Wednesday
April 29, 2026 4/30/2026
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0:00missing the mark. And scripture tells us
0:00that that is the case for all of us.
0:00Romans 3:23 says, "For all have sinned
0:04and fallen short of the glory of God."
0:08So, Romans tells us we've all sinned. We
0:09all fall short. We've all missed the
0:11mark. Every single one of us have fallen
0:14short of the target that we were
0:16intended to hit.
0:18But, here's where we need to expand our
0:20thinking a little bit because sin I do
0:23not believe is just rebellion. I don't
0:25think it's just the obvious big things.
0:27You can miss the mark by going too far
0:30or not being far enough.
0:31But, I think it's more than just
0:33intentional rebellion. Let's look at
0:35this passage of scripture in Leviticus
0:37chapter 4
0:39verses 1 through 3.
0:41It says, "And the Lord God spoke to
0:42Moses saying,
0:44Speak to the people of Israel saying, If
0:47anyone sins unintentionally in any of
0:50the Lord's commandments about things not
0:53to be done
0:54and does any one of them, if if it is
0:57the anointed priest who sins, thus
1:00bringing guilt on the people, then he
1:01shall offer for the sin that he has
1:03committed a bull from the herd without
1:05blemish to the Lord for a sin offering."
1:07Let's read verse number two again. It
1:10says, "Speak to the people of Israel
1:12saying, If anyone sins unintentionally
1:16in any of the Lord's commandments about
1:18things not to be done and does any one
1:20of them."
1:22So, it says if you do it
1:22unintentionally, you didn't even know
1:24you were sinning,
1:25but you unintentionally sinned. Did you
1:28know that you can sin unintentionally?
1:30There can be ignorance that you don't
1:32know what God wants from you and you can
1:34sin. So, it's not just relegated to
1:36defiance. It's not just relegated to
1:38rebellions. Now, we've all had moments
1:40of rebellion,
1:41but there's been times that we've sinned
1:43because we just didn't understand what
1:45God was really requiring of us. And
1:47those moments bring us into misalignment
1:50with God.
1:51Now, sometimes we comfort ourselves. I
1:54think we comfort ourselves a couple of
1:55different ways. We'll say, "Well, I just
1:57didn't know.
1:58I didn't know what God wanted from me
2:00here. I didn't understand."
2:02And we think that removes the
2:04consequence of the sin. That's not what
2:05happened in the Old Testament. Ignorance
2:07doesn't remove responsibility.
2:10The reality is that just because we
2:12don't know God's standard, that doesn't
2:15change God's standard. All right?
2:18So, here's what that means. A new
2:19convert can come into the house of God
2:21and they can be sincerely loving God
2:25and they can be serving God and striving
2:27for God, but they can still in certain
2:30areas of their life be sinning.
2:33And those areas can cause issues for
2:34them because God doesn't change his
2:36standard. Now, he's merciful,
2:38he's kind, he's loving. He doesn't cut
2:42that new convert off, but he also
2:44doesn't lower his standard to meet the
2:45new convert. Does that make sense?
2:48The expectation for all of us is that we
2:51continue in the redemption process, that
2:54we keep growing. How many of you all
2:55know you still got some growing to do?
2:58Amen. There's still growth that needs to
2:59take place. So, the standard doesn't
3:02change. Scripture says we can sin it
3:04unintentionally and it was still sin
3:07because it's not just about your intent.
3:10It's about your alignment.
3:12Uh you you've probably heard this. If
3:13you have parents or if you're a parent,
3:15uh if your kids do something wrong,
3:18they'll say, "I didn't mean to." What
3:20are they speaking to?
3:22They're speaking to their intent, right?
3:25They're saying, "My intent wasn't to
3:26sin.
3:28My intent wasn't to do wrong."
3:30But, they still likely did wrong. Does
3:33that make sense to everybody? I would
3:35usually use the analogy, if I roll over
3:37in the middle of the night
3:38and I elbow Sherith in the nose,
3:41I can say to her,
3:43"I didn't mean to do it.
3:45It was an accident. I had no conscious
3:47thought involved there, right?"
3:50However, does that mean I still didn't
3:52hurt her?
3:53Does that mean I still didn't sin
3:55against her and cause her injury? No, I
3:57still did the act even if I didn't mean
3:59to. So, we can't let ourselves off the
4:01hook with that. How about this one? Have
4:02you ever been driving on the road?
4:04I
4:06I don't I don't like this analogy, but
4:08have you ever been driving on the road
4:10and you miss a speed limit sign and you
4:11get pulled over and you say to the
4:13officer,
4:15"I didn't know the speed limit."
4:17Does that get you out of your ticket
4:18automatically?
4:20Does the officer go, "Well, if you
4:21didn't know,
4:23if you didn't know the speed limit, then
4:24I can't really hold you accountable to
4:25the speed limit, right?" No, the officer
4:28would say, "The law still applies to you
4:30whether you were aware of the speed
4:31limit or not. Ignorance of the law is no
4:34defense. You cannot claim ignorance of
4:36the law."
4:37And so, we can't just define our sin as
4:39rebellion, but we have to have a posture
4:41of saying, "God, I want to continue to
4:43grow. God, what areas of my life are out
4:46of alignment with you?
4:48God, what's the next thing that you're
4:49calling me to?
4:51Maybe it's something that you're calling
4:52me to lay down.
4:53Maybe it's not something I'm doing
4:55consciously. Maybe it's not something
4:57I'm doing out of rebellion, but God, is
4:59there anything in my life that's keeping
5:00me out of alignment for what you created
5:03me for
5:05and for the thing that you want to
5:06deliver to my life?
5:08I've got to get that right with God.
5:10Now, let's talk about the impact of sin.
5:13Sin creates separation.
5:15Isaiah 59:2 says, "But your iniquities
5:18have made a separation between you and
5:21your God, and your sins have hidden his
5:22face from you so that he does not hear."
5:25Now, this is not God being mean. This is
5:28not just arbitrary punishment.
