actually says to do it sometimes, it's agreeing with someone. I agree with you. And it's kind of like coming alongside and supporting.

And actually, somebody who's sick, call for the elders and let them lay hands on you in the prayer of faith. And so there's something about agreeing with them. Because let's say somebody comes in the prayer room and can I pray with you? And like, oh, Pastor, I need to be filled with the Spirit.

So much is going on in my life, will you pray for me? And I just go like this. Yeah, okay, you stay there. Let me pray from here.

That's a little weird, isn't it? Or even if I stay kind of close, it's like, okay, I'll pray for you. Because it's kind of a reflection of the tone we're setting. And that's why often we'll just pray in the shoulder.

It's just more of an agreeing with them. 1 Timothy said, do not lay hands on anyone hastily, nor share in other people's sins. Keep yourself pure.

Now the context of this, he's really talking about when we appoint someone too soon, because the laying on of hands was actually, and that's why they're doing it. They're laying on the hands of the deacons here. They're laying on the hands in the early church of the disciples, laying on the hands.

And it was agreeing. And I don't believe in transferring. Have you ever heard that term? Transferring, you're transferring this or that.

But there's something to agreeing with, with people in this area. But do not lay hands on anybody too quickly. That would mean, don't promote someone too quickly.

Boy, let me tell you the horror stories about when we first started. Maybe I won't. Maybe next time.

Paul, you probably saw some of them. I think, it's like, you know, I want to be an usher. Okay, great, start next week.

Okay, straight next week. And by the time you know it, you have mutiny on the bounty. Because I don't realize how many people just wanted that recognition.

When's my name going up on the screen? What? Hello? Attitudes, heart, motives. Do you know motives aren't always pure? I'm sure it doesn't happen here. And I won't say the profession, but how many people came in with their business cards? And they go, what we'll call you is a lot of feeds into the pipeline.

Numbers game. The more people you talk to, the more people will buy my product, or let me represent them. It can really get ugly when we come in to self-promote.

That's why it says, do not lay your hands on anyone too quickly. Acts 8, then they laid hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit. And we have seen this before.

Many can attest to this. Sometimes something dramatic takes place when there's a prayer group or there's something, and you actually agree and you lay hands on them. And I can't explain it exactly.

I really can't, I wish I could, but sometimes God honors that, and they can literally just feel the Holy Spirit just coming upon them because they were faithful in other areas, but also on the laying on of hands. And they laid hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit. Do I believe that nobody can receive the Holy Spirit without the laying on of hands? Of course not.

I don't believe that because there's a lot of other Scriptures that teach the opposite. A lot of other examples. And also, what do they mean by receive the Holy Spirit? Because you receive the Holy Spirit at conversion.

You repent and you believe. And the chains are broken, the bondage of sin, and the wages of sin and death is crushed. And something incredible happens, the triune nature of God, what they call the Holy Spirit part of the Godhead, is now residing in a believer.

Now again, if we had time, there's verses that talk about they would go and they would meet, they called them believers. They called them actually disciples. They would go and they were disciples, like me going and talking to you.

And I would come up to you, like they came up and they said, okay, did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? And without getting too complicated, because I wish I could really take the time, maybe I will. They said actually, we have not heard about the Holy Spirit. What baptism were you baptized in? The baptism of John.

And John's was a baptism into repentance. But they said, okay, you need to be baptized in Jesus' name. And as they prayed for them and laid hands on them, what many refer to as the baptism of the Holy Spirit occurred.

Now, there is a debate on whether were they really actually disciples because the Bible calls them that. So, I don't know. I mean, I'd rather err on that side.

I just personally, I don't think they had received the fullness of the Spirit yet. They had the Holy Spirit as believers, but they didn't know they could go deeper. They didn't know the overwhelming power of the Holy Spirit could come upon their life and radically transform them.

And they received the Holy Spirit. I like to get real controversial and tell you what followed. They spoke in an unknown language.

The goodness of God. But there's something pivotal about laying on of hands. Again, I don't know if even the elders quite understand exactly how it works, but it's in Scripture.

There's lots of Scriptural support, and I don't think we should shy away from it. And there are pivotal moments in my life I remember I remember without a doubt. It's kind of like a turning point.

