I think I'll say it to this group over here. There are several places in the Bible where Paul talks to people about their behavior and he follows it up with this statement, "For the Lord is near." So can I just say to you tonight, it's time to behave a lot better because Jesus is coming back soon. Matter of fact, I love the scriptures and I became very aware of them last year. And the day is gonna come where we're gonna all stand before God and give an account of our lives and I am spending my time now getting ready so I don't have to be ashamed then. And let me tell you something, a lot of you don't either. And I don't have any time to mess around. I had this eye-opening revelation a few years ago that I've already lived a good two-thirds of my life. And I know you don't think much about it when you're 15 or 20 or even 30, but let me tell you, I've been thinking about it a whole lot more lately. Things are not gonna stay the way they are here forever. And I don't know about you, but that brings a reverential fear and awe to my life. Romans 4:12 says, "Every man will stand before God and give an account of his life." Every man. If you wanna get out in the world that we live in today and serve God, I might as well tell you, it's gonna cost you something. And if you do what's right, listen to me, God will get you a better job than the one that you're being threatened to lose. They're gonna want you to do immoral things.īut your responsibility is first and foremost to God. If you wanna be a really honest person, it's possible you could lose your job because somebody out there's gonna want you to help them cheat, help them lie. If you wanna be an excellent person, you're gonna have to really want it bad because we live in a very mediocre world and people will fight you on it. Pursue means to crave and to go after with all of your strength. In Ephesians 5, the first 9 verses talk about pursuing clean living. It's my job to make sure when I stand before God, that I've done what He wanted me to do and that's your job too, amen? It's not my job to make sure you don't get mad at me. "And convince them, rebuking, correcting, warning, urging, and encouraging them." Not just encouraging them, but all of it.Īnd can I tell you, the ministers that you have who really love you will take a chance on you getting aggravated at them if that's what it takes to get the truth through to you that will make the changes in your life that you need that are gonna bring you the things you say that you want. Whether it's convenient or inconvenient, whether it's welcome or unwelcome", now listen to this, "you as a preacher of the word are to show people in what way their lives are wrong. In 2 Timothy 4:2, Paul told Timothy, "Herald and preach the word! Keep your sense of urgency stand by, be at hand and ready, whether the opportunity seems to be favorable or unfavorable. That's not hard to do but don't ever not listen to somebody because what they say to you kind of makes you a little bit uncomfortable in your seat. Isn't that pretty amazing? You know, if you don't like what I'm saying on TV, you can flip the channel and find somebody that you like what they're saying. "For the time is coming when people will not tolerate (and endure) sound and wholesome instruction, but, having ears itching for something pleasing and gratifying, they will gather to themselves one teacher after another to a considerable number, chosen to satisfy their own liking and to foster the errors that they hold." Okay and I want you to listen to this 'cause we're living in these times right now. And just before I get into it, I wanna read a couple of scriptures to you. It does not store any personal data.Chapter 5. The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly.
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