5:31Uh I don't want to soften sin. I you
5:33know, even though God is merciful, uh
5:35he's he's not going to be able to blink
5:38at sin. The problem as we read in the
5:40scripture is that if we soften sin and
5:43we think it's not a big deal, it still
5:45separates from us from God. Sin doesn't
5:49allow us to approach God with the same
5:51intimacy that we would normally be able
5:53to. Sin is a very serious thing. Again,
5:56not because he's harsh towards us, but
5:59because of what it does to us and our
6:01intimacy with him.
6:03That passage we just read, it says it's
6:05your iniquities
6:07have made a separation between you and
6:10God. That's not God reacting meanly.
6:12That's not God reacting emotionally.
6:15That's the natural result of what sin is
6:18and what sin does to you and I as a
6:20relationship with God. When we see
6:22people in the world who are sinning, we
6:25don't approach them critically and
6:27harshly. We approach them understanding
6:30that they're bearing the consequences of
6:32their sin even if they don't recognize
6:35it. They're not walking in everything
6:37that God has for them. That doesn't mean
6:39that God doesn't love them. Of course,
6:41he does. It doesn't mean he's not still
6:42reaching for them. It doesn't even mean
6:44that he won't work on their behalf at
6:46times. But, they're not aligned in the
6:48way they should be with God. They're not
6:50positioned correctly and we should have
6:52great compassion for them.
6:55We should say, "We want that person to
6:56have everything that God has, but sin is
6:59serious and it creates separation." So,
7:01let's go through some ways that
7:03scripture teaches us that we have
7:05separation from God when we have sin in
7:08our life. Let's look at Genesis 3.
7:11Genesis 3:8, 9, and 10. This is the cr-
7:14just past the creation story when Adam
7:16and Eve were walking in pr- in the
7:19presence of God, but they sinned. Sin
7:21enters in. Scripture says, "And they
7:22heard the sound of the Lord God walking
7:25in the garden in the cool of the day.
7:27And the man and his wife hid themselves
7:29from the presence of the Lord God among
7:31the trees of the garden. But, the Lord
7:33God called to the man and said to him,
7:35'Where are you?' And he said, 'I heard
7:38the sound of you in the garden and I was
7:40afraid because I was naked and I hid
7:43myself.'"
7:45Sin separates us from God, but sin also
7:48creates shame in our life. And whether
7:51we recognize it or not,
7:53when we walk in sin,
7:56we hide ourselves from the presence of
7:57God.
7:59Have you ever noticed this? Have you
8:00ever had a time in your life
8:02where you are struggling, you're
8:04sinning, you're not really walking with
8:06God the way that you need to be walking
8:08with God?
8:10And you find yourself coming into the
8:11house of God
8:13and you're not as quick to worship as
8:14you might have been previously.
8:17And if you were in this is no
8:19reflection on anyone sitting anywhere in
8:21the congregation. But, if you were on
8:23fire for God sitting on the front pew,
8:26you start to kind of make your way to
8:27the back pews.
8:29And the whole time you start to say,
8:30"You know what?
8:31Uh it's not that big of a deal. I'm I'm
8:33just I'm just sitting somewhere else."
8:36But, in reality,
8:38you're starting to take steps back from
8:39God.
8:40You're starting to to respond to that
8:44shame and go into hiding. And here's the
8:46thing I want you to understand about
8:47this. Notice,
8:49God didn't withdraw from Adam and Eve.
8:51As a matter of fact, what does scripture
8:52say there?
8:54He was looking for them.
8:56It wasn't God who removed himself.
8:59It was us who removed ourselves. We
9:02withdrew. He continued to reach. He
9:04continued to look. He recognized the
9:06distance, but he continued to reach for
9:08us. And that pattern has never changed
9:10in all of human history. Sin produces
9:12shame.
9:14And shame causes us to pull back from
9:15that presence of God that we were
9:17created to walk in.
9:19It distances us from from him and it
9:21creates shame. Here's the next thing it
9:23does. It disrupts our communication with
9:25God. Psalm 66:18 says, "If I had
9:28cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord
9:31would not have listened."
9:34So, if you have sin,
9:36if you do cherish iniquity, God doesn't
9:39listen because he can't engage with sin.
9:421 John 1:6 says, "If we say we have
9:45fellowship with him while we walk in
9:46darkness, we lie and we do not practice
9:49the truth."
9:51If we say we have fellowship while we're
9:52sinning, we're lying. We're not
9:53practicing truth. So, Psalm 66 says, "If
9:56I have iniquity in my heart, the Lord
9:57won't hear me." 1 John says, "If we
9:59claim to have fellowship while we're
10:01sinning and walking in darkness, we're
10:02lying to ourselves."
10:05Again, that's not God being arbitrary.
10:07That's not God being unfair. That's just
10:09relational equity between God and man.
10:11You can't walk in rebellion and intimacy
10:14at the same time.
10:17You can't do that. There's a breakdown
10:19in connection and your alignment with
10:21God is lost. This happens in marriages
10:23as well.
10:24When one spouse is unfaithful,
10:28even if the other spouse doesn't know,
10:30it creates distance
10:32because you can't walk in closeness
10:35and still harbor those things in your
10:37life. It just doesn't work. We're
10:39deceiving ourselves. We may think that
10:41we're walking closely, but we're not.
10:43We're starting to fade. So, it disrupts
10:45our communication with God. The next
10:46thing it does is that it brings us into
10:48conflict with God's nature because he's
10:50perfect and holy. Psalms 5:4-6 says,
10:54"For you are not a God who delights in
10:56wickedness.
10:57Evil may not dwell with you. The
10:59boastful shall not stand before your
11:01eyes. You hate all evildoers. You
11:03destroy those who speak lies. The Lord
11:06abhors the blood bloodthirsty and
11:08deceitful man." He doesn't delight in
11:10wickedness. Evil can't dwell with him.
11:13The boastful can't stand before him. He
11:15doesn't delight in wickedness. Sin is
11:17not neutral.
11:19It's fundamentally opposed to who God
11:22is.
11:23This is why when we're out amongst the
11:24world, we walk with people who can't
11:27hear his voice.
11:29It's not because he's not reaching. It's
11:30not because he didn't die for them. It's
11:32not because he doesn't love them. It's
11:34not because he doesn't have compassion
11:35on them, but because sin dulls their
11:38sight and their hearing. It's not
11:40neutral. It's opposed to the very nature
11:43of God. So, if we sin, if we embrace
11:45sin, we're stepping out of alignment
11:47with who he is.