Like I remember that and something happened from that day forward without a shadow of a doubt. Many of you, if you know, you've been going to Highlands for a while, you know Billy Nettles, he was preaching, it was probably 24 years ago. I'm digging ditches.

I'm in a church service, and he just says, God's calling you and your wife to ministry. What? And they laid hands. Never forget that moment.

I couldn't stop crying. There's something special that happens. And then even that same year, a guy by the name of Mario Murillo, you've heard me talk about this before.

I'm just sitting about a group like this, I'm comfortable, don't mess with me. He says, young man, would you stand up? And he said, God is calling you to the ministry. I just posted what he said, what he said to me on Facebook, if you want to check it out.

But it was like, this is why I don't doubt the gifts, because what he said, nobody on the planet Earth knew except me and my wife that week prior of what we were dealing with. And in a nutshell, for you who haven't heard it, I told my wife, it's a long story, but I was a Christian, running, kind of running from God, kind of lukewarm, and then the Holy Spirit filled me. Like, some of you don't know what I'm talking about, some of you do.

And it's this moment where like, whoa, I love the Bible. I love the Bible. Bye-bye George Strait, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Garth Brooks, Randy Travis.

I went to the Country Music Awards in L.A. when they had it way back then. Brooks and Dunn. Man, I was just like, I don't want that anymore, I want God.

And the Bible comes alive, and then I turn on something called worship music? What is this? And my heart is leaping. That's why I have a message for the critics who say that worship like that is brainwashing. If that's brainwashing, wash me over.

Wash me over. And while you're at it, wash my children. Wash my children.

You'd rather have them sitting in the room watching Taylor Swift. That's not brainwashing. It's going deep and you're offended by it.

It's hard to get excited about what you've never experienced. How is being repetitive and going, that's brainwashing. Maybe if you're up in North Hollywood with some sage burning and a Buddha statue there, okay.

But when you're pressing in, you get to a point where you don't want to stop worshiping. I mean, some things are so special, I don't like to share everything. But I found myself, I found myself for over a half hour in the past.

Just at home, just holy, holy, holy is our God. Holy, holy is our God. And tears start to flow and I don't want to stop.

Well, that's brainwashing. How? I came up a better husband, a better father. I can't recall, I don't think I've ever punched a hole in a wall in 25 years.

Oh, we had them all over our house. Anybody relate? You know, anger, rage. Now, is it still there in me? Oh, if the old Shane gets his way, how dare you criticize heartfelt worship just because you yourself have never experienced a deeper walk with God.

The very thing you need is the very thing you're running from. I got to tell you guys, God's got a sense of humor. All in the same four days.

I talked to somebody, I haven't seen them in a long time, a couple of years. I said, I haven't seen you in a while. Oh yeah, we're at this other church.

My kids just don't get much out of the service. They don't really, you know, you're preaching. Oh, okay, okay, I got it.

And then Morgan sends me a text. You guys saw it. Like there was a nine-year-old in the service who couldn't stop crying.

His mom said, why are you crying? He says, I've never felt so much joy. What? What? That deeper, because when you go deeper with God, there's fruit. We're not talking about weirdness.

We're talking about depth. Depth of the soul crying out to God. They just don't want, I've had people tell me, we're going to go to a different church because my family's just not being fed here.

I don't know what to say. If you're cooking food and 99 people are growing, but one's not, it might not be the chef or the food. I don't know.

Trust me, even this morning, Lord, not my opinion, I don't want to answer critics, but sometimes these people have to be answered. Was Jeremiah ever critical? Ezekiel? Hello? John the Baptist? There's a time and a place for that as long as we take it to the Lord first. To be filled with God's Spirit is simple, but it's not easy.

It's simple, but it's, did you know simple obedience can change the world? Simple obedience can change the world. How? It can change your family. Simple obedience can change your family, can change your marriage.

Right now, men, right now, women, simple obedience, I'm talking about obeying God and running with that, letting it change your heart, change your marriage. It changes a nation. Ask George Whitefield and John Wesley and Jonathan Edwards and Evan Roberts and all these people I talk about.

