Powerful Points Calling America Back to God

charge to come and speak. Well, I usually tell them if I can I say I would pay you to come and speak depending on the audience and like I told the first service I don't have it but if I had a hundred thousand dollars I would I would pray for Joelstein to give me 30 minutes on that programming let me preach the gospel of repentance to our nation let millions of Americans here turn to God see that's what we need unless the church wakes up and preaches the precious truth of repentance you're not gonna see revival you're not gonna see right now the Nielsen ratings are plummet you know what those are right the click it's how many people are watching like who's this guy I'm turning him off off off off off once they hear you know it went from happy positive messages to repent America but what I've always told people many years from for many years now is I don't charge anything to preach the gospel or to preach now if there's something in somebody's budget and you're flying out of town and they want to put you up in a hotel and different things you know that that makes sense but you can't go with this understanding oh I'm gonna make a thousand dollars off Jesus I just it doesn't work that way so that's what I do a lot of speakers do but some speakers that's how they make their living if their hearts are right we have no problem blessing them you know we've had some speakers in the past here that are well known and and they don't charge much at all but that's their living so we're happy we're glad to invest in them because they would come regardless but that's what Paul's saying here do not charge for the gospel verse 16 woe is me woe is me if I do not preach the gospel so he's saying you don't have to charge I don't have to be paid to preach the gospel because you know there's people in the church that that's why they're in ministry if you get in a ministry to make money you are in the wrong place because not only is that very difficult number two is that's not the right heart you should be able to say I would do anything for Christ regardless of if there's a cost regardless if there's a price regardless if I earn anything so that's what Paul saying you don't have to pay me anything woe to me if I do not preach the gospel and woe to me is an internal call that a lot not a lot of you do understand but as a preacher woe to me is it means I have to preach the gospel that I cannot do anything else if I do something else I am miserable if I try to do this job I am miserable I woe is me if I do not preach the gospel Paul is pouring out his heart like Jeremiah your word is shut up in my bones I I'm holding it back but I cannot I have to preach the gospel and that's one good indication to know somebody's truly called to be a pastor or a proclaimer of the truth is they have to do it their heartbeat is there and that's I just told Randy in between both services I said that that is the only thing that has kept me going many times is to say God you called us here you did this you put this church together you called me to preach so regardless of what the direction of our state regardless of the United States direction regardless of complainers and backbiting and bickering outside the church regardless of the attacks we receive you want to receive attacks you stand up and you preach that Christ crucified the need for a redeemed life the need for a Savior that he is the only way the only truth the only life nobody comes to the Father except through him you are in a collision course to hell unless you turn to Christ and avoid the wrath that is to come try that someday you watch what type of feedback you're going to get go to Washington and say that Congress I have a message Sacramento I would let me hey pastor Shane's coming from Southern California to speak to the Congress up here in Sacramento what would you say oh I'd be in fasting fasting for that but you have to say men women we have drifted from God oh you're you're ridiculed your old-fashioned who do you think you are that that was a thousand years ago the Bible's outdated no the same truth is relevant today men and women you need to fall on your face before God and repent of our sin repent of our drifting from God repent from mocking him and calling things that are good evil calling evil good is abomination the sight of God I would be thrown in prison or removed by security woe is me if I don't preach the gospel the truth of God's Word and that's what it's getting to you are going to see you go to China you'll see the real believer because they're hidden there for in the morning worshiping God knowing they can go to prison you'll sort out the wheat from the chaff really quick the sheep from the goats really quick that you know who the true church is and that's what Paul's saying here woe is me if I do not preach the gospel I love that song we sing I'm just a nobody trying to tell everybody about somebody and young pastors I would get emails a lot now from people and I don't know should I go full-time in the ministry I am I called a pastor how do I know how did you know and I tell them I tell this to my kids too if you can do anything else Charles Spurgeon said this if you can do anything else do it well Shane that's not very encouraging no but that's the way you discern if you're truly called because those who are truly called cannot do anything else they'll try to go get a secular job and the magnet of God's gospel is pulling them back they'll try to run from it Jonah I'm not going to Nineveh have you seen the Ninevites the capital of Assyria the worst they would build skulls of from their enemies I'm not going there and God