11:49We lose alignment with his nature and
11:51once again, sin creates separation.
11:54Again, not because God's pushing you
11:56away.
11:57He wants to walk in relationship with
11:59you. He's searching for you. He's
12:00seeking after you.
12:02But because sin's sin positions you in
12:04opposition to his character.
12:07Let's look at what it does to you in a
12:08little deeper way. Let's look at Romans
12:10chapter 6 verse 23. It says, "For the
12:13wages of sin is death. But the free gift
12:16of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus
12:19our Lord."
12:20Now, sin isn't just some external act.
12:22It's not something that you do outside
12:24of yourself. It creates an internal
12:26condition.
12:28It starts to distort the image of God in
12:30your life. It starts to dull your
12:32sensitivity to the spirit of God.
12:36Have you ever gone through a season of
12:37your life where you didn't even realize
12:39it, but maybe you were making some poor
12:41choices. You were growing cold to the
12:43things of God. And then God wakes you
12:45up. You're in a time of prayer. You're
12:47in a service and God wakes you up and
12:49speaks to you about some things in your
12:51life because your sensitivity has become
12:53dull.
12:54And if you're not careful, if you
12:56continue on that path, it'll eventually
13:00lead to spiritual death because sin is
13:02serious and the wages of sin is death.
13:05There's a progression to it. James 1:14
13:08says, "But each person is tempted when
13:10he is lured and enticed by his own
13:12desire. Then desire when it has
13:14conceived gives birth to sin and sin
13:16when it is fully grown brings forth
13:19death." So, there's this progression. If
13:21you continue to walk in sin, it never
13:23stays there. It never stays small.
13:26Desire conceives it, but then that gives
13:28birth to sin and then sin when it is
13:30fully grown brings forth death. Now, I'm
13:32so thankful
13:33that we still have a way of escape. How
13:35many of you are thankful for that?
13:37How many of you are thankful that you
13:38can still call on him? You can still ask
13:39for forgiveness. You can still find
13:42uh you can still find God in your life
13:45right now.
13:46But if we continue, it's a serious
13:48thing. It's not just a mistake, but it
13:50sets you on a trajectory because sin is
13:53not a static thing.
13:55It grows. It develops. It progresses.
13:58It doesn't stay small in your life. It
14:01continues to develop and it sets you on
14:04a trajectory. So, sin is serious and it
14:06separates us from God because it creates
14:09distance relationally between we and
14:11God. It disrupts our communication with
14:13him. It conflicts with his nature and if
14:16we're not careful, it eventually leads
14:18us towards death.
14:20So, we want to be careful. Sin is a
14:22serious thing, but
14:24let's talk a little bit more about it
14:25because I think I want to I want to dive
14:27a little more deeply into making sure we
14:29have an understanding of what sin is.
14:31So, there's sin which is missing the
14:33mark.
14:35Not all sin operates the same way
14:37though. All sin is missing the mark, but
14:39then we have transgressions and
14:41iniquities. Over and over again in
14:42scripture, talks about transgression and
14:45iniquity. Transgression
14:48is the willful crossing
14:50of a boundary that God has set up.
14:52If he's told you not to do something,
14:55transgression is when you willfully
14:57choose to break that guideline and do it
15:01anyways. It's the willful violation. And
15:04then we read about iniquity which is the
15:06root of that. Iniquity is the root
15:09beneath the act. Iniquity is the
15:11internal distortion that you can have in
15:13your spirit. The motive, the pattern,
15:16it's the direction of the heart that
15:18eventually leads towards the
15:20transgression. Now, let me explain this
15:22a little more. Uh if I were going to
15:24steal from you,
15:26how many of you drove a car here
15:27tonight?
15:28If I decide I want to go outside and I
15:30want to steal your car, there's two
15:32things that have to happen here. First
15:33of all, I have to look at your car
15:36and I have to covet your car, right? I
15:39have to look at it and I have to say,
15:40"That's a nice car.
15:42And I think I might want to steal that."
15:43It starts internally. It's the iniquity,
15:46the inward state of my spirit that
15:49starts to contemplate these things.
15:51It starts to say, "You know what? Maybe
15:52I'll I'll I'll go out there later and
15:54I'll see if I can steal that car." The
15:56transgression comes in when I act to
15:59actually steal it.
16:01Now, I have to deal with both of those
16:03things. If I steal the car,
16:05I have to deal with that. But I also
16:07have to deal with the condition of my
16:08heart. Did you know that sin before it
16:10ever exposes itself externally starts in
16:14your heart well before?
16:15We see this all throughout scripture
16:17when Jesus is speaking to the Pharisees
16:19and they start to question him on all
16:21the finer points of the law and they
16:22say, "Well, is this sin or is that sin?"
16:24And he starts to speak to their heart
16:25condition. He says, "No, I say that
16:27you've committed adultery well before
16:29now."
16:30Why is he saying that? Because he's no,
16:31your internal heart direction matters,
16:33right? It's a big deal. It matters. And
16:36there's something happening in your life
16:38well before we see external action. So,
16:41iniquity is the internal distortion.
16:44It's the misguided thoughts and the
16:46misguided uh sense that we have in our
16:49heart and then that starts to drive our
16:52behavior. So, we want to be careful. Sin
16:54is what we actually do and a
16:55transgression is what we actually do,
16:58but iniquity is the heart condition that
16:59creates it. So, I've got to deal not
17:02just with my actions, but I got to deal
17:03with my heart. And that's truly the most
17:06difficult thing you'll ever do. How many
17:08of you have learned at this point in
17:09your life that
17:10uh the enemy will send distractions. The
17:13enemy will send difficulties. You may
17:16deal with tragedy in your life. Other
17:18people may hurt you and sin against you
17:21and treat you poorly and even abuse you
17:24and mistreat you.
17:26All of that may be true.
17:28But do you know who the biggest problem
17:30in your life is going to be?
17:32The one person that you will have to
17:34continually wrestle with
17:36that will never leave you as long as
17:38you're on this earth
17:40and will and has the potential to do you
17:42far more harm than anybody else. Do you
17:44know who that person is?
17:46It's you.
