Others May, You Cannot

Others may, you cannot. It's been a, it's been a title on many powerful sermons. Others may, you cannot.

Do you know what that means? If you want to follow God with all your heart, with all your strength, with all your mind, if you want to be filled mightily with the Spirit of the Living God, then guess what? Others may, you cannot. Meaning others can do those things you see them doing. Others can watch ungodly movies, hanging around with ungodly people, do little for the Lord, live a life that is halfway on the fence, and living for God, living for the world, and so that you look at them go, how fun would that be? How fun would that be? Drinking again, partying again, the lifestyle again, these movies again, this man, I remember that all, and others may, they may do that, but you cannot if you want to follow God with all of your heart, with all of your strength.

There's a difference, there's a distinction. Of course you still love entertainment. You can go on vacation.

I'm not talking about those things. I'm talking about do those things have you? Are they pulling you away from God? I don't, this is, maybe it's just me, but I have discussions with young pastors often where they think it's really cool to have wine and beer testing at Bible studies, or tasting. It's like, I know one guy who picked up a six-pack of IPA beer on the way to the Bible study for the guys to try, and I'm like, are you sure you have one only? Come on.

Oh no, we feel it a little bit. Well, that's crossing the line there, and you're a Bible study, and you make your own in the garage. But look, others do.

Look, there's freedom in the Bible. The Bible says, I know what it says. Others may.

You cannot if you truly want to be filled with the Spirit of God. I know you love to watch these movies. I got in trouble with Christians when I said, hey, you might want to reconsider Game of Thrones, Twilight, Harry Potter, all this glorifying witchcraft.

People got mad at me. Can you believe that? Oh, you're so legalistic. Oh, you're so this.

And I say, no, I just want to preach with the fire of God. I want to live with the passion of God. I want to be filled with the Spirit of God.

I don't want entertainment and darkness to entertain me and become dull to the things of God. I don't want what you have. I don't want that.

I want the Spirit of the living God. Others may. You cannot.

Others may compromise. You cannot. Others may live in sexual sin.

You cannot. Others may do this, but you cannot if you want to be filled with the Spirit of God. There's a price to pay.

There's a cost. Why have we forgotten that verse? Whoever desires to follow me must pick up his cross, deny himself. Really what that is is denying what the flesh wants because the flesh is always wanting to pull you away from God.

Others may. You cannot. What's interesting about this topic, others may, you cannot, is many people say amen, but very few people live it because it's hard.

It's hard to live that. Here's the article. I'm just quoting what G.D. Watson said, if God has called you to be truly like Jesus in all your spirit, he will draw you into a life of crucifixion and humility.

Amen to that. He will put on you such demands of obedience that you will not be allowed to follow other Christians. And people might say, that sounds hard.

No, obedience is not a bad word. Obedience is, oh, I obey my master. I'm filled with the Spirit of God, joy and love and peace enter my heart.

I love to obey the things of God. Because we have this idea that obedience is like, uh-oh. It's like when mom says, don't touch your cookies.

Obedience is like those guardrails you see on that mountain road. Who has ever said, remove those guardrails. I want to drive wherever I want.

I want to drive where I want. Who's to say I don't want to drive down there and try out my 4x4? No, they're there to protect, not to prevent fun. They're there to protect.

In many ways, he seems to let other good people do things which he will not let you do. Others who seem to be very religious and useful may push themselves, pull wires and scheme to carry out their plans, but you cannot. You can read the rest on your own.

It says, if you begin to do so, he will lead you into some deep mortification that will make you despise yourself and all your good works. Others will be allowed to succeed in making great sums of money or having a legacy left to them or in having luxuries, but God may supply you only on a day-to-day basis. And people might say, that doesn't sound fun.

Oh, hold on, keep reading, because he wants you to have something far better than gold. I'll take this far more than gold and money and things. A helpless dependence upon him and his unseen treasury.

A helpless dependence upon him and his unseen treasury. This amazed me about my trip yesterday to the prison and meeting this stage four cancer. He's got a big lump here.

It's in his lymphatic system and bone marrow. And he has more joy than most people I know. The joy of the Lord.

See, that unseen treasure, that unseen strength in that relationship, that's what gets you through life. Who would trade that for the cares of this world?