calls him back Jeremiah I'm he Jeremiah was so frustrated I can relate to him when I think of our nation he was so frustrated he said God I'm not gonna preach your word again they throw me in a dungeon they want to kill me I'm not gonna preach your word again and Jeremiah as he said at home and as it just built up he said but your word was in my heart your word is in my heart like a burning fire it shut up in my bones it's weary of holding it back in other words he's going to explode with the truth of God's hope and the need for repentance where did that start he said Jeremiah before you were even born in your mother's womb I formed you I called you to be a prophet into the nation I will put words in your mouth you will speak what I tell you to speak you will pluck out and pull down a root out you will call this people back to you your word will be like a fire and they will be the wheat they'll be the chaff my word will go forth and consume that sin and that's burning in his heart he said I can't I can't not do that I have to do that it's a very important part of being called and when people say that you don't get in the ministry to help people it's good idea you don't get in the ministry like oh this sounds like a good little job just kind of relax and help people do you know it's one of the top stressful jobs in America top five I think isn't what is a pastor with the president of the United States stressful why could you carry the burdens of the people you carry the stress of never satisfying everyone you know that I don't know if at least once a month I see people walk up out of worship never return they'll leave when I preach never to return I get the criticism on Facebook on Instagram on Twitter on pod beam all over boom boom boom questioning motives question your heart attacking family attacking the church making fun very stressful that goes back what you call me to do this so my eyes are sight set on the gospel the eyes are set on what he's called me to yet actually I'm on one hand though the more negative stuff like this the more it means okay I must be in a line with the Old Testament prophets because that's exactly what happened to them that's exactly what happened to them I've deleted I've abandoned more people from Facebook than you probably have friends and then they'll email the church you shouldn't do that it's my personal page I can do whatever I want you go you go get your own personal page but they're just mean they're ruthless one guy just after the Q&A he goes she goes I feel so sorry for Morgan sorry to be married to such a jerk like that who's so unintelligible and all and like this like who's this clown but the flesh wants to well let me look at his Facebook post and how can I be mean to him but I know as a pastor I can't respond is let it go but but I didn't don't feel bad like oh poor I mean it comes with the you know comes with the territory like law enforcement officers you know and and here I met with a friend of mine he was on the SWAT team for nine years and now it comes with that that it comes with it and actually you should expect it if there's nobody leaving service nobody getting upset no more no you're not upsetting the demonic realm you're not receiving threats or different things you the world loves you if the world loves you you don't have the love of the Father in you Jesus said the world's actually going to hate you and I hate I hate to keep using this guy's example but mentioning like say Joel Osteen I'll run into tons of unbelievers they say I hate what you preach but I really like that guy in TV Jim why you put him down now I'm just shooting you straight if you want to see America change you need to get back to Bible preaching soul-searching heart-wrenching anointed Holy Spirit's Holy Spirit filled sermons to change the soul of a nation that's how you're going to change it revival God reviving his people I can take you back to the 1700s in Welsh the first great awakenings all the revivals all the awakenings have ever happened because because men and women have been praying and fasting and preaching the difficult truths of the Bible as well as the glorious ones thank God for God's grace is that funny all the people want to avoid sin love God's grace but I love God's grace more when I understand the flip side you might like having a little bit more if you understand hell it's grace has brought me here thus far to be grace that leads me home I appreciate God's grace more than most I think because I know where I should be although the weapons been formed it will not come against me because God's grace and his protection his shelter and you should know this this isn't this isn't really who I am by nature by nature Shane Eidelman couldn't speak in public I'd go get a root canal instead of doing this my stuttering or my my speech impediments why everybody to be pleased I would I really hope everybody likes me people pleasing probably because I didn't get a lot of information from my father always trying to please daddy looked at and why so that that's that real fleshly but when the spirit of God came upon me almost like Saul I turned you into another man David comes when the Holy Spirit comes upon you you you're actually a different year than what Shane Eidelman died and what God has put God's spirit is he'll he can do the same with all of you when the Holy Spirit comes upon you you can have that boldness at work when the Holy Spirit comes upon you can be better father better mother better leader better husband doesn't mean you won't struggle sometimes I think the struggle intensifies when you start to do that the little demon whether it was messing with you now goes and