Ask A.W. Tozer or Leonard Ravenhill or ask men who are on fire for God if their obedience, simple obedience did not make a huge difference. It's simple. It's simple to be filled with more of God, but it won't be easy.

We must remove those things in our heart that are taking up the space that God wants. Okay? You ready? Things of the world that are not helping us, the things that need to be removed. Anybody have any of those? Well, first, we should find that out.

Anybody have any of those things? Okay, so as you pour in more of God, going deeper, more of the Holy Spirit. Okay, okay, I read my Bible this morning. That's good, that's good.

I put on Air One on a car and listen to worship. You're good. Next time, put it on our station, but okay, you get a pass.

You get a pass. Every time I hop in my wife's van, she's got Air One on. I'm like, what are you doing? What are you doing? It's continual worship.

I know, but come on. But you say, you know what, I'm going to come to 6 a.m. worship. I'm going to come to 7.30 prayer, or I'm going to get on my face before God, and I'm going to begin to pour in more of God.

I'm going to pour. Oh, you know what? I'm not going to look at worship as brainwashing anymore. I'm going to keep worshiping and pouring in and pouring in more of God, and that thing I wanted to leave, it's got me bound, but I want more of God, and I want to just keep pressing in.

I'm repenting. I'm repenting. It's okay.

Don't worry about it. We're going to kick these ping pong balls to hell. So you keep... And some of you are right there.

Some of you are right there. You need a little kick. Okay, you convinced me.

I'm getting rid of that computer for a while or that Netflix, and I'm going to read the Word of God. Instead, I'm going to press in like never before. Okay, I'm bringing out the big guns.

I might even fast. I might even fast a little bit and pray. I'm going to miss dinner.

I'm going to miss dinner. Now, you always have a little junk hanging around, okay? There's no way around it. There's always a little junk hanging around until we get to heaven, but that's what it looks like.

That's what it looks like, does it not? Then what happens? Then life comes. We get away from those things and we begin to push the world back in and we get to push that world back in. And so this is where many Christians live.

They're saved. They're saved. But man, this is controlling me.

This has got me. Some of you, from the moment I started speaking on this topic, put a cap on it. You don't want more of God.

You're satisfied. You're comfortable. Why is this one of my focal points? Why is this so important? Because many are empty.

They've backslidden. They've lost their way. The tank is dry and their passion has faded.

And my job, I truly believe, just like many of you, when God has called you to do something, like Jeremiah, before you were even born, I knit you together in your mother's womb. I called you to do this. Stop trying to allow the opinions of others to control where I want you to go.

I've called you to do it. Learn from them. Be humble, gracious.

But there's a calling. There's a calling. I'm gonna talk to the pastors about this on Tuesday.

Did you know I've been charged in the court of God? I've been charged. Many of you know 2 Timothy, all Scripture is given by God for reproof, for correction. And the man of God may be thoroughly equipped.

But then something after that is amazing. And I can feel the weight of it. I can feel the tone of it.

Paul says, therefore, I solemnly charge you, Timothy. I charge you before God Almighty and Jesus Christ. Paul.

And that charge in the Greek is like a court of law, being charged with something. Charged with a felon. God's charging me and other pastors with this.

I charge you. And then many of you know, but some of you don't, what follows after that? I charge you to preach the Word. Preach the Word.

Not opinion, not what you think. Not tickle the ears. Not avoid certain things.

Preach the Word. Preach that Word in and out of season. Even when I don't want to.

Even when I, and other times when I want to. Can't wait to preach. Other times when I don't want to, be ready in and out of season.

Convince people, rebuke them. Exhort them to live that life for Christ. I've been charged with it.

So I'm not really concerned with the negative things. What the negative Nellies and Judge Mel Gerry's think. I'm actually called to convict them as well.

To upset that whole system. Why? Because the time will come when they will not put up with sound teaching. They don't want sound doctrine.

They look for people who will tell them what they want to hear. So be encouraged. It takes time to fill the tank.

It takes time to fill the tank. In today's culture, we want to rush. Don't you want to rush? But God says wait.

I love that word scurry. Scurry. But God says no, no, press in.

I want quick results. But you have to be diligent. Man, I don't know about you, but I'm in a hurry.