17:48You are the most difficult person you
17:50will ever deal with. Did you know that?
17:52Because your heart is deceitful and
17:54it'll lie to you
17:56and it'll try to accuse the brethren and
17:59it'll do everything but hold itself to
18:01account because the flesh wants to
18:04please itself. The flesh wants to make
18:06its its life easy.
18:08And you're going to have to come to
18:09realization that I can't blame everybody
18:11else, but I have to own my own actions
18:14and I have to get real with God about
18:16the iniquity that might exist in my
18:18heart. This is why Paul says, "We die
18:20daily." I have to deal not just with my
18:22behavior, but I have to deal with the
18:25heart condition or the iniquity that
18:27causes it. Let's go on to another
18:29passage of scripture here. John 10:10.
18:32Now, here's where I really want to focus
18:34in because I wanted to spend some time
18:35talking about sin and the consequences
18:37of sin and the seriousness of sin
18:40because I think the world We're going to
18:41talk about original sin here in just a
18:43moment. I think the world
18:45uh wants to
18:47cause us to be desensitized to sin and
18:49make us think that sin's just not that
18:50big of a deal. But what I really want to
18:52focus on is what we're losing when we
18:55sin because sin is a thief. It steals
18:59from us. John 10:10 says, "The thief
19:02comes only to steal and kill and
19:05destroy. I came that they might have
19:07life and have it abundantly." Sin steals
19:10from us. It steals our relationship with
19:13God. It comes into your life to steal,
19:15kill, and destroy. We think that our sin
19:18primarily affects God.
19:20As if it offends him in some way. And
19:22I'm sure it does offend his nature. But
19:24scripture really shows us that sin
19:26primarily damages us.
19:29Because God came to bring us life.
19:31God came to bring provision. God came to
19:33bring blessing. But sin separates us
19:36from all those things. Here's what I
19:37really want you to understand as we go
19:38into May of Miracles. God again has a
19:41good intent towards you.
19:43He wants to move on your behalf. He
19:45wants to speak into your life. He wants
19:47to bless you.
19:49But when sin enters in, whether it's
19:51iniquity of the heart or transgression
19:53or whatever it might be, it separates us
19:56from him and it steals from us. How many
19:59of y'all right now, if you look back
20:01over your life and you think, "Man, I
20:02look back over rebellious seasons in my
20:04life and seasons in my life where I
20:05wasn't making good decisions." And I go,
20:07"My goodness,
20:09sin stole from me in those seasons."
20:12Have you ever recognized that in your
20:13life? And you go, "Sin took from me. Sin
20:15confused me. Sin deceived me. And I
20:18traded something so good
20:21for something that was so small.
20:24Something that was of such little
20:26importance and value. It stole from me.
20:29It damaged me. It robs us of peace. It
20:32robs us of clarity and sensitivity to
20:34his spirit. It robs us of confidence and
20:37purpose.
20:38That's why this season of preparation
20:41matters. Because we want to go into May
20:43of Miracles with confidence that God's
20:45going to move. We want to walk in with
20:47purpose. That God's going to speak to
20:50us. That God's going to add to the
20:51church. That he's going to speak into
20:53our lives and perform miracles that may
20:56have been dormant for many, many years.
20:58But we've got to have clarity. We've got
21:00to be sensitive to the moving of God. I
21:03believe God's going to send people
21:05that are in need of him and his presence
21:07and his salvation. And guess what?
21:10Pastor Adaboles is not going to be able
21:11to pray with all of those people.
21:13Pastor Adaboles is not going to be able
21:14to build a relationship with all those
21:15people.
21:17But during the month of May, you may sit
21:18next to someone
21:20who needs to hear from God.
21:23And it may be your kindness
21:25that speaks to them.
21:27Today I was on a call
21:29where the Victor was on the call. And we
21:30were hearing a testimony from a woman
21:33uh who was Buddhist. She was going
21:35through a really difficult season in her
21:36life. She said, "I didn't She said, "I
21:38didn't come to know God until I was 40."
21:40She said, "I didn't grow up going to
21:42church. I didn't know any of that
21:43stuff." And she was a corporate banker,
21:45very successful. And she only came to
21:47church because their neighbors were
21:49Christians and their kids kept
21:51witnessing and inviting her kids.
21:53And she said, "Well, you know, they've
21:55helped me out a ton.
21:56They've watched my kids. They've done
21:58all kinds of things. Maybe I should take
21:59them up on one of these offers and
22:00actually come to church." So she comes
22:02to church. And she said, "When I was
22:03walking in," she said, "I was looking
22:05for every reason
22:08to eject."
22:10She said, "And this was crazy because I
22:11was externally successful in life.
22:15You know, I had done well. I had risen
22:16through the corporate ranks. I'd made
22:17money. I'd done all those things." She
22:19said, "And I walked in there almost
22:21fearful." She said, "I'd never had that
22:22before."
22:23Brother Reggie, I don't know where
22:24you're at, but this made me think of you
22:25when she told this story. She said, "I
22:27walked in and she said it was really
22:28full." She said, "Well, the first thing
22:29that happened, I was in the parking lot
22:32and there was one spot left." And she
22:33said, "I was just going to pull out. I
22:35just
22:36I don't know. There's only one spot. I'm
22:36going to pull out." And she said, "And a
22:37volunteer in the parking lot saw me and
22:40waved to me. Said, 'Hey, come here.
22:42There's a spot right here for you.'"
22:44And they said they were so kind to her
22:46and spoke to her and welcomed her. She
22:48said, "Okay, so I'll take the next step
22:49and I'll walk into the building." She
22:50She walked in the building and the
22:51building was crowded.
22:53And she didn't see any seats. And she
22:55said, "For all of my confidence
22:58in the world," she said, "I was very
22:59insecure walking into that church. That
23:01I had no idea what was going to happen.
23:02I'd never really been in church. Didn't
23:04know anything about it."
23:05And she said, "One of the ushers grabbed
23:08me and said, 'Are you looking for a
23:09seat?'" She said, "Yes."
23:11And he said, "I'll find a seat for you."
23:13He said, "They went up and found a
23:15seat." Brother Reggie, I can see you
23:16doing this. You do this all the time and
23:17your team that do such a great job.
23:19Thank you for that.