get recruits the general and says go get this guy shut him up I'm trying to knock you down to that that next down to the back to the next level from where you came from what was me if I do not preach the gospel when I preach the gospel I may present the gospel of Christ without charge that I may not abuse my authority in the gospel so he's saying be sensitive to the influence of others and I think because you don't say I'll come there if you pay me in a ministry you have to be careful I don't know this might not pertain to some of you but it's some church we have to be careful in churches to as well it's it's you know they take two offerings every Sunday all right let's take our 9 a.m. let's take our morning offering let's take our after-service offering all right as before we leave I know there's ten people in here there's ten people in here you have a hundred dollars you don't know what to do with it and God is going to return that a thousand fold there's a there's a not a cattle on enough hill he doesn't have for you you're the head not the tail blessings are about to unfold when you give that money that was pretty good that makes me sick though that was acting but it's a church it's always were you know it's always that's why we don't do that we have a box if people want to give they give and you you'd be amazed at how much God is brought in but just simply not making that the priority and you should know that if your visitor for your new we actually we don't want people's money this really hasn't with this whole thing with money in the church has nothing to do with the church will make it we're not because God he could do whatever he wants God it's a test of a person's heart your wallet is the test of your heart that's his bottom line it's idolatry so when God talks about giving he wants us to release the idolatry of money has nothing to do with the church needs it God's gonna fail we're gonna close next Sunday it has everything to do with the condition of a person's heart that's why and that's why church should teach on it and I teach on when I get to it but we're not gonna go out of our way to try you know come on come on and if you have to do every week you might not be in God's will if you have to ask for funds every single week you might want to go to the fund giver and ask out what's wrong you might say stop that for a season let me bless you let me honor you let me because we can look back and say how are we doing so well financial paying off this building having savings being able to help people benevolence all munitions how that's only way that is the I can tell you by the authority of my own personal testimony the only way we're doing so well is because what God has done if it was up to anybody source that was about five different rabbit trails from what I did the first service so I needed to tell the first service to listen to the second and second to listen to the first you know what our biggest challenges is what what what service do we use for the website you know that I talked to the people here both services I don't know they're so different which one do you and because God speaks to people differently I believe when I prepare a sermon I don't stick by a manuscript I have the skeleton and then God puts on the clothes and he'll take my home a thought process somewhere somebody will think I'll think of a situation that might speak to them individually and it's always on the rabbit trails that people come and say that part so bless me like it's not even my notes I had no point I did no plans on saying that and that's why being open to what God wants to do so what's the practical application for this Shane well it's is your main motivation money recognition success whether you're in ministry or not what is your main motivation that's and I'll dig it I'll dig at the heart of people who want to be involved in ministry let's say they want to be they want to start a ministry they want to be on worship team prayer team they want to they want to do something for the church what's your motivation motivation is it recognition the show look I've arrived mom I'm head of a ministry what's the motivation because see that's the only thing that's gonna see you through when you start your Bible study in 25 show up are you gonna still keep it going when there's only three see the motivation faithfulness that's what God looks at so the next point here number two relating to the culture so Paul continues in verse 19 so the whole point of this sermon was let me three high priority topics number one the first topic Paul talked about was uncovering his true motives and talking about motives and then now the second topic he's gonna kind of switch gears he's gonna talk about relating to the culture did you know you're supposed to relate to the culture in this sense you're supposed to affect it with an a effect the problem is it infects you or most Christians so we're called to go into the culture make a difference instead the culture infects us and we look just like the world so Paul saying go into the world but don't look like the world he says to do I became a Jew to Greek I became a Greek to those under the law became under the law to those not having a law I didn't have a lot to those who are weak I became weak I became all things to all men that I might win them to Christ I just said it now we don't have to read it that's what he's talking about here I think we'll get to that in a minute so you have to when it comes to the culture we go in and we make a difference but if you feel that that culture or your environment I should say the environment you're in is it pulling you away from God because if it's