God says seek Me. Guys, it's hard to get God in in an hour, hour and a half. It was called the Lord's Day for a reason.

There's a pursuing, there's a seeking, there's a, you know, let me give you some signs. Some signs that you're getting close. Let's take the cap off.

The signs that you're getting close. That you're getting close to being full. You're there, you know it, you're saying amen.

You're not saying I hope He's done pretty soon. One sign for sure. You're thankful, full, thankful, great.

You guys can fill in the blanks. Great, full, joy, full, cheer, delight, full, beautiful, beauty of the things of God. Oh, that is so encouraging.

Or there's another word though, prideful. Prideful, full of pride. They can't coexist.

My concern with many Christians who are sound as a doctrine, they're straight as a gun barrel, but they're empty. They're empty of all this. And guys, you need to know something.

I don't like to say a lot of this. How many of you have ever had to schedule or have had a, you're not looking forward to it. But you have to have a hard talk with somebody.

Can you relate? Okay, well, I probably have to have more than all of you combined, but it hurts, doesn't it? You know, it's on the calendar. Oh my gosh. You don't want to do it.

Have you ever been there? Like this is not, oh my gosh. That's how I feel. I don't take joy.

What do you think? I can't wait to go tell them off. I can't wait to go upset these guys so they never come back. I can't wait till they leave here and go, that dude's off the rail, man.

That's my goal? That my goal is to shrink the church down to one service? Why do I say what I say? Why do I say all this? Because I want to tell people off? No, it's because we have to say the hard things. That's why I'm hopeful. I'm hopeful.

I'm full of hope because of what God can do. But I want, when He sees this church, it's like that song we used to sing, find me grateful, find me thankful, find me on my knees. Find me thankful, find me grateful, find me on.

But sadly, many churches are find me behind the pulpit. Find me doctrinally sound. Let me unpack this and that and let me show you how smart I am.

We've got tons of theology, but not many broken hearts. And I already know the critics will twist what I just said. See, Shane's not about sound doctrine.

What in the world do you think we preach every single time we get the opportunity? I love the truth. I love doctrine, the study of God. I love theology.

I'll read books at night about theology. We teach theology, we love it. But if it makes me bitter and angry and prideful, it doesn't hurt people, it helps them.

There's so many things I wish I could tell you guys over, there's so much stuff you gotta just really keep private. But something that breaks my heart more than anything is of course when kids walk away. And how many do you think we've seen over the years? Thousands? Many following the Lord? But thousands, thousands.

And what I'm about to tell you, I wish it wasn't the case. But of course you do have the homes where anything goes, right? Not monitoring computers. The parents aren't really living it.

They're dropping them off for Sunday. You know, so that's a given. But what might surprise you and shock you is the amount of homes where the family's very, very rigid, very doctrinally sound.

Bunch of rules. No joy in serving the Lord. They're a modern day Pharisee.

And their kids can quote all of Psalm 20, but with fear and trepidation because of their parents. They obey out of fear, not out of love. Some of these parents, they know more about the Bible than I do.

Holy smokes, where'd you learn all that? And what happens when their kids turn 18? I am out of here. That's not the Christianity I want. They say one thing, but they'll know your disciples by your love.

And it breaks my heart. Some people I know who are the most solid doctrinally are also the hardest. That shouldn't be, should it? Golly, that's where the term modern day Pharisee comes from.

Your kids don't want to have anything to do with God because they don't see your tears. They don't see your humility. They don't see your brokenness.

Do you know you can quote Scripture all day long and make people obey stuff and you can push them further away from God? That's why this concerns me. We come in with cold hearts and we dare to call this worship. Arthur Wallace said that in his book, The Day of Thy Power.

So if you want to get upset, you can find him if he's still living. He said we need to be encouraged by these signs. There should be a desire for holiness.

There should be a dissatisfaction with your current spiritual state. I like when people say, you know what, you kind of discouraged me today. Good, be a little dissatisfied with where you're at, with where your marriage is at, with where your parents, be a little dissatisfied.

Be like, this is a little ugly because you might change. You might repent. There should be a thirst for more of God.