23:21And they She said, "I walked in and
23:22followed him." She said, "I was so
23:23nervous." She said, "But it allowed me
23:25to say,
23:26'Well, I'm not really interrupting. I'm
23:28following him. He's the one looking for
23:29a seat. I'm just doing what he tells me
23:31to do, right?'"
23:32And so she said, "I came in and I sat."
23:34And she said, "My entire life was
23:35changed."
23:37She end ended up working for the church
23:39and doing all kinds of things and going
23:40into to various service roles and
23:42ministry roles. She said, "But my entire
23:44life was changed but just by those
23:46people coming in." Folks, you could be
23:47the person over the next month
23:50that impacts someone walking in that you
23:52have no idea what they're facing.
23:54No idea what's going on in their life.
23:55No idea what they're dealing with, what
23:57their facing, what their backgrounds
23:58been. And it could be you that helps
24:01lead them to God. It So we've got to be
24:03in position. When you come to church,
24:06really anytime, but especially over the
24:08next month, uh you're not just walking
24:11in. I know you walk in tired from work
24:12and I get all of that. But you walk in
24:15saying, "You know what? I'm here to
24:17bless somebody. I'm here to serve
24:18somebody. I'm here to be spiritually
24:20sensitive and in tune to what God wants
24:23to do. There are things happening here
24:26week in and week out. If we told you all
24:28the stories of the things that people
24:29walk in here with, you would be amazed.
24:32But you have no idea the ability you
24:33have to influence, to serve, to love, to
24:37help them as they make a choice to serve
24:39God and to walk with him.
24:41We don't want them to be separated from
24:43God. We don't want sin to steal from
24:44them. And we want to make sure that
24:46we're positioned correctly. That we're
24:48not damaged in a way from him so that we
24:51walk in here with peace and clarity and
24:52sensitivity. And we're walking in
24:54confidence and purpose so that God can
24:56use us.
24:58And what I want you to understand uh
25:00when God deals with you about your sin,
25:04when he brings conviction to your life,
25:06he's not a big bad God who's trying to
25:08punish you.
25:10He's trying to say, "I have so much in
25:13store for you.
25:14I have so much I want to pour out on
25:16your life. I want to use you for
25:17purpose.
25:19I want to use you for my kingdom to
25:20bless other people and to serve other
25:22people. I want to bring so much
25:23fulfillment to your life."
25:26When he deals with you, he's not just
25:29trying to punish you, but he's trying to
25:31protect you and he's trying to protect
25:34everything that he has in store for you.
25:37You understand that?
25:38He's not just looking to punish you.
25:41He's not a big bad God roaming around
25:44trying to see As a matter of fact, a
25:45couple weeks ago we talked about that.
25:46He's actually roaming around looking for
25:47people that he can bless. For people
25:49that he can work on behalf of. He's
25:51trying to protect what he has for you.
25:53This is why sin is a thief.
25:55This is why transgressions and ineq-
25:57iniquity are so serious. Because yes,
26:00eventually it'll bring ultimate
26:01separation and death.
26:03But well before we get to that point,
26:05it'll rob you of everything that God has
26:07for you. It'll steal fulfillment and
26:09purpose and peace and clarity from your
26:11life. And we want everything that God
26:13has for us. We want to protect what he
26:16has for us. Now,
26:17this applies to every single one of us.
26:20If we go back to that Genesis 3
26:21foundation where everything shifted,
26:24humanity chose independence from God.
26:27Now, I know Adam and Eve were the
26:28forerunners and they were the first ones
26:30to do this. But when sin entered in,
26:32there was shame and separation and they
26:34hid from that presence of God. But the
26:36sad truth is that from that point on,
26:39every single person has been born in
26:42that same condition.
26:44Every single person has been born in
26:45that condition of original sin. A life
26:49that is away from God that needs to be
26:51brought back into alignment. Again, we
26:52read Romans 3:23 that says, "For all
26:55have sinned and fall short of the glory
26:58of God." That's the human condition.
27:00Humanity chose independence. Something
27:02shifted. We lost that original purity
27:04and righteousness that we had been
27:06created in. We inherited a nature that
27:09bends itself towards sin.
27:12We don't just sin. We do sin, but we're
27:14born into a condition that leans towards
27:16it. Now, I bring this up tonight because
27:18I think this is very important in our
27:20culture. You'll hear people say things
27:23like, "God loves you just as you are."
27:26God loves you. And they'll affirm
27:28anything that you want to do or say or
27:30believe or be. They'll affirm that.
27:33That's someone who ultimately doesn't
27:34believe in original sin.
27:36They say, "Well, I don't believe that
27:38you were created or or born into sin. I
27:40believe that you were born good and God
27:41loves you just as you are." Folks, God
27:43does love you just as you are. That is
27:46true.
27:48But that's incomplete
27:50if that's where you stop your
27:52understanding. You're going to operate
27:54under a misunderstanding. Yes, God loves
27:56you exactly as you are,
27:59but he refuses to leave you as you are.
28:03He's not going to leave you in the
28:04condition you're in because he
28:05understands that sin will separate you.
28:07It'll distort you. It'll break that
28:09image of God in your life. It'll
28:12ultimately kill and destroy you. That's
28:15why we need redemption. That's why we
28:17needed a savior. Because sin will
28:19ultimately kill you. So we're all born
28:22into original sin. This is important
28:23that we understand this. That we've all
28:25sinned. That we've all fallen short of
28:27the glory of God. That we all needed a
28:29savior.
28:30And when you hear people in our culture
28:31say, "Well, God loves you." And then
28:33Have Have you seen this? I don't
28:35I don't I don't want to get too deeply
28:37into this, but maybe you've seen this.
28:39Uh there's been a social media
28:40phenomenon the last few months or so.
28:43There was a a biological man who was
28:45living as a woman.
28:47And uh he
28:49came into church. And he started talking
28:51about how God was dealing with him.
28:53And God was calling him to something
28:55more.
28:56And God was developing him. And And
28:58then, as the unfortunate nature of
29:01social media is, uh Christian
29:03organizations started to come alongside
29:05this person.