pulling you away from God you might need to make it a change there we should go into the workplace and affect that workplace oh yes their struggles trust me I remember the secular thank God I'm out of that I mean it was it was like I was walking into Satan's den every every day just walking into just just guys I felt the Spirit of God but I was able to minister to about half of them there when I was in the workplace and then into the culture more Christians in Hollywood please please more good movies more Christian dare I say it more Christians in politics there we go my lord I don't know why this is such a hot topic every time I talk about this people get upset so we should be the salt and light everywhere but not the mountain one of the most important spots are you kidding me everything you're upset about it that's going on has to do with politics the freedom the speech of freedom to worship the freedom not to kill innocent children the freedom not to refine the marriage now they're taking away restraints from law enforcement officers did you know they just lowered the amount raised the amount where somebody steal something from a store it's no longer a felony I've got guys running into vines by my house filling up their hands running out I asked the manager because we can't do anything it's only misdemeanor cops aren't gonna come it's no longer it's no longer you're not breaking law if you resist to help a police officer anymore they just got rid of that law wake up people wake up politics matters politics matters it just means governing or leading a group of people you don't think God's Word has anything to say about that it has a lot to say about that most of the books of the Bible were written to political leaders about political issues so you better get off your high horse of just about the gospel it's about everything salt and light everywhere you can clap for that one that's a good one and the one that really bugs me is now the use of ray you can even correct me afterwards if I'm wrong but the use of deadly force now has been minimized to where now an officer almost has to prove the use of that or they're gonna be charged for murder so a lot of them just I'm getting out of the force I can't do this anymore and see we're encouraging violence and helping the criminal and hurting those who protect to serve now is there a bad app on the bunch yep but you don't throw the baby out with the bathwater I've got a baby and I've thrown out bathwater you don't do both you pull the plug and hold the baby so you address certain issues but the way we have lost our mind we have lost our moral compass in our nation in our state I understand if this video gets to the wrong person I'm in trouble I don't care especially if the kids were a little especially the kids were a little older Morgan Morgan might care so I better back the big like no because you know you want to be a family you want to raise your family and be around but the way things are going what was me if I do not preach the gospel and you know that's it you know that was passed now to in California where it's illegal what's I legal I shouldn't it's it's discouraged and it will become illegal where I can't encourage people to turn from their their sexual preference if they're homosexual homosexual I can't say that that is wrong to turn from it it's it's it's gonna I just did it the first service in the prayer room encourage a person in this area and so but see that but see but but that goes back to my whole point we shouldn't do or any say anything political everything I just said has to do with having the wrong people in office you don't think that God wants godly leaders and positions of authority to govern and direct a nation you better start and look at the Old Testament the mosaic form of government Moses over the people it was a theocracy commanded by God to put godly legislation in places of leadership to affect the people so we would button into this big lie that the church should just be quiet not say anything political now I don't think we should be a political and I'm champion the Republican or Democrat party or I'm for this Kennedy or this Kennedy oh it's not about that but it's about what does God's word say about important issues now what's next verse 19 for though I am free from all men I have made myself a servant to all that I might win the more here's the key word here I have made myself a servant to all anybody have any struggle with that one Oh every hand in this room should go up I'm gonna wait being a servant to all that's how you win people to Christ that's actually you want to remove stress from your life be a servant to all majority of the stress we deal with has to be comes from keeping up with the Joneses keeping our agenda on track what I want my needs my fulfillment my desires my my my my my my schedule and stress as a result of my schedule being affected things not going like I thought where servant of all is look at how much the least amount of the least amount of stress a person ever received look it looks like Jesus in his life he was just until the last couple days of his life that excruciating pain of knowing to go across but just the ministry serving others I don't see him stressed out show me one verse other than towards the end of this ministry what Shane and John it says he was just anxious he didn't know what to do he didn't know what God's will was no calm cool level-headed went to a deserted place he was tired he's weary but he he meant a servant of all do you know what the Dream Center in Los Angeles have you heard of it Matthew Barnett is the son of Tommy Barnett who started it Matthew started church in Los Angeles