Is there a thirst? Is there a hunger for more of God? There should be a desire for the truth. There should be a consciousness of sin. There should be a spirit of tender concern, tender concern, a spirit of expecting things.

Number seven, shouldn't we come expecting God to move? Shouldn't we? Should that be our position in the church? Or this? I'm just bummed Chick-fil-A's closed. Where are we going to go? In-N-Out line's going to be way too long. This guy's ticking me off again.

I'm not coming until next month. Expectancy, excited to go to church. And guys, I'm only saying it because I have had a breakthrough in that area.

I told you. It opened up in May. March.

March. I keep saying May. March.

About how I didn't want to come. I didn't want to be here. I took a lot of time off.

But something amazing is happening when we're seeking God. I told my wife, I'm just going to open up. You guys ready for this? Are you sure? I said for the first time in a long time.

Yeah, of course you say yeah. You don't have to deal with the... Yeah, you tell us your everything right now. And it's been a long time.

I don't know how long it's been, but it's been a long time. I actually can't remember. But I said for the first time, I'm not looking forward to vacation in August.

We shorten it up. I'm gone a few weeks. And I'm back ready.

I don't want to. Now I know I have to because you need that time. Abram needs to preach a little bit.

Get that fire back. And the kids are looking forward to it. And I know you have to do it.

But I don't want to miss. I don't want to miss. I don't know how people sit at home and watch, honestly.

Like if I could get here, I would be here. But there's expectancy. You come in there, there's expectancy.

God's going to move. I expect it. Somehow, someway, I'm going to draw closer to God.

If this is a church, if it's a church of the living God, shouldn't we expect things to happen? I don't know. God is not form. He is powerful.

He's not some benevolent killjoy. He's the God of the universe. You come expecting.

But you must see your need. There's a spirit of unity, isn't there? There's a spirit. I love it.

And you don't see it, but the thing that's the most challenging with a living church is there's a lot of demonic opposition, upheaval, attitudes. Why? Living children. Living children, sometimes it's great.

They're running through the grass. If you guys see, oh, it's just so... And then they step in, dog, you know what? They're running. Be careful.

Boom, out the screen door. Living children. Living children.

Jumping on the trampoline. That's so great. Where'd you find those scissors? Give me... So, there's going to be... Whether all this stuff happened at my house, I don't know.

I'm just telling you. But living, it's living. It's vibrant.

It's not dead. The church of the living God is vibrant and on fire for God. And there's always opposition.

And there's a spirit of prayer. There's a spirit of prayer. Oh, I haven't had more people want to pray in a long time.

The prayer room this morning was so full, we might have to go to a different room. There's prayer. People wanting to start a prayer meeting on Wednesday night instead of counseling.

Let's be here. You can tell God is moving. He's doing something when there's a spirit of prayer and of unity.

And then number 10, there is action. There is action when you really want to lay hold of God. You do something.

Let God break you. Either way, you're going to be broken. Either way, you're going to be broken.

I love perusing through the Old Testament. He broke Pharaoh's arm. He cut Egypt down.

He annihilated the king of Tyre. He proclaimed destruction against Moab and brought Babylon to a tragic end. He said the cities will be breached.

Your walls will be torn down and your kings will be annihilated. Right now, it's God going undefeated. I don't know about you, but I want to be on His side.

God is trying to break many people. God is trying to break many of you, even those listening. Did you know we hear about offerings a lot and things like that? Did you know that there is one offering that reigns supreme? Nothing is even a close second.

Nothing moves the hand or the heart of God like this. Nothing. And people think, have you ever seen those churches where they throw money on the steps? Or somebody says, okay, pastor, I'm willing to give some of my time and help with children's ministry.

Okay, great. Or willing to be an usher. That's great.

Those offerings of our time and things are really great. But there's only one offering that grabs and captivates the heart of God. If that's the case, if the Bible's true, why don't we apply that more often? Amen.

Let's put it up there. Let's keep it up for a minute. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit and a broken and contrite heart.

These, O God, You will not despise. He actually goes on to say, will I not revive those who seek Me again? Yes, I will. I look for a broken and contrite heart.

I will revive the broken. I will revive the humble. I will revive those who present their bodies as a living sacrifice to Almighty God.