29:06And started to sponsor them. And they
29:08started talking about all these
29:09different Christian things as they're in
29:10this process
29:12of identifying as a man again. And then
29:14if you've seen this in just the last few
29:16days
29:18uh this person has made another change
29:20and said I got tired of living that way
29:22and not living my truth and I'm going to
29:24live as I believe God created me as a
29:27woman even though I'm a biological man.
29:30And when that happened
29:32a lot of Christians stepped out and were
29:34very kind and loving but they said, "We
29:36cannot let you continue to believe that
29:39when it's not true. We have to confront
29:41you in that sin. We love you. This is
29:43deeper discipleship. We've got to
29:45confront some things in your life." And
29:46then there were a bunch of other
29:47Christians that spoke up and said, "Oh,
29:49this is just Christians being mean and
29:50critical and judgmental. Don't listen to
29:53them. Whatever you want to be, that's
29:54what God created you to be. God loves
29:56you."
29:57So well God does love that person just
29:59as he loves all of us. But God loves us
30:02enough that he understands the
30:04consequences of sin that it separates
30:07us, that it destroys us, that it breaks
30:09our communication with him. He loves us
30:11enough to address it. Parents, when you
30:13have kids
30:14they're acting poorly, it's not loving
30:17to let that go.
30:20Because eventually they'll act that way
30:22at school and they'll act that way in
30:24the world and they'll act that way on
30:26their job and they'll act that way out
30:27in public. And eventually that behavior
30:30will be dealt with by someone else,
30:32right? It'll be dealt with by a teacher
30:34or a principal or law enforcement or
30:35whatever. And you think you're being
30:37kind but you're not. It's the same
30:39principle here. People think they're
30:40being kind but they're actually not. If
30:43you have a 2-year-old
30:45that's running to stick a fork in an
30:48electrical outlet it's not kind to say,
30:51"Well, whatever you want to do."
30:54That's not kind, is it?
30:56That's not kind of the 2-year-old. You
30:58have to step in and say, "No, no,
30:59that'll hurt you. That'll ultimately
31:01kill you." We have to be careful there.
31:03So we want to make sure that we under
31:05and and that we understand the theology
31:07beneath this because when people make
31:08those statements, what they're
31:09essentially saying is I don't believe in
31:11original sin.
31:13I don't believe that sin entered into
31:14all of our lives. I don't believe Romans
31:163:23 that all have sinned and fallen
31:18short of the glory of God. You're okay
31:20just as you are.
31:21So well God loves you just as you are
31:23but he doesn't want to leave you just as
31:25you are. He doesn't want you to be
31:26separated from him. Let's go a little
31:28further here. Let's talk a little bit
31:29beyond sin because I don't think it's
31:31just sin that can separate us from God
31:34and cause us damage in our lives.
31:36Hebrews 12:1 says, "Therefore, since we
31:38are surrounded by so great a cloud of
31:40witnesses, let us also lay aside every
31:42weight and sin which clings so closely
31:46and let us run with endurance the race
31:49that is set before us." It's a very
31:52interesting distinction in the
31:53scripture. It says we're surrounded by
31:54so great a cloud of witnesses, let us
31:56lay aside every weight and sin.
32:01So the reality is not everything is sin.
32:06Not everything that pulls you out of a
32:08proper position is sin. Sin separates
32:11you but scripture also talks about the
32:14weight that can separate you. It says
32:16lay aside every weight. I like to think
32:18of those weights as living without
32:20wisdom.
32:21Things in your life that are not sinful
32:23but they're still slowing you down. I
32:25like to think of it like this. If I were
32:27to give you a backpack to carry and I
32:29said we're going to put some bricks in
32:30this backpack
32:32and you're just going to walk around
32:33every day with this backpack.
32:35Now you can still get throughout your
32:37day, right? But it would make everything
32:39about your life more difficult, wouldn't
32:41it?
32:42Everything would be a little more
32:43challenging because you'd be carrying
32:45this weight with you. When we talk about
32:47that, what we're talking about is wisdom
32:49decisions.
32:50Not sin, not moral right and wrong but
32:54living wisely, living skillfully.
32:57Living in ways that would be pleasing to
32:59God and making sure that we're not being
33:00slowed down. Let me give you an example.
33:02Uh we talk all the time here
33:04about financial peace and uh we give the
33:08membership to Ramsey Plus and we want to
33:09help people with finances.
33:11Uh we don't think
33:13and in biblically
33:15we couldn't lie we couldn't back up a
33:17belief that would say that well you're
33:19more valuable or loved by God if you're
33:22wealthier if you're poor.
33:23If you're making good financial
33:25decisions, you're closer to God. If
33:26you're making poor financial decisions,
33:28you're further from God. Well, scripture
33:29doesn't really back that up, does it?
33:32But scripture would say that you should
33:34be wise in how you handle your finances
33:36because God wants you to be free in that
33:38area. God wants to be able to bless you.
33:40How many of y'all have kids? Our our my
33:42my two youngest girls have a uh bank
33:44ledger with me that I keep and I keep
33:47track of how much money they have and
33:48how much money that they spend, right?
33:50And my youngest is a saver. So she's
33:53always giving me money. Dad, add this to
33:55my bank account. Add this to my bank
33:56account.
33:57And then we'll get to the store and
33:59she'll say something and she'll always
34:00do this. She'll go,
34:01um "Hey
34:03uh she's like, "I want this thing at the
34:05store. Will you buy this for me?" And
34:06I'll say no but you can buy it out of
34:08your money.
34:10And then she'll go, "Oh, never mind. I
34:11don't want it.
34:13I'm good. I'm fine. I don't want it."
34:16Okay.
34:17Now what am I trying to teach her there?
34:18I'm trying to teach her the value of
34:19money. I'm trying to teach her that uh
34:22listen, money is valuable. It we use it
34:24for a purpose. It's not the end all be
34:26all. It's not a scorecard
34:28but it is important to your life. And
34:31I'm trying to teach her to make wise
34:32decisions with her money. I'm giving her
34:34ownership of some money so that she can
34:37make spending decisions, right? So we
34:39want the same thing for you with your
34:41money. We don't want you to struggle.
34:43How many of y'all don't raise your hands
34:44to this? How many of y'all have ever
34:45uh spent money on something and you're
34:47sitting there thinking, "I don't really
34:48know if I have the money in the bank for
34:49this. I don't know when I buy this thing
34:52if I'm going to be able to pay this bill
34:53at the end of the month.