it became an absolute failure there was one service where nobody showed up and he was about ready to quit and he went out and took a walk I think was Echo Park at midnight it's a church I mean it's a park in Los Angeles at midnight and it's not a good spot to be but God had him showed him a lot that was going on there the the homelessness is the misery the drug addictions and alcoholism and God told him this I don't ever want you to talk about or even think about success again meaning numbers think about being a blessing success is obedience to your calling Oh success what has God called you to do I'm not seeing the fruit of my as God called you to do it stick with it I don't see any fruit either when I'd first plant the seeds there's a time that it goes by success is obedience to your calling I have called you to bless these people love them heal them help them serve them then there was a pause and I absorbed that thought then came this closing argument God says I love these people if you reach the people that nobody wants I'll send you the people that everybody wants and from that day you know he started to get back on track and now they have the Dream Center and very well-known person I'm not saying that happens for everyone the whole point here is the key is faithfulness faithfulness I remember it's some of you just for the sake of reminding us of this when we first started the church we had about 200 people show up the first night and then within six months we're down to 50 people like what in the world going on this is not a good direction I come from the business world that's not a good direction and I went home that night I don't know if I told Morgan exactly at night but I told God I said well whether it's 50 or 500 5,000 I'm preaching what you called me to do you call this to do this to be faithful in the little things and that was a turning point in my in my life because I didn't worry about numbers you know it's you rate it by because most people rate if something's growing it's healthy if it's not it's not healthy and now that there's a lot of truth to that because if there's a if there's a dead church down to 30 people and it's dead you need to wake that up God needs to wake that up so growth is it can be an indication of health but you've got the largest church in our nation is not doing good spiritually and it's the largest in numbers so there's something to that as well verse 20 this is what I already read to you that Paul became all things to all men to Jew to the Greek he basically adhered to the customs to influence them so you can you can relate to someone but you don't have to relate to their their lifestyle right you don't have to enjoy their lifestyle I can go to dinner with a friend of mine who doesn't know the Lord and not have to get drunk with him that's at claim jumper wherever you guys will go I don't have I've been though a couple times I don't let somebody think oh he's my wife talked to him where we went to dinner but you don't have to read you don't have to fall into sin with them you don't you can relate to the culture but come out from among them and be different so let me let's go this what's a practical application be solid in the essentials hold your ground be solid in the essentials but full of love and grace and then the final point here it's not going to be popular but it's very powerful you ready for this drumroll Paul is going to talk about the power of self-discipline I would submit to you this morning that is probably one of the biggest things we need today there you go Brent well what in a nutshell what is that discipline self-discipline is disciplining self if you don't discipline self self begins to take you in a direction you don't want to go and Paul has something to say about this do you not know verse 24 do you not know that those who run in a race all run but one receives the prize so run in such a way that you may obtain it and everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things now to me this is very interesting because he's saying don't you know that those who run in a race they all run but only one receives a prize so instead the Christian being lazy in the back don't worry just go with the flow he's saying you run the race to finish and finish well you run to win that prize how much more should the athlete or how much more should the Christian who's running for God and wants to finish strong how much more should they finish strong and discipline themselves in the person who's going after a crown that perishes I remember about 25 years ago they interviewed an athlete they asked him are you gonna keep taking steroids even even if you died in four years if it meant winning the gold medal he said absolutely absolutely how many of the people that we know we look up to these actors or these athletes it all perishes think about this for me your favorite basketball player your favorite musician your favorite Hollywood actor actor you always you always love these people how many are on the road to hell on the broad road to destruction and they're running the race to get that crown that perishes how much more the Christian then how much more see we need to I believe Paul says they placed a high value on winning they want to win they finish well that should be the life of the Christian not to fall back and become lazy but to figure to pick that point again and to fight and to finish that race no matter what comes against me I'm gonna finish the race what's the race if what race is that if you're a Christian finish well if you're a husband finish well remain true to your wife remain true to your kids if you're a mother remain true to God follow