That's what God is seeking for. So get off your high horse. Stop being bored in church.

Broken. You hear me talk about that a lot. It's a heart condition.

It's a profound and immediate sense of despair, brokenness, anguish, sorrow over my spiritual condition. And the contrite is the action. That's why He uses both.

People say, oh, I wonder if that's the same word. It's not. You can even look them up in the original language.

Broken is the heart. Contrite is the action. Because we all agree if the action doesn't follow, you ever met that husband that's so repentant, wants to work on his marriage.

Oh, I'm so sorry. I'm so broken. Well, give her some money.

Stop blame shifting. Stop going out with your buddies. Stop focusing on the man cave.

Don't come up here and cry about it. Go home and live it out. Oh, no, don't get me started because I have the ability to go off.

So I have to reign those in sometimes. I have to reign those in. Return with a broken and contrite heart.

God is saying this. Some of you need to hear this. Return with a broken and contrite heart and I will revive the fire of the Spirit in your heart.

I will revive the fire of the Spirit of heart. Listen, if you're bored in a church like this, something is going on that's not healthy in your heart. Maybe you've got demonic composition.

Maybe you're playing with the witchcraft and the Ouija board and the seances and all these things, tarot cards. You need to repent before Almighty God. Maybe your pride, maybe your pride has got you bound.

Maybe you're a tough guy. Are you a tough guy? Are you a tough guy? You're here on Sunday, but you got Metallica blasted on Monday, Mr. Tough Guy. Come on, repent and humble yourself before Almighty God.

So many people, are they not? They're going through the motions when they need to be going to the altar. Oh, I got a lot more if you want me to keep going for a while. Okay.

No, I'm joking. We have a second service. Guys, we don't change by hearing the Word of God.

Only, we change by pursuing. Don't we? We change by pursuing. I don't know about you, but it shocks me a lot of times when I read the New Testament.

The people who are supposed to be the closest to God, the closest to God, teachers, scribes, Pharisees, religious leaders. I memorized Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers. When I was eight, I don't care if my kids memorize little, but follow Him unconditionally.

That's the key. Doesn't that just wake you up? You draw nigh unto Me with your lips. Jesus said, you come close to Me with your doctrine.

You guys. Incredible. But that's why He said, do what they say, but don't do what they do.

That preach is right there. That's the sermon title in the future. Do what they say, what the Word of God says, but don't do what they do.

Guys, you have to understand something. These times of worship are a treasure. Do you realize, at least I view these times of worship as a treasure.

It's where you capture the heart of God. Because when you get back out in that vehicle, some of you might be the exception, but nine times out of 10, back to the old man. That's why I don't understand people that have issues with worship.

It's a treasure. It's a moment of time where we capture the heart of God. Could it be the very thing you need is the very thing you're running from? Why is this topic so challenging? Why do so many people get ticked off? Why are they uncomfortable in our seats? Because it's a spiritual upheaval.

Do you understand that's what's happening? It's a spiritual upheaval. Like, ah, all kinds of stuff comes out. Do you know I recommend churches often? I tell you, this might not be the church.

Let me recommend a good one. I understand. I've got a job.

I've got a commission. I've got a calling. And if that's not where you're at, I can recommend others that maybe you're more aligned with what you need.

I'm good with it. But it's often a spiritual upheaval, and they don't see it. They don't see it.

You want an example of what I'm talking about? How many of you have kids or grandkids? Or teenagers or whatever? I'm just saying, just try this. Hey, guys, I came back from a mission. I came back from church.

I'm so excited. We're gonna turn off YouTube and Roblox and Minecraft and video games and pastors. We're gonna seek the Lord every night with prayer and a devotional.

Watch those little sweep. The demons will come out. Will it not? Like, I have all these good ideas, and me and Morton, we sit down and kill it, and then boom, boom, boom.

Explosion. Explosion, why? Because when you set your heart like Christ, like a flint to seek the heart of God, all demonic opposition is released. The flesh hates it, and you've gotta press in like never before.

It's a spiritual upheaval. The darkness doesn't like the light. That's why many people are comfortable.

They don't wanna come to the altar. They're comfortable. They don't wanna come every Sunday.