34:54I'm all stressed out about this, right?
34:56How many of y'all have ever walked into
34:57church stressed out about something
34:58financially, right? We don't want that
35:01for you. We want peace for you. But
35:02we're also not saying that you are
35:04separated from God.
35:06If you're wealthy, praise God.
35:09That's amazing. Scripture actually has
35:12some instruction for you that you should
35:14instruct others, that you should use it
35:16uh to distribute, to bless other people
35:18and to take care of your family.
35:19Scripture actually gives you some
35:20instruction for that. And if you walk
35:21into the house of God tonight and you
35:23go, "I'm just broke. I'm absolutely
35:25poor." Praise God. You're just as much
35:26as part of the a part of the family.
35:29You're not separated from the presence
35:30of God or from the family but we want
35:32you to be blessed in your finances. We
35:34want you to make wise financial
35:36decisions. Does that make sense to
35:37everybody?
35:38So these are wisdom decisions about uh
35:41how we want to live our life. It's not
35:42necessarily sinful but it's not wise.
35:45Not everything that's unwise is sin but
35:48lack of wisdom can still cost you,
35:51right? It can still harm you. So you
35:53want to make decisions that are honoring
35:56to God and that are wise and that keep
35:58you aligned. Not just laying aside sin
36:01but every weight. When we go, "God, what
36:03could I do that would bring me more into
36:06alignment? What's the thing I need to
36:07lay down that maybe isn't sin but I
36:09still need to be wiser?" So we can get
36:11out of position in all these different
36:12ways. We can do it usually because we
36:15make emotional decisions and we're just
36:17impulsive or our heart gets wrong. We
36:19have wrong motivations. It doesn't tend
36:21to happen in one moment. It tends to
36:23happen gradually over time and we don't
36:27generally make the decision to fall away
36:28from God immediately but we just start
36:30to gradually go in different directions
36:32because of emotional decisions and
36:34impulsive decisions or pressure or fear.
36:36We drift away from God. Now here's the
36:39thing. You can get back in alignment
36:41with God and all that he has for you but
36:43you're not going to drift into it.
36:45You're going to have to make a conscious
36:46decision. You can drift out of position
36:50but you're never going to drift into
36:52position.
36:53You're going to have to make a conscious
36:55choice to get back in alignment with God
36:58and I'm going to close tonight the same
37:00way I closed a couple of weeks ago on
37:01Sunday morning.
37:03We're going to look at Joshua chapter 3
37:05verse 5.
37:08Joshua chapter 3 verse 5 as we get into
37:10alignment and we check ourselves to make
37:12sure we don't have sin in our lives, to
37:14make sure that we're living wisely, that
37:16we're not living unwisely.
37:18Here's what Joshua said in Joshua 3:5.
37:20Then Joshua said to the people,
37:22"Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow the
37:24Lord will do wonders among you."
37:27This is when they're about to take the
37:28promised land. They're about to defeat
37:29Jericho. They're about to defeat every
37:32enemy, lay claim to every promise that
37:34God's had for them.
37:37But before they do that
37:39and God's already anticipating doing the
37:41wonders. He's saying, "I'm about to do
37:42these wonders among you."
37:45But he calls them to consecration.
37:47Joshua says, "Consecrate yourselves." In
37:49other words, prepare yourselves before
37:51the miracle. Prepare yourself before God
37:54does wonders among you. You have to
37:56consecrate. You have to get ready. It's
37:58not about earning anything
38:00but it's about getting in proper
38:01position.
38:03God already intends to do it. He already
38:05wants to bless. He already wants to
38:06move. He already wants to revive. But
38:09it's us saying, "God, anything that's
38:10out of alignment in my life
38:12anything that's not right with you
38:14anything that would be less than
38:16pleasing you, God, I'm going to lay that
38:18thing down."
38:20It's about saying, "God, I want
38:21everything that you have for me. I want
38:22to align with you. I want to be in
38:24proper position with you." And as I
38:26start to do that
38:28I start to turn a corner and I start to
38:30approach God a little differently.
38:32When I approach God saying, "God, listen
38:35take anything out of my life, God. Rip
38:36it out of me." The way that David
38:37prayed. God, be clear when you judge.
38:39God, it's me and me alone that sinned.
38:41God, anything that's in my life that's
38:43not pleasing you, take it out of me."
38:45Then this amazing thing happens. If we
38:47will start to prepare
38:49and we will spend the next few days and
38:52end the prayer and fasting preparing for
38:54what God has for us, then we can say
38:56what uh Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 6
38:58says where it says, "Without faith it is
39:00impossible to please him for who whoever
39:03would draw near to God must believe that
39:05he exists and that he rewards those who
39:07seek him. We can start to live that
39:10confident expectation of that scripture.
39:12We say, "God, I have faith. God, I've
39:14gotten my life right. I've gotten into
39:15alignment and position. I'm going to
39:17draw near to you. I'm going to get ready
39:20for every wonder and every miracle that
39:21you have for me." And then I can walk in
39:24confident expectation that he exists and
39:27that he rewards those that seek him.
39:31There's a shift in your spirit when you
39:33start to deal with the things in your
39:35life that shouldn't be there. You can
39:37stop hesitating when you approach God.
39:39You can start believing in him. Your
39:41your confidence is no longer placed in
39:43your performance,
39:46but it's placed in your relationship
39:48with this good God who wants to bless
39:50you and wants to pour out favor upon
39:52you.
39:52It's not based on your track record.
39:55It's not based on any of that. It's
39:56based on his character. And then you can
39:59just walk boldly into his presence and
40:01expect that he's going to move on your
40:02behalf. Would you stand with me tonight?
40:05Now again,
40:07I want to be clear as we wrap this up
40:09this evening
40:10that we're getting back into position.
40:14I believe that the ball's already in the
40:15air.
40:17God's already thrown the ball. It's
40:18already headed our way.
40:21He's going to do wonders. He's going to
40:22do miracles. He's going to do works
40:23among us. We just have to make sure that
40:26we're in proper position
40:28to catch everything that God's about to
40:30release.