him with all your heart get back up and fight again don't fall back don't go away from the race the Bible puts Christians in three camps you're gonna love this an athlete a farmer and a soldier did you know that oh Shane I don't like to work out guess what you're an athlete I don't like to fight I'm passive no you're a warrior I don't like to work hard you're a farmer think about that is it's not taught that often that you are a warrior in God's kingdom you are going to battle you the soldier Shane how do you know that well put on the feather of God and soft pillows put it put on the blanket of God and grab your comfy pillow and go lay down and watch Netflix put on the whole armor of God that you may but be what be able to withstand the wiles the trickery the deceit the lies of the enemy you hold that sword of the Spirit and you quote the Word of God you say not in my house not in my family though the weapon formed against me there is a weapon formed against me did you know that the enemy there is a weapon formed against you there is a weapon formed against you but it will not prosper if you put on the whole armor of God and you put up the shield of faith I trust God no matter what I've got the belt of truth it keeps everything up I forgot mine this morning and I can tell but it's a belt of truth truth there's a truth did you know that Malia if you listen to Millennials on Facebook or YouTube or the younger even generation well it's what's true to you might not be true to me and truth changes and it's it's it's fluent we can be gender fluent I guess now you can be a girl and then you want to be a girl and then you want to be a boy and but now you want to be a girl again it's called being gender fluent and you have to recognize it even police officers now on their tickets have to have different genders and if you call them by the wrong name that even teachers if you call by the wrong name you could be in trouble we've lost our mind you are in a battle Jim why are you poking fun I'm not poking fun at all I'm saying there's a truth that God has initiated and we are drifting from that to truth times change truth does not truth is the thing that keeps everything together truth is the belt it is it is it holds that armor together you have to go into battle with the truth with the shield of righteousness and righteousness in Christ and holy living there's a fight you are in a battle you are in a race but many people are not temperate in all things moderate moderation self-disciplined well I don't see where it says self-discipline their shame oh we just need to keep reading here we go now they do it for a perishable crown but we for an imperishable crown Paul said therefore I run like this I love this part I run not with uncertainty if you want certainty in life of follow Christ with all your heart that's why many Christians are confused one foot in the world one foot in church I'm so confused I'm a double-minded man and stable in all my ways I almost want to do the floss right there but I don't know how my kid I try it's like doesn't work just want to show you the lighter side of me okay but he's saying here with the most the most solid Christians I know are those filled with the Spirit of God they might struggle with doubt and things but there's no uncertainty they are certain I am a certain that the Sun is coming up tomorrow as I am that Christ is returning and he will win the war and he will come back from heaven when I read John and when Revelation he said that the Son of Man is coming back he sits on a white horse and out of his mouth goes a sword that he will strike the nations he will rule the nations with a rod of iron he will rule them he will tread the winepress and the fierceness and the wrath of Almighty God I take that over all all news media outlets combined to that being the truth there are certainty there is a judgment coming there's a Christ who is Lord and Savior there is a heaven there is a hell there's a right there's a wrong and you preach it with certainty oh thus I fight not as one who beats the air another I don't just I don't fight to somebody just beating the air for you know you're fighting nobody but what does he say listen but I discipline my body and I bring it into subjection I bring it into control why if I don't when I preach to others I will become disqualified there's a there's a big truth there that you've got to live what you preach that when you talk to others about the victorious Christian life you better have some victory when you talk to them about the spirit filled life you better be filled with the Spirit of God when you talk about them how Christ has overcome you better have overcome something and that discipline saying no to this is going to hurt me no to this it's gonna take me away from God and I discipline my body the literal translation is I beat my body black and blue I tell my flesh you shut your mouth I'm not gonna eat that I'm gonna fast I'm gonna keep fasting until you silence that voice of the stomach I'm gonna beat my body and bring in a subjection now I'm not talking about getting weird and and being like a monk and just sitting out in the desert and you know that that's what I'm talking about but you have to discipline your body do you know what happens if you don't discipline your body if you just know not kidding fat I'm not talking about physical thing just just in general I thought about this if I just let my flesh do whatever it wants to do whoo that's ugly could you imagine just like just let your flesh do whatever it wants to do how many of you be stopping by the marijuana store on the way home or the liquor store or Ben and Jerry's or sexual