They'll do it when it's convenient. They'll even find out. I don't know if I should tell you guys I know this or not, but I will.

They'll even call, when is Pastor Shane gone again? Because that's when I wanna come back. I laugh because I know I gotcha. I gotcha.

I know it. The hammer is falling, and it's hitting that nail, and you've gotta run for cover. Get away, get out of here.

I wait for a lot of times so people don't get upset, but five years ago, Phil, remember, a guy was trying to get rid of me. Let's send him out on the road. He loves to evangelize.

Let's get him out of here. Right? You remember? Why? Because he hates this topic. Conviction.

Kill the messenger. John the Baptist had a hard life, a brutal death. We read, oh, look at Jeremiah, the weeping prophet thrown into a pit to die.

People hated him. Ezekiel, they wanted to stone him to death. Isaiah, Micah, read Zechariah, Zedekiah, Haggai, Malachi.

I would've knocked my block off in my 20s if I heard me preaching. I said, if I ever see that pastor at Schooners. Hey, I can date myself, Jay's Firehouse, Clubhouse 41, Smoke Eye.

DI, Desert Inn, I can keep going. I can keep going. I played those games.

How many parking lots do I remember throwing up in, not knowing how I got home? The old Sheriff's Station, Avenue J. Yeah, I'd spend the night there. Yeah, I was really proud of that one. I would've kicked my butt had I heard these things in my 20s.

I hate that. I love my sin. But when you love people, and God's put a burden on your heart, a burden, a calling, a fire.

Because I realize even Jesus had one out of 12. There's a Judas, but you keep moving forward. Because the critical hearts are trying to knock you off track, trying to knock me off track.

The discouragement. Don't listen to the critical hearts. Listen to those who love you and care about you.

We can all grow. You have to plow deep to get those roots out. Anybody try taking out a tree stump before? Try by hand.

Those roots go deep. That sin goes deep. That pride is deadly.

It's damning. I love when I see a father weeping for his children. When I see a dad up here crying, crying out for his prodigal.

Because dads, the direction you go is going to lead your family. You got them focused on money, success, and career, sports. Ah, the next LeBron James.

The next Mike Trout. The next... What about that destroys them? If you have no time for God, do you think they're going to have time for God? Remember that old song, Cat's in the Cradle? I wish I didn't have to say a lot of that, but I would go home miserable because I was a coward. I know there's people right now, there's people serving, serving at this church who are only here because of their friendships.

Maybe they get paid. They wouldn't be here. They don't like what I have to say.

But I understand it, I know. I don't like what I have to say either sometimes. Dang, God, He beats me.

Man, He spanks me in the morning. I'm reading, and son, don't you know you came? You called that worship? You were just going through the motions. And He breaks me, and He humbles me.

Guys, we need that touch of God. The reason the pain's so deep is because you know, you've experienced it when God delivers you. I don't say this a lot because I love my dad, but it'd be considered child abuse today.

You know, right? Remember the 1950s, 60s, 70s? Well, if that didn't work, very angry man, but I knew I loved Him. It's His demons inside of Him. You know what scares me to death is that could be me if I didn't run to the cross.

Some of you men, the reason you're angry and abusive and arrogant is because you won't humble yourself and repent. Women, some of you are chatty-catties and gossiping and slandering because you won't humble yourself and be broken before God. I've seen kids on fire for God because their parents were.

But rarely will you see the kid on fire when the parents are extinguishing those flames. Apart from salvation, tell me one other topic so important. I'm already getting it.

You talk too much about the Holy Spirit. Well, sorry. And you are? I'm here to listen to you who's probably convicted.

God, help us. And I felt specifically to address the critics today. And that's why I prayed this morning.

I mean, for like, Lord, what's me? What's you? What's me? What's you? But they need to be lovingly challenged, don't they? There's a lot of cowardly pastors who do not say what needs to be said. And their churches run them over like a steamroller. I do want to say this too, though.

This is obviously to believers. But if you don't know God, you don't have that relationship. The Bible is clear that you must repent.

You know you're not going to grow. You're not going to grow muscles without heavy loads. You're not going to grow... The times I've grown the most spiritually are when I've been the hurt the most.

Deeply.