40:31I remember a few years ago,
40:33uh brother Clendennen was actually
40:35speaking at one of our prayer and
40:36fasting
40:37and he was talking about receiving from
40:39God. He said, "You know, sometimes uh
40:41we'll be in a church service. There'll
40:43be a powerful move of God." And he says,
40:45"People will start prophesying and
40:46they'll start speaking things
40:48uh that God wants to do." And he said,
40:50"You know, you can actually
40:53deny what God wants to do in your life."
40:56He said, "I've seen situations where God
40:58spoke into someone's life." He said,
41:00"Even where God used him to speak things
41:02into the people's life." He said, "I
41:03could just see on their face that they
41:05weren't receiving it.
41:06That they didn't believe God could do it
41:08for them. That they didn't believe that
41:10they were worthy. They didn't have
41:11confident expectation that God was about
41:14to work on their behalf." And then he
41:16went on to say,
41:18"Whenever He said, 'Whenever I'm in a
41:19situation like that, when God the
41:21presence of God starts moving and he
41:22starts uh speaking deliverance and
41:24provision to people,' he said, 'I just
41:26pray, God, I'll take all of it.
41:28I'll take whatever you have for for for
41:30me, I'll take it. And if they don't
41:31receive that blessing, if they don't
41:33receive that miracle, I'll take it.'"
41:35So now every time we're in church and
41:36God starts moving and he starts speaking
41:37and I say, "God, here am I. God, it's
41:40not about me. I don't deserve anything.
41:42I already know all of that.
41:43I know I don't deserve anything, but
41:45God, I'll take every blessing you want
41:47to pour out. God, I'll walk in favor.
41:49I'll walk in position to receive from
41:52you." And that's what I want us to do. I
41:54want us to get in a position to receive
41:57from God over this next month. Not from
41:59a place of condemnation. I know sin is
42:01serious. I know sin separates us from
42:03God, but this isn't about condemnation.
42:07This is about saying, "God, I'm tired
42:09of not receiving everything that you
42:11have for me. I'm tired of sin and the
42:13enemy or maybe just lack of wisdom
42:16keeping me out of proper alignment. God,
42:18I want to get in alignment." Here's the
42:20thing, uh again, it's not about
42:21perfection. Remember we talked about
42:23that.
42:24It's not about being perfect. It's just
42:25about being in progress.
42:27Sometimes we stop the progress.
42:29Sometimes we get out of alignment and we
42:31stop progressing. All we want to do
42:33tonight is deal with anything in our
42:35life that God would call us to deal
42:37with. Get back in a relationship with
42:39him and make sure that we're
42:41progressing. If there's a sin, bring it.
42:44If you know there's something in your
42:46life that needs to die,
42:48kill it at the altar tonight.
42:50If there's iniquity in your heart,
42:52expose it. Lay it on the altar. If
42:54there's a weight,
42:56if there's a wisdom issue in your life
42:58that you're wrestling with, lay it down
43:00on the altar. If there's misalignment
43:02tonight, correct it. And get a holy
43:04indignation where you say, "God, I'm
43:05tired of not receiving everything that
43:07you have for me."
43:08Sin is a thief. Sin is a liar.
43:11And I'm not going to let it reign in my
43:13life anymore. God, I want everything
43:14that you have for me. And I'm going to
43:16walk in confident expectation.
43:19I'm going to walk in faith that you are
43:20for me.
43:21That you have favor in store for me. So
43:24we're not asking God to just move on our
43:26behalf.
43:27We're positioning ourselves because
43:29again, I believe the blessing's already
43:31on the way.
43:32The wonder's already on the way. The
43:33miracle's already on the way. We're just
43:35getting ourselves positioned for all the
43:37things that he's going to do. You know,
43:40I I had a Bible school instructor that
43:42used to say,
43:45"Uh don't plan your life
43:47to the nth degree. Don't try to plan out
43:49every detail of your life." Because he
43:51said, "If you do that,
43:53uh
43:54you'll underplan your life.
43:56You'll set limits on what God wants to
43:58do."
44:00He said, "The way you plan your life is
44:01you walk in wisdom. You do everything
44:03you can to prepare." He said, "And then
44:04you say, 'God, you just take care of the
44:06results.
44:07God, you bless and move and direct.'"
44:09And he said, "You'll be amazed at what
44:11God wants to do on your behalf if you'll
44:13just let him move." How many of y'all
44:15would just start to make a shift to say
44:16today and say,
44:17"What if
44:19there's wonders on the way in your life?
44:21What if there's miracles on the way in
44:23your life? What if God is just saying,
44:25'I just need you to get in alignment. I
44:27just need you to expect confidently and
44:29walk in faith that I actually want to
44:31work on your behalf.'"
44:33And all you have to do is get your
44:35relationship right and get yourself in
44:37position to receive. How many would
44:39start to just shift and say, "God, I
44:40believe that."
44:42I believe that God is not desiring for
44:44me to live in bondage. He's not desiring
44:46for me to live in condemnation. That's
44:49not what he wants us to walk in as
44:50children of God.
44:52But we've got to deal with our hearts.
44:54We've got to get in proper alignment
44:55relationally and we've got to make sure
44:57that we are in process with God. Can you
45:00start to make your way to this altar
45:02tonight? I know our musicians are on
45:04their way.
45:05But let's just start to pray tonight.
45:06Just find a place of prayer. If it's at
45:08this altar,
45:10and remember, we're not trying to earn
45:11anything from God.
45:13We're just trying to make sure that
45:14we're walking in proper relationship and
45:17connection and alignment with God. We
45:19want to make sure that we're positioned
45:21for everything that he has for us
45:24over these coming weeks. We want to make
45:25sure that when he starts to move, when
45:27the presence of God starts to move in
45:28this house, and it might not even be in
45:30this house. It might be in your home. It
45:32might be on your job. [music] When the
45:33presence of God starts to move,
45:36you're positioned and ready to receive
45:38everything
45:39that he has for you. Let's pray tonight.
45:41God, [music] we love you. God, I pray
45:43that you would cleanse us. God, I pray
45:44that you would God, remove any root of
45:48sin. [music] God, I pray that we would
45:49come before you honestly tonight. God,
45:52that we would lay down our lives before