immorality or prostitution or poor you just let the flesh do whatever it wants to do but see that's what it's already trying to do that's why self discipline disciplining self as a believer you have the power to say no and here's the wonderful thing about that there is wonderful fruit that comes from that because we think of saying no that stinks like kids look at self-discipline they don't understand that they're being trained for battle you're teaching kids self-discipline now that's going to be very useful later the people are the most self-disciplined are the most successful in life self-discipline disciplining yourself to win you must control self you must do the hard things so here's a practical application what areas are lacking in self-discipline today in your life and Paul says I discipline my body I bring it into subjection and I know like most of you I've been there sometimes the self gets the best of us and God says come back and begin to discipline self again discipline that thing that is taking you away from me that could be the media for someone anybody spend too much time on the media nobody in this whole room that is very encouraging YouTube Facebook the media and I think that's why so many people are paranoid and fearful because they're watching too much of the news this is a clapping side over here you always have to remember when you look at that Russia is not above God North Korea is not above God nobody is above God God holds the nations in the palm of his hand but Shane they might launch a nuke and it hits California well I'm gone then you want to see but they're not ready to meet Jesus that's why they're fearful many are fearful because I don't know where my haven't been living my life for Christ I can't live for him if I don't want to die for him I want to close with the lyrics from a song said the weapon may be formed but it will not prosper when the darkness falls it will not prevail because the God I serve knows only how to triumph my God will never fail you realize how powerful that is God will never fail whatever war is Jesus ever waged where he is lost name one more in the Bible where Jesus was conquered and defeated Oh Shane the cross Oh No keep reading three days later all hell all hell broke all hell literally broke loose the the demonic ground trembled the earth shook that the the tomb was open the ground the temple and it's this huge higher than our building this huge veil that was thick was ripped down from the top to the bottom says now my people can come to me directly because of what Christ did on the cross so that wasn't failure that was triumph so God will never be defeated God is always with you if you turn to him and I love that story about Daniel and in the book of Daniel those three Hebrew boys that were that were thrown into the fire you many of you know that story it's very interesting it's something we're gonna have to face today so before you check out and think about lunch think about this think about this for a minute we are living in dire times they said you have to bow to the king they said we're not going to bow to the king they said okay we're gonna execute you and they said we will not bow to you because our God will deliver us we will not bow to you our God will deliver us you have to have that type of faith but here's what else you have to have this side you know what else they said but even if he doesn't we will not bow to you isn't that it's hard to find that balance because we can be on there oh my God will deliver me my God will set me free my God will take this cancer away and Jesus ain't what about if he doesn't he's still God God you'll raise my child up you'll heal them from being sick I know they have leukemia I know I know but God you your book says and but what about if he doesn't see that's that's a healthy position I will not bow to you politically correct culture my God will deliver me but even if he doesn't I will not bow you have to get to that mindset you can't be on one side I just fear factor oh they're gonna take it they're gonna kill me they're gonna do this again and you can't be this this acting as if God's gonna keep us from all type of harm if you think that just grab Fox's Book of Martyrs do you know that eleven of the twelve disciples died in gruesome deaths Isaiah who prophesied Isaiah who spoke like I'm speaking to the people calling their repentance it was said that King Manasseh saw him in two hung upside down beheaded it's a militant type of faith that loves God and loves people enough to stick to the truth but it was very interesting because the king threw them in going to destroy them and nothing happened and the king freaked out he said what what is that there's another man in the fire there's another man in the fire and his likeness is the Son of God how he knew what the likeness of the Son of God would be who knows but he said there's another man in the fire but see that's a wonderful principle even in the fire even in the fire God says I will be with you when the water overcomes you I will be with you when the storms come against you I will be with you when the whole culture when the whole culture is against you I will be with you even if nobody seems to be listening even if everything seems to be going to hell in a handbasket hold on son hold on daughter because I am with you I am there to hold you with my right hand no king shall conquer me no devil shall overcome me I am the Lord thy God and you serve me with all your heart with all your strength and I will see you through that might mean early grave or that might mean victory but either way Oh King Oh culture Oh